EP2099687B1 - Security transparent bag - Google Patents
Security transparent bag Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP2099687B1 EP2099687B1 EP07847712A EP07847712A EP2099687B1 EP 2099687 B1 EP2099687 B1 EP 2099687B1 EP 07847712 A EP07847712 A EP 07847712A EP 07847712 A EP07847712 A EP 07847712A EP 2099687 B1 EP2099687 B1 EP 2099687B1
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- appendix
- bag
- storage compartment
- storage
- security
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Not-in-force
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Classifications
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
- B65D33/00—Details of, or accessories for, sacks or bags
- B65D33/16—End- or aperture-closing arrangements or devices
- B65D33/34—End- or aperture-closing arrangements or devices with special means for indicating unauthorised opening
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
- B65D33/00—Details of, or accessories for, sacks or bags
- B65D33/004—Information or decoration elements, e.g. level indicators, detachable tabs or coupons
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
- B65D33/00—Details of, or accessories for, sacks or bags
- B65D33/04—Windows or other apertures, e.g. for viewing contents
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
- B65D33/00—Details of, or accessories for, sacks or bags
- B65D33/14—Suspension means
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
- B65D33/00—Details of, or accessories for, sacks or bags
- B65D33/16—End- or aperture-closing arrangements or devices
- B65D33/1691—End- or aperture-closing arrangements or devices using adhesive applied to attached closure elements
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
- B65D33/00—Details of, or accessories for, sacks or bags
- B65D33/16—End- or aperture-closing arrangements or devices
- B65D33/25—Riveting; Dovetailing; Screwing; using press buttons or slide fasteners
- B65D33/2508—Riveting; Dovetailing; Screwing; using press buttons or slide fasteners using slide fasteners with interlocking members having a substantially uniform section throughout the length of the fastener; Sliders therefor
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
- B65D2203/00—Decoration means, markings, information elements, contents indicators
- B65D2203/10—Transponders
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
- B65D2313/00—Connecting or fastening means
- B65D2313/02—Connecting or fastening means of hook-and-loop type
Definitions
- This invention relates to a security transparent bag according to the preamble of claim 1, and more particularly a transparent bag that can be adopted while passing through security checkpoints at airports or in other restricted areas.
- the bag has certain security features that may result interesting for the Transportation Security Administration and other Agencies in the United States or around the world. At the same time, other portions of the bag may be adopted for advertising, loyalty programs, lotteries and other commercial activities.
- an object of the invention is to provide a transparent travel bag which, although being univocally associated to a particular passenger or flight, can be reused, or recycled, and associated to another passenger or flight, thus reducing costs and environmental impact.
- the storage compartment comprises a mouth 5 which comprises a resealable fastener, preferably of the kind having reciprocally facing profiles adapted to resealably interlock to each other.
- the resealable fastener is a zip-lock fastener 5a which may be optionally provided with a slider 5b and stoppers 5d.
- the zip-lock fastener 5a can be independently manufactured and easily joined to the bag during manufacturing thereof by a welding operation along a line 5c.
- the inner side 3b of the no-volume-for-storage appendix 3 comprises data or indicia.
- indicia can be also or alternatively applied to the outer side 3a of the appendix.
- data 301 represents the name of the Airline Company on which the security bag will be boarded and data 302 is a sponsor: therefore, data provides a first immediate highly visible indication to the security personnel and at the same time is an advertising tool for the Airline Company 301 and for the sponsor 302.
- a univocal code 303 is provided, e.g. in the form of a bar code, which is specifically assigned to a passenger, without having the passenger's name to appear on side 3a or 3b.
- the two layers composing the appendix 33 may be both non-transparent, or both transparent with an opaque cardboard or sheet therebetween, or of different materials, and may comprise indicia applied on their surface.
- the edge region 67 of the appendix 63 overlaps the joining edge 64 of the storage compartment 62 so that the first welding line 67a (or the folding line) is either substantially superimposed to a boundary line 164a between the joining edge 64 of the storage compartment and one of the transparent walls 62a forming such joining edge 64 ( Figure 20 ), or substantially at a free border 164b of the joining edge of the storage compartment 62 ( Figures 21a-21b ).
- Tape 240 may be particularly useful for those embodiments in which the storage compartment is reusable for a plurality of passengers or owners. Thanks to such tape 240, an opaque appendix can be readily joined to a storage compartment such as storage compartment 62, after the latter has been cleaned or sterilized. Once the security bag has been used and disposed by passenger, it can be collected by, e.g., the airline company that provided it to the passenger, the opaque appendix can be easily removed and disposed together with the three-stripe tape 240, and the storage compartment can be cleaned and/or sterilized for a future use. In this case, in order to obtain a reusable storage container, the storage container should be sturdy enough and, accordingly, the panels constituting it should be preferably thick, e.g. about 0.5mm thick.
- attachment means may consist of a fully transparent adhesive tape 97, having an adhesive surface 97a and being attached, on the opposite face, to a border 93a of an opaque no-volume-for-storage appendix 93 at a middle region of the tape, as shown in Figures 29a-29b , preferably through a sealing operation.
- the appendix when the appendix is made of cardboard or an equivalent material, the appendix may comprise a plurality of pre-fracture lines arranged so as to define closed areas on which respective indicia of the kind just listed above can be applied, for obtaining coupons, which can be removed from the appendix independently of one another.
- the microchip 69a or 69b preferably comprises an RFID antenna and rewritable memory means storing one or more of the following information: tracking information, bag information, personal information of the owner of the bag, encrypted information, security information, weight information, promotional codes, loyalty bonuses, lottery numbers. Such information may be automatically read by an RFID reader, in order to determine the owner of the bag, or his/her flight, and promptly board the bag to the owner's flight or post the bag or an appropriate notice to the owner's home address.
- the RFID reader may even read a plurality of microchips 69a-69b at the same time, for accelerating the sorting of security transparent bags.
- encrypting information stored in the microchip 69a-69b allows only authorized companies, such as airline companies, to rewrite the data stored in the memory means of the microchip 69a-69b, for instance when the storage compartment is to be reused by a plurality of passengers.
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Bag Frames (AREA)
- Packages (AREA)
Abstract
Description
- This invention relates to a security transparent bag according to the preamble of
claim 1, and more particularly a transparent bag that can be adopted while passing through security checkpoints at airports or in other restricted areas. The bag has certain security features that may result interesting for the Transportation Security Administration and other Agencies in the United States or around the world. At the same time, other portions of the bag may be adopted for advertising, loyalty programs, lotteries and other commercial activities. - To protect passengers against the new threat of liquid explosives, the United States and Canada - in September 2006 -, the European Union, Switzerland, Norway and Iceland - in November 2006 - have jointly adopted new security rules that restrict the amount of liquids that passengers can carry through the security checkpoints at airports. Passengers are now allowed to take only small quantity of liquids in individual containers. The general rule allows bringing three ounce bottles in one quart-sized fully transparent plastic, zip-top bag per person. Due to the different metric system, for convenience purposes, the European Rule allows 100 milliliters containers in one liter bag.
- The bags in use for this purpose are of various plastic materials and shape and, typically, are fluid-tight, so as to prevent liquids stored in the containers inside the bag from accidentally spilling out of the bag.
- All of the bags satisfying the requirements currently in use at checkpoints in airports should have the fundamental characteristic of being completely transparent, so that their contents can be inspected from any possible view or perspective without opening the mouth of the bag.
- To this aim, such bags can consist of two transparent plastic panels which are sealed to each other at three edges and define a mouth at the fourth edge, which mouth comprises a resealable fastener having profiles adapted to resealably interlock with each other, such as a zip-lock fastener without a slider.
- Bags are also known which are not used for security checks in restricted areas, but which are instead used as cases for various items. Such bags may be formed by more than two panels, which are sealed to one another at their edges so as to obtain a sort of prismatic shape, for instance of triangular cross section. A zip-lock slider fastener is usually provided on a corner of such prism-shaped bags.
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DE 202006007787U discloses a transparent storage bag according to the preamble ofclaim 1. - Moreover, suitcases are known which comprise a transparent window through which a partial view of the contents of the suitcase is possible.
- The transparency requirement, although may have positive advertising effects for cosmetic, personal care or drug industries because the brands of cosmetic or drug products are visible from the outside of the bag, it is not source of revenues for the airline companies. Moreover, transparency causes serious problems to the owner of the bag, because the contents of the transparent bags to be inspected at checkpoints typically have a private nature. The owner may not like such contents to be viewed by other people while waiting for the inspection, because such contents may reveal, for instance, that the owner of the bag is affected by a specific disease, or uses a specific product.
- In addition to privacy needs, another problem of the known transparent bags for inspection at checkpoints in airports and the like is that the fully transparency requirement does not allow the bag to be immediately identified, e.g. as being property of a specific person or as being associated to a particular flight or airline. In fact, if the bag comprised characters thereon, such characters would make opaque a portion of the side wall to which they are applied and, accordingly, at least one view of the inner volume of the bag would be precluded: thus, indicia on transparent bags are prevented because they may be used by criminals to hide electronic or explosive material exactly behind the indicia.
- A consequence of preventing transparent bags from featuring indicia thereon is that if the bag is lost, the owner cannot be identified by either his personal identification data, or by his flight data, such as the flight number, destination and seat number, or by a tracking number which could be automatically read. Therefore, it is not possible to immediately or even automatically assign the bag to the personal belongings of the owner, e.g. to his/her luggage before boarding, or directly to the assigned seat on the flight, and/or process the bags separately from the passengers.
- Moreover, another drawback related to the absence of indicia on the bag is that no commercial, promotional or sponsorship activity can be provided on the transparent bag. Therefore, there is currently no space for co-marketing and co-business activities, for a sponsorship program, or for lotteries.
- Aim of the present invention is to provide a novel and secure bag which overcomes the above-described drawbacks associated with existing bags.
- Within this aim, an object of the present invention is to provide a transparent bag which, although being completely transparent for allowing its contents to be viewed from the outside from any perspective, allows privacy of its contents to be maintained.
- Another object is to provide a transparent bag which complies with any security standard or can be readily made compliant with such standard.
- A further object is to provide a transparent bag to be used at checkpoints with indicia of any nature without altering the fully clear transparency of the bag.
- Moreover, a particular object is to allow the bag to be provided with indicia independently of the manufacturer or the manufacturing location of the bag so that, for instance, the indicia could be separately provided at the checkpoint's surroundings, e.g. by an airline or a commercial company.
- Yet another object is to provide a security transparent bag which is particularly useful for flight passengers and can be associated to a particular flight or airline company.
- A further object is to provide a transparent bag which can be automatically tracked and/or traced back to the owner without altering the transparency characteristics of the bag.
- In addition, an object of the invention is to provide a transparent travel bag which, although being univocally associated to a particular passenger or flight, can be reused, or recycled, and associated to another passenger or flight, thus reducing costs and environmental impact.
- Not least object of the present invention is to provide a transparent bag that is highly reliable and relatively simple to manufacture and highly customizable.
- This aim and these and other objects that will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved by a security transparent bag comprising a storage compartment which is made of plastic or plastic-like material, is completely transparent and defines a storage volume of the bag, the storage compartment comprising a mouth provided with a resealable fastener, the storage compartment comprising transparent walls which completely enclose the storage volume when the mouth is closed, characterized in that the bag comprises an opaque appendix which is movable, with respect to at least one of the walls of the storage compartment, between a covering position, in which the appendix lies at least partially on the at least one wall for at least partially screening the storage volume of the bag from outside of the storage compartment, and an inspection position, in which the appendix does not lie on the at least one wall for allowing view of the whole storage volume of the bag through any wall of the storage compartment without opening the resealable fastener, the appendix being attached to the storage compartment through an attachment means so as to hide no portion of the storage volume of the bag when the appendix is in the inspection position.
- The appendix is preferably, but not necessarily, removable or peelable away from the bag.
- The plastic storage compartment can be manufactured using any known prior art method such as a heat-seal process or an extrusion process of plastic materials. The appendix can be manufactured separately from the storage compartment and even in different locations and the connection of the two components of the bag may be performed along one edge of the storage compartment, leaving in full clear view its contents.
- By "storage compartment" is meant the portion of the bag that permits the storage of containers, e.g. liquid containers, inserted through a closable or resealable mouth. The storage compartment preferably assures a fluid-tight seal, it is provided in any suitable design and any mouth closing means to perform such functions and it may have measures that are within a maximum volume indicated by a predetermined security rule.
- The opaque appendix, which will be hereinafter also referred to as "no-volume-for-storage-appendix", may be at least one panel or sheet, of flexible or foldable nature, of different or equal thickness with respect to the bag's walls, and preferably with a colored, semi-opaque or completely opaque surface. The opaque appendix may be even a transparent panel or sheet which is made opaque by indicia, labels, tickets, cards or removable media applied thereon. In any case, the opaque appendix used in the invention is not a flap of the bag, i.e. has not the purpose of closing the mouth of the storage compartment or of providing an additional closure of the mouth. The storage compartment already comprises its own resealable fastener for this purpose. Therefore, the opaque appendix used in the invention preferably fully lies on the same side of the storage compartment when it is in the covering position.
- The "no-volume-for-storage-appendix" used in the invention, due to its features, cannot hold containers or liquids or other dangerous items.
- Hereinafter, the expression "opaque" is used to characterize an object through which a significant part of visible light directed to the object is not transmitted therethrough but, for instance, is back-scattered, reflected or absorbed because of surface or color properties of the object. Preferably, opacity is such that all or most of visible light is not transmitted through the object. Instead, with the term "transparent" referred to an object it is intended that most or substantially all of visible light is transmitted through the object.
- It is noted that the security transparent bag described hereinafter is particularly related to aircraft operations or airport security, but is not limited to such applications. It is also applicable to other situations where checks need to be made to precisely conform to certain specific regulations.
- Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the description of preferred but not exclusive embodiments of the device according to the present invention, illustrated by way of non-limitative examples in the accompanying drawings, wherein:
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Figure 1 is a perspective view of the security bag according to a first general embodiment of the invention, showing the storage compartment with the no-volume-for-storage-appendix in the inspection position. -
Figure 2 is a left side elevation view of the bag shown inFigure 1 . -
Figure 3 is a perspective view of the bag shown inFigure 1 having the no-volume-for-storage-appendix in the covering position. -
Figure 4 is a perspective view of the storage compartment ofFigure 1 showing a plastic strip sealed on one edge of the storage compartment. -
Figure 5 is a left side elevation view of the storage compartment ofFigure 4 . -
Figures 6-7 are rear elevation views of no-volume-for-storage-appendixes respectively bearing an airline name and a code for a promotion or lottery. -
Figure 8 is a rear elevation view of a no-volume-for-storage appendix in which two-sided adhesive tapes are used to maintain the covering position; -
Figure 9 is a rear elevation view of an appendix having a transparent pocket for keeping a boarding pass or a ticket. -
Figure 10 is a front elevation view of an embodiment in which the storage compartment contains liquid containers inside and the no-volume-for-storage-appendix comprises indicia on its back surface. -
Figure 11 is a front elevation view of a further embodiment of the security bag, in the inspection position, having the attachment means connecting the appendix to the storage compartment at the short edge of the storage compartment. -
Figure 12 is a further embodiment of the security bag, in which two plastic sheets are shown together with one cardboard therebetween. -
Figure 13 is a further embodiment of the security bag, in which adhesive is applied to a strip protruding from an edge of the storage compartment. -
Figure 14 shows a particular opaque appendix in which perforated lines are provided so as to obtain removable coupons. -
Figures 15a-15b are perspective and left elevation views of a storage compartment according to a second preferred embodiment of the invention. -
Figure 16 is a perspective view of a bag comprising the storage compartment ofFigure 15a and an opaque appendix in the covering position. -
Figure 17 is a perspective view of the storage compartment ofFigure 15a with an adhesive applied to a joining edge thereof. -
Figures 18a-18b are front and rear elevation views of an opaque appendix comprising a transparent edge region. -
Figure 19 is a rear elevation view of an opaque appendix comprising an adhesive at an edge region. -
Figure 20 is a left side elevation view of an embodiment of the security bag according to the invention, in which the opaque appendix ofFigures 18a-18b is attached to a joining edge of the storage compartment. -
Figures 21a-21c are left side elevation views of embodiments of the security bag in which the opaque appendix is attached to the storage compartment in different ways. -
Figures 22a-22b are perspective and left side elevation views of an attachment means used in embodiments of the invention for joining the opaque appendix to the storage compartment. -
Figures 23a-23c are perspective views of an opaque appendix using the attachment means ofFigures 22a-22b . -
Figures 24a-24c are perspective views of the opaque appendix ofFigures 23a-23c and of a security bag using such appendix, in which an adhesive is applied to the attachment means. -
Figures 25a-25b are perspective and left side elevation views of a three-band attachment means used in embodiments of the invention for joining the opaque appendix to the storage compartment. -
Figure 26 shows an arrangement of an opaque appendix and of the attachment means ofFigures 25a-25b . -
Figures 27a-27b are front and rear elevation views of the opaque appendix ofFigure 26 . -
Figures 28a-28b are perspective views of a security bag according to an embodiment of the invention, respectively in the inspection position and in the covering position, which comprises the opaque appendix and the attachment means ofFigure 26 . -
Figure 28c is a perspective view of a security bag according to an embodiment of the invention, in the covering position, which comprises an appendix with labels thereon. -
Figures 29a-29b are perspective views of an opaque appendix having a transparent attachment means at one edge thereof. -
Figures 30a-30b are perspective views of a security bag according to an embodiment of the invention, respectively in the inspection position and in the covering position, which comprises the opaque appendix and the attachment means ofFigure 29a-29b . -
Figure 31 is a perspective view of a storage compartment with a first microchip on one sidewall, which can be used in embodiments of the invention. -
Figure 32 is a perspective view of a storage compartment with a second microchip on one edge, which can be used in embodiments of the invention. -
Figures 33a-33c are perspective views of a storage compartment with pockets, which can be used in embodiments of the invention. -
Figures 34a-34b are front and rear elevation views of a three-stripe tape used as an attachment means in embodiments of the invention. - In the above drawings as well as in the following description, the same reference numbers will indicate identical or technically equivalent features.
- With reference to
Figures 1-5 , asecurity bag 1 according to an embodiment of the invention comprises astorage compartment 2 and anopaque appendix 3, which is attached to thestorage compartment 2 through an attachment means 4. - The
storage compartment 2 defines the storage volume of the bag and is made of plastic or plastic-like material, such as PVC, polyethylene or polypropylene. - Such materials can be processed according to any known method used for manufacturing plastic bags. For instance, from a given tubular transparent plastic reel, a die-cut operation for obtaining plastic sheets having the desired measures is performed and, finally, the plastic sheet or sheets are welded or heat sealed to obtain the desired form of the bag. If the bag is manufactured from a single transparent sheet, the bag may be obtained by folding such sheet substantially along a middle line and by heat sealing two edges together, so as to define one mouth. If two or more transparent plastic sheets are used as starting materials, they could be joined to each other at their edges by heat sealing.
- Obviously, any joining method for manufacturing the bag other than heat sealing can be used; for instance, electrical or ultrasonic welding, gluing or sewing. Most preferably, the joining method is chosen so that the sealing junctions of the bag are fluid-tight.
- The thickness of the transparent sheets, which corresponds to the thickness of the walls of the
bag 1, preferably ranges from 0.20mm to 0.50mm, although any thickness may be adopted according to requirements. - The
storage compartment 2, being formed by transparent sheets, is completely transparent too, so that its contents can be inspected from the outside from any perspective and without having to rotate or open the bag. - In order to access the storage volume of the bag, in all of the embodiments of the invention the storage compartment comprises a
mouth 5 which comprises a resealable fastener, preferably of the kind having reciprocally facing profiles adapted to resealably interlock to each other. More preferably, the resealable fastener is a zip-lock fastener 5a which may be optionally provided with aslider 5b andstoppers 5d. As it is well known, the zip-lock fastener 5a can be independently manufactured and easily joined to the bag during manufacturing thereof by a welding operation along aline 5c. - Obviously, any sealable or resealable fastener can be provided at the mouth of the bag, such as an adhesive. However, in the preferred embodiments of the invention the bag is fluid-tight and, accordingly, the closure means of the
mouth 5 are chosen so that they provide a fluid-tight seal when they are in the closed state. For simplicity, in all of the embodiments depicted in the drawings, the mouth closure means always comprises a zip-lock fastener 5a. - The
storage compartment 2 comprisestransparent walls 2a-2d which completely enclose the storage volume when themouth 5 is closed. At least such storage volume, and accordingly its contents, must be completely visible from the outside of the bag and from any perspective. - The
opaque appendix 3, which can be manufactured and provided separately from thestorage compartment 2, is movable, with respect to at least onewall 2a of thestorage compartment 2, between a covering position (Figure 3 ), in which theappendix 3 lies at least partially on thewall 2a for at least partially screening the storage volume of the bag from an outside view of thestorage compartment 2, and an inspection position (Figures 1-2 ), in which theappendix 3 does not lie on thewall 2a, for allowing full view of the whole storage volume of thebag 1 through anywall 2a-2d of thestorage compartment 2. In the covering position, theopaque appendix 3 fully lies on the same side of the storage compartment, as it is seen fromFigure 3 . The movement of theappendix 3 from the inspection position to the covering position is shown by an arrow inFigure 1 . - As a consequence, when the passenger or, more generally, the holder of the
