GB2434789A

GB2434789A - Carrier bag with transparent section

Info

Publication number: GB2434789A
Application number: GB0601984A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Michael J Longstaffe
Original assignee: SMITH ANDERSON PACKAGING Ltd
Current assignee: SMITH ANDERSON PACKAGING Ltd
Priority date: 2006-02-01
Filing date: 2006-02-01
Publication date: 2007-08-08
Also published as: GB0601984D0

Abstract

A disposable carrier bag 10 comprises thin, flexible sheet materials folded and seamed to form a collapsible envelope having side panels (20), 22; end panels 24, (26); and a bottom panel. The materials comprise (i) opaque material (paper, as preferred) forming at least some of the aforementioned panels and (ii) see-through material (as preferred, transparent plastics film) forming at least a portion of at least one of the aforementioned panels 24, allowing inspection of contents. The bag may carry takeaway food items, beverage containers being received in a minor compartment defined within the envelope by an internal partition 80 while containers for food dishes can be stacked in the envelope's major compartment.

Description

Carrier Bag The present invention relates to disposable carrier bags.

It is particularly, but not exclusively, applicable to the type of bag used to present take away food to the customer.

In take away food outlets, and particularly in so-called "fast food" restaurants, dishes are typically individually packaged. Items such as burgers are often presented in cardboard boxes or lidded polystyrene trays. Fries may be placed in small paper bags.

A customers's choice of these dishes is assembled, typically along with drinks in their own individual lidded cups, in a larger bag in which it is carried away. Known disposable carrier bags for the purpose are formed of stiff paper, folded and seamed to form a generally cuboidal envelope with an open upper face.

Problems arise in use of the conventional carrier bags in this context.

The conventional beverage containers need to be kept upright, despite being provided with lids. The lids themselves are not normally sealed, having for example openings which receive a straw or form a drinking spout. They can also come loose in transit.

Once dishes and drinks have been stacked in the carrier, with trays or boxes often being stacked one upon another, it is often impossible to check the bag's contents without unpacking it.

During prior art searching prior documents have been found describing bags which have certain features in common with the present invention and these will now be briefly described although their relevance to tile problems in hand is limited.

GB2234735 (Bagcraft Corporation of America) discloses a bag which is adapted to carry and display a small promotional item. To this end it has an internal partition immediately adjacent a front panel of the bag forming a shallow secondary compartment to receive the promotional item. A window in the front panel allows the promotional item to be seen. The main contents of the bag are not however visible through the window. Similar comments apply to GB22 11079 (Needman OHG) which concerns a carrier bag with a transparent pocket for displaying material such as a leaflet. US6033 114 (Bagcraft Packaging LLC) concerns an ovenable bag for packaging greasy food items which has a window. Published US patent application 09/954 106 (publication no. US2002/0100755, Peterson) is about a microwaveable bag with a viewing window. US5697707 (Esposito) describes a food and beverage bag having an internal "drink holder ring" to keep a cup upright. US5071007 (International Paper Co.) describes a cup holder for use in combination with a paper bag, having what appears to be a cardboard structure having a horizontal panel with two elliptical openings to receive cups.

In accordance with the present invention there is a disposable carrier bag comprising thin flexible sheet materials folded and seamed to form a collapsible envelope having side panels, end panels, a bottom panel and an open upper face for access to its interior, characterised in that the envelope comprises (i) opaque material forming at least some of the aforementioned panels and (ii) see-through material forming at least a portion of at least one of the aforementioned panels, providing a window for inspection of the contents of the envelope.

According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is a bag as claimed in claim 1, in which the collapsible envelope comprises an internal partition.

Specific embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-Figures 1 and 2 are perspective illustrations of a bag embodying the present invention, opened out for use, from the front and the rear, respectively; Figure 3 illustrates the same bag when collapsed for storage prior to use; Figures 4 and 5 are perspective illustrations of the bag when packed with food items, viewed from the front and rear respectively; and Figure 6 shows a web from which the bag is formed, opened out, in plan.

The illustrated bag 10 is particularly well suited to use in portage of take away food, although it can of course be used for other purposes. It is formed of thin flexible sheet materials. The specific embodiment illustrated herein comprises stiff paper and transparent plastics film, both of which are fully recyclable, although other materials Some aspects of the bag are conventional, and these will be briefly considered first of all.

The sheet material forming the body of the bag is creased, folded and seamed to permit it to be re-configured between (i) the "use" configuration of Figures 1 and 2, in which it forms a substantially cuboidal envelope whose upper face is open -i.e. omitted -to provide access to the interior and (ii) the collapsed or flat configuration of Figure 3, in which its volume is minimised and it can be compactly stacked with other similar bags. The particular pattern of creases used to achieve this is known in connection with more conventional bags, lacking an internal partition and being formed from a single piece of opaque material, and is illustrated in Figure 6.

A rectangular web 12 of sheet material has vertical creases 14, 16, 18, 19 which divide it to into four panels which in the completed bag form upright side panels 20,22 and upright end panels 24,26. A seam strip 28 running along one edge of the web is, in the completed bag, overlapped with and adhesively joined to the opposite edge 30 of the web 12 to form a tube. A horizontal crease 32 separates the upright side and end panels 20, 22, 24 26 from a lower portion of the web which forms the bottom panel of the bag. Below this line, the web is folded back on itself along diagonal creases 34, 36, 38 and 40 and along the lower parts of the vertical creases 14, 16 and 18, 19. Thus for example a triangular region 42 delineated by diagonal crease 34 and vertical crease 14 overlies an adjacent region 44 and is in turn overlain by a further adjacent region 46. A rectangular bottom panel 47 for the bag is formed in this way (see Figure 3) and is maintained by virtue of an adhesive region 48.

