GB2582380A

GB2582380A - Secure disposal bags

Info

Publication number: GB2582380A
Application number: GB1904011.2A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Selene Silcott Martha; Gillian Louise Maystone Penelope
Original assignee: Loopeeze Ltd
Current assignee: Loopeeze Ltd
Priority date: 2019-03-22
Filing date: 2019-03-22
Publication date: 2020-09-23
Also published as: GB201904011D0

Abstract

A bag 1 has glue covered with a peel strip on the inside of its mouth; and two layers of film 3 adjacent the mouth 4 of the bag bonded 7 to it around all edges with a finger hole 5, 6 in it so that the user can insert fingers into the tube to support the bag and hold its mouth open. The bag can be used for disposal of tampons, ostomy bags or sanitary towels. The finger sleeve can be formed by folding over an upwardly extending portion of the bag and heat sealing 7 its edges to the bag. There can be an aperture adjacent either end of the sleeve. The glue can be instantly acting contact adhesive.

Description

SECURE DISPOSAL BAGS

This invention relates to secure disposal bags, in particular for the disposal of contaminated items.

It is common practice to dispose of waste materials by placing them in a bag. Where the waste material is toxic, contaminated or merely unpleasant, it is desirable that, following the placement of the material into the bag, it is then sealed.

Particular problems arise in the case of items which need to be disposed of which may be contaminated with body fluids, for example tampons, sanitary or incontinence towels, diapers, condoms or catheters, or which may contain faecal material, for example ostomy bags. Desirably, these should be able to be placed simply and quickly into a disposal bag without transferring contamination to the hands of the user or to the exterior of the bag itself, and thereafter the disposal bag itself should be able to be securely sealed in a simple fashion not needing any complex manipulation. A known method of sealing is to provide an adhesive strip on part of the bag which can be covered with a protective strip of release paper until the user wishes to seal the bag.

US Patent specification 2766927 discloses a plastics bag construction for the receipt of a sanitary pad. The open end of the bag is folded out and down to form a cuff enabling the bag to be opened by inserting the fingers and thumb on opposite sides of the bag and moving them apart. The cuff can be unfolded once the sanitary pad has been placed in the bag and the bag sealed by bringing two adhesive strips, exposed by unfolding the cuff, together.

Patent Specification JP 2007253977A discloses a short cuff extending across the mouth of an openable bag which enables the user (by using the fingers of two hands) to pull the sides of the bag apart against the closure force of a sealing bead running across the interior of the bag.

WO 2007/077172 discloses a number of constructions of disposal bags configured as pouches, particularly ones suited for the disposal of used tampons, sanitary or incontinence towels. As shown for example in figures 8 to 13, 16 and 17 of that specification, a disposal bag may be configured as a generally rectangular pouch sealed on three sides, and openable on an unsealed short side of the rectangle. Opening is facilitated by a pair of loops so either side of the opening, sized to enable the thumb and a finger of the user to enable the sides to be moved apart when the thumb and finger are moved apart.

Such disposal bags can thus be easily opened using the finger and thumb of is one hand inserted into the loops, enabling the user then to insert a used tampon or other article and then close the bag after having removed a peel-away protective strip covering a strip of adhesive running across the open top of the bag. When the bag is closed, the adhesive holds the two sides of the bag together.

The use of loops of material to assist in opening a mouth at the end of a medical fluid container is disclosed in US 2013/0066292 A. Specification W02012/066865 discloses a loop on the exterior of a flexible container for a medical liquid into which the fingers may be inserted to assist in holding the container while opening its mouth by squeezing from the sides.

While the use of loops to assist opening the mouth of the bag is convenient for relatively small bags, because the mouth can then be opened using the thumb and first finger of one hand to open the mouth of the bag, leaving the other hand free to insert the item to be disposed of, this is very difficult indeed when the width of the bag is more than about 10 cm.

