Container with clip for storing and carrying trimmer line strips

Abstract

A container for carrying and storing articles incapable of possessing a lug thereon, e.g., monofilament trimmer line strips, to be connected to a clip includes a tube having an open end and a closed end and a cap removably secured to the tube at the open end. A lug is positioned on the cap and is removably attached to a clip. The clip is also removably attachable to a belt, strap or other clothing of a user to enable the user to obtain immediate access to the articles in the container when in the field.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to a package or container having a clip attached thereto. More particularly, the invention relates to a package for storing and carrying articles such as trimmer line strips, the package having a clip for ease of carrying the trimmer line strips within the container. Specifically, the present invention relates to a package having a clip attached to the cap or the tube of the container for carrying the package on a belt, strap, or other article capable of being gripped by the jaws of the clip, including clothing worn by the user, so that the articles contained therein are readily available to the use when needed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Grass, brush and weed trimming devices, utilizing a cutting element in the form of segments or strips of plastic string trimmer line, have become popular for trimming lawns and other landscapes. Most of these trimming devices, often referred to as trimmers, are electric or gas-powered, hand-held devices employing a rotatable hub or trimmer head mounted onto a carrying handle so that the user can utilize the trimmer is a standing position. In older versions, the cutting element in these types of trimming devices was typically in the form of several feet of nylon or other plastic monofilament line wound on a storage reel within and carried by the rotating trimmer head. A few inches of the monofilament line would extend outwardly from the head at one or two points through eyelets in the trimmer head and spin around the rotating trimmer head when in operation. Rotation of the head at relatively high speeds (2,000 to 20,000 RPM for example) caused the line to strike and cut the grass, brush and weeds in the path of the spinning line. Cutting of grass, brush and weeds eventually causes the monofilament line to become worn and abraded, and oftentimes, to break. In these older units, upon depletion or breakage of the line from cutting during operation of the trimmer, the line could be extended and replenished from the wound spool within the trimmer head until the line within the spool was consumed. Then, new monofilament line would have to be rewound onto the storage spool and fitted through the eyelets before further trimming could take place. Such wound monofilament line has typically been packaged in wound form in either donut-shaped or circular packages. Examples of such packages are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,871,091, 5,941,051 and 6,594,972.

More recently, string trimmers have been developed that require shorter, fixed lengths of the flexible plastic monofilament line. Typically, these strips of monofilament line are made of nylon or other hard plastic just like the longer length spool-wound monofilament line. However, these strips are only about 6 to about 20 inches long, depending upon the size and type of trimming device employed. Also, they can have a wide range of cross sectional diameters depending upon their intended use. Smaller diameter monofilament strips are often used for intermittent home lawn use and are typically from about 0.05 inches to about 0.1 inches in diameter. Commercial and industrial trimmers typically use larger diameter monofilaments, typically on the order of from about 0.1 inches to about 0.155 inches or greater.

Notwithstanding the diameter of the monofilament, all plastic monofilament line, whether short strips or long wound lengths, eventually wear out or break with use. When the monofilament strips break or wear to a point near the rotating head on which they are mounted, they must be entirely replaced individually, unlike the wound spools that can just be extended such as by a “bump and feed” mechanism.

Oftentimes, replacement of the line must take place in the field during use. Therefore, strips of monofilament trimmer line are often carried by the user in case the need arises where he must replace the worn or broken trimmer line with a new one.

Heretofore, the packages in which the trimmer line strips are sold have not been conducive to being carried by the user in the field for replenishment if needed. Many prior packages for trimmer line strips (as opposed to lengthy spool wound trimmer line) on the market today are in the form of a tube with one end open and the other end crimped and sealed closed, much like a conventional tube of toothpaste. The pinched together, crimped end may further include a “hang hole” punched through the sealed portion of the crimped end for ease of displaying the package in stores and the like. Other packages may have a closed end that is not pinched, which enables the tube to maintain a consistent shape from open end to close end.

These trimmer line strips packages also include a cap to plug the open end of the package. This cap is typically nothing more than a plug having a downward extending flange rim that contacts either the inside surface of the tube with its outer surface or the outside surface of the tube with its inner surface. Upon multiple uses, it is not uncommon for the container tube or cap to stretch and lose contact with its counterpart surface for providing the closing seal to the package. Moreover, where the closed end does not include a “hang hole,” one may be provided in the cap, typically provided within a flange extending away from the closed end.

Still another type of trimmer line strips package can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,871,091 and 5,941,051. Again, however, this type of package may provide a “hang hole” defined by a flange extending from the package, but the package does not provide means by which the user can readily carry the trimmer line strips when operating and using a trimmer device.

Thus, the need exists for a package or container that can be used effectively to store and carry the trimmer line strips in the field for retrieval upon consumption of the trimmer line strips used in the trimming device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is, therefore, a aspect of the present invention to provide a container suitable for storing and carrying trimmer line strips in the field during use of a trimming device.

It is another aspect of the present invention to provide a container, as above, that can be clipped to a belt, strap or other article on the user for carrying purposes.

It is yet another aspect of the present invention to provide a container, as above, which has a removable clip for securing the container to an article such as a belt or strap.

It is still another aspect of the present invention to provide a container, as above, which is capable of being hung by the clip for both storing and carrying purposes.

At least one or more of the foregoing aspects, together with the advantages thereof over the known art relating to trimmer line packaging, which shall become apparent from the specification and drawings that follows, are accomplished by the invention as hereinafter described and claimed.

In general, the present invention provides a container for carrying and storing one or more articles incapable of possessing a lug thereon to be connected to a clip, the container comprising a tube having an open end and a closed end, the tube containing the one or more articles; a cap removably secured to the tube at the open end, the cap including a lug; and a clip removably attached to the lug of the cap and removably attachable to a user.

Other aspects of the present invention may be provided by a container for carrying and storing one or more articles incapable of possessing a lug thereon to be connected to a clip, the container comprising: a tube having an open end and a closed end, the tube containing the one or more articles; a cap removably secured to the tube at the open end; a strap attached to the tube, the strap having a lug disposed thereon; and a clip removably attached to the lug of the strap and removably attachable to a user.

Still other aspects of the present invention may be embodied in the combination of a plurality of trimmer line strips for use in trimming devices with a container comprising a tube having an open end and a closed end, the tube containing the plurality of trimmer line strips; a cap removably secured to the tube at the open end, the cap including a lug; and a clip removably attached to the lug of the cap and removably attachable to a user of the trimmer line strips.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a complete understanding of the objects, embodiments and structure features of the present invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings wherein

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a container embodying the concepts of the present invention having a clip attached to the cap of the container and showing an article, namely, trimmer line strips bundled therein;

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of the container of FIG. 1, but with the clip in position for attachment to the user;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the container having the clip attached to a strap affixed to the container;

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of the container of FIG. 1, with the clip in a position for storage and display;

FIG. 5 is an exploded, partial perspective view of the container and clip of FIG. 1, with the clip separated from the container; and

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the container and of the clip attached thereto.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

One representation of a container embodying the concepts of the present invention is generally designated by the numeral 10 in FIG. 1. The container 10 includes a tube 12 and a cap 14, with a clip 16 attached to the cap 14. The container 10 may be used to store and carry any of a number of articles known in the art, including, preferably, a plurality of trimmer line strips 18, for retrieval in the field where a user may need to access them.

The tube 12 may be of any size and shape known in the art but preferably is large enough to display, store and carry several individual strands or segments of plastic monofilament trimmer line strips. Currently, it is most common for manufacturers to include from about 5 to about 15 strips in each container. Such plastic monofilament trimmer line strips 18 may be of any size or shape known in the art, but preferably range in size of from about 6 inches to about 20 inches in length and from about 0.05 inches to about 0.155 inches in diameter. The cross sectional shape of the monofilament strips can be of any configuration known in the art, with the most common shapes being round, diamond-shaped and star-shaped. The tube 12 should be small enough to enable the user to adequately carry the container on his belt or other part of his clothing without undue burden and without becoming a distraction to the user while carrying the container.

In the preferred embodiment, the tube 12 is cylindrical having a diameter of from about 0.5 inches to about 2.5 inches, and a length of from about 6 inches to about 12 inches. The tube 12 is preferably made of clear plastic so that the article(s) being stored and carried therein can be seen by the user and/or purchaser. The plastic tube may be either flexible or rigid depending upon the desires of the manufacturer. The tube 12 may also have indicia on it for sale and display of the article(s) therein, such indicia typically including printed labels relating to the article(s) contained within the container 10.

The tube 12 includes one end 20 that is open and an opposite end 22 that is closed. The closed end 22 is preferably manufactured from the same mold or forming process as the cylindrical sides of the tube 12 to be integral with and a part of the tube 12. The closed end 22 may form the bottom of the container and is relatively flat or concave to allow the container to be placed on a flat surface such that the closed end 22 of the tube 12 is the bottom of the container resting on the flat surface.

The open end 20 of the tube 12 is defined by the sidewall of tube 12 and receives the article(s) to be stored and carried by the container 10. The open end 20 is operatively covered by the cap 14 so as to prevent the contents of the container 10 from being spilled or otherwise inadvertently removed. As shown in FIG. 6, a flange 24 may extend radially outward from the open end 20 of the tube 12. The flange 24 is preferably made from the same material as the tube, but may be a harder plastic to ensure a rigidity to the open end 20 of the tube 12.

The cap 14 may be of any shape known in the art, but should conform in size to the specifications of the tube so as to completely close off the open end 20. Where a cylindrical tube is used, the cap should also be cylindrical in shape for at least that portion used to completely cover the opening. Thus while the top of the cap may have a different configuration, the sealing portion of the cap 14 should also be cylindrical.

In a preferred embodiment, the cap 14 is of the type that extends over or is fitted over the flanged edge of the tube. Thus, the cap 14 includes a flat top 26 and a rim 28 extending downwardly from the periphery of the top 26. The rim 28 slides over the tube 12 such that its inward surface abuts or faces the outer surface of the tube 12.

With particular reference to FIG. 6, it can be seen that the preferred cap 14 has a rib 32 extending downwardly from the underside of the cap into the opening of the container such that the outer surface of the rib 32 and the inner surface of the tube 12 contact and abut one another. A groove 30 may be incorporated in the top 26 of the cap 14 complementary to where the rib 32 is set forth on the underside of the cap 14.

In addition to the rib 32, a second rib 34 may extend radially inward from the rim 28. This second rib 34 enables the cap 14 to be removably secured to the tube 12. When the cap 14 is in the closed position, the upper side edge of the second rib 34 will abut the lower side edge of the flange 24 on the tube 12 to prevent removal of the cap 14 from the tube 12. The extending edge of rib 34 may or may not contact the outer surface of tube 12. To take off the cap 14 and open the container 10, the user pulls the rim 28 away from the side of the tube 12 such that the second rib 34 extends pass and over the flange 24.

In the preferred embodiment and as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the cap 14 also includes a lug 36 securely fastened and attached to the rim 28 of the cap 14. The lug 36 is used to attach the cap 14 and, thereby, the container 10, to a clip, designated generally by the numeral 16 in the drawings, as more particularly described hereinbelow. The lug 36 may be of any form known in the art and used with standard belt clips such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,597,102 and 6,578,745, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

More particularly, the lug 36 includes a base 54 molded or otherwise securely attached to the rim 28 of the cap 14. It is conceivable that the lug 36 may be integrally made a part of the cap 14 during the process of manufacturing the cap 14, and if this is the case, the base 54 may or may not form a part of the lug 36. The lug 36 further includes a neck portion 56 and a head portion 58. The neck portion 56 is preferably round and has a diameter corresponding substantially to the width of a slot 60 in the clip 16 to be explained hereinbelow. The head portion 58 has a diameter greater than the diameter of the neck portion 56 and greater than the width of the slot 60 in the clip 16.

Generally, the clip 16 has a front member 42 and an opposing rear member 44. Between them is a u-shaped spring metal plate 46 that is attached to the rear side of the front member 42 and is also attached to the front of the rear member 44. Upon pressing the rear member 44 at one end, referred to herein as the pinching end 48, in the direction toward the front member 42, the other end, referred to herein as the opening end 50, of the rear member 44 moves away from the front member 42. A belt, strap, or a piece of clothing or the like may then be inserted into the gap created between the opening end 50 of the rear member 44 and the front member 42. Upon interrupting the pressing of the pinching end 48, the spring metal plate 46 pulls the front member 42 and the rear member 44 together to firmly hold the clip 16 on the belt, strap or clothing.

Removal of the clip 16 from the belt or the like requires pressing once again the pinching end 48 of the rear member 44 to cause the separation between the opening end 50 of the rear member 44 and the front member 42 to again form a gap therebetween. The clip 16 may then be moved away from the belt or the like, and then the user may cease the pressing of the rear member 44.

Also, as best viewed in FIG. 5, the front member 42 of the clip 16 includes a lug receiving slot 60 defined by a U-shaped extension 62 extending from the front member 42. The U-shaped extension 62 is designed such that there is a gap between the hidden faces 64 of the U-shaped extension 62 and the frontal face 66 of the front member 42. That gap should be wide enough and deep enough such that the head portion 58 of the lug 36 can be slid between the faces 64 of the extension 62 and the frontal face 66 of the front member 42. As mentioned above, the slot 60 should have a width that is substantially equal to or slightly larger than the diameter of the neck portion 56 of lug 36.

