US2538920A

US2538920A - Display bag and method of making the same

Info

Publication number: US2538920A
Application number: US710628A
Authority: US
Inventors: Harold F Shumann
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1946-11-18
Filing date: 1946-11-18
Publication date: 1951-01-23
Anticipated expiration: 1968-01-23

Description

- Jan. 23, 1951 H. F. SHUMANN 2,533,920

DISPLAY BAG AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed NOV. 18, 1946 Hora/d F. Shaman/7 INVENTOR.

Patented Jan. 23,1951

DISPLAY BAG AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Harold F. Shumann, Pittsburgh, Pa. Application November 18, 1946, Serial No. 710,628

THE

2 Claims.

It is an object of this invention to provide a display bag for containing nuts, popcorn and and will maintain this relationship whether the bag is in a horizontal or vertical position.

connection with the annexed drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic perspective View 11- lustrating the method of making improved bags.

Fig. 2 is a partial plan showing the rear wall of a completed bag.

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a section similar to Fig. 3 but showing a modified construction, and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the finished bag cut away to illustrate particularly the bottom construction.

For the purpose of this disclosure the term. transparent material includes not only such truly transparent material as heat sealing cellophane but any heat sealable sheet material which is Sufiiciently transparent to permit inspection of the contents through a single ply of the material. This includes numerous synthetic films and laminated or coated heat sealable glassine sheets. The films, however, need not be heat sealable since this invention, at least in its article aspect, does not require the heat sealing property. From the standpoint of manufacture, however, heat sealing is greatly to be preferred.

When nut meats or other small confections are sold in small individual packages, it is desirable that the contents of the package be spread out in a relatively thin, even layer so that, so far as pos- In the case of a bag formed of all flexible material, however, such display packaging has not been satisfactory for the reason that once the package is removed from the horizontal plane to any approximately vertical position, the contents tends to slide into a thick, compact pile in the bottom of the bag. This distorts the package, adversely affecting its appearance and largely nullifying its display value.

The prior art has recognized this defect and has sought to overcome it by the addition of stiffening members inserted between the plies of the display bag or otherwise secured to the bag. .Such stiffening members, however, add greatly to the cost of the package which, after all, must be used almost entirely in the low pric retail field where packaging cost bears heavily as a matter of percentage against the packers selling price of the filled package.

Referring now to Fig. 1, there is illustrated a mandrel I 0 around which is formed a tube l2 having a front wall I4 and a rear wall It. The rear wall It contains a longitudinal seam l8. At the forward end of the mandrel l0 a portion M of the front wall 14 and a portion iii of the rear wall l6 are folded over the end of the mandrel I0 to lie against the rear wall It. The details of machines capable of forming bags in this manner are no part of the present invention, but it may be mentioned that suitable devices of this type are disclosed in the U. S. Patent No. 2,346,- 191 to Schultz, dated April 11, 1944, and in U. S. Patent No. 2,192,527 to Corcoran, dated March 5, 1940.

The mandrel H] has formed in its upper surface in contact with the rear wall It a plurality of corrugations 20. It will be understood that the mandrel it receives suitable vertical support under the front wall M. A heat bar 22 lies above the rear wall It and has in its adjacent face corrugations 24 arranged to mate with the corrugations 26 in the mandrel It]. When heat bar 22 is pressed against the rear wall i6, corrugations 26 (Fig. 2) are formed by the coaction of the grooves 20 of the mandrel l6 and the grooves 24 of the not bar 22. These corrugations are also formed in the longitudinal seam l8 and in the folded over closure [4 and I 5. At the same time the seam i8 is sealed the portion I5 is sealed to the Wall l6 and the portion M is sealed to the portion I 6'.

When the heated bar 22 is withdrawn from contact with the wall 46 the finished bag is drawn off of the mandrel Hi. It then has a corrugated rear wall [6 and a plain front wall I4. The corrugations 26 on cooling will be found to have acquired a permanent set which contributes to a very distinct stiffening of the rear wall l6 sufficient to hold the bag in flattened condition against any sliding of contents to the bottom of the bag when the filled bag is in a vertical position.

While grooves 20 have been illustrated in the mandrel I0, it will be suflicient for many materials to use a mandrel formed of felt or fiber board and having a plane surface facing the rear bag wall 16. Under such circumstances, and

with a suitably chosen mandrel, the corrugations 24 of the hot bar 22 will sufficiently impress themselves upon the material of the mandrel to secure a corrugated effect on the rear bag wall to.

Fig. 4 illustrates a construction where still more stiffening of the rear wall is required. In this case the bag has a plain front wall 30 and a corrugated rear wall 32. The rear wall 32, however, throughout its entire area is formed of two

plies

34 and 36 which, in effect, constitute a longitudinal seam overlapped to the full width of the rear wall. This in turn supplies extra material in the end closure and further stiffens that por tion of the bag. 7

It will be appreciated from the foregoing that, from the standpoint of the article, the corrugations could be formed by theapplication of starch, glue, or other stiffening material to the rear wall followed by the drying of such material while the rear wall is maintained in a corrugated condition. From the standpoint of manufacture, however, and as noted above, heat sealable material is greatly to be preferred.

While I have disclosed certain specific forms of the invention herein for purposes of illustration, it should be understood that many changes and modifications thereof can be inade without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims;

I claim:

1. A display bag formed from a single, integral sheet of at least translucent, flexible heat sealable material, said bag having a front wall and a rear wall, said rear wall containing a seam formed by heat sealing together overlapping margins of said sheet, an end of said bag including portions of said front and rear walls being folded upon and heat sealed to said rear wall, said front wall being optically uninterrupted to permit inspection of the contents, said rear wall including said seam, and said folded end portion being corrugated with a plurality of self-sustaining corrugations serving to hold said rear wall in substantially unchanged relationship to said front wall whether the filled bag occupy a vertical or horizontal plane.

2'. A bag as set forth in claim 1 in which the overlap of the margins in the rear wall is sufficient to make the entire rear wall of two ply thickness.

HAROLD F. SI-IUMANN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS