Abstract:
A flexible bag-like container comprises front and rear flat, rectangular, equal size panels of flexible sheet material which are sealed to each other entirely around their outer periphery. The front panel is made stiff and resiliently bendable about an axis in a region near one end and the rear panel has a slit extending along a line transverse to the bending axis. The slit terminates short of the sides of said container.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to bag type containers which are used to package various articles of merchandise, for example, saw blades, knives, rulers, etc. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Flexible, generally flat, bag type containers are shown and described in several U.S. patents, including for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,254,828; 3,826,026; 4,406,371; 4,417,658; 4,557,384; 5,765,341 and 5,938,013. In general, these containers are formed from flexible plastic sheets which are sealed together around their periphery and formed with an opening in the form of a slit which extends across one of the sheets. In order to maintain the opening closed, a tab or flap is provided to cover the slit. Another patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,419,837, shows flat sheets with non-covered slits; but those sheets are used to form holders for envelopes and the like which are carried between the sheets in such a way that they protrude out through the slits so that the slits are always open. 
     Another bag type construction, which is currently in use, comprises a pair of elongated rectangular plastic sheets which are sealed to each other along their side edges and along a bottom end. One of the sheets is longer than the other so that the other or top end of the shorter sheet is not sealed. A third sheet is sealed to the top and side edges of the longer sheet which extend downward beyond the top end of the shorter sheet. This third sheet includes a flap which extends down over a portion of the shorter sheet to cover the opening at the top end of the shorter sheet. A resiliently flexible stiffener panel is sealed to the longer sheet in the region beyond the shorter sheet and is covered by the third sheet. This multi-piece construction is complex and expensive to manufacture and it is inconvenient to manipulate the flap when inserting or removing the merchandise. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is desired to provide a bag type container construction which is simple and economical to manufacture and which allows for easy insertion and removal of merchandise. At the same time it is desired that the container have a closure which effectively retains the merchandise during normal handling. 
     According to the present invention, there is provided a novel flexible bag type container construction which comprises a pair of rectangular flexible sheets of the same size which are sealed to each other around their periphery. One of the sheets is constructed or reinforced so as to be made stiff and resiliently bendable about an axis in a region near one end of the sheets. The other sheet is slit in a direction transverse to the axis of bending and the slit is located at a position entirely within the resiliently bendable region. By locating the slit entirely within the resiliently bendable region, the slit may be opened for the insertion or removal of merchandise by flexing the resiliently bendable region; and when the resiliently bendable region is thereafter released, it returns to a flat condition and causes the slit to close. The length of the slit is such that it does not extend to the edges of the other sheet, so that the other sheet is continuous around the slit. This feature makes the container stronger. It does not tear apart as other designs. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a front view of a bag type container embodying the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a rear view of the container of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the container of FIGS. 1 and 2 in a flat, closed, configuration; 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 3 but showing the container in a flexed, open, condition; 
     FIG. 5 is a section view taken along line  5 — 5  of FIG. 3; and 
     FIG. 6 is a section view taken along line  6 — 6  of FIG.  4 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a bag type container  10  according to the present invention is of generally rectangular configuration. The dimensions of the container are not critical but, by way of example, the illustrated container may have a width of about two or three inches (5.08 cm or 7.62 cm) and a length of about 22 inches (55.88 cm). The container  10  may be shorter or longer; and it may be narrower or wider. The container is formed from a front rectangular panel  12  (FIG. 1) of flexible plastic material and a rear rectangular panel  14  (FIG. 2) which is also of flexible plastic material. The panels  12  and  14  are of the same size and are sealed around their entire periphery, for example by fusing or welding them together. The front panel  12  may be transparent in order to permit one to view merchandise within the container  10 . 
