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Method for forming decorative grass having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper    
United States Patent6406651   
Link to this pagehttp://www.wikipatents.com/6406651.html
Inventor(s)Weder; Donald E. (Highland, IL)
AbstractDecorative grasses having a texture and/or appearance assimilating the texture and/or appearance of paper are disclosed, as are method for making such decorative grasses from materials wherein at least one surface of the materials is modified to assimilate the texture and/or appearance of paper.



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Drawing from US Patent 6406651
Method for forming decorative grass having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper - US Patent 6406651 Drawing
Method for forming decorative grass having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper
Inventor     Weder; Donald E. (Highland, IL)
Owner/Assignee     Southpac Trust Int'l. Inc. ()
Patent assignment
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Publication Date     June 18, 2002
Application Number     09/499,425
PAIR File History     Application Data   Transaction History
Image File Wrapper   Patent Term   Fees
Litigation
Filing Date     February 7, 2000
US Classification     264/132 156/209 156/250 156/271 156/277 156/324 264/147 264/157 264/284
Int'l Classification     B28B 011/14 B29C 059/04 B32B 031/18 B32B 031/22
Examiner     Tentoni; Leo B.
Assistant Examiner    
Attorney/Law Firm     Dunlap Codding & Rogers, P.C
Address
Parent Case     CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a divisional of U.S. Ser. No. 09/141,498, filed Aug. 28, 1998, entitled "DECORATIVE GRASS FORMED OF POLYMERIC MATERIALS HAVING A TEXTURE AND APPEARANCE ASSIMILATING PAPER", now U.S. Pat. No. 6,299,960, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 09/098,898 filed Jun. 17, 1998, entitled "POLYMERIC MATERIAL HAVING A CLOTH-LIKE APPEARANCE", now abandoned, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional application U.S. Ser. No. 60/050,867, filed Jun. 26, 1997.
Priority Data    
USPTO Field of Search     264/132 264/147 264/157 264/284 156/209 156/250 156/271 156/277 156/324
Patent Tags     forming decorative grass appearance assimilating the appearance paper
   
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Parker
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Market Size
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50% - 74.99%
25% - 49.99%
10 - 24.99%
5 - 9.99%
2 - 4.99%
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 Technical Review Submit all comments and votes
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What is claimed:

1. A method for making decorative grass having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a material having a matted or textured surface assimilating the appearance of paper;

cutting the material having a matted or textured surface assimilating the appearance of paper to form decorative grass having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper.

2. The method for making decorative grass having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper of claim 1 wherein the step of cutting the material having a matted or textured surface assimilating the appearance of paper is further defined as slitting the material to provide a slit material having a plurality of strips and thereafter cutting the plurality of strips of the slit material into segments which have a matted or textured surface assimilating the appearance or texture of paper so that the decorative grass formed of such segments has an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper.

3. The method for making decorative grass having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper of claim 2 wherein the material having a matted or textured surface assimilating the appearance of paper has a thickness of from about 0.1 mil to about 30 mil.

4. The method for making decorative grass having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper of claim 3 wherein the material having a matted or textured surface assimilating the appearance of paper is formed of a polymeric film.

5. The method for making decorative grass having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper of claim 4 wherein the polymeric film is polypropylene film.

6. The method for making decorative grass having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper of claim 1 wherein the material having a matted or textured surface assimilating the appearance of paper is a laminated material formed of at least two polymeric films.

7. The method for making decorative grass having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper of claim 1 wherein the material having a matted or textured surface assimilating the appearance of paper is a laminated material formed of at least one polymeric film and a metallized foil.

8. A method for forming decorative grass having a texture or appearance assimilating the texture or appearance of paper, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a web of expanded core polymeric film having an upper surface, a lower surface and a thickness of from about 0.5 mil to about 10 mil wherein at least one of the upper and lower surfaces of the web of expanded core polymeric film is modified to provide the web of expanded core polymeric film with a texture or appearance assimilating the texture or appearance of paper; and

cutting at least a portion of the web of expanded core polymeric film having a texture or appearance assimilating the texture or appearance of paper to form decorative grass having a texture or appearance assimilating the texture or appearance of paper.

9. The method for forming decorative grass having a texture or appearance assimilating the texture or appearance of paper of claim 8 wherein the step of cutting at least a portion of the web of expanded core polymeric film having a texture or appearance assimilating the texture or appearance of paper to form decorative grass having a texture or appearance assimilating the texture or appearance of paper comprises:

slitting the web of expanded core polymeric film having a texture or appearance assimilating the texture or appearance of paper to provide a slit web of expanded core polymeric film having a plurality of strips wherein the plurality of strips of the slit web of expanded core polymeric film have at least one surface thereof textured or modified to provide the plurality of strips with a texture or appearance assimilating the texture or appearance of paper; and

cutting the plurality of strips of the slit web of expanded core polymeric film having at least one surface thereof textured or modified to provide the plurality of strips with a texture or appearance assimilating the texture or appearance of paper to form decorative grass having a texture or appearance assimilating the texture or appearance of paper.

10. The method for forming decorative grass having a texture or appearance assimilating the texture or appearance of paper of claim 8 wherein the web of expanded core polymeric film having a texture or appearance assimilating the texture or appearance of paper is modified to provide the web of expanded core polymeric film with a texture or appearance assimilating the texture or appearance of paper by at least one of printing a pattern on at least one of the upper and lower surfaces of the web of expanded core polymeric film, embossing a pattern on at least one of the upper and lower surfaces of the web of expanded core polymeric film, and combinations thereof.

11. The method for forming decorative grass having a texture or appearance assimilating the texture or appearance of paper of claim 10 wherein the web of expanded core polymeric film having a texture or appearance assimilating the texture or appearance of paper is provided with a printed pattern and an embossed pattern, and the printed and embossed patterns are in registry with one another.

12. The method for forming decorative grass having a texture or appearance assimilating the texture or appearance of paper of claim 10 wherein the web of expanded core polymeric film having a texture or appearance assimilating the texture or appearance of paper is provided with a printed pattern and an embossed pattern, and the printed and embossed patterns are out of registry with one another.

13. A method for forming decorative grass having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a laminated material having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper, the laminated material comprising:

an expanded core polymeric film having an upper surface, a lower surface and a thickness of from about 0.6 mil to about 10 mil; and

a material laminated to at least one of the upper surface and the lower surface of the expanded core polymeric film, at least one surface of one of the expanded core polymeric film and the material laminated to the expanded core polymeric film being modified so as to provide at least one surface of the laminated material with an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper; and

cutting the laminated material having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper to form decorative grass having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper.

14. The method for forming decorative grass having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper of claim 13 wherein the step of cutting the laminated material having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper to form decorative grass having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper comprises:

slitting the laminated material having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper to provide a slit laminated material having a plurality of strips; and

cutting the plurality of strips of the slit laminated material into segments to form decorative grass having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper.

15. The method for forming decorative grass having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper of claim 13 wherein at least one of the expanded core polymeric film and the material laminated thereto is modified to provide the laminated material with an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper by at least one of printing a pattern on at least one surface of one of the expanded core polymeric film and the material laminated thereto, embossing a pattern on at least one surface of one of the expanded core polymeric film and the material laminated thereto, and combinations thereof.

16. The method for forming decorative grass having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper of claim 15 wherein the the laminated material is provided with a printed pattern on at least one surface of one of the expanded core polymeric film and the material laminated thereto and an embossed pattern on at least one surface of one of the expanded core polymeric film and the material laminated thereto, and the printed and embossed patterns are in registry with one another.

17. The method for forming decorative grass having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper of claim 15 wherein the laminated material is provided with a printed pattern on at least one surface of one of the expanded core polymeric film and the material laminated thereto and an embossed pattern on at least one surface of one of the expanded core polymeric film and the material laminated thereto, and the printed and embossed patterns are out of registry with one another.

18. The method for forming decorative grass having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper of claim 14 wherein the material laminated to the expanded core polymeric film is selected from the group consisting of a polymeric film and a metallized foil and wherein the material laminated to the expanded core polymeric film has a thickness of from about 0.5 mil to about 10 mil.

19. The method for forming decorative grass having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper of claim 18 wherein the step of cutting the laminated material having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper to form decorative grass having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper comprises:

slitting the laminated material having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper to provide a slit laminated material having a plurality of strips; and

cutting the plurality of strips of the slit laminated material into segments to form decorative grass having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper.

20. The method for forming decorative grass having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper of claim 13 wherein the modification to at least one surface of one of the expanded core polymeric film and the material laminated to the expanded core polymeric film so as to provide at least one surface of the laminated material with an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper comprises:

providing a matte finish on at least one surface of one of the expanded core polymeric film and the material laminated to the expanded core polymeric film, the matte finish having a plurality of holes formed therein whereby the matte finish provides such surface with a texture and appearance assimilating the texture and appearance of paper.

21. The method for forming decorative grass having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper of claim 13 wherein the material laminated to the expanded core polymeric film has a thickness of from about 0.5 mil to about 10 mil.

22. The method for forming decorative grass having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper of claim 21 wherein the material laminated to the expanded core polymeric film is selected from the group consisting of a polymeric film and a metallized foil.

23. The method for forming decorative grass having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper of claim 22 wherein at least one surface of one of the expanded core polymeric film and the material laminated thereto is modified to provide at least one surface of the laminated material with an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper by at least one of printing a pattern on at least one surface of one of the expanded core polymeric film and the material laminated thereto, embossing a pattern on at least one surface of one of the expanded core polymeric film, and combinations thereof.

24. A method for making decorative grass having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper, the method comprising the steps of:

providing at least one web of polymeric material having at least one modified surface so that the web of polymeric material assimilates paper in appearance; and

cutting at least a portion of the web of polymeric material into segments to form decorative grass having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper.

25. The method for making decorative grass having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper of claim 24 wherein the web of polymeric material is provided with a printed pattern on at least one surface thereof to provide the web of polymeric material with an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper.

26. The method for making decorative grass having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper of claim 25 wherein the web of polymeric material is provided with an embossed pattern on at least one surface thereof which cooperates with the printed pattern to provide the web of polymeric material with an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper.

27. The method for forming decorative grass having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper of claim 26 wherein the printed and embossed patterns provided on the web of polymeric material are in registry with one another.

28. The method for forming decorative grass having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper of claim 26 wherein the printed and embossed patterns provided on the web of polymeric material are out of registry with one another.

29. The method for making decorative grass having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper of claim 24 wherein the web of polymeric material is provided with an embossed pattern on at least one surface thereof to provide the web of polymeric material with an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper.

30. The method for making decorative grass having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper of claim 24 wherein, in the step of providing at least one web of polymeric material having at least one modified surface so that the web of polymeric material assimilates paper in appearance, the modified surface having an appearance assimilating paper in appearance is produced by at least one of applying a matte finish to at least one surface of the web of polymeric material, by texturing at least one surface of the web of polymeric material, by printing a pattern or design on at least one surface of the web of polymeric material, by embossing at least one surface of the web of polymeric material, and combinations thereof.

31. The method for making decorative grass having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper of claim 30 wherein the web of polymeric material has a thickness of from about 0.1 mil to about 30 mil.

32. The method for making decorative grass having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper of claim 30 wherein the web of polymeric material is a laminated material comprising a first web of polymeric material and a second web of material laminated thereto, and wherein the second web of material is selected from the group consisting of a polymeric material and a metallized foil.

33. The method for making decorative grass having an appearance assimilating the appearance of paper of claim 32 wherein at least one surface of the laminated material is modified to assimilate paper in appearance and wherein such surface is modified by at least one of applying a matte finish to at least one surface of one of the first web of polymeric material and the second web of material, by texturing at least one surface of one of the first web of polymeric material and the second web of material, by printing a pattern or design on at least one surface of one of the first web of polymeric material and the second web of material, by embossing at least one surface of one of the first web of polymeric material and the second web of material, and combinations thereof.
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STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to polymeric materials having a texture and appearance assimilating paper, and more particularly but not by way of limitation, to preformed, shape-sustaining flower pot covers, flower pot and floral wrappings, ribbon materials and decorative grasses made from such polymeric materials. In one aspect, the present invention relates to methods for producing preformed, shape-sustaining flower pot covers and methods of wrapping floral groupings and flower pots with a sheet of polymeric material having a texture and appearance assimilating paper to provide a decorative cover for such floral groupings and flower pots. In yet another aspect, the present invention relates to methods of producing decorative grasses having a texture and appearance assimilating paper.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sheet of polymeric material having a texture and appearance assimilating the appearance paper constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the sheet of polymeric material having a texture and appearance assimilating the appearance of paper of FIG. 1 having a bonding material disposed along one edge thereof.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the sheet of polymeric material having a texture and appearance assimilating the appearance of paper of FIG. 2 having a floral grouping disposed thereon.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the floral grouping of FIG. 3 being wrapped with the sheet of polymeric material having a texture and appearance assimilating the appearance of paper of FIG. 2 by one method of wrapping.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a decorative cover for the floral grouping formed from the sheet of polymeric material having a texture and appearance assimilating the appearance of paper of FIG. 2 wherein the decorative cover formed from the sheet of polymeric material has a conical configuration.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a decorative cover for the floral grouping formed from the sheet of polymeric material having a texture and appearance assimilating the appearance of paper of FIG. 2 wherein the decorative cover has a substantially cylindrical configuration.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a decorative cover positioned about a flower pot wherein the decorative cover is formed from the sheet of polymeric material having a texture and appearance assimilating the appearance of paper of FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a flower pot cover former and band applicator apparatus having the sheet of polymeric material having a texture and appearance assimilating the appearance of paper of FIG. 1 disposed above an opening of the flower pot cover former and band applicator and having a flower pot disposed above the sheet of polymeric material having a texture and appearance assimilating the appearance of paper.

FIG. 9A is a perspective view of a sheet of expanded core polymeric film having a texture and appearance assimilating the appearance of paper wherein an acrylic heat sealable lacquer is disposed on at least one surface thereof.

FIG. 9B is a perspective view of a laminated sheet of material wherein one surface is modified or textured to provide the sheet of laminated material with a texture and appearance assimilating the appearance of paper.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a preformed pot cover formed from a sheet of polymeric material having a texture and appearance assimilating the appearance of paper.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the preformed pot cover of FIG. 10 having a flower pot disposed therein.

FIG. 12 is a diagrammatic, cross-sectional view of a male and female mold having a sheet of polymeric material having a texture and appearance assimilating the appearance of paper disposed therebetween for forming the preformed pot cover of FIG. 10.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a floral sleeve formed from the sheet of polymeric material having a texture and