Stacked cutlery system and method
First Claim
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; and
a retaining structure that is able, in combination with said nesting of said cutlery items, to maintain said nested stack in said vertically aligned, nested relationship without assistance from any additional structures, said retaining structure being applied to only one side of the stack and being readily removable from said stack of said identical cutlery items by pulling on a free end of said retaining structure, said retaining structure being an adhesive strip.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system for easily refilling cutlery dispensers or other devices includes a stack of identical cutlery items maintained by a retaining structure that can be removable either before, during, or after installation, depending on the configuration of the dispenser. In a first aspect, the retaining structure includes nested cutlery handles and a single adhesive strip applied to 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 is a band extending entirely around the stack and equipped with a pull-tab for opening and removing the retaining structure. 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.
53 Citations
8 Claims
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1. An assembly of cutlery items, the assembly comprising:
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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; and a retaining structure that is able, in combination with said nesting of said cutlery items, to maintain said nested stack in said vertically aligned, nested relationship without assistance from any additional structures, said retaining structure being applied to only one side of the stack and being readily removable from said stack of said identical cutlery items by pulling on a free end of said retaining structure, said retaining structure being an adhesive strip. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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Specification