EP0592299A1 - Reclosing process for a small flexible package or packaging bag, manufacturing arrangement and use of this arrangement - Google Patents

Abstract

Reclosing method and device for a flexible package or packaging bag enclosing, in an envelope (e), a relatively rigid product (b) which can, preferably, be extracted from it in fractions, whilst retaining a relatively stable geometric shape in the filled section of the said envelope. The emptied section of the envelope (e) is trapped by crumpling and/or folding it over itself in a relatively rigid lid whose shape and size are paired with those of the section which has remained full and over which the said lid is fitted in order to cap it and close it. <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to a method for reclosing a flexible packaging packet or sachet, a device for its implementation, the use of such a device and a flexible packaging packet or sachet, in particular for food products, comprising such a device.

In response to the desire expressed by consumers to have flexible packaging which can be easily closed after first opening, there have appeared on the market, in particular in the field of food products, packaging with zipper closure, with sensitive self-adhesive label. pressure, clamp, etc ... some of which are described in FOOD & DRUG PACKAGING, Vol. 56, N ° 2, February 1992, pp. 20-22, 26, 30, 34, 36. While the achievements presented are satisfactory, some are too costly to be used with consumer products (zipper) or inconvenient to use when they cannot be associated directly with the packages or sachets which they must equip (pliers) or even with a sometimes delicate implementation (adhesive means constituting the envelope of the packaging or attached to this envelope). Even a relatively simple device, such as that described in DE-U-8 902 977, is still too "complicated" insofar as it comprises two parts, namely a ring and a cover suitable for cooperating with the ring to close a flexible package or sachet.

The problem therefore arises, therefore, to provide a method of reclosing a flexible package or sachet and a device for its implementation which overcomes the drawbacks of known devices.

It is, in this regard, an object of the invention to provide a method and a device for implementing extremely simple which do not significantly increase the consumption of packaging materials.

It is, again, an object of the invention to provide such a method and a device for its implementation which, when applied to packages or sachets for packaging food products liable to see their quality deteriorate over time, make it possible to promote the conservation of said products.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a method and a device for its implementation suitable for being associated with flexible packaging packs or sachets without having to be modified the packaging techniques and / or for manufacturing said packages or sachets.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a method and a device which allow numerous openings and closings of the package or sachet to which they apply and which, moreover, allow these multiple openings and closings in a hygienic manner .

It is, finally, an object of the invention to provide a method and a device which do not adversely influence the appearance and / or the presentation of the packages to which they apply but, on the contrary, increase it. appeal to consumers.

A method of reclosing using a relatively rigid cover of a flexible package or sachet enclosing in a envelope a relatively rigid product which can preferably be extracted therefrom while keeping the filled part of said envelope a relatively stable geometric shape is characterized, according to the invention, in that the emptied part of the envelope is trapped, by creasing it and / or by folding it back on itself, in the shape cover and combined dimensions of the part remaining filled on which said cover is nested to style and close it.

In the foregoing and in the following "combined shape and dimensions" of the cover and of the filled part of the packet or sachet should be understood to mean, on the one hand, that the cross-sectional shape of the cover is substantially that of the filled part of the package or sachet, without necessarily having a form identity, and that, on the other hand, the dimension of this cross section is substantially equal or very slightly greater than that of the filled part for that the cover can be maintained on the latter when it is attached to it by styling it.

Thus, and for example for a package of generally cylindrical shape enclosing products such as round cookies, the cover can it be of circular cross section and of a circumference length very slightly greater than that of the cookies or, as a variant, polygonal cross section with a perimeter very slightly greater than the length of the straight section (perpendicular to the axis of the cylinder) of the filled part of the package or sachet on which the cover is simply held by pressing.

A device for implementing the method according to the invention is characterized in that it is constituted by a relatively rigid cover with bottom and skirt of shape and dimensions combined with those of the package or sachet for packaging and is produced in all suitable material: cardboard, plastic, metal foil or thin metal alloy of the kind used for making packaging boxes for beverages, or a similar material.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the height of the cover is substantially equal to the thickness of one or more products that contains the sachet or packaging package, so that the device can be used until said package or sachet is practically empty.

According to the invention, also, the skirt of the cover has a shape similar to that of the package or sachet and an internal perimeter substantially equal to the length of the cross section of the package or sachet packaging with which it is associated.

The skirt of the cover is advantageously provided with means facilitating or contributing to the fixing of the cover on the part which remains filled with the package or packaging sachet with which it is associated.

In one embodiment, said means consist of elastic tabs which, in their unsolicited condition, protrude inside the skirt of the cover.

In a variant, said means consist of tabs resulting from cutouts of the skirt and which are formed at the end of the latter remote from the bottom of the cover.

In an advantageous embodiment, the bottom of the cover is covered, over all or part of its internal surface, with a pressure-sensitive adhesive which contributes to maintaining the cover on the package or sachet.

