Self opening wide mouth carryout bag pack, apparatus and method of making same

Abstract

An apparatus for making a self-opening wide mouth bag pack includes a supply of flexible film material. An extruder forms a continuous tube. A flattener flattens the tube. A first sealer forms a bottom seal across a width of the flattened tube. A cutter cuts the flattened tube into bag blanks has a bag mouth at a predetermined distance from the bottom seal. Second and third sealers form angled seals at lower corners of the bag blank forming a flat bottomed bag. An adhesion knife penetrates the bag pack adhering adjacent bag blanks together in the bag pack. An aperture maker forms apertures for suspending the bag pack from a dispensing rack. The pack is attached to the dispensing rack and the front wall of the subsequent bag is adhered to the rear wall of a first bag, thereby causing the first bag to open when pulled from the rack.

Claims

1. An apparatus for making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack comprising: a supply of flexible film material; an extruder, said extruder forming a continuous tube of film; a folder, said folder folding in first and second side gussets; a flattener, said flattener forming a continuous flattened tube; a first sealer, said first sealer forming a bottom seal across a width of said flattened tube at a predetermined interval; a cutter, said cutter cutting said flattened tube into bag blanks at a predetermined distance from said bottom seal; said bag blanks having front and rear walls, first and second side edges, a top edge, a bottom edge and a mouth portion; a second sealer, said second sealer forming a first angle seal, said first angle seal extending from said first side edge of said front and rear walls across said bottom seal at a point spaced outwardly from an innermost portion of said first side gusset at said bottom edges of said front and rear walls; a third sealer, said third sealer forming a second angle seal, said second angle seal extending from said second side edge of said front and rear walls across said bottom seal at a point spaced outwardly from an innermost portion of said second side gusset at said bottom edges of said front and rear walls; a stacker, said stacker forming said bag blanks into a bag pack with said top edges aligned; a die cutter, said die cutter cutting a bag mouth orthogonal to a length of said flattened tube and cutting a handle opening adjacent said bag mouth; said first and second angle seals creating a wide mouth carryout bag having a substantially flat bottom when said bag is opened, said flat bottom has three layers of material in the region formed from said first and second angle seals, said substantially flat bottom including two layers of bag material extending beyond said bottom seal; an aperture maker, said aperture maker penetrating said bag pack and forming first and second apertures for suspending said bag pack from a dispensing rack; an adhesion knife, said knife having a single non-linear elongated cutting edge and providing a single non-linear elongated knife cut, said single non-linear knife cut extending completely through front and rear walls of each of said bag blanks in said bag pack, having first and second ends and first and second elongated non-linear edges, and adhering adjacent bag blanks together in said bag pack along both of said first and second elongated non-linear edges and providing self-opening features; and wherein said bag pack is suspended from said dispensing rack and a first bag is pulled outwardly from said bag pack, said first and second edges of said knife cut in said front wall of a subsequent bag will be adhered to said edges of said knife cut in said rear wall of said first bag, thereby causing said first bag to open.

2. The apparatus for making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack, as described in claim 1, wherein said first and second elongated non-linear edges of said knife cut are spaced apart by a distance ranging from 0.02 inches to 0.3 inches.

3. The apparatus for making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack, as described in claim 1, wherein said knife cut is S-shaped.

4. The apparatus for making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack, as described in claim 1, wherein said knife cut is Z-shaped.

5. The apparatus for making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack, as described in claim 1, wherein said knife cut is in a form of a straight line, said straight line having at least one curved section at either of first and second ends of said straight line.

6. The apparatus for making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack, as described in claim 1, further comprising a corona treater, said corona treater treating at least one of said front and rear walls, said corona treatment providing additional adhesion for printing ink on said bag walls.

7. The apparatus for making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 1, further comprising a dual corona treater, said dual corona treater treating said front wall and said rear wall, thereby providing additional adhesion between adjacent bag in said bag pack and enhancing self-opening capability for said bag pack.

8. The apparatus for making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 1, wherein said die cutter forms said bag mouth in a wave form.

9. The apparatus for making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 1, wherein said die cutter forms said bag mouth with a central mounting tab, said central mounting tab has at least one mounting opening, said opening being sized and shaped to fit slidably over a central dispenser rack mounting hook, said central mounting tab being frangibly attached to said top edges of said front and rear walls above said handle opening.

