Abstract:
In conventional compression sacks having an access port for articles and an air outlet formed in a part thereof, according to the air stream produced during deaeration, some of the contents may be caught in the air outlet by the force of the air stream. In a compression sack including an air outlet coated with adhesive matter, the foregoing action may cause a risk of articles contained in the sack being damaged by touching the adhesive matter according to the position of the articles. In this connection, by providing a point seal in the end at the interior&#39;s side of the deaeration passage, articles, such as clothing, contained within the compression sack can be prevented from being caught in the deaeration passage during the deaeration. The provision of an auxiliary deaeration passage in the separating member may allow a quick removal of air present in a space inside the access port of the sack, thus securing smooth deaeration. The provision of shut-off seals or a liquid sealing portion in the deaeration passage may prevent air from returning to the inside of the compression sack.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to a compression sack which may compactly contain articles, such as clothing or bedclothes, which have been compressed by deaerating the sack.  
           [0002]    Compression sacks of this type have been disclosed by Patent Applications laid open Nos.7-9592, 8-268441, and 9-48473. These sacks have an articles access port and air outlet provided in a part thereof.  
           [0003]    A brief description will be made of the method of use for said compression sacks. First, clothing etc. is put into the compression sack, then, a zip on the access port is closed, and air existing inside the compression sack is discharged from the air outlet to the outside by pressing the compression sack manually or sucking the air using a vacuum cleaner. Then, the air outlet is zipped up to close the compression sack tightly.  
           [0004]    If the compression sack containing air-bound articles, such as clothing or bedclothes, is deaerated, the air inside the contents will be discharged outside of the sack simultaneously, thus resulting in decrease of the contents in volume. Consequently, packing can be made more compact by the volume reduced.  
           [0005]    However, with such conventional compression sacks, according to the nature of an air stream occurring during the deaeration, some of the contents may be caught in the air outlet by means of the suction of the air stream. Additionally, in the compression sack as disclosed by the Patent Application laid open No.8-268441, the passage area of the air outlet is coated with adhesive matter which serves as a shut-off valve. Said nature of the air stream may also cause a risk of the contents being polluted by the adhesive matter according to the position where the contents are placed.  
           [0006]    The present invention is intended to solve these tasks.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0007]    For the solution of said tasks, a first invention of the present application provides a compression sack constituted by non-breathable sheets  11 ,  12  and having an opening  2  formed in a part of the compression sack  1 , said opening  2  comprising an access port  21  for articles and an air outlet  22 , and having a closing means  3  provided therein for tight closing and opening purpose, characterized in that said access port  21  and air outlet  22  are separated by a separating member  4  at which the front and back sheets  11 ,  12  are firmly joined together, said separating member  4  extending from a side  13  of the opening  2  inwardly of the compression sack  1 , thereby forming a deaeration passage  5  between the air outlet  22  and the inside of the compression sack  1 , and a point seal  6  is provided more inwardly of the sack than the end (a) at the interior&#39;s side of deaeration passage  5 .  
           [0008]    A second invention of the present application provides the compression sack in accordance with the first invention of the present application, characterized in that an auxiliary deaeration passage  7  is provided more inwardly of the sack than a point where the separating member  4  and the closing means  3  cross each other.  
           [0009]    A third invention of the present application provides the compression sack in accordance with the first or second invention, characterized in that shut-off seals  8 ,  8 ,  8  are formed within the deaeration passage  5 .  
           [0010]    A fourth invention of the present application provides the compression sack in accordance with the first or second invention, characterized in that there is formed a liquid sealing portion  9  within the deaeration passage  5 .  
