GB2090628A

GB2090628A - Bag seals and clamps

Info

Publication number: GB2090628A
Application number: GB8200137A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: LIMA CASTRO NETTO E DE
Current assignee: LIMA CASTRO NETTO E DE
Priority date: 1981-01-06
Filing date: 1982-01-05
Publication date: 1982-07-14
Also published as: AU556775B2; IT8168688A0; IT1145625B; AR227221A1; ZA8254B; BR8100037A; ES270061U; ES270061Y; DE3200145A1; JPS57175562A; GB2090628B; AU7908881A; FR2497498A1; FR2497498B1; PT74134A; IT8153924V0; CA1222131A

Abstract

The neck of a bag is held between surface 8 and flexible band 27. The band is passed through aperture 9 and thence into key-hole slot 14 where an attachment is made at an approximate abutment 28. Lever 10 is pivoted to overlie the body of the device with latching tongues 15, 16 engaging in chamber 18 under one edge. If the latching means are disengageable then a clamp is provided, otherwise the device is a seal. Label-holder 33 may be threaded through a label and bent so that lug 34 engages hole 35 the pivoting of lever 10 to the closed position holding it in place. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Integral lever lock The invention concerns devices for closing and sealing bags, and is directed to a means for tightly closing the neck of the bag without the use of tensioning tools. A preferred embodiment of the invention is a security seal which tightly closes the neck of a bag and is not removable therefrom except by damaging the seal.

Known bag closures include conventionally a band which is passed round the neck of the bag and is then drawn tight. The ends of the band are then secured, or in situations where tamperproofing is required, immobilized by conventional lead or wax or other seal means. Unfortunately, previous security seals of this type have failed to provide a sufficient degree of security because of the difficulty in maintaining the tension in'the band while the seal is applied without using tools or external mechanical devices.

The present invention seeks to provide an integral, disposable closure for a bag, which can exert and maintain a high tension in a band passed round the bag neck. The closure of the present invention can simply be made adjustable, to tolerate various bag sizes, and inviolable to perform a security function.

According to the present invention, an integral closure device for a bag is characterized in that it comprises a main part, a lever member, and an elongated band, the main part having a bagengaging surface and the lever member being pivotally associable with the main part for movement between a first position remote therefrom, the device further including resilient latching means operative between the lever member and the main part when the lever member is in its second position, at least one end of the elongated band being integrally attached either to the lever member or to the main part and means being provided to fix another point along its length to either the main part or the lever member, the band extending across the bag-engaging surface to define a closed loop therewith when it is so fixed and the lever member is associated with the main part, movement of the lever from the first position to the second position serving to decrease the circumference of said loop.

The preferred embodiment of the device has the main part positioned centrally, the lever member attached integrally thereto via a hinge, and the band attached integrally to the central part remote from the hinge. Between the hinge and the attachment of the band is situated the bag-engaging surface. Spaced along the band are abutments cooperable with a complementary formation on the lever member to secure the band thereto at one of a number of points along the length of the band.

The preferred device of the present invention thus combines ease of application with a tight grip on the bag neck. To apply the device, the lever member is put in its first position adjacent the bag-engaging surface of the main part of the device. The neck of the bag is gathered to the bagengaging surface, and the free end of the band is passed round the gathered neck and pulled tight, whereupon it is fixed in place in the complementary formation so that the bag neck is encircled on one side by the band and on the other side by the bag-engaging surface of the main part of the device. The device is finally tightened by moving the lever to its second position, thereby pulling the band tightly round the bag neck using the mechanical advantage of the lever. When the lever reaches its second position, the latching means engage to hold the device closed.

A device according to the present invention, which is a security seal, will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the seal in its as-molded configuration.

Figure 2 shows a view similar to figure 1 but which has part cut away to show interior details.

Figure 3 is a sectional view showing the seal in its closed position.

Figure 4 and 5 are, respectively, views showing the seal applied to a bag, firstly just before sealing, and secondly in the sealed condition.

Figure 6 and 7 are views similar to figures 4 and 5 showing an alternative method of fixing a label to the seal.

As is clear from figures 1 and 2, the seal 1 includes a main part 2 which is composed of an elongate inverted channel having a web 3 and flanges 4 and 5.

