Manufacturing container or tube from paper; or other manufacturi – With cutting – breaking – tearing – or abrading – And with bending
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-27
2001-04-17
Fidei, David T. (Department: 3728)
Manufacturing container or tube from paper; or other manufacturi
With cutting, breaking, tearing, or abrading
And with bending
C493S962000, C221S026000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06217500
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to twist-tie closure devices of the type which are often available in bulk quantities in grocery stores for the purpose, among others, of temporarily closing plastic bags containing produce, meat packages, baked goods, candies, etc.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Twist-tie closure devices are well known in the art and widely available. They are relatively inexpensive to manufacture and easy to use. Methods of making and dispensing twist-tie closure devices are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,092,830, 5,213,400, and 5,232,431. Although the methods and apparatus disclosed in these patents constitute advances in the art, additional improvements are beneficial. For example, improvements relating to the cost of manufacturing the dispensers and the effort required to keep the dispensers stocked would be useful.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a simple, cost effective, and reliable method and apparatus for packaging and dispensing bulk quantities of twist-tie closure devices in hygienic, organized, and spill-proof fashion. In a preferred embodiment, numerous twist-ties are secured together at one “common” end to form a cluster or bunch. Each of the twist-ties extends from this common end to an opposite “free” end. Each of the twist-ties includes a wire disposed within a strip of material which is typically paper or plastic. Each wire is severed a relatively short distance from the common end. However, at least a portion of the material is not completely severed—thereby allowing any one of the twist-ties to be removed from the cluster simply by pulling on the free end thereof with sufficient force to tear the material.
The cluster is preferably formed of several layers of twist-tie panels, wherein each panel includes two sheets of paper or plastic and a plurality of wires disposed therebetween and extending generally parallel to one another. Individual twist-ties are formed by making parallel cuts in the sheets between each of the wires and parallel thereto. Each cut extends from the free end of a respective twist-tie to a point proximate where the wire is severed.
Each panel includes a relatively small span of uncut sheets extending from the point proximate where the wires are severed to the common end. In this manner, approximately one thousand twist-ties may be presented for use within a space of only a few cubic inches. Many advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the description that follows.
A twist-tie dispenser is also described including a back wall and a cam member rotatable between a first position and a second position to trap a group of twist-ties between the back wall and the cam member. The dispenser may include opposing side walls supporting the cam member. Further, the dispenser may include a front wall and/or a top wall. The dispenser may be used in combination with the twist-tie cluster of the present invention or the dispenser and cluster may be used independently.
REFERENCES:
patent: D. 156922 (1950-01-01), Sonntag
patent: D. 261452 (1981-10-01), Chandler
patent: D. 285719 (1986-09-01), Conlon
patent: D. 294908 (1988-03-01), Childress
patent: D. 323594 (1992-02-01), Helseth
patent: 628642 (1899-07-01), Wyman
patent: 740001 (1903-09-01), Flanagin
patent: 1203946 (1916-11-01), Westenhiser
patent: 1270111 (1918-06-01), Brittain
patent: 1441359 (1923-01-01), Langston
patent: 2050394 (1936-08-01), Straubel
patent: 2144263 (1939-01-01), Lane
patent: 2277265 (1942-03-01), Zahniser
patent: 2973597 (1961-03-01), Powell
patent: 2984161 (1961-05-01), Cook et al.
patent: 3035925 (1962-05-01), Jackson
patent: 3068135 (1962-12-01), Bower
patent: 3207564 (1965-09-01), Patrick et al.
patent: 3290854 (1966-12-01), MacMurray
patent: 3409948 (1968-11-01), Goodwin
patent: 3420723 (1969-01-01), Thorp
patent: 3468509 (1969-09-01), Foltz
patent: 3756453 (1973-09-01), Griffioen
patent: 3774755 (1973-11-01), Cast et al.
patent: 3783931 (1974-01-01), Assael
patent: 3995886 (1976-12-01), Staats
patent: 4052886 (1977-10-01), Buick
patent: 4184218 (1980-01-01), Hawkes
patent: 4281854 (1981-08-01), Savich
patent: 4509231 (1985-04-01), Paxton
patent: 4539237 (1985-09-01), Clayton
patent: 4543862 (1985-10-01), Levene et al.
patent: 4558813 (1985-12-01), Richards
patent: 4566660 (1986-01-01), Anscher et al.
patent: 4596195 (1986-06-01), Wenger
patent: 4621732 (1986-11-01), Olson
patent: 4673324 (1987-06-01), Hanson et al.
patent: 4758022 (1988-07-01), Podosek et al.
patent: 4815610 (1989-03-01), Borick et al.
patent: 4828645 (1989-05-01), Van Bortel
patent: 4923351 (1990-05-01), Nishikawa
patent: 4948202 (1990-08-01), Helseth
patent: 4998630 (1991-03-01), Schwartz
patent: 5092830 (1992-03-01), Helseth
patent: 5112083 (1992-05-01), Morrone
patent: 5119968 (1992-06-01), Palmer
patent: 5213400 (1993-05-01), Helseth
patent: 5232431 (1993-08-01), Helseth
patent: 5412912 (1995-05-01), Alves
patent: 5593033 (1997-01-01), Kunreuther
patent: 5961434 (1999-10-01), Helseth
Helseth James Ray
Ye Brian
Fidei David T.
Merchant & Gould P.C.
Twist-Ease Inc.
LandOfFree
Method and apparatus for dispensing twist-ties does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Method and apparatus for dispensing twist-ties, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Method and apparatus for dispensing twist-ties will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2555460