           [0011]    A fifth invention of the present application provides the compression sack m accordance with the first or second invention, characterized in that the separating member  4  is bent at the end (a) of the interior&#39;s side of deaeration passage  5  in a direction of the deaeration passage  5 . 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1 is a front view of a compression sack in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention,  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 2 is a view explanatory of how to use the compression sack in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention,  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 3(A) is an end view of a zip remaining opened in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention,  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 3(B) is an end view of the zip remaining closed in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention, and  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 3(C) is an enlarged view of a tab in accordance with the other embodiment of the present invention,  
         [0017]    FIGS.  4 (A) to (D) are enlarged views showing separate forms of the separating member,  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 5 is an enlarged view showing a point seal and shut-off seal in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention,  
         [0019]    FIGS.  6 (A) to (D) are enlarged views showing separate forms of the point seal,  
         [0020]    FIGS.  7 (A) to (D) are enlarged views showing separate forms of the shut-off seal,  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of a compression sack in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, and  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 9 is front view of a compression sack in accordance with further embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0023]    The embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanied drawings. In this description, a direction of the opening  2  side of a compression sack  1  is referred as upper section and a direction of the opposite side lower section.  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 1 is a plan view of the compression sack  1  in accordance with the present invention. The compression sack  1  is constituted by a bag which is in rectangular form viewed from the front and composed of non-breathable sheets  11 ,  12  as made of resin. An upper side  13  of short length includes an opening  2 , and bottom side  14  and lateral sides  15 ,  16  are closed. The opening  2  is divided by a separating member  4  into a broad part and a narrow part. The broad part is an access port  21  to articles, and the narrow part an air outlet  22 . That is, both the parts are positioned adjacent to each other at the upper side  13 . The opening  2  may be tightly closed and released by a zip  3  as a closing means. There are formed a deaeration passage  5  by the separating member  4  and lateral side  15 , which extends from the air outlet  22  to the interior of the sack; a point seal  6  in a position under the end (an imaginary line)(a) at the interior side of the deaeration passage  5 ; and shut-off seals  8 ,  8  in an upper position of the deaeration passage  5 .  
         [0025]    Letters representing trade names or directions, or patterns may be printed on the surfaces of sheets  11 ,  12 , and the sheets  11 ,  12  themselves may be subjected to antibacterial or deodorizing treatment. The compression sack  1  may be made in any size according to the goods to be contained, such as clothing, blankets, bedclothes, etc.  
         [0026]    The use of the compression sack  1  will be explained. First, zips  3  provided at the access port  21  and air outlet  22  sections are kept opened. Then, articles to be contained, such as clothing, are put into the compression sack  1  through the opened access port  21 , and the zip  3  of the access port  21  section is closed. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the compression sack  1  is compressed by rolling it up from the lower part thereof using hands so that air inside the compression sack  1  is removed from the air outlet  22 , which is still opened. Then, the zip  3  of the air outlet  22  section is closed, and the compression sack  1  has been tightly closed accordingly.  
         [0027]    The opening  2  comprises access port  21  and air outlet  22 . The front and back sheets  11 ,  12  are bonded together by heat-sealing in their optional sections extending from the opening  2  downward, thereby forming a separating member  4 . The separating member  4  bisects the opening  2  into a broad section and a narrow section. Of the two sections, the former is access port  21 , and the latter air outlet  22 , so that deaeration passage  5  is formed extending from the air outlet  22  to the interior of the compression sack  1 . In all embodiments of the present invention, the air outlet  22  is formed in a single position, but it may be provided in two or more positions as needed.  
         [0028]    The zip  3  as provided as the closing means of the opening  2  is of a snap-fastener type. As shown in FIG. 3(A), the sheet has a raised linear portion  31  formed at one side in the interior thereof and a depressed linear portion  32  at the other side.  
         [0029]    The raised and depressed linear portions  31 ,  32  include catching portions  33 ,  34  respectively. The depressed linear portion  32  is formed with a convex section  36 , and the raised linear portion  31  a concave section  37 , both the sections being intended for airtight sealing purpose. The raised linear portion  31  has two raised pieces  31   a,    31   a  formed opposed to each other with the concave section  37  interposed between said two pieces, while the depressed linear portion  32  has depressed lines  32   a,    32   a  formed opposed to each other with the convex section  36  interposed between said depressed lines.  