10. The apparatus for making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 9, wherein said central mounting tab further comprises an alignment feature, said alignment feature fastening said central mounting tab to a subsequent central mounting tab in said bag pack, thereby permitting easy mounting of said central mounting tabs to said dispensing rack.

11. The apparatus for making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 10, wherein said alignment feature is selected from the group consisting of: proprietary bag material formulations, hot pinning, cold staking, glue spotting, knife cutting, adhesive inks and corona treatment with pressure.

12. The apparatus for making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 9, wherein said dispensing rack comprises: a base, said base being sized to accommodate a fully open wide mouth carryout bag; a central dispenser rack mounting hook, said central mounting hook attached to a central support extending upwardly from said base and adapted to position a pack of wide mouth carryout bags above said base using said central mounting tab; and first and second side mounting arms, said first and second side mounting arms being attached to said central support, said first and second side mounting arms adapted to engage first and second dispenser arm mounting apertures, position a pack of wide mouth carryout bags above said base and to maintain said bags in an open position for loading.

13. The apparatus for making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 1, wherein said aperture maker forms apertures comprising: a first dispenser arm mounting aperture, said first aperture penetrating said front and rear walls and said first side gusset adjacent said first side edge and said top edges of said front and rear walls; and a second dispenser arm mounting aperture, said second aperture penetrating said front and rear walls and said second side gusset adjacent said second side edge and said top edges of said front and rear walls.

14. The apparatus for making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 13, wherein said die cutter forms said bag mouth with a central, frangible mounting opening, said central, frangible mounting opening being centrally located in said front and rear walls adjacent said top edges of said front and rear walls and being adapted to break apart with sufficient pressure from a force of removing said wide mouth carryout bag from said dispensing rack, said central frangible mounting opening remaining with said bag when dispensed.

15. The apparatus for making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 14, wherein said dispensing rack comprises: a base, said base being sized to accommodate a fully open wide mouth carryout bag; a central dispenser rack mounting hook, said central mounting hook attached to a central support extending upwardly from said base and adapted to position a pack of wide mouth carryout bags above said base using said central, frangible mounting opening; and first and second side mounting arms, said first and second side mounting arms being attached to said central support, said first and second side mounting arms adapted to engage first and second dispenser arm mounting apertures, position a pack of wide mouth carryout bags above said base and to maintain said bags in an open position for loading.

16. The apparatus for making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 1, further comprising at least one additional self-opening feature selected from the group consisting of: proprietary bag material formulations, hot pinning, cold staking, glue spotting, adhesive inks and corona treatment with pressure.

17. The apparatus for making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 16 wherein the proprietary bag material formulations comprise 0.5 wt. % slip and antiblock compound.

18. The apparatus for making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 16 wherein the proprietary bag material formulations comprise 1-3 wt. % calcium carbonate.

19. The apparatus for making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 16 wherein the proprietary bag material formulations comprise 10-20 wt. % recycled material, said recycled material comprising about 40-49 wt. % high density, high molecular weight polyethylene, 12-20 wt. % high density, medium molecular weight polyethylene, 20-30 wt. % linear low density polyethylene, 0-8 wt. % color concentrate.

20. The apparatus for making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 16 wherein the proprietary bag material formulations wherein 10-15 wt. % of said linear low density polyethylene has a density ranging from 0.923-0.924 gm/cc.

21. The apparatus for making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 16 wherein the proprietary bag material formulations wherein 10-15 wt. % of said linear low density polyethylene has a melt index ranging from 0.25-0.30 gm/10 minutes.

22. The apparatus for making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 16 wherein the proprietary bag material formulations wherein said high density, medium molecular weight polyethylene has a density ranging from 0.937-0.947 gm/cc.

23. The apparatus for making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 16 wherein the proprietary bag material formulations wherein said high density, medium molecular weight polyethylene has a melt index ranging from 0.10-0.30 gm/10 minutes.

24. The apparatus for making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 16 wherein said at least one additional self-opening feature is located adjacent said top edges of said front and rear bag walls.

25. The apparatus for making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 16 wherein said at least one additional self-opening feature is located below said first and second apertures for suspending said bag pack from said dispensing rack.

26. The apparatus for making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 1, wherein said handle opening is of a form selected from the group consisting of: round, oval, racetrack, and kidney shaped and elongated round.

