Patent Publication Number: US-2021188487-A1

Title: Tamper evident delivery bag and method therefor

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/952,779, filed on Dec. 23, 2019, in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a sheet-material structure having tamper evident features, and more particularly, to a sealable delivery bag with improved tamper evident features, convenience of opening, and method therefor. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Many food service providers, such as restaurants and cafeterias, provide food delivery services to nearby customers either directly or through third parties. Plastic bags are ubiquitously utilized for carrying food items from the food preparer&#39;s facility to their destination which can be a consumer&#39;s home, a college campus, or a business organization. Thus, food items and related products may undergo multiple touch points and additional handling during transit from the preparer&#39;s facility to the final user depending on the type of delivery destination. Maintaining food integrity and sanitation, throughout the supply chain, requires robust delivery packaging that cannot be readily tampered, or at least provides conspicuous indication of tamper in those instances it does occur. 
     Various solutions have existed for partially sealing the open mouth end of a delivery bag, by generally incorporating an adhesive strip closure, and providing side vents at either end of the mouth region of the delivery bag for expelling trapped air within the bag or steam emanating from hot foods. It has been noticed, however, that the side vents on these bags can often create access point(s) into the bag. In addition, depending on the diligence in properly aligning and assembling the bag panels, after the adhesive is exposed, the size of side vents may vary if the bag panels are not properly aligned and the delivery bag may consequently become susceptible to tampering. 
     What is needed, therefore, is a delivery bag that—assures sanitation and tamper detection; and, prevents tampering through the side vents on delivery bags. These and other needs, as shall hereinafter appear, are met by the delivery bag and method of the present invention. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An insight that led to the present invention was the recognition that the side vents created by partially sealing the open mouth-end of some delivery bags may themselves create access points into the bag; and tamper through the side vents may not be readily detected or even detectable. In addition, the size of the side vents on the delivery bags may vary due to improper assembly or alignment errors that may inadvertently occur while applying the adhesive strip closure to the opposite wall or panel of the bag, particularly at busy times as are frequently encountered at restaurants and other food service establishments. 
     An object of the present invention is to overcome the disadvantages of delivery bags wherein the side vents around the adhesive closure can be susceptible to tamper and small food objects, such as french fries that are typically served in a non-lidded container, may be retrieved through the vents provides in some prior art bags. 
     Another object of the present invention is to overcome one of the disadvantages of delivery bags in that when a consumer severs the top portion of the delivery bags, in order to access and extract food containers from the bag, a second bag remnant is often created that now needs to be additionally disposed. 
     Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an easy tearaway strip for allowing a user to conveniently retrieve food items from the tamper evident delivery bag constructed according to an embodiment of the invention. 
     An additional object of the present invention is to provide a sidewall venting system for expelling steam and air from the bag that is not susceptible to tamper or at least will provide conspicuous indication of tamper. In embodiments, the venting system includes a plurality of vents wherein the individual vents are distributed across the bag surface to facilitate localized venting of steam emanating from hot foods. Individual vents within the plurality of vents may be configured in the form of small narrow slits that may be straight or curvilinear or any other shape. A distributed venting system confers a few advantages in that—it allows placement of individual vents in close proximity to the food items thereby preventing excessive condensation within the bag; smaller vents further deter tamper and facilitate tamper detection; and vent sizes remain consistent as vents are not created during bag assembly or closure of the adhesive strip whereby improper assembly can make the bag more susceptible to tamper or compromise tamper detection through the venting system. 
     Still another object of the present invention is to provide an easy-open bag configuration that allows a user for opening a sealed tamper evident bag by providing a tear initiation slit proximate a perforated tear line that allows a user to conveniently push through the slit and propagate tear along the perforations. 