         [0030]    The width t 35  of the pathway  35  of depressed line  32   a  is made smaller than the width t 33  of the catching portion  33 . With the zip  3  being kept closed, if the raised and depressed linear portions  31 ,  32  are pressed against each other, the catching portion  33  may move forward so as to urge the pathway to open until it engages with the catching portion  34  of the depressed linear portion  32 , as shown in FIG. 3(B). In such an engaged position, a gap  38  between both portions is almost nil, and additionally, it may become so labyrinthine that no air is allowed to enter from outside with the result that the compression sack  1  can remain closed while its interior can be kept airtight.  
         [0031]    The zip  3  of any kind can be employed so long as it may render the compression sack  1  airtight.  
         [0032]    To facilitate the closing of the zip  3 , a slider as made of resin may be provided in a position of the zip  3  at the sack&#39;s exterior side. The width of the air outlet  22  is narrow as compared with that of the opening  2 . This makes it difficult to open the zip  3  as closed. Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 3(C), a part of at least one of the sheets  11 ,  12  may be made longer or a separate sheet-like piece may be attached to the sheet so as to serve as a tab  10  which is large enough to be taken with fingers.  
         [0033]    The separating member  4  is not limited in configuration to what is shown in FIG. 1. It may be changed in different forms according to specific applications. Examples of variation are shown in FIGS.  4 (A) to (D).  
         [0034]    In FIG. 4(A), the separating member  4  and the lateral side  15  of the sack are designed to run parallel to each other, namely perpendicular to each other so that the upper and lower sections of deaeration passage  5  may become equal to each other in width.  
         [0035]    In FIG. 4(B), as in FIG. 4(A), the upper and lower sections of deaeration passage  5  is equal to each other in width, that is, the separating member  4  and the lateral side of the sack are parallel with each other, and the shape of the separating member  4  is like an intermittent straight line. Disconnected pieces of the separating member  4  are auxiliary deaeration passages  7 , . . .  7 . In the interior of the access port  21 , this configuration has the advantage of discharging via the auxiliary deaeration passages  7 , . . .  7  air present in a space  23  within the access port  21  and between the leading end  41  of the separating member  4  and the zip  3  during deaeration.  
         [0036]    As shown in FIGS.  4 (C) and (D), the separating member  4  runs at an angle so that it is not parallel with the lateral side  15 . More specifically, the separating member  4  is arranged such that the interval between the separating member  4  and the lateral side  15  of the sack, namely the width of the deaeration passage  5  broadens downwardly of the sack. The separating member  4  is formed in a straight line, as shown in FIG. 4(C), and in a curved line in FIG. 4(D). With these configurations, the deaeration passage  5  tends to widen toward the lower portion, so that air within the sack can be easily introduced into the deaeration passage  5 , and air can be removed fast, accordingly.  
         [0037]    The form of the separating portion  4  as illustrated by FIG. 1 is a combination of the forms as shown in FIGS.  4 (B) and (C), wherein the auxiliary deaeration passage  7  is provided at a point near and below the shut-off seals  8 ,  8 ,  8 .  
         [0038]    The form of the separating member  4  is not limited to those shown in FIGS. 1 and 4. It is desirous to select an optimum form in consideration of the shapes of articles to be contained, or the relationship with point seal  6 , shut-off seal  8  or liquid sealing portion  9  as described later.  
         [0039]    As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, a point seal  6  is provided below the deaeration passage  5  or in a position slightly under the imaginary line (a) extending side by side with the upper side  13  with reference to the leading end  41  of the separating member  4 . The point seal  6  is provided by hot sealing like said separating member  4  is. This may prevent articles, as clothing, contained in the compression sack  1  from being caught in the deaeration passage  5  by the air stream in deaeration. Additionally, it may serve to improve an air flow  64  when deaeration takes place.  
