SPOUT FORMING STRIP REMNANT

Abstract

A packet for viscous material includes a pouch that comprises an expressing-shaped first closure end and a second closure end and at least two opposing sidewalls. The closure ends and sidewalls define an enclosure. At least one closure end has an expressing shape and a separate rigid foldable flat cradles the pouch. The flat is of a material that is more rigid than the pouch. A spout-forming area separate from the pouch and the rigid foldable flat, is positioned on a rigid foldable flat side of the packet. The area is of intermediate rigidity or thickness to the pouch and the rigid foldable flat. The spout-forming area is derived as a remnant from a semi-rigid material strip that acts as a pouch-forming tacking strip during a pouch forming process. The spout-forming area reinforces at least a part of the pouch at the pouch expressing shape first closure end. The separate rigid foldable flat overlaps the spout-forming area to cradle the spout-forming area with the cradled pouch. A crease extends longitudinally in the flat and along the pouch to facilitate folding or rolling the more rigid flat to compress the pouch with the spout-forming area to express a content through the expressing-shaped first closure end.

Claims

1. A packet for viscous material, comprising: a pouch comprising: an expressing-shaped first closure end and a second closure end and at least two opposing sidewalls; the closure ends and sidewalls defining an enclosure, and at least one closure end comprising an expressing shape; a separate rigid foldable flat cradling the pouch and comprising a material that is more rigid than the pouch; and a spout-forming area separate from the pouch and the rigid foldable flat and positioned on a rigid foldable flat side of the packet and of intermediate rigidity or thickness to the pouch and the rigid foldable flat, wherein the spout-forming area is derived as a remnant from a semi-rigid material strip that acts as a pouch-forming tacking strip during a pouch forming process and wherein the spout-forming area reinforces at least a part of the pouch at the pouch expressing shape first closure end; and wherein the separate rigid foldable flat overlaps the spout-forming area to cradle the spout-forming area with the cradled pouch; and a crease extending longitudinally in the flat and along the pouch to facilitate folding or rolling the more rigid flat to compress the pouch with the spout-forming area to express content through the expressing-shaped first closure end.

2. The packet of claim 1, wherein the more rigid flat comprises a stiff paper, cardstock, fiberboard or thermoplastic material.

3. (canceled)

4. The packet of claim 1, wherein the more rigid flat comprises a fluted corrugated medium sandwiched between flat paper pieces.

5. (canceled)

6. (canceled)

7. The packet of claim 1, wherein the more rigid flat comprises the crease extending along the pouch between the two closure ends to facilitate folding or rolling the rigid flat and wherein the crease is a longitudinal divide in the rigid flat sections configured to form cradling compression surfaces against the enclosure.

8. (canceled)

9. The packet of claim 1, wherein the pouch comprises a multilayer polymer and aluminum layer laminate having a thickness between about 0.0045 and about 0.0075.

10. (canceled)

11. (canceled)

12. The packet of claim 1, wherein the more rigid flat comprises corrugated fiberboard having a thickness between about 0.045 and 0.065.

13. (canceled)

14. (canceled)

15. (canceled)

16. The packet of claim 1, comprising a funnel shapeable reinforcing material at an expressing end that forms a shape to facilitate expressing of the material as a bead.

17. The packet of claim 1, comprising a reinforcing material at the expressing-shaped closure end, wherein the reinforcing material is trapezoidal-shaped with slanted sides toward the expressing closure end to form a tapered nozzle when folded or rolled with the rigid flat.

18. The packet of claim 1, comprising a reinforcing material at an expressing end that forms a funnel-shape to facilitate expressing of the material as a bead wherein the reinforcing material is a shaped area comprising high density polyethylene (HDPE) having a thickness between about 0.012 and 0.018 inches.

19. The packet of claim 1, comprising a reinforcing material at an expressing end that forms a funnel-shape to facilitate expressing of the material as a bead wherein the reinforcing material is a shaped area comprising high density polyethylene (HDPE) having a thickness about 0.015 inches.

20. The packet of claim 1, comprising a reinforcing material at an expressing end wherein the more rigid fiat is substantially more rigid than the pouch and rigidity of the reinforcing material is intermediate between that of the pouch and that of the material.

21. (canceled)

22. (canceled)

23. (canceled)

24. (canceled)

25. (canceled)

26. (canceled)

27. The packet of claim 1, comprising a pouch having dimensions of 20 cm to 4 cm by 15 cm to 2 cm with a filled thickness of 0.5 cm to 2 cm.

28. (canceled)

29. (canceled)

30. The packet of claim 1, comprising a pouch holding an amount of caulk sealant portioned or measured to seal an identified job.