Flanges 4 and 5 have extensions 4a, 5a away from the web 2 and provided with a transverse wall 6, forming an arm 7 of channel section projecting downwardly from the main part 2. The webs 4 and 5, where they join webs 4a and 5a remote from the transverse wall 6, are curved and formed with notches to define two series of teeth 8 along the edges of webs 4, 4a, 5 and 5a. The transverse wall 6 is formed with a longitudinal slot 9 for part of its length, the slot being open at the free end of the transverse wall 6.

Hingedly attached to the web 3 of main part 2, at its end nearest the arm 7, is a lever member 10 which is of channel section and is open upwards in the condition shown in figures 1 and 2. From this position it may be swung downward to lie beside the arm 7, or upward to overlie the main part 2 of the seal 1, pivoting about an integral hinge 1 7.

The lever member 10 has two sidewalls 11, 12, spaced apart so as to be coplanar with webs 4 and 5, respectively. Joining the sidewalls 11 and 12 is a base 13 which includes a keyhole slot 14. The keyhole slot 14 has a wider part 1 4a nearer the free end of the lever member, and a narrowed part 1 4b extending longitudinally of the lever towards the hinge 17. Positioned on the sidewalls 11, 12 to be coplanar therewith at the free end of the lever member 10 ia a pair of resilient hook portions 1 5 and 1 6.

The main part 2 is formed at its end remote from the hinge 1 7 with an upwardly open chamber 18, the chamber having an internal lateral dimension equal to the external lateral dimension of the remainder of the main part 2 and the lever member 10. This is achieved by positioning the end walls 19 and 20 of the chamber beyond the webs 4 and 5 of the main part 2. The side of the chamber 1 8 nearest the hinge 17 is closed by a wall 21, and the base of the chamber is completely closed by a floor 22 which extends from the wall 21. The chamber 18 is also provided with downwardly facing detent surfaces 23, best seen in Figure 4, which are situated beneath the ends of a transverse bar 24 which is positioned between flanges 4 and 5 coplanar with web 3, and extends to contact end walls 1 9 and 20 of the chamber 1 8.Clearly, to form the chamber 1 8 and the detent surfaces 23, a mould which is provided with an expanding core maybe required.

Extending from the bar 24 away from the chamber 18 is a tab 25, connected to the bar 24 by hinge 26. At the end of tab 25 remote from the hinge 26 extends a filament 27, formed with spherical enlargements 28 at a plurality of points along its length and terminating in a conical spear point 29.

Operation of the seal is simple, in that the neck of the bag to be sealed is first gathered and is then pressed into contact with the teeth 8 of the seal.

The lever member 10 of the seal is hinged to lie alongside the arm 7 so that the keyhole slot 14 and the slot 9 in the arm are adjacent. The spear point 29 of filament 27 is then brough both the slot 9 and the larger part 1 4a of the keyhole slot 14, after which the end of the filament is pulled through these slots until it is reasonably tight.

The free end of the filament is then urged towards the main part 2, so that a part of the filament 27 enters the thinner part 1 4b of the keyhole slot, whereupon axial movement of the filament 27 relative to the lever 10 is prevented by the spherical enlargements 28 positioned on the filament 27 abutting the base 13 of the lever member adjacent the narrower part 1 4b of keyhole slot 14.

Finally, lever member 10 is brought round to its final position where it overlies the main part 2 of the seal. It will be apparent that, during this movement of the lever, the filament 27 and its enlargements 28 are drawn through the slot 9 in the arm 7 by a predetermined amount, thus placing the filament 27 under greater tension than can be obtained by simple pulling by hand.

When the lever member overlies the main part 2, slight further pressure causes the hooks 1 5 and 1 6 to enter the lateral extremities of the chamber 1 8 and engage beneath detent surfaces 23, thus securing the lever member in position.

While the filament is drawn tight, the tab 25 is hinged downwardly from the position shown in figure 1, so that it effectively closes the open side of the chamber 18, opposite wall 21, and thus access to the chamber from below is prevented.

During closing of the seal, the free end of the filament is laid within the lever member and extends through an opening 29 in an end wall 30 of the lever extending between the hooks 1 5 and 1 6. The opening 29 is formed to surround closely one of the enlargements 28, and the distance between the end of the narrow portion 1 4b of keyhole slot 14 and the opening 29 is so adjusted that an enlargement 28 is positioned in the opening 29 when the seal is closed. To conform to the enlargement 28, the opening 29 may have a semicircular end wall nearest the base 13 of the lever member, and a matching projection with a concave semicircular upper edge may be provided on the upper surface of bar 24, so that when the seal is closed only a circular opening remains, closely filled by one of the enlargements 28.

As the seal is closed, the filament 27 and its enlargements 28 are pulled through the slot 9 in the arm 7, to tighten the filament about the neck of the bag. It is foreseen that the curved end surface of the slot 9 may enter between two of the projections and thus interfere with the tightening movement of the filament. To avoid this, guide surfaces 31 may be provided on the ends of small ribs 32 extending along the transverse wall 6 of the arm 7 between the flanges 4a and 5a. These guide surfaces and ribs are illustrated in figures 2 and 3, two ribs 32 being shown. It may be desirable to provide a single rib, or a plurality of ribs depending on the exact geometry of the end surface of slot 9.

In order to withstand the high tension imparted to it by the action of lever member 10, the filament 27 may be reinforced with an insert of resistant material molded therein. The insert is preferably a metal wire suitably proportioned and finished to prevent slippage of the enlargements 28 relative to the wire, and is preferably anchored within the tab 25. Alternatively the insert may be of glass fibers or any other suitable material.

A further optional feature of the seal is a labelholding strap 33, extending laterally from one side of the main part 2 of the seal. The strap 33 is provided at its free end with a pin 34, which is insertable prior to closing the seal in an aperture 35 formed in the web 3 of the main part 2. A cutout 36 is formed on the sidewall 12 of the lever adjacent the strap, and it is through this cutout that the strap will pass when the seal is closed. To attach a label to the seal, the end of the strap is first passed through a hole in the label, and the pin 34 is then inserted in aperture 35. The seal is then closed, and the strap 33 is retained in position by lever member 10.

Alternatively, a label may be positioned between the lever member 10 and the main part 2, the resilient hooks either forming a hole, or passing through a preformed hole, in the label.

This arrangement is shown in figures 6 and 7, with the seal on the point of closing and closed, respectively.

Numerous changes in design will be apparent to those skilled in the art, for example, the filament may have any desired form provided that it has spaced along its length points for attaching it to the central part and the lever member. In an alternative design it is envisaged that the filament may be integrally formed with the lever member, and a formation will then be provided on the central part to fix the filament thereto at a point on its length.

The filament may have abutments formed by external enlargements, as in the described embodiment, or may be a flat band formed with apertures to resemble a ladder. Clearly, the formation which engages the filament must be appropriately formed to cooperate therewith.

A further alternative design intended to be within the scope of the present invention is a seal in which the lever member 10 and main part 2 are separate, but are both integrally joined to the band, at its respective ends. In this configuration the main part and lever member will be provided with bearing surfaces cooperable to form a fulcrum so that in operation the bag is gathered to the bag-engaging surface of the main part, the lever member and band are then passed round the neck of the bag and the bearing surface of the lever member is fitted to that of the main part with the lever member in a first position relative thereto. Subsequent rotation of the lever member to a second position in which it is latched to the main part will draw the band tightly round the neck of the bag.

Clearly, the seal described immediately above will not have the tolerance to accommodate widely differing bag sizes that the preferred embodiment has, but neverthless may be used when identical bags require sealing in quantity.

The seal is described as an integral unit and is thereby made particularly suitable to formation by injection molding techniques from any suitable resistant plastics material.

In the preferred embodiment, the seal is usable in security applications as it cannot be opened without damage, a property arising from the fact that access to the latching hooks 1 5 and 1 6 is prevented by the configuration of the seal. The present invention also contemplates bag closures of a re-usable type which can tightly secure the neck of a bag, the closures being made so that the latching devices used to retain the lever member in the closed position may be repeatedly released and thereafter re-closed. Such a closure will find utility in the packaging industry, for example.

Claims

1. An integral closure device for bag, characterized in that it comprises a main part 2, a lever member 10, and an elongated band 27, the main part 2 having a bag-engaging surface 8 and the lever member 10 being pivotally associable with the main part 2 for movement between a first position adjacent the bag-engaging surface 8 and a second position remote therefrom, the seal 1 further including resilient latching means 1 5, 1 6, 23, operative between the lever member 10 and the main part 2 when the lever member 10 is in the second position, at least one end of the elongated band 27 being integrally attached to either the lever member 10 or to the main part 2, and means being provided to fix another point along its length to either the main part 2 or the lever member 10, the band extending across the bag-engaging surface 8 to define a closed loop therewith when it is so fixed and the lever member is associated with the main part, movement of the lever member 10 from the first position to the second position serving to decrease the circumference of said loop.

