Bag including improved closure means

Abstract

The present invention relates to a packaging bag including closure means based on strips comprising webs carrying complementary means, wherein the webs of the strips are of a first color and the films constituting the walls of the bag firstly are opaque and of a second color different from that of the webs of the strips, at least in the vicinity thereof, and secondly cover the webs for the most part so as to leave visible from outside the bag only a thin continuous margin of the first color extending along the closure means.

Description

The present invention relates to the field of bags or sachets including means enabling them to be opened and closed successively at will by the user.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Numerous bags of this type have already been proposed.

Most prior art bags include closure means in the form of two strips having webs that carry complementary means of the male/female type or of the hook type adapted respectively to be engaged so as to close the bag and to be separated so as to enable the bag to be opened.

Still more precisely, at present, there is a trend towards equipping such closure means with a slider that facilitates opening and closing operations.

In theory, all of those means ought to enable the use of packaging bags fitted therewith to be optimized. Firstly, the above-mentioned closure means, particularly when they are provided with a slider, ought to make it easier to open bags and to access the contents thereof. Secondly the ability to reclose bags after they have been opened ought to make it possible both to preserve the unused fraction of the contents, protecting it from the environment, dust, etc., and to return the bag to its initial shape suitable for convenient storage.

Nevertheless, in practice, it is found that many users, doubtless due to ignorance or carelessness, do not make use of the closure means made available in this way, and gain access to the contents of a bag merely by destroying it in part, in particular by tearing it or cutting it, e.g. when the bag is made of a thermoplastic material.

A typical example of this problem relates to bags for packaging diapers for babies.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A particular object of the present invention is to improve existing bags.

In the context of the present invention, this object is achieved by a packaging bag including closure means based on strips comprising webs carrying complementary means, wherein the webs of the strips are of a first color and the films constituting the walls of the bag firstly are opaque and of a second color different from that of the webs of the strips, at least in the vicinity thereof, and secondly cover the webs for the most part so as to leave visible from outside the bag only a thin continuous margin of the first color extending along the closure means.

As explained below, this proposal in accordance with the present invention makes it possible both to manufacture bags simply without additional cost compared with prior art bags, and also to guide the user effectively so as to ensure that the closure means are used.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

Other characteristics, objects, and advantages of the present invention appear on reading the following detailed description made with reference to the accompanying drawing given by way of non-limiting example, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a packaging bag in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary section view of a bag in accordance with the present invention.

MORE DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Accompanying FIG. 1 shows a typical bag 10 of the present invention. The bag 10 can be seen to be voluminous in the sense that it presents thickness 12 that is considerable between its main faces 14. A “considerable” thickness means a thickness typically lying in the range 10 centimeters (cm) to 20 cm.

Without this being limiting, such a thickness 12 can be obtained by using a bellows 16 to interconnect the main walls 14 of the bag, as shown in FIG. 2.

The means for making such a bellows 14 are well known to the person skilled in the art. They are therefore not described in detail below.

A preferred application of the present invention lies in making bags for packaging diapers for babies.

The bag 10 is made using a film 20 that is opaque, and preferably white in color.

The bag 10 includes closure means 40. In the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the closure means 40 is placed at the periphery of the bellows 16, i.e. on a zone where the bellows 16 is connected to the walls 14 of the bag. Naturally, the present invention is nevertheless not limited to this particular location for the closure means 40. The closure means could be provided in any other position, for example along an edge of a main wall 14 extending transversely relative to the bellows 16.

Still more precisely, in the preferred embodiment shown in accompanying FIG. 1, the closure means 40 is generally U-shaped in use. The closure means 40 thus extends all along one of the main faces 14 and extends on either side thereof over both side flanks of the bag. Naturally, once again, the invention is not limited to this particular shape for the closure means 40.

As can be seen in accompanying FIG. 1, the closure means 40 is preferably associated with a slider 60.

The general structure of such a slider is well known to the person skilled in the art and is therefore not described in detail below.

Nevertheless, it is recalled that sliders 60 are preferably made of thermoplastic material. They comprise a base carrying two side flanks and a central low wall. The side flanks and the central wall together define two non-parallel channels each receiving at least a portion of a respective one of the two strips of the closure means 40. Thus, when the slider 60 is moved in a first direction, it tends to move the two closure strips towards each other, thereby closing the bag. Conversely, when the slider 60 is moved in the opposite direction, it tends to separate the two closure strips, thereby opening the bag.

