Collapsed Bag And Wrapper Packet

Abstract

A collapsed bag and wrapper packet comprises a collapsed bag made from a thin, pliable material and which in and of itself tends to be limp and difficult to handle in a manner to maintain it in the collapsed condition, with a multiturn wrapper sheet of a material substantially stiffer and more self-sustaining than the material of the bag wrapped about the collapsed bag. A substantial portion of the bag is retainingly intercalated with turns of the wrapper. A substantial portion of the bag may be turned on itself within the wrapper, thereby enabling the wrapper to be substantially shorter than the length of the bag or a plurality of bags in a separable string.

Description

This invention relates to the art of packaging, and is more particularly concerned with a collapsed bag and wrapper packet.

Bags made from a thin pliable material, such as a plastic film of which polyethylene is a popular example, have many and varied uses. As convenience utility items such bags are supplied in a collapsed condition as an adjunct to other articles or products sold to consumers for use with or as an aid in the use of the accompanying product. For example, particulate food material sold for breading food items such as pieces of chicken, fish, and the like, is supplied in sales packages of substantial volume from which a desirable quantity of the particulate material is placed in a bag commodious enough to serve the purpose and into which the items to be breaded are then placed and the bag shaken to coat the items with the particulate material. As a convenience to the consumer, at least one shaker bag is supplied with the package of particulate material.

Such bags are also useful in a general utility sense for garbage disposal, wet swim wear carrying, refrigerated food protection, lunch carrying, etc.

While the thin plastic material is reasonably tough, liquid impervious, advantageously transparent, and provides a low-cost throwaway item, it is pliable and limp as well as slippery in contact with itself. Therefore bags made of this material are difficult to handle in bulk, become easily disarrayed, and are virtually impossible to be manipulated by automatic packaging machinery where it is desired to place one or more bags at a time into packages with other items, necessitating the relatively slow and costly expedient of individual hand loading of such bags into the packages.

The foregoing and other disadvantages and deficiencies are overcome by the present invention, according to which a collapsed bag and wrapper packet is provided in which a collapsed bag of the thin, pliable, limp material is supported in a multiturned wrapper sheet of a material substantially stiffer and more self-sustaining than the material of the bag wrapped about the collapsed bag with a substantial portion of the bag being retainingly intercalated with turns of the wrapper. A substantial portion of the bag may be turned on itself within the wrapper, thereby enabling the wrapper to be substantially shorter than the bag.

An important object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved collapsed bag and wrapper packet.

Another object of the invention is to provide new and improved means for handling collapsed bags made from a thin, pliable material which in and of itself tends to be limp and difficult to handle in a manner to maintain it in collapsed condition.

A further object of the invention is to provide a new and improved collapsed bag and wrapper packet in which the bag is supported in a multiturn wrapper sheet.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved collapsed bag and wrapper packet which is simple and inexpensive in construction, enables easy and convenient handling of the bag for packing with other items in a package by automatic loading equipment.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide efficient, simple and inexpensive means for protectively and retainingly packing collapsed bags of thin, pliable, limp plastic film.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent from the following description of certain preferred embodiments thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings although variations and modifications may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the disclosure, and in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a packet embodying features of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional detail view taken substantially along the line II-II of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an isometric view showing the packet opened for illustrative purposes; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary elevational view showing a connected plastic bag arrangement for multiple bag packets.

According to the invention a packet 5 comprises a collapsed bag 7 within a wrapper 8.

In a desirable form, the bag 7 is made from a plastic film, and more particularly an extruded tubular plastic film which is flattened out and electronically welded or heat-sealed thereacross at suitable intervals to provide a respective bottom closing seam 9 for each bag section. As closely as practicable beyond the seam 9 a line of separating perforations or serrations 10 is punched across the collapsed bag tube laminate so that by suitable tension longitudinally one bag can be separated from the next in the strip series with the end of the bag where it has been separated along the perforations 10 being the open end. Where two or more of the bags 7 in a continuous strip are to be supplied, the companion bags are permitted to remain serially attached at the perforations 10 and the user may then separate each successive bag from the strip as needed.

To overcome the difficulties in handling the bags 7 in a manner to maintain them in collapsed, compact condition, the bags either individually, or in a suitable multibag strip are turned upon themselves into a desirable bundle and encompassed within the wrapper 8 in a manner to retain them against unintentional slipping or displacement from the wrapper. To enable easy and efficient handling of the packet 5, the sides of the wrapper should extend beyond the sides of the enclosed bag with sufficient clearance to avoid projection of the bag sides from the packet and so that the sides of the packet may economically be left open. The width of the packet is held to a minimum by folding in the sides of the flat collapsed bags with one folded side 11 (FIG. 3) lying against the body of the bag and an opposite in-folded side 12 lying against the in-folded side 11. Thereby the bag assumes a relatively narrow strip width and the wrapper 8 need only be a little wider than the laterally folded bag strip in order to extend beyond the sides of the bag strip reasonably centered thereon.

