US2598334A - Bag closure - Google Patents

Description

May 27, 1952 F. AHLBURG BAG CLOSURE Filed March 20, 1950 HTTORA/E Y5 Patented May 27, 1952 UNITED STATES. 983a.- V

I Free. ate sa et :de Hagga sic-3 1 9?? 2gGlai ns. (01.: 1 50-41) It is another object.oftheinventismiioprovide a bag closure of!theIabovecharacter.whichis adapted for use in conjunction with prese'nt day draw-string bags which are used in marketing operations, and which constitutes an improvement over thepresent common practice of tying a knot in the draw-string to hold' 'the bag closed.

Further objects of the invention will appear from the following descriptioninwhich the preferred embodiment has been lset forth in detail in conjunction with the'accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevationalview showing the upper open end of the bagw ith my closure applied tothesame; F

Figure -2 is-a side elevational view of-t he same bag but after-the tightening' of- 'the draw stri-ng;

Figure 3-isan enlarged'planview showiiigmy retaining device in conjunction with the drawstring, and after the string has been tightened;

Figure 4 is a plan view of my draw-string retaining device, with the draw-string extending through the tunnels of the device;

Figure 5 is a section of the device taken along the line 5-5 of Figure 4; and

Figure 6 is a section of the device taken along the line 66 of Figure 4.

In Figures 1 and 2, I have shown the upper end of the bag I0 which is made of cotton netting and similar to bags such as are now commonly used for the marketing of various fruit and vegetables. In the past it has been common to apply a draw-string to the open end of such bags and when the bag has been filled at the packing plant the draw-string is tightened and then tied. This tying operation requires considerable labor and, in addition, makes it difficult to open the top of the bag, if, for example, one wishes to remove damaged or spoiled fruit or if one wishes to remove fruit in the event the contents of the bag are overweight or to add fruit if the contents of the bag are underweight.

A draw-string or cord I I is applied to the bag near the upper open end thereof in the same manner as draw-strings have been applied in the me v The construction of; the; retaining device I2'is illus tr ated particularly in" Figures-two G-inelu- "si ve As illustratedi, the device ['2 ismadebf a past gr amme'r he a 'a a onequarter inch nie'sh construction, the cord may" be passed through? every fourth or fifth six so that the'cord can be-readily drawntight to hold-themouth of the bag close'd. In atypic'alfl instance the cord is'ofthe' type-made of twisted-"cotton fiber {which is relatively 'soft in that it, can readily be lsqueezed-to'a smaller di- For bags u sdYiii' the marketing" of or nges andpotatoesfthe cord may have anormal 1 diameter of about three thirty-seconds of arilinch.

Generally, speaking cords; of this type are 5 impregnated-with pigment of coloring nia rial inasfnuch as the pigment or coloring pa n amen were w n i 9 r H aiie jihe j h n ags e t e bag :pr viously described. a'ndjaft'er my'retaining dehas been positionedf generally as shown r653 and4 strip [B ofsuitablesheet steel nietaL-"the end portions i lfof which are bent upon themselves toform generally 'a pair-of cylindrical and;par-

allel tunnels l6. One edge of the strip Iii-forming the end of the tunnels I6 is belled g'enerally asshowm The cord ll extends through these tunnels It as illustrated in the drawings, and

the inner diameter of the tunnels I6 is slightly smaller than the normal outside diameter of the cord ll whereby the cord is squeezed somewhat as it passes through the tunnels IE to provide a frictional retention while at the same time permitting the device I2 to be slid along the cord by applied manual force.

Figure 1 illustrates the position of the retaining device l2 before the bag is filled. The device can be applied to the cord H at any time during or after the manufacture of the bag but, as previously indicated, it is usually applied before the coloring material or pigment is applied to the bag H1 and the cord ll.

Upon filling the bag with fruit or vegetables, the loop I I is grasped by one hand of the operator and the device l2 grasped by the other hand. When the device 12 is slid to the position shown in Figures 2 and 3, the cord forms a loop which gathers together the upper end of the bag to eifectively close the same. In this manner the bag is retained in closed position. Th bell H8 at the one end of the parallel tunnels l6 facilitates the sliding of the device I2 to the position shown, in that the squeezing of the cord to the 3 smaller diameter to accommodate the same within the tunnel I6 is facilitated.

Upon release of the device 12, it generally attains th position illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 due to the friction between the device and the cord which is sufiicient to prevent it from slipping along the cord to permit the bag to open. The inherent frictional engagement between the device l2 and the cord ll due to squeezing the cord is supplemented by the effect of the engagement between the end wall IQ of the device and the portion of the cord immediately adjacent thereto which has not been squeezed. The nonsliding effect of the device 12 further enhanced by the fact that when the device is in the position generally illustrated in Figures 2 and 3, the pull upon the same is almost at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the tunnel I 6 rather than coaxial therewith.

Although the bag is held closed during handling, storage and shipment, if occasion should arise to open the bag as, for example, for the purpose of removing injured or spoiled articles of fruit or adding or removing some to attain the proper weight, this may readily be done by simply pulling outwardly upon the device I! to return it to an open position.

This movement is resisted not only by the frictional engagement between the interior of the tunnels l6 and the cord ll therewithin, which it will be recalled is considerably squeezed thereby, but also by the efiect of the abrupt edge IQ of the tunnels 16 at that portion of the device remote from the belled edges l8. As has previously been pointed out the coloring pigment in the cord is primarily only upon the surface of the cord and as the sharp edge (9 of the device [2 is drawn along the cord, the pigment is scraped and caused to pile up so to speak, thereby tending to resist further unloosening sliding movements of the device l2.

It will be evident from the foregoing that I have provided a device which is extremely simple in construction and operation, which can be used to advantage in the fruit and vegetable packing industry.

I claim:

1. In a bag closure, a draw cord engaging the mouth of the bag, and a retaining device engaging extended portions of the cord, said device comprising a single strip of sheet metal having opposite ends thereof bent upon themselves to form a pair of substantially cylindrical and parallel tunnels through which portions of the cord extend, the eifective inner diameter of said tunnels being less than the normal outside diameter of the cord whereby said device frictionally retains the cord, the ends of said tunnels adjacent the bag being slightly belled to prevent undue abrasion of the cord, and the other ends of said tunnels having an abrupt edge to retard slippage of the device in a direction away from said bag.

2. In a bag closure, a draw cord engaging the mouth of the bag, and a retaining device frictionally engaging extended portions of the cord, said device comprising a single strip of sheet metal having opposite ends thereof bent upon themselves to form substantially cylindrical and parallel tunnels through which portions of the cord extend, the effective diameter of said tunnels being less than the normal diameter of the cord whereby said device frictionally retains the cord, sliding of said device along the extended portions of the cord in one direction serving to gather together the mouth of the bag to close the same, the ends of said tunnels adjacent the bag being slightly belled and the ends of the tunnel remote from the bag being abrupt to thereby retard slippage of the device along the extended portions of the cord in the other direction.

FRANK AHLBURG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 209,233 Cox Oct. 22, 1878 222,649 Batchelder Dec. 16, 1879 1,143,924 Paradise Aug. 3, 1915 1,631,464 Brooks June 7, 1927 1,921,777 Ridgers Aug. 8, 1933 2,480,543 Brooks Aug. 30, 1949

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