US2955401A

US2955401A - Hand closure tool

Info

Publication number: US2955401A
Application number: US845845A
Authority: US
Inventors: George H Logemann
Original assignee: Ekco-Alcoa Containers Inc
Current assignee: Ekco-Alcoa Containers Inc
Priority date: 1959-10-12
Filing date: 1959-10-12
Publication date: 1960-10-11
Anticipated expiration: 1977-10-11

Description

G. H. LOGEMANN 2,955,401 HAND cLosuRE .Toon

Filed oct. 12. 1959 f 6:90252@ L15/Q98 wenn,

,Urlited States Patent O Y 2,955,401 HAND ycLosURErooL Filed Oct. 12, 1959, Ser. No. 845,845 7 Claims. (Cl. 53-363) This invention relates to a closure tool for sealing a closure lid across a flexible-walled container and, more particularly, is concerned with providing a low-cost and efficient closure tool for use with foil containers of the general type shown in Kollman et al. Patent No. 2,775,383.

Such containers have a marginal support shelf for receiving the closure lid, with the'shelf terminating in an upstanding vertical llangethat is folded across the edge of the closure lid in the sealing of the container.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a closure tool for facilitating the folding of the container llange across the closure lid.

:Another object is to provide a closure tool that is manipulable to regulate the tightness of the seal between the container and its closure lid.

Still another object ofthe invention is to provide an elcient, low-cost tool of this type that is constructed to eliminate the danger of tearing or puncturing the container during the folding and sealing operation.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and in which like numenals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the closure tool of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a side-elevational view of the closure tool, with a portion of the closing head thereof broken away to facilitate the disclosure; and

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a circular container and closure lid, with part thereof broken away for convenience of disclosure, and illustrates the application of the tool to the closure of the container.

While the art is replete with closure die mechanisms for sealing closure lids across flexible-wall containers of the general type shown in Kollman et al. Patent No. 2,775,383, such equipment is unduly expensive and cumbersome for local bakeries and other users of relatively small quantities. A container of this type, as shown in Fig. 3, has a marginal support shelf around its open face for receiving a closure lid 11, with the shelf terminating in an opstanding vertical llange 12. Prior to the present invention, no convenient hand closure tool has been available to the low-volume user for closing foil containers and he has depended upon laborious linger manipulation for bending over the entire length of the vertical flange, and this has proven to be ineflicient and it results in an unreliable seal.

Such containers are readily sealed with the hand closure tool 20 of this invention, and the .general technique for applying the tool is illustrated in Fig. 3. With the closure lid 11 disposed across the container in supported relation on the container shelf 10, the vertical ange 12 of the 4container is lirst folded over at one or more points 13 spaced about the periphery of the lid by iinger manipulation to provide convenient starting points for the closure tool. 'Ihe tool is then applied at the thus bent-over or crimped sections of the flange, and with one hand the container is turned in the direction indicated by the arrow 14, while the other hand holds the tool firmly against the edge of the container.

The tool, `as best shown in Figs. l and 2, comprises a closing head 21 and a handle 22, preferably of wood and provided with a hanging eye 22E at one end, with the other end of the handle being reduced to form a locating shoulder 22S for the head.

The closing head 21 is preferably made of a onepiece strap having a reverse bend 21B of circular configuration to provide a mounting sleeve that conforms to the reduced end of the handle, with the opposite ends of the strap being disposed in adjacent, spaced apart, generally parallel relation. The sleeve is provided with a mounting hole for an attachment' screw 23 that is threaded into the end of the handle to anchor the strap in place with the sleeve abutting the locating shoulder.

The opposite end portions of the strap constitute upper and

lower leaves

24 and 25, respectively, which define a slot open at its entering and leaving ends and open along the side thereof remote from the handle. The upper leaf 24 has an upwardly extending lead curl 24L at the entrance end of the slot and a downwardly extending pinch curl 24P at the leaving end of the slot, while the lower leaf has a blunt or rounded exposed corner 25B at the entrance end of the slot and a downward pinch curl ZSP at the leaving end of the slot that conforms generally to the pinch curl of the upper leaf. Thus the slot converges from its entrance end to its leaving end, with the central section of the slot being essentially uniform in Width and with the leaving vend of the slot being curved to permit of regulating its pinching action.

In the application of the tool to the sealing of a flexible-walled container, the lower leaf 25 underlies the support shelf 10 and is eifective to give support thereto during the folding and crimping of the container flange, while the upper leaf 24 overlies the support shelf and closure lid and applies the folding and pinching action.

" v As the container is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow 14 in Fig. 3, the upstand-ing' Vertical flange 12, in moving through the slot from the entrance end to the leaving end thereof, is lirst gradually folded over by contact with the lead curl on the upper leaf and thereafter, as this folded-over edge passes through the center of the slot, it becomes more tightly folded and sealed, with the lnal crimping of the folded edge being provided by the pinch curls 24P and ZSP on the leaving ends of the upper Iand lower leaves. The blunt exposed corner 25B- 1 of the lower leaf contacts the container without danger of piercing it, and this contact is desirable for maintaining proper location of the tool with respect to the container.

The curved leaving end of the slot dened by the generally conforming pinch curls gives the tool the important advantage of permitting a regulation of the pinching action. By tipping the handle of the closure tool upwardly, the tightness of the pinching action may be increased. Thus the tool is useful in applications wherein it is desired merely to fold over the Vertical ilange to provide a mechanical interlock for the closure lid,

` while it may, by suitably tipping it, also be used for applying a tight pinching action to the folded flange to form a truly elective seal for the container.

As is apparent from the showing of Fig. l, the free side edge of the upper leaf 24 projects somewhat beyond the free side edge of the lower leaf 25. Since some containers may have their vertical flange of greater dimension than their support shelf, such that the vertical flange when folded over, may extend inwardly of the support shelf, it is desirable that the upper leaf be suiciently broader than the lower -leaf to engage and fold over the entire extent of the vertical flange.

In the preferred constructional embodiment, the closing head of the tool is preferably formedfrom a strip `of sixteen-gauge type 302 annealed stainless steelland lthe central section of the slot defined'by its spaced apart upper and lower leaves is $46". It will l'be apparent that the closing head might be formed of molded plastic and might be formed in sections rather lthan as Ia unit and might be mounted to the handle in a variety of different ways known to workers skilled in this art.

It will also be apparent that the tool is applicable to container shapes other than circular and, by way -of example, its 'application to rectangular Acontainers for fold- -ing -over and sealing the vertical Iflange thereof is assentially the same as was described in connection `with the circular container illustrated herein. In the case of rectangular containers, the tool is applied in an :identical fashion except that at the corners, the -tool is moved along with a rocking motion about a vertical axis.

The foregoing description and the drawings are given merely to explain and illustrate the invention and the manner in which it may be performed, and the invention is not to be limited thereto except insofar as the appended claims lare so limited since those skilled .in the art who have this disclosure before them will be able to make modifications and variations therein without departing from the scope Iand spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. A closure tool for sealing a closure lid across a flexible-walled container, said container -hiavingva ymarginal lid support shelf therearound terminating in a vertical llange at its outer edge, said tool comprising a handle, and a cooperating pair of upper fand flower rigid closure leaves anchored to the handle and extending therefrom in adjacent spaced apart generally vparallel relation to define therebetween a slot open at its enterin-g and leaving ends and along one side thereof for receiving said shelf and closure lid, with the lower leaf being generally flat and underlying said shelf and with the upper leaf overlying said closure lid and :having an upwardly extending lead curl at the entrance Yend .of said slot for preliminarily and gradually folding the vertical flange across the closure lid.

2. The closure tool of claim 1 wherein the edge of said upper leaf along said open side of the slot projects beyond the corresponding edge of rthe 'lower leaf.

3. A closure tool for sealing a closure lid across a llexible-walled container, said container having a marginal lid support shelf .therearound `terminating in .a vertical ilange at its outer edge, said .tool .comprising `a handle, and a cooperating pair of upper land lower rigid closure leaves lanchored to the handle and Vextending therefrom in adjacent spaced apart generally parallel relation to define therebetween a slot open Vat its entering and leaving ends and along one side thereof for receiving said shelf and closure lid, with the lower leaf being generally ilat and having a blunt corner at the entrance end of said slot for contact with said container along a line beneath said shelf and with the upper leaf overlying said closure lid and having an upwardly extending lead curl at the entrance end of said slot.

4. A closure tool for sealing a closure lid across a flexible-walled container, said container having a marginal lid support shelf ltherearound terminating in a vertical flange at its outer edge, said tool comprising a hand-le, and a cooperating pair of upper and lower rigid closure leaves anchored to the handle and extending therefrom in adjacent spaced apart generally parallel relation to define therebetween a slot open at its entering and leaving ends and along one side thereof for receiving said shelf and closure lid, with the lower leaf being generally flat to extend in parallel supporting relation beneath said shelf and with the upper leaf overlying said closure lid and 'having an upwardly extending lead curl at the entrance end of said slot and a vdownwardly extending pinch curl at the leaving end of said slot.

5. The closure tool of claim 4 wherein said lower 'leaf has a curl at the :leaving end of said slot substantially conforming to the pinch curl of the upper leaf.

6. A closure tool for sealing a closure :lid across a flexible-walled container, said container 'having a marginal lid support shelf therearound terminating in a vertical ange at its outer edge, said toolcomprising a handle, and means anchoring a cooperating pair of upper and lower rigid closure leaves to the handle, with said leaves extending in adjacent spaced apart gneerally parallel relation to define a slot open at its entering and leaving ends and along one side thereof, said slot having a wide entering end tapering to a narrow leaving end for :re-

ceiving the shelf `and closure lid and gradually folding over the vertical flange of .the container across .the closure lid.

7. A closure tool for lsealing a .closure lid across a flexible-walled container, said container `having a Inarginal lid support shelf therearound terminating in la vertical tlange at its outer edge, said tool comprising a handle, and a one-.piece strap having a reverse fold .of generally circular configuration anchored to the handle and having opposite .end portions dening a .cooperating pair of upper and lower rigid closure leaves extending from the handle in adjacent spaced apart generally parallel relation to define a slot open at its entering and leaving ends and along one side thereof .for receiving said shelf and closure lid, with the 'lower leaf being generally flat and underlying said shelf ,and 4with the upper leaf overlying said closure lid and :having an upwardly ex-v tending lead curl at the entrance end of said slot for preliminarily and gradually folding the -vertical flange across the closure lid.

No references cited.