Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a plastic suit bag having
handles at each end of its bag portion where the sole means
of entry into the bag is provided by an opening which extends
between the ends of the bag, the bag being folded upon itself ~1 ;
and the handles fastened together or purposes of transporting
goods within the suit bag. " -
~` Backqround of the Invention
The well known suit bag often used by retailers com~
prises a bag portion with a hole in the top through which a
hanger hook projects. Entry into the bag is permitted ;through
a zippered opening in the ront o~ the bag. The sult or pants
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are hung on the hanger in the bag with the hanger hook prD- `.. i l .
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jecting out of the bag and the zipper closed. This type of ``
suit bag is awkward to carry since the bag cannot be olded
upon itself and maintained in that position while being carried.
An alternate form of suit bag is a tubular bag with
both ends open where two handles are provided at each end of
the bag. The handles are detachably secured together to close
'~- 20 of each end of the bag and can be pulled apart to permit '!,~
~; entry into the bag through either end. When the goods are
'~!''' placed in the bag, the handle sets are closed and the bag ~ ;
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folded upon itsel for carrying. This type o bag is more
easily carried; however, it is very difficult to load a suit
into this bag because entry into the bag is only provided at -~
~l the bag ends. ;
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It is therefore an object o~ the invention to provide
` a plastic suit bag within which a suit may be easily loaded and
:,~' lS easy to carry when the bag is loaded. ~ `
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It is another object of the invention to provide a
~ suit bag which is inexpensive to manufacture, yet has sufficient
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; structural strength to carry even the heaviest of clothing.
It is a further object of the invention to provide
a plastic suit bag within which a suit may be placed without
the need for a hanger.
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It is another object of the invention to provide
- a suit bag with handle portions which are identical and which,
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when fastened together, fold the bag centrally of its length
where the clothing within the bag rests in natural folds.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide
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a suit bag which may be easily lo~ed by right- or let-handed
people.
It is a further object of the invention tp provide
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~ clocure means for closing the opening in the suit bag after the
- suit bag is loaded with clothing. ;~
-~ Summary of the Invention i`
The suit bag according to this invention overcomes
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the problems assoclated with the prior art type of suit bags !;``~
~ 20 in that it provides a bag which has an opening in its side to
s~ permit loading of the bag through its side rather than the
~ i,
i~i ends. Handles are provided at each end of the bag, which, when ~`
fastened together cause the bag to fold upon itsel and facili-
tate carrying of the enclosed goods. The plastic suit bag com-
prises a bag portion of plastic film having a rectangular shaped
~i inner and outer surface with a handle secured at each end oE ;
the bag portion. A slit or opening is providedin the bag portion
~i~ which extends between the ends of the bag to provide the sole
,~ means of entry into the suit bag. Each handle is made of plastic ~;;
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1~37439 ~:
~ and has a hand grip portion integrally molded with a bar portion. ~ ~
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Means for hanging a suit by is integrally molded with an edge
of the bar portion opposite the hand grip portion The bar
portion of each handle is secured to a respective end of the !'`'. ''' "
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bag where the hand grip portion is exterior o the bag. The
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bar portion extends along a major portion of the bag's end
.. . .. ...
length to provide support for the bag end and to essentially -
close of each bag end if it has not been previously sealed.
` The two handles have fastening means exterior of the bag and ' ;~
which when mated, secure the pair of handles together in ace-
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`;~ to-face relationship with the hand grip portions aligned and ;
with the bag central~y folded of its length. Closure means may i~
be provided on the bag for closing the opening prov~ded in the ;
bag. However, when closure means is not used, the arrangement ,;, ;~ `~
of the handles on the bag ends is such that as the handles are ~ ;
fastened together, the inner surface of the bag which has
, .. ..... . .
the opening therein is folded upon itself so that the opening
is not exterior of the bag and is essentially closed to pre- - -
; clude goods falllng out o the bag while being carried. As a x~
20 result, the outer~surface of the folded bag which is uninterrupted i -
provides support for the goods carried in the bag. ;~
~ The slit or opening in the bag may when appropriate,
be located of-centre of the means for hanging a suit by to
~acilitate insertion and removal of a suit or the lihe into
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and from the bag portion. ~i
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Description of the Drawin~s
These and other objects, advantages and features of
i the invention will become apparent in the following detailed
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description o the preerred embodiments of the invention as j
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shown in the drawings, wherein:
~ igure 1 is an exploded view of a suit bag according
to a preferred embodiment of this invention prior to its
~ assembly.