     A relatively stiff resiliently bendable panel  16  is provided between the panels  12  and  14  at their upper ends and is sealed in place by the sealing together of the panels  12  and  14 . A mounting hole  18  is formed at the upper end of the container  10  and extends through both the front and the rear panels  12  and  14  as well as through the resiliently bendable panel  16 . The mounting hole  18  may be reinforced by fusing the material of the panels  12 ,  14  and  16  around its periphery or a grommet  20 , for example of metal, may be provided to extend through the mounting hole. The mounting hole  18  need not be circular. It may, for example, be elongated in the width direction of the container and this elongated hole may be formed with either an upper or upper and lower semi-circular or “half moon” widening in the center thereof. Also, the mounting hole  18  may be in the form of a “J” hook slot that extends down from the top of the container near one side and horizontally to the center of the container and then upwardly a short distance. 
     It will be appreciated that instead of a separate panel  16 , the front panel  12  may itself be made of a stiff, resiliently flexible material, at least in the region that can be occupied by the panel  16 . Where a panel  16  is used to make the front panel stiff and resiliently bendable, it may be printed with product information which shows through the transparent front panel  12 . 
     As shown in FIG. 2, the back panel  14  is provided with a slit  22  which extends from a location part way from one side of the container  10  to a location part way to the opposite side of the container. It will be noted that the slit  22  is located entirely within the region occupied by the resiliently bendable panel  16  so that the back panel  14  is continuous around the slit. Preferably, the slit  22  is located in the middle of the region occupied by the resiliently bendable panel  16 . The slit  22  is terminated at each end thereof by means of small circular cutouts  24 . These cutouts act as stress relievers and provide increased resistance to tearing as the slit is opened, as will be described hereinafter. 
     FIG. 3 shows the container  10  in flat condition with the slit  22  in closed condition. This is the normal configuration of the container. As can be seen in the section view of FIG. 5, the slit  22  is closed with the rear panel  14  lying flat against the resiliently bendable panel  16 . 
     When it is desired to open the container  10  for the insertion or removal of merchandise, the side edges of the container are squeezed together near its upper end, i.e. in the region of the resiliently bendable panel  16 , so that the upper end of the container becomes bent about a vertical or longitudinal axis  26  as shown in FIG.  4 . As can be seen, this bending axis is transverse to the direction in which the slit  22  extends. It will also be seen that bending is in a direction such that the panel  16  becomes concave in a direction facing the rear panel  14 . This causes the portion of the rear panel  14  below the slit  22  to flex outwardly as shown at  28 , while the portion of the rear panel  14  above the slit remains against the resiliently bendable panel  16 , thereby to form an opening  30  as shown in FIG.  6 . It will be appreciated that the panels  12 ,  14  and  16  are secured to each other on one side of the slit  22 , namely where the mounting hole  18  is formed. This holds the region of the rear panel  14  above the slit in a concave configuration while the region below the slit flexes out to form the opening  30 . 
     In order to close the container, the sides of the container are released and the resilient panel  16  reverts to a flattened condition. This brings the region of the rear panel  14  below the slit  22  back against the resiliently bendable panel  16 , thereby closing the slit  22 . 
     It will be noted that the slit  22  is located entirely within the region of the resiliently flexible panel  16 . This enables the panel  16  to maintain the slit  22  in a closed configuration when the panel reverts to an unstressed flat configuration. It should also be noted that the ends of the slit  22  terminate short of the sides of the panel  14 . As a result, the panel  14  extends continuously along the flexible panel  16  in side regions beyond the ends of the slit  22 . This enables the portion of the panel  14  which lies above the slit to pull the portion which lies below the slit back to a closed condition when the resilient panel  16  reverts to its flat configuration. 
     It will be appreciated that a container according to this invention is inexpensive and simple to construct in that it merely requires a front panel, a rear panel and a resiliently flexible panel which are welded together around their outer periphery; and a slit formed in the rear panel within the region occupied by the resiliently flexible panel. Also this invention takes advantage of the resiliently flexible panel&#39;s ability to return the opening formed by the slit to a closed condition and the continuous integral region of the rear panel around the ends of the slit to maintain the slit in a closed condition.