US3093176A - Heat sealed handbag frame - Google Patents

Description

June 11, 1963 N. KAHN 3,093,176

HEAT SEALED HANDBAG FRAME Filed July 17, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TOR.

i. NATHANIEL KAHN June 11, 1963 N. KAHN HEAT SEALED HANDBAG FRAME 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 17, 1961 l 17/ a II k\\ \n INVENTOR. NATHANIEL KAHN BY W United States Patent G 3,093,176 HEAT SEALED HANDBAG FRAME Nathaniel Kalm, 337 Snyder Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y. Filed July 17, 1961, Ser. No. 124,599 6 Claims. (Cl. 150-29) This invention relates to an improved handbag construction.

Heretofore ladies handbags and purses have been made by attaching a body formed from a flexible sheet to a frame having hinged parts. These frames having generally been made of wood or metal. When a plastic sheet is used for the body of a handbag or purse having a metal or wood frame, it has been necessary to rivet, staple, or cement the plastic sheet to the frame. During use, the plastic sheet often tears loose from the fastening means such as rivets, eyelets, staples, stitching or cement, rendering the handbag unusable. A further objection to the use of conventional fasteners in handbag construction has been the time and labor required to attach individual fasteners. This has required costly hand labor, which resulted in low production rates and high production cost.

The principal object of the present invention is to overcome the difficulties and disadvantages of prior handbag construction and manufacturing methods and to provide an improved structure in which the handbag frame includes a plastic core to which the plastic body is integrally fused and bonded thereto by thermal means.

A further object is to provide an improved handbag construction as described with a metal or plastic frame set over the plastic core, the frame being exposed, or covered with plastic material bonded thereto.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference will be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, and to the appended claims in which the various novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a handbag embodying the invention, the handbag being shown in open position.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view on an enlarged scale taken on line 2--2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale of a portion of the handbag, taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a frame core in open position, shown with an associated frame cover.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of still another frame core, shown on a reduced scale.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 3, showing constructional features of a handbag employing the frame core of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a frame cover which may be used with the core of FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 3 but on a larger scale, showing constructional features of another handbag.

In FIGS. *1, 2 and 3 is shown a handbag 10 having a bag body 12 formed of plastic sheet material. The handbag is provided with a rigid frame core -1'5 shown to best advantage in FIGS. 3 and 4. The frame core includes two rectan-gularly U-shaped core members 16 hinged together at the ends of their legs 17 by short link 20. The links fit in slots 22 formed in the ends of the legs 17. Pins 24 extend through the ends of the legs and engage the links.

The free edges 21 of the bag body 12 at top and ends of the handbag are wound around the frame core and are bonded thereto by heat welding, dielectric heating or the like. The body 12 and the frame core are both preferably formed of thermoplastic material so that the "ice body and core will bond permanently to each other when heat is properly applied. Over the core members 16 covered and enclosed in the body edge portions 21 are individual frame covers 23. Each frame cover, as best shown in FIG. 4, is a generally U-shaped channel memher with a groove 25 which snugly receives the core. An inturned flange 28 is formed around the inner side 29 of each frame cover; see FIGS. 2 and 3. This flange engages the inner edge of the covered core and holds the frame cover thereon. Clasp elements 30* are provided on the top edges of the frame covers 23- for mutual engagement to hold the handbag closed. The ends of the handbag body may be sealed by thermally bonded seams 33.

In FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 is illustrated another handbag construction in which the rigid core 15 has U-shaped core members 16 which are round in cross section rather than rectangular as illustrated for core members 16. The core members '16 are slotted at 22 and receive links 2% in the slots, secured by pins 24. The edge 21 of the handbag body 12' extends around each core member and is bonded thereto as shown in FIG. 6. The U-shaped frame cover 23 is s'loted longitudinally and encloses each core member 16*. The cover is cylindrically curved in cross section as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, and the core member 16 fits snugly in cylindrical groove 25 The core member 16 is made of plastic material but could be made of metal as is illustrated for cover members 23. Core member 16 may be fused to edge 21 of the bag body.

In FIG. 8 is shown a further handbag construction in which the channel-shaped frame cover 23 is made of thermoplastic material and is covered by a stripof thermoplastic sheet material 35 thermally bonded to cover 23 and edge 21 In this construction the same color and texture of plastic sheeting may be employed for material 35 as is employed for the plastic body 12 The edge 21 of body 12 is wound around the rectangular thermoplastic core 16 and heat-sealed thereto as described for cores 16 and body 12. Flange 28 on inner side A9 of cover 23 may be provided to retain the cover on core 16".

