Flexible bags – Compartmented
Reexamination Certificate
2002-06-06
2004-03-09
Pascua, Jes F. (Department: 3727)
Flexible bags
Compartmented
C383S066000, C210S464000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06702461
ABSTRACT:
FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not Applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a flexible multipurpose convenience bag for storing a product, such as a food product, for allowing said product to be cleaned or rinsed by pouring water into said bag, and/or for blanching, boiling, cooking, frying etc. said product.
From published international patent application WO96/13440 corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,380,093 a bag is known. Reference is made to the above published patent application and the above US patent is further hereby incorporated in the present specification by reference.
According to the above-mentioned US patent and published international patent application, a vegetable draining and storage bag of the above-mentioned type is known which bag is produced from two foil sheets of rectangular configuration which sheets are joined together, e.g. through weldings, along the bottom and the two opposite side edges of the bag. A further weld is established extending from a position above the bottom of the bag parallel with one of the edge welds of the bag for providing a tubular channel establishing communication between a separator chamber defined at the bottom of the bag through a number of weld seams defining apertures and separating the bottom separator chamber from the major inner chamber of the bag constituting a chamber for receiving the product such as the food product.
The bag is used by arranging the product such as the food product within the major inner chamber of the bag and pouring water onto the product causing the water to flow from the major inner chamber to the separator chamber from which chamber the water may be expelled by tilting the bag to the one side and causing the water to be expelled through the tubular channel extending from the bottom of the bag to the top of the bag along one of the edges of the bag. After the rinsing of the product and expelling of the water from the bag, the product contained within the bag may be further dried by swinging the bag around causing the product contained within the bag to exposure to a high centrifugal force causing the water to be slung off the product and forced into the bottom separator chamber from which the water may be expelled through the tubular channel.
Although this prior art bag has turned out to be successful and allows the user to clean e.g. vegetables in a low cost disposable bag and in a centrifugal separation process dry the vegetable products by centrifugal separating the water droplets from the product and thereafter expel the excess water through the outlet tube along the one edge of the bag, the bag has turned out to be on the one hand limited as to its functionality and on the other hand requires the use of a fairly large amount of foil material for providing a container for the storing of the product such as a food product. It has turned out that the commercial version of the product, 20% of the foil material is used for establishing the separator chamber and the tubular channel. Further as far as the functionality of the bag is concerned, the bag can apart from storing a product only be used in the above-described one operation involving the filling of the bag with water to a certain extent and then expelling the water before carrying out the centrifugal separation, however in certain instances, the amount of water which is receivable within the bag is not capable of establishing a complete cleaning or rinsing of the product contained within the bag therefore necessitating the repetition of the process of first filling the water into the bag, manipulating the product within the bag and expelling the water from the bag and then repeating the filling of water into the bag, manipulating and expelling steps several time.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a multipurpose convenience bag of the above-mentioned type which bag allows for on the one hand a more efficient utilisation of the foil material still providing a multipurpose convenience bag and on the other hand allows for additional functionalities including the possibility of performing a continuous or long lasting rinsing operation without repeating steps involving filling, manipulating, expelling and refilling etc. and further allowing the bag to be used for preparing the product, e.g. by blanching, boiling, cooking, frying etc. the product, while the product is contained within the bag.
A particular advantage of the present invention relates to the fact that the multipurpose convenience bag according to the present invention may be used in a rinsing process allowing the user to carry out the rinsing operation continuously without necessitating rearranging the bag, closing off the water supply and expelling water.
A further advantage of the present invention relates to the fact that the multipurpose convenience bag according to the present invention may be used for additional purposes apart from allowing the product contained in or stored in the bag to be rinsed further allowing the product to be prepared e.g. in a blanching, a boiling, a cooking or a frying operation which may be carried out after the bag has been used for storing purpose exclusively or alternatively after the bag has been used for the storage and rinsing purposes. The product which may be stored, rinsed and/or prepared in the bag may as pointed out above be constituted by vegetable or meat products including without being limited to the below examples potatoes, spinach, cabbage types including cauliflower, sprouts, cabbage, red cabbage, spring cabbage, mushrooms, carrots, celery, leeks, broccoli, pork, turkey, beef, chicken, duck, lamb etc., the product or products in question being present in their entity or in chopped or particulate state.
A further feature of the present invention relates to the fact that the multipurpose convenience bag according to the present invention may be converted from a bag of the above described type into a sieve or strainer structure or alternatively in specific embodiments of the bag according to the present invention be converted into a two step sieve or strainer structure allowing the user to utilise the bag for a separation process in which the product is separated into coarse and finer constituents.
The above object, the above advantages and the above feature are along with numerous other objects, features and advantages which will be evident from the below detailed description of preferred embodiments of the present invention be obtained by a multipurpose convenience bag according to the present invention comprising:
two sheet-shaped foil layers having substantially identical geometrical configurations and arranged in substantially coplanar and coextensive relationship, the foil layers together defining an outer periphery including a top, a bottom and opposite sides,
a first peripheral joint extending along the bottom,
second peripheral joints extending along the major parts of the sides except for at least one area of one of the sides, the area dividing the second peripheral joint of the one side into a top part and a bottom part,
the first peripheral joint and the second peripheral joints together define an inner chamber within the bag,
at least one separation joint extending from the top part of the second peripheral joint of the one side and extending towards the first peripheral joint and dividing the inner chamber into a top chamber and a bottom chamber
the top defining a top opening communicating with the top chamber
the area of the one side defining a side opening communicating with the bottom chamber and
the separation joint establishing a restriction of communication between the top chamber and the bottom chamber for preventing the product when received within the top chamber from being transferred to the bottom chamber so as to allow the product received within the top chamber to be separated from liquid contained within the top chamber or supplied to the top chamber through the top opening and allowing the liquid to be expelled from the top
Klein O'Neill & Singh, LLP
Pascua Jes F.
Schur Consumer Products A/S
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