Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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SPEC IFICATI OM
This invention is directed to the structure by which
the end of a filled bag may be held closed. ~-
Prior Art:
When bags are used in a retail establishment to hold
a customer's purchase, it is most common for the sales person
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to sort of roll or fold over the end of the bag, which typically
is a paper bag, so as to crimp or crease the same into a closed
condition. Several types of alternatives have been used such as
folding the bag shut coupled with taping or stapling, both of
which are inconvenient because of the non-productive labor -
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involved. Further, metal ties have been built into the end struc-
ture of the bag, the most comrnon of which is the reclosable bag
of the type used for coffee. At the point of manufacture, this
, -, type of bag is comparatively expensive, and again the retailer
is reluctan~ to spend more of his money than is necessary for
~; packaging the goods sold.
According to the invention a seIf-closing bag comprises:
a bag having a front side and a rear side extending to the mouth
of the bag, said front side having an opening at the mouth of the
bag, a first cohesive coating carried on an insert secured to
the inner surface of said rear side in registra~ion wit1l said
opening, said insert comprising material removed from said
front side to provide said opening, and a second cohesive coating
carried on the outer surface of said front side adjacent to said
opening and facing the same way for cooperation with said first
cohesive coating when the mouth-end of the bag is folded over.
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Many other advantages and features of the present
invention will become manifest to those versed in the art upon
making reference to the detailed description and the accompanying
sheet of drawings in which a preferred structural embodiment
5 incorporating the principles of the present invention is shown by
way of illustrative example.
ON THE DRAWING:
FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a bag having closing
structure provided in accordance with the principles of the
present invention;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the mouth-end of the
bag of FIG. l;
. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III
of FIG. 2 with thickness exaggerated;.and
PIG. 4 is a fragmentary elevational view of the mouth-
end of the bag o:E FIG. 1 shown in closed position.
The principles of the present invention are particularly
:~ useful when embodied in a bag such as shown in elevation in
FIG. 1, generally indicated by the numeral 10. When completely
. 20 fabricated, the bag can be stored and shipped in a flat condition . -~
as shown, and has an open.mouth 11 and a closed end or bottom ~:
. ~ 12 and may have side tucks 13, 14. The construction of the bag
remote from the closing structure to be described is conven~ional -
and the closing structure of this invention can be applied to
many otherwise-known types of bag constructions. However,
any bag in a flat condition has s iront side lS and a rear side l6.
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According to the invention, the rear side 16 has an
inner surface 17 on which a first cohesive coating 18 is carried.
In this embodiment, the coating 18 is carried on an insert 19
which is secured to the inner surface 17 in any conventional
manner, such as by an adhesive (not shown).
The front side 15 has a second cohesive coating 20
carried on its outer surface 21 adjacent to an opening 22. As
best shown in FIG. 2, the opening 22 has a width between its .
longitudinal edges 23, 24 which is at least one-fourth of the width
of the bag 10, such width being the distance between its lateral
edges 25, 26. Such definition of width of the bag excludes the ...
tucks 13, 14. The length of the opening 22, namely its extent
along the length of its edges 22, 23, iæ also at least one-fourth ~ .
of the width of the bag, and thus the opening 22, in this embodi- .
ment, is rectangular. In this embodiment, such length of the
opening 18 is substantially the same distance that the opening
is spaced from the lateral edges 25, 26. :.
The first cohesive coating 18 covers an area which is
more than half of the area of the opening 22, and the two coatings :
are substantially equal in area and shape. .
.; The front and rear.sides 15, 16 are provided with .~
superimposed transverse score lines 27, 28, .the score line 27 : :
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` being interupted by the opening 22. The score lines 27, 28 lie ~:between the coatings 18, 20 and provide a prospective fold line
so that the mouth end 11 of the bag 10 may be folded along such
lines so that the coating 18 comes into contact with the coating
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20 In order to get maximum air-tightness from the closed end,
there is also provided in the front and rear sides 15, 16 a pair
of similar score lines 29, 30, each numeral representing a pair
of superimposed score lines in such front and rear sides 15, 16.
These are also prospective fold lines.
In the manufac~ure of the bag 10, the insert 19 originally
comprised a portion of the front side 15, it being the material
removed from the front side 15 to provide the opening 20. Thus
the periphery of the insert 19 is identical to the periphery of the
opening 22. The score lines 29, 30 thus extend from a corner
of the insert 19 or from a corner of the opening 22, such
corners being at the mouth 11, and extend to the lateral edges
25, 26 at an angle, such angle here being 45.
~fter the bag 10 has been filled, any side tucks are
folded back into the position shown in FIG. 1, at the nnouth 11,
and the outer corners of the bag are folded along the score lines
29, 30, toward the viewer in FIG. 2, and then the bag is again
~olded along the score lines 27, 28 toward the viewer to bnng
the coatings into contact with one another. As the coatings
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i 20 comprise cohesive material, they stick to each other when the
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bag has been closed as shown in FIG. 4, and the sticking is
rnade complete by finger-pinching the area lying outside of the
coatings 18, 20 If a less air~tight closure is satisfactory
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and a faster closing is desired, the end or top of the bag is
folded only once~ along ~he score lines 27, 28 to enable the
cohesive surfaces to be pinched together.
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The use of the relatively large opening also provides
a relatively large thumb notch by which the rear side 16 may be
grasped in connection with opening the bag. However, as Lhe
cohesive material is not tacky to the touch, but only sticks to
other cohesive material, the grasping of the bag between fingers
at such point to open the bag does not produce any unwanted
sticking to a thumb or finger. Further, the use of the insert 19
provides a double wall thickness which reinforces the bag in the
-~ area by which it is grasped. Purther, the use of the insert
avoids the need for eliminating from the bag-making machine
any waste created incidental to the formation of the opening 22.
As the insert 19 was initially a portion of the front side 15,
the coatings 18, 20 can be provided as a single contiguous area.
If that be done, the term `'coating'` as used herein should be
interpreted as being a "coating portion', because ultimately they
are carried on the front and rear sides 15, 16 of the bag. The
term "cohesive" is known in the trade as meaning something
that sticks only to like maLerial in response to pressure,
whereas an adhesive will stick ~o various surfaces.
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