Bag With Reinforced Integral Handle Portions

The present invention is directed to the manufacture of a bag, such as used for grocery shopping, having reinforced handles integral with the sides of the bag.

Conventional paper or plastic bags are of general rectangular configuration with handles or gripping portions at the upper end thereof. When fully loaded or laden with heavy objects, a great deal of stress is placed on the handle portions which can result in tearing of the bag or the disengagement of the handles from the bag itself.

Efforts have therefore been made to reinforce the handles and/or to make the handle portions capable of bearing the weight of the contents of the bag. Examples of such efforts are disclosed in C. S. Pease, U.S. Pat. No. 1,355,353; Z. Littman, U.S. Pat. No. 1,661,143; H. I. McMillan, U.S. Pat. No. 2,650,016; S. Kleinhaut, U.S. Pat. No. 3,416,720; L Spruyt, U.S. Pat. No. 3,454,441; R. C. Goodwin, U.S. Pat. No. 3,605,570; and F. Achelpohl et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,102,383.

The bags manufactured by the methods described in the abovementioned references are disadvantageous because they do not provide sufficient support for bags fully loaded with heavy objects. In particular such bags provide inadequate support in vicinity of the handle portions of the bag where stress from the weight of the contents of the bag is the greatest. Such bags often experience failure at the handle portions when the contents of the bag exceeds about 5 pounds.

It would therefore be a significant advance in the manufacture of paper and plastic bags to provide a construction which allows weights exceeding 5 pounds and preferably up to about 20 pounds. Such bags would provide the added benefit of reducing the number of bags needed to carry groceries and the like by a typical consumer.

The present invention is generally directed to methods of manufacturing paper and plastic bags, preferably from a single sheet of paper or plastic, with reinforced handle sections sufficient to support up to 20 pounds of weight. The bags produced by these methods have handle sections integral with opposed sides of the bags and are formed by producing multiple layers of paper or plastic with each layer adhesively bonded to another layer.

More specifically, the present invention is directed to methods of manufacturing a bag of substantially rectangular shape formed by opposed wide sides, narrow sides and a base with reinforced handle sections of predetermined height integral with the wide sides of the bag, and to bags produced by these methods.

The methods comprise forming opposed flap portions from the opposed narrow sides. The flap portions are then folded onto the respective wide sides of the bag and bonded thereto by an adhesive or other bonding means to form respective wide side reinforced sections. The resulting wide side reinforced sections are each folded upon themselves and bonded thereto to form respective prehandle sections having sufficient strength to support up to 20 pounds of weight under normal carrying conditions.

The prehandle section is then provided with an opening capable of receiving a hand therethrough. The resulting reinforced handle section is integral with the respective wide sides of the bag and therefore can not be disengaged from the bag under typical conditions of use.

The following drawings in which like reference characters indicate like parts are illustrative of embodiments of the invention and are not intended to limit the invention as encompassed by the claims forming part of the application.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional bag without handles which may be used to make the bag of the present invention;

FIGS. 2A-2F are perspective views in sequence showing a first embodiment of the present invention wherein:

FIG. 2A shows the narrow side of the bag cut to form respective flap portions;

FIG. 2B shows the flap portions extended prior to folding;

FIG. 2C shows the flap portions folded upon themselves and bonded to form respective wide side reinforced sections;

FIG. 2D shows the wide side reinforced sections diagonally folded and bonded upon themselves and together forming a triangular shaped section;

FIG. 2E shows the triangular shaped section folded downwardly upon itself and bonded to form a prehandle section; and

FIG. 2F shows an opening in the prehandle section to form the desired reinforced handle section allowing the user to grip the bag with the hand; and

FIGS. 3A-3E are perspective views in sequence showing a second embodiment of the invention wherein;

FIG. 3A shows the narrow sides and a portion of the wide sides of the bag cut to form flap portions;

FIG. 3B shows the flap portions extended prior to folding;

FIG. 3C shows the flap portions folded upon themselves and bonded to form respective wide side reinforced sections;

FIG. 3D shows a wide side reinforced section folded downwardly upon itself and bonded to form a prehandle section; and

FIG. 3E shows an opening in the prehandle section to form the desired reinforced handle section allowing the user to grip the bag with the hand.

