Apparatus and method for sealing a bag
The present invention relates generally to closures, and more particularly to an apparatus for sealing bags. In one embodiment, the invention includes an elongated sealing member and an elongated receiver portion to receive the sealing member. The receiver portion includes at least one engagement aperture to receive the sealing member and an opening extending along a length of the receiver portion. The opening further includes lugs that project generally outwardly from the receiver portion and proximate to the opening. In another embodiment, the invention includes a method for sealing a bag, including positioning a portion of a resealable bag proximate to the engagement aperture and positioning the sealing member proximate to the portion of the resealable bag and the engagement aperture. The sealing member is then pressed into the engagement aperture with the portion of the resealable bag interposed between the sealing member and the receiver portion.
This invention relates generally to closures, and more particularly to an apparatus for sealing bags.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONMany kinds of products are offered for sale in hermetically sealed bags to prevent the contamination of the product, and to generally preserve the quality of the product prior to sale. When the bag is opened by a consumer, the product contained therein is exposed to air, which may progressively degrade the quality of the product. For example, where the product is a food product, an opened bag generally exposes the product to microbial agents such as bacteria that accelerate the decay of the product. The food product may also be exposed to atmospheric moisture that may render the food product less appealing. Alternatively, moisture present in the food product may be lost to the atmosphere, so that the food product becomes dehydrated. As a consequence, it is frequently necessary to reseal a bag after opening in order to preserve the food product.
One prior art apparatus for resealing an opened bag is a spring clamp device having a pair of opposed and elongated jaws that clamp the opened end of the bag closed. Known spring clamp devices are generally available only in limited sizes so that the elongated jaws may not extend the entire width of the opened end portion of the bag. As a result, the spring clamp device may fail to adequately seal an opened bag properly. In addition, known spring clamp devices are comprised of numerous parts, and therefore are relatively expensive to manufacture.
Another prior art apparatus for sealing an opened bag is the well-known ZIP-LOC closure. Although the ZIP-LOC closure desirably permits an opened bag to be hermetically resealed, the bag that is supplied to the consumer must be configured with the ZIP-LOC closure. Since many currently-available food products are provided in bags that do not include the ZIP-LOC closure, a consumer is required to transfer the contents from a bag that does not possess the ZIP-LOC closure into a bag that has a ZIP-LOC closure in order to attain the desirable features associated with the ZIP-LOC closure. Since this may require the purchase of additional bags, this approach constitutes an added expense for a consumer.
Still other bag resealing devices are known in the art. For example, flat closures of the type commonly found on bags containing bread and the like are useful for retaining the bag contents within the bag, but generally only partially hermetically seal the contents of the bag. As a result, flat closures are generally found only on food products having a limited shelf life.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a bag sealing apparatus that may be applied to many types of opened bags, and that may be conveniently and rapidly attached to the bag to provide a seal that is substantially air-tight. It is would further be desirable to have a bag resealing device that is relatively inexpensive to manufacture.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates generally to closures, and more particularly to an apparatus for sealing bags. In one aspect, the invention includes an elongated sealing member and an elongated receiver portion to receive the sealing member. The receiver portion includes at least one engagement aperture to receive the sealing member and an opening extending along a length of the receiver portion. The opening further includes lugs that project generally outwardly from the receiver portion and proximate to the opening to assist a user in manipulating the apparatus. In another aspect, the invention includes a method for sealing a bag, including positioning a portion of a resealable bag proximate to the engagement aperture and positioning the sealing member proximate to the portion of the resealable bag and the engagement aperture. The sealing member is then pressed into the engagement aperture with the portion of the resealable bag interposed between the sealing member and the receiver portion to seal the bag.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention is generally directed to closures, and more particularly to an apparatus for sealing bags. Many of the specific details of certain embodiments of the invention are set forth in the following description and in FIGS. I through 10 to provide a thorough understanding of such embodiments. One skilled in the art will understand, however, that the present invention may be practiced without several details described in the following description.
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The foregoing embodiment offers numerous advantages over the prior art. For example, since the sealing portion 12 and the receiver portion 14 are advantageously formed as single components having no moving parts, they may be relatively inexpensively produced. Further, since the disclosed sealing apparatus is not integrally formed with a bag, or other enclosure device, it may be used on a wide variety of bags, and also allows repeated use. Thus, the foregoing embodiment, in particular, avoids the shortcomings associated with the ZIP-LOC closure.
The above description of illustrated embodiments of the invention is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. While specific embodiment of, and examples of, the invention are described in the foregoing for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the invention, as those skilled within the relevant art will recognize. Moreover, the various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments. Accordingly, the invention is not limited by the disclosure, but instead the scope of the invention is to be determined entirely by the following claims.
Claims
1-22. (canceled).
23. A sealing apparatus, comprising:
- an elongated sealing member; and
- an elongated receiver portion having at least one engagement aperture to receive the sealing member, the receiver portion having an opening extending along a length of the receiver portion, the opening being bracketed by first and second side ends of the receiver portion, the opening providing access to the engagement aperture, the receiver portion further having lugs that project generally outwardly and downwardly from the receiver portion provided at a location that is spaced apart from the opening and is prior to the side ends, the lugs providing a gripping surface.
24. The sealing apparatus of claim 23, wherein the opening includes ridges that extend along the length of the receiver portion and wherein the lugs project generally outwardly and downwardly from the ridges.
25. The sealing apparatus of claim 23, wherein the elongated sealing member has a circular cross-section; and the engagement aperture of the receiver portion has an approximately circular cross-sectional shape that is configured to receive the sealing member.
26. The sealing apparatus of claim 23, wherein the receiver portion includes a handle that extends at least a portion of the length of the receiver portion and extends outwardly from the receiver portion.
27. The sealing apparatus of claim 23, wherein the sealing portion includes an opening that extends along a length of the sealing portion and a lanyard that extends through the opening.
28. The sealing apparatus of claim 27, wherein the lanyard is further coupled to the receiver portion.
29. The sealing apparatus of claim 23, further comprising a flexible coupling member that couples the sealing portion to the receiver portion.
30. The sealing apparatus of claim 23, wherein the sealing portion and the receiver portion are formed of a resilient polymeric material.
31. The sealing apparatus of claim 30, wherein the resilient polymeric material includes a polyurethane.
32. The sealing apparatus of claim 23, wherein the sealing portion and the receiver portion are formed of a generally flexible metallic material.
33. A sealing apparatus for sealing a bag, comprising:
- an elongated receiver portion having at least one engagement aperture to receive the sealing member, the receiver portion having an opening extending along a length of the receiver portion, the opening being bracketed by first and second side ends of the receiver portion, the opening providing access to the engagement aperture, the receiver portion further having lugs that project generally outwardly and downwardly from the receiver portion provided at a location that is spaced apart from the opening and is prior to the side ends, the lugs providing a gripping surface.
34. The sealing apparatus of claim 33, wherein the opening includes ridges that extend along the length of the receiver, and wherein the lugs project generally outwardly and downwardly from the ridges.
35. The sealing apparatus of claim 33, wherein the elongated sealing member has a circular cross-section and the engagement aperture of the receiver portion has an approximately circular cross-sectional shape that is configured to receive the sealing member.
36. The sealing apparatus of claim 33, wherein the receiver portion includes a handle that extends at least a portion of the length of the receiver portion and projects outwardly from the receiver portion.
37. The sealing apparatus of claim 33, wherein the sealing portion includes an opening that extends along a length of the sealing portion and a lanyard formed into a loop that extends through the opening.
38. The sealing apparatus of claim 37, wherein the lanyard is further coupled to the receiver portion.
39. The sealing apparatus of claim 33, further comprising a flexible coupling member that couples the sealing portion to the receiver portion.
40. A method for sealing a resealable bag, the method comprising:
- providing an apparatus having an elongated member and an elongated receiver portion, the elongated receiver portion having at least one engagement aperture to receive the sealing member and having an opening extending along a length of the receiver portion, the opening being bracketed by first and second side ends of the receiver portion, the opening providing access to the engagement aperture, the receiver portion further having lugs that project generally outwardly and downwardly from the receiver portion provided at a location that is spaced apart from the opening and is prior to the side ends, the lugs providing a gripping surface;
- positioning a portion of the resealable bag proximate to the engagement aperture;
- positioning the sealing member proximate to the portion of the resealable bag and the engagement aperture; and
- pressing the sealing member into the engagement aperture of the receiver portion with the portion of the resealable bag interposed between the sealing member and the receiver portion.
41. The method of claim 40, wherein the step of positioning a portion of the resealable bag proximate to the engagement aperture further comprises positioning an opening portion of the resealable bag proximate to the engagement aperture.
42. The method of claim 40, wherein the step of pressing the sealing member into the engagement aperture of the receiver portion further comprises closing the resealable bag to form a hermetic seal.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 4, 2003
Publication Date: Mar 10, 2005
Inventors: Barry Byron (Kennewick, WA), Wesley Pierce (Seattle, WA), David Byron (Seattle, WA)
Application Number: 10/656,027