Bag With Integral Tie member

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Priority is claimed from U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/622,043 filed on Jan. 17, 2024, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This disclosure relates generally to bags, and more particularly to flexible material bags configured with integral closure or tie members.

BACKGROUND

Conventional bags, particularly plastic bags, are often designed with built-in carry handles or extensions that consumers routinely use to tie closed the opening of the bag. Such closure means typically create a choke point that leaves gaps and reduces the containment space for the bag. Other bags are tied off with external tie strips, requiring storage and supply of the external tie strips. There remains a need for improved bags providing convenient and effective means to close and secure the bags without the need for extra materials.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of the invention, a bag includes superimposed sheets of flexible material joined together along their side edges to define a bag having first and second wall elements with an open upper end and a closed lower end. The first wall element has a perforated region thereon. The second wall element has a perforated region thereon coincident with the first wall element perforated region. An elongated flexible tie member extends transversely along one of the first or second wall elements proximate the open upper end. The flexible tie member is configured for passage through the first wall element perforated region and the second wall element perforated region to permit the tie member to wrap around the bag.

According to another aspect of the invention, a method of sealing a bag formed of superimposed sheets of flexible material joined together along their side edges to define a bag having first and second wall elements with an open upper end and a closed lower end, a first wall element having a perforated region thereon, a second wall element having a perforated region thereon coincident with the first wall element perforated region, and an elongated flexible tie member extending transversely along one of the first or second wall elements proximate the open upper end, includes passing the tie member through the first wall element perforated region and the second wall element perforated region; and wrapping the tie member around the bag.

Other aspects of the embodiments described herein will become apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings, illustrating the principles of the embodiments by way of example only.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following figures form part of the present specification and are included to further demonstrate certain aspects of the present disclosure and should not be used to limit or define the claimed subject matter. The claimed subject matter may be better understood by reference to one or more of these drawings in combination with the description of embodiments presented herein. Consequently, a more complete understanding of the present embodiments and further features and advantages thereof may be acquired by referring to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals may identify like elements, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a front view of a bag according to an example of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 shows another front view of a bag according to an example of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 shows an overhead view of a bag according to an example of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4A shows a schematic of a bag perforation technique according to an example of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4B shows a side view of the bag perforation technique of FIG. 4A.

FIG. 5 shows another side view of the bag perforation technique of FIG. 4A.

FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of a bag closed and sealed according to an example of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 shows an oblique view of a partially opened bag according to an example of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The foregoing description of the figures is provided for the convenience of the reader. It should be understood, however, that the embodiments are not limited to the precise arrangements and configurations shown in the figures. Also, the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale, and certain features may be shown exaggerated in scale or in generalized or schematic form, in the interest of clarity and conciseness.

FIG. 1 shows a front view of a bag 10 embodiment of this disclosure. Two superimposed sheets of flexible material are joined together along their side edges 12, 14 to define a bag having a first wall element 16 and a second wall element 18, with an open upper end 20 and a closed lower end 22. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that embodiments of this disclosure may be formed of any suitable plastic compositions using conventional fabrication techniques.

As shown in FIG. 2, the second wall element 18 has a perforated region 24 formed thereon near the upper end 20. In some embodiments, the perforated region 24 is formed in a U-shaped pattern. In other embodiments, the perforated region 24 may be formed in other geometric shapes (e.g., hole, straight line, etc.). The perforations may be formed via conventional production techniques as known in the art. The first wall element 16 is also implemented with a perforated region 26 formed thereon near the upper end 20. In some embodiments, the perforated regions 24, 26 are formed on the first and second wall elements 16, 18 such that the perforations are coincident with one another (i.e., overly one another).

Returning to FIG. 1, some bag 10 embodiments are implemented with a separate elongated flexible tie member 30 disposed over either one of the first 16 or second 18 wall elements. FIGS. 1 and 2 show an embodiment with the flexible tie member 30 disposed over the second wall element 18. The tie member 30 extends transversely over and across the second wall element 18, affixed to the bag 10 along the side edges 12, 14. The tie member 18 may be affixed to the bag 10 via conventional means as known in the art (e.g., via heat fusion). As shown in FIG. 1, the flexible tie member 30 includes a perforated tear line 32 formed near the center of the member. The tear line 32 is formed to permit a user to split or tear the member to form two strips (further described below). FIG. 3 shows an overhead view of a bag 10 with the first wall element 16, second wall element 18, and the separate tie member 30.

Although not shown in FIG. 1 for clarity of illustration, it will be understood that the first 16 and second 18 wall elements of the bag 10 are implemented with the perforated regions 24, 26 as described herein and shown in FIGS. 2 and 4A. Bag 10 embodiments of this disclosure may be implemented with the plastic composition providing different levels of transparency. For example, embodiments may be implemented in a standard clear plastic composition, wherein the first 16 wall member, the second 18 wall member, and the tic member 30 are all transparent. Other embodiments may be implemented with the different sections produced with varying levels of clarity and/or in different colors. For example, bag 10 embodiments may be implemented with the first 16 and second 18 wall elements formed of fully transparent plastic, and the tie member 30 formed with an opaque transparency factor and tinted plastic (e.g., blue tint) for casier detection by the user.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show bag 10 embodiments implemented with a section 34 of the first wall element 16 extending further than the second wall element 18 at the open upper end 20. Embodiments may be implemented with this additional section 34 for bagging applications wherein the bags 10 are bundled together one over the other for convenient storage and dispensation. One or more apertures 36 (e.g., holes) may also be formed in the additional section 34 for hanging the bag(s) 10 on conventional attachment means (e.g., hooks) used in commercial bagging applications. It will be appreciated that the disclosed bag 10 embodiments may be implemented with or without the additional section 34 and apertures 36.

In application, when it is desired to close and seal the bag 10, the perforated regions 24, 26 are punctured by simply pushing through the perforation. FIG. 4A shows one way of rupturing the perforations 24, 26 by the user placing a finger on top of the tie member 30 on the perforated tear line 32. As shown in FIG. 4A, the perforated regions 24, 26 are coincident with the tear line 32. Next, as shown in FIG. 4B, the user simply pushes the finger through the perforations 24, 26. The tic member 30 is thus pushed through the perforations 24, 26. Once the tie member 30 has been pushed through the perforations 24, 26, the user can then tear the tie member at the perforated tear line 32, splitting the member into two strip end.

FIG. 5 shows the tie member 30 after it has been pushed through the perforations 24, 26 and torn at the tear line 32, resulting in two strip ends 30A, 30B. The tie member 30 may now be used to close and seal the bag 10. The two tie member strips 30A, 30B are wrapped around the first 16 and second 18 wall elements and cinched near the upper end opening 20 to close and seal the bag 10, as shown in FIG. 6. The tie member strips 30A, 30B can be untied for reuse of the bag as desired. It will be appreciated that the tie member 30 may be pushed through the perforations 24, 26 and split into two strips for sealing the bag 10 via other means depending on the particular application.

FIG. 7 shows an oblique view of a bag 10 embodiment partially opened at the upper end 20. As shown in FIG. 7, the respective perforations 24, 26 formed in first wall element 16 and second wall element 18 are lined up with one another. The tie member 30 is also shown disposed on the bag 10 such that the tear line 32 lines up with the perforations 24, 26. This configuration allows a user to easily puncture all three perforations 24, 26, 32 to pass the tie member 30 through the bag 10 to tie the two spilt ends and seal the bag as described above.

It will be appreciated that the tie member can also be detached from the bag 10 from either end such that the member remains attached to the bag by one end The loose end of the tie member 30 may then be passed through the perforated regions 24, 26 and wrapped around the first 16 and second 18 wall elements and cinched near the upper end opening 20 to close and seal the bag 10.

In light of the example embodiments described and illustrated herein, it will be recognized that numerous modifications could be applied to derive alternative embodiments of the present invention. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that embodiments may be implemented using conventional materials. It will also be appreciated that the disclosed bag embodiments are not limited for use in any one particular field or for any one particular purpose.