Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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REINFORCEMENT HANDLE FOR BAG AND METHOD OF ASSEMBLY THEREOF
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to bag handles. More particularly, the
present invention relates to a reinforcement handle for a bag and a method for
assembling such a handle on a bag.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Carrier bags for shopping have been produced from a variety of materials and
in
various designs, and have been in use for the past 50 to 100 years. Paper and
later
plastic film have been the materials of choice during the 20th century.
Because of environmental concerns, paper and plastic bags have lost some of
their
popularity. Re-useable shopping bags made from woven polyolefin laminated
materials have gained popularity of late. These bags, mostly coming from Asia,
are
fabricated from Polyolefin fabrics which are further extrusion coated and/or
laminated with Polyolefin film resin.
The fabrication of the finished bag and the attachment of webbing handles is
carried
out with lock stitch type sewing machines. Such sewing machines are designed
for
sewing garments made from high-count natural and synthetic materials.
The bags in questions are made from low-count polyolefin tape fibre fabrics.
Such
fabrics, are the economic fabric of choice for many industrial and now
consumer
applications. Such fabrics, while possessing high shear strength, have a low
tear
strength when subjected to a extraordinary amount of seam punctures.
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The stitch rate inherent in these machines is between 2.3 to 2.75 per
centimeter.
Acceptable stitch rate for the polyolefin materials is no more than 1.6 per
centimeter.
This higher stitch rate results in weaker seams both in the body of the bags
and the
handles.
As the seams become the weakest area in the bag, the strongest bag will have
no
sewing seams both in the forming of the bag or the attachment of handles which
could weaken the bag.
There is therefore a need for a molded plastic reinforcement handle and its
attachment onto a bag. The handle is to be attached to a bag made from fabric
woven from tapes of oriented woven polyolefin film, which is then coated on
one of
both sides with polyolefin films.
Polyolefin tape fabric and polyolefin woven webbed handles cannot be sealed in
the
same manner as common polyethylene or polypropylene film bags. Polyolefin
films
including both polyethylene and polypropylene are sealed with band sealers,
impulse
sealers and hot bar sealers. These sealing devices usually require heat to
pass
through the material to the interface to be sealed. Since damage has been
observed
on fabric temperatures exceeding 220 F, this type of heat sealing is not
recommended nor acceptable. Other sealing methods such as hot melt or molten
resin sealing tend to be less desirable because they are too complicated,
specifically
for the attachment of handles. Sewing web handles onto a bag are used but
suffer
from strength limitations as described above, and require a highly labour
intensive
procedure to achieve.
Consequently, there is a need for a reinforcement handle that provides
improved
strength properties to the bag while being less labour-intensive in its
installation on
the bag.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a reinforcement handle for a
bag that
satisfies at least one of the above-mentioned needs.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a reinforcement handle for a bag
comprising:
-first and second opposite closure members, said closure members being
movable between an open configuration and a closed configuration;
-folding means for folding the first closure member against the second closure
member in the closed configuration; and
-interlocking means for interlocking the first closure member with the second
closure member in the closed configuration;
wherein said handle is foldable over a top portion of a side of the bag.
According to the present invention, there is also provided a method of
assembly of a
reinforcement handle onto a bag, the method comprising the steps of:
a) providing the reinforcement handle, said handle comprising:
-first and second opposite closure members, said closure members
being movable between an open configuration and a closed
configuration;
-folding means for folding the first closure member against the second
closure member in the closed configuration; and
-interlocking means for interlocking the first closure member with the
second closure member in the closed configuration,
wherein said handle is foldable over a top portion of a side of the bag.
b) providing the bag, said bag comprising at least one pre-punched hole in the
top portion of the side of the bag, said at least one pre-punched hole being
shaped to be traversed by the interlocking means therethrough; and
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c) folding the first closure member against the second closure member over
the top portion of the side of the bag, thereby interlocking the first closure
member with the second closure member in the closed configuration.
Preferably, the reinforcement handle is attached to the bag using pegs, dots,
and a
clamp so that the force of the weight in the bag is distributed along the
entire length
of the handle. In addition, the present invention results in cost savings due
to the
elimination of the sewing procedure to affix web handles.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent
upon
reading the detailed description, provided merely by way of non-limitative
examples,
and upon referring to the drawings in which :
Figure 1 a is a perspective view of the reinforcement handle in the open
configuration
according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
Figure lb is a perspective view of the reinforcement handle from Figure la in
the
closed configuration around one side of a bag;
Figure 2a is a side perspective view of an interior face of the reinforcement
handle
from Figure 1, in the open configuration;
Figure 2b is a side perspective view of the outer face of the reinforcement
handle
from Figure 1, in the closed configuration;
Figure 2c is a cross-sectional view of the reinforcement handle from Figure 1,
in the
closed configuration;
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Figure 2d is a cross-sectional view of the reinforcement handle from Figure 1,
in the
open configuration;
Figure 3a is a zoomed perspective view of the interlocking means of the
reinforcement handle from Figure 1;
Figure 3b is another perspective view of the reinforcement handle from Figure
1
showing the interaction with a side of a bag;
Figure 4 is a perspective view of two reinforcement handles mounted onto two
sides
of a bag, with the bag open;
Figure 5a is a perspective view of two reinforcement handles mounted onto two
sides of a bag, with the bag closed and the handles interconnected;
Figure 5b is a cross-sectional view of the two reinforcement handles shown in
Figure
5a; and
Figure 5c is another cross-sectional view of the two reinforcement handles
shown in
Figure 5a.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
As shown in Figures la to 2d, the present invention provides a reinforcement
handle
10 for a bag 12 comprising first and second opposite closure members 14,16.
