US2594569A - Garment bag - Google Patents

Description

B. A. LEVlTT GARMENT BAG April 29, 1952 Filed May 27, 1950 INVENTOR.

5ENJAM/A/ LEV/7T ATTOE/VEYS llnlllllllllllllllllllllll I [I Inllllllllllllllllllllll- Patented Apr. 29, 1952 UNITED STATES RQTENT GFFICE GARMENT BAG Benjamin A. Levitt, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor to A. L. Siegel 00., Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Original application February 27, 1947, Serial No.

731,206. Divided and this application May 27, 1950, Serial No. 164,806

2 Claims.

strain is applied directly to the seams under discussion, particularly because those seams conform to the configuration of the top and bottom frames which give shape to the garment bag.

1947, now Patent No. 2,524,982, entitled, Method 5 In addition to these inherent constructional of Manufacturing Garment Bag. defects, impelling economic considerations miti- Garment bags into which various'articles of gate against the prior art construction. A very clothing may be. placed for protective purposes, substantial portion of the cost of manufacture of which bags are adapted themselves to be hung a garment bag resides in the assembly thereof and in closets or the like, take many forms. The in particular in the seaming thereof. Thus, any most common of these forms comprises a recmethod of construction which would minimize tangular cross-section so that the individual garthe number of seams is obviously commercially ments may be individually hung and removed advantageous. In the past it has been necessary, from the garment bag preferably through the side when joining the top or bottom wall of a garment thereof without the necessity of removing the bag to the front, back and side walls thereof, to entire garment bag from its suspension. Such form four separate seams corresponding to the bags have been formed of cloth and, more refour sides of the top or bottom surface in four cently, of plastic sheeting, the cloth or plastic separate operations. As soon as one seam was sheeting defining the walls of the bag and being completed, it was necessary for an operator to maintained so as to define a rectangular or any turn the fabric 90 so that the next seam might other desired cross-section by means of suitable be formed. To attach both the top and bottom, framework disposed at the top and optionally at eight separate operations were necessary. the bottom of the bag. Moreover, the problem of providing a plurality Garment bags of this nature have become exof sheets of difierent sizes called for considerable ceedingly popular commercial-wise but as contailoring work and required an extensive instructed heretofore they present certain potential ventory. defects which render themmore or less inefficient It is the prime object of the present invention in the attainment of their designed end. to provide a garment bag of improved construc- One of the purposes of such bags is to protect tion having a minimum of seams. the clothing stored therein from the effects of It is yet another object of the present invendirt and moisture in the air. Obviously the more tion to provide such a bag in which the seams seams involved in the formation of the bag the are so located with respect to the framework of less protection is afforded against these deleterithe garment bag as to minimize the strains apous influences. As ordinarily constructed, the top, plied thereto during use of the bag. bottom, front, back. and side walls of the bags are Another object of this invention is to provide of separate strips or sheets of material each of such a bag formed of a minimum of separate which is joined to the adjacent strip or sheet at sheets of material, and in the preferred embodieach of its edges by means of a seam. This means ment, of but a single sheet. that a bag with a rectangular cross-section will While the present invention is herein described have twelve seams. Even if the front, back and with particular reference to a garment bag, it will side walls be formed of a single sheet of material be appreciated that in its broader aspects it resuitably joined together at a single seam, the lates to any hollow container formed of flexible total number of seamsin the garment bag is only material and to the method of forming the same. reduced to nine. It will also be apparent that when the term Moreover, those seams which are most susseaming is used, any type of seaming may be ceptible to spreading or unsealing, to wit, the employed. As herein specifically described, the seams at the edges of the top and bottom walls seaming is accomplished by means of a stitching of the container, are not eliminated. While the or sewing operation, but it will be appreciated weight of the bag itself is generally inconsethat when thermoplastic sheeting is employed, quential, it quite often happens that garments the seaming may be accomplished by heat-sealbecome disengaged from within the bag and fall to the bottom thereof and the far from inconsequential weight of these garments is then supported almost exclusively by the seams joining the top andbottom walls to the other walls: This ing, either alone or in addition to stitching. Other variations of seaming will no doubt suggest themselves, such as the use of adhesives or softenin solvents.

