Bag lock and packing means

Jan. 15, 1963

O. LEFNAER

3,072,986

BAG LOCK AND PACKING MEANS

Filed Feb. 6, 1959

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FIG. 2

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OTTO LEFNAER

BY

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ATTORNEYS.

3,072,986

Patented Jan. IS, 1963

United States Patent Office knobs is pushed laterally against the constriction and into the smaller hole. The projecting knob ^adJ?^c“^{!t tbe}sfrau wi'l now assist in preventing the cord from slipping back into the large center hole or eye, surface of the knob is pressing against the flat outer sur fac» of the eye portion of the strap.

* To provide an additional lock for the cord, ite free end may be bent and inserted into the other small later hnip in the strap past the respective restriction. For this

212’ »“l th. 1.21 — “ the lar&lt;*e hole in the strap of the cord is prefei ably given fn Xm .h_W so »&gt;.t the l.rge een.er completely open to permit the p«age of th · knohhy cord during the second insertion ol its end. The closed ^l0^hX“ thereord Z, hZZ atao be inserted ί,ΧΧ» holo » .he « of longitudinally further outwardly on the strap.. This sec ond hole has also a smaller hole m ^J^^Jffarge 20 rection of the strap and communicating with the large hole via a constricted gap. The cord will be similarly inserted as described above to rest with a stem portion “ThVZdTusefta a similar manner to tie packages.

For this purpose, the cord is first placed ^{tbe p}„„„ iust like any other cord to form a first loop, ana the cord end is pulled through a large hole in the strap. The cord is then tightened and . pulled into one of th smaller holes through the constriction separating it from e hole to rest with one of its stems inside and

222 edge. »f the holm Then, gm «-g the same procedure as with a normal cord, the KnobPy cmd is wound transversely to the first loop around he package and its end is again inserted preferably through the same large hole in the strap and one of us stems is a^ain inserted, but this time into the free small hole at the other side of the large hole, with the result that the tension in the plastic cord will force the flat surfaces of the respective knobs against the flat surface of the sti. p, meventin the cord from sliding back and becoming FooZd The remaining free end of the knobby cord s then bent around and inserted into the second of the lar«e holes in the strap. After pressing one stem portion laterally into one of the small holes past the constriction, a Ze loop will be formed which may be used to hold or carry the package. In this manner the packing cor according to the invention functions like a normal cord wT several conventional knots, but on y requires a fraction of the manual operations normally needed.

To open the cord for unpacking, the last-applied stem &gt; portion of the cord is first pushed out of the small hole past the constriction into .the ^lar§^e^’.^of thlSbs will then slide easily since the rounded edges &gt; the loiobs offer little or no resistance. The same applies to the remaintag locked stem portions. In this manner the ™d may be loosened within a few seconds without becoming damaged and may therefore be reused for an un limited number of times. , _ ¹ In the event that the plastic cord is to be looped several times around a package, the cord may be provided iTXap with a larger number of large and smafl holes with intermediate constrictions. The individual loops of the cord may thus also be spaced from eac other and secured by the same strap. ,

It is a further object of the present invention ^t0 P^rovld® the free end of the cord which is to be passed .through holes in the strap with a hook-like portion which has a width and thickness not exceedmg the diameter of the knobs and terminates into a pointed end for ea y Cisertion into the large hole of the strap^ By me n of this hooked end on one cord and one of the holes m the strap of another cord such cords may be coupled to3,072,986

BAG LOCK AND PACKING MEANS Otto Lefnaer, 4 Robert-Bosch-Strasse, Stattgari, Germany

FUed Feb. 6, 1959, Ser. No. 792,692

Claims priority, application Germany Feb. 27, 1958 5 Claims. (CI. 24—16)

The present invention relates to closure devices, fasteners, and the like, particularly for containers, such as bags, sacks, cartons, or the like.

