Receptacle weight indicator
First Claim
1. A weight indicator which may be used to weigh the contents of a receptacle, comprising:
- a length of sheet material disposed so as to experience a tensile force related to the weight of the contents of said receptacle;
a localized gathering of said material around at least one point along the length of said material;
a force-releasable element associated with each gathering of said material, the element being operative to hold the gathering together until said tensile force causes the element to release, each element being associated with a different weight; and
numerical indicia associated with each force-releasable element, whereby a user of said indicator may ascertain the weight of said contents by referring to said indicia in conjunction with which elements have released and which remain intact upon application of said stretching force.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Force-releasable elements are used in association with imprinted numerical values of weight to provide a visual indication of the weight of the contents of a receptacle. The system is extremely easy to manufacture and highly affordable, thus enabling it to be used with disposable items such as trash bags. In one embodiment, the numerical weight values are arranged as bands about the girth of the bag, with the imprinted material being gathered in and covered with a force-releasable strip of material. Each imprinted band and its accompanying force-releasable element are associated with a different value of weight, so that when the receptacle is lifted, a user may ascertain an approximate value of the weight of the contents by referring to the indicia associated with released and un-released elements. In alternative embodiments, the force-releasable elements and indicia being positioned along a cord of a strap which may be tied onto the receptacle or provided with it.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A weight indicator which may be used to weigh the contents of a receptacle, comprising:
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a length of sheet material disposed so as to experience a tensile force related to the weight of the contents of said receptacle; a localized gathering of said material around at least one point along the length of said material; a force-releasable element associated with each gathering of said material, the element being operative to hold the gathering together until said tensile force causes the element to release, each element being associated with a different weight; and numerical indicia associated with each force-releasable element, whereby a user of said indicator may ascertain the weight of said contents by referring to said indicia in conjunction with which elements have released and which remain intact upon application of said stretching force. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A scale, comprising:
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a bag to hold contents to be weighed; a plurality of weight-related numerical imprints, each imprint being associated with a different numerical value of weight, the imprints extending around at least a portion of the girth of said bag; means to obscure said weight-related numerical imprints from view until the weight of said contents substantially equals or exceeds the numerical value of an imprint, at which time those imprints are exposed to provide a user of said scale with an approximation of the weight of said contents.
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21. A method of making a bag having an integral weight indicator, comprising the steps of:
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providing a bag of a flexible material; gathering the material along at least one band around at least a portion of the girth of said bag such that the bottom of the band is proximate to the top of each band; associating a numerical weight value with each gathering, and attaching a releasable element over each gathering, the element being adapted to release when the weight of the bag substantially equals or exceeds its associated weight value.
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Specification