Bank bag sealer

A sealing device for a receptacle such as a heavy cloth bank bag for containing money or currency in which a single strip or band of material formed of metal or plastic is stamped with projections or serrations extending from one side of the band and wherein a pair of locking projections in the form of raised panels are stamped in the material near one end of the band, so that the other flat end thereof may be inserted through slits formed by the stamped panels, whereby one or preferably more of the serrations are engaged and locked by the edges of the panels when the strip is tightened around the neck of the bag. Movement of the ends of the strips are thereby prevented in a direction which would unlock the seal but is freely permitted in the other direction for the extent of the serrations so that a tight seal may be accomplished. The material adjacent the locking panels is provided with sets of inwardly extending teeth at the top and bottom thereof to engage the material of the bag when the sealing device is in place and is tightened, so that the sealing device may not be removed from the bag without tearing or destroying the same and thus immediately provided evidence of tampering or attempted pilferage.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Heretofore bank bags which are usually formed of heavy cloth such as duck 
or denim for carrying money, currency or the like, have been provided with 
a seal around the open neck thereof so that access to the interior of the 
bag or receptacle cannot be attained without breaking the seal, and in 
this manner, it is immediately apparent whether or not the seal has been 
tampered with and the interior contents of the bag either removed 
therefrom or have had some other material which is worthless substituted 
for the original contents of the bag. 
It has been found that with careful manipulation, the former sealing 
devices used, which were usually formed of a soft material such as lead 
which was tightened, or deformed after strings were inserted through the 
holes therein by a tool to restrain or hold strings in place around the 
neck of the bag, and which has teeth or points which would dig into the 
bag so that removal of the seal was difficult, did not always serve their 
intended purpose and were expensive. One reason they were unsatisfactory 
was that persons with sufficient patience and strength could carefully 
manipulate the seal so that it could be removed from the bag and the 
contents thereof either pilfered or changed and the seal could then be 
carefully replaced around the neck of the open end of the bag with no 
readily visible indication that the seal had been tampered with. In bank 
bags, this is a decided disadvantage because such bags at times contain 
material placed therein with the seal thereon which are not opened for 
some considerable period of time, and if pilferage or substitution is not 
discovered immediately, it is difficult to trace the person or persons who 
may have tampered with the bag or to determine when or where the tampering 
took place. 
Furthermore, such seals were usually formed of materials which are 
relatively expensive, such as lead, for example, and required a special 
tool to secure them on the bag after the contents were placed therein. 
The present invention provides a very inexpensive and foolproof sealing 
device for bank bags and the like which cannot be removed from the bag 
without tearing or mutilating the bag material, whereby it is immediately 
apparent that the bag has been tampered with and the seal has been 
removed. The purpose also is to provide a seal of the type described 
wherein the only manner in which the seal may be removed from the bag is 
by cutting or severing the same with a cutting tool or otherwise the 
visual appearance of the bag is such that it will be immediately apparent 
that the seal was improperly removed and attempted to be replaced although 
this is quite difficult to do without further mutilating or tearing the 
bag material. It is also an object of the invention to provide a bag seal 
which is inexpensive and may be manufactured in large quantities very 
cheaply from metal stampings or molded plastic strips. Furthermore, to 
provide a configuration which may be tightly secured to the bag by a 
person utilizing a simple and inexpensive tool which requires very little 
strength or force to effect an extremely tight and foolproof seal. 
Applicant knows of no other prior art with respect to sealing devices for 
bank bags and the like other than the deformable lead seal utilized with 
the cord as shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings of the present application. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The invention relates to a sealing device for bank bags or the like which 
is formed from a band of material which circumferentially surrounds and 
tightly seals the open neck end of the bag when in place and which will 
visually indicate improper attempts to remove the seal from the bag.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
FIG. 1 illustrates a bank bag 10 which is usually formed of heavy cloth 
material such as duck, denim, or other heavy cloth. The bag 10 is provided 
with an open top 12, which is at the top of the bag and when the bag is 
closed, the material of the bag may be gathered together to form a neck 
14. 
A sealing device generally indicated at 16 is placed around the neck of the 
bag as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. The sealing device 16 comprises a strip of 
flexible material in the form of a blank or band 18 as shown in FIG. 9 
formed of metal such as aluminum or steel or heavy and strong plastic 
material. The blank or band 18 as shown in FIG. 9 is provided with a 
central body portion 17 and ends 19 and 21 having holes 42 and 44, 
respectively, formed therein. The band is formed with a plurality of 
U-shaped cuts or slits 24 in the body portion 17 and with three vertical 
cuts or slits 25 near end 21. The band 18 is provided with extensions 34 
and 36 adjacent the cuts 25, which are provided with barbs or serrations 
38 and 40, respectively, at the top and bottom thereof. 
As shown in FIGS. 4-8, and 10-12, the band 18 has projections or teeth 20 
stamped outwardly therefrom from the slits 24 shown in FIGS. 9-11 and all 
extend toward the end 21 of the strip, which is the end upon which the 
locking portions of the strip, generally indicated by the numeral 23, are 
positioned. 
