GB2204015A

GB2204015A - Bag

Info

Publication number: GB2204015A
Application number: GB08720083A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Peter Julian; Gerald Lawrence Young; Andrew Heriot Starkey
Original assignee: Roberts Mart & Co Ltd
Current assignee: Roberts Mart & Co Ltd
Priority date: 1987-04-23
Filing date: 1987-08-26
Publication date: 1988-11-02
Anticipated expiration: 2007-08-26
Also published as: GB8720083D0; GB8709559D0; GB2204015B

Abstract

There is disclosed a bag (1) comprising two sheets (2, 3) of flexible material joined together along their lower edges and along at least a part of their upper edges, with the ends of each sheet (2, 3) being folded towards the interior of the bag to form a gusset (4, 5) at each end of the bag. At least one of the gussets (5) is provided with an opening through which the bag (1) may be filled with a bulky article, such as a duvet, pillow, sleeping bag. <IMAGE>

Description

CONTAINER The present invention relates to a flexible container, and particularly, though not exclusively, to a flexible container for holding a duvet or similar bulky textile article.

Conventionally, duvets are folded and placed inside a plastic carrier bag which is open at the top, sealed at each side and is provided at the bottom with a gusset. The folded duvet is placed inside the bag through the open top which is subsequently closed by means of a "snap-close" plastic handle. The main disadvantage of this type of container is that it is relatively bulky and takes up a large amount of transportation storage space, and it is also quite difficult to handle.

The present invention seeks to overcome the above mentioned disadvantage by providing a container which enables the bulk of the duvet to be considerably reduced.

According to the present invention there is provided a flexible container comprising two sheets of flexible material joined together along their lower edges and along at least a part of their upper edges, the ends of each sheet being folded towards the interior of the container to form a gusset at each end of the container, at least one of said gussets being provided with an opening through which the container may be filled.

The container may be filled with a textile material, for example a duvet, pillow or sleeping bag.

In the case of a large article such as a duvet or a sleeping bag, the article is rolled up to aid insertion within the container. However a smaller article such as a pillow may be inserted without rolling.

In a preferred embodiment, the container is made from a tube of plastics material, typically low density polyethylene, and the gussets are formed by. inserting "V" boards.

Preferably, the gusset at one end is slit to enable the duvet to be inserted, and the gusset at the open end is wider than the gusset at the other end, this arrangement being referred to as "off-set gussets". This arrangement ensures that when the duvet is inside the container, the two sides- of the open gusset can be pulled over the end of the duvet and the "off-set" feature means that the two sides of the open gusset will overlap.

Preferably, the container includes a handle which is secured to the upper edges of the sheets.

The handle may conveniently take the form of a grip portion and two horizontally extending portions.

The handle is preferably. inserted through a slit in the upper portion of the container, and is then fixed in placed by welding the two sheets together beneath the horizontally extending portions.

Alternatively, the handle may be simply formed from the upper edges of the sheets which are welded together and stamped out with an elongate hole.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of exampe only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which; Fig 1 is a perspective view of a container according to the present invention, Fig 2 is a front view of the container shown in Fig- 1 and including a carrying handle, Fig 3 is a perspective view of the container shown in Fig 2 when used to hold a rolled up duvet, Figs 4a to 4d are various views of the container incorporating an alternative handle.

The container 1 for holding a rolled up duvet or other similar textile article comprises a front sheet 2 and a rear sheet 3, both of low density polyethylene (LDPE).

In the illustrated embodiment, the front sheet 2 is continuous with the rear sheet 3, and is provided in the region where front sheet 2 becomes rear sheet 3 with a gusset 4 which is formed by folding the LDPE material towards the inside of the container, typically by inserting a "V'^ board in the conventional manner.

A similar gusset 5 is provided at the opposite end, but this gusset is slit in order to allow a rolled up duvet or a pillow to be inserted through the slit gusset into the container. The purpose of the gussets is to accommodate the bulk of the duvet without splitting the container.

The two sheets of the container are skirt welded together along the dotted lines shown in Fig 1, the welds fixing the gussets 4 and 5. The gusset 4 is typically four inches wide, whereas the gusset 5 is typically five and a half inches wide. This "off-set" arrangement of having the slit gusset wider than the closed gusset is achieved simply by pushing one "V" board in further than the other "V" board, and serves to allow the sides 5a and 5b of the gusset 5 to overlap when the duvet is placed inside the container, as shown in Fig 3.

In order to enable the container to be carried easily, a handle 6 of plastics material is inserted through a cut out central portion of the upper skirt weld. The handle has a central grip portion 6a and two horizontally extending portions 6b and 6c. Once inserted, the handle is kept in place by skirt welding again approximately two centimeters below the upper skirt weld, beneath the horizontally extending portions.

Figs 4a to 4d show an alternative type of handle in which the upper edges of the sheets are welded together and an elongate hole 8 is stamped out to form a handle which is integral with the container material.

A container of the present invention thus allows the duvet to be transported and stored in a much smaller space than conventional containers of this type.

Claims

1. A flexible container comprising two sheets of flexible-material joined together along their lower edges and along at least a part of their upper edges, the ends of each sheet being folded towards the interior of the container to form a gusset at each end of the container, at least one of said gussets being provided with an opening through which the container may be filled.

2. A flexibl-e container according to claim 1 and made from a tube of plastics material.

3. A flexible container according to claim 2, in which the container is made of low density polyethylene.

4. A flexible container according to claim 2 or 3, in which the gussets are formed by inserting "V" boards.

5. A flexbiel container according to any one of the preceding claims, in which said one gusset is slit to enable a bulky article to be inserted, and the other gusset is wider than said one gusset so as to provide an arrangement of "off-set gussets".

6. A flexible container according to any one of the preceding claims, including a handle which is secured to the upper edges of the sheets.

7. A flexible container according to claim 6, in which the handle takes the form of a grip portion and two horizontally extending portions.

8. A flexible container according to claim 6 or 7, in which the handle is inserted through a slit in the upper portion of the container, and is then fixed in position by welding the two sheets together beneath the horizontally extending portions.

9. A- flexible container according to claim 6 or 7, in which the handle is formed from the upper edges of the sheets which are welded together and stamped out with an elongate hole.

10. A flexible container according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the upper edges of the sheets are welded together.

11. A flexible container according to claim 1 and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as shown in any one of the embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings.