GB2369043A

GB2369043A - A tamper-evident, reusable bag for transporting garments

Info

Publication number: GB2369043A
Application number: GB0127091A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Stephen Bradley Harris
Original assignee: CLOTHING CONCERN Ltd
Current assignee: CLOTHING CONCERN Ltd
Priority date: 2000-11-18
Filing date: 2001-11-12
Publication date: 2002-05-22
Also published as: GB0028180D0; GB0127091D0

Abstract

A tamper-evident, reusable bag for transporting garments comprises a bag 10 that is closed by zip fastener 16 and has a clamp 14 comprising two rigid jaws 20, 22, that are piviotally connected at one end 24 and which may be secured together so as to grip the suspension hooks of clothes hangers. When the jaws are secured together, a lock or indicative seal is passed through aligned holes 40 in the securing means and also through the puller of the zip fastener 18, it being impossible to separate the jaws of the clamp or open the zip fastener sufficiently to withdraw a garment from the bag without opening the lock or breaking the seal. The securing means may comprise a hook 30 provided on one jaw that engages an abutment 32 on the other jaw.

Description

BAG FOR TRANSPORTING GARMENTS

The present invention relates to a re-usable bag for transporting garments carried on hangers having suspension hooks, the bag being fitted with a zip fastener that extends from a neck of the bag and that may be opened to allow garments to be introduced into and removed from the interior of the bag, and the neck of the bag being formed as a clamp having two rigid jaws that are pivoted to one another at one end and are securable to one another at the other end to grip the suspension hooks of the hangers and thereby prevent a garment from being removed from the bag when the bag is closed.

In the clothing industry, garments often have to be moved in bulk between depots, for example from the manufacturer to a retailer, or from a central warehouse to individual retail outlets. Currently, a set of garments hanging from hangers on a rail is simply wrapped in a large polythene bag that is closed around the suspension hooks of the hangers. The bag protects the garments so that they should not be soiled in transit and keeps garments together so that none should fall out accidentally.

Wrapping garments in this manner, however, is not entirely satisfactory because the polythene bags are not reusable, and this results in a good deal of wastage.

GB Design Registration No. 2092249, shows a bag as set forth above which is a re-usable bag that can securely hold several garments in transit. The transportation bag can readily be fitted over several garments while they are suspended from a rail and it can be removed with equal ease.

However, the bag of GB Design Registration No. 2092249, does not offer adequate security against theft by individuals in charge of the bags in transit. It is

important to take steps to prevent such theft because a bag can be opened and then re-sealed after a garment has been removed from it. Because the receiving depot cannot count every single garment as it is being unloaded, if the number of garments delivered does not match the number on the accompanying documentation, this can go unnoticed.

The present invention seeks therefore to provide a bag as set forth above which additionally offers protection against theft.

According to the present invention, in a bag of the type set forth above, the means securing the two jaws of the clamp at the neck of the bag together are provided with aligned holes for receiving a lock or an indicative seal that additionally passes through an aperture in the puller of the zip fastener, it being impossible to separate the jaws of the clamp or open the zip fastener sufficiently to withdraw a garment from the bag without opening the lock or breaking the indicative seal.

In a preferred form of the invention, the securing means comprise a hook pivotably mounted on one jaw and engaging an abutment on the other jaw to prevent the jaws from being separated, insertion of a lock or indicative seal into the aligned holes serving to prevent the hook from being pivoted sufficiently to clear the abutment.

Though a secure padlock could be used to close each bag, it is easier and less expensive to employ an indicative seal. Such an anti-tamper seal will provide immediate evidence of opening of the bag or tampering with the clamp so that the receiving depot will be alerted to check the contents of the bag before signing for it. On the other hand, if the seal arrives intact, then it can be safely assumed that the bag contains all the garments that were placed in it by the sender.

It is preferred for the bag to be formed of a flat front panel and a flat rear panel of the same shape as the front panel connected by seams that extend around the entire periphery of each of these panels to side panels having a width equal to the length of the hinged jaws of the clamp.

The front and rear panels preferably have straight sides, a straight base and an upwardly convex top side. The clamp is conveniently arranged centrally at the top of the bag and the zip fastener preferably extends obliquely along the front panel from the clamp to a bottom corner.

