Abstract: A container for dispensing selected portions of a web material and a method of making such a container. The container is arranged to contain the web material and has an opening through which the web material can be led out of the container. A track is positioned such that web material led out of the container through the opening can be laid across the track. A cutter is capable of sliding along the track and of cutting web material laid across the track. At least in a packaged configuration for shipping, the track and cutter do not extend beyond an outline of the container.

Abstract: A base rail for supporting an object such as a large household appliance is provided. The base rail is a composite rail made from paperboard and resilient foam blocks. The resilient foam blocks are captured within the paperboard to provide a strong, cushioned platform for an appliance or other large object.

Abstract: A gas release container comprises a container body having a bottom wall and a side wall extending upwardly from the bottom wall and terminating at an upper edge, a removable closure affixed to the upper edge in a substantially gas-tight manner, and a gas release valve in a wall of the container body and operable to release gas from the container when the pressure differential between the interior and the exterior of the container is sufficient to open the valve. The removable closure can include a flexible gas-barrier membrane sealed to the upper edge of the container body. A lower surface of the membrane and the upper edge of the side wall comprise heat-sealable polymer materials, and the membrane is heat-sealed to the upper edge, preferably by induction sealing. The closure can include an overcap.

Abstract: A device and a method for measuring and quantifying waviness of sheet materials such as paper. The device in accordance with one embodiment comprises a base having a planar, smooth, and level upper surface for supporting a stack of sheets thereon, a plate-shaped weight for placing atop the stack of sheets, and a measuring device for measuring a vertical distance between a datum surface defined by the weight and a datum surface defined by the base. The measured distance is an indication of the height of the stack. In a preferred embodiment, the device also includes a programmed processor operable to calculate a “Wavy Ratio” based on the measured actual height H of the stack and a calculated “ideal” height of the stack, as Wavy Ratio=H/(n·t), where n is the number of sheets and t is the average caliper of the sheets.

Abstract: A spirally wound tube for wrapping textiles or other materials thereon. The tube has an identification feature. The tube is made by spirally winding a number of plies together. The outermost ply defines a groove that substantially extends spirally along the length of the tube. The groove is for containing an identification marking for identifying the textile or other material wrapped onto the tube. In particular, the tube may include an identification stripe that extends along the groove. The identification stripe contains a marking system or identification markings to indicate the type or nature of the textile material wrapped on the tube. The marking system may include the color or colors of the stripe, or patterns, codes, readable indicia, or any combination of markings on the stripe.

Abstract: A self-opening blister package is provided having a packaging sleeve or carton and a formed tray. The tray includes one or more receptacle cups, which are dimensioned to receive one or more products, such as gum or the like. A peelable membrane is sealed to the tray flange. A leading edge of the membrane is attached to the sleeve. The membrane peels away from the tray when the tray is removed from the sleeve. The peeling action exposes the product contained in the one or more cups. Once the desired amount of product is extracted, the tray can be pushed back into the sleeve and the membrane rolls back over the tray.

Abstract: An “accordion-like” product display container with a plurality of compartments is provided. The product display container has a collapsed configuration in which the panels are folded up and an expanded display configuration in which the panels form areas for holding product to be displayed. Each compartment in the plurality of compartments further comprises at least one rigidity flap, e.g., a pair of rigidity flaps. The rigidity flaps are deployed into a rigidifying position to stiffen the product display container are resist compression from the expanded display configuration to the collapsed configuration. The display container may be transitioned from the collapsed state to the rigid state solely by deploying the rigidity flaps. The rigidity flaps may be held in place by bottom panels of the compartments.

Abstract: A winding core for nonwoven fabrics and the like comprises a wound paperboard tube comprising a plurality of paperboard layers wound one upon another about an axis of the tube and adhered together, and regions of grit bound in an adhesive binder, the regions being affixed to the outer surface of the tube and being sized and arranged such that the regions collectively occupy a minority of the total surface area of the outer surface, the regions further being arranged such that there are at least two of the regions axially spaced apart along a length of the tube in positions to simultaneously encounter and snag an end of a fabric web to be wound about the core. In one embodiment, a narrow sandpaper strip is helically wound about and affixed to the tube to form the regions of grit.

Abstract: A package and method for products is provided. The package includes a non-planar package comprising a wall formed of polymeric material, and at least one tracking device partially embedded within a thickness of the wall during forming of the package such that the tracking device is exposed and visible on a surface of the package.

Abstract: A pivotally loaded baler system includes a ram, which ram is movable along a horizontal axis, and a housing disposed at least partially about the ram. A pivotable loading member or tube is connected to the housing such that, when the loading member or tube is pivoted to a vertical disposition, a defined loading chute or the loading tube surrounds a vertical axis and an open end of the chute or tube aligns with a loading aperture of the housing. As the loading member or tube is pivoted to the vertical disposition, material is permitted to fall toward the loading aperture. A cutting edge of the ram severs material as the ram extends. Severed upper portions of the material are surrounded by the loading chute or tube and are at least temporarily supported from below by the ram.

Abstract: The product display system includes one or more display containers, wherein each display container includes a plurality of panels that are adapted to form an area for holding product to be displayed. Each display container may include one or more container interconnection flaps and one or more apertures adapted to receive the interconnection flaps from another one of the display containers, enabling the plurality of display containers to be coupled together. The system may further include a floor stand adapted to hold the plurality of display containers and/or a tray adapted to receive the plurality of display containers. Each display container in the plurality of display containers may include a mounting mechanism enabling the display container to be hung.

Abstract: The invention relates to a tray plug that includes a base portion; a plurality of towers extending upwardly away from the base portion; a secondary base portion contiguous with the underside of the base portion; and a means for securing the plug to a display structure, whereby the tray plug can be quickly secured and subsequently removed from a display such as a point-of-purchase display.

Abstract: A cutting assembly is provided that is adapted for use in combination with a container for dispensing a web of material. The dispensing container includes a plurality of adjoining sidewalls which define an external geometric profile. The cutting assembly includes a guide disposed in combination with a sidewall of the container and a cutter adapted for traversing within the elongate guide in a desired cutting direction. Furthermore, guide and bearing surfaces, formed on the guide and cutter, respectively, cooperate to permit sliding motion therebetween in the cutting direction and interlock to delimit displacement of the cutter relative to the guide in directions orthogonal to the cutting direction. A portion of the guide and cutter is disposed proximal to a corner of the container and recessed relative to its external geometric profile to facilitate container storage and display while additionally producing an aesthetically pleasing appearance.

Abstract: A plastic, easy-opening closure for a retortable container and a method for sealing are provided. The closure includes a plastic membrane having an outer layer of polypropylene, a first tie layer, an intermediate layer formed of EVOH, a second tie layer, an inner layer formed of polypropylene, and a peel-seal layer. The peel-seal layer can be formed of high density polyethylene or polypropylene with a contaminant dispersed therein so that the closure can be easily removed from the container for opening.

Abstract: A seaming apparatus and method wherein a composite container with a metal end loosely placed thereon is supported on a lifting plate in a vacuum chamber, air is evacuated from the chamber, the lifting plate is raised to engage the metal end with a magnetic seaming chuck, the lifting plate is then lowered to lower the container (optionally aided by one or more magnets in the lifting plate) so as to produce a gap between the metal end and the container, an inert gas is introduced into the chamber, the lifting plate is then raised to engage the container with the metal end, and the metal end is seamed onto the container.

Abstract: A tubular container that can be bent at multiple angles to hold and protect irregular (non-straight) items. The container comprises at least one rigid, hollow straight section and at least one hollow tubular connector piece. The connector piece is configured to fit partially within the straight sections and comprises at least one V-shaped notch at which the tubular container can bend.

Abstract: A packaging material, a method of making such a material, and a package made from such material, are disclosed. A substrate comprises at least one sheet of plastic material. An energy-curable coating is applied to one side of the substrate, which will be the outside of the eventual package. The energy-curable coating is cured by exposing it to an electron beam or other appropriate energy. A cold-seal cohesive coating is applied to the other side of the substrate. The package is formed by pressing together portions of the inside surface of at least one sheet of the material having the cold-seal cohesive coating on them to form a seal. Preferably, the cold-seal cohesive coating is applied only to those portions of the material that are to form seams in the eventual package.

Abstract: The present invention includes an improved food enclosure designed to harness the steam produced during cooking so as to rapidly thaw and cook the food; however, the enclosure also advantageously vents the steam in order to provide a crispier, more desirable food product. A “venting” container according to one embodiment of the present invention, includes a tubular body having at least one open end and a cap for engaging the open end. The cap comprises upper and lower ends, which define an intermediate region therebetween. The tubular body and cap are at least partially sealed together by frictional forces resulting from the interference between opposing radially extending protrusions disposed on both the tubular body and the cap. These frictional forces are opposed and eventually overcome by a steam pressure generated from within the container, whereby the cap is driven from a closed to a vented position.

Abstract: A forming tube for coated glass fiber is pervious to the vapors generated during the curing/drying process for the fiber. The forming tube can be formed from various materials, including but not limited to molded plastic with perforations, metal (e.g., a wire screen or cage structure), wound paperboard treated with sizing compound to render the paperboard impervious to liquid but pervious to vapors, wound synthetic paper or nonwoven material formed of synthetic fibers, or wound perforated paperboard.