Patent Application
20120090724
The present invention relates to a funnel used to transfer granular and/or fluidic material from a first container to a second container.
Funnels have been in use for a relatively long period of time, generally to transfer granular or fluidic material from a first generally larger container into a second generally smaller container. Historically, the funnel is usually conical in shape, having a relatively large end of a first diameter which would then taper into a second end having a much smaller diameter. These funnels are usually constructed from a plastic or metallic material.
However, rather recently the materials of which a funnel is constructed have changed, allowing a plastic or paper-like material to be utilized for the funnel. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,078,189, issued to Ronsonet, illustrates an adjustable funnel apparatus comprising a flat, rectangular sheet member constructed from a flexible material, such as plastic or the like. A first raised locking member runs substantially along the width of one face of the resilient material and a second raised locking member runs a distance along another edge of the sheet, this second locking member being substantially perpendicular to the first locking member. The use of these locking members would allow a formed funnel to maintain its shape.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,121,779, issued to Green, also describes a funnel comprising a flat sheet of resilient, flexible material. A pair of inter-engaging formations on opposite sides of the flat sheet would allow the funnel to maintain its particular configuration.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,707, to Cowles, describes an adjustable, disposable funnel constructed from a generally rectangular-shaped sheet of flexible material. A corner of the material is eliminated and an adhesive strip, overlaid by a cover, is provided at this corner. As shown in
U.S. Patent Application Publication 2002/0038677, to Wiethoff, describes a disposable funnel similar in many respects to the funnel described in the Cowles patent. This disposable funnel includes an adhesive strip, provided under a release coating strip, as shown in
U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,237,583, 7,240,701 and 7,383,863, all issued to Salani et al., describe various collapsible funnels. The '701 and '863 patents utilize a glue strip adjacent to one end of a planar sheet to produce a funnel, wherein Salani et al. '583 does not employ this glue strip.
While all of the funnels shown in the above-noted U.S. publication and patents would allow material from a first container to be transferred into a second container, none of these funnels are provided with an adhesive surface on both sides of a flexible planar sheet of material, allowing the funnel to be positively maintained in the outlet orifice of the second container into which fluidic or granular material is to be transferred.
The present invention overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art by providing a resilient, planar, paper stock sheet from which a funnel is constructed. In one embodiment, a relatively weak adhesive such as the adhesive used in the POST-IT® notes manufactured by 3M is applied to a portion of the surface area of both sides of the resilient planar material. This would allow the planar material to be folded upon itself, as will be illustrated, into a conical shape having a top opening having a diameter much larger than the diameter of a bottom opening. The funnel so constructed would then be inserted into an input/output orifice of a first container into which granular or fluidic material is to be transferred. A second embodiment would employ the use of a flexible planar static vinyl sheet to produce the funnel. In this embodiment, no adhesive would be applied to the static vinyl sheet, since static electricity would be used to allow the funnel to be formed and to remain in place when the granular or fluidic materials are transferred. The flexible planar material of both embodiments can be in various forms such as, but not limited to, a square, rectangle, semicircle, pentagon, hexagon or octagon.
A second container in which the fluidic or granular material is stored is tilted in such a manner allowing the granular or fluidic material to flow from this first transferor container into the larger diameter opening of the funnel and then into the input/output orifice of the second transferee container. Alternatively, the first container could be standing upright and the second container angled 180° with regard to the surface on which the first container stands when the fluidic or granular method is poured from the second container into the first container. Although it is not required, presumably the transferee container would have fluidic or granular material already provided therein prior to the fluidic or granular material to be transferred from the transferor container. Due to the use of a weak adhesive material on the outer surface as well as the inner surface of the flexible planar paper stock material, the lower end of the funnel would adhere to the inner surface of the inlet/outlet portion of the transferee container, thereby maintaining the conical funnel in position removably attached to the transferee container. Once the transfer of material is completed, the funnel is removed from the transferee container and can be discarded. Similarly, use of the flexible planar static vinyl material would maintain its conical shape when the granular or fluidic material is transferred between the two containers, as well as maintaining the funnel in position with the transferee container.
An embodiment of the present invention would provide a plurality of the flexible planar paper stock material in a book-like form. Therefore, when the use of a funnel is required, a top sheet of the book-like form is easily removed therefrom to construct the disposable funnel. Alternatively, the book-like form could itself be provided within a container for ease of use and transportability.
The present invention will be more fully understood from the following, detailed description of the preferred embodiments thereof, taken together with the drawings, in which:
It is important to note that both the inner surface 22 and the outer surface 24 of the resilient planar paper stock material is coated with a relatively weak adhesive material for at least a portion of each side of the planar paper stock material. As shown in
When in use, as shown in
Once the transfer is completed, the conical funnel 25 is removed from the orifice 30. Initially, when the funnel 25 was inserted into the orifice 30, since the exterior surface of the conical funnel 25 has a weak adhesive material 17 provided thereon, it would adhere to the inner surface of the orifice 30, allowing the funnel to be attached to the orifice 30, thereby easing the transfer of the fluidic or granular material 36 from the transferor container 32 to the transferee container 31. Thereafter, once the transfer of fluidic or granular material is completed, the funnel 25 can be easily removed from the orifice 30 of container 31 and discarded.
This book can also be manufactured in a staggered arrangement for ease of separation of the sheets of the back from one another. In this manner, the adhesive material 17 of a first sheet would not abut the adhesive material 17 on adjacent sheet.
Similar to the first embodiment of the present invention, the funnel is formed by folding one of the sides of the static vinyl material over its opposite side to produce a conically shaped funnel.
It would be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to what has been particularly shown and described hereinabove. Rather, the scope of the present invention includes both combinations and sub-combinations of the various features described hereinabove, as well as variations and modifications thereof that are not in the prior art, which would occur to persons skilled in the art upon reading the foregoing description.
