U.S. patent application number 10/270715 was filed with the patent office on 2003-12-25 for bag with carrying handle.
Invention is credited to Pape, Henrik.
Application Number | 20030235348 10/270715 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 29718129 |
Filed Date | 2003-12-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030235348 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Pape, Henrik |
December 25, 2003 |
Bag with carrying handle
Abstract
A bag 1 consists of two superposed bag sides 2, 3. With the
purpose of achieving a particularly simple carrying handle in a bag
with substantial reduction of material, a carrier section 4 is
formed by a side edge 5. The carrier section 4 is connected with an
adjacent bag side 3 by means of connecting zones 7 which delimit a
pocket 8 having a downwardly facing opening 9. The pocket 9 thus
constitutes a carrying handle for accommodating the user's fingers
when carrying the bag. Due to distribution of tensile forces from
areas 12 at the pocket opening, it becomes possible to achieve
great strength even when using film material which is thin compared
with traditional thickness.
Inventors: |
Pape, Henrik; (DK-Horsens,
DK) |
Correspondence
Address: |
James C. Wray
Suite 300
1493 Chain Bridge Road
McLean
VA
22101
US
|
Family ID: |
29718129 |
Appl. No.: |
10/270715 |
Filed: |
October 16, 2002 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
383/7 ; 383/25;
383/9 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 33/065 20130101;
B65D 33/24 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
383/7 ; 383/9;
383/25 |
International
Class: |
B65D 033/10 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jun 24, 2002 |
DK |
PA 2002 00972 |
Oct 11, 2002 |
DK |
PA 2002 01533 |
Claims
1. A bag comprising two superposed bag sides and a carrying handle
formed at one of the side edges of the bag, the improvement
comprising that a carrier section is provided at the said side
edge, the carrier section covering an edge area of the bag side,
and that the carrier section is connected to the adjacent bag side
in connecting zones delimiting a pocket between the carrier section
and the adjacent bag side, the pocket having an opening directed
away from the side edge and constituting a carrying handle for
accommodating fingers of a user when carrying the bag.
2. A bag according to claim 1, wherein the carrier section is
formed by a folding which is oriented in parallel with the said
side edge and which is formed by at least one layer of a film
material used for the bag sides.
3. A bag according to claim 1, wherein the width of the pocket is
in the range 80 to 140 mm, and the depth of the pocket is in the
range 50 to 130 mm.
4. A bag according to claim 3, wherein the width of the pocket is
in the range 100 to 120 mm, and the depth of the pocket is in the
range 60 to 90 mm.
5. A bag according to claim 1, wherein the pocket has a convex,
rounded delimitation in direction towards the side edge, and that
the delimitation has a concave, outwardly directed shape in the
vicinity of the opening of the pocket.
6. A bag according to claim 1, wherein the connecting zones extend
outwards from the delimitation of the pocket and towards the side
edges of the bag for connecting the edge areas of the folding to
the bag side.
7. A bag according to claim 1, wherein the bag is closed along all
side edges and where a weakening line is formed in at least one of
the bag sides in an area within the delimitation of the pocket.
8. A bag according to claim 1, wherein the bag is made of weldable
plastic film, and where the connecting zones are formed by weldings
joining the carrier section to both bag sides.
9. A bag according to claim 1, wherein the bag sides are formed by
one piece of film, and where the carrier section is formed by a
double layered folding.
10. A bag according to claim 1, wherein the carrier section is
provided at the outer side of the bag.
11. A bag according to claim 1, adapted for packing articles, which
are inserted into the bag from the side edge located opposite to
the carrier section, and which is closed after the articles having
been inserted into the bag.
12. A bag according to claim 11, where the articles are newspapers.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention concerns a bag comprising two
superposed bag sides and a carrying handle formed at one of the
side edges of the bag.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] A variety of bags, usually rectangular, having a carrying
handle in the shape of a punched, elongated opening provided at a
side edge of the bag are prior art. Such bags may be traditional
open bags for carrying, but may also be closed bags used for
packing and distributing different articles, including printed
matter, e.g. newspapers.