     Accordingly, the present invention relates to a bag comprising mutually opposing front and rear walls wherein the interior surfaces of front and rear walls are in close contact or contiguous relationship when the bag is closed in a flat or folded configuration. The front and rear walls terminate into front and rear flaps respectively to form a flap region at a top end of the bag, with the front and rear flaps forming an openable mouth portion at a top end of said bag. The front and rear walls of the bag are joined together to form a closed bottom end which may include pleated portions or a gusset. The side edges of the front and rear walls below the flap region are joined or sealed together by thermal welding or heat sealing or other bonding methods known in the art. The sealed side edges of the front and rear walls in cooperation with the closed bottom end of the bag define a carrying or holding cavity within the bag. In embodiments, the closed bottom end of the bag may include a gusset or folded or pleated region(s) for providing a relatively flat bottom area for loading and accommodating one or more food containers or similar items into the bag in an upright orientation with relative ease. Accordingly, the mouth portion of the bag is openable, by separating the front and rear flaps, for depositing to-be-carried items in the holding cavity of the bag. The bag can be constructed from a sheet material such as plastic or paper. The bag preferably includes co-aligned handle openings in the front and rear flaps proximate the top edges thereof for allowing a user to conveniently lift the bag by inserting their hand or fingers through the handle openings. 
     The bag further includes an adhesive closure system positioned across an interior surface of one of the walls, below the flap region of the bag, and extending laterally from one sealed side edge of the bag to another sealed side edge of the bag. The adhesive closure system includes an adhesive strip that can be deployed on-demand by removing a protective liner covering the adhesive strip and locally sealing off the front and rear walls by bringing together the adhesive-strip region on one of the walls with the corresponding region on the opposite wall. In accordance with the present invention, since the adhesive closure system spans the entire lateral width of the bag, i.e. from one sealed edge to another sealed edge, deploying the adhesive closure in an edge-to-edge configuration effectively closes off the mouth end of the bag and substantially prevents access therethrough. The edge-to-edge sealed configuration of the bag is characterized by absence of side vents on either side of the closure strip and prevents bag security from being compromised, as venting around the closure strip may be susceptible to tampering. According to the present invention, the edge-to-edge seal of the adhesive closure system eliminates venting around the adhesive strip and the possibility of tamper therethrough. The bag according to the present invention, includes provisions for distributed venting in the form relatively small or narrow slits or vent holes for expelling steam or vapor from the bag being emitted by hot foods while at the same time preventing access into the bag. 
     The features and advantages described herein are not all-inclusive and many additional features and advantages will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of the drawings, specification, and the claims. Moreover, it should be noted that the language used in the specification has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes, and not to limit the scope of the inventive subject matter. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front view of a tamper evident bag in a flat configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2A  is a cross-sectional view of the bottom gusseted section of bag  10  in a partially open state; 
         FIG. 2B  is a cross-sectional view of the bottom gusseted section of bag  10  in a nearly flat configuration; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the tamper evident bag of  FIG. 1  showing the adhesive closure system; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the tamper evident bag shown in  FIG. 3  showing the adhesive liner in a partially peeled state; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a sealed tamper evident bag with food containers therein according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6A  is a front view of a tamper evident bag in a flat configuration according to another embodiment of the present invention that includes a tear initiation slit; 
         FIG. 6B  is an enlarged view of arcuate tear initiation slit of  FIG. 6A ; 
         FIG. 6C  is an enlarged view of a tear initiation slit having a tent-top shape according to another embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6D  is an enlarged view of a tear initiation slit that is perpendicular to perforated tear line according to yet another embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6E  shows the tamper evident opening created after piercing a finger through the tear initiation slit of  FIG. 6D ; 
         FIG. 7  is a front view of a tamper evident bag in a flat configuration showing multi-functional arcuate slit regions along perforated tear line according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 8A  is a front view of a tamper evident bag comprising a frangible strip with perforated tear line sections according to still another embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 8B  is a front view of a tamper evident bag showing the frangible strip of  FIG. 8A  in a partially severed configuration; 
         FIG. 9  is a front view of a tamper evident bag wherein the front and rear flaps are not of equal size, according to another embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 10  is a front view of a tamper evident bag wherein the front and rear flaps are non-symmetrical, according to still another embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The present invention relates to a novel tamper evident sheet-material structure having utility as a delivery device for food service and similar applications. The delivery device according to the invention could be constructed from a variety of sheet-like materials including plastic, paper, netting, foam, or combinations thereof. The terms “delivery device” or “delivery bag” are not intended to be restrictive or utility-limiting. Accordingly, the bag or device according to the present invention can be used for a variety of purposes including, but not limited to, food-delivery, pharmaceutical or nutraceutical delivery, packaging for non-food items such as electronics, a secure shopping bag for holding purchased items and preventing theft at a retail location, or for securing contents during duty-free shopping at an airport. 
     The present invention is described herein with reference to only a few of the exemplary embodiments detailing tamper evident delivery bag(s), nonetheless, it should be understood that the description herein is illustrative of the invention and is not to be considered as limiting the invention to the specific embodiments or features that are shown or described. The invention is capable of various modifications and variations that can be conceived by one of skill in the art without undue experimentation, and all such modifications and variations are deemed to be included within the scope of the invention. 
     In general, it would be understood by those of ordinary skill that the present invention can be adapted for assembling sheet-like materials into delivery devices irrespective of the material of construction. Accordingly, materials such as paper, plastic(s), bioplastic(s), non-woven webs, fibrous webs, foam sheets, netting, foil, other sheet like substrates, and combinations thereof can be utilized to practice various embodiments of the invention. Sheet materials used for practicing various embodiments of the invention may be opaque, translucent, or transparent depending on the physical properties of selected materials and the intended application. 
     It will also be realized by those skilled in the art that the disclosed delivery device or bag can be of a size, strength and carrying capacity in accordance with the size, dimensions and weight of the contents or containers to be carried therein, and that the bag size and other physical properties of the delivery bag can be readily adjusted according to the specific application or desired/intended use situation. The following description and accompanying drawings provide further details and examples of the invention and its embodiments, wherein like numeric or alphanumeric designations represent like parts. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , there is shown a plastic bag  10  according to an embodiment of the invention that features improved security and tamper evidence. In general, the corresponding parts or features in the front and rear of bag  10  are represented with the same numeric designation except that corresponding rear parts or features are generally denoted in an alphanumeric format with the suffix “r”. It will be realized that relative terms such as front, rear, left and right are primarily used to orient the reader in relation to the accompanying illustrations for providing an understanding of the invention. 
     Bag  10  comprises a front wall section  110  and a rear wall section  110   r  (not shown). The front and rear wall sections  110  and  110   r  are arranged in a mutually superposed and congruent relationship when bag  10  is held closed with inner surfaces of wall sections  110  and  110   r  being in close contact with each other. The front wall section  110  and rear wall section  110   r  include a flap region comprising front and rear flaps  112  and  112   r  respectively, with the flap region defining a mouth end of bag  10 . The front and rear flaps  112  and  112   r  include respective handle openings  122  and  122   r  that are congruously aligned to allow a user to lift bag  10  by inserting their fingers through openings  122  and  122   r . Top edges of flaps  112  and  112   r  are denoted by alpha-numerals  150  and  150   r  respectively. Plastic bag  10  may be formed of any suitable thermoplastic material including polyethylene film material, non-woven web material, or compostable film material. 
     The side extremities of front and rear wall sections  110  and  110   r  below the flap region are joined or sealed together at side edges  114  and  116  by a heat-sealing process or by other bonding methods known in the art. The sealed side edge  114  connects the front section  110  and rear section  110   r  at the left extremity of bag  10  with top transition corner  124  defining the left transition between the flap region and sealed side edge  114 . Similarly, the sealed side edge  116  connects the front section  110  and rear section  110   r  at the right extremity of bag  10  with top transition corner  126  defining the right transition between the flap region and sealed side edge  116 . 
     Front wall section  110  includes a bottom front edge  144 ; similarly, rear wall section  110   r  includes a bottom rear edge  144   r . Bag  10  includes a provision for extra folded material tucked in-between front and rear wall sections  110  and  110   r  for creating a bottom gusset section  140 . 
