...that while attempting to develop a super strong glue, 3M employee Spencer Silver accidentally developed a glue that was so weak it would barely hold two pieces of paper together? However, his colleague Art Fry needed the glue. Fry sang with his church choir and marked the pages of his hymnal with small scraps of paper that often fell out. He used Silver's glue to hold the papers in place. Today we call this invention Post-it Notes.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7954307 | Adjustable pouch forming, filling and sealing apparatus and methods An adjustable pouch machine comprises a vertical sealer module forms transverse seals between two plies of a pouch web to partially define a plurality of pouches. Rollers selectively tension and relax the web on the vertically oriented wheel, allowing them to drop a... | 06/07/2011 |
| 7950205 | Method for removing a pouch from a pouch container Pouches are provided to the user of an automated pouch handling apparatus in a pouch container. The pouches are oriented the same way in the box. The box may be sealed to prevent pouch contamination. A door on the box is opened or removed to define a door opening. A... | 05/31/2011 |
| 7818949 | Apparatus for bagging material An apparatus (10) for bagging material into a stretchable bag having an open end, comprises a movable bag stretching structure (18) displaceable between a first position for receiving the bag and a second position for holding the bag in a stretched sta... | 10/26/2010 |
| 7810301 | Ice bagging apparatus In accordance with the principles of the present invention, an ice-bagging apparatus and method are provided. The apparatus comprises an ice maker for making ice and hopper for receiving the ice from the ice maker. The apparatus further includes a drawer system, ope... | 10/12/2010 |
| 7770362 | Method and device for producing and filling sacks A method and a device for producing and filling sacks with at least four longitudinal seams provide a more cost-effective approach to producing and filling sacks. The material that forms the sacks is supplied from an unwinding device in the form of a tubular materia... | 08/10/2010 |
| 7685795 | Grip belt drive system The present invention describes an improved grip belt drive system for use in sealing machines used to wrap articles in thermoplastic film. Briefly, a timing belt is used in place of the traditional flat or V belt. The presence of teeth on the pulleys, coupled with ... | 03/30/2010 |
| 7607280 | Clamp for sheets of material A clamp for sheets of material. The clamp includes a longitudinal main body with an external clamping side. The external clamping side comprises an external dragging surface for engaging a sheet of material. An internal clamping area inwardly extends from the extern... | 10/27/2009 |
| 7581371 | Retail package for flowable products A package includes a pouch including a base portion having a first width, the base portion having a closed bottom; and a neck integrally connected to the base portion, the neck having a second width narrower than the first width, the neck including an end portion; a... | 09/01/2009 |
| 7500339 | Integrated cutting tool for waste disposal method and apparatus The invention discloses a waste disposal apparatus including a waste packet forming device integrated with a tool for cutting the packet, and a method for using the apparatus. The disclosed integrated twist-and-cut system provides an improvement over existing waste ... | 03/10/2009 |
| 7448185 | Method and apparatus for making packages with internal headers from preformed bags A method and apparatus for making packages with internal headers from an elongated web of preformed interconnected bags. The packages with internal headers are made by inserting a product or a header into a bag. The bag is sealed to form a first compartment that con... | 11/11/2008 |
| 7434375 | Automated system for in-field storage, traceability and unloading of harvest products of harvested material from a harvesting machine A system for collecting a harvested product is provided. The system may include a continuously constructed flexible container for collecting the harvested product. For instance, the continuously constructed flexible container is a continuous sheet of flexible materi... | 10/14/2008 |
| 7426812 | Ice bagging apparatus A method for bagging ice using an ice-bagging apparatus comprising an ice maker for making ice and hopper for receiving the ice from the ice maker, a door and drawer system operatively associated with the hopper for measuring the ice and delivering of the ice, a bag... | 09/23/2008 |
| 7424796 | Filling and using reclosable bags A method of filling a bag that includes inserting an insulator between first and second side walls of a closure strip and joining an outer surface of the second side wall of the closure strip to an inner surface of a bag wall in a region of the wall behind which the... | 09/16/2008 |
| 7421834 | Ice measuring and dispensing apparatus An ice measuring and dispensing apparatus includes a rotating drum rotatable about a horizontal axis. The rotating drum has a plurality of chambers, and an ice supply hopper has a delivery opening for delivering ice into the plurality of chambers. A discharge tube t... | 09/09/2008 |
| 7395646 | Portable packaging device and method for forming individually packaged articles An article packaging device for packaging articles within a tubular sheet. The article to be packaged is inserted into and enclosed within a length of tubular sheet, and separated from the remaining length of tubular sheet and the device to form the closed individua... | 07/08/2008 |
| 7392635 | Breech loader packaging systems and associated breech loading chutes and methods Systems for enclosing at least one target product in a covering material, include an elongate product chute having an outer surface and opposing receiving and discharge end portions with an interior cavity extending therethrough and an elongate breech loading chute ... | 07/01/2008 |
| 7392637 | Pack opening apparatus and method An apparatus for packing products includes a product information acquisition stage arranged to acquire information relating to one or more characteristics of products on a product packing line; a bag supply system arranged to supply bags sequentially as individual p... | 07/01/2008 |
| 7389628 | Method for changing rolls of tubular film A method for joining an initial section (3) of a film tube (2) which is wound up in a band-like manner on a reel (1) with an end section (4) of a second film tube (5) extending over subsequent processing stations, especially a pack... | 06/24/2008 |
| 7386969 | Exterior configuration of a foam-in-bag dispenser assembly A dispenser system as in a foam-in-bag dispenser system with a smooth dispenser housing over which the film passes without interruption and which houses a mixing module with reciprocating rod and supports drive components of a drive transmission which is engaged wit... | 06/17/2008 |
| 7386965 | Automated prescription and/or literature bagger system and method optionally integrated with automated dispensing system and/or automated labeling and packaging system A system and method places a printed label on a bag. A first plurality of rollers can feed one or more bags, and a second plurality of rollers can feed one or more labels. A tamp pad can place the label on the bag. ... | 06/17/2008 |
| RE40284 | Methods of making and filling a fill-through-the-top package A fill-through-the-top reclosable package includes first and second opposing body panels joined to each other along a pair of sides and a bottom bridging the pair of sides. The package is provided with a reclosable fastener extending along a package top disposed opp... | 05/06/2008 |
| 7363753 | Method for removing a pouch from a plurality of pouches including bending and pulling of the pouch A method and apparatus for removing the first pouch from a stack of pouches includes apparatus adapted to bend an edge of the first pouch away from the second pouch of a stack to define a bent edge and a bend in the first pouch. The first pouch is then slid away fro... | 04/29/2008 |
| 7360377 | Refrigerator A refrigerator including a shaved ice dispensing unit positioned within a freezing compartment door and plural ice dispensing units positioned in an ice cube container to selectively dispense ice cubes, crushed ice and shaved ice. First and second ice dispensing uni... | 04/22/2008 |
| 7360344 | Method and apparatus for sleeve or band-type packaging of a compressible article A packaging system for packaging a compressible article, such as a stack of interfolded paper towels, includes a sleeve supply arrangement for supplying a packaging sleeve to a loading area, a reciprocating article supply arrangement for selectively positioning a co... | 04/22/2008 |
| 7356977 | Automated clipping packaging systems with bottom-up cutting members and associated methods Methods, devices and computer program products automatically package an object in a covering material such as casing and/or netting by: (a) automatically pushing at least one object through a product chute; (b) pulling a covering material upstream of the product chu... | 04/15/2008 |
| 7356978 | Method for producing a pack for groups of products and machine for implementing said method A method for producing a pack (1) for groups (2) of rolls of products comprises the following steps: forming of a tube of film (3) around a frame (5) forming a channel (6) for the passage of the product groups (2); creation ... | 04/15/2008 |
| 7347034 | Sleeving equipment for egg package Sleeving equipment for egg packages includes a sleeve dispenser that cuts and dispenses a sleeve one by one, a sleeve control jig that controls a sleeve that is dispensed by the sleeve dispenser, a first egg package conveying device that conveys egg packages before ... | 03/25/2008 |
| 7347911 | Devices and methods for manufacturing packaging materials Devices and methods for inflating and sealing packaging pillows from a material web are shown for consistently producing high-quality packaging pillows. A web of material is advanced past an inflation nozzle, inflated with gas, and sealed closed by a sealing element... | 03/25/2008 |
| 7334384 | Method and a system for packaging objects in tubular film A method and system for packaging an object in tubular plastic film, wherein the tubular film is prepared with a number of wrinkle-shaped folds, the film is then processed to bag-shape by welding the film and cutting the welded film from the remaining part of the tu... | 02/26/2008 |
| 7328540 | Automated bagger and method A product bagger and method where products are placed in inflated lead bags on a bag assembly without actuating a sensor for shutting down the bagger. ... | 02/12/2008 |
| 7322163 | Clipping packaging apparatus and methods An apparatus for enclosing a product in a covering material includes a product feed and covering system, a clipper mechanism and a tensioning system. The product feed and covering system is configured to apply the covering material over the product. The clipper mech... | 01/29/2008 |
| 7320204 | Process and apparatus for encapsulating a photo-stimuable phosphor imaging plate within a barrier envelope and a barrier envelope therefore There are disclosed by a process and apparatus for positioning and sealing photostimuable phosphor imaging plates within barriers envelope blanks therefore and formed on a roll thereof wherein a barrier envelope blank including a U-shaped heat sealed portion thereof... | 01/22/2008 |
| 7313899 | Flexible pouch and method of forming a flexible pouch A flexible pouch for packaging a product includes a front panel and a back panel, each having an upper edge, a lower edge opposite the upper edge, and side edges extending therebetween the upper and lower edges, that are joined together at the side edges and the low... | 01/01/2008 |
| 7301453 | Locator system and method A locator system includes two main components, namely, (1) a beacon tag that is readily attached to a person or article, and (2) a transportable finder or receiver/processor for sensing the relative position of the tag and indicating changes in that relative positio... | 11/27/2007 |
| 7290660 | Storage system having a disposable vacuum bag The present invention provides a storage system having a storage device having at least one polymeric sheet sealed along a portion of its' periphery to provide an opening to a storage space; a resealable closure structure adapted to seal the opening to the storage s... | 11/06/2007 |
| 7290382 | Container packaging apparatus A wafer case is inserted into a packaging bag, and an ear folding and shaping bar is pressed against a root of each corresponding triangular ear portion, making a folding back line in each triangular ear portion. Each of the triangular ear portions is folded back ov... | 11/06/2007 |
| 7281362 | Film side sealing apparatus with closed-loop temperature control of a heater A side sealing apparatus for a shrink packaging machine comprising closed loop temperature control of a heater for maintaining an optimum temperature for cutting and sealing two layers of thermoplastic film. The heater comprises a cable or cartridge heater with an i... | 10/16/2007 |
| 7266936 | Agricultural bagger with shielded hopper agitation and method An agricultural bagger apparatus and method for compacting feed into a horizontally deployed bag including a moving hopper wall and+ mechanism for moving the wall at an input end of hopper. The wall moving mechanism and the moving wall of the hopper sweeps the feed ... | 09/11/2007 |
| 7261129 | Machine for loading silage bag A machine for compactly loading an elongate polymer storage bag includes a chamber through which one or more rams reciprocate in a generally horizontal direction, forcing bulk material such as compost, distillers grains, silage, or feedstuffs from the chamber into a... | 08/28/2007 |
| 7257936 | Method and device for wrapping groups of stacked products in the manufacture of sealed packs Groups of products stacked on edge are wrapped in sealed stick packs by a method that involves passing a sheet (4) of heat-sealable wrapping material around each group (1) of products (2) and sealing the two side edges (8) in such a way a... | 08/21/2007 |