Sonoco Products Company

Sonoco Development Incorporated

Wade D Fletcher

Harry B Wilfong, Jr

E Riley Rowe

Jeffrey S Vance

M Wayne Beasley

Dwight D Grady

Harry B Wilfong

Jerry F Sansbury

Herman Rupert Markert

Edward H McMahon, Jr

Robert A Norwood

A ventilated plastic bag particularly adapted for carrying hot food from fast food restaurants includes the following components. Front and rear wall sections are connected together to define a closed bottom area and an open top area. A handle or handles are provided in the top area and include a cut out of the front and rear wall sections creating reduced strength regions with resulting high potential for carrying around at least part of the cut out. Closely spaced micro-perforations extend through the wall sections in at least a major portion of the plastic bag other than the reduced strength regions to provide ventilation to an interior food carrying area of the plastic bag while not further weakening the reduced strength regions and increasing the potential for tearing of the bag.

Ventilated plastic bag

A pack of plastic bags which are preferably self-opening are adapted to be mounted on a support rack and leave no residue on the support rack when removed therefrom. The plastic bags include front and rear walls integrally joined at their sides and secured at their bottoms and defining an open mouth portion at the top of the walls. A detaching central tab is formed at the top of each of the walls and each has an aperture therein for mounting the central tabs on a tab retaining device on the rack. The tab of at least the rear wall has a structure to propagate a tear through the tab for detaching the tab from the rack while retaining sufficient strength in the portion of the tab above the mounting aperture to prevent premature tearing of the tab and detaching from the rack.

Plastic bag pack adapted to leave no residue on a supporting rack

A bag dispensing system is provided which includes a rack for supporting a pack of plastic bags in a generally vertical suspended position for successively removal of the bags by a user and including an elongate central tab retaining device having a predetermined width. Each of the bags in the pack have front and rear walls integrally joined at their sides and secured together at their bottoms and define an open mouth portion at the top of the walls. A detaching central tab is formed at the top of each of the bag walls and each has an aperture therein for mounting the tabs on the rack retaining device. The tab apertures of the bags have a maximum width in the relaxed condition thereof prior to be mounted on the rack retaining device which is less than the predetermined dimension of the rack retaining device and have a minimum width dimension in the stretched condition thereof after mounting on the rack retaining device which is greater than the predetermined width of the rack retaining device, so that the tab mounting apertures of each of the bags are stretched over the rack retaining device when the bags are mounted thereon to assist in complete detachment of the tabs from the rack when the bags are successively removed by the user from the rack.

T-shirt type plastic bag pack adapted to leave no residue on a

The invention provides self-opening polyethylene film bag stacks which do not require a separate adhesive layer between adjacent bags. The self-opening bag stack according to the invention preferably include a plurality of stacked t-shirt type high density polyethylene film bags releasably adhered together. At least an upper portion of the outer surface of the front and rear walls of each of the bags in the bag stack has been corona treated and at least one localized compressed area extends transversely through the bag stack in the upper portion of the bags such that the stack has a decreased thickness in the localized compressed area and so that adjacent outer wall corona treated surfaces defined by the localized compressed area are releasably adhered together.

Self-opening polyethylene bag stack and process for producing same

A T-shirt type plastic bag is adapted for carrying hot foods from fast food restaurants. The bag includes front and rear wall sections, gussetted side wall sections integrally connecting the front and rear wall sections together and means connecting the bottoms of the front, rear and gussetted side wall sections together to define a closed bottom. At least a part of the front and rear wall sections are open at the tops to define a mouth portion. Laterally spaced handles are integral with the front, rear and gussetted side wall sections and extend upwardly from opposed sides of the mouth portion. Apertures extend through at least one of the wall sections for providing a path for a venting air flow from the outside of the bag and through the inside of the bag when the bag is carrying hot food.

T-shirt type plastic bag for carrying hot food

A system of seaming a metallic end cover to a tubular composite can body utilizing a cover the diametric size of which is smaller than that of the can body. The smaller cover provides an annular space between the central depending cover pin and the surrounding portion of the body wall at the end thereof. The peripheral flange of the cover is inwardly folded about and with the flanged end of the can body to define a double seam. Simultaneously with the formation of the double seam, the seaming rolls, through direct engagement with the can body at and immediately below the seam, inwardly shape and contour the end portion of the can body, bringing the formed seam into the annular space and into direct engagement with the cover pin, necking the can body and providing a flush-sided container.

Method of forming a flush-sided container

A system for assembling flexible end closures for containers, the closure itself including a peelable sealing membrane, with a folded pull tab, and a plastic overcap separably combined as a single unit for application to the container. Apparatus cuts the individual sealing membranes from a continuous web for deposit thereof on individual holders which vacuum retain the membranes during movement through stations which fold an integral pull tab in overlying relation to each membrane for subsequent reception within an associated overcap applied to the holder along the path of movement thereof, the combined membrane and overcap ultimately being discharged for later application to a container as a closure therefor. A central manifold controls air flow to and away from the individual holders so as to selectively retain and discharge the closure forming membrane and overcap components.

Assembly system for container flexible end closures

A system for forming and mounting end closures for peel-top containers, each closure including a peelable sealing membrane, with a folded pull tab, and a separate plastic overcap. The individual sealing membranes are cut from a continuous web and deposited directly on the open ends of cans or containers being fed in a continuing line. Each membrane is retained in properly oriented association with the corresponding container, by adhesive tacking or through a partial vacuum generated within the container, until such time as the container supported membrane is engaged by a chuck to effect a positive sealing of the membrane to the container. After a sealing of the membrane to the container, the container proceeds through a cycle wherein the tab on the membrane is laterally bent, the overcap is applied, and the container with completed end closure is discharged. Embossing of each membrane is normally selectively done so as to occur only over the area thereof inward of the peripheral portion which engages the container.

Peel-top container assembly system

A system for the beading and flanging of opposed ends of a cylindrical can body wherein the opposed beading and flanging chucks are sequentially withdrawn. Stop means is mounted on the can carrying wheel adjacent the flanging chuck and cooperates with the flanging chuck for a retention of the flanged end of the can therein during the initial removal of the beading chuck which inherently effects a greater frictional engagement with the beaded end of the can. The stop allows a free subsequent withdrawal of the flanging chuck.

System for beading and flanging can bodies

A system for assembling flexible end closures for containers, the closure itself including a peelable sealing membrane, with a folded pull tab, and a plastic overcap separably combined as a single unit for application to the container. Apparatus cuts the individual sealing membranes from a continuous web for deposit thereof on individual holders which vacuum retain the membranes during movement through stations which fold an integra pull tab in overlying relation to each membrane for subsequent reception within an associated overcap applied to the holder along the path of movement thereof, the combined membrane and overcap ultimately being discharged for later application to a container as a closure therefor. A central manifold controls air flow to and away from the individual holders so as to selectively retain and discharge the closure forming membrane and overcap components.

A pair of laterally spaced pocketed starwheels, mounted on a common shaft for synchronized rotation, receive and cradle composite fiber cans in a manner so as to preclude distortion of the cans upon movement past a capping station wherein the edge of each can engages an aligned flexible lid which is wiped onto the can end as the end is drawn past an inclined plate by continued movement of the can. A shaft mounted backing plate, laterally spaced from the outermost starwheel, stabilizes the can during the lid mounting operation.

Growing community of inventors

Hartsville, SC, United States of America

Wade D Fletcher