FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention relates to fluid pouches for the packaging and storage of fluids with innovative seals. The pouches are spill-proof and re-closable. The pouches are useful for the packaging of fluids like liquid soaps, semi-solids in general.
BACKGROUND
Fluid pouches (also referred to as sachets or bags) are used for packaging a variety of products used in our day to day lives. These pouches or liquid packages or fluid packages or containers are manufactured for single use. This mode of use usually leads to plastic waste, which gets accumulated and may or may not be recycled. Most of the pouches and packaging is done on form-fill-seal (FFS) machines.
Pouches are made of seals that have the strength to resist any damage during transportation, storage, and handling. In general the spouts/nozzles of pouches are sealed using various types or methods such as mechanical seals which comprise of threading or such to be enclosed by a cap, self-closable pouches ordinarily formed by heat sealing of plastic films, zipper pouches sealed by the help of zippers which seal along a pre-determined path along the top of the package or spout.
The above described methods of packaging and sealing of pouches are expensive and inefficient and also result in a huge amount of plastic pollution. The pouches containing fluid need to be opened to empty or access their contents. However, some pouches are difficult to open, either because of being sealed by heat which is very strong or due to the high tensile strength of the plastic film used for packaging. The accessibility is further deprived when the pouch or the hands of the user are wet, which leads to the need of scissor or knife which are not always available which leads to the user attempting to open the pouch by force which is usually disproportionate, and the pouch gets ripped apart or possibly the contents get spilled out.
Hence, an improved fluid storage pouch is required to address the above problems which the present invention aims to solve with the help of a fluid storage pouch the contents of which are easily accessible and the packaging is technical enough to avoid accidental spills and to provide better packaged and durable pouches for fluid packaging with access to multiple use.
SUMMARY and OBJECTIVES
It is an object of the present invention to provide a solution relating to innovative seal designs in fluid pouches which are spill-proof and re-closable.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a fluid packaging means for storing fluid products with considerable amount of viscosity like handwash, dishwash, shampoo, etc.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a fluid pouch which is re-usable.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a fluid storage pouch the contents of which are easily accessible.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an innovative seal design which works in adherence to the concepts of surface tension, viscosity and capillary action.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a fluid storage pouch which is environment friendly and will decrease the use of plastic packaging for fluids, thus decreasing the pollution caused by single use fluid pouches.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a fluid storage pouch which is inexpensive to manufacture and replace the widely used travel pack rigid containers.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method to manufacture the fluid storage pouch with the features as stated above in any shape, size or configuration depending on the purpose and nature of use.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above-mentioned objectives, the features along with the advantages of which the invention is capable will be apparent and elucidated from the following description of non-limiting embodiments of the present invention, reference being made to the accompanying drawing wherein:
Fig. 1 represents a perspective view of the pouch.
Fig.2 represents another perspective view of the pouch.
Fig. 3 represents the perspective view of the pouch when filled with contents.
Fig. 4 represents the perspective view of the pouch with respect to its working.
Fig. 5 represents the flow chart describing the steps to manufacture the pouch.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings, where like numerals reference like elements, are intended as a description of various embodiments of the disclosed subject matter and are not intended to represent the only embodiments. Each embodiment described in this disclosure is provided merely as an example or illustration and should not be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. The illustrative examples provided herein are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise forms disclosed. Similarly, any steps described herein may be interchangeable with other steps, or combinations of steps, in order to achieve the same or substantially similar result.

The features and working of the of the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings in order for those skilled in the art to be able to carry out the invention. The invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein.

Reference will now be made in greater detail to a preferred embodiment of the invention, an example of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numerals will be used throughout the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.

The terms “initial state”, refers to “the state of the pouch in the state wherein no liquid is filled in the pouch”, throughout the specification.
The term “final state”, refers to “the state of the pouch in the state wherein the pouch consists of liquid/fluid and the nozzle projection for the liquid/fluid to flow from the containing pouch” , throughout the specification.

The term “substrate” refers to a “polymer film with incredible strength and durability” throughout the specification.