The known means for closing small sacks or bags at their neck consisting of plastic clips or soft metal clasps have the disadvantages that their dimensions cannot be pronerly matched to the thickness, of the. neck of the respective bag, and that, m addition, their closing o locking force is limited. These disadvantages make them particularly unsuitable for large bags, such as mail bags, jute bags, bags made of reinforced paper, and the I ke Also, these devices do not permit the bags and the like to be carried by the bag locking means.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new type of closing and locking device for any kind of sack or bag, from the smallest cellophane candy bag up to the largest jute bag, as well as for ^sec?^re^.^4yi°fth“^ytype and size of package, carton, and the like without further object of the present invention is to provide locking means that may be closed by a very, simple manual operation, and that may be opened again wit out destroying the locking means and may thus be use ZZbZlocks and packing .me^¹⁸ according to the present invention have the additional advantage that they may be hot sealed and permanently closed to prevent an/ opening of the respective package other than by de^StriSe^Sp?cking^k and locking means according to the present invention consist of a cord, preierably made of plastic material, along the length of which a .Polity of ; nrorctin knobs are placed at equal distances from each other. According to the invention, these knobs have a rounded or conical profile in one enable them to slide through a hole or eye, whilthe opposite direction the knobs have a ^substaatiabyflat surface which is essentially perpendicular to the Ion- , gitudinal direction of the cord. . _d

The end of the packing means or cord facm_o towai. the flattened vertical surfaces of the knobs has a flat £d οί strap with one, two, or more perforations or apertures, the simplest form being a hole or eye of a substantially circular shape having a diameter preferably sSl? larger than the diameter of the knobs on the cord so that, with the conical or rounded ends of the knobs pointing forward, the said knobs may be easily pulled through the eye. Contiguous to this first aperture ?n the strap are other smaller apertures which may be or of oblong .tape. Ttaj —° tures are connected to the larger aperture by a restacted van in the strap. These holes on one oi both sides or the targe hole or eye are of such a diameter that the stem portion of the knobby cord between adjacent knobs may rest therein. The gap be ween, a sma 1 hole and the larger hole may offer a certain resistance, to the stems of the cord during the locking process, whichι serves t keep the stems of the cord from sliding back into the ^m Whe^using these packing means as a bag lock, the coTil placed around the gathered neck of the bag then the pointed end of the knobby cord is P^u*®^{d th}5°^ the large eve of the strap and the cord is pulled tightly around the neck of the bag. Having obtained degree of tightness, the respective cord stem between two

3,072,986 getner . This permits the use of several standard lengths °f P^ac-mg cords to form one long cord for use on both packages and bags.

_ These and other objects of this invention will become apparent from the specification and the accompanying drawings wherein: vu_ipttuyin_e¹f.^{show a} Plan view and a side view, . espe^tiv.,ly, of a locking cord according to the present “SllS S ^Pa«^the-f ioken aZ; Of top toto ² J 2« show a plan view and a side view ^f Peking cord with a modified head;

y^jUR^- ³ ^⁵¹°^^{8 a} perspective view of the locking Ρτ™^άΐΠΛ L ^{F1GURE 2} Wlted to a bag;

^{4 Sht}?^{S a} P^ersP^ecti^ve view of the locking agef white*”^{8 t0 FIGURE 2 appbed} to a carton or pacll ficftion^U5^Ef ⁵ “i^{0 5}^3h°·'· ^{and Side views of a mod}i„ ^a ° ^{f a},^cord end wmeh may be used either in the manner as shown in FIGURES 2 and 4 or for bein hooked into the strap of another cord to obtain a cord 20 ^Sth^{indiCated by d0t}‘^{dash b}ne' Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference p“d to F^UIGukⁿE^thi^ein ^{Uke 01} “^{e strap of} *e s ^{the StemS between !the} adjacent knobs’ snh^· embodiment, one side 2 of the knobs is of a hemiwith lhi.to^aPe’_t^Wh,'^{e tbe} °^{ther side 3 is flat}&gt; merging arated from the other by a stem, and each card 's made or '7” ’“«8 · ui pacKage. One end of the cord has a flot strap ₅ „„„3 aeroto. Stt’p _{5 h}„“ Vr ' £i,°I therein which communicates with an oblong hole 7 at one

