US20150342315A1

US20150342315A1 - Single use secure travel bag with tamper-evident closure

Info

Publication number: US20150342315A1
Application number: US14/290,240
Authority: US
Inventors: Denise L. Evans
Original assignee: Superior Bag Manufacturing Co LLC
Current assignee: Superior Bag Manufacturing Co LLC
Priority date: 2014-05-29
Filing date: 2014-05-29
Publication date: 2015-12-03

Abstract

A single use secure travel bag with tamper-evident closure provided herein. In some embodiments, the secure travel bag may include first and second walls joined together along first and second side edges to form a flexible enclosure having an open end, a tamper-evident seal including a layer of adhesive secured to the first wall and adapted to secure the first wall to the second wall in a sealed condition of said enclosure to seal the open end, a handle portion disposed on one of the first or second side edge, and a removable identification portion coupled to the secure travel bag along a perforated edge.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure generally relates to a secure travel bags, and more specifically, to single use secure travel bags including tamper-evident closures which make it more difficult to conceal the fact that a closure has been opened.
2. Description of the Related Art
Standard luggage and travel bags have many disadvantages. Standard luggage and travel bags can be expensive and subject to being damaged (e.g., ripped, torn or punctured) or stolen for the bag itself, let along its contents. Large and small luggage theft rings operate at many different major airports. In many cases, luggage may be tampered with or rummaged through without the owner even knowing about it.
In addition, travel bags or luggage may be subjected to bad weather such as rain, snow or other conditions which may damage the items inside the bag. Furthermore, take up a significant amount of storage space and have a significant weight, decreasing the amount of items that can be placed within the suitcase while remaining under the imposed weight limit.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an inexpensive but durable secure travel bag which provides evidence of tampering.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A single use secure travel bag with tamper-evident closure provided herein. In some embodiments, the secure travel bag may include first and second walls joined together along first and second side edges to form a flexible enclosure having an open end, a tamper-evident seal including a layer of adhesive secured to the first wall and adapted to secure the first wall to the second wall in a sealed condition of said enclosure to seal the open end, a handle portion disposed on one of the first or second side edge, and a removable identification portion coupled to the secure travel bag along a perforated edge.
In some embodiments, the secure travel bag may include first and second walls joined together along first and second edges by sheet welding or ultrasonic welding to form a flexible enclosure having an open end, a tape secured to the first wall, the tape being spaced from the second wall in an open condition of the flexible enclosure and being secured to the second wall in a sealed condition of the flexible enclosure, a handle portion disposed along the first edge, and a removable identification portion coupled to the secure travel bag along a perforated edge, wherein the first and second walls, the handle portion, and the removable identification portion are all formed from a single strip of flexible thermoplastic sheet material
Other and further embodiments of the present invention are described below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention, briefly summarized above and discussed in greater detail below, can be understood by reference to the illustrative embodiments of the invention depicted in the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments.

