Elastic trash bag and method of making the same

Abstract

A trash bag capable of being secured to a receptacle includes a trash bag body having a bag mouth, a hem formed proximate the mouth and a drawtape contained within the hem to close the bag. At least one elastic member, such as one or more elastic strands or bands, is adhesively attached to the drawtape and elastically secures the mouth to the receptacle. A method of making a trash bag includes adhesively attaching an elastic member to the trash bag body or drawtape proximate the bag mouth while the elastic member is in a stretched state. When released, the elastic member returns to an unstretched state and the bag gathers along the elastic member thereby providing a stretchable region adjacent the mouth.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional of co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 10 / 285,233 filed Oct. 31, 2002, the disclosure of which is fully incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] This invention relates generally to plastic trash bags and, more specifically, to trash bags having a securing system that enables the trash bag to be securely fitted to an upper portion of a trash container. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Trash bags are typically formed from two panels of thermoplastic materials that are sealed along opposing vertical sides. The horizontal seam along the bottom of the panels is also sealed. The top side of the panels, however, is not sealed and provides an opening or mouth for access to the interior of the bag. The trash bag is inserted as an interior liner of a formed container or receptacle. The bag mouth is then loosely laid over the top end of the receptacle to provide an unobstructed opening for inserting trash into the...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention is a securing system for trash bags that uses elastic strands or bands to secure the bag to a receptacle. The elastic strands or bands are adhesively attached to the bag and can be stretched to make the bag mouth larger than the receptacle opening, allowing it to be easily inserted into the receptacle. The elastic strands or bands retract creating a restoring force along the bag mouth to secure the bag to the receptacle. The securing system can be easily incorporated into existing bags with or without integral closure systems. The technical effects of this invention include improved security, ease of use, and the ability to securely close and carry trash bags.

Problems solved by technology

The top side of the panels, however, is not sealed and provides an opening or mouth for access to the interior of the bag.

Having separate tie mechanisms is often undesirable due to the additional expense in manufacturing and the inconvenience they cause the consumer.

When consumers fill the trash bag, the bag mouth often becomes detached from the formed container and consequently falls down inside the container.

Otherwise, the consumer risks missing the inside of the bag completely and having trash in immediate contact with the inside surface of the container.

This defeats the purpose of the bag and creates a nuisance for the consumer.

A number of disadvantages exist in this design.

First, because the elastic ring is not attached to the bag, it requires that a hem be formed along the mouth of the bag which adds to the manufacturing cost of the bag.

Second, this design requires that the loop completely traverse the mouth of the bag.

Anything less than a closed looped ring would not be effective in this design.

This design, however, also has some disadvantages.

First, this mouth securing system is limited to trash bag designs having closure systems that employ drawtapes or drawstrings.

This is a significant disadvantage because the drawtape manufacturing process is more expensive, requires additional materials, and requires more steps than other closure systems.

Furthermore, this design attaches the elastic member to the drawtape at discrete locations along the drawtape, i.e., at the troughs of the gather sections, which complicates the manufacturing process and thereby may add cost to the bag.

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