EP0220038B1

EP0220038B1 - Improvements in or relating to bags

Info

Publication number: EP0220038B1
Application number: EP86307890A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Derek Cecil James Weller
Original assignee: Decoflex Ltd
Current assignee: Decoflex Ltd
Priority date: 1985-10-17
Filing date: 1986-10-13
Publication date: 1990-05-23
Anticipated expiration: 2006-10-13
Also published as: CA1267115A; JP2554664Y2; AU603777B2; DE3671421D1; JPH08330U; JPS633806A; EP0220038A2; ATE52985T1; GB8525567D0; AU6398186A; ZA867840B; EP0220038A3

Abstract

This invention is concerned with a bag intended to receive cash and other documentation to be paid in at a bank and which comprises a front sheet and a backing sheet and the front sheet and backing sheet being heat sealed at their side edges and also heat sealed transversely with the transverse heat seal extending between the side edges and located substantially midway between the end edges of the sheets to form two pockets with one pocket having an opening at one of its outer ends and the other pocket being formed by folding over one of the sheets and a line of adhesive is provided and the folded over portion of the sheet has microprinting applied to it and the folded over edges of the one sheet of the pocket is closely adjacent the edge of the other sheet and so that the bag is closed by folding over the adhesive into contact with the edges of the folded over pocket and the microprinting and to seal the two pockets closed.

