Tamper evident delivery bag and method therefor

Abstract

A tamper evident sealable plastic bag having front and rear walls terminating into front and rear flaps with handle openings at the mouth end of the bag and forming a holding cavity at a bottom closed end thereof. The side edges of the bag below the flap region are sealed. An adhesive closure system positioned below the flap region extends laterally from one side edge of the bag to another that can be deployed by removing a protective liner covering an adhesive strip for substantially closing off the mouth end of the bag thus providing improved security and tamper resistance. The bag can be opened by tearing along a perforated line. The bag walls include a plurality of slits for venting steam emanating from hot foods. In embodiments, tear initiation slits are utilized in tandem with perforations to provide a convenient method for opening the bag.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A tamper resistant bag comprising:
 a first wall having a first interior surface, said first wall terminating into a first flap at a top end of the bag, said first flap including a first handle opening;   a second wall having a second interior surface, said second wall terminating into a second flap at said top end of the bag, said second flap including a second handle opening, said first and second handle openings being configured for carrying the bag;   said first and second walls being disposed in an opposing relationship with said first and second interior surfaces being mutually proximate at least when said bag is in a flat configuration, said first and second flaps forming a mouth portion at said top end of the bag, said first and second walls forming a closed bottom end of the bag distal to said top end of the bag;   a first side edge connecting said first and second walls and defining a first extremity of the bag; a second side edge connecting said first and second walls and defining a second extremity of said bag; said first and second walls connected at said first and second side edges in cooperation with said closed bottom end of the bag forming a holding cavity within the bag, said holding cavity being accessible by separating said first and second flaps and opening said mouth portion of the bag;   an adhesive closure comprising an adhesive strip and a protective liner covering the adhesive strip, said adhesive closure extending laterally from said first side edge to said second side edge and applied to one of the first and second interior surfaces; said adhesive closure being configured for closing off the mouth portion of the bag when the protective liner covering the adhesive strip is removed and the adhesive strip bonds the first and second interior surfaces in an edge-to-edge sealed configuration;   a tear section disposed proximately below said adhesive closure along at least one of said first and second walls.   
     
     
         2 . The bag according to  claim 1 , wherein said adhesive closure is applied to said first interior surface. 
     
     
         3 . The bag according to  claim 1 , wherein said adhesive closure is applied to said second interior surface. 
     
     
         4 . The bag according to  claim 1 , wherein said tear section is disposed along said first wall. 
     
     
         5 . The bag according to  claim 1 , wherein said tear section is disposed along said second wall. 
     
     
         6 . The bag according to  claim 1 , wherein said tear section is only disposed along one of said first and second walls. 
     
     
         7 . The bag according to  claim 1 , wherein said adhesive closure is applied to said first interior surface and said tear section is disposed along said second wall. 
     
     
         8 . The bag according to  claim 1 , wherein said adhesive closure is applied to said second interior surface and said tear section is disposed along said first wall. 
     
     
         9 . The bag according to  claim 1 , wherein said tear section comprises a plurality of perforations. 
     
     
         10 . The bag according to  claim 1 , wherein said tear section comprises a plurality of perforations and at least one initiation slit. 
     
     
         11 . The bag according to  claim 1 , wherein at least one vent is provided in one of said first and second walls. 
     
     
         12 . The bag according to  claim 11 , wherein said at least one vent is arcuate. 
     
     
         13 . The bag according to  claim 1 , wherein said closed bottom end comprises a gusset. 
     
     
         14 . The bag according to  claim 1 , wherein said holding cavity is configured for retaining a tamper sensitive item in the bag. 
     
     
         15 . The bag according to  claim 1 , wherein said tear section is configured for guiding a breach in said edge-to-edge sealed configuration for retrieving a tamper sensitive item from the holding cavity of the bag. 
     
     
         16 . The bag according to  claim 1 , wherein said adhesive closure is configured for an on-demand deployment by removing said protective liner and bringing said first and second interior surfaces together. 
     
     
         17 . The bag according to  claim 1 , wherein said tear section comprises a slit section disposed in tandem with a perforated section. 
     
     
         18 . A tamper resistant bag comprising:
 a first wall having a first handle opening disposed at a top mouth end of the bag, said first wall comprising a first interior surface;   a second wall having a second handle opening disposed at the top mouth end of the bag, said second wall comprising a second interior surface,   said first and second walls being disposed in an opposing relationship with said first and second interior surfaces being contiguous at least when said bag is in a flat configuration, said first and second handle openings at the top mouth end of the bag being aligned for carrying the bag; said first and second walls forming a closed bottom end of the bag distal to said top mouth end of the bag;   a first side edge connecting said first and second walls and defining a first extremity of the bag; a second side edge connecting said first and second walls and defining a second extremity of the bag; said first and second walls connected at said first and second side edges in cooperation with said closed bottom end of the bag forming a holding cavity within the bag, said holding cavity being accessible by separating said first and second walls and opening said top mouth end of the bag;   an adhesive closure comprising an adhesive strip and a protective liner covering the adhesive strip, said adhesive closure extending laterally from said first side edge to said second side edge and applied to the first interior surface; said adhesive closure being configured for closing off said top mouth end of the bag when the protective liner covering the adhesive strip is removed and the adhesive strip bonds the first and second interior surfaces in an edge-to-edge sealed configuration;   a tear section disposed proximately below said adhesive closure along at least one of said first and second walls.   
     
     
         19 . The bag according to  claim 18 , wherein said tear section is disposed along said first wall. 
     
     
         20 . The bag according to  claim 18 , wherein said tear section is disposed along said second wall. 
     
     
         21 . The bag according to  claim 18 , wherein said tear section is only disposed along one of said first and second walls. 
     
     
         22 . The bag according to  claim 18 , wherein said tear section is disposed along said first and second walls. 
     
     
         23 . The bag according to  claim 18 , wherein said tear section comprises a plurality of perforations. 
     
     
         24 . The bag according to  claim 18 , wherein said tear section comprises a plurality of perforations and at least one initiation slit. 
     
     
         25 . The bag according to  claim 18 , wherein at least one vent is provided in one of said first and second walls. 
     
     
         26 . The bag according to  claim 18 , wherein one of said first and second side walls comprises a plurality of vents. 
     
     
         27 . The bag according to  claim 18 , wherein said closed bottom end comprises a gusset. 
     
     
         28 . The bag according to  claim 18 , wherein said holding cavity is configured for retaining a tamper sensitive item in the bag. 
     
     
         29 . The bag according to  claim 28 , wherein said tamper sensitive item is at least one of a food and a drink. 
     
     
         30 . The bag according to  claim 18 , wherein said tear section is configured for guiding a breach in said edge-to-edge sealed configuration for retrieving a tamper sensitive item from the holding cavity of the bag. 
     
     
         31 . The bag according to  claim 18 , wherein said adhesive closure being capable of an on-demand deployment by removing said protective liner and bringing said first and second interior surfaces together. 
     
     
         32 . The bag according to  claim 18 , wherein said tear section comprises a slit section disposed in tandem with a perforated section. 
     
     
         33 . The bag according to  claim 18 , wherein said tear section comprises a plurality of slit sections disposed along a perforated section. 
     
     
         34 . The bag according to  claim 33 , wherein each of said plurality of slit sections have an arcuate shape.