FR2833576A1 - Opening and closing system for plastic bag containing bulk product has slider with end lugs and lengthwise projections running in guides - Google Patents

Abstract

The opening/closing system consists of two lengthwise elements a base (11) fastened to the bag on either side of its opening, and a slider (12) that engages with the base in the closed position and separates from it to reveal the opening. The base and slider engage by a system of grooves and projections (30), and the slider has a tab (34, 35) at each end for pulling it open and closed.

Description

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 The present invention relates to a packaging bag opening / closing system, and a packaging bag equipped with this opening / closing system.

 This bag is especially intended for the packaging of relatively heavy products, in granular or pulverulent form. The bag according to the invention finds a particularly advantageous application for the packaging of animal feed products, of the kibble or pasta type, of food products sold in semi-wholesale, for example coffee, of garden products such as potting soil, fertilizer or seeds, construction products such as cement or lime, or others.

 The packaging of relatively heavy products in granular or pulverulent form is currently carried out by means of paper bags comprising handles at their upper ends, forming two carrying handles. These handles are made up of reinforced paper strips and are attached to the walls of the bag.

 The upper part of such bags is closed by gluing or by seams.

 These bags have the significant disadvantage of not being very easy to open and having to be more or less torn to allow their opening, which makes the flow of products relatively imprecise and can lead to overturning.

 There is a packaging bag opening / closing system comprising a profiled longitudinal element which can be fitted into another profiled longitudinal element having a complementary shape.

 This system is not entirely satisfactory. Indeed, it is not very easy to handle and does not have a very good seal. In addition, it has the disadvantage of clogging when the product contained in the bag generates dust, as is the case for animal feed in the form of kibbles. In addition, the assembly of said longitudinal elements may not be strong enough to allow the use of the system on packaging bags containing relatively heavy products.

 The existing bags also have the disadvantage of not being very practical to handle when it is a question of inverting them in order to carry out the flow of the product which they contain, and the conformation of the

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 openings of these bags is not always well suited to a controlled flow of the product.

 The existing paper bags also have the disadvantages of having a poor seal, which poses problems of odors at the point of sale for certain products, in particular animal food products of the kibble type, or exchange problems. fluidics in general through the walls of the bag the time necessary for the sale of the products, consisting in particular of the capture of moisture by the product or the drying of this product.

 The walls of these bags may also not be perfectly assembled at the folds making it possible to form the bottom or the upper part of the bags, and it sometimes happens that openings remain at the level of these folds, which allow entry into bags of insects such as cockroaches.

 The present invention aims to remedy all of these important drawbacks.

 Its main objective is to provide an easy to handle opening / closing system, allowing an easy and quick opening, having a good seal, not clogging when the product contained in the bag generates dust, and being strong enough to be used on packaging bags containing relatively heavy products.

 The invention also aims to significantly improve the handling of the bag when reversing it for the flow of the product, and to ensure perfect control of this flow.

 Another object of the invention is to provide a bag having a perfect seal, in particular with regard to odors and humidity.

 A further objective is to provide a bag having, compared to bags according to the prior art, an improved visual appearance, in particular having a reduced tendency to wrinkle and having a shiny and smooth appearance.

 According to the invention, the opening / closing system comprises: - two longitudinal elements each forming a sliding guide means, one of these longitudinal elements being intended to be connected, directly or not, to one of the edges of the bag delimiting the opening that includes this bag and the other of these longitudinal elements

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 being intended to be connected, directly or not, to the other of the edges of the bag delimiting this opening; - A slide comprising: (i) two longitudinal elements each forming a sliding guide means, one of these longitudinal elements being intended to come into engagement with one of said longitudinal elements intended to be connected to the bag and capable of sliding by relative to the latter, and the other of these longitudinal elements being intended to come into engagement with one of the said longitudinal elements intended to be connected to the bag and capable of sliding relative to the latter; (ii) a central wall connecting the two longitudinal elements of the slide to one another.

 This middle wall of the slider thus covers the opening of the bag when said longitudinal elements intended to be connected to the bag are connected to the wall of the bag and when said longitudinal elements of the slider engage with these longitudinal elements intended to be connected to the bag.

 The opening or closing of the bag is carried out simply by moving the slide relative to the wall of the bag.

 The opening / closing system according to the invention thus does not involve any assembly by the consumer of one longitudinal element with another, but simply the displacement of the slide relative to the longitudinal elements intended to be connected to the bag.

 This opening / closing system is easy to handle and allows the bag to be opened quickly and easily. It does not clog when when it equips a bag containing a product which generates dust, this dust being extracted from the guide means formed by said longitudinal elements at each movement of the slide.

 In the closed position, the slide completely covers the opening of the bag, allowing it to be closed with a good seal.

 In addition, the two pairs of longitudinal elements give the system according to the invention a resistance allowing the use of this system on packages containing relatively heavy products.

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 Advantageously, the slide comprises at least one tab intended to be grasped by the user to operate the movement of the slide. It can in particular comprise a tab at each end allowing its displacement by traction on these tabs in the direction of opening then in the direction of closing of the bag.

 Preferably, said longitudinal elements intended to be connected to the bag and said longitudinal elements of the slider are shaped to be able to be engaged by snap-fastening, which very significantly facilitates the manufacture and assembly of the system.

 Advantageously, said longitudinal elements intended to be connected to the bag, said slider, and / or said longitudinal elements of the slider comprise means forming stops limiting the movement of the slider in the direction of opening of the bag.

 This stop eliminates the risk of coming of the longitudinal elements of the slide out of grip with the longitudinal elements intended to be connected to the bag.

 These same longitudinal elements intended to be connected to the bag, this slider and / or these longitudinal elements of the slider may also include means forming stops limiting the movement of the slider in the direction of closing the bag, making it possible to clearly define the position of closing the slide.

 This clear definition of the slide closing position greatly reduces the risk of improper handling of the system.

 Preferably, the opening / closing system comprises a flat base part at least partially delimiting an opening through it and comprising the two longitudinal elements intended to be connected to the bag, this base part thus being able to receive the slide and being intended to be fixed to the wall of the bag so that the opening which it defines coincides with the opening in the wall of the bag.

 This basic part allows, in addition to the assembly of the system to the wall of the bag, to stiffen the areas of the bag bordering the opening in the wall of the bag, so as to promote the displacement of the slide.

 Advantageously, the slide comprises a gripping tab connected to it by a connecting portion, and extends on one side of said base part while said gripping tab extends on the other.

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 side of the base part, said connecting portion being thus engaged through the opening which delimits the base part.

 The latter can thus be fixed against the internal face of the wall of the bag, which makes it possible to hide it and to hide the slide which it comprises. In addition, only the gripping tab protrudes from the outside of the bag, which has the advantage of making the manipulation of the system obvious to the consumer, that is to say the gripping of this gripping tab for movement of the slide.

 Preferably, the base part delimits the entire opening which it comprises, in particular the ends of this opening, and the zones of this base part which delimit these ends of the opening, as well as said portion of connection, are dimensioned to constitute said limit stops of the displacement of the slide.

 Advantageously, each of said zones of the base part delimiting one end of said opening forms a flap projecting towards the interior of this opening.

 The flaps thus formed are covered by said connecting portion in the closed position, which ensures perfect sealing of the opening / closing system according to the invention.

 These flaps preferably have a substantially semi-circular shape.

 The bag according to the invention is, in turn equipped with the opening / closing system as mentioned above.

 Preferably, this bag comprises: - two walls joined to each other at their upper parts, along a junction line, one of which comprises said opening along this junction line and near the latter, and - a handle arranged at the level of these upper parts, in the middle zone of said junction line.

 A traction exerted on the handle in order to lift the bag causes a lifting of the middle zone of said junction line with respect to the extreme zones thereof, which tends to bring these two extreme zones together. This approximation tends to impart a concave curvature to the bag above said opening and, correspondingly, a convex curvature to the bag below this opening. This simple lifting thus tends to form a product discharge chute.

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 The manipulation of the bag with a view to reversing for the flow of the product is particularly simple to carry out since it suffices, after said cutting has been carried out, to grip said handle with one hand to lift the bag, to grip the bottom from the bag with the other hand and lift the bottom until the product slides into the chute.

 Advantageously, the walls of the bag joined to one another extend above said junction line so as to form a strip with double walls, and this strip comprises openings making it possible to arrange said handle.

 This handle is thus produced in a simple, easy and inexpensive manner, and is particularly solid, which provides total security as to the resistance of this handle during transport of the bag.

 Preferably, the walls of the bag are made of synthetic material which can be welded.

 This weldability makes it possible to obtain a perfect seal, which eliminates the problems of diffusion of odors as well as the fluidic exchanges between the interior and the exterior of the bag, or of penetration of insects inside the bag.

 In addition, the use of such a material makes it possible to obtain a bag having an improved visual appearance, resulting in particular from a reduced tendency to wrinkling and from a shiny and smooth appearance.

 This material can be formed by so-called "bubble" extrusion with a polyethylene-EVOH-polyamide-polypropylene structure, and any type of medium, low or high density polyethylene, and can be complexed on aluminum, polypropylene, polyester, aluminized polyester, paper, etc.

 This material proves to be, by its structure, a perfect seal with respect to the fluid transfers between the inside and the outside of the bag.

 The problems of diffusion of odors and capture of humidity or desiccation of the product during the exposure of the bags for sale are thus eliminated.

 For a good understanding, the invention is again described below with reference to the appended diagrammatic drawing representing, by way of nonlimiting example, a preferred embodiment of the packaging bag which it relates to.

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 Figure 1 is a perspective view; Figure 2 is a partial view, on an enlarged scale, in section along line 11-il of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1 after opening, in the conformation that it takes when it is lifted by traction on a carrying handle that it includes at its upper part; Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the opening / closing system it comprises; Figure 5 is a perspective view of two parts constituting this system, before assembly; Figure 6 is a view of the opening / closing system similar to Figure 5, after assembly of said parts; and FIGS. 7 to 11 are cross-sectional views of different possibilities for producing longitudinal sliding guide elements, which this system includes.

 The figures represent a packaging bag 1, particularly intended for the packaging of a relatively heavy product, in granular or pulverulent form, such as kibbles for animal feed.

 The bag 1 has two main walls 2 and two side walls 3 of smaller dimensions.

 These walls 2,3 are made of a material that can be heat-sealed.

 The main walls 2 are joined to each other at their upper parts, by heat sealing, along a junction line 4, and each wall 3 is connected by heat sealing to the adjacent wall 2, along junction lines that extend line 4.

 The walls 2 extend above the line 4 so as to form a strip 5 with double walls in the middle part of the bag 1.

 The walls 2,3 include two openings 6 arranged in the middle zone of the strip 5, making it possible to arrange a handle 7 for carrying and handling the bag 1.

 Two pieces of material can be added to the internal face of the walls 2 at the level of these openings 6, in order to reinforce these walls at the level of these openings.

 The wall 2 has a precut delimiting a strip 9 below and along the line 4, and includes a closure system 10

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 fixed on its internal face below this strip 9, as shown in FIG. 2.

 The strip 9 has rounded ends, which are cut and which can thus be lifted and grasped to allow the withdrawal of this strip 9 by manual traction.

 As shown more particularly in FIGS. 4 to 6, the closure system 10 comprises a base part 11 and a slide 12.

 The base part 11 is made of a synthetic material capable of being fixed to the wall 2, in particular by heat sealing. It has an elongated shape and rounded ends, and delimits a central opening 15 in the form of a slot.

 On one of its faces, it comprises two profiled longitudinal elements 20 forming slides, which extend along the edges of the piece 11 longitudinally delimiting the opening 15, beyond the ends of the latter.

 Each of these elements 20 can have one of the shapes shown on an enlarged scale on the lower parts of FIGS. 7 to 11, namely: - two parallel longitudinal walls 21 provided with external ribs 22, as shown in FIG. 7, - two parallel longitudinal walls 21 provided with internal returns 22 of different shapes, as shown in FIGS. 8 to 11.

 In all cases, these ribs and returns 22 are shaped to allow a snap-fastening of elements 30 shown on the upper parts of FIGS. 7 to 11 in the elements 20 shown on the lower parts of FIGS. 7 to 11.

 Each of the elements 20 may have a central rib 23 forming an additional sliding surface, as shown in FIG. 8.

 Referring again to Figures 4 to 6, it appears that the base part 11 has, at one of its ends, a transverse slot 24 dimensioned to receive the slider 12 through it, with the possibility of sliding.

 In addition, the zones 11a of the part 11 which delimit the ends of the opening 15 form semi-circular flaps 25.

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 The slide 12 comprises two profiled longitudinal elements 30 each of which may have one of the shapes shown on an enlarged scale on the upper parts of FIGS. 7 to 11, namely: - two parallel longitudinal walls 31 having internal grooves 32 able to be engaged by snap-fastening on the ribs 22 of the element 20, as shown in FIG. 7, or - one or two walls 31 with external snap-on ribs 32 able to be engaged by snap-fastening on the returns 22 of the elements 20, as shown on Figures 8 to 11.

 This or these walls 31 can be received against the bottom formed by the elements 20 or, as shown in FIG. 8, on the additional sliding rib 23.

 Referring again to Figures 4 to 6, it appears that the elements 30 extend parallel to one another and are shaped and positioned so as to engage by snap-fastening with the elements 20, this snap-in allowing the sliding of the slide 12 relative to the base part 11.

 The slide 12 has a central wall 33, connecting the elements 30 to each other, and comprises two rounded parts 34, 35 connected at its ends, having a width greater than its own. These rounded parts 34, 35 form traction tabs which can be grasped by the consumer and which facilitate the movement of the slide 12.

 One of these lugs 34 is separated from the slider 12 by two transverse slots, which delimit a connecting portion 36 of the lug 34 to the slider 12, this connecting portion 36 having a width less than the width of the opening 15.

 The other tab 35 is adjacent to the slide 12 and forms two transverse flanges 37 capable of coming into abutment against the zones 11b of the part 11 which delimit the opening 24.

 The slider 12 also comprises a transverse piece 38 fixed to it near the slots separating the slider 12 from the tab 34.

This part 38 protrudes on either side of the slide 12 and can come to bear against the zones 11 b of the part 11.

 As can be understood by comparison of FIGS. 5, 6 and 4, the slider 12 is intended to be engaged through the slot 24 of

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 so that the elements 30 can come into engagement with the elements 20 by snapping on the ribs or grooves 32 behind the returns or ribs 22.

 The tab 34 is engaged through the slot 15 and therefore extends on the side of the part 11 opposite to that on which the slide 12 is located, said connecting portion 36 extending through the opening 15.

 The portions of the part 38 projecting on either side of the slide 12 bear against the part 11.

 As can be understood with reference to FIG. 6, the slider 12 can be moved relative to the part 11 between a position of complete concealment of the opening 15 and a position of complete release of this opening 15. In the position of complete occultation, the connecting portion 36 comes to bear against the flap 25, which ensures a closing of the opening 15 with a good seal, and the flanges 37 come to bear against said zones 11 b, thus clearly limiting the displacement travel of the slide 12. In the fully released position of the opening 15, the portions of the part 38 projecting on either side of the slider 12 come to bear against the zones 11 b of the part 11, also limiting the displacement travel of the slider 12.

 In practice, as appears with reference to FIG. 1, the strip 9 is torn off so as to allow access to the system 10 and to release the sliding of the tab 34, and therefore of the slider 12.

 The tab 35 is grasped by the consumer and is moved in the direction of opening the bag 1.

 The handle 7 is then grasped, which causes the central zone of the line 4 to be raised relative to the extreme zones of the latter, and tends to bring these two extreme zones closer to one another.

This approximation tends to impart a concave curvature to the upper part of the bag 1 and correspondingly a convex curvature to the part of the wall 2 located below the system 10, as shown in FIG. 3.

This lifting thus makes it possible to form a chute 40 for the flow of the product.

 The manipulation of the bag 1 with a view to reversing for the flow of the product is particularly simple to carry out since it suffices to grasp said handle 7 with one hand to lift the bag, to grasp the

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 bottom of the bag with the other hand and lift this bottom until the product slides into the chute 40.

 After pouring, the bag 1 is closed simply by grasping the tab 34 and moving the slide 12 until the opening 15 is concealed.

 As appears from the above, the invention provides an opening / closing system for an easy-to-handle packaging bag, allowing an easy and quick opening, having a good seal, and not fouling when the product contained in the bag generates dust, and being strong enough to be used on packaging bags containing relatively heavy products.

 The invention also provides a packaging bag whose handling is significantly improved and whose sealing is perfect, in particular with regard to odors and humidity.

 It goes without saying that the invention is not limited to the embodiment described above by way of example but that, on the contrary, it embraces all of the variant embodiments thereof. Thus, the bag can be of the type with welded bellows edges, as shown in the figures, or can be of the square bottom or bottom bellows type, or can also be devoid of bellows.

