US3738567A

US3738567A - Draw band closure bag

Info

Publication number: US3738567A
Application number: US00003761A
Authority: US
Inventors: R Ruda
Original assignee: BAGCRAFT CORP
Current assignee: BAGCRAFT CORP
Priority date: 1970-01-19
Filing date: 1970-01-19
Publication date: 1973-06-12
Anticipated expiration: 1990-06-12

Abstract

A bag made from pliable sheet material has about its mouth a flat, folded, tubular lip tunnel with a flat draw band therein comprising only flexible sheet material. The draw band is adapted to be grasped at a tunnel opening to pull the draw band partially through the opening and to draw the tunnel area into puckered mouth-closing relation on that portion of the draw band which remains in the puckered area.

Description

United States Patent 1 Ruda 1 June 12, 1973 [54] DRAW BAND CLOSURE BAG 3,460,741 8/1969 Kugler 229/63 X [75] Inventor: Raymond J Ruda, g In. 3,547,341 12/1970 Kirkpatrick 229/63 OREI N A T R AT [73] Assignee: Bagcraft Corporation of America, F G P TEN S O APPLIC IONS Chicago I. 189,062 4/1964 Sweden 229/63 Filed: J 1970 Primary Examiner-Joseph R. Leclair [21] APP] NO; 3,761 Assistant Examiner-Steven E. Lipman Attorney-Hill, Sherman, Meroni, Gross & Simpson [52] US. Cl. 229/62, 150/11, [57] ABSTRACT 51 1111.01 865d 33/16 A bag made from pliable sheet material has about its 58 Field of Search 150 11- 229/63 66 mouth a flat, Med, tubular l tunnel with flat draw band therein comprising only flexible sheet material. The draw band is adapted to be grasped at a tunnel [56] References Cited opening to pull the draw band panially through the 7 opening and to draw the tunnel area into puckered UNITED STATES PATENTS mouth-closing relation on that portion of the draw 2,132,223 #322 lsiaxzlze 25/561141; band which remains in the puckemd arm 1 a ways. 3,228,584 1/1966 Ashton 1 229/66 17 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures +1 W za 2/ M .20 j Z z4- i Z3 25 if? a 4.

n' V K M /5 Patented June 12, 1973 3,738,567

3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVEN'I'OR.

RA vMa/vo J FuoA Patented June 12, 1973 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 BY V .wwRNEYs' DRAW BAND CLOSURE BAG This invention relates to novel draw band closure bags and a method of making the same, and is particularly concerned with such bags made entirely from sheet material.

Draw strings have generally required time-consuming threading or lacing of cords through loops or grommet eyes, stapling, and the like after the bags have been otherwise completed. These are costly and generally prohibitively expensive procedures, especially when low cost throw-away bags are involved, such as may be supplied with consumer products in retail markets, and particularly impractical for bags made from material having the pliability and heat-sealing qualities of plastic sheet material of the film type. Customarily the draw strings have been made of different kinds of materials from the material of the bags, and generally of a cord structure. Such draw strings cannot be incorporated with the bags during continuous process manufacture from thermoplastic material employing the usual techniques of heat-sealing (including, but not limited to, heated reciprocating die or roller sealing, so-called electric welding, hot wire or wheel cut-off and sealing). Non-plastic materials will not respond to and will interfere with heat-sealing.

Another disadvantage of equipping bags of the type normally packed and shipped to the user in collapsed condition with cord-type draw strings is that the draw strings interfere with compact bundling when packaging for storing and shipping.

According to the present invention, the foregoing and other disadvantages, short-comings, inefficiencies and problems are overcome by providing a new and improved, economical draw band closure bag and method of making the same wherein both the bag and the draw band are of sheet material.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved draw band closure bag made from pliable sheet material and having a flat draw band comprising only flexible sheet material incorporated therewith in a continuous high-speed production method of manufacture.

