Abstract:
A roll of bags includes a spool; and a chain of imbricated taped bags mounted on the spool. A roil of bags includes a container having a curved bottom portion; and a chain of imbricated taped bags disposed on the curved bottom portion of the container. A roll of bags includes a spool having a first and second end; and a chain of imbricated taped bags mounted on the spool, the chain of bags having first and second lateral sides, wherein the chain of bags includes a pair of tapes, and an adhesive, such that each bag is adhesively but releasably attached to the pair of tapes. A method of packaging a chain of imbricated taped bags includes providing a spool; and winding the chain of imbricated taped bags on the spool.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to rolled, taped bags, especially plastic bags.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Many packaging applications, especially food packaging, require or benefit from the use of bags made from various thermoplastic materials and structures. Examples of commercial bags include heat shrinkable bags supplied by Cryovac, Inc., including for example bags sold under the sales codes L 340 and B 620.  
           [0003]    These bags are commonly used in large scale meat processing and/or packaging systems where production speed and efficiency are important. Bags to be used in these systems are often themselves packed in boxes in a festooned or serpentine manner, the individual bags taped together so that they will feed in a predictable and efficient manner to an article loading station. Typical of such technology is U.S. Pat. No. 3,161,347 (Hannon), disclosing a tape to which bags are attached, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,587,843 (Wing), disclosing two tapes to which are attached imbricated (i.e. shingled) bags.  
           [0004]    Although this practice has been highly successful, one downside is the tendency for sharp creasing sometimes experienced in boxed taped bags. Creasing can interfere with bag opening when inflation is used to open the bag for product insertion. Creasing can also cause difficulty when the bags are used in a convoluted film path, e.g. in automatic loading machines.  
           [0005]    Another disadvantage, experienced not by the food processor but by the bag manufacturer, is the need to “festoon” the taped bags inside a box, that is, laying the taped bags into a box in a serpentine fashion.  
           [0006]    The present invention is directed to an apparatus and method whereby taped bags, i.e. an imbricated bag chain connected with adhesive tape, are wound onto a spool for shipment and subsequent dispensing at end use. Use of a spool with adequate core diameter eliminates the sharp radius creases which result from serpentining the bag chain into a box.  
           [0007]    Rolled taped bags also offer better shipping density, so that more bags can be carried on a roll than in a conventional box. This in turn saves on change-over time at a customer facility, i.e. when one box of bags is depleted and another box is opened to supply additional bags.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0008]    In one aspect, a roll of bags comprises a spool; and a chain of imbricated taped bags mounted on the spool  
           [0009]    In a second aspect, a roll of bags comprises a container having a curved bottom portion; and a chain of imbricated taped bags disposed on the curved bottom portion of the container.  
           [0010]    In a third aspect, a roll of bags comprises a spool having a first and second end; and a chain of imbricated taped bags mounted on the spool, the chain of bags having first and second lateral sides, wherein the chain of bags includes a pair of tapes, and an adhesive, such that each bag is adhesively but releasably attached to the pair of tapes.  
           [0011]    In a fourth aspect, a method of packaging a chain of imbricated taped bags comprises providing a spool; and winding the chain of imbricated taped bags on the spool. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]    Further details are given below with reference to the drawings wherein, in accordance with various embodiments of the invention:  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a chain of imbricated taped bags mounted on a roll;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a chain of imbricated taped bags mounted on a roll, and including a take-up cassette;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 3 is a top view of a container for holding a rolled chain of imbricated taped bags;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 4 is a cut-away side view of an alternative embodiment of the invention; and  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 5 is a cut-away side view of FIG. 3, as viewed along line  5 - 5  of FIG. 3. 
     
    
     DEFINITIONS  
       [0018]    The term “spool” herein refers to any elongate shaft, spool, core, rod, or the like, of any suitable material and cross sectional shape, which functions to support a rolled chain of imbricated taped bags wrapped around the spool.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0019]    [0019]FIG. 1 discloses, at reference numeral  10 , a plurality of imbricated taped bags  16  mounted on a spool. Although for the sake of clarity the bags have been shown in simplified fashion, it should be understood that the bags are imbricated, i.e. shingled or in overlying sequence, in a manner well known in the art, and shown e.g. in U.S. Pat. No. 3,587,843 (Wing), incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, and also seen more clearly in FIG. 4.  
         [0020]    The bags in the chain are preferably substantially identical and are preferably formed in conventional manner from tubular film so that each bag has a bottom end seal and an open end forming the mouth of the bag. The uppermost bag preferably has its mouth towards the leading end of the chain, as do all bags in the chain, so that the weight of overlying bags tends to retain the mouths of the underlying bags closed to prevent debris from entering the bags.  
         [0021]    Side seal bags can also be arranged in imbricated or shingled relationship.  
         [0022]    At least one thermoplastic tape, and preferably two or more spaced apart and parallel thermoplastic tapes, connect the plurality of end seal or side seal bags into a chain of bags. Adhesive in the form of a continuous coating or strip, on the surface of each bag and/or tape in contact with each other, or in the form of discontinuous patches or spots disposed on each bag and/or the portion of the tape or tapes in contact with each bag, functions to create the chain of bags.  
         [0023]    Specifically as indicated in FIG. 1, the roll of bags  10  comprises a chain of bags  16  wrapped around a spool  14 . The roll of bags could be made and shipped as is to a costumer, e.g. a meat packager. However, for hygienic reasons, and to protect the integrity of the bags during shipment and storage, it is preferred that the roll of bags itself be placed in a container, such as a thermoplastic pouch or bag, or a paperboard box or container. It is also preferable, for purposes of dispensing the bags at the customer facility, to mount the roll of bags on side supports  12   a  and  12   b.    
         [0024]    The bags are connected by one or more tapes, such as the pair of tapes  18   a  and  18   b  shown in FIG. 1. These tapes are connected to the bags by a continuous coating or strip, on the surface of each bag and/or tape in contact with each other, or in the form of discontinuous patches or spots disposed on each bag and/or the portion of the tape or tapes in contact with each bag. Thus, an adhesive strip or coating can be applied to the underside of the tape (the side to be placed in contact with the bags), or on the bags themselves, or both, in either a continuous or discontinuous manner. Any suitable adhesive can be used, such as the types of adhesive well known in the art in connection with the use of taped bags generally. An example of a suitable adhesive is a noncuring pressure sensitive adhesive.  
         [0025]    The tapes can be applied to either the top of the chain of bags, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, or else can be applied to the bottom of the chain of bags.  
         [0026]    The spool should preferably be at least as wide as, and more preferably somewhat wider than, the width of the chain of bags, in order to provide optimal support for the bags.  
         [0027]    The side supports, if used, should be at least as wide as, and more preferably somewhat wider than, the width of the chain of bags, in order to facilitate the creation of the roll of bags, and removal of the bags at the point of use, without undue restriction in rotational movement of the roll.  
         [0028]    The chain of bags can be simply rolled onto the spool in a given configuration, where each wind of the chain is directly on top of the previous wind. However, because of the presence of the tape or tapes, and the adhesive, this format results in a roll that is bowed out at the lateral midpoint of the roll. To avoid this, and to enhance shipping density per spool, the spool (and the side supports if present) can be made wider than the bag chain, with the bag chain played back and forth across the transverse width of the spool face while winding, to achieve a level wind.  
         [0029]    The extent that adjacent bags in the chain are offset one from another can vary depending on a variety of factors, and this is a matter of optimization that will be evident to the skilled artisan.  
         [0030]    The spool  14  and side supports  12   a  and  12   b  can be made from any suitable material, including metal, plastic, paperboard or cardboard, or the like. Spool  14  is shown in FIG. 1 as extending only as far as the distance between side supports  12   a  and  12   b . The ends of spool  14  could extend beyond the respective outside edges of side supports  12   a  and  12   b ; however, for purposes of packing the roll of bags in a box or similar container, it is convenient to format the size of the various components as illustrated in FIG. 1.  
         [0031]    Although spool  14  is preferably circular in cross section, as shown, it can be of any suitable cross sectional shape, such as a polyhedral, star shape, or the like.  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 2 discloses, at reference numeral  20 , a plurality of imbricated bags mounted on a spool. Thus, FIG. 2 is similar to FIG. 1, in that the chain of bags  26  corresponds to the chain of bags  16  of FIG. 1; the spool  24  corresponds to the spool  14  of FIG. 1; the side supports  22   a  and  22   b  correspond to the side supports  12   a  and  12   b  of FIG. 1; and the pair of tapes  28   a  and  28   b  correspond to the pair of tapes  18   a  and  18   b  shown in FIG. 1. Take-up cassette  29  can optionally be used to take up the tape  18   a  and  18   b  as the bags are fed forward during a packaging cycle. The cassette includes take-up reels (shown in phantom in FIG. 2), and such cassettes are well known in the art. Cassette  29  can be mounted on and between the side supports  22   a  and  22   b . Appropriate indentations, holes, slots, etc. can be provided in the side supports and the cassette to achieve a snap in fit. The cassette can be like that described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,412 (O&#39;Neill), incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The cassette containing take-up reels can thus be snapped into storage position between the side supports. By making the side supports essentially square, there is space available for the cassette in the corners of the spool above the bag wind level.  
         [0033]    In FIG. 3 there is shown a top view of a shipping container  30  for holding the roll of bags. An exterior shell  32 , having side members  35  and  37 , and end members  39  and  41 , provides a place to install, along the side members  35  and  37 , housing members  34   a  and  34   b  respectively. Side supports  36   a  and  36   b  correspond generally to side supports  12   a  and  12   b  of FIG. 1, and can be of any suitable shape, including square or circular. Spool  38  corresponds to spool  14  of FIG. 1. The exterior shell  32  is preferably a disposable container such as a cardboard box having a width somewhat greater than the width of the bag chain and a depth sufficient to hold the desired supply of rolled bags. Although shown open at the top in FIG. 3, for the sake of illustration, the container is preferably closed at the top (see container top  33  in FIG. 5), at least during storage and shipment to protect the enclosed roll of bags from contamination. Even during dispensing of the bags at a customer facility, the container can remain generally closed if desired, and the leading end of the chain of bags can be fed through a suitable opening (not shown) at the side of container  30 , the leading end of the chain being defined as that end of the chain having the uppermost bag in the imbricated bag series.  
         [0034]    The housing members  34   a  and  34   b  are intended to provide support for the spool  38 . They can be made of any suitable material, including cardboard, plastic, or metal, and can of any suitable configuration. Thus, they can be simply a semicircular cardboard protrusion that cradles the spool  38 , or can be more complex in format. The only requirement is that they provide a means for supporting the spool  38 , and allow the spool to rotate so that the chain of bags (not shown in FIGS.  3  or  5 ) can be easily dispensed. FIG. 5 is a cut-away side view of FIG. 3, as viewed along line  5 - 5  of of FIG. 3. Line  5 - 5  in FIG. 3 runs through the centerline of spool  38 . Like reference numerals refer to like members of FIG. 3. The container is shown with a bottom member  43 .  
         [0035]    In an alternative embodiment of the invention, as shown in FIG. 4 in a cut-away side view, a shipping container  40  for holding a roll of bags includes an exterior shell  44 , having end members  46  and  48 , and side member  50 . A second side member, forming the fourth wall of the container, is not shown for the sake of clarity.  
         [0036]    Instead of a central spool and side supports, as in the previous embodiments, the rolled chain of bags  52  is simply rolled up and placed in the bottom of container  40 . Although the container could have only a conventional flat bottom, it is preferred that a curved bottom member  54  be installed above the flat bottom  56 . This curved bottom member functions to cradle the rolled chain of bags, providing support during shipping and storage, and ease in dispensing the bags. A spool  58  can optionally be used to initially wind the chain of bags, and allow facilitate initial production of the roll and placement of the roll into the container  40 .  
         [0037]    One advantage of a spool-wound chain of imbricated taped bags is that it improves feeding the taped bags into automated loading equipment by being adaptable to tension control mechanisms which will act on the spool and indirectly on the bag chain.  
         [0038]    For most applications, each bag of the roll of bags is preferably a thermoplastic bag, more preferably a thermoplastic heat shrinkable bag, and most preferably a thermoplastic heat shrinkable crosslinked bag. The bags can optionally have at least one hole therein, as disclosed e.g. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,810,706 (McDonald et al.), incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.  
         [0039]    Although the present invention has been described in conjunction with preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that modifications and variations may be utilized without departing from the principles and scope of the invention, as those skilled in the art will readily understand. Accordingly, such modifications and variations may be practiced within the scope of the following claims.