[0003] The bags are preferably made of plastic, but may also be
made of paper.
[0004] By carrying a bag with contents in such a carrier handle, a
notch effect will arise at the end of the elongate opening, and
concentrated tensile forces directed into the film material of the
bag sides will appear. In order to reduce the risk of breakage, a
reinforcement is established by using a supplementing film web
which is bonded or welded to the bag sides. This carrier section
may extend over the whole length of the side edge at which the
carrying handle is provided, or only in an area around the carrying
handle itself.
[0005] Alternatively, it is possible to make the entire bag of a
stronger material for achieving the necessary strength at the
handle.
[0006] The prior art bag designs are thus disadvantageous as it is
more expensive to make the entire bag side of a very strong
material, only with the object of providing strength in a very
limited area at the ends of the handle where notch effect occurs.
Alternatively, it is a costly process to embed separate carrier
sections, though this is made relatively simple with the present
technology.
[0007] A further problem with the prior art bags is providing the
handle going through the front side and back side of the bag. If a
number of bags are placed upon each other in a stack, which e.g. is
the case when used as closed bags for packing printed matter such
as newspapers, the user or the paper man taking a bag may thus grip
through the punched opening and thereby risk catching several
superposed bags when the finger with primates' grip are passed
through the elongated opening and tend to engage an elongated
opening in an underlying bag.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] It is the object of the present invention to indicate a new
and more simple bag which is technically simple to make and which
at the same time provide the possibility of material saving, and
which is particularly suited for use when packing printed matter,
preferably newspapers, in closed bags.
[0009] According to the present invention, this is achieved with a
bag being peculiar in that a carrier section is provided at the
said side edge, the carrier section covering an edge area of the
bag side, and that the carrier section is connected to the adjacent
bag side in connecting zones delimiting a pocket between the
carrier section and the adjacent bag side, the pocket having an
opening directed away from the side edge and constituting a
carrying handle for accommodating fingers of a user when carrying
the bag.
[0010] The carrier section is fastened to the adjacent bag side,
either by welding, bonding, sewing or in other ways. The pocket
will be disposed in parallel with the bag side and have an opening
which in use will be directed downwards, away from the side edge of
the bag and thus be oriented towards the center of the bag. When a
user inserts the fingers in the pocket with a primates' grip and
lifts the bag, the concentration of tensile forces in the film
material of the bag sides will be located at the corner areas,
which are disposed at the side of the pocket and particularly be
oriented at the parts of the connecting zones provided in immediate
association with the opening of the pocket. Hereby is achieved an
advantageous distribution of the load. Hereby it becomes possible
to achieve a sufficient strength, even when using film material
having substantially less thickness than used traditionally in
order to carry a corresponding weight in bags with punched handles
in the bag sides. A substantial saving of material is thus
possible.
[0011] Furthermore, the pocket forming handle will be placed so
that the fingers are inserted along a bag side without risk of the
fingers being passed out on the other side of the bag. This
facilitates finger engagement of only one bag even if this is
placed in a stack.
[0012] According to a particular embodiment, the carrier section
may be formed by a folding which is oriented in parallel with the
said side edge and which is formed by at least one layer of a film
material used for the bag sides.
[0013] It is also possible to let one bag side constitute a carrier
section which will cover an edge area of the other bag side. Thus a
pocket is formed between the two bag sides in an edge area where
connecting zones are formed between the two bag sides. In this
embodiment, the opening for the pocket is formed in the film
material of one or the other bag side.
[0014] In a further embodiment, the folding may be provided by the
film material used for the bag side and farthest from the pocket
being folded about an upper edge of the bag side situated closest
to the pocket.
[0015] Alternatively, a folding forming a flip in the bag side
being closest to the pocket may be formed. In this embodiment, a
double thickness of material is attained in the carrier section
compared with the material thickness of the bag side. Hereby it
becomes possible to achieve greater strength.
