Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
~302973
RECLOSABLE BAG AND SEALING STRIP FOR USE_THEREIN
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to resealable bags, and, more
particularly, to a bag of a flexible, frangible material,
including a bottom, opposed spaced sides, and opposed spaced
front and rear pieces terminating at the top and front and rear
edges respectively, wherein tamperproof resealability is provided
by a flap of the flexible, frangible material extending from the
rear edge over the front edge and down along the front piece; a
strip of adhesive disposed along the bottom edge of the flap to
secure it to the front piece; a piece of cording disposed between
the flap and the front piece adjacent the top of the adhesive
strip with at least one end extending from between the flap and
the front piece sufficiently for gripping; and, a pair of strips
of a hook and loop fastening system disposed between the flap and
the front piece above and adjacent to the cording with one of the
pair of strips adhesively attached to the flap and the other of
the pair of strips adhesively attached to the front piece whereby
when the cording is pulled across the flap, the flap between the
pair of strips and the strip of adhesive is fractured and
~30Zg73
separated along a line close adjacent the lower edge of the strip
so that thereafter the one of the pair of strips can be gripped
to pull the one of the pair of strips out of attachment to the
other of the pair of strips without pulling the flap apart from
its adhesive attachment to the one of the pair of strips.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention and its relation to the prior art will
be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings,
in which: Figure l is a perspective view of a reclosable bag
such as used for coffee to permit opening and grinding at the
point of sale.
Figure 2 is a view of the bag of Figure l as it would appear
in the direction of arrow II when the top is rolled down and the
tabs folded over in the locked position.
Figure 3 is a top view of one end of Figure 2.
Figure 4 is a front view of a prior art approach to a
resealable bag employing a zipper therein.
Figure 5 is a cutaway view of the bag of Figure 4 in the
Plane V-V.
- la -
A
~302973
Figure 6 shows the bag of Figure 4 in the Plane V-V as it
would appear with the zipper opened and the bag opened for use.
Figure 7 is a cutaway side elevation through the top flap
portion of a bag according to the present invention.
Figure 8 shows the bag portion of Figure 8 in the area of
the resealable closing strips as the flap is being fractured by
pulling of the cording.
Figure 9 shows the bag of Figure 7 following the initial
opening of Figure 8 with the sealing strip released and the flap
being raised for access to the bag.
Figure lO is a detailed drawing in the area designated as X
in Figure 8 showing the details of the unique loop and hook
fastening system of the present invention.
Figure ll is a drawing showing the delamination problem
solved by the strip fastening system of the present invention.
Figure l2 is a drawing similar to that of Figure 7 showing
an alternate embodiment of the present invention.
Resealable bags have been known in the art for years. For
example, before it became popular to sell previously ground
coffee in vacuum packed cans, coffee was sold as whole roasted
- lb -
ll 130~973
beans in a bag such as that generaLly indicated as 10 ;n
F;gure 1. The coffee bag 10 had metal tabs 12 extend;ng
out~ard from one side of the top. The t~o sides of the ~op
were-pinched together by folding the s;des as at 1~. The top
of the bag ~as then rolled down so as to appear as in F;gure 2
~hen vie~ed ;n the direction of arrow II in Figure 1. The
metal tabs 12 ~ere then bent around the folded-do~n top 16 as
sho~n ;n F;gures 2 and 3. When the coffee was purchased, the
metal tabs 12 were unfolded, the folded top 16 unrolled, and
the beans (not sho~n) poured out of the bag 10 into a gr;nder
from whence they were directed from a shoot back into the bag
10 wh;ch was then resealed in the manner described above.
More recently, the sale of "economy size" bags of pet food,
and the like, has ;ncreased in popular;ty. Large bags of such
mater;als open at the top are easily spilled and, therefore,
there has been a correspond;ng desirab;l; of provid;ng a
tamperproof resealable form for such bags~ That ;s, such baQs
are normally sealed shut unt;l time of use. At that time, a
tear str;p ;s removed allow;ng the bag to be opened. Thus, the
object ;s to prov;de resealab;l;ty for such sealed or
tamper-proof bags.
A recent attemPt at a solut;on to the problem ;s shown ;n
F;gures 4 - 6. As sho~n therein the bag 18 ;s folded over at
20 to prnv;de abutt;ng edges, 22, 24 adjacent the top of the
bag. A zipper, generally ;nd;cated as 2~, of the type hav;ng
two s;des 28, 30 carry;ng ;ntermesh;ng plastic loop teeth 32 is
attached to the abutting edges 22, 24 and covered w;th a
sealing strip 34. At t;re of initial use, the sealing strip 34
~02973
;s peeled off of the z;pper 26 as indicated by the arrow 36.
The z;pper 26 can then be opened by pulling the tab 38 and the
direction of arrow 40 in the usual manner of operation for
zippers. To close the bag, the tab 38 ;s pulled ;n the
direction opposite arrow 40, also in the conventional manner.
~;th the zipper 26 ;n ;ts open pos;tion, the abutt;ng edges
22,24 can be pulled apart to provide an entrance ;nto the bag
18 as symbol;zed by the arrow 42 ;n F;gure 6.
The use of a z;pper ;n such appl;cat;ons has numerous
drawbacks. The z;pper 26, as is typ;cal, is an ent;ty
compr;sing ;ts tYo s;des 28,30 and the tab 38 wh;ch must be
mounted on the teeth 32 ~ith the teeth 32 ;n proper meshed
relat;onsh;p. Th;s, of course, adds greatly to the complex;ty
and cost of construction of the bag 18. Moreover, as it also
~ell known by anyone who has used z;ppers, any fore;gn material
becoming lodged in the teeth 32 will prevent prope~ operation
of the z;pper 26. The tab 38 may become completely immovable.
Add;tionally, if the z;pper 26 is assumed closed, one may find
that a piece of the mater;al conta;ned ;n the bag 18 has become
lodged ;n the teeth 32 prevent;ng proper intermesh;ng. Shortly
thereafter, the teeth 32 ~;ll come out of engagement and the
z;pper 26 completely open allow;ng the contents of the bag 18
to sp;ll.
Wherefore, ;t ;s the object of the present invent;on to
provide a reclosable bag of the type described w;th respect to
F;gures 4 - 6 ùut eliminating the F,robLens atten ant thereto.
130~973
SUMMARY
The foregoing objective has been real;zed ;n a bag of a
flex;ble, frang;ble mater;al ;nclud;ng a bottom, opposed spaced
side-s, and opposed spaced front and rear p;eces term;nat;ng at
the top ;n front and rear edges respectively, by the
improvement of the present ;nvent;on compr;s;ng:
a flap of the flex;ble, frang;ble material extending
fro~ the rear edge over the front edge and do~n along the front
p;ece;
a str;p of adhes;ve d;sposed along the bottom edge of
1~ the flap to secure it to the front piece;
a p;ece of cord;ng d;sposed between the flap and the
front p;ece adjacent the top of the adhes;ve strip with at
least one end exeend;n9 from between the flap and the front
piece sufficiently for gripping; and
a pa;r of str;ps of a hook and loop fastening sys. m
disposed between the flap and the front p;ece above and
adjacent the cord;ng w;th one of the pa;r of strips adhesively
attached to the flap and the other of the pair of strips
adhes;vely attached to the front p;ece, the pair of strips
including an area on the;r lower edge in uhich there is no
ab;lity for the pair of str;ps to for~ a releasable attachment
to one another uhereby when the cord;ng is pulled across the
flap~ the flap between the pa;r of str;ps and the adhes;ve ;s
fractured and separated aLong a l;ne close adjacent the lower
edge of the str;ps and thereafter the one of the-~pair of str;ps
can be rolled back at the area away from the other of the pa;r
of str;ps sutficientl~ to be gri ped to pul~ the one of the
130;~973
pa;r of strips out of attachment to the other of the pa;r of
strips ~ithout pulling the flap apart from its adhesiVe
attachment to the one of the pair of strips.