The invention also relates to the use of a cover constituted by a bottom and a skirt of shape and dimensions combined with those of a flexible package or sachet for reclosing said package or sachet.

It also falls within the scope of the invention a flexible packaging package or sachet, in particular for food products, comprising a device as defined above.

• la figure 1 est une vue schématique, en perspective, d'un paquet ou sachet d'emballage préalablement à sa première ouverture et auquel est associé un dispositif selon l'invention ;
• la figure 2 est une vue en perspective du paquet ou sachet ouvert après qu'ait été extraite une partie de son contenu ;
• la figure 3 est une vue schématique du paquet refermé par mise en oeuvre du procédé et à l'aide d'un dispositif selon l'invention ;
• la figure 4 est une vue en perspective montrant, pour une autre réalisation, un paquet ou sachet auquel est associé un autre dispositif selon l'invention;
• la figure 5 est une vue analogue à celle de la figure 3 pour cette autre réalisation ;
• la figure 6 est une vue schématique en perspective, et avec arrachement, illustrant l'utilisation de deux dispositifs du type montré sur la figure 6 ;
• la figure 7 est une vue schématique en perspective et avec arrachement d'une variante de réalisation d'un dispositif selon l'invention ;
• la figure 8 est une vue analogue à celle de la figure 7, mais pour encore une autre réalisation ;
• la figure 9 est une vue analogue à celles des figures 3 et 5, mais pour encore une autre forme de réalisation.

The invention will be clearly understood by description which follows, given by way of example and with reference to the appended drawing, in which:

• Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a package or sachet packaging prior to its first opening and which is associated with a device according to the invention;
• FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the package or sachet opened after part of its contents have been extracted;
• Figure 3 is a schematic view of the package closed by implementation of the method and using a device according to the invention;
• Figure 4 is a perspective view showing, for another embodiment, a package or bag with which is associated another device according to the invention;
• Figure 5 is a view similar to that of Figure 3 for this other embodiment;
• Figure 6 is a schematic perspective view, with parts broken away, illustrating the use of two devices of the type shown in Figure 6;
• Figure 7 is a schematic perspective view with cutaway of an alternative embodiment of a device according to the invention;
• Figure 8 is a view similar to that of Figure 7, but for yet another embodiment;
• Figure 9 is a view similar to those of Figures 3 and 5, but for yet another embodiment.

Reference is first made to FIGS. 1 to 3 which illustrate a method according to the invention for reclosing a package or sachet of flexible packaging and a first embodiment of a device for its implementation. As clearly visible in these figures, a flexible packaging package or bag S comprises an envelope e in one or several thickness (es) of paper, plastic film, if necessary a metallic foil and / or, sometimes, corrugated paper. The package or sachet S, of generally cylindrical shape in the embodiment described and shown, encloses products such as round cookies, b , stacked one above the other and which give the packaging a cylindrical geometric shape, relatively stable, -before opening it as shown in Figure 1-, only after opening in part R thereof which remains filled after extraction of one or more cookie (s) b .

According to the invention, said package or sachet of packaging S is associated with a cover, 10, relatively rigid, of shape and dimensions combined with those of the packaging prior to its opening or those of the part R which remains filled. of said packaging. The cover 10, which consists of a bottom 11 and a skirt 12, is made of any suitable material such as cardboard, plastic, a sheet of metal or of thin metal alloy of the kind used for the manufacture of boxes. packaging for beverages.

The shape and dimensions of the skirt 12 are combined with those of the packaging S, or of the part R thereof which remains filled after the package or sachet has been opened and one or more biscuit (s) b have been removed, "combined shape and dimensions" being understood to mean that the shape of the cross section (perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the packet or bag) of the cover is, here, substantially circular or , as a variant and as shown in the drawing, is of polygonal contour, the internal circumference of the skirt 12 (in the case of a circular cross section) or the internal perimeter of the contour (in the case of a polygonal cross section) being very slightly greater than the circumference of a straight section (perpendicular to the longitudinal axis) of the package or bag S.

As also shown in the figures, the height h of the cover, -measured perpendicular to the bottom 11-, is substantially equal to the thickness of one or a few cookies b .

To close the package or sachet S, after it has been opened and one or more cookies b have been removed, it is enough to imprison, -crumpling it and / or folding in on itself, the part of the envelope e corresponding to the product (s) removed from the bag S, FIG. 2, by enclosing it in the cover 10 which is attached to the part remained filled with R of the package or sachet S, until the cover covers said part and is held there, by simple pressing, FIG. 3.

When the packet or bag S is thus closed it resumes its general cylindrical shape of origin, but with a shorter length, and can, under these conditions, be easily transported without risk of opening.

It is also noted that the conservation of products, in particular food products such as cookies, enclosed in a package or sachet thus closed is up to five times longer than that of products kept in an unclosed or poorly closed sachet.

