US3029853A - Bag with drawstring closure - Google Patents

Description

April 17, 1962 T. E. PIAZZE 3,029,853

BAG WITH DRAWSTRING CLOSURE Filed Nov. 19, 1959 izvmyrbk. 40 Z/zom lfig e,

United States Patent Oil 3,029,853 BAG WITH DRAWSTRING CLOSURE Thomas E. Piazze, Mount Vernon, Ohio, assignor to Continental Can Company, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Nov. 19, 1959, Ser. No. 854,159 1 Claim. (Cl. 150-11) This invention relates to receptacles and is more particularly concerned with improvements in a flexible bag having a drawstring in a mouth forming hem for effecting the closure of the bag.

Bag-like receptacles or containers have heretofore been provided which are particularly designed for packaging fresh produce, particularly fruits and vegetables or like products. Bags for these products have been provided which are fabricated from loosely woven fabrics or from plastic films with drawstring closures in which an endless string is enclosed in a mouth forming hem with a section or loop portion of the string extending through an aperture in the hem to permit it to be grasped so that the mouth of the bag may be closed by pulling on the string. However, some difficulties have been encountered in providing a satisfactory bag, particularly, when it is formed of plastic film, with a drawstring closure. It is a general object, therefore, of this invention to provide a produce bag having a drawstring closure which is so constructed that it does not tear the hem material when pulled through the aperture to effect the closure, which is especially adapted to be economically produced, and which has advantages over similar constructions heretofore employed.

It is another object of the invention to provide a produce bag having a drawstring closure in which the string is enclosed in a mouth forming hem and secured therein at spaced points so that the closure may be effected by pulling on intermediate portions of the string and, when the mouth is closed, the string may be utilized as a carrying handle.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a bag having a drawstring closure in which two lengths or sections of a string forming material are enclosed in a mouth forming hem and corresponding ends of the two string sections are anchored at oppositely disposed points in the hem while intermediate portions thereof are accessible through apertures provided in the hem to permit the mouth to be closed by grasping and pulling on the intermediate portions of the string, with the string sections forming, when the closure is effected, a handle for carrying the bag.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from a consideration of the several forms of the bagstructure which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation, with portions broken away, of a produce bag having incorporated therein the principal features of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view, to an enlarged scale, of the top portion of the bag shown in FIGURE 1 with the bag walls partially expanded into an open position for insertion of merchandise therein;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary plan view showing one end of the mouth of the bag, to an enlarged scale;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary section taken on the line 44 of FIGURE 1, to an enlarged scale;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view, of the top portion of the bag shown in FIGURE 1, with the bag mouth gathered into closed condition;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary section similar to FIG- URE 4 illustrating a modified form of the bag; and

FIGURE 7 is a side elevation of the top portion of another modified form of the bag.

' ings, there is illustrated a produce container or bag 10 which incorporates therein the principal features of the' invention. The bag 10 is formed of a single sheet of relatively flexible, heat scalable film material which is .folded upon itself and which has its superimposed side margins heat sealed at 11 and 12 to provide a tubular section open at one end and closed at the other by the bottom edge forming fold 13. The bag 10 as illustrated in FIGURE 1 is in collapsed or flattened condition.

The material from which the bag 10 is made is preferably a relatively thin, tough, transparent, continuous plastic film such as, polyethylene, Pliofilm, vinyl or the like, which may be folded as shown and which is readily heat scalable. The film material may be perforated, if desired, to provide ventilation for the product which it is designed to receive.

The bag 10, as shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, is provided at its open top end or mouth with a drawstring closure which includes a drawstring 14 and a marginal hem formation 15 in which the drawstring is received.

The marginal hem 15 (FIGURE 4) is formed by folding marginal portions 16 of the bag material at the mouth thereof outwardly against the outer face of the adjoining side wall forming portions of the bag material and heat sealing or otherwise securing the same thereto on line 17. The drawstring 14 comprises two sections or lengths '18 and 18 of the string material. The two pieces or sections of string 18 and 18' are arranged in generally parallel relation in the two portions of the hem forma tion 15 when the bag end or mouth is in the collapsed or flattened condition shown in FIGURE 1, that is, each of the two string sections 18 and 18' is housed in substantially half of the hem 15. The two string sections 18 and 18', as shown in FIGURES 1 and 3, have corresponding end portions 19 and 19 anchored or secured to the hem formation 15 by staples 20 and 20 with the latter located adjacent the side edges of the flattened bag or the ends of the hem portions. The two hem portions are provided with apertures 21 and 21 (FIGURE which are located in oppositely disposed relation in the center of the hem portions so that central portions 22 and 22 of the string sections 18 and 18 are accessible and may be grasped with the fingers to close the bag mouth by pulling thereon. Since the end portions 19 and 19' of the string sections are anchored to the ends of the hem 15 a pulling force applied to the central portions 22 and 22 of the string sections results in the bag mouth being gathered into the closed condition shown in FIGURE 5. The apertures 21 and 21' are, of course, of sufficient size to permit the center portions 22 and 22 of the string sections to be readily grasped between the fingers and pulled through the apertures.

