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  Bag for crushing objectsRelated Patent Categories: Flexible Bags, Wall Details, Specified Seam StructureThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070098308. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
I. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates to containers used in crushing or otherwise reducing medicine from pill or tablet form to powder form and methods to manufacture such containers. More particularly, it relates to plastic bags used to contain the medicine during the crushing process and a method to manufacture such plastic bags. [0002] It is widely known that many people have difficultly swallowing a pill or tablet regardless of size. As a result, such people often crush pills into a powder to make the medicine easier to take. Once crushed the user may mix the powdered medicine with a liquid, food, or another substance to make the medicine easier to take, or the user may simply consume the powder directly. Although crushing a pill may render medicine easier to ingest, it has disadvantages including losing or contaminating a portion of the dose while crushing the pill To avoid losing or contaminating the medicine while crushing a pill, users often place the pill between two layers of material such as cloth, paper, or plastic before crushing it. For example, the two layers of material can be the sides of a plastic bag. Once the pill is positioned between layers of material, the user may crush the pill by using a hard object to apply pressure to the surface of the pill until the pill breaks into pieces. The user continues applying pressure until the pill is pulverized into sufficiently small granules. Such methods for crushing pills typically cause the user to lose a portion of the pill. For example, some of the pill may be embedded in the layers of material used to contain the pill or lodged in the corner of the plastic bag or other container. During the process of crushing the pill, it may also get contaminated with dirt, bacteria, or other undesirable substances introduced by the material used to contain the pill, the objects used to apply the pressure, or the objects used to retrieve the crushed pill from the materials used to contain the pill. Additional disadvantages include possible injury during the crushing process, and other possible physical hazards stemming from pieces of the crushed object acting as a projectile, [0003] A conventional method of crushing one or more pills involves positioning the pill inside a polyethylene bag having an open end and walls of the same size and shape. When using such a bag to contain a pill for crushing, a portion of the crushed pill typically lodges in the lower corners of the bag and remains difficult to retrieve without significant additional effort. A portion of the crushed pill also adheres to the interior surfaces of the walls of the bag, for example, because of a small static charge that is typically present on the surface of a plastic bag or that can be generated by the crushing process As a result, the entire dose of the pill may not be available for ingestion. II. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0004] The inventor has developed a bag that addresses the disadvantages described above and minimizes the amount of medicine lost or contaminated when crushing a pill. A bag according to the convention has a front wall and a back wall as depicted in FIG. 4. Each wall has a first side edge, a second side edge, a top edge, and a bottom edge. The respective bottom edges, first side edges, and second side edges of the front and back walls are connected to create an interior region. Although the front and back walls of a bag according to the invention can be made from various plastic materials, low density polyethylene (LDPE) is suitable and approved by the FDA for containing food and medicine. The walls are preferably at least 6 mil thick to withstand without failing the forces applied during crushing. However, any thickness of the bag walls that withstands the forces applied during crushing is sufficient. The seal at the bottom of the bag defines an angle .alpha. inside the bag interior of greater than 90.degree. and less than 180.degree. with each of the side edges of the bag. Increasing the angle .alpha. beyond 90.degree. reduces the amount of crushed, powdered material that may remain lodged in the bag during dispensing. A preferred minimum angle .alpha. is 120.degree.. This bottom seal can be curved with the concave side facing the top (open end of the bag) as shown in FIG. 4. Alternatively, the bottom seal may be defined as a series of two or more connected linear segments (not illustrated) arranged so that the angle .alpha. on each side of the bag is greater than 90.degree. and less than 180.degree. and all angles between any two connected segments is also greater than 90.degree. and less than 180.degree.. [0005] The bag according to the invention may also incorporate several additional features that facilitate its use. For example, to maximize the proportion of crushed material that can be extracted reliably from the bag, the walls may be made with a material that includes an additive or interior coating that minimizes static charge, reduces friction between the interior walls and the contents of the bag or both. Such anti-static and anti-friction additives are commercially available and known. The free top edge of the back wall may extend beyond the free top edge of the front wall to form a lip that makes the bag easier to open by providing a part of the bag that the user can grasp easily when the bag is closed. This lip may also include a gripper portion defined by features on the interior, exterior, or both surfaces of the lip (or the front and/or back walls near the opening) to assist further the user in opening the bag. For example, gripper portion is illustrated in FIG. 4 as one or more gripper lines that protrude from the exterior surface of the lip and extend approximately parallel to the top edge of the back wall. Alternatively, the gripper portion may be a texture that is embossed or printed upon the interior and/or exterior surfaces of the lip (or the front and/or back walls of the bag if no lip is present). Placing the gripper portion on the exterior of the bag allows the crushed material to be poured from the bag across the lip without obstruction. To assist in aligning, registering, or orienting the bag in a pill crushing device, the bottom edge of the bag may extend beyond the bottom seal and away from the open top edge of the bag as depicted in FIG. 4 to form a flat bottom edge. The bag may also include relatively wide sealed seams that extend along at least portions of the first and second side edges. A preferred width of 0.125 inches or more causes the bag to open more readily when the user grasps the sides of the bag and squeezes them together. These seams also increase the strength of the sides of the bag to prevent bursting when pressure is applied to crush a pill. A bag according to the invention may also include an indicator mark to permit a quick visual identification of the unsealed edge of the bag. For example, the indicator mark may be an integrally extruded line of material near the open end of the bag (which may be colored) as depicted in FIG. 4. Alternatively, the indicator mark may be pressed or printed near the top edge of either wall. Either of these two types of indicator marks may further ease the opening of the bag when the user squeezes the sides of the open end of the bag together. [0006] The foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and do not restrict the claims directed to the invention. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate one embodiment of the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. III. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0007] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an extrusion system used to make a bag according to the invention, [0008] FIG. 2 is a perspective view from above of an die assembly suitable for making a bag according to the invention with the system shown in FIG. 1. [0009] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a representative section of material taken from a tubular film extruded through the die assembly of FIG. 2. [0010] FIG. 4 is a frontal perspective view of a first embodiment of a bag according to the invention. [0011] FIG. 5 Is a schematic cross-sectional view of the bag illustrated in FIG. 4 taken along lines 5-5. [0012] FIG. 6 is a schematic frontal perspective view of a tubular film extruded from the extrusion die assembly of FIG. 2 after it has been cut longitudinally and folded into a J-shaped configuration and depicting one method of making side seams on the bag of FIG. 4. [0013] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the tubular film illustrated in FIG. 6 depicting one method of making the curved bottom seal on the bag of FIG. 4. IV. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0014] This application refers in detail below to the exemplary embodiments of the bag according to the invention, which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the application uses the same reference numbers throughout the drawings to refer to the same or similar items, [0015] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a system suitable for manufacturing bags according to the invention. Raw material such as FDA-approved, food-grade, LDPE resin is fed into the intake 10 of an extrusion machine 11, which melts the raw material and extrudes it through a die assembly 12 to create a tubular film 30. After exiting the die assembly 12, the tubular film 30 is cooled, for example, by the blower 17 and rolled onto a spool 18. Die assembly 12 shown in FIG. 2 is configured to include one or more notches 40 so that the tubular film 30, shown in FIG. 3, includes one or more longitudinal ridges 31 (e.g., two ridges are illustrated in FIG. 1), which eventually constitute gripper 51 on the finished bag. Additionally, a secondary extrusion head 14 to add a strip 32 to the tubular film 30 (or ridges 31 or any other feature appropriately applied longitudinally on tubular film 30). The strip 32 is made of a thermoplastic material compatible with the bag walls (preferably colored LDPE) in that it is capable of binding to or melting into the material used to form the tubular film 31. Eventually, strip 32 constitutes the indicator mark 52 shown in FIG. 4 on the finished bag. [0016] FIG. 2 is a perspective view from above of the die assembly 12 that is suitable for making a bag according to the invention with the system shown in FIG. 1. The melted raw material from the extrusion machine in FIG. 1 is forced between the inner plate 20 and the outer plate 21 of die assembly 12. Longitudinal channels 40 protrude substantially radially outward on outer plate 21 form ridges 31 on the exterior surface of tubular film 30. Channels (not illustrated) that are similar to channels 40 may be added (or substituted for channels 40 on outer plate 21) to protrude substantially radially inward on inner plate 20 to form ridges on the inner surface of tubular film 30. Die assembly 12 also includes an aperture 22 that permits pressurized air (or some other gas as required) to be injected into the interior of the tubular film 30 as it exits the die assembly 12. Injecting air or gas through aperture 22 helps to maintain the thickness of the walls of tubular film 30 and the generally circular cylindrical shape of tubular film 30. [0017] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a representative section of material taken from the tubular film 30 extruded through the die assembly 12 of FIG. 2. FIG. 3 illustrates the tubular film 30 including ridges 31, which constitute gripper 51 in the finished bag 50. FIG. 3 also illustrates the strip 32, which constitutes the indicator mark 52 on the finished bag. Also shown in FIG. 3 is cut line 33, which represents the line along which tubular film 30 is longitudinally cut to define the top edges of the finished bag. [0018] FIG. 4 is a frontal perspective view of an embodiment of a bag 50 according to the invention. The bag 50 includes a back wall 58 and a front wall 59 that are joined by the side seals 56 along side edges 60 and 61 and the bottom seal 62 near bottom edge 57 to define an interior with an opening 54, which is located at the top of the bag 50 shown in FIG. 4. Back wall 58 extends farther from the bottom seal 62 than the front wall 59 to define a lip 53 extending beyond the top edge 55 of front wall 59. The lip 53 provides the user a convenient handling point for identifying the open end 54, opening the bag 50, and orienting the opening 54 of the bag 50. The front wall 59 and back wall 58 are sufficiently thick (at least about 5 mil and preferably at least about 6 mil) to enable the walls to withstand the forces applied when a user crushes a pill or other object in the interior of the bag 50. The thickness of the front and back walls also facilitates opening the bag 50 along substantially its entire length when opening 54 is opened. In turn, opening the bag along its entire length increases the likelihood that the user will be able to dispense substantially all the crushed material from the interior of the bag. [0019] As shown in FIG. 4, seals 56 are relatively wide seams along the first side edge 60 and the second side edge 61. The use of wide seals, while not strictly necessary, further enhances the user's ability to open bag 50 along substantially its entire length. These wide seals also enhance the bag's ability to withstand pressures applied while crushing a pill. Seals 56 are preferably at least about 0.125 inch wide. [0020] The bottom seal 62 illustrated in FIG. 4 intersects with each of side edges 60 and 61 and defines a vertex at each intersection. The angles a defined by these vertices (or "corners") is greater than 90.degree. and less than 180.degree. (with a preferred angle of at least 120.degree.), to minimize the tendency of crushed material to lodge in these "corners" of the interior of bag 50. While seal 62 is substantially continuously curved between these corners, other geometries for seal 62 are acceptable. For example, seal 62 may be formed as a series of two or more connected linear segments (not illustrated) arranged so that the angles .alpha. are greater than 90.degree. and less than 180.degree. and all angles defined by the vertices formed by any two connected linear segments are also greater than 90.degree. and less than 180.degree.. A curved seal 62, as shown, is preferred because it minimizes the number of vertices formed along the seal 62, which therefore also minimizes the amount of crushed material that lodges in such vertices. Continue reading... Full patent description for Bag for crushing objects Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Bag for crushing objects patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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