Abstract
A bag resealing clip comprising cooperating bag cinching members for retaining at least a portion of a bag to be resealed in a substantially closed state, and a date display with display indicia that is user definable associated with at least one of the bag cinching members.
Claims
1. A bag resealing clip comprising cooperating bag cinching members for retaining at least a portion of a bag to be resealed in a substantially closed state, and a date display with display indicia that is user definable associated with at least one of the bag cinching members.
2. The bag resealing clip of claim 1 wherein the date display comprises one or more movable elements having date indicia printed thereon.
3. The bag resealing clip of claim 2 wherein the movable elements comprise a plurality of wheels rotatable around an axel.
4. The bag resealing clip of claim 4 wherein one of the wheels and the axel have one or more detents that cooperate with a series of depressions on the other of the wheel and the axel.
5. The bag resealing clip of claim 3 further comprising one or more retainers for fixing the axel on at least one of the cooperating bag cinching members.
6. The bag resealing clip of claim 3 further comprising one or more stops for maintaining the orientation of the wheels.
7. The bag resealing clip of claim 1 wherein the cooperating bag cinching members comprise first and second clip elements.
8. The bag resealing clip of claim 7 wherein the first and second clip elements are spring loaded to bias clamping portions of the first and second clip elements in a closed orientation.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018] The attached drawings are intended to better illustrate a preferred embodiment of the present invention without limiting the invention in any manner whatsoever.
[0019] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention.
[0020] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of an embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1.
[0021] FIG. 3A is a side elevation of the date identifying wheel of an embodiment of the present invention.
[0022] FIG. 3B is a side elevation of an alternative version of the date identifying wheel of an embodiment of the present invention.
[0023] FIG. 3C is a front elevation of a date identifying wheel of an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the literal designation for the month is displayed.
[0024] FIG. 3D is a front elevation of a date identifying wheel of an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the numerical designation of a date is displayed.
[0025] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the present invention.
[0026] FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the alternate embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 4.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0027] The following description of the preferred embodiment is presented to describe the present invention without limiting invention, defined by the scope of the appended claims, in any manner whatsoever.
[0028] The present invention is directed to a bag clip 2 comprising a bag cinching member 4, preferably in the form of cooperating clip elements 8 and 10, and a date display 6, preferably in the form of a series of rotatable wheels 12 having indicia that can correspond to a date.
[0029] The cooperating first and second clip elements 8 and 10 of the bag cinching member 4 can be any suitable elements that cooperate to retain a bag in a substantially closed configuration. Although the preferred embodiments shown comprise cooperating clip elements 8 and 10 that are spring loaded to force clamping portions into a closed orientation, the cinching member 4 may be, for example, two flexible arms that retain their shape, with the date display 6 therebetween, so that the flexible arms can be intertwined to secure the open end of the bag in a substantially closed state.
[0030] In the preferred embodiment of FIGS. 1-2, the first clip element 8 and the second clip element 10 are connected by a pin 14 at corresponding fulcrum points 16. A spring member 18, preferably fixed by the pin 14, biases the clamping portions of the cooperating first and second clip elements 8 and 10 into a closed orientation for retaining a bag in a substantially closed state.
[0031] Similarly, in the preferred embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5, the first clip element 8 is a plunger with an opening on a side that travels within the second clip element 10, which is in the form of a sleeve having a corresponding side opening that forms. A spring member 18, preferably biases the first clip element 8 against the second clip element 10 so that the corresponding openings of the first clip element 8 and the second clip element 10 form clamping portions for retaining a bag in a substantially closed state.
[0032] The bag clip 2, regardless of the cinching member 4 used, includes a date display 6, preferably comprising moving elements that permit the user to define the date on the display 6. In the preferred embodiment shown, the date display 6 comprises a series of rotatable wheels 12, having indicia thereon that can be used to define a date, which rotate about an axel 20. The rotatable wheels 12 of the date display 6 are preferably integrated on at least one of the cooperating first and second clip elements 8 and 10. The interior of the wheels 12 preferably fit snugly around a fixed axle 20, with one of the interior of the wheels 12 and the exterior of the axel 20 having detents that engage depressions on the other. The detents and depressions cooperate to hold the wheels 12 from unintentional rotation, while permitting rotation of the wheels 12 on the axel 20 when sufficient rotational force is applied to the wheels 12.
[0033] For example, as shown in FIG. 3A, preferably for use with the clip 2 of FIGS. 1 and 2, the wheels 12 have detents 26 that engage depressions 28 on the axel 20. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 3B, preferably for use with the clip 2 of FIGS. 4 and 5, the wheels have depressions 26 that are engaged by detents 28 on the portion of the clip member 10 that forms the axel 20.
[0034] In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, the first clip element 8 comprises retainers 22 for holding the axel 20 in a fixed position, with the rotatable wheels 12 fitted on the axel 20. Although the retainers 22 are shown as fashioned on raised stops 24, for fixing the position of the wheels 12, on the side of the clip member opposite the clamping end, it is understood that the retainers 22, and therefore the date display 6, can be on any suitable area of the clip 2.
[0035] Moreover, the retainers 22 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are set on raised stops 24 on the clip member 8, which preferably have rounded ends to limit their catching on other objects. However, it is understood that the retainers 22 can be set within inset stops 24 on the clip members 8 and/or 10.
[0036] In the alternative embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5, the axel 20 can be incorporated onto a portion of the second clip member 10, where the wheels 12 rotate about the portion of the second clip member 10 opposite the clamping openings. As shown in FIG. 5, the end of the clip member 10 on which the wheels 12 rotate have stops 24 for fixing the position of the wheels 12, and detents 26 that cooperate with depression on the interior of the wheels 12 to retain the wheels in a user defined orientation.
[0037] As shown in FIG. 3C, the wheels 4 are preferably printed with the names of months and a series of numbers in order to correspond to a date. Of course, the months can be shown in numerical form, i.e., from 1-12, rather than literal form. Moreover, the days are preferably shown in numerical form using two wheels for the days, including wheels with the indicial 0-9 on each or a first wheel with 0-3 for the first integer of the date and a second wheel with 0-9 for the second integer of the day. In this regard, the appended drawings show the wheels 12 in FIGS. 1, 2, 3A, 3B, 4, and 5 as blank, but it is to be understood that the wheels 12 include date indicia, either with the literal indicia shown in FIG. 3C or with numerical indicia (not shown), for the user to define the date. During use, the wheels 12 may define a date when a bag was first opened, so that the user knows how long the bag has been opened and can thereby determine the freshness of the contents. Of course, the date display 6 need not be a set of wheels 4, but may comprise a digital display, a series of sliding elements where either the indicia or an indicator line slides to a user set position, etc., so that the user can define a date. Moreover, an indicator line or a window opening is preferably used with the date display 6, so that the particular indicia corresponding to the date is clearly designated. Additionally, the clip 2 may comprise a date display 6 on more than one of the first and second clip members 8 and 10, for example, where a month indicia is presented on a first clip element and a day indicia is presented on a second clip element.
[0038] Variations, modifications and alterations to the above detailed description will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. All such variations, modifications and/or alternatives are intended to fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention, limited only by the appended claims.