The end panels 24, 26 are gusseted. Respective, pre-formed, vertical gusset creases 50, 52 allow these panels to collapse inwards as seen in Figure 3. Looking at Figure 1, it can be seen that the diagonal creases such as 38, 40 extend above the bottom panel of the bag to meet the gusset crease 52. In addition, the bag has an intermediate horizontal crease 54 along its side panels. Together these features allow the bag's bottom panel to lie against and parallel to the side panels 20, 22 when the bag is in its collapsed configuration.

Handles 56, 58 are formed in this particular embodiment by strips of stiff paper each having two separate diagonal folds by virtue of which they each form an "n" shape whose lower ends are adhesively joined to respective side panels 20, 22.

The illustrated embodiment is distinguished from conventional carrier bags in that it possesses (i) an internal partition and (ii) a viewing window. These aspects will now be described.

The viewing window 70 is formed by see-through material, which is in the present embodiment wholly transparent but could in other embodiments be tinted, or carry printed matter or other decoration. It is formed of thin, flexible plastics film. The window could in other embodiments be incorporated by forming a cut away in the paper web forming the bag and adhering the transparent material in place over the cut away. However in the present embodiment the see-through material defining the window forms one of the panels of the bag, specifically the end panel 24. In Figure 6 it can be seen that this is achieved in a very straightforward manner by virtue of the fact that the web 12 which is the starting point in the bag's construction comprises an opaque (in this embodiment, paper) portion 60 joined along a single overlapping seam 62 to the see-through portion 64 forming the window. The web thus formed can then be creased and folded to form the bag's body. The plastics material chosen for the window is able to receive and retain suitable creases. Figure 1 best shows the resulting bag structure, in which most of end panel 24 and parts of adjacent side and bottom panels 20, 47 are formed of the see-through material. If desired, the seam 62 could be positioned to form part of the side panel 22, so that the entire end panel The internal partition 80 takes the form of a rectangular panel of thin, flexible material -paper is again used in the illustrated embodiment. Vertically extending edge regions 82, 84 are folded back upon themselves and adhered to the material forming the bag's body to secure the partition in place. In the present embodiment, the edge regions are adhered along portions of the side panels 22, 24 immediately adjacent the vertices/creases where they meet the opaque end panel 26, so that together the partition 80 and the end panel 26 form an upwardly open channel for receiving and supporting a beverage container. Adjacent the bottom of the bag, the panel forming the partition is slit along a line 86, indicated in bold in Figure 6, by virtue of which the bottom edge of the partition is free and containers placed in the aforementioned channel thus rest on the bottom of the bag. The partition is also pre-creased to form concertina folds so that it can lie flat between the side panels 20, 22 when the bag is collapsed.

Figures 4 and 5 show the bag packed with pre-packaged foodstuffs in use. The channel, or minor compartment, defined in the bag by the partition 80 receives beverage containers such as lidded cup 90 and helps to support them in an upright orientation, to prevent spillage. The bag's major compartment 92 receives food dishes 94. To make a rapid visual check of the bag's contents before it is given to a customer, the vendor can examine the tops of the beverage containers but can also view the food dishes -even when these are stacked one upon another -through the bag's window.

The aforegoing embodiment is presented merely by way of example and numerous variations and alterations could be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the pattern of creases, folds and seams illustrated could be altered. The formation of the bag's handles could take any number of different forms, e.g. simple cut outs or any type of handle which could in principle be internal, external, punched, formed of various substrates, etc. Alternatively, the bag need not be provided with handles at all. The position of the window and its shape could also be varied.

Claims

CLAIMS

1. A disposable carrier bag comprising thin flexible sheet materials folded and seamed to form a collapsible envelope having side panels, end panels, a bottom panel and an open upper face for access to its interior, characterised in that the envelope comprises (i) opaque material forming at least some of the aforementioned panels and (ii) see-through material forming at least a portion of at least one of the aforementioned panels, providing a window for inspection of contents of the envelope.

2. A bag as claimed in claim 1, in which the collapsible envelope comprises an internal partition.

3. A bag as claimed in claim 2 in which the partition divides the bag into major and minor compartments, the window providing for inspection of contents of the major compartment.

4. A bag as claimed in claim 3 which is for portage of packaged food and beverages, the minor compartment being suitably sized and shaped to support one or more beverage containers in an upright orientation.

5. A bag as claimed in any of claims 2 to 4 in which the partition comprises a panel of thin, flexible sheet material secured along two edge portions to the end andlor side panels of the collapsible envelope.

6. A bag as claimed in claim 5 in which the partition has a lower edge which is free so that items placed in the minor compartment are supported upon the bag's bottom panel.

7. A bag as claimed in claim 6 in which the partition is creased to enable it to be concertina folded when the bag is collapsed.

8. A bag as claimed in any preceding claim in which the envelope is formed from a folded web of the thin flexible material, the web comprising a rectangular sheet of opaque material and a rectangular sheet of see-through material, opposite edges of the opaque sheet being joined to respective, opposite edges of the see-through panel.

9. A bag as claimed in any preceding claim in which the window forms substantially an entire side or end panel of the bag.

10. A bag as claimed in any preceding claim in which the envelope is substantially cuboidal.

11. A bag as claimed in any preceding claim whose end panels are gusseted to enable them to be folded flat.

12. A bag as claimed in claim 11 in which a side panel is creased to enable the bottom panel to be folded against the said side panel when the bag is folded flat.

13. A bag substantially as herein described with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawings.