Stress relieving security bag

Abstract

A security bag having a side opening. The opening includes a leading edge with a tamper indicating adhesive strip. The bag further includes a flap portion which extends into the opening under the adhesive strip and leading edge. The bag is closed by adhering the adhesive strip to the flap. This provides a better seal which is less prone to inadvertent tamper indication.

Description

BACKGROUND

[0001] Tamper indicating bags or security bags are used to transfer valuable or sensitive materials. These bags which can be formed from plastic and have some feature which provides an indication that the bag has been opened in transit. Thus from the point of sealing to the point of delivery, no one should be able to access the contents of the bag without being discovered. Once delivered to its intended destination, the recipient ascertains if the bag was opened. It is important that the recipient be able to detect if the bag was opened. It is also important that an unopened bag not show a false indication that it has been opened or tampered.

[0002] There are many different tamper indicating bags such as those disclosed in Geyer, U.S. Pat. No. 6,196,716, Wheeling, U.S. Pat. No. 4,483,018, Sack et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,509,196, Sack, U.S. Pat. No. 4,510,621, Wilson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,785,940, Boto U.S. Pat. No. 4,988,547, Edelman, U.S. Pat. No. 4,941,196, Mackrauer, U.S. Pat. No. 5,620,256 and Diplock, U.S. Pat. No. 6,190,043.

[0003] The invention disclosed in the Diplock patent addresses the issue of improper sealing of the bag and directing force away from the seal area to prevent an inadvertent tamper indication. More specifically, this patent discloses incorporation of a separate inner flap between the front and rear walls of the bag. The flap underlies the seal area. Thus if a seal is formed with the bag partially open, the adhesive will attach to this inner flap as opposed to the back wall of the bag. Also, as pressure is exerted against the bag, it will force the flap against the seal area as opposed to forcing the seal area opened.

[0004] This design effectively addresses these issues. However, the requirement of an extra internal flap increases the cost of the bag and increases its complexity and the cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a simple tamper indicating security bag which directs internal forces away from the seal area and reduces the problem of imperfectly formed seals.

[0006] More particularly the present invention is a tamper indicating bag which is formed from preferably a single sheet of plastic wherein the top edge of the bag is a first fold. The front bag wall extends away from the fold and forms a flap. The bottom of the bag is a second fold which forms the lower portion of the front of the bag. The opening into the bag is at the leading edge of that lower portion. The flap from the top extends underneath the leading edge of forming the opening and seal area. This leading edge includes an adhesive strip which is adapted to adhere to the extended flap to form a tamper indicating seal. Since the flap extends below this edge into the interior of portion of the bag, the forces inside the bag are directed primarily to the top and bottom of the bag and not to the seal area. Since the seal is formed by an edge being adhesively bonded to the flap portion, precise alignment is not critical. Thus, there is no possibility of the adhesive bonding to the back wall of the bag.

[0007] Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be appreciated in light of the following detailed descriptions and drawings in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0008] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present invention.

[0009] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken at lines 2-2 of FIG. 1.

[0010] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view partially broken away showing the bag prior to sealing.

[0011] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view as in FIG. 2 showing the bag as sealed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0012] As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4, the present invention is a security bag 10 which includes a front panel 12, a back panel 14 and an opening 16. This particular bag is formed from a single sheet of plastic and includes a lower fold 18 and an upper fold 20. These folds could be replaced with heat seals if desired. The front panel 12 extends up from the lower fold 18 and terminates at a closure structure 24. Extending from upper fold 20 is a flap portion 22 which extends into an inside portion 23 of the bag under closure structure 24 of front panel 12. The sides 11 and 13 of bag 10 are simply heat sealed edges.

[0013] As shown, closure structure 24 includes an optional tear-away strip 26 attached to panel 12 at a perforation 28. Adhered to front panel 12 just below perforation 28 is an adhesive strip 30. The adhesive strip 30 is preferably a separate strip which includes some type of tamper indication. These are generally referred to as void tapes or tamper tapes because when the adhesive strip is pulled away from a surface, it will give some visual indication that the seal has been broken such as showing the word “void”. These tamper tapes as shown in FIG. 1 include a silicone coated removable liner 32 which prevents the adhesive from bonding to any surface until desired.

[0014] To use the bag of the present invention, the tear-away strip 26 is removed. This can be used as a receipt. The contents are then placed inside the bag 10 and the liner 32 is removed. The adhesive strip 30 is pressed against the flap 22 adhering front panel 12 to the flap 22 and sealing the bag closed.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 4, when the contents of the bag move forward towards the sealed portion of the bag, the force (represented by arrow 34) is directed to upper fold 20 as opposed to the seal area. Thus, the forces are directed away from the adhesive and towards a physical fold in the bag. This will reduce the likelihood of any false indication that someone has tampered with the bag. Also since the flap extends substantially below edge 24, there is no possibility that the adhesive will bond to the back panel 14 as opposed to the flap 22. Thus, a good seal is virtually guaranteed.

[0016] Although the present invention shows a separate adhesive strip for use in the present invention, the adhesive can also be applied directly to the inside of front panel 12 at the edge surface if desired. However, this is more difficult to manufacture and accordingly less preferred.

[0017] Bag 10 can be formed and printed using standard bag forming apparatus. Preferably the bag of the present invention is formed from a thermoplastic material such as polyethylene or the like.

[0018] Preferably, the upper fold is formed followed by the lower fold. The tamper tape is applied at edge 28. A heat seal/cut is formed at the edges to form the final bag. This forming process is significantly simpler and less expensive than the method used to form the structure disclosed in the Diplock bag, yet the bag of the present invention provides the same benefits.

[0019] This has been a description of the present invention and the preferred mode of practicing the invention, however, the invention itself should only be defined by the appended claims wherein we claim:

Claims

1. A security bag having a front panel and a rear panel,

said front panel having a leading edge;

a flap member extending from a top edge of said bag said flap extending into an inside portion of said bag beneath said leading edge of said front panel;

an adhesive portion on said front panel proximate said leading edge of said front panel adapted to contact said flap sealing said bag closed.

2. The bag claimed in claim 1 wherein said adhesive coats a tamper indicating adhesive strip which is adhered to said front panel and extends beyond said leading edge toward said upper edge of said bag.

3. The bag claimed in claim 2 further including a plastic receipt strip attached at a perforation line to said leading edge.