AU2019202396A1

AU2019202396A1 - Bag for Container

Info

Publication number: AU2019202396A1
Application number: AU2019202396A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Rhett Dallwitz
Original assignee: Travel Bag Co Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Travel Bag Co Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2015-12-04
Filing date: 2019-04-05
Publication date: 2019-05-02
Anticipated expiration: 2036-12-02
Also published as: AU2019202396B2; AU2016266108A1

Abstract

A container 10 in the form of a transportable or travel bag 10 that is configured to assist in the safe transportation of a wine bottle 50. The travel bag 10 may be used as a wine cooler, having good thermal insulating properties. The travel bag includes a 5 thick absorbent material 12 that is inserted as a liner in the bag 10 and acts as a protective and thermal insulating layer 12. Fig. 1 vi / I'' 'I I' ) (I (~) 'if) I)()

Description

BAG FOR CONTAINER

COMPLETE AFTER PROVISIONAL

This application derives priority from Australian Provisional Patent Application No. 2015905044 filed 4 December 2015, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to a bag for a container. More particularly, this invention relates to a bag to contain a container and its contents. Still more particularly, this invention relates to a protective bag to contain a beverage bottle and, should it breach, 0 the contents of the container.

BACKGROUND ART

The following references to and descriptions of prior proposals or products are not intended to be, and are not to be construed as, statements or admissions of common general knowledge in the art. In particular, the following prior art discussion does not 5 relate to what is commonly or well known by the person skilled in the art, but assists in the understanding of the inventive step of the present invention of which the identification of pertinent prior art proposals is but one part.

Several attempts have been made to provide a bag for containing one or more wine bottles suitable for transport, particularly in stowage on an aircraft trip. The risk with 0 such storage is the problem of leakage, or even breakage of the bottle leading to disastrous spillage and spoilage of other luggage items. There is a need for an effective containment device for the carriage of wine bottles and similar containers.

CN203699029 (Zheng) discloses a red wine bag that is flexible and contains a double layer interposed with an air layer. However, the red wine bag is not adapted, itself, to 25 contain a separable container.

Containers having a shock-absorption or breakage-prevention function have been described, such as in US2016176607 (Beadles), WO2013084015 (Matyi), W02004067391 (Aguayo) and US9,004,281 (Castaneda). However, these prior efforts do not deal with the issues should the container within the bag unfortunately 30 break and present a leakage or shard problem.

An object of the present invention is to ameliorate the aforementioned disadvantages of the prior art or to at least provide a useful alternative thereto.

STATEMENT OF INVENTION

The invention according to one or more aspects is as defined in the independent

2019202396 05 Apr 2019 claims. Some optional and/or preferred features of the invention are defined in the dependent claims.

Accordingly, in one aspect of the invention there is provided a container for transporting a bottle of liquid at risk of leakage or spillage, the container including:

an outer flexible portion comprising non-elastic sheet material; and a seal that resists escape of liquid from the container and permits repeat use of the seal, wherein the container further includes:

a base to enable the container to stand upright; and a removable insert that is both absorbent and resists penetration by either egressing liquid or broken bottle components.

Container

The container is preferably dimensioned to contain one or more bottles of beverage, such as wine, liquor or soft-drink bottles. The height of the container is preferably 5 between 300 mm and 600 mm. The width of the container is preferably between 150 mm and 250 mm for containing a single bottle, and at least 250 mm for a container containing multiple bottles. The container may include multiple pockets to receive more than one bottle and therefore a corresponding number of compartments to resist damage to the bottle by coming into impact contact with another bottle contained in 0 container.

Bottle

The bottle may be a wine or other cool liquid containing beverage bottle.

Outer portion

The outer portion may comprise a layer that is preferably made from synthetic rubber 25 or another polymeric material. The outer portion is preferably penetration-resistant.

The outer portion is preferably resistant to breach by broken fragments and shards of glass or plastic, should the bottle be broken. The outer portion may comprise multiple layers. Preferably, the outer portion comprises a single layer of resilient material.

Seal

The seal may include a pair of opposed edges of material adapted to join together to effect a sealed lining. The seal is advantageously watertight. The seal is advantageously watertight to prevent leakage of liquid should the container rupture. The seal may include a pair of rigid edge structures able to be joined in sealed relationship by the operation of a clip hinged or otherwise attached to one of the rigid

2019202396 05 Apr 2019 structures. The seal may include one or more zip-lock seals.

Base

The base may comprise a rigid or semi-rigid ring or oval-shaped structure. The base may be triangular, rectangular and/or square, or otherwise polygonal in shape. The base includes at least a pair of support surface-engaging points forming a real or imaginary straight line therebetween, and at least a third support surface-engaging point spaced from the straight line and the pair of points and no further than equidistant to one member of the pair of points than the distance separating the pair of points to provide a base structure able to support the container in an upright, standing 0 position. The base preferably allows for the expansion of the bottom of the container to receive bulky bottles. The base may be formed with a gusset member folded in half. One end of the base may therefore be defined by a fold. The opposed free ends of the gusset may be joined to form the opposed end, so that in plan the base has a lens or mandorla shape. The lens shape may be relatively flat with substantially parallel sides when the container is in storage, but when the container receives a bulky item, the spacing of the ends may shorten, the sides expand, and the sides increase in relative spacing to accommodate the contents.

Insert

The Insert may be in the form of a sheet. The sheet may be folded intermediate its length to form a open-sided sack. The sheet may be folded at a halfway line or zone between two opposed side or end edges. The sheet may form an inner liner of the outer portion. The insert is made of absorbent material. The insert preferably conforms inwardly to the shape of the bottle and outwardly to the inner surface of the outer portion. The insert may be in the form of a bag with joined side edges. The insert may 25 be unattached to the outer portion. The insert may be temporarily attached to the outer portion, for example, with Velcro™ or another temporary attachment means, such as press studs, buttons, a zip, or the like. The insert is preferably easily removable for cleaning and drying. The insert may include one or more absorbent layers. The absorbent layer may have an outer liner to provide a leak-resistant insert. The insert 30 may include high fibrous or filamented material having a high capacity to absorb liquid, and is preferably hydrophilic. The insert may comprise a blend of natural and synthetic fibre materials. Preferably, the insert includes viscose (rayon fibre) material. Preferably, the insert includes other polymeric material. Preferably, the insert is made from a blend of viscose and a polymeric material. Preferably, the insert includes a 35 blend of viscose and polyester.

Manufacture

2019202396 05 Apr 2019

The outer portion and the inner bag are preferably separately formed and then combined in a separate assembling process. The inner bag may be inserted in the outer portion once both components have been made.

Use

The inner bag is preferably adapted for multiple uses. However, should the bottle break in the container, the inner bag and/or the outer portion may be replaced, if irreparable damage has been done to the components.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention may be better understood from the following non-limiting description of preferred embodiments, in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic front view of a perse embodiment of the invention; and

Figure 2 is a side schematic view of the embodiment shown in figure 1;

Figure 3 is a front view of a container according to a second embodiment; and

Figure 4 is a rear view of the embodiment shown in figure 3.

DETAIEED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred features of the present invention will now be described with particular reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it is to be understood that the 0 features illustrated in and described with reference to the drawings are not to be construed as limiting on the scope of the invention.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, there is shown a container 10 in the form of a transportable or travel bag 10 that is configured to assist in the safe transportation of a wine bottle 50. The Travel Bag 10 is suitable for transportation of a bottle of wine 50 25 in luggage, in the boot of a car, or whilst carrying as hand luggage at airports or on a trip to a restaurant. Moreover, the travel bag 10 may be used as a wine cooler, having good thermal insulating properties to maintain the wine close to the temperature at which the bottle 50 was inserted in the travel bag 10. Most advantageously, the travel bag includes a thick absorbent material 12 that is inserted as a liner in the bag 10 and 30 acts as a protective and thermal insulating layer 12.

The absorbent/thermal insulating layer 12 is in the form of an insert 12 and comprises a thick layer of fibrous sheet material folded in half to form an open sided pocket in which the sides are not positively joined. However, because of the constraints of the travel bag, the opposed side edges lie adjacent one another, so that the insert 12 in situ

2019202396 05 Apr 2019 forms a pocket or insert bag. The insert 12 comprises viscose fibres and polyester in a polymeric blend in an 80:20 ratio. The insert 12performs additionally as a protective layer to mechanically protect the bottle 50 against bumps and jarring that might otherwise lead to breakage and/or leakage.

In the unlikely event that the bottle 50 is ruptured or broken whilst in the travel bag

10, the travel bag 10 is configured to assist in preventing the wine liquid from leaking outside of the travel bag 10. The protective absorbent material of the insertl2 acts as an absorbent by absorbing the majority of the liquid that may be spilled. Further, the travel bag 10 includes a seal 14 in the form of a Zip Lock™ or sealing the bag whereby to contain the bottle 50 and the liquid inside the travel bag 10, irrespective of the state of the state of the bottle 50.

