Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
PLASTIC BAG WITH CARRYING HANDLE
Back~round
Plastic bags of the general type involved herein are
known to those skilled in the art. See U.S. Patent
4,252,269. That patent discloses a plastic bag having a
carrying handle within a gusset at one end of the bag.
Due to the manner in which the handle is connected to the
panels of the bag in said patent, there is a limit to the
amount of weight that may be supported by the bag. The
present invention is directed to solution of the problem
of increasing the amount of weight that may be supported
within the bag.
Summary Of The Invention
The present invention is directed to a plastic bag
having a carrying handle at one end thereof. The bag has
a front panel joined along side edges to a rear panel.
There is an opening at one end of the panels and a gusset
joining the opposite ends of said panels. A handle is
provided in the gusset. The handle has two layers joined
along a fold line. The free edges of the handle are
adjacent the outer extremity of the gusset. Each end of
said handle is welded to each of said panels by a tri-
angular weld.
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It is an object of the present invention to provide
a plastic bag with a carrying handle arranged in a manner
whereby a stress pattern is directed downwardly along the
panels whereby an increased load may be packed in the bag.
Other objects and advantages will appear hereinafter.
For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there
is shown in the drawings a form which is presently pre-
Eerred; it being understood, however, that this invention
is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumen-
talities shown.
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a package.
Figure 2 is a perspective view of a bag in accordance
with the present invention.
Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3
in Figure 2 but on an enlarged scale.
Figure 4-6 are partial perspective views of the
~equential steps in ~orming the bag shown in Figure 2.
Detailed Description
Referring to the drawing in detail, wherein like
numerals indicate like elements, there is shown in Figure 1
a package designated generally as 10 and made from a bas
10'. The bag 10' includes a front panel 12 and a rear
panel 14 which are juxtaposed and joined together along
their side edges by welds 16 and 18.
One of the panels such as front panel 12 has an ex-
tension 20 provided with holes 22 at an open end of the
bag. See Figure 3. At the other end of the bag, there is
provided a gusset 30 integral in one piece with panels 12,
14~ within the gusset 30, there is provided a handle 24
folded on itselE with the fold line being remote from the
outside extremities of the gusset 30. The width of handle
24 as folded is approximately one half the width of gusset
30. One end of the handle 24 is joined to the panel 12
and 14 by a V-shaped or triangular weld 26.
The other end of the handle 24 is connected to the
panels 12 and 14 by similar weld 280 As a result of the
shape of the welds 26, 28 lines of stress go down the
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panels 12 and 14 whereby a larger weight may be carried
within the package 10. The sides of the welds 26, 28
converge to an apex with the included angle being approxi-
mately 90. Thus, the bag 10' is stronger than comparable
prior art bags.
The bag 10' is made from any one of a wide variety of
polymeric plastic materials such as polyethylene, polypro-
pylene, etc. The handle 24 is preferably made from a poly-
meric plastic having greater strength than polyethylene.
Handle 24 may be transparent so that printed matter on the
top of the package 10 may be read notwithstanding the fact
the handle overlies the printing.
The preferred manner of producing the bag 10' is
illustrated in Figures 4-6. As shown in Figure 4, a web
32 is folded on itself and shaped along one side by shaper
34 to form gusset 30. The upper layer of the web will
correspond to front panel 12 on the bag 10'. Thereafter,
as shown in Figure 5, a web 40 of material for the handle
34 is folded on itself and shaped by shaper 36 within the
gusset 30. The web may be supported from below by a platen
38.
After the handle web 40 has been inserted into gusset
30, the gusset 30 and handle strip 40 are opened up so that
an air cooled anvil 44 extends therebetween. ~eb 32 is
intermittently moved. At a point in time when the web 32
is stationery, welding heads 41, 42 move toward the anvil
and provide v-shaped or triangular welds 26, 28. At the
next station, a cutting head 46 having a cutting blade 48
moves downwardly at a time when the web 32 is stationery
to thereby provide the side weld 16 and to separate bag 10'
from the remainder of the strip. It will be noted that the
side edge weld 16 intersects the apex of the weld 26. At
the same time that the weld 16 is being made, punch 52
punches the hole 22 in the ex~ending tab portion of the
front panel 12.
Thus, it will be seen that the bag 10' can be made
in an efficient manner while at the same time is a stronger
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bag capable of handling a larger load. The holes 22 facil-
itate mounting the bags 10' on a wickert. When contents are
introduced into the open end of the bag 10', the bag is
stripped off the wicket due to a slit which intersects the
holes 22. Thereafter, excess material from the panels 12
and 14 is removed by a cutting and welding step. ThiS step
closes the package 10.
The present invention may be embodied in other specific
forms without departing from the spirit or essential attri-
butes thereof and, accordingly, reference should be made to
the appended claims, rather than to the foregoing specifi-
cation, as indicating the scope of the invention.
