US3543999A - Siftproof handle bag - Google Patents

Description

I United States Patent 11113,543,999

[72] Inventor Emanuel Kugler [56] References Cited 124 Richmond Place, Lawrence, New York UNlTED STATES ENTS 3013 s97 12/1961 Moran 150/11 1 pp No. 813,819 Filed April 7, 1969 3,283,994 11/1966 Nlfller 229/63 [45] Patented Dec. 1, 1970 .Pnmary ExammerDav1d M. Bockenek Attorney-Amster & Rothstein [54] SIFTPROOF HANDLE BAG ABSTRACT: An improved sift roof bag construction which 4 claims 6 Drawing Figs has an outer and inner bag arrasged one within the other and [52] [1.8. CI. 229/56, wherein the outer bag has an upper gusset in which there are 22 /5 l l; 229/63 drawstrings disposed between the gusset wall sections and a [51] Int. Cl. B65d 31/12, finger or hand opening cut in the fold formed by the gusset B65d 33/28 wall and the bag walls, the opening being reinforced by heat [50] Field ofSearch, 229/56, 63, seals which strengthen the overall bag construction and retain the drawstrings in position.

SIFTPROOF HANDLE BAG The present invention relates to plastic bags, and more particularly to improvements in plastic bags having a siftproof construction.

The use of siftproof bags for the bagging of granular or powder material which has a tendency to leak or sift through heat seals is well known. Such bags normally comprise an inner and outer bag construction in which the inner bag holds the powdered material. One such siftproof plastic bag construction is disclosed in applicants copending application, Ser. No. 704,725 filed Feb. 12, 1968 now 0.8. Pat. No. 3,460,74l. Since such bags are extremely expensive to produce, attempts are being continuously made to improve the bags so as to enhance their reuse value. Due to the original construction of the bag one such reuse involves an arrangement whereby the bag, afler being emptied of its original contents, has multiple internal compartments. In order to maximize the reuse value of a bag having suchcompartments, it is necessary to insure that the bag retains sufficient strength and structural characteristics after the initial opening so as to be suitable for subsequent reuse.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved siftproof bag having additional reuse value. Specifically, it is an object to provide an improved bag having a siftproof construction which is reinforced to enhance its reuse characteristics.

A siftproof bag demonstrating objects and advantages of the present invention includes an inner and outer bag construction which has an upper gusset in, the outer bag, and a drawstring at its upper end. The sealed contents of the bag is removed by rupturing the gusset which then provides an opening into compartments formed on opposite sides of the inner bag, a feature which greatly contributes to the reuse value of the bag. The bag structure of the present invention includes in addition to the above defined structural elements a hand or finger cutout beneath the drawstring which is reinforced by a heat seal or weld joining the upper gusset wall to the main walls of the bag so as to improve the strength of the bag assembly when the drawstring is'used as a carrying handle. The heat seal also serves to retain the drawstring in a usable position.

The above brief description as well as furtherobjects, features and advantages of the present invention, will be more fully appreciated by reference to the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments in accordance with the present invention, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a composite plastic bag in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1, illustrating the operative arrangement of the inner and outer plastic bags which form the composite bag of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial sectional view of thehandle section of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial sectional view of an alternative embodiment of the handle structure depicted in FIG. l;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged partial sectional view of another alternative embodiment of the handle structure.

Referring to FIG. 1, there isillustrated a composite bag according to the present invention, and herein generally designated 10. The composite bag 10 is constructed so that any leakage or sifting of any of the sealed contents from within the bag is minimized and, to this end, includes two plastic bags namely an outer bag 12 and an inner bag 14. Outer bag 12 is formed by the front and rear panels or walls 12a and 12b, respectively joined to each other along opposite side welds 12c. As best illustrated in FIG. 2, the front and rear walls 12a, 12b are integral at the portion coextensive with the upper end of the bag and, in a well understood manner, are provided with an inward fold forming a gusset l6 comprised of facing gusset walls 16a and 16b terminating in a lower fold line 160. Operatively arranged in the gusset 16, and more particularly between the gusset walls 16a, 16b and the coextensive upper portions of the front and rear walls 12a, 12b, is a drawstring loop 18 constructed from lengths of string stapled at their opposite ends, as at 20.

At the opposite end of the outer bag 12 there is a bag fillingopening 22 bounded by the lower edges respectively of the front and rear walls 12a, 12b. T he open lower end of the inner bag 14 is joined, as by heat sealing 24, to the lower end of the bag front and rear walls 12a, 12b and thus also bounds the lower bag filling opening 22 of the composite bag 10. The upper closed end of the inner bag 14 designated as has a clearance position below the fold line of the upper gusset.

The composite bag 10 formed of bags 12 and 14 is particularly suitable for the packaging of difficult to handle granular or powder products since such materials are not apt to leak or sift from within the inner bag 14 because of the double wall construction. The granular or powder material is placed within the inner bag 14 through the bag filling opening 22 and then the opening 22 is sealed closed by a heat seal line applied transversely across the bottom of the bag in the general vicinity of the heat seal edges 24. When it is desired to remove the sealed contents of the inner bag 14 it is necessary to rupture both the upper gusset 16 in the vicinity of the lower fold line 16c of the gusset and the closed end 14 a of the inner bag 14.

Once the original contents of the composite bag 10 has been removed, a tricompartmented bag is formed in which the opening provided at 160 communicates with either the opening provided at 140 or with the compartments 26 and 28 bounded by the sidewalls 14b and 14c of inner bag 14 and the side walls 12a, 12b of outer bag 12.

