Flexible Package With A Stable Structure

Abstract

A packaging for containing fluids or other pourable materials is described. The packaging includes contoured sides that experience an outward force due to the gravitational forces of the fluid contained in the package thereby helping the package to remain upright. The package may include a bottom gusset that rests on the surface to provide stability. The package may include strengthening ribs.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention generally relates to packaging that may contain fluids and other pourable materials, including packaging made of flexible material in a configuration that allows the packaging to remain stable and / or in an upright position. The present invention also relates to such packaging used to contain larger volumes of fluids or other pourable materials.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Fluids and other pourable materials are frequently contained in packaging that allows the user to dispense the contents. Such packaging has been made of rigid and flexible materials, but flexible packaging has a number of advantages over rigid packaging.[0003]For example, flexible packaging may be made from a roll of material having sections that may be joined together. As such, flexible packaging may be manufactured using a variety of cost-efficient materials, and may allow for simpler manufacturing and lower cost. Flexible packaging may also comprise materials...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0020]An aspect of the current invention regards a flexible packaging with contoured sides designed to improve stability. The contoured sides of the present invention may include a narrowed or hourglass portion at or near the middle of the package, and curved or convex upper and lower sections. The contoured sides may be parabolic, with either concave and / or convex sections, or of another curve or shape. With this configuration, it is preferred that due to the gravitational force of the fluid contents, an outward hydrostatic force may be exerted on the narrowed section of the hourglass shape when the pouch is at rest. This in turn may result in vertical forces that extend upward on the upper curved section and downward forces on the lower curved section, which in turn help the package retain an upright standing position.

[0021]In another aspect of the invention, the contoured sides may help the package withstand perturbations such as indentations that may occur in the dispensing process or in the process of moving the package. As described below, minor perturbations in a container having this geometry preferably results in less displacement of the center of mass, and therefore less torque on the container. The reduced torque allows the container to remain upright during normal use and storage.

[0022]In another aspect of the invention, the contoured section or hourglass shape may also serve as a baffle that reduces the forces of downward-moving liquid if the package is dropped. The baffle effect may be created by the contour's narrowing of the passage for the liquid above and below the contour. Therefore, the fluid is slowed as it travels downward and the amount of fluid traveling downward is constricted and thus reduced. This helps prevent a blowout of the seal, which could otherwise occur with a more sudden increase in force on a particular part of the seal. To this end, the seal of the package may also have a contoured shape that conforms to the shape of the flexible package. The parabolic seal further reduces the chance of a blow out on the bottom or sides of the container if the container is dropped, given that the force from the liquid will be diffused during a drop.

[0023]In another aspect of the invention, the width of the seal that if formed when joining the front and rear panels may be increased to provide greater beam strength to the sides of the contoured shape. To this end, the outer side edges of the package may be contoured to follow the hourglass shape of the interior side edge (that interfaces with the contained fluid) and the width of this contoured seal may be varied to provide the desired beam strength. Alternatively, the outer side edge may be straight while the interior side is contoured there providing increased seal width.

[0024]In another aspect of the invention, the bottom portion of the pouch containing the fluid may contact the surface on which the package rests, such that the weight of the package is not entirely borne by the bottom skirt or other bottom feature of the package. This feature provides further stability for the package to remain upright.

[0025]Another aspect of the invention regards one or more strengthening ribs. In a preferred embodiment, the ribs may be positioned within the seal area. For example, the ribs may be embedded in the seal during manufacture of the package. The ribs may be vertical, follow the contour of the side edges or have some other configuration. The ribs may provide additional structural support by supplying rigidity while allowing the overall packaging to remain flexible. As described below, the ribs may be constructed along with the packaging sides during the manufacturing process thereby avoiding complex designs or extra materials.

Problems solved by technology

Rigid packages, on the other hand, often involve additional expense and manufacturing effort.

Additionally, rigid packages often consume more space when stored or placed on retail shelves.

Rigid packaging also provides fewer options for customization and brand recognition.

Among them is the inability for the flexible packaging to retain stability and remain upright or stand in a vertical position.

Many existing flexible packages tend to fold over due to the weight of the fluid contained therein and / or the top-heavy nature of the packaging.

This inability to remain upright is a significant drawback.

And where a flexible package cannot remain upright on a shelf and serve that promotional purpose, sales may be hurt and retailers may discontinue buying the product.

A flexible package that is prone to folding over or collapsing may lack product integrity during the shipping and distribution cycle.

In particular, such a package could develop flexing or flex cracks during transit cycles where the package may experience a high degree of vibration leading to degradation of the film integrity and cause leaks.

In addition, flexible package that is prone to folding over or collapsing may be difficult to store or otherwise handle.

Furthermore, the end consumer may have difficulty dispensing fluid from a folded-over package leading to spillage and lack of repeat purchases.

Still further, because an unstable flexible package would tend to fold over at the same area, that area would tend to become an area of flex cracking in the film during distribution where handling and / or vibration would weaken the seals or film structures in those areas to cause leaks or pin holes.

The foregoing problems may not be a major concern with small packages that simply do not contain enough fluid to become top-heavy or otherwise unstable so as to fold over.

However, the foregoing problems are exacerbated for flexible packaging as the size or volume of the package increases.

This generally occurs because as the package increases in size or volume, the increased volume of fluid weighs more, which may lead to instability.

Furthermore, larger packages may become top heavy because of the weight of the fluid at or near the top of the packaging.

This in turn causes the instability problems described above because the package is more susceptible to fold over at or near its middle portion.

Instability problems may especially arise when the package experiences a perturbation or indentation that may occur when the package is moved or bumped.

For example, when the package is in the transit cycle, or when the package is placed on a retail shelf, the forces it experiences from this movement may cause it to fold over.

Repeat folding can lead to cracking in the flexible film material.

Alternatively, if a consumer opens a fitment to dispense the fluid, this perturbation may cause the package to fold over.

As another alternative, if a prospective consumer touches a package on a retail shelf, this indentation force may cause the package to fold over.

With such designs having straight edges, the top-heavy nature of the design and / or the weight of the liquid may cause the package to fold over or collapse as discussed above.

But despite these advances in packaging technology and the potential benefits, the inability for flexible packages, especially large packages, to remain stable and upright still exists.

However, the hourglass shapes used with these packages do not appear to be designed to address the instability issues discussed above, such as the gravitational or other forces associated with the fluid contained in the package.

In sum, the hourglass sides of existing packages do not appear to be designed to address forces and improve stability of the package so that it remains upright.

However, these larger pouches are often found in corrugated boxes where the box provides the stability and the flexible film structure is solely for containment within the box, and the graphics are on the exterior of the box and not the flexible pouch itself.

Another drawback of existing flexible packaging arises from the fact that the package has to be sufficiently wide in relation to its height such that the overall stability of the packaging is maintained.

But current linear or non-linear package designs do not allow for various package shapes and designs.

However, the ribs in existing packaging are typically not constructed to withstand the forces of increased fluid volumes for larger size packaging.

Moreover, the rib construction in existing packaging may be complex and require additional manufacturing steps or materials.

The manner in which many existing flexible packages engage the ground or surface on which they rest also contributes to their instability problems.

Because typical existing bottom skirts are thin, i.e., they generally have the thickness of the material used to make the package itself, such bottom skirts do not provide much stability and are prone to buckling.

This problem is exacerbated for larger packages containing more fluid, which imparts more weight on the bottom skirt.

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