Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
FLEXIBLE PLASTIC BAG WITH TE,ARABLE
HANDLE HAVING SLIDE CLOSURE
Background Of The Invention
This application is related to Canadian applicatio~
serial No. 501,352 on: Resealable ~eusable Flexible Plastic
Bag With ~oop Handle filed February 7, 1986 in the name of
the inventor herein and assigned to the assignee herein and
Canadian applLcation Serial No. 514,242 on: Flexible Pilfer
Proof Reusable Bag With Tearable Handle and Methoa Of Making
Same filed July 21, 1986 in the name of the inventor herein
and assigned to the assignee herein.
The invention is directed to the flexible packaging
art. Flexible plastic bags of the general type involved
herein are known. For example, see U.S. patent 4,252,269.
When goods are packaged and sealed in the bag as disclosed
in said patent, the bag is destroyed when one gains access
to the contents of the bag. Such destruction of the bay
is considered to be an unnecessary waste. InApatent
4,573,203, there is disclosed a flexible plastic bag which
enables goods to be sealed therein while allowing the seal
to be broken whereby the goods can be accessed and the bag
reused. In said patent, the bag is manufactured from two
separate webs of flexible plastic material, one wèb being
used to form the front and rear panels and gusset of the
bag, and the other web being used to form a loop handle
connected to the front and rear panels outside the gusset
region. In copending appli~ation Serial No. 501,352 on:
Resealable Reusable Flexible Plastic Bag With Loop Handle,
filed February 7, ~986 in the name of the inventor herein
and assigned to the assignee herein, there is disclosed a
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separate handle and slide closure, the slide closure com-
prising mating portions secured to the bag gusset to pro-
vide access to the goods in the bag. In copending appli-
cation Serial No. 514,242 on: Flexible Pilfer Proof
Reusable Bag With Tearable Handle and Method of Making Same,
filed July 1, 1986 in the name of the inventor herein and
assigned to the assignee herein, there is disclosed a gus-
seted bag having a handle provided with a slide closure
secured to the gusset.
The present invention is directed to the solution of
the problem of constructing a flexible plastic bag by a
high speed mass production technique wherein the handle
structure of the bag may be utilized to both carry and
reseal the bag.
Summary Of The Invention
The present invention is directed to a flexible
plastic bag which is reusable and has generally rectangu-
lar front and rear panels and a closed end of the bag
formed by a single fold of material without a gusset. The
closed end of the bag may be provided with a frangible
region, preferably defined by perforations therealong. A
loop handle secured to each panel is also provided with a
frangible region, preferably defined by perforations, so
as to be separable into two handle protions. The two
handle portions are releasably joined together by a slide
closure above the closed end of the bag.
For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there
is shown in the drawings a form which is presently preferred;
it being understood, however, that this invention is not
limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities
shown.
Brief Description Of The Drawings
Figures 1-3 show the manner in which the bag of the
present invention may be mass produced from two separate
moving websO
Figure 1 is a partial plan view of a continuous web
of flexible plastic material.
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Figure 2 is a partial plan view of the web in Figure 1
folded over to form a single fold region.
Figur~ 3 is a partial plan view of the web with a
handle web attached thereto.
Figure 4 is a perspective view of the bag of the pre-
sent invention prior to filling.
Figure 5 is a perspective view of a filled package
made from the bag of the present invention.
Figure 6 is a section taken along 6-6 in Figure S.
Detailed Description Of The Invention
Referring to the drawings, wherein like numerals in-
dicate like elements, there is shown in Figure 5 a package
10 made from the bag of the present invention wherein the
bag is produced by a high speed mass production technique
from two separate webs of flexible plastic material. The
package is sealed so as to prevent access to the goods
except in a manner which will be readily apparent and
described in greater detail hereafter. The package 10 is
filled with a product such as feminine napkins. The bag
assumes a flattened tube-shape due to the bag structure
described hereafter.
Referring to Figures 1-3, the bag is constructed
from a continuous moving web 12 of flexible thermoplastic
material. Preferably, the web 12 is a single, unitary
piece of material which is opaque and has printing on
its outer surface. The web may be a laminate wherein an
outer transparent layer is adhesively or otherwise bonded
to an inner opaque layer having printing on its outer sur-
face. The outer layer protects the printing. The web may
be made of polypropylene, polyester, polyethylene, etc.
