Patent Application
20160318199
The present invention generally relates to a hand held box opening device for opening taped, glued or stapled boxes. More particularly, a safe alternative to conventional fixed or adjustable bladed utility knives, resulting in reduced injury claims and fewer incidences of damage to stock.
Most industries including, but not limited to, fulfillment, catalog, wholesalers, retail stores pharmaceutical industries and the public receive boxes through the mail, delivery services, and from stores. Boxes may be taped, glued or stapled shut and usually require a sharp object to cut the tape or the box to gain access to the contents.
Typically, cardboard containers are taped, glued or stapled shut with the majority being taped or glued.
When a taped cardboard container is to be opened, the carton is generally held steady in front of the operator with one hand while the other hand inserts the sharp blade of a slitting device between the surfaces taped together and then pulls the blade rapidly across the tape causing it to be cut.
When a glued or stapled cardboard container is to be opened it usually must be cut open. The carton is generally held steady in front of the operator with one hand and a slicing movement is made by the other hand by pulling the knife rapidly across the top or side of the container to obtain a clean, straight cut. Sharp blades are required for efficient opening of cartons, and a very sharp-edged blade is commonly used for that purpose.
People use a variety of sharp devices such as, and not limited to, razor blades, knives, utility knives, slitters and box cutters to open taped, glued or stapled boxes. This is particularly common in commercial settings.
Using these sharp devices to open boxes is potentially dangerous. Even with all the advancements to the conventional fixed or adjustable bladed utility knives, utility knife cuts still remain one of the leading causes of time lost in the workplace nationwide.
A significant problem with opening taped, glued or stapled boxes with sharp objects can be such use frequently involves quick hand movements and flesh wounds are likely to occur when the knife blade travels free at the end of a cut and catches the operator's hand, fingers, arm, waist or leg. This simple task has resulted in many on-the-job personal injuries and costly WCB claims.
Another problem when opening taped, glued or stapled boxes with sharp objects can result in damage to the product inside the box. This type of product damage is one of the leading causes of unsaleable merchandise. Even with improvements in packaging, shipping practices, warehouse design, and software, cutting the cost of unsaleable products is the constant challenge for those in the grocery industry. According to the June 2005 issue of Occupational Health, the Food Marketing Institute estimated that the grocery industry alone sustains nearly $20 billion annually in damaged merchandise. Of the $20 billion lost annually in the grocery industry alone, 30 percent was caused by careless box cutting. Product damage from box cutters translates into unsaleable goods. The high costs associated with product damage and returns is also an issue faced by most industries including, but not limited to, fulfillment, catalog, and pharmaceutical industries.
Another problem with opening glued or stapled boxes with sharp objects can result in damage to the carton itself. The top perimeter or side of the box needs to be cut to access the contents of the box, thus rendering the box useless for further use and more difficult to fit in with the environmentally sustainable strategy, being adopted by companies and municipalities everywhere, known as the 3R's—Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
Another problem occurs when municipalities, commercial business, industry and citizens endeavor to reduce the amount of cardboard ending up in landfills and need to deconstruct cardboard boxes for the recycling process possibly cutting themselves using a sharp bladed object. At the residential level, children are commonly tasked with flattening the boxes.
There is need for an alternative safer tool for sharp slitting devices as referred to above, and in particular, there is need for a low cost device which can be utilized without danger, which could otherwise be presented by exposure to a sharp object.
The invention described herein is an alternative to sharp slitting/cutting devices, and in particular to hand-held box cutters/utility knives of the type used by, but not limited to, the public, stocking clerks and warehouse personnel to open cardboard cartons in, for example and not limited to, grocery stores, supermarkets, convenience stores, restaurants, other retail establishments, and Wholesaler distributors.
The invention described herein is a bladeless, molded plastic, one-piece box opener. The invention provides in a single device a configuration to safely and efficiently facilitate opening taped, glued or stapled boxes and also aids in their deconstruction, while addressing the problems of injuries and product damage associated with conventional apparatuses and methods for box opening and deconstruction.
The invention described herein has been developed with safety features which can be used safely even by untrained workers.
The present invention is a safe, plastic injection molded, one-piece, low cost and simple to use multi-use plastic box opener to facilitate in the opening and deconstruction of taped, glued or stapled paperboard/cardboard boxes.
Basically, the molded one-piece device comprises:
a. An ergonomic handle containing puncture points extending forward on the grip guard collar for puncturing tape,
b. A wedge shaped shaft portion to disengage any glued surfaces or flaps by inserting it, tip first, between two glued surfaces and also containing tape splitting teeth located on the tip end and bilaterally on the edges of the shaft for ambidextrous use, and
c. A thin flat staple removing tip which easily slides under staples.
The present invention has an ergonomic handle with a grip guard collar that can substantially reduce hand fatigue and stress during repetitive use.
The present invention has a tapered wedge shaped shaft that needs only to be inserted between two glued surfaces and given a slight twist to break a glue seal.
The present invention has a staple-removing tip that needs only to be inserted under a staple and given a slight left and right twisting motion to free the staple.
The present invention has tape splitting teeth on the shaft that need simply to be slid against a tape's edge to split the tape open.
The present invention has tape splitting teeth on the tip of the shaft that need simply be pushed against and through the tape, where the two surfaces are sealed, to split the tape open.
The present invention includes tape splitting teeth that are sharp enough to puncture and split open any tape used to tape a box shut; however, dull enough to substantially avoid puncturing or cutting a person's skin if the present invention comes into a forceful contact with a person's skin.
The present invention, having no sharp blades, will not cut or damage contents within the glued, taped, or stapled boxes.
The present invention can be made from either 100% post-consumer or 100% postindustrial waste recycled plastic and is 100% recyclable, making it virtually eternal.
The present invention can be made from any plastic resin which can be injection molded.
The present invention may be formed from several connected parts, but is preferably an integrally-molded, unitary article. The present invention may be injection molded in one-piece from moldable materials such as plastics. Moldable materials may include recyclable materials such as thermoplastics and may include at least in part recycled materials. Preferably, the box opener is formed entirely from recycled plastic.
The present invention is a safe tool to open glued, taped and stapled boxes, the three most common types of sealed boxes, and is an alternative to sharp slitting devices, and in particular to hand-held box cutters/utility knives.
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The puncture points are used for puncturing sealing tapes which have sealed the entire flaps of a box, as shown in
The manufacturing details of the invention as shown in
Although the box opener of the present invention may be formed from several connected parts, the box opener is preferably an integrally-molded, unitary article. The box opener may be injection molded in one-piece from moldable materials such as plastics. Moldable materials may include recyclable materials such as thermoplastics and may include at least in part recycled materials. Preferably, the box opener is formed entirely from recycled plastic
The tape splitting teeth of the box opener of the present invention can also be used to tear, split and puncture plastic film typically used to wrap pallets of goods and plastic shrink wrap typically used to hold together flats or trays of bottled waters, cans of pop etc.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, workers skilled in the art will recognize changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