The
closure members 14, 16 are movable between an open configuration shown in
Figure la and a closed configuration shown in Figure 1b. The handle 10 also
includes folding means 18 for folding the first closure member 14 against the
second
closure member 16 in the closed configuration. The handle 10 also has
interlocking
means 20 for interlocking the first closure member 14 with the second closure
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member 16 in the closed configuration. As better shown in Figure 1b, the
handle 10
is foldable over a top portion 22 of a side of the bag 12.
Preferably, the handle 10 is made from a single moulded piece.
Preferably, the interlocking means 20 comprises at least two spaced apart peg
elements 24 mounted on the first closure member 14 and at least two
corresponding
pre-punched holes 26 on the second closure member 16. The at least two peg
elements 24 are interlockingly engageable with the at least two corresponding
pre-
punched holes 26 when the closure members 14,16 are in the closed
configuration.
The corresponding peg elements and associated holes therefore allow for the
handle
to be properly fixed to the side of the bag.
Preferably as better shown in Figure 1b, the bag 12 comprises at least one pre-
punched hole 50 in the top portion of the side of the bag. The at least one
pre-
punched hole 50 is shaped to be traversed by the interlocking means 20
therethrough.
Preferably, as better shown in Figures 2a and 2d, the handle 10 further
comprises
bag-pressing means 28 for applying pressure against a side surface of the bag
12
when the closure members 14, 16 are in the closed configuration. This feature
adds
a pressing action against the surface of the bag material providing a sturdier
grip to
the top part of the bag, as better seen in Figures 2a and 1 b.
Preferably, the bag-pressing means 28 comprises at least one protruding dot
extending from at least one of the first and second closure members.
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Preferably, as seen in Figures la and 2a, the handle has a plurality of
protruding
dots arranged along the length of closure member in three rows, thereby
pressing
against the surface of the bag material.
Preferably, as better shown in Figure 2a, the handle 10 further comprises
clamping
means 30 for clamping the first closure member 14 against the second closure
member 16 in the closed configuration.
Preferably, the clamping means 30 comprises a protruding ridge 32 moulded
along
an edge of a selected one of the first and second closure members 14, 16. The
ridge
32 is adapted to clampingly engage the closure member 16 opposite the selected
one of the first and second closure members 14. The protruding ridge 32 is
shaped
to support an existing handle 52 made in the fabric of a bag 12 thereby
allowing the
weight-bearing stress to be distributed along the entire length of the handle
10. The
length of the ridge 32 is preferably made to generally match that of the
handle
opening 54 made in the fabric of the bag.
Preferably, the handle has an overall length of about 22 cm.
Preferably, the peg elements 24 of the interlocking means measure about 1 cm
wide
and four such peg elements are provided with each handle.
Preferably, protruding ridge 32 has a length of at least 4 cm.
The interlocking means 20, bag-pressing means 28, and clamping means 30
allowing the handle 10, when in the folded closed configuration, to be
properly fixed
to the top of the bag, while minimizing the potential of creating tears to the
fabric of
the bag.
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Preferably, the folding means 18 is a flexible member 34 integrally formed
between
the first and second closure members 14,16.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the folding means 18 could be
a
hinge hingedly connecting the first and second closure members 14,16.
Preferably and as better shown in Figures 3a to 5c, an external surface of one
of the
first and second closure members 14, 16 comprises interconnecting means 40 for
interconnecting a reinforcement handle 10a with an adjacent reinforcement
handle
10b on an opposite side of the bag 12, thus allowing for the bag 12 to be
closed at
the top part if such is desired by the handle user.
Preferably, the interconnecting means 40 comprises a male connecting member 42
and a corresponding female connecting member 44 respectively positioned on
opposite adjacent reinforcement handles 1Oa, 1 Ob on opposite sides of the bag
12.
The top part of a bag can be closed when both handles are installed onto the
top
part of opposing faces of a bag.
The present invention also a method of assembly of a reinforcement handle onto
a
bag, the method comprising the steps of:
a) providing the reinforcement handle, said handle comprising:
-first and second opposite closure members, said closure members
being movable between an open configuration and a closed
configuration;
-folding means for folding the first closure member against the second
closure member in the closed configuration; and
-interlocking means for interlocking the first closure member with the
second closure member in the closed configuration,
wherein said handle is foldable over a top portion of a side of the bag.
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b) providing the bag, said bag comprising at least one pre-punched hole in the
top portion of the side of the bag, said at least one pre-punched hole being
shaped to be traversed by the interlocking means therethrough; and
c) folding the first closure member against the second closure member over
the top portion of the side of the bag, thereby interlocking the first closure
member with the second closure member in the closed configuration, as
shown in Figures 3a and 3b.
As mentioned above, the pegs, dots, and clamp help distribute the weight in
the bag
along the entire length of the handle. In addition, the method of assembly of
the
handle onto the bag results in cost savings due to the elimination of the
sewing
procedure typically used to affix web handles.
Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in
detailed herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it is to be
understood
that the invention is not limited to these precise embodiments and that
various
changes and modifications may be effected therein without departing from the
scope
or spirit of the present invention.
