Reusable self filled christmas or party cracker with release stud system and replaceable snap bangs

Abstract

A reusable Christmas or party cracker comprises two hand holding sections 2,14 two cracker body half sections 4,15 forming a crack body, and a snap bang 20. The hand holding sections may be a rounded

Description

PATENT APPLICATION OF NICOLA HODSON FOR REUSABLE SELF FILLED CHRISTMAS OR PARTY CRACKER WITH RELEASE STUD SYSTEM AND REPLACEABLE SNAP BANGS Field of the Invention The present invention relates to Christmas or party crackers which can be reused many times and are filled by the user with gifts, hats and written jokes and / or entertaining notes. Background The use of reusable Christmas crackers is known and they provide an alternative to disposable crackers which are used and then thrown away. Disposable crackers come with novel contents such as gifts, written jokes or quotations and usually a party type hat already inside them. Re-usable crackers have a main cracker body which can be re-used and re-filled with the aforementioned novel contents and can be reused year after year. Some examples of reusable cracker in the art are shown below: Patent GB2229994 (SLADE) discloses a reuseable cracker or bonbon comprising a container formed from a generally cylindrical pair of tubes of rigid material arranged in end to end abutting relationship. A third tube (3) of rigid material has such an outer diameter as to fit within said pair of tubes and is fixed within one of the pair to project axially from the end thereof. It engages frictionally within the other of said pair of tubes to hold the container together. A covering of textile materials (5) extends over the outer surface of each one of said pair of tubes and is drawn in over each of the remote ends of said pair of tubes substantially to close said end. Patent GB2340766 (SHAW) discloses a cracker comprising a central container for housing cracker contents and a cracking device located in the cracker and activated by a predetermined movement of the components of the cracker is described. A pair of end containers are provided as handles of the cracker. The end containers are aligned with and adjoined to the central container. Each of the end containers is separable from the central container and forms a discrete container. A method of storing the components of a cracker after use, is also described together with a method of assembly. Each end container may be used as a drinking vessel. Patent GB2497738 (THACKERAY) discloses a reusable cracker which is constructed of two parts, typically hollow cylinders, differing slightly from each other in length and aperture allowing for the narrower part to be telescopically inserted into the wider part. Defined creases 6,12 at given points along the two parts are collapsed to form flattened areas 7,13 creating portions to act as handles 3,9 and chambers 2,8 on both parts. The chamber 2 of the narrower part is filled with chosen contents and inserted into chamber 8 of the wider part to form one sealed chamber. Simultaneously, a snap 1 is inserted into chambers 2,8 and the ends fed through slots 4,5,10,11 within the flattened areas 7,13 allowing for the snap 1 to be held in place at both ends of the cracker casing without the use of glue or any other method of permanent adhesion. Decorative ties 18,19 can be added. When the cracker is pulled apart the snap 1 breaks allowing the two-part casing to separate without damage. The reusable cracker can be assembled and reused by the method described herein. Patent GB2545482 (TATE) discloses a reusable cracker that comprises a body formed from a set of at least two tubes 2, 3 which have different cross sectional areas and are arranged such that one may slide within the other. The tubes define a payload volume which may hold an item. A handle 4 is attached to outer end of the tubes so the tubes may be pulled apart. The cracker may by formed from at least three tubes, with a primary body tube 2 of greater cross section area than the two secondary body tubes 3 which are arranged to slide within the primary body tube. There may be regions of relatively high friction material such that upon withdrawal of a secondary body tube from the primary body tube, the first part of the travel has an increased frictional resistance compared to the latter part of the travel. The present invention aims to provide an improved and novel re-usable Christmas or party cracker which has its novelty contents inserted by the user at their own choice, including personal gifts and has a stud release system to hold the two halves of the cracker together and enable them to be pulled apart in use. A snap bang provides the bang sound and effect by way of an insert and holding method inside the holding section of the cracker and may be replaced after each use. Summary of the invention According to the present invention there is provided a cracker for use at Christmas or at party events which is totally reusable. The reusable cracker body is comprised of four parts which may be made of a suitable slightly flexible or ridged material, such as a recycled plastic, or hard wearing composite material, which attach together to form the cracker as a whole, these parts are; two hand holding sections and two cracker body half sections and an additional snap bang, as shown in Figure 1. The hand holding sections are shaped to resemble the portion of a cracker that the users hold in their hand, being a rounded tube with a conical tapered frontal portion. A threaded end with a slot is provided which protrudes from its forward tapered frontal portion, located centrally in its round diameter. The threaded end is round and of a short solid tubed portion, to engage with a threaded corresponding hole with a slotted end, in the cracker body. The cracker body also has a tapered conical end, in the centre of which is said threaded hole with slotted end, this then continues to form a cylinder