US2547530A - Garment storage bag - Google Patents

Description

April 3, 1951 J. MEHL GARMENT STORAGE BAG Filed April 25, 1948 E; j 7 INVENTOR. JONAH MEHL BY I jw 5 I HIS ATTORNY Patented Apr. 3, 1951 GARMENT STORAGE BAG Jonah Mehl, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to Sydney-Thomas Corporation, Cincinnati, Ohio, a

corporation of Ohio Application April 23, 1948, Serial No. 22,821

1 Claim. 1

This invention concerns a garment storage bag in which garments may be sealed for complete protection and which is reusable from time to time.

A major object of this invention is to provide a garment storage bag in which a garment on a hanger may be. inserted with the hanger extending through an opening in the top of the bag and in which the hanger opening as well as the garment opening may be secured to protect the bag, with the securing devices being openable permitting reuse of the bag from time to time.

More specifically, it is an object of this invention to provide a garment storage bag of thin plastic film material which will contain one or more garments with the hangers projecting through an opening in the top of the bag and a drawstring for drawing the edges of the opening tightly about the garment hanger and further provided with a garment opening at the bottom of the bag which may be sealed by the arrangement of a ductile metal strip in the bottom hem of the bag so the bag may be rolled up from its bottom end to seal the opening and the lower portions of the bag folded inwardly to bend the metal strip thereby securing the bottom of the bag to form a bag of any desired length.

In accomplishing these objects, a bag according to this invention includes front and back portions of a width and length exceeding the width and length of the garment to be stored; the front and back portions being of substantially identical shape and having their upper edges sealed. together except for a central opening which is surrounded by projections extending upwardly from the front and back portions, the projections having 'hems for receiving a drawstring which may be pulled to tighten the opening about a hanger projecting through the top of the bag; a hem being formed in the'bottom of the bag for receiving a ductile metal strip of a lengthcorresponding to the width of the bag so the bag may be rolled or folded upon the strip as a core to any desired height where, by folding the lower ends of the bag inwardly, the metal strip is bent upon itself to secure'the rolled bottom portion of the bag in desired position and seal the bottom of the bag to protect the garment therein.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a garment bag embodying the invention in its preferred form and showing the bag with a garment and hanger positioned therein but before the bottom of the bag is closed;

Figure 2 is a similar view of Figure 1 but which shows the bottom of the bag rolled upon the metal strip as a core but prior to securing the bottom of the bag by folding the edges;

Figure 3 is similar to Figure 2 but showing the bottom edges of the bag folded inwardly to bend the metal strip and secure the bottom of the bag in sealed position and also showing the top opening of the bag gathered about the .hanger projecting therethrough;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken 4--t of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 66 of Figure 3; and

Figure 7 is a partial top plan view of Figure 1 showing the hanger opening with the drawstring therein.

on the line In the preferred embodiment of the invention,

as shown in the drawings, the garment bag includes a front portion H and a back portion l2, both formed of flexible materials that can be sewn, glued or heat sealed, such as polyethylene plastic film, cellophane, paper, textiles, or like materials. One particularly advantageous arrangement of the front and back portions 1 i and [2 respectively, is obtained by utilizing a tube formed of a thin film of material. By flattening the tube along two longitudinal and diametrically opposed lines, a container is formed having front and back portions H and [2 formed integrally with one another along the longitudinal lines which correspond to the sides of the container. This container or envelope is thus sealed along its sides but open at its two ends.

The top edges of the front and back portions II and i2 are joined together from points 13 and I4, spaced from each other near the center of the bag, outwardly in opposite directions to the edges of the bag, as indicated at it and it, to form seams ii and i8 extending from the spaced points l3 and Hi to the sides of the bag. Preferably, with the use of polyethylene film ma; terial, these seams are formed by heat sealing the upper edges of the bag from the spaced points I3 and l4 outwardly to the sides'o f the bag. This may be accomplished by applying heat and pressure to the portions to be joined. By sealing the seams in this way, a hanger opening It (Fig. 5) is formed, between the spaced points 13 and 14 near the center of the top of the bag, through which a hanger .such as that shown at 2| may protrude.

outwardly extending projections 22 and 23 are provided at the tops of the front and back portions II and 12, respectively, between the spaced points 13 and I4, near the center of the bag. These projections surround the neck opening it and also extend above the seams I1 and I8 which seal the major portion of the original opening in the top of the bag. The top marginal portions of the projections 22 and 23 are doubled back upon themselves and sealed adjacent their edges to secure them to the respective projections on the front and back portions, thereby provide and the weight of the metal strip 32 ing hems 24 and 25 in the projections surrounding the opening I9 with apertures 26, 26 in the ends of the hems at the spaced points I3 and I4. The hems 24 and 25 accommodate a conventional drawstring 27 arranged in the usual manner with its ends extending through the apertures 26, 26.

With this arrangement at the top of the bag, it will be apparent that the major portion of the top is sealed by the seams I! and I8, and the opening I9 is adequate to permit hanger 2| to be inserted through the opening when a garment is placed in a bag. As the projections 22 and 23 extend above the seams I7 and I8, sufficient material is present so part of the bag surrounding the opening may be gathered tightly about the hanger 2| by pulling the drawstring 2'! as shown most clearly in Fig. 3.

The bottom opening of the bag extends across the entire width of the front and back portions II and I2, so a garment may be easily inserted through the bottom of the bag and pushed up into the bag until the hanger projects through the hanger opening I9. The bottom marginal borders of the front and back portions I I and I2 are doubled back and secured, as indicated at 28 and 29, to the front and back portions II and I2, respectively, to form a bottom hem 3| extending across the entire width of the bag. Contained within this hem 3I is a strip 32 of ductile metal, such as aluminum, which has a length corresponding to the width of the bag as it extends across the entire width of the bag. This metal strip 32 is arranged on edge within the seam as shown most clearly in Figure 4, where it serves a two-fold purpose. As will subsequently appear, the strip is used to retain the bottom of the bag in its closed position. Also, it serves as a light weight in the bottom of the extremely thin material to hold the bag in extended position when desired.

To close the bag, the lower marginal borders of the front and back portions II and I2 are rolled upwardly on the metal strip 32 as a core. The number of folds, that is the number of times that the strip is turned, depends upon the final length of the bag which is desired. By tightly rolling the front and back portions II and I2 on the metal strip 32 one or two times, the lower marginal borders of the front and back portions I I and I2 are brought into intimate relationship thereby forming a seal for the entire bottom opening in the bag. When the bottom of the bag has been folded to its desired length, the lower ends of the sides of the bag may be folded inwardly, as shown in Figure 3, to bend the metal strip 32 upon itself to retain the fold in the desired position so the bag is completely sealed to afford protection for the garment.

In use, the bag may be held at its upper end, will straighten the bag to its full length holding the sides in laterally extended position so a garment may be readily inserted through the opening in the bottom of the bag, and moved into the bag until the hanger 2I protrudes through the opening I9 in the top of the bag. The drawstring 2! may then be tightened to gather the marginal border of the projections 22 and 23 around the hanger opening I9, so they will snugly fit and substantially close the opening with the hanger protruding outwardly therefrom.

The bottom of the bag may then be folded upwardly on the metal strip 32 as a core to any desired length. When folded to the desired length, the lower ends of the sides of the bag may be turned inwardly, as shown in Figure 3, thereby bending the metal strip upon itself to secure the bag in closed position. This folding of the bag forces the lower marginal border of the front and back portions I I and I2 into intimate relationship, as shown in Figure 5, so the bottom is completely sealed to protect the garment.

An important advantage of the present construction is that the entire bag may be opened, the garment removed and the bag reused. This is made possible by providing not only a reusable opening for removing the garment, but also through the arrangement of the drawstring in the top opening so the hanger may be removed without damaging the bag. When the drawstring is tightly tied the projections 22 and 23 form an excellent seal around the hanger. The drawstring may then be untied to permit removal of the hanger without damaging the bag.

A bag embodying the features of the present invention is particularly easy to use because the hanger opening may be readily sealed. The bag is economical to use because a garment may be inserted and removed from the bag repeatedly without damaging the bag itself.

I am aware that the structures herein described are susceptible of considerable variation without departing from the spirit of my invention, and, therefore, I claim my invention broadly as indicated by the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

A garment storage bag comprising front and back portions of relatively thin material of substantial length, said portions being joined along their opposite side edges and open throughout the width of their bottom ends, the top edges of said front and back portions being closed in from the sides to spaced points near the center of said 7 top edges to form a hanger opening in the top central portion of the bag, an expansible neck portion formed by the upper margins of said front and back portions between said spaced points and around the hanger opening, a hem portion formed on the bottom margin of one of the front and back portions, and a ductile metal bar enclosed entirely within the hem portion and extending across the entire width of the bag to hold the bottom end of the bag extended widthwise and permitting said bottom end to be sealed by rolling it upon the bar and securing it in sealed rolled condition by having the opposite ends of the bar retroverted.

JONAH MEHL.

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

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 599,858 McCoy Mar. 1, 1898 680,368 Shattuck Aug. 13, 1901 949,583 Leininger Feb. 15, 1910 969,468 Goldberg Sept. 6, 1910 1,229,890 Conover June 12, 1917 1,900,814 Holley Mar. 7, 1933 2,018,228 Potdevin Oct. 22, 1935 2,071,745 Higginbottom Feb. 23, 1937 2,294,791 Mehl Sept. 1, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 328,918 Germany Nov. 9, 1920

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