Patent Application
20130340263
The field of the invention is bag cutters.
Employment of sealed bags for housing various products is a well-accepted packaging approach. While such bags are highly desirable for their efficiency in maintaining product integrity, access into the contents of such bags is often inconvenient, and contents often spill due to messy cuts and tears.
Various cutters are available that attempt to overcome some of the problems described above. Such cutters include the devices described in International Patent Application Publication No. 2008/086101, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,073,264, 6,658,742, 4,887,355, and 5,007,171.
These and all other extrinsic materials discussed herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.
The following background discussion includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
Existing devices are not necessarily as durable, versatile, or safe as could be desired. Thus, there is still a need for improved cutting devices.
The inventive subject matter provides apparatus, systems and methods for cutting various objects, especially plastic bags, using a cutting device having a first arm partially enclosing a blade that is at least partially juxtaposable against a cutting surface.
The two arms are preferably made of plastic, and can advantageously be injection molded as a single, continuous piece of plastic. Also contemplated are a tab with a hole to accept a hanger, and the safety features of a locking strap and a ridge in one or both of the arms to help prevent a user's fingers from sliding off the arm.
There can be one, two or even more blades, each of which is preferably embedded in one of the arms. A second blade typically provides either a deeper cut, or a strip cut. Contemplated blades can have any suitable edge that mates with the anvil or other cutting surface, and include blades that have flat, concave or convex edges. Blades can be made of any suitable material, including steel, ceramic, and plastic. Stops can be included to control cutting depth.
Suitable anvils will typically have a convex surface, as for example in a cylinder or cone, and could even have a compound convex surface as in a ball.
Contemplated devices would typically be used by placing a bag between the cutting surface and the blade, and squeezing the arms together. When the two arms are pressed together so that a portion of the blade aligns with a cutting surface, a simple sliding motion could cut the bag open thereby allowing a user to conveniently access the bag's contents.
As used herein, a “cutting surface” means any surface that could be used in conjunction with a blade to create a cut. Contemplated cutting surfaces include, among other things, a recessed portion of an arm, a raised portion of an arm, and/or an anvil.
Various objects, features, aspects and advantages of the inventive subject matter will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, along with the accompanying drawing figures in which like numerals represent like components.
The following discussion provides many example embodiments of the inventive subject matter. Although each embodiment represents a single combination of inventive elements, the inventive subject matter is considered to include all possible combinations of the disclosed elements. Thus if one embodiment comprises elements A, B, and C, and a second embodiment comprises elements B and D, then the inventive subject matter is also considered to include other remaining combinations of A, B, C, or D, even if not explicitly disclosed.
As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “a,” “an,” and “the” includes plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein, the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
Groupings of alternative elements or embodiments of the invention disclosed herein are not to be construed as limitations. Each group member can be referred to and claimed individually or in any combination with other members of the group or other elements found herein. One or more members of a group can be included in, or deleted from, a group for reasons of convenience and/or patentability. When any such inclusion or deletion occurs, the specification is herein deemed to contain the group as modified thus fulfilling the written description of all Markush groups used in the appended claims
In
It is contemplated that each of the first blade 102, the first raised portion 105, and the first anvil 104 could be located on any portion of any arm. As used herein, the term “raised” with respect to a component means that a portion of the raised component is elevated above an adjacent surface or edge by at least 1 mm, and more preferably at least 4 mm, and more preferably at least 7 mm.
The recitation of ranges of values herein is merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range. Unless otherwise indicated herein, each individual value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g. “such as”) provided with respect to certain embodiments herein is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element essential to the practice of the invention.
The first and second arms 101 and 103 of a cutting apparatus 100 could comprise a single continuous piece of material, or could comprise two or more separate pieces of material. Contemplated materials include metals and steel. However, preferred materials include various types of plastics, such as acrylics, polyesters, silicones, polyurethanes, halogenated plastics, and all materials or polymers having sufficient flexibility to bend and sufficient rigidity to maintain the overall shape of the apparatus during repeated use.
The first blade 102 is preferably juxtaposable against a cutting surface (104 and/or 105). It is contemplated that the edge of the blade could be flat, concave, or convex at juxtaposition with the cutting surface. The blade could be made of any suitable material or materials, including for example, a steel, a plastic, a ceramic, a bronze, a copper, or any combination thereof.
While the first blade 102 could be on either the first 101 or second arm 103 of the cutting apparatus 100, the cutting surface to which the first blade is juxtaposable is preferably on a different arm. For example, a cutting apparatus 100 comprising a first blade 102 on a first arm 101 can have a cutting surface on a second arm 103. A cutting apparatus 100 comprising a first blade 102 on a second arm 103 can have a cutting surface on a first arm 101. Thus, it is contemplated that either one of the first and second arms could serve as a base.
One possible cutting surface is an anvil 104. As used herein, an “anvil” 104 is any separate piece of a hard material or materials that is at least partially inserted into and/or molded into at least one of an arm (101 or 103) or a raised portion 105 of the cutting apparatus 100. The anvil 104 can be of any suitable size and shape, including for example, a blade, a ball, a compound convex surface, a cylinder, a cone, or any other suitable shape. The anvil 104 could be made of any suitable material or materials, such as a steel, a plastic, a ceramic, a bronze, a copper, or any combination thereof that is of a sufficient hardness to act as a cutting surface for a blade. It is contemplated that an exposed portion of anvil 104 could comprise a different material than other portions of the anvil 104. Any and all portions of the anvil 104 could comprise a material that is harder, of the same hardness, or softer than the material used on an arm to which it is coupled. It is further contemplated that the anvil could comprise the same material as an arm to which it is coupled.
In
As used herein, a “pivot” means any piece(s) of material or materials that couple one arm with another arm, such as a hinge, a spring, or piece(s) of plastic.
As used herein, and unless the context dictates otherwise, the term “coupled to” is intended to include both direct coupling (in which two elements that are coupled to each other contact each other) and indirect coupling (in which at least one additional element is located between the two elements). Therefore, the terms “coupled to” and “coupled with” are used synonymously.
Cutting apparatus 200 has a tab 213 with a hole 207, which is configured to accept a hanger such that a single long hanger that could hold a plurality of cutting apparatuses. Alternatively, a hole could be located on any portion(s) of the cutting apparatus 200, including for example, any portion of the first arm 201 and/or second arm 203.
In embodiments such as the ones shown on
In this particular embodiment, anvil 304 comprises a through-hole 312 that mates with an internally facing detent in raised portion 305 or second arm 303 to hold the anvil 304 in place. The long axis of anvil 304 is disposed orthogonal to the long axis of blade 302, thereby reducing the size of the cut made. Alternatively, the long axis of anvil 304 could be disposed parallel to, or diagonal to, the long axis of the anvil 304. It is further contemplated that the anvil 304 could be rotatable, either alone, or along with a piece of the raised portion 305, thereby allowing a user to switch the size of the cuts made by the cutting apparatus 300.
In preferred embodiments, the anvil 304 is removable and/or replaceable with another anvil (not shown) to provide durability. The replacement anvil could either be the same type (material and/or shape) as anvil 304, or a different type of anvil. Alternatively, anvil 304 could be permanently embedded into the raised portion 305 of the cutting apparatus 300.
In
The raised portion 405 could be an extension of one of the first 401 and second arms 403, or could be a different piece of material coupled thereto. Where a different type and/or separate piece of material is used for the raised portion 405, it is contemplated that the material could be softer, harder, or equal in hardness to the material of one or more of the arms. Suitable materials include all materials suitable for any portion of a cutting apparatus.
Each of the first arm 401, second arm 403, blade 402, raised portion 405, and anvil 404 could comprise any suitable shape and be of any suitable size. Nevertheless, in preferred embodiments the entire cutting apparatus could easily be held and operated using a single hand.
In
In
It is contemplated that the first raised portion 605 and second raised portion 610 could be of the same size and shape as one another, or be of different sizes and shapes, relative to one another. Moreover, it is contemplated that the first blade 602 and second blade 611 could protrude out away from the first arm 601 at a same distance, or protrude out at different distances.
The first raised portion 605 and second raised portion 610 could each comprise a separate anvil. Alternatively, first and second raised portion (605 and 610) could share a single anvil 604 (as shown in
An alternative but similar embodiment to the one shown in
In some embodiments, such as the one shown in
In
It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that many more modifications besides those already described are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein. The inventive subject matter, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the scope of the appended claims. Moreover, in interpreting both the specification and the claims, all terms should be interpreted in the broadest possible manner consistent with the context. In particular, the terms “comprises” and “comprising” should be interpreted as referring to elements, components, or steps in a non-exclusive manner, indicating that the referenced elements, components, or steps may be present, or utilized, or combined with other elements, components, or steps that are not expressly referenced. Where the specification claims refers to at least one of something selected from the group consisting of A, B, C . . . and N, the text should be interpreted as requiring only one element from the group, not A plus N, or B plus N, etc.