A further object of the invention is to provide a draw band closure bag in which the materials of the bag and of the draw band are thermoplastic and adapted to respond with equal efficiency to heat-sealing techniques.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved method of making draw band clo sure bags and adapted to be practiced with utmost economy utilizing high-speed continuous mass production apparatus.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a new and improved method of making draw band closure bags with both the bag material and the draw band material in sheet strip form fed from rolls, assembled and joined, completely avoiding any hand assembly operations, but resulting in complete, ready-to-use bags as delivered from an automatic high-speed, continuous production line.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved draw band closure bag which is flat in collapsed condition and enables compact bundling for storage and shipment.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent from the following description of certain preferred embodiments thereof,

taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, although variations and modifications may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the disclosure, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmental side elevational view of a draw band closure bag embodying features of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional detail view taken substantially along the line 11-11 of FIG. 1, and for illustrative purposes showing the walls of the bag spread apart from the normal flat condition;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the bag showing it after the draw bands have drawn the area about the month of the bag into puckered, mouth-closing relation;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional detail view similar to FIG. 2 but showing a slight modification;

FIG. 5 is a fragmental schematic view illustrating steps in a method of making draw band closure bags of the type shown in FIG. 1, but which may readily be adapted to produce the herein disclosure and other modifications;

FIG. 6 is a fragmental side elevational view of a further modified form of draw band closure bag embodying features of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary enlarged vertical sectional detail view taken substantially along the line VII-VII of FIG. 6 and showing the walls of'the bag spread apart from the normal flat condition;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary side elevational view showing one manner of closing the bag after filling; and

FIG. 9 is a plan view looking into the mouth of the bag, shown as filled and demonstrating how access may be gained thereinto.

On reference to FIGS. 1,2 and 3, a bag 10 of generally single ply construction is depicted embodying features of the invention in a construction especially adapted to be made from flexibly pliable plastic film or sheet material. To this end, the bag 10 has respective wall panels 11, in this instance joined along a bottom fold 12 where the body of the bag is made from a single sheet of the pliable material, but which may be a heatseal seam if the wall panels 11 are joined along a side fold or made from separate sheets of material. To complete the pocket provided by the bag, opposite side heat-seal seams 13 join the walls 111 from the bottom fold 12 to and inclusive of a lip portion about an openable mouth 14 at the top of the bag. If preferred, the bag could be made with only one side seam 13, while the opposite side may be a fold.

According to the present invention, a draw band 15 of flat flexible strip sheet material is provided in the lip portion of the bag which comprises a flat tunnel l6 conveniently formed by folding over upper end portion flanges 17 of the respective wall panels 11 to either the outer or inner sides thereof and securing the free end portions of the flanges as by means of respective heatseals 18 to neck areas of the associated wall panels. If preferred, of course, the flanges 1l7 may be separate sheet material strips secured both along upper and lower edges to the wall panels. Although the draw band 15 may be a single strip, it is preferably of dual strip construction comprising coplanar and coextensive sections 15 and 15'. For manufacturing convenience, the draw band sections are supplied and incorporated with the bag in the form of a unitary strip of twice the width of the respective sections partially separated and connected at their contiguous edges by spaced tear connections 19 separated by elongated perforation or nicks 20. Through this arrangement, the

sections

15 and 15 can be readily separated by pulling them in respectively opposite directions.

To enable pulling the draw band sections from the tunnel l6,

respective openings

21 and 22 are provided at the respectively opposite sides of the lip portion of the bag, and more particularly at the side seams 13. In each instance these openings are large enough to enable grasping of the accessible portion of the associated draw band section between the thumb and forefinger for pulling it out of the tunnel. In respect to the opening 21 a limited area 23 of the respective wall panels 11 and adjacent parts of the flanges 17 aligned with the upper draw band sections l at one of the side seams 13 and the adjacent top edge of the lip portion is at least partially separated as by incising, perforating or nicking and for convenience is attached at small tear point connections 24 to the wall panels and flanges so as to be separable therefrom on pulling the draw band section out through the opening 21. Similarly, the opening 22 is provided in alignment with and of a size to permit pulling of the lower draw band section 15 therethrough and is formed by at least partial separation of an area 25 from the wall panels ,11 and the flanges 17, with tear separable small connections 27 between the separable area and the panels and flanges.

