U.S. patent application number 12/369951 was filed with the patent office on 2010-04-22 for pour and seal assembly and method of using the same.
This patent application is currently assigned to Wilton Industries, Inc.. Invention is credited to Traci Chapple, Jeff Chiu, Paul Christman, Melanie Conklin, Corinne GORSKEY, David Starr, Mason Umholtz.
Application Number | 20100096398 12/369951 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42106806 |
Filed Date | 2010-04-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100096398 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
GORSKEY; Corinne ; et
al. |
April 22, 2010 |
POUR AND SEAL ASSEMBLY AND METHOD OF USING THE SAME
Abstract
The invention is directed to a pour and seal assembly and method
of using the same. The assembly includes a closure configured to
seal an opening of a food stuffs container including a lid
configured to securely cover an opening to a container holding food
stuffs, a lid collar configured to, in part, form the opening and
further configured to engage the lid and seal the opening to the
container, and an internal collar configured to be arranged at
least partially in the lid collar and to hold a portion of the
container against the lid collar and further, in part, seal the
opening to the container.
Inventors: |
GORSKEY; Corinne;
(Woodridge, IL) ; Starr; David; (Woodridge,
IL) ; Christman; Paul; (Woodridge, IL) ;
Conklin; Melanie; (Woodridge, IL) ; Chapple;
Traci; (Woodridge, IL) ; Chiu; Jeff;
(Woodridge, IL) ; Umholtz; Mason; (Woodridge,
IL) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MCGUIREWOODS, LLP
1750 TYSONS BLVD, SUITE 1800
MCLEAN
VA
22102
US
|
Assignee: |
Wilton Industries, Inc.
Woodridge
IL
|
Family ID: |
42106806 |
Appl. No.: |
12/369951 |
Filed: |
February 12, 2009 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61105874 |
Oct 16, 2008 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
220/793 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 55/16 20130101;
B65D 47/06 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
220/793 |
International
Class: |
B65D 41/16 20060101
B65D041/16 |
Claims
1. A closure configured to seal an opening of a food stuffs
container comprising: a lid configured to securely cover an opening
to a container holding food stuffs; a lid collar configured to, in
part, form the opening and further configured to engage the lid and
seal the opening to the container; and an internal collar
configured to be arranged at least partially in the lid collar and
to hold a portion of the container against the lid collar and
further, in part, seal the opening to the container.
2. The closure according to claim 1 wherein the lid collar and the
internal collar are configured to have a frictional fit with
respect to one another and the container.
3. The closure according to claim 1 wherein the lid further
comprises a lid connector that is configured to connect the lid to
the lid collar.
4. The closure according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the lid
collar, lid, and internal collar are formed of synthetic
materials.
5. The closure according to claim 1 wherein the lid has a
frictional engagement with respect to the internal collar to
maintain a closed opening.
6. The closure according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the lid
and the internal collar comprises a locking groove; and wherein at
least the other one of the lid and the internal collar comprise a
locking ridge, wherein the locking groove and the locking ridge are
configured to interact to maintain the lid and internal collar such
that the opening is closed.
7. The closure according to claim 1 wherein the lid has one of a
circular cross section, an oval cross section, or a curved corner
rectangular cross section.
8. The closure according to claim 1 wherein the lid comprises a tab
arranged to be engaged by a user and configured to make moving the
lid to an open position easier.
9. The closure according to claim 1 wherein a locking groove is
arranged on one of the lid collar and internal collar; and a
locking ridge is arranged on the other one of the lid collar and
internal collar, wherein the locking groove and the locking ridge
are configured to interact to maintain the lid collar and internal
collar together and connected to the container.
10. A closure configured to attach and seal an opening of a food
stuffs container comprising: a lid configured to securely cover an
opening to a container holding food stuffs; a lid collar configured
to, in part, form the opening and further configured to engage the
lid and seal the opening to the container; and an internal collar
configured to be arranged at least partially in the lid collar and
to hold a portion of the container against the lid collar and
further, in part, seal the opening to the container, wherein the
container comprises a bag.
11. The closure according to claim 10 wherein the lid collar and
the internal collar are configured to have a frictional fit with
respect to one another and the container.
12. The closure according to claim 11 wherein the lid further
comprises a lid connector that is configured to connect the lid to
the lid collar.
13. The closure according to claim 12 wherein at least one of the
lid collar, lid, and internal collar are formed of synthetic
materials.
14. The closure according to claim 13 wherein the lid has a
frictional engagement with respect to the internal collar to
maintain a closed opening.
15. The closure according to claim 10 wherein at least one of the
lid and the internal collar comprises a locking groove; and wherein
at least the other one of the lid and the internal collar comprise
a locking ridge, wherein the locking groove and the locking ridge
are configured to interact to maintain the lid and internal collar
such that the opening is closed.
16. The closure according to claim 10 wherein the lid has one of a
circular cross section, an oval cross section, or a curved corner
rectangular cross section.
17. The closure according to claim 10 wherein the lid comprises a
tab arranged to be engaged by a user and configured to make moving
the lid to an open position easier.
18. The closure according to claim 10 wherein a locking groove is
arranged on one of the lid collar and internal collar; and a
locking ridge is arranged on the other one of the lid collar and
internal collar, wherein the locking groove and the locking ridge
are configured to interact to maintain the lid collar and internal
collar together and connected to the container.
19. A closure configured to attach and seal an opening of a food
stuffs container comprising: a lid configured to securely cover an
opening to a container holding food stuffs; a lid collar configured
to, in part, form the opening and further configured to engage the
lid and seal the opening to the container; an internal collar
configured to be arranged at least partially in the lid collar and
to hold a portion of the container against the lid collar and
further, in part, seal the opening to the container, and wherein
the lid collar and the internal collar are configured to have a
frictional fit with respect to one another and the container; and a
lid connector that is configured to connect the lid to the lid
collar, wherein the container comprises a bag and at least one of
the lid collar, lid, and internal collar are formed of synthetic
materials.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C.
.sctn.119(e) to provisional U.S. Patent Application No. 61/105,874,
filed on Oct. 16, 2008, the disclosure of which is expressly
incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The invention is directed generally to an assembly and a
method of its use for sealing containers of food stuffs and, more
particularly, to sealing bag containers of food stuffs.
[0004] 2. Related Art
[0005] In order to maintain various food stuffs fresh, such as
snacks, cereal, and the like, manufacturers will often place these
food stuffs in bag containers or other types of containers for
transport and storage. These containers will keep the food stuffs
fresh for long periods of time. However, once a consumer opens the
bag, the food stuffs are then exposed to the environment and this
will in turn reduce the shelf life of the food stuffs. In other
words, the food stuffs will become stale or the like. Consumers in
the past have used a number of different approaches to keep such
containers closed in order to increase the shelf life of the food
stuffs. This included rolling the open end of the bag in such a
manner so as to close of the open end, clipping the bag with an
elastic clip such as a "chip-clip," and so on. These approaches are
not satisfactory as they do not always provide an air-tight
closure, they may be cumbersome to use, and so on. Moreover, the
open end of the bag often does not provide a very user-friendly
opening for pouring. In this regard, the open end of the bag
oftentimes collapses, is jagged or will close undesirably thereby
making it difficult to pour out the contents of the bag or causing
a spill.
[0006] Other approaches to trying to rectify the issue of providing
increased shelf life of bagged food stuffs and also finding more
user-friendly pouring have included moving the food stuffs into an
altogether new container. The drawbacks on these new containers is
that they are more costly and also more difficult to clean. In that
regard, a consumer must buy a new container to contain each of the
different kinds of food stuffs and then once the food stuffs have
been depleted, must then clean the container. This is time
consuming. Additionally, the new containers often have a great deal
of open space or air space within the container itself. This air is
exposed to the food stuffs and typically reduces the shelf life of
the food stuffs whereas a bag of food stuffs will allow for the
evacuation of air and will likely keep food stuffs fresher
longer.
[0007] Accordingly, there is a need for a method and apparatus that
provides a way in which to seal bagged food stuffs that also allows
for a more user friendly sealing to increase freshness and shelf
life, and pouring of the food stuffs therein.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The invention meets the foregoing need and provides an
assembly that is lower cost, seals well, and allows for user
friendly pouring and storage of food stuffs and that furthermore
includes other advantages apparent from the discussion herein.
[0009] The invention may be implemented in a number of ways.
According to one aspect of the invention includes a closure
configured to seal an opening of a food stuffs container including
a lid configured to securely cover an opening to a container
holding food stuffs, a lid collar configured to, in part, form the
opening and further configured to engage the lid and seal the
opening to the container, and an internal collar configured to be
arranged at least partially in the lid collar and to hold a portion
of the container against the lid collar and further, in part, seal
the opening to the container.
[0010] Another aspect of the invention includes a closure
configured to attach and seal an opening of a food stuffs container
including a lid configured to securely cover an opening to a
container holding food stuffs, a lid collar configured to, in part,
form the opening and further configured to engage the lid and seal
the opening to the container, and an internal collar configured to
be arranged at least partially in the lid collar and to hold a
portion of the container against the lid collar and further, in
part, seal the opening to the container, wherein the container
comprises a bag.
[0011] Yet another aspect of the invention includes a closure
configured to attach and seal an opening of a food stuffs container
including a lid configured to securely cover an opening to a
container holding food stuffs, a lid collar configured to, in part,
form the opening and further configured to engage the lid and seal
the opening to the container, an internal collar configured to be
arranged at least partially in the lid collar and to hold a portion
of the container against the lid collar and further, in part, seal
the opening to the container, and wherein the lid collar and the
internal collar are configured to have a frictional fit with
respect to one another and the container, and a lid connector that
is configured to connect the lid to the lid collar, wherein the
container comprises a bag and at least one of the lid collar, lid,
and internal collar are formed of synthetic materials.
[0012] Additional features, advantages, and embodiments of the
invention may be set forth or apparent from consideration of the
following detailed description, drawings, and claims. Moreover, it
is to be understood that both the foregoing summary of the
invention and the following detailed description are exemplary and
intended to provide further explanation without limiting the scope
of the invention as claimed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a
further understanding of the invention, are incorporated in and
constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of
the invention and together with the detailed description serve to
explain the principles of the invention. No attempt is made to show
structural details of the invention in more detail than may be
necessary for a fundamental understanding of the invention and the
various ways in which it may be practiced. In the drawings:
[0014] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the pour and seal
assembly in a disassembled configuration with the lid open;
[0015] FIG. 2 is a side view of the pour and seal assembly in the
assembled configuration with the lid closed;
[0016] FIG. 3 is a top view of the pour and seal assembly with the
lid open;
[0017] FIG. 4 is a side view of the pour and seal assembly in the
disassembled configuration with the lid open;
[0018] FIG. 5 is a front view of the pour and seal configuration
with the lid closed but in the disassembled configuration;
[0019] FIG. 6 is a cross-section view of the pour and seal assembly
in the disassembled configuration and with the lid open;
[0020] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of another aspect of the pour
and seal assembly having a larger configuration with the lid closed
and fully assembled;
[0021] FIG. 8 is a cross-section view of the pour and seal assembly
aspect of FIG. 7;
[0022] FIG. 9 is a top view of the FIG. 7 aspect;
[0023] FIG. 10 is a side view of the pour and seal assembly in the
process of going from the unassembled open lid arrangement on the
left to the lid closed arrangement on the right aligned with a
collar prior to assembly;
[0024] FIG. 11 shows a partial view of the pour and seal aspect of
FIG. 7 with the lid in the open position;
[0025] FIG. 12 is another aspect of the pour and seal assembly that
has a large opening with the lid closed and assembled;
[0026] FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the FIG. 12 aspect;
[0027] FIG. 14 is a partial side view of the pour and seal assembly
aspect of FIG. 12 in the unassembled arrangement with the lid
open;
[0028] FIG. 15 is an assembled view of the pour and seal assembly
aspect of FIG. 12 with the lid in the closed position;
[0029] FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of the FIG. 12 aspect;
[0030] FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the FIG. 12 aspect with the
lid open;
[0031] FIG. 18 is a partial perspective view of the pour and seal
assembly of the FIG. 12 aspect that includes only the collar;
and
[0032] FIG. 19 is a cross section of another aspect of the pour and
seal assembly.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0033] The embodiments of the invention and the various features
and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with
reference to the non-limiting embodiments and examples that are
described and/or illustrated in the accompanying drawings and
detailed in the following description. It should be noted that the
features illustrated in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to
scale, and features of one embodiment may be employed with other
embodiments as the skilled artisan would recognize, even if not
explicitly stated herein. Descriptions of well-known components and
processing techniques may be omitted so as to not unnecessarily
obscure the embodiments of the invention. The examples used herein
are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which
the invention may be practiced and to further enable those of skill
in the art to practice the embodiments of the invention.
Accordingly, the examples and embodiments herein should not be
construed as limiting the scope of the invention, which is defined
solely by the appended claims and applicable law. Moreover, it is
noted that like reference numerals represent similar parts
throughout the several views of the drawings.
[0034] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the pour and seal
assembly in a disassembled configuration with the lid open; FIG. 2
is a side view of the pour and seal assembly in the assembled
configuration with the lid closed; FIG. 3 is a top view of the pour
and seal assembly with the lid open; FIG. 4 is a side view of the
pour and seal assembly in the disassembled configuration with the
lid open; FIG. 5 is a front view of the pour and seal configuration
with the lid closed but in the disassembled configuration; and FIG.
6 is a cross-section view of the pour and seal assembly in the
disassembled configuration and with the lid open. As shown in FIG.
1, the pour and seal closure 100 may be used to attach to a
container, such as a bag of food stuffs, in order to close and seal
the opening of the container of food stuffs to seal the same within
the container. Moreover, the pour and seal closure 100 may also
provide a more user friendly opening from which to pour the
contents of the container, in particular to pour the food stuffs
out of the container. In one particular aspect, the pour and seal
closure 100 may include a lid collar 104, a lid 102, and an
internal collar 110. The lid 102 may be used to interact and close
the opening to the container formed by at least the lid collar 104.
The internal collar 110 may be used to cooperate with the lid
collar 104 to connect to the food container to form a strong
connection to the container and maintain the pour and seal closure
100 arranged firmly with the container so that it will not easily
be removed therefrom.
[0035] The lid 102 may take a number of different arrangements, but
in the arrangement shown in the figures, the lid 102 may include a
tab 108 to allow a user to more easily grasp the lid 102 so that it
may be removed from the closed position relative to the lid collar
104. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, when the lid 102 is moved
into engagement (closed) with the lid collar 104 and/or internal
collar 110, thus providing a sealed arrangement with respect to the
lid collar 104, the lid 102 may be removed from the lid collar 104
and/or internal collar 110 by the user grasping the tab 108 and
moving the tab upwardly to pry the lid 102 out of engagement (open)
with the lid collar 104 and/or internal collar 110. Of course,
other arrangements of the tab 108 and lid 102, including no tab,
are contemplated by the invention herein.
[0036] The lid 102 may engage the lid collar 104 and/or internal
collar 110 by any known type of arrangement. In particular, the
invention contemplates some form of frictional fit between the lid
102 and the internal collar 110. In particular, as shown, for
example in FIG. 6, the lid collar 102 may include a locking groove
118. This locking groove may be a groove or other type of structure
within the lid 102 to engage a similar or opposite structure in the
internal collar 110. As further shown in FIG. 6, the internal
collar 110 may include a locking ridge 1 16. When the lid 102 is
inserted into the internal collar 1 10 the locking groove 118 may
engage the locking ridge 116 and form a frictional fit connection
therebetween. Accordingly, the lid 102 may be held firmly and not
have a tendency to easily open. Of course these features may be
reversed, rearranged, or replaced with equivalent features. For
example, the FIG. 19 aspect shows the ridge 116 on the lid 102 and
the groove 118 on the lid collar 104.
[0037] The internal collar 110 may be used to engage, as noted
above, the food stuffs container. In this regard, a food stuffs
container such as a bag, may be opened by the user in a normal
fashion. Thereafter, the open end of the bag 202 may be inserted
through the internal collar 110 with the remaining portion of the
bag 204 extending therebelow. Thereafter, the lid collar 104 may be
pressed onto the internal collar 110 providing a firm connection
and seal thereto. This is best shown in FIG. 6 wherein the open end
of the bag 202 is shown extending out from the internal collar 110.
The remaining part of the bag portion 204 holding food stuffs is
shown with dotted lines to indicate that this is a partial view
only. From the FIG. 6 arrangement, the lid collar 104 may be pushed
downwardly, as shown by arrow A, toward the internal collar 110 to
engage and lock thereto. Thereafter, the lid 102 may be moved in
the direction of arrow B and rotated into the lid collar 104 to
engage the same to provide a frictional fit thereto. When a user
decides that they would like to obtain some of the contents in the
container, then the user may then grasp the lid 102, for example by
the tab 108, and rotate the lid 102 in the direction of arrow C to
open the container. The internal collar 110 and lid collar 104 then
provide a convenient and open pouring opening for the user to pour
out the contents of the container. Thereafter, to seal the
container the user may then rotate the lid 102 in the direction of
arrow D to again seal the container 200.
[0038] The internal collar 110 may engage the lid collar 104 in any
number of different ways. However, in the aspects shown in the
figures, the lid collar 104 may engage the internal collar 110
through a frictional fit type of arrangement. In this regard, the
frictional fit arrangement may include a locking groove 112 on the
lid collar 104 that may engage with a locking ridge 114 on the
internal collar 110. Accordingly, these two components engaging
each other may engage a portion of the food stuffs container
therebetween the locking ridge 114 and the locking groove 112 to
provide a frictional engagement between each other to provide a
snug fit that will not allow the pour and seal closure 100 to be
easily removed from the container. Of course other arrangements to
connect these components are also contemplated.
[0039] The lid 102 may be connected to the lid collar 104 with a
lid connector 106. In this regard, the lid connector 106 may take
any particular form or configuration, however a flat, flexible
material arrangement provides a useful way to connect the lid top
102 to the lid collar 104.
[0040] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of another aspect of the pour
and seal assembly having a larger configuration with the lid closed
and fully assembled; FIG. 8 is a cross-section view of the pour and
seal assembly aspect of FIG. 7; FIG. 9 is a top view of the aspect
of FIG. 7; FIG. 10 is a side view of the pour and seal assembly in
the process of going from the unassembled open lid arrangement on
the left to the lid closed arrangement to the right aligned with a
collar prior to assembly; and FIG. 11 shows a partial view of the
pour and seal aspect of FIG. 7 with the lid in the open position.
In particular, FIGS. 7 to 11 show a different arrangement of the
pour and seal closure 100 that includes a different arrangement and
sizing of the various components of the pour and seal closure
100.
[0041] FIG. 12 is another aspect of the pour and seal assembly that
has a large opening with the lid closed and assembled; FIG. 13 is a
cross-sectional view of the FIG. 12 aspect; FIG. 14 is a partial
side view of the pour and seal assembly aspect of FIG. 12 in the
unassembled arrangement with the lid open; FIG. 15 is an assembled
view of the pour and seal assembly aspect of FIG. 12 with the lid
in the closed position; FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of the
FIG. 12 aspect; FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the FIG. 12 aspect
with the lid open; FIG. 18 is a partial perspective view of the
pour and seal assembly of the FIG. 12 aspect that includes only the
collar; and FIG. 19 is a cross section of another aspect of the
pour and seal assembly.
[0042] In particular, FIGS. 12 through 19 show yet another aspect
of the pour and seal closure 100 having a different arrangement,
configuration, and sizing. This aspect has a large curved corner
rectangle opening and the groove 118 and ridge 116 is
rearranged.
[0043] The construction of the above noted pour and seal closure
100 may be made by molding synthetic materials. In particular, the
pour and seal closure may be formed of a synthetic plastic or
rubber material. For example, the lid and the lid collar may be
formed from thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) and the internal collar
may be formed of polypropylene. However, any type of material that
may provide the required strength and flexibility is within the
scope of the invention. Moreover, the materials may include any
combination of new or recycled materials as needed.
[0044] Moreover, the pour and seal closure may take any known
configuration. As noted above, the pour and seal closure 100 may
take a circular or curved corner rectangle cross section to provide
a unique opening to the container of food stuffs that it is
connected to, however any shape is contemplated by the invention
including square, rectangular, oval, triangular and so on.
Additionally, although the connector 106 is shown as a flat
material, any type of arrangement that connects the lid 102 to the
food collar 104 is contemplated by the invention including none at
all. Furthermore, although the type of container used in
conjunction with the pour and seal closure 100 is a bag container,
any type of container may be used in conjunction with the invention
as long as it is able to, with modifications known to the skill of
the art, connect to the pour and seal enclosure 100. Finally, it is
noted above that this seal and pour closure 100 may be used with
food stuffs, it is contemplated that other types of storage
materials may be used in conjunction with this device that are
non-food stuffs.
[0045] While the invention has been described in terms of exemplary
embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the
invention can be practiced with modifications in the spirit and
scope of the appended claims. These examples given above are merely
illustrative and are not meant to be an exhaustive list of all
possible designs, embodiments, applications or modifications of the
invention.
* * * * *