[0016] The strength may furthermore be improved by establishing
connecting zones which simultaneously increase the rigidity of the
material. This may be effected by the connecting zones not just
being elongated and strip-like in the areas delimiting the pocket,
but also extending over substantial distance from the pocket
towards the side edges of the bag. Hereby greater or lesser parts
of the folding/carrier section are connected to the bag side. It is
particularly preferred that the free edge areas of the
folding/carrier section are secured to the bag side in order to
achieve a distribution of the force action on the connecting zones
and thereby increase the strength.
[0017] In order to adapt the pocket to the shape of the stretched
primates' fingers, it is preferred that the pocket has a convex,
rounded delimitation in direction towards the side edge.
Furthermore, it is preferred that the delimitation close to the
pocket opening has a concave, outwardly and oppositely directed
shape as hereby is achieved a good distribution of the load in the
film of the bag side. For adaptation to general shapes of human
hands, the pocket will have dimensions with a width in the range 80
to 140 mm, preferably 100 to 120 mm, and a depth in the range 50 to
130 mm, preferably in the range from 60 to 90 mm.
[0018] It is possible provide the carrier section at the inner side
or at the outer side of the bag. It is preferred to dispose the
carrier section at the outer side of the bag. If the carrier
section is disposed at the inner side of the bag, it is required
that an opening is formed through the film material of the bag side
at the position opposite to the inlet opening of the pocket.
[0019] It is mentioned above that it is possible to form bag sides
from different film sheets of the same or different materials.
However, it is also possible to form the bag sides of one film
sheet. In this situation it will often be preferred that the
carrier section is formed by a double layered folding of the film
material. Hereby it becomes possible to form the bag and the
carrier section of one and the same thin film material and at the
same time to attain great strength in the carrying handle.
[0020] According to a special embodiment, the bag is intended for
being filled from the side edge opposite to the handle and thus may
be said to form the bottom of the bag. However, it is also possible
to fill the bag from the side edge where the carrier section is
placed and to close this edge area subsequently.
[0021] In a particular embodiment, the bag can be made for packing
articles, preferably printed matter in the form of newspapers. The
printed matter will usually be inserted into the bag from the side
edge located opposite to the carrier section and which is closed
after insertion of the article into the bag. Such a design is
possible to make from one piece of film and to provide a double
layered folding at the carrier section. It has been possible to
attain such breaking strength that a 40 .mu. film of polypropylene
has greater strength than a traditional bag with 1001l film
provided with an elongated carrying handle opening along the edge
area.
[0022] It is also possible to make the bag as a standing bag with a
standing bottom disposed farthest from the carrying handle.
[0023] In order to facilitate access to the bag, it is preferred
that within the delimitation of the pocket there is formed a
weakening line in at least one of the bag sides. It appears that
the film material in the bag sides within the area covered by the
extension of the pocket will be largely in the neutral state
whereby tension does not occur during normal use. Therefore, it
will be possible to have a weakening line which does not provide
risk of inadvertent breaking of the bag and which simultaneously
enables easy access for the user. The user may thus grip around the
edge area of the folding at the pocket opening and the material
adjacent to the perforation, and then easily rend the bag in order
to access the contents.
[0024] It is possible to perform complete tearing of the bag for
emptying its contents. It is also possible to perform breaking only
along the weakening line. Hereby, the bag may be used as a
dispenser bag when placed with the handle facing downwards. In such
a situation, the pocket will act as an upwardly open bowl receiving
items, e.g. bulk material flowing out of the through the opening
formed by breaking the perforation. A possible application of such
a bag could be as dispenser bag for bird feeding or the like.