By having the draw band 15 constructed of plastic material adapted to be heat-sealed and cut off by the same mechanism and coincident with and fusible to the bag material, such as both materials being polyethylene sheet, the draw band is adapted to be secured in heatsealed relation to the material of the bag defining the tunnel 16. More particularly, the draw band material in the tunnel portions 16 of both of the panels 11 is heatsealed into and to the panels in the side seams 13. This also heat-seals together the contiguous ends of the draw band material at the seams to provide a draw band structure which, in effect, entirely encompasses the mouth of the bag. Thereby, in each instance, the respective draw band sections are secured at one side of the bag fixedly in the seam 13 while the seam 13 which extends across the draw band material at the opposite side of the bag secures the draw band material together to complete the draw band. In order to retain the draw band 15 in place while the material of the bag is manipulated into bag form and until the side heat-sealed seams 13 are made and the material cut from a continuous sheet, respective tacking seals 28 are desirably impressed across the band to secure it to the bag material adjacent to the seams 13, such tacking 28 also serving as auxiliary securing means for the draw band sections in the completed bag.

As thus constructed, the bag 10 is adapted to lie flat, inclusive of the built-in draw band, which facilitates packing in quantity for storage and shipment. There are no tag ends of draw band projecting from the neck of the bag and there are no loops or exposed portions of the draw band which may be caught or snagged on one another or other objects. When it is desired to close the bag, the

pre-perforated areas

23 and 25 are grasped between thumb and forefinger of the opposite hands and then by pulling laterally thereon such areas are separated from the bag material and the draw band sections are separated from one another and are pulled out of the

respective openings

21 and 22 while the opposite anchored portions of the draw bands draw the bag neck into puckered bag mouth closing relation on the other respective draw band section in each instance, as shown in FIG. 3. The draw band loops may then be used as carrying handles. To open the bag, the anchored portions of the draw band sections are grasped and pulled apart, thus drawing the draw band sections back into the tunnel 16.

In a double ply draw band closure bag 10 as shown in FIG. 4, details of structure may be substantially the same as for the bag 10 and are identified by primed reference numerals with the description applying thereto with equal force and effect. In making the double ply bag, the principal difference resides in that there is a double wall panel 17 parallel to the wall panel 11' in each instance, instead of merely a turned over upper marginal flange or a tunnel-forming flange portion as in the bag 10. The panels 11 and 17 are secured together at the bottom seam 12' to complete the closed bottom of the bag. While, as shown, the wall panels 11 and 17' are of integral construction folded over at the top of the bag, they may be separate pieces if preferred, or both of the wall panels 11 may be in one folded piece while the remaining panels 17' are separate pieces or another folded piece and all secured together at the top and bottom of the bag, or any other initial arrangement of the panel material, but in which the bag as completed will have the same characteristics as the bag 10 except that the tunnels 16 will be part of the between-panel area of the double ply structure.

By way of example, and to illustrate the simplicity and efficiency of a method by which draw string bags according to the present invention may be made, reference may be had to FIG. 5. Thus, thermoplastic pliable sheet material is fed from a roll 29 supplying a web of the desired width and which if it is to provide bags according to the specific structure of FIGS. 1 and 2 is wide enough for the entire material of the bag body. As a first step, the

tunnel openings

21 and 22 are outlined at the proper places in the respective opposite margins of the web by incising, perforating or nicking about the

areas

23 and 25, respectively, to partially separate the same but to retain these areas in place by means of the tear away

