Flexible bag with dual-purpose detachable closures

Abstract

A flexible plastic bag having two sides, one sealed end, and one openable end. Molding strips consisting at least partly of laminated wire or other malleable material, are removably fixed parallel and adjacent to the edges of the openable end of the bag on the exterior surfaces of each side. Each molding strip extends across the entire width of the bag and each is fixed to the bag surface along its entire length thus forming a deformable reinforcing edge along the entire opening. Resultantly, the mouth of the bag can be shaped into an open position, and the open position will be retained until the molding strips are subsequently reshaped. The purposeful malleability of the bag edge allows its opening to be shaped into other specific configurations as well. Once the mouth of the bag is manipulated to the shape or degree of openness desired, the bag can be filled without undue obstruction or restriction, and the bag can also be passed over objects to encase them without initial frictional contact. Once the bag has been filled, or has fully encased its target object, the molding strips can be detached from the bag with a pulling motion to be used as flexible closure devices in a manner similar to commonly known “twist ties”. The molding strips may be individual elements adhesively attached to the surfaces of the bag, or they may be imbedded within, or part of, the bag structure and detachable by means of perforations along a tear line. The molding strips, if adhesively detachable, may include protruding tabs to aid in their disengagement from the bag. The bag body may be of clear plastic material to allow visibility of the contents within and may contain printing, labeling, or writeable exterior surfaces.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates generally to flexible plastic bags with malleable reinforced openings wherein the elements used to reinforce and retain their shaped openings may also serve as readily detachable closures by which the bags may then be sealed. In one particular application, the present invention relates to flexible plastic bags whose openings can be formed into, and then retain, nearly circular open positions so that the bags can be neatly passed over wet paint roller covers in a manner that avoids messy contact between the leading edge of the bag and the wet roller covers. Once encased within the bag bodies, the wet roller covers can then be grasped in a “hands-clean”manner to be removed from their frames and may remain stored within the bags in a wet or moist condition for future reuse. The present invention relates to other possible applications as well, for example, instances where wet, oily, or otherwise contaminated articles or pa...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008] The present invention resides in a flexible plastic bag having two sides, one sealed end, and one openable end. In the preferred embodiment, molding strips consisting of laminated wire are removably fixed parallel and adjacent to the edges of the openable end of the bag on the exterior surfaces of each side wall. Each molding strip straddles the entire width of the bag and each is fixed to the bag surface along its entire length thus forming a malleable reinforcing edge along the entire opening. Resultantly, the mouth of the bag can be hand manipulated into an open position, and the open position will be retained until the molding strips are subsequently reshaped. The purposeful malleability of the bag edge allows its opening to be shaped into other specific configurations as well

Problems solved by technology

However, all of these methods and devices have drawbacks or limitations.

The oldest known implements for storing paint brushes predate the plastics era and consist mostly of bulky devices manufactured from metal parts that would be relatively expensive and unnecessarily complicated to manufacture by today's standards.

The more modern implements dating from the inception of plastics manufacturing until the present day are found to be unnecessarily complicated, relatively expensive to manufacture, not intended for long term storage, lack airtightness, or are simply too difficult to manage and clean when compared to the present invention.

Some items painters now use which are not specifically manufactured for the purposes of preserving paint applicators, such as aluminum foil, plastic sheet wrap, and food storage bags, also have their drawbacks.

Aluminum foil tears easily, plastic sheet wrap is difficult to handle while attempting to manage a wet painting device, and food storage bags typically have floppy or otherwise unsuitable openings that render passing them over saturated articles a difficult and messy proposition.

Further, although rewrapping saturated roller covers in their original plastic packaging wrapper is sometimes possible, in most cases roller covers will expand to larger dimensions once saturated and simply will not fit back into their original wrappers.

Additionally, the original packaging wrapper is typically not thick or durable enough for securely grasping the encased roller covers for removal, or for providing long term storage capabilities, and often incur punctures or tears at the store display level which renders them unsuitable for the purposes of the invention.

Regardless, trying to squeeze a wet roller cover into a bag with a floppy or small opening is a very messy proposition at best.

While certain known flexible bag types might generally serve to enclose and preserve wet paint applicators, none are purposefully designed to make the process of doing so clean and simple.

Plastic bags with simple adhesive flaps, for example, would not prevent sloppy contact between the leading bag edges and the wet surfaces of roller covers without the user having to exercise extreme diligence because their openable ends are floppy and unstable.

Other bag types with interlocking or sliding type closures, while providing some degree of reinforcement and stability to their openable ends by default, nevertheless cannot be purposefully manipulated to retain a fully circular shape that avoids the unwanted messy contact just cited.

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