T °^PP°^{Site Circular hok 8}· OPPoS Proiecand th ^defi”_t^e· ^{3 connecting} g^aP between the large hole 6 and the contiguous smaller hole 7. Projections Ifl Up fine a similar gap between holes 6 and 8. Hole 6 is pref' erably made of a size so .that knobs 1 on the cord can pass through freely. The smaller holes 7 and 8 at th” that thp^{d Id}p^e\°^{f the larger hole 6 are of} such a tize the dr u2l2 °^{bl0Dg 7 and} diameter of ^e circular hole 8 correspond to the diamptor nf to stems 4 of the cord. Ibe gaps fornW hv^hl / tions 9 anrl ^{b p} ιοτπκα by the constncSSiSi'’ sS—jSsr-icSS· cates with a circular, smaller hole 13. All of the smaller holes at the sides of the large holes are again d mentioned so as o preferably fit tightly around the^eZeZmt ‘he cord, preventing the knobs from sliding throuS backintXS^;S.^{PreVentS Λβ CMd from 8}ϋΡΡώ traSin HJ jpTI ^{COrd With a strap as} Ulustraiea in FIGURE 2 applied to a bag. The cord is first passed through hole 6’ in the strap and locked in one of th„ contiguous smaller holes. Its free end is then passed _ rough a second large hole 12 and locked in hote 13 preventTe kno^f^{and sma11 holes}prevent the knobs from slipping back into and through

L ⁴ the large holes. The resulting loop 14 serves as a handle for carrying the bag.

FIGURE 4 shows a strap according to FIGURES 2 and 3, but of a greater length, as applied to a package or Xmd tht ^Γ v^{he l0}°^P °^{f the cord is laid} °nce ' -1 ^packaS^e&gt; ^the cord is passed through the first smn11\X^h7' ^{after being} tightened in the oblong • ^bolf ⁷ ’ ¹¹ ts looped again around the package at fhrni ^{t0 first 100p and then} P^assed again ^he l^ame ?^{rge hoIe δ}'^{in the stra}P’ whereupon it+ is lockedun the other small hole 8'. The free end of the ηΙ’ιΛ” ^beni,^mt° ^{a lo}°P and inserted into the hole smaU hot η® °^{f st}?^{p and finally locked in the 13 at the outer end} of the strap.

of ΓάΤΤ ^{5 a:}t ^{5a illusirate a} modification of the end of the locking cord opposite to the end carrying the strap T^ts ^end is shaped to permit two individual cords to be coupled together to form one longer cord. The stem ^ahead °^{f the} first knob is laterally offset relawardl° ^the.^{asis of},^{the cord}’ ^{and its front end} is bent upportiin ^Pr°^Vt r^{d Wit}\^{an elon}®^ated, button-shaped to hit ¹⁵ ? t ^f°^{rm a hook t0} P^ermit a second cord to be connected thereto by passing this portion 15 through tot ¹² u^{f S}t^aP °^{f the second} cord and hooking it into the small Π ___£ +t. , , ^{6 c} , ,., ,. — —so that the lower surface of accent cord ™ ^SUrfaCe °^{f the Strap of the}

Packages requiring several loops because of their size A» «0 S ^OnThe°er ^{PaSSed around tbe} respective p^kag_e^S thJto ^{8163 advantage of the} Present invention is the fact that the packing or locking cords may be used for bags or tt to^S6S t¹¹?® .^{and then} Practically differ only by the ngth and the thickness of the knobby cord itself. The ^{S wd}! ^{take tbe} function of many conventional knots ctrd^C°O^Pn hZ o ^{fOT knottin}g ^{of the}

On the other hand, the bag or package mav be anttt⁶⁰ °¹^Ut^{tie&lt;3 WithiD a feW seconds} without causing any damage whatsoever to the locking cord. ⁸ y making the locking cords of a variety of different ±^rand ^eh^C°^{rdS may a}?° ^{beaUtify the} XSve Packages and have a considerable advertising value Also advertising matter or instructions on how to operote ffie cord and open the lock may be printed sprayed or punched on the flat surface of the strap.

such a7^anoi?eS^{8 COrds} °^{f plastic} material, mfnnl ^ρο1^^Λ/^1εη,^{β or} polyvinyl chloride, they can be suit ώ the^ren ^{Cheaply a}r^d “ ^large ^^uantities’ and thus rereat number of^V1S1°ⁿ °^{f universal}-P^acking means for a greai number of purposes.

^{By pla}?^tic material for the cords, the locking of the. cord stems in the lateral small holes of the cord stran may be replaced, if so desired, by a hot seXXS “I «‘b ~ 1» «P=»i tion °^Df ^may k^{6 made Within the s}P^{irit of} the invention. Therefore, the invention should not be limited ex cept as required by the appended claims.