Thermoplastic bags with complex stretch patterns

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12466156-B2
Application number	US-202318525492-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 30, 2023
Priority date	Nov 8, 2017
Publication date	Nov 11, 2025
Grant date	Nov 11, 2025

Abstract

A thermoplastic film which exhibits elastic-like behavior along at least one axis when stretched or elongated and then released. The thermoplastic film comprises a plurality of raised rib-like elements extending in a direction perpendicular to a main surface of the thermoplastic film. The thermoplastic film further includes a plurality of web areas positioned about the plurality of raised rib-like elements. The plurality of raised rib-like elements and plurality of web areas are arranged in a complex pattern. The complex pattern provides visual and tactile cues as the films are stretched or elongated. The complex pattern can cause the thermoplastic film to have a complex stretch profile.

First claim

We claim:

1 . A thermoplastic bag comprising:
a first sidewall and an opposing second sidewall of a thermoplastic material; and the first sidewall and the second sidewall each comprising a first side edge, an opposite second side edge, a bottom edge, and an opening along respective top edges; wherein each of the first sidewall and the second sidewall comprises:
a plurality of raised rib-like elements; and
a plurality of web areas positioned about the plurality of raised rib-like elements;
wherein:
the plurality of raised rib-like elements are arranged into a repeating macro pattern of raised rib-like elements and a repeating micro pattern of raised rib-like elements, and
adjacent micro patterns of raised rib-like elements are separated by one or more macro patterns of raised rib-like elements.

2 . The thermoplastic bag of claim 1 , wherein the micro pattern of raised rib-like elements is nested within the macro pattern of raised rib-like elements.

3 . The thermoplastic bag of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the macro pattern of raised rib-like elements or the micro pattern of raised rib-like elements comprises a diamond pattern.

4 . The thermoplastic bag of claim 3 , wherein the other of the macro pattern of raised rib-like elements or the micro pattern of raised rib-like elements comprises a bulbous pattern.

5 . The thermoplastic bag of claim 1 , wherein each of the first sidewall and the second sidewall comprises a first thermoplastic layer incrementally bonded to a second thermoplastic layer.

6 . The thermoplastic bag of claim 1 , wherein:
the macro pattern of raised rib-like elements has a first resistance to stretching; and the micro pattern of raised rib-like elements has a second resistance to stretching, wherein the second resistance to stretching is greater than the first resistance to stretching.

7 . The thermoplastic bag of claim 1 , wherein the repeating macro pattern of raised rib-like elements and the repeating micro pattern of raised rib-like elements form a checkerboard pattern.

8 . The thermoplastic bag of claim 1 , wherein the raised rib-like elements of the macro pattern are 1.5 to 20 times longer than raised rib-like elements of the micro pattern.

9 . A thermoplastic bag comprising:
first and second thermoplastic film sidewalls joined together along a first side edge, an opposite second side edge, and a closed bottom edge, wherein the first and second thermoplastic film sidewalls each comprise:
a plurality of raised rib-like elements oriented parallel to a width of the thermoplastic film sidewall; and
a plurality of non-linear sinusoidal web areas separating the plurality of raised rib-like elements into columns, wherein non-linear adjacent sinusoidal web areas are out of phase relative to each other so peaks of a given non-linear sinusoidal web area are aligned with troughs of a non-linear adjacent sinusoidal web area, the non-linear sinusoidal web areas running vertically from a top of the thermoplastic film sidewall to a bottom of the thermoplastic film sidewall.

10 . The thermoplastic bag as recited in claim 9 , wherein the plurality of raised rib-like elements comprises a first subset of raised rib-like elements arranged in diamond patterns.

11 . The thermoplastic bag of claim 10 , wherein the plurality of raised rib-like elements comprises a second subset of raised rib-like elements arranged in bulbous patterns.

12 . The thermoplastic bag of claim 11 , wherein the diamond patterns are nested within the bulbous patterns.

13 . The thermoplastic bag of claim 12 , wherein a plurality of diamond patterns are nested within each bulbous pattern.

14 . The thermoplastic bag of claim 9 , wherein each of the first sidewall and the second sidewall comprises a first thermoplastic layer incrementally bonded to a second thermoplastic layer.

15 . A thermoplastic bag comprising:
first and second thermoplastic film sidewalls joined together along a first side edge, an opposite second side edge, and a closed bottom edge; and a pattern of raised rib-like elements and web areas formed in each of the first and second thermoplastic film sidewalls, wherein the pattern of raised rib-like elements and web areas comprises repeating, non-continuous first and second patterns that alternate across a width and height of the thermoplastic bag, the second pattern having a different size of raised rib-like elements than the first pattern.

16 . The thermoplastic bag as recited in claim 15 , wherein:
the first pattern comprises a plurality of columns of raised rib-like elements; and the second pattern comprises a single column of raised rib-like elements.

17 . The thermoplastic bag of claim 16 , wherein the first pattern further comprises intervening web areas between columns of raised rib-like elements, the intervening web areas having a same height of the thermoplastic bag as the columns of raised rib-like elements.

18 . The thermoplastic bag of claim 15 , wherein the repeating first and second patterns directly abut against each other such that no web areas separate adjacent instances of the first and second patterns.

19 . The thermoplastic bag of claim 15 , wherein the pattern comprises a checkerboard pattern.

20 . The thermoplastic bag of claim 15 , wherein the pattern is devoid of a sequence of one or more web areas that continuously connect from a top of the pattern to a bottom of the pattern.

Assignees

• Glad Products Co

Inventors

• Broering Shaun T
• Borchardt Michael G
• Zhu Ranyi
• Maxwell Jason R
• Peck Daniel Charles
• O'Donnell Hugh Joseph
• Dorsey Robert T
• Pham Vu Lehai Minh
• Mcaffry Karen Denise

Classifications

• B65D65/403

  with at least one corrugated layer · CPC title

• B65F2250/114

  Plastics · CPC title

• B65F1/0006

  Flexible refuse receptables, e.g. bags, sacks · CPC title

• B31B2155/0014

  having their openings facing transversally to the direction of movement · CPC title

• B31B70/866

  Applying handles on a moving web followed by longitudinal folding · CPC title