tube with a hollow tubed interior and to its forward facing edge, which faces its identical counterpart when in use, is a row of triangular fringing around the diameter of the round cracker body which provides the styled appearance of the damaged edges of disposable cracker ends after being pulled. The triangular fringing may be flexible or may be fully ridged and has the outward forward end of the said hollow tubed interior partially showing between the triangular fringing sections on alternate triangles sections, as shown in Figure 1 and 4. The triangular fringing on the forward ends of the cracker bodies form a zigzag style fringing which is present completely around the diameter of both of the cracker bodies forward ends, forming an interlocking zigzag effect of triangles which slot together when the two halves of the cracker are abutted, to form the whole complete cracker. To the underside of each protruding triangle, in the zigzag effect, is a semi-circular release stud which is concave (Male) and interlocks with a correspondingly sized convex stud (Female) which is located on the said partially showing triangular sections of the hollow tube interior. These semi-circular male and female release studs are located on every protruding and partially showing triangular section of the zigzag effect fringing, on both ends of the cracker bodies, and are positioned to allow them to be abutted together and the studs to releasably interlock when the two zigzag fringes interlock, forming a semi-circular stud release system, as shown in Figure 2. Interlocking may be aided by the user pressing all of the studs together with their fingers. The partially showing triangular sections are the lower profile portions of the zigzag fringing which show on every alternate triangular section, as shown in the accompanying Figures and provide the means for the slotting together of the two zigzag fringing rows from the two halves of the cracker thereto. Prior to the two cracker halves being put together, the user fills one half with the gift of their choice, which may include a novelty item, a gift, a joke, party hat, written quotation or message, the options are unlimited providing the contents are safe and fit inside the tubed hollow interior of the cracker half. The said threaded end and the threaded hole each have the aforementioned holding slot through which a snap bang end is inserted, during assembly; once one snap bang end is slid through the slots in one end of the cracker, this end can be filled with the novelty items and gift. Then the remaining end of the snap bang is aligned with the slot in the opposing side and slotted through. To achieve this the user unscrews the cracker ends until the two holes align then you feed the snap bang through the said slots. As they tighten the cracker the snap bang is held in place by the holes misaligning, making sure the snap bang has been feed through the slits on the other end then make sure both ends have been tightened. The two ends screw together and the slots clamp the snap bang when they are tightened. The two halves of the cracker locate and the triangular zigzagged fringes engage together, with the small semi-circular concave studs clipping into the convex semi-circular studs of the release stud system, releasably interlocking the two halve of the cracker together. The two users then hold the holding sections in their hands as they would with a traditional disposable cracker and pull, the cracker bang is then snapped by the pulling apart of the two halves which is enabled by the said semi-circular stud release system and one person wins the novel prize and contents in the half of the cracker which was prefilled. In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the Patent Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved reusable Christmas or party cracker which has all the advantages of the prior art reusable crackers and none of the disadvantages. It is another object of the present invention to provide a new reusable Christmas or party cracker which may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved reusable Christmas or party cracker which is of durable and reliable construction. An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved reusable Christmas or party cracker which is susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labour, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such a product available to the buying public. Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved reusable Christmas or party cracker which provides in the apparatuses and methods of the prior art some of the advantages thereof, while simultaneously overcoming some of the disadvantages normally associated therewith. These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and detailed descriptive matter in which there is illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention. Brief description of figures Figure 1 shows a dimensional exploded view of the reusable Christmas or party cracker. Figure 2 shows a dimensional view of the closed reusable Christmas or party cracker. Figure 3 shows a side view of the hand holding section. Figure 4 shows a side view of the cracker body half. Figure 5 shows a frontal view of the hand holding section. Figure 6 shows a frontal view of the hand holding section and the cracker body halt with interior aspect. Figure 7 shows a plan view of the releasably interlocked triangular zigzagged ends of the cracker body halves. Figure 8 shows a dimensional view of the two cracker body halves. Figure 9 shows a plan view of the reusable cracker ready to be used. Detailed description of figures A typical embodiment of the reusable Christmas or party cracker is shown in Figure 1. It comprises the reusable cracker 1, which has a two hand holding sections 2 and 14 and two cracker body half sections 4 and 15, and an additional snap bang 20, as shown. A threaded end 3 and 11 is provided on each of