Patent Application
20050281489
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to plastic bags typically used in supermarkets and other retail stores, especially in produce and similar departments. Such bags are made of thin plastic and they often stick when being opened for the first time. The present invention bags are selectively embossed on the front only, to render them easier to slide the front panels and the back panels from one another to initially open them. Although the embossment may cover the entire front panels, in preffered embodiments, the embossment is less than the full height of the front panels, and is positioned toward or at the top.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
The following prior art is representative of the state of the art in the field of plastic film bags:
Stacked plastic bags, and/or roll mounted produce bags are commonly found in modern grocery stores and supermarkets. These bags are designed for customers to use when purchasing fresh produce or other products. In some instances the actual purchasing customers open the bags, while in other instances, a store clerk or other person may do so. The bags currently available are difficult for customers to use for several reasons. First, the bags that are stacked together tend to cling together and are difficult to open. Second, it is difficult to tell the open end of the bag from the closed end of the bag. Roll-mounted produce bags that identify the proper end to open, is partially opened by dispensing rack and eliminates the problem of sticking. However, stacked bags take less space and do not require the investment, location and even installation of roll dispensers.
Various designs have been developed for dispensers for roll mounted bags, incorporating a number of different technologies.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,179,055 issued to Milner, discloses a device for separating a continuous strip of plastic bags mounted on a roll separated by scores lines. The bags pass between a plate and a pressure bar. A prong projects outwardly from the center portion of the plate to facilitate separation of the bags along the score lines and to display the next bag for easy grasping by an operator.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,714,191 issued to Richardson, describes a one piece paperboard carton blank folded into a rectangular shape for packaging and dispensing from a roll of individual plastic bags, particularly disposable milk bags for feeding babies. The individual bags are connected by perforations. The carton includes a tab protruding in the direction opposite to the direction of withdrawal of bags from the roll. When the center of the perforated edge of the bag is impaled on the tab, further withdrawal of a succeeding bag is restrained and the first bag is readily separated to facilitate its dispensing while locating the leading edge of the succeeding bag where it may be easily reached for withdrawal.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,262 issued to Simhaee, discloses a plastic bag dispenser that holds a continuous roll of bags connected by perforated separation lines. The dispenser is provided with a tongue, which the bags are dispensed over, that engages the separation line between the bag at the end of the roll and the next bag. The roll of bags rests in curved grooves in the dispenser that cause the roll to abut and frictionally engage an interior surface of the dispenser, preventing freewheeling of the roll.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,019 issued to Morris, describes a bag separator and dispenser for use with bags wound on a core and separated by perforation lines at each end of the bags. The perforation lines include a slot that is collinear with the perforations and is used to engage a separator projection. The projection enters the slot as the bags are pulled from the roll. The dispenser includes two braking devices to control the removal of bags from the roll, a braking bar underneath the roll of bags and a pair of fingers that are attached to the channel for the core and are designed to engage the care as the number of bags on the roll decreases.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,535 issued to Kannankeril, discloses a roll of bags having a core with an indexing member on at least one end. The dispenser comprises a wire frame formed into channels to support the core. The dispenser includes at least one brake attached to a support member and disposed at an angle to the support member to provide tension to the edges of the roll of bags as the core passes through the channel passageway as the bags are removed from the roll. Spaced apart from the support is a separating tongue. The tongue engages the slot regardless of whether the bags are drawn over or under the tongue.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,481,594 issued to Yeh et al describes a roll mounted T-shirt bag and dispensers for same. The bag is designed for fresh produce and includes front and rear panels, first and second side gussets, a bottom seam, a top seam and a U-shaped cutout forming an openable bag mouth and a pair of carrying handles. The bags are joined above and below the upper and lower seams at first and second perforation lines. The bags are wound onto a cylindrical core to form a compact roll. In a variant of the invention, the bags are folded inwardly from the side edges prior to rolling onto the core to form a more compact roll. Dispensers are described that are designed to hold the roll mounted bags in both folded and unfolded form. The dispensers include a separating tongue designed to engage the U-shaped cutout and permit the bags to be dispensed from the bottom of the bag roll. The dispensers are designed for mounting to either vertical or horizontal surfaces and function efficiently in very limited spaces.
Notwithstanding the prior art, the present invention is neither taught nor rendered obvious thereby. The present invention eliminates the need for dispensers that open bags or that start the opening process by approaching the problem from the standpoint of eliminating the sticking problem at its source.
The present invention relates to a selectively embossed plastic film bag, which includes: (a) a front panel and a back panel, the front panel and the back panel being formed of a flexible plastic film, and each having an inside and an outside, and each having a top, a bottom, a left side and a right side, the front panel having a predetermined width W at it's top and having a predetermined height H, the back panel and the front panel being connected to one another at the sides and the bottom and being open at the top to establish the bag; (b) an embossment located on only the front panel, the embossment having a width of about 30% to 100% of the width W, and the embossment having a height of about 2% to about 100% of the height, H.
In some embodiments, the selectively embossed plastic film bag embossment has a width equal to at least 50% of the width W, typically centered. However, in some preferred embodiments, the selectively embossed plastic film bag embossment has a width equal to the width W, i.e., it runs the full width of the bag front panel.
In some embodiments, the selectively embossed plastic film bag front panel and back panel are connected to one another at their sides in a continuous seamless tube form and are heat sealed at their bottoms. In other embodiments, the selectively embossed plastic film bag front panel and back panel are heat sealed to one another at their sides and at their bottoms.
Although the embossment may be near the top of the front panel, in some preferred embodiments, the selectively embossed plastic film bag embossments are contiguous to the top of the front panel.
In some preferred embodiments, the selectively embossed plastic film bag embossment is within a topmost 20% of the front panel and has a height equal to about 2% to about 20% of the height H, and more preferrably, has a height equal to about 5% to about 10% of the height H.
Although not limited thereto, in some preferred embodiments, the front panel and the back panel are formed of a flexible plastic film, and each having an inside and an outside, and each having a top, a bottom, a left side and a right side, the front panel has a predetermined height H, while the back panel has a height that is greater than the height H of the front panel to create a tuck and lock bag.
The present invention should be more fully understood when the specification herein is taken in conjunction with the drawings appended hereto wherein:
The prior art produce bags have a number of disadvantages that are overcome by the present invention. For example, the need for dispensers that partially open the bags is eliminated. Concomitantly, the cost of making, shipping, installing and maintaining dispensers are also eliminated. Also, the bags themselves do not stick together and may be slid open by the mere countermotion of two opposite side holding fingers.
Obviously, numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.
