US5221248A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Flower pot or flower pot cover with fins
Assignee: Highland Supply Corp
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Filing: 1991-12-10
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Granted: 1993-06-22
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Expires: 2011-12-10
Abstract
Abstract An apparatus and method for forming a sheet of material into a flower pot or flower pot cover with fins. The apparatus comprises a male mold, a female mold having an opening mating with the male mold, and means for moving the male mold into and out of the opening of the female mold with the sheet of material between the two molds. To form outwardly extending fins in the flower pot cover, fingers are extended from the male mold to push folds in the sheet of material between segments of the female mold. The female segments are closed on the folds to form fins in the sheet of material as the male mold is pressed into the female mold to make the flower pot cover. To form inwardly extending fins, fingers are moved between the female segments to push folds in the sheet of material between segments of the male mold. The segments of the male mold close on the folds to form fins in the sheet of the material as the male mold is pressed into the female mold to make the flower pot cover.
Inventors
- 👤 Donald E. Weder
- 👤 Joseph G. Strater
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-03 18:51
CPC Classifications
B; B65; B65D; B65D85/00; B65D85/50; B65D85/52; A; A01; A01G; A01G9/00; A01G9/02; A47; A47G; A47G7/00; A47G7/02; A47G7/08; A47G7/085; B29; B29C; B29C51/00; B29C51/08; B29C51/26; B29C51/261; B29C51/262; B31; B31B; B31B50/00; B31B50/26; B31B50/44; B31F; B31F1/00; B31F1/0077; B65B; B65B47/00; B65B47/04; B65B47/06; B65D85/505; B31B2100/00; B31B2110/00; B31B2110/10; B31B2110/20; B31B2120/00; B31B2120/70; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S493/00; Y10S493/901
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 21
Claim 1
Independent Claim
208 words
A method of forming a flower pot or flower pot cover with outwardly extending fins, the steps of the method comprising: placing a sheet of material between a male mold and a female mold, the male mold having a male molding surface and a plurality of fingers extendible from the male molding surface, and the female mold having a plurality of female segments and an opening defining a female molding surface; moving at least one of the male mold and the female mold into a forming position wherein the male mold is disposed in the opening of the female mold with at least a portion of the sheet of material being disposed generally between the male molding surface and the female molding surface; moving the female segments to create fin-forming spaces between the female segments; extending each finger of the male mold into a corresponding one of the fin-forming spaced to push a fold in the sheet of material into the corresponding fin-forming space; withdrawing each finger of the male mole from the corresponding fin-forming space; and moving the female segments together to press each fold of the sheet of material between the female segments to form a plurality of outwardly extending fins in the sheet of material.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
208 words
A method of forming a flower pot or flower pot cover with outwardly extending fins, the steps of the method comprising: placing a sheet of material between a male mold and a female mold, the male mold having a male molding surface and a plurality of fingers extendible from the male molding surface, and the female mold having a plurality of female segments and an opening defining a female molding surface; moving at least one of the male mold and the female mold into a forming position wherein the male mold is disposed in the opening of the female mold with at least a portion of the sheet of material being disposed generally between the male molding surface and the female molding surface; moving the female segments to create fin-forming spaces between the female segments; extending each finger of the male mold into a corresponding one of the fin-forming spaced to push a fold in the sheet of material into the corresponding fin-forming space; withdrawing each finger of the male mole from the corresponding fin-forming space; and moving the female segments together to press each fold of the sheet of material between the female segments to form a plurality of outwardly extending fins in the sheet of material.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
76 words
The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of: providing the male mold with a vacuum; moving the female segments of the female mold apart; activating the vacuum of the male mold; and moving the male mold a distance form the opening of the female mold with a sheet of material formed into the shape of a flower pot or flower pot cover held to the male mold by the vacuum of the male mold.
Claim 4
Independent Claim
240 words
A method of forming a flower pot or flower pot cover with outwardly extending fins, the steps of the method comprising: placing a sheet of material between a male mold and a female mold, the male mold having a male molding surface and a plurality of fingers extendible from the male molding surface, and the female mold having a plurality of female segments, an opening defining a female molding surface and a vacuum for holding the sheet of material against the female molding surface; moving at least one of the male mold and the female mold into a forming position wherein the male mold is disposed in the opening of the female mold with at least a portion of the sheet of material being disposed generally between the male molding surface and the female molding surface; moving the female segments to create fin-forming spaces between the female segments; extending each finger of the male mold into a corresponding one of the fin-forming spaces to push a fold in the sheet of material into the corresponding fin-forming space; activating the vacuum of the female mold to hold the sheet of material in place in the female mold; withdrawing each finger of the male mold from the corresponding fin-forming space; and moving the female segments together to press each fold of the sheet of material between the female segments to form a plurality of outwardly extending fins in the sheet of material.
Claim 5
Independent Claim
240 words
A method of forming a flower pot or flower pot cover with outwardly extending fins, the steps of the method comprising: placing a sheet of material between a male mold and a female mold, the male mold having a male molding surface and a plurality of fingers extendible from the male molding surface, and the female mold having a plurality of female segments, an opening defining a female molding surface and a vacuum for holding the sheet of material against the female molding surface; moving at least one of the male mold and the female mold into a forming position wherein the male mold is disposed in the opening of the female mold with at least a portion of the sheet of material being disposed generally between the male molding surface and the female molding surface; moving the female segments to create fin-forming spaces between the female segments; extending each finger of the male mold into a corresponding one of the fin-forming spaces to push a fold in the sheet of material into the corresponding fin-forming space; activating the vacuum of the female mold to hold the sheet of material in place in the female mold; withdrawing each finger of the male mold from the corresponding fin-forming space; and moving the female segments together to press each fold of the sheet of material between the female segments to form a plurality of outwardly extending fins in the sheet of material.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 3 further comprising the step of applying heat to the female mold.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method of claim 3 further comprising the step of removing the sheet of material from the opening of the female mold after the sheet of material is formed into the shape of a flower pot or flower pot cover with outwardly extending fins.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
96 words
The method of claim 5 wherein the step of removing the sheet of material from the opening of the female mold further comprises: providing the male mold with a vacuum; moving the female segments of the female mold apart; deactivating the vacuum of the female mold; activating the vacuum of the male mold; and moving the male mold a distance from the opening of the female mold with the sheet of material formed into the shape of a flower pot or flower pot cover held to the male mold by the vacuum of the male mold.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
254 words
An apparatus for forming a sheet of material into a flower pot or flower pot cover having outwardly extending fins, the apparatus comprising: a female mold having an upper end, a lower end, an outer periphery, an opening extending through the upper end and into the female mold to form a female molding surface, the female mold comprising a plurality of female segments; a male mold having an upper end, a lower end, an outer periphery and a male molding surface; means for moving the male mold between a resting position wherein the male mold is spaced a distance from the female mold and a forming position wherein the male mold is disposed in the opening of the female mold; means for moving the female segments between an open position wherein the female segments are separated by vertical fin-forming spaces and a closed position wherein the female segments are compressed together; and a plurality of fingers extending from the outer periphery of the male mold, each finger corresponding to one of the fin-forming spaces of the female mold; wherein each finger of the male mold aligns with the corresponding fin-forming space and pushes a fold of the sheet of material into the corresponding fin-forming space of the female mold as the male mold is moved into the forming position with the female mold and wherein the female segments are moved to the closed position to press each fold between two of the female segments and form outwardly extending fins in the sheet of material.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
254 words
An apparatus for forming a sheet of material into a flower pot or flower pot cover having outwardly extending fins, the apparatus comprising: a female mold having an upper end, a lower end, an outer periphery, an opening extending through the upper end and into the female mold to form a female molding surface, the female mold comprising a plurality of female segments; a male mold having an upper end, a lower end, an outer periphery and a male molding surface; means for moving the male mold between a resting position wherein the male mold is spaced a distance from the female mold and a forming position wherein the male mold is disposed in the opening of the female mold; means for moving the female segments between an open position wherein the female segments are separated by vertical fin-forming spaces and a closed position wherein the female segments are compressed together; and a plurality of fingers extending from the outer periphery of the male mold, each finger corresponding to one of the fin-forming spaces of the female mold; wherein each finger of the male mold aligns with the corresponding fin-forming space and pushes a fold of the sheet of material into the corresponding fin-forming space of the female mold as the male mold is moved into the forming position with the female mold and wherein the female segments are moved to the closed position to press each fold between two of the female segments and form outwardly extending fins in the sheet of material.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
66 words
The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the means for moving the female segments comprises: a plurality of traveling blocks, each traveling block being attached to a corresponding one of the female segments; and means for moving the traveling blocks back and forth between a position wherein the female segments are in the open position and a position wherein the female segments are in the closed position.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
56 words
The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the means for moving the female segments further comprises: a plurality of stationary blocks, the stationary blocks being positioned to alternate with the positions of the traveling blocks; wherein each female segment is supported upon at least one of the stationary blocks to slide between the open and closed positions.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
34 words
The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the outer periphery of the male mold is circular in shape and the opening of the female mold is sized and shaped to matingly receive the male mold.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
40 words
The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the outer periphery of the male mold is in the shape of a plurality of straight sides and the opening of the female mold is sized and shaped to matingly receive the male mold.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
66 words
The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the means for forming fins in the sheet of material further comprises: means for moving the fingers of the male mold back and forth between a withdrawn position wherein the fingers are located a distance from the outer periphery of the male mold and a fin-forming position wherein the fingers extend outwardly from the outer periphery of the male mold.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
21 words
The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the male mold and the opening of the female mold are generally frusto-conical in shape.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
28 words
The apparatus of claim 7 further comprising: means for releasably holding the sheet of material as the male mold moves into the forming position with the female mold.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
47 words
The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the means for releasably holding the sheet of material is further defined as a plurality of vacuum lines extending through the female segments and opening to the female molding surface to draw the sheet of material to the female molding surface.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
51 words
The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the sheet of material is cohesive to sustain the sheet of material in the shape of a flower pot or flower pot cover with outwardly extending fins by enabling portions of the sheet of material in contact with one another to adhere to one another.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
60 words
The apparatus of claim 7 further comprising: means for supplying heat to the folds in the sheet of material; wherein the sheet of material is heat-sealable and wherein the heat and the pressing of the folds in the sheet of material between the female segments cooperate to seal the folds and form outwardly extending fins in the sheet of material.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
58 words
The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the male mold further comprises: means for creating a vacuum to draw the sheet of material to the male mold and take the sheet of material out of the opening of the female mold with the male mold when the male mold is moved from the forming position to the resting position.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1996-06-21 | 1996-12-21 | 1997-06-22 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2000-06-21 | 2000-12-21 | 2001-06-22 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2004-06-21 | 2004-12-21 | 2005-06-22 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |