Patents by Inventor Harry B. Wilfong, Jr.

Harry B. Wilfong, Jr. 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).

  • Publication number: 20230128065
    Abstract: Bags having reinforcement tabs are disclosed along with methods of their manufacture.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 22, 2022
    Publication date: April 27, 2023
    Inventor: Harry B. WILFONG, JR.
  • Patent number: 11584059
    Abstract: The invention is directed to a method and apparatus for maintaining the inflation level of a bubble formed by nips in a moving roll of tubular film, to form a gusset in a final product produced from the film.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2023
    Assignee: HILEX POLY CO. LLC
    Inventor: Harry B. Wilfong, Jr.
  • Publication number: 20210188487
    Abstract: A tamper evident sealable plastic bag having front and rear walls terminating into front and rear flaps with handle openings at the mouth end of the bag and forming a holding cavity at a bottom closed end thereof. The side edges of the bag below the flap region are sealed. An adhesive closure system positioned below the flap region extends laterally from one side edge of the bag to another that can be deployed by removing a protective liner covering an adhesive strip for substantially closing off the mouth end of the bag thus providing improved security and tamper resistance. The bag can be opened by tearing along a perforated line. The bag walls include a plurality of slits for venting steam emanating from hot foods. In embodiments, tear initiation slits are utilized in tandem with perforations to provide a convenient method for opening the bag.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 21, 2020
    Publication date: June 24, 2021
    Inventors: Harry B. Wilfong, JR., Ashish K. Mithal, Adrianne K. Tipton, Victoria J. Stiling
  • Publication number: 20190070767
    Abstract: The invention is directed to a method and apparatus for maintaining the inflation level of a bubble formed by nips in a moving roll of tubular film, to form a gusset in a final product produced from the film.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 5, 2018
    Publication date: March 7, 2019
    Inventor: Harry B. WILFONG, JR.
  • Patent number: 10118329
    Abstract: The invention is directed to a method and apparatus for maintaining the inflation level of a bubble formed by nips in a moving roll of tubular film, to form a gusset in a final product produced from the film.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2018
    Assignee: Hilex Poly Co. LLC
    Inventor: Harry B. Wilfong, Jr.
  • Publication number: 20140144806
    Abstract: Bag having coupons selectively positioned thereon are disclosed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 15, 2013
    Publication date: May 29, 2014
    Inventor: HARRY B. WILFONG, JR.
  • Publication number: 20130134615
    Abstract: The invention is directed to a method and apparatus for maintaining the inflation level of a bubble formed by nips in a moving roll of tubular film, to form a gusset in a final product produced from the film.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 29, 2012
    Publication date: May 30, 2013
    Applicant: HILEX POLY CO. LLC, A DELAWARE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Harry B. Wilfong, JR.
  • Publication number: 20100021088
    Abstract: A reusable bag is provided having a defined storage volume for receiving and transporting various items. The bag includes a front panel, a rear panel and two side panels. The panels of the bag are assembled to define the storage volume, having an open top end portion. A bottom wall is attached to the panels to close the bottom end portion of the bag and to define storage volume. The bottom wall is formed from at least two plies of material, with at least one ply of the bottom wall integrally formed with a panel, and the bottom wall having an extension portion wrapping around the bottom wall and secured to one of the panels. In addition, openings may be provided for supporting the bag on the arms of a typical bag support rack.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 21, 2009
    Publication date: January 28, 2010
    Applicant: Hilex Poly Co., LLC
    Inventor: Harry B. Wilfong, JR.
  • Patent number: 7624881
    Abstract: A dispensing apparatus for header-style bags having a housing comprising a rear portion and a front cover connected to the rear portion, and a bag mount attached to the rear portion proximate the top edge thereof, the bag mount structured and arranged to engage the aperture in the packet of bags so as to hang the packet from the bag mount. The front cover is pivotally attached to the rear portion so as to be movable between a lowered, open position providing access to an interior of the housing so that a lower portion of a packet of bags hanging from the bag mount can be received in the interior of the housing, and a raised, closed position in which the housing substantially encloses the lower portion of the packet of bags while the mouth portion of the packet of bags projects above the housing to allow a bag to be grasped at an upper end thereof and removed from the packet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 2004
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2009
    Assignee: Hilex Poly Co., LLC
    Inventor: Harry B. Wilfong, Jr.
  • Patent number: 6446811
    Abstract: A pack of self-opening serially-arranged plastic bags of the “star-seal” type defining eight superimposed wall layers in the bag. Mounting tabs form a part of top portions of each of the eight layers and are positioned in superimposed positions and each includes an aperture for mounting the tabs on a tab retaining device of a rack in a non-front-side-free manner. Each of the tabs includes a mechanism for rendering the tab detachable and providing a predetermined detaching strength. In one embodiment, each of the tabs are detachable from the rack and in another embodiment, each of the tabs are detachable from the bag. A frangible bond is formed between the rear layer and the front layer of each successive bag in the pack.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2002
    Assignee: Sonoco Development, Inc.
    Inventor: Harry B. Wilfong, Jr.
  • Patent number: 5941393
    Abstract: A pack of easy opening handleless or T-shirt type plastic bags for packaging grocery produce or the like and for being suspended from a rack for being serially opened and removed from the rack. Each type of bag includes integrally formed front and rear walls and gusseted side walls which extend inwardly towards each other and which terminate proximate each other. The walls have top portions defining an open mouth. Each T-shirt type bag includes laterally-spaced handles extending upwardly from the mouth portion on each side of the bag. The front and rear walls and gusseted side walls of each bag are folded onto each other along a longitudinal axis of the bag to define eight superimposed layers. A seal of the star seal type secures the bottoms of the eight layers together to close each bag bottom. Superimposed detachable tabs extend upwardly from the eight wall layers at the top of each bag. Each tab includes an aperture for mounting on a tab-retaining device of a rack.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 24, 1999
    Assignee: Sonoco Development, Inc.
    Inventor: Harry B. Wilfong, Jr.
  • Patent number: 5881882
    Abstract: A pack of plastic bags which are preferably self-opening are adapted to be mounted on a support rack and leave no residue on the support rack when removed therefrom. The plastic bags include front and rear walls integrally joined at their sides and secured at their bottoms and defining an open mouth portion at the top of the walls. A detaching central tab is formed at the top of each of the walls and each has an aperture therein for mounting the central tabs on a tab retaining device on the rack. The tab of at least the rear wall has a structure to propagate a tear through the tab for detaching the tab from the rack while retaining sufficient strength in the portion of the tab above the mounting aperture to prevent premature tearing of the tab and detaching from the rack.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 1998
    Date of Patent: March 16, 1999
    Assignee: Sonoco Products Company
    Inventors: Wade D. Fletcher, Harry B. Wilfong, Jr., Jeffrey S. Vance
  • Patent number: 5845779
    Abstract: A bag dispensing system is provided which includes a rack for supporting a pack of plastic bags in a generally vertical suspended position for successively removal of the bags by a user and including an elongate central tab retaining device having a predetermined width. Each of the bags in the pack have front and rear walls integrally joined at their sides and secured together at their bottoms and define an open mouth portion at the top of the walls. A detaching central tab is formed at the top of each of the bag walls and each has an aperture therein for mounting the tabs on the rack retaining device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 1996
    Date of Patent: December 8, 1998
    Assignee: Sonoco Products Company
    Inventors: Harry B. Wilfong, Jr., Wade D. Fletcher, Jeffrey S. Vance
  • Patent number: 5667173
    Abstract: A compact rack construction is provided for mounting a pack of thermoplastic grocery or retail product bags of the T-shirt type and which includes a frame and a pair of generally horizontally and outwardly extending laterally-spaced support arms for receiving the apertures in the handles of the bags in the pack at an outer end portion and for mounting the bag pack on a horizontal portion for consecutive opening and removal of the bags from the bag pack and from the rack. Each of the support arms include an upper surface and a lower surface extending horizontally from the frame to define the horizontal portion of the support arms therebetween and then extending upwardly from horizontal at predetermined different angles and being joined at outer ends to each other by a loop surface formed with a smooth radius to define the support arm outer end portion therebetween. The upward extension of said lower surface is offset forward with respect to the upward extension of said upper surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 1995
    Date of Patent: September 16, 1997
    Assignee: Sonoco Products Company
    Inventors: Harry B. Wilfong, Jr., Edwin W. Haenni
  • Patent number: 5562580
    Abstract: The invention provides self-opening polyethylene film bag stacks which do not require a separate adhesive layer between adjacent bags. The self-opening bag stack according to the invention preferably include a plurality of stacked t-shirt type high density polyethylene film bags releasably adhered together. At least an upper portion of the outer surface of the front and rear walls of each of the bags in the bag stack has been corona treated and at least one localized compressed area extends transversely through the bag stack in the upper portion of the bags such that the stack has a decreased thickness in the localized compressed area and so that adjacent outer wall corona treated surfaces defined by the localized compressed area are releasably adhered together.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 1994
    Date of Patent: October 8, 1996
    Assignee: Sonoco Products Company
    Inventors: M. Wayne Beasley, Wade D. Fletcher, Harry B. Wilfong, Jr.
  • Patent number: 5362152
    Abstract: A T-shirt type plastic bag is adapted for carrying hot foods from fast food restaurants. The bag includes front and rear wall sections, gussetted side wall sections integrally connecting the front and rear wall sections together and means connecting the bottoms of the front, rear and gussetted side wall sections together to define a closed bottom. At least a part of the front and rear wall sections are open at the tops to define a mouth portion. Laterally spaced handles are integral with the front, rear and gussetted side wall sections and extend upwardly from opposed sides of the mouth portion. Apertures extend through at least one of the wall sections for providing a path for a venting air flow from the outside of the bag and through the inside of the bag when the bag is carrying hot food.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 1993
    Date of Patent: November 8, 1994
    Assignee: Sonoco Products Company
    Inventors: Wade D. Fletcher, Harry B. Wilfong, Jr.
  • Patent number: D505036
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2005
    Assignee: Hilex Poly Co., LLC
    Inventor: Harry B. Wilfong, Jr.
  • Patent number: D547580
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2007
    Assignee: Hilex Poly Co., LLC
    Inventor: Harry B. Wilfong, Jr.
  • Patent number: D552901
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2007
    Assignee: Hilex Poly Co., LLC
    Inventors: Harry B. Wilfong, Jr., Jeff Zhang
  • Patent number: D396636
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 1996
    Date of Patent: August 4, 1998
    Assignee: Sonoco Products Company
    Inventor: Harry B. Wilfong, Jr.