Patents by Inventor Paul Appelbaum

Paul Appelbaum 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: 20110079529
    Abstract: A trapped card package includes a paperboard card having a relatively large central rectangular opening, a clear plastic blister piece with a groove extending along its perimeter and a flange, and a lower clear plastic piece has a male element extending along its perimeter, and a flange. The lower piece male element engages the card opening and its flange abuts the underside of the card and the male element projects upward beyond the top surface of the card where it is received by the perimeter groove of the blister piece as the flange of the blister pieces engages the top surface of the card, so as to trap the card and seal the package when adhesive on the engaged element is cured.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 16, 2010
    Publication date: April 7, 2011
    Inventors: Paul Appelbaum, Gary Eddington, JR.
  • Publication number: 20100065460
    Abstract: A card and blister package for small articles of commerce has a clear plastic blister piece, a card and a retainer piece. The blister piece had an article-receiving cavity and a flange extends along the upper edge of the cavity, and pluralities of upwardly extending locking posts are spaced apart along the flange. The card has openings for receiving therethrough the locking posts and the retainer piece had a plurality of integral downwardly-opening locking caps spaced therealong, whereby when the posts are engaged through the card openings the caps can be snapped into locking engagement with the blister posts so as to secure the card to the blister. Each cap is encircled by an arrangement of perforations, so as to detachably connect the cap to the retainer piece and whereby twisting of the cap will cause it to shear free of the retainer, and rotation through about 90 degrees will cause the caps to unlock from the posts, allowing the package to be opened.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 15, 2008
    Publication date: March 18, 2010
    Inventor: Paul Appelbaum
  • Patent number: 7624891
    Abstract: A plastic package for holding small articles of commerce has a clear blister portion and a rectangular card member for covering the blister portion, the blister having a bottom, front wall, rear wall, and opposing side walls, and the upper perimeter portion of the blister has a ledge extending therealong for engaging and supporting the periphery of the card, and hingedly attached along upper edges of each of the blister sides is an integral flip-up retainer member each having a “proud” point or convex surface, and when the card is positioned on the blister ledge the hinged retainer members can be rotated to a position which brings their proud points in engagement with the card. UV responsive adhesive on the proud points can be activated to bond the retainers to the card to seal the package.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2009
    Inventors: Paul Appelbaum, Joseph Campbell
  • Publication number: 20080029419
    Abstract: A clear plastic enclosure for small articles of commerce has a front panel and a rear panel, each panel including a major planar surface with a shaped cavity therein, and a generally rectangular outer peripheral edge, and the panels having an engaged position wherein their planar surfaces touch and their corresponding cavities cooperate to form a single article-receiving cavity, and a wrap-around frame member for engaging and retaining the combined edges of the engaged panels.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 4, 2006
    Publication date: February 7, 2008
    Inventor: Paul Appelbaum
  • Publication number: 20070289890
    Abstract: A card and blister package for small articles of commerce has a clear plastic blister piece, a card and a retainer piece. The blister walls form an article-receiving cavity and a plurality of upwardly projecting spaced-apart male prongs extending along the upper edge of the blister piece. A generally rectangular card has shaped perforations for receiving there-through the prongs of the blister piece and the retainer comprises a generally rectangular ring having a plurality of sockets for receiving the prongs of the blister piece, whereby the prongs can be engaged through the perforations, snapped into engagement with the ring sockets, and UV-activated adhesive on the engaged parts illuminated by UV light so as to bond to the ring to the blister to secure the package.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 11, 2007
    Publication date: December 20, 2007
    Inventor: Paul Appelbaum
  • Patent number: 7308784
    Abstract: Apparatus for packaging articles in clear clamshell packages includes a pair of parallel relatively narrow, laterally spaced apart conveyor belts that support there-between a package in open position by its opposing side peripheries. A stack of packages is supported in nested configuration adjacent the front end of the conveyor and de-nester mechanism withdraws packages there-from and places them on the conveyor. As the package is advanced a robotic arm picks and places articles of commerce and associated product information card in the package cavity. A rotating roller coated with UV-responsive adhesive coats raised male surfaces of the advancing package. Next an air knife sends a jet of air upwardly to cause the open package lid to rotate upwardly to cover the article-receiving portion. A driven roller presses the lid downwardly to fully close it and cause the adhesive coated surfaces to fully engage the corresponding grooves on the article-receiving portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2007
