Abstract:
A reclosable plastic bag having first and second securement strips near the open top of the bag. A wire or other inelastically deformable member is extruded or otherwise placed adjacent the opening of the bag. Then when the bag is opened, the top can be bent into a desired shape so that the bag will stay open. This makes the filling, emptying or using of the contents much easier than the conventional plastic bag.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The field of the invention is containers and the invention relates more particularly to reclosable plastic bags. Said bags typically have first and second strips adjacent the top thereof. These strips interlock to reclosably close and permit opening of the bag. 
     Plastic bags with a reclosable top of the type commonly sold under the trademark “ZIPLOC” bags are in widespread use. When one wants to place articles in such bags, it is often difficult to hold the top of the bag open. Such bags tend to move into a closed position and it takes two hands to maintain a wide opening to facilitate filling. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,027,965, shows a fuel overflow collection device. In one form, this device utilizes a plastic bag having one side larger than the other side and having a wire imbedded in a pouch formed in the bag. The bag is adhered under a fuel overflow vent to capture overflowing fuel and prevent it from entering the water way. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,174,658 shows a self-expanding and reclosable flexible bag. This bag has a pair of plastic stays which are made from a relatively stiff resilient material having a memory, such as Nylon or high-density polyethylene. The strips are shaped so that in an unstressed configuration they are circular or elliptical. Thus, when the bag is opened it will tend to form an almost circular opening to facilitate the filling or emptying of the contents of the bag. 
     There are many instances when one would like to have the “ZIPLOC” style bag stay open so that both hands could be used to fill the bag. Furthermore, it is sometimes desired to temporarily secure the bag over, for instance, a bottle opening to facilitate the transfer of the contents of a bottle, for instance, of pills into the plastic bag. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide bags, especially plastic bags, and predominantly reclosable plastic bags with an inelastically deformable member secured adjacent the opening of such bag or the reclosing strips of a bag which has a closure similar to that found in plastic bags sold under the trademark “ZIPLOC.” In this way, the bag may be deformed into a desired shape to assist in the filling or emptying of its contents. 
     The present invention is for a plastic bag of the type having a male and a female securement means near a top of an upper opening thereof. The improved plastic bag of the present invention has a first inelastically deformable member secured adjacent the opening along one side extending from the right end to the left end of the bag. Similarly, a second inelastically deformable member is secured adjacent the opening along the other side and also extends from the right end to the left end of the bag. The ends of the two inelastically deformable members are interlocked or fuzed within the plastic at the right and left ends thereof so that the right and left sides function together as an integral unit. The inelastically deformable members may be metal, such as iron or stainless steel, or a highly filled polymer which exhibits the property of inelastic deformability. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the reclosable plastic bag with deformable stay open inlay of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line  2 — 2  of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic plan view of an extruder shown forming the extrusion used to fabricate the bag of the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line  4 — 4  of FIG.  2 . 
     FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a polymeric inelastically deformed member analogous to FIG.  4 . 
     FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line  6 — 6  of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 7 is a top view of an opened reclosable plastic bag with deformable stay open inlays. 
     FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view analogous to FIG. 2 with an alternate placement of an inelastically deformable member. 
     FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the bag of FIG. 1 formed around the open end of a plastic bottle. 
     FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the bag of FIG. 1 secured over a gap between two members. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     A reclosable plastic bag is shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings and indicated generally by reference character  10 . Bag  10  has a top  11  with a female securement means  12  on one side thereof. A male securement means  13  is formed along the other side of bag  10 . The bag has a pair of inelastically deformable members, one positioned adjacent the female securement means  12  and the other positioned adjacent the male securement means  13 . These are shown in cross-sectional view in FIG.  2  and the female inelastically deformable member is indicated by reference character  14 , and the male inelastically deformable member is indicated by reference character  15 . Inelastically deformable members  14  and  15  extend to a left side  16  and to a right side  17  of bag  10 . The ends of the inelastically deformable members are fused together by a fused area  18  on the left side and a fused area  19  on the right side. The left ends of the inelastically deformable members are indicated by reference character  20  and the right ends by reference character  21 . 
     Because of the presence of inelastically deformable members  14  and  15 , the bag will stay open, as shown in FIG. 1, and provide an easily accessible upper opening  22 . 
     The upper end of bag  10  is shown in cross-sectional view in FIG. 2 where the female securement means  12  and the male securement means  13  can be seen. Both inelastically deformable members are positioned adjacent to the male and female securement means which are typically at the opening of such bag. They are also held together by being fused within the plastic as shown best in FIG. 6 of the drawings. In this way, the two inelastically deformable members  14  and  14  are held together to form an integral unit which will assist in the temporary forming of the opening into a desired shape. In this way, the top can be shaped to almost any desired configuration. Thus, the top can be configured to wrap around the open end of a bottle, such as that indicated by reference character  23  in FIG.  9 . It can also be expanded over an open gap, such as gap  24  shown in FIG.  10 . If the ends were not fused together, such a holding method would be unstable. Thus, the unitary joining of the two inelastically deformable members forms a preferred part of the present invention. Gap  24  could be the opening of a cup or bowl which would greatly facilitate the filling of such bags. 
     The inelastically deformable members  14  and  15  can be secured to the plastic bag by various means. In the preferred embodiment, the inelastically deformable members  14  and  15  are added in a manner consistent with existing manufacturing methods of reclosable bags. Therefore, the most common way of forming a reclosable plastic bag of the present invention is indicated diagrammatically in FIG. 3 where an extruder head  25  is fed a pair of wires  14  and  15 , which form the inelastically deformable members. Plastic is extruded around the wires  14  and  15  and shaped in a member which form the first and second interlocking securement means  12  and  13 . The bag is then cut along dotted lines  26  and  27 . It is next folded between securement means  12  and  13 , and sealed along the left end and a right end as well as being fused along fused areas  18  and  19 . By such fabrication means, the wire or other inelastically deformable member is integrally formed into the unitary configuration discussed above. 
     Inelastically deformable member  15  is shown in enlarged cross-sectional view in FIG. 4 and a polymeric inelastically deformable member is shown in enlarged cross-sectional view in FIG.  5  and indicated by reference character  28 . Such polymeric inelastically deformable member may be fabricated from any polymer having this property and it has been found that highly filled polymers, filled with such filler as talc, exhibit this property. A polymeric inelastically deformable member would typically be fabricated of a larger cross-section than the iron or stainless steel wire. 
     Because of the inelastic deformation, the top may be formed in a unique shape such as that indicated by reference character  25  in FIG.  7 . 
     The inelastically deformable members need not necessarily be positioned below the male and female securement members, but could both be above, or one could be above and the other below as indicated in FIG.  8 . The inelastically deformable member above the female securement means  12  is indicated by reference character  14 ′. 
     The result is an inexpensive reclosable plastic bag which is far more user friendly than conventional bags. Both the fabrication and materials necessary to make such bags are inexpensive and provide a large measure of improved user adaptability. 
     The present embodiments of this invention are thus to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive; the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be embraced therein.