WO2017002024A1 - Bag with provisions for ease of handling and a process of making it - Google Patents

Abstract

Woven or non-woven plastic bags of a wide variety of sizes and shapes are used to store bulk materials such as grains and minerals. Pillow shaped and block bottom bags are popular. In developing nations, these bags are handled manually or with the aid of mechanical devices such as sharp pointed hooks. The hooks pierce the bag fabric, often in uncontrolled manner, leading to pilferage, damage to bags and goods and affects durability. There is a need to provide bags that, when filled, are easier to handle manually without problems of pilferage, storage, and handling, and may be made using simple and automated technology. The invention discloses a storage bag made from woven or non-woven fabric and provided with an appendage that is bonded to the bag and which serves as a handle to facilitate handling and lifting of the filled bag. The invention ensures that pilferage of the stored goods and damage to the bag itself from improper handling is significantly reduced.

Description

BAG WITH PROVISIONS FOR EASE OF HANDLING AND A PROCESS OF MAKING IT

Background of Invention

Woven or non-woven plastic bags of a wide variety of sizes and shapes are used in various situations. These are typically used to store bulk materials, such as flour, sugar, rice, seed, animal feed, chemicals, powdered materials or the like. Various bag shapes such as pillow and block bottom are popular. These bags, when filled, typically weight anywhere up to 75 kg or more in some instances. In countries such as the US or European nations or other industrially advanced parts of the world, filled bags are handled using purpose built equipment. However, in the developing nations, India for example, handling of such bags is frequently carried out using manual labour. Particularly in the case of block bottom bags, the size and shape of the filled bags poses problems during their handling manually. Tools such as large metal hooks are frequently used as handling aids, especially while loading and unloading of these bags at the distribution warehouses or at retailers. The hooks pierce the bag fabric, often in an uncontrolled manner, leading to pilferage, damaging the bags and the goods and affecting their durability.

In the developing nations, pillow type bags are more prevalent. These may be made with woven or non-woven fabric. Mechanical aids, such as hooks, are used to make an incision in the bag fabric, often in the content-filled region. While this allows for easy handling of the bags, it does damage the bag and its content. At the same time, in the case of pillow-type bags made with non-woven fabric or woven fabric provided with coating, it is often not easily possible to penetrate the fabric even with a hook. Therefore it becomes cumbersome to handle these bags.

It is also generally known that in absence of appropriate provision for handling, manual handling of heavy bags poses real risk of serious injuries to the handlers, and several such instances are known to have taken place.

There is therefore a need to provide bags that, when filled, are easier to handle manually such that it will address the above mentioned problems of pilferage, storage, and handling, and may be made using simple technology.

Hence, there are requirements of bag which can be adapted to manual handling practice. In addition, there is need for automatic manufacturing of these bags.

Finally, it is known in the woven fabric bags making industry, that bonding stresses in the form of shear stresses between two pieces of woven fabric are more desirable than when these stresses are of peeling type. There is therefore a need that the stresses on the joint between a handle and the bag surface are predominantly shear stresses. Objectives of the invention

Accordingly, one object of the invention is to provide a storage bag made from woven or non-woven fabric, such that they are easier to handle manually. Another object of the present invention is to provide a storage bag made from woven or non-woven fabric, such that the pilferage of the stored goods and damage to the bag itself from improper handling is reduced.

Another object of the invention is to provide a process of making storage bags that are easy to handle manually, using an automated bag making machine.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a storage bag of pillow or block bottom shape that is easy to handle. Brief Description of Figures

Figure 1 A shows a typical block bottom bag

Figure IB shows a typical pillow shaped bag

Figure 2A to 2G show the various embodiments in which the appendages of the invention may be fixed or bonded to a bag

Figure 3 shows forces acting on the interface between the appendage and a bag Figure 4 shows an appendage formed with an external look