' To the accomplishment of the foregoing objects and such other objects as may hereinafter appear, the present invention relates to the construction of a garment bag as defined in the appended claims and as set forth in the specification, taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figs. 1, 2 and 3 represent elevational views of successive stages in the formation of the garment bag of the present invention from a single flexible sheet;

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are top views of Figs. 1, 2 and 3, respectively;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the top frame for the garment bag;

Fig. 8 is a similar view of the bottom frame;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a completed and expanded garment bag made according to the present invention with parts thereof broken away;

Fig. 10 is a detailed view on enlarged scale of the side wall-top wall joint formed therein; and

Figs. 11 and 12 are views corresponding to Figs. 1 and 2 but showing stages in the formation of a garment bag from a plurality of sheets of flexible material.

The method of making the garment bag of the present invention will first be described, the resultant improved construction of said bag becoming apparent as the method is developed. That method, considered in it broad aspects, comprises superimposing two layers A and B of flexible sheeting (Figs. 1 and 11). This sheeting may be cloth, either plain or ornamented, or any of the well known plastic sheetings now on the market.

The sides C and C of the two-ply formation thus produced are then folded over the body portion D thereof (Fig. 2) so that at the thus formed edge sections 2 and 4 a four-ply formation is produced. One or both of the end edges E or E", which edges are preferably linear, are then seamed as by stitching 6, this seam including all of the plies of the folded edge sections 2 and 4 and of the body D. The resultant structure is then turned inside out.

When the thus formed bag is caused to expand so that its top and bottom surfaces conform to the desired outline, as by the use of top frame 8 and bottom frame 10, it is found that for example the top and bottom walls F and F of the bag are each composed of two portions G and H (Figs. 9 and 10) each of which are integral extensions of the front and back walls l2 and M respectively, these two portions being joined together by a single straight seam 16 intermediate said end wall F.

It will be noted that by thi method of construction only a single seam is necessary to form the top of the garment bag, this seam being linear so that it may be made in a single seaming operation, thus materially decreasing the cost of manufacture of the bag, and that the seam is so located on the finished garment bag that any strain imposed by the weight of articles on the bottom of said bag is insulated from said seam by the action of the frame 8 or If), the frames taking much of the strain and thus ensuring that the seam will remain firm and thus prolong the life of the bag and enhance its protective effect.

Figs. 1 through 10 illustrate the preferred embodiment of the present invention in which a complete garment bag is manufactured by forming but three seams. A single sheet l8 of flexible material is first reversely folded on itself so as to define the two-ply formation illustrated in Figs. 1 and 4. The side C" thereof is initially open and that side therefore must be seamed as by the stitching 20, this seaming operation being so carried out as to incorporate in the thus formed seam an opening and closing means generally designated 22 which may specifically take the form of a "zipper or slide fastener as illustrated in Fig. 9. This opening and closing means 22 provides for access to the interior of the container for removal and insertion of garments and also, in the formation of the container, provides an opening for a purpose hereinafter to be described.

The sheet IB is preferably provided with a pair of eyelets 24 for cooperation with the suspending hooks 26 of the frame 8, and the sheet l8 may be interiorly re-enforced by means of fabric tabs 28.

As illustrated in Figs. 2 and 5, the sides C and C of the folded sheet of Fig. 1 are folded over the body D thereof an amount equal to one-half of the desired depth of the container, that is to say, one-half the desired width of the top wall F and of the side walls 30 thereof. The top and bottom end edges E and E of the thus folded formation are then linearly seamed as by the stitching 6 and 6 (Figs. 2 and 5). The thus formed object is then turned inside out via the opening in side C provided by the opening and closing means 22. This condition is illustrated in Figs. 3 and 6 and represents a collapsed garment bag having a front wall A, a rear wall B and infolded side walls 30, the top and bottom end edges E and E of all of said walls being linearly seamed together.

