GB2212476A - Bag - Google Patents

Abstract

A transparent plastics bag comprises a front wall and a longer rear wall 12 connected by an upper seam 10 (or fold), an intermediate seam 11, and lateral seams 13,14, the closed upper cell defined between seams 10, 11, 13, 14 containing at least one additional layer 16, e.g. of plastics paper, card, which strengthens and stiffens the upper end of the bag. The opposite ends of layer 16 are held by seams 13, 14. Layer 16 may carry printing or decoration. There may be an aperture 15 in the front and rear walls and layer 16 for a finger or suspension hook. <IMAGE>

Description

Title: "Bag" Description of Invention The present invention relates to a bag and is primarily concerned with a bag formed of thermoplastic sheet material.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a bag having front and rear walls which are held together at a seam and both of which walls extend in two opposite directions from the seam, the bag further comprising an additional layer between said walls and extending from the seam in one only of said directions.

The additional layer reinforces the bag, providing additional strength and stiffness. The additional layer may also carry printed or other descriptive or decorative matter, for example information identifying the contents of the bag. It will be understood that the contents of the bag will normally be spaced from the additional layer by the seam. The additional layer may be provided at a permanently closed end of the bag and an opposite end of the bag may be closed after contents have been placed in the bag.

An example of a bag embodying the present invention will now he described, with reference to the accompanying drawing, which shows a front view of the bag. The bag illustrated in the drawing has front and rear walls, each of which is rectangular and which have the same width. The front wall is entirely overlapped by the rear wall, which is somewhat longer than the front wall.

The front and rear walls are connected together along the corresponding ends 10, called herein the upper ends, by a fold which extends across the entire width of the front and rear walls. Alternatively, the walls could be connected together at their ends 10 by a seam. The front and rear walls are also connected together at a position between ends of the walls by an intermediate seam II. The intermediate seam extends across the entire width of the front and rear walls and is preferably rectilinear and parallel to the ends 10 of the walls. A lower end portion 12 of the rear wall projects beyond the lower end of the front wall to form a flap. The lower end of the bag can be closed by folding the flap over the front wall and attaching the flap to the front wall, for example by means of a length of adhesive tape or by means of a layer of adhesive on the flap or on the front wall.It will be noted that the bag is permanently closed at its upper end.

The front and rear walls of the bag are also held together along their lateral edges by lateral seams 13 and 14 which extend along the entire length of the front wall and which are parallel to each other. The intermediate seam 11 lies considerably nearer to the end 10 of the bag than to the lower end of the front wall so that a lower portion of the bag for receiving an article to be stored in the bag is a major part of the bag.

There is defined between the intermediate seam 11, the ends 10 of the walls and the lateral seams 13 and 14 a substantially closed cell which is a minor part of the bag and which extends completely across the closed end of the compartment for containing an article to be stored in the bag. The cell contains an additional layer in the form of a piece of sheet material 16 which is rectangular and which has a length substantially equal to the width of the front and rear walls. Opposite end portions of the piece l ó are held together with the front and rear walls by the lateral seams 13 and 14. The piece 16 extends substantially from the upper ends 10 of the walls to the intermediate seam 11 but is preferably not held to the front and rear walls at the seam 11.

The piece of sheet material 16 strengthens and stiffens the upper portion of the bag. The piece 16 preferably has a uniform thickness. Each of the front and rear walls also may have a uniform thickness and this may be considerably less than the thickness of the piece of sheet material 16. The front and rear walls and the piece 16 may all formed of thermoplastics material and the seams may be formed by heat-sealing or by ultra-sonic welding.

As shown, an aperture 15 may be cut in the piece of sheet material I at a position spaced from each margin. In this case, corresponding apertures would be cut in the same operation through the front and rear walls to coincide with the aperture 15. The aperture 15 may be large enough to receive a finger, to faciliate carrying of the bag by a person, and is suitable to receive a hook or other support, from which the bag can be suspended.

Whilst a single piece 16 of sheet material is preferably provided in the upper part of the bag, it will be understood that two or more layers additional to the front and rear walls could be provided.

The faces of the piece 16 of sheet material which are exposed to view through the front and rear walls of the bag may be decorated and/or may bear information, for example printed matter relevant to the article to be contained in the bag. The piece 16 of sheet material may be opaque; whereas the front and rear walls of the bag are preferably transparent.

The bag can conveniently be produced by placing a relatively narrow strip of thicker thermoplastics sheet material on a relatively wide, thinner sheet of thermoplastics sheet material with one edge of the strip spaced somewhat from, but parallel to, a longitudinal centreline of the web. The web is then folded over the strip at this edge and the intermediate seam II is formed adjacent to the opposite egde of the strip. If required, the aperture 15 and corresponding apertures in the web may then be cut, before the lateral seams 13 and 14 are formed and the bags are separated one from another. It will be understood that any informative or decorative matter to be borne by the strip would be applied prior to assembly of the strip with the web and that the faces of the strip are protected by the front and rear walls, in the completed bag.

The bag may be modified by substitution for the piece of thermoplastics sheet material 16 of a piece of paper or card.

The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method of process for attaining the disclosed result, as appropriate, may, separately or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.

Claims (6)

1. CLAIMS:

   I. A bag having front and rear walls which are held together at a seam and both of which extend in two opposite directions from the seam, the bag further comprising an additional layer between the said walls and extending from the seam in one only of said directions.
2. 2. A bag according to Claim I wherein said walls are held together at a further position, said further position is spaced from the seam in one of said opposite directions and the additional layer lies between the seam and said further position.
3. 3. A bag according to Claim 2 wherein marginal portions of said walls are held together by lateral seams which extend from said first-mentioned seam in said opposite directions.
4. 4. A bag according to Claim 3 wherein said additional layer is held together with said walls by said lateral seams.
5. 5. A bag substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawing.
6. 6. Any novel feature or novel combination of features disclosed herein or in the accompanying drawing.