STACKED CUTLERY SYSTEM AND METHOD

Abstract

A system for easily refilling cutlery dispensers and other devices includes a stack of identical cutlery items maintained by a retaining structure that can be removed either before, during, or after installation, depending on the dispenser configuration. In a first aspect, the cutlery handles are nested and the retaining structure includes a single adhesive strip applied to only one side of the stack. In a second aspect, the retaining structure includes separate adhesive strips applied to each side of the stack. In a third aspect, the retaining structure comprises a band extending around the stack, removal of the band from the stack being facilitated by breaking of a frangible section of the band. In all aspects a pull-tab or other graspable element can be provided to facilitate removal of the support structure. The stacked cutlery may also be loaded into a caddy or into a tray.

Claims

1. An assembly of cutlery items, the assembly comprising: a vertically aligned, nested stack of identical cutlery items, each of the identical cutlery items within said stack comprising a head and a handle, said identical cutlery items thus comprising respective identical heads and respective identical handles arranged in a mutually aligned relationship and in direct mutual contact with each other; a retaining structure comprising a band encircling a front side, a back side, a top side, and a bottom side of said stack and being configured for maintaining said stack in said mutually aligned relationship; and a frangible section included in said band, said band being released from the stack when said frangible section is severed, thereby allowing the band to be removed from the stack.

2. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the retaining structure further comprises a pull tab, said frangible section being severed so as to release the band from the stack when said pull tab is pulled upon.

3. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the band comprises an interior surface in contact with the stack of identical cutlery items, said interior surface being characterized by an absence of an adhesive layer.

4. The assembly of claim 1, wherein said band is constructed by wrapping a strap having two free-ends around said stack and joining the free-ends of the strap.

5. The assembly of claim 4, wherein the free ends of the strap are joined by an adhesive strip, said adhesive strip being characterized by the fact that it is not in direct contact with said stack of identical cutlery items.

6. The assembly of claim 5, wherein the frangible section is included in the adhesive strip.

7. The assembly of claim 4, wherein the band comprises at least one of plastic, paper, paperboard, chipboard, cardboard, and bagasse.

8. The assembly of claim 1, wherein said band is a shrink band, said shrink band being constructed from a flexible plastic material that is adapted to shrink onto said stack upon exposure of the shrink band to heat.

9. The assembly of claim 1, wherein each of said handles of said cutlery items in said stack includes an inter-nesting feature that prevents movement of adjacent identical cutlery items in said stack relative to each other by more than 0.2 inches in a direction transverse to a longitudinal axis of the respective identical handles in said stack.

10. The assembly of claim 1, wherein each of said identical cutlery items includes an inter-nesting feature that prevents movement of adjacent identical cutlery items in said stack relative to each other of more than 0.1 inches in a direction transverse to a longitudinal axis of the respective identical handles in said stack.

11. The assembly of cutlery items of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of said handle of each of said identical cutlery items has a protrusion on a first surface thereof and a corresponding hollow on an opposing second surface thereof, and wherein the protrusion on the handle of each of said identical cutlery items nests within the hollow of another of the identical cutlery items located adjacent to it in said stack.

12. The assembly of cutlery items of claim 11, wherein the protrusion on the first surface of each handle nests within the hollow of the adjacent handle in the stack to a depth that is at least 20% of a vertical thickness of the handle.

13. The assembly of claim 1, wherein said stack of identical cutlery items is one of: a stack of forks; a stack of spoons; a stack of knives; and a stack of sporks.

14. The assembly of cutlery items of claim 1, wherein each of said identical cutlery items is constructed from a plastic material.

15. A method of installing cutlery in a vertically oriented cutlery dispenser, the method comprising: providing a stack of identical cutlery items according to claim 1; positioning the stack either within or directly above said cutlery dispenser; fracturing said frangible section of said band; and withdrawing said band from said stack, thereby releasing said cutlery items for dispensing by said dispenser.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the band comprises a pull tab, and wherein the steps of fracturing and withdrawing include pulling on the pull tab, thereby fracturing the frangible section and withdrawing the band from the stack.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein releasing said cutlery items includes releasing the cutlery items while the stack is positioned immediately above the dispenser, so that the cutlery items descend into the dispenser and are retained therein.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein releasing said cutlery items includes: lowering the stack into an upper portion of the dispenser, said upper portion being configured to maintain the cutlery items in the stack, while providing external access to the band of the retaining structure; fracturing the frangible section and withdrawing the retaining structure from the stack while the cutlery items are maintained in the stack by the upper portion of the dispenser; and allowing said cutlery items to descend into a lower portion of the dispenser.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein releasing said retaining structure includes: lowering the stack into a dispensing portion of the dispenser, said dispensing portion being configured to maintain the cutlery items in the stack, while providing external access to the band of the retaining structure; and fracturing the frangible section and withdrawing the retaining structure from the stack while the cutlery items are maintained in the stack by the upper portion of the dispenser.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a single item of cutlery having a nestable handle according to a first general aspect of the invention;

[0035] FIG. 2A is a perspective sectional view of a pair of cutlery items as shown in FIG. 1, arranged one above the other;

[0036] FIG. 2B is a cross sectional illustration of the handle of the cutlery item of FIG. 1;

[0037] FIG. 3 is a perspective side view of a stack of cutlery items of the type shown in FIG. 1, wherein an adhesive strip is applied to one side of the stack;

[0038] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the stack of FIG. 3 showing a perturbation of the vertical alignment;

[0039] FIG. 5 is a perspective side view of the stack of FIG. 3 arranged inside of a vertically-oriented cutlery dispenser, showing the adhesive strip partially removed through an opening provided in the dispenser;

[0040] FIG. 6 is a rear perspective view of a stack of cutlery items in a second general aspect of the invention, wherein an adhesive strip is applied to each side of the stack;

[0041] FIG. 7 is a perspective side view of the stack of FIG. 6 arranged inside of a vertically-oriented cutlery dispenser, showing the adhesive strips partially removed through openings provided in the dispenser;

[0042] FIG. 8 is a rear perspective view of a stack of cutlery items in a third general aspect of the invention, wherein a band surrounds the handles in the stack;

[0043] FIG. 9A is a perspective view of the band of FIG. 8, wherein the stack of cutlery items has been removed for clarity of illustration;

[0044] FIG. 9B is a close-up side view of the adhesive attachment of the bottom panel to a side panel of the band of FIG. 9A;

[0045] FIG. 9C is a perspective view of the band of FIG. 9A showing a configuration after a pull-tab has been used to break a perforated corner of the band; and

[0046] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an embodiment similar to FIG. 9A, except that the bottom “panel” is secured by an adhesive strip.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0047] The present invention is a novel system and method for organizing and retaining a plurality of cutlery items in a stacked configuration that can be easily and efficiently shipped, handled, and loaded into a cutlery dispenser or a presentation device for easy retrieval and use. With reference to FIG. 1, each cutlery item 100 in a stack includes a handle 102 and a food-contacting head 104. A plurality of identical cutlery items 100, which can be permanent ware or disposable cutlery items, is maintained in an ordered stack by a retaining structure that is removed from the stack either during insertion or after the cutlery stack is inserted into a dispenser.

[0048] In some embodiments, the retaining structure is released when the stack is immediately above the dispenser, thereby allowing the cutlery to load into the dispenser by descending under the influence of gravity. In other embodiments, the stack of cutlery items is inserted into the dispenser, and the retaining structure of the inserted stack is grasped and removed through an access area that is provided by the dispenser. In some of these embodiments, the retaining structure is released after the stack is fully inserted into the dispenser, while in other of these embodiments the retaining structure is released while the stack is in an upper portion of the dispenser, after which the stack is allowed to descend into a lower portion of the dispenser.

[0049] With reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B, in a first general aspect of the invention the retaining structure comprises an adhesive strip applied on only one side of the stack of cutlery items 100. In embodiments, each cutlery handle 102 includes a raised portion 200 on the top surface thereof and a corresponding hollow 202 in the bottom portion, or vice versa, so that when the cutlery items 100 are stacked the raised portion 200 of each handle 102 nests within the hollow portion 202 of an adjacent handle 102 in the stack. The dimensions of the handles 102, such as the heights of the raised portions 200, the depths of the hollows 202 and the thicknesses 204 of the sides, can be adjusted so as to vary the degree of inter-nesting between two cutlery items in a stack according to the degree of movement between two cutlery pieces that can be tolerated. According to embodiments of the invention, the inter-nested handles are only allowed relative movement in the transverse direction (relative to the longitudinal axes of the handles) of less than 0.1 inches, or about 2.5 mm. In other embodiments, the allowed relative transverse movement is less than 0.063 inches, or about 1.6 mm. In embodiments, the raised portion 202 of each handle nests within the hollow 202 of the adjacent handle to a depth that is at least 20% of the vertical thickness of the handles.

[0050] With reference to FIG. 3, according to this general aspect, there is shown a stack 300 of a plurality of inter-nested cutlery articles 100. A single adhesive strip 302 is applied to one side of the cutlery stack 300, which contacts the sides of the nested cutlery items 100 and holds the cutlery items 100 in close vertical association with each other, while the integrity of the stack 300 is maintained during bending and flexing due to the nesting of the stacked cutlery handles 102. This is illustrated in FIG. 4. The inventors have tested the stability of the inter-nested cutlery configuration connected with an adhesive strip, as shown in FIG. 4 by dropping a stack of 40 cutlery pieces from a height of 3-4 feet without separation of the cutlery pieces. As noted above, this configuration offers substantial advantages over prior art as any kind of backer paperboard can be avoided.

[0051] FIG. 5 is a side perspective view showing the cutlery stack 300 of FIG. 3 inserted into a section 500 of a cutlery dispenser. For ease of understanding and simplicity, the dispenser mechanism for dispensing the cutlery pieces after they are loaded into the dispenser is not shown in these illustrations. In the embodiment of FIG. 5, the dispenser section 500 includes an opening 502 aligned with the side of the stack that provides access to the adhesive strip 302, so that it can be easily removed after the stack 300 is inserted in the dispenser, thereby freeing the individual cutlery items 100 in the stack 300 for dispensing. FIG. 5 is a simplified illustration, which can be taken to represent either the stack 300 fully installed in the dispenser 500, or the stack 300 inserted in an upper section 500 of the dispenser, where the adhesive strip 302 is removed before the stack 300 is allowed to descend to a lower section of the dispenser from which the cutlery will be dispensed. In FIGS. 3-5 the forks in the stack are shown facing up. However, it will be realized by those skilled in the art that cutlery can be loaded in the dispenser in either orientation, i.e. facing up or facing down, depending on the construction of the dispenser and the dispensing mechanism.

[0052] FIG. 6 is a rear perspective view of a second general aspect of the present invention, in which the retaining structure includes two adhesive strips 600, one applied to and contacting each side of the stack. This general aspect places no special requirements on the nesting functionality or shapes of the cutlery handles 102. FIG. 7 is a side perspective view showing the cutlery stack 300 of FIG. 6 inserted into the vertically-oriented cutlery dispenser 500 of FIG. 5. The dispenser 500 includes an opposing pair of openings 502 that provide access to the adhesive strips 600 on both sides of the stack, so that they can be easily removed after the stack 300 is inserted. As in FIG. 5, FIG. 7 is a simplified illustration that can be taken to represent either the stack 300 fully installed in the dispenser 500, or the stack 300 inserted in an upper section 500 of the dispenser, where the adhesive strips 600 are removed before the stack 300 is allowed to descend to a lower section from which the cutlery will be dispensed.

[0053] FIG. 8 is a rear perspective view of a third general aspect of the invention, in which the retaining structure is a band 800 that surrounds the stack 300. Alternate embodiments provide a retaining structure that is a full or partial sleeve surrounding the cutlery stack. In embodiments, the band is made from plastic, paper, paperboard, chipboard, cardboard, bagasse, or any other suitable material. In some embodiments the band extends entirely around the stack, while in other embodiments the band extends around three sides of the stack and is closed on the fourth side by an adhesive strip.

[0054] With reference to FIGS. 9A and 9B, a band 800 in an embodiment of this general aspect surrounds all four sides of a stack of cutlery, and is configured such that a bottom side thereof 900 is easily opened as the stack 300 is inserted into the dispenser 500 or, if access is available, after the stack 300 has been inserted into the dispenser 500. In the embodiment of FIGS. 9A and 9B, the bottom panel 900 is integral with the sides 902, but includes an adhesive joining 908, a frangible perforation 904, and a pull-tab 906 that allow the bottom 900 to be easily removed, so that the stack of utensils can fall through the bottom of the band and the band can be pulled out from the side or lifted upward and removed.

[0055] FIG. 9C is a perspective view of the band 800 of FIG. 9A, illustrating removal of the bottom 900, whereby pulling on the pull-tab 906 has broken the frangible perforation 904, so that the bottom 900 of the band 800 is separated from the rear side of the band 800 and can be slid sideways out from under the stack of cutlery 300 (not shown in the figure) and the entire band can be removed from the dispenser 500.

[0056] FIG. 10 illustrates an embodiment of this general aspect that is similar to FIG. 9A, except that the cutlery holding band 800 is initially in the form of a strap. The bottom side of the band 800 is closed by an adhesive strip 1020 having an adhesive layer 1024 facing towards the side 902 and the bottom 900 of the band 800. The adhesive strip 1020 terminates in a pull tab 1026. In some embodiments the bottom 900 includes a frangible perforation 904 so that the bottom portion can be severed from the band 800 by pulling on the pull tab 1026 and removing the remainder of the band 800 from the dispenser.

[0057] In FIG. 10 the closed side of band 800 is shown on the top with the adhesive strip 1020 installed at the bottom end, which is initially open for stacking cutlery within the U-shaped structure 800. In other embodiments, the band 800 is oriented so that the closed end is at the bottom and the adhesive strip 1020 is installed on the top. In the embodiment of FIG. 10 the adhesive layer is not in contact with any of the cutlery items 100.

[0058] The foregoing description of the embodiments of the invention has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. Each and every page of this submission, and all contents thereon, however characterized, identified, or numbered, is considered a substantive part of this application for all purposes, irrespective of form or placement within the application.

[0059] This specification is not intended to be exhaustive. Although the present application is shown in a limited number of forms, the scope of the invention is not limited to just these forms, but is amenable to various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof. One or ordinary skill in the art should appreciate after learning the teachings related to the claimed subject matter contained in the foregoing description that many modifications and variations are possible in light of this disclosure. Accordingly, the claimed subject matter includes any combination of the above-described elements in all possible variations thereof, unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. In particular, the limitations presented in dependent claims below can be combined with their corresponding independent claims in any number and in any order without departing from the scope of this disclosure, unless the dependent claims are logically incompatible with each other.