Patents
US 9371143 B2: Rectangular multi-substrate vertical form, fill, and seal bag and method and apparatus for forming and filling same
- Granted
- 2016-06-21
- Filed
- 2012-11-21 application 13683395
- Type
- Utility · 15 claims
- Elsewhere
- Google Patents ↗ · USPTO patent document ↗ · USPTO Patent Center record ↗
Abstract
A VFFS bag is provided that is dimensionally stable, aesthetically pleasing, and renders items stored in it highly visible. The bag includes first and second gusseted side walls that span a depth of the bag and front and rear walls that span a width of the bag. The bag has a substantially rectangular closed bottom end. In order to maximize the viewabilty of stored items and reduce the amount of film material in the bag, the bag has a depth to width ratio of at least 1.5:1 at the bottom of the bag. Stability is enhanced by sizing the gussets such that they closely approach but do not overlap a line longitudinally bisecting the bag. A VFFS machine and its method of operation also are disclosed.
Source: PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 (ipg160621.xml).
Assignees
| Assignee | Type | Place | Also on furp.org | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volm Companies, Inc. 12 patents | US company or organization | Antigo, WI | Volm Companies, Incorporated State business registration FUZZY medium confidence: same name (legal endings aside) and state | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
Inventors
| Inventor | Place | Patents | Person page | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corbett Hefner | Antigo, WI | 11 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| Robert McPhail | Antigo, WI | 2 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
CPC categories
| Subclass | Category | First group | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| B65D | Containers for storage or transport of articles or materials, e.g. bags, barrels, bottles, boxes, cans, cartons, crates, drums, jars, tanks, hoppers, forwarding containers; accessories, closures, or fittings therefor; packaging elements; packages | B65D29/04 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
| B31B | Making containers of paper, cardboard or material worked in a manner analogous to paper | B31B70/00 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
| B65B | Machines, apparatus or devices for, or methods of, packaging articles or materials; unpacking | B65B1/02 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
Cooperative Patent Classification, as currently assigned (one row per subclass).
Assignments and security interests
| Recorded | What | From | To | Reel/frame | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-12-05 | Assignment Assignment of assignor's interest | HEFNER, CORBETT signed 2012-11-28 MCPHAIL, ROBERT signed 2012-11-28 | VOLM COMPANIES, INC. ANTIGO, WI | 29406/926 | ECORSEXC, file of 2026-09-25 |
Documents recorded with the USPTO Assignment Recordation Branch that list this patent. A security interest is a lender’s claim on the patent as collateral; a release ends it.
USPTO bulk data: PatentsView granted patents, disambiguated (PVGPATDIS) for patents, assignees, inventors, places and CPC categories; the USPTO Patent Assignment Dataset (ECORSEXC) for assignments and security interests. Patents filed in the last 20 years. No claims or full text. Links to other records are by name (and state): EXACT means the identical full name and state; FUZZY means a looser name match, with the confidence shown.