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US 7,740,212 B2Granted
Apparatus to retain and position tubing of media bags
AssigneeConeCraft, Inc.
InventorsJames Austin, Anthony Cox, James Hobson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus to retain and position tubing of media bags with a bottom gate made of a single piece, with features to hold and retain media bag tubing, a recessed structure where the bottom gate is positioned when installed that places the top of the gate flush with the inside surface of the media bag holder, and locking tabs on the inside surface of the media bag holder that prevent the bottom gate from lifting and allow it to be installed in only the correct orientation.
Claims19
A media bag holder system comprising:
- a media bag holder having a floor with a sidewall upstanding therefrom and bounding a chamber, the floor having a top surface and an opposing bottom surface, the top surface extending to an inside perimeter edge that encircles an opening extending through the floor, a support structure being mounted on the bottom surface of the floor and projecting into the opening at a location below the top surface of the floor;
- and
- a bottom gate comprising a plate having a top surface and an opposing bottom surface that both extend to an encircling outside perimeter edge, a passage extending through the plate from the top surface to the bottom surface, the plate being lowered down through the chamber and seated on the support structure so as to be disposed within the opening, the bottom gate being slidably movable on the support structure between an unlocked position wherein the bottom gate can be vertically lifted out of the opening so as to pass through the chamber of the media bag holder and a locked position wherein the gate is precluded from being vertically lifted out of the opening.
A media bag holder system comprising:
- a media bag holder having a floor with a sidewall upstanding therefrom and bounding a chamber, the floor having a top surface and an opposing bottom surface, the top surface extending to an inside perimeter edge that encircles an opening extending through the floor, a support structure being mounted on the bottom surface of the floor and projecting into the opening at a location below the top surface of the floor;
- and
- a bottom gate comprising a plate having a top surface and an opposing bottom surface that both extend to an encircling outside perimeter edge, an elongated first slot extending from the outside perimeter edge of the plate toward an interior of the plate, the first slot terminating at an inwardly tapered first neck opening at the interior of the plate that accesses a first hole extending through the plate, the plate being lowered down through the chamber and seated on the support structure so as to be disposed within the opening of the media bag holder.
A method for positioning a media bag comprising:
- lowering a bottom gate into a chamber of a media bag holder until the gate is supported within an opening extending through a floor of the media bag holder;
- passing a tube projecting from a media bag through a slot extending through the bottom gate;
- and
- sliding the bottom gate horizontally into a locked position within the opening of the media bag holder so that the bottom gate is precluded from being vertically lifted out of the opening while in the locked position.
1 more element
A method for positioning a media bag comprising:
- lowering a bottom gate into a chamber of a media bag holder until the gate is supported within an opening extending through a floor of the media bag holder, the bottom gate comprising a plate having a top surface and an opposing bottom surface that both extend to an encircling outside perimeter edge, an elongated first slot terminating at an inwardly tapered first neck opening at the interior of the plate that accesses a first hole extending through the plate;
- and
- passing a tube projecting from a media bag along the first slot and into the first hole by passing the tube through the inwardly tapered first neck opening, the tube having an outer diameter that is larger than the inwardly tapered first neck opening.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.