The term “cavity” refers to “an empty space within a solid object” throughout the specification.

Referring to Fig.1 of the present invention, Fig.1 represents a fluid storage pouch (10) in its initial state. The pouch consists of an inner surface (12), outer surface (14), a Special Seal (16) surrounding a specially sealed area (18). The inner surface (12) can be used for storing various fluids/liquids or fluid products with considerable amount of viscosity due to which they may not flow readily. The outer surface (14) of the fluid storage pouch (10) may be a polymeric film comprised of any polymeric material capable of being used for packaging. The special seal (16) is a piece of material preferably plastic sewn/sealed or implanted in any possible way in the first corner (22) of the fluid storage pouch (10) to strengthen specific region around the first corner (22) and create a specific area known as the specially sealed area (18) surrounded by the special seal (16).
Referring to Fig.2 of the present invention, Fig.2 represents the fluid storage pouch (10) with a pre-determined path (20) inside the specially sealed area (18) wherein the predetermined path (20) may be of any size, shape or configuration suitable in the interest of the fluid contents to be stored in the fluid storage pouch (10). The pre-determined path (20) is sealed at the first corner (22) and open on the other end in contact with the contents of the fluid storage pouch (10) referred to as the path opening (32) such that the fluid contents of the fluid storage pouch (10) may flow through the pre-determined path (20). The pre-determined path (20) is located inside the specially sealed area to ensure that the liquid contents of the fluid storage pouch (10) are only allowed to flow through the pre-determined path (20).
Referring to Fig.3 of the present invention, Fig. 3 represents the fluid storage pouch (10) wherein a weakened path (34) is provided in the pre-determined path (20) such that the weakened path (34) may be easily be cut or scored of by any means as commonly used in the present field of the invention such as the use of scissors, blade or any other device and method as known for tearing through the weakened path (34) as shown in Fig.3. to create a nozzle or opening through which the contents inside the inner surface of the fluid storage pouch (12) may be accessed. The fluid contents inside the inner surface of the fluid storage pouch (12) may only flow through the pre-determined path (20) through its path opening (32) such that the fluid contents may flow through the nozzle (30) for being accessible whenever required. The fluid storage pouch (10) is fabricated in such a way that the fluid inside the inner surface of the fluid storage pouch (12) only flows though the nozzle (30) when a certain amount of external pressure is applied by the consumer to access the fluid inside the fluid storage pouch (10), whereas in other situations when the required amount of pressure is not applied and in scenarios of storage such that the fluid storage pouch (10) is subject to accidental pressure no liquid may flow through the nozzle (30) thus creating a spill proof re-usable fluid storage pouch (10) for fluids which can be used multiple times and is easy to access, carry and economical to manufacture.
Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, the fluid storage pouch (10) is fabricated based on various physical and chemical properties of substances which will be described further;
The fluid storage pouch is fabricated based on the concept of viscosity of fluids. Viscosity is defined as the quantity used to express the magnitude of internal friction in a fluid, and measured as force per unit area resisting uniform flow. The viscosity of various liquids vary based on their inter-molecular forces of attraction between the molecules of the liquids which are further dependent on the size, shape and temperature of molecules, the more structurally complex are the molecules in a liquid, stronger is the inter-molecular force between them thus, greater is the viscosity of the liquid.
In the present invention the fluid storage pouch (10) is proposed to store fluids with considerable amount of viscosity which may not readily flow in general such as those Handwash, Dishwash, Shampoo, etc. The dynamic viscosity and kinematic viscosity amount to such a value which cause the fluid to not flow readily without the application of external force/pressure. The fluids have considerable resistance/friction which restricts them from leaking out of the nozzle (30) until the required pressure is applied. The pre-determined path further restricts the flow of liquid as the path is engraved in a specific way inside the specially sealed area (18) to prevent the easy flow of fluid stored in the inner surface of the fluid storage pouch (12).
The storage pouch (10) is further fabricated based on the concept of capillary action. Capillary action is the property of a liquid to rise/fall in a narrow tube due to the forces of adhesion between the molecules of the liquid and the inside of narrow tube. This physical property of liquids is used to fabricate the pre-determined pathway (20) into the specially sealed area (18) such that it is in the form of a narrow tube wherein the capillary action occurs and the fluid inside the fluid storage pouch (10) is forced to follow through the pre-determined path to exit through/pour out of the nozzle (30) to be accessible to the consumer.
In Fig.4, the fluid storage pouch (10) is represented with its four corners i.e. first corner (22), second corner (24), third corner (26) and fourth corner (28) such that the first corner (22) is the one near the Special Seal (16) which consists of the specially sealed area (18) and the nozzle (30) and the corners are fabricated such that the dimensions of each corner vary in a way to facilitate the capillary action of the liquid stored inside the fluid liquid storage pouch (10) inside the nozzle. The first corner (22) has the dimensions ranging from (5 to 8) mm, the second corner (24) has the dimensions ranging from (4 to 8) mm, the third corner has the dimensions ranging from (4 to 9) mm and the fourth corner has the dimensions ranging from (4 to 8) mm.
Fig. 5, of the present invention represents the method of producing the fluid storage pouch (10) wherein (500) represents the method for making a spoutless spill-proof pouch in which (502) represents the start of the process followed by the printing of the substrate (504) on the outside surface (14) of the fluid storage pouch subsequently followed by the lamination of the printing substrates with other substrates (506) after which the laminated roll is slit/cut into the required shape and size (508) depending on the nature of use followed by the slit roll mount at unwinding position at the pouch making machine (510) subsequently followed by the slit roll passing through the shape former for front and back web (512) followed by the profile sealing (514) wherein the sealed area and the non-sealed area with different type of cavity and longitudinal seal are sewn/sealed together followed by the final cutting of shape (516) of the outer surface area (14) subsequently followed by (518) wherein the fluid storage pouch (10) is fabricated and at (520) the process finishes.
However, the specification of the dimensions of the corner should in no way not limit the scope of the invention to the same as the dimensions of the corners are subject to the size of the fluid storage pouch and the quantity of fluid to be stored.
One of the preferred embodiments of the present invention has been described for illustrative purposes. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. For example, there is no limitation on the size and configuration of the interlocking shelf used in the storage apparatus. Thus, it is intended that the scope of the present invention herein disclosed should not be limited by particular disclosed embodiments described above but should be determined only by a fair reading of the complete specification to follow.

