Polymeric bag with elastic drawtape

Abstract

A manufacturing method for producing a plurality of polymeric drawtape bags, the method including: a) dispensing a film of polymeric pliable material; b) producing a web of folded and sealed polymeric panels from the film, the web including a plurality of polymeric bags having a pair of drawtapes added into a pair of hems proximate a bag opening with a series of notches produced near lateral edges of each of the hems exposing the drawtapes with a series of lateral seals applied to the exposed drawtapes within the notches; c) measuring a relative placement of the series of notches with respect to the seals; and d) providing feedback to a notch production system to improve placement of the series of lateral seals of the exposed drawtapes within the notches by accurately locating the series of notches produced along the web.

1 . A drawtape bag comprising:
 a body including a pair of pliable opposing polymeric body panels joined together with a pair of lateral body seals along a pair of opposing lateral sides and a bottom bridging and closing said pair of pliable opposing polymeric body panels producing a polymeric bag with an open mouth end at a top end, said body panels each forming a hem extending along said open mouth end, each said hem including a pair of lateral notches at said opposing lateral sides; and   a pair of pliable polymeric elastomeric drawtapes moveably disposed without attachment within said hems, one drawtape within each hem wherein opposing lateral sides of said pair of drawtapes are exposed within said notches and joined together with a pair of lateral drawtape seals to form a single closed drawtape loop extending around a perimeter of said open mouth end wherein said single closed drawtape loop is configured to be drawn through one or both of said pair of lateral notches to close said open mouth end;   wherein said lateral notch has a length in a direction along said hem about 1.625 inches or less wherein said body has a width about 24 inches or less and a length about 27 inches or greater.   
     
     
         2 . The drawtape bag of  claim 1  wherein a drawtape seal width of said lateral drawtape seal is greater than a lateral body seal width of said lateral body seal. 
     
     
         3 . The drawtape bag of  claim 2  wherein said drawtape seal width, as measured as a distance extending into said body from a lateral edge, is at least 0.5 inches greater than said lateral body seal width. 
     
     
         4 . A drawtape bag comprising:
 a body including a pair of pliable opposing polymeric body panels joined together with a pair of lateral body seals along a pair of opposing lateral sides and a bottom bridging and closing said pair of pliable opposing polymeric body panels producing a polymeric bag with an open mouth end at a top end, said body panels each forming a hem extending along said open mouth end, each said hem including a pair of lateral notches at said opposing lateral sides; and   a pair of pliable polymeric elastomeric drawtapes moveably disposed without attachment within said hems, one drawtape within each hem wherein opposing lateral sides of said pair of drawtapes are exposed within said notches and joined together with a pair of lateral drawtape seals to form a single closed drawtape loop extending around a perimeter of said open mouth end wherein said single closed drawtape loop is configured to be drawn through one or both of said pair of lateral notches to close said open mouth end;   wherein said lateral notch has a length in a direction along said hem about 1 inch or less wherein said body has a width about 23 inches or less and a length about 28.25 inches or greater.   
     
     
         5 . The drawtape bag of  claim 4  wherein a lateral drawtape seal width of said lateral drawtape seal is about equal to a lateral body seal width of said lateral body seal. 
     
     
         6 . The drawtape bag of  claim 5  wherein said seals are about 0.125 inches wide. 
     
     
         7 . A method of manufacturing a drawtape bag, comprising the steps of:
 a) directing a pair of overlying polymeric film panels in a machine direction wherein said pair of polymeric film panels are joined together at a bottom edge and open at a top edge opposite of said bottom edge to form a single polymeric film, with the panels being separable from each other along a mouth end formed opposite the bottom edge;   b) producing a pair of hems along said top edges of said film panels of said single polymeric film;   c) producing drawtape notches in each hem of said pair of hems at regular distance intervals corresponding to a desired width of the drawtape bags;   d) adding a pair of pliable polymeric drawtape into said pair of hems, a drawtape disposed into each hem;   e) sealing said panels to each other using body seal structures generally transverse to the machine direction to create individual drawtape bags; and   f) sealing said drawtapes to each other using drawtape seal structures within said drawtape notches to form, for the drawtape bag, a single closed drawtape loop disposed around a perimeter of said mouth end.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7  wherein said drawtape seal structures are wider than said body seal structures. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7  wherein said drawtape seal structures are about equal to said body seal structures. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 7  further comprising the steps of:
 g) perforating each said seal structure generally transverse to said machine direction to define the drawtape bag between successive perforations. 
 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising the steps of:
 i) imaging said successive perforations in relation to a trailing edge of associated successive drawtape notches to provide a series of notch registration signals; and 
 j) adjusting said forming step c) responsive to said series of notch registration signals. 
 
     
     
         12 . A manufacturing system for producing polymeric drawtape bags, the system comprising:
 a plurality of manufacturing stations to dispense polymeric pliable material and to produce a web of folded and sealed polymeric panels forming a plurality of polymeric bags having a pair of drawtapes added into a pair of hems proximate a bag opening with a series of notches produced near lateral edges of each of said hems exposing said drawtapes with a series of lateral seals applied to said exposed drawtapes within said notches; and   a notch registration system, coupled to one or more stations of said plurality of manufacturing stations, measuring a relative placement of said series of notches with respect to said seals and providing feedback to a notch production system of said plurality of manufacturing stations to improve placement of said series of lateral seals of said exposed drawtapes within said notches by accurately locating said series of notches produced along said web.   
     
     
         13 . A manufacturing method for producing a plurality of polymeric drawtape bags, the method comprising the steps of:
 a) dispensing a film of polymeric pliable material;   b) producing a web of folded and sealed polymeric panels from said film, said web including a plurality of polymeric bags having a pair of drawtapes added into a pair of hems proximate a bag opening with a series of notches produced near lateral edges of each of said hems exposing said drawtapes with a series of lateral seals applied to said exposed drawtapes within said notches;   c) measuring a relative placement of said series of notches with respect to said seals; and   d) providing feedback to a notch production system to improve placement of said series of lateral seals of said exposed drawtapes within said notches by accurately locating said series of notches produced along said web.