31. (canceled)

32. (canceled)

33. (canceled)

34. (canceled)

35. A method of forming and filling a squeezable package, the method comprising: directing a web of flexible film and a semi-rigid strip in a machine direction; folding the web of film to have a pair of opposing walls having a front wall and a back wall and positioning the strip between the front and back wall; selectively sealing a first opposing wall to the strip but not a second of the opposing walls to form an opening; removing sections from the folded web of film to provide multiple pouches connected at an upper portion thereof; separating the connected pouches from the web of film to provide at least one individual pouch with an upper opening; filling an interior section of the at least one individual pouch through the upper opening of the at least one pouch with a flowable material; sealing the second opposing wall to the strip to close the opening; and removing a non-linear section in the upper portion of the pouch to form the squeezable package having a trapezoid-shaped inner section derived as a remnant from the strip.

36. (canceled)

37. (canceled)

38. The method of claim 35, comprising identifying melt temperature of the web of film and selectively attaching the strip to only one of the opposing walls by controlling heating to the identified melt temperature of one of opposing walls of the pair to define an opening between upper edges of the opposing walls.

39. The method of claim 1, wherein the semi-rigid strip is high density polyethylene and the web of film is linear low density polyethylene.

40. The method of claim 1 wherein temperature applied to one wall is about 265 F. to about 340 F. and to the opposing wall is 72 F. to about 100 F.

41. The method of claim 1 wherein temperature applied to one wall is about 310 F. to about 330 F. and to the opposing wall is at about ambient.

42. folding the more rigid flat to express the sealant from the packet to an exterior.

43. A kit, comprising: an enclosure; a plurality of sealed packets contained within the enclosure, at least one packet comprising a pouch comprising: an expressing-shaped first closure end and a second closure end and at least two opposing sidewalls; the closure ends and sidewalls defining an enclosure, and at least one closure end comprising an expressing shape; a separate rigid foldable flat cradling the pouch and comprising a material that is more rigid than the pouch; wherein the pouch comprises a spout-forming area separate from the pouch and the rigid foldable flat and positioned on a rigid foldable flat side of the packet and of intermediate rigidity or thickness to the pouch and the rigid foldable flat, wherein the spout-forming area is derived as a remnant from a semi-rigid material strip that acts as a pouch-forming tacking strip during a pouch forming process and wherein the spout-forming area reinforces at least a part of the pouch at the pouch expressing shape first closure end; and wherein the separate rigid foldable flat overlaps the spout-forming area to cradle the spout-forming area with the cradled pouch; and a crease extending longitudinally in the flat and along the pouch to facilitate folding or rolling the more rigid flat to compress the pouch with the spout-forming area to express a content through the expressing-shaped first closure end; and a sealant contained within the at least one pouch.

44. (canceled)

45. (canceled)

46. (canceled)

47. (canceled)

48. (canceled)

49. (canceled)

50. (canceled)

51. (canceled)

52. (canceled)

53. (canceled)

59. (canceled)

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

[0016] FIGS. 1 and 2 are schematic perspective views of a packet, front and back;

[0017] FIG. 3 is a cut-away view through A-A of the FIG. 2 packet;

[0018] FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the packet, showing structures that comprise the packet;

[0019] FIG. 5 is a schematic elevation of an apparatus for forming and filling a flexible package;

[0020] FIGS. 6 and 7, are schematic perspective views of stages or stations of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

[0021] FIGS. 8A, 8B, 9A, 9B, 9B, 9D, 10A and 10B are schematic illustrations of functions of stages or stations of the apparatus of FIG. 1; and

[0022] FIGS. 11, 12, 13, 14,15 and 16 are schematic perspective views of use of the packet; and

[0023] FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a kit and FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a kit with a plurality of packets.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0024] The term sealant as used herein includes an entire variety of caulks including silicones, latex and acrylic caulk; filler compounds; adhesive or mastic-type materials, such as stucco, concrete and cementious-material patching and crack filling compounds; gasketing compounds; gutter, flashing, skylight, or fish tank seam or sealant compounds; butyl or rubber sealants, cements and caulk; roof cements; panel and construction adhesives; glazing compounds and caulks; gutter and lap sealants; silica gel-based firebrick, masonry and ceramic crack fillers and cements; silicone-based glues; ethylene glycol-containing latex glazing compounds; and the like.

[0025] One preferred sealant is an organopolysiloxane room temperature vulcanizable (RTV) composition. The room temperature vulcanizable silicone elastomer composition can contain a silanol stopped base polymer or elastomer, reinforcing and/or extending filler, cross-linking silane and cure catalyst. These RTV compositions are prepared by mixing diorganopolysiloxanes having reactive end groups with organosilicon compounds that possess at least three hydrolyzably reactive moieties per molecule. The known RTV compositions are widely used as elastic sealing materials for applications involving the gaps between various joints such as: gaps between the joints of structures; joints between structural bodies and building materials in buildings; gaps between a bathtub and wall or floor; cracks on tiles in bathrooms; gaps in the bathroom such as those around the washbasin and those between a washbasin supporting board and a wall; gaps around a kitchen sink and the vicinity; spacings between panels in automobiles, railroad vehicles, airplanes and ships; gaps between prefabricated panels in various electric appliances, machines; and the like. Room temperature vulcanizable silicone sealants thus may be utilized in a wide variety of caulking and sealing applications.

