Patents by Inventor Douglas Hidding

Douglas Hidding has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 7942284
    Abstract: An apparatus removes a tamper-evident seal from a mouth of a container and retains the tamper-evident seal to prevent any of the seal from falling into the container. The apparatus includes a body having a top surface and a bottom surface. A sidewall circumscribes the body and extends substantially perpendicularly from the top surface of the body. A first projection extends substantially perpendicularly from the top surface and is disposed radially inward from the side wall. The first projection includes a first tip, a first portion, and a second portion, wherein an indentation is defined between the first and second portions. The first portion is located between the body and the second portion. The second portion has a diameter that is wider than a diameter of the first portion. A plurality of second projections extend from the top surface of the body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2011
    Assignee: Minimizim, L.L.C.
    Inventors: Alex H. Amanat, Paul H. Wunderlich, Douglas Hidding
  • Publication number: 20070051691
    Abstract: The inventions disclosed herein include a clear cap and tamper-indicating seal combination, a translucent cap and seal combination, an improved cap embodying a raised ridge for providing a contact surface on the top of the cap, among other inventions. The preferred cap is at least partially non-opaque to allow a customer to perceive the tamper-indicating seal through the cap at the point of purchase. In a first embodiment, the tamper-indicating seal serves as a label, wherein the customer can perceive, through the cap, information such as printing which is indicative of the contents of the container. In a second embodiment, the tamper-indicating seal serves as a tamper evident seal, wherein the customer can perceive, through the cap, at the point of purchase, whether the seal has been breached. In a third embodiment, the tamper-indicating seal serves as both a label and a seal, wherein the tamper-indicating seal creates a liquid resistant seal between the cap and the opening of the container.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 14, 2005
    Publication date: March 8, 2007
    Inventor: Douglas Hidding
  • Publication number: 20070051690
    Abstract: The inventions disclosed herein include a clear cap and tamper-indicating seal combination for containers. The preferred cap is at least partially non-opaque to allow a customer to perceive the tamper-indicating seal through the cap at the point of purchase. In a first embodiment, the tamper-indicating seal serves as a label, wherein the customer can perceive, through the cap, information such as printing which is indicative of the contents of the container. In a second embodiment, the tamper-indicating seal serves as a tamper evident seal, wherein the customer can perceive, through the cap, at the point of purchase, whether the seal has been breached. In a third embodiment, the tamper-indicating seal serves as both a label and a seal, wherein the tamper-indicating seal creates a liquid resistant seal between the cap and the opening of the container. In a forth embodiment, the tamper-indicating seal serves as both a label and a tamper evident seal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 8, 2005
    Publication date: March 8, 2007
    Inventor: Douglas Hidding
  • Publication number: 20070034590
    Abstract: The present invention is directed to a bottle neck finish and a tamper resistant bottle cap that satisfy the need to retain the ratchet ring in place after the bottle cap has been removed from the bottle. Specifically, the present inventions incorporate features onto one or both of a bottle neck and a threaded cap having a frangibly connected ratchet ring. In one embodiment of the present invention, the claimed features create frictional engagement between the ratchet ring and the bottle neck. The frictional resistance effectively prevents the ratchet ring from falling off the bottle neck when the user pours the contents of the bottle. In another embodiment, the claimed features create an interference between the ratchet ring and the bottle neck. The interference prevents the ratchet ring from falling off the bottle neck.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 4, 2005
    Publication date: February 15, 2007
    Inventor: Douglas Hidding
  • Publication number: 20060016777
    Abstract: A cap for use with bottled water dispensing systems. The cap includes a main cap and a liner. The main cap has an opening which receives and seals against a probe. The liner is gripped between the main cap and the bottle neck and has a outside part and an inner movable part. The inner movable part is separated from the outer part by perforations and is connected to the outer part by a large connecting section, which serves as a hinge, and small connecting sections, which serve as frangible ties. When the bottle is lowered onto the dispensing system, the probe enters into the opening in the main cap, breaks the frangible ties, and pushes the inner movable part open like a flap. The liner, at the location of the large connecting section, is resilient such that the inner movable part tends to close when the bottle is removed from the dispensing system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 22, 2004
    Publication date: January 26, 2006
    Inventor: Douglas Hidding
  • Publication number: 20050205513
    Abstract: A packaging system for improved management of cap inventory when different beverages, such as different types of milk (skim, 1%, 2% and whole) or water (spring, distilled, fortified, mineral etc.) are bottled in the same bottling lines at various facilities. The system includes maintaining a supply of standard caps, which may be free of colorants or pigments, and a supplies of reels of different colored (or differently printed) shrinkable band material. The different types of beverage are bottled in containers that have a single standard cap and standard uniform bottles, and the different contents of said bottles are differentiated from one another by the application of colored (or distinctively printed) bands. The cap and/or the bottle neck are adapted to be engaged by the band in a way that protects the bottle from being tampered with, and when threaded caps are used, helps prevent the inadvertent loosening of the caps during in shipment.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 5, 2005
    Publication date: September 22, 2005
    Inventor: Douglas Hidding
  • Publication number: 20050173436
    Abstract: An apparatus removes a tamper-evident seal from a mouth of a container and retains the tamper-evident seal to prevent any of the seal from falling into the container. The apparatus includes a body having a top surface and a bottom surface. A sidewall circumscribes the body and extends substantially perpendicularly from the top surface of the body. A first projection extends substantially perpendicularly from the top surface and is disposed radially inward from the side wall. The first projection includes a first tip, a first portion, and a second portion, wherein an indentation is defined between the first and second portions. The first portion is located between the body and the second portion. The second portion has a diameter that is wider than a diameter of the first portion. A plurality of second projections extend from the top surface of the body.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 18, 2004
    Publication date: August 11, 2005
    Inventors: Alex Amanat, Paul Wunderlich, Douglas Hidding
  • Publication number: 20050039416
    Abstract: A packaging system for improved management of cap inventory when different beverages, such as different types of milk (skim, 1%, 2% and whole) or water (spring, distilled, fortified, mineral etc.) are bottled in the same bottling lines at various facilities. The system includes maintaining a supply of standard caps, which may be free of colorants or pigments, and a supplies of reels of different colored (or differently printed) shrink sleeve material. The different types of beverage are bottled in containers that have a single standard cap and standard uniform bottles, and the different contents of said bottles are differentiated from one another by the application of colored (or distinctively printed) shrink sleeves or bands. The cap and/or the bottle neck are adapted to be engaged by the shrink band in a way that protects the bottle from being tampered with, and when threaded caps are used, helps prevent the inadvertent loosening of the caps during in shipment.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 20, 2003
    Publication date: February 24, 2005
    Inventor: Douglas Hidding