INJECTION MOULDED BAD CLOSURE

Abstract: Bag closure comprising two bag carrying bars (1) interconnected at their ends, closure means (6, 7) and/or handle parts (3, 4), which are connected to the upper edges of the carrying bars (1) and of which at least one is connected to the carrying bar (1) via a flexible connecting piece (2) which is essentially perpendicular to the corresponding carrying bar (1). The use of the connecting piece (2) allows the closure to be produced by moulding in a simple mould and at a high production rate.

Description: • Injection moulded bag closure This invention relates to an injection moulded bag closure comprising two parallel carrying bars which at their ends are inter¬ connected through connecting means extending over substantially the full height of said bars, said bars being adapted to be connected to opposite portions of the open end of a bag, and closure means or handle parts connected to the upper edges of said carrying bars. Various closures for carrying bags are well known, said closures comprising carrying bars and connecting means moulded in - one operation, each carrying bar having attached to its upper edge a handle part, the two handle parts having a shape, such that they can be interlocked, thus also interlocking the carrying bars. Thus, a well known bag closure comprises two parts having the shape of a closed handle and the opening in one handle part having a shape, such that the other handle part can be inserted therein, and can be brought in engagement with said first handle part by means, of a hook shaped part on the outer side of said first part. In another well known bag closure comprising two hook shaped handle parts there is provided an elongated hole which is parallel to the carrying bar in the zone shortly above said bar, said hole having a size, such that the handle part of the second carrying bar can be inserted into said hole and be placed essentially parallel to the outer side of the former handle part and in engagement therewith . The above mentioned closures are prepared by injection moulding in a jaw tool in which each handle part forms an angle of 10 to the plane of the corresponding carrying bar. It is necessary to use such a jaw tool in order to prepare the two carrying bars being integrally con¬ nected at their ends. Due to the very acute angle between the two handle parts it is difficult to cool the mould in the zone adjacent to the two carry¬ ing bars and consequently a desired high production rate cannot be obtained . Furthermore, the use of such a jaw tool results in the formation of sharp edges on the two handle parts and, therefore, the combined handle may cut into the hands when heavy articles are transported in bags having such a handle. The object of the invention is to provide a closing which can be manufactured in a simpler manner and quicker than the above mentioned prior art closures . This object is attained with the closure of the invention, "&! } !-___ OMPI said closure being characterized in that at least one closure means handle part is connected to the upper edge of the correspondin carrying bar via a flexible connecting piece which is moulded essenti ly perpendicular to said carrying bar. The provision of said connecting piece connected to the up per edge of a carrying bar and extending outwardly therefrom essen tially under a right angle has the effect that a far simpler injectio tool than the above mentioned jaw tool can be used and that an effi cient cooling of all parts of the tool can be performed . - " Due to the flexibility of the connecting piece, one part the closure means or one handle part can easily be combined with th other part of the closure means or the other handle part in spite the fact that when removed from the mould, it extends perpendicular ly outwardly from said carrying bar. It is preferred that each part the closure means or each handle part extends essentially perpendicu larly outwardly from its carrying bar and the following explanation the invention is based on said preferred embodiment. " In order to make it easier to bring the two parts of th closure means or the two handle parts together and to ensure tha the connecting pieces are bent in the same zone when they ar brought together or are separated, each connecting piece preferabl comprises a weakening line extending parallel to the upper edge o the carrying bar. By localizing the bending movement to specific zones, ver stable hinges are obtained when said hinges are made from e. g . poly propylene. Furthermore, it is ensured that the bending takes place i a predetermined zone which is essential to the function of the closur means and causes that the closing operation can be effected mechani cally. The handle parts connected to the carrying bars may b closed or in the shape of hooks so that the closure can be used i connection with carrying bags and/or bags for the display of goods i shops . Due to the fact that the handle parts extend from the carryin bars in different directions, the bags are easy to open and are conse quently suitable for mechanical packing of goods . The opening o such bags may be effected by forcing" the carrying bars away fro one another as a result of a pull in the handle parts extending i opposite directions and when the goods are being packed , the handl parts are kept out of the zone through which the goods are introduc into the bag to which the closure is attached . The handle parts are preferably U-shaped and the width of the U-profile of one handle part is preferably so much less than the width of the U-profile of the other handle part that the former U-pro- file can be inserted in the latter with the open ends of the U-profiies facing one another. The handle thus formed has no sharp edges . I nstead of attaching handle parts directly to the carrying bars, they may be connected to closure means attached to said bars. When both the closure means and the handle parts form part of the ' _ closure, the closure means preferably comprise a hook provided on the exterior side of the relatively narrow U-profile of one handle part, said hook having a shape such that it can be inserted on a corresponding shoulder-shaped part on the interior side of the wide U-profile of the second handle part so as to lock the two parts toge- ther. The closure means are preferably located in close proximity of the connecting pieces in order to ensure that the hook and the shoulder-shaped part fit exactly together when the handle parts are moved towards one another and because in that case the closed bag is difficult to open with one hand and the contents thereof cannot be removed unnoticed. A further protection against unnoticed opening of a closed bag can be obtained by providing one handle part with a weakening line located some distance from the upper edge of the carrying bar and parallel thereto. The presence of such a weakening line has the effect that two hands have to be used to open the closure because the two handle parts have to be pulled away from one another. The two handle parts may be interlocked in another or a further way by providing on that part of the narrow U-profile of one handle which is remote from the carrying bar a flange having a dimension such that it can be inserted into and maintained in an incision in the wide U-profile of the second handle part. The invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the drawings, in which Fig . 1 shows a top view of an embodiment of a combined closure and handle according to the invention , Fig . 2 shows a sectional view along the line 1 1 - I I of the combined closure and handle illustrated in Fig . 1 , Fig . 3 shows an enlarged sectional view of a combine closure and handle according to the inventio with the two handle parts being interlocked Figs. 1 and 2 show two parallel carrying bars 1 which a interconnected at their ends. The upper edge of each bar 1 is con nected via a connecting piece 2 which extends outwardly from sai bar under an angle of about 90° to a handle part 3,4. The two handl parts have an U-shaped profile and the open end of the U turns up The U-profile of the handle part 4 is wider than the handle part 3 s ' - that the handle part 3 can be inserted into the handle part 4, c Fig . 3, when the two parts are brought together. Each connectin piece 2 has a weakening line 5 extending parallel to the adjoinin carrying bar 1 . The combined closure and handle illustrated comprise locking means which are illustrated in detail in Fig . 3. Thus, that part of the U-shaped handle part 3 which is lo cated close to the adjoining carrying bar 1 comprises on the exterio side and - facing the other bar 1 a hook 6, and the correspondin portion of the handle part 4 has on the interior side turning awa from the carrying bar 1 a shoulder-shaped part 7 having a shap corresponding to that of the hook 6. The above mentioned portion o the handle part 4 comprises an inclined surface 8 located between th shoulder-shaped part 7 and the upper edge of the U-profile. The handle part 3 also comprises a weakening line 9 whic is parallel to the carrying bar 1 and which is located in a zone 1 connecting the two essentially parallel portions of the handle part The outermost portion of the handle part 4 comprises at th side facing the carrying bar 1 an extension 11 forming a hook-shape edge 12 which permits the closed handle to be hanged on a bar in predetermined position . The portion of the handle part 3 which is remote from th carrying bar 1 comprises at its exterior side a flange 13 having length such that it can be inserted into and maintained in a corre sponding incision 14 in the corresponding portion of the handle par 4. When the illustrated combined closure and handle has bee removed from the mould and the article to be packed has been intro duced into the corresponding bag , the two handle parts 3,4 ar turned against one another. During this movement the zones at th weakening lines 5 will function as hinges . During the continued OM movement the hooks 6 on the handle part 3 are contacted with the inclined surfaces 8 on the handle part 4 and are caused to slide along said surfaces until the hooks 6 are brought into engagement with the shoulder-shaped parts 7, thus interlocking the two parts 3,4. When the portions of the handle parts 3 and 4 which are lo¬ cated closest to one another have been interlocked, the remotest por¬ tions can be interlocked by introducing the flange 13 of the handle part 3 into the incision 14 of the handle part 4. The removal of the flange 13 from the incision 14 and the turning of that portion of the handle part 3 which is remote from the carrying bar 1 away from the handle part 4 will not automatically cause the carrying bars to be removed from one another because the handle part will bend along the weakening line 9. In order to force the carrying bars 1 away from one another, a pull has to be subjected to both the handle part 3 and the handle part 4. The locking system consisting of hooks 6 and corresponding shoulder-shaped parts present the further advantage that the contact between the two handle parts is strengthened with increasing loads on the carrying bars. The combined closure and handle according to the invention is, therefore, particularly suitable for carrying bags for heavy articles.

Claims: » Patent Claims 1. An injection moulded bag closure comprising two parall carrying bars (1) which at their ends are interconnected throug connecting means extending over substantially the full height of sai bars, said bars (1) being adapted to be connected to the opposit portions of the open end of a bag, and closure means (6,7) or handl parts (3,4) connected to the upper edges of said carrying bars (1) c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that at least one closure means (6,7) o handle part (3,4) is connected to the upper edge of the correspondin - : carrying bar (1) via a flexible connecting piece (2) which is moulde essentially perpendicular to said carrying bar (1). 2. A bag closure according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that each connecting piece (2) has a weakening line (5 extending parallel to the upper edge of the carrying bar (1). 3. A bag closure according to claim 1 or claim 2, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the two handle parts (3,4) have U-profiles and that the width of the U-profile of one handle part (3) is so muc less than " the width of the U-profile of the other handle part (4) tha the former U-profile can be inserted in the latter U-profile with th open ends of the U-profiles facing one another. 4. A bag closure according to claim 3, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the exterior side of the U-profile of the handle par (3) comprises at least one hook (6) having a shape such that it ca be inserted on a corresponding shoulder-shaped part (7) on the ϊn terior side of the wide U-profile of the handle part (4) to interloc the two handle parts (3,4). 5. A bag closure according to claim 4, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the hook (6) and the corresponding shoulder-shape part (7) are provided in close proximity of the carrying bars (1) 6. A bag closure according to claim 2, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that at least one handle part (3) comprises a furthe weakening line (9) located at some distance from the upper edge o the carrying bar (1) and being parallel therewith. 7. A bag closure according to claim 3, c h a r a c t e r ϊ z e d in that that part of the narrow U-profile of the handle par (3) which is remote from the carrying bar (1) comprises a flange hav ing such dimensions that it can be inserted into and be maintained i an incision (14) in the wide U-profile of the other handle part (4)

Inventors: HOULBERG J
Applicants: HOULBERG J
Application year: 1981
Main classification: B65D33
IPC codes: B65B33, B65D33