27. A method of making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack using the apparatus of claim 1, comprising steps of: providing a supply of flexible film material; extruding, using said extruder, a continuous tube of film; folding in first and second side gussets; flattening said continuous tube; forming a bottom seal across a width of said flattened tube at a predetermined interval; cutting said flattened tube into bag blanks at a predetermined distance from said bottom seal; said bag blanks has front and rear walls, first and second side edges, a top edge, a bottom edge and a mouth portion; forming a first angle seal, said first angle seal extending from said first side edge of said front and rear walls across said bottom seal at a point spaced outwardly from an innermost portion of said first side gusset at said bottom edges of said front and rear walls; forming a second angle seal, said second angle seal extending from said second side edge of said front and rear walls across said bottom seal at a point spaced outwardly from an innermost portion of said second side gusset at said bottom edges of said front and rear walls; stacking said bag blanks into a bag pack with said bag mouths aligned; die cutting a bag mouth orthogonal to a length of said tube and cutting a handle opening adjacent said bag mouth; said first and second angle seals causing said bag to have a substantially flat bottom when said wide mouth carryout bag is opened, said flat bottom has three layers of material in the region formed from said first and second angle seals, said substantially flat bottom including two layers of bag material extending beyond said bottom seal; forming first and second apertures penetrating said bag pack for suspending said bag pack from a dispensing rack; penetrating said bag pack with an adhesion knife, an adhesion knife, said knife having a single non-linear elongated cutting edge and providing a single non-linear elongated knife cut, said single non-linear knife cut extending completely through front and rear walls of each of said bag blanks in said bag pack, having first and second ends and first and second elongated non-linear edges, and adhering adjacent bag blanks together in said bag pack along both of said first and second elongated non-linear edges and providing self-opening features; wherein said bag pack is suspended from said dispensing rack and a first bag is pulled outwardly from said bag pack, said first and second edges of said knife cut in said front wall of a subsequent bag will be adhered to said first and second edges of said knife cut in said rear wall of said first bag, thereby causing said first bag to open.

28. The method of making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack, as described in claim 27, wherein said first and second elongated non-linear edges of said knife cut are spaced apart by a distance ranging from 0.02 inches to 0.3 inches.

29. The method of making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack, as described in claim 27, wherein said knife cut is S-shaped.

30. The method of making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack, as described in claim 27, wherein said knife cut is Z-shaped.

31. The method of making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack, as described in claim 27, wherein said knife cut is in a form of a straight line, said straight line having at least one curved section at either of first and second ends of said straight line.

32. The method of making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack, as described in claim 27, further comprising a step of corona treating at least one of said front and rear walls, said corona treatment providing additional adhesion for printing ink on said bag walls.

33. The method of making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 27, further comprising a step of using a dual corona treater for treating said front wall and said rear wall, thereby providing additional adhesion between adjacent bag in said bag pack and enhancing self-opening capability for said bag pack.

34. The method of making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 27, further comprising a step of using said die cutter to form said bag mouth in a wave form.

35. The method of making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 27, further comprising a step of using said die cutter to form said bag mouth with a central mounting tab, said central mounting tab has at least one mounting opening, said opening being sized and shaped to fit slidably over a central dispenser rack mounting hook, said central mounting tab being frangibly attached to said top edges of said front and rear walls above said handle opening.

36. The method of making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 35, further comprising a step of forming said central mounting tab with an alignment feature, said alignment feature fastening said central mounting tab to a subsequent central mounting tab in said bag pack, thereby permitting easy mounting of said central mounting tabs to said dispensing rack.

37. The method of making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 36, wherein said alignment feature is selected from the group consisting of: proprietary bag material formulations, hot pinning, cold staking, glue spotting, knife cutting, adhesive inks and corona treatment with pressure.

38. The method of making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 35, further comprising a step of providing said dispensing rack comprising: a base, said base being sized to accommodate a fully open wide mouth carryout bag; a central dispenser rack mounting hook, said central mounting hook attached to a central support extending upwardly from said base and adapted to position a pack of wide mouth carryout bags above said base using said central mounting tab; and first and second side mounting arms, said first and second side mounting arms being attached to said central support, said first and second side mounting arms adapted to engage first and second dispenser arm mounting apertures, position a pack of wide mouth carryout bags above said base and to maintain said bags in an open position for loading.

