US20110235950A1

US20110235950A1 - Foldable Bag

Info

Publication number: US20110235950A1
Application number: US13/073,965
Authority: US
Inventors: Chien-Pang Lin
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2010-03-29
Filing date: 2011-03-28
Publication date: 2011-09-29

Abstract

A foldable bag, made of a flexible sheet or board like material having a plurality of fold lines, includes a bottom wall, two side walls respectively connected to two opposite sides of the bottom wall, and two connecting walls respectively connected with the side walls and the bottom wall to define a containing space therein. The side wall has a first fold line parallel to the bottom wall and is capable of being folded towards the center of the foldable bag. The connecting wall has two second fold lines respectively extended along the diagonal lines and intersected with each other, and a third fold line parallel to the bottom wall and extended through the intersection point of the two second lines, wherein the ends of the third fold line are connected to the respective ends of the first fold lines, wherein the second fold lines and the third fold lines are capable of being folded toward the center of the foldable bag.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a foldable bag, and more particular to a foldable bag which can be used as a shopping bag that is capable of folding up to reduce its size when it is not used for ease of carrying and reused.
2. Description of Related Arts
In 1870, an American, Margaret Knight, invented a kind of Kraft paper shopping bag with flat bottom. Before that, people generally used paper to wrap or a kind of cloth made bag for shopping instead of paper bag. After Margaret Knight designed such auto-foldable Kraft paper bag with flat bottom, the automate manufacturing machine for Kraft paper bag production, and founded the East Paper Bag Corporation, the flat bottom Kraft paper shopping bag is widely used by people for shopping. Thereafter, due to the invention of the plastic bag, this kind of Kraft paper shopping bag is gradually replaced with by plastic bag. However, due to the recent promotion of environmental protection, the plastic bag becomes unpopular due to its difficulty in decomposition after used. Hence, the Kraft paper shopping bag is adopted again to replace the plastic bag, especially for shopping goods like breads, cakes and beverages such as coffee.
Although the Kraft paper shopping bag will not cause environmental pollution, the Kraft paper shopping bag still has a lot of shortcomings. Since the Kraft paper shopping bag is generally thin and limited in designable shape, the Kraft paper shopping bag is not that durable and reusable after repeatedly folding up for storage. Therefore, it is not portable and may not be repeatedly used again and again. In addition, the Kraft paper shopping bag is made from a raw material produced from the woods and trees, so that another environmental problem arises according to the increased the amount of the Kraft paper shopping bags being used. Hence, it is a common desire to have a foldable bag to be used as, for example, shopping bag, that is convenient to carry along, ease for storage, reusable repeatedly, and good looking in order to overcome the shortcomings of the prior arts.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a foldable bag to overcome the shortcomings of the conventional paper bag, such as not durable for repeatedly used and folding up for storage, resulting in the increased amount of the paper bags being used.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a foldable bag which is convenient in carrying along and can be used repeatedly.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a foldable bag having a card storage configuration for receiving and carrying various cards, such as membership card, advertisement and promotion information.
Accordingly, in order to accomplish the above objects, the present invention provides a foldable bag, made of flexible panel which is sheet or board like material, having a plurality of fold lines that the flexible panel is cut and constructed by means of buckling, fastening, hooking, adhering, bonding, and/or bounding up to form the foldable bag. The foldable bag comprises a bottom wall, two side walls and two connecting walls, wherein the bottom wall is in rectangular shape, the two side walls are respectively connected to two opposite sides of the bottom wall, and the two connecting walls are respectively connected with the two side walls and the bottom wall to define a containing space therein.
Each of the side walls has a first fold line which is parallel to the bottom wall and capable of being folded towards the center of the foldable bag. Each of the connecting walls has two second fold lines and a third fold line, wherein the two second fold lines are extending and intersecting along the two diagonal lines of the respective connecting wall and the third fold line is extended through the intersection point of the two second lines and in parallel to the bottom wall while the two ends of the third fold line are respectively connected to the respective ends of the two first fold lines and the second fold lines and the third fold lines are capable of being folded toward the center of the foldable bag. Thereby, the side walls and the connecting walls are capable of folding along the first fold lines, the second fold lines and the third fold lines to fold up the foldable bag to reduce its size to a compact size in convenient for carrying and repeatedly use.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the two second fold lines are perpendicularly intersected and in 45° with the two third fold lines respectively.
In one embodiment of the present, each of the side walls of the foldable bag further comprises at least a fourth fold line extended perpendicularly to the bottom wall. Furthermore, the bottom wall further comprises at least a fifth fold line which is extended perpendicularly to the two side walls, wherein the two ends of the fifth fold line are connected to the respective ends of the fourth fold lines respectively.
In one embodiment of the present invention, each of the side walls further has a sixth fold line parallel to the bottom wall and is capable of being folded towards the exterior of the foldable bag, wherein two ends of the sixth fold line are connected with the respective ends of the second fold lines respectively and that the distance between the upper edge of the side wall and the sixth fold line is equal to or shorter than the width of the respective connecting wall between the two side walls.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the foldable bag further comprises an outer case attached to the bottom wall for receiving the folded foldable bag therein. The outer case further has at least a seventh fold line. The outer case may further comprises at least one set of elements for buttoning, hooking, locking, adhering, bonding or binding up, thereby the free edges of the outer case could be fastened up to prevent the foldable bag contained therein from unfolding.
In one embodiment of the present invention, each of the two side walls has a through hole provided adjacent to and along an upper edge thereof to function as a handle. Furthermore, the portions between the upper edges of the two side walls and the through holes could be folded up to increase its thickness around the through holes, wherein the folded-up portions could be buttoned up, hooked up, locked up, bonded up or bound up to strengthen the supporting ability of the area around the through holes as a handle.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the foldable bag could be made of flexible sheet or board like material selected from the group consisting of paper board, composite paper, metal, alloy and plastic.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the foldable bag comprises a bag body, an outer case and an outer case locker, wherein the bag body is capable of being unfolded to form a container and is fixed onto the outer case. When the bag body is folded up, it will be enclosed by the outer case. The outer case locker is disposed on one side of the outer case and could be connected to the outer case to fasten the folded foldable bag.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the bag body further comprises a card receiver for receiving various cards, such as point card, membership card and the like. Hence, these cards could be contained in the foldable bag and it is very convenient for the user to use these cards during shopping.
Accordingly, the foldable bag of the present invention can be unfolded to form a bag, which is similar to the commonly used pager bag, to provide a containing space for storing objects, such as beverages, breads, cakes and so on. As the foldable bag has handles provided on the top, it is very convenient for carrying the foldable bag along. The foldable bag could be folded into a flat piece which is able to be enclosed by the outer case attached to the bottom of the bag body. The outer case would be fastened by the outer case locker, thereby the foldable bag could be folded up to form a flat body like a notebook. Hence, the foldable bag is beautiful and very convenient to be carried along.
These and other objectives, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a foldable bag according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a foldable bag according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an alternate perspective view of the foldable bag in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a foldable bag according to a third preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates the folding state of the foldable bag in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a foldable bag according to a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention, illustrating the folding state of the foldable bag.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a foldable bag according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the foldable bag of the present invention in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a front view of the foldable bag of the present invention in FIG. 7.

