Abstract:
A molded clip for closing bags and the like includes a pair of claws with a latch and a hinge at opposed ends. The hinge extends rearwardly from the jaws and includes a hinge bearing with a rearwardly facing opening of restricted diameter thereto. The other jaw includes a fixed hinge pin which may be snap engaged into the bearing by resilient passage through the opening. Where the jaws are relatively large, they may be provided with cooperating shoulders that restrict axial movement of the jaws under reactively generated forces. In accordance with one embodiment, one of the jaws is double sided, and the clip may be assembled with either of these sides confronting the other jaw to provide different clip functions.

Description:
FIELD OF INVENTION  
         [0001]    This invention relates to clips which have a use for closing bags, although they are not necessarily limited to such use.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Clips of the foregoing nature are well known in commerce, and may be generally exemplified by the clips described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,887,335, and 6,058,572, of common inventorship herewith. The clips in general comprise a pair of axially extending jaws which are interconnected at one end by a hinge so as to be swingable between an open position and a closed position, in which confronting portions of the jaws are in proximity, and a latch at the axially opposed end for releasably retaining the jaws closed. For economy of manufacture the hinge is typically a live hinge (also known as a living hinge). However, such form of hinge is not always suitable, for example where it is desired to form the clip from a material with a relatively high modulus of elasticity. Also, it is not always convenient or desired that the clip be molded as a unitary structure.  
           [0003]    It is known to form clips which are generally of the foregoing type, but in which the jaws are connected through a hinge pin. In early examples of such clips, the hinge pin was inserted through interleaved gudgeon openings associated with the jaws, in a machine operation. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,272 there is described a clip wherein the jaws may be snap assembled together in a hand operation. In this clip one of the jaws is channeled, and the opposing jaw comprised a rib which interleaves in the channel when the jaws are closed. The hinge pin is integrally molded with the channeled jaws to span between opposed side walls thereof, and the rib is provided with a downwardly open slot within which the pin is engagable. The geometry of the arrangement is such that it reduces the size of a bag that can be closed by the clip in comparison to a similar sized clip with a living hinge. Additionally, the axial end of the channeled jaw is open at the hinge pin end, to permit the pin to be molded integrally with the jaw. Accordingly, the channeled jaw may be highly stressed when the clip is in use, leading to a possible failure of the clip. Still further, if the jaws of the clip are fully opened, the one jaw will act as a fulcrum, and the slot of the ribbed jaw will disengage from the hinge pin. Moreover, while it is not uncommon that one at least of the jaws of a clip be formed with the requisite channel structure, this is not necessarily the case.  
           [0004]    In all clips of the foregoing nature, reactive forces are generated as the jaws of the clip are closed about a bag or the like. Where the clip is intended for use for closing heavy bags or sacks, which may have a contents in the range of about 25 to 50 kg, the jaws may typically have a length of some 250 mm, and strong reactive forces may be generated sufficient to displace the jaws in the axial direction. This may result in the failure of the latch elements to engage together, and where the hinge is of a snap together type, in the disengagement of the hinge elements.  
           [0005]    Many comestible and other products are sealed in bags or the like for sale to the consumer; the bags must be opened, usually with a knife or scissors, to gain access to the contents, following which the bags may be closed by the clips to which the invention relates. It would be desirable to provide in a clip one or more accessory functions, for example a slitter to slice open a bag, or a measuring scoop or cup to facilitate the removal of a measured amount of product from the bag, or a handle to facilitate the handling of the bag, particularly where this may be heavy.  
           [0006]    It is a prime object of the invention to provide a clip with a snap together hinge which has a closure capacity at least equal to that of a comparable clip with a living hinge.  
           [0007]    It is another object of this invention to provide a clip with a snap together hinge which will resist the tendency for disengagement if over-rotated.  
           [0008]    It is still another object of the invention to provide a clip with a snap together hinge which will resist the tendency of the jaws to be axially displaced under heavy loads.  
           [0009]    It is yet another aspect of the invention to provide in a clip a snap together hinge which is relatively independent of the jaw structure.  
           [0010]    It is a further object of this invention to provide a clip having different modes of operation.  
           [0011]    It is a still further object of this invention to provide a clip having one or more accessory functions.  
         DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
         [0012]    In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a molded clip of the type comprising an upper jaw and a lower jaw generally coextensive therewith, each of which jaws has axially opposed ends, with hinge means disposed at one of the axial ends to permit the jaws to rotate between an open position and a closed position in which the jaws are in mutually confronting relationship, and latch means disposed at the axial end opposed to the hinge means for releasably retaining the jaws in their closed position is characterized wherein said hinge means comprises a hinge bearing disposed at the rearward end of the jaws, the hinge bearing comprising a pair of laterally spaced apart, rearwardly extending lower bearing portions to define a passage therebetween, and at least one rearwardly extending upper bearing portion disposed in superior, spaced apart relation to the lower portions. Mutually confronting surfaces of the bearing portions together define a transversely extending gudgeon opening and a rearwardly open throat of restricted diameter in comparison to that of the gudgeon opening, the throat opening communicating with both the passage and the gudgeon opening. The hinge means further comprises a tab extending rearwardly from the rearward end of the lower of the jaws and a hinge element receivable in the gudgeon opening for rotation therein, the hinge element and the throat opening being dimensioned to permit the passage of the hinge element therealong under the influence of a biasing force which may suitably be manually applied.  
           [0013]    The disposition of the hinge structure rearwardly of the mutually confronting jaw surfaces permits a clip to be formed with separately formed jaws which has a closure capacity which is generally not less than that of a comparably sized clip having a living hinge. It also permits a hinge geometry which is relatively independent of the jaw structure.  
           [0014]    In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the lower ones of the hinge bearing portions extend rearwardly beyond the throat opening, so as to form an abutment to prevent the over rotation of the jaws. As the lower of the jaws swings into contact with the abutment, any further attempt to force the jaws open will tend to close the throat opening, and securely trap the hinge pin within the gudgeon opening. The distal ends of these rearwardly projecting portions may suitably be interconnected by a bight, to provide a convenient means for suspending the clip in a point of sale display, for example, or for suspending a bag that is closed by the clip.  
           [0015]    Where the upper jaw of the clip is provided with a channel therealong within which a rib formed on the lower jaw may be interleaved, the rearward end of the channel may be closed by a rear wall to increase the strength of the jaw. Suitably, a portal may be formed in the rear wall to communicate with the passage to permit the rearwardly projecting tab to pass therethrough.  
           [0016]    In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, one or both of the jaws may be formed to have a different profile on opposed surfaces thereof. Accordingly, the clip may be assembled in one manner so as to provide a first function, and then reassembled by a user in a different manner to provide another function.  
           [0017]    Clips which are generally of the foregoing nature may often be used to close bags that are marketed in a sealed condition, and which can only be opened using a knife or scissors. In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, a clip may be provided with integrally formed cutting means, which obviates the requirement for scissors or the like. Still further, the bags once opened, may be stored in other containers. Accordingly, the invention contemplates bag-closure clips wherein there is provided a resilient finger supported from one of the jaws, which finger will serve to clip the closure clip to a container when it is not in use.  
           [0018]    These and still other aspects of the invention will be described in relation to preferred embodiments of the invention which are illustrated by the drawings annexed hereto.  
           [0019]    It will be understood that in the foregoing description, and throughout the specification, the terms upper and lower, forward and rearward and the like are all used in a relative sense for convenience only, and that they are not limitative of the invention. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0020]    [0020]FIG. 1 shows in perspective view from the rear, top, right side of a heavy duty clip in accordance with the invention, together with an accessory scoop;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 2 is similar to FIG. 1 but shows the clip foreshortened, with the accessory scoop in its open position, and also a handle positioned for engagement with the clip;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 3 shows in perspective view from the rear bottom, right side, rearward portions of the clip jaws, shown separated for clarity;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 4 shows in perspective view from the rear, top, right side, rearward portions of the clip with the jaws assembled and closed together;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 5 shows a rearward portion of the top jaw in side elevation;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 6 shows a transverse cross section of the clip on line  6 - 6  of FIG. 1;  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 7 shows in side elevation a rear portion of the clip when fully opened;  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 8 shows a clip in accordance with a second embodiment in perspective, exploded view from the rear, right side;  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 9 shows a clip in accordance with a third embodiment in perspective, exploded view from the rear, left side; and  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 10 shows the clip of FIG. 9 in one manner of use. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0030]    Referring to the drawings in detail, in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS.  1 - 7 , a heavy duty clip is identified generally therein by the numeral  10 . Clip  10  has a rearward end  12  and a forward end  14 , and a longitudinal axis therebetween, and in general will have an axial plane of symmetry. Clip  10  comprises an upper jaw  20  and a lower jaw  22 ; the upper jaw is defined in part by a top wall  24 , side walls  26 , and end walls  28 , each of which depend from the top wall, with the end walls interconnecting the side walls, the walls together forming a downwardly open channel  30 .  
         [0031]    Lower jaw  22  comprises an axially extending flange  34  and an axially extending rib  36  upstanding from the flange. Given that clip  10  of this first embodiment is particularly intended for heavy duty use, the cross section of the flange at the juncture with rib  36  may be physically large, and in accordance with general molding practice, the mass of the cross section is reduced by forming flange  34  with a slotted depression therealong, bridged at axially spaced apart intervals by webs  38 . Jaws  20 ,  22  are interconnected at their rearward end by hinge structure identified generally by the numeral  40 , and at their forward end by releasable latch  42 . As thus far described, clip  10  is of a more or less conventional structure.  
         [0032]    In accordance with the invention, hinge  40  comprises a hinge bearing  44  mounted on the upper jaw and disposed rearwardly of the rear end wall  28  thereof, and a transversely extending hinge rod  46  supported from a tab  48  which extends rearwardly from rib  36 . Hinge bearing  44  comprises a pair of laterally spaced apart projections  50  which extend rearwardly from jaw  20  generally in the planes of the left and right side walls  26  respectively, to define a passage  52  therebetween. Hinge bearing  44  further comprises a superior portion formed by a tongue  54 , which projects rearwardly from rear end wall  28  in spaced apart relation to projections  50 , the confronting surfaces of projections  50  and tongue  54  forming a gudgeon opening  60 . The distal end  56  of tongue  54  is downwardly hooked towards projections  50  so as to form therewith a transversely extending throat opening  58  which has a restricted diameter in comparison to that of gudgeon opening  60 . Throat opening  58  communicates with both the gudgeon opening  60  and passage  52 . The area of the bearing surface is increased by providing small bosses  62  on the inwardly facing wall surfaces of projections  50 . It will be understood that the transverse spacing between bosses  62  is similar to the transverse width of tab  48 , so as to retain jaw  22  centered in relation to jaw  20  when clip  10  is opened. It may be noted that a small portal  64  is provided in end wall  28  of jaw  20 , which portal communicates with passage  52  and which extends upwardly to adjacent the root of tongue  54 , to permit the passage of tab  48  through end wall  28 . The rearward ends of projections  50  extend rearwardly beyond the distal end  56  of tongue  54  and are interconnected by a bight  66  for purposes to be described.  
         [0033]    In assembling jaws  20 ,  22  together, the lower jaw  22  is oriented so as to pass hinge rod  46  upwardly between projections  50 , and then to align the hinge rod opposite throat opening  58 . Lower jaw  22  is then urged forwardly, to force hinge rod  46  through throat opening  58  and to snap into gudgeon opening  60 , and into contact with the bearing surfaces defined thereby.  
         [0034]    Rib  36  and flange  38  of lower jaw  22  are dimensioned and positioned such that when clip  10  is closed, a serpentine passage  70  is created between the rib and the walls defining channel  30 . A spacer boss  72  is provided on the upper surface of flange  38  to restrict the approach of the flange to the peripheral extremity of the side walls defining channel  30 , the clearance partially defining the serpentine passage  70 . The upper edge of rib  36  is provided with a lacuna  74  extending substantially along the axial length of the rib, the rearward end portion only of the lacuna being seen in FIG. 3, the lacuna also serving in part to define serpentine passage  70 . A similar general arrangement of the jaw structure is more particularly described in the above mentioned -572 patent. The arrangement permits relatively bulky layers of bag or sack material to be clamped between jaws  20 ,  22 . Where, as herein, clip  10  is intended for heavy duty use, the closure of jaws  20 ,  22  about a relatively heavy material, particularly where it may have a slick surface finish, will tend to generate a strong reactive force tending to urge upper jaw  20  forwardly relative to lower jaw  22 . Where this reactive force is sufficiently great to force hinge rod  46  rearwardly through throat opening  58 , the hinge assembly will disengage. The reactive force is constrained in clip  10  by providing cooperating transverse shoulder elements on jaws  20 ,  22 . Preferably, such shoulder elements will be disposed adjacent the hinge end of clip  10 , and will interact when the jaws subtend an angle of at least about  450  to each other. In clip  10 , the shoulder elements are provided in lower jaw by upturned flange portions  76 , and the cooperating elements in the upper jaw are provided by inverted V-shaped cutouts  78  which open onto the lower edge of each side wall  26 .  
         [0035]    Top wall  24  is provided with a pair of axially spaced apart slotted openings  80  therein is adjacent ends  12 ,  14  of clip  10 . A flexible handle  82  may be detachably secured in openings  80  to arch therebetween, to facilitate the use of clip  10  in carrying or suspending a heavy bag. An accessory scoop  86  may be mounted from clip  10  so as to be available for use in handling the contents of a sack closed by the clip. Suitably, scoop  86  is provided with a hinge bearing  88  similar in nature to hinge bearing  44 , and bight  66  will form a hinge rod which is grasped by hinge bearing  88 , to permit the scoop to rotate. Hinge bearing  88  includes a bight  90  which has a transverse dimension such as to bear on the lower surface of projections  50  when scoop  86  is moved to its fully opened position, as seen in FIG. 2. Suitably, bight  66  is obround in cross section, and hinge bearing  88  will interact with the bight, tending to bias scoop  86  to either the open or closed position. Bight  66  will serve as a convenient point of attachment for other alternate accessories that may be used with clip  10 , or it might alternately or additionally serve as a hanger for suspending clip  10  in a point of sale display, or for suspending the clip together with a bag to which the clip is attached.  
         [0036]    As best seen in FIG. 7, when the jaws of clip  10  are rotated into a fully opened position, lower jaw  22  moves into abutment with the rearward extension portions  50  of hinge  40 . Further attempted rotation of jaw  22  towards the open position will then serve to urge the rearward extension portions  50  towards tongue  54  and more firmly trap hinge pin  46 , thereby preventing the unintended disengagement of the jaws.  
         [0037]    Referring now to FIG. 8, a clip  110  therein is similarly structured to clip  10 , but includes accessory appendages to facilitate the use of the clip. One such appendage comprises a hook  111  which projects upwardly from the upper wall surface of the upper jaw. Hook  111  comprises an axially extending spring finger  113  rooted at its proximal end  115  to the upper jaw of clip  110  adjacent one axial and thereof to generally overlay the upper surface of the jaw in spaced apart relationship. Hook  111  serves to attach clip  110  to an article such as a plastic milk jug or the like which is to be used to store a bag to be closed by the clip.  
         [0038]    Clip  110  includes a further accessory appendage in the form of a cutting tool  121 . Cutting tool  121  comprises a finger  123  which is relatively rigidly mounted to the lower jaw of the clip, adjacent one axial end thereof. Finger  123  extends in the axial direction of clip  110  in spaced apart relationship to the clip jaw, to define therewith an axially elongated slot  125 . The width of finger  123  is progressively increased from its distal end  127  towards it proximal end  129 , this having the effect of progressively diminishing the width of slot  123 . A knife blade  131  is disposed in slot  125  adjacent proximal end  129  of finger  123 , the plane of the blade being mounted in the axial direction of clip  110 , while the cutting edge of the blade is downwardly rearwardly inclined. Typically, cutting tool  121  will be used to slice open a sealed container, which may for example be a milk bag or carton, which may then be closed by clip  110 .  
         [0039]    Referring now to FIGS. 9 &amp; 10, a third embodiment of a clip in accordance with the invention is identified therein by the numeral  210 . Clip  210  includes an upper jaw  220  which is similar to that of the first embodiment, and a lower jaw  222 . The lowerjaw comprises an axially extending flange having first and second ribs  236 A,  236 B depending therefrom in back to back relationship. Rib  236 A as illustrated, is shown in confronting relationship with the upper jaw  222 , and may be used to close the neck of a plastic bag or other deformable container in the manner more particularly described in the foregoing -572 patent, i.e. wherein the clip is latched closed about the gathered neck of the bag.  
         [0040]    Clip  210  is specifically adapted for use with oven roasting bags, which are themselves well known in commerce. The instructions issued with the bags include the steps of tying the bag closed, and puncturing the walls of the bag several times with the tines of a fork. This last step is necessary to permit the escape of vapors from the bag during the cooking process, such puncturing of the bag is rather imprecise, and leads to unpredictable results; moreover, since it destroys the integrity of the bag, this cannot be used for the subsequent storage of food and is probably unsuited for any further purpose.  
         [0041]    Clip  210  is used in a roasting process in the manner shown in FIG. 10. Here, the top of a bag B is folded over in a fold F across the whole of its width, and clip  210  is applied in a transverse manner to the fold. The arrangement functions as a simple valve to permit gases to escape from bag B in a controlled manner, without destroying the integrity of the bag, so as to permit its subsequent use for storage purposes if desired. When clip  210  is used for roasting in this manner, it will be appreciated that it will not be possible to latch the jaws closed if the integrity of the bag B is to be retained, and lower jaw  222  is devoid of any lattch element associated with rib  236 B. When clip  210  is used to close a roasting bag in the manner suggested by FIG. 10 the clip is assembled by the user with rib  236 B in confronting relationship to upper jaw  220 . Rib  236 B is sized to provide a light interference with the inwardly facing surfaces of the side walls  226  of the upper jaw, so as to retain the jaws of the clip closed without their being latched. When clip  210  is closed about a bag B in the manner illustrated, a strong interference will result; this is particularly so as the material from which clip  210  is manufactured will normally be fiber reinforced, and will have a high modulus of elasticity, so as to be capable of withstanding oven roasting temperatures, typically in the range of about 180 to 205° C. (350 to 400° F.), and the walls of the clip will tend not to deform. In order to accommodate the use of bags of different wall thickness, the side walls  226  of the clip are not connected at the forward end of the jaw by any end wall, whereby the channel  230  of jaw  220  is open ended at this end. This permits the side walls  226  to splay apart under the influence of a heavy load, and also promotes the gripping action of the clip when used for roasting in the foregoing manner. Still further, as may be appreciated from FIG. 10, the open forward end of channel  230  facilitates the relatively smooth entry of the walls of bag B into the channel. It will be remarked that in the hinge  240  of this embodiment, the tongue portion  254  is furcated axially, whereby the side walls  226  at the rearward end of clip  210  are not bridged across, so as not to constrain any desired splaying movement.