Description

This invention has reference to bags and has particular reference to bags suitable for use more especially in banks and other establishments where a customer desires to pay in money in the form of notes, coin, cheques or other documents.
In the Specification of our United Kingdom Patent No.2081215 there is described a bag primarily intended to receive a container for blood or other sample and a form and comprising a front sheet and a backing sheet folded over at one end with its one folded edge positioned closely adjacent to the adjacent edge of the front sheet and the front sheet and backing sheet being heat sealed at their side edges and also heat sealed transversely with the transverse heat seal extending between the side edges and located between the edge of the front sheet adjacent the edge of the folded backing sheet and the opposite edge of the front sheet to form one compartment with an opening to receive a form and to form another compartment to receive a container and the backing sheet extending beyond the front sheet to form a flap and this flap having a line of adhesive applied to it to enable the other compartment to be sealed.
Also in the specification of our European Patent No. 105581 there is described a bag primarily intended for conveying bank notes which bag can be sealed by adhesive and has printing adjacent the sealed area to provide an indication that the bag has been opened after being sealed. Furthermore British Specification No. 1371242 describes a container formed from extruded tubing or laminated sheets heat sealed at their side edge positions adjacent its neck portion and with a sheet of release paper over the neck portion to provide lips through which the contents of the container may be extruded.
It is the current practice in banks for customers to queue at one or more bank counters and be dealt with in sequential order. Delay is often caused by having a customer with a large amount of money and/or cheques to be paid in together with accompanying documentation at the counter and following customers feel agrieved by having to wait until all the monies have been transacted. It is also the practice for banks to have a night safe in which customers may deposit heavy material bags containing cash in the form of notes, coin or cheques together with accompanying documentation during and out of business hours.
The bags are locked and are opened next morning in the presence of the customer or his representative and the contents of the bag are checked. This is time consuming. It is also proposed to provide in banks and other establishments during office hours a special box to receive envelopes containing notes, coin and documentation and to issue a receipt for the package.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved bag to receive bank notes, coin, cheques and documentation etc. for depositing in a bank. According to the present invention, a bag intended to receive cash and other documentation to be paid in at a bank and which comprises a front sheet part and a backing sheet part and the front sheet part and backing sheet part being secured together at their side edges and also heat sealed transversely with the transverse heat seal extending between the side edges and located substantially midway between the end edges of the sheets parts to form two pockets, with one pocket having an opening at one of the bag ends and the other pocket being formed by folding over one of the sheets and with the fold over edge of the one sheet part of the pocket being closely adjacent the edge of the other sheet part to provide a pocket mouth and a line of adhesive being provided on a flap adjacent to the pocket mouth of the other pocket characterised in that the folded over portion of the sheet has microprinting applied to it and the microprinting is applied adjacent the edges of the sheet parts and so that the bag is closed by folding over the adhesive into contact with the microprinting and to close the other pocket and in that a second line of adhesive is provided on the sheet which line of adhesive contacts the mouth of the one pocket so that the two lines of adhesive seal the two pockets closed and so that an indication will be given if the bag is tampered with.
A bag in accordance with the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a bag
Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the bag and
Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the bag about to be sealed closed.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings there is shown a bag composed of transparent plastics material formed from two sheet parts of such material one constituting a backing sheet constituting a back sheet part 1 (shown at the back in Fig. 1) and the other constituting a front sheet part 2 (shown at the front in Fig. 1). The sheets are heat sealed together at their side edges at 4 and transversely by a transverse heat seal 8 extending between the side edges 4 and located substantially midway of the end edges of the bag to form two pockets, 3, 3a with the heat seal 4. The backing sheet 1 is folded over at one end as shown at the top of Figs. 1 and 2 with its folded edge 1a positioned closely adjacent to and abutting one edge 2a of the front sheet 2 to form a pocket 3 with the edges 1a, 2a constituting a pocket mouth. The pocket 3 is enclosed at its side edges by the heat seals at 4 and with the fold of the backing sheet 1 constitutes a pocket enclosed on four sides with an opening between the adjacent side edges 1a, 2a. The position of the abutting edges 1a, 2a of the pocket is defined by a pair of indicator arrows 3b. The other pocket 3a is formed by the front sheet 2 and backing sheet 1 with the end edge of the backing extending beyond the adjacent end edge 2b of the front sheet of the other pocket 3a to form a bag opening at one end of the bag having a flap 5 and a line of adhesive 6 is applied across the flap 5 and this line of adhesive is covered by a barrier coating 7. The position of the line of adhesive 6 is defined by a pair of indicator arrows 5b. The adhesive 6 and the barrier coating 7 may be of the kind known as Steratape, manufactured by Stirl- ing Coated Materials or other brands and the adhesive of which is suitable for securing together sheets of transparent plastics material. Alternatively the flap may be coated with hot melt adhesive 6 and covered by a barrier coating 7. The flap 5 on the pocket 3a is capable of being folded over the mouth 2b of the pocket 3a so that the line of adhesive 6 closes and seals the pocket 3a. A further line of adhesive 15 covered by a barrier coating 16 similar to the line of adhesive 6 and a barrier coating 7 is provided on the front sheet 2 to close additionally the mouth 1a, 2a of the pocket 3 so that the lines of adhesive 6 and 15 secure closed respective pockets 3, 3a of the bag. Indicator means consisting of an indicator line 3b or indicator arrows similar to the indicator arrows 5b as shown in Fig. 1 are provided to indicate the location of the mouth 1a, 2a of the pocket 3 to be engaged by the area of adhesive 15. The part of the fold over part of the backing sheet adjacent the fold edges 1 a, 2a is provided with two areas of microprinting 9a, 9b each area comprising a plurality of lines of print bearing the name of the Bank issuing the bags or other data.
The front sheet 2 has the same width as the backing sheet 1. The pocket 3a adjacent to the line 6 of heat seal is intended to receive non cash items such as cheques, credit and other documents and the pocket 3 is to receive cash only that is bank notes and coins.
A line of tear off perforations 10 is provided in both the backing sheet 1 and front sheet 2 within the first pocket 3a adjacent to the transverse line of heat seal 8 to enable the pocket 3a to be detached from the remainder of the bag to enable the pocket to be opened and the contents of the pocket processed. Likewise a line of tear off perforations 11 is provided in the backing sheet 1 and closely adjacent to the position where the fold edges 1 a, 2a about one another to enable the cash to be extracted from the pocket 3.
These lines of tear off perforations should be able to be torn off to enable access to be provided to the contents of the bags but be firm enough so that the perforations are not burst during depositing of the bag or disturb the nature of the cash compartment.
The rear face of the bag (the opposite face to that shown in Fig. 1) is printed with the logo of the bank where the bags are to be deposited and sealing instructions to the customer. There is also provided an area (of white ink or a label) to enable the customers name and address to be inserted as well as a breakdown of the contents of the bag to be filled in by the customer. The pockets of the bag are preferably provided with air escape holes 12 to avoid bursting by ballooning. Alternatively a plurality of microholes are provided to permit the escape of air. The transparent plastics material from which the bag is made is preferably polyethylene but may be of other thermoplastics material or of nylon. Conveniently, the bag shown in Fig. 1 may have a width (between the lines 4 of heat seal) of five and three-quarters of an inch (150 millimetres) and the pocket 3a be large enough to accommodate a £50 Bank of England note laid flat (say 170 mmx95 mm) and to accommodate a maximum of 140 such notes and has a depth of nine and three quarter inches (23.25 cms) with the flap 5 having a depth of one inch (2.54 cms). The pocket 3 may have a depth of eleven and one quarter of an inch (29 cms) and the edges 1a, 2a be positioned two inches (5.08 cms) from the outer side of the compartment 10 and be able to accommodate a maximum size of cheque (210 mmx102 mm) laid flat and a maximum of 20 cheques of such size or an access envelope (size 203 mmx102 mm) containing 20 vouchers, or credit form (size 203 mmx102 mm) laid flat.
When a customer desires to deposit cash and cheques and other supporting documents at the bank he takes a bag as hereinbefore described and inserts cash 13 into the cash pocket 3 and inserts the cheques and documents 14 into the document pocket 3a (see Fig. 3).
The barrier coating 7 is removed from the adhesive on the flap 5 and the bag is folded so that the line of adhesive 6 overlies the mouth 2b of the pocket 3a. Similarly the barrier coating 16 is removed from the line of adhesive 15 and the bag is folded so that the line of adhesive 15 covers the abutting edges 1 a, 2a of the pocket 3. The position of the folds is defined by the two sets of indicator arrows 3b, 5b which which are aligned. In this position the lines of adhesive 6,15 close and seal the pockets 3 and 3a and also contact and overlie the areas of microprinting 9a, 9b adjacent to the abutting edges 1a, 2a, of the pockets to ensure that if the bag is tampered with such tampering will become apparent (due to the distortion of the microprinting). Such tampering will be very apparent as one area of microprinting is tampered with and the other area still untampered. It is arranged that the line of adhesive 6 on the flap 5 is folded over the mouth 2b of the adjacent pocket 3a to cover the mouth of the pocket 3a and to seal the bag. The line of adhesive 15 covers the edges 1 a, 2a of the folded over edges of the pocket 3 and the microprinting 9a, 9b to seal the bag closed. Thus the two pockets 3, 3a of the bag are effectively sealed closed by the respective lines of adhesive.
The bag with its contents is then deposited at a deposit box at the bank where the lines of perforation are detached and the cash and documents processed by staff away from the main service area.
It is preferred that the ink by which the lines of microprinting is effected is of the soluble kind as is more fully described in the European Patent Specification No. 0105581.
Although the bag has been described made of two separate sheet parts heat sealed together the bag may alternatively be made from one sheet of transparent plastics material folded into a backing sheet part with the other side edge heat sealed or made from a tube but inserting cuts at appropriate locations.

