Patent Abstract:
A bag that has a pair of small plastic sheets that cover the sealing surfaces and act as shields during loading. When the bag is full, the user can pull a tab and remove the shield assembly completely. This leaves a normal bag with a seal that is clean and ready for use.

Full Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not Applicable 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to seal-type closure bags and particularly to seal-type closure bags having removable loading shields. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Sealable closure bags have become the industry standard for almost all storage needs that utilize plastic bags. These bags have a two part seal that is made by compressing the top portion of the bags together. Although these bags come in all sizes, most people use the standard quart and gallon size bags for food storage. One of the most important factors in proper food storage is ensuring that the seal surfaces remain clean so that a good seal can be made. Contamination from the food can lead to an improper seal, which allows air and bacteria to enter the bag. The contamination may also lead to mold forming on the bag if the bag is left in storage for long time. This mold may be able to penetrate into the bag and ruin the food inside. 
     Obviously, a user can wipe the sealing surface before making the seal. However, for a large storage job that uses many bags, it is not easy or convenient to have to clean each and every bag. To date, no one has apparently provided a simple way to protect the seals on the bags when loading foods that can contaminate them. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The instant invention overcomes these difficulties. It is a bag that has a pair of small plastic sheets that cover the sealing surfaces and act as shields during loading. When the bag is full, the user removes the shield assembly completely. This leaves a normal bag with a seal that is clean and ready for use. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front view of a bag with the invention installed prior to use. 
         FIG. 1a  is a front view of the bag with the shield removed. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective detail view of one-half of the shield showing the extended portion of the top plastic strip. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective detail view of the other half of the shield. 
         FIG. 4  is a top detail view of the device showing the operation of the thick plastic strip that is used to hold the bag open prior to loading. 
         FIG. 5  is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the shield and seal portion of the bag. 
         FIG. 5   a  an enlarged cross-sectional view that shows the bag with the sealing portions removed at the perforations. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1  a front view of a bag with the invention installed prior to use. Here, the device  10  has a lower bag portion  11 , a seal portion  12  that is any of the standard type zip-seals for storage bags. To that bag, a shield  13  that has two pieces (see  FIG. 5 ) and that extends downward over the seal portion  12  is attached to the top of the bag with a perforation  14  that allows the shield to be removed. At the top of the shield is a thick strip of resilient plastic  15  that is used to prop the top of the bag open, as discussed below, for filling. The plastic strip  15  has an end tab  16  that is used to open the bag for filling. Once the bag is filled, the shield and strip portions are removed and the bag can then be sealed and used as any other storage bag.  FIG. 1   a  shows the bag  10  with the shield removed. 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective detail view of one-half of the shield showing the extended portion of the top plastic strip. In this view, one side of the shield  13  and associated structures are shown. The shield  13  is shown extending down from the thick strip of resilient plastic  15 . The tab  16  is shown extending past the edge of the shield as shown. Also shown in this figure is the perforated edge  14  that forms the attachment point for the shield to the bag. Points  17  are the edges that attach this half of the shield to the other side of the shield. Note that the shield  13  extends into the bag and, as noted, covers the seal portions of the bag. 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective detail view of the other half of the shield. In this figure, the shield  13  is shown as before. The perforation  14  is also shown. At the top of the shield is a second thick strip of resilient plastic  15   a . This strip has no extension piece. The ends  18  are secured (welded) to the ends of the other side of the shield to form the complete assembly. 
       FIG. 4  is a top detail view of the device showing the operation of the thick plastic strip that is used to hold the bag open prior to loading. The plastic material in these strips is a resilient material that has a spring-like bendable characteristic. 
       FIG. 4  shows the open top without the bag and shields. The thick plastic strips  15  and  15   a  are shown in the bent open position. This is achieved by folding and pressing the tab  16  inward towards the area marked  15   b . As the tab is moved, the thick strips of resilient plastic bend outwardly as shown. The bag can thus be held open by holding the tab  16  against the area  15   b . It is easy to load the bag with the bag held open. Once loaded, the tab  16  is released. The thick strip of resilient plastic will spring back to a closed position. The user can then pull the shields (including the plastic strips) from the bag at the perforation points and the bag can be sealed normally. 
       FIG. 5  is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the shield and seal portion of the bag. Here, the thick strips of resilient plastic  15  and  15   b  are shown. The shields  13  extend inward and downward as shown, covering the sealing portions  12   a  and  12   b . Note that sealing portions  12   a  and  12   b  illustrate one form of seal. This seal can be modified to any particular form as desired. Above the sealing portions  12   a  and  12   b  are the perforations  14 . 
       FIG. 5   a  an enlarged cross-sectional view that shows the bag with the sealing portions removed at the perforations. 
     The present disclosure should not be construed in any limited sense other than that limited by the scope of the claims having regard to the teachings herein and the prior art being apparent with the preferred form of the invention disclosed herein and which reveals details of structure of a preferred form necessary for a better understanding of the invention and may be subject to change by skilled persons within the scope of the invention without departing from the concept thereof.

Technology Classification (CPC): 1