     The front and rear wall sections  110  and  110   r , joined at side edges  114  and  116 , in cooperation with the bottom gusseted section  140  provide a closed space defining a holding cavity  170  within bag  10 , which is accessible by opening bag  10  (see for example  FIG. 2B ). Accordingly, the holding cavity  170  in bag  10  can be accessed by opening the mouth end of bag  10  by pulling apart the front and rear flap portions  112  and  112   r  away from each other, and thereby separating the front and rear wall sections  110  and  110   r  and flattening the fold line or crease  142  in the bottom gusseted section  140  for rendering bag  10  in an open condition for receiving intended items such as food containers. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 2A , there is shown a cross-sectional view of bag  10  in a partially open condition illustrating the folded structure of bottom gusseted section  140  provided between the front and rear wall sections  110  and  110   r . Bottom gusseted section  140  includes folded material that is tucked-in (pleated) from the bottom front edge  144  and the bottom rear edge  144   r  forming pleats comprising a fold line or crease  142 . Specifically, front pleat  146  is tucked in from the bottom front edge  144 ; and rear pleat  146   r  is tucked in from bottom rear edge  144   r . The front and rear pleats  146  and  146   r  meet integrally at fold line or crease  142 . 
       FIG. 2B , shows a cross-sectional view with front and rear wall sections  110  and  110   r  being spaced substantially apart wherein the bottom gusseted section  140  is shown in a nearly flat configuration thereby facilitating utilization of holding cavity  170  for accommodating and receiving one or more food containers  180  in an upright orientation with relative ease. 
     Bag  10  further includes an adhesive closure system  130  that provides improved security and tamper evidence to a consumer particularly when food, drinks, medicine or similar items are delivered by a third-party or through a delivery service. Referring now to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , bag  10  is shown in a partially open state with front flap  112  turned down revealing the adhesive closure system  130 . 
     In general, adhesive closure system  130  is applied to one of the wall sections of bag  10 . In the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , adhesive closure system  130  is shown as being applied to the rear wall section  110   r  of bag  10  and is placed below the top transition corners  124  and  126  and extends laterally from left side edge  114  to right side edge  116  thereby spanning the entire width of the bag. In accordance with the objective of the current invention, the placement of the adhesive closure system  130  below the top transition corners  124  and  126  ensures that the adhesive closure system  130  extends across the entire lateral width of the bag, i.e. from one sealed edge ( 114 ) to another sealed edge ( 115 ) thereby ensuring that access points around the closure system  130  into the bag  10  are eliminated once the closure system has been deployed. The edge-to-edge configuration of the adhesive closure, according to the present invention, creates a closed bag periphery and effectively closes off the mouth end of the bag and substantially prevents access therethrough. 
     As best shown in  FIG. 4 , adhesive closure system  130  includes a removable liner  136  for protecting the active adhesive surface layer  138  just underneath the liner so that it can be readily utilized when needed and for preventing pre-mature or inadvertent sealing of bag  10  prior to intended use. Removable liner  136  may include printed indicia such as REMOVE TO SEAL or similar instructions or messaging for alerting or guiding the packer or user for removing the liner prior to sealing the bag. According to an embodiment of the invention, removable liner  136  may be rendered conspicuous by using a different color substrate material or providing bold colored printing on the outer surface thereof for providing a sharp contrast against the wall sections of bag  10  and to draw the user&#39;s attention to the tamper evident section and the adhesive closure system  130 . Once food items have been placed in the holding cavity  170  of the bag  10 , removable liner  136  is peeled off from the rear wall section  110   r  thereby exposing adhesive strip  138 . The exposed adhesive strip  138  on the rear wall section  110   r  is now ready to be pressed against the opposite wall of bag  10  to create a tamper evident bag assembly. Accordingly, once bag  10  has been loaded with food and the removable liner  136  has been peeled off from the rear wall section  110   r , the adhesive closure system  130  can be deployed by pressing exposed adhesive strip  138  against a corresponding region of the front wall section  110  and thereby sealing off the front and rear wall sections  110  and  110   r  together to practically eliminate access into the bag through the mouth-end of bag  10 . 
     After the bag  10  has been sealed by adhesively bonding the front and rear wall sections  110  and  110   r , the bag can be opened by a user by tearing along a tear section which may be linear and is depicted as tear line  132  provided on at least one of the side walls of the bag. Tear line  132  can be configured as a set of perforations provided on at least one of the front and rear wall sections of bag  10 . Also as shown in  FIG. 1 , indicia  134  may be printed or affixed on the bag that may include—a statement about the tamper evident features of the bag; tearing instructions such as “Tear here to open,” guiding the user for initiating tear for opening the bag; or warning message to alert the consumer to return delivered bag if package has been compromised or appears tampered with. In the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4  tear line  132  is provided in only the front wall section  110 . In alternate embodiments of the invention, tear lines can be provided on both the front and rear wall sections of the bag  10 , and tear line  132  can be congruently paired with a corresponding tear line  132   r  provided in the rear wall section  110   r  for tearing away the flap region of bag  10 . Providing the tear line or perforations on only one of the wall sections of the bag offers an advantage in that—during the process of opening bag  10  from a sealed condition the flap region of the bag stays connected to the bag even after tearing the perforations thereby avoiding a second piece of nuisance trash that needs to be additionally disposed or even when disposed may not be easily recovered or recycled. Since all tear lines practically constitute potential access points into the bag, an additional advantage of limiting the tear line to only one of the wall sections is that signs of tamper would be easier to detect for a user in the bag construction according to the exemplary embodiment shown herein. 
     In the exemplary embodiment of  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the adhesive closure system  130  and tear line  132  are located on mutually opposing wall sections of bag  10 , however, it will be realized that both of these features can be implemented on the same wall section and can be applied to either the front wall section or the rear wall section of bag  10 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 5 , there is shown a perspective view of a sealed tamper evident bag  10  with food containers  180  placed in the holding cavity  170  of the bag  10 . The adhesive closure system is now shown in its deployed state using the designation  130   d  with the adhesive strip  138  joining the front and rear walls  110  and  110   r  to form a sealed barrier that prevents access to the food containers  180  or generally to the contents placed in the holding cavity  170 . A distinct advantage of sealing off the entire mouth end of bag  10  is that any tamper can be readily detected and it eliminates an avenue of potential tampering wherein the adhesive closure only closes off a partial portion of the mouth-end of the bag and the presence of vents at either end of the adhesive closure may either potentially invite tampering or inadvertently provide access into the bag. 
     Adhesive closure system  130  and in particular adhesive strip  138  are configured to provide sufficiently strong bond between the front and rear wall sections of bag  10  for preventing failure of the adhesive layer at the junction interface and assuring tamper detection, such that the adhesive junction between the wall sections of bag  10  is not easily compromised even when tamper is attempted, while persistent efforts to open bag  10  resulting in readily apparent substrate stress, stretch marks, tearing or other discernible signs of tamper. The adhesive layer and the wall sections of bag  10  are strong enough to withstand carrying stress exerted by the weight of food containers as bag  10  is physically lifted and carried by a user during at least a portion of the delivery trip to the delivery destination. 
     Furthermore, the adhesive bond between the wall sections of bag  10  is not compromised due to incidental steam or moisture build-up at the interior of bag  10  when the adhesive closure system  130  is deployed right after hot foods are placed in bag  10 . Accordingly, bag  10  includes a sidewall venting system comprising a plurality of vents generally denoted by numeral  120  that are configured for expelling steam or air. The individual vents  120  are distributed across the bag surface to facilitate localized venting of steam emanating from hot foods and wherein the individual vents are sufficiently small to inhibit tamper or to at least provide conspicuous indication of tamper through the vents. Vents  120  may be configured in the form of small narrow slits that may be straight or curvilinear or any other shape. A distributed venting system confers a few advantages in that—it allows placement of individual vents in close proximity to the food items thereby preventing excessive condensation within the bag; smaller vents further deter tamper and facilitate tamper detection; and vent sizes remain consistent as vents are not created during bag assembly or closure of the adhesive strip whereby improper assembly can lead to vent size variability and make the bag more susceptible to tamper. An additional advantage of the venting system according to the present invention is that the individual vents are disposed on the wall section of the bag and are directly noticeable by a user from a casual inspection of the outer surface of the bag thereby facilitating tamper detection. In contrast, the vents on some of the prior-art bag assemblies lie between the front and rear walls of the bag and are not directly viewable by a casual inspection of bag thus making tamper detection difficult. 