We have now found that by adopting a particular design for the openable end of a disposal bag, a secure disposal bag may be provided which can be easily opened even when wide enough to accommodate larger items such as incontinence towels.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a disposal bag of flexible material, the bag being of generally rectangular two-layer construction, with the layers of flexible material sealed together at their edges on two or three sides of the rectangle and having means on the so outside of the side walls of the bag to enable them to be parted to form a mouth for the bag, and wherein at least one of the inside walls of the bag, at the open end of the bag or slightly inset from the open end of the bag, carries a continuous stripe of adhesive material, overlaid by a peel-off strip of release-coated material, the adhesive being of such a nature that once the is peel-off strip has been removed and the sides of the bag are brought into contact with one another, they immediately become bonded together to close the disposal bag and characterised in that the means enabling the mouth of the bag to be opened comprise two outer cover strips, one on each of the two side walls of the bag, the cover strips extending across substantially the entire width of the bag, and from the mouth of the bag to a position spaced from the mouth of the bag, the ends of the cover strips being securely fastened to the edges of the bag and the edges of the outer cover strips remote from the mouth of the bag being secured to the outer face of the bag, and by at least one aperture located near one end of each of the cover strips and of sufficient size to enable a finger or thumb to be inserted through the aperture into the space between the cover strip and the outer face of the bag.

The apertures in the cover strips on each side of the bag enable the thumb 30 and at least one finger of the user to be inserted and moved apart to open the mouth of the bag. Because the edge of the cover strips remote from the mouth of the bag is sealed to the sides of the bag, inserting a thumb or finger into the aperture, which may be a slit or a hole, causes the cover strip and underlying part of the side of the bag to move apart, forming a tunnel. That formation enables the mouth of the bag to be opened wide even though, in the case of wider bags, the inserted finger and thumb extend only part way across the bag.

Preferably the outer cover strips are formed integrally with the sides of the bag, each side wall of the bag being extended past the openable end of the bag and being turned outwardly from the mouth of the bag to overlie the outer walls of the bag, with the far end of each extension being securely fastened to the exterior side wall of the bag.

The adhesive material is preferably of such a nature that once the peel-off strip has been removed and the sides of the bag are brought into contact is with one another, they bond together immediately to close the disposal bag with the bond strength of the adhesive bond so formed being greater than that of the tear strength of the material of the bag itself.

The provision of the cover strips extending across substantially the entire width of the mouth of the bag, enables even a relatively wide bag to be opened fully prior to the placing of the item(s) to be disposed of in the bag, even though the user's finger and thumb may extend only part way across the bag.

The one or more apertures in the cover strips are located near the end of the strip. Preferably each cover strip has two apertures in it, each near one end of the strip, so that the bag mouth may be opened from either edge.

The aperture may be a slit in the material of the cover strip or a hole, in either 30 case of sufficient dimension to enable a finger or thumb to be passed through the cover strip and into the tunnel thereby formed between the cover strip and the side of the bag without difficulty.

The bag is preferably made of plastics film material, though other flexible fabric or paper-like sheet materials may be used. For example low, medium or high density polyethylene film, or a biodegradable polymer film may be selected, of thickness sufficient to provide adequate strength while avoiding too great stiffness. Treated papers of adequate strength and impermeability may also be used, and if a coated paper is used the coating is preferably biodegradable. The film may be plain or coated, e.g. metallised. A film thickness of 50 to 90 microns for plastics film usually provides adequate strength without requiring excess material usage. The cover strips are preferably heat sealed to the external edges of the bag each side and to the outer surface of one side of the bag. Adhesive may be used in place of heat sealing, but heat sealing is preferred as it is less consumptive of raw material. The material of the bag is preferably opaque, and may also have is odour reducing properties or be coated with a deodorant material to ensure that the bag once sealed is odour-free.

The dimensions of the bag may vary within reasonable limits, and may be chosen, for example, to provide a bag adapted in terms of its size for disposal of a particular product, for example an ostomy bag, incontinence pad, or a smaller item such as a condom or tampon.

The corners of the generally rectangular bag may also be rounded to better distribute the stresses at the edges of the bag once filled and sealed.

By way of example, disposal bags according to the present invention are illustrated in the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side view of a disposal bag in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is a diagrammatic side view of a disposal bag with an alternative form of cover strips; and Figure 3 shows the bag of Figure 2 opened for the receipt of an item to be disposed of.

Referring to the drawings, the disposal bag illustrated consists of a rectangular two-layer construction formed of plastics material, one side of the bag being denoted 1 and the other side of the bag (only visible in Figure 3) 1.0 being denoted 2. On each side of the bag there is a cover strip 3 extending from one side of the bag to the other. The side edges and bottom of the bag as shown in Figures 1 and 2 are sealed by heat-welding the plastics material of which the bag is formed and the ends of each strip 3 are heat sealed to the edges of the bag. The cover strips 3 may be formed integrally with the is sides 1 and 2 of the bag and folded over and the edge attached to the outside of the bag. The edge remote from the mouth of the bag is preferably attached to side 1 or side 2 respectively along its entire length, for example by heat-sealing, as indicated at 7.

Just visible in Figures 1 and 2, at the top of the bag, is a strip of release paper 4 which covers an adhesive stripe on the inside of, in the bag illustrated, side 2 of the bag.

Near each end of each cover strip 3 is an aperture, a slit denoted 5 in the bag shown in Figure 1 and a punched circular aperture 6 in the bag shown in Figures 2 and 3. When it is desired to use the bag, the thumb and first finger, denoted T and FF in Figure 3, are inserted into the apertures 6 on opposite sides of the bag and then spread apart from one another, so opening the mouth of the bag as shown in Figure 3. After dropping an item to be disposed of into the bag, the release paper strip 4 may be grasped and pulled off to expose the adhesive stripe on the inside of the wall of the bag and extending across it, and the top of the bag then sealed by pressing sides 1 and 2 together.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A disposal bag of flexible material, the bag being of generally rectangular two-layer construction, with the layers of flexible material sealed together at their edges on two or three sides of the rectangle and having means on the outside of the side walls of the bag to enable them to be parted to form a mouth for the bag, and wherein at least one of the inside walls of the bag, at the open end of the bag or slightly inset from the open end of the bag, carries a continuous stripe of adhesive material, overlaid by a peel-off strip of release-coated material, the adhesive being of such a nature that once the peel-off strip has been removed and the sides of the bag are brought into contact with one another, they immediately become bonded together to close the disposal bag and characterised in that the means enabling the mouth of the bag to be opened comprise two outer cover strips, one on each of the two side walls of the bag, the cover strips extending across substantially the entire width of the bag, and from the mouth of the bag to a position spaced from the mouth of the bag, the ends of the cover strips being securely fastened to the edges of the bag and the edges of the outer cover strips remote from the mouth of the bag being secured to the outer face of the bag, and by at least one aperture located near one end of each of the cover strips and of sufficient size to enable a finger or thumb to be inserted through the aperture into the space between the cover strip and the outer face of the bag.
2. A disposal bag according to claim 1 wherein the outer cover strips are formed integrally with the sides of the bag, each side wall of the bag being extended past the openable end of the bag and being turned outwardly from the mouth of the bag to overlie the outer walls of the bag, with the far end of each extension being securely fastened to the exterior side wall of the bag.
3. A disposal bag according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the adhesive material is of such a nature that once the peel-off strip has been removed and the sides of the bag are brought into contact with one s another, they bond together immediately to close the disposal bag with the bond strength of the adhesive bond so formed being greater than that of the tear strength of the material of the bag itself.
4. A disposal bag according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein each so cover strip has two apertures in it, each near one end of the strip.
5. A disposal bag according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the cover strips are heat sealed to the external edges of the bag each side and to the outer surface of one side of the bag.