WO2004098343A1

WO2004098343A1 - A reusable shopping bag

Info

Publication number: WO2004098343A1
Application number: PCT/AU2004/000569
Authority: WO
Inventors: Wessel Johannes Van Niekerk
Original assignee: Wessel Johannes Van Niekerk
Priority date: 2003-05-05
Filing date: 2004-05-03
Publication date: 2004-11-18
Also published as: AU2003902146A0

Abstract

A reusable shopping bag (10) characterized in that said bag includes a flexible member (14) which maintains the mouth (12) of the bag in an open position, said flexible member being movable between an open condition in which the bag has an accessible opening to an interior thereof and a compressed condition in which the flexible member serves to maintain a packable shape of the bag

Description

A reusable shopping bag

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a reusable shopping bag and, in particular, to a shopping bag including a flexible member that maintains the mouth of the bag in an open position for easy access to and from the inside of the bag.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Bags, and in particular, those used for grocery shopping are available in a number of different varieties. Most of these bags are known to the public and generally consist of a body portion adapted to hold the goods to be carried, an opening so that the body portion can be accessed and a carrying means typically extending above the mouth. The materials used in the construction of these bags are generally plastic or cardboard for obvious cost and strength requirements.

Supermarkets and convenience stores often supply customers with plastic bags which are stored in various types of plastic bag racks. Once a bag has been removed from the rack, it is opened and groceries and other goods are placed inside. Opening the mouth of the bag is often quite difficult, as the bags have a tendency to stick to one another. To alleviate this problem, the sales assistant will perhaps grip the handle or other carrying means and shake the bag in an attempt to force air inside the body of the bag so as to open the mouth. This is quite time consuming and often provides an unfavourable noise due to the shaking of the plastic bag. Racks that keep plastic bags open by extending the mouth into a shape that allows for easy access to the body portion are known, however, this still requires the sales assistant to open the bag themselves prior to placing it onto the rack.

The environmental impact of single use relatively flimsy plastic shopping bags as commonly supplied by most Western supermarkets and shops is well known. Such bags are used in large quantities and consumers in general pay little attention to the safe disposal of the bag. The resulting pollution that occurs has become a major concern for many governments and methods of reducing the impact of the shopping bag are keenly sought after.

One possible solution to the issue is thought to be the adoption of reusable bags that will be purchased at a cost to the consumer. As the consumer has made an investment in such bags, the expectation is that such products will be carefully looked after and maintained.

The difficulty to date has been to provide reusable shopping bags, that may be required in some quantity, in a manner that is practical for users.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to overcome at least some of the aforementioned problems or to provide the public with a useful alternative. The invention therefore relates to a collapsible bag and a container for a plurality of such bags.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore in one form of the invention there is proposed a reusable shopping bag including a flexible member which maintains the mouth of the bag in an open position, said flexible member being movable between an open condition in which the bag has an accessible opening to an interior thereof and a compressed condition in which the flexible member serves to maintain a packable shape of the bag

Preferably, said flexible member is a thin annular strip which defines the mouth of the bag. The invention should not be limited to a thin annular strip as a square, rectangular or thick strip may very well be used.

Preferably, in said compressed condition said bag is reduced to a size to fit into a storage means.

Preferably, said flexible member is biased in an annular position in a configuration that allows it to return to this position subsequent to any position alteration. Preferably, said flexible member is made of a material that is able to be folded into a figure-eight configuration and then twisted into a circular configuration thereby collapsing the bag.

Preferably, said reusable shopping bag includes a body portion connected below the edge of the flexible member and adapted to hold goods.

Preferably, said reusable shopping bag includes a carrying means connected above the edge of the flexible member and adapted to be held by a user.

Preferably, said body portion and carrying means are made of plastic or fabric. Any material capable of holding relatively heavy goods without rupturing is sufficient for these purposes.

Preferably, said storage means is a cylindrical purse correspondingly shaped to enclose a plurality of bags in their collapsed state.

Preferably, said storage means is a cylindrical container correspondingly shaped to enclose a plurality of bags in their collapsed state.

Preferably, said cylindrical container includes at least one side aperture for easy access to said bags.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate several implementations of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the advantages and principles of the invention. In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating a reusable shopping bag in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the reusable shopping bag of

Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a perspective view illustrating the reusable shopping bag of

Figure 1 in its first stage of collapse; Figure 4 is a perspective view illustrating the reusable shopping bag of

Figure 1 in its second stage of collapse;

Figure 5 is a perspective view illustrating the initial stage of storing the collapsed bag;

Figure 6 is a perspective view illustrating the final stage of storing the collapsed bag; and

Figure 7 is a perspective view illustrating an alternate storage means.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following detailed description of the invention refers to the accompanying drawings. Although the description includes exemplary embodiments, other embodiments are possible, and changes may be made to the embodiments described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings and the following description to refer to the same and like parts.

The present invention discloses a shopping bag 10 or any bag used to carry various goods whose mouth 12 is maintained open by a flexible member 14 so that access to and from within the body portion 16 of the bag 10 is made easier. The present invention further discloses various storage means 18 and 20 for such bags so that, for example, in a supermarket a customer may take a collapsed bag 10 from the storage means 20 and simply wait for the bag 10 to unravel into an open position.

Figures 1-2 illustrate the bag 10 of the present invention which includes a hollow body portion 16 sealed at the underside to hold goods placed inside, a flexible member 14 which is biased in an open circular position and which defines the mouth 12 of the bag 10, and a carrying means 22 which in this case are two opposed identical handles 24 and 26 adapted to be gripped by a user 28 when handling the bag 10.

Flexible member 14 consists of a strip of resilient spring wire whose ends are secured together by a simple press connection. The resilience of the flexible member 14 ensures that subsequent to any manipulation (such as twisting or folding), the member 14 will return to its original open circular shape. It is to be understood that any material of the same or similar stiffness is acceptable and the invention should not be limited to the use of aluminium only. Furthermore, the connection means of the strip ends should not be limited to a press connection.

It should also be understood that hollow body portion 16 and carrying means 22 may vary in appearance without affecting the functionality of the invention. For example, handles 24 and 26 could well be solid plastic handles while body portion 16 could very well be shaped in a rectangular shaped configuration. Preferably, body portion 16 and carrying means 22 are made of a material that is environmentally friendly, however, any type of plastic or fabric that is capable of holding relatively heavy goods without rupturing will suffice.

Construction of the bag 10 is quite simple and economical. Figures 1 and 2 illustrate that body portion 16 and carrying means 22 are actually the same piece of fabric while a second strip of fabric is sewed around the flexible member 14 thereby enclosing it and securing it at the mouth 12 of the bag 10. This is one way of constructing the bag 10 when using fabric as a material, however, there are numerous other possible methods of construction and once again, the invention should not be limited to only this method. For example, if body portion 16 and carrying means 22 were made of plastic then obviously alternate connection means would need to be employed.

The bag 10 of the invention may be collected together with other bags into a pouch ready for a major shopping trip. Alternatively, it is possible for the bag to be used and carried alone. As the bag is folded to a relatively small shape it is easily accommodated in pocket or purse. A shopper is thus prepared and able to make small or impulse purchases and still take advantage of the bag. An elastic strap 23, shown in figure 2 may be attached to the bag, preferably at adjacent of the spring wire 14. The strap 23 is secured around the bad in the compressed condition and helps maintain the position.

As already mentioned, the bag 10 is collapsible into a shape that allows it to be stored. Figures 3-4 illustrate the steps involved in collapsing the bag 10 in accordance with the steps listed below:

• Grasp the circular flexible member 14 with both hands 30 and 32 at diametrically opposed ends. • Twist the flexible member 14 until a figure-eight configuration is achieved thus forming two circular portions 34 and 36, as can be seen clearly in Figure 3.