     As discussed above, once bag  10  has been delivered, in a sealed configuration with food or other contents therein, to its intended destination the sealed bag would likely undergo a quick security and safety check for ensuring that it was not tampered during delivery. Thereafter the bag can be opened by sliding or inserting a finger below the seal for tearing the wall section of bag  10  along tear line  132 . The tear line  132  shown in  FIGS. 1, and 3 through 5 , shows tear line  132  in the form of linear perforations extending laterally from one side edge of the bag to another. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 6A  there is shown another embodiment of the invention showing bag  20  wherein like parts bear like reference numerals. It will be generally recognized that while the purpose of a tamper evident construction is to deter unauthorized tampering of the bag, it is desirable to allow the intended user to open the bag with relative ease at the post-delivery point of use. Bag  20  features an “easy open” construction wherein at least one tear initiation slit  162  is provided at an end of tear line  132  proximate side edge  116  of bag  20 . In the embodiment shown tear initiation slit  162  is of a generally arcuate shape although other slit configurations such as linear and A-frame slits are within the scope of the invention. A user can utilize slit  162  for initiating and propagating tearing of the front wall section  110  by pushing their finger in the arcuate or curved region thereby causing the perforation(s) proximate slit  162  to be severed facilitating opening bag  20  along tear line  132 . In  FIG. 6A , initiation slit  162  is placed proximate to side edge  116 ; however, in alternate embodiments initiation slit  162  can be located at any location along tear line  132  including the middle of the bag. In still other embodiments of the invention, a plurality of initiation slits can be provided at various locations along the tear line  132 . Accordingly, for instance three initiation slits can be provided along tear line  132  with one initiation slit being provided at each of the side edges of bag  20  and the remaining initiation slit being disposed in the center of tear line  132 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 6B  there is shown a slightly enlarged view of initiation slit  162  of  FIG. 6A . Initiation slit  162  is provided on the front wall section  110  of bag  20  at one end of tear strip  132 . Initiation slit  162  enables a partially severed section  262  (shown as shaded region in  FIG. 6B ) to flex away from the plane of front wall section  110 . Initiation slit  162  and the severed section  262  so created allow an intended user to thrust their finger therethrough with relative ease and initiate tear along tear line  132 . Initiation slit  162  is sized appropriately so that any attempt to access the contents in the sealed bag will trigger tearing along tear line  132  thus activating tamper detection. It will be realized by those skilled in the art that since severed section  262  can flex in either direction from the plane of front wall section  110  it can also function as a supplementary vent. 
       FIG. 6C  shows an enlarged view of another easy open construction of tamper evident bag  20  wherein the tear initiation slit  163  is configured in the form of a tent-top or A-frame shaped slit located proximate the center of bag that a user can readily utilize by thrusting their finger therethrough for quickly opening bag  20  once the user is assured that the bag was delivered in a secure and untampered condition by the delivery service. Initiation slit  163  is provided on the front wall section  110  of bag  20  at the center of the bag and enables triangular section  263  to flex away from the plane of front wall section  110 . The slit structure enables easier propagation along the tear line with minimal struggle and any attempt to access the contents of the bag through the initiation slit  163  will trigger substantial sever of tear line  132  thus providing noticeable evidence of tamper. It will be of course realized that initiation slit  163  can be provided at any of the ends of tear line  132  or at any interim location. 
       FIG. 6D  shows an enlarged view of yet another easy open construction of tamper evident bag  20  wherein tear initiation slit  232  is configured in form of a narrow linear slit placed perpendicular to perforated tear line  132 . Linear slit  232  allows a user to easily insert their finger through slit  232  which then causes the perforation proximate slit  232  to be severed creating a readily visible opening in front wall section  110  of the bag that can be utilized to open the bag by severing it further along tear line  132 . 
       FIG. 6E  shows the condition of the tear initiation slit  232  and tear line  132  after an initial attempt to open bag  20  by piercing a finger therethrough, showing a noticeable opening  240 . Opening  240  would provide a quick indication of tamper to a user if he/she receives the delivered bag in such a condition. 
     Thus, a variety of slit and tear line combinations are possible according to various embodiments of the invention. The combination of slit structure and tear line confers additional advantages and functionality that are further explained in conjunction with the embodiment shown in  FIG. 7 . 