[0026] Features of the invention will become apparent from the drawings and following detailed discussion, which by way of example without limitation describe preferred embodiments of the invention.

[0027] FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 illustrate an embodiment of the invention. FIGS. 1 and 2 are schematic perspective views of a packet, front and back and FIG. 3 is a cut-away view through A-A of the FIGS. 1 and 2 packet. FIG. 1 is a front view of the packet 10. FIG. 2 is a frontal perspective of the packet 10. FIG. 3 is a cut away side view of the packet 10. FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the packet 10, showing upper and lower walls, 18, 20 that form pouch 12, flat 14 and trapezoid-shaped area 16 of rigid or thicker material than the material making up the walls 18, 20.

[0028] The packet 10 comprises a pouch 12 of plastic or foil film, a rigid flat 14 comprising a more rigid or thicker material than the pouch 12 film and the trapezoid-shaped area 16. The area 16 comprises a shaped material of intermediate thickness and rigidity between that of the material of the pouch 12 film and the material of the flat 14. In the embodiment shown in the figures, area 16 is trapezoidal-shaped with slanted sides from the sidewalls of the flat 14 toward the packet tip end 20. The trapezoid-shaped area 16 forms a tapered nozzle as shown in FIGs. 13, 14 and 15 when folded or rolled with the rigid flat 14.

[0029] The pouch 12 can be heat-sealed or otherwise cradled to the flat 14 as shown in FIG. 3 and FIGS. 12-15. A first closure end 22 of pouch 12 forms an expressing shape tip 24. In FIGS. 1, 3 and 5, the more rigid flat 14 has crease 26 that can be a fold or score running along the longitudinal axis of the more rigid flat 14 from first closure end 22 to a second closure end 28. The crease 26 is marked into the flat 14 surface to facilitate longitudinal folding of the packet 10, as hereinafter described. The crease 26 can be a pressed, folded, wrinkled, embossed line or score. The crease 26 can run generally longitudinal to a long axis of the packet 10 from one end 28 of the packet 10 toward the tip end 22.

[0030] The packet 10 further includes a semicircular-shaped tear tab 30 to facilitate opening closure end 22.

[0031] The crease 26 promotes longitudinal folding of opposite rigid flat sections against the pouch 12 to compress the pouch 12 to express sealant 24 from the pouch 12 interior. The more rigid flat 14 comprises a rigid or conformable surface that is configured to form cradling compression surfaces against pouch 12 when folded by a force applied to opposite sections of rigid flat 14 as hereinafter described. The more rigid flat 14 can be a flat comprising any material that is more inflexible or rigid than the pouch 12 material. S shown in 4, trapezoid-shaped area 16 on the rigid flat 14 side of the packet 10 comprises a shaped strip of intermediate thickness and rigidity between the material of the pouch 12 and the material of the flat 14.

[0032] Materials suitable for pouch 12 include single layer, co-extruded or laminated film or foil. The pouch 12 material can be impermeable or only slightly permeable to water vapor and oxygen to assure content viability. For example, the film can have a moisture vapor transport rate (MVTR, ASTM D3833) of less than 10 g/day/m.sup.2. In an embodiment, the MVTR of the film is less than 5 g/day/m.sup.2 and preferably less than 1 g/day/m.sup.2 and most preferably of less than 0.5 g/day/m.sup.2. Preferably the material has a permeability rating of 1 or lower. Suitable film materials include a plastic film, such as low-density polyethylene or other thermoplastic or foil film material such as polypropylene, polystyrene or poly-ethylene-terephtalate. The foil is a thin, flexible leaf or sheet of metal such as aluminum foil for example. The pouch 12 film can be of various thicknesses. The film thickness can be between 10 and 150 m, preferably between 15 and 120 m, more preferably between 20 and 100 m, even more preferably between 25 and 80 m and most preferably between 30 and 40 m.

[0033] In one embodiment, the film is a polyethylene and bioriented polypropylene coextruded film. An aluminum foil is a preferred pouch 12 film material. Suitable foil can be derived from aluminum prepared in thin sheets with a thickness less than 0.2 mm/0.008 in, although much thinner gauges down to 0.006 mm can be used. A suitable foil can comprise a laminate with other materials such as a plastic or paper.

[0034] The more rigid flat 14 comprises a substantially rigid substrate with a fold-imparting crease 26 or a substantially conformal substrate that can be rolled or folded against the pouch 12. The rolling or folding compresses the pouch 12 to cause sealant 24 to be expressed from pouch 12 interior through a nozzle 24 formed at the end 22. The material of the more rigid flat 14 is substantially inflexible and less compliant than the material of top film 12. In this application, the term rigid means having the physical property of being stiff and resistant to bending. In an embodiment, the bottom material 14 is more rigid as measured in accordance with a Taber Stiffness method such as the ASTM D1044 Taber test.

