Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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POUR AND SEAL ASSEMBLY AND METHOD OF USING THE SAME
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) to provisional
U.S. Patent Application No. 61/105,874, filed on October 16, 2008, the
disclosure
of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
[0002] 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.
Related Art
[0003] 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
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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.
[0004] 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.
[0005] 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.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] 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.
[0007] 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.
[0008] 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.
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[0009] 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.
[0010] 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
[0011] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further
understanding of the invention, are incorporated in and constitute a part of
this
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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:
[0012] Figure 1 shows a perspective view of the pour and seal assembly in a
disassembled configuration with the lid open;
[0013] Figure 2 is a side view of the pour and seal assembly in the assembled
configuration with the lid closed;
[0014] Figure 3 is a top view of the pour and seal assembly with the lid open;
[0015] Figure 4 is a side view of the pour and seal assembly in the
disassembled configuration with the lid open;
[0016] Figure 5 is a front view of the pour and seal configuration with the
lid
closed but in the disassembled configuration;
[0017] Figure 6 is a cross-section view of the pour and seal assembly in the
disassembled configuration and with the lid open;
[0018] Figure 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;
[0019] Figure 8 is a cross-section view of the pour and seal assembly aspect
of Figure 7;
[0020] Figure 9 is a top view of the Figure 7 aspect;
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[0021] Figure 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;
[0022] Figure 11 shows a partial view of the pour and seal aspect of Figure 7
with the lid in the open position;
[0023] Figure 12 is another aspect of the pour and seal assembly that has a
large opening with the lid closed and assembled;
[0024] Figure 13 is a cross-sectional view of the Figure 12 aspect;
[0025] Figure 14 is a partial side view of the pour and seal assembly aspect
of
Figure 12 in the unassembled arrangement with the lid open;
[0026] Figure 15 is an assembled view of the pour and seal assembly aspect
of Figure 12 with the lid in the closed position;
[0027] Figure 16 is a cross-sectional view of the Figure 12 aspect;
[0028] Figure 17 is a perspective view of the Figure 12 aspect with the lid
open;
[0029] Figure 18 is a partial perspective view of the pour and seal assembly
of
the Figure 12 aspect that includes only the collar; and
[0030] Figure 19 is a cross section of another aspect of the pour and seal
assembly.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
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[0031] 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.
[0032] Figure 1 shows a perspective view of the pour and seal assembly in a
disassembled configuration with the lid open; Figure 2 is a side view of the
pour
and seal assembly in the assembled configuration with the lid closed; Figure 3
is
a top view of the pour and seal assembly with the lid open; Figure 4 is a side
view of the pour and seal assembly in the disassembled configuration with the
lid
open; Figure 5 is a front view of the pour and seal configuration with the lid
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closed but in the disassembled configuration; and Figure 6 is a cross-section
view of the pour and seal assembly in the disassembled configuration and with
the lid open. As shown in Figure 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 intemal 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.
[0033] 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 Figure 2,
when
the lid 102 is moved into engagement (closed) with the lid collar 104 and/or
intemal 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
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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.
[0034] 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 Figure 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 Figure 6, the internal collar 110 may include a
locking
ridge 116. When the lid 102 is inserted into the internal collar 110 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 Figure 19 aspect shows
the ridge 116 on the lid 102 and the groove 118 on the lid collar 104.
[0035] 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
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best shown in Figure 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 Figure 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.
[0036] 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
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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.
[0037] 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.
[0038] Figure 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;
Figure 8 is a cross-section view of the pour and seal assembly aspect of
Figure
7; Figure 9 is a top view of the aspect of Figure 7; Figure 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 Figure 11 shows a partial view of the pour and
seal
aspect of Figure 7 with the lid in the open position. In particular, Figures 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.
[0039] Figure 12 is another aspect of the pour and seal assembly that has a
large opening with the lid closed and assembled; Figure 13 is a cross-
sectional
view of the Figure 12 aspect; Figure 14 is a partial side view of the pour and
seal
assembly aspect of Figure 12 in the unassembled arrangement with the lid open;
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Figure 15 is an assembled view of the pour and seal assembly aspect of Figure
12 with the lid in the closed position; Figure 16 is a cross-sectional view of
the
Figure 12 aspect; Figure 17 is a perspective view of the Figure 12 aspect with
the
lid open; Figure 18 is a partial perspective view of the pour and seal
assembly of
the Figure 12 aspect that includes only the collar; and Figure 19 is a cross
section of another aspect of the pour and seal assembly.
[0040] In particular, Figures 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.
[0041] 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.
[0042] 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
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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.
[0043] 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.
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