Claims

1. A bag intended to receive cash and other documentation to be paid in at a bank and which comprises a front sheet part (2) and a backing sheet part (1), the front sheet part (2) and backing sheet part (1) being secured together at their side edges (4) and also heat sealed transversely with the transverse heat seal (8) extending between the side edges and located substantially mid-way between the end edges of the sheet parts to form two pockets (3, 3a) with one pocket (3a) having an opening at one of the bag ends and the other pocket (3) being formed by folding over one of the sheets (1, 2) and with the fold over edge (1a) of the one sheet part (1) of the pocket being closely adjacent the edge (2a) of the other sheet part (1, 2) to provide a pocket mouth (1a, 2a) and a line of adhesive being provided on a flap (5) adjacent to the pocket mouth of the other pocket (3a) characterised in that the folded over portion of the sheet (1, 2) has microprinting (9a, 9b), applied to it and the microprinting is applied adjacent the edges (1a, 2a) of the sheet parts and so that the bag is closed by folding over the adhesive (15) into contact with the microprinting (9a, 9b) and to close the other pocket (3) and in that a second line of adhesive (6) is provided on the sheet which line of adhesive (6) contacts the mouth (2b) of the one pocket (3a), so that the two lines of adhesive (6, 15) seal the two pockets closed and so that an indication will be given if the bag is tampered with.

2. A bag according to claim 1 having a line of transverse tear-off perforations (10) in the one pocket (3a) to enable the pocket to be opened for cash processing purposes.

3. A bag according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the other pocket (3) has a line of tear-off perforations (11) to enable the pocket to be opened and the cash removed.

4. A bag according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the lines of adhesive (6, 15) are covered by a barrier coating (7, 16).

5. A bag according to any one of the preceding claims printed with indicator arrows (3b, 5b) to define the position of fold of the bag.

6. A bag according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the microprinting (9a, 9b) is arranged in two areas to make apparent any tampering.