Agitating – Operator supported
Reexamination Certificate
2001-02-06
2003-02-25
Soohoo, Tony G. (Department: 1723)
Agitating
Operator supported
C206S219000, C206S568000, C383S004000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06523989
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to a storage container adapted to store a flowable substance and to be reconfigured to form an apparatus that is adapted to manually mix the contents of the container with other substances.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the agricultural, building materials, and manufacturing fields, it has become standard practice to supply consumers of such materials with flowable substances contained in conveniently sized containers, including bags, that are adapted for ease of use, storage, transportation, and handling. Such containers and bags may be sized so that the consumer is not unduly burdened with a bag that is too heavy or too unwieldy in size to enable easy, single person use and movement. Most commonly, containers and bags of such materials may be sized so that the contents are apportioned into predetermined volumetric and/or weight ranges. For example, containers and bags of soil, seed, feed, or powdered cementitious materials may be made available, for example, in predetermined amounts of 20, 40, 80, 100, and 120 pounds, or in volumetric equivalents established in units of cubic feet and/or yards.
Such bulk agricultural materials include not only compost, soil, fertilizer, seed, feed, and powdered building materials such as cement and concrete, but can also include rice, wheat, barley, rye, coffee, soy, nuts, and other food stuffs that may be in any of a variety of forms including full grains, dehusked grains, crushed and dehusked grains, milled grains, and powdered grist. Other types of bulk building materials include cellulosic insulation, cementitious materials, and powered concrete and mortar compositions. In the manufacturing industry, many types of flowable substances are made available in various sized containers and bags. Such substances include, for example, plastic pellets and additives used for plastic injection molding, abrasives used in polishing and abrading applications, chemical compositions and substances (including, for example, soaps, bleaches, chlorine, salts, and other fluid treatment compounds), powdered metals and additives for use in powder metallurgy applications, and powdered lubricants, just to name a few. In yet other applications, the present invention is also compatible for use with gelatinous materials such as what is commonly referred to as naval jelly, which is used for removing rust and other corrosion products from metal surfaces. In this latter example, the storage and mixing apparatus according to present invention can be configured to store and transport the gelatinous, substantially flowable substance, and to be reconfigured into a treatment basin for treating the corroded parts with the naval jelly. This latter configuration is also compatible for use in military environments that use any of a variety of biological, chemical, and radiation decontamination bulk materials. Here again, the substantially flowable bulk substance or material can be easily stored and handled within the container, and then exposed as the container is unfolded and reconfigured into a treatment basin, wherein soldiers and other personnel may step into or place objects into the basin for decontamination of the apparel, work, and combat gear that may have been exposed to biological, chemical, and nuclear warfare hazardous materials.
In all applications that involve flowable substances, there is often a need to mix the flowable contents of the container or bag with another material, substance, or composition before use. In yet other applications, there is a need to treat objects with or expose them to the substantially flowable substance or bulk material. Often times, there is no readily available mixing apparatus to facilitate easy and convenient mixing or a treatment basin. This is particularly true for consumers of, for example, small quantities such as 1, 2, or 3 containers or bags of the flowable substance. For purposes of illustration, a consumer of grass seed may need to mix the seed with a fertilizer before application to a lawn; a consumer of corn feed stock may need to mix it with an antibiotic and a nutritive additive before feeding livestock; rice may need to be mixed with water before cooking; flour or wheat may need to be mixed with sugar and baking soda before adding water; concrete, mortar, or cement may need to be mixed with water before transfer of the mixture to a mold; color pigments may need to be added to the plastic pellets before transfer to a molding machine; and special alloying materials may be added to the base metal powder before forming, sintering, and extrusion. As those with skill in the art can appreciate, this list includes many other applications.
In all such applications, there has long been a need to provide the consumer with an easy to use, inexpensive, and convenient means for not only storing and handling such flowable substances, but also for mixing the substances. This is especially true for situations where only a small quantity of the flowable substance is to be consumed and use of large, automated mixing machines is inefficient and economically unwarranted. This can be true in applications where a container or bag of flour is to be mixed and prepared for distribution and cooking in an emergency aid environment, where help is rendered to victims of an earthquake, flood, or famine, and where mixing equipment for foodstuffs may not be available. This can also be true for small factories that employ only limited use of powder metallurgy technology or plastic injection molding applications. It is also true for consumers engaged in preparing small quantities of concrete, cement, grout, mastic, or mortar for use in constructing, for example, small garden stone walls, walkways, or footings for fence posts.
In each of the noted applications and situations, cumbersome and expensive automated mixing equipment is generally unjustifiable. Some attempts have been made to address the need for an improved means for storing, handling, and mixing flowable substances. One such attempt at improving the state of the art of mixing devices has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,636 to Payne. However, Payne's invention is limited to a sheet of flexible material arranged with a planar skirt that surrounds a basin having a bottom that is below and parallel to the skirt. Payne does not disclose any means of folding or otherwise adapting his device for storage of the dry ingredients he contemplates therein. Moreover, to actually function for its intended purpose, Payne's mixing mat is necessarily limited to being formed from a flexible sheet of material to include a basin with integrally formed vertical sides. It also includes an integrally formed skirt, which does not have compatibility with and which is not an efficient configuration for many of the applications and situations present in the myriad preceding examples.
What has been needed but heretofore unavailable, is an apparatus that not only easily accommodates a wide variety of mixing applications, but which can also be adapted without undue burden to facilitate storage, transfer, and handling of various flowable substances in a cost-effective and easy to use manner. Moreover, the preferred apparatus should be easily adapted to perform well with any of the aforementioned substances and in all of the attendant mixing situations described above and contemplated herein.
The present invention meets these and other needs without adding any complexity, inefficiencies, or significant costs to storage, handling, and mixing of widely available bulk materials and flowable substances such as and including those mentioned above. The various embodiments of the present invention disclosed herein are readily adapted for ease of manufacture, low fabrication costs, and immediate compatibility with both the container filling equipment and flowable substances presently in use.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
In its most general sense the present invention overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art in any of a number of generally effective configurations. In one of the p
Casey Sean M.
Soohoo Tony G.
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