The channel-shaped cover members may be made of metal or plastic as illustrated in the drawing, or of other materials. The cores may have rectangular, round or other shaped cross sections. The cores and frame covers may be other than U-shaped, depending on the handbag design. They may have straight or curved channel bars or have irregular longitudinal and/or transverse shapes, provided only that in cross section the shapes of the cores correspond with the shapes of the grooves in the channel-shaped frame covers. The plastic frame covers may be integrally fused to the thermoplastic edges of the bag body which are fused to the core.

The invention makes it possible to fabricate handbags by automatic plastic heat-sealing machinery at high speed at low cost, without requiring attachment of supplementary fastener elements such as stitching, rivets, eyelets, -and the like used heretofore. Hand labor is minimized and the resulting handbags are stronger and longer lasting than those heretofore commercially available.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise constructions herein disclosed and that various changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Uni-ted States Letters Patent 1. A handbag construction, comprising a flexible bag body made of flexible, thermoplastic sheet material, said body having free edges, a rigid core made of thermoplastic material, said core including two generally U- shaped core members hinged together at ends of their legs, said edges of the body being wound around the core members and integrally fused thereto, and a pair of generally U-shaped channels fitted over the U-shaped core members respectively, said core members being rectangular in cross section and said channels being correspondingly rectangular in cross section.

2. A handbag construction, comprising a flexible bag body made of flexible, thermoplastic sheet material, said body having free edges, a rigid core made of thermoplastic material, said core including two generally U- shaped core members hinged together at ends of their legs, said edges of the body being wound around the core members and integrally fused thereto, and a pair of generally U-shaped channels fitted over the U-shaped core members respectively, said channels being made of thermoplastic material fused to the edges of the body wound around the core members.

3. A handbag construction, comprising a flexible bag body made of flexible, thermoplastic sheet material, said body having free edges, a rigid core made of thermoplastic material, said core including two generally U- shaped core members hinged together at ends of their legs, said edges of the body being wound around the core members and integrally fused thereto, a pair of generally U-shaped channels fitted over the U-shaped core members respectively, and flexible strips completely covering the channels.

4. A handbag construction, comprising a flexible bag body made of flexible, thermoplastic sheet material, said body having free edges, a rigid core made of thermoplastic material, said core including two generally U- shaped core members hinged together at ends of their legs, said edges of the body being wound around the core members and integrally fused thereto, a pair of generally U-shaped channels fitted over the U-shaped core members respectively, and flexible strips completely 4 covering the channels, said channels and plastic strips being formed of thermoplastic material integrally fused to each other.

5. A handbag construction, comprising a flexible bag body made of flexible, thermoplastic sheet material, said body having free edges, a rigid core made of thermoplastic material, said core including two generally U-shaped core members hinged together at ends of their legs, said edges of the body being wound around the core members and integrally fused thereto, a pair of generally U-shaped channels fitted over the U-shaped core members respectively, and flexible strips completely covering the channels, said channels and plastic strips being formed of thermoplastic material integrally fused to each other, said strips being fused to said edges of the body.

6. A handbag construction, comprising a flexible bag body made of flexible, thermoplastic sheet material, said body having free edges, a rigid core made of thermoplastic material, said core including two generally U- shaped core members hinged together at ends of their legs, said edges of the body being wound around the core members and integrally fused thereto, and a pair of generally U-shaped channels fitted over the U-shaped core members respectively, said core members being rectangular in cross section and said channels being correspondingly rectangular in cross section, said channels having flanges at edges thereof to engage with adjacent edges of the core members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,899,960 Hartmann Mar. 7, 1933 1,919,333 Karron July 25, 1933 1,966,204 Hiering July 10, 1934 2,028,216 Hiering Jan. 21, 1936 2,393,487 Storch Jan. 22, 1946 2,435,870 Campos Feb. 10, 1948 2,682,905 Giordano July 6, 1954 2,946,364 White July 26, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 764,329 France Mar. 5, 1934

Claims (1)

1. A HANDBAG CONSTRUCTION, COMPRISING A FLEXIBLE BAG BODY MADE OF FLEXIBLE, THERMOPLASTIC SHEET MATERIAL, SAID BODY HAVING FREE EDGES, A RIGID CORE MADE OF THERMOPLASTIC MATERIAL, SAID CORE INCLUDING TWO GENERALLY USHAPED CORE MEMBERS HINGED TOGETHER AT ENDS OF THEIR LEGS, SAID EDGES OF THE BODY BEING WOUND AROUND THE CORE MEMBERS AND INTEGRALLY FUSED THERETO, AND A PAIR OF GENERALLY U-SHAPED CHANNELS FITTED OVER THE U-SHAPED CORE MEMBERS RESPECTIVELY, SAID CORE MEMBERS BEING RECTANGULAR IN CROSS SECTION AND SAID CHANNELS BEING CORRESPONDINGLY RECTANGULAR IN CROSS SECTION.

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