The invention will now be described further by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a transportation bag of the invention, and Figure 2 is a detailed view of the clamp built into the neck of the bag in Figure 1.

In Figure 1, there is shown a bag 10 which is generally similar to the bag shown in Design Registration No. 2092249.

The bag 10 resembles the bags used to protect suits and dresses when hanging in cupboards but differs from such domestic bags in that it is much deeper and is intended to hold several rather than a single garment. The bag has a neck 12 that incorporates a clamp 14 shown in more detail in Figure 2 and a zip fastener 16 that extends from the base of the bag 10 to its neck 12. When the zip fastener is closed, the puller 18 of the zip fastener 16 lies at the neck of the bag adjacent the clamp 14. Unlike the bag shown in Design Registration No. 2092249. where the zip fastener is formed along a seam, the zip fastener 16 in the preferred embodiment of the invention is mounted obliquely on the front of the bag.

The clamp 14, which is shown separately in Figure 2 is formed of two jaws 20 and 22 pivoted to one another at one

end by means of a hinge 24. The mating surfaces of the jaws are formed with serrations or semi-circular cut-outs so that they may grip the suspension hooks of the clothes hangers carrying the garments in the bag.

The jaws are made of a plastics material and are to be secured to the flexible walls of the bag. To this end, the jaws have thin walled flange extensions 23 and 26 that are intended to be sewn to the fabric of the bags and holes 28 for rivets to provide additional security.

After the jaws 20 and 22 have been clamped around the suspension hooks of all the hangers carrying the garments, they are secured to one another by means of a hook 30 that is pivoted about the jaw 22 and engages an abutment 32 on the jaw 20. The jaw 20 is formed with two projecting ears 34 that straddle the hook 30 in the closed position of the clamp 14, the ears 34 being formed with aligned holes 40. If a padlock or an indicative seal is inserted in the holes 40, the hook 30 cannot be retracted from the abutment 32 and the jaws cannot be separated. If the padlock or indicative seal is additionally arranged to pass through a hole in the puller 18 of the zip fastener 16, the fastener is also prevented from being opened without leaving evidence of tampering.

In order to prevent tampering with the pivot pin 38 of the hook 30, the ears 34 have projecting covers 36 that straddle the ends of the pin 38 when the clamp is closed.

Furthermore, the hook 30 is desirably provided with a projecting finger 42 to overlie and protect from tampering the part of the indicative seal of padlock lying between the two holes 40.

Claims

1. A re-usable bag for transporting garments carried on hangers having suspension hooks, the bag being fitted with a zip fastener that extends from a neck of the bag and that may be opened to allow garments to be introduced into and removed from the interior of the bag, and the neck of the bag being formed as a clamp having two rigid jaws that are pivoted to one another at one end and are securable to one another at the other end to grip the suspension hooks of the hangers and thereby prevent a garment from being removed from the bag when the bag is closed, wherein the means securing the two jaws of the clamp at the neck of the bag together are provided with aligned holes for receiving a lock or an indicative seal that additionally passes through an aperture in the puller of the zip fastener, it being impossible to separate the jaws of the clamp or open the zip fastener sufficiently to withdraw a garment from the bag without opening the lock or breaking the indicative seal.

2. A bag as claimed in claim 1, wherein the catch comprises a hook pivotably mounted on one jaw and engaging an abutment on the other jaw, insertion of a lock or indicative seal into the aligned holes serving to prevent the hook from being pivoted sufficiently to clear the abutment.

3. A bag as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the bag to be formed of a flat front panel and a flat rear panel of the same shape as the front panel connected by seams that extend around the entire periphery of each of these panels to side panels having a width equal to the length of the hinged jaws of the clamp.

4. A bag as claimed in claim 3, wherein the front and rear panels have straight sides, a straight base and an upwardly convex top side.

5. A bag as claimed in claim 4, wherein the clamp is arranged centrally at the top of the bag and the zip fastener extends obliquely along the front panel from the clamp to a bottom corner.

6. A re-usable bag for transporting garments carried on hangers having suspension hooks, constructed substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.