Heat Sealed Disposable Paint Bag and Method

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to containers for paint and in particular to a heat sealed plastic disposable paint bag and a method for making the same.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Most prior art painting devices require constant recharging of the painting implement with paint, wasting considerable time. With most paint containers there is a messy process involved in transferring the paint from the container to the paint applicator with substantial cleanup involved wasting time and energy.

Most prior art self-contained paid supply devices require filling the apparatus with paint and require a substantial amount of cleaning to wash out the container. The cleaning of the paint applicator system generally involves substantial time and effort and is the most annoying aspect of the painting chore. Cleaning generally requires the use of organic solvent for oil base paints or soapy water for water base latex paints. The spent solvent is usually disposed into the sewer system, which results in a higher B.O.D. (biological oxygen demand) for sewage treatment. Also, a substantial quantity of solvent is released into the atmosphere through evaporation. In addition, some paints contain fungicidal and germicidal compounds which tend to harm common biological sewage treatment processes while they additionally increase the B.O.D.

Prior art painting containers for large painting jobs are normally very heavy cans containing a substantial amount of paint. Very often a portion of the paint is left over and saved for "touch up" later. This creates a storage problem because the large cans are usually covered with drippings of the paint and a danger of leaking if the cans are tipped over. There is a health hazard from the fumes and potential danger of explosion if stored in a hot place.

Paint cans are a cylindrical shape and waste considerable space when stored side by side because two cans only touch at one point and the remaining space between the cans is empty. To a store shelf space is very valuable and in homes storage space is usually at a premium, especially in apartments or condominiums.

By providing a plastic bag filled with paint to be inserted in a painting apparatus for a contant feed of paint to the paint applicator, considerable time is saved by not having to recharge the applicator with paint constantly. The sealed paint bag slips into the paint apparatus with no mess thereby saving considerable clean up time.

Because each paint bag is completely self-contained and is inserted directly into the paint applicator, the spent bags are thrown away and there is no mess to clean up after painting, thereby saving time and eliminating any hazardous waste which might otherwise be poured into the sewage treatment system.

Filling each paint bag with about an eighth of a gallon of paint maintains a relatively lightweight painting apparatus even with a full bag of paint, while allowing a substantial amount of surface to be covered (approximately 50 square feet) with each full bag. The quantity of paint in the bag would be used up in one application, thereby not having any storage problem or health hazard because there would be no partly filled containers to store.

Providing a molded plastic tote tray for gang filling, heat bar sealing, carrying and storing 28 closely packed paint bags in form fitting spaces saves time in manufacturing and space on storage and display shelves while providing a convenient means for carrying a substantial amount of paint easily with handles on each tray. The tote tray is slightly less than 12" wide and slightly less than 16" long and about 6" high so that the tote trays may be stacked two deep, three wide and several high (depending on the distance between shelves) on a typical 2' by 4' shelf.

These and other details and advantages of my invention will be described in connection with the accompanying drawings, which are furnished only by way of illustration and not in limitation of the invention, and in which drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a tube of sheet plastic laid out for heat sealing and cutting into trapezoidal forms to make the paint bags;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the trapezoidal form with the ends crimped to pull out the bottom and create a tent-shaped structure;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the tent-shaped structure with the crimped portions cut off, one end sealed and the other end open to receive the paint;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the completed disposable paint bag as inserted in a paint applicator and punctured to dispense paint;

FIG. 5 is a perpective view of a sheet of plastic folded over double showing how the trapezoidal form is heat sealed and cut from the doubled over sheet of plastic;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the completed refillable paint bag with an opening at the top;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a molded tote tray for carrying a number of paint bags.

In FIG. 1 a long tube 11 of flexible plastic material, preferably 10 inches in circumference, is flattened and a hot thin linear element (such as a hot wire) or preferably a series of such elements is used to cut and heat seal alternately angled lines transversely across the tube along lines 14, 16, 18 and 20, thereby separating the tube into trapezoidal pieces 12A, 12B and 12C.

In FIG. 2, holding each trapezoidal piece vertically with the long parallel edge at the botttom, each trapezoidal piece 12, which is heat sealed together at each end along lines 14 and 16, has one bottom corner cut off along line 23 and air injected into the trapezoidal piece to inflate it with air. The trapezoidal piece is crimped at the end opposite to the cut end at the bottom to flatten out a triangular horizontal section 30, thereby causing the trapezoidal piece to flare outwardly separating the two sheets at the bottom and creating a tent-shaped structure. A hot wire is then applied at the intersection of the crimped triangular section 30 and the tent-shaped structure along line 28 to seal the end 15 of the tent-shaped structure cutting off the crimped triangular section 30. At the opposite end of the tent-shaped structure the opening 40 formed by cut line 23 is used to fill the trapezoidal piece with paint. The filling takes place in a batch in the tote tray shown in FIG. 7. Then the triangular section 22 is crimped, cut off and heat sealed along bottom line 24, thereby creating a completely sealed disposable paint bag 12A (as seen in FIG. 3). The paint bags in the tote tray are heat sealed a number at a time by a bar heat sealer or series of bar heat sealers along lines 70, 72, 74 and 76 to enclose all of the paint bags. Each paint bag is used in a paint applicator, such as the one described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,918,820. Then the bag is punctured through one side 27 (as in FIG. 4) preferably with three openings 42, 44 and 46 and compressed by a pressure plate 50 or other means to squeeze paint into a paint applying surface, thereby maintaining a steady supply of paint to the pad. When the paint is all used up the bag is thrown away and replaced by a full bag.

In FIG. 5 an alternate embodiment of the invention is formed from one sheet 11A, preferably 12 inches wide, folded to meet at the top or, as in the Figure, a 12 inch diameter tube cut along the top ridge and the open top ridge of the bag forms a top opening 60 while both ends are crimped and completely heat sealed as slide 15 was sealed in the above description, thereby creating a paint bag which is refillable through the top opening 60, as in FIG. 6. By using an enlarged tube cut to form top openings 60, 60A and 60B no material is wasted because the trapezoidal pieces alternate upward and downward orientations. In a folded over version the bottom of the trapezoidal piece must always be downward leaving waste between cut trapezoidal pieces. The paint bag is filled with paint through the top opening 60 and the paint bag is inserted in a paint applicator wherein elements in the paint applicator hold the top of the paint bag close. The paint bag is similarly punctured and the paint squeezed out. When it is empty the paint bag may be refilled.

In FIG. 7 a tote tray 66 is shown as a rigid molded plastic tot tray which is used in filling and sealing the paint bags and as a carrying and display means with shaped compartments for 28 paint bags 12 stacked inside the tray (a total of 31/2 gallons of paint). Handles 68 are molded into the tray at each end. Each tote tray is slightly less than 12" wide and 16" long. The tote trays fit conveniently on a retail display shelf with two deep and four across on a standard 2' by 4' shelf.

It is understood that the preceding description is given merely by way of illustration and not in limitation of the invention and that various modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.