    Inventors: Paul Appelbaum, Frank Matheus
  • Patent number: 7255230
    Abstract: A card and blister package for small articles of commerce has a clear plastic blister piece, a card and a retainer piece. The blister walls form an article-receiving cavity and a plurality of upwardly projecting spaced-apart male prongs extending along the upper edge of the blister piece. A generally rectangular card has shaped perforations for receiving there-through the prongs of the blister piece and the retainer comprises a generally rectangular ring having a plurality of sockets for receiving the prongs of the blister piece, whereby the prongs can be engaged through the perforations, snapped into engagement with the ring sockets, and UV-activated adhesive on the engaged parts illuminated by UV light so as to bond to the ring to the blister to secure the package.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2007
    Inventor: Paul Appelbaum
  • Publication number: 20070084744
    Abstract: Apparatus for packaging articles in clear clamshell packages includes a pair of parallel relatively narrow, laterally spaced apart conveyor belts that support there-between a package in open position by its opposing side peripheries. A stack of packages is supported in nested configuration adjacent the front end of the conveyor and de-nester mechanism withdraws packages there-from and places them on the conveyor. As the package is advanced a robotic arm picks and places articles of commerce and associated product information card in the package cavity. A rotating roller coated with UV-responsive adhesive coats raised male surfaces of the advancing package. Next an air knife sends a jet of air upwardly to cause the open package lid to rotate upwardly to cover the article-receiving portion. A driven roller presses the lid downwardly to fully close it and cause the adhesive coated surfaces to fully engage the corresponding grooves on the article-receiving portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 10, 2006
    Publication date: April 19, 2007
    Inventors: Paul Appelbaum, Frank Matheus
  • Publication number: 20060278651
    Abstract: A plastic package for holding small articles of commerce has a clear blister portion and a rectangular card member for covering the blister portion, the blister having a bottom, front wall, rear wall, and opposing side walls, and the upper perimeter portion of the blister has a ledge extending therealong for engaging and supporting the periphery of the card, and hingedly attached along upper edges of each of the blister sides is an integral flip-up retainer member each having a “proud” point or convex surface, and when the card is positioned on the blister ledge the hinged retainer members can be rotated to a position which brings their proud points in engagement with the card. UV responsive adhesive on the proud points can be activated to bond the retainers to the card to seal the package.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 13, 2005
    Publication date: December 14, 2006
    Inventors: Paul Appelbaum, Joseph Campbell
  • Publication number: 20060037882
    Abstract: A clear plastic package has a generally rectangular lid and bottom, the lid having a major planar surface, and a generally vertical wall having an inverted V-shape extending along the perimeter of the major surface, and a female connecting portion extends along the outer edge of the perimeter wall, the female connecting portion providing an inverted concave groove, and a skirt portion extends downwardly from the outer edge of the female portion. The package bottom includes a major generally flat surface bounded by a perimeter wall having a U-shape, and a male connecting portion along the outer edge of the perimeter wall is shaped to be snapped into latching engagement with the female portion of the lid. When the lid is engaged with the bottom, the respective planar surfaces lies in close proximity to each other, and there are shaped cavities in these surfaces for receiving small articles of commerce.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 14, 2003
    Publication date: February 23, 2006
    Inventors: Paul Appelbaum, Joseph Campbell
  • Patent number: 6780246
    Abstract: Apparatus for applying adhesive to outer edge portions of a generally rectangular clear plastic package piece has a lower portion that is a reservoir for liquid adhesive and an upper portion comprising a cover plate for the reservoir and having a flat rectangular top surface with a slot extending along each of the opposing sides of the top perimeter. Additionally, there a pair of longitudinally extending slots along the middle of the top surface and lateral slots extend through other portions of the cover plate. For each slot there is a removably mounted wick assembly, each assembly including a sheet of felt-like wick material that is looped around a rigid support bar with a lower part of the wick material extending downwardly into the reservoir. An upper portion of the wick extends a certain distance above the surface of the cover plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2004
