Drawstring Bag

Abstract

A drawstring bag comprising: a bag; a drawstring encircling an open end of the bag; and a closure member comprising a sleeve and a plurality of angled teeth protruding within the interior of the sleeve, wherein: a portion of the drawstring comprising two co-extending lengths of drawstring extends from the bag; the closure member is located around the two co-extending lengths; and the angled teeth of the closure member allow the closure member to slide freely along the two co-extending lengths to close the bag, and engage with the drawstring to prevent the closure member from sliding in the opposite direction to re-open the bag, such that there cannot be movement of the closure member in the re-opening direction.

Claims

1. A drawstring bag comprising: a bag; a drawstring encircling an open end of the bag; and a closure member comprising a sleeve and a plurality of angled teeth protruding within an interior of the sleeve, wherein: a portion of the drawstring comprising two co-extending lengths of the drawstring extends from the bag; the closure member is located around the two co-extending lengths; and the angled teeth of the closure member allow the closure member to slide freely along the two co-extending lengths to close the bag, and engage with the drawstring to prevent the closure member from sliding in an opposite direction to re-open the bag, such that there cannot be movement of the closure member in a re-opening direction.

2. A drawstring bag according to claim 1, wherein the angled teeth are angled at between 15 to 60 to the interior of the sleeve.

3. A drawstring bag according to claim 1, wherein the angled teeth have a tapered shape such that they are wider at an end where they join the sleeve, and taper towards a distal end in the interior of the sleeve.

4. A drawstring bag according to claim 1, wherein the closure member comprises between 4 and 12 angled teeth.

5. A drawstring bag according to claim 1, wherein, when the bag is in an unclosed state, the two co-extending lengths of the drawstring have a length of 5 cm or more, or the two co-extending lengths of the drawstring have a length of 20 cm or less.

6. A drawstring bag according to claim 1, wherein the drawstring is woven or braided or comprises a rubberised or textured outer surface.

7. A drawstring bag according to claim 1, wherein the drawstring has a circular cross-section.

8. A drawstring bag according to claim 7, wherein the closure member has a circular cross-section, an oval cross-section, or a cross-section comprising two joined circles, each for receiving one of the two co-extending lengths of drawstring.

9. A drawstring bag according to claim 1, wherein the drawstring has a flat, tape-like cross-section.

10. A drawstring bag according to claim 9, wherein the closure member has a cross-section comprising two substantially parallel sides, with the angled teeth protruding from each of the parallel sides to face each other.

11. A drawstring bag according to claim 10, wherein the drawstring is arranged so that one of the two co-extending lengths of the drawstring lies on top of the other, and both are sandwiched between the angled teeth.

12. A drawstring bag according to claim 1, wherein the angled teeth are configured to bite into one or both of the two co-extending lengths of the drawstring.

13. A drawstring bag according to claim 1, wherein the drawstring bag is a mesh bag, and the drawstring is woven in and out of meshes of the bag, in order to secure the drawstring around an open end of the bag.

14. (canceled)

15. The drawstring bag according to claim 3, wherein the angled teeth taper to a point.

16. The drawstring bag according to claim 1, wherein, when the bag is in an unclosed state, the two co-extending lengths of the drawstring have a length of 8 cm or more.

17. The drawstring bag according to claim 1, wherein, when the bag is in an unclosed state, the two co-extending lengths of the drawstring have a length of 10 cm or more.

18. The drawstring bag according to claim 1, wherein, when the bag is in an unclosed state, the two co-extending lengths of the drawstring have a length of 15 cm or less.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] Certain preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0030] FIG. 1 shows a drawstring bag for receiving the bundle of wood;

[0031] FIG. 2 shows a view of the closure member looking along the length of the sleeve of the closure member;

[0032] FIG. 3 shows a cross-section of the closure member; and

[0033] FIG. 4 shows a perspective cross-section of the closure member with the two co-extending lengths of drawstring which extend from the bag threaded there-through.

[0034] FIG. 5 shows an alternative closure member.

[0035] FIG. 6 shows another perspective of the alternative closure member.