Figure 5 shows a typical appendage

List of parts: 1. Woven plastic bag

IA. Block-bottom shaped bag

IB. Pillow-shaped bag

IC. Side walls or faces of block-bottom bag

ID. Content-filled part of pillow type bag

IE. Seam

IF. laterally sealed portion of pillow-shaped bag

2. Appendage

2A. First portion of appendage

2B. Second portion of appendage

2C. Peelable cover

2D, 2E - front and back faces of appendage

3. Hook

4. Loop

5. Receptor

Description of Invention

A typical storage bag of block bottom type (1A) is shown in Figure 1A. These bags are typically made from a piece of predetermined length cut from a tubular fabric, which is folded at its cut ends. The folded ends are joined to form two end faces or end walls (1C-A). The other four faces (1C) form the sidewalls or side faces of the bag, which is termed as block-bottom due to the typically rectangular shape of its end faces. Throughout the description that follows, the terms face or wall have been used interchangeably.

At present, these bags are typically manufactured without any handles suitable for manual handling. A block-bottom bag (1 A) is typically made from a heat-sealable thermoplastic material including woven fabrics, the bag (1) being foldable into a flat condition when it is empty and having a parallelepipedal shape when filled. As an example, the invention is applicable to the bags defined in US patent 3195801.

A typical pillow type storage bag (IB) is shown in Figure I B. These bags are typically made from pieces of predetermined length cut from a tubular fabric. The two cut ends are sealed. When filled, the bag takes the shape of a pillow. The bag has a distinct content-filled region (ID) that has a single side face or sidewall, but unlike the block bottom bags (1 A) it does not have any end walls or end faces. Unlike the block-bottom bags, pillow type bags (IB) have no defined base. Depending on the method of construction, a laterally sealed portion (IF) may be provided at either or both seams (IE). Due to the shape of filled bags of pillow shape, it is possible to handle them by holding them at their corners. Nevertheless, it's a cumbersome method and may lead to damage to the bag itself and/or the person who handles it. According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a storage bag (1), either of pillow type (IB) or a block-bottom type (1 A), which has a provision for ease of handling, said provision being in the form of at least one appendage (2) a first portion (2A) of which is attached or bonded to at least one of the bag's sidewalls (1C, 1C-A, ID) or side faces and another part, a second portion (2B) of which serves as a handle which may be grabbed during the handling of the filled bag. In the case of a block bottom bag (1 A), the appendages (2) may be attached to any of the six faces or walls of the bag. In the case of a pillow-type bag (IB), the appendage (2) may be provided anywhere on the content-filled region (ID) of the bag body.

In one aspect of the invention, in the case of the block bottom bags (1 A), at least one of the appendages (2) may be bonded to at least one face (1C, 1C-A) of the bag. For example, as shown in Figure 2E, the area of bondage between the appendage (2) and the bag (1) is spread over two or three faces of the bag. As shown in Figure 2F, In the case of a pillow-shaped bag (IB), the area of bondage between the appendage (2) and the bag (1) may spread over the content-filled region (ID) and the laterally sealed portion (IF) of a bag. In one aspect of the invention, the typical appendage (2) is in the form of a planar piece of fabric. A part, the first portion (2A), of the appendage (2) is bonded to the bag body (1) and another part, the second portion (2B), is left loose to be used as a handle. In another aspect of the invention, as shown in Figure 4, the appendage (2) may be of a composite form comprising a planar part and a non-planar part. The non-planar part may be a loop (4) formed with an element such as a rope. The loop (4) is fixedly attached to a part of the planar component of the composite type appendage (2). The composite appendage (2) is bonded to the bag body through the first portion (2A) of its planar part. The composite appendage (2) may be used to handle the bag (1) manually or with mechanical aid such as a hook (3) that is inserted through the loop (4). In their simplest form, at least one of the appendages (2) is in the form of a sheet of durable fabric made either from the same material as the bag (1) or any material that would attach or bond itself to the bag material effectively using commercially available heating techniques, chemical treatments, adhesives, glues, or using a seam made by stitching or by ultrasonic techniques.

