Patent Publication Number: US-2011075952-A1

Title: Elastic Drawstring Trash Bags

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not applicable. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to improvements in the construction and manufacture of polymeric bags. In particular, the present invention relates to improvements in the construction and manufacture of elastic drawstring trash bags. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Polymeric bags are ubiquitous in modern society. Polymeric bags are available in different combinations of material, capacity, thickness, dimensions and color. In terms of potential applications, polymeric bags may be used for product packaging, long-term storage of goods, food storage, and trash collection among other uses. In response to consumer demand, manufacturers of polymeric bags have developed innovative, new technology over the years to improve the utility and performance of polymeric bags. The present invention described herein is one such improvement and is of particular relevance to drawstring trash bags. 
     Drawstring trash bags are a popular alternative to twist-tie or flapped trash bags. As the name suggests, drawstring bags incorporate drawstrings, also known as drawtape, into the bag design. In a typical drawstring trash bag known in the prior art, a pair of drawstrings are enclosed within hems running along the opening of the trash bag. The drawstrings are allowed to slide freely within the hems and are physically joined to the bag by seals welding the drawstrings to the panels of the bag. The seals hold the respective ends of the drawstrings in place, thereby allowing users to pull the drawstrings through the access cut outs of the respective hems. The drawstrings may then be tied together to securely close the bag while also providing a convenient handle for carrying the bag. 
     Traditional drawstring trash bags do suffer from some disadvantages. When a traditional drawstring trash bag is placed onto a receptacle with the top of the bag pulled over the upper rim of the receptacle, a traditional drawstring trash bag does not offer any means to secure the bag in place. Consequently, when trash is placed into the receptacle, the force on the bag as the trash falls into the bag and the overall weight of the trash already in the bag can have a tendency to pull the sides of traditional drawstring trash bags into the trash can. Therefore, it would be desirable to offer an alternative to traditional drawstring trash bags known in the art so as to provide a means for securing the bag over a trash receptacle. 
     In the prior art, it was known to utilize elastomeric materials as components of the drawstrings for a trash bag to secure a trash bag onto a trash receptacle. In particular, certain prior art references disclose an elastic drawstring trash bag with a pair of large notches at the upper corners of the bag. The large notches allow the ends of the elastic drawstrings to be pulled away from the bag. However, this configuration is disadvantageous. 
     The prior art elastic drawstrings used with this type of bag use raw materials which are far less common and more expensive than those used with traditional drawstrings. The special raw material requirements raises the cost to produce the bag considerably. Additionally, the configuration of these bags differs greatly from the traditional drawstring bag. In a conventional drawstring bag, the drawstrings are pulled through centrally-located cut-out holes in the respective hems. By contrast, the drawstrings of the elastic drawstring bags of the prior art are pulled from the upper corners of the bag. 
     In view of the foregoing, it would be advantageous to provide an elastic drawstring trash bag that is similar in configuration to a traditional drawstring bag. Specifically, it would be advantageous to provide an elastic drawstring trash bag where the elastic drawstring could be pulled through the centrally-located cut-out holes at the top of the bag rather than the upper corners of the drawstring bag. The present invention addresses this need. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention discloses an elastic drawstring bag constructed from a first panel and a second panel. The first panel and the second panel are continuously joined along a first side, a bottom, and a second side. The bag defines a first upper corner, a second upper corner, and a bag width. A first hem extends between the first upper corner and the second upper corner, with a first elastic drawstring disposed within the first hem. A first one or more seals is proximate to the first upper corner of the bag, the first one or more seals welding the first elastic drawstring, the first panel, and the second panel together. A second one or more seals is proximate to the second upper corner of the bag, the second one or more seals welding the first elastic drawstring, the first panel, and the second panel together. An upper opening width being defined as the distance between an inner boundary of the first one or more seals and an inner boundary of the second one or more seals, the upper opening width being less than the bag width. 
     It is contemplated that the present invention may be utilized in ways that are not fully described or set forth herein. The present invention is intended to encompass these additional uses to the extent such uses are not contradicted by the appended claims. Therefore, the present invention should be given the broadest reasonable interpretation in view of the present disclosure, the accompanying figures, and the appended claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED DRAWINGS 
       A full and complete understanding of the present invention may be obtained by reference to the detailed description of the present invention and preferred embodiment when viewed with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawings can be briefly described as follows. 
         FIG. 1  provides an elevation view of a first embodiment of an elastic drawstring trash bag as contemplated by the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  provides a perspective view of a first embodiment of an elastic drawstring trash bag as contemplated by the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  provides an enlarged perspective view of the upper corner of a first embodiment of an elastic drawstring trash bag as contemplated by the present invention. 
         FIG. 4A  provides a perspective view of a second embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4B  provides a perspective view of a third embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The present disclosure illustrates one or more preferred embodiments of the present invention. It is not intended to provide an illustration or encompass all embodiments contemplated by the present invention. In view of the disclosure of the present invention contained herein, a person having ordinary skill in the art will recognize that innumerable modifications and insubstantial changes may be incorporated or otherwise included within the present invention without diverging from the spirit of the invention. Therefore, it is understood that the present invention is not limited to those embodiments disclosed herein. The appended claims are intended to more fully and accurately encompass the invention to the fullest extent possible, but it is fully appreciated that certain limitations on the use of particular terms is not intended to conclusively limit the scope of protection. 
