Title: Wrapping apparatus
Abstract: An apparatus for wrapping an item, e.g., a gift basket is disclosed. Also disclosed is a method for wrapping an item, e.g., a gift basket, using the apparatus.
Patent Number: 6,892,511 Issued on 05/17/2005 to Wagner
| Inventors:
|
Wagner; Paul F. (8935 San Patricio Ct., Houston, TX 77064)
|
| Appl. No.:
|
385395 |
| Filed:
|
March 10, 2003 |
| Current U.S. Class: |
53/390; 53/219 |
| Intern'l Class: |
B65B 067/10 |
| Field of Search: |
53/218,219,390,228,138.6,138.7,465,461
|
References Cited [Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
| 200342 | Feb., 1878 | Relph.
| |
| 813832 | Feb., 1906 | Rudd.
| |
| 892185 | Jun., 1908 | Rudd.
| |
| 2641304 | Jun., 1953 | Biddinger et al.
| |
| 2885839 | May., 1959 | Weiss.
| |
| 2894363 | Jul., 1959 | Voogd.
| |
| 3546836 | Dec., 1970 | Buob et al.
| |
| 3579962 | May., 1971 | Mitten.
| |
| 3747293 | Jul., 1973 | Van Slooten et al.
| |
| 3792565 | Feb., 1974 | Goransson.
| |
| 4257212 | Mar., 1981 | Havens.
| |
| 4388796 | Jun., 1983 | Zelnick.
| |
| 4680918 | Jul., 1987 | Lovell.
| |
| 5249407 | Oct., 1993 | Stuck.
| |
| 5544468 | Aug., 1996 | Harrison et al.
| |
Primary Examiner: Sipos; John
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Locke Liddell & Sapp LLP
Parent Case Text
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser.
No. 60/362,758, filed on Mar. 8, 2002, and having the same title and inventor as
the present application.
Claims
1. An apparatus for wrapping an item comprising:
a horizontal base;
a vertical support member attached to the horizontal base and extending upwardly
from the horizontal base;
a horizontal member attached to the vertical support member opposite said horizontal
base;
a plurality of clamps supported by the horizontal member arranged to secure wrapping
material;
one or more ribbon holding elements connected to the vertical support member;
and
a retaining member attached to the horizontal member to receive ribbon from the
ribbon holding elements.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the vertical support member is adjustable
in height.
3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the vertical support member comprises a plurality
of telescoping sections, whereby height adjustment of the vertical support member
is effectuated.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the clamps are secured to the horizontal
member by an elastic cord.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the placement of the horizontal member relative
to the vertical support member is adjustable.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the clamps are coated with rubber or plastic.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to apparatus and methods for wrapping items, and more
particularly to a device for wrapping gift baskets and the like.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Gift baskets and similar items have enjoyed increasing popularity. In preparing
such items, it is desirable to wrap the item. Many items are typically wrapped
in wrapping material secured with a string, bow or other ribbon like material so
as to provide a plume of wrapping material at the top of the item. These plumes
have typically been time-consuming and difficult to make. An additional problem
has been keeping the item to be wrapped centered within the wrapping material to
provide a symmetric and aesthetically pleasing plume. What is needed in the art
is an apparatus for assisting in the wrapping of gift baskets and similar items
that simplifies wrapping of the item and allows for easier and quicker wrapping.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to an apparatus for assisting in the wrapping
of items such as gift baskets. An apparatus in accordance with the present invention
includes a bottom support and one or more members elastically supporting clamps
for securing the wrapping material. The item to be wrapped is placed in the wrapping
material and is self-centered by operation of the apparatus. The wrapping material
may then be secured with a string, ribbon, bow or other string-like material to
form an aesthetically pleasing plume on the wrapped item.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an illustration of a wrapping apparatus in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an illustration of a wrapping apparatus in accordance with the present
invention illustrating the configuration of ribbon spools for use in the wrapping operation.
FIG. 3 illustrates a wrapping apparatus in accordance with the present invention
with a sheet of wrapping material held in an initial position for wrapping an item.
FIG. 4
a illustrates a wrapping apparatus in accordance with the present
invention with the item to be wrapped disposed within the wrapping material.
FIG. 4
b further illustrates a wrapping apparatus in accordance with the
present invention with the item to be wrapped self-centered within the wrapping material.
FIG. 5 illustrates a wrapping apparatus in accordance with the present invention
with a string or ribbon-like member disposed around the wrapping material to complete
wrapping of the item.
FIG. 6 further illustrates a wrapping apparatus in accordance with the present
invention with a string or ribbon-like member disposed around the wrapping material
to complete wrapping of the item.
FIG. 7 illustrates an item completely wrapped in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 8 illustrates an alternative embodiment of a wrapping apparatus in accordance
with the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Turning to the drawings and, in particular, to FIG. 1 a first embodiment
of an apparatus
10 for assisting in the wrapping of an item, such as a gift
basket is illustrated.
In the illustrated embodiment, apparatus
10 comprises a boom assembly
12
formed from tubular metal. Alternate embodiments are envisioned where the boom
assembly
12 is formed from other materials such as plastic, rubber or wood.
The boom assembly
12 has a base
13 that supports the apparatus
10 on a flat surface, such as a table. In the illustrated embodiment, the
base
13 comprises a back section
13a and two front extending
sections
13b. The sections of the base
13 are configured such
that the base defines an open area
14.
Extending upwardly from the base
13 of the boom assembly
12
is an upright section
15 that is formed from two nested sections,
15a
and
15b. A screw element
16 is used to provide pressure
to maintain section
15a in a fixed relationship to section
15b.
The length of the upright section
15 can be adjusted by unscrewing the screw
element
16, sliding the section
15a upward or downward as desired
and retightening the screw element
16. Adjustment of the length of upright
section
15 is particularly beneficial in adjusting the apparatus for wrapping
items of different sizes.
A forward section
17 extends forwardly from upright section
15.
In
the illustrated embodiment, forward section
17 is formed from the same tubular
member as section
15a through a bend in the element.
A square frame member
19 that fits around forward section
17 couples
a horizontal member
18 to forward section
17. A screw member
20
passes through the frame member
19 and holds the horizontal member
18
in a fixed location with respect to section
17. In the illustrated embodiment,
the screw member
20 may be loosened to allow adjustment of the position
of the horizontal member
18 along element
17.
While the embodiment of FIG. 1 illustrates the use of screw members
16
and
20 to provide for adjustability of the height of boom member
12
and the location of horizontal member
18, alternate adjustment structures
such as clamps, spring biased interfitting members, notches/holes and retaining
pins, etc. may be used to provide the desired adjustability.
Multiple eyelets
21 are attached to horizontal member
18.
An eyelet
21 is also attached to forward section
17. As described
below, the eyelets
21 define points for coupling wrap-retaining members
to the boom assembly
12. Alternate embodiments are envisioned where structures
other than eyelets, for example hooks, projections or holes in horizontal member
18 provide the structure for coupling the wrap retaining members to the
horizontal section
18.
In the embodiment of FIG. 1, three wrap retaining members
22 are coupled
to, and extend from, three of the eyelets
21. Each of the wrap retaining
members comprises a first clip
22a that couples the wrap retaining
member to an eyelet, an elastic cord section
22b, and a second clip
22c that is coupled to a clamp
22d. As described in
more detail below, the wrap retaining members are used to retain wrap material
in a desired position during the wrapping of an item, such as a gift basket.
The elastic cord section
22b may be formed from any elastic material
such as a bungee cord. The degree of elasticity of the elastic cord section should
be selected to provide relatively free movement of the cord during use of apparatus
10.
Clamp
22d may be any clamp suitable for holding wrap material.
Depending on the type of wrap material to be used with apparatus
10, it
may be desirable for clamp
22d to be a rubber or plastic coated clamp,
as such clamps have been found to provide adequate grip for most wrap materials.
In general, clamp
22d should have relatively smooth clamp surfaces,
so as to not puncture the wrap material or create undesirable indentations or impressions
in the wrap material to be used with apparatus
10.
In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 1, ribbon-holding elements
23 extend
from the upright section
15 of the boom assembly
12. The ribbon holding
elements
23 are in the form of rods that project from section
15.
As illustrated more clearly in FIG. 2, the ribbon holding sections may provide
support for ribbon spool. A spring element stretches across all or a portion of
horizontal member
18 and can retain the loose end of the ribbon spool.
The apparatus
10, described above, may be used to implement a beneficial
method for wrapping an item, such as a gift basket. The unique method enabled by
apparatus
10 will be described in connection with FIGS. 3-7.
Referring to FIG. 3, a first step in the method under discussion involves
the placement of one end of a sheet of wrapping material
25 into one or
more of the clips of the wrap retaining members
22. Before placing the end
of the wrapping material into the clips of the wrap retaining members
22,
the location of the members
22 may be adjusted to provide for a desired
"plume" or wrap effect. In the illustrated example, this adjustment may be made
by simply adjusting the positions of the member
22 by clipping the members
to alternate eyelets
21. Alternate embodiments are envisioned where the
clips
22 may be infinitely adjustable along the horizontal member
18
and/or the forward section
17. As will be apparent from the following discussion,
the positioning of wrap retaining members
22 may have an impact on the visible
appearance of the plume created when the wrapping of the item to be wrapped is completed.
Once an end of the sheet material is positioned within one or more clips of
wrap retaining members
22, the item to be wrapped may be placed on top of
the wrap material
25. The end of the wrap material
25 that is not
held by the wrap retaining members
22 may then be lifted up and over the
item to be wrapped and placed within one or more of the clips of the wrap retaining
members
22 such that the wrap will surround the item. This method step is
illustrated in FIGS. 4A and 4B where a gift basket
26 is shown positioned
within wrap material. It should noted that the use of assembly
10 allows
the item
10 to be wrapped to be automatically centered within the wrap material
25. This "self centering" feature of assembly
10 is of particular
significance as centering of the item to be wrapped within material
25 is
believed to provide the most visibly attractive plume. Additionally, flexibility
in creating the plume is provided by the "bungee" effect of elastic cord sections
22b.
Once the wrap material
25 is positioned within wrap retaining members
a ribbon, rope or other string-like element may be positioned around a portion
of the wrap material
25 so as to complete the wrapping of the item to be
wrapped. This method step is illustrated in FIG. 5 where "Big John" is illustrated
placing a ribbon
27 about a section of wrap material
25 that extends
above the handle of basket
26. It should be noted that because the wrap
retaining members
22 hold the wrap material
25 in place without the
need for additional support, the use of assembly
10 allows the user of the
assembly to use both hands when placing the ribbon or other string-like material
about the basket.
During a subsequent method step, the ribbon or other string-like material
27 may be pulled taut to complete the wrapping of item
28. This method
step is illustrated in FIG.
6. Again, the use of assembly
10 allows
the operator of the assembly to use both hands when pulling taut element
27.
It should be noted that when the ribbon or other string-like material
27
is positioned around the wrap
25 and pulled taut the elastic cord sections
22b of the wrap retaining members will typically stretch.
Once the ribbon or other material
27 is pulled taut, the wrapping of
the item is completed and the clamps of wrap retaining members
22 may be
opened to release the wrapped item as illustrated in FIG.
7.
An alternate embodiment of the apparatus
10 for assisting in the wrapping
of an item is generally illustrated in FIG.
8.
Referring to FIG. 8, a wrap assembly
30 is provided that includes
a base element
31 and four upwardly extending elements
32a-
32d.
Each of the upwardly extending elements
32d is formed of two segments,
a rigid lower segment
35d (formed from a rigid or semi-rigid material
such a plastic or suitable metal) and a flexible upper segment
35d (formed
from a material such as plastic or rubber) such that the element can bend and "bow."
The upwardly extending elements may be of fixed length or some mechanism (such
as telescoping interfitting members) may be used to allow for length adjustment
of the members.
Coupled to the upper end of flexible members
32a-
32d
are clamps
33. The clamps
33 should be selected using the same
criteria described above in connection with clamps
22d.
During operation, the structure
30 of FIG. 8 allows for the wrapping
of an item using a method substantially similar to that described above in connection
with apparatus
10. Specifically, one end of a sheet of wrap material may
be placed within clamps
33. The item to be wrapped may be placed on top
of the sheet of wrap material and the free end of the sheet may be lifted and placed
within clamps
33 to "self center" the item within the wrap material. During
operation, the flexible members
32a-
32d will bend,
proving a degree of elasticity.
Once the item to be wrapped is positioned within the sheet of wrapping material,
a ribbon or other string-like material may be placed about the material and the
wrapping of the item may be completed substantially as described above.
Though the present invention has been described with reference to two exemplary
embodiments, other embodiments and modifications will be readily apparent to one
of ordinary skill in the art having benefit of the present disclosure. It is intended
that the scope of the invention be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.
*
