or sho d the purchased goods are ackaged into e hagis) t ich the consumer has provided. The main disadvaotag s with these ags Is that their manufacture can be. expensive and labo intensive, whic s often a deterrent for both retailers and consumers t adopt such an alternative option. Accordingly, h re remains a need for less expensive, more us ful, and more environmentally friendly reusable bags.

In this specification,, the term "comprises^ "comprising" or similar terms are intended to mean a non-exeiusive Inclusion, sueh that a reusable bag that comprises a list of elements does not include those elements solely, but may well nclude other elements not listed.

It is a preferred object of the present invention to provide a reusable bag, that addresses or at least ameliorates one or more of the aforementioned problems of the prior art and or provides a consumer with a useful or commercial choice.

SUMMARY. OF THE INVENTION

Generally, embodiments of the present invention relate to a reusable bag.

According to one aspect, although not necessarily the broadest aspect:, the present: invention resides in a reusable bag comprising:. a body portion bavlng at least one side wail and a bottom wall defining a storage space therebetween with an opening at a top of th bod portion; and

at feast one repair patch having an adhesive inner surface to enable the at least one repair patc to fee applied over a tear In the reusable hag to enable the bag to be reused,

Preferabl , the a! least one repair patch Is the same colour as the reusable bag.

Suitably, the at least one repai patch can be provide on an outer surface of the foedy portion of the reusable bag until ready lor use.

Suitably, the reusabl carr ag comprises at least one direct repair patch.

Suitably, the direct repair patch is directly attached to the reusable bag via a lightweight glue adhesive which is applied to an inner surface of the direct repair patch and/or the outer surface of th reusable bag to hold the direct repair patc on the body portion of the bag until ready for use.

Suitably, the reusable carry bag comprises at least one indirect repai patch,.

Suitably, the indirect repair patch Is indirectly attached to the reusable bag via an adhesiv strip of which first adhesive side of the adhesive strip is attached to the outer surface of the reusable bag, and a second smoot side of th adhesive strip is adapted to enable an adhesive inner surface of the: indirec repair patch to b reieasahly attached thereto to hold the indirect repair patch o the body portion of the bag mf ready for use.

Suitably, removabl sealing layer ca be applied to the adhesive Skilled addressees: will appreciate that elements in the drawings are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily b en drawn lo scale. For example,; the relative dimensions of som of the elements in the dr wings may be distorted to help improve understand iftg of embodiments of the present Invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to a reusable bag. For convenience sake, the reusable bag will fee described herein as a reusabl carry bag for collecting and transporting items, such as products purchased in a grocery or retail store. The present invention can also be applied to a reusable container in the form of a cardboard box which will operate in the sam manner. It will b appreciated that variations may need to be made as required.

Referring to Fig 1 , a reusable carry bag 100 is provided in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. According to some embodiment of the invention, the reusable carry bag 100 is made of a paper or cardboard material In an alternate embodiment, it i envisaged that the material may have a protective coating applied to on or both side of the material to protect the bag from exposure to liquids; spills, condensate, wet weather or th like. However, it is envisaged that any suitable material such as plastic, biodegradable non-wove materials could also be adopted.

The reusable bag 100 comprises a body portion 110 for carrying .<v¾

one or more items therein. According to some embodiments, the body portion comprises at least one side wall 111 and a bottom wail 112. The side wall(s) 111 and bottom wall 112 are joined together along their adjacent edges 113 to define a storage space therebetween with an opening: 120 at a top of the bod portion 110. A preferred box-like shape for the reusable bag 10Q is illustrates} ^' in FIG 1 comprising four side walls 111 In an alternative embodiment, ft Is e visaged that the side walls 111 and bottom waif 112 of the body portion 110 may be integrally formed together f om a single piece of material.

The reusable bag 100 is sized to hold the contents of a conventional grocery shopping bag. However, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the body portion 110 can have various shapes and sizes depending o the intended use of the end product. It is envisaged that one skilled in the art can design any number of body configurations according the present Invention hearing in mind the limitations and advantages of the materials used and the intended us© of the reusable bag .