FIG. 1 depicts a side view of a secure travel bag in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2 depicts an isometric view of a secure travel bag in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 3 depicts a cross-sectional end view of an unsealed secure travel bag in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 4 depicts a cross-sectional end view of a sealed secure travel bag in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 5 depicts a top view of a sealed secure travel bag in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 depicts another embodiment of a side view of a secure travel bag in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common to the figures. The figures are not drawn to scale and may be simplified for clarity. It is contemplated that elements and features of one embodiment may be beneficially incorporated in other embodiments without further recitation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Exemplary embodiments of a single use secure travel bags including tamper-evident closures which make it more difficult to conceal the fact that a closure has been opened are described herein. The secure travel bag is a disposable and lightweight travel bag that can be used in place of a regular suit-case or other carry on. The travel bag uses a permanent seal and is a one-time use bag that must be cut open for access, while identifying unauthorized access via the seal using a warning in the adhesive material of the seal. The travel bag contains a perforated receipt portion to allow for tracking of the bag and a durable handle for carrying the bag. To allow for more items to be stored in the travel bag, the sides of the body of the travel bag are gusseted for expansion. The travel bag is formed from a flexible plastic material, such as clear or white opaque polyethylene or polypropylene, and is resistant to tears and punctures during handling.
FIGS. 1-5 are depict various views of a secure travel bag 100 in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention and are discussed below. Secure travel bag 100 includes a flexible front wall 140 and a flexible rear wall 142 joined together at the bottom and side edges to form an enclosure having an opening 116 at one end thereof. Secure travel bag 100 may be formed from a single strip of flexible thermoplastic sheet material, such as polyethylene or polypropylene, folded laterally along fold line 148 to form front wall 140 and rear wall 142 which are then joined to one another about their alongside edges 144 and 146 by sheet welding, ultrasonic welding or other known sealing techniques, to form the main flexible travel bag body 104. In some embodiments, a tamper-evident seal 102 is provided to close opening 116 and to provide visual evidence of any force opening of the seal.
Tamper-evident seal 102 includes a tape 130 secured along its bottom edge to the outer surface of front wall 140 adjacent its free end 126, as shown in FIG. 2. As best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, tape 130 has a multi-layer structure including a plastic strip 132, an ink layer 134 applied to the inner surface of the strip, a layer of adhesive 136 applied over the ink layer, and a peel-back strip 138 covering the adhesive layer. The details of tamper-evident seal 102 are described in system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,223,015, entitled “TAMPER-EVIDENT CLOSURE” assigned to the assignee of the present invention, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. In some embodiments, the tamper-evident seal 102 may be a D-TEC seal.
After the valuables have been inserted into secure travel bag 100 through opening 116, the opening may be sealed by removing peel-back strip 138 from adhesive layer 136 and pressing tape 130 against the free end 124 of rear wall 142 (as shown in FIGS. 2-4). In this sealed condition, ink layer 134 and adhesive layer 136 are sandwiched between plastic strip 132 and rear wall 142. After secure travel bag 100 has been sealed closed, any attempts to open the bag will be apparent from a visual change in tamper-evident seal 102. Specifically, once the seal is applied, it cannot be removed or undone. If the tamper-evident seal 102 is tampered with, or attempted to be broken, the adhesive of the seal contains a warning message which indicates that the seal was attempted to be broken.
In some embodiments, the plastic strip 132 of the tape 130 includes a release material disposed in a predetermined pattern 133 on the plastic strip 132, and the layer of ink 134 is disposed on the plastic strip 132 in overlying relationship to the release material. In some embodiments, the ink layer 134 may include a plurality of void spaces arranged in a selected pattern. In some embodiments, the layer of adhesive 136 is adapted to secure said tape to the rear wall 142 in a sealed condition of the enclosure so that the ink layer 134 is disposed between the plastic strip 132 and the adhesive layer 136. In some embodiments, the ink layer 134 will have a greater adhesion to the rear wall 142 than to the plastic strip 132 in regions overlying the release material, and will have a lower adhesion to the real wall 142 than to the plastic strip 132 in regions not overlying the release material. Thus, upon separation of the plastic strip 132 from the real wall 142, portions of the ink layer 134 will separate from the plastic strip 132 while a remainder of the ink layer 134 will not separate from the plastic strip 132, such that the predetermined pattern will be visible in the tape 130.
In some embodiments, the seal formed to close the travel bag 100 may be waterproof and/or airtight. For example, in some embodiments, secure travel bag 100 may include a vacuum port 150 that can be coupled to a vacuum pump to evacuate all air in the flexible body 104 of the secure travel bag 100, and thus, reduced size of the overall sealed package.