2. An adjustable integral closure device according to claim 1, characterized in that the band 27 is integrally attached only at one end to either the lever member 10 or the main part 2 of the seal, and has a plurality of abutments 28 spaced along its length, the abutments being cooperable with a complementary formation 14 situated on either the main part 2 or the lever member 10 of the seal, respectively, the lever member 10 being joined to the main part 2 via a hinge 17.

3. An adjustable integral closure device according to claim 2, characterized in that the band comprises a filament 27 provided along its length with a plurality of enlargements 28, and in that the complementary formation 14 is a keyhole slot having a large part 1 4a through which the enlargements 28 may pass, and a narrow part 1 4b through which the enlargements 28 may not pass.

4. An integral closure device according to any preceding claim characterized in that the band 27 is attached integrally to the main part 2 of the seal by means of a hinged tab 25.

5. An integral closure device according to any preceding claim characterized in that the resilient latching means comprise one or more resilient hooks 1 5, 1 6, which engage corresponding detent surfaces 23 to prevent lever member 10 from leaving the second position.

6. A closure device for a bag according to any one of claims 1 to 5, in which access is available to the resilient latching means 1 5, 16 when the lever member 10 is in the second position, enabling the closure device to be removed undamaged from a bag, for re-use.

7. A closure device for a bag, according to any of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that access to the resilient latching means 1 5, 1 6 is unavailable when the lever member 10 is in the second position, the closure member thus comprising a security seal.

8. An integral closure device according to claim 4 and claim 5, characterized in that the hook portions 1 5, 16 are situated on lever member 10 and engage a detent surface 23 provided in an open-sided recess 1 8 in the main part 2 of the seal, the open side of the recess being closed by the tab 25 when the seal is in use.

9. An integral closure device according to any preceding claim characterized in that the main part is an inverted channel section having a web 3 and flanges 4, 5, the flanges 4, 5 being extended downwardly 4a, 5a, and provided with a transverse wall 6 to form an arm 7 of channel section, the edges of the extensions 4a, 5a, remote from the transverse wall 6 being serrated to form bag-engaging surfaces 8.

1 0. An integral closure device according to claim 9, characterized in that the lever member 10 is attached to the web 3 of the main part adjacent its junction with transverse wall 6, the lever member being capable of motion from a first position in which it lies parallel to and adjacent the transverse wall 6 to a second position in which it lies parallel and adjacent to the web 3 of the main part 2.

11. An integral closure device according to claim 10, as dependent on claim 3, characterized in that the lever member 10 is of channel section, having a base 13 and sidewalls 11 and 12, and when in the second position overlies the web 3 of the main part to define a closed space between the web 3, base 13, and sidewalls 11 and 12, the filament 27 entering the closed space via keyhole slot 14 formed in the base 13 of the lever and leaving the closed space via an opening 29 in an end wall 30 of the lever.

12. An integral closure device according to claim 11, characterized in that the opening 29 closely surrounds an enlargement 28 of the filament 27, and is blocked thereby.

13. An integral closure device according to claim 10 or claim 11, in which the opening 29 is defined partially by the end surface of a slot in the end wall 30, and partially by the extremity of a projection situated on the web 3 of the main part 2 and which enters the slot 29 when the lever is in its second position.

14. An integral device according to any preceding claim characterized in that the band 27 is reinforced by an insert of high-strength material.

1 5. An integral closure device according to claim 14 characterized in that the insert is metallic.

16. An integral closure device according to any preceding claim characterized in that the device includes label-holding means comprising a strap 33 extending laterally of the main part 2 and terminating at a pin 34, the main part 2 being formed with an opening 35 in which pin 34 is receivable to form a label-retaining bight in strap 33.

1 7. An integral closure device according to any of claims 1 to 1 5, characterized in that it is adapted to retain a label by trapping said label between the lever member 10 and the main part 2 when the lever member 10 is in its second position, the resilient latching means 1 5, 1 6 passing through a hole in the label.

1 8. An integral closure device according to claim 17, characterized in that the hole in the label is formed by the resilient latching means 1 5, 1 6.