The present invention is directed to methods of making bags with reinforced handle sections which are integral with the wide sides of the bag. The bags which may be produced in accordance with the invention can be made from paper or plastic, and preferably from a single sheet of the same. Such materials of construction include, for example, Kraft paper, polyethylene, polypropylene, styrene-butadiene and the like.

Construction of the bags of the present invention begins with a conventional non-handled bag, preferably made from a single sheet of material. Respective portions of the sides of the bag are folded upon themselves and bonded to provide the desired reinforcement in the handle region. Bonding may be carried out with adhesives, such as commonly used for adhering sheets of heavy weight paper (e.g. kraft paper) together. Alternative means of bonding include heat sealing and the like.

The bags produced in accordance with the present invention are constructed so that the reinforced handle sections can withstand up to a 20 pound load under normal conditions of use. In a first embodiment of the invention the bag is produced by forming first flap portions solely from the narrow sides of the bag.

Referring to FIG. 1 there is shown a conventional non-handled bag 2 having opposed wide sides 4a and 4b and opposed narrow sides 6a and 6b. A fold 8 is present in the narrow sides along the median thereof enabling the bag 2 to be folded in a conventional manner. The bag 2 has a bottom section 10 and an opposed opening 12 defining a substantially rectangular shaped storage area 14.

As a first step in forming the bag of the present invention the narrow side 4a, as shown specifically in FIG. 2A, is cut to a depth shown by the line 16. The line 16 is preferably along the median of the narrow sides 6a and 6b. The depth of the cut corresponds to the desired height of the reinforced handle portion which will be formed integral with the wide side 4a of the bag 2. It should be noted that all future reference will be made to only one of the wide sides 4a and to only one of the narrow sides 6a. All operations performed on these sides of the bag will also be performed on the corresponding sides 4b and 6b to provide a bag with opposed reinforced handle sections.

Once the narrow side 6a is cut to the desired depth, a second cut, indicated by line 18 is made substantially perpendicular to the cut 16 toward the wide side 4a of the bag 2. Cutting both narrow sides 6a and 6b in this manner results in the formation of four flap portions 20a-20d as shown specifically in FIG. 2B. When the cut 16 is made along the median of the narrow sides 6a and 6b, the four flap portions 20a-20d have the same dimensions. In this preferred embodiment of the invention, there is provided uniform and symmetrical handle sections as described hereinafter.

Each of the respective flap portions (only 20a and 20b are shown for convenience) are folded upon themselves and bonded to form respective wide side reinforced sections 22a and 22b as shown in FIG. 2C. In a preferred embodiment and as specifically shown in FIG. 2C, the flap portions 20a and 20b are folded so they lie on the outer surface of the wide side 4a. Folding the flap portion in this manner results in an opening 24 formed in the narrow side 6a. Thus, the distance from the bottom 10 to the cut line 18 (see FIG. 2A) will be the height of the completed bag. Accordingly, the height of the starting bag shown in FIG. 1 for construction of the bag of the present invention should be selected to provide a suitable final storage volume.

Bonding of each of the respective flap portions 20a and 20b upon themselves is preferably carried out using an adhesive when the bag is constructed of paper. A preferred adhesive is an adhesive composition containing starch and water as principal components. In particular an adhesive composition for use in the present invention contains Pearl Starch (a starch manufactured by Staley Manufacturing Company), Keofilm 83 (a corn starch manufactured by the Hubinger Company) and water. The adhesive composition may also contain preservatives such as soda ash (e.g. Sodium Carbonate manufactured by Ashland Chemical Company), binding agents such as soap flakes (Excelsior Soap manufactured by Ashland Chemical Company), antimicrobial agents such as sodium o-phenylphenate tetrahydrate (Dowicide manufactured by Dow Chemical Company), and viscosity control agents such as caustic soda (manufactured by Dow Chemical Company). For plastic bags, bonding can be carried out by heat sealing each of the respective flap portions upon themselves.

