EP1494560B1 - Elastic double bag - Google Patents

Abstract

The double bag (1) consists of at least two superposed layers (E1,E2) of material each having the same shape and dimensions. The layers are connected along their periphery (2-5) to define two pockets (P1,P2) accessible through a longitudinal opening (7).

Description

The present invention relates to the field of bags for carrying on foot loads of modest weight, such as routine household purchases (food, cleaning products, etc.).

At the moment there is a need for a bag of large capacity, leaving the hands free, and who, the empty state, is light and occupies a minimum volume, such that it can be placed, for example, in a pocket of clothing or a handbag. A backpack presents both first properties, but not the last two.

In the past, it has been proposed provision whose meshes were made from bundles of elastic foam-type yarns. These nets were very light and offered a great deal of compared to their bulk in the empty state, but they do not did not leave their hands free and, in addition, the dilatation their stitches in the loaded state forbade the placing of small objects likely to escape, not to mention the rapid deterioration of the elastic threads in which clinging to non-smooth items, such as bread.

In the even more distant past, we used bags for the transport of moderate loads on foot. We mean bag, a bag split in the middle and closed to its ends, forming two pockets when worn to horse on the shoulder.

Although the wallets have, for several centuries, constituted one of the most used types of bag, they have fallen into disuse, since the appearance between other backpacks. It follows that they did not do the object of modifications or evolutions.

The wallets had to reconcile two criteria contradictory.

On the one hand, they had to consist of a material sufficiently thick and rigid to withstand wear and the force exerted by loads that can to be accommodated.

On the other hand, they had to consist of a sufficiently thin and flexible material to allow them, in the loaded state, to bend comfortably around the wearer's shoulder.

Leather was the most suitable material for compromise between these opposite properties, giving however, an expensive and heavy product, even in the empty state.

In addition, the bags, in their known form, had the disadvantage that opening access to both pockets generally affected the entire width of the wallet with the risk of seeing the items being transported accidentally ejected from the wallet when she was thrown on the shoulder or falling. GB-A-1426713 discloses a bag according to the preamble of claim 1.

As mentioned above, the objective of this invention is to bring a large capacity bag, leaving the hands free, and which, in the empty state, is light and occupies a minimum volume, which it does in proposing a new sack-type bag consisting of least two layers of material, of the same shape and the same dimensions, superimposed and integral with each other on along their periphery so as to define between them two pockets accessible by a median opening, said bag having a longitudinal direction and a direction transverse, and being characterized in that opening is arranged in the longitudinal direction of the bag and in that said material constituting one of the less layers consists of an extensible fabric in the machine direction and / or in the cross direction.

Thus, according to one of the basic characteristics of the according to the invention, the median opening is arranged, no not transversely, as is the case in art previous, but longitudinally.

These two constituent layers of the bag can be two pieces of separate materials stitched together the along their edges, a single piece of folded material in two on itself and sewn, or a single piece of tubular material.

According to a preferred embodiment, the opening is arranged at the periphery of the bag.

In the case where said bag is not made from of a tubular material, said opening may be at level of one of the stitching lines making solidarity the layers of material constituting the bag. Of this way, the opening does not consist of an incision made in the fabric but in a discontinuity of one of sewing lines, and integrity, and hence the resistance, the tissue is not diminished.

By sewing line, you have to understand here everything type of fixation that can be made between the two layers, like a seam, a collage, a fusion, etc.

In the case where the bag is made from a tubular material, that is to say not including a line seam in the longitudinal direction but only at both ends, in the transverse direction, said opening is provided directly by cutting along a generator of the tube.

The second basic characteristic of the bag according to the invention is that it consists of an extensible fabric in the machine direction and / or in the cross direction.

By "fabric" we mean here as well a material obtained by a weaving process, that a material obtained by knitting, or even a nonwoven material or a film.

As used here, the term "machine direction" refers to refers, in the case of woven materials, to the direction of the chain, in the case of knitted materials, to the direction of the columns of stitches, and in the case of nonwovens and films in the sense of moving the tablecloth in training in the production facility.

As used here, the expression "cross-cutting" is refers to the direction that is perpendicular to the direction machine defined above.

The use of an extensible fabric allows the bag to have a variable volume depending on whether it is empty or full.

If it is understood that the variation of dimensions of an extensible article under the effect of a force exerting on him has nothing in itself new, this property leads to unexpected effects in the context of the invention. Indeed, combined with the particular form of bag and at the particular position of the opening she allows to give to the loaded bag and thrown on the shoulder a thin shape and gathered at shoulder level, followed by dilated form on both sides of the shoulder by the volume articles slipped into one and the other pocket, the access opening to said pockets being closed by the traction exerted by the weight of said articles.