     Referring initially to  FIG. 1 , an elevation view of a first embodiment of an elastic drawstring trash bag  100  is depicted.  FIG. 2  provides a perspective view of the same embodiment of the elastic drawstring trash bag  100  to assist in providing a better understanding of the invention. The elastic drawstring trash bag  100  is comprised of a first panel  102  and a second panel  104  joined along the sides  106  and the bottom  108 . 
     It would be expected that the elastic drawstring trash bag  100  could be manufactured in general using the same fundamental processes used for manufacturing traditional non-elastic drawstring trash bags. Traditionally, drawstring trash bags are manufactured using a blown-film extrusion process. In this process, drawstring trash bags, including an elastic drawstring trash bag  100  as disclosed herein, can be formed from a flattened tube, the bottom  108  defined by a folded edge of the flattened tube while the sides  106  would be formed by applying side seals  110  running the length of the elastic drawstring trash bag  100 . The bag width is therefore defined as the distance between the respective side seals  110 . While this is the preferred method of manufacture, a person of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that other methods of manufacture can be used. 
     The elastic drawstring trash bag  100  is provided with a pair of elastic drawstrings  116  enclosed within the hems  112  of the drawstring trash bag  100 . To form the hems  112 , top portions of the respective first panel  102  and second panel  104  are folded over the elastic drawstrings  116 . A first hem seal  118  is provided which seals the top portion of the first panel  102  to itself to form the tube which is the first of the hems  112 . Similarly, a second hem seal  118  is provided which seals the top portion of the second panel  104  to itself to form the tube which becomes the second of the hems  112 . Although, the hem seals  118  serve to contain the elastic drawstrings  116  within the respective hems  112 , the respective ends of the elastic drawstrings  116  must also be anchored to the upper corners of the elastic drawstring trash bag  100 . 
     To anchor the elastic drawstrings  116  to the upper corners of the elastic drawstring trash bag  100 , one or more seals  120  are provided. Each seal  120  welds the elastic drawstrings  116 , the first panel  102 , and the second panel  104  together. The seals  120  must be strong enough to hold the ends of elastic drawstrings  116  in place while a consumer pulls the elastic drawstrings  116  through the centrally-located cut-out holes  122 . When the elastic drawstrings  116  are pulled through the centrally-located cut-out holes  122 , the upper opening of the elastic drawstring trash bag  100  closes, securing the trash inside. The arrangement of the seals  120  in one particular embodiment is shown in detail in  FIG. 3 . 
     An enlarged view of the upper corner of one embodiment is depicted in  FIG. 3 . In  FIG. 3 , a set of three distinct seals  120  form a multi-seal set  124 . The seals  120  define an inner seal boundary  130  which is the innermost point of the one or more seals  120  along the upper opening of the elastic drawstring trash bag  100 . The distance between the respective inner seal boundaries  130  at each of the upper corners thereby defines the upper opening width of the elastic drawstring trash bag  100 . While in the depicted embodiment each of the seals  120  are substantially uniform and rectangular in shape, the present invention is not limited to any particular shape or size for the individual seals  120  nor is any certain number of seals  120  required.  FIGS. 4A and 4B  depict additional embodiments of the present invention which reflect alternative possible arrangements for the one or more seals  120  in the upper corners. 
       FIG. 4A  illustrates a second embodiment of the present invention. In particular,  FIG. 4A  depicts an elastic drawstring trash bag  100  that is similar, but not identical, to the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 . In a first upper corner of the elastic drawstring trash bag  100 , a multi-seal set  124  is provided as previously described and shown in  FIG. 3 . Like the previously shown embodiment, the inner seal boundary  130  for this upper corner is located at a point inward from the side seal  110 . However, unlike the earlier embodiment, the one or more seals  120  in the second upper corner of the elastic drawstring trash bag  100  consist of a single standard width seal  126 . As with seals known in the prior art, the standard width seal  126  extends substantially from the side  106  of the elastic drawstring trash bag  100  to a point that is approximately in line with the side seal  110  of the bag. 
     The embodiment depicted of  FIG. 4B  depicts a single seal  120  in both corners of the elastic drawstring bag. As with the embodiment of  FIG. 4A , the seal  120  in one corner is a standard width seal  126  extending from substantially the side  106  of the elastic drawstring bag  100  to a line corresponding with the side seal  110 . Therefore, the inner seal boundary  130  at this corner is located at substantially the same point as the side seal  110 . The seal  120  at the opposing corner is an oversized seal  128  which extends from the side  106  of the elastic drawstring bag  100  inward to a point beyond the side seal  110 . The inner seal boundary  130  of the oversized seal  128  is therefore located at a point substantially inward from the side seal  110 . Therefore, in this configuration, the inner seal boundaries  130  of the one or more seals  120  in the upper corners of the elastic drawstring bag  100  result in a upper opening which is less than the bag width. 
     Regardless of the configuration of the one or more seals  120 , when a consumer stretches the upper opening around the upper edge of a trash receptacle, the elastic drawstrings  116 , the first panel  102  and second panel  104  will stretch. This allows the elastic drawstring trash bag  100  to be placed over the upper rim of a trash receptacle. When the consumer releases the elastic drawstring trash bag  100 , the elastic drawstrings  116  retract, resulting in the upper opening of the elastic drawstring trash bag  100  gripping around the outside of the trash receptacle. The holding force provided by the elastic drawstrings  116  should be sufficient to prevent the bag from falling into the trash receptacle during use. 
     As previously noted, the specific embodiments depicted herein are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Indeed, it is contemplated that any number of different embodiments may be utilized without diverging from the spirit of the invention. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to more fully encompass the full scope of the present invention.