The flap portions 20a and 20b are then folded along the diagonal and bonded to form a triangular shaped section 26 having an apex 28 and a base 30 as shown in FIG. 2D. More specifically, the corners 32a and 32b of the respective flap portions 20a and 20b shown in FIG. 2C are folded toward each other until they abut or preferably slightly overlap along the base 30 as shown in FIG. 2D. The triangular shaped section 26 is then folded downwardly upon itself as shown in FIG. 2E. This is accomplished by taking the apex 28 and drawing it downwardly, preferably below the base 30, to form a prehandle section 34 having a flap 36 bonded to the remaining portion 38 of the triangular shaped section 26.

The final step of the process is shown in FIG. 2F. The prehandle section 34 is provided with an opening 40 which is of sufficient size to enable the user's hand to enter and grip the bag. The resulting reinforced handle section 42 is integral with the wide side 4a of the bag 2 and has sufficient strength to withstand up to 20 pounds of load.

The opening 40 is preferably centered within the prehandle section 34 so that any point of the perimeter of the opening 40 is an effective distance away from the edges of the flap portion 36. In addition, it is preferred that the opening be kidney shaped or other similar design having an arcuate perimeter which is less likely to tear from the stresses of a heavy load.

In a second embodiment of the invention, the flap portions are formed from the narrow sides and a portion of the wide sides of the bag. Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, the flap portions 50a-50d are formed by a cut 52 extending downwardly from the top of the bag, preferably along the median of the narrow sides and a cut 54 extending substantially perpendicular to the cut 52 and into a portion of the wide side 4a of the bag 2. Once cutting is complete, the resulting flap portions 50a-50d are extended as shown in FIG. 3B prior to folding.

As shown in FIG. 3C the flap portions 50a and 50b are folded one onto the other and then bonded in that position with an adhesive or other bonding means as previously described to form a wide side reinforced section 56 having an upper edge 58 and a base 60. The upper edge 58 is then folded downwardly as shown in FIG. 3D until the upper edge 58 lies below the base 60. The folded flap portion 62 is then bonded to the remaining portion 64 of the wide side reinforced section 56 to form a prehandle section 66.

As shown in FIG. 3E, the prehandle section 66 is provided with an opening 68 of sufficient size to enable a user to insert a hand therein. The opening 68 is preferably centered in the prehandle section 66 to provide greater protection against tearing as previously described in connection with the embodiment of FIGS. 2A-2F. In this embodiment of the invention the opening is preferably oval shaped although a kidney shaped opening may also be employed. The resulting reinforced handle section 70 is capable of supporting up to 20 pounds of stress under normal conditions of use.

Once the bags are produced as described above the user inserts the hand through the openings of each reinforced handle section when the bag is loaded. The bag, containing up to 20 pounds, may be transported under normal conditions without tearing and without the handles becoming disengaged from the bag.

A standard size grocery bag without handles has a height of about 171/8 inches and a narrow side of about 7 inches. When practicing the method of the present invention in accordance with FIGS. 2A-2F, the depth of the cut 16 should be about 6 inches and is made along the median of the narrow sides. As shown in FIG. 2D, it is preferred for the corners 32a and 32b to overlap each other by about 1/8 inch. The flap 36 produced as shown in FIG. 2E, preferably has a height of about 313/16 inches leaving the remaining portion of the triangular shaped section having a height of about 23/16. Accordingly, the flap 36 extends below the base 30 by approximately 15/8 inches.

The opening 40 is preferably positioned in the prehandle section 34 so that at least 1/4 inch separates the perimeter of the opening and the edge of reinforced handle section 42.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3A-3E, the cut 54 preferably extends into the wide side 4a of the bag 2 by about 23/8 inches. As shown specifically in FIG. 3D, the folded flap portion 62 extends below the remaining portion 64 of the prehandle section 66 by about 15/8 inches. The opening 68 when in the form of an oval, preferably has a length of about 3 inches and a width of about 1 inch.

The embodiments described herein are for illustrative purposes only and variations thereof would be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art of making paper and plastic bag without detracting from the spirit and scope of the invention.