The novel hook and loop fasten;ng system employed in the
bag of the present ;nvention also has independent use where it
is desired to employ a hook and loop strip fastening system
adhesively fastened to respective sides of a closure and
wherein delamination of the adhesive fastening during repeated
opening and closing of the fastening system is desired to b~
avoided.
Il 130Z~73
s
DESCRIPTlON OF THE PREFERRED EM90DIMENT
Figure 7 sho~s the top of a ba~ 44 incorporating the
present invent~on in its preferred embodiment~ ~ag 44, ~hile
poss~ble to nanufacture as a tubu~ar constructi~ ~ith a sewn
bottom, can generally be described as having a bottom (not
sho~n), opposed spaced sides 46, and opposed spaced front and
rear pleces 48j50, respectively, term~nat;ng ~t the top 52 in
front and rear edges 54 ~nd 56, respectively. ~ag 44 lS of a
flexibLe, fr~ngible material, typically multl-layer coated
paper.
According to the present invent~on, a flap 58 of the same
flexible, fr~ng~ble ~ater~al extends fron the rear edge 56 over
the front ed~e 54 and do~n along the front piece 48. A strip
of adhesive 60 is disposed along the bottom edge_h2 of the flap
58 to secure it to the front piece ~8. Various forms of
dhesive can be used at oO, houever, adhesive of th~ hot Tele
Il ~30Z973
var;ety ;s preferred for ease of manufacture. A piece of
cording 64 is disposed bet~een the flap 58 and the front piece
48 adjacent the top of the adhesive str;p 60 with at least one
end thereof extend;ng from bet~een the flap 58 and the front
piece 48 sufficiently for gr;pp;ng. That w;ll be recogn;zed by
those skilled ;n the art, cording, string, tape, or the like,
as thus positioned can be used to fracture the flap 58 which in
its or;g;nally secured posit;on as just described acts as a
tamperproof closing for the bag 44 prior to init;al opening.
As w;ll also be recogn;zed by those skilled in the art, other
means for fracturing the flap 58 could be employed within the
scope and sp;r;t of the present invention such as providing a
perforated tear strip ~ithin the flap 58 itself.
A pair of strips 66 and 68 of a hook and loop fastening
system generally indicated as 70 are disposed between the flap
5~ and the front piece 48 above and adjacent to the cording 64
~ith strip 66 adhes;vely attached to the flap 58 and str;p 68
adhes;vely attached to the front piece 48. Again, for ease of
manufacture, it is preferred that the strips 66,68 be
adhesively attached to the flap 58 and front piece 48 by a hot
melt adhesive for ease of manufacture (ho~ever, pressure
sensitive adhesives, for example, could also be used). The
hook and loop fastening system 70, compr;sing strips 66,68, is
of a type generally ~ell kno~n to those skilled in the art and,
in particular, sold by the assignee of this application under
the trademark VE~CR0. The preferred embodiment of the present
invention as being described incorporates a new and novel
embod;ment of the hook and loop fastening system 70 ~h;ch will
be described ;n greater detail shortly.
- 7 -
~ 1302973
As shown ;n Figure 8, as the cording 64 ;s pulled outwardly
in the direction of arrr,w 72, the flap 58 ;s fractured and
separated close adjacent the bottom edge 74 of the str;ps
66,68. By so do;ng, the str;p 66 adhes;vely attached to the
flap 58 can be gripped to pull ;t from ;ts engagement from
strip 68 w;thout a delaminat;ng problem dep;cted ;n F;gure 11
wh;ch would other~;se take place. As seen ;n F;gure 11, ;f the
fLap 58 were allowed to extend beyond the strip 66 and the
peel;ng or separating force ~ere appl;ed ;n the d;rect;on of
arro~ 76, there ;s a good chance that, at least after several
open;ngs and closings, the flap 58 ~ould delam;nate at the
adhes;ve 60 from the strip 66 at the po;nt indicated by arrow
78. Shortly, flap 58 ~ould then completely separate from strip
66 and the reclosability feature would be lost. ~y be;ng able
to grip str;p 66 d;rectly and apply the ;nitial peel;ng force
thereto, the delam;nat;ng problem of Figure 11 ;s substant;ally
avoided. Once the str;ps 66, 68 have been separated, the flap
58 can be l;fted as ;nd;cated by the arrow 8C ;n Figure 9 and
front edge 54 pulled outward in the direction of arro~ 82 to
provide entrance to the bag 44. Closure and resealing is, of
course, a reverse of the above-described procedure. The front
and rear edges 54,56 are pressed together and the flap 58
pulled do~n over the front edge 54 until the strips 66,68 can
be pressed together into releasable attach~ent with one another.