In the empty state, the bag is light, thin and flat and it can be folded and slipped into a pocket or bag hands or be worn in a sling, belt or hat.

To give the bag its optimal properties of lightness and compactness, the extensible fabric advantageously has a weight per m ² of between about 60 and 400 g / m ² , preferably 200 g / m ² .

Satisfactory tissues may consist of Lycra or fabrics composed of elastane, polyester and / or triacetate.

In practice, it can be envisaged that, under the effect of a load, the bag deforms preferentially in a meaning with respect to each other. To do this, we choose a fabric whose elongation is different in the machine direction and in the cross direction and, in the bag, the meaning of more big elongation is used in the direction cross. So, loading the bag does not lengthen it excessively, which could hinder walking, but he rather, gives volume backwards and forwards.

Another measure to manage the shape that the bag takes in the loaded state is to use a material of relatively greater extensibility to form a bag walls and a more extensibility material weak or even unstretchable to form the opposite wall, this last wall being intended to come into contact with the wearer when the bag is thrown over his shoulder.

Another possible measure to manage the form what the bag takes when it expands and to strengthen it at the level of its seams, consists in providing at least one band of non-elastic material along the periphery layers of material constituting the bag, except, at least, in the cross-section of the bag that contains the access opening to the pockets of the bag. According to a form particular embodiment, said transverse zone of the bag which contains the access opening to the pockets of the bag can also be reinforced but by a strip of material elastic whose elasticity can be substantially identical to that of the fabric, or slightly weaker so to stiffen and tighten the opening.

However, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, this transverse zone is without reinforcing tape, on the one hand, so as not to alter the expansion capacity of the access opening bags for loading and, on the other hand, for to give the said cross-section any latitude under load, which makes it thinner contact with the shoulder, with the effect of improving the stability of the bag and tightly close the opening access to the pockets.

In a preferred embodiment, the bag according to the invention has a rectangular shape and, when empty, has a length between about 70 and about 100 cm and a width between about 40 and about 60 cm.

The dimensions will be chosen, on the one hand, depending on the average size of the intended user, adult or child, and on the other hand the extensibility of the retained material.

The opening will have a length of between about 10 and about 20 cm, the length chosen depending on the size of the bag and the extensibility of the material.

As can be judged, the length of the opening is relatively small (preferably much less than the width of the bag, unlike what we find in the bags of the prior art) but extensibility material allows items to enter the bag of relatively large size only by deformation of the opening. The small size of the opening, as well as its position, limits the risks of "expulsion" of articles of the bag by said opening when it is worn or well placed on the ground, the articles being "prisoners" of the bag. This expulsion is furthermore quite impossible when the loaded bag is worn on the shoulder, the lips of the opening being firmly applied against each other under the effect of weight.

The bag according to the invention can take various forms and may consist of one or more pieces of fabric, joined together to form a space closed.

However, in one form of execution particularly economical, the bag consists of a single piece of fabric folded on itself so as to to form a superposition of two layers of fabric, said two layers being sewn all along their free leash, while providing an opening to the middle of the opposite side to the side forming the fold line.

Given the small size of the opening access to the pockets and its position, it can be difficult to locate it quickly when you want load the bag. Also, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, visual or tactile identification means can advantageously be associated with said opening.

Such a locating means may consist, for example, in a braid, a braid or a border of contrasting color, or a different touch material, etc. it being understood that, whatever the means adopted, it must not alter the extensibility of the opening.

la figure 1 représente une forme d'exécution du sac selon l'invention, à plat et à vide ;

la figure 2 représente une coupe partielle, à plus grande échelle; prise selon la ligne II-II de la figure 1 ;

la figure 3 illustre le port du sac de la figure 1 à l'état chargé ;

la figure 4 illustre une variante d'exécution d'un sac selon l'invention, à plat et vide ; et

la figure 5 illustre une autre variante d'exécution d'un sac selon l'invention, à plat et vide.

The invention will be better understood and its advantages will emerge more clearly, in the light of the following detailed description given with reference to the appended drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows an embodiment of the bag according to the invention, flat and empty;

Figure 2 shows a partial section on a larger scale; taken along the line II-II of Figure 1;

Figure 3 illustrates the port of the bag of Figure 1 in the loaded state;

Figure 4 illustrates an alternative embodiment of a bag according to the invention, flat and empty; and

Figure 5 illustrates another embodiment of a bag according to the invention, flat and empty.

With reference to FIG. 1, it can be seen that the bag 1 according to the invention consists of a rectangular piece of extensible fabric folded on itself at its longitudinal median, thus determining two superimposed layers of fabric E ₁ and E ₂ of lengths 2 and 3 and widths 4 and 5. The two thicknesses E ₁ and E ₂ are secured to one another, by sewing, along 6, along said widths 4 and 5 and said length 3, an unsewn region forming opening 7 is however formed.