The reusable carry bag 100 com ri es at least one repair patch ^' 200. The at least one repair pafoh 200 is preferably the same colour as the reusable bag 100. It will be acknowledged that th repair patches can be provided in any suitabl shapes or sizes to repair different sections of the bag for example, vertical and horizontal strips and corner patches. ■Referring; to FIG 1 , the reusabl carry bag 100 comprises at least one direct repair patch 210, The at least on direct repai patch 210 ca be provided on an outer surface 101 of th body portion 1 © of the reusable bag 100. The direct repair atch 210 is directly attached to the reusable bag 100 via a lightweight glue adhesive which is applied to an inner surface 211 of the direct repair patch 210 and/or the outer surface 101 of the reusabl bag 100 to hold the direct repair patch 210 on the body portion 1 0 of the reusable bag 100 until ready for use. Due to the properties of the lightweight giue adhesive, to use the direct re air patch 210, the direct repair patch 210 ca simply be pulled away from the bod portion 110 of the reusable bag 100 and be attached to another position on the body portion 110 over tear or hp 102 in the bag to repair the reusable bag 100 and thus, enable the bag 100 to be reused multiple limes instead of being thrown away , as illustrated in FIG 2.

Referring to FIC3 3, the reusable carry bag 100 comprises at least one indirect repair patch 220. The at least one indirect repair patch 220 can be provided on an outer surface 101 of the body portion 110 of the reusa le bag 00. The indirect repair patch 220 Is indirectl attached to the reusable bag 100 via a adhesive strip 230 of which a first adhesive side 231 of the adhesive strip 230 which is attached to the oute surface 181 of the reusable bag 100, and a second smooth side 232 of the adhesiv strip 230 is adapted to enable an adhesive inner surface 221 of the indirect repair patch 220 to be refeasably attached thereto to hold the indirect repair patch 220 on the body portion 110 of trie bag 100 until ready for ose. To use the indirec repair patch 220, the indirect repair patch 220 can be pu!ied away from the adhesiye strip 230 and attached to another position on the body portion 110 over a tea or rip in the bag to repair the reusable bag 100 and enable the bag 100 to be reused multiple times Instead of eing thrown away. In a further embodiment, a removable sealing layer 240 can be applied to the adhesive inner surface 221 of the indirect repai patc 220 to provide a seal for the adhesive until the indirect repair patch 220 is required for use. in this embodiment the indirect repair patob{§} 220 can be provided as separate pieces to th reusable hag 100 instead of being attached to the bag 100 and stored in pocket 140 provided on an interior of the reusable bag 100, as illustrated in FiG 4. The repair patches 21 , 220 will also provide additional structural integrity and strength for the reusable bag 100.

According to some embodiments, at least one handle, and preferably a pair of bandies 130 is provided tor carrying the reusable bag 00. The pair o handles 130 is attached by an end of the pai of handles 131 to the top end 114 of the body portio 110, The pair of handles 13 can be attached via an adhesive, stitching or any other suitable fastening means enabling permanent attachment In a further embodiment of the present invention, if is envisaged that the handles 130 could: have an adjustable length to be shorter or longer as required.

in a furt er embodiment, it is envisaged that the reusable bag 100 could have at least one printable area 1 S0 for displaying a company logo 151. advertising or any ether suitable: information.

Hence, the reusabl bag provide a solution to the aforementioned problems: of the prior art by providing a reusable carry bag for collecting and transporting: items, such as products purchased in a grocery or retail store. The present invention enables a consumer to easily repair the bag/container and enable it to be reused without having to throw it away. The present invention is cheap and easy to manufacture in comparison to reusable bags currently in the market and can be readily adopted by retailers and consumers.

The reference to any prior art in this specification is and should not be taken as, an acknowledgment or any form or suggestion that the prior art forms pari of the common genera! knowledge in any country.

Throughout the specification the aim has been to describe the invention without limiting the inventio to any one embodiment or specific collection of features. Persons skilled in the relevant art may realize variations from the specific embodiments that will nonetheless fall within the scope of the invention.