bag 1 wishes to hide the contents of the bag, the appendix is brought to the covering position (Figure 3 ) and, for instance, the bag is held with one hand along one hip. The contents of the bag, thanks to the covering function of the no-volume-for-storage appendix 3, are hidden from a front view of the covered side of the bag. The contents are also substantially hidden from a perspective view such as that shown inFigure 3 , because the portion visible is not enough to understand what the content of thesecurity bag 1 is. The covering function is sufficient to perform the privacy protection needed and avoids displaying the contents of thestorage compartment 2 to other individuals. When thebag 1 leans on a surface, like the one of a trolley, or is held along one hip of the user, a viewer has a very limited vision, similar to the one offered by the perspective shown inFigure 3 . At the checkpoint, the passenger or an officer simply opens theappendix 3 to the inspection position (Figure 1 ), so as to inspect the contents of the bag as it occurs for conventional transparent bags at checkpoints, without opening the mouth of the bag. - Preferably, in all of the embodiments of the invention the surface extension of the
appendix 3 is substantially equal to the surface extension of the coveredwall 2a, so that the appendix completely covers thewall 2a when it is in the covering position. However, the extension of theappendix 3 may be less than or greater than the extension of thewall 2a, according to requirements. For instance, the appendix may be have such an extension that could be folded over the bag and cover both of the opposingwalls - In alternative embodiments, the security bag may comprise more than one no-volume-for-storage appendix, in order to cover corresponding walls of the storage compartment. However, from the security standards point of view, it is preferred to provide only one appendix as shown in the embodiments depicted in the Figures, so that at least a first-sight inspection of the storage compartment is possible even when the no-volume-for-storage appendix is in the covering position, e.g. from the
non-covered wall 2b of thestorage compartment 2. - The no-volume-for-storage appendix according to the invention may comprise a fastening means for maintaining the appendix in the covering position after the bag has been inspected. With reference to
Figures 1-11 , such fastening means may be a hook-and-loop fastener, such as Velcro, applied on correspondingplastic tabs 8a-8b protruding outwardly from the periphery of theappendix 3 and of thestorage compartment 2, respectively. An alternative fastening means may be a two-sidedadhesive tape 18a, as shown inFigure 8 , with the exposed side preferably covered with a repositionable adhesive. Thetape 18a is applied to theside 13b of the no-volume-for-storage appendix 13 that will lie on thewall 2a of the storage compartment in the covering position. - Otherwise, a fastening means may be simply obtained by choosing suitable materials for the no-volume-for-storage appendix, e.g. plastic or plastic coatings, and by exploiting the static electricity that may characterize such materials of the no-volume-for-
storage appendix 3 and/or of thestorage compartment 2, which tends to maintain plastic surfaces attached to each other through static cling. - Optionally, a hole or
slot 9 may be present in the no-volume-for-storage appendix for holding thebag 1, e.g. by using athread 9a, as shown inFigure 10 , or a finger. - It is noted that the covering position of the no-volume-for-storage appendix is not irreversible and, depending on the owner preferences or security personnel requests, the
bag 1 can be carried with the no-volume-for-storage appendix in the inspection position, as shown inFigure 1 , or in the covering position, as shown inFigure 3 . - The attachment means according to the invention, which connects the storage compartment to the no-volume-for-storage appendix and which will be described hereinafter, is chosen so as to hide no portion of the storage volume of the bag when the appendix is in the inspection position. To this aim, the storage compartment may comprise at least one
edge 6 at its periphery and outside the storage volume, and the attachment means may be located atsuch edge 6. Otherwise, a transparent attachment means could be used and applied on one wall of the storage compartment, which overlaps the storage volume. - In particular, with reference to
Figures 1-5 , theedge 6 at which the attachment means is placed is a joining edge of thestorage compartment 2, which protrudes only slightly from the periphery of thestorage compartment 2, e.g. less than 3mm. The attachment means, in this case, comprises astrip 4 protruding outwardly fromedge 6, which is located on the bottom of thestorage compartment 2. - The no-volume-for-
storage appendix 3 is attached to thestrip 4 through anedge region 7 of theappendix 3. In the preferred embodiments of the invention employing thestrip 4 as an attachment means, the edge region connecting the appendix to thestrip 4 may be one of the outermost borders of the no-volume-for-storage appendix or may be located on one side of the appendix in close proximity to such border. In the latter case, the edge region of the appendix may be either on theside 3b of appendix that lies on thewall 2a of the storage compartment in the covering position or on theopposite side 3a of theappendix 3. - It is noted that the
strip 4, being external to the storage volume of thebag 1, does not compromise integrity of thestorage compartment 2, which remains an independent container, and theappendix 3 is attached to the storage compartment along a line which is completely outside the storage volume. Accordingly, as it can be seen fromFigures 1 and2 , the storage compartment maintains a full transparency even though anon-transparent appendix 3 is present. Security is also guaranteed by the absence of any storage volume in theappendix 3, which prevents a criminal from hiding dangerous material within the appendix. In fact, although be opaque per se or be transparent and be made opaque by application of indicia, labels, tickets, cards or removable media thereon, the appendix is a sheet or sheet-like panel made of any material, preferably non-metal material or other material suitable to pass through metal detectors. - The
strip 4 is preferably made of plastic or plastic-like material and is welded to theedge 6 of the storage compartment. In an alternative, the strip may be an excess region of the storage compartment, obtained for instance by using, for obtaining thewall 2a during manufacturing, a sheet longer than the other sheets, so that the storage compartment obtained by using such sheet already comprises an integral flap protruding from one edge. - Optionally, the
strip 4 comprises a tamper-evident tape 4b applied over the strip, as shown inFigure 10 , which serves as a guarantee for the passenger of the integrity of the bag. - The no-volume-for-
storage appendix 3 may be joined to thestrip 4 according to any known methods. For instance, in the embodiment ofFigures 1-11 , welding is used, so that a weldedregion 7b on theedge region 7 of the appendix is formed which connects the appendix to thestrip 4. FromFigures 1-2 it is noted that such weldedregion 7b is at an outermost border of theappendix 3. An alternative welded region, indicated with 17b, is shown inFigure 8 , which will be discussed hereinafter. - Optionally, the welded
region 7b joining the no-volume-for-storage appendix 3 to thestrip 4 may comprise at least one weakened region for allowing the appendix to be easily torn away from the bag. For instance, the weakened region may be a line of reduced thickness or a pre-fracture or perforated line. The weakened region may be the welding line itself, too. - The weakened region is provided in order to make the security bag readily compliant with even the strictest security rules: if an officer at a checkpoint is not satisfied with the presence of an appendix, regardless of its possibility of being movable, the appendix may be easily removed from the storage compartment, certainly complying with any security rules. It is also noted that the action of removing the appendix would take place just few seconds before the check, allowing the passenger to maintain privacy in the most critical phase.
- Moreover, the weakened region allows the storage compartment to be readily reusable by different owners, by simply removing the appendix of the previous owner, which may contain specific personal information thereon, and applying a new one.
- In alternative embodiments, which will be discussed with reference to
Figures 14-15 , sticking or gluing are used instead of welding, for fastening the appendix to the strip. Otherwise, a seam may be used (not shown in the Figures). - The no-volume-for-
storage appendix 3, in addition to providing a privacy maintaining function, defines a double surface available for several purposes. - In particular, as shown in
Figures 6-8 , theinner side 3b of the no-volume-for-storage appendix 3 comprises data or indicia. Obviously, indicia can be also or alternatively applied to theouter side 3a of the appendix. For instance,data 301 represents the name of the Airline Company on which the security bag will be boarded anddata 302 is a sponsor: therefore, data provides a first immediate highly visible indication to the security personnel and at the same time is an advertising tool for theAirline Company 301 and for thesponsor 302. - The low section of
outer side 3a and/or of theinner side 3b of the no-volume-for-storage-appendix 3 can be used for advanced identification purposes. To this aim, aunivocal code 303 is provided, e.g. in the form of a bar code, which is specifically assigned to a passenger, without having the passenger's name to appear onside -
Security indicia 304 may be present to indicate that thesecurity bag 1 has been checked and it is safe for boarding.Data security bag 10 should be located when not in the hands of the passenger. - Further indicia may comprise a serial number or a code identifying the appendix, printed or, more generally, applied when the appendix is manufactured.