According to the present invention, the composite bag 10 is provided with alined notches 30 in the upper portion of front walls 12a, 12b and gusset walls 16a, 16b. The notchesare of sufficient size to accommodate the hand, or at least one or more fingers, in the open space provided between the notches 30 and drawstrings 18, the combination of the notches 30 and drawstrings 18 thereby functioning as a carrying handle. In order to make the composite bag 10 reusable after rupture of fold line 160, it is essential that the upper portion of the bag 10 be reinforced in order to retain the carrying function provided bythe drawstring and notch combination. In the absence of v such reinforcement, gusset wall portion 160 and 16b, no longer being connected to each other, would not be anchoredand could notretain the drawstring 18 nor could they give the upper portion of the composite bag 10 sufficient strength for carrying purposes either upon reuse of the bag or for use of the bag while its original contents were being emptied.

The present invention contemplates the addition of reinforcing means at the upper portion of the bag 10in the vicinity of gusset 16 for the purpose of improving the utilization of the bag as a drawstring bag as well as for providing a strong carrying handle for the bag. The reinforcing means may take a variety of forms without departing from the spirit of the invention. FIG. 1 illustrates reinforcing means in the form of a discontinuous heat seal or weld line 32 positioned immediately below notches 30. The heat seal line serves a dual function. It anchors the gusset wall portion 16a and 16b to the structure thereby giving the upper portion of bag 10 a double layer of thickness for carrying purposes. In addition, the location of heat seal 32 prevents drawstrings 18 from falling beneath notches 30 thereby insuring that the handle formed by drawstrings l8 and notches 30 will be usable at all times.

FIG. 3 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the reinforced handle of FIGS. 1 and 2 in which the heat seal line 34 is continuous and generally follows the contour of the notches 30. Such an arrangement. prevents any movement of the drawstring and the continuous nature of the heat seal provides added strength.

FIGS. 4 and 5 depict an alternative reinforcing means and handle for the bag structure generally depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2. The use of the drawstrings 18 as a carrying handle places significant stresses on the bag along the edges where the drawstring 18 contacts the edge portions of the bag remaining after removal of plastic material in forming notches 30. In

order to minimize the danger of rupture due to such stresses so as to insure that the bag may be utilized for heavy duty carrying purposes the present invention contemplates the addition of a reinforcing structure 36 around the carrying portion defined by drawstrings 18' and notches 30'.-The reinforcing material 36 is laminated around portions of front wall 12a, 12b and gusset wall portions 16a, 16b. in a preferred embodiment the reinforcing material is continuous and completely covers the outer surfaceof gusset walls 16a and 16b in the vicinity of notches 30'. The width of the reinforcing handle is not critical so long as it exceeds the width of the notches 30' by an amount sufficient to insure that it will adhere to the bag and provide adequate reinforcement. lf desired, the entire upper portion of the bag may be reinforced. The selection of a reinforcing material is not critical to the practice of the invention and any material which can be permanently glued, laminated or otherwise secured to the bag and which enhances the tear resistance of the structure can be employed. Typical reinforcing materials include metal foils such as aluminum, steel or tin foils; paper materials ranging from relatively heavy paperto light but bendable, cardboard; and plastic materials such as polyethylene or polypropylene.

in addition to the reinforcing handle depicted in FIGS. '4

and 5, the upper bag structure may additionally be provided with heat seals or welds 38. These welds serve a dual function of adding further reinforcement to the upper bag structure and retaining the drawstrings 18 in position so that the reinforced notches 30' and drawstring t' together function as a carrying handle. The location'of the neat seals or welds 38 is not critical. They may be applied on or under the reinforcing handle 36 at its opposite sides as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Al t'ernatively, the heat seals can be placed directly on the bag 10, at a point beyond the reinforcing handles.

A third alternative embodiment of the upper bag structure is depicted in FIG- 6. In this'ernbodiment the hand or finger opening 40 terminates below the drawstring and takes I the form of a closed-notch or loop as opposed to the open notches 30 or 30' of the previous embodiments. The difference in the handle structure however, does not alter the critical need for reinforcement of the upper bag structure in the vicinity of the hand opening after'rupture of the upper gusset 160". In thisembodiment reinforcement is accomplished by the addition of sides-of said inner bag the a line of. heat sealing 42, which'may be continuous or discontinuous (not shown). The heat sealing line functions to retain the drawstring 18" in position so that the bag may be used as a drawstring bag and also anchors gusset walls 16a and 16b to the remainder of the upper bag structure. Although not shown in the drawings, the embodiment of FIG. 6 may be further enhanced by the addition of reinforcing material around handle opening 40 in the manner previously described.

Having thus described the general nature as well as specific embodiments of the invention, the true scope will now be pointed out in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a drawstring siftproof bag including front and rear walls having a bag-filling opening in the lower end thereof, a gusset formed in the upper end of said outer bag including a pair of gusset wall sections operatively interposed between said front and rear walls and terminating in a lowe'r fold line, a pair of side welds at the side edges of said front and rear walls and said gusset wall sections and a plastic inner bag having an operative position within said outer b'agsuch that the open end is coextensive with said bag-filling opening and the closed end thereof is located below said gusset foldline whereby an opening in said gusset in the vicinity of said foldline opens into two separate bag compartments which areformed on opposite improvement comprising a drawstring operatively arranged in said gusset between said gusset wall sections and the coextensive upper portions of said front and rear walls, alined notches formed in the upper portion of said front and rear walls and said gusset walls defining a handle opening in said outer bag and heat seals joining said gusset wall sections to said front and rear walls said heat seals erng located immediately below said notches and being sub-

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