connections

24 and 27 so as to facilitate subsequent manipulation of the material. In order to accommodate the double ply construction of the lip tunnel and the dual draw band sections, the area 23 of the opening 21 is of twice the width of the draw band sections and is located to be bisected by the bag mouth fold line. Since the opening 22 is spaced from the fold line, two areas 25 for the opening 22 are nicked in transverse alignment equidistantly spaced from the fold line so as to be matched when the margin of the sheet is folded to provide the bag lip tunnel. Further, each of the

tunnel opening areas

23 and 25 is initially formed to be twice as long as in the final bag assembly and located to be bisected by the respective side seams when the bags are subsequently severed from the web. Of course, if only a single section draw band is to be incorporated with the bags, only the tunnel opening areas 23 need be nicked, since only one tunnel opening will be needed in one upper corner of the bag instead of two such openings at the opposite sides of the bag, one at the upper corner and one spaced from the upper corner in accordance with the dual section draw band construction exemplified herein.

Material for the draw band 15 is desirably of heavier gauge flexible plastic or plastic-coated material heavier in gauge than the material from which the bag body is made so as to provide a strong band or bands to pull the bag closed or opened and to provide a carry loophandle. For each of the subsequently joined lip tunnel portions of the bag a strip of draw band material is supplied from a roll 30 for each of the draw band sections, if preferred, but in a desirable arrangement is supplied from a single roll for the draw band 15 having the separable sections, with the strip sheet material either prenicked in the roll, or nicked to provide the partial separation 20 as fed from the roll and before laminating the strip with the bag body web material and with the partially separated

sections

15 and 15" properly regis tered on the nicked

areas

23 and 25. Then the marginal flange 17 is folded over across the draw band strip 15 and heat-sealed along the line 18 to the bag body web. Coincident with the heat-sealing 18, or separately, a spaced pair of the transverse tacking heat-seals 28 is effected across the draw band strip at each of the nicked

areas

23 and 25. The bag web is then folded upon itself to bring the folded-over tunnel margins into registering face-to-face relation, and the thus folded material is heat-sealed'along transverse lines to provide the heat-seal seams 13 and separation of the folded web into the individual bag units 10. Each of the heat-seal seams and the cut-off is effected midway across the re spective double-length

tunnel opening areas

23 and 25 so that teach adjacent bag in the series will contain onehalf of such area with the aligned ends of its respective draw band portions sealed together. As thus finished, the bags are adapted to be packed flatwise one on the other for storage or shipment.

On reference to FIGS. 6-9, a modified arrangement of a draw band closure bag 10" is shown which is similar to the bag 10 of FIGS. 1-3 but is constructed and arranged to be supplied in a form to be loaded through an open bottom and then closed to provide a fully closed and if desired thoroughly sealed package. To the extent that there is identity or substantial and at least functional similarity of elements in the bag 10" doubleprimed reference numerals corresponding to the reference numerals applied in FIGS. 1-3 have been used and it will be understood that description of those elements thus identified will be the same as for the corresponding elements in the bag 10, if no specific mention is made as to any double-primed elements. It will be ob served that the bag 10" has side walls 11" of film plastic, side heat-seal seams 13", a top mouth 14", a draw band structure 15" having sections 15a" and 15b" initially connected along spaced tear connections 19" separated by elongated perforations or nicks 20" and with the sections adapted to be separated and withdrawn through respective openings 21" and 22" at neck areas 23" and 25", respectively, there being respective tear connections 24" and 27 connecting the separable area.