FIG. 10 is a right view of the foldable bag of the present invention in FIG. 7.

FIG. 11 is an exploded view of the foldable bag of the present invention in FIG. 7.

FIG. 12 illustrates the folding procedure of the foldable bag of the present invention in FIG. 7.

FIG. 13 illustrates the folding procedure of the foldable bag of the present invention in FIG. 7.

FIG. 14 illustrates the folding procedure of the foldable bag of the present invention in FIG. 7.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the folded foldable bag of the present invention in FIG. 7.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the foldable bag of the present invention with a button for fasting.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the foldable bag with card receivers disposed thereon.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of the foldable bag, illustrating the button and the elastic belt of the outer case locker.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of the foldable bag, illustrating the slide fastener of the outer case locker.

FIG. 20 is a perspective view of the foldable bag, illustrating the bag body fastener for fastening the bag body onto the outer case.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 1, a foldable bag 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated, wherein the foldable bag 1,—made of a flexible panel which is sheet or board like material, has a plurality of fold lines that the flexible panel is cut and constructed by means of buckling, fastening, hooking, adhering, bonding, and/or bounding up to form the foldable bag 1.
The foldable bag 1 comprises a bottom wall A1, two side walls A2 and two connecting walls A3, wherein the bottom wall A1 is in rectangular shape, the two side walls A2 are respectively connected to two opposite sides of the bottom wall A1, and the two connecting walls A3 are respectively connected with the two side walls A2 and the bottom wall Al to define a containing space therein.
Each of the side walls A2 has a first fold line A41 which is parallel to the bottom wall A1 and capable of being folded towards the center of the foldable bag 1. Each of the connecting wall A3 has two second fold lines A42 and a third fold line A43, wherein the two second folded lines A42 are extending and intersecting along the two diagonal lines of the respective connecting wall A3 and the third fold line A43 is extended through the intersection point of the two second lines A42 and in parallel to the bottom wall A1 while the two ends of the third fold line A43 are respectively connected to the respective ends of the two first fold lines A41 and the second fold lines A42 and the third fold lines A43 are capable of being folded toward the center of the foldable bag 1. Thereby, the side walls A2 and the connecting walls A3 are capable of folding along the first fold lines A41, the second fold lines A42 and the third fold lines A43 to fold up the foldable bag 1 to reduce its size to a compact size.
In the first preferred embodiment as shown in FIG. 1, the two second fold lines A42 are perpendicularly intersected and in 45° with the two third fold lines A43 respectively.
In a second preferred embodiment as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the foldable bag 2 comprises a bottom wall A1, two side walls A2 and two connecting walls A3 that just like the foldable bag 1 in the first preferred embodiment, wherein the side wall A2 has a first fold line A41, and the connecting wall A3 has two second fold lines A42 and a third fold line A43. The side wall A2 of the foldable bag 2 further comprises at least a fourth fold line A44 extended perpendicularly to the bottom wall A1. Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the bottom wall A1 further comprises at least a fifth fold line A45 which is extended perpendicularly to the two side walls A2, wherein the two ends of the fifth fold line A45 are connected to the respective ends of the fourth fold lines A44 respectively.
In the second embodiment, each of the side walls A2 further has a sixth fold line A46 parallel to the bottom wall A1 and is capable of being folded towards the exterior of the foldable bag 2, wherein two ends of the sixth fold line A46 are connected with the respective ends of the second fold lines A42 respectively and that a distance between the upper edge of the side wall A2 and the sixth fold line A46 is equal to or shorter than the width of the respective connecting wall A3 between the two side wall A2, thereby when the foldable bag 2 is folded up, the portions between the upper edges of the two side walls A2 and the sixth fold lines A46 are intersected and overlapped.
In a third preferred embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIG. 4, the foldable bag 3 comprises a bottom wall A1, two side walls A2 and two connecting walls A3 that just like the foldable bag 2 in the second preferred embodiment, wherein the side wall A2 has a first fold line A41, and the connecting wall A3 has two second fold lines A42 and a third fold line A43. The side wall A2 of the foldable bag 2 further comprises at least a fourth fold line A44 perpendicular to the bottom wall A1. Referring to FIG. 4, the bottom wall A1 further comprises at least a fifth fold line A45 perpendicular to the two side walls A2, wherein the ends of the fifth fold line A45 are connected with the respective ends of the fourth fold lines A44 respectively.
In the third embodiment, the foldable bag 3 further comprises an outer case 5 for containing the foldable bag 3 after being folded up, wherein the outer case 5 is attached to the bottom wall A1 for receiving the folded foldable bag 3 therein. In the third embodiment, the outer case 5 further has at least a seventh fold line A47, which is disposed correspondingly to the fifth fold line A45 and could be buttoned up, hooked up, locked up, bonded up or bound up to the fifth fold line A45, thereby the foldable bag 3 is connected with the outer case 5. In the third embodiment, the outer case 5 comprises at least one set of elements for buckling, hooking, locking, adhering, bonding or binding up, thereby the free ends of the outer case 5 could be fasten up to prevent the folded foldable bag 3 contained therein from unfolding.
