DUAL-COMPARTMENT RECLOSABLE BAG

Abstract

A dual-compartment bag has similar front and back panels each having a pair of generally parallel and vertical longitudinal edges and top and bottom edges between respective upper and lower ends of the respective longitudinal edges. A transversely extending cross weld connects the front panel and the back panel and forms therebetween an upper compartment above the cross weld and a lower compartment below the cross weld. An upper reclosable fastener has interlocking profile strips at the top edges of the upper compartment forming an upper resealable removal opening between the front panel and the back panel giving access to the upper compartment. A lower reclosable fastener has interlocking profile strips extending in the transverse direction on the front panel at the lower compartment, at a spacing above the bottom edges, and giving access to the lower compartment.

Claims

1. A dual-compartment bag comprising: similar front and back panels each having a pair of generally parallel and vertical longitudinal edges and top and bottom edges between respective upper and lower ends of the respective longitudinal edges; a transversely extending cross weld connecting the front panel and the back panel and forming therebetween an upper compartment above the cross weld and a lower compartment below the cross weld; an upper reclosable fastener having interlocking profile strips at the top edges of the upper compartment and forming an upper reclosable removal opening between the front panel and the back panel giving access to the upper compartment; and a lower reclosable fastener having interlocking profile strips extending in the transverse direction on the front panel at the lower compartment, at a spacing above the bottom edges, and giving access to the lower compartment.

2. The dual-compartment bag defined in claim 1, further comprising: respective longitudinally extending side gussets connecting the longitudinal edges of the front panel to the longitudinal edges of the back panel.

3. The dual-compartment bag defined in claim 2, wherein the side gussets end at a spacing from the upper edges of the panels.

4. The dual-compartment bag defined in claim 3, wherein at least one of the profile strips of the upper reclosable fastener has a connecting section and a connecting lip adjacent thereto, and upper ends of the side gussets are closed by the connecting lip.

5. The dual-compartment bag defined in claim 1, wherein the front panel has a weakened tear line forming a removable section level with the lower reclosable fastener, the lower reclosable fastener being accessible on the front panel after removal of the section.

6. The dual-compartment bag defined in claim 1, characterized in that one of the reclosable fasteners has a slide for connecting and separating the respective profile strips.

7. The dual-compartment bag defined in claim 1, wherein the panels have welds on the longitudinal edges.

8. The dual-compartment bag defined in claim 7, wherein the profile strips of the lower reclosable fastener end transversely short of the welds.

9. The dual-compartment bag defined in claim 1, wherein the profile strips of the lower reclosable fastener each have a connecting section and a connecting lip adjacent thereto and the connecting lips are both attached at the front panel to an inner face of front panel in the lower compartment.

10. The dual-compartment bag defined in claim 9, wherein, in the lower reclosable fastener, the connecting lips extend longitudinally oppositely from the interconnected connecting sections.

11. The dual-compartment bag defined in claim 1, wherein the cross weld is formed with a transversely throughgoing weakened tear line along which the upper compartment can be separated from the lower compartment.

12. The dual-compartment bag defined in claim 1, wherein the panels are each made of a multilayer composite film that has at least one outer layer forming an outer surface of the respective panel and a weldable layer forming an inner surface thereof.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

[0033] The above and other objects, features, and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description, reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which:

[0034] FIG. 1. is a front view of the dual-compartment bag of this invention;

[0035] FIG. 2 is a rear view of the bag;

[0036] FIG. 3A is a large-scale longitudinal section taken along line III-III of FIG. 1;

[0037] FIG. 3B is a view like FIG. 3A but in an earlier production stage;

[0038] FIG. 4A is a large-scale longitudinal section taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 1; and

[0039] FIG. 4B is a view like FIG. 4a but in an earlier production stage.

SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0040] As seen in FIGS. 1 and 2 the bag according to the invention has a rectangular first or front panel 1, a rectangular second or back panel 2, and two folded side gussets 3 between vertical longitudinal edges of the front and back panels 1 and 2. The side gussets 3 extend in a longitudinal direction I, with longitudinal welds 4 connecting the longitudinal edges of the panels to the respective side gussets.