In some embodiments, the secure travel bag 100 include a handle portion 108 including cutout 109 form a handle/grip for carrying the bag. In some embodiments, the handle portion 108 may be secured to an end of the secure travel bag 100, such as for example, edges 144 or 146. In some embodiments, the handle portion may be couple to edge 144, for example, by sheet welding, ultrasonic welding or other known coupling techniques. In other embodiments, the handle portion 108 may be formed from the same single strip of flexible thermoplastic sheet material that forms the main flexible body 104 of the secure travel bag 100 as described above. In some embodiments, the handle portion 108 can support from about 10 pounds to about 15 pounds and may be padded.
In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an identification strip 111 may be formed by perforated portions 112 extending across an edge (e.g., edge 146) of rear wall 142 so that the identification strip can be easily removed therefrom. The identification strip 111. Matching ID codes 110 and 114 may be printed both on identification strip 111 and on the front wall 140 or rear wall 142 of the secure travel bag 100. Identification strip 111 may be removed from travel bag 100 either before or after the bag has been sealed closed. In some embodiments, the codes 110 and 114 are scannable and trackable. In some embodiments, the codes 110 and 114 may be Quick Response (QR) codes, barcodes, or the like. Once items are placed inside of the travel bag 100, and the bag is sealed via the seal 102, the traveler can tear the identification strip 111 along the perforated portion 112 and retain the identification strip 111 as a receipt in order to track the location of the travel bag 100 at various points throughout a journey. A log for the location of the travel bag 100 can be created by scanning the code 110 at various points in transit which may assist the traveler in determining the location of their bag.
In some alternative embodiments, as shown in FIG. 6 the identification strip 111 may be attached to the outside edge of the handle portion 108 along perforated portion 112. Still in other embodiments, the identification strip 111 may be the same as peel away strip 138. For example, when a traveler removes the peel away strip 138 to expose the adhesive to seal the secure travel bag 100, the peeled away strip 138 is the identification strip 111 including code 114 which the traveler retains.
According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the travel bag 100 is made of clear polyethylene or polypropylene plastic and is resistance to tearing or piercing. In other embodiments, the travel bag 100 is made of opaque polyethylene or polypropylene plastic and is resistance to tearing or piercing. In some embodiments, the poly film that the secure travel bag is formed from can be drawn on with a permanent marker to distinguish it from other bags. The secure travel bag 100 is compact, flexible, collapsible, and foldable. A traveler using the travel bag 100 can place items inside the travel bag 100 via opening 116 and apply the seal 102. Once the seal 102 is applied, the only way of opening the travel bag 100 is by cutting the travel bag 100 open. If the travel bag 100 is opened, or the items inside the travel bag 100 inspected, the person performing the search or inspection of the items must cut through the secure travel bag 100 because the seal 102 cannot be unsealed.
Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the secure travel bag 100 may be composed of any plastic or material that is recyclable, biodegradable, disposable and durable, not limited to polyethylene or polypropylene plastic. The secure travel bag 100 may come in various sizes such as in the dimensions of ordinary travel bags, in rectangular shapes, and the like. In some embodiments, the body 104 of secure travel bag 100 may be about 15 inches to about 19 inches wide (from edge 144 to edge 146), and about 21 inches to about 30 inches tall (from bottom portion 148 to top of opening 116). In some embodiments, the body 104 may have a volumetric capacity of about 20 liters to about 100 liters.
In some embodiments, the secure travel bag 100 weighs about 0.25 pounds to about 0.55 pounds. This advantageously allows a traveler at least two extra days' worth of clothes with respect to typical suit cases (4-6 pounds), without exceeding typical airlines weight limits of 50 pounds before incurring additional luggage fees. Thus, the secure travel bag has a volume to weight factor (v/w) of about 0.01 pounds/liter to 0.0055 pounds/liter.
FIG. 5 is an illustration of a top view of a secure travel bag 100 in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the present invention. In some embodiments consistent with FIG. 5, the travel bag 100 comprises gusseted sides 502 in the body 104 to provide more volume. A traveler is able to place more items inside the travel bag 100 as the gusseted sides 502 expand. In this embodiment, the gusseted sides 502 are located along the edges 144, 146 of the secure travel bag 100.
As described herein, the secure travel bag 100 provides many advantages over typical suitcases/travel bags. Specifically, typical suitcases are heavy and may include wheels, zippers or other mechanical features that can break. Typical suitcases may also be made of cloth which tears or pills. Furthermore, typical suitcases may be made from heavy duty fabrics that can damage clothing when it rubs against it. Meanwhile, the secure travel bag 100 described herein advantageously has a smooth poly plastic surface with no zippers or wheels, just a carrying handle. Thus, secure travel bag 100 described herein advantageously is light weight, maintenance free, inexpensive, tamper evident, secure, durable and ample in size to replace typical suitcases/travel bags.
While the invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof, it is evident that alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations as fall within the spirit and broad scope of the described invention.

