US2038916A

US2038916A - Bag opener

Info

Publication number: US2038916A
Application number: US755943A
Authority: US
Inventors: Vorwerk Arthur
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1934-12-04
Filing date: 1934-12-04
Publication date: 1936-04-28
Anticipated expiration: 1953-04-28

Description

April 28, 1936. A. VORWERK 2,038,916

BAG OPENER Filed Deo. 4,v 1934 lNVENTOR ATTQRNEY Patented Apr. 28, 1936 L UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE l BAG vOPENER Arthur Vorwerk, Lehighton, Pa. Application December 4, `1934, Serial No. 755,943

3 Claims.

packing house and from thence are delivered in such sealed packages to the merchants. The

bags, which provide the containers for the ccmmodities, are stitched along the mouths thereof, such stitching being of a chain nature. The cords providing the stitching are necessarily compressed tightly against the opposed sides or faces, as well as the ends of the bags, so that the commodities cannot seep therethrough. An especially designed sewing or stitching mechanism is provided for sealing the bags and, as is well known in the art, one of the cords or threads is looped or formed with bights that pass laterally through both faces of the bag and these bights are passed through the second or tying cord of the stitching. The bags are of value even when the contents are removed therefrom and, of course, to remove such contents it is necessary to withdraw the stitching. This cannot be easily accomplished even by the use of an ordinary knife or the like and it is therefore the object of this invention to provide an implement which can be readily manipulated to loosen one of the loops provided between the bights of what may be termed the tying cord and thereafter sever at least two of the loops of such cord and hold the severed end of one of such loops to permit the operator to pull the second or holding cord to withdraw the same, and later to withdraw the holding cord from the bag, and thereby 35 allow the merchant or housewife to extract a desired amount of the commodity without inicting injury to the bag or the contents thereof.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an implement for this purpose which is characterized by simplicity in construction, cheapness to manufacture,- and thorough eiiiciency in practical use.

To the attainment of the foregoing and other objects which will appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the improvement also resides in certain novel features of construction, combination, and operative association of parts, one satisfactory embodiment of which is disclosed by the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is an elevation of my improved implement;

Fig. 2 is a detailed elevation illustrating the 55 manner in which the pointed end of one oi the blades of the implement is inserted through a loop of a. tying cord to loosen the same;

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the manner in which the teeth are inserted between the loops prior to the severing of such loops;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the manner in which the strand of one of the severed loops of the tying cord is held and the manner vin which the holding cord of the stitching is grasped and withdrawn from the bag by the 10 operator; and

Fig. 5 is a detailed perspective view looking toward the front or outer end of the implement.

A commodity holding bag is illustrated by the drawing and what I will term the front face 15 thereof is indicated by the numeral I and the rear face by the numeral 2. When the bag is illled with its commodity and properlyweighed,

a suitable stitching machine passes threads or cords transversely through the mouth thereof, 20 directly above the packed commodity, and produces a chain stitch. The cord 3 that is arranged over the front l has bights that pass laterally through the back 2 has the rounded or looped ends of said bights engaged by the tying cord 25 of the stitching. Both the tying cord and the holding cord are drawn tightly against the opposed faces I and 2 of the bag and have their ends, which pass through the ends of the bag, coiled and knotted. The sealing cords necessa- 30 rily tightly hug the bag and the bights of the cord 3 are closely related so that the liability of the commodity seeping through the bag is thus prevented. This affords a very effective seal for the bag but it is extremely diflicult for a merchant or a housewife to open the seal without destroying the bag and without spilling and n wasting a certain amount of. the contents thereof. An ordinary knife or similar implement has been unsuccessfully employed for this purpose but, and as disclosed by the drawing, I have provided a very simple, cheap and eicient device for easily, quickly and positively assuring the removal of the sealing cord at any point throughout its length without injury to the bag or the contents thereof, or the spilling and wasting of such contents.

As disclosed by the drawing, the improvement provides a pair of blades and is of a scissor-like construction. Each of the blades has what I would term its inner end provided with a handle and the cross blades are pivotally connected. One of these blades, indicated by the numeral l, is of less length than the other blade, which is indicated by the numeral s. The shorter made has its active edge, adjacent to the front end thereof, reduced to provide the same with a shoulder E. The second and longer blade 5 has its end formed with an extension 1 which is substantially V-shaped in plan and which provides a prong. Inward of the prong the blade 5 has its active edge formed with a notch B and directly opposite the notch, and in a line with the inner wall thereof, there is a tooth 8. A second tooth l0, disposed directly opposite the tooth 9, is also formed and extends from the said active edge of the blade 5. The confronting edges of these teeth 9 and I0 are sharpened and the active edge of the blade 4, inward of the shoulder E, is bevelled to provide a sharpened surface. 'I'he pointed end 1 of the blade 5 is desirable, but not an absolute requirement, as the teeth 9 and I0 may be directly passed through the loops.

In practice the implement is held in one hand of the operator and the prong l is inserted in the first two loops of the cord 3, from one end of the bag, to draw upon the said loop and loosen the same. The implement is now manipulated to bring its teeth 9 and i0 through the two of the loosened loops of the said cord 3, and the operator, grasping the handles of the implement, swings the blade 4 to cause the same to wipe over the blade 5, thus causing the sharpened teeth 9 and i0 to sever the mentioned loops of the cord, and also bringing the end of the inner severed loop into the notch 8 of the blade 5 and also into frictional contact with the shoulder 6 on the blade 4. At least two of the loops of the cord, selected throughout the length of said cord are thus severed, and one end of the cord is held gripped by the shoulders on the blades. The operator may now pull the tying cord from the end opposite the gripped end of said cord, out of the bag and the size of the pouring opening in the mouth of the bag is, of course, determined by the arrangement of the severed and gripped cord with respect to the end of the bag from which the cut cord is pulled. Thus the bag may be provided with large or small pouring openings, and obviously the sealing cord may be entirely removed from the bag if desired. The necessity of holding the cord at one of the severed loops will, it is thought, be apparent, as were the cord not thus gripped and held, the entire cord could be drawn from the bag. When the loops are thus severed and the desired portion of the cord Withdrawn from the bag, the operator can lay the implement aside, and employ both of his hands for lifting and tilting the bag to pour the desired quantity of its contents therefrom.

It is believed that the foregoing description, when read in connectionwith the drawing, will fully and clearly set forth the construction and advantages of my improvement to those skilled in the art to which such inventions relate, but obviously I do not wish to be restricted to the precise details disclosed by such drawing, and therefore hold myself entitled to make all such changes therefrom as fairly fall within the scope of what I claim.

I claim:

l. A means for severing chain stitching which provides the sealing means for a bag or the like to permit the withdrawal ofa length of such stitching and to allord a pouring opening of a determined size at such mouth of the bag; comprising an implement having two swingably assoclated blades, spaced depending sharpened elements on one blade to pass through and sever two or more of the loops of the chain stitching and cooperating nat non-sharpened shoulders on the blades to engage with and grip the inner severed loop of the stitching when the blades are swung together.

2. An implement for the purpose s'et forth, comprising a pair of scissor-like members, the blades of one of said members having closely related depending teeth whose edges are sharpened, and both of the blades having flat non-sharpened shoulders at their outer ends designed for coengagement when the blades are swung together and the shoulder on the toothed blade extending from the toothed portion of said blade.

3. An implement for the purpose set forth, comprising a pair of scissor-like members, the blade of one of said members, adjacent to the outer end thereof having a pair of closely related depending V-shaped teeth whose edges are sharpened, and the active edge of said blade outward of the teeth providing a non-sharpened shoulder, and the second blade having its active edge notched at its outer end to provide a non-sharpened shoulder to co-act with the shoulder on the toothed blade, When the blades are in wiping engagement.

ARTHUR VORWERK.