INTERNAL BAG CLOSURE AND AUTOMATIC BAG KIT

Abstract

An internal bag closure and a bag kit that includes a bag with handles and the internal bag closure. The internal bag closure includes a central portion dimensioned to cover an open top of a bag and a pair of handle orifices shaped to allow the easy passage of the handles of the bag through each orifice and their subsequent locking within each orifice.

Claims

1. An internal bag closure for a self opening square bag having a front panel, a back panel, a right side gusset having a fold, a left side gusset having a fold, a bottom gusset, an open top opposite the bottom gusset, a front handle attached to an inside surface of the front panel proximate the open top and a back handle attached to the an inside surface of the back panel proximate the open top, wherein a distance between the front panel and the back panel defines a depth of the bag and wherein a distance between the right side gusset and left side gusset defines a width of the bag, wherein said internal bag closure comprises: a front folded over section having a front edge and a back folded over section having a back edge, wherein said front edge of said front folded over section is substantially parallel to said back edge of said back folded over section, a central section disposed between said front folded over section and said back folded over section, wherein said central section comprises a right end and a left end, wherein a minimum distance between said right end and said left end defines a length, and wherein said length is less than the width of the bag; a front fold disposed between said front folded over section and said central section and a back fold disposed between said back folded over section, wherein a distance between said front fold and said back fold defines a width, and wherein said width is substantially equal to the depth of the bag; and a handle orifice disposed through each of said front fold and said back fold, wherein each handle orifice comprises a slot extending along a portion of a length of said front fold and said back fold, wherein each of said slots has a width that is less than a thickness of the handle and terminates at an end.

2. The internal bag closure as claimed in claim 1, wherein said front folded over section, said back folded over section, said front fold and said back fold are central section disposed between said front folded over section and said back folded over section comprise a single sheet of paper having a paper weight between 250-400 gsm.

3. The internal bag closure as claimed in claim 1, wherein said length of said central portion is between ten percent and fifteen percent less the width of the bag.

4. The internal bag closure as claimed in claim 1, wherein at said right end and said left end of said central portion are scalloped shaped.

5. The internal bag closure as claimed in claim 4, wherein each of said scalloped shaped right end and said scalloped shaped left end define an arc that allows a natural inward tendency of the folds of the left side gusset and right side gusset of the bag to be unimpeded by said internal bag closure.

6. The internal bag closure as claimed in claim 1, wherein a distance between said front edge of said front folded over section and said front fold is between twenty and thirty millimeters and wherein a distance between said back edge of said back folded over section and said back fold is between twenty and thirty millimeters.

7. The internal bag closure as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of said front edge and said back edge is a finished edge.

8. A bag kit comprising: a self opening square bag comprising: a front panel, a back panel, a right side gusset having a fold, a left side gusset having a fold, a bottom gusset, an open top opposite said bottom gusset, a front handle attached to an inside surface of said front panel proximate said open top and a back handle attached to an inside surface of said back panel proximate said open top; wherein a distance between said front panel and said back panel defines a depth of said bag and wherein a distance between said right side gusset and said left side gusset defines a width of said bag; and an internal bag closure comprising: a front folded over section having a front edge and a back folded over section having a back edge, wherein said front edge of said front folded over section is substantially parallel to said back edge of said back folded over section, a central section disposed between said front folded over section and said back folded over section, wherein said central section comprises a right end and a left end, wherein a minimum distance between said right end and said left end defines a length, and wherein said length is less than said width of said bag; a front fold disposed between said front folded over section and said central section and a back fold disposed between said back folded over section, wherein a distance between said front fold and said back fold defines a width, and wherein said width is substantially equal to said depth of said bag; and a handle orifice disposed through each of said front fold and said back fold, wherein each handle orifice comprises a slot extending along a portion of a length of said front fold and said back fold, wherein each of said slots has a width that is less than a thickness of each of said front handle and said back handle and terminates at an end; wherein said kit is assembled by disposing said internal bag closure within said open top of said bag, securing said front handle within said front handle orifice and securing said back handle within said back handle orifice.

9. The bag kit as claimed in claim 8, wherein said front folded over section, said back folded over section, said front fold and said back fold are central section disposed between said front folded over section and said back folded over section comprise a single sheet of paper having a paper weight between 250-400 gsm.

10. The bag kit as claimed in claim 8, wherein said length of said central portion of said internal bag closure is between ten percent and fifteen percent less said width of said bag.

11. The bag kit as claimed in claim 8, wherein at said right end and said left end of said central portion of said internal bag closure are scalloped shaped.

12. The bag kit as claimed in claim 11, wherein each of said scalloped shaped right end and said scalloped shaped left end of said internal bag closures define an arc that allows a natural inward tendency of said folds of said left side gusset and right side gusset of said bag to be unimpeded by said internal bag closure.

13. The bag kit as claimed in claim 8, wherein a distance between said front edge of said front folded over section and said front fold of said internal bag closures is between twenty and thirty millimeters and wherein a distance between said back edge of said back folded over section and said back fold of said internal bag closures is between twenty and thirty millimeters.

14. The bag kit as claimed in claim 8, wherein at least one of said front edge and said back edge of said internal bag closures is a finished edge.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] FIG. 1A is a front perspective view of a prior art automatically finished SOS bag in an open position.

[0032] FIG. 1B is a front view of the bag of FIG. 1A in a folded position FIG. 2A is a top perspective view of a prior art automatically finished bag in an open position.

[0033] FIG. 2B is a back view of the bag of FIG. 2A in a folded position FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a prior art automatically finished SOS bag with bottom gusset.

[0034] FIG. 4A is an perspective assembly view of the kit of the present invention showing the internal bag closure of the present invention and a prior art automatically finished SOS bag.