The collapsed garment bag of Fig. 3 may be expanded and caused to assume its desired shape by inserting therein, through the opening provided by the opening and closing means 22, the top and bottom frames 8 and ID. The former of these may consist of a metal framework 32 of desired shape having a cross-bar 34 provided with a plurality of corrugations 36 adapted to receive the hooks of hangers on which garments are mounted so that said garments may be suspended within the garment bag, and with suspending hooks 26 so mounted'as to project up from the cross-bar 34 through the eyelets 24 of the sheet [8 so that the garment bag itself and the garments stored therein may all be suspended from the hooks 26. The frame l0 may be a thin cardboard, plywood or metal sheet of appropriate shape.

The construction of the garment bag as described is such that, if properly designed, the bag itself upon expansion will closely conform to the frames 8 and in without the necessity of any special steps. It will be noted that when this conformation has taken place, tucked-in portions 38, best shown in Fig. 10, will form at the junction of the side walls 30 and the top and bottom walls F and F. These tucked-in portions constitute integral extensions of the side walls 30.

The garment bag of Fig. 9 has by this method been constructed of a single flexible sheet with but three seams, one intermediate of one of the side walls 30 and containing the opening and closing means 22 and one intermediate each of resting on the bottom thereof is primarily resisted by the integral and unseamed portions of fabric which are adjacent to the metal framework 32 or the sides of the bottom frame [0. The seams l6 and [6' will therefore be insulated from said strain so that the life of the bag and its protective action toward the garments stored therein are materially increased.

Although to form a container from a plurality of sheets rather than from a single sheet involves the making of at least one additional seam, and to that limited extent detracts from the benefits of the present invention, it is sometimes necessary or desirable that this mode of construction be employed, as for example, where single sheets of sufficient size for a complete container cannot commercially or economically be obtained. The first two stages of such a mode of construction are illustrated in Figs. 11 and 12, which correspond to Figs. 1 and 2, and it will be apparent that the only difference involved over the method previously described is that the edge C must be seamed as by stitching 20'. Otherwise the stages of construction are identical and need not be here repeated. It will also be apparent that each of the individual sheets which are superimposed one on the other may itself be formed of any desired number of individual strips or sheets.

By the method of construction above described a garment bag or other hollow container may be more expeditiously and economically formed than has heretofore been possible and the container produced thereby is possessed of desirable structural features which eliminate or migitate many of the defects inherent in containers of this type which have heretofore been manufactured. Not only is the container thus produced enhanced in strength and durability by virtue of the location of its seams, but its protective action is also intensified by virtue of the minimum number of seams embodied in its construction and by virtue of the fact that they are so located that their tendency to part is minimized.

The particular embodiment of container here illustrated, a garment bag of conventional shape, is merely illustrative of the many applications to which my invention can be put and therefore many variations can be made in the details of the method steps and constructional features here shown without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A garment bag comprising a tubular sheath adapted to have a substantially rectangular crosssection when open so as to define front, back, side and end walls, said sheath having a longitudinal seam with an opening therein, a linear seam securing the edges of said sheath at one end thereof, the outer portions of said linear seam engaging quadruple thicknesses of said longitudinally seamed sheath, and said sheath being turned inside out and given a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape, the parts of said sheath engaged by the outer portions of said linear seam being tucked in and under the end walls proper when said sheath is opened to rectangular cross-section.

2. A garment bag comprising a tubular sheath adapted to have a substantially rectangular crosssection when open so as to define front, back, side and end walls, said sheath having a longitudinal seam with an opening therein, a linear seam securing the edges of said sheath at an end thereof, the outer portion of said linear seam engaging quadruple thicknesses of said longitudinally seamed sheath, said linear seam being on the same side of said sheath as said longitudinal seam, and said sheath being turned inside out, so that both said seams are on the inside, and given a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape, the parts of said sheath engaged by the outer portions of said linear seam being tucked in and under the end walls proper when said sheath is opened to rectangular cross-section.

BENJAMIN A. LEVITT.

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

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 670,360 Lawler Mar. 19, 1901 1,666,704 Hunter Apr. 1'7, 1928 2,154,083 Bergstein Apr. 11, 1939 2,159,959 Ballentine May 30, 1939

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