US3369584A - Bag for storing soiled laundry or waste - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 20, 1968 F. FACCIO ETAL 3,369,584

BAG FOR STORING SOILED LAUNDRY OR WASTE Filed May 26, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet l I N VEN TORS FR A/VK FA CC /0 DA V/D C 0N5 TAN T/NE BY M W Arrow/5r:

Feb. 20; 1968 F. FACCIO ETAL 3,359,584

BAG FOR STORING SOILED LAUNDRY OR WASTE Filed May 26, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 6

(PRIOR ART) INVENTORS FRANK FACC/o DAV/0 CONSTANT/NE A? role NEYS United States Patent 3,369,584 BAG FOR STORING SOILED LAUNDRY OR WASTE Frank Faccio, 1009 Cleveland St., Uniondale, N.Y. 11553, and David Constantine, Concord House, Scarsdale, N.Y. 10583 Filed May 26, 1967, Ser. No. 641,688 4 Claims. (Cl. 150-3) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A bag such as a laundry or hamper bag for collecting soiled and particularly contaminated laundry or waste which can be tightly closed without necessitating direct physical or even close contact with the contents of the bag by turning up an outer cover of the bag from a lower position exposing the filling end of the bag to an upper position protruding above the filling end and then closing the ends of the outer cover, thereby forming a completely closed envelope.

SPECIFICATION The present invention relates to bags for collecting soiled laundry or waste as are used for collecting and removing soiled laundry or waste, and particularly to socalled hamper bags.

Handling of soiled laundry or sanitary waste is never a very pleasant task but, in addition, it may also become a serious health hazard when the laundry or waste is contaminated as is frequently the case in hospitals and similar institutions.

Bags of the kind above referred to as they are now in general use in hospitals and other institutions where soiled laundry and sanitary waste material accumulate in large quantities and must be more or less regularly collected for removal, make it practically unavoidable for the person charged with closing the filled bags to come in undesirable and even dangerous close contact with the contents thereof.

It is a broad object of the invention to provide a novel and improved bag of the general kind above referred to which can be safely and conveniently closed without making it necessary for the person efiiecting closing of the bag to come into close contact with the contents thereof.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved bag of the general kind above referred to which can be filled in a conventional manner and may also be suspended in open condition from a conventional stand or frame while the bag is being gradually filled, and which can be tightly closed, after removal from the frame or stand, by folding an outer cover of the bag over the open filling end thereof and then securing or sealin the edges of the turned over cover to each other so that the bag is fully closed when ready for removal.

The afore-pointed out features and advantages and other objects, features and advantages which will be pointed out hereinafter are obtained by providing an outer cover loosely encompassing substantially the lower half of the bag proper. The outer cover is secured along its upper rim to the bag and open at the other end but is releasably closable at said other end. To close the filled bag, the outer cover is turned up so that the edges of the cover which were initially below the bottom of the bag proper are now above the filling end thereof. The now upper ends of the cover are peripherally secured. The filling opening of the bag may be more or less closed but it may also be open. The turned-up and closed outer cover now constitutes an envelope enveloping the filling end of the bag and this envelope can be formed and closed without re quiring the person manipulating the cover to come in close contact with the contents of the bag.

In the accompanying drawing a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown by way of illustration and not by way of limitation.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a hamper bag according to the invention, ready to be filled;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the bag suspended in a stand or frame;

FIG. 3 is a front view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a section taken on line 44 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a section taken on line 55 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view of the bag showing the sealing means for the outer cover of the bag on an enlarged scale;

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic view showing an intermediate stage of the closing of the bag proper by turning up the outer cover; and

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 7, but showing the bag with the outer cover fully turned up and partly closed.

Referring now to the figures more in detail, the exemplified laundry bag comprises an inner bag 10 closed at its lower generally rounded end 10a and open at its opposite end to be filled with laundry, waste or other material to be collected in the bag. The filling end of the bag may be closed by pulling tight drawstrings 11 which are arranged in a conventional manner by being guided in a turned-over hem formed along the respective rim of the bag. The bag is made of a material conventionally used for such bags, such as duck or canvas.

An outer cover 12 also made of pliable material such as duck, is secured for instance, by stitching along its rim 13 to bag 10. The outer cover is preferably attached to bag 10 about midway of the length of the bag. The length of outer cover 12 is such that if it hangs downwardly from its rim 13, the lower edge of the cover is somewhat below the level of the bottom 10a of the bag as is clearly shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 and that if the cover is turned upwardly in reference to edge 13 the free edge of the cover is well above the filling end of bag 10 as is shown in FIG. 8.

Fastening means 15 are provided at the free edge of cover 12 for closing the cover along the entire length of its free edge and also reopening the cover. Various conventional and suitable types of fasteners may be used. Fasteners such as known under the trademark Velcro have been found to be particularly advantageous for the purpose. Velcro fasteners utilize a random engagement of a multitude of hooks and loops. Upon separation by pull, the loops stretch while the hooks yield by bending.

A strip 15a of Velcro material is secured along the entire peripheral length of the respective edge of cover 12, for instance by stitching. The strip may be either on the inside or the outside of the cover when the same is hanging down as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. Attachment of the Vehro strip or other fasteners to the outside of the cover somewhat facilitates the closing of the cover when the same is to be closed over the filling opening of bag 10 as will be more fully explained hereinafter.

The bag according to the invention may be conveniently suspended in or supported by a stand or frame 20 of conventional design. The stand itself and the mounting of the bag thereon do not constitute any part of the invention and should be visualized to be conventional. It should be only noted that the filling end of the bag is usually pulled over the upper rim of the stand as is indicated at 1% and the drawstrings 11 are then sufficiently tightened to hold the bag as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

The laundry or hamper bag according to the invention is operated as follows:

Let it be assumed that the bag is placed upon the stand as is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The lower edges of cover 12 may be secured to each other by turning inwardly the bottom end of the cover with the Velcro strip thereon if the strip is on the outside of the depending cover. FIG. 4 shows the edges of the cover turned over and sealed to each other, However, the lower edge of the cover may also be left open in its depending position.

The bag may now be filled in a conventional manner. After being sufliciently filled, thebag is detached from the stand by loosing the drawstrings then may be tightened to close the bag at least partly. The lower end of cover 12 is now opened if it was closed before and the entire cover is turned up so that its initially lower rim is now above the level of the more or less closed filled opening of bag 10.

FIG. 7 shows cover 12 being partly turned upwardly and FIG. 8 shows the cover fully pulled up.

Finally, the cover is closed by simply pressing it together along Velcro strip 15a. As is evident, if other fasteners are used, closing is effected in a corresponding manner. The filled bag is now ready for removal. As is evident, the contents are fully sealed off so that there is no danger to personnel closing the bag and handling the same during transport.

To empty the bag, cover 12 is reopened and returned from the position of FIG. 8 to the position of FIG. 1. The contents of the bag may now be dumped out and the bag is again ready for use, after cleaning the same.

While the invention has been described in detail with respect to a certain now preferred example and embodiment of the invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art, after understanding the invention, that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and it is intended, therefore, to cover all such changes and modifications in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A bag for collecting soiled laundry and waste, said bag comprising, in combination:

a pliable bag fixedly closed. on one end and open on the other end for loading the bag;

a pliable outer cover encompassing the bag, one end of said cover being open and the other end being attached to the outside of the bag intermediate, the open end and the closed end thereof, the length of said cover being greater than the distance between the line of attachment of the cover and the open end thereof; and

releasable fastening means secured along the free edge of the cover to releasably close said free edge of the cover along its entire peripheral length;

whereby said cover constitutes a closed envelope completely enveloping the open end of the bag when the cover is turned upwardly about its line of attachment and is closed along its free edge by said fastening means.

2. A bag according to claim 1, wherein said cover comprises a generally tubular member made of pliable sheet material, said member being attached along one of its edges to the outside of the bag but being otherwise free to permit folding of the tubular member about its attached edge for placement of the free length of the member selectively in a position encompasing the closed bag end or the open bag end.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 665,942 1/1901 Tabler c -3 1,526,816 2/1925 Widmer 229 -53 X 2,323,318 7/1943 Farkas 15011 X DAVID M. BOCKENEK, Primary Examiner,

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