According to the third embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the foldable bag 3 comprises a set of locking elements, which means the outer case 5 at least comprises a set of fasteners, a rope and a button, a slide fastener, magnets or Velcro (hook and loop fasteners) to fasten the free ends of the outer case 5 to prevent the folded foldable bag 3 contained therein from unfolding.
According to the second and third embodiments as illustrated in FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 4, and FIG. 5, each of the two side walls A2 respectively has a through hole A21 or rope provided adjacent to and along an upper edges thereof to function as a handle.
Furthermore, in the second and third embodiments, the portions between the upper edges of the two side walls A2 and the through holes A21 could be doubled up to increase its thickness around the through holes A21, wherein the folded-up portions could be buttoned up, hooked up, locked up, bonded up or bound up to strengthen the supporting ability of the area of the through holes A21 as a handle.
In a fourth embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIG. 6, the foldable bag 4 comprises a bottom wall A1, two side walls A2 and two connecting walls A3 that just like the foldable bag 1 in the first preferred embodiment, wherein the side wall A2 has a first fold line A41 and the connecting wall A3 has two second fold lines A42 and a third fold line A43. The foldable bag 4 further comprises a handle A21, which is a through hole formed in the foldable bag 4. The foldable bag 4 further comprises an outer case 5 attached to the bottom wall A1 for containing the foldable bag 4.
Different from the foldable bag 2 of the second embodiment and the foldable bag 3 of the third embodiment, when the foldable bag of the present invention does not comprise the forth fold line A44, the fifth fold line A45 or the sixth fold line A46, the foldable bag could also comprise an outer case 5, which is attached to the bottom wall A11 for containing the folded foldable bag.
In the first, the second, the third, and the forth embodiments, the foldable bag 1-4 could be made of flexible sheet or board like material selected from the group consisting of paper board, composite paper, metal, alloy and plastic.
Referring to FIGS. 7-10, a foldable bag according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. The foldable bag comprises a bag body B11, an outer case B12 and an outer case locker B13.
The bag body B11 is capable of being unfolded to provide a containing space with an opening on the top thereof. The bag body B11 comprises a handle hole B111 formed in the two sides of the opening on the top and a plurality of fold lines for being folded. The bottom of the bag body B11 is affixed to the outer case B12.
The outer case B12 comprises a first surface B121, a surface connecter B122 and a second surface B123, wherein one side of the first surface B121 and one side of the second surface B123 are respectively connected to two sides of the surface connecter B122. The outer case B12 further comprises a first locking element B123 provided on the first surface B121 as shown in FIG. 11.
The outer case locker B13 comprises a locking surface B132 and a second locking element B131 provided on the locking surface B132, wherein one side of the locking surface B132 is connected with one side of the second surface B123.
When the user wants to use the foldable bag, the foldable bag can be unfolded. Then the bag body B11 can be unfolded to provide a receiving space for storing objects. As shown in FIG. 12, when the user does not want to use the foldable bag, the foldable bag can be folded according to the fold lines, and then the foldable bag would be folded into a flat piece as shown in FIG. 13. The first surface B121 of the outer case B12 is folded to overlap with the second surface B123, as shown in FIG. 14. Finally, the second locking element B131 on the locking surface B132 is locked with the first locking element B124 on the first surface B121 and thus the whole foldable bag is folded into a notebook-shape.
Referring to FIGS. 15-16, the locking surface B132 of the outer case locker B13 is replaced with a locking belt B133 and the second locking element B131 is provided on the locking belt B133.
Referring to FIG. 18, the outer case locker B13 is replaced with an elastic belt B135, while the first locking element B124 is replaced with a button B134 provided on the first surface B121.
Referring to FIG. 19, the outer case locker B13 is replaced with a slide fastener B136. Furthermore, referring to FIG. 20, the foldable bag of the present invention further comprises a bag body fastener B113 crossing the bottom of the bag body B11, wherein the bag body fastener B113 is used to connect the bag body B11 to the outer case B12. Referring to FIG. 17, the foldable bag further comprises one or more card receivers B112 provided on the bag body for storing various cards, such as point card, membership card and so on.
One skilled in the art will understand that the embodiment of the present invention as shown in the drawings and described above is exemplary only and not intended to be limiting.
It will thus be seen that the objects of the present invention have been fully and effectively accomplished. The embodiments have been shown and described for the purposes of illustrating the functional and structural principles of the present invention and is subject to change without departure from such principles. Therefore, this invention includes all modifications encompassed within the spirit and scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A foldable bag made of a flexible material, comprising:

a bottom wall;

two side walls connected to two opposite sides of said bottom wall respectively; and

two connecting walls respectively connected with said two side walls and said bottom wall to define a containing space therein;

wherein each of said side walls has a first fold line which is parallel to said bottom wall and capable of being folded towards a center of said foldable bag;

wherein each of said connecting walls has two second fold lines and a third fold line, said two second fold lines extending and intersecting along two diagonal lines of said respective connecting wall and said third fold line extending through an intersection point of said two second lines and in parallel to said bottom wall while two ends of said third fold line are respectively connected to respective ends of said two first fold lines and said second fold lines and said third fold lines are capable of being folded toward a center said foldable bag.

2. The foldable bag, as recited in claim 1, wherein said two second fold lines are perpendicularly intersected and in 45° with said two third fold lines respectively.

3. The foldable bag, as recited in claim 1, wherein each of said side walls of further comprises at least a fourth fold line extended perpendicularly to said bottom wall.

4. The foldable bag, as recited in claim 3, wherein said bottom wall further comprises at least a fifth fold line which is extended perpendicularly to said two side walls, wherein two ends of said fifth fold line are connected to respective ends of said fourth fold lines respectively.

5. The foldable bag, as recited in claim 1, wherein each of said side walls further has a sixth fold line parallel to said bottom wall and is capable of being folded towards an exterior of said foldable bag, wherein two ends of said sixth fold line are connected with respective ends of said second fold lines respectively, wherein a distance between an upper edge of said side wall and said sixth fold line is equal to or shorter than a width of said respective connecting wall between said two side walls.

6. The foldable bag, as recited in claim 4, wherein each of said side walls further has a sixth fold line parallel to said bottom wall and is capable of being folded towards an exterior of said foldable bag, wherein two ends of said sixth fold line are connected with respective ends of said second fold lines respectively, wherein a distance between an upper edge of said side wall and said sixth fold line is equal to or shorter than a width of said respective connecting wall between said two side walls.

7. The foldable bag, as recited in claim 1, further comprising an outer case for receiving said foldable bag after folded therein, wherein said outer case is attached to said bottom wall and has at least a seventh fold line.

8. The foldable bag, as recited in claim 7, wherein said outer case comprises at least a set of elements selected from a group consisting of buttoning element, hooking element, locking element, adhering element, bonding element and binding up element, thereby free ends of said outer case are able to be fastened up to prevent said foldable bag after being folded up and contained therein from unfolding.

9. The foldable bag, as recited in claim 1, wherein each of said two side walls has a through hole provided adjacent to and along an upper edge thereof for functioning as a handle.

10. The foldable bag, as recited in claim 9, wherein portions between said upper edges of said two side walls and said through holes are folded up, wherein said folded-up portions are buttoned up, hooked up, locked up, bonded up or bound up to strengthen a supporting ability of an area around said through holes.

11. The foldable bag, as recited in claim 1, wherein said foldable bag is made of flexible sheet or board like material selected from the group consisting of paper board, composite paper, metal, alloy and plastic.

12. The foldable bag, as recited in claim 6, wherein said foldable bag is made of flexible sheet or board like material selected from the group consisting of paper board, composite paper, metal, alloy and plastic.

13. A foldable bag, comprising:

a bag body capable of being unfolded and folded;

an outer case comprises a first surface, a surface connecter and a second surface, wherein one side of said first surface and one side of said second surface are respectively connected to two sides of said surface connecter, wherein said outer case further comprises a first locking element provided on said first surface; and

an outer case locker comprising a locking surface and a second locking element provided on said locking surface, wherein one side of said locking surface is connected with one side of said second surface;

wherein a bottom of said bag body is attached to sad outer case, wherein said bag body is capable of being folded and contained in said outer case, which is fastened by locking said first locking element to said second locking element.

14. The foldable bag, as recited in claim 13, wherein said first locking element and said second locking element are element selected from a group consisting button and Velcro.

15. The foldable bag, as recited in claim 13, wherein said first locking element is a button and said second locking element is an elastic belt with two ends connected to said second surface, wherein said bag body is capable of being folded and contained in said outer case, which is fastened by hooking said button on said first surface with said elastic belt on said second surface.

16. The foldable bag, as recited in claim 13, wherein said first and second locking elements are constructed by a slide fastener with two sides respectively connected with the edges of said first surface and said second surface, wherein said bag body is capable of being folded and contained in said outer case by fastening said slide fastener on the edge of said outer case.

17. The foldable bag, as recited in claim 13, further comprising a bag body fastener crossing said bottom of said bag body, wherein said bag body fastener connects said bag body to said outer case.

18. The foldable bag, as recited in claim 13, further comprising one or more card receivers provided on said bag body.

19. The foldable bag, as recited in claim 13, wherein said bag body further comprises a handle hole provided on each side of the top thereof.

20. The foldable bag, as recited in claim 13, wherein said bag body further comprises a handle provided on each side of the top thereof.