A variety of devices and techniques have been employed to secure packaged items. For example, packaged items may be secured by molded foam or inflated cushions, but are often secured to a backing sheet with one or more securing devices. Previous securing devices have often included coated flexible wires, or “packaging ties.” For example, in the case of packaged toy 10 of
Clips and fasteners having various configurations have been previously described, for example in U.S. Pat. No. 835,656, U.S. Pat. No. 1,806,162, U.S. Pat. No. 5,979,028, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,928,704, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.
The advantages of the cleats of the present disclosure will be understood more readily after a consideration of the drawings and the Description of Preferred Embodiments. The cleats of the present disclosure may be inexpensively produced, and facilitate the use of packaging ties so that they may be quickly and easily applied during packaging, and can be removed easily, even by children.
The present invention provides embodiments of cleats configured to secure objects to packaging materials in combination with a packaging tie. An exemplary cleat 20 is shown in
The cleat body 22 is typically substantially planar, and may be elongated, for example so that it extends along a longitudinal axis 34. The cleat body may exhibit a variety of symmetries, including mirror symmetry with respect to a vertical plane that includes the longitudinal axis. The cleat may be mirror-symmetric with respect to a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, or it may be asymmetric with respect to the same axis. In one embodiment, the cleat body is generally rectangular, truncated rectangular, and/or rectangular with concavities or indentations along the cleat periphery.
The undersurface 24 of the cleat body is typically substantially flat, so that during use, the cleat may be placed flush against selected packaging materials. The undersurface 24 of exemplary cleat 20 is shown in
In one aspect of the disclosed cleat, the underside of the tie-down includes one or more protrusions which may be configured to enhance the attachment of the cleat to the desired packaging material. Such protrusions may have any suitable shape in order to positively interact with the packaging material. For example, the protrusions may be pin- or peg-shaped, hemispherical, conical, or frustoconical, so that the protrusions can be embedded partially into a suitably yielding packaging material, such as cardboard. In particular, the protrusions may be conical, and there may be a plurality of protrusions on the undersurface of the tie-down, which may be disposed near the corners or edges of the cleat undersurface. Tensioning the packaging tie may establish or enhance an attachment of the cleat against a piece of packaging material, by urging the protrusions into engagement with the surface of the packaging material.
The cleat body typically defines a plurality of apertures, through which a packaging tie may be threaded. Typically, each aperture is circular; however, any configuration of aperture that permits a packaging tie to be readily inserted and threaded therethrough is a suitable configuration for the purposes of this disclosure. For example, a raised lip may surround one or more apertures in the cleat body. A selected aperture may be rectangular in shape, with square ends, or with ends that may be more or less rounded. A selected aperture may be a substantially narrow, thereby forming a slit. The side walls that define the aperture may be straight and parallel, or the aperture opening may be chamfered (beveled) on one or both sides to improve the ease of threading a packaging tie through the slit. Depictions of apertures in the cleats of the present disclosure should be understood to include apertures of other shapes and sizes, that may include features for facilitating threading, enhancing retention, or both. The apertures on a given cleat may be substantially identical, or there may be variety of shapes and/or sizes of aperture on a single cleat, in order to make a cleat that is useful with a variety of sizes and types of packaging ties.
The upper surface 26 of the cleat body is typically planar, with the exception of a plurality of lugs 30 disposed thereon. By “lug” is meant a projection configured to be used to securely and reversibly engage a segment of a packaging tie. The lugs 30 of cleat 20 incorporate a hook shape that may facilitate engagement of the packaging tie. More specifically, the upper portion 34 of each lug is cantilevered, as shown in
Where the cantilevered lugs project beyond the periphery of the cleat body, they may project beyond a peripheral edge that is substantially even, or they may project beyond a concavity in the periphery. In one embodiment of the disclosed cleat, as shown in
Cleat 40 is an alternative embodiment of the cleat of the disclosure, as shown in
Cleat 50 is yet another alternative embodiment of the cleat of the disclosure, as shown in
Although the present disclosure refers to exemplary cleats that are roughly rectangular in outline, and have a defined number of apertures and lugs, a variety of alternative and exemplary cleats that utilize the same operating principle can be envisioned.
The cleats disclosed herein may be fabricated from any suitable material, or combination of materials, such as plastic, foamed plastic, wood, cardboard, pressed paper, metal, or the like. A suitable material may be selected to provide a desirable combination of weight, strength, durability, cost, manufacturability, appearance, safety, and the like. Suitable plastics may include high-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polystyrene, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polycarbonate, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene, or the like. Suitable foamed plastics may include expanded or extruded polystyrene, or the like. The cleat itself may be fabricated from ABS, copolymers of polypropylene-copolymer (PP-co), high-impact polystyrene (HIPS), or phosphorylcholine (PC) polymers.
Any suitable molding or manufacturing process may be used to prepare the disclosed cleats. In particular, the disclosed cleats may be manufactured by a molding process, for example injection molding. The injection molding process may produce a molded array of cleats including multiple individual cleats. Multiple cleats may be molded into a magazine-loadable clip form that is configured to dispense single or multiple cleats. Alternatively, the cleats may be fabricated in an extended linear chain that is configured to be rolled onto a reel, and dispensed from the reel as needed. In one exemplary process, the cleats are manufactured in a form that is readily usable by hand, or that is compatible with assembly equipment that aids in packaging operations.
The size of the disclosed cleats may vary with the scale of the item to be secured, and the size of the packaging materials employed. For smaller items, such as toys, the cleats may be about 10-30 mm in width, about 80-110 mm in length, and the cleat body may be about 1-3 mm in thickness. In a particular embodiment of the disclosed cleat, the cleat is about 90-100 mm in length, about 20 mm in width, has a cleat body that is about 2 mm in thickness, and lugs about 2.5 mm high, with the underside of the cantilevered portion of the lug about 1 mm higher than the upper surface of the cleat body. For securing larger and/or heavier items, the cleats may be larger, perhaps on the order of several centimeters, or larger.
The cleats of the present disclosure may be used in conjunction with one or more pieces of packaging material, in order to secure a packaged item. As used herein, “packaging material” is meant to include any material to which an item is to be secured using a cleat of the present disclosure. Although not required, the packaging material generally includes a surface or portion of a surface that is substantially planar. The packaging material can be used in packaging an item for storage, shipping, or display. The packaging material can be the surface of a box, a backing sheet, an internal partition, or another sufficiently sturdy piece of material.
As used herein, a packaging tie is a flexible fastener that typically includes a metal wire; a metal wire encased in a thin strip of paper, plastic, or other suitable coating; or a plastic strap. Packaging ties may be provided in discrete individual lengths, or dispensed from a roll of continuous coated wire and cut to a desired length, either manually or automatically. Packaging ties may alternatively be referred to as “twist-ties,” “flex-ties,” or “plas-ties.” When used as a fastener, one end of a packaging tie is typically looped back on itself, or crossed over the other end of the same or a different tie, and twisted tightly.
As shown in
Application of the cleat is intuitive and straightforward, and the particular cleat used can have a conformation to match a particular application, or to offer enhanced flexibility both in the orientation and positioning of the cleat, and in permitting multiple individual packaging ties to be secured using a single cleat.
As shown in
Removing a cleat is similarly straightforward, and can be accomplished by even small children. The packaging tie is first disengaged from the lug, and the cleat is then pulled upward from the packaging material. The end of the packaging tie is then free, and it may be pulled free from the opposite side of the packaging material.
The cleats of the present disclosure lend themselves to a method 100 of securing an item to packaging material as shown in
The cleats described herein may be used in conjunction with automated or semi-automated methods. For example, multiple cleats may be manufactured in a clip that is configured to be loaded into, and dispensed by, automated or semi-automated assembly equipment.
A variety of items or objects may be secured using the disclosed cleats. Modern packaging often includes blister packs or transparent windows, where it is preferred that the packaged item be retained in an appropriate position and/or orientation for display. Alternatively, or in addition, proper packaging may help prevent damage to the item during shipping. The disclosed cleats are useful for securing a variety of objects and items, and either the cleat, the packaging tie, or both, may be scaled up or down in size as appropriate for the item or object to be secured. In particular, the disclosed cleat is of particular utility when used in conjunction with any of a variety of packaged toys, including for example action figures, figurines, dolls, vehicles, and other toys.
In addition to the advantages of being inexpensively produced and easily applied, the cleats of the present disclosure facilitate the rapid and straightforward removal of packaging. The secured packaging ties may be unwrapped from the cleat, and the cleat removed from the packaging materials with a minimum of effort, and without requiring wirecutters, box knives, or even scissors. The use of the cleats of the present disclosure permits even children to open and unpack their packaged items without assistance.
Although the present invention has been shown and described with reference to the foregoing operational principles and preferred embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims. Various configurations of apertures, lugs, and cleat bodies may be envisioned, as well as a variety of possible interactions between the packaging tie and the apertures and lugs of the cleat. The present invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variances, including all novel and non-obvious combinations and subcombinations of the various elements, features, functions and/or properties disclosed herein.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2007 1 0086062 | Mar 2007 | CN | national |
2007 1 0108559 | Jun 2007 | CN | national |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20080216293 A1 | Sep 2008 | US |