The travel bag 10 includes an outer portion 16 in the form of an outer skin 16 that is made from strong, resilient and flexible plastic material adapted to resist penetration through the skin 16, such as by cutting or abrasion, when exposed to, for example, broken glass or shards occasioned by a breakage of the bottle 50 inside the insert 12. The skin 16 is made from a high grade plastic material, such as may be used to form the bladder of a rubber raft, such as a polyethylene blend.

Accordingly, whilst the travel bag 10 is adapted to reduce the likelihood of the bottle 50 breaking, should this unlikely event occur, the travel bag 10 is further adapted to 0 contain the spilt liquid resulting from the breakage.

The insert 12 may comprise a discreet bag or sack that may be simply insert into the compartment section 18 of the travel bag 10 and retained in the compartment section 18 by the zip lock seal 14, accordingly, the insert 12 may be removed and either replaced or washed. The insert 12 may therefore be a further consumable item providing ongoing income streams for the manufacturer and applier of the travel bag 10. If the insert bag remains in reasonable condition, despite multiple uses, the insert bag may be merely washed or dried and replaced in the travel bag compartment 18.

The printable surface 20 on the outer skin 16 which may be “white labelled” to permit corporate or advertising customers to apply their own logos to the blank space provided on the surface 20.

The zip lock seal 14 is intermediate the compartment 18 and a handle section 22 that includes a cut out slot 24 to enable a user to conveniently to insert one’s fingers therein to carry the travel bag 10.

The seal 14 is releasably sealable, whereby on sealing the zip lock seal 14, the travel 35 bag compartment 18 is essentially water tight and will not permit egress of spilt liquid.

The seal 14 allows the insert 12 to merely sit within the compartment 18, rather than

2019202396 05 Apr 2019 be fixed to the inside surface of the outer layer or skin 16, permitting easy removability of the insert 12 thereby extending the life of the travel bag 10 due to the easy replaceability or washability of the insert 12.

The handle 22 may be made from the same material as the remainder of the travel bag 5 10, including the outer skin 16, noting that the handle portion 22 is preferably of a substantially rigid construction to facilitate easy carrying of the travel bag 10 by use of the handle slot 24.

The travel bag 10 is further provided with a base 26 in the form of a lower gusset 26 that permits the travel bag 10 to stand upright when placed on its base 26. The gusset 0 26 is a substantially rigid band of material made from the same material as the handle portion 22 and may be, in plan, rectangular, square, oval, triangular or circular, the base 26 may include a separately formed rigid ring of plastic or wire material inserted into a loop or seam formed in the base 26. Preferably, the base 26 comprises a band which, in plan view, is lens shaped. The base 26 is flexible whereby its sides are 5 adapted to expand (radius of sides of lens shape decrease) to accommodate a bottle in the travel bag 10, particularly if a bulkier bottle is to be contained. The base26 is formed with a gusset member folded in half. One end of the base 26 may therefore be defined by a fold. The opposed free ends of the base 26 are joined to form the opposed end, so that in plan the base 26 has a lens or mandorla shape. The gusset base 26 is 0 made from high grade plastic. Advantageously, the travel bag 10 further includes a second seal 28 to provide a double seal for even more effective water tight sealing of the travel bag 10.

Turning to figures 3 and 4, there is shown a set embodiment of the invention in the form of a wine travel bag 10 A. The travel bag 10 may be dimensioned to be between 25 400mm - 600mm in height, 150 - 250 mm in width and the footprint of the bottom gusset 26 may correspond to a ring having a diameter of between 40 - 60 mm or opposed lengths of the gusset may be separated of a distance of between 40 - 60mm.

The edge sealing distance be on either side of the travel bag 10A along its respective edge lengths may be between 3mm - 15mm. Similarly, the base of the travel bag 30 preferably includes an edge seal wherein the skin 16 at the base 26 is joined to form a seal edge. Most preferably, the side and base seal edges are about 10mm in width.

The travel bag 10A may be provided with the double zip lock combination 14, 28, the length of which may be between 140 and 240mm, i.e. within the boundaries of the sealed edge 30, and the respective zipper locks 14, 28 may be separated by a distance 35 measured from their respective centre lines of between 8mm - 40mm, and preferably about 30mm.

2019202396 05 Apr 2019

The oval handle cut out 24 may be about 20 - 30mm in height, and preferably about 25mm in height. The length of the handle cut out 24 may be between 70mm - 120mm and preferably about 90mm, with a tolerance of about +/- 2mm.

The outer skin 16 of the travel bag 10A is preferably made from a resilient but flexible 5 and tough plastic material, such as polyethylene terephthalate (for example, PET 12) or linear low density polyethylene (for example, LLDPE105). The thickness of the outer layer 16 is preferably between 80 - 150 microns with a tolerance of + / - 8%. The thickness of the plastic film may be between 100 - 200 gm, preferably 110-120 gm, and most preferably 117 gm. PET 12 or LLDPE105, or another polyester or polyethylene blend suitable for the purpose, may be used.

The travel bag 10A includes an insert 12 similar to that of the first embodiment 10. The insert 12 material may be of a density of between 600 - 700gsm, preferably about 650gsm. The insert 12 material composition may be a rayon fibre blend comprising between 60 - 90 viscose and 10 - 40%. The insert 12 may be between 130 and

230mm in width and about 700 - 530mm in height, and preferably about 160mm wide and about 800mm in height. The insert 12 made of a sheet of absorbent material may be first formed as a rectangular length of sheet material and then folded in half. Optionally, the side edges of the folded sheet may be joined by intermeshing of the non-joined edges to form a sack with one open end corresponding to the upper end of 0 the insert 12.

Throughout the specification and claims the word “comprise” and its derivatives are intended to have an inclusive rather than exclusive meaning unless the contrary is expressly stated or the context requires otherwise. That is, the word “comprise” and its derivatives will be taken to indicate the inclusion of not only the listed components, 25 steps or features that it directly references, but also other components, steps or features not specifically listed, unless the contrary is expressly stated or the context requires otherwise.

In the present specification, terms such as “apparatus”, “means”, “device” and “member” may refer to singular or plural items and are terms intended to refer to a set 30 of properties, functions or characteristics performed by one or more items or components having one or more parts. It is envisaged that where an “apparatus”, “means”, “device” or “member” or similar term is described as being a unitary object, then a functionally equivalent object having multiple components is considered to fall within the scope of the term, and similarly, where an “apparatus”, “assembly”, 35 “means”, “device” or “member” is described as having multiple components, a functionally equivalent but unitary object is also considered to fall within the scope of the term, unless the contrary is expressly stated or the context requires otherwise.

2019202396 05 Apr 2019

Orientational terms used in the specification and claims such as vertical, horizontal, top, bottom, upper and lower are to be interpreted as relational and are based on the premise that the component, item, article, apparatus, device or instrument will usually be considered in a particular orientation, typically with the handle portion 22 uppermost.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that many modifications and variations may be made to the methods of the invention described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

Claims:

1. A container for transporting a bottle of liquid at risk of leakage or spillage, the container including:

an outer flexible portion comprising non-elastic sheet material; and

2. A container according to claim 1, wherein said container is dimensioned to contain one or more bottles of beverage and said container includes multiple pockets or compartments to receive each of the bottles in a separate pocket or compartment.

3. A container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said outer

4. A container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said seal includes a pair of opposed edges of material adapted to join together to effect a sealed

0 lining, said seal is substantially watertight to prevent leakage of liquid should the container rupture.

5 forms an internal bag shape conforming inwardly to the shape of the bottle and outwardly to the inner surface of the outer portion.

5. A container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said seal includes one or more zip-lock seals.

5 portion comprises a layer that is made from synthetic rubber or another polymeric material, said outer portion is penetration-resistant and said outer portion is resistant to breach by broken fragments and shards of glass or plastic, should the bottle be broken.

5 a seal that resists escape of liquid from the container and permits repeat use of the seal, wherein the container further includes:

a base to enable the container to stand upright; and a removable inner bag that is both absorbent and resists penetration by either

0 egressing liquid or broken bottle components.

6. A container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said base

25 comprises a rigid or semi-rigid ring structure, said base includes at least a pair of support surface-engaging points forming a real or imaginary straight line therebetween, and at least a third support surface-engaging point spaced from the straight line and the pair of points and no further than equidistant to one member of the pair of points than the distance separating the pair of points to provide a base

30 structure able to support the container in an upright, standing position.

7. A container according to any one of the previous claims, wherein said base comprises a rigid or semi-rigid ring structure.

8. A container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said inner bag is in the form of an inner liner of the outer portion.

2019202396 05 Apr 2019

9. A container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said insert comprises a sheet of material folded in half to form an internal layer of absorbent material.

10. A container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said insert

11. A container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said insert bag is unattached to, but trapped within, the outer portion and said insert is removable for cleaning and drying.

0

12. A container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said insert includes viscose (rayon fibre) material and polyester.