Flexible package and method of manufacture
AssigneeThe Procter & Gamble Company
InventorsSusana E Borrero, Benjamin G Hesford, Jun You, Jason M Earl, Anthony Ogg, Stephen Michael Truesdell, Joseph Craig Lester, Lee Mathew Arent, Kenneth Stephen McGuire
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Package having a flexible inner sheet having a first surface and a second surface. The package has an article reservoir for accepting an article to be shipped. The expansion chambers can be inflated or otherwise expanded to provide structure to the package and to protect the article in the article reservoir. The inner sheet of the package includes a shrinkable material that can be activated to immobilize articles disposed in the article reservoir.
Claims21
A package for one or more articles, comprising:
- a. a flexible inner sheet having a first surface and a second surface, an inner sheet first portion and an inner sheet second portion;
- b. a flexible outer sheet having an outer sheet first portion, an outer sheet second portion, an outer sheet inner surface and an outer sheet outer surface, at least a portion of the inner surface of the outer sheet first portion being joined to the first surface of the inner sheet first portion to form one or more first primary expansion chambers therebetween, and at least a portion of the inner surface of the outer sheet second portion being joined to the first surface of the inner sheet second portion to form one or more second primary expansion chambers therebetween;
- at least a portion of the second surface of the inner sheet first portion disposed in face-to-face relationship with and joined to a portion of the second surface of the second portion of the inner sheet forming an article reservoir therebetween;
- c. a secondary outer sheet material disposed adjacent the outer surface of at least a portion of the outer sheet and joined thereto to form two or more discrete secondary expansion chambers, wherein at least a portion of at least one of the two or more discrete secondary expansion chambers is disposed adjacent another of the two or more discrete secondary expansion chambers, and the two or more discrete secondary expansion chambers provides structural rigidity and/or shape to the package when in an expanded configuration, the one or more first primary expansion chambers or the one or more second primary expansion chambers and the two or more discrete secondary expansion chambers positioned to provide at least one relatively flat portion on an outer surface of the package;
- and
- d. a closeable opening into which one or more articles may be inserted;
- wherein the package is generally parallelepiped in shape when formed and the two or more discrete secondary expansion chambers are expanded and has a top portion, a bottom portion, a first end portion disposed between the top portion and the bottom portion, a second end portion disposed between the top and bottom portion opposite of the first end portion and two side edges disposed on opposite sides of the package between the top and bottom portions and the first and second end portion, and wherein a first discrete secondary expansion chambers is disposed adjacent at least a portion of a first perimeter of the top portion or a second perimeter of the bottom portion and a second discrete secondary expansion chambers is disposed adjacent at least a portion of a second perimeter of at least one of the side edges adjacent the first perimeter.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.