CROSS REFERENCT TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Non-Provisional Patent Application No. 13/836,712, filed March 15, 2013, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 61,730,022, filed on November 26, 2012, the contents of each which are incorporated herein in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Many retail stores and other commercial establishments use coupons or other advertising materials to provide discounts or information to customers. The present invention is directed to consumer bags with such materials selectively positioned thereon.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0003] In one embodiment, the present invention includes a bag having a coupon affixed thereto. The bag, when in a closed configuration, defines a nonuniform thickness such that the bag has a thickest portion that is thicker than another portion of the bag. The bag includes two exterior faces, an open mouth end defined by the exterior faces, a sealed bottom end joining the exterior faces, and a coupon region on an exterior face of the bag. The coupon region has a thickness that is less than the thickest portion of the bag. The bag also includes a coupon removably affixed at the coupon region such that the thickness of the coupon region of the bag with the coupon affixed is substantially equal to or less than the thickest portion of the bag.

[0004] In another embodiment, the present invention includes a stack of a plurality of individual bags having a coupon affixed to at least twenty percent of the individual bags. The individual bags, when in a closed configuration and in the stack, define a nonuniform thickness and a thickest portion that is thicker than another portion of the bag stack. The individual bags of individual bags include two exterior faces, an open mouth end defined by the exterior faces, and a sealed bottom end joining the exterior faces. The individual bag also includes a coupon region on an exterior face of an individual bag, and the coupon region has a thickness that is less than the thickest portion of the individual bag. The stack further includes coupons removably affixed at the coupon region of at least twenty percent of the individual bags in the stack such that the thickness of the stack at the coupon region with the coupons affixed is substantially equal to or less than the thickest portion of the stack.

[0005] In still another embodiment, the present invention includes a stack of a plurality of individual bags having a coupon affixed to certain of the individual bags. The individual bags, when in a closed configuration and in the stack, define a nonuniform thickness and a thickest portion that is thicker than another portion of the bag stack. In addition, the individual bags include two exterior faces, an open mouth end defined by the exterior faces, and a sealed bottom end joining the exterior faces. Furthermore, the bags include a coupon removably affixed on an exterior face of one or more individual bags in the stack wherein such coupons are selectively located on such one or more individual bags such that the thickness of the stack where any coupons are located is substantially equal to or less than the thickest portion of the stack.

[0006] In still another embodiment, the present invention includes a stack of a plurality of individual bags having a coupon affixed to certain of the individual bags. The individual bags, when in a closed configuration and in the stack, define a nonuniform thickness and a thickest portion that is thicker than another portion of the bag stack. The individual bags include two exterior faces, an open mouth end defined by the exterior faces, and a sealed bottom end joining the exterior faces. In addition, coupons are removably affixed on respective exterior faces of one or more individual bags in the stack wherein the coupon is selectively located on such individual bags such that the thickness of the stack where any coupon is located is substantially equal to or less than the thickest portion of the stack.

[0007] The present invention may be better understood by reference to the description and figures that follow. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the specific details as set forth in the following description and figures. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention are better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0009] Fig. 1 is a front view of a bag with a coupon, wherein the bag is shown in a closed configuration, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[0010] Fig. 2 is an end view of the bag shown Fig. 1;

[0011] Fig. 3 A is a front view of the bag in Fig. 1 folded once in the length direction;

[0012] Fig. 3B is a front view of the folded bag of Fig. 3A having cross-hatched sections indicated for reference;

[0013] Fig. 4 is a front view of a bag with a coupon, wherein the bag is shown in a closed configuration and folded once in the length direction, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[0014] Fig. 5 is a front perspective view of a bag stack in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; [0015] Fig. 6 is an end view of a bag stack in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[0016] Fig. 7 is an end view of a bag stack in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[0017] Fig. 8A is an end view of a bag with a coupon affixed thereto; and

[0018] Fig. 8B is an end view of a bag stack in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[0019] Fig. 9 is an expanded perspective view of a bag stack in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and

[0020] Fig. 10 is an expanded perspective view of a bag stack in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

[0021] Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation, not limitation, of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope and spirit thereof. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment may be used on another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0022] Referring to Fig. 1, bag 100, which is illustrated as a t-shirt bag, is shown. As illustrated, bag 100 has an open mouth end 102 and a sealed bottom end 104 at opposing longitudinal ends. In some embodiments, sealed bottom end 104 may be formed by a heat seal. Bag 100 also includes faces 106 (with a front face shown and a rear face, not shown, on the rear side of the bag). Bag 100 also has laterally-spaced, upwardly extending handle portions 108. Each handle portion 108 may include an aperture portion 110 for mounting a bag or a stack of bags on a dispensing rack system. In addition, bag 100 includes a central tab 112 having a slit or aperture 114 for mounting the bag on a dispensing rack system. In some embodiments, central tab 112 may be integral to bag 100 while in other embodiments central tab 112 may be detachably connected to bag 100, such as by way of a perforation line or an aperture that separates central tab 112 from bag 100 upon tearing. As shown in Fig. 1, bag 100 also includes gussets 116, which have an inner gusset point 116'. Bag 100 is shown in a closed configuration in which the bag is not opened, i.e., front and rear faces 106 are back-to-back and the gussets are not open.

[0023] With further reference to Fig.1, bag 100 also has coupon 118 removably affixed to face 106. In some embodiments, the coupon may be a voucher for a discount, an advertisement, promotional material, material for a game contest, or any other externally mounted attachment. Coupon 118 may be made of any material, such as plastic, paper, or other suitable materials, including combinations thereof. Coupons may be affixed to bags of the present invention using any conventional techniques known in the art, such as adhesion. In addition, coupons of the present invention may be a single sheet or have a single layer in some embodiments. In other embodiments, coupons may have multiple layers or may be arranged in a fan-fold, or accordion, format. Coupons may optionally include tab 119, which may aid in removing a coupon from the face of a bag.

[0024] In some embodiments of the present invention, a coupon may be selectively positioned in a coupon region of a bag such that the coupon does not increase or, alternatively, substantially increase the maximum thickness of the bag when the bag is closed as compared to a bag without the coupon attached thereto. By way of example only, as shown in Fig. 2, the area between gussets 116 of the bag 100 has a thickness of two plies, and the gusseted areas have a thickness of four plies each. In this regard, the void area above the two-ply region as compared with the adjacent four-ply regions forms coupon region 120 (shown as the area demarcated by the dashed line in Fig. 2). As a result, a coupon that is less than or substantially equal to two plies of thickness may be placed in coupon region 120 such that the coupon region 120, after a coupon is applied, is not thicker, or in some embodiments not substantially thicker, than any other portion of the bag. By selectively placing a coupon in a coupon region in this manner, the thickness of the coupon can be "hidden" with respect to the overall thickness of a bag. It is to be understood that the 2-ply versus 4-ply embodiment is only an example and that various other arrangements (for example 5 -ply versus 3 -ply, 6-ply versus 2-ply, etc.) may be employed.

[0025] In some embodiments of the present invention, a bag, such as the T-shirt bag shown in Fig. 1, may be folded in the length direction, as shown in Fig. 3 A, such as for packaging the bags in cartons or for storing the bags. In such embodiments, an example of which is depicted in Fig. 3B using the 4-ply versus 2-ply exemplary arrangement, folded bag 100 has non-uniform thickness, including region A with eight plies, region B with four plies, region C with four plies, and region D with two plies (not including the coupon itself). Thus, region A represents the thickest portion of the bag. In this regard, due to the open area between the handles of the bags, the thickness of the coupon region is increased as compared with a non-folded bag. As a result, region B and/or C may serve as a coupon region for a coupon having a thickness substantially equal to or less than the thickness of four plies, and region D may serve as a coupon region for a coupon having a thickness substantially equal to or less than the thickness of six plies. In some embodiments, a coupon may extend over an entire coupon region, whereas in other embodiments, as shown in Fig. 3A, a coupon may only extend over a portion of a coupon region.

[0026] In an alternative embodiment, a coupon may overlap two regions of a bag. For example, in the embodiment shown in Fig. 4, coupon 118 may be selectively placed such that coupon 118 is partially overlapped by tab 112 of a folded T-shirt bag. In one such embodiment, coupon 118 may have a thickness that is substantially equal to or less than four plies of the exemplary bag such that the area in which the coupon is affixed does not exceed the maximum thickness of the bag at any other location without the coupon.

