Abstract:
The present invention provides a storage bag that includes a string for closing an openable and closeable opening portion. The storage bag is fun in that contours and expressions of animals or human figures drawn on a bag body change. Ear portions  3,  which resemble those of a human figure or an animal, project from both sides of an opening edge of the bag body  2,  and a string  1  is disposed in the bag body  2  except for the ear portions  3.  The storagebagisconfiguredso that the earportions  3  rise up when the string  1  is pulled and the opening is closed.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to a string-attached storage bag that can store various portable articles and other effects.  
           [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art  
           [0004]    A string-attached storage bag is a bag in which an annular string accommodating portion is formed in a flat tube shape in an opening edge thereof, stringpassing holes are formed in parts thereof, a string is passed through the string passing holes, and ends of the string are pulled out of the string passing holes. By pulling the string and gathering the string accommodating portion, the opening of the bag is closed.  
           [0005]    There are also storage bags in which pictures of animals and the like are drawn on the surface of the bag.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    The present invention aims at providing a fun storage bag. In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide a storage bag that changes when an opening of the bag is closed and opened.  
           [0007]    To achieve the above object, according to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a storage bag having a bag body and a string, the string being attached to an opening edge of the bag body for fastening an opening portion of the opening edge in a freely openable and closable fashion, the storage bag comprising ear portions resembling those of an animal or a human figure projecting from both sides of the opening edge of the bag body, wherein the string is attached to the bag body excluding the ear portions such that when the string is pulled to close the opening, the ear portions rise.  
           [0008]    The bag body and the ear portions may have animal or a human figure drawn thereon.  
           [0009]    The opening edge of the bag body is preferably formed with an annular string accommodating portion in the shape of a flat tube, the string accommodating portion having string passing holes partly formed therein.  
           [0010]    The string accommodating portion may include at its both side portions a pair of string passing holes, with a first string being circularly looped from one of the string passing holes to the other of the string passing holes, the first string having end portions projecting from the one of the string passing holes, with a second string being circularly looped from the other of the string passing holes to the one of the string passing holes, the second string having end portions projecting from the other of the string passing holes.  
           [0011]    The string accommodating portion may include at positions short of both side edges thereof two pairs of string passing holes, the string passing holes of one pair being opposite to corresponding ones of the other pair, with a first string being circularly looped from one pair of the string passing hole pairs to the other pair of the string passing hole pairs, the first string having end portions projecting from the one pair of the string passing hole pairs, with a second string being circularly looped from the other pair of the string passing hole pairs to the one pair of the string passing hole pairs, the second string having end portions projecting from the other pair of the string passing hole pairs. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]    The above and other objects, aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 1A is a plan view of a storage bag representing a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1B is an explanatory diagram of an opening portion of the storage bag, and FIG. 1C is a schematic cross-sectional view seen from arrow C-C of FIG. 1B;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 2A is a perspective view showing a state in which the opening portion of the storage bag is closed, and FIG. 2B is an explanatory diagram showing the closed state of a string accommodating portion  4 ;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 3 is a plan view of a storage bag representing a second embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which an opening portion of the storage bag of FIG. 3 has been gathered;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 5A is a plan view of a storage bag representing another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5B is an explanatory diagram of an opening portion of the storage bag of FIG. 5A;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a state in which the opening portion of the storage bag of FIG. 5A is closed;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 7 is a plan view of a storage bag representing still another embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a state in which an opening portion of the storage bag of FIG. 7 is closed;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of a passed state of a string  1   a  of the storage bag of the present invention;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 10 is a plan view of a storage bag representing yet another embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view seen from arrow XI-XI of FIG. 10;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 12 is a plan view of a storage bag representing still yet another embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a string of the bag has been pulled. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0026]    Embodiments of a storage bag of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 1A is a front view of a storage bag representing a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 1B and 1C are explanatory diagrams of a string accommodating portion of the storage bag. FIGS. 1A to  1 C show a state in which an opening of the storage bag is open. FIGS. 2A and 2B are explanatory diagrams showing a state in which the opening of the storage bag is closed.  
         [0028]    The storage bag comprises sewn fabric, a soft synthetic resin film, or some other material, with a lower end and both side portions thereof being closed and an upper end portion thereof being open. In this example, a bag body  2  of a soft synthetic resin film is formed in a square, andearportions  3  are formed inaplanar direction of the bag body  2  so as to project from both sides of the opening.  
         [0029]    The outer peripheries of the ear portions  3  and both sides of the bag body  2  are closed by weld portions  7 , and a bottom portion of the bag body  2  is closed in a state in which it is folded. A string accommodating portion  4  is formed in an opening edge of the upper end of the bag body  2 . The string accommodating portion  4  is formed in an annular flat tube shape, and string passing holes  5   a  and  5   b  that communicate with the inside of the string accommodating portion  4  are cut out at base portions of the ear portions  3 . As shown in FIG. 1B, one pair each of the string passing holes  5   a  and  5   b  opens at both sides of the bag body  2 . In this example, a pair of strings  1   a  and  1   b  are circularly passed therethrough.  
         [0030]    That is, the first string  1   a  is circularly passed through the string passing holes  5   a  at the left end of the string accommodating portion  4  while being looped through the string passing holes  5   b  at the right end. As shown in FIG. 1A, both ends of the first string  1   a  are passed through a lower left end eyelet  6  and tied. Conversely, the second string  1   b  is looped through the left end string passing holes  5   a  so that both end portions of the string  1   b  project from the right end string passing holes  5   b  . Both end portions of the string  1   b  are passed through a lower right end eyelet  6  and mutually joined.  
         [0031]    Also, a cartoonish animal picture is drawn on the bag body  2  and the ear portions  3 . Ears of the animal are drawn on the ear portions  3 .  
         [0032]    As shown in FIG. 2A, the opening at the upper end of the storage bag can be closed by pulling the pair of strings  1   a  and  1   b.  Because the upper end portion of only the bag body  2  is gathered in accompaniment with this closing, the ear portions  3  rise upward from the state shown in FIG. 1A. That is, the ear portions  3  move up and down by pulling and easing the pair of strings  1   a  and  1   b.  It should be noted that FIG. 2B is an explanatory diagram showing this pulled state.  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 3 shows a state in which an opening of a storage bag of a second embodiment of the present invention is open. FIG. 4 shows a state in which the opening of the storage bag of FIG. 3 is closed.  
         [0034]    In this example, the shape of the ear portions  3  is different from that of the ear portions  3  of FIG. 1, and the character drawn on the bag body  2  and the ear portions  3  is a rabbit. As shown in FIG. 4, the ear portions  3  of the rabbit rise upward by pulling the pair of strings  1   a  and  1   b.    
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 5 shows a modified example of the storage bag of FIG. 3. What is different from the storage bag of FIG. 3 is that the string passing holes  5   a  and  5   b  of the storage bag of FIG. 5 are formed nearer to the center than those of the storage bag of FIG. 3. When the string passing holes  5   a  and  5   b  are formed nearer to the center in this manner and the strings passed therethrough are pulled, only the center portion of the storage bag is gathered, so that the amount that the ear portions  3  rise becomes relatively smaller, as shown in FIG. 6.  
         [0036]    By changing thepositions of the string passing holes  5   a  and  5   b  in this manner, the amount that the ear portions  3  rise can be adjusted.  
         [0037]    [0037]FIG. 7 shows a storage bag in which the ear portions  3  droop downward in a state in which the opening portion is open. Thus, an animal character whose ears droop downward can be drawn on the bag body  2  and the ear portions  3 . As shown in FIG. 8, by pulling the strings  1   a  and  1   b,  the drooping ear portions  3  can be lifted slightly upward.  
         [0038]    [0038]FIG. 9 shows a case where only one string  1   a  is accommodated in the string accommodating portion  4  of the bag body  2 . That is, a string passing hole  5  is opened only at a width-direction center position of the string accommodating portion  5 , and the string  1   a  is circularly passed therethrough into the string accommodating portion  4 . Both end portions of the string  1   a  are pulled through the string passing hole  5 , and the opening of the bag can be gathered by pulling the string  1   a.    
