Background of the invention

[0001] The invention relates to a protective bag for transporting plants, the protective bag having at least one bearing layer and at least one thermal insulation layer of polyethylene cellular plastic fastened to the bearing layer.

[0002] A protective bag intended for transporting flowers has an outer surface made of paper and forming the bearing layer of the protective bag and a thermal insulation layer made of polyethylene cellular plastic and fastened to the bearing layer of the protective bag at the seams of the protective bag. Inside the protective bag on top of the thermal insulation layer, a thin plastic film is arranged that is fastened to the protective bag at the seams and top edge thereof.

[0003] The thermal insulation layer of this protective bag protects the plant placed in the protective bag against temperatures outside the bag. However, this protective bag is easily damaged for instance when a potted plant is placed in the bag, in which case the pot may easily tear the plastic film and the thermal insulation layer below it, thus reducing the protective ability of the bag against temperature conditions outside thereof.

Brief description of the invention

[0004] It is an object of the invention to provide a novel and improved protective bag for transporting plants.

[0005] The protective bag of the invention is characterised in that the thermal insulation layer is fastened to the bearing layer by laminating the thermal insulation layer and bearing layer at least partly to each other.

[0006] The protective bag for transporting plants comprises at least one bearing layer and at least one thermal insulation layer made of polyethylene cellular plastic and fastened to the bearing layer by laminating the thermal insulation layer and bearing layer at least partly to each other.

[0007] When the bearing layer and thermal insulation layer of the protective bag are laminated at least partly to each other, that is, over at least part of the area or surface area between the bearing layer and thermal insulation layer, the thermal insulation layer can be fastened to the bearing layer so reliably that the thermal insulation layer cannot tear or break easily even when its surface has no specific material layer protecting it. [0008] According to an embodiment, the bearing layer and thermal insulation layer of the protective bag are laminated to each other entirely, that is, over the entire area or surface area between the bearing layer and thermal insulation layer. The larger the surface area over which the bearing layer and thermal insulation layer of the protective bag are laminated to each other, the stronger the fastening between the bearing layer and thermal insulation layer and the structure of the entire protective bag.

[0009] According to another embodiment, the bearing layer of the protective bag is made of a high-density or low-density plastic film, and by placing the bearing layer as the outer surface of the protective bag, a printable and waterproof outer surface of the protective bag is easily obtained.

Brief description of the figures

[0010] Some embodiments of the invention will be described in more detail in the attached drawings, in which

Figure 1 is a schematic side view of an unopened protective bag,

Figure 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the protective bag of Figure 1 cut along line A-A before the opposite sides of the protective bag are fastened to each other at the side edges of the protective bag,

Figure 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a second side of the protective bag of Figure 1 cut along line B-B before the opposite sides of the protective bag are fastened to each other at the side edges of the protective bag, and

Figure 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of another protective bag of Figure 1 cut along line A-A before the opposite sides of the protective bag are fastened to each other at the side edges of the protective bag.

[0011] In the figures, some embodiments of the invention are shown simplified for the sake of clarity. Similar parts are marked with the same reference numbers in the figures.

Detailed description of the invention

[0012] Figure 1 is a schematic side view of an unopened protective bag 1 , and Figure 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the protective bag 1 of Figure 1 cut along line A-A before the opposite sides of the protective bag 1 , that is, the first side 2 and the second side 3, are fastened to each other at their side edges 6 and 7. The protective bag 1 may be used to transport different plants, such as indoor plants or especially flowers. [0013] The protective bag 1 shown in Figure 1 has a bottom edge 4, a top edge 5 forming the openable mouth of the protective bag, a first side edge 6, that is, the left side edge 6 in Figure 1 , and a second side edge 7, that is, the right side edge 7 in Figure 1 . The first side 2 and second side 3 of the protective bag 1 connect the side edges 6 and 7, the second side 3 being behind the first side 2 in Figure 1 . In the manner shown schematically in Figure 2, both the first side 2 and the second side 3 are formed of a layered material made of two materials, that is, a bearing layer 8 and thermal insulation layer 9. The bearing layer 8 may be made of a high-density (HD) plastic film or a low- density (LD) plastic film, and the thermal insulation layer may be made of a polyethylene (PE) cellular plastic. The bearing layer may also be made of kraft paper or some other fibre-based material that may be coated with a waterproof material, for instance, if necessary. When made of said HD or LD plastic film, the bearing layer 8 is in itself of a waterproof and printable material so that text or patterns may be printed thereon, if necessary. The purpose of the bearing layer 8 is to receive or bear the weight of the flower(s) placed in the protective bag 1 .

[0014] The bearing layer 8 and thermal insulation layer 9 may be fastened to each other by lamination, for instance heat or glue lamination. The bearing layer 8 and thermal insulation layer 9 may be laminated to each other either partly, that is, over at least part of the area or surface area between the bearing layer 8 and thermal insulation layer 9, or entirely, that is, over the entire area or surface area between the bearing layer 8 and thermal insulation layer 9. The larger the surface area over which the bearing layer 8 and thermal insulation layer 9 of the protective bag 1 are laminated to each other, the stronger the fastening between the bearing layer 8 and thermal insulation layer 9 is so that the thermal insulation layer 9 cannot tear or break even when there is no specific material layer protecting the thermal insulation layer 9. In addition, the larger the surface area over which the bearing layer 8 and thermal insulation layer 9 of the protective bag 1 are laminated to each other, the easier the protective bag is to use and carry.