39. The method of making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 27, further comprising steps of forming apertures comprising: a first dispenser arm mounting aperture, said first aperture penetrating said front and rear walls and said first side gusset adjacent said first side edge and said top edges of said front and rear walls; and a second dispenser arm mounting aperture, said second aperture penetrating said front and rear walls and said second side gusset adjacent said second side edge and said top edges of said front and rear walls.

40. The method of making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 39, further comprising a step of forming said bag mouth with a central, frangible mounting opening, said central, frangible mounting opening being centrally located in said front and rear walls adjacent said top edges of said front and rear walls and being adapted to break apart with sufficient pressure from a force of removing said wide mouth carryout bag from said dispensing rack, said central frangible mounting opening remaining with said bag when dispensed.

41. The apparatus for making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 40, further comprising a step of providing said dispensing rack comprising: a base, said base being sized to accommodate a fully open wide mouth carryout bag; a central dispenser rack mounting hook, said central mounting hook attached to a central support extending upwardly from said base and adapted to position a pack of wide mouth carryout bags above said base using said central, frangible mounting opening; and first and second side mounting arms, said first and second side mounting arms being attached to said central support, said first and second side mounting arms adapted to engage first and second dispenser arm mounting apertures, position a pack of wide mouth carryout bags above said base and to maintain said bags in an open position for loading.

42. The method of making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 27, further comprising a step of providing at least one additional self-opening feature selected from the group comprising: proprietary bag material formulations, hot pinning, cold staking, glue spotting, adhesive inks and corona treatment with pressure.

43. The method of making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 42 wherein the proprietary bag material formulations comprise 0.5 wt. % slip and antiblock compound.

44. The method of making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 42 wherein the proprietary bag material formulations comprise 1-3 wt. % calcium carbonate.

45. The method of making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 42 wherein the proprietary bag material formulations comprise 10-20 wt. % recycled material, said recycled material comprising about 40-49 wt. % high density, high molecular weight polyethylene, 12-20 wt. % high density, medium molecular weight polyethylene, 20-30 wt. % linear low density polyethylene, 0-8 wt. % color concentrate.

46. The method of making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 42 wherein the proprietary bag material formulations wherein 10-15 wt. % of said linear low density polyethylene has a density ranging from 0.923-0.924 gm/cc.

47. The method of making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 42 wherein the proprietary bag material formulations wherein 10-15 wt. % of said linear low density polyethylene has a melt index ranging from 0.25-0.30 gm/10 minutes.

48. The method of making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 42 wherein the proprietary bag material formulations wherein said high density, medium molecular weight polyethylene has a density ranging from 0.937-0.947 gm/cc.

49. The method of making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 42 wherein the proprietary bag material formulations wherein said high density, medium molecular weight polyethylene has a melt index ranging from 0.10-0.30 gm/10 minutes.

50. The method of making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 42 further comprising a step of disposing said at least one additional self-opening feature adjacent said top edges of said front and rear bag walls.

51. The method of making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 42 further comprising a step of disposing said at least one additional self-opening feature below said first and second apertures for suspending said bag pack from said dispensing rack.

52. The method of making a self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack as described in claim 27, further comprising a step of forming said handle opening in a form selected from the group consisting of: round, oval, racetrack and kidney shaped.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus for producing bag blanks for a wide mouth carryout self-opening bag;

(2) FIG. 2 is a plan view of the wide mouth carryout bag illustrating the angle seals and knife cut self-opening feature;

(3) FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an apparatus for producing a wide mouth carryout bag pack illustrating a straight knife cut providing the self-opening feature;

(4) FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an apparatus for producing a wide mouth carryout bag pack illustrating a Z-shaped cut providing the self-opening feature;

(5) FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an apparatus for producing a wide mouth carryout bag pack illustrating an S-shaped knife cut providing the self-opening feature;

(6) FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an apparatus for producing a wide mouth carryout bag pack illustrating a narrow, straight knife cut with curved end providing the self-opening feature;

(7) FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an apparatus for producing a wide mouth carryout bag pack illustrating a pair of straight knife cuts providing the self-opening features;

(8) FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an apparatus for producing a wide mouth carryout bag pack illustrating hot pinning and cold staking attaching features;