As will be observed, the flanges 17" which with the lip portions of the wall panels 11 provide the tunnels 16" by securement to the wall panels along the heatseals 18", are in this instance both inside the bag assembly and are joined together along a joint 35. Through this arrangement, the mouth 14" is closed by the joined flanges 17" inwardly from the seals 18" by what is in effect a gusset 37. While the joint may be simply a fold, it may, if preferred, be a heat-seal seam. Further, the joint 35 may be imperforate where an airtight package is desired. When it is desired to gain access to contents within the bag, the gusset 37 is punctured, torn, cu, or otherwise opened, substantially as indicated in FIG. 9 wherein the gusset is shown illustratively as partially open. To facilitate opening the gusset 37, where airtightness is not a factor, the joint 35 may be partially separated or perforated such as by means of elongated perforations or nicks 38 with intervening, spaced narrow tear connections 39. Thereby on separating the opposite sides of the neck or lip portions of the bag and pulling the flanges 17" away from each other, the joint will open, and this can be effected with a generally snap action by proper manipulation. After the bag has been thus opened and contents partially removed, the mouth of the bag can be readily closed by manipulating the draw band 15" in substantially the same manner as described in respect to FIGS. l-3, that is by grasping the draw band sections 15a" and 15b" at the opening areas 23" and 25" and pulling outwardly to pucker the lips of the bag mouth closed. This not only facilitates handling the bag through the handles thus provided by the pulled out draw band sections, but also closes the bag to protect the remaining contents therein.

In a desirable arrangement enabling automatic or semi-automatic loading of contents to be packaged within the bag 10", the end of the bag opposite to the mouth 14" is desirably left open, as indicated at 40 in FIG. 6, to receive the contents. For easy access into the open end 40, one of the panels Ill" be extended beyond the other of such panels to provide a tab 41 which may be folded over the shorter panel 11" and sealed thereto for closing the bag or may be separable along a perforated line 42 before or after closing the bag. Where the bag is to be used on a blower type loading machine, the tab 41 may be provided with suitably spaced wicket holes 43. After the bag has been filled the open end 40 may be closed by hot wire or die seal or the adjacent end portion of the bag may be gathered together and secured as by means of a clip, or wire or tape or cord tie 44 (FIG. 8). Bags of this type are especially suitable for packaging bakery products such as bread, rolls, cookies, and the like.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a bag made from pliable sheet material and having at least one side edge, with a mouth at one end of the bag extending normal to said edge and defined by a lip portion thereabout and providing a tunnel:

said lip portion having an opening from the tunnel at said one side edge; and

a flat draw band comprising only flexible sheet material encompassing said mouth within said tunnel and having a manipulating portion at said opening adapted to be grasped to pull the draw band partially through the opening at said side edge of the bag and thereby draw said lip portion into puckered mouth-closing relation on that part of the draw band which remains in the puckered area; said draw band being initially connected but partially separated along a longitudinal line along one edge thereof with a strip of material enclosed within said tunnel and separable therefrom when the draw band is pulled through said opening as aforesaid.

2. In a bag according to claim 1,. said strip of material comprising a second draw band, said bag having a edge opposite to said first-mentioned side edge and also pro viding an opening from the tunnel, said second draw band having a manipulating portion at said opposite side edge opening adapted to be grasped to pull the second draw band partially through that opening in cooperation with said first-mentioned draw band to facilitate drawing the lip portion into puckered mouthclosing relation and separation of the draw bands occurring when they are pulled in opposite directions.

3. In a bag according to claim 2, the material of the bag in said lip portion having areas thereof partially separated transverse to said longitudinal line to provide said openings, and said areas being respectively separablefrom said lip portion upon pulling said bands from the tunnel through said openings.

4. In a bag according to claim 3, said partially separated areas being offset relative to one another along the respective bag side edges and considered with respect to said mouth end of the bag.

5. In a bag according to claim 3, the respective ends of the draw bands opposite to the respective openings being fixedly secured to the bag edge adjacent to the opening through which the companion draw band is adapted to be pulled.

6. In a bag according to claim 5, the sheet material of the bag and of said draw bands being heat-sealable plastic material, said side edges being heat-sealed and 2 said secured ends of the draw bands being heat-sealed into said side edges, respectively, and reinforcing heat seals securing said draw bands to the bag material at the tunnel along lines parallel and in spaced adjacency to the respective edges to which the draw bands are secured.

7. In a bag according to claim 1, double walls folded over at the bag mouth end and providing said tunnel and secured together at the opposite end of the bag to provide a bottom closure.