[0035] The flat 14 can comprise a suitable material such as cardboard, paperboard, corrugated board and any wood-based type of paper or rigid or semi-rigid plastic sheet material. Cardstock is a suitable more rigid material. Cardstock thickness is often described by pound weight. Pound weight is the weight of 500, 20 by 26 sheets. In the US, cardstock thickness is usually measured in points or mils that gives the thickness of the sheet in thousanths of an inch. For example, a 10 pt. more rigid flat is 0.010 inches thick; 12 pt. is 0.012 inches.

[0036] The flat 14 can comprise a combination of paperboards, usually two flat pieces of paper and one inner fluted corrugated medium. Further suitable more rigid flat materials include stiff paper, cardboard, pasteboard or paperboard including corrugated paperboard and polyethylene such as 0.0015 inch high density polyethylene. The more rigid flat 14 can comprise a substantially rigid material such as a thermoplastic, for example ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene). One preferred flat 14 material is a paperboard that is 10 mils or 0.010 inches in thickness or greater.

[0037] Corrugated fiberboard is a preferred material for flat 14. Corrugated fiberboard has two main components: a linerboard and a medium. Both can be made of a heavy paper called containerboard. Linerboard is a flat facing that adheres to the medium. The medium is typically an inner fluted corrugated material. The corrugated board can be one medium glued to one flat sheet of linerboard, a medium between two sheets of linerboard and even three sheets of linerboard with two mediums between. The fluted medium forms rigid arched columns that can resist bending and pressure from all directions. It has been found that a corrugated board serves especially well as a flat to cradle a sealant-filled pouch to aid in expressing sealant as hereinafter described with reference to FIGS. 12 through 16.

[0038] In embodiments, the pouch 12 comprises a multilayer polymer laminate along with an aluminum layer having a thickness between about 0.0045 and about 0.0065, preferably about 0.0055 inches. The area 16 comprises high density polyethylene (HDPE) having a thickness between about 0.012 and 0.018 inches, preferably about 0.015 inches. The rigid material 14 comprises corrugated fiberboard having a thickness between about 0.045 and 0.060, preferably between 0.050 and 0.055 inches.

[0039] The suitable pouch 12, flat 14 and area 16 materials can be subject to the proviso that the rigidity of the flat 14 material is greater than that of the pouch 12 material and the rigidity of area 16 material is intermediate between that of the pouch 12 and that of the flat 14 materials.

[0040] FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of a preferred embodiment of the invention showing modules of an apparatus 110 for forming and filling a flexible package. The apparatus 110 includes a forming stage 112 and a filling/final stage 114. FIG. 5 shows an in-feed module 122 that directs a web of film 156 and a semi-rigid material strip 176 in a machine processing direction to a first pouch forming stage 124. It is an aspect of the invention, that pouch area 16, which is trapezoidal-shaped in the embodiment of the drawings, is derived from semi-rigid material strip 176 as hereinafter described in detail.

[0041] In further reference to FIG. 5, the apparatus 110 includes a gusset-forming station 126 that folds the web of film 156 to the semi-rigid material strip 176 so that the semi-rigid strip is between a pair of opposing film walls; a rocker arm tacking station 128 that attaches the strip to one of the pair of opposing walls; sealing stations 130 and 132 that sequentially seal opposing walls of the web of film together at spaced sealing regions to form pouches between the sealed regions; first cooling station 134 and bottom die cutter 136 to form a gusseted pouch blank. Feed roller 138 feeds the gusseted pouch blank to filling/final stage 114. Filling/final stage 114 includes inflating station 140 where the pouch is blown open, fill station 142 to fill the pouch with product, de-airing station 144 that removes air from the filled pouch, first top seal station 146 that applies a first seal, second top seal station 148 that applies a second seal, second cooling station 150 to cool the pouch, top die cutter station 152 to cut top blank material from the pouch and pick off area 154.

[0042] The apparatus 110 produces pouches from a continuous web of material 156. FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 show sections of in-feed module 122 of the apparatus 110. Referring to FIG. 5, FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, a roll of web laminate 156 is rotatably connected by means of reel 158. The reel 158 is driven by the same motor (not shown) as the drive of reel 180 (hereinafter described) to apply the same tension to laminate 156 as to the semi-rigid material 176. The web 156 is fed from reel 158 via rack 160 that includes pinion 162 that is controlled by idler shaft 164 to apply a tension to rollers 166, as shown in FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B. The web 156 is threaded over the tension rollers 166 to first pouch forming stage 124 that includes plow assembly 168 (shown in detail in FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B) for folding the web 156 to form side panels 170 joined at a common bottom edge 172. The upper pouch forming wall 118 can be pleated to allow for an increased volume of a sealant 124.