Projections in the form of oppositely facing stamped panels 26 and 28 are 
stamped from the slits 25 of FIG. 9 and form an edge 30 on one of the 
sides of the panel 26 and an edge 32 on the strip 17 which are to be 
engaged by two of the projections 20, namely those numbered 22, all as 
best shown in FIGS. 3, 7, 8, and 10-12. 
Also as best shown in FIGS. 7, 8, and 10-12, the inner curved sides of the 
serrations 22 embrace one side 30 of the panel 26 and edge 32 over a 
considerable area and locking in one direction of relative movement 
between the serrations and the straps is accomplished. The locking 
described definitely prevents relative movement of the strap through the 
panel locks in the direction which would be required to disassemble the 
seal, but permits such movement in the opposite direction to accomplish 
very tight engagement with the neck 14 of bag 10 of what becomes a 
circumferential shape formed from central part 17 of the band 18. 
As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the distance between the dimension "A" in FIG. 
11 must be slightly greater than the distance "B" in FIG. 12, so that 
during assembly the bar-like teeth 20-22 are easily admitted and allowed 
to continue to slide or travel through space "B" by virtue of the 
spring-back characteristics of the metal (or it may be the plastic) 
material. By virtue of the same springback characteristics the teeth 20-22 
will be prohibited from re-entering space B. Moreover, the tendancy of the 
compressored bag to expand will cause the teeth 20-22 to hook themselves 
over the edge 30 of the panel 26 and edge 32 of the band 16. Thus, the 
seal cannot be loosened except by seriously deforming or destroying the 
seal 16 or the bag 10. 
Triangular barbs 38 and 40 provided on the portions 34 and 36 of the band 
16, which portions 34 and 36 are bent inwardly as shown in FIGS. 3, 4, 5 
and 7 to engage and dig into the cloth of the bag 10. 
When the ends of the strip 18 are pulled away from each other in the 
position shown in FIG. 3 and the projections 20-22 locked with the panels 
26 and edge 32, the serrations 38 and 40 will dig deeply into the neck 14 
of the bag and the strip itself will very tightly surround the neck 14 of 
the bag 10. If a person wishes to open the bag, a cutting tool must be 
used which will sever the strip 16 so that the seal may be easily removed 
and the bag opened. 
It is noted that the ends 19 and 21 of the strip 16 could be grasped by two 
pairs of pliers or similar tool and pulled in opposite directions until 
the strip tightly engages the neck 14 circumferentially thereof with the 
serrations 38 and 40 digging into the cloth of the bag. If someone 
attempts to remove the sealing device 16 without cutting it, such removal 
is impossible without the serrations 38 and 40 multilating or tearing the 
bag 10 to such an extent that it is readily visible that tampering has 
occurred and steps can immediately be taken to determine who, when and 
where such tampering occurred. It is also impossible to reverse the 
movement of the ends 19 and 21 of the strip to open the seal without 
damaging it since the cooperation of the projections 20 with the edge 30 
of the panel 26 and edge 32 permit movement in one direction only, namely, 
in a direction to tighten the seal about the neck 14 of the bag 10. Also, 
it is noted that with the holes 42 and 44 provided in the ends of the 
strip, a simple scissor-like levered tool with projections thereon (not 
shown) may be inserted into the holes 42 and 44 and when the scissor-like 
tool is forced open, the strip is tightened around the neck of the bag to 
the point of maximum compression. The only effective way to remove the 
sealing device is to destroy or damage it or the bag. By use of such a 
scissor-like tool, a person need not have great strength in order to 
attain a tight tamperproof seal. 
The prior art sealing device shown in FIG. 2 includes strings 52 which 
enter and pass through holes 54 in a piece of deformable metal 56 formed 
of a lead rectangle or the like which has barbs 58 adapted to engage the 
material of the bag 10 adjacent the neck 14. In order to use this sealing 
device it is necessary to loop the strings around the bag and pull them 
tight. Then the lead rectangle 56 is engaged by a suitable tool and the 
string 52 is tightened around the bag by rotating the tool. The lead is 
deformed by squeezing the tool to hold the twine tightly in the holes in 
the seal and have the barbs or teeth engage the bag to prevent slipping 
the seal upwardly and off the bag. 
However, this sealing device is not satisfactory because it permits the 
string to be "teased" off the bag, whereupon the contents may be pilfered 
and possibly worthless material substituted for that which was in the bag 
originally, and the seal may be replaced without detection of any 
tampering having been accomplished. 
The present device creates a bank bag sealing device which is formed from a 
single piece of material which is easy to use and which may be secured to 
the bag with considerable tightness and with relatively little strength 
necessary on the part of the person applying the sealing device. Also, the 
bank bag sealing device may be made of metal such as aluminum or steel 
which would be much stronger and less expensive that the prior art seals, 
or it may be made very cheaply of strong plastic strip material. Also, the 
seal of the present invention when formed of metal may be manufactured on 
an automatic punch press and a much less expensive bag sealing device is 
provided. Alternatively, an inexpensive seal molded or otherwise formed 
from strong plastic material may be used. 
It is noted that any otherwise sharp corners of the seal are rounded, so 
that persons will not be scratched or cut by applying the sealing device 
or handling the bags provided with such seals. 
While I have disclosed a presently preferred embodiment of the present 
invention, the invention is intended to be limited only by the scope of 
the appended claims.