In another aspect of the invention, at least one of the appendages (2) is made from a tear-resistant material, preferably flexible woven fabric, which may be optionally coated or laminated and may be printed with a label. The appendage (2) may be formed with a material that has a thickness in the range between 0.03 mm to 1 mm, however, it could be thicker. The appendage (2) materials may have a linear weight of at least 10 gram per square metre (gsm). In another aspect of the invention, the gsm rating of at least one appendage (2) may be greater than gsm rating of the bag fabric. The bag may be made of flexible thermoplastic woven fabric, optionally coated or laminated film, which is optionally printed on.

The sheet/film or tube stock from which the bags and appendages are made, may also be coextruded or monoextruded, and may be single ply or multi-ply material. The multi-ply material may be multiple thicknesses of the same sheet or tube stock, or different materials to provide particular characteristics, such as strength, flexibility, UV resistance, or color. The sheet stock may also be woven or non- woven synthetic or non-synthetic material.

The bonding of the appendages (2) to the body of the bag (1) may be carried out during the bag production stages or as an intermediate step during or after the operation of bag-filling. The bonding operation may be carried out on the bag making apparatus itself or separately after the bags are made. Alternatively, the bonding operation may be carried out directly on the filled bags. In the case where heat sealing methods are used for attaching appendages (2) to the bag body (1), it may be carried out using a hot glue gun or a hot melt adhesive gun. Alternatively any other methods of heat sealing may be used.

In one aspect of the invention, the appendage (2) may include receptor (5) for hand (or finger) insertion, so that the handle of the appendage (2) may be grabbed by a mechanical device such as a hook, a human hand or fingers. The receptor (5) may be in the form of a slit, an eye, a hole, or a loop.

In one more aspect/embodiment, the appendage (2) may have pre-adhesive such that they can be easily self-fixed during intermediate step of bag formation or during packing stage. The appendage (2) may have an area (2A) applied with adhesive provided with a peelable cover (2C), wherein for the purpose of bonding said appendage (2) to said bag body (1), said peelable cover (2C) is removed and said appendage (2) with the pre-applied adhesive is bonded to said bag body (1). Alternatively, there may be provided areas on the bag body that are pre-applied with adhesives and covered with a peelable cover (2C). In this instance, the peelable cover (2C) may be removed and the appendage may be bonded with the bag body by placing it on the area pre-applied with adhesive and pressing. As shown in Figures 2A to 2D, the first portion (2A) of the appendage (2) is fixed or bonded to a surface of the bag (1), while the second portion (2B) of the appendage is left loose to serve as a handle.

The shape and size of the appendage (2) may be any shape that allows effective grabbing of the appendage with human hands or fingers - uncovered or covered with objects such as gloves. Therefore the shape of the appendage (2) may be any suitable geometrical shape. The appendage (2) may also be in the form of twisted or otherwise crumpled material. In another aspect of the invention, at least one of the appendages (2) provided is made suitable for mechanically aided handling - in situations where human handlers use tools such as hooks (3) to aid handling. Hooks (3) are often known to damage the fabric itself and thus potentially compromise the quality of the stored material. Therefore at least one of the appendages has a loop or an eye into which a hook or similar article may be inserted.

As shown in Figure 2A, the provision for mechanically aided handling, in particular the mechanical aids in the form of a hook, are optionally in the form of a receptor (5), said receptors (5) being in the form of:

A slit that is made in the appendage itself before or after it is attached to the bag body,

A hole that is made in the appendage itself before or after it is attached to the bag body, or

- An eyelet that is provided in the appendage itself before or after it is attached to the bag body

In the case a slit is provided, it is of a size that a hand/fingers may be easily inserted into the slit should the operator wish to grab the handle by inserting his hand/fingers into the slit. As one key advantage of the invention, it is found that when appendage (2) that is fixedly attached or bonded to a surface of the bag, and when its handle is used for lifting or handling the filled bag, the stresses on the joint or the interface between the handle and the bag surface are predominantly shear stresses (see Figure 3).

In another aspect of the invention, where in the case of a block-bottom bag (1 A), a cover sheet is applied at the bag end surface, said cover sheet is shaped so that upon completion of the bag making process, suitable handles are formed as a result of the shape of the cover sheet itself.

In yet another aspect of the invention, the appendages (2) are bonded to the bag body such that the total area of the bondage between any single appendage (2) and the corresponding sidewall or the side face of the bag is at least 1% of the entire planar area of any one face of the appendage itself. Any appendage has two planar faces (front and back, 2D and 2E) - for the purpose of this calculation, the area of an appendage is measured as the area of any one planar face (2D or 2E) of the appendage.

In a further aspect of the invention, the bonding force of at least one appendage is more than the total packed weight of the bag. The bonding force is calculated as the bonding stress multiplied by the area of bonding of the appendage. In a further aspect of the invention, a typical inventive process of attaching the appendages to a bag on an automated bag manufacturing line/apparatus is executed in following steps:

• The bag web material is transported on the transportation table in the required travel direction;

• The appendage dispensing station is located at pre-determine location on the transportation table;

• On the sensing of arrival of bag web at pre-fixed location, appendage dispensing station dispense the required length of appendage to the bonding station;

• The bonding station activates the bonding sequence (bonding technique) which bonds the appendage portion 2A at required location on bag body which maybe temporary hold at bonding station;

• After the completion of bonding operation, the bag body is delivered onto subsequent station with help of pressing rollers;

• The bonding station consist of typically heat sealing or adhesive applicator or ultrasonic sealer;

It is evident from the foregoing discussion that the present invention has the following embodiments. A bag with provisions for ease of handling, characterised in that said provisions are in the form of at least one appendage that is fixedly attached to any part of said bag.

A bag as disclosed in embodiment 1, characterised in that in the case of a pillow-type bag, said part is a laterally sealed portion or a content-filled part of said pillow-shaped bag, and in the case of a block-bottom bags, said part is a face of said block-bottom bag.

A bag as disclosed in embodiments 1 and 2, characterised in that said bag and/or said appendage (2) is made from the sheet/film having at least one layer of polymeric material or tube stock made from a woven fabric or non-woven synthetic or non-synthetic flexible material consisting of at least one inorganic additive, or from a tear-resistant material, preferably flexible woven fabric, which may be optionally coated or laminated and may be printed with a label.

A bag as disclosed in embodiment 3, characterised in that said bag or appendage material is a composite material consisting of any of a group comprising a web material, a coating material, and a printed film.

A bag as disclosed in embodiment 4, characterised in that said woven fabric may be coated or uncoated.

A bag body as disclosed in any one of embodiments 1 to 5, characterised in that the said at least one appendage is in the form of a planar fabric or in a composite form that incorporates a planar fabric. A bag as disclosed in any one of embodiments 1 to 6, characterised in that at least one of said appendages has a receptor to receive a mechanical hook or a human hand or fingers.

A bag as disclosed in embodiment 7, characterised in that said receptor is a slit, an eye, a hole, or a loop.

A bag as disclosed in any one of embodiments 7 and 8, characterised in that said receptor may be provided before, during or after the process of bag making is completed.

A bag as disclosed in any one of embodiments 6 to 9, characterised in that in the case of a composite type appendage, said loop (4) is made using an element such as a rope, said loop (4) being fixedly attached to a part of the second portion (2B) of said composite appendage, and wherein the first portion (2A) said appendage (2) is fixedly attached or bonded to said bag. A bag as disclosed in any one of embodiments 1 to 10, characterised in that said at least one fixedly attached appendage is bonded to said bag with melted plastic or adhesive or using a seaming technique.

A bag as disclosed in any one of embodiments 1 to 11, characterised in that said at least one appendage (2) has an area of bondage with said bag (1) at least 1% of the entire surface area of the one face (2D or 2E) of said appendage itself. A bag as disclosed in any one of embodiments 1 to 12, characterised in that the bonding force of each of said at least one appendage is greater than the total packed weight of said bag.