[0043] FIG. 5, FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 show an in-feed module 174. Shown is a spool of semi-rigid material strip 176. In one embodiment, the semi-rigid material strip 176 can be a high density polyethylene or co-extrusion of metallocene and high density polyethylene. The semi-rigid material strip 176 is fed as a strip from reel 180 over idler 182 via rack 184 and pinion 186 assembly (shown in FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B) via constant tension rollers 188 to first pouch forming stage 124. The reel 180 may be driven by a dedicated unwind motor (not shown) for varying an unwind speed or as in the embodiment, driven with the same motor together with web 156.

[0044] FIG. 8A shows a rack 190 and pinion 192 to feed web laminate 156 and FIG. 8B shows a rack 194 and pinion 196 to feed semi-rigid material strip 176. Rack 190 and pinion 192 include downward biasing spring 198. The spring loaded rack 194 bobs up and to down so that the feed roller 138 imparts a constant tension under periodic transient feed motion to web 156. Pinion 196 includes bottom % biasing spring 200 (weak spring) that follows the periodic feed motion imparted to web 156. The pinion 196 is preloaded at the top with weights 202. The spring 200 and weight 202 combination biases the rack away from the material strip 176 to avoid a harsh back-pressure tug on the feeding material strip 176.

[0045] Gusset-forming station 126 folds the web of film 156 to the semi-rigid strip 176 so that the semi-rigid strip 176 is between a pair of opposing film walls; rocker arm tacking station 128 attaches the strip 176 to one of the pair of opposing film walls; sealing stations 130 and 132 sequentially seal opposing walls of the web of film together at spaced sealing regions to form pouches between the sealed regions; and first cooling station 134 and bottom die cutter 136 form a gusseted pouch blank. Feed roller 138 feeds the gusseted pouch blank to filling final stage 114. Filling final stage 14 includes inflating station 140 where a pouch is blown open, fill station 142 to fill the pouch with product, de-airing station 144 that removes air from the filled pouch, first top seal station 146 that applies a first seal, second top seal station 148, second cooling station 150 to cool the pouch, top die cutter station 152 to cut top blank material from the pouch to form a narrowed neck adjacent a first closure end of the pouch blank 210 and pick off area 154.

[0046] FIG. 9A shows functioning of gusset forming station 126 including HDPE idler 204, vertical crease bars 206 and gusset-forming plow 168. Web laminate 156 is oriented to the vertical so that imprinting on the web laminate 56 is to the top vertical. The strip 176 is twisted from horizontal feed to a vertical feed. The laminate 156 is then folded bottom to top against the strip 176 to form a pouch blank 210. The plow 168 then forms a W-shaped laminate bottom edge by supporting the pouch blank 210 at upper lines on either pouch blank side and imposing into a middle line between the lower supported lines to form a gusset shape or roughly W-shaped cross section. Then, the supported W-shape is creased through vertical crease bars 206 to form blank 210 shown in FIG. 98.

[0047] The FIG. 9B blank 210 next is conveyed to rocker arm tacking station 128 as shown in FIG. 5. Details of the tacking station are shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B. FIG. 10A is a side elevation view of the rocker arm tacking station 128 and FIG. 10B is an exploded, perspective view of the station 128 and lower guide 226. In FIG. 10A and FIG. 10B, the station 128 includes upper heated bar 216 and upper cooler bar 218. A guide bar (not shown) can hold the blank semi-rigid strip 176 that forms blank 210 (FIG. 9B) for back side tacking to web laminate 156. Guide 226 maintains the pouch gusset and prevents web laminate 156 from sagging.

[0048] Referring again to FIG. 5, a succession of flexible packages is formed and filled by in-feeding a web laminate 156 and semi-rigid material strip 176 in parallel to a first pouch forming stage 124. The web 156 is folded at first pouch forming stage 124 into have a pair of opposing walls with the semi-rigid strip 176 held in between ends of the folded web 156 walls. The semi-rigid strip 176 is attached to one of the formed opposing walls. A gusset can be formed in the folded web 156 bottom at gusset-forming station 126. Then the opposing walls of the web of film 156 are sealed together at spaced sealing regions at sealing stations 130 and 132 to form pouches between the sealed regions. At top die cutter station 152, a section of the sealing regions is removed at a lower portion to provide multiple pouches connected at an upper portion. Then the pouches can be separated from the folded web of film 156 to provide an individual pouch and an interior section of the individual pouch can be filled with a flowable material through an opening in the upper portion of the pouch. Or conversely, the pouches can first be filled and then separated to provide the individual pouches.

[0049] A top sealed region is formed at first top seal station 146 and second top seal station 148 to close the opening in the pouch where the pouch was filled. A portion of the top sealed region can then be removed at top die cutter station 152 to form a plurality of final filled flexible pouches of the type identified as 12 in FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4

[0050] The removal also forms an interior trapezoid-shaped piece, identified as 16 in FIGs. 1, 2, 3 and 4. Packet 10 is then formed by sealing (not shown) pouch 12 onto flat 14. FIGs. 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 are schematic perspective views illustrating a use of the packet 10. In FIG. 11, the packet 10 is held in one hand while opened with the other hand by tearing away tab 30 as illustrated. In applying a viscous material such as a caulk, the packet 10 can be grasped by hand with pouch 12 side up as shown in FIG. 12. Thumb 32 and second finger 34 are located on opposing edges 36, 38 of the more rigid flat 14. Index finger 40 is impressed against pouch 12 toward crease 26 to commence folding of more rigid flat 14. With the force applied by thumb 32 and second finger 34 to opposing edges 36, 38, the packet 10 begins to fold along crease 26. Folding can be facilitated by a user imposing the length of index finger 40 against the pouch 12 while the side force is applied by thumb 32 and second finger 34 as shown in FIG. 12. In this example, more rigid flat 14 comprises a substantially rigid material with planar face underlying the pouch 12 that cradles the pouch 12 as more rigid flat 14 is folded along crease 26 as shown in FIG. 13.

[0051] As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the folding drives enclosed sealant 24 from within pouch 12 up through tip-shaped first closure end 20 as shown in FIG. 13. Initially, the sealant 24 can be contained within the pouch 12 of the packet 10 and the shaped area 16 will be flat and devoid of sealant 24. But, as the packet 10 is folded and pressed as shown in FIG. 13, the sealant is forced into area 16. The area 16 is derived from semi-rigid strip 176 during the forming and filling process described with reference to FIGS. 5-10 as described above. As the packet is folded, area 16 forms the expressing tip shape 24.

[0052] The substantially rigid structure formed from the folding of two sides of the packet 10 can be firmly held and guided to express a controlled sealant bead 218 from area 16 as shown in FIGS. 13, 14 and 15. The area 16 is shaped to allow sealant to fill the rest of the tip and flow from the tip. The area 16 can be shaped to an appropriate bead size, for example, .sup.th inch in diameter. A user can further regulate bead size by applied pressure and speed as illustrated in FIGS. 13, 14 and 15. Once sealant bead 218 has been applied and the pouch 12 voided of material, the empty packet 10 can be discarded as illustrated in FIG. 16.

[0053] FIG. 17 and FIG. 18 illustrate an embodiment of the invention wherein a plurality of packets 10 are provided in a kit 50. The kit 50 includes an enclosure 52, which is a box-shaped structure with a punch-out section 54 comprises a wall section 56 of the box with extending fingers 58 having securing tab ends 60 defined on either side of the enclosure 52. The punch-out section 54 is defined into the structure 52 by serrated embossing that is separated from the enclosure structure 52 and folded outwardly to present the enclosure 52 contents as shown in FIG. 18. The enclosure 52 is sealed at the top for transportation but the top can be removed to further present the kit 50 packet 10 content as shown in FIG. 18. The contents comprise a plurality of packets 10. The plurality of packets 10 can be the same shape or a variety of shapes or the same size or a variety of sizes, for example 8 cm6 cm or 4 cm by 2 cm to provide measured amounts of sealant for a variety of jobs. The kit 50 provides a variety of sized packets 10 so that one packet 10 can be selected to match the requirements of any particular job.

[0054] A selected packet 10 from a kit of the invention can provide a desired amount of sealant for any particular job. No caulk gun is needed to apply the sealant. Indeed, no extra tools or materials are needed. The packet is relatively small and easily maneuverable to apply an appropriate bead. Appropriately sized beads can be formed as trapezoid-shaped area 16 folds into a tip shape to express a desired bead. In this respect, the shaped area 16 is multifunctional. The area 16 is derived as a remnant of semi-rigid material strip 176 that acts as a tacking structure to form pouch 12 during the pouch manufacturing process. The packet requires little application of force for dispensing and in most instances, sealant can be fully dispensed by one hand. Saving left over caulk is eliminated. Both kit and packet packaging are inexpensive.

EXAMPLES

[0055] In this evaluation, each user squeezed a caulk-containing packet with one hand. Users then rated the packets on accurate dispensing, percent of dispensing and ease of use. The packets were evaluated accordingly and also according to manufacturability and cost.

Example 1

[0056] This EXAMPLE describes a series of iterative evaluations of packet samples to determine a best more rigid material.

[0057] First, a range of materials including a paperboard, plastic sheet and corrugated fiberboard were evaluated for output performance. Sample paperboard thickness was varied from approximately 0.010 to 0.100; a high density polyethylene sheet (HDPE) was varied in thickness from approximately 0.005 to 0.100; and a corrugated fiberboard corrugation was varied from B flute to N flute.

[0058] User ratings determined that a paperboard with a thickness less than approximately 0.080 did not have sufficient stiffness for acceptable dispensing and ease of use. A thicker paperboard gave improved performance results but was rated unacceptable because of bulky feel. Thinner HDPE samples below 0.040 in thickness, were rated unacceptable because of insufficient stiffness. Thicker HDPE samples showed improved performance but increased cost.