(9) FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the FIG. 2 embodiment located upon a dispensing rack and illustrating the self-opening feature implemented through the knife cut penetrating the front and rear walls of the bag;

(10) FIG. 10 is a side cross-sectional view of the FIG. 2 embodiment located upon a dispensing rack and illustrating the attachment of a first bag to a subsequent bag at the knife cuts penetrating the front and rear walls of the bag;

(11) FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the FIG. 2 embodiment located upon a dispensing rack and illustrating the dispensing of the bags from the rack while the bags are opened as they leave the rack;

(12) FIG. 12 is an enlarged, perspective view of the formation of the angle seals on the bag blank as illustrated in FIG. 1;

(13) FIG. 13 is an enlarged, perspective view of an apparatus for the corona treatment of at least one surface of a bag blank;

(14) FIG. 14 is an enlarged, perspective view of the apparatus of FIG. 3;

(15) FIG. 15 is an enlarged, perspective view of the bag pack of FIG. 3;

(16) FIG. 16 is an enlarged, perspective view of the apparatus of FIG. 7;

(17) FIG. 17 is an enlarged, perspective view of the bag pack of FIG. 7;

(18) FIG. 18 is an enlarged, perspective view of the bag pack of FIG. 5;

(19) FIG. 19 is an enlarged, perspective view of the bag pack of FIG. 4;

(20) FIG. 20 is an enlarged, perspective view of the bag pack of FIG. 6;

(21) FIG. 21 is an enlarged, perspective view of the lower end of the wide mouth carryout bag illustrating the angle seals, bottom seam and material below the bottom seam;

(22) FIG. 22 is an enlarged, perspective view of the lower end of the wide mouth carryout bag illustrating the opening of one side gusset and the formation of a flat bag bottom by the angle seal;

(23) FIG. 23 is an enlarged, perspective view of the lower end of the wide mouth carryout bag illustrating the further opening of one side gusset and the formation of a flat bag bottom by the angle seal;

(24) FIG. 24 is an enlarged, perspective view of the lower end of the wide mouth carryout bag illustrating one side gusset in the fully open position and the resulting flat bag bottom formed by the angle seal;

(25) FIG. 25 is a side elevational view of an apparatus for dual corona treatment of both surfaces of a flattened film tube for formation of the wide mouth carryout bag;

(26) FIG. 26 is a graph illustrating the force applied to a subsequent bag by a leading bag in a bag pack of the Nguyen design;

(27) FIG. 27 is a graph illustrating the force applied to a subsequent bag by a leading bag in a bag pack of the design of the present invention;

(28) FIG. 28 is a plan view of the mouth portion of a wide mouth carryout bag illustrating a racetrack handle opening;

(29) FIG. 29 is a plan view of the mouth portion of a wide mouth carryout bag illustrating an elongated rounded handle opening;

(30) FIG. 30 is a plan view of the mouth portion of a wide mouth carryout bag illustrating an oval handle opening;

(31) FIG. 31 is a plan view of the mouth portion of a wide mouth carryout bag illustrating a kidney-shaped handle opening;

(32) FIG. 32 is an enlarged, perspective view of an apparatus for forming a wide mouth carryout bag with a central, frangible mounting opening; and

(33) FIG. 33 is an enlarged, perspective view of a wide mouth carryout bag with a central, frangible mounting opening.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

(34) The present invention addresses all of the deficiencies of prior art self-opening bag pack inventions and satisfies all of the objectives described above.

(35) (1) A self-opening wide mouth carryout bag pack 10 providing the desired features may be constructed using the described apparatus. As illustrated in FIGS. 1-33, a supply of flexible film material 14 is provided. An extruder 18 is provided. The extruder 18 forms a continuous tube of film 22. A folder 26 is provided. The folder 26 folds in first 30 and second 34 side gussets. A flattener 38 is provided. The flattener 38 forms a continuous flattened tube 42. A first sealer 62 is provided. The first sealer 62 forms a bottom seal 66 across a width 70 of the flattened tube 42 at a predetermined interval 74. A cutter 78 is provided. The cutter 78 cuts the flattened tube 42 into bag blanks 82 at a predetermined distance 86 from the bottom seal 66. The bag blanks 82 have front 90 and rear 94 walls, first 98 and second 102 side edges, a top edge 106, a bottom edge 110 and a mouth portion 114, as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 12.

