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US 4,691,374 AGranted
Cooking bag with diagonal gusset seals
AssigneeGolden Valley Microwave Foods Inc.
InventorsJames D. Watkins, David W. Andreas
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A paper bag is described comprising a pair of face panels, one of which may be narrower than the other, joined by centrally extending gussets. The bottom and top of the bag are sealed, the bottom with a permanent seal and the top with a rupturable seal formed from thermoplastic adhesive so that the top can open to form a vent when products, e.g., foods, are heated within the bag in a microwave oven. The strong bottom seal may consist of diagonal seals that extend diagonally from the center of the bag toward the side edge. One or more temporary transverse seals can be provided near the center of the bag.
Claims10
A square end gusseted bag construction comprising a pair of opposing front and back rectangular face panels of the same length having parallel top and bottom edges and parallel side edges at right angles thereto,
- left and right connecting gussets extending between the front and back panels of the bag, each having a pair of left and right gusset panels respectively adjacent each other and connected together by a gusset fold,
- the gussets extending toward the center of the bag when the bag is in a flat condition and the gusset folds being close enough together when the bag is flat to separate the bag into a pair of connected tubes,
- top and bottom seals extending across the bag from one side edge thereof to the other adjacent to the top and bottom edges of the bag,
- permanent diagonal seals at the bottom of the bag to form a strong permanent seal,
- the permanent diagonal seals comprising seals between the gussets and the face panels including a first pair of diagonal seals on the left side of the bag beginning at the center of the bag and being inclined laterally between each gusset panel and a portion of an adjacent face panel in contact therewith,
- a second pair of diagonal seals beginning at the center of the bag and being inclined toward the right between each of the right gusset panels and an adjacent face panel,
- a temporary seal dividing the bag into a plurality of interconnected communicating compartments comprising at least one transversely extending product locating seal defined by a transversely extending band of heating sealing adhesive to temporarily seal one face panel to adjacent gussets to initially hold the gussets in a tucked-in condition adapted to hold a product in place on one side of said bag between said gussets,
- said temporary seal being provided in the bag between at least one face panel and an adjacent portion of a gusset panel to seal at least one of the tubes transversely at a point located intermediate to the ends of the bag to separate at least one of the tubes into at least two separate connected compartments that communicate with one another between the gusset folds including a first compartment adapted to enclose said product and a second compartment,
- said one face panel and said temporary seal being adapted to weaken when the bag and a product contained therein is heated to permit the gussets to pop out and thereby allow expansion of the bag and said product, said expansion enabling the product to shift from said one side of the bag to fill the entire bag, and
- said permanent diagonal seals remaining intact after expansion of the bag to provide a sealed bag bottom free from confining corner folds within which if present portions of the product could otherwise become trapped.
7 more elements
A self-venting gusseted bag of differential and strength comprising a pair of opposing front and back rectangular face panels of the same length having parallel top and bottom edges and parallel side edges at right angles thereto,
- left and right connecting gussets extending between the front and back panels of the bag, each having a pair of left and right gusset panels respectively adjacent each other and connected together by a gusset fold,
- the gussets extending toward the center of the bag when the bag is in a flat condition and the gusset folds being close enough together when the bag is flat to separate the bag into a pair of connected communicating tubes,
- a relatively weak top seal and a relatively strong bottom seal extending across the bag from one side edge thereof to the other adjacent to the top and bottom edges of the bag,
- diagonal seals on at least the bottom of the bag to form a strong seal in the bag when the bag is expanded,
- the diagonal seals comprising seals between the gussets and the face panels including a first pair of diagonal seals on the left side of the bag beginning at the center of the bag and being inclined laterally between each gusset panel and a portion of an adjacent face panel in contact therewith,
- a second pair of diagonal seals beginning at the center of the bag and being inclined toward the right between each of the right gusset panels and the adjacent face panel,
- said diagonal seals providing a stronger seal at the bottom of the bag than the top for venting internal pressure from the top of the bag, said bag thereby having differential end seal strength whereby internal pressure will pop open the top seal to form a vent while the bottom seal remains intact owing to the greater strength of the bottom seal allowing the bag to perform in a predictable way wherein the top seal will open when a predetermined pressure is achieved inside the bag, and the bag will become self-venting as internal pressure causes the top of the bag to open enabling each such bag to open reliably and predictably at the same point,
- said diagonal seals also forming folds in the gussets when the bag is expanded to produce a flat bottom for the bag free from confining corner folds within which, if present, portions of the product could otherwise become trapped.
5 more elements
A square end gusseted bag construction comprising rectangular face panels including opposing front and back panels of the same length having parallel top and bottom edges and parallel side edges at right angles thereto,
- left and right connecting gussets extending between the front and back panels of the bag,
- said left and right gussets each having a pair of wide and narrow gusset panels adjacent each other and connected together by a gusset fold,
- the gussets extending toward the center of the bag when the bag is in a flat condition and the gusset folds being close enough together when the bag is flat to separate the bag into a pair of tubes of different sizes,
- top and bottom seals extending straight across the bag from one side edge thereof to the other adjacent to the top and bottom edges of the bag,
- diagonal seals on at least the bottom of the bag to form a flat bottom on the bag when the bag is expanded,
- the diagonal seals comprising seals between the gussets and the face panels including a first pair of diagonal seals on the left side of the bag beginning at the center of the bag and being inclined laterally between each gusset panel and a portion of an adjacent face panel in contact therewith,
- a second pair of diagonal seals beginning at the center of the bag and being inclined toward the right between each of the right gusset panels and an adjacent face panel, said diagonal seals forming folds in the gussets when the bag is expanded to produce a flat bottom for the bag, and
- the diagonal seals defining triangular areas including a first pair of triangular areas of a first width corresponding to twice the width of a wide gusset panel and a second pair of triangles narrower in width than said wide gusset panel corresponding to twice the width of a narrow gusset panel.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.