[0059] Performance for corrugated fiberboard was best in the E- and F-flute range. The letter designation relates to flute size or refers to the number of flutes per lineal foot. An E-flute has 90+/4 flutes per lineal foot and a flute thickness of 1/16 inch and an F-flute has 128+/4 flutes per lineal foot and a flute thickness of 1/32 inch. The E-fluted and F-fluted corrugated fiberboard packets had a single handed use dispensing percentage of approximately 80% and greater. The E-flute corrugated fiberboards also received the best ease of use ratings.

Example 2

[0060] Another series of tests was conducted to determine a best performing packet in terms of sealant bead shape. A standard bead was defined as a deposit of sealant with a circular cross section.

[0061] First tested packets had only a top film pouch and thicker bottom material sidewall. The thicker material sidewall was folded to form a nozzle. However, the nozzles formed from the folded sidewall were flexible and formed a non-uniform bead. A bead cross section would initiate in a shape of a thin horizontal diamond. Then later in the dispensing, the bead cross section would be formed in the unacceptable shape of a thin vertical diamond. Furthermore, the top film tended to form sharper folds and creases at the nozzle, making the cross section less uniform.

[0062] In the tests of this EXAMPLE, a semi-rigid material was added to one sidewall adjacent to the packet tip end. In these EXAMPLES, when the more rigid material sidewall was folded along its longitudinal axis to squeeze the pouch, the semi-rigid material bent in a controlled manner to a substantially U-expressing shape. The U-expressing shape ensured that one half of the cross section was more uniform and round and constrained edges of the flexible sidewall to provide a uniform and round expressed bead.

Example 3

[0063] 3HDPE was selected as a cost-acceptable material for a top film pouch. The HDPE was found to adhere to the rigid foldable sidewall material. In expressing tests, the HDPE materials cooperated with the U-expressing shape in forming a desirable cross section bead. Optimum HDPE was determined through a series of experiments on 0.005 to 0.030 thick HDPE. A 0.015 thickness was found to have the best performance of that range of materials in forming bead cross section.

Example 4

[0064] a linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), melting point 248 F., 0.009 to 0.10 mm thick material was used as the web laminate 56 material and an HDPE material, melting point 266 F., 0.008 to 0.10 mm thick (HDPE) was used as the semi-rigid strip 176. The tacking station 128 included lower gusset seal bars 124 that sealed the lower gusseted end of the blank pouch. Upper heating bar 116 was heated to about 319 F. Cool air from a cooling tube blows on an inner side of the upper cool bar 128 to maintain one side of the cool bar 118 at approximately ambient (72 F.), a lower temperature than the approximate 319 F. heated side of the heated bar 16. Then, sealing of one wall to the laminate 56 is accomplished by selective heating and pressuring according to the heat capacities, thicknesses of the wall and strip and dwell time of the heating/cooling application In the example, the temperature differential between bars 116, 118 along with a tacking pressure (0.2 to 10.0 pounds/in.sup.2) and dwell time (0.5 to 8 seconds), prevents the seal from entirely closing the blank so that the blank can be filled with product at a later station. In this embodiment, the heating bar 116 can be at a temperature from about 265 F. to about 340 F., preferably at a temperature from about 310 F. to about 330 F. and the temperature of bar 118 can be at a temperature from about 72 F. to about 100 F., preferably at about ambient.

[0065] In a method to form a squeezable package with adjusting relative temperatures at a rocker arm tacking station 128, a blank is advanced through a sealing section of the apparatus 110 in which a number of pouch forming operations take place. FIG. 5 shows sealing section 130 and sealing station 132. The two sealing sections divide side seal tasks into two separate operations. This overcomes any problem with variation in the strip 176 location, which otherwise could result in an improper sealing of the web laminate 156 to the strip 176.

[0066] Referring again to FIG. 5, at cooling station 34, 40 C. water flows through sides of a cooling tool to properly cool blank 210 to allow shearing of web laminate 56. Blank 210 is shaped at bottom die cutter 136. The pouch blank 210 is inflated at inflation station 40 and filled with product at fill station 142. Here, vacuum suction cups can be applied to an outer surface of opposing walls of the pouch 210 to hold the pouch open while filling. Air is removed from the pouch blank 210 at de-airing station 144. The blank 210 is top sealed at first top seal station 146 and second top seal station 48 and cooled at second cooling station 150.

[0067] In an embodiment, apparatus 10 can be used to produce a strip of multiple pouches. In this embodiment, a portion of sealed regions at a lower portion can be removed to provide multiple pouches connected by at an upper portion. The connected pouches can be separated at connecting web 56 to provide individual 14 pouches. Interiors of the individual pouches can be filled with flowable material through an opening in an upper portion of the pouch. Then, a top sealed region of the pouch can be closed and excess material removed from the top region by a die cutter to form a shaped spout area tapering toward the top sealed opening with a portion of the semi-rigid material strip adjacent the sealed opening to reinforce the opening.