Thus, when a user wishes to place the container 10 onto the clip 16, the head portion 58 of the lug 36 is placed into contact with the frontal face 66 of the front member 42 as shown in FIG. 5. The clip 16 is then slid into the lug 36 by sliding the clip 16 in the direction of arrow 68. Alternatively, the lug 36 may be slid into the slot 60 such that the neck portion 56 of the lug 36 is slid between the faces 64 of the U-shaped extension 62 and the head portion 58 of the lug 36 is slid behind the faces 64 of the U-shaped extension 62, against and adjacent to the frontal face 66 of the front member 42.

Once the lug 36 reaches the end of the slot 60, a spring-activated projection 70 locks the lug 36 into place onto the clip 16. The lug 36 may include an annular flange 72 defining a depression in the middle of the head portion 58 that engages the projection 70 to lock the lug 36 to the clip 16. However, while securely fastened, container 10 is still permitted to rotate while in the slot 60. Thus, the container 10 is not rigidly affixed to the clip 16, but can rotate as necessary upon movement of the user. To release the container 10, a spring actuator 74 is pressed, which pulls the projection 70 back into the clip 16 and eliminates the projection 70 from extending beyond the frontal face 66 of the front member 42, thereby enabling the lug 36 to be slid out of the slot 60 in the direction of arrow 68.

An alternative embodiment of a container is designated generally as numeral 80 in FIG. 3 of the drawings. Here, the clip 16 may be connected to container 10 by alternative means. More specifically, the clip 16 may be attached to container 10 by a lug (not shown) located on a strap 82 wrapped around the tube 12 rather than on the cap 14. It is envisioned that the strap 82 could be a hard plastic and snap fit onto the container 10, if desired. Thus, strap 82 would not have to completely encircle the tube 12. Operation of the clip 16 with the strap 80 would occur in generally the same manner as described hereinabove.

Thus it should be evident that the container of the present invention is highly effective in storing and carrying articles such as trimmer line strips for use in the field. The user can effectively carry the container on his belt or other piece of clothing or equipment in a manner that is not inconvenient or distracting to his activity. Moreover, the articles needed are readily available and at his disposal in the field should the article(s) in use become depleted or otherwise consumed. Thus, the present invention acts as a dispenser of articles after purchase and while in the field.

The invention is particularly suited for use by lawn care and landscape personnel who use strips of monofilament cutting line in their trimming devices, but is not necessarily limited thereto. Other articles requiring a container of the type set forth herein are also contemplated by the present invention. However, the present invention expressly excludes articles such as telephones, pagers, knives, and the like, and covers therefor, that can be attached directly to the clip without the need for a container. That is, the container of the present invention is used to store and carry articles incapable of having a lug set attached to them in a manner suitable for attaching them directly to a clip.

Claims

1. A container for carrying and storing one or more articles incapable of possessing a lug thereon to be connected to a clip, the container comprising:

a tube having an open end and a closed end, the tube containing the one or more articles;

a cap removably secured to the tube at the open end, the cap including a lug; and

a clip removably attached to the lug of the cap and removably attachable to a user.

2. The container according to claim 1, wherein the articles are monofilament trimmer line strips.

3. The container according to claim 1, wherein the tube is cylindrical.

4. The container according to claim 1, wherein the tube is made of clear plastic.

5. The container according to claim 1, wherein the cap is fitted over the open end of the tube.

6. The container according to claim 1, wherein the cap has a downwardly extending rim and the lug includes a base securely attached to the rim of the cap.

7. The container according to claim 1, wherein the clip is a belt clip.

8. A container for carrying and storing one or more articles incapable of possessing a lug thereon to be connected to a clip, the container comprising:

a tube having an open end and a closed end, the tube containing the one or more articles;

a cap removably secured to the tube at the open end;

a strap attached to the tube, the strap having a lug disposed thereon; and

a clip removably attached to the lug of the strap and removably attachable to a user.

9. The container according to claim 1, wherein the strap is removable.

10. The container according to claim 1, wherein the strap is made of hard plastic and can be snap fitted to the tube.

11. In combination with a plurality of trimmer line strips for use in trimming devices, a container comprising:

a tube having an open end and a closed end, the tube containing the plurality of trimmer line strips;

a cap removably secured to the tube at the open end, the cap including a lug; and

a clip removably attached to the lug of the cap and removably attachable to a user of the trimmer line strips.