[0041] The dual-compartment bag is shown flattened in FIGS. 1 and 2. When the bag is filled, however, there is a greater front-to-back spacing between the panels 1 and 2 as a result of the unfolding of the side gussets, thus resulting in an enlarged filling volume.

[0042] The panels 1 and 2 are connected by a permanent cross weld 5 produced by heat-sealing and running in a transverse direction c to connect the front panel 1 directly to the back panel 2 in a center region and at the edges via the side gussets 3. The weld 5 divides the interior of the bag into a first or upper compartment 6 and a second or lower compartment 7.

[0043] FIG. 1 shows that a first or upper reclosable fastener 9 has interlocking profile strips 8 on the upper edges of the panels 1 and 2 and thus also at an upper end of the upper compartment 6. A second or lower reclosable fastener 10 with interlocking profile strips 8 is provided on the front panel 1 immediately adjacent the weld 5 in an upper region of the lower compartment 7. The upper reclosable fastener 9 has a slide 11 with which the connecting sections 8a of the profile strips 8 can be separated from each other or joined to each other by a sliding motion.

[0044] Additional details regarding the arrangement of the upper reclosable fastener 9 and the reclosable fastener 10 can be seen from FIGS. 3A and 4A.

[0045] Moreover, the front panel 1 and the back panel 2 are interconnected at a lower edges of the panels 1 and 2 by a bottom weld 12. Optionally, a standing base can be formed through appropriate folding or also by an inserted floor panel (not shown).

[0046] The longitudinal section of FIG. 3A shows the lower reclosable fastener 10 with its two interlocking profile strips 8 that each have a connecting section 8a and a connecting lip 8b. The two connecting lips 8b are attached by welds to the front panel 1, the lower reclosable fastener 10 being accessible only from the front panel 1 but covered there initially by a removable section 13 that can be torn out along a weakened tear line 14 that is closed and shaped like a flattened ellipse.

[0047] FIG. 3A also shows how the thermal weld 5 separates the upper compartment 6 from the lower compartment 7.

[0048] A comparison of FIG. 1 and FIG. 3A shows that the profile strips 8 of the lower reclosable fastener 10 end short of the longitudinal side edges of the panels 1 and 2 at a spacing from the welds 4 running in the longitudinal direction I along the longitudinal edges of the panels 1 and 2, so that making the welds 4 is not impeded by the profile strips 8 of the lower reclosable fastener 10.

[0049] FIG. 3B shows the arrangement according to FIG. 3A in a bag that has not yet been filled and sealed, the weld 5 not yet having been created. As can also be seen in the following with reference to FIG. 4B, the premade bag can be filled from above, with the lower compartment 7 being filled first, whereupon the weld 5 is made and then the upper compartment 6 is filled and finally the upper end of the bag is closed.

[0050] A comparison of FIGS. 1 and 2 shows how the side gussets 3 end at a spacing from the transversely extending upper edge of the front panel 1 at the top of the bag, the spacing typically being between 5 mm and 20 mm, for example 8 mm. The spacing is selected such that the ends of the side gussets 3 are covered by a connecting lip 8b of the front profile strip 8 of the upper reclosable fastener 9 and can thus be welded closed there.

[0051] In contrast, the connecting lip 8b of the other profile strip 8 is attached to inner face of the back panel 2 at its upper edge by a thermal weld, so that the upper reclosable fastener 9 forms a reclosable removal opening between the front panel 1 and the back panel 2.

[0052] Putting aside the fact that only the upper reclosable fastener 9 is provided with a slide 11 in the illustrated embodiment, the structural differences and the different functionality of the upper reclosable fastener 9 and lower reclosable fastener 10 can clearly be seen by comparing FIGS. 3A and 4B. Unlike the upper reclosable fastener 9, the lower reclosable fastener 10 is accessible only from the front panel 1. Accordingly, the upper reclosable fastener 9 can also be referred to as a top slider and the lower reclosable fastener 10 as a front zipper.

[0053] The upper compartment 6 and the lower compartment 7 can be opened by a user separately from one another as needed, and a portion of the filled product contained in each can be removed from them.

[0054] Optionally, the upper compartment and the lower compartment can also be separated from each other, to which end a weakened tear line 15 then runs centrally in the weld 5 so that the upper compartment 6 can be separated at the center of the weld 5 from the lower compartment 7.