Claims
- 1. A storage device, comprising:
a series of flexible walled bags disposed side by side such that mouths of the bags face a common direction and form a row; and the bags are united by a reinforcing strip extending in the lengthwise direction of the device.
- 2. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the bags have a rectangular shape with a depth and length greater the width thereof, and are of dimensions suitable for receiving mail pieces therein.
- 3. The storage device of claim 2, wherein a pair of the reinforcing strips are disposed along the top corners of the device on either side of the row of the mouths of the bags.
- 4. The storage device of claim 2, wherein side edges of each bag near the mouth of each bag are integrally bonded to the edges of the mouths of adjoining bags in a widthwise direction of the device.
- 5. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the strips have means thereon for removably securing the storage device to a supporting frame so that the mouths of the bags remain open as items are placed into the bags through the mouths.
- 6. A postal sorting case, comprising a plurality of storage devices as claimed in claim 1 mounted in a common case.
- 7. The case of claim 6, wherein the storage devices are removably mounted one above another on spaced horizontal rails.
- 8. A postal sorting case, comprising:
a plurality of multi-bags, each comprising a series of flexible walled bags disposed side by side such that mouths of the bags face a common direction and form a row, wherein the bags are united by a pair of reinforcing strips extending in the lengthwise direction of the device along front corners thereof; and a case having means for mounting the storage devices therein with the bag mouths facing outwardly, and having a mechanism for tensioning the bags to hold the bag mouths open during loading of items therein and for relaxing the bags to facilitate mounting in and removal from the case.
- 9. The case of claim 8, wherein the case further comprises spaced horizontal rails, and the storage devices are removably mounted one above another in openings between the spaced horizontal rails.
- 10. The case of claim 8, wherein the case further comprises a bag locking mechanism which releasably engages the reinforcing strips while the tensioning mechanism tensions the bags.
- 11. A multi-bag, comprising:
a series of flexible walled bags disposed side by side such that mouths of the bags face a common direction and form a row, giving the multi-bag a generally rectangular shape when unfilled and stretched to a taut condition; a pair of reinforcing strips extending in the lengthwise direction of the multi-bag along opposite upper corners of the multi-bag; and means for attaching the strips to the multi-bag so that the strips unite the multi-bag, wherein the strips and attaching means have sufficient strength so that the multi-bag can be manually handled without causing individual bags to separate.
- 12. The multi-bag of claim 11, wherein the bags are made of high density polyethylene having a thickness in the range of about 1 to 2 mil.
- 13. The multi-bag of claim 11, wherein the strips have a series of tabs and notches along one edge thereof, such that one tab of each strip extends into the mouth of each respective bag.
- 14. The multi-bag of claim 11, wherein the attaching means comprises an adhesive disposed between the tabs and the bags.
- 15. The multi-bag of claim 11, wherein the attaching means comprises mating projections and slots.
- 16. The multi-bag of claim 11, wherein the strips and attaching means have sufficient strength so that the multi-bag can be manually handled without causing individual bags to separate.
- 17. The multi-bag of claim 11, further comprising mail pieces which have been sorted to the bags.
- 18. The multi-bag of claim 17, wherein the mail pieces in each bag have a common delivery point.
- 19. A postal sorting case including a plurality of slots defined by dividing walls, each slot being labeled for sorting of mail to a specific address, the improvement wherein the slot dividing walls are made of a flexible, compliant material which permits random overfilling of certain slots.
Parent Case Info
[0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/924,155, filed Aug. 7, 2001 which claims priority of Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/223,506, filed Aug. 7, 2000.
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09924155 |
Nov 2001 |
US |
Child |
10788598 |
Feb 2004 |
US |