THE DRAWING
[0025] The invention will now be explained in more detail with
reference to the accompanying schematic drawing, where:
[0026] FIG. 1 shows a partial view of a bag according to the
invention,
[0027] FIG. 2 shows a section through the bag in FIG. 1,
[0028] FIG. 3 shows a partial view of a further embodiment of a bag
according to the invention,
[0029] FIG. 4 shows a section through the bag shown in FIG. 3,
[0030] FIG. 5 shows a partial view of a further embodiment of a bag
according to the invention,
[0031] FIG. 6 shows a section through the bag shown in FIG. 5,
[0032] FIG. 7 shows a partial view of a further embodiment of a bag
according to the invention,
[0033] FIG. 8 shows a section through the bag in FIG. 7,
[0034] FIG. 9 shows a partial view of a further embodiment of a bag
according to the invention, and
[0035] FIG. 10 shows a section through the bag in FIG. 9.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0036] Identical or corresponding elements in different Figures
will be provided with the same designations below. No specific
explanation will be given in connection with each embodiment.
[0037] In FIGS. 1 and 2 is seen a bag 1 comprising two superposed
bag sides 2, 3. The bag has a carrying handle 4 which is placed at
one of the side edges 5 of the bag. The bag is made of weldable
thermoplastic.
[0038] The carrying handle 4 is formed of a carrier section
provided in the shape of a folding 6, which is formed of material
from the bag side 2 in a position so that it covers an edge area of
the opposite bag side 3. The folding 6 thus covers an edge area
adjacent to the side edge 5. The folding 6 is connected with the
adjacent bag side 3 via connecting zones 7. The connecting zones 7
can be established by welding/bonding provided only between the
folding 6 and the bag side 3. Alternatively, the connecting zones
may be weldings/bonding which additionally create a connection
between the bag sides 2 and 3 in the area at the connecting
zones.
[0039] The connecting zones 7 delimit a pocket 8 constituting the
carrying handle. The pocket 8 has an opening 9 directed away from
the side edge 5 and intended for receiving the user's fingers in a
primates' grip when carrying the bag.
[0040] The bag may e.g. have a content of newspapers 10 as
illustrated in FIG. 2. The bag may, however, also be used for other
articles distributed in a closed bag.
[0041] The connecting zones 7 can have different shape. It is
preferred that the connecting zones 7 delimit a pocket 8 having a
rounded bottom 11 near the side edge 5 and having a concave,
outwardly directed corner area 12 close to the pocket opening 9. A
good distribution of tensile actions from the weight of the load in
the bag is achieved with the concave, outwardly directed corner
area 12. The tensile actions will thus be concentrated over the
concavely shaped connecting zones in the corner areas 12 at the
pocket opening 9.
[0042] In order to achieve reinforcement of the carrier section 6
there may be provided further connecting zones. As shown, there may
thus be provided connecting zones 13 extending out against the side
edges 14, 15 of the bag from the side edge of the pocket 8.
Connecting zones 16 running along edge areas of the carrier section
out to the side edges 14, 15 and in parallel with the side edges
14, 15 in direction toward the side edge 5 may also be provided.
Likewise, it is possible to establish a connecting zone 22 (see
FIG. 7) running in parallel with the side edge 5. By providing more
connecting zones 7, 13, 16 and 22 there may be achieved great
rigidity and thereby strength in the edge area.
[0043] As mentioned, tensile forces will be oriented from corner
areas 12 and downwards in the bag sides 2, 3. This implies an area
17 within the delimitation of the pocket in which hardly any
loads/tensions occur in the materials of the bag sides. The meaning
of this will be explained later. As it particularly appears from
FIG. 2, the carrier section 6 is formed by a folded part of the
film sheet used for forming the bag side 2.
[0044] FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate a further embodiment, where only a
part of the connecting zones 7, 16 are shown for the sake of
clarity. However, this embodiment may also be provided with more
connecting zones than shown. In FIG. 4, the bag is shown without
contents for the sake of clarity.
[0045] In this embodiment, there are used approximately straight
connecting zones 7 for delimiting of the pocket 8. However, it is
only to be ensured that a pocket is established, which may be used
for a primates' grip at the user's insertion of his fingers through
the opening 9.