         [0040]    In the embodiment of the present invention, the point seal  6  is an inverted regular triangle viewed from the front and comprising an upper end  61 , lower end  62 , side portions  63 ,  63 , as shown in FIG. 5, wherein the upper end  61  is corresponding to the bottom side, which is positioned in the upper side in this inverted triangle, side portions  63 ,  63  to two other sides, and the lower end  62  to the apex in the lower side. Since this configuration widens upward, and tapers downward, the air flow  64  from the lower portion to the upper portion, viz. from the inside of the sack to the outside may be improved, and the air may be introduced into the deaeration passage  5  more smoothly.  
         [0041]    The shape of the point seal  6  is not limited to those shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, and may be varied for specific applications. Examples of variation are shown in FIGS.  6 (A) to (D). In the drawings, the air outlet  22  (not shown) is located in the upward direction. The point seals which take the shapes of V and U viewed from the front may be subjected to contact bonding only at the external portion as in FIGS.  6 (A) and (B), or at the entire portion as in FIGS.  6 (C) and (D). The point seal may be provided not only in a single place but also in a plurality of places. The rectifying effect of air can not be expected in any point seal of other shapes than the described ones. For example, in order to impress users with the compression sack  1  may be used a point seal featuring a popular character.  
         [0042]    The shut-off seal  8  is made smaller than the point seal  6 , and attached by means of hot sealing within the deaeration passage  5 , as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5.  
         [0043]    In the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 5, the shut-off seal  8  is an inverted regular triangle viewed from the front and comprising an upper end  81 , lower end  82 , and sides  83 ,  83 , wherein the upper end  81  is corresponding to the bottom side, which is positioned in the upper side of the inverted triangle, the side portions  83 ,  83  to two other sides, and the lower end  82  to the apex in the lower side. Two shut-off seals  8  are positioned above the deaeration passage  5 , and the other one is below said two shut-off seals. Since their configuration widens upward and tapers downward, the air stream  84  from the lower portion to the upper portion, viz, from the inside of the sack to the outside may be improved. Contrary to this, in the case of air stream  85  running from the upper portion to the lower portion, viz. from the outside of the sack to the inside, the upper end  81  serves to disturb the flow of air in such a manner that the shut-off seal  8  may work as a shut-off valve.  
         [0044]    The shut-off seal  8  is not limited in the form, the position inside the deaeration passage  5 , and the number to those as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5. Variation may be made properly for specific use. Examples of variation are illustrated in FIG. 7. The number of the place where shut-off seal  8  is positioned is one in FIG. 7(A), two in FIG. 7(B), and three in FIG. 7(C). In any of said instances, the shut-off seal  8  is located almost in the center of the deaeration passage  5 . In FIG. 7(D), the shut-off seals  8  are provided in four places, each positioned at the right and left end portions in the deaeration passage  5 .  
         [0045]    For another embodiment of the present invention, the deaeration passage  5  may include a liquid sealing portion  9 . In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, the deaeration passage  5  has an upper shut-off seal  86  formed in the upper part thereof, and lower shut-off seals  87 ,  87  disposed in the lower part thereof so that the liquid sealing portion  9  may be interposed between said shut-off seals.  
         [0046]    The upper shut-off seal  86  consists of a shut-off member  861  and rectifying members  862 ,  862 . The shut-off member  861  is disposed extending laterally in the center of the deaeration passage  5 . It may act to prevent the movement of inactive liquid sealed off in the liquid sealing portion  9  and the back-flow of air stream  92 . The rectifying members  862 ,  862  are provided in the right and left ends of the shut-off member  861 . The former members each take the shape of a right isosceles triangle with a side interposed between two equilateral sides (linear) being in-curved, and said equilateral sides are positioned in the upper and lateral portions. Said lateral portion is connected with the right and left ends of the shut-off member  861 , and said upper portion is arranged such that it may be in alignment with the upper end of the shut-off member  861 . The rectifying members  862 ,  862  may perform functions in preventing the movement of inactive liquid sealed off in the liquid sealing portion  9  and rectifying air streams  91 ,  91  which have passed through the liquid sealing portion  9  to guide them to the deaerating portion  22  in a smooth manner.  