Claims

1. A single use secure travel bag with tamper-evident closure, comprising:

first and second walls joined together along first and second side edges to form a flexible enclosure having an open end;

a tamper-evident seal including a layer of adhesive secured to the first wall and adapted to secure the first wall to the second wall in a sealed condition of said enclosure to seal the open end;

a handle portion disposed on one of the first or second side edge; and

a removable identification portion coupled to the secure travel bag along a perforated edge.

2. The secure travel bag of claim 1, wherein the first and second walls are formed from a single strip of flexible thermoplastic sheet material and folded along a bottom edge to form the first and second walls.

3. The secure travel bag of claim 1, wherein the first and second walls and the handle portion are formed from opaque polyethylene or polypropylene plastic.

4. The secure travel bag of claim 1, wherein the first and second walls and the handle portion are formed from transparent polyethylene or polypropylene plastic.

5. The secure travel bag of claim 1, wherein the tamper-evident seal includes a tape portion, and wherein the tape portion includes a multi-layer structure including a plastic strip, an ink layer applied to an inner surface of the plastic strip, the layer of adhesive applied over the ink layer, and a peel-back strip covering the adhesive layer.

6. The secure travel bag of claim 1, wherein the layer of adhesive contains a tampering message displayed when the tamper-evident seal is opened or tampered with.

7. The secure travel bag of claim 1, wherein a first scannable code is disposed on at least one of the first or second walls.

8. The secure travel bag of claim 7, wherein the removable identification portion is coupled to one of the first side edge, second side edge, or the handle portion along the perforated edge.

9. The secure travel bag of claim 8, wherein the removable identification portion includes a second scannable code identical to the first scannable code.

10. The secure travel bag of claim 1, wherein the handle portion is formed from one of polyethylene or polypropylene plastic.

11. The bag of claim 1, wherein the secure travel bag weighs about 0.25 pounds to about 0.55 pounds.

12. The secure travel bag of claim 1, wherein the flexible enclosure has a volumetric capacity of about 20 liters to about 100 liters.

13. The secure travel bag of claim 1, wherein a volume to weight ratio of the secure travel bag is flexible enclosure has a volumetric capacity of about 0.0055 pounds to liters to about 0.01 pounds to liters.

14. The secure travel bag of claim 1, wherein the bag is made of recyclable and biodegradable material.

15. The secure travel bag of claim 1, wherein the secure travel bag is at least one of water-proof or airtight when in a sealed condition.

16. A single use secure travel bag with tamper-evident closure, comprising:

first and second walls joined together along first and second edges by sheet welding or ultrasonic welding to form a flexible enclosure having an open end;

a tamper-evident tape secured to the first wall, the tape being spaced from the second wall in an open condition of the flexible enclosure and being secured to the second wall in a tamper-evident sealed condition of the flexible enclosure;

a handle portion disposed along the first edge; and

a removable identification portion coupled to the secure travel bag along a perforated edge,

wherein the first and second walls, the handle portion, and the removable identification portion are all formed from a single strip of flexible thermoplastic sheet material.

17. The secure travel bag of claim 16, wherein the first and second walls, the handle portion, and the removable identification portion are formed from opaque polyethylene or polypropylene plastic.

18. The secure travel bag of claim 16, wherein the first and second walls, the handle portion, and the removable identification portion are formed from transparent polyethylene or polypropylene plastic.

19. The secure travel bag of claim 16, wherein the tamper-evident tape includes a multi-layer structure including a plastic strip, an ink layer applied to an inner surface of the plastic strip, a layer of adhesive applied over the ink layer, and a peel-back strip covering the adhesive layer.

20. The secure travel bag of claim 16, wherein a first scannable code is disposed on at least one of the first or second walls, wherein the removable identification portion includes a second scannable code identical to the first scannable code, and wherein the removable identification portion is coupled to one of the first edge, second edge, or the handle portion along the perforated edge.