       FIG. 7  shows yet another embodiment of the invention showing bag  30  that inter alia features multi-functional vents and ease-of-opening a sealed tamper evident bag particularly for a user who is an elderly person. Bag  40  includes a multi-segment tear line  166  with a plurality of intermittent tear initiation incisions or slits generally denoted by numeral  167 . Tear initiation slits  167  are configured in the form of a curved or arcuate slit for guiding a user to push their finger (or another slender object such as a pen) therethrough for opening the bag and initiating further tearing along tear line  166  for opening the bag. For an elderly or disabled user pushing through the slit structure of tear initiation slits  167  using a finger or a slender object may be easier for initiating the process of tearing or opening bag  30 . The arcuate slit structure of tear initiation slits  167  is designed such that a thrust of the finger into the bag would initiate noticeable tearing along tear line  166  thus allowing an intended user to open the bag easily or if the bag was previously tampered the presence of a pre-existing tear or opening would provide conspicuous indication or inference of tamper and aid in detecting tamper. The tear initiation slits  167  serve multiple purposes in that the slit configuration allows a user to easily open bag by inserting their finger through the slit and propagating the tear along tear line  166 . In addition, tear initiation slits  167  also function as vents for eliminating trapped stream from the bag as discussed above in connection with  FIG. 6B . Therefore, in the embodiment shown in  FIG. 7 , no separate vents apart from tear initiation slits  167  are shown on front wall section  110  of bag  40 . It will be however realized that supplementary vents can be provided on either front wall section  110  or rear wall section  110   r  of bag  30 . Multi-functional tear initiation slits that also function as venting incisions can be configured in a variety of shapes for accomplishing the objectives of the invention as described above with reference to  FIGS. 6A through 6E . 
       FIG. 8A  shows yet another embodiment of the invention showing bag  40  wherein a frangible tear strip  164  with tear line sections  164   a  and  164   b  and starter slit  169  have been provided. Tear strip  164  includes a frontal region or pull tab  165  located proximate starter slit  169  for allowing a user to grasp pull tab  165  and separate tear strip  164  along tear line sections  164   a  and  164   b  from the front wall section  110  of the bag. Once tear strip  164  has been pulled away from the bag, even a slight or partial tear will be quite noticeable and provide a clear indication that the bag has been tampered with.  FIG. 8B  shows tear strip  164  being partially separated from the front wall section  110  by grasping on arcuate pull tab  165  and severing or tearing along tear lines  164   a  and  164   b . Once even a small section of tear strip  164  has been pulled away by tearing along tear line sections  164   a  and  164   b , an opening  250  in the front wall section  110  will be readily apparent to the user. Once frangible tear strip  164  has been pulled away to propagate tearing along tear line sections to a position proximate side edge  114 , the contents within bag  40  can be readily retrieved. 
     It will be realized that in the exemplary embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1 through 8B , the front and rear wall sections  110  and  110   r  are congruent or identical in shape and size; however other configurations and embodiments wherein the front wall section is dissimilar in size or shape compared to the rear wall section that provide other unique advantages are within the purview of the current invention as further illustrated hereinafter. 
     Alternate configurations wherein the front and rear flaps are of uneven shape are shown in  FIGS. 9 and 10 . It has been generally known that it is difficult to open the bag for loading as the congruent front and rear flaps tend to stick with each other delaying the assembly process for food delivery. According to the flap configuration shown in  FIG. 9 , front flap  112  is slightly smaller than rear flap  112   r  allowing a food preparer to easily grab the rear flap region that is not covered by the front flap and open bag  50  for loading. According to the flap configuration shown in  FIG. 10 , front and rear flaps are made non-symmetrical allowing a user to grab the top regions of the front and rear flaps and easily open bag  60  for loading. 
     The foregoing description of the embodiments of the invention has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description and not for limiting the scope of the invention. Each and every page of this submission, and all content herein, however characterized, identified, or numbered, is considered a substantive part of this application for all purposes, irrespective of form or placement within the application. This specification is not intended to be exhaustive. Although the present application is shown in a limited number of forms, the scope of the invention is not limited to just these forms but is amenable to various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing description that many modifications and variations to the embodiments shown herein are possible in light of this disclosure. Accordingly, the claimed subject matter includes any combination of the above-described elements in all possible variations thereof, unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. In particular, the limitations presented in examples of dependent claims below can be combined with their corresponding independent claim examples in any number and in any order without departing from the scope of this disclosure, unless the dependent claims are logically incompatible with each other.