the two hand holding sections which protrude from the centre of the forward tapered frontal portion and each end having a slot, to engage and screw into a threaded corresponding hole 10 with a slotted end, in the centre of the outward facing ends of each of the cracker half body sections 4 and 15. This portion of the cracker body, with said threaded hole 10 also has a tapered conical end this then continues to form a cylinder tube with a hollow tubed interior 13 and to its forward facing edge 7, which faces its identical counterpart when in use. A row of triangular fringing around the diameter of the round cracker body_has the outward forward end of the said hollow tubed interior 13 partially showing as alternate triangular sections 8 between the triangular fringing sections 16 on alternate triangles, as shown in Figure 1 (and Figure 4.) The triangular fringing of triangular sections 8 and 16 on the forward ends of the cracker bodies form a zigzag style fringing which is present completely around the diameter of both of the cracker bodies forward ends, forming an interlocking zigzag effect of triangles which slot together when the two halves of the cracker are abutted, to form the whole complete cracker. To the underside of each protruding triangle, in the zigzag effect, is a semi-circular release stud 5 which is concave (Male) and interlocks with a correspondingly sized convex stud 6 (Female) which is located on the said partially showing triangular sections 8 of the hollow tube interior 13. Interlocking may be aided by the user pressing all of the studs together with their fingers. These semi-circular male and female release studs 5 and 6 are located on every protruding and partially showing triangular section of the zigzag effect fringing, on both ends of the cracker bodies, and are positioned to allow them to be abutted together and the studs to releasably interlock when the two zigzag fringes interlock, forming a semi-circular stud release system. The partially showing triangular sections 8 are the lower profile portions of the zigzag fringing which show on every alternate triangular section 16, as shown in the accompanying Figures and provide the means for the slotting together of the two zigzag fringing rows from the two halves of the cracker thereto. Prior to the two cracker halves being put together, the user fills one half with the gift of their choice 9, which may include a novelty item, a gift, a joke, party hat, written quotation or message, the options are unlimited providing the contents are safe and fit inside the tubed hollow interior of the cracker half. The said threaded end and the threaded hole each have the aforementioned holding slot 12 through which a snap bang 20 end is inserted, during assembly; once one snap bang end is slid through the slots in one end of the cracker, this end can be filled with the novelty items and gift. Then the remaining end of the snap bang is aligned with the slot 12 in the opposing side and the snap bang end is slotted through. To achieve this the user unscrews, by way of the threaded ends 2 and 11 and the threaded holes 10, the cracker ends 2 and 14 until the two slots 12 align they feed the snap bang 20 through the said slots. As they tighten the cracker ends ethe snap bang is held in place by the slots misaligning due to the tightening, making sure the snap bang 20 has been feed through the slots 12 on the other end, then making sure both ends have been tightened. The two ends screw together and the slots clamp the snap bang when they are tightened. The two halves of the cracker 4 and 15 locate and the triangular zigzagged fringes derived of the repeated row of triangular sections 8 and 16 engage together, with the small row of semi-circular concave studs 5 clipping into the convex semicircular studs 6 of the release stud system, releasably interlocking the two halve of the cracker together. In use, the two users then hold the holding sections in their hands as they would with a traditional disposable cracker and pull, the cracker bang is then snapped by the pulling apart of the two halves which is enabled by the said semi-circular stud release system and one person wins the novel prize and contents in the half of the cracker which was prefilled. Figure 2 shows the cracker 1A with the two cracker halves 4A and 15A releasably attached together by means of said interlocking studs 5A and 6A set around the fringing 8A and 16A The holding end 2B, has the threaded end 3B and the Conal frontal end 17, shown in Figure 3 as a side view and as an example of one half of the holding sections. An example of one of the two cracker half sections 15 is shown in Figure 4 having the threaded hole 10C located centrally of the conical inner facing end 18. The triangular sections 8C and 16C with the fringing thickness 19 of triangular sections 16C, are shown which form the zigzag fringing, having the interlocking studs 5C and 6C of the semi-circular stud release system and said forward facing edge 7C of the hollow tubed interior. A frontal view of the hand holding section 2D shows the conical front end 17D with the centrally located threaded end 3D with its slot 12D to hold the end of the snap bang (not shown) are shown in Figure 5. A frontal view of the hand holding section 2E and the cracker body half 4E attached together shows an interior aspect when viewed directly through the hollow tube interior 13E. This view shows the forward facing edge 7E of the hollow tube interior 13E, with the zigzag fringing frontal facing view 16E and the interlocking studs 5E and 6E set around the fringing 8E and 16E. Threaded hole 10E is shown from a frontal aspect having the threaded end 3E screwed inside its hole and the slot 12E is shown as previously described, as shown in Figure 6. The two cracker halves 4F and 14F are shown together in Figure 7. The two cracker halves 4G and 14G are further dimensionally represented in Figure 8 with the studs 5G and 6G