8. In a bag made from pliable sheet material and having opposite side edges and a mouth at one end defined by a lip portion thereabout and providing a tunnel:

two parallel draw bands comprising flexible sheet material separably connected by tear connections in edge-to-edge coplanar relation in said tunnel;

said draw bands secured initially to both of said side edges;

the material of the bag in said lip portion having an area thereof partially separated at one edge in alignment with one of said draw bands while being solid and permanently retaining the other of said draw bands at such edge; and

the material of the tunnel at the opposite side edge of the bag aligned with the other of said draw bands being partially separated while at such edge the bag material remains solid and permanently retains the one draw band in secured relation;

said partially separated material and the respective draw bands with which aligned being adapted to be grasped and pulled away from the bag to leave a respective opening from the tunnel through which the aligned draw band is adapted to be pulled to draw the lip portion into puckered mouth-closing relation.

9. In a bag according to claim 8, said draw bands being made from common material different from the bag.

10. In a bag according to claim 8, said draw bands I being parallel to the tunnel end of the bag, and said partially separated bag portions being offset relative to one another considered with respect to said bag end.

11. In a bag according to claim 8, the bag material and said draw bands being of heat-fusible material, the material of the bag being heat-sealed along said side edges and said draw bands being secured to said side edges by the heat-sealing, and respective tacking seals impressed across each of said draw bands securing it to the bag material adjacent to the side edge seams and serving as auxiliary securing means for the draw bands.

12. In a bag according to claim 8, double walls of the sheet material folded over at the bag mouth end and providing said lip and secured together at the opposite end of the bag to provide a bottom closure and said double walls providing said tunnel at said lip.

13. In a bag according to claim 8, the bag material being integral in said lip portion providing a gusset inwardly relative to said tunnel within said mouth, said gusset having a line of elongated perforations with intervening spaced narrow tear connections enabling opening of the gusset for access into the bag by breaking said connections.

14. In a bag made from heat-scalable plastic material provided with a mouth at one end defined by a lip portion thereabout and providing a tunnel, and having opposite side edges formed with heat-seal seams:

a pair of flat draw bands of flexible plastic heatsealable sheet material encompassing said mouth within said tunnel in coplanar relation to one another and having longitudinal edges contiguous to one another separated by perforations and intervening narrow tear connections;

said draw bands being secured in heat-seal relation in the side edge heat-seal seams;

material of said lip portion at said tunnel aligned with one of said draw bands at one of said edges being partially separated in line with said one of said draw bands to provide a draw band opening when separated from the material of the bag while the remaining draw band remains in fixed relation to such edge; and

material of the bag aligned with said remaining draw band at the opposite edge of the bag being partially separated from the material of the bag to define an opening from the bag through that edge while said one draw band remains permanently secured at that edge;

whereby the partially separated material at the respective edges and the draw bands with which aligned are adapted to be grasped and pulled to separate the partially separated material and pull the respective draw bands outwardly through the resulting openings and relative to one another to separate the connections along the contiguous edges of the draw bands and to draw said lip portion into puckered mouth-closing relation on those parts of the draw bands which remain in the puckered lip portion.

15. In a bag according to claim 14, including respective tacking seals impressed across each of said draw bands securing it to the bag material adjacent to the side edge seams and serving as auxiliary securing means for the draw bands.

16. In a bag according to claim 14, double walls of the sheet material folded over at the bag mouth end and providing said lip and secured together at the opposite end of the bag to provide a bottom closure and said double walls providing said tunnel at said lip.

17. In a bag according to claim 14, the bag material spaced narrow tear connections; enabling opening of being integral in said lip portion providing a gusset inthe gusset for access into the bag by breaking said conwardly relative to said tunnel within said mouth, said nections. gusset having a line of perforations with intervening

Claims

1. In a bag made from pliable sheet material and having at least one side edge, with a mouth at one end of the bag extending normal to said edge and defined by a lip portion thereabout and providing a tunnel: said lip portion having an opening from the tunnel at said one side edge; and a flat draw band comprising only flexible sheet material encompassing said mouth within said tunnel and having a manipulating portion at said opening adapted to be grasped to pull the draw band partially through the opening at said side edge of the bag and thereby draw said lip portion into puckered mouth-closing relation on that part of the draw band which remains in the puckered area; said draw band being initially connected but partially separated along a longitudinal line along one edge thereof with a strip of material enclosed within said tunnel and separable therefrom when the draw band is pulled through said opening as aforesaid.