[0015] In the protective bag 1 of Figures 1 and 2, the bearing layer 8 and thermal insulation layer 9 are arranged such that the bearing layer 8 is the outside layer of the protective bag 1 and the thermal layer 9 is the inside layer of the protective bag 1 . When the bearing layer is arranged on the outside of the protective bag 1 , it is possible to print on the bearing layer for example the name of the company, from which the protective bag 1 has been acquired, or other advertisements. However, the bearing layer 8 and thermal insulation layer 9 can also be arranged such that the bearing layer 8 is the inside layer of the protective bag 1 and the thermal insulation layer 9 is the outside layer of the protective bag 1 .

[0016] In the protective bag 1 of Figure 1 , both sides have only one bearing layer 8 and only one thermal insulation layer 9, but both sides may also have more than one bearing layer 8 and thermal insulation layer 9. Thus, the protective bag 1 could have on both sides two bearing layers 8 and between them one thermal insulation layer 9, for instance, as shown in Figure 4, which is a schematic cross-sectional view of another protective bag of Figure 1 cut along line A-A of Figure 1 before the opposite sides of the protective bag are fastened to each other at the side edges of the protective bag.

[0017] When the protective bag 1 has a layer insulating heat, that is, a thermal insulation layer 9, made of PE cellular plastic, the protective bag 1 will efficiently protect a flower or other plant placed therein against cold or hot air outside the protective bag 1 and will, thus, prevent the freezing or wilting of the flower or other plant in the protective bag.

[0018] The protective bag 1 shown in Figures 1 and 2 may be made in such a manner, for example, that two separate material blanks that correspond to the size and shape of the sides 2 and 3 of the protective bag 1 and have both the bearing layer 8 and thermal insulation layer 9 are placed on top of each other such that the material layers intended to be inside the protective bag 1 are against each other as shown in Figure 2, and the material blanks corresponding to the sides 2 and 3 of the protective bag 1 are fastened to each other by heat sealing them at the bottom edge 4 and side edges 6 and 7 of the protective bag 1 .

[0019] The protective bag 1 shown in Figures 1 and 2 may also be made such, for instance, that from the material comprising the bearing layer 8 and thermal insulation layer 9 a material blank for the protective bag is cut having sections corresponding to the shape and size of both sides 2 and 3 of the protective bag 1 attached to each other, in other words, they are united at the location corresponding to the bottom edge 4 of the protective material 1 . The material blank may then be folded at the location corresponding to the bottom edge 4 of the protective bag 1 such that the sections corresponding to the sides 2 and 3 of the protective bag 1 come on top of each other so that the material layers intended to be inside the protective bag 1 are against each other as shown in Figure 2. The folding location or fold then forms the bottom edge 4 or bottom of the protective bag 1 . After this, the sides 2 and 3 of the protective bag 1 may be fastened to each other at their edges 6 and 7 by heat sealing. When the bottom edge 4 or bottom of the protective bag 1 is formed of said fold, the bottom of the protective bag 1 becomes very strong in comparison to a protective bag 1 bottom edge 4 or bottom formed by a seam.

[0020] The protective bag 1 of Figure 1 further has a carry handle 10 that is formed to the top part of the protective bag 1 at a distance from the top edge 5 of the protective bag 1 in the direction of the bottom edge 4 of the protective bag. The carry handle 10 is preferably formed as a hole through both sides 2 and 3 of the protective bag 1 , but could naturally also be a hole through either side 2 or 3 of the protective bag 1 . When the carry handle 10 is a hole through the sides 2 and 3 of the protective bag 1 , the carry handle 10 can be formed in the protective bag in a simple manner without needing to attach any extra pieces or parts to the protective bag 1 . In addition, the carry handle 10 is then surrounded by a section of the production material of the protective bag 1 , which also makes the carry handle very strong, especially if in the section or area surrounding the carry handle 10, the bearing layer 8 and thermal insulation layer 9 are laminated to each other.

[0021] Figure 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the protective bag 1 of Figure 1 cut along line B-B before the opposite sides of the protective bag 1 , that is, the first side 2 and the second side 3, are fastened to each other at their side edges 6 and 7. In Figure 3, the second side 3 of the protective bag 1 has, as earlier shown, a bearing layer 8 on the outside of the protective bag 1 and a thermal insulation layer 9 on the inside of the protective bag 1 . On the second side 3 of the protective bag 1 , an adhesive layer 12 made of glue, for example, and covered by a protective material 1 1 , such as paper, is further arranged on the thermal insulation layer 9. Said adhesive layer 12 is preferably positioned below the carry handle 10, in which case by removing the protective material 1 1 from the adhesive layer 12 and by pressing the sides 2 and 3 of the protective bag 1 against each other at the adhesive layer, the mouth of the protective bag 1 may be closed to prevent cold or hot air from entering the protective bag 1 through the mouth on its top edge 5. Instead of glue or another adhesive agent, the protective bag 1 may be closed using a re-closable latch arrangement, wherein the opposite sides 2 and 3 of the protective bag 1 have sections or closing elements that are shaped in such a manner that they settle tightly together when pressed against each other.

[0022] According to a dimensioning example, the bottom edge 4 of the protective bag 1 may be approximately 20 cm long and the top edge 5 of the protective bag 1 may be approximately 40 cm long, whereby the side edges 6 and 7 of the protective bag 1 are approximately 50 cm long. The protective bag 1 is then, as shown in Figure 1 , at its bottom end narrower than at its top end, whereby thanks to the wide top end, a flower or another plant may easily be placed through the mouth into the protective bag 1 and thanks to its narrow bottom end, the flower or another plant settles firmly upright in the protective bag 1 in such a manner that it cannot overturn when it is carried in the protective bag 1 . However, the protective bag 1 may in size and shape be implemented in many different ways.

[0023] In some cases, the features described in this application may be used as such, regardless of other features. On the other hand, the features described in this application may also be combined to provide various combinations as necessary.

[0024] The drawings and the related description are only intended to illustrate the idea of the invention. The invention may vary in its details within the scope of the claims.