[0035] FIG. 4B is a partially assembled perspective view of the kit of FIG. 4A.

[0036] FIG. 4C is a partially assembled top view of the kit of FIG. 4A showing one handle in its fully assembled position and one handle in its partially assembled position.

[0037] FIG. 5 is a back perspective view the kit of FIGS. 4A-4D with the internal bag closure in position to be folded flat within the bag.

[0038] FIG. 6 is a top view of the preferred embodiment of the internal bag closure of the present invention.

[0039] FIG. 7 is a top view of an alternative embodiment of the internal bag closure of the present invention with scalloped ends.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] FIGS. 2A, 2B and 3 show a typical prior art automatically finished SOS bag 10. Prior art SOS bag 10 includes a front panel 12, a back panel 14, right side gusset 16, left side gusset 18, bottom gusset 20, an open top opposite the bottom gusset 20. Front handle 24 is attached to front patch 26 and back handle 28 is attached to back patch 27. Front patch 26 and back patch 27 are affixed to the inside of the front panel 12 and back panel 14 respectively, preferably by gluing, at a location that allows the front handle 24 and back handle 28 to extend upward from the open top.

[0041] Right side gusset 16 and left side gusset 18, and bottom gusset 20 allow the SOS bag 10 to be expanded from a flat folded position to the open position, as shown in FIGS. 1A, 2A, and 3. When folded, bottom gusset 20 folds upward toward the formerly open top and right side gusset 16, left side gusset 18 fold inward. When expanded and open, prior art SOS bag 10 may rest upright with bottom gusset 20 on the ground forming the bottom of the SOS bag 10. Although the SOS bag 10 of FIG. 3 includes an inverted bottom gusset 20 that folds upward between the front panel 12 and back panels 14 when closed, it is noted that many prior art SOS bags 10, including the bag shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, include bottom gussets 20 that fold upward and cover part of the back panel 14 when folded.

[0042] Referring now to FIGS. 4A-6, one embodiment of the internal bag closure 50 and kit 100 including a knotted external handle bag 10 is shown and described. FIG. 4A is an assembly view of the kit 100 of the present invention. The kit 100 includes a bag 10 and an internal bag closure 50. The bag 10 is a prior art automatically finished SOS bag similar in all respects to the bag 10 described with reference to FIG. 3.

[0043] The internal bag closure 50 is most clearly described with reference to FIG. 6. The internal bag closure 50 is preferably manufactured from a single sheet or panel of paper or lightweight board. The paper weight of the internal bag closure 50 is preferably between 250-400 gsm, but may be more or less depending upon the particular application, and may be laminated or unlaminated, coated or uncoated, or made of any other suitable material that offers a similar function.

[0044] The internal bag closure 50 has a length that is preferably 10-15% less than the width of the bag. The internal bag closure 50 incorporates a right end 70 and left end 72 of its central section 56, which is the section that covers the open top of the bag. The ends 70, 72 of FIG. 6 are linear ends 70, 72. However, as shown in FIG. 7, the ends 70, 72 may be die cut scalloped shaped ends that each define an arc that is geometrically calculated based upon the bag width and depth to allow the natural inward tendency of the folds of the side gussets 16, 18 to be unimpeded.

[0045] The preferred internal bag closure 50 has front folded over section 52 and back folded over section 54 which are substantially parallel, extend the length of the internal bag closure 50. Front fold 53 and back fold 55 in the panel at the interior of the in the parallel folded over sections 52, 54 define a central section 56 having a width approximately equal to the depth of the bag 10. The distance between front edge 71 and front fold 53 and rear edge 73 and rear fold 55 are each preferably approximately 20-30 mm. Each of the parallel folded over sections 52, 54 of the internal bag closure 50 includes a handle orifice 58, 60 therethrough. Each handle orifice 58, 60 is shaped to allow the easy passage of the handles 24, 28 of the bag 10 through the orifice 58, 60. Each hand orifice 58, 60 preferably takes the form of an elongated slot 64 having a width that is less than the thickness of the handles 24, 28. The slot of each handle orifice 58, 60 terminates such that the end 66, 67 of each slot is disposed proximate to the location of the one side of each handle at its point of attachment to the patch 20. In the embodiment of FIG. 6, the end 66, 67 of each slot 64, 65 is semicircular in shape. This shape is preferred due to its improved tear resistance over sharply angled ends. However, the end 66, 67 of each slot 64, 65 may take any shape.

[0046] Referring again to FIGS. 4A-4C, the assembly of the kit 100 is described. As shown in FIG. 4A, the internal bag closure 50 is first positioned above the open top of the bag 10. As shown in FIGS. 4B and 4C, the internal bag closure 50 is then fitted into the open top of the bag 10 and the handle 24 are passed through orifice 58 and may be pushed downward, as shown in FIG. 4B. The other handle 24 is then passed through the orifice 60 and the process is repeated. The end result of this process is shown in FIG. 4C in which the internal bag closure 50 covers the open top of the bag 10 and handles 24, 28 are disposed through orifices 58, 60 such that the sides of each handle 24, 28 abut the ends 66, 67 of each slot 64 of each orifice 58, 60.

[0047] One distinct advantage of the internal bag closure 50 is its ability to be secured and stored flat within the bag 10 when not in use. As shown in FIG. 5, when the bag 10 is emptied and is ready for storage, one handle 24 may be removed from the orifice 58 while the other handle 28 remain in their location at the ends 66, 67 of each slot 64, 65 in orifice 58. This results in the internal bag closure 50 hanging parallel to one side of the bag 10, allowing the bag 10 to be folded flat with the internal bag closure 50 secured within.

[0048] Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred versions thereof, other versions would be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the description should not be limited to the description of the preferred versions contained herein.