         [0039]    It should be noted that well-known techniques used in various conventional storage bags can be used for passing the string  1   a  and the like. Moreover, various well-known techniques can also be used for the configuration of the bag body  2 .  
         [0040]    The present invention can provide a fun and interesting storage bag because the ear portions  3 , which resemble those of an animal or a human figure, project from both sides of the opening edge of the bag body  2 , and rise when the string  1  is pulled and the opening is closed.  
         [0041]    In the above-described configurations, an animal or a human figure can be drawn on the bag body  2  and the ear portions  3 . In these cases, the storage bag becomes one that sparks further interest.  
         [0042]    In the above-described configurations, the annular string accommodating portion  4  can be formed in a flat tube shape in the opening edge of the bag body  2 . By forming the string passing holes  5  in parts thereof, the storage bag can be made into one in which the configuration thereof is simple and easy to use.  
         [0043]    In the above-described configurations, the pairs of string passing holes  5   a  and  5   b  are disposed in both end portions of the string accommodating portion  4 , the first string  1   a  and the second string  1   b  are circularly looped therethrough, and end portions of both strings  1   a  and  1   b  can be made to project therefrom. In this case, the opening portion of the bag body  2  can easily be closed by pulling both strings  1   a  and  1   b.    
         [0044]    In the above-described configurations, one pair each of the string passing holes  5   a  and  5   b  can be disposed at respectively opposite positions at positions that do not reach both side edges of the string accommodating portion  4 . By appropriately determining the positions of the string passing holes  5   a  and  5   b , the angle at which the ear portions  3  rise can be adjusted.  
         [0045]    [0045]FIGS. 10 and 11 show a sewn fabric storage bag. In this case, the square bag body  2  and the ear portions  3  are formed as separate members. The ear portions  3  store therein sponge, cotton or the like to provide a certain thickness and are secured via a sewn portion  8  to both sides of the opening portion of the bag body  2 .  
         [0046]    [0046]FIG. 12 shows a storage bag representing still yet another embodiment of the present invention. In this example, the lower portion of the bag body  2  has a curvilinear contour along the geometry of the face of an animal. FIG. 13 shows a state in which a string  1   a  passing through the opening thereof has been pulled.  
         [0047]    The storage bag of the present invention comprises the ear portions  3  resembling those of an animal or human figure projecting from both sides of the opening edge of the bag body  2  such that when the string  1  is pulled to close the opening, the ear portions  3  rise. By virtue of such a configuration, a fun and interesting storage bag can be provided.  
         [0048]    In the above configuration, an animal or a human figure can be drawn on the bag body  2  and the ear portions  3 . This will contribute to the provision of a more interesting storage bag.  
         [0049]    In the above configuration, an annular string accommodating portion  4  can be formed in the shape of a flat tube at the opening edge of bag body  2 . By forming a string passing hole  5  at a part of the string accommodating portion  4 , it is possible to provide a convenient storage bag having a simple configuration.  
         [0050]    In the above configuration, a pair of string passing holes  5   a  and  5   b  can be formed at both side portions of the string accommodating portions  4  so that a first string  1   a  and a second string  1   b  are circularly looped through the string passing holes with end portions of the strings  1   a  and  1   b  projecting from the string passing holes. In this case, the opening portion of the bag body  2  can easily be closed by pulling the two strings  1   a  and  1   b.    
         [0051]    In the above configuration, the string accommodating portion can include respectively at positions short of both side edges thereof a pair of string passing holes  5   a  and a pair of string passing holes  5   b , with the string passing holes  5   a  of one pair being opposite to corresponding string passing holes  5   b  of the other pair. By positioning the string passing holes  5   a  and  5   b  in an appropriate manner, it is possible to adjust the rise angle of the ear portions  3 .  
         [0052]    While illustrative and presently preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail herein, it is to be understood that the inventive concepts may be otherwise variously embodied and employed and that the appended claims are intended to be construed to include such variations except insofar as limited by the prior art.