(36) A second sealer 118 is provided. The second sealer 118 forms a first angle seal 122. The first angle seal 122 extends from the first side edge 98 of the front 90 and rear 94 walls across the bottom seal 66 at a point 126 spaced outwardly from an innermost portion 130 of the first side gusset 30 at the bottom edges 110 of the front 90 and rear 94 walls. A third sealer 134 is provided. The third sealer 134 forms a second angle seal 138. The second angle seal 138 extends from the second side edge 102 of the front 90 and rear 94 walls across the bottom seal 66 at a point 142 spaced outwardly from an innermost portion 148 of the second side gusset 34 at the bottom edges 110 of the front 90 and rear 94 walls. A stacker 166 is provided. The stacker 166 forms the bag blanks 82 into a bag pack 10 with the top edges 106 aligned. As illustrated in FIGS. 3-7 and 14-17, a die cutter 46 is provided. The die cutter 46 cuts a bag mouth 50 orthogonal to a length 54 of the bag blank 82 and cuts a handle opening 58 adjacent the bag mouth 50. As illustrated in FIGS. 21-24, the first 122 and second 138 angle seals create a wide mouth carryout bag 146 having a substantially flat bottom 150 when the bag 146 is opened. The flat bottom 150 has three layers of material 154 in the region 158 formed from the first 122 and second 138 angle seals. The substantially flat bottom 150 includes two layers of bag material 162 extending beyond the bottom seal 66. As illustrated in FIGS. 3-7 and 14-17, an aperture maker 170 is provided. The aperture maker 170 penetrates the bag pack 10 and forms first 174 and second 178 apertures for suspending the bag pack 10 from a dispensing rack 182.

(37) An adhesion knife 186 is provided. The knife 186 has a single non-linear elongated cutting edge 188 and provides a single non-linear elongated knife cut 192. The single non-linear knife cut 192 extends completely through front 90 and rear 92 walls of each of the bag blanks 82 in the bag pack 10. The knife cut 192 has first 196 and second 200 ends and first 204 and second 208 elongated non-linear edges. The knife cut 192 adheres adjacent bag blanks 82 together in the bag pack 10 along both of the first 204 and second 208 elongated non-linear edges and provides self-opening features 212.

(38) As illustrated in FIGS. 9-11, the bag pack 10 is suspended from the dispensing rack 182 and a first bag 146 is pulled outwardly from the bag pack 10, the first 204 and second 208 edges of the knife cut 192 in the front wall 90 of a subsequent bag 146 will be adhered to the first 204 and second 208 edges of the knife cut 192 in the rear wall 94 of the first bag 146, thereby causing the first bag 146 to open.

(39) (2) In a variant of the invention, as illustrated in FIG. 11, the first 204 and second 208 edges of the knife cut 192 are spaced apart by a distance 230 ranging from 0.02 inches to 0.3 inches.

(40) (3) In yet another variant, as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 18, the knife cut 192 is S-shaped.

(41) (4) In a further variant, as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 19, the knife cut 192 is Z-shaped.

(42) (5) In still a further variant, as illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 20, the knife cut 192 is in the form of a straight line, said straight line having at least one curved section at either of first and second ends of the straight line.

(43) (6) In yet further variant, as illustrated in FIG. 13, a corona treater 242 is provided. The corona treater 242 treats at least one of the front 90 and rear 94 walls. The corona treatment provides additional adhesion for printing ink 246 (add) on the bag walls 90, 94 with a print head 244.

(44) (7) In another variant, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 25, a dual corona treater 250 is provided. The dual corona treater 250 treats the front wall 90 and the rear wall 94, thereby providing additional adhesion between adjacent bags 146 in the bag pack 10 and enhancing self-opening capability for the bag pack 10.

(45) (8) In still another variant, as illustrated in FIGS. 2-8, the die cutter 46 forms the bag mouth 50 in a wave form 254.

(46) (9) In yet another variant, as illustrated in FIG. 11, the die cutter 46 forms the bag mouth 50 with a central mounting tab 258. The central mounting tab 258 has at least one mounting opening 262. The opening 262 is sized and shaped to fit slidably over a central dispenser rack mounting hook 266, the central mounting tab 258 is frangibly attached to the top edges 106 of the front 90 and rear 94 walls above the handle opening 58.