As is apparent from FIG. 2, the free edges of the thicknesses of material E ₁ and E ₂ are turned inwards and capped with a band of inelastic material 8, the whole being joined by two puncture lines 6a, 6b. . This strip of material 8 reinforces the bag at the seams 6, eliminates the extensibility of the material constituting the bag at this same level and gives a good finish inside the bag. For the reasons explained above, it is preferred that there is no band of non-expandable material in the transverse zone Z containing the opening 7, on either side of which the bag forms two P ₁ pockets. and P ₂ .

An elastic band 9 of color contrasted by relative to that of the bag borders the opening 7 so as to facilitate its location.

The dimensions of the stretch fabric piece used for making the bag can vary in depending on the desired capacity and use. According to the embodiment shown, the finished bag is present in the form of a rectangle having, empty, about 80 cm long and about 45 cm wide, with an opening 7 of about 18 cm in length, these dimensions constituting only a non-limiting example.

To load the bag according to the invention, the articles to be transported by the opening 7 are introduced by distributing them equitably in the pockets P ₁ and P ₂ so that the bag is balanced. The expansion capacity of the opening 7 allows to pass relatively large objects. Once the bag is loaded, it is entered in zone Z, the weight per m ² of the fabric making it possible to hold the entire thickness of the bag in the ring formed between the thumb and the index finger, and the bag is placed in riding on the shoulder, with the zone Z thus gathered forming a hinge between the two pockets P ₁ and P ₂ of the bag (see Figure 3).

Figure 4 illustrates an alternative embodiment in which the bag is made of a rectangular piece fabric folded on itself, no longer in two folds parallel and of the same width, as in Figure 1, but in three parallel folds, the two outer folds having a width equal to half the width of the central fold and being folded over the central fold. Longitudinal sewing 4 'of the bag in which is formed the opening 7' is so finds it according to the median of one of the walls of the bag and not on one edge of the bag. Of course we understand that, in practice, the piece of fabric is folded in half like Figure 1, we create the seam 4 'by opening the opening 7 ', the tubular piece thus obtained of such so that the seam 6 'comes to be placed according to the median of one of the layers and sew the ends remaining free by seams 5 'and 6'.

Figure 5 illustrates another embodiment of the invention in which the bag 1 "consists of a unique piece of tubular fabric stitched at its two free ends 5 "and 6", in the width direction of the bag, the fabric being split lengthwise to create the opening 7 ".

It is understood that the invention is not limited to the forms of execution described and represented. In particular, instead of having a rectangular shape, the bag can have another elongated and symmetrical shape around its transverse median axis, for example being in Hourglass shape. In addition, instead of being in one piece, it can consist of several pieces of fabric, possibly of different extensibility, stitched between they or otherwise joined together.

Claims (10)

1. A scrip-type bag (1), consisting of at least two layers (E₁ and E₂) of material, of the same shape and same dimensions, that are superposed and secured to one another along their periphery (2-5) so as together to define two pockets (P₁ and P₂) that can be accessed via a central opening (7), said bag having a longitudinal direction and a transverse direction, characterized in that said opening (7) is made in the longitudinal direction of the bag (1) and in that said material forming at least one of the layers (E₁ and E₂) is a fabric that can stretch in the machine direction and/or in the cross direction.
2. The bag (1) as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said opening (7) is made in said periphery (3).
3. The bag (1) as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the extension of said stretch fabric is different in the machine direction and in the cross direction, and in that, in the bag, the direction of greater extension is used transversely.
4. The bag (1) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said fabric has a weight per m² of between approximately 60 and 400 g/m².
5. The bag (1) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one strip (8) of inelastic material is provided along the periphery (3-5) of said layers (E₁ and E₂).
6. The bag as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that said strip of inelastic material does not affect the transverse zone (Z) of the bag containing said opening (7).
7. The bag (1) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it consists of a single piece of fabric folded over on itself so as to form two superposed thicknesses (E₁ and E₂) of fabric, said two thicknesses (E₁ and E₂) being sewn (6) right along their free edges, an opening (7) nevertheless being provided in the middle of the side (3) opposite the side (2) forming the fold line.
8. The bag (1) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it has a rectangular shape and, when empty, a length of between approximately 70 and approximately 100 cm and a width of between approximately 40 and approximately 60 cm.
9. The bag (1) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, when empty, said opening (7) has a length between approximately 10 and approximately 20 cm.
10. The bag (1) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a visual or tactile reference means (9) is associated with said opening (7).

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