Plastic bag roll

Abstract

A roll of plastic bags having integral handles which can also be used to close each bag. The bags are formed as a continuous web of folded and flattened bags each joined to a longitudinally contiguous bag by a perforated severance line. The handles are defined by a cut-out region so that separation of the bags is effected by tearing the line of perforations only across a relatively short length.

1 . A roll of plastic bags formed as a continuous web of folded and flattened bags each joined to a longitudinally contiguous bag by a perforated severance line, wherein:
 the web is formed from a tubular plastic strip having a central longitudinal axis;   the sides of the strip are tucked in to form two equal inward folds reducing the width of the strip by one half;   the reduced width strip is folded in half along the central longitudinal axis so that there are eight layers of plastic material;   the severance lines are parallel one to the other and are equally spaced along the strip;   the severance lines are orthogonal to the central longitudinal axis of the strip;   a pair of parallel heat seal lines flank each of the severance lines, wherein a first of the heat seal lines extends through all eight layers of the plastic material and a second of the heat seal lines is formed of two heat seal lines each of which extends through a respective four contiguous layers of the plastic material; and   there is a cut-out region through the eight layers which extends from the central longitudinal axis along each severance line a first predetermined distance and then substantially parallel to the central longitudinal axis a second predetermined distance past the second heat seal line and then back to the central longitudinal axis;   whereby each first heat seal line is effective to seal the bottom of a respective bag, and each cut-out region and respective adjacent second heat seal line is effective to form a pair of handles of a respective bag.   
   
   
       2 . The roll according to  claim 1  wherein the first predetermined distance is greater than one-half the width of the reduced width strip after it has been folded in half. 
   
   
       3 . The roll according to  claim 2  wherein the second predetermined distance is greater than the first predetermined distance. 
   
   
       4 . The roll according to  claim 1  wherein the two heat seal lines of the second heat seal line are co-linear. 
   
   
       5 . A plastic bag formed from a folded tubular plastic strip, comprising:
 a closed bottom end including a heat seal line extending through eight layers of folded plastic strip; and   an open top end having a pair of spaced handles each having a respective heat seal line extending through a respective four contiguous layers of folded plastic strip, the handles being separated by a cut-out region so that the handles extend past an opening in the top end of the bag.   
   
   
       6 . The plastic bag according to  claim 5  wherein the cut-out region is substantially rectangular.