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The present invention relates generally to a sleeve for temporarily holding articles of clothing and the like and more particularly to such a sleeve incorporating at least two interconnected edges forming first and second side walls, at least two open edges and a releasable closure mechanism that at least partially occludes at least one of the at least two openings.
Travelers usually spend a significant amount of time and energy packing a suitcase to ensure that the articles of clothing remain wrinkle-free. Nevertheless, the articles of clothing are often wrinkled in transit. For example, security officials in airports often open passengers' suitcases to ensure harmful items are not present. During such examination, the suitcase contents are shuffled, wrinkling the clothing items within. As a result, travelers are often discouraged and inconvenienced because their carefully packed items are wrinkled
Several have attempted to design packages for enveloping articles of clothing. However, these packages do not have at least two interconnected edges and at least two open edges and so it is time consuming to insert items therein. Further, some of the known packages are only configured to hold a particulate type of clothing, for example, a collared shirt.
What is needed then, is a sleeve for temporarily storing an article of clothing wherein the sleeve is inexpensive and not time consuming to use.
Certain embodiments of the present invention are directed to a packaging sleeve for holding articles of clothing within a suitcase and provide one or more benefits and advantages not previously offered in the art, including, but not limited to a clothing sleeve that is inexpensive to manufacture, easy to use and expandable.
The present invention provides a sleeve having a front wall and a generally parallel back wall which are spaced apart and interconnected along at least two edges forming a first and second side wall. The sleeve also includes at least two open edges and a releasable closure mechanism for securing the first wall relative to the back wall. The releasable closure mechanism at least partially occludes at least one of the at least two openings and may be integrally connected or affixed to the back wall. One of the side walls includes at least one pleat movable to an extended configuration greater than the spaced distance.
In use, a consumer opens at least two edges of the sleeve. The front and back walls are at a spaced distance and interconnect along at least two edges forming a first side wall and a second side wall. The article of clothing is disposed within the sleeve, wherein the first side wall will expand to accommodate the article of clothing. A releasable closure mechanism is then fastened to secure the first wall relative to the back wall and to at least partially occlude at least one of the open edges.
A plurality of storage sleeves can be manufactured by forming a longitudinal fold along a continuous sheet of flexible material to form a front wall, a back wall, a first side wall and an open edge. Then at least one crease is inserted into the longitudinal fold forming a pleated side wall. Lateral seals are placed along the front wall and back wall, wherein each seal forms a second side wall. The front wall and back wall are perforated to form a plurality of perforation lines parallel to each lateral seal. Finally, a tab is formed below each perforated line, wherein each tab is arranged to at least partially occlude the open edge.
At the outset, it should be appreciated that the use of the same reference number throughout the several figures designates a like or similar element.
Referring now to the figures,
At least one side wall, for example side wall 18, may include a pleat 26 allowing the sleeve to expand to an extended configuration to accommodate bulkier articles of clothing. The pleat 26 is arranged to extend along the entire length of the side wall 18. Although the pleat 26 can be any size, the pleat 26 preferably expands to a maximum of 6½ inches. The side walls 18, 20 interconnect the front and back walls 14, 16 and separate the front and back walls 14, 16 at a spaced distance. In a preferred embodiment, the pleat 26 along side wall 18 is moveable to an extended configuration greater than the spaced distance of the front and back walls 14, 16 wherein the spaced distance corresponds to the width of side wall 20. It should be understood that although the sleeve 10 is shown having only one pleat 26 is shown extending along side wall 18, side wall 20 may also be pleated and this modification is intended to be within the scope of the invention as claimed.
The sleeve 10 may be made from polyethylene, vinyl or other types of thermoplastic materials. For example, for a thinner, more flexible sleeve, low-density polyethylene (LDPE) may be used. A high-density polyethylene (HDPE) can be used if a thicker, sturdier sleeve is desired. Preferably, the sleeve 10 is transparent so that the article(s) of clothing within the sleeve 10 can be quickly identified. In one embodiment, the sleeve 10 can be constructed such that the sleeve 10 can be disposed of after one use. A thinner, inexpensive material may be desired for a disposable sleeve. Alternatively, the sleeve 10 can be constructed such that the sleeve 10 is reusable re-used. A thicker, sturdier material may be desired for a reusable sleeve.
As shown in
In yet another configuration, the fold line 32 is contiguous to a portion of the perimeter edge of both the front wall 14 and the back wall 16. Thus, as shown in
It should be appreciated that the sleeve 10 can be constructed using closure mechanisms other than the tab 28. For example, a re-sealable zipper, such as a tongue-and-groove closure mechanism, may be disposed along side walls 22 and 24, wherein side walls 18 and 20 are pleated. Alternatively, the sleeve 10 can be constructed to include the following: a tongue-and-groove closure mechanism along the open edge 22 allowing the opening to be re-sealable, the open edge 24, and two pleated side walls 18 and 20. Similarly, the sleeve 10 can be constructed to include open edge 22, a tongue-and-groove closure mechanism along open edge 24, and two pleated side walls 18 and 20. These configurations can alternatively include only one pleat along one side wall, either side wall 18 or 20, and this modification is intended to be within the scope of the invention as claimed.
As shown in the figures, a perforation line 38 extending from the bottom of the tab 28 towards the top of the tab 28 forms a flap 40 which extends around the open edge 24 in a folded configuration. That is, the flap 40 couples the tab 28 to the back wall 16. At least a portion of the flap 40 extends to an outer surface (not shown) of the back wall 16 and removably secures thereto by a securing means 42. For example, the flap 40 may be snap engaged or secured with a hook and loop fastener such as VELCRO®. A double-sided adhesive may alternatively be applied. Also, the flap 40 can alternatively or additionally be secured to the front wall 14. Although the flap 40 is shown with the perforation line 38, it should be understood that the line 38 can be pre-cut rather than perforated during manufacturing. The tab 28 is arranged to partially occlude a portion of at least one of the open edges 22, 24 and preferably a portion of both the open edges 22, 24.
In use, a consumer opens the sleeve 10 by separating the front wall 14 and the back wall 16 along the open edges 22, 24. Then, the customer places the article(s) of clothing 12 into the sleeve 10. The pleat 26 along the side wall 18 will expand to accommodate the width of the article(s) of clothing 12 when the article(s) of clothing 12 is being inserted therein. To fasten the sleeve 10, the customer folds the tab 28 along the fold line 32 towards the outer surface 30 of the front wall 14. In one configuration, the customer then folds the tab 28 along fold line 34 to form the seam 36 along the tab 28. The seam 36 partially occludes the open edge 22. Finally, the perforation line 38 is separated to create the flap 40. As shown in
As shown in
Alternatively, the flexible material can be longitudinally folded wherein the back wall 16 extends beyond the front wall 14 at a distance equal to the width of the tab 28. Then, a portion of the excess material is cut away such that the remaining material forms the tab 28 that is integrally connected to the back wall 16. A releasable securing means 42 (shown in
Thus, the article of clothing is contained within the sleeve to substantially eliminate wrinkling. Further, having each article of clothing neatly contained in a sleeve within a piece of luggage will allow security officials at airports to survey the luggage more quickly and therefore, travelers will experience shorter delays at security check points.
The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description and all changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.