A bag as disclosed in any one of embodiments 1 to 13, characterised in that said appendage may be fixedly attached to any face of said bag.

A bag as disclosed in any one of embodiments 1 to 14, characterised in that said appendage may have an area applied with adhesive provided with a peelable cover, wherein for the purpose of bonding said appendage to said bag body, said cover is removed and said appendage with the pre- applied adhesive is bonded to said bag body.

A bag as disclosed in any one of embodiments 1 to 14, characterised in that said bag body has at least one area applied with adhesive provided with a peelable cover, wherein for the purpose of bonding said appendage to said bag body, said cover is removed and said appendage is bonded the area on said bag body provided with the pre-applied adhesive.

A bag as disclosed in any one of embodiments 1 to 16, characterised in that any individual appendage may be of a material, size or shape different from any other appendage.

A bag as disclosed in any one of embodiments 1 to 17, characterised in that the area of bondage between said at least one appendage and said bag is spread over at least one face in the case of a block-bottomed bag. A bag as disclosed in any one of embodiments 1 to 17, characterised in that the area of bondage between said at least one appendage and said bag is spread over said content filled region and the said laterally sealed portion, in the case of a pillow- shaped bag.

A bag as disclosed in any one of embodiments 1 to 19, characterised in that on any individual appendage there may be information printed.

A process making a bag provided with provisions for ease of handling, characterised in that said process comprises a step of providing at least one appendage that is fixedly attached or bonded to a face of said bag.

A process as disclosed in embodiment 20, characterised in that the said process consists of the following steps:

transporting the web material from which said bag is made to the transportation table in the required travel direction;

On the sensing of arrival of bag web material at a first pre-fixed location, dispensing a required length of at least one appendage to a bonding station, the appendage dispensing station and the bonding station being located at respective pre-determine locations along the transportation table;

holding said bag body temporarily at said bonding station at said bonding station, activating a bonding process to bond a portion (2A) of said at least one appendage on said bag body; delivering the bag with at least one appendage bonded to it onto a subsequent station with help of pressing rollers.

23. A process as disclosed in embodiment 22, characterised in that said the bonding station consist of a device for heat sealing or adhesive applicator or ultrasonic sealing.

24. A process as disclosed in embodiment 23, characterised in that said at least one appendage (2) has an area applied with adhesive provided with a peelable cover (2C), wherein for the purpose of bonding said appendage to said bag body, said peelable cover (2C) is removed and said appendage (2) with the pre-applied adhesive is bonded to said bag body (1) and pressed.

While the above description contains much specificity, these should not be construed as limitation in the scope of the invention, but rather as an

exemplification of the preferred embodiments thereof. It must be realized that modifications and variations are possible based on the disclosure given above without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined not by the embodiments illustrated, but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.

Claims

Claims:

1. A bag (1) with provisions for ease of handling, characterised in that said provisions are in the form of at least one appendage (2), said appendage having a first portion (2A) and a second potion (2B), said first portion (2 A) being fixedly attached or bonded to any part of said bag (1).

2. A bag as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that in the case of a pillow- type bag (IB), said part is a laterally sealed portion (IF) or a content-filled part (ID) of said pillow-shaped bag, and in the case of a block-bottom bags, said part is a face (1C or lC-1) of said block-bottom bag.

3. A bag (1) as claimed in claims 1 and 2, characterised in that said bag (1) and/or said appendage (2) is made from the sheet/film having at least one layer of polymeric material or tube stock made from a woven fabric or non-woven synthetic or non-synthetic flexible material consisting of at least one inorganic additive, or from a tear-resistant material, preferably flexible woven fabric, which is optionally coated or laminated and is printed with a label.

4. A bag (1) as claimed in claim 3, characterised in that said bag (1) or appendage (2) material is a composite material consisting of any of a group comprising a web material, a coating material, and a printed film.