Turning now ~ith particularlity to Figure 10, the novel
construction of the hook and loop fastening system 70 of the
present invent;on ~ill now be described in detail. As w;ll be
appreci3ted by those s~;Lled in the art, the hcrk and lo~p
1302!~73
fasten;ng 70 prov;des benef;ts of delam;nat;on res;stance for
other uses besides bags as hereinbefore descr;bed ~hen it is
des;red to apply the strip 66, 68 ~;th an adhes;ve such as hot
melt, or other~ise. In the usual manner, one loop str;p (;n
th;s case str;p 66) compr;ses a back;ng material 84 such as
polypropylene adapted to adhere to the adhes;ve 86 and covered
u;th a loop mater;al 88. The other str;p (;n this case str;p
68) also has a back;ng 84 to uhich adhesive ~6 will adhere ~ith
res;l;ently flex;ble "J" or "T" hooks 90 extending therefrom.
To accomplish the purposes des;red, an area at 92 ;s prov;ded
uhere the strips 66,68 will not adhere to one another. Th;s ;s
most eas;ly accompl;shed by el;m;nating the hooks 90 ;n that
area. ln the preferred embodiment, the hooks 90 are d;sposed
in long;tud;naL rows and to prov;de the area 92 at least one
ro~, and preferabLy tuo or three, ;s eliminated. As a
consequence, if out~ard pressure is exerted ~;th;n the area 92
as symbolized by the arro~ 94, str;p 66 (;n combinat;on u;th
the bottom of flap 58) can be rolled back suff;c;ently to allow
the bottom edge of the str;p 66 to the gr;p securely such that
the str;ps 66,68 can be pulled out of the;r entangled
engagement ~;th one another uherein the hooks 90 are entangled
into the loop material 88.
The un;que hook and loop fastening system 70 as thus
descr;bed can also be ;ncorporated into an alternate embod;ment
of the bag of the present ;nvention as sho~n in Figure 12. In
this embodiment, the bag 96 is of substant;ally~~he same
construction as bag 44 of the preferred embodiment. The hook
and loop fasten;ng syste- 70, ho ever, is moved ~o a point
where;n one strip is attached to the front ed=e 54 and the
other to the rear edge 56 w;th the above described area 92 Off
the top 52. The flap 58 was attached w;th the adhesive 60 as
previously described and with separation means such as the
cord;ng 6~ adjacent thereto. Once opened, the fLap is not
resealabLe in this embod;ment but the top 52 was resealable at
the front and rear edges 54,56 by means of the fasten;ng system
70 d;sposed there;n. ~ecause of the un;que construct;on of the
fastening system 70 as descr;bed above and the area 92 for
gripp;ng prov;ded thereby, the strip 66 and front edge 54 can
be securely gr;ppeJ to pull them out of engagement with the
str;p 68 w;thout causing the delam;nat;on problem of the
adhes;ve prev;ously descr;bed.
~herefore, having thus described my invention, it can be
seen that the present invent;on not only provides a reclosable
bag w~-h improved sealing means as des;red. But, add;tionally,
an ;mproved hook and loop fasten;ng system for use ;n
adhes;vely appl;ed appl;cations where delam;nation of the glue
adhesion ;s avo;ded despite repeated openings and closings.
- lO ~ _