As can be seen in FIG. 2, the closure means 40 comprises two strips 42 and 46 each comprising a support web 43, 47 carrying complementary means 44, 48. In the configuration of FIG. 2, said means 44, 48 are constituted by complementary male/female structures. Nevertheless, in a variant, the means 44, 48 could be replaced by any other equivalent structure, for example complementary hooks.

The two closure strips 42, 46 are connected to the film constituting the bag, and more precisely to one of the main walls 14 and to one of the sides of the bellows 16, being bonded thereto by any suitable means, preferably by heat-sealing.

As mentioned above, according to the invention, the webs 43, 47 are colored with a color that is different from that of the film making up the main walls 14 and the bellows 16 of the bag. By way of typical and non-limiting example the webs 43, 47 may be green in color or red in color.

Where appropriate, the webs 43 and 47 may even be white in color, providing the film constituting the bag is itself opaque and of some other color.

In addition, as mentioned above, and as can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the opaque film constituting the main walls 14 and the bellows 16 of the bag cover substantial portions of the webs 43, 47 such that only a thin continuous margin of the webs 43, 47 is visible from outside the bag, all along the closure means 40.

In FIG. 2, the portions of the webs 43 and 47 that are visible in this way, thus constituting the above-mentioned margin, are referenced 45 and 49.

The person skilled in the art will understand on reading the above description and on examining the accompanying drawings that the present invention provides a solution that is simple. In particular, the means proposed in the context of the present invention do not lead to any extra manufacturing cost compared with conventional bags.

Furthermore, the present invention provides the user with effective guidance. The user's attention is drawn to the closure 40 because of the color contrast that exists between the margin 45, 49 identifying the closure 40 and the body of the bag. The user is thus encouraged to follow this line, in particular when the closure means 40 is fitted with a slider 60.

In this respect, in the context of the present invention, the slider 60 is preferably itself of a color that is different from that of the webs 43, 47 so as to enable the user to identify the slider 60 easily. By way of non-limiting example, for margins 42 and 46 that are green or red in color, the slider 60 may be white in color.

By way of non-limiting example, the width 45, 49 of the webs 43, 47 projecting beyond the film constituting the main wall 14 and the bellows 16 of the bag preferably lies in the range 1 millimeter (mm) to 5 mm, typically being about 3 mm. The attention of the person skilled in the art is drawn in particular to the fact that proposals already exist in the prior art for closure means to be made with colored strips. However, nearly all of the closure means proposed in that way are relatively complex and expensive to make since they require partial mass coloration, i.e. complex extruder heads requiring materials of different colors to be coextruded simultaneously.

The present invention provides an elegant solution to these problems by proposing closure strips of uniform color over the entire width of the support webs 43, 47, while also providing a technical effect enabling the closure to be identified by a thin margin of continuous color using a film of a color different from the closure means and covering them for the most part.

Naturally, the present invention is not limited to the particular embodiments described above, but it extends to any variant within its spirit.

In particular, bags in accordance with the present invention may be fitted with any other accessory. By way of non-limiting example, FIG. 1 shows diagrammatically a handle 70 fitted to the bag in accordance with the present invention at the bellows 16.

Claims

1. A packaging bag including closure means based on strips comprising webs carrying complementary means, wherein the webs of the strips are of a first color and the films constituting the walls of the bag firstly are opaque and of a second color different from that of the webs of the strips, at least in the vicinity thereof, and secondly cover the webs for the most part so as to leave visible from outside the bag only a thin continuous margin of the first color extending along the closure means.

2. A bag according to claim 1, including a slider for actuating the closure means.

3. A bag according to claim 2, wherein the slider is of a color different from that of the closure means.

4. A bag according to claim 1, wherein the film constituting the body of the bag is opaque and white in color.

5. A bag according to claim 1, presenting a thickness of about 10 cm to 20 cm.

6. A bag according to claim 1, including at least one bellows.

7. A bag according to claim 1, constituting a package for diapers for a baby.

8. A bag according to claim 1, wherein the closure means are placed on a bellows.

9. A bag according to claim 1, wherein the closure means extend over three sides of the bag forming a U-shape.

10. A bag according to claim 1, wherein the visible width of the colored webs lies in the range 1 mm to 5 mm, and is advantageously about 3 mm.