(47) (10) In another variant of the invention, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the central mounting tab 258 further includes an alignment feature 270. The alignment feature 270 fastens the central mounting tab 258 to a subsequent central mounting tab 258 in the bag pack 10, thereby permitting easy mounting of the central mounting tabs 258 to the dispensing rack 182.

(48) (11) In still another variant, as illustrated in FIGS. 2, 8 and 11, the alignment feature 270 is selected from the group comprising: proprietary bag material formulations (not shown), hot pinning 274, cold staking 278, glue spotting 282, knife cutting (not shown), adhesive inks (not shown) and corona treatment with pressure (not shown).

(49) (12) In a further variant, as illustrated in FIG. 11, the aperture maker 170 forms apertures 174, 178 including a first dispenser arm mounting aperture 298 and a second dispenser arm mounting aperture 302. The first aperture 298 penetrates the front 90 and rear 94 walls and the first side gusset 30 adjacent the first side edge 98 and the top edges 106 of the front 90 and rear 94 walls. The second aperture 302 penetrates the front 90 and rear 94 walls and the second side gusset 34 adjacent the second side edge 102 and the top edges 106 of the front 90 and rear 94 walls.

(50) (13) In still a further variant, as illustrated in FIGS. 32 and 33, the die cutter 46 forms the bag mouth 50 with a central, frangible mounting opening 306. The central, frangible mounting opening 306 is centrally located in the front 90 and rear 94 walls adjacent the top edges 106 of the front 90 and rear 94 walls and is adapted to break apart with sufficient pressure from a force of removing the wide mouth carryout bag 146 from the dispensing rack 182, the central frangible mounting opening 306 remaining with the bag 146 when dispensed.

(51) (14) In yet a further variant, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 33, at least one additional self-opening feature 310 is provided, the at least one additional self-opening feature 310 is selected from the group comprising: proprietary bag material formulations (not shown), hot pinning 274, cold staking 278, glue spotting 282, adhesive inks (not shown) and corona treatment with pressure 294.

(52) (15) In another variant of the invention, the proprietary bag material formulations comprise 0.5 wt. % slip and antiblock compound.

(53) (16) In still another variant, the proprietary bag material formulations comprise 1-3 wt. % calcium carbonate.

(54) (17) In yet another variant, the proprietary bag material formulations comprise 10-20 wt. % recycled material, the recycled material comprising about 40-49 wt. % high density, high molecular weight polyethylene, 12-20 wt. % high density, medium molecular weight polyethylene, 20-30 wt. % linear low density polyethylene, 0-8 wt. % color concentrate.

(55) (18) In a further variant, the proprietary bag material formulations wherein 10-15 wt. % of the linear low density polyethylene has a density ranging from 0.923-0.924 gm/cc.

(56) (19) In still a further variant, the proprietary bag material formulations wherein 10-15 wt. % of the linear low density polyethylene has a melt index ranging from 0.25-0.30 gm/10 minutes.

(57) (20) In yet a further variant, the proprietary bag material formulations wherein the high density, medium molecular weight polyethylene has a density ranging from 0.937-0.947 gm/cc.

(58) (21) In another variant of the invention, the proprietary bag material formulations wherein the high density, medium molecular weight polyethylene has a melt index ranging from 0.10-0.30 gm/10 minutes.

(59) (22) In still another variant, the at least one additional self-opening feature 310 is located adjacent the top edges 106 of the front 90 and rear 94 bag walls.

(60) (23) In yet another variant, as illustrated in FIG. 9, the at least one additional self-opening feature 310 is located below the first 298 and second 302 apertures for suspending the bag pack 10 from the dispensing rack 182.

(61) (24) In a further variant, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 28-31, the handle opening 58 is of the form selected from the group comprising round 314, oval 318, racetrack 322, kidney shaped 326 and elongated round 328.

(62) (25) In still a further variant, as illustrated in FIG. 11, the dispensing rack 182 included a base 330. The base 330 is sized to accommodate a fully open wide mouth carryout bag 146. A central dispenser rack mounting hook 266 is provided. The central mounting hook 266 is attached to a central support (not shown) that extends upwardly from the base 330 and is adapted to position a pack of wide mouth carryout bags 10 above the base 330 using the central mounting tab 258. First 338 and second 342 side mounting arms are provided. The first 338 and second 342 side mounting arms are attached to the central support. The first 338 and second 342 side mounting arms are adapted to engage the first 298 and second 302 dispenser arm mounting apertures, position a pack of wide mouth carryout bags 10 above the base 330 and to maintain the bags 146 in an open position 346 for loading.