,CLAIMS:We Claim:

1. A spoutless spill-proof pouch comprising:
a fluid storage pouch (10) comprised of an inner surface (12), outer surface (14), a special seal (16) surrounding a specially sealed area (18) wherein the inner surface (12) can be used for storing various fluids/liquids or fluid products; the outer surface (14) of the fluid storage pouch (10) may be a polymeric film comprised of any polymeric material ; the special seal (16) being a material preferably plastic sewn/sealed or implanted in any possible way in the first corner (22) of the fluid storage pouch (10) to strengthen specific region around the first corner (22) and inscribed in that a specific area known as the specially sealed area (18) surrounded by the special seal (16).
2. The fluid storage pouch (10) as claimed in claim 1 comprising a pre-determined path (20) inside the specially sealed area (18) wherein the predetermined path (20) may be of any size, shape or configuration.
3. The fluid storage pouch (10) as claimed in claim 1 wherein the pre-determined path (20) is sealed at the first corner (22) and open on the other end to the path opening (32) such that the fluid contents of the fluid storage pouch (10) may flow through the pre-determined path (20).
4. A method for making a spoutless spill-proof pouch (500) comprising:
starting the process (502) wherein the substrate is printed on the outside surface (14) of the fluid storage pouch (504); the lamination of the printing substrates with other substrates (506); the processing of the laminated roll into the required shape and size (508); passing the slit roll through the shape former for front and back web (512); the profile sealing (514) wherein the sealed area and the non-sealed area with different type of cavity and longitudinal seal are sewn/sealed together; trimming the shape (516) of the outer surface area (14); fabricating the fluid storage pouch (518).