Each wrapper is made from a material which is substantially stiffer and more self-sustaining than the material of the bags, and in a desirably economical form comprises a sheet of paper. To maintain the bulk of the packet at a minimum, the wrapper 8 is desirably substantially shorter than the bag 7. A substantial portion of the collapsed bag is turned upon itself, preferably from the bottom end up, to a length which is shorter than the total length of the wrapper 8 but with a remaining portion of the bag extending beyond the turned-up portion to enable intercalating such remaining portion with turns of the wrapper to hold the bag within the open ended tube provided by the wrapper when turned into enclosing relation to the bag. This is attained by orienting the bag with its turned-up and remaining portions on the wrapper 8 intermediate the ends of the wrapper such that the turned-up portion of the bag is adapted to be engaged between an inner end terminal flange 13 of the wrapper and the body of the wrapper, and then the remaining portions of the bag and the wrapper are turned onto the flange 13 and onto and about the body of the wrapper so that an intercalated relation of the remaining portion of the bag and the wrapper is effected. In the representative packet shown, two successive sections of the bag from the turned over portion to the open end of the bag are wrapped into and intercalated with sections of the wrapper. This provides a reasonably secure retention of the bag within the wrapper against unintentional slipping of the bag sideways from the wrapper. Preferably the wound-up bag and wrapper packet is flattened substantially as shown to facilitate packing and handling.

In order further to facilitate handling of the packet 5, the free outer end portion of the wrapper comprises a terminal flap flange 14 which is secured in face-to-face relation onto the body of the wrapper in a manner which will enable ready opening of the wrapper when access to the enclosed bag is desired. For this purpose a limited area spot of adhesive 15 is applied at a substantially transversely centered point to and between the flange 14 and the wrapper body to hold the flange 14 closed against the body. To facilitate opening of the wrapper, a pull tab 17 is desirably provided as an extension from the free end of the flange 14 in line with the holding adhesive spot 15. To open the packet, a pull to strip the end flap flange 14 away from the body of the wrapper will effect separation of the adhesively bonded area and enable turning the packet open to release the bag. On the other hand, if it is desired to remove the bag through either side of the packet, that may be done by reaching into one open side of the packet and withdrawing the bag, or pushing the bag out by pressure applied from one side toward the other side. However, due to the intercalated relationship of a portion of the bag with the wrapper, it is generally easier to remove the bag by stripping the free end portion of the wrapper open and thereby gaining access to the interior of the wrapper and the bag.

Identification sales indicia material may be printed on the outer face of the wrapper, and where desired the inner face of the wrapper may be used for printed material such as advertising, recipes, coupons, etc.

The packet 5 lends itself readily to mechanical handling and loading into packages with other items by automatic equipment. Since the bag is thoroughly enclosed within the wrapper and is held against displacement sidewise from the open sides of the wrapper, it will not protrude and interfere with efficient operation of the automatic packing equipment. The wrapper keeps the bag clean and protected against damage. The compact flattened packet will take up a minimum of room in a package with other items with which it may be assembled, such as a food product with which the bag is intended to be used. A large number of the packets maybe packed together in a suitable container or in a magazine for feeding to automatic loading equipment in a package filling line. Where the packet is intended as a general utility item, a substantial number of the packets can be supplied in a relatively small package, or where supplied as individual packets, they can be received and packed in small space in a travelling kit, for example. By having the sides of the packet open, ready inspection may be made therethrough of the contents.

Claims

I claim:

1. A collapsed bag and wrapper packet comprising, in combination:

a collapsed bag made from a thin, pliable material and which in and of itself tends to be limp and difficult to handle in a manner to maintain it in the collapsed condition; and

a multiturn wrapper sheet of a material substantially stiffer and more self-sustaining then the material of said bag wrapped about said collapsed bag, a substantial portion of the bag being retainingly intercalated with turns of the wrapper.

2. A packet according to claim 1, said bag having another portion thereof turned on itself within the wrapper.

3. A packet according to claim 1, said bag having attached thereto along a weakened line of separation another like bag which is turned on itself and retained within the wrapper.

4. A packet according to claim 1, said bag having attached thereto along a weakened line of separation another like bag and which is turned on itself and with the turns of said first-mentioned bag portion engaged thereabout.

5. A packet according to claim 1, said bag having another portion turned upon itself within the wrapper, and the wrapper having an inner turned flange portion engaging said turned portion of the bag.

6. A packet according to claim 1, said bag being substantially wider than the wrapper sheet and having side marginal portions folded in upon the body of the bag and themselves so that the total width of the thus folded bag is less than the width of the wrapper and the bag being substantially centered between the sides of the wrapper to be wholly contained therein.

7. A packet according to claim 1, said wrapper having an outer end terminal flange, means securing said terminal flange to the body of the wrapper, and a pull tab on said flange enabling release of the flange and thereby opening of the wrapper to gain access to the bag therewithin.

8. A packet according to claim 1, said bag being of substantially greater length and width than the wrapper, side portions of the bag being folded in upon the body of the bag to provide a bag strip which is narrower than the width of said wrapper, said bag having a substantial portion of its length turned upon itself to shorten the bag to a length substantially less than the length of the wrapper, an inner terminal flange portion of the wrapper engaging onto the turned portion of the bag, and the remaining portion of the bag being turned onto said flange portion and intercalated therewith and the remainder of the wrapper, the wrapper having an outer terminal flange portion, a spot of adhesive securing said outer terminal flange portion substantially centrally of its width to the body of the wrapper, and a pull tab extension on said outer end flange portion aligned with said securing adhesive attachment.

9. A packet according to claim 1, said wrapper having an outer terminal end flange portion, and a spot of adhesive securing said flange portion to the body of the wrapper.

10. A packet according to claim 9 said flange portion having a pull tab extension thereon aligned with said spot of adhesive.