• Fold circular portion 36 upon the other 34 to form a single circular portion 38 as can be seen clearly in Figure 4.

• Now, whilst securing circle 38 with thumbs 40 and 42, using fingers 44 and 46, roll up the remaining body portion 16 to form the collapsed bag 10 which now resembles a thin cylindrical pouch.

Now that the bag 10 is collapsed, it can be stored. Figures 5-6 illustrate the process of storing a collapsed bag into a cylindrical purse 18 shaped in a manner to comfortably fit a stacked plurality of collapsed bags. As can be seen, the bag 18 is initially aligned with the opening 48 of the purse 18 for easy entry and then rotated 90° once inside the purse 18 for it to be easily stacked. The purse 18 further includes a closing mechanism 50, in this case a zipper configuration.

An alternate storage means in the form of a cylindrical container 20 can be seen in Figure 7. As with the purse 18, the container 20 is correspondingly shaped to enclose a stacked plurality of collapsed bags. The container 20 further includes a side aperture 52 for easy access to the enclosed bags, especially useful when shopping at a supermarket where quick and easy access to a bag is favourable.

It should now be apparent that once a customer has purchased a bag 10, they are now in a position to reuse that bag 10. The purse 18 and container 20 as described above serve to store the bag thereby protecting it for its next use. The purse 18 and container 20 are further capable of storing a plurality of bags which is useful in situations such as those found in supermarkets where large numbers of bags are required. This process is also environmentally friendly in that it does away with the need for plastic bags currently being used which are generally used once and then disposed of.

The present invention provides a shopping bag 10 that is not only maintained in an open configuration thereby ensuring ease of access to and from within the bag 10, but also a means for the bags to be compacted and stored. A further advantage of the invention is that if a user 28 takes a bag 10 subsequent to it being stored, there is no need to manipulate the bag 10 to create a useable shape as the flexible member 14 ensures this happens on its own. The invention is not only applicable in supermarkets and other shops that involve placing goods inside a bag but also in the fruit picking industry where continuous access to within the bag is also required.

Further advantages and improvements may very well be made to the present invention without deviating from its scope. Although the invention has been shown and described in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope and spirit of the invention, which is not to be limited to the details disclosed herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent devices and apparatus.

Claims

1. A reusable shopping bag characterized in that said bag includes a flexible member which maintains the mouth of the bag in an open position, said flexible member being movable between an open condition in which the bag has an accessible opening to an interior thereof and a compressed condition in which the flexible member serves to maintain a packable shape of the bag

2. A bag according to claim 1 , further characterized in that said flexible member is a thin annular strip which defines the mouth of the bag.

3. A bag according to claim 1 , further characterized in that, in said compressed condition said bag is reduced to a size to fit into a storage means.

4. A bag according to claim 1 , further characterized in that, said flexible member is biased in an annular position in a configuration that allows it to return to this position subsequent to any position alteration.

5. A bag according to claim 1 , further characterized in that, said flexible member is made of a material that is able to be folded into a figure-eight configuration and then twisted into a circular configuration thereby collapsing the bag.

6. A bag according to claim 1 , further characterized in that, said reusable shopping bag includes a body portion connected below the edge of the flexible member and adapted to hold goods.

7. A bag according to claim 1 , further characterized in that, said reusable shopping bag includes a carrying means connected above the edge of the flexible member and adapted to be held by a user.

8. A bag according to claim 1 , further characterized in that, said body portion and carrying means are made of plastic or fabric.

9. A bag according to claim 1 , further characterized in that, said storage means is a cylindrical purse correspondingly shaped to enclose a plurality of bags in their collapsed state.

10. A bag according to claim 1, further characterized in that, said storage means is a cylindrical container correspondingly shaped to enclose a plurality of bags in their collapsed state.

11. A bag according to claim 1 , further characterized in that, said cylindrical container includes at least one side aperture for easy access to said bags.