; Figure 2 is a section of the bag of Figure 1 taken
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along the lines 2-2. ;-
Figure 3 shows the assembled section of Figure 2 with
the handle bar portion thermally welded to the bag end.
Figure 4 is an enlarged view of a handle for a suit
bag according to this invention.
~ Figure S shows an upper portion oE the suit bag
; according to thiC invention having means or closing the
opening in the bag.
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Figure 6 shows an alternate embodiment of the means
for closing the opening of the bag of Figure 5.
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Figure 7 shows an alternative embodiment according
to the invention~with the handle thermally welded to the inner
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surface of the bag. '
Figures 8, 9 and 10 appearing on the same sheet as
j ~ 20 Figure 1 show the sequence of steps of placing a suit within a ;~
,`~ bag according to this invention without the need for a hanger. i
Figure 11 is a schematic showing a preferred manner
,, in which the bag portion of the suit bag of Figure 1 is formed. ~.;;`~
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'~ Figure 12 is a cross-sectiona} view along lines 12-12
~,~l of the~device showniin Figure 11. ~; ,
Figure 13 is an enlarged view of the cutting and
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~ heat welding device.
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,, Figure 14 is an enlarged view of a portion of the
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~ knife used to transversely cut the bag material. , ~
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.-; Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments '2-~
~: With the preferred embodiment shown in Figure 1 :. ;
the suit bag comprises a bag portion lO, and two handles 12 and!~
14 to be secured at the bag's ends 13 and 15. The bag portion`;;~
10 is a plastic film of any of several suitable plastics, pre- :
'.,! ferred plastics being low density polyethylene, high density
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polyethylene, or a combination of polyet~ylene and vinyl. The.:.
:. inner surface 16 of the bag is provided with an opening or slit ;.;
; 20 which provides the sole means of entry into the bag after .
it is assembled. The inner surace 16 comprises two sections
: 17 and 19J the edges 18 and 22 o the slit or opening 20 deEin~
ing the degree o overlap o the two inner bag sections 17
and 19. The degree o overlap may vary where the preferred ..
range oE overlap is rom approximately 4" to 6". ..
.. l Each of the handles 12 and 14 are identical and com- .
prise a hand grip portion 24, a bar portion 26 integrally molded .~ .
with the hand grip portion and an eye and double hook portion 28
integrally molded on the edge of the bar 26 opposite the hand
: grlp portion. When the bag is assembled, the bar portion 26 of
20 the handles 12 a~nd 14 are inserted within the bag in the direc- `'r
tion of arrows 3:0 and 32.
: Turning to Figure 2, the bar portion 26 as shown by .
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arrow 32 is inserted in between opposing internal sur~aces 34
., and 36 o the bag. As shown in Figure 3, the bar portion 26
is thermally welded according to standard procedure to the
opposing internal suraces 34 and 36 in order to secure the ...
handle to the bag. The heat-welds are shown at 380
To facilitate insertion of the bar portion within ::; . .
the bag, the bag portion may be tacked, spot-welded or bar- `~i
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welded in the areas indicated by dotted lines 40 shown in
Figure 1. The completed weld is shown in Figure 2. The
overlapped sections 17 and 19 of the inner surface 16 are
welded together so that they are held in place during
insertion of the bar portion 26 into the bag. The central
portion o the bag is let open to provide a space through which
the hook and eye portion 28 extends into the bag. After
the bar welds 40 are completed, a light flow of air may be
directed at the end of the bag to spread the internal surfaces
34 and 36. The bar portion 26 is then easily inserted
within the bag and thermally welded at 38 by a bar weld
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as shown in Figure 3 or welded by a sonic weld.
Reerring to Figure 4, with the enlarged view of
the handle, it can be seen that the hand grip portion 24 ~
;~ has cutouts 42 and 44 which permit insertion of the ~ingers. ;
; A reinforcing bar 46 is provided to reinforce the upper portion ; `
, 48 of the handle. The bar portion 26 of the handle has cross- ;
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~ ~ hatching 50 to facilitate thermal welding of the plastic film
k;~ to each side of the bar portion 26. The eye and hook portion
a8 comprises an aperture 52 with a double-ended hook 54, the `~
c` ~ purpose of which will be described later.
~; Fastening means for detachably securing the handles
in face-to-face relationship are provided on the handle along "~
the upper edge of the bar 26. The fastening means comprise
a plurality of projections 56 which are received by recesses
58. As previously noted, the handles are identical 80 that ;~
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when one handle is turned end for end in the manner shown in ;
Figure 1, the apertures 58 of one handle are in register with `
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and adapted to receive projections 56 of the other handle `
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when the handles are brought together. The projections have ` `
knobs 59 so that the fastening means are snap-locked together
i~ to retain the handles in face-to-face relationship with the
hand grip portions 24 aligned. The hand grip portion 24
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~~ has an aperture 60 provided therein to receive a projection ;~
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62 and snap-lock fit a hook 64 to the hand grip portion. This ' ~ ;
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hook 64 may be secured to either handle 12 or 14 o the su~t ~`
bag of Figure 1. -
The bar portion 26 of the handle is about the same ~
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width as that o the bag end so that when the handle is
secured to the end o the bag, the end o the bag i9 esgen- ;.
tially closed of. The only means o entry into the bag is
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" through opening 20. It i9 understood, however, tha~ the bar
~, portion 26 need not extend ully across the end o the bag and
or that matter, as long as it extends across a major portion
L.~ of the bag to pro~ide the necessary support at the bag ends
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when the loaded bag is being carried, the remainder of the bag `~ ;
end may be left open or sealed by a bar weld such as bar weld
40.
With the a~ssembled bag in hand, the bag is easily ~5
loaded with a suit. The hook 64 is hoo~ed onto any appropriate
rack so that the bag is in the vertical plane. A suit which is
placed on a hanger is inserted into the bag by spreading apart
opening 20) placing the hook ~ the hanger through aperture 52
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and bringing the inner edge 22 o the opening out over the suit
to ully enclose the suit within the bag. The handles 12 and
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; 14 are snap-locked together with the bag old centrally o its j~
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length ready for carrying. The suit as it is ~olded within
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the bag is folded naturally so that when the suit is withdrawn
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'~ from the bag, the natural folds ~all out of the suit when the
suit is hung. It is understood that other types of suit
~` hanging devices may be provided on the handle such as one or
more spring clips fastened along the inner edge of bar portion
26 to provide adequate means for hanging suits by.
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An alternative method for placing and holding a suit
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`i within the bag is shown in Figures 8, 9, and I0 when it is j
~i desired not to use a hanger. The suit bag 1~ is placed Oll a
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horizontal substantially ~lat surface. The suit 66 as shown
10 in dotted lines is placed within the bag with a hanger tab '
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~, 68 of a suit hooked onto the double-ended hook 54 of the
:' handle. With the suit smoothed out and the bag retained on
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i` the flatsurface, the handles are brought together as shown in ;
l Figure 9 to fold the bag centrally of its length with the
'i inside surace 16 of the bag being folded upon itself, as ,!'`',",''.
~,l shown by the back of the suit 70. Once the handles are -:~
~ fastened together, the~ suit bag may be carried by the handle in ;~
,, the manner shown in Figure 10 where the suit 66 retains its
position in the bag. Although it is not fully understood why
20 the suit retains its position in the bag, it is believed that ;~ ;
~?i~ the static electricity in the plastic bag film causes the suit to ~,,1,
cling to the internal surfaces of the bag so that the shoulders
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of the suit do not sag. As soon as the bag is opened again and
~!'.',il held in the vertical position, the shoulders will drop to faci-
litate removal o~ the suit from the suit bag. Suit pants and
``~ the like may also be hung by the belt loop Erom hook 54 in a
similar manner.
Depending upon whether a person is right~ or left~
handed and wishes to loadthe suit into the bag from either
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` direction, the hook 64 can be placed at either handle 12 or 14
so that when the bag is hung, the opening 20 is on the appro-
priate side for the left- or right-handed person. The inter- ~
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changeability of the hook 6~ with the handles 12 and 14 also
prolongs the life of the bag whereby if one of the handle
portions 28 wears out, then the other hanger 28 may be used
. ... . ..
on the other handle by interchanging the hook with the other
:7' handle. The hook 64 also permits use of the suit bag at home i~
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in a clothes closet or in an airplane where the folded suit ~;
bag is compact, easil~ stored and carried like an attache
,,:, .
case .
~, An alternate embodiment o e the invontion is shown ;~
, ,~ '. ,
in Figure ~ where edge 65 of the suit bag 67 has a closure
' device 72 which closes an opening along the bag edge 65.
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!'''"~ The closure device is provided to seal the bag to protect -;~
i its contents from inclement weather or from high humidity
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during storage of its contents.
-j AIthough various types of closure devices are used,~ ,, ,. ~ ..
the type shown in Figure 6 comprises a male portion 76 inter-
locked with a corresponding female portion 78. The male
portion is integrally molded with the inside surface of inner ;;
bag section 69 and the female portion is integrally molded with
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the inside sur~ace of outer bag section 63. Once a suit is
placed within the bag through bag opening 80, the bag may be
sealed by running the fingers along closure device 72 to inter- ,
lock the male portion 76 in female portion 78 thereby closing ` ~
bag opening 80. An example of such an interlocking device is `
: .
~ found on plastic bags sold under the trade marks "MINIGRIP" or ,~
,l "ZIPLOC".
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37439
It should be understood that when it is desired to use ;
a closure device, the opening may be provided on the outer sur~
.~,. , ~ .
~ face of the bag because when the bag is folded with the opening ~-
:;
: closed, there is no chance of the goods within the bag falling
: . .. ..
;~ out. On the other hand, when the opening is not closed, it is
important that the opening be located on the inner surace 16
; of the bag so that when the bag is folded and the inside sur~
... . .
face folded upon itself the opening will not permit the goods `-
within the bag to fall out of the bag.
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The inner surace 16 o~ the bag may also be modiied
, . ...
, where the overlying section 17 of the bag on the inner sur~ace
i,...................................................................... ..
is made wider ana then ~oldéd back on itsel~ and thermally
welded at different locations to provide pockets on the inside
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, surface of the bag. These pockets can then accept socks, shirts
'~ and the like when the suit bag is used on trips.
`~ Figure 7 shows an alternate arrangement of the handles r
for the suit bag of this invention. The bag portion 10 has a
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slit 71 on the inner surface 75 of the bag. A handle 73) iden-
ticaI to handle 12 of Figure 1, is secured to each end of bag ~`
;~ 20 portion 10 (only one ~nd of the bag is shown). The bar portion ;~
77 of the handle~is~ thermally welded to the inner surface 75
j with the outer surface of the bag welded to the inner surace `
.'~, `~ .
at the respective bag end. The bar portion 77 closes oEf a ;~
:,; ,,.
! major portion of the respective end of the bag, however, the ~ `
i bag end may be entirely closed by use of a weld or other seallng ~ `i means. The hook portion 79 of the handle is exterior of the
bag's inner surface and centrally located of the bag's end. The -~
slit 71 is in register with the hook portion 79. In loading `
., :
s this suit bag with a suit, the hook 81 of the suit hanger is
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37439
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passed through the hook portion 79 and the suit placed within ~
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the bag lO through the slit 71. The edges of the slit are ~-
brought out over the suit 83 (shown in dotted lines) to leave `~
only the hook portion 81 of the hanger exterior of the inner
r ,. .:
: surface 75 of the bag. The handles, since they are identical
to those of Figure 1, are snap-locked together to fold the
bag 10 centrally of its length where the inside surface 75 is
folded onto itself so that the slit is on the inside of the
.: ,~;
fold to protect the suit from the elements.
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~:~ 10 Depending upon the end usage of the bag, that is, whe-
: ther it is for a clothes retailer or for use as a trip bag,
~;l the thickness of theplastic film used would be selected
;~i accordingly. For most uses, 4 mil low density polyethylene
or 2 mil high density polyethylene is acceptable. The sizes ~'x
of the bag vary, depending upon the goods to be carried,
l such as men's and women's clothes. The bag size for a
'~' man's suit is approximately 24" by 40".
,- Although there are several methods for making the
bag according to;this invention, a preferred method is shown
20 schematically in Figure ll for making the kag portion lO of :k' ;,.",~
Figure 1. An extruded tube of polyethylene 82 is slit by a ;
~ knife edge 86 to provide a slit 88. The slit material is con-
,~l veyed along to a gathering device 90 where rollers 92 gather
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~ the overlying portion 94 of the film and place it over onto ,;
`~, the underlying portion of the film. Turning to Figure 12,
,l the underlying portion 96 of ~the film is retained in slot 98
where rollers 92 gather the overlying portion 94 of the film
and beat it against surface 100 df the device,90. The i'~
` distance between edges 102 and 104 of the device govern the ~ ~;
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743g `- `:
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width of the suit bag. The distance between these edges may
be adjustable to facilitate manufacture of various widths of ~ ;~
: ,. . .
bags. The overlapped film is transported to station 106 where i`;
the continuous length of film is cut into bag lengths 108 and
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the ends of the bags are bar-sealed at 110 and 112. It is
i important to note that the central portion 114 of the bag ~-
is not bar-sealed so as to permit insertion o the hook 28 of , -~
;,: , ~: .
the handle within the bag. Referring to Figure 13, station
106 is shown in enlarged view where a knife 116 severs the
slit tube 82 as it is welded where the knie enters slot 118. ;`
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The ends of the bag are simultaneously welded by bar welders
0 and 122 to produce bar welds llO and 112.
Turning to Figure 14, an emlarged section of knife
, 116 is shown where the knife is provided with saw-toothed
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edges 117 to facilitate cutting of the film into bag lengths
' 108.
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~ The suit bag shown in Figure 5 may be manufactured ~ ~
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by extruding and blowing a tube of thin film of plastic with the
male and female portlons shown in Figure 6 extruded integrally
~ 20 aajacent one another and on the exterior of the blown tube.
.~' The tube is slit between adjacent male and female portions ;
to give a slit tube which is inverted so that the male and
~, female portions are in register and are interlocked. The
`'l tube with interlocked male and emale portions is then ed to
~;l a station such as that shown at 106 in Figure ll where the tube ~ `
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is cut into bag lengths 108 and bar-welded at the bag ends.
~` The handles are welded to the bag ends in the manner shown `
~1 .
,~' in Figures 2 and 3. ~' '
' The suit bag according to the several embodiments
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~ of this invention require a minimum of labour input and raw -~
... ... .
materials during manufacturing to give a product which costs
substantially less to manu~acture than the cost of manufacture
of the common vinyl suit bag having a zippered opening.
Another feature of this suit bag is that the outer
~ sur~ace o~ the bag when folded provides two exterior surfaces
.,.'
~ on the bag to which advertising matter can be applied. As
,~ i , ,:- , .
the consumer carries purchased goods in the folded suit bag, the
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place of purchase is clearly displayed on both bag out~ides.
;, 10 Although various pre~erred embodiments of the inven- ;`
,. ;,,. ~
' tion have been described herein in detail, it will be understood `
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i;l by those skilled in the art that modi~ications may be made ~J~
. I ~.
~ thereto without departing ~rom the spirit of the invention or
,~, the scope of the appended cla ims.
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