[0027] With reference again to Fig. 1, and by way of further illustration and without limitation, an exemplary bag of the present invention may have dimensions measuring about as follows:

A: 12 inches B: 3.5 inches C: 5 inches D: 22 inches E: 6 inches F: 7 inches In one embodiment, the thickness of a film layer of the bag may be at least about 0.0005 inches or at least l/6th of the coupon thickness. When a bag is folded in the length direction, as shown in Fig. 3, the bag may have folded dimensions of about 12 inches wide and about 11 inches long in some embodiments.

In one illustrative embodiment, a coupon may have a total thickness of about 0.003 inches. In some embodiments, the coupon size may be approximately 3.5 inches wide x 2.5 inches tall. In some embodiments, a coupon may be positioned in a coupon region of a bag such that the bottom edge of the coupon is about 2 inches above the bottom seal. In some embodiments, a coupon may be positioned with its bottom edge at least 0.5 inches above the bottom seal of a bag. [0028] In addition to individual bags, embodiments of the present invention include bag stacks, also called bag packs, in which a plurality of bags are joined, such as the exemplary bag stack 101 shown in Fig. 5. Bag stacks may be formed, by way of example and without limitation, as set forth in U.S. Patent No. 5,562,580, which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference thereto. Bag stacks may contain any number of bags and, in some exemplary embodiments, a bag stack may contain 50 bags or 100 bags. In some embodiments of the present invention, some or all of the bags in a bag stack may have a coupon thereon. In some embodiments, each bag in a bag stack may have a coupon thereon as described above. In alternative embodiments, every other bag or every third bag or every fourth bag in a bag stack may have a coupon affixed thereon as described above. In some embodiments, at least 20% of the bags in the bag stack have a coupon affixed. Bags in a bag stack of the present invention may have identical or varied coupons affixed thereto and different types of coupons maybe be employed on individual bags in the same stack.

[0029] Finally, in still further embodiments of the present invention, a plurality of adjacent (and, possibly, releasably interconnected as by way of a score line) bags of the present invention may be provided as a roll of bags, wherein some or all of the bags have a coupon affixed thereon as described above.

[0030] As illustrated in Fig. 6, a stack of bags may be formed by adjacent bags wherein some or all bags have a coupon selectively located in a coupon region. With respect to Fig. 6, ten bags having the same structure are adjacent in bag stack 101. Because each of coupons 118 are affixed to a bag 100 in a coupon region, bag stack 101 is not thicker at the location of the coupon in bag stack as compared with any other point in the bag stack. [0031] In alternate embodiments of bag stacks of the present invention, coupons 118 may only be applied to some bags in a bag stack. For example, Fig. 7 illustrates an exemplary embodiment in which bag stack 101 has ten bags 100 adjacent in the stack. In that depicted embodiment, coupons 118 are affixed in a coupon region of only two individual bags 100 in bag stack 101 (representing coupons on 20% of bags 100 in bag stack 101).

[0032] In alterative embodiments of the present invention, a coupon may be placed on a greater or smaller percentage of bags in a stack. In one embodiment, a coupon is selectively placed in the coupon region of a bag or the coupon region of a bag stack on at least about 50% of the bags in a stack. In one particular embodiment, a coupon may be placed on every other bag or every third bag in a bag stack. In other exemplary embodiments, a coupon may be placed in this manner on at least about 20%>, 25%, 30%, and 33% of individual bags in a bag stack.

[0033] In some embodiments, a coupon that is thicker than a coupon region for an individual bag may be selectively located in a bag stack such that the entire bag stack at the location of the affixed coupons does not have a thickness that is greater than the maximum thickness of the bag stack at any other point. For example, Fig. 8 A illustrates bag 100 having coupon 118 that is thicker than the void space of coupon region 120 of bag 100. Fig. 8B illustrates bag stack 102 having a plurality of bags 100. In the depicted embodiment, five bags have a coupon affixed that is thicker than the coupon region for the individual bag to which the coupon is attached (as illustrated in Fig. 8A for a single bag). By selectively locating such thicker coupons 118 in the coupon region of individual bags and by including coupons 118 on less than all of bags 100 in bag stack 101, bag stack 101 is not thicker at the location of coupons 118 than the thickest portion of bag stack 101. As such, in some embodiments of the present invention, coupons may have a thickness that is greater than the coupon region of a single bag and still not increase the thickness of a bag stack.

[0034] In an alternative embodiment of a bag stack of the present invention, coupons that are thicker than an individual bag's coupon region may be selectively located on individual bags such bag stack at the location of any coupons is not thicker than any other portion of the bag stack. By way of example, Fig. 9 illustrates an exemplary exploded view of a stack of three bags 10. As shown in Fig. 9, coupons 118 are located in a staggered orientation on adjacent bags. In this regard, the selective placement of coupons 118 on bags 100 may allow for coupons that are thicker than a coupon region for an individual bag without increasing the overall thickness of a bag stack. In particular, in the embodiment shown in Fig. 9, the thickness of the coupons in the bag stack is alternated instead of being located in the same portion of each bag in the bag stack, thereby relatively reducing the overall thickness of the bag stack at the locations of the coupons as compared with a bag stack without a staggered orientation of coupons.

[0035] In alternative embodiments, more than two staggered coupon placement locations may exist for bags within a bag stack. In some embodiments, coupons are staggered in two, three, or four coupon locations. In still other embodiments, coupons may be staggered in other patterns, such as shown the alternating pattern shown in Fig. 10. In some embodiments of bag stacks with staggered coupons, coupons may be located on less than all of the bags in the bag stack, such as discussed above.

[0036] As indicated above, bags may be folded in the length direction, such as for shipping and packaging. In some embodiments, bags may be joined together in a bag stack, and then the bag stack may be folded over in the length direction. In this manner, the thickness of coupon regions for individual bags in the bag stack may be increased for certain bags, such as t-shirt bags, as previously discussed for an individual bag with reference to Fig. 3A and Fig. 3B.

[0037] Bags of the present invention may be manufactured by processes known to one of ordinary skill in the art, such as those described in U.S. Patent No. 5,562,580, which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference thereto. Bags of the present invention may be comprised of any suitable materials, including polyethylene, paper, or other materials that would be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.

[0038] Coupons may be applied to bags of the present invention by any suitable process known in the industry. In some embodiments, a coupon may be applied by peeling or removing a label from a lining and then rolling or blowing the coupon onto the bag surface. In other embodiments, an adhesive may be applied to a coupon and/or a bag prior to affixing a coupon. The coupon may be applied directly to the bag in some embodiments, and in other embodiments the coupon may be placed on a liner on the bag.

[0039] Although the foregoing examples are shown with respect to T-shirt bags, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the invention may also be used on other types of bags, such as, but not limited to, produce bags in a stack, produce bags on a roll, shopping bags on a roll, and other bag types.

[0040] In some embodiments, the present invention also includes embodiments for a plurality of bag stacks arranged in a carton. For example, bag stacks of the present invention may be folded in half and stored in a carton, such as a box, for shipping or storage. In some instances, such bag stacks may be alternated (such as with one folded bag stack having its mouth end facing in one direction and an adjacent folded bag stack having its mouth end facing in the opposite direction). In addition, some bag stacks may have increased thickness at the location of a heat seal, such that such an alternating pattern may create additional space between bag stacks to "hide" a thicker area of a bag stack at which one or more coupons are applied to bags. Thus, such an arrangement may alleviate or reduce within the plurality of bag stacks any extra thickness of an individual bag stack that is formed by one or more coupons with the individual bag stack. In other words, to the extent one or more coupons within a bag stack create a "bump" in the bag stack, the alternating arrangement of bag stacks in a carton may "hide" the bump.

[0041] The foregoing description of illustrative embodiments of the invention has been presented only for the purpose of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Numerous modifications and adaptations thereof will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0042] It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find utility in applications differing from the types described. While the invention has been illustrated and described in the general context of mixing in wastewater treatment systems and processes, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown since various modifications and substitutions can be made without departing in any way from the spirit and scope of the present invention. As such, further modifications and equivalents of the invention herein disclosed may occur to persons skilled in the art using no more than routine experimentation, and all such modifications and equivalents are believed to be within the spirit and scope of the invention as described herein.