Drying and gas or vapor contact with solids – Apparatus – Supports
Reexamination Certificate
2002-03-18
2004-01-13
Rinehart, K. B. (Department: 3749)
Drying and gas or vapor contact with solids
Apparatus
Supports
C034S103000, C034S104000, C248S095000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06675493
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for holding plastic bags for drying.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of bag dryers is known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,012,687 to Head discloses a plastic bag holding device for holding open a plastic bag while it is being filled where the device comprises a base and pegs inserted therein.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,244 to Hollstegge discloses a drying rack for freezer bags including a support base, a plurality of rods and a head member where a bag to be dried is placed over the head member in an inverted position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,641,137 to Collier discloses a bag dryer having a plurality of dowel pairs attached to a base at one end and rotatably joined with a rivet to from an “X” configuration.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,080,237 to Hefner discloses a holder for washing and drying bags having a frame with two arms pivotally joined at their ends.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,295,694 to Nejezchleb et al. discloses a drying rack for plastic bags including a tray and a plurality of bag-supporting members mounted on the tray where the members are substantially U-shaped.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 243,313 to Varnado discloses a drying rack for gloves including a base and cylindrical rods inserted therein.
While the above-described devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a bag dryer with dowels inserted into a series of interconnected sockets in a base, the dryer being adjustable to accommodate different size bags. The Head patent provides for placement of a plastic bag on four pegs, where only the position of one peg is adjustable. Further, in the teachings of the Head patent, the bag is held in an upright position, and such a position would not be effective for drying a washed plastic bag. Neither the Hollstegge, Hefner, Varnado, nor Nejezchleb patents provide for placement of a bag over two dowels for drying. The Collier patent provides dowels fixedly placed in a base and rotatable about a fixed axis but does not provide adjustment to accommodate different size bags by placement of dowels in different interconnected sockets in the base.
Therefore, a need exists for a new and improved bag dryer, which can be used to dry several size plastic bags and/or a dishrag simultaneously. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need. In this respect, the bag dryer according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of drying plastic bags.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of bag dryers now present in the prior art, the present invention provides an improved bag dryer, and overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages and drawbacks of the prior art. As such, the general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new and improved bag dryer which has all the advantages of the prior art mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a protective which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by the prior art, either alone or in any combination thereof.
To attain this, the one embodiment of the holder for drying at least one bag of the present invention essentially comprises: a base having series of interconnected sockets; and at least two dowels, each dowel having a pair of opposite ends and a length extending between the ends, one of said ends being smooth and rounded, to accommodate a bag without tearing or puncturing thed bag and the opposite end being inserted into the sockets of the base, wherein the dowels are positioned within the base so that when a bag is placed over the dowels, an air space between the bag and the base permits air drying of the interior and exterior of the bag and the dowels may be positioned in different sockets of the base to accommodate different size bags.
A second embodiment of the holder for drying at least one bag of the present invention essentially comprises: a base having series of interconnected sockets; at least two dowels, each dowel having a pair of opposite ends and a length extending between the ends, one of said ends being smooth and rounded, to accommodate a bag without tearing or puncturing said bag and the opposite end being hollow; a spring and spring support to be placed between the sockets of the base and the hollow end of the dowel when the dowels are placed into the sockets of the base.
A third embodiment of the holder for drying at least one bag of the present invention is presented wherein at least two dowels of the holder further comprise a slot extending inward from the smooth and rounded end and the holder further comprises a horizontal attachment placed within the slots of the dowels.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated.
The invention may also include variations of the bag dryer. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims attached.
Numerous objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description of presently preferred, but nonetheless illustrative, embodiments of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In this respect, before explaining the current embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of descriptions and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved bag dryer that has all of the advantages of the prior art protective coatings and none of the disadvantages.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved bag dryer which may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed.
It is further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved bag dryer which is of a durable and reliable construction.
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved bag dryer which is susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such bag dryer economically available to the buying public.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new bag dryer which provides in the apparatuses and methods of the prior art some of the advantages thereof, while simultaneously overcoming some of the disadvantages normally associated therewith.
Even still another object of the present invention is to provide a bag dryer that features a dowel design to hold a washed bag upside-down and in an open position thereby allowing water to drain from the bag to permit drying of the
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