         [0047]    The lower shut-off seals  87 ,  87  take the form of a right isosceles triangle with a side interposed between two equilateral sides linear) being in-curved, and said equilateral sides are positioned in the upper and lateral portions and mounted symmetrically on the separating member  4  and the lateral portion  15  respectively in a manner that said in-curved sides may face the center of the deaeration passage  5 . The lower shut-off seals  87 ,  87  performs functions in preventing the movement of inactive liquid sealed off in the liquid sealing portion  9  and rectifying air streams  91 ,  91  which are ready to pass through the liquid sealing portion  9 .  
         [0048]    The liquid sealing portion  9  is intended as a shut-off valve. It encloses inactive liquid of low viscosity, such as silicone oil. In the ordinary condition where articles are contained in the compression sack  1 , the front and back sheets  11 ,  12  remain in close contact with each other by means of said inactive liquid within the liquid sealing portion  9  in order that they may cooperate with the zip  3  of the air outlet  22  and the shut-off member  61  of the upper shut-off seal  86  in avoiding any invasion of external air. During the deaeration, the sheets  11 ,  12 , which are temporarily kept in close contact with each other under air pressure in the liquid sealing portion  9 , are disconnected from each other by forcing the air streams  91 ,  91  to move from the inside of the sack to the outside, thus obtaining a passageway for air. After the deaeration is over, the sheets  11 ,  12  will get back to the original close contact again. In order to avoid any leakage of inactive liquid within the liquid sealing portion to the outside of the deaeration passage  5 , liquid pools are formed in the specific sites within the passage situated between the upper shut-off seal  86  and the lower shut-off seals  87 ,  87  as aforementioned. Even if the inactive liquid leaks out into the sack by some cause, the presence of the point seal  6  (not shown in FIG. 8) in the lower position of the deaeration passage  5  may hinder the leaked inactive liquid from dispersing throughout the sack.  
         [0049]    The upper shut-off seal  86  and lower shut-off seals  87 ,  87  are not limited in shape to those as shown in FIG. 8, and any variation may be made accordingly. Furthermore, the provision of the upper shut-off seal  86  or the shut-off seals  87 ,  87  is not essential. Therefore, the liquid sealing portion  9  may be constituted by other means.  
         [0050]    The present invention may be embodied by separate variations other than the embodiments which have been described so far.  
         [0051]    [0051]FIG. 9 exemplifies another embodiment. The separating member  4  extends straightforward halfway, and at an end  41 , it is bent almost at right angles in a direction of the deaeration passage  5 . Said separating member  4  has an auxiliary deaeration passage  7  provided in a single place near and under the zip  3 . The point seal  6  is substantially of a regular square shape having round corners. It is disposed slightly below the inner end (a) of and on the center line (b) of the deaeration passage  5 .  
         [0052]    This configuration may avoid any obstacle to deaeration which may be caused by a bend of the deaeration passage  5  during the deaeration.  
         [0053]    The specific shapes of said elements are not limited to the foregoing. For example, said end of the separating member  4  may not be bent substantially at right angles but tilted or curved. The point seal  6  may be provided in a plurality of positions, and it may be made in the form of a circle, triangle, curved line, or popular character.  
         [0054]    In a first invention of the present application, a point seal  6  is provided more inwardly of the sack than the end (a) at the interior&#39;s side of deaeration passage  5 . This arrangement may prevent articles such as clothing contained in the compression sack  1  from being caught in the deaeration passage  5  when deaeration takes place.  
         [0055]    In a second invention of the present application, the provision of the auxiliary deaeration passage  7  in the separating member  4  may allow air to quickly flow out of the space  23  within the access port  21  of the sack. This makes the deaeration smooth.  
         [0056]    In third and fourth inventions of the present application, the provision of the shut-off seals  8 ,  8 ,  8  or the liquid sealing portion  9  within the deaeration passage  5  makes it possible to prevent air from returning to the inside of the compression sack  1 . Since said shut-off seals  8 ,  8 ,  8  or liquid sealing portion.