Plastic bag with zipper slider captured in pocket

A reclosable plastic bag comprises first and second opposing body panels, a zipper, a slider, and first and second upstanding panels. The opposing body panels are fixedly connected to each other along a pair of sides and a bottom bridging the pair of sides. The zipper extends along a mouth formed opposite the bottom. The zipper includes a first track with a first profile and a second track with a second profile. The first and second profiles are releasably engageable to each other. The slider is slidably mounted to the zipper for movement between a closed position and an open position. The first and second profiles are engaged to each other while the slider is in the closed position, and the first and second profiles are disengaged from each other in response to movement of the slider from the closed position to the open position. The first and second upstanding panels extend upwardly from the respective first and second body panels. Each of the upstanding panels includes opposing ends, and the opposing ends of the first upstanding panel are connected to the respective opposing ends of the second upstanding panel to form an open pocket in which the slider and zipper are captured. The open pocket may be sealed by joining the first and second upstanding panels to each other above the slider so as to completely encapsulate the slider within the pocket.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention generally relates to reclosable plastic bags and, 
more particularly, to a reclosable plastic bag including a zipper slider 
captured in a pocket. The pocket furnishes end terminations that prevent 
the slider from going past the ends of the zipper and provide adequate end 
strength that resists stresses applied to the zipper profiles during 
normal use of the bag. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
A reclosable plastic bag typically includes first and second opposing 
panels fixedly connected to each other along a pair of sides and a bottom 
bridging the pair of sides. The first and second panels are not fixedly 
connected along a mouth which is formed opposite to the sealed bottom. 
Rather, the bag is provided with a reclosable zipper extending along the 
mouth of the plastic bag. The zipper includes a male track and a female 
track. In reclosable plastic bags of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 
5,067,208 utilizing a slider to open the zipper, the male track typically 
includes a male profile and a first fin extending downward from the male 
profile. Likewise, the female track in such bags with sliders includes a 
female profile and a second fin extending downward from the female 
profile. The first and second fins are thermally fused to the inner 
surfaces of the respective first and second panels. 
The male and female tracks are typically free of any plastic material above 
the male and female profiles in order to permit proper mounting and 
movement of the slider. The male and female profiles are releasably 
engageable to each other. When the slider is in a closed position, the 
male and female profiles are interlocked with each other. In response to 
moving the slider to an open position, the male and female profiles are 
disengaged from each other. Once the male and female profiles are 
disengaged from each other, access to the interior of the bag may be 
obtained by pulling the first and second panels apart at the mouth. 
It is desirable to provide opposite ends of the zipper with end 
terminations. The end terminations perform the dual function of stops for 
the ends of the zipper to prevent the slider from going past the ends of 
the zipper and, in addition, they hold the male and female profiles 
together to resist stresses applied to the profiles during normal use of 
the plastic bag. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,067,208, each end termination is in 
the form of a strap/clip that wraps over the top of the zipper. One end of 
the strap is provided with a rivet-like member that penetrates through the 
zipper fins and into a cooperating opening at the other end of the strap. 
Other types of end terminations are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,482,375, 
5,448,807, 5,442,837, 5,405,478, 5,161,286, 5,131,121, and 5,088,971. 
Reclosable plastic bags of the foregoing type are a great convenience to 
the consumer especially for products such as deli meats and cheeses where, 
typically, only a portion of the product is used at any given time. A 
problem with these reclosable bags, however, is that if such plastic bags 
are to be prepackaged with a food product and then sold in a grocery 
store, the contents of the plastic bags can easily be tampered with prior 
to purchase by the consumer. Therefore, in addition to providing end 
terminations, it is desirable to provide such prepackaged bags with some 
sort of tamper-evident feature. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
A reclosable plastic bag includes first and second opposing body panels 
fixedly connected to each other along a pair of sides and a bottom 
bridging the pair of sides. The bag is provided with a reclosable zipper 
extending along a mouth formed opposite the sealed bottom of the plastic 
bag. The zipper includes a male track and a female track. The male track 
includes a male profile and a first depending fin extending downward from 
the male profile. Likewise, the female track includes a female profile and 
a second depending fin extending downward from the female profile. If the 
zipper is formed separately from the body panels of the bag, the first and 
second depending fins are thermally fused to inner surfaces of the 
respective first and second body panels. Alternatively, the zipper may be 
extruded with the body panels of the bag. 
A slider is slidably mounted to the zipper for movement between a closed 
position and an open position. The male and female profiles are engaged to 
each other while the slider is in the closed position. The male and female 
profiles are disengaged from each other in response to movement of the 
slider to the open position. 
First and second upstanding panels extend upwardly from the respective 
first and second body panels. Each of the upstanding panels includes 
opposing ends, and the opposing ends of the first upstanding panel are 
connected to the respective opposing ends of the second upstanding panel 
to form an open pocket in which the slider and zipper are captured. The 
open pocket effectively creates end terminations that serve to prevent the 
slider from going past the ends of the zipper and to provide adequate end 
strength that resists stresses applied to the profiles during normal use 
of the bag. To minimize tampering with the plastic bag, the open pocket 
may be sealed by joining the first and second upstanding panels to each 
other above the slider so as to completely encapsulate the slider within 
the pocket.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative 
forms, a specific embodiment thereof has been shown by way of example in 
the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be 
understood, however, that it is not intended to limit the invention to the 
particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover 
all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit 
and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. 
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Turning now to the drawings, FIGS. 1-3 depict a mouth portion of a 
reclosable plastic bag embodying the present invention. The plastic bag 
comprises first and second opposing body panels 12 and 14 fixedly 
connected to each other along a pair of sides 16 and 18 (see FIGS. 4 and 
5) and a bottom 20 (see FIGS. 4 and 5) bridging the pair of sides 16 and 
18. The bag is provided with a reclosable zipper 22 extending along the 
mouth portion, which is formed opposite the sealed bottom 20 of the 
plastic bag. 
The zipper 22 includes a male track and a female track. The male track 
includes a male profile 24 and a first depending fin or flange 26 
extending downward from the male profile 24. Likewise, the female track 
includes a female profile 28 and a second depending fin or flange 30 
extending downward from the female profile 28. If the zipper 22 is formed 
separately from the body panels 12 and 14 of the bag, the first and second 
fins 26 and 30 are thermally fused to inner surfaces of the respective 
first and second body panels 12 and 14. Alternatively, the zipper 22 may 
be extruded with the panels 12 and 14 such that the first fin 26 is 
integrally formed with the first body panel 12 and the second fin 30 is 
integrally formed with the second body panel 14. 
To assist in opening the plastic bag, a slider 32 is slidably mounted to 
the zipper 22 for movement between a closed position and an open position. 
In the closed position of the slider 32, the male and female profiles 24 
and 28 are interlocked with each other. Movement of the slider 32 from the 
closed position toward the open position disengages the male and female 
profiles 24 and 28 from each other and allows a user to gain access to the 
interior of the plastic bag. Further details concerning the construction 
and operation of the zipper 22 and slider 32 may be obtained from U.S. 
Pat. No. 5,067,208 to Herrington, Jr. et al., which is incorporated herein 
in its entirety by reference. 
First and second upstanding panels 36 and 38 extend upwardly from the 
respective first and second body panels 12 and 14. The first upstanding 
panel 36 is integrally formed with the first body panel 12, and a 
lowermost strip 36a (FIG. 3) of the first upstanding panel 36 is thermally 
fused to an outer surface of an uppermost strip of the first body panel 
12. Likewise, the second upstanding panel 38 is integrally formed with the 
second body panel 14, and a lowermost strip 38a (FIG. 3) of the second 
upstanding panel 38 is thermally fused to an outer surface of an uppermost 
strip of the second body panel 14. 
Each of the upstanding panels 36 and 38 includes opposing vertical ends in 
line with the sides 16 and 18, and the opposing vertical ends of the first 
upstanding panel 36 are thermally fused to the respective opposing 
vertical ends of the second upstanding panel 38 along the sides 16 and 18 
to form a pocket in which the slider 32 and zipper 22 are captured. The 
pocket serves the dual function of end terminations, which is to prevent 
the slider 32 from going past the ends of the zipper 22 and to provide 
adequate end strength that resists stresses applied to the profiles 24 and 
28 during normal use of the bag. 
Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, if the plastic bag is used to prepackage 
food products such as dell meats and cheeses which are later sold in a 
grocery store, it is desirable to provide the plastic bag with a 
tamper-evident feature. The first and second upstanding panels 36 and 38 
are ideally suited for this purpose. To minimize tampering with the 
plastic bag, upper edges of the respective first and second upstanding 
panels 36 and 38 are joined to each other to seal the pocket and 
completely encapsulate the slider 32 and zipper 22 within the sealed 
pocket. The upper edges of the respective first and second upstanding 
panels 36 and 38 may be joined to each other either by thermal fusion or 
by integrally forming these upper edges with each other. When the upper 
edges are integrally formed with each other, the first and second 
upstanding panels are created from a single folded piece of film where the 
fold is disposed along the upper edges and the slider 32 and zipper 22 are 
effectively located in the area of the fold. 
To permit a consumer to gain access to the interior of the plastic bag when 
the pocket is sealed for tamper-evident purposes, the sealed pocket is 
preferably provided with a one-time breakable seal. If the consumer 
purchases a prepackaged plastic bag with the one-time breakable seal 
intact, it is highly unlikely that the contents of the plastic bag have 
been tampered with because the zipper 22 cannot easily be opened without 
breaking the seal. Even if the zipper 22 could be opened without breaking 
the seal, access to the interior of the plastic bag via the opened zipper 
22 is difficult because the zipper 22 is still encapsulated in the sealed 
pocket. If, on the other hand, the consumer purchases a plastic bag with 
the one-time breakable seal broken, then it is more likely that the 
contents of the plastic bag have been tampered with. 
The one-time breakable seal for restricting access to the slider 32 and 
zipper 22 may take several forms. For example, the upstanding panels 36 
and 38 may include respective parallel lines of weakness 40 extending 
between the sides 16 and 18 of the bag and oriented generally parallel to 
the zipper 22. The lines of weakness 40 may be perforated lines, score 
lines, or thinned/die lines (less plastic extruded along the lines). To 
break such a one-time breakable seal, a consumer tears away upper portions 
of the upstanding panels 36 and 38 along the lines of weakness 40 as shown 
in FIG. 5. The upstanding panels 36 and 38 may be thermally fused to each 
other above the lines of weakness 40 to facilitate grasping and subsequent 
tearing of the upstanding panels 36 and 38. In another embodiment, a 
single line of weakness is formed at the juncture of the uppermost edges 
of the upstanding panels 36 and 38. 
In yet another embodiment, the one-time breakable seal takes the form of a 
peelable seal. To create the peelable seal, the inner surfaces of one or 
both of the upstanding panels 36 and 38 above the slider 32 and zipper 22 
are detachably connected to each other by a tacky adhesive-like substance 
that is well-known in the art. 
In a further embodiment, the first and second upstanding panels 36 and 38 
are fixedly connected to each other and no line of weakness is formed 
along or at the juncture of the panels. In this embodiment, the consumer 
gains entrance into the sealed pocket formed by the joined panels 36 and 
38 by cutting off upper portions of the upstanding panels 36 and 38 with a 
cutting device such as a scissors, knife, or the like. 
While the present invention has been described with reference to one or 
more particular embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that 
many changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and 
scope of the present invention. Each of these embodiments and obvious 
variations thereof is contemplated as falling within the spirit and scope 
of the claimed invention, which is set forth in the following claims.