The implementation of the method and the device according to the invention are extremely easy, do not require any modification of the production lines of the package or sachet S, the cover 10 being most simply attached, by interlocking, to one of the ends of the package, Figure 1, after making the latter on a packaging line.

In the embodiment according to FIGS. 4 and 5, the package or sachet S ′ encloses products b ′ with a square outline and the cover 15 is then also of square cross section. It additionally comprises, at the end of its skirt 16 opposite the bottom 17, lugs like 18 resulting from cutouts 19 of said skirt which facilitate the fixing and the maintenance of the cover 15 on the part that remains filled, R ′, of the package or bag S ', Figure 5, trapping the emptied part of the envelope e' .

Two devices 15 _a and 15 _b , of the type which have just been described, can be combined together to form a box allowing the transport and the conservation of a certain number of products b 'extracted from the packaging, figure 6, thus giving the process and the device of the invention an additional commercial appeal.

A device according to the invention can be used to close a plurality of the same packages or sachets of packaging, thus making it possible to limit the consumption of packaging materials, consumption which can also be reduced by removing, from the envelope constituting the packages or sachets, corrugated paper whose rigidity effect is then provided by the device of the invention.

The latter is not limited to the embodiments described and shown. Thus, it can also include, to facilitate its attachment to the part that remains filled with the package or sachet, and as shown in the embodiment of FIG. 7, elastic tabs 20 which, in the unsolicited condition, protrude inside. of the skirt 21 of the cover 22.

A device according to the invention can also, as shown in FIG. 8, include a packed bottom 23 on part or all of its internal face with a pressure-sensitive adhesive, 24, which contributes as well to its bonding to the flexible package packet or sachet prior to its opening, that is to say in the condition shown in FIG. 1, that when said package or packaging bag is closed again due to weak adhesion of said adhesive and of the folded and / or crumpled part of the envelope e .

The method and the device according to the invention also find application for packages or sachets of packaging of shapes other than those illustrated, for example shapes with a flat outline of the type of those illustrated in FIG. 9 where the package or sachet of flexible packaging, S '', enclosing cookies b '' is capped by a cover 25 whose bottom 26 and skirt 27 have a shape and dimensions combined with the part remaining filled with the packaging on which said cover is fitted style and close it.

Claims (10)

Method for reclosing using a relatively rigid cover (10, 15, 22, 25 ..) of a flexible package or sachet enclosing in a envelope ( e , e ' ) a product ( b , b ' , b'' ) relatively rigid which can preferably be extracted therefrom while preserving the filled part (R, R') of said envelope a relatively stable geometric shape, characterized in that the emptied part of the 'envelope ( e , e' ) is trapped, -creasing it and / or folding it back on itself-, in the cover (10, 15, 22, 25 ..) of combined shape and dimensions of the part remaining filled (R, R ') on which said cover is fitted to cover and close it. Device for implementing the method according to claim 1, characterized in that it is constituted by a relatively rigid cover (10, 15, 22 ... 25) at the bottom (11, 17, 23, ... 26 ) and skirt (12, 16, 21, 27) of shape and dimensions combined with those of the flexible package or sachet (S, S ', S' ') and which is made of cardboard, plastic, metal foil or thin metal alloy or the like. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the height ( h ) of the cover is substantially equal to the thickness of one or more product (s) ( b , b ' , b'' ) contained in the sachet or package d 'packaging (S, S', S ''). Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the skirt (12, 16, 27) of the cover (10, 15, 22, 25) has a shape similar to that of the packet or bag (S, S ', S' ') and an inner perimeter substantially equal to that of the cross section of said package or sachet (S, S ', S' '). Device according to any one of Claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the skirt is provided with means (19, 20) facilitating or contributing to its attachment to the part which remains filled with the package or sachet of packaging with which it is associated. Device according to Claim 5, characterized in that the said means consist of elastic tabs (20) which, in their unsolicited condition, protrude inside the skirt (21) of the cover (22). Device according to claim 5, characterized in that said means consist of lugs (18) resulting from cutouts (19) of the skirt (16) and which are formed at the end of said skirt remote from the bottom (17) of the cover (15). Device according to any one of Claims 2 to 7, characterized in that the bottom of the cover (23) is covered over all or part of its internal surface with a pressure-sensitive adhesive (24). Use for closing a flexible package or sachet (S, S ', S' ') with a cover consisting of a bottom (11, 17, 23, 26) and a skirt (12, 16, 21 , 27) of form and dimensions combined with those of said package or sachet (S, S ', S' ') to the exclusion of any other means. Flexible package or sachet, in particular for food products, characterized in that it includes, for its reclosing, a device consisting of a bottom cover (11, 17, 23, 26) and skirt (12, 16, 21 , 27) of form and dimensions combined with those of products such as cookies or the like ( b , b ' , b'' ) which it encloses.

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