(63) (26) In a final variant of the invention, as illustrated in FIG. 9, the dispensing rack 182 comprises a base 330. The base 330 is sized to accommodate a fully open wide mouth carryout bag 146. A central dispenser rack mounting hook 266 is provided. The central mounting hook 266 is attached to a central support 334 extending upwardly from the base 330 and adapted to position a pack of wide mouth carryout bags 10 above the base 330 using the central, frangible mounting opening 306. First 338 and second 342 side mounting arms are provided. The first 338 and second 342 side mounting arms are attached to the central support 334. The first 338 and second 342 side mounting arms are adapted to engage the first 298 and second 302 dispenser arm mounting apertures, position a pack of wide mouth carryout bags 10 above the base 330 and to maintain the bags 146 in an open position 346 for loading.

(64) As illustrated in FIGS. 26 and 27, the present invention is a significant inventive step over other self-opening bag packs. Rather than relying on the melding of bag surfaces together resulting from a blunt-tipped punch applied to the top of a corona-treated bag stack (Nguyen, U.S. Pat. No. 5,363,965), the present invention utilizes a uniform knife cut 192 that passes entirely through the bag pack 10. In the Nguyen design, the first few bags in the pack will adhere together with a certain force. As bags are removed from the stack, the adherence of one bag wall to the next will be diminished in proportion to the depth of each bag in the stack. The further the bag is from the top of the pack, the less will be the adherence of each bag to the one below it in the bag pack. The bags 146 of the present invention, as illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11, are adhered together using an non-linear elongated cut 192 through the bag walls 90, 94 of the bags 146. In a given bag pack 10, the cut 192 extends from the first bag 146 in the pack 10 through the last. As it is the cut edges 204, 208 of the bag walls 90, 94 that are adhered together, and as the cuts 192 through each bag 146 in the bag pack 10 are uniform, the force to separate the first two bags 146 in the pack 10 will be substantially the same as the force to separate the last two bags 146 in the pack 10.

(65) In order to objectively demonstrate this inventive step and the unexpected result associated with it the Applicant engaged Duncan Darby, Ph. D., Patricia Marconde and Jeffrey Weir of Clemson University, Center for Flexible Packaging (CEFPACK) to test the bags 146 of the present invention and bags of the Nguyen design with regards to the uniformity of force required to remove bags from the bag packs. As the Nguyen bag design has not proven to be a commercial success and is not generally available, the CEFPACK team had to construct bags of the Nguyen design. Fortunately, U.S. Pat. No. 5,363,965 provides detailed drawings of the types of punches used and the locations on the bags to which the punches are applied. The patent further describes the amount of pressure to be applied to the punch when forming the bag pack. The CEFPACK team acquired a punch of the design shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B of the '965 patent, constructed a press apparatus capable of providing 80-90 bar of pressure to the punch and applied the press to bag packs at locations 37″, 38″, 37′ and 38′ as per the '965 patent, using bags of the Nguyen design that lacked only the specified punches.

(66) These bag packs were then mounted on a dispensing rack and a clip attached to a center point of an open portion of each bag. The clip was attached to a SATEC T-1000 universal testing machine with a cable type pulling assembly. The force in pounds required to pull the bags from the rack was recorded and graphed. A similar test was conducted using the knife cut bags 146 of the present invention.

(67) As shown in FIG. 26, the force applied by a leading bag to a subsequent bag in the Nguyen design diminishes substantially as the bag pack is depleted. As can also be seen in FIG. 26, the force required to separate subsequent bags is highly variable. This sometimes results in failures of the subsequent bag to open or in the opening of multiple bags. As can be seen in FIG. 27, the force applied by a leading bag 146 to a subsequent bag 146 in the present invention stays substantially constant without regard to the position of a bag pair in the bag pack. This allows the bags 146 to be easily and uniformly opened with a lower force but with increased reliability. This ease of use and uniformity of release is the unexpected result that makes the present bag design a significant inventive step.

(68) An appreciation of the other aims and objectives of the present invention and an understanding of it may be achieved by referring to the accompanying drawings and the detailed description of a preferred embodiment.