- Having provided the
security bag 1 withspecific data - Further indicia could be provided on the no-volume-for-
storage appendix 3. For instance, acode 307 for a promotional program or a lottery number may be applied or printed on theappendix 3, as shown inFigure 7 . - The data or indicia may be alternatively or additionally applied on the
side 3b of theappendix 3 that lies on thewall 2a of thestorage compartment 2 in the covering position, as shown inFigures 6-8 and10 , where the same reference numbers have been used for identifying the same or technically equivalent features. It is noted that, inFigures 6-8 , thewelding region 17b for connecting theappendix 3 to thestrip 4 of thestorage compartment 2 is not on the outmost border of the appendix, as inFigure 1 , but is on theside 3b of the appendix, next to such border. - In particular embodiments of the invention, an
opaque appendix 23 of the bag may be provided with a transparentflat pocket 21, on either its front or rear sides, for storing a flight ticket or aboarding pass 22, as shown inFigure 9 . - In other embodiments of the invention, the strip and the opaque appendix according to the invention could be provided at a
lateral edge 6b of the storage compartment instead of the bottom edge. For instance, as shown inFigure 11 , an opaque appendix 23a with atransparent pocket 21a is welded to astrip 24 protruding out of alateral edge 6b of thestorage compartment 2. - In a further embodiment of the invention, depicted in
Figure 12 , theopaque appendix 33 is formed by at least twolayers strip 4 protruding from theedge 6 of thestorage compartment 2 is sandwiched between such layers of theappendix 33 at theedge region 37 of the appendix. Preferably, thefirst layer 3c is a non-transparent sheet and thesecond layer 3d is a transparent plastic sheet joined to thenon-transparent sheet 3c. - A
cardboard 32 with indicia thereon may be enclosed between the twolayers - Obviously, the two layers composing the
appendix 33 may be both non-transparent, or both transparent with an opaque cardboard or sheet therebetween, or of different materials, and may comprise indicia applied on their surface. - In order to fasten the
appendix 33 to the strip, an adhesive may be applied on the surfaces of thestrip 4, or on the inner surfaces of the edge regions oflayers - In another embodiment of the invention, which is shown in
Figure 13 but which is not limited to the particular no-volume-for-storage appendix shown inFigure 13 , the attachment means for connecting the no-volume-for-storage appendix to thestorage compartment 2 may also comprise afirst adhesive 4a applied on at least one side of thestrip 4. Otherwise, asecond adhesive 7a may be applied on at least one side of the appendix substantially at the edge region of the appendix, e.g. as shown inFigure 14 , in which only onerepositionable adhesive 18a is shown. In both cases, the contact region between the strip of the storage compartment and the edge region of the opaque appendix will be larger with respect to the embodiments where only a welding line is used to connect the strip and the edge region together. - The first or the
second adhesives - If the storage compartment and the no-volume-for-storage appendix are provided separately, a removable liner strip may be applied on the
first adhesive 4a or, as shown withnumber 7c for example inFigure 14 , on thesecond adhesive 7a, which liner can be easily removed when the appendix is to be attached to the storage compartment. This arrangement is particularly preferred when the storage compartment and the appendix of the bag according to the invention are joined together at the airport, or nearby the checkpoint, or by an advertiser or an airline company providing the appendix with indicia thereon. - In the particular embodiment of
Figure 13 , another feature which can be used in any of the embodiments of the invention is shown. A no-volume-for-storage appendix 43 is provided which comprises a plurality of pre-fracture orperforated lines 45 arranged so as to defineclosed areas 46 on which respective indicia can be applied, for obtaining coupons, and which can be removed from the appendix independently of one another. - The no-volume-for-
storage appendix 43 is preferably selected among cardboard, photographic paper, printer paper, or any other suitable material that is printable with laser, led, solid ink, inkjet, or thermal printers, or that can be embossed, engraved or written. - In an alternative, the no-volume-for-storage appendix may comprise a backing sheet on at least one side of which one or more adhesive labels are applied. As the
coupons 46, such labels could be printed and removed independently of one another. - Optionally, a pre-fracture or weakened
line 47a may be provided which separates the covering part of theappendix 43 from theedge region 47 of the appendix that will be attached to thestrip 4 of thestorage compartment 2. The weakenedline 47a allows the covering part of theappendix 43 to be permanently removed from the bag by tearing along such line. - Various embodiments of the opaque appendix used in the invention have been described which are applied to storage compartments comprising a strip protruding from an edge of the storage compartment, such as in
Figure 4 . - Nevertheless, the opaque appendixes described above, as well as the appendixes which will be described hereinafter, can be applied not only to
storage compartment 2, but also tostorage compartments 62 in which the attachment means are placed directly at a joining edge of the storage compartment that reciprocally joins at least two transparent walls (or that results from extrusion or other manufacturing process) and which significantly protrudes outwardly with respect to the storage volume of the bag so as to provide an extended attachment surface, as shown inFigures 15a-15b . In this case, the opaque appendix is attached to such joining edge of the storage compartment at an edge region of the appendix. - The extended joining edge, which is indicated in
Figures 15a-15b with numeral 64, is directly obtained during manufacturing of the bag by any known technique for joining edges of panels constituting plastic bags (e.g. by extrusion or heat sealing) and may be provided at some or all of the borders of the bag. In order to provide an attachment surface, the joining edge preferably protrudes at least about 3mm, preferably 5mm and most preferably 6mm, from the periphery of the storage volume. - Any of the opaque appendixes described above may be applied at the joining
edge 64, using the same means described above, e.g. by welding, gluing, sticking or sewing, for obtaining a security bag which, when the appendix is in the covering position, may appear as shown inFigure 16 . For instance, as shown inFigure 17 , a third adhesive 64a may be applied to the attachment surface of the joiningedge 64. Thethird adhesive 64a is preferably a two-sided adhesive tape provided with aremovable liner tape 64b. In other embodiments, the third adhesive may be any one of a glue, a pressure sensitive adhesive, a permanent adhesive, a repositionable adhesive. - As an alternative, instead of providing a third adhesive at the joining
edge 64, a second adhesive may be applied on at least one side of the opaque appendix substantially at the edge region of the opaque appendix, such as inFigure 14 . - In both cases, the edge region of the appendix to be attached to the joining
edge 64 may be either on the side of the appendix that lies on the coveredwall 62a of the storage compartment in the covering position or on the opposite side of the appendix. - As a further alternative, the appendix may be formed by a plurality of layers as previously shown in
Figure 12 . In this case, the joiningedge 64 may be sandwiched between such layers of the appendix at theedge region 37 of theappendix 33. - In an embodiment of the invention, depicted in
Figures 18a-18b , theopaque appendix 63 of the bag may comprise anopaque panel 63a made of plastic, optionally comprising a two-sidedadhesive tape 68a and acorresponding liner 68b, and anedge region 67, which is preferably transparent and which is to be attached to the joiningedge 64 of thestorage compartment 62, as shown inFigure 20 . Obviously, in other embodiments of the invention,such appendix 63 may be attached to thestorage compartment 2 ofFigure 4 through thestrip 4 and thetransparent edge region 67. - The
transparent edge region 67 may be attached to theopaque panel 63a through a welding operation, obtaining afirst welding line 67a between theedge region 67 and theopaque panel 63a, about which theopaque panel 63a can pivot partially or totally with respect to thetransparent edge region 67. - As an alternative, the
first welding line 67a between the appendix and the transparent edge region of the appendix may be adapted to maintain theopaque panel 63a folded over thetransparent edge region 67 of the appendix along thefirst welding line 67a, so that theappendix 63 tends to maintain the covering position. - The
first welding line 67a may be such as to allow theopaque panel 63a to be removed from the bag by tearing alongsuch welding line 67a. Weakened regions such as perforated regions may be provided to simplify the tearing or peeling operation. - Yet in other alternative embodiments, the edge region of the appendix may be obtained by folding the appendix along a folding line or along a plurality of substantially parallel folding lines.
- For obtaining the
security bag 60, theedge region 67 may be attached to the joiningedge 64 of thestorage compartment 62 through a sealing operation, although any other operation such as sewing, gluing or sticking may be used. In the case where sticking is used, one side of theedge region 67 may be covered with a two-sided adhesive 67b, optionally provided with a correspondingremovable liner 67c, as shown inFigure 19 . - Regardless of the attachment means used, the
edge region 67 of theappendix 63 overlaps the joiningedge 64 of thestorage compartment 62 so that thefirst welding line 67a (or the folding line) is either substantially superimposed to aboundary line 164a between the joiningedge 64 of the storage compartment and one of thetransparent walls 62a forming such joining edge 64 (Figure 20 ), or substantially at afree border 164b of the joining edge of the storage compartment 62 (Figures 21a-21b ). - In further embodiments of the invention, depicted in
Figures 22a-22b and23a-23c , the attachment means used in the security bag may comprise a plurality ofbands 220 longitudinally joined together at oneend 224, e.g. through welding so as to obtain a second welding line. Such attachment means are preferably used for attaching paper or cardboard appendixes to oneedge 64 of thestorage compartment 62 or to thestrip 4 ofstorage compartment 2. At least afirst band 221 ofsuch bands 220 is to be attached to theopaque appendix 73 and at least asecond band 222 is to be attached to thestorage compartment - In particular, a free
longitudinal border 223 of thefirst band 221 may be attached through welding or other means to aborder 77 of theappendix 73, while thesecond band 222 may be attached to thestrip 4 of thestorage compartment 2 ofFigure 4 or to the extended joiningedge 64 of thestorage compartment 62 ofFigure 15a , as shown inFigure 21c , through welding, gluing, sticking or sewing. - Preferably, at least one of the bands 221-222 comprises a
fourth adhesive 225 for attaching the bands, and consequently theopaque appendix 73, to the edge of the storage compartment, be it astrip 4 or an extended joiningedge 64. The fourth adhesive may be applied to reciprocally facingsides first band 221 and thesecond band 222, respectively, so that the edge of the storage compartment can be sandwiched between such facingsides 221a-222a of the first and second bands, as shown inFigure 24a-24c . As an alternative, the fourth adhesive may be applied to both sides of thestrip 4 or the extended joiningedge 64. - The fourth adhesive is preferably a permanent adhesive, although glue or a repositionable adhesive may be used.
- With reference to
Figures 25a-25b , the attachment means of the bag according to further embodiments of the invention may comprise a plurality ofbands 230 longitudinally joined together at oneend 234, e.g. through welding. Such attachment means are preferably used for attaching paper or cardboard appendixes to oneedge 64 of thestorage compartment 62 or to thestrip 4 ofstorage compartment 2. Afirst band 231 and/or athird band 233 ofsuch bands 230 are to be attached to an opaque appendix by sandwiching and at least asecond band 232 is to be attached to thestorage compartment third band 233. - As a first alternative, the
second band 232 and thethird band 233 may be attached to thestrip 4 of thestorage compartment 2 ofFigure 4 or to the extended joiningedge 64 of thestorage compartment 62 ofFigure 15a by using a fourth adhesive applied to reciprocally facingsides second band 232 and thethird band 233, respectively, so that the edge of the storage compartment can be sandwiched between such facingsides 232a-233a of the second and third bands. The fourth adhesive may be alternatively applied to both sides of thestrip 4 or of the extended joiningedge 64, depending on the storage compartment used. In order to attach an opaque appendix to the plurality ofbands 230, a first adhesive may be applied to one of thesides first band 231 and an edge region of the no-volume-for-storage appendix may be attached to such side. - In alternative embodiments, an
appendix 83 may be provided which comprises, at bothsides 83a-83b of oneedge region 87, an adhesive 88a-88b, optionally covered with arespective liner tape 88c-88d. Theopaque appendix 83, shown inFigures 27a and 27b , may be a cardboard or equivalent sheet optionally withperforated lines 85 forming closed,removable areas 86, similar to the appendix ofFigure 14 . Otherwise, theopaque appendix 83 can be photographic paper, printer paper, or any other suitable material that is printable with laser, led, solid ink, inkjet, or thermal printers, or that can be embossed, engraved or written. -
Such edge region 87 may be accordingly sandwiched between reciprocally facingsides Figure 26 . Obviously, the adhesive may be applied to such facingsides edge region 87 of theappendix 83. Then, the fourth adhesive may be applied to bothsides strip 4 or a joining edge 64) of the storage compartment or may be applied to only oneside second band 232, which is finally attached to thestrip 4 or to the extended joiningedge 64, depending on the storage compartment used. A security bag resulting from the combination of thestorage compartment 62, theappendix 83 and the plurality ofbands 230 is shown inFigures 28a and28b , in the inspection and covering position, respectively. -
Figure 28c shows an analogous opaque appendix in which, instead of thepre-cut coupons 86 removable from acardboard 83, removable adhesive labels 86a are applied to at least one side of abacking sheet 86b, which may be of plastic material. Thelabels 86a lying on thebacking sheet 86b can be printed independently of one another, as well as thecoupons 86. For instance, thebacking sheet 86b with thelabels 86a may be put in the tray of a printer so as to print different indicia on different labels at the same time. - In further embodiments of the invention, for attaching the opaque appendix to the edge of the storage compartment, be it a
strip 4 or an extended joiningedge 64, the attachment means may comprise atape 240 consisting of three stripes, as shown inFigures 34a-34b : afirst stripe 241 having anadhesive side 241 a and an oppositenon-adhesive side 241 b, asecond stripe 242 having anon-adhesive side 242a and an oppositeadhesive side 242b, and a transparentmiddle stripe 243 between the first and second stripes 241-242, arranged so that the first and second stripes 241-242 feature theiradhesive sides 241a 242b on opposite faces of thetape 240. -
Tape 240 may be particularly useful for those embodiments in which the storage compartment is reusable for a plurality of passengers or owners. Thanks tosuch tape 240, an opaque appendix can be readily joined to a storage compartment such asstorage compartment 62, after the latter has been cleaned or sterilized. Once the security bag has been used and disposed by passenger, it can be collected by, e.g., the airline company that provided it to the passenger, the opaque appendix can be easily removed and disposed together with the three-stripe tape 240, and the storage compartment can be cleaned and/or sterilized for a future use. In this case, in order to obtain a reusable storage container, the storage container should be sturdy enough and, accordingly, the panels constituting it should be preferably thick, e.g. about 0.5mm thick. - In the embodiments discussed above, in order to apply an opaque appendix to the storage container, attachment means which are placed at a protruding edge region of the storage compartment have been proposed.
- However, another attachment means which is adapted to hide no portion of the storage volume of the bag when the opaque appendix is in the inspection position could be a transparent connection means placed directly on the
wall - In particular, such attachment means may consist of a fully transparent
adhesive tape 97, having anadhesive surface 97a and being attached, on the opposite face, to aborder 93a of an opaque no-volume-for-storage appendix 93 at a middle region of the tape, as shown inFigures 29a-29b , preferably through a sealing operation. - Another possible transparent attachment means may be arranged with respect to the appendix as discussed with reference to
Figures 18a-18b . - Thanks to the transparent
adhesive tape 97, the no-volume-for-storage appendix 93 can be attached to astorage compartment 92 in a position of onewall 92a that overlaps the storage volume of thecompartment 92, as shown inFigures 30a-30b . The overlapping between such a transparent attachment means and the storage volume does not hide any portion of the storage volume of the bag when the appendix is in the inspection position, as it is particularly apparent fromFigure 30a . - In all of the embodiments of the invention described above, the no-volume-for-storage appendix is made of an opaque material or a material that can be made opaque through application of indicia, labels, tickets, cards or removable media thereon. In particular, the appendix may be a single or layered sheet of a material selected from the group comprising: cardboard, paper, photographic paper, printer paper, plastic or any other material on which indicia can be applied by printing, writing, sticking, engraving or embossing.
- The indicia, if present, may be applied by printing, writing, engraving or embossing either on the side of the no-volume-for-storage appendix that lies on a wall of the storage compartment in the covering position, or on the opposite side, or on both sides. The indicia may contain or be in the form of data regarding an airline company, sponsors, a univocal code assigned to a passenger, security codes, flight and seat numbers, promotional codes, discount codes, rebate codes, key or password codes, Internet access codes, loyalty codes, voucher codes, promo codes, shopping codes, rewards codes, lottery numbers.
- Optionally, when the appendix is made of cardboard or an equivalent material, the appendix may comprise a plurality of pre-fracture lines arranged so as to define closed areas on which respective indicia of the kind just listed above can be applied, for obtaining coupons, which can be removed from the appendix independently of one another.
- Alternatively, the appendix may comprise a backing sheet with at least one adhesive label or a plurality of adhesive labels applied on one or both sides thereof. Any indicia of the kind just listed above can be applied to one or more of such labels.
- Indicia may be optionally provided on regions of the storage compartment which do not overlap the storage volume, such as on the zip-lock fastener (
Figure 33a , where the logo of an airline is depicted) or an edge at the periphery of the storage compartment (Figure 33b , where a serial number is depicted) or on the strip attached to an edge at the periphery of the storage compartment, such as thestrip 4 ofFigure 4 , or the attachment means, such as thebands - The security transparent bag according to the invention may comprise further optional features.
- For instance, any one of the storage compartments described above,
e.g. storage compartment 62, may additionally comprise a microchip 69a attached to onewall 62a as shown inFigure 31 . Most preferably, amicrochip 69b may be applied to one protrudingedge 66 of thestorage compartment 62, as shown inFigure 32 , so as to lie on such edge without covering the storage volume. As an alternative, not shown in the Figures, the microchip may be applied to the opaque appendix instead of to the storage compartment, or to both. - The
microchip 69a or 69b preferably comprises an RFID antenna and rewritable memory means storing one or more of the following information: tracking information, bag information, personal information of the owner of the bag, encrypted information, security information, weight information, promotional codes, loyalty bonuses, lottery numbers. Such information may be automatically read by an RFID reader, in order to determine the owner of the bag, or his/her flight, and promptly board the bag to the owner's flight or post the bag or an appropriate notice to the owner's home address. The RFID reader may even read a plurality of microchips 69a-69b at the same time, for accelerating the sorting of security transparent bags. - The possibility of encrypting the information prevents illegal rewriting of the data stored in the memory means of the microchip 69a-69b, with a resulting anti-counterfeiting feature. On the other hand, encrypting information stored in the microchip 69a-69b allows only authorized companies, such as airline companies, to rewrite the data stored in the memory means of the microchip 69a-69b, for instance when the storage compartment is to be reused by a plurality of passengers.
- In any of the above embodiments of the invention, one or more walls of the storage compartment may comprise a transparent pocket, which may be even an attachment means in the sense of the claimed the invention. For instance, a first
transparent pocket 65a with one inlet may be provided on thewall 62a to be covered by an opaque appendix according to the invention and a secondtransparent pocket 65b may be provided on theopposite wall 62b, as shown inFigures 33a and33b , respectively. The opaque appendix for at least partially screening the contents of the storage compartment may be either a pivotable appendix attached to one edge of the storage compartment, as any of the opaque appendixes described above, or may be a cardboard or other opaque sheet inserted in thepocket pocket - In other embodiments of the invention, a third
transparent pocket 65c (Figure 33c ) having two inlets may be applied on either or both ofwalls 62a-62b of the storage compartment, so as to provide a comfortable pocket for both left-handed users and right-handed users. The opaque appendix for at least partially screening the contents of the storage compartment may be pivoted to one edge of the storage compartment, according to the various possibilities discussed above. Otherwise, aspockets Figures 33a-33b , the thirdtransparent pocket 65c may be an attachment means in the sense of the claimed invention. In this case, the opaque appendix may consist in acardboard 65d or other opaque sheet inserted into thepocket 65c, as shown inFigure 33c : the covering position of theappendix 65d would correspond to that depicted inFigure 33c and the inspection position of theappendix 65d would correspond to a complete removal of thecardboard 65d or the like from thepocket 65c. - In practice it has been found that the bag according to the invention fully achieves the intended aim and objects, since it is completely transparent and, at the same time, allows to temporarily hide the personal belongings contained in the bag. Thanks to the provision of a no-volume-for-storage appendix it is impossible to hide dangerous items even in the opaque part of the bag.
- At the same time, novel surfaces have been provided for identification purposes and commercial activities, while protecting the privacy of the owner of the bag.
- The novel security bag is a highly customizable item, depending on environment and marketing condition, through the connection of different types of "no-volume-for-storage-appendixes" or "appendixes". Such appendixes can be provided separately from the bag, e.g. by an airline company or by another company having advertising purposes, and finally attached to the storage compartment.
- The security bags according to the invention may be provided in standard measures, for solving measuring issues. Moreover, the security bags according to the invention may be provided ready-to-use by automatic machines such as Automatic Teller Machines, which are able to print indicia onto the opaque appendixes, for de-centralizing operations and avoiding long lines at check ins.
- While various embodiments of the invention have been shown and discussed, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that there are many modifications, such as in the materials adopted, improvements and changes which can be made without departing from the scope of the invention, as disclosed in the appended claims.
- Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.
Claims (15)
- Security transparent bag (1) comprising a storage compartment (2,62,92) which is made of plastic or plastic-like material, is completely transparent and defines a storage volume of the bag (1), said storage compartment (2,62,92) comprising a mouth (5) provided with a resealable fastener, said storage compartment (2,62,92) comprising transparent walls (2a-2d,62a) which completely enclose said storage volume when said mouth (5) is closed, characterized in that the bag (1) comprises an opaque appendix (3,13,23,23a,33,43,63,65d,73,83,93) which is movable, with respect to at least one of said walls (2a-2d,62a) of the storage compartment (2,62,92), between a covering position, in which the appendix (3,13,23,23a,33,43,63,65d,73,83,93) lies at least partially on said at least one wall (2a-2d,62a) for at least partially screening the storage volume of the bag (1) from outside of said storage compartment (2,62,92), and an inspection position, in which the appendix (3,13,23,23a,33,43,63,65d,73,83,93) does not lie on said at least one wall (2a-2d,62a,62b) for allowing view of the whole storage volume of the bag (1) through any wall (2a-2d,62a) of the storage compartment (2) without opening the resealable fastener, the appendix (3,13,23,23a,33,43,63,65d,73,83,93) being attached to said storage compartment (2,62,92) through an attachment means so as to hide no portion of the storage volume of the bag (1) when the appendix (3,13,23,23a,33,43,63,65d,73,83,93) is in the inspection position.
- The security transparent bag (1) of claim 1, wherein said attachment means comprises a strip (4,24) protruding outwardly from at least one edge (6,6b) of the storage compartment (2,62) and said appendix (3,33,43) is attached to said strip through an edge region (7,37,47) of said appendix (3,33,43).
- The security transparent bag (1) of claim 2, wherein said at least one edge of the storage compartment is a joining edge (64) which reciprocally joins at least two of said transparent walls of said storage compartment (62), said joining edge (64) protruding outwardly with respect to the storage volume (62) of said bag (1) so as to provide an extended attachment surface, said appendix being attached to said joining edge (64) of the storage compartment (62) at an edge region of said appendix.
- The security transparent bag (1) of one or more of claims 2-3, wherein said attachment means (4) comprises a welded region (7b) which has at least one weakened region for allowing the appendix (3,33,43) to be easily torn away from the bag (1).
- The security transparent bag of one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the appendix (3,13,23,23a,33,43,63,65d,73,83,93) is made of a material selected from the group comprising: cardboard, paper, photographic paper, printer paper, plastic or any other material on which indicia can be applied by printing, writing, sticking, engraving or embossing.
- The security transparent bag (1) of one or more of claims 2-5, wherein said appendix (33) is formed by at least two layers (3c,3d) fixed to each other, said strip (4) or joining edge (64) being sandwiched between said at least two layers (3c,3d) of the appendix (33) at said edge region of the appendix (37).
- The security transparent bag (1) of claim 6, wherein a first layer of said at least two layers (3c,3d) is a non-transparent sheet comprising indicia thereon and is selected among cardboard, photographic paper, printer paper, or any other suitable material that is printable with laser, led, inkjet, or thermal printers, or that can be embossed, engraved or written.
- The security transparent bag (1) of claim 7, wherein said appendix (3) is formed by the at least two layers (3c,3d) and a cardboard (32) inserted between said at least two layers (3c,3d).
- The security transparent bag (1) of any claim 2 to 8, wherein said edge region (47) of the appendix (43) comprises a pre-fracture or weakened line (47a), for allowing permanent removal of the appendix (43) from the bag (1) by tearing along such pre-fracture or weakened line (47a).
- The security transparent bag (1) of one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the attachment means is transparent and is placed on said at least one wall (2a-2d, 62a) of the storage compartment so as to overlap a portion of the storage volume of the bag (1).
- The security transparent bag (1) of one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the edge region (67) of the appendix (63) is covered with a two sided adhesive (67b), optionally provided with a corresponding removable liner (67c).
- The security transparent bag (1) of one or more of the preceding claims, wherein said storage compartment (2,62,92) is fluid-tight when the resealable fastener is closed.
- The security transparent bag (1) of one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the opaque appendix (3,13,23,23a,33,43,63,65d,73,83,93) and the storage compartment (2,62,92) comprises a microchip (69a,69b), said microchip (69a,69b) comprising an RFID antenna and memory means storing one or more of tracking information, bag information, personal information of the owner of the bag, encrypted information, security information, weight information, promotional codes, loyalty bonuses and lottery numbers.
- The security transparent bag (1) of one or more of the preceding claims, wherein said appendix (3,13,23,23a,33,43,63,65d,73,83,93) comprises a pocket (65a,65b,65c).
- The security transparent bag (1) of claim 14, wherein the attachment means is the pocket (65a,65b,65c) and the appendix is a cardboard or other opaque sheet (65d) inserted into the pocket (65a,65b,65c).
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US86896006P | 2006-12-07 | 2006-12-07 | |
PCT/EP2007/063201 WO2008068234A1 (en) | 2006-12-07 | 2007-12-03 | Security transparent bag |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP2099687A1 EP2099687A1 (en) | 2009-09-16 |
EP2099687B1 true EP2099687B1 (en) | 2011-09-07 |
Family
ID=39271415
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP07847712A Not-in-force EP2099687B1 (en) | 2006-12-07 | 2007-12-03 | Security transparent bag |
Country Status (7)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (2) | US20110243479A1 (en) |
EP (1) | EP2099687B1 (en) |
CN (1) | CN101595039B (en) |
AT (1) | ATE523442T1 (en) |
HK (1) | HK1139370A1 (en) |
TW (1) | TW200838772A (en) |
WO (1) | WO2008068234A1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (8)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20150053316A1 (en) * | 2013-08-22 | 2015-02-26 | SC Affiliated Networks, LLC DBA Surge Business Development | Systems, apparatus, and methods for storing a plurality of items using a transparent storage device with a privacy shield |
CN103508053B (en) * | 2013-10-20 | 2015-12-09 | 江苏申凯包装高新技术股份有限公司 | Negative and positive self-support zippered bag |
AU2016355415A1 (en) * | 2015-11-16 | 2018-04-19 | Automated Packaging Systems, Inc. | Bag with cuts |
USD814188S1 (en) * | 2016-05-10 | 2018-04-03 | Gary Michael Bell | Collapsible bag with side gussets |
DE102018123947B4 (en) * | 2017-10-26 | 2021-03-18 | sense-IT GmbH | Holder arrangement for attaching an identification means to an object to be identified and positioning device for bringing up, positioning, attaching and removing the holder arrangement |
CN110765803B (en) * | 2019-10-11 | 2023-05-09 | 首都医科大学宣武医院 | Invisible two-dimensional code and recognition system thereof |
US11583048B2 (en) * | 2019-10-15 | 2023-02-21 | Lenora Schmidt | Bag with transparent compartment |
USD1003044S1 (en) * | 2020-06-11 | 2023-10-31 | Peter Thomas Cook | Bag for a travel safety kit |
Family Cites Families (16)
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US2325021A (en) * | 1942-05-27 | 1943-07-20 | Ivers Lee Co | Package with a fold-closed delivery neck |
DE2910851C2 (en) * | 1979-03-20 | 1982-12-16 | Minigrip Europe Gmbh, 7000 Stuttgart | Plastic film pouch and process for its manufacture |
US5352041A (en) * | 1993-01-26 | 1994-10-04 | Trigon Packaging Corporation | Security bag for valuable articles |
US5407277A (en) * | 1993-11-23 | 1995-04-18 | Kcl Corporation | Tamper evident bag with auxiliary bag |
US5816709A (en) * | 1997-10-08 | 1998-10-06 | Demus; Andrew | Leak-proof personal travel bag |
US6012844A (en) * | 1999-02-16 | 2000-01-11 | Huseman; David C. | Selectively closeable plastic film bag |
DE20101595U1 (en) * | 2001-01-31 | 2001-04-19 | Finkenzeller, Ulrich, Dr., 68723 Plankstadt | Device for storing material or waste in a confined space |
DE20109175U1 (en) * | 2001-06-01 | 2001-08-23 | Müller, Gunnar, 39418 Staßfurt | Carrying bag plan |
US7530740B2 (en) * | 2002-06-13 | 2009-05-12 | Ampac Plastics Llc | Multi-handle high strength plastic bag |
US6877899B1 (en) * | 2002-12-09 | 2005-04-12 | Pine Creek Llc | Coupon bag with detachable portion and methods of making same |
US6637485B1 (en) * | 2003-01-06 | 2003-10-28 | Stacey Eve Sartena | Handbag or the like with covered, transparent wall |
US7264582B2 (en) * | 2004-03-11 | 2007-09-04 | 2004Adploy Limited Partnership | Pouch containers having advertising media and methods for their dissemination |
US7350689B1 (en) * | 2004-12-17 | 2008-04-01 | The United States Of America As Represented By The National Security Agency | Reusable tamper evident envelope |
DE202006007787U1 (en) * | 2006-05-16 | 2006-07-20 | Kühn, Andreas | Transparent large-format waterproof pouch for e.g. architectural drawings has secondary outer pocket |
US20070267319A1 (en) * | 2006-05-17 | 2007-11-22 | Valassis Communications, Inc. | In-store plastic bag pad with header |
DE102006057644A1 (en) * | 2006-12-05 | 2008-06-12 | Deutsche Post Ag | Container for shipping objects and method for producing the containers |
-
2007
- 2007-12-03 AT AT07847712T patent/ATE523442T1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 2007-12-03 EP EP07847712A patent/EP2099687B1/en not_active Not-in-force
- 2007-12-03 CN CN2007800483467A patent/CN101595039B/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 2007-12-03 US US12/518,228 patent/US20110243479A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2007-12-03 WO PCT/EP2007/063201 patent/WO2008068234A1/en active Application Filing
- 2007-12-07 TW TW096146832A patent/TW200838772A/en unknown
-
2010
- 2010-06-02 HK HK10105461.7A patent/HK1139370A1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
-
2013
- 2013-10-01 US US14/043,566 patent/US20140254955A1/en not_active Abandoned
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
TW200838772A (en) | 2008-10-01 |
HK1139370A1 (en) | 2010-09-17 |
WO2008068234A1 (en) | 2008-06-12 |
CN101595039B (en) | 2012-05-23 |
ATE523442T1 (en) | 2011-09-15 |
EP2099687A1 (en) | 2009-09-16 |
US20140254955A1 (en) | 2014-09-11 |
CN101595039A (en) | 2009-12-02 |
US20110243479A1 (en) | 2011-10-06 |
WO2008068234A8 (en) | 2008-09-12 |
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