[0036] FIG. 7 shows yet another perspective of the alternative closure member.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0037] FIG. 1 shows a drawstring bag 100 for receiving articles such as a bundle of wood. The bag 100 comprises a drawstring 104 encircling the open end 102 of the bag. The bag 100 is a mesh bag, i.e. made of a loosely woven material, and so the drawstring 104 is woven in and out of the mesh at the open end 102 of the bag 100 in order to secure the drawstring 104 to the bag 100.

[0038] The drawstring 104 in this example is a woven plastic tape (i.e. having a flat cross-section). A portion 106 of the drawstring 104 extends outwardly of the side of the bag 100. The portion 106 of the drawstring 104 comprises two co-extending lengths 108 of drawstring 104. In this example, the two co-extending lengths 108 are knotted together at their ends furthest from the bag. The portion 106 of the drawstring 104 extends from the point where the two co-extending lengths 108 exit the bag to the ends of the co-extending lengths 108 furthest from the bag. The portion 106 of the drawstring 104 extends by 10 cm from the side of the bag, thereby providing a sufficient length of drawstring 104 for the operator to grip.

[0039] A plastic closure member 110 is provided with a sleeve of the closure member 110 surrounding the two co-extending lengths 108 of drawstring 104 along the length of the portion 106 of the drawstring 104 extending from the side of the bag. The closure member is simply slid onto the two co-extending lengths 108 of drawstring 104 before the two co-extending lengths 108 are (optionally) knotted together. The closure member is configured such that it can be readily slid along the two co-extending lengths 108 of drawstring 104 in the direction towards the bag 100, but it cannot be slid in the opposite direction (i.e. towards the ends of the two co-extending lengths 108 of drawstring 104).

[0040] The portion 106 of the drawstring 104 comprises a first section 106a which extends from the point where the two co-extending lengths 108 exit the bag to the closure member 110, and a second section 106b which extends from the closure member 110 to the ends of the co-extending lengths 108 furthest from the bag. In use, the operator grips the second section 106b and slides the closure member 110 along the first section 106a of the two co-extending lengths 108 of drawstring, and continues to do so, so that the open end 102 of the bag 100 is gathered up along the length of the drawstring 104. Eventually, this results in the open end 102 of the bag 100 being closed. As the closure member 110 cannot be slid in the opposite direction (which, if possible, would allow the bag to be reopened), the drawstring bag 100 is locked closed. Alternatively, to close the bag, the operator grips the closure member 110 and pulls the second section 106b to pull the drawstring 104 through the closure member 110, which has the same effect.

[0041] A first example of a closure member is shown in FIGS. 2 to 4. FIG. 2 shows a view of the closure member looking along the length of the sleeve of the closure member 110, FIG. 3 shows a cross-section of the closure member 110; and FIG. 4 shows a perspective cross-section of the closure member 110 with the two co-extending lengths 108 of drawstring 104 which extend from the bag 100 threaded there-through.

[0042] As is clear from these figures, the closure member 110 comprises a sleeve and a plurality of angled teeth 114 (in this case, six angled teeth) protruding within the interior of the sleeve. The angled teeth 114 have a tapered shape, wherein the teeth are wider at the end where they join the sleeve, and taper towards the distal end in the interior of the sleeve. The angled teeth 114 taper to a point, and so have a shark-tooth-like shape.

[0043] The angled teeth 114 allow the closure member 110 to slide freely along the two co-extending lengths 108 to close the bag, and engage with the drawstring 104 to prevent the closure member from sliding in the opposite direction to re-open the bag 100. In particular, as shown in FIG. 4, the closure member 110 can move in the direction labelled by the arrow A relative to the drawstring 104, but cannot move in the direction labelled by the arrow B. If an attempt is made to move the closure member 110 in the direction labelled by the arrow B, then the angled teeth 114 bite into the drawstring 104 and prevent further movement. That is, the angled teeth 114 are angled so as to extend (from the point at which the tooth joins the sleeve to the distal pointed end of the tooth in the interior of the sleeve) in a direction opposite to the direction in which the closure member is moved to close the drawstring bag 100.

