Patent Publication Number: US-6213642-B1

Title: Paper bag with tear strip having indicia

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a paper bag construction particularly adapted for the packaging of fast foods. The bag is provided with a tear strip running along its length. The tear strip is provided on one of its sides or surfaces with indicia, so that upon tearing off the strip, the consumer of the product (such as a hamburger sandwich) will see the indicia. 
     While tear strips for various containers are known, the former are usually employed for ripping open the container to enable access to the product by the consumer. Typical known tear strip constructions thus destroy the integrity of the container upon tearing. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to the practice of this invention the right and left ends of the rectangular, unitary paper blank from which the bag is formed are overlapped to form a tube, as usual. Other and central portions of the blank, along one edge thereof, form an end closure for the tube, the end closure being the bag bottom. Two spaced and parallel adhesive areas at the right blank end, for example, are folded onto a corresponding left blank end zone. The resultant overlapped blank ends form a double thickness seam running longitudinally of the bag. The seam is defined by two parallel and spaced apart adhesive zones or areas. One border of each adhesive area includes a perforated line, the result being the area between the perforated lines and adhesive areas defines a tear strip. The underside of the tear strip is provided with indicia, to thereby indicate the winning or not winning of a prize offered by the vendor of the fast food. The consumer may tear off the tear strip, either completely or just enough to note the indicia, without injuring or ripping the interior surface of the bag. The tear strip overlaps a contiguous portion of the interior bag surface, so that upon ripping up the strip, this contiguous portion (being a part of the bag interior surface) is undisturbed. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a plan view of a unitary paper blank, scored as indicated, provided with parallel adhesive areas at its right end. 
     FIG. 2 is a plan view of a similar blank, and shows a second embodiment. 
     FIG. 3 is a partial, perspective view of a paper bag formed from the blank of FIG. 2, with its tear strip partially ripped away. 
     FIG. 4 is a partial, perspective view of a paper bag formed from the blank of FIG. 1, with its tear strip partially ripped away. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring now to FIG. 1 of the drawings, a unitary and rectangular blank of paper is denoted as  10 , having an upper edge  12  and a lower edge  14 . A conventional recess  16  and protuberance  18  may, optionally, be provided, these two elements having no bearing on the invention. Two sets of vertically running score/fold lines  20 ,  22 ,  24  run from the top to the bottom blank edge. Bag bottom forming score/fold lines  26 ,  28 ,  30 ,  32  are provided in the lower central area of the blank, these lines being conventional and not significant to the practice of the invention. Alternatively, the blank may be configured yield a conventional pinch bottom type bag. 
     The left and right hand edges of the blank are denoted, respectively, as  40  and  42 . A pair of parallel perforated lines is provided adjacent the right blank end, denoted as  44  and  46 . A first adhesive zone is denoted as  52 , while a second adhesive area or zone is denoted as  53 . A tear strip  50  is defined as that area of blank  10  located between perforated lines  44  and  46 . Tear strip  50  is provided with indicia  70  on that side or surface thereof which is remote from the viewer of the blank of FIG.  1 . Similarly, the adhesive on areas  52  and  53  is on that surface of the blank remote from the viewer. A reference longitudinal axis is denoted as  60 . 
     The blank is now folded and a double thickness seam formed by the overlapping of the right and left edges of the blank. The reader may imagine the center of the blank to be lifted up and both left and right edges moved down, away from the plane of the paper. In practice, such folding is carried out by automatic machinery, known in this art, and forming no part of the invention. Such folding produces a tube like structure closed at one end by the bag bottom fold lines  26 ,  28 ,  30 ,  32 ,  34 . The finished bag is folded flat until its use. 
     FIG. 4 illustrates the open end (remote from the bag bottom) of the bag, with the right end of the blank overlying the left end. The indicia is located on that tear strip surface facing away from the viewer of FIG.  4 . Alternatively, the indicia may be provided on the outer surface of the inner ply of the side seam, being that surface which is beneath tear strip  50 . The end of the tear strip is shown as partially torn or ripped down towards the bag bottom. Such ripping does not impair the integrity of the bag interior surface, as may be seen from FIG. 4 where that part of the bag interior surface beneath strip  50  is shown as still intact and undisturbed after ripping of the strip. Adhesive areas  52  and  53  typically are provided with the same quantity and kind of adhesive, the result being that both perforated lines  44  and  46  must be torn or ruptured to pull up the tear strip. 
     Referring now to FIG. 2 of the drawings, a blank for making a second embodiment of the invention is shown. The difference between the two blanks is that the blank of FIG. 2 lacks the first perforated line  44 , and that the amount of adhesive on area  52  is less than that on area  52  of the blank of FIG.  1 . Alternatively, a peelable adhesive may be used on area  52  of the blank of FIG. 2, or, the adhesive pattern on area  52  may be varied to permit its ready separation from the panel to which it is adhered. 
     FIG. 3 illustrates the ripping of the tear strip of a paper bag formed from the blank of FIG.  2 . There, because the amount of adhesive on area  52  is less, the user can commence the tearing by simply grasping a corner of the tear strip and pulling upwardly, separating the tear strip from adhesive surface  52  without ripping the paper. With continued pulling, the tear strip will begin to rip along perforated line  46 , thereby exposing the indicia on the side of the tear strip remote from the viewer. In FIG. 3, the stippling (used to denote adhesive) of the right hand adhesive area or zone  52 , is shown as on the left end or edge of the paper. This is done for purposes of illustration to show the adhesive location in the completed bag. In practice, using the blank of FIG. 2, this adhesive would be originally located on tear strip  50 . 
     In both embodiments, the adhesive placement may be reversed, namely, adhesive may be placed on the left end of the blank instead of on the right end. In both embodiments, the seam is defined by a double layer of the paper, each layer from a respective blank end. One layer is the radially outermost (referred to the bag interior) layer and having the tear strip and the other layer is the radially innermost and on the interior surface of the bag. It is readily seen that a flat bottom bag or a pinch bottom bag may be employed in carrying out the invention.