    Inventors: Paul Appelbaum, Gary Eddington, Jr., James D. Howard
  • Publication number: 20040045867
    Abstract: A clear plastic package for securing and displaying articles of commerce includes a bottom piece having a generally flat rectangular configuration including an upper surface, a perimeter edge, a front wall pivotally attached to the front end of the bottom piece, and a rear wall pivotally attached to the rear end, each end wall having a latching lip portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 9, 2002
    Publication date: March 11, 2004
    Inventor: Paul Appelbaum
  • Patent number: 6619496
    Abstract: A clear plastic package has an upper piece and a lower piece, each piece having a generally rectangular configuration, and the lower piece having front and rear edge portions, and opposing side edge portions. Along each edge portion of the lower piece there is a pivotable wall attached by way of a living hinge, and these walls can be rotated from a generally horizontal position to an upright position relative to the lower piece, and there is a longitudinally extending locking edge on a lower part of each wall that resiliently snaps into engagement with a cooperating fixed edge on a projection that extends longitudinally along the perimeter of the lower piece, when the walls are rotated to their upright positions, to hold the walls in their upright positions. The upper portion of each of the walls is so shaped that when they are in upright position, they cooperate to provide a recessed ledge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2003
    Inventor: Paul Appelbaum
  • Patent number: 6604342
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for packaging articles in card and blister packages is disclosed, the card and blister package comprising a first or blister piece of clear pre-formed plastic with a shaped cavity for receiving small articles, and a flat flange portion along its perimeter. The second piece of the package is a flat rectangular chipboard card, appreciably larger than the card and blister piece and having printing on one or both sides. The flange of the card and blister piece can be bonded to the surface of a card to form a card and blister package for the enclosed articles. Apparatus for producing a plurality of packaged articles includes a plurality of package holders mounted on the surface of a conveyor belt that is porous to UV light, the holders made of a UV light transparent material and having upper surfaces with shaped recesses for removably supporting the plastic card and blister pieces with their cavities upwardly faced and for supporting the cards in position above the card and blister pieces.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2003
    Inventor: Paul Appelbaum
  • Publication number: 20030116563
    Abstract: A clear plastic package has an upper piece and a lower piece, each piece having a generally rectangular configuration, and the lower piece having front and rear edge portions, and opposing side edge portions. Along each edge portion of the lower piece there is a pivotable wall attached by way of a living hinge, and these walls can be rotated from a generally horizontal position to an upright position relative to the lower piece, and there is a longitudinally extending locking edge on a lower part of each wall that resiliently snaps into engagement with a cooperating fixed edge on a projection that extends longitudinally along the perimeter of the lower piece, when the walls are rotated to their upright positions, to hold the walls in their upright positions. The upper portion of each of the walls is so shaped that when they are in upright position, they cooperate to provide a recessed ledge.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 21, 2001
    Publication date: June 26, 2003
    Inventor: Paul Appelbaum
  • Patent number: 5970755
    Abstract: Disclosed is a portable combination lock having a reset button extension member, the lock having an elongated outer case that encloses lock mechanism including several spaced-apart numbered dials rotatably mounted on a longitudinally extending shaft assembly. A latch is mounted to the front end of the case and one end of the shaft assembly is adapted to shift axially to lock and unlock the latch. The other end of the shaft assembly is depressible in an axial direction against spring force when the combination is set to unlock the mechanism, to allow the lock combination to be reset as desired. The extension member has a first end mounted to the rear end of the case, and it extends longitudinally from the case to its distal end. The lock can be held by its case and the distal end of the extension member pressed against an immovable surface to cause a forward portion of the extension member to engage and operate the depressible end of the shaft assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 26, 1999
    Inventor: Paul Appelbaum
  • Patent number: D400435
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 3, 1998
    Inventor: Paul Appelbaum
  • Patent number: D400790
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 10, 1998
    Inventor: Paul Appelbaum
  • Patent number: D405002
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 1998
    Date of Patent: February 2, 1999
    Inventor: Paul Appelbaum
  • Patent number: D434647
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2000
    Inventors: Paul Appelbaum, Steve Milburn