Claims (16)

1-System (10) for opening / closing a packaging bag (1), comprising an opening provided in one of its walls (2), delimited by edges of this wall (2), characterized in that '' it comprises: - two longitudinal elements (20) each forming a sliding guide means, one of these longitudinal elements (20) being intended to be connected, directly or not, to one of the edges of the bag (1 ) delimiting the opening that this bag comprises and the other of these longitudinal elements (20) being intended to be connected, directly or not, to the other of the edges of the bag (1) delimiting this opening; - a slide (12) comprising: (i) two longitudinal elements (30) each forming a sliding guide means, one of these longitudinal elements (30) being intended to come into engagement with one of said longitudinal elements ( 20) intended to be connected to the bag (1) and capable of sliding relative to the latter, and the other of these longitudinal elements (30) being intended to come into engagement with one of said longitudinal elements (20) intended to be connected to the bag (1) and able to slide relative to the latter; (ii) a middle wall (33) connecting the two longitudinal elements (30) of the slide (12) to one another.  2-system (10) opening / closing according to claim 1, characterized in that the slide (12) comprises at least one tab (34, 35) intended to be gripped by the user to operate the movement of the slide ( 12).  3-system (10) opening / closing according to claim 2, characterized in that the slide (12) comprise a tab (34,35) at each end.  4-system (10) opening / closing according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said longitudinal elements (20) intended to be connected to the bag (1) and said longitudinal elements (30) of the slide ( 12) are shaped to be able to be snapped into engagement.  5-system (10) opening / closing according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that said longitudinal elements <Desc / Clms Page number 13>  (20) intended to be connected to the bag (1), said slide (12), and / or said longitudinal elements (30) of the slide (12) comprise means (11b, 38) forming stops limiting movement of the slide (12) in the direction of opening the bag (1).  6-system (10) opening / closing according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that said longitudinal elements (20) intended to be connected to the bag (1), said slide (12), and / or said longitudinal elements (30) of the slide (12) comprise means (11a, 36,37) forming stops limiting the movement of the slide (12) in the direction of closing of the bag (1).  7-system (10) opening / closing according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that it comprises a base part (11) planar at least partially defining an opening (15) through it and comprising the two longitudinal elements (20) intended to be connected to the bag (1), this base part (11) thus being able to receive the slide (12) and being intended to be fixed to the wall of the bag (1) so that the opening (15) which it delimits coincides with the opening in the wall (2) of the bag (1).  8-system (10) opening / closing according to claim 7, characterized in that the slide (12) comprises a gripping tab (34) connected to it by a connecting portion (36), and extends d 'one side of said base piece (11) while said grip tab (34) extends on the other side of the base piece (11), said connecting portion (36) being thus engaged through the opening (15) which delimits the base part (11).  9-system (10) opening / closing according to claim 8, characterized in that the base part (11) delimits the entire opening (15) which it comprises, in particular the ends of this opening , and in that the zones (11a) of this base part (11) which delimit these ends of the opening (15), as well as said connecting portion (36), are dimensioned to constitute said stops limiting the movement of the slide (12).  10-opening / closing system (10) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that each of said zones (11a) of the base part (11) delimiting one end of said opening (15) <Desc / Clms Page number 14>  forms a flap (25) projecting towards the interior of this opening (15).  11 - Packaging bag (1) equipped with the opening / closing system (10) according to one of claims 1 to 10.  12 - packaging bag (1) according to claim 11, characterized in that one of its walls (2) has a precut delimiting a strip (9) and in that said opening / closing system (10) is fixed on the internal face of this wall (2) below this strip (9).  13 - packaging bag (1) according to claim 11 or claim 12, characterized in that it comprises: - two walls (2) joined to one another at their upper parts (5), along a junction line (4), one of which comprises said opening of the bag, arranged along this junction line (4) and close to it, and - a handle (7) arranged at these upper parts (5), in the middle area of said junction line (4).  14-packaging bag (1) according to claim 13, characterized in that its walls joined to each other extend above said junction line (4) so as to form a strip with double walls (5), and in that this strip (5) comprises openings (6) making it possible to arrange said handle (7).  15 - packaging bag (1) according to one of claims 11 to 14 characterized in that its walls (, 3) are made of synthetic material which can be welded.  16 - packaging bag (1) according to claim 15 characterized in that said material is formed by so-called "bubble" extrusion with a polyethylene-EVOH-polyamide-polypropylene structure, and any type of medium, low or high density polyethylene , and can be complexed on aluminum, polypropylene, polyester, aluminized polyester, paper, etc.