If desired, perforations 22 may be Eormed in web 12 to
facilitate opening the bag as described hereafter.
; As shown in Figure 2, the web is folded over at fold
line 14 to form overlying front and rear panels 16, 18.
It should be noted that web 12 is folded so as to form a
single fold region only at the closed end of the bag.
Thus, no gusset is formed in the bag. Front panel 16 is
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shor~er in height than rear panel 18 whereby the rear
panel has a tab 20 projecting beyond the front panel 16.
A continuous moving handle web 24 having spaced
handle portions 26 therealong is applied to the web 12
as shown in Figure 3. The handle web 24 is made of a
flexible thermoplastic material. The web may be made of
polypropylene, polyester, polyethylene, etc. It is pre-
ferred that the handle web be transparent. Each handle
portion 26 includes a loop handle 28 provided with spaced
parallel lines of perforations 30r 32 adjacent ribbed por-
tions 34, 36. See Figure 5 and 6. Each handle portion
28 also includes flange portions 38, 40 which are line
welded to panels 16, 18 respectively to secure the handle
portion to the panels.
Aligned oval-shaped openings 42, 44 are die cut in
loop handle 28. The openings 42, 44 permit the handle to
be grasped by the user. The loop handle is provided with
mating slide closure structure preferably in the form of
a rib 46 and a groove 48 for frictionally receiving the
rib. The user may releasably join the rib and groove
simply by pressing a region of the rib and groove together
between the thumb and forefinger and by sliding the fingers
along the entire length of the rib and groove. The slide
closure joint seals off and protects the closed end of
the bag defined by the single-fold region 50 which extends
between the line welds along handle flange portions 38,
40. See Figure 6.
Web 12 is cut along lines 52 which define the side
edges of panel9 16, 18 and the side edges of the handle
flange portions 38/ 40. The side edges of the panels and
handle flange portions are heat welded together to form
bag 54 as shown in Figure 4. The single fold region 50
defines the closed top end of the bag 5~. The bottom ends
of the front and rear panels 16, 18 are open 50 that the
bag may be "bottom loaded" with product through opening
56. See Figure ~.
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The bag 54 as shown in Figure 4 may be loaded as a
stack of bags on a bagging machine with prongs or wickets
extending through aligned holes (not shown) formed in the
tab 20. When product is machine-fed into the bottom of
the bag, it is done with sufficient force so as to strip
the bag off the prongs by tearing the tab 20 proximal the
holes. The bag is structurally Eormed so as to be capable
of being machina-loaded with goods which causes the single
fold region 50 to flatten at the closed end of the bag be-
tween handle flange portions 38, ~0. The bag is formed so
as to assume a generally flattened tubular shape when filled.
The open bottom end of the bag is then sealed by heat
welding or the like to form the sealed package 10 shown in
Figure 5.
The slide closure or press-lock joint running across
the loop handle 28 completely seals the single fold region
50 at the closed top end of the bag. To break the seal
and access the goods within the bag, tear-away handle
portion 58 lying between the lines of perforation 30, 32
is stripped away from the handle. The reinforcing ribs
34, 36 proximal the handle bight contain the tear-away
portion to the region of the loop handle bight. As a
result, the loop handle is cleanly separated into two
portions A, B which may then be pulled apart to break the
slide closure joint by peeling rib 46 away from groove 48.
Such access does not destroy the utility of the bag, since
the handle portions A, B remain intact, whereby the bag
may be reused as a shopping bag once the contents are
depleted.
Once the slide closure deEined by rib 46 and groove
48 is broken, the single fold region 50 may be severed by
scissors or other sharp instrument to enter the bag.
Alternatively, if perforations 22 are provided in the web
12 (Figure 1), the single fold region 50 may be broken by
pressing along the perforations.
The present invention may be embodied in other
specific forms without departing from the spirit or essen-
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tial attributes thereof and, accordingly, reference shouldbe made to the appended claims, rather than to the foregoing
specification, as indicating the scope of the invention.
