Patents by Inventor Theodore P. Merz

Theodore P. Merz 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: 4966780
    Abstract: Packaging for coffee which is to be packed as quickly as is feasible after roasting, i.e., without undergoing substantial off gassing. The packaging preferably comprises a semi-rigid, substantially gas-impervious container capable of withstanding the pressures generated by the release of carbon dioxide and other gases from the fresh roasted coffee in the container. The semi-rigid container is preferably comprised of plastic and predetermined portions of the container are preferably capable of undergoing limited deformation. This prevents instability of the base of the container, thereby keeping its vertical axis erect, and ensures that the container does not become jammed within the shipping case in which it is transported due to lateral expansion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 1989
    Date of Patent: October 30, 1990
    Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
    Inventors: Peter J. Hargraves, Robert S. Dirksing, Theodore P. Merz
  • Patent number: 4892247
    Abstract: A package comprising a paperboard carton having an open end which is closed by a hingedly connected plastic lid, the lid and the carton together forming a latch to hold the lid in its closed position prior to initial opening of the package and between dispensing cycles. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the plastic lid includes a "U" shaped channel about its periphery, the channel having a projection located on one of the innermost surfaces of the "U". The open end of the paperboard carton includes a folded over flap. Either the flap or the carton sidewall to which it is attached includes an aperture which is complementary in size and shape to the projection on the plastic lid. The lid is maintained in its closed position by entry of the projection on the "U" shaped channel of the plastic lid into the aperture in the paperboard.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 1988
    Date of Patent: January 9, 1990
    Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
    Inventors: Robert S. Dirksing, Theodore P. Merz
  • Patent number: 4873100
    Abstract: A bistable expandable bottle preferably including a concentrated material to be diluted, said bottle being comprised of convex shaped bellows when in its expanded condition, said bottle also including opposed handle means for facilitating the extension of the bottle from its collapsed to its expanded condition. In a preferred embodiment a self-venting closure is also employed to seal the orifice in said bottle to permit extension of the bottle from its collapsed to its expanded condition without loosening or removing of the closure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 1987
    Date of Patent: October 10, 1989
    Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
    Inventors: Robert S. Dirksing, Richard M. Girardot, Theodore P. Merz
  • Patent number: 4319868
    Abstract: The invention disclosed is an apparatus for making a thermoplastic film embossed with tapered bosses having perforations in the tips of each boss through use of a metallic pattern roll and a heated perforating roll. The apparatus and method allow a film having tapered bosses with decreased cross-sectional areas leading to a perforation to be formed without use of expensive vacuum forming methods.The invention discloses a film 10 being heated by a heating means 14 to a deformable state and being embossed on an embossing surface 16 of embossing roll 13 under pressure from the silicone rubber surface 33 of first pressure roll 15. The flm on the apex, 262 of the cone 26 on embossing surface 16 is removed to perforate the cone by perforating roll 17, which is a resilient hollow metal tube heated from a radiant heater mounted on the inside of the hollow metal tube. The perforated film is then embossed a second time by the action of a second embossing roll 18 and then rewound onto a rewind roll.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 1981
    Date of Patent: March 16, 1982
    Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
    Inventors: Coenraad E. Riemersma, Theodore P. Merz
  • Patent number: 4272473
    Abstract: The invention disclosed is an apparatus and method to make a thermoplastic film embossed with tapered bosses having perforations in the tips of each boss through use of a metallic pattern roll and a heated perforating roll. The apparatus and method allow a film having tapered bosses with decreased cross-sectional areas leading to a perforation to be formed without use of expensive vacuum forming methods.The invention discloses a film 10 being heated by a heating means 14 to a deformable state and being embossed on an embossing surface 16 of embossing roll 13 under pressure from the silicone rubber surface 33 of first pressure roll 15. The film on the apex of the cone 26 on embossing surface 16 is removed to perforate the cone by perforating roll 17, which is a resilient hollow metal tube heated from a radiant heater mounted on the inside of the hollow metal tube. The perforated film is then embossed a second time by the action of a second embossing roll 18 and then rewound onto a rewind roll.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 1978
    Date of Patent: June 9, 1981
    Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
    Inventors: Coenraad E. Riemersma, Theodore P. Merz
  • Patent number: 4167245
    Abstract: Spray dispensing of a metered quantity of a preferably semi-liquid product from a filled container having a fixed wall provided with at least one and preferably a plurality of generally open and unobstructed discharge passageways. A moveable wall spaced apart from the fixed wall is impacted with a moving mass to induce a pressure pulse in the product sufficient to surge a metered quantity of product less than the entire content of the container through the generally open and unobstructed discharge passageways with sufficient velocity as to break away from the passageways and the remaining product within the container for ballistic travel generally normal the fixed wall outwardly of the container. A plurality of uniform discharge passageways and a proper match of product formulation and energy input produces a generally uniformly moving cluster of generally uniformly defined and moving particles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 1977
    Date of Patent: September 11, 1979
    Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
    Inventors: Ronald W. Kock, Theodore P. Merz, Paul K. Platt