[0044] The closure member 110 has a cross-section comprising two substantially parallel sides 112 (which are substantially parallel to the flat surfaces of the tape-like drawstring 104), with the angled teeth 114 protruding from each of the parallel sides 112 to face each other. This is best shown in FIG. 3. The drawstring 104 is arranged so that one of the two co-extending lengths 108 of drawstring 104 lies on top of the other (see FIG. 4), and both are sandwiched between the angled teeth 114.

[0045] The distance between the two parallel sides 112 and the length of the angled teeth 114 are chosen appropriately depending on the thickness of the drawstring 104, to ensure that the angled teeth 114 from each side 112 will bite into one or both of the two co-extending lengths 108 of drawstring 104. In the closure member 110 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the distance between the two parallel sides 112 is about 5 mm. The angled teeth have a length (from the point at which the tooth 114 joins the sleeve to the tip of the tooth) of about 5 mm, and the angle at which the tooth 114 extends from the sleeve is about 30 (the relevant angle is labelled in FIG. 3, and it is not shown to scale). Therefore the points of the angled teeth 114 are located along a line lying parallel to the two parallel sides, and approximately half-way between the two parallel sides 112. This is the line along which the two co-extending lengths 108 of drawstring 104 lie. As is clear from FIG. 2, the three angled teeth 114 extending from one of the two parallel sides 112 are slightly offset along this line from the three angled teeth 114 extending from the other of the two parallel sides 112. It will be appreciated that the angle of the teeth 114 could vary, provided it is sufficiently acute to ensure that the teeth bite into the drawstring 108 and engage with it to prevent reverse motion of the closure member 110 along the drawstring 108.

[0046] The width of the parallel sides 112 is such that the drawstring tape 104 may be readily threaded through, without needing to fold or crease the tape. That is, the width of the parallel sides 112 is as wide, or wider than, the width of the drawstring tape 104. In the closure member 110 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the width of the drawstring tape 104 and the width of the parallel sides 112 each equal about 1 cm.

[0047] The two parallel sides 112 are joined by semicircles at either end (i.e. forming a stadium- or obround-shaped cross-section). This allows the closure member 110 to be gripped easily, and the absence of any sharp edges reduces the risk of injury to the operator (especially if the number of bags to be closed is very high).

[0048] FIGS. 5 to 7 show an alternative closure member 110. This closure member 110 can be used with a drawstring bag 100 as shown in FIG. 1 in the same way as the closure member of FIGS. 2 to 4. The closure member 110 of FIGS. 5 to 7 differs from the closure member one 110 of FIGS. 2 to 4 mainly in the shape of the cross-section and the form of the outer body portion that supports the angled teeth 114. The angled teeth 114 interact with the drawstring 108 in a broadly similar manner to the angled teeth 114 of the earlier example, biting into and piercing the material of the drawstring 108 when the closure member 110 is pushed backward along the drawstring 108, but allowing free movement forward along the drawstring 108 to close the drawstring bag 100. In this example there are eight teeth and the angle of the teeth is typically about 15-25, although alternative angles could be used. The teeth 114 have a similar tapering shape to that described above.

[0049] The outer body portion of the closure member 110 in this example has an oval shape with a thicker profile at the mid-length 120 and a thinner profile at the open ends 122. This shape is easy to grip and can be readily grasped and slid along the drawstring 108 to close the bag 100, even if the user is wearing gloves. The angled teeth 114 will engage with the material of the drawstring 108 to prevent any reverse movement, so that the closure member 110 cannot be removed without breaking either the drawstring 108 or the angled teeth 114. Thus, there is a very secure and irreversible closing of the drawstring bag 100.

[0050] The bag 100 with the closure member 110 has benefits for any use where it is required to quickly secure articles in a drawstring bag, for example for loose articles sold in packages of multiple articles. The bag has a quick and lockable closure mechanism and can be used to speed up packing of materials of any type when it is desirable to close the bag securely. The same bags could be used for manual packing of wood or for packing other materials such as fruit or vegetables.