5. A bag (1) as claimed in claim 4, characterised in that said woven fabric which is uncoated.

6. A bag (1) as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the said at least one appendage (2) is in the form of a planar fabric or in a composite form that incorporates a planar fabric.

7. A bag (1) as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, characterised in that at least one of said appendages (2) has a receptor (5) to receive a mechanical hook (3) or a human hand or fingers.

8. A bag (1) as claimed in claim 7, characterised in that said receptor (5) is a slit, an eye, a hole, or a loop (4).

9. A bag as claimed in any one of claims 7 and 8, characterised in that said receptor (5) is provided before, during or after the process of bag making is completed.

10. A bag (1) as claimed in any one of claims 6 to 9, characterised in that in the case of a composite type appendage, said loop (4) is made using an element such as a rope, said loop (4) being fixedly attached to a part of the second portion (2B) of said composite appendage, and wherein the first portion (2A) said appendage (2) is fixedly attached or bonded to said bag.

11. A bag (1) as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10, characterised in that said at least one appendage (2) is bonded to said bag (1) with melted plastic or adhesive or using a seaming technique.

12. A bag (1) as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 11, characterised in that said at least one appendage (2) has an area of bondage with said bag (1) at least 1% of the entire surface area of the one face (2D or 2E) of said appendage itself.

13. A bag (1) as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 12, characterised in that the bonding force of each of said at least one appendage (2) is greater than the total packed weight of said bag.

14. A bag (1) as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 13, characterised in that said appendage (2) is fixedly attached to any face of said bag (1).

15. A bag (1) as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 14, characterised in that said appendage (2) has an area applied with adhesive provided with a peelable cover (2C), wherein for the purpose of bonding said appendage to said bag body, said peelable cover (2C) is removed and said appendage (2) with the pre-applied adhesive is bonded to said bag body (1) and pressed.

16. A bag (1) as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 14, characterised in that said bag body (1) has at least one area applied with adhesive provided with a peelable cover (2C), wherein for the purpose of bonding said appendage to said bag body, said peelable cover (2C) is removed and said appendage (2) is bonded the area on said bag body (1) provided with the pre-applied adhesive.

17. A bag (1) as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 16, characterised in that any individual appendage (2) is of a material, size or shape different from any other appendage (2).

18. A bag (1) as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 17, characterised in that the area of bondage between said at least one appendage (1) and said bag is spread over at least one face (1C or 1C-A) in the case of a block-bottomed bag.

19. A bag (1) as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 17, characterised in that the area of bondage between said at least one appendage (1) and said bag is spread over said content filled region (ID) and the said laterally sealed portion (IF), in the case of a pillow-shaped bag (IB).

20. A bag (1) as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 19, characterised in that on any individual appendage (2) there is information printed.

21. A process making a bag (1) provided with provisions for ease of handling, characterised in that said process comprises a step of providing at least one appendage (2) that is fixedly attached or bonded to a face of said bag (1).

22. A process as claimed in claim 20, characterised in that the said process consists of the following steps:

transporting the web material from which said bag (1) is made to the transportation table in the required travel direction; On the sensing of arrival of bag web material at a first pre-fixed location, dispensing a required length of at least one appendage (2) to a bonding station, the appendage dispensing station and the bonding station being located at respective pre-determine locations along the transportation table; holding said bag body (1) temporarily at said bonding station at said bonding station, activating a bonding process to bond a portion (2A) of said at least one appendage (2) on said bag body; delivering the bag with at least one appendage (2) bonded to it onto a subsequent station with help of pressing rollers.

23. A process as claimed in claim 22, characterised in that said the bonding station consist of a device for heat sealing or adhesive applicator or ultrasonic sealing.

24. A process as claimed in claim 23, characterised in that said at least one appendage (2) has an area applied with adhesive provided with a peelable cover (2C), wherein for the purpose of bonding said appendage to said bag body, said peelable cover (2C) is removed and said appendage (2) with the pre-applied adhesive is bonded to said bag body (1) and pressed.