[0068] In an embodiment, a pouch produced by apparatus 110, can be applied to a flat or card and filled with a sealant such as a caulk, to form a package, for example, a flexible package according to FIGS. 1, 2,3 and 4.

[0069] In this application, a pouch is a bag or container to hold material. A package a packet or container bundle that may include a pouch. FIGS. 7 and 8 are schematic perspective views of a flexible package, front and back and FIG. 9 is a cut-away view through A-A of the FIGS. 7 and 8 flexible package. The figures show the flexible package 210 comprising a pouch 212 supported by a foldable flat 214. The size of fillable flexible package 210 can vary, but in some embodiments can be about 205 cm by 153 cm or smaller.

[0070] The fillable flexible packet 10 comprises pouch 12 of plastic or foil film formed from web laminate 156 in the forming method described above. The pouch 12 further includes flat 14 comprising a more rigid or thicker material than the pouch 12 film and a spout-forming area 16 on the rigid flat 14 side of the fillable flexible packet 10. The area 16 comprises a shaped semi-rigid material of intermediate thickness and rigidity between that of the material of the film 12 and the material of the pouch 12. The rigidity can be imparted from the section of semi-rigid strip 176 that is used in the forming process to tack web laminate 156. In the embodiment shown in the figures, area 16 is trapezoidal-shaped with slanted sides from the rigid material sidewall toward the tip end 24 that forms a tapered nozzle 24 when folded or rolled with the rigid flat 14. In forming packet 10, the flat or back card 14, can be folded to bow the semi-rigid material 176 behind shaped area 16 to define an arcuate outlet adjacent an opening at the first closure end 20.

[0071] The fillable pouch 12 further includes a semicircular-shaped tear tab 30 to facilitate opening at the tip 24. The top film can be pleated to allow for an increased volume of a sealant and the bottom can comprise a gusset to accommodate an increased amount of fill material.

[0072] The pouch 12 can be heat-sealed or otherwise cradled to the flat 14 as shown in FIG. 13 and FIG. 14. A first closure end of pouch 12 forms an expressing shape tip 24. The more rigid flat 14 has crease 26 that can be a fold or score running along the longitudinal axis of the more rigid flat 14 from tip 24 to a second closure end 28. The crease 26 is marked into the flat 14 surface to facilitate longitudinal folding of the fillable flexible packet 10. The crease 26 can be a pressed, folded, wrinkled, embossed line or score. The crease 26 can run generally longitudinal to a long axis of the fillable flexible packet 10 from one end of the fillable flexible packet 10 toward the tip end 24. The crease 26 promotes longitudinal folding of opposite rigid flat sections against the pouch 12 to compress the pouch 12 to express sealant from the pouch 12 interior. The more rigid flat 14 comprises a rigid or conformable surface that is configured to form cradling compression surfaces against pouch 12 when folded by a force applied to rigid flat 14 opposite sections. The more rigid flat 14 can be a flat comprising any material that is more inflexible or rigid than the pouch 12 material. An area 16 (from semi-rigid material strip 176) along a top interior portion of pouch 12 at area 16, comprises a shaped strip of intermediate thickness and rigidity between the material of the pouch 22 and the material of the flat 14.

[0073] Materials suitable for pouch 12 include single layer, co-extruded or laminated film or foil. Preferably the material has a permeability rating of 1 or lower. Suitable film materials include a plastic film, such as low-density polyethylene or other thermoplastic or foil film material such as polypropylene, polystyrene or polyethylene-terephthalate. The foil is a thin, flexible leaf or sheet of metal such as aluminum foil for example. In one embodiment, the film is a polyethylene and bi-oriented polypropylene co-extruded film. An aluminum foil is a preferred pouch 12 film material. Suitable foil can be derived from aluminum prepared in thin sheets 16 with a thickness less than 0.2 mm/0.008 in, although much thinner gauges down to 0.006 mm can be used. A suitable foil can comprise a laminate with other materials such as a plastic or paper.

[0074] The pouch 12 material can be impermeable or only slightly permeable to water vapor and oxygen to assure content viability. For example, the film can have a moisture vapor transport rate (MVTR, ASTM D3833) of less than 10 g/day/m.sup.2. In an embodiment, the MVTR of the film is less than 5 g/day/m.sup.2 and preferably less than 1 g/day/m2 and most preferably of less than 0.5 g/day/m.sup.2. The pouch 212 film can be of various thicknesses. The film thickness can be between 10 and 150 m, preferably between 15 and 120 m, more preferably between 20 and 100 m, even more preferably between 25 and 80 m and most preferably between 30 and 40 m. In an embodiment, the pouch 12 comprises a bi-axle oriented nylon (print layer), adhesive and a PET layer adhered to a liner low density polyethylene film.

[0075] While preferred embodiments of the invention have been described, the present invention is capable of variation and modification and therefore should not be limited to the precise details of the Examples. The invention includes changes and alterations that fall within the purview of the following claims.