Flexible, self-supporting storage bag with hinged, framed closure

Abstract

A flexible storage bag comprising at least one sheet of flexible sheet material assembled to form a semi-enclosed container having an opening defined by a hinged peripheral flange. The hinged flange includes a closure means for sealing the opening to convert the semi-enclosed container to a closed container. The bag includes at least one pair of opposed gussets formed in the sheet material extending in a direction normal to the opening and a substantially planar bottom extending in a direction substantially parallel to the opening. When the bottom is placed on a horizontal surface the container is self-supporting and maintains the opening in an open condition. The present invention also provides a flexible storage bag having an opening and a closure means for sealing the opening to convert the semi-enclosed container to a closed container. The closure means comprises a strip of material forming at least a portion of the periphery of the opening having a first side facing inwardly toward the opening and a second side facing outwardly of the opening. The first side exhibits an adhesion peel force after activation by a user which is greater than an adhesion peel force exhibited prior to activation by a user. Accordingly, the flexible storage bags of the present invention combine the desirable qualities of both flexible bags and storage containers and minimize the less desirable qualities of both approaches by providing improved sealability, facilitating venting of trapped air before closure, being self-supporting in an open condition for filling, storing easily by folding into a compact form and being unitarily constructed from inexpensive materials to promote disposability and obviate the need for separate closure devices.