In using the bag 10 the mouth is opened up by separating the walls of the bag and the product to be packaged is placed therein. The mouth may then be closed by grasping the middle portions 22 and 22' of the drawstring sections and exerting a pulling force on the same in the direction of the long axis of the bag and away fro-m the mouth of the same. Where the product has substantial weight, the Weight of the product may be utilized to effect the closure of the bag mouth by merely grasping the string portions 22 and 22 and lifting on the same so as to suspend the bag and its contents by the strings which results in automatic closing of the bag mouth as shown in FIG- URE 5 with the extended portions of the string sections forming a carrying handle. These sections may be knotted (not shown) to effect a permanent closure of the bag and prevent any reopening thereof until the knots are removed.

Another form of the bag is illustrated in FIGURE 6. In this form the hem 30 is provided by folding a marginal Patented Apr. 17, 1962;

portion 31 of the bag material at the mouth of the bag inwardly and securing the edge thereof by heat sealing or otherwise on the line 32 to provide an inturned marginal hem which has no edges protruding on the outside surface of the bag.

A further modification of the bag closure structure is illustrated in FIGURE 7. In this form of the device the bag 40 has a hem formation 41 of the same character as the hem formation 15 and a drawstring which is in the form of two sections 42 and 42' of a ribbon or band material with the ribbon sections 42 and 42 extending as shown in FIGURE 7 when the bag mouth is flattened and having heat seal formations 43 and 43 at the ends thereof which anchor corresponding ends of the ribbon sections 42 and 42' at spaced points in the hem formation 41. The hem formation 41 is provided with apertures 44 which provide access to central portions of the closure ribbon 42 and 42' so that the latter may be grasped and drawn away from the mouth of the bag to etfect the closure of the bag mouth in the same manner as in the form of the bag illustrated in FIGURES l to 5.

In all forms of the bag illustrated a fiat bag structure is shown but the construction is not limited to a flat bag. Other types of bag constructions may be employed with the drawstring members enclosed in a hem formed in the month thereof in the same manner as in the flap-type bag illustrated. Also in all forms of the bag, the drawstring sections may be somewhat longer than the maximum length of the hem sections which are adapted to receive the same with a central portion of each string section extended in the form of a loop through the aperture provided in the hem, so that it may be more readily grasped and a force applied thereto to effect the closure of the bag mouth.

In all forms of the bag which are illustrated the drawstring is shown as comprising two sections or lengths of the string material. It may be desirable to use a single length or endless loop of the drawstring material and merely apply an anchoring member or fastening means at oppositely disposed points so that the closing moveif, ment would be the same as in the forms of the bag illustrated.

While particular materials and specific details of construction have been referred to in describing the several forms of the bag closure which are illustrated, it will be understood that other materials and equivalent details of construction may be resorted to within the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

In a drawstring closure for a container which is formed of flexible sheet material and which is characterized by a tube-like body portion having a mouth forming end portion which may be closed by bringing the end marginal portions of the side walls into flattened condition or by gathering said side wall marginal portions, said side wall marginal portions being folded upon and secured to the adjoining body portions to form a marginal hem, a drawstring comprising two sections of substantially equal length enclosed in said hem, said drawstring sections being parallel when the mouth of the container is closed by bringing the marginal portions of the side walls into fiattened condition and said drawstring sections having their ends secured to the hem at the ends thereof when said hem is in said aforementioned flattened condition, said hem having openings at the center thereof which provide access to the middle portions of the drawstring sections, the intermediate portions of the drawstring sections being free to move in the hem so that by pulling on the middle portions of said drawstring sections in an axial direction away from the mouth of the container the mouth of the container is gathered into fully closed relation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,798,523 Barrett July 9, 1957 2,863,365 Piazze Dec. 9, 1958 2,871,900 Auditore Feb. 3, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 795,843 France Ian. 3, 1936

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