2. In a bag according to claim 1, said strip of material comprising a second draw band, said bag having a edge opposite to said first-mentioned side edge and also providing an opening from the tunnel, said second draw band having a manipulating portion at said opposite side edge opening adapted to be grasped to pull the second draw band partially through that opening in cooperation with said first-mentioned draw band to facilitate drawing the lip portion into puckered mouth-closing relation and separation of the draw bands occurring when they are pulled in opposite directions.

3. In a bag according to claim 2, the material of the bag in said lip portion having areas thereof partially separated transverse to said longitudinal line to provide said openings, and said areas being respectively separable from said lip portion upon pulling said bands from the tunnel through said openings.

6. In a bag according to claim 5, the sheet material of the bag and of said draw bands being heat-sealable plastic material, said side edges being heat-sealed and said secured ends of the draw bands being heat-sealed into said side edges, respectively, and reinforcing heat seals securing said draw bands to the bag material at the tunnel along lines parallel and in spaced adjacency to the respective edges to which the draw bands are secured.

8. In a bag made from pliable sheet material and having opposite side edges and a mouth at one end defined by a lip portion thereabout and providing a tunnel: two parallel draw bands comprising flexible sheet material separably connected by tear connections in edge-to-edge coplanar relation in said tunnel; said draw bands secured initially to both of said side edges; the material of the bag in said lip portion having an area thereof partially separated at one edge in alignment with one of said draw bands while being solid and permanently retaining the other of said draw bands at such edge; and the material of the tunnel at the opposite side edge of the bag aligned with the other of said draw bands being partially separated while at such edge the bag material remains solid and permanently retains the one draw band in secured relation; said partially separated material and the respective draw bands with which aligned being adapted to be grasped and pulled away from the bag to leave a respective opening from the tunnel through which the aligned draw band is adapted to be pulled to draw the lip portion into puckered mouth-closing relation.

10. In a bag according to claim 8, said draw bands being parallel to the tunnel end of the bag, and said partially separated bag portions being offset relative to one another considered with respect to said bag end.

14. In a bag made from heat-sealable plastic material provided with a mouth at one end defined by a lip portion thereabout and providing a tunnel, and having opposite side edges formed with heat-seal seams: a pair of flat draw bands of flexible plastic heat-sealable sheet material encompassing said mouth within said tunnel in coplanar relation to one another and having longitudinal edges contiguous to one another separated by perforations and intervening narrow tear connections; said draw bands being secured in heat-seal relation in the side edge heat-seal seams; material of said lip portion at said tunnel aligned with one of said draw bands at one of said edges being partially separated in line with said one of said draw bands to provide a draw band opening when separated from the material of the bag while the remaining draw band remains in fixed relation to such edge; and material of the bag aligned with said remaining draw band at the opposite edge of the bag being partially separated from the material of the bag to define an opening from the bag through that edge while said one draw band remains permanently secured at that edge; whereby the partially separated material at the respective edges and the draw bands with which aligned are adapted to be grasped and pulled to separate the partially separated material and pull the respective draw bands outwardly through the resulting openings and relative to one another to separate the connections along the contiguous edges of the draw bands and to draw said lip portion into puckered mouth-closing relation on those parts of thE draw bands which remain in the puckered lip portion.

17. In a bag according to claim 14, the bag material being integral in said lip portion providing a gusset inwardly relative to said tunnel within said mouth, said gusset having a line of perforations with intervening spaced narrow tear connections enabling opening of the gusset for access into the bag by breaking said connections.