Supports – Scuff plate or bumper
Patent
1997-01-10
1999-02-16
Braun, Leslie A.
Supports
Scuff plate or bumper
24489, 24495, 24547, 24546, 108 27, 206586, 206592, 206594, 428122, A47B 9500
Patent
active
058711945
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a hinged clip and fitted article, and relates in particular to a hinged clip usable as an edge protector for an article having opposed generally-parallel sides joined by a peripheral edge (herein referred to as an article), and to an article fitted with such an edge protector hinged clip.
A typical article to which an edge protector can usefully be fitted is a door, worktop, or tabletop, having edges of uniform thickness. However the edge protector, being formed as a hinged clip, will fit an article periphery which is not of uniform thickness e.g. one or both of the article sides can be contoured, for decorative or other purposes, for instance a plaster moulding or a banister.
Furthermore, though the articles mentioned in the previous paragraph are generally planar, and so are stackable, there are many non-planar yet stackable articles for which an edge protector also has utility.
Though the peripheral edge is usually the outer peripheral edge e.g. the outer periphery of a chipboard panel covered with a veneer of plastics sheeting, for certain applications an edge protector can be fitted to an article inner peripheral edge.
Any part of an article edge can be damaged. "Continuous" or "near-continuous" edge protection is thus desirable both for an article with a rounded outer periphery, such as a round tabletop, and for an article having a rectangular outer periphery, and thus with corners, such as the above-mentioned door.
BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION
Hinged clips are in widespread use, having arms with free ends resiliently biassed together and between which an article can be gripped, the other ends of the arms being squeezable towards one another so as to separate the free ends to permit release of the article. One use for a hinged clip is to self-secure to the edge of all article, to help protect the article edge from damage.
During or following manufacture, it is customary for several articles as referred to above to be laid horizontal and stacked one above another; alternatively they can be stacked on one edge, so as to be upstanding. The articles in the stack typically await removal to the next manufacturing stage or transfer into store ready for delivery to a customer.
During storage and transportation in particular, the peripheral edges of at least some articles of a stack can be damaged, reducing the value and perhaps utility of those damaged articles.
Even during subsequent delivery to a stockist or to the final customer, whether of a single article or of a stack of articles, article edges can be damaged.
It is desirable that the edge protector be of a material and design permitting a friction grip i.e. to the article opposed sides joined by the edge, so as to prevent inadvertent loss of the edge protector, as during single article transfer between locations, and so as to negate the need for separate attachments (which themselves may damage the article sides). Thus a hinged clip could provide a suitable edge protector.
If articles are manufactured in anticipation of later sales, then they are likely to be stacked in long-term storage. Using an edge protector having a (friction-grip) part which can be trapped between the sides of adjacent articles will however act to hold the article sides apart; if the friction-grip part is thick, fewer articles can be stacked in the height available, so that it is desirable that the edge protector be of "U-section" with at least the arms of the "U" formed from a single thickness material.
It will be understood that although a desired edge protector shape may readily nowadays be formed from a plastics material e.g moulded polystyrene or polyethylene, users are increasingly conscious of the environmental implications and the public reaction to long-term disposal problems, particularly for "one trip" packaging materials, and users have for some years been actively seeking environmentally acceptable alternatives. Further, in a technical area in which recycled or recyclable materials may easily be employed, many manu
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patent: 3300168 (1967-01-01), Gaudino
patent: 3701078 (1972-10-01), Lynch
patent: 4261091 (1981-04-01), Mulkins
patent: 4813107 (1989-03-01), Cetrone
patent: 5604011 (1997-02-01), Morley
Aston Packaging Limited
Barrett William A.
Baxter Gwendolyn
Braun Leslie A.
Hultquist Steven J.
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