[0046] In this embodiment, the carrier section is formed by a
folding 18. The folding 18 is formed by a double layered structure,
and the bag is made of one film sheet. This film sheet is used for
forming the folding 18 as well as for forming the two bag sides 2,
3. This embodiment thus provides the possibility of making a bag
with a carrying handle 4, starting with a film web which is passed
through a machine in which folding, welding and filling are
accomplished.
[0047] In FIGS. 5 and 6 is illustrated a further embodiment. Here
is seen that the carrying handle is formed by a folding 19
consisting of a folded part of the film sheet for the bag side 3.
It is noted that there will also be possibility of letting some of
the film sheet 2 follow around and be disposed down along the outer
side of the folding 19, so that a double layer structure is
achieved.
[0048] In this embodiment there is shown a weakening line 20 placed
in the area 17. In FIG. 6, the weakening line 20 is shown as being
provided in the bag side 3. Alternatively, the weakening line may
be provided in the bag side 2. In both bag sides there will be a
neutral area in the area 17 where no tensile forces/tensions occur,
which can imply risk of rending in normal use of the bag.
[0049] The weakening line 20 makes it easier for the user to get
access to the interior of the bag. With starting point in the
weakening line 20, it is possible to perform a complete opening of
the bag, alternatively to break the bag along the weakening line 20
in order thereby to establish a dispensing unit where the bag 8 may
act as an upwardly open bowl when the bag is suspended with the
pocket 8 facing downwards. The bag may therefore be provided with
an eye for suspending at its side edge opposite the side edge
5.
[0050] A weakening line 20 may be provided in connection with any
embodiment and not only the embodiment of the bag shown in FIGS. 5
and 6.
[0051] FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate a further embodiment of a bag
according to the invention. This bag differs in that the carrier
section is formed by a separate web of material 21, which is
fastened to the bag side 3 by means of the connecting zones 7, 16,
and 22. Even though it is preferred to use an embodiment with
folding of material from one or both bag sides for formation of the
carrier section, it is also possible to use a separate web of
material in situations where special requirements are made for the
carrier section, e.g. for reasons of strength or appearance.
[0052] FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate a further embodiment of a bag 1
according to the invention. This bag differs in that an edge area
of a bag side 3 or 2 can be said to constitute the carrier section.
In the area between the two bag sides 2, there is provided a pocket
8 at the upper edge area, to which pocket 8 access is formed
through the opening 9 which is placed in one bag side. There are
provided connecting zones 7 and 16, which are welded together at
opposite bag sides 2, 3, whereby the pocket 8 is formed with a
rounded bottom close to the side edge 5 and with concave, outwardly
directed corner areas 12 close to the pocket opening 9. This
embodiment is particularly simple as it does not require further
folded parts of one or the other of the bag sides. If increased
strength is desired, one or the other of the bag sides 2,3 may be
provided with a reinforcing film at the edge area between the side
edge 5 and the connecting zones 16.
[0053] The shown embodiment has a bag, the edge area of which is
welded together as indicated by the designation 23. Such a welding
at the bag side may also be used in the other embodiments.
[0054] Above is shown embodiments where there is provided a pocket
8 at one bag side. However, alternatively it is possible to make
the bag with a pocket 8 at each bag side.
[0055] It is also possible to provide the bag with a folding
directed inwardly between the two bag sides 2, 3, or to provide a
separate web of material which is embedded between the two bag
sides. By such alternative embodiments it will be necessary to form
an opening in one bag side at a position corresponding to the
pocket opening 9 so that the user can pass his fingers through the
opening, after which they are received in a pocket 8 formed in the
area within the bag sides 2, 3. It is noted that this design will
not be suited for bags where the content is to be protected.
However, a closed bag may be established by welding or bonding
together the bag sides 2, 3 transversely of the opening.
[0056] It is possible to make bags with different plastic
materials, such a poly propylene, poly ethylen or other suited
plastic materials or laminates thereof. It is possible to establish
connecting zones by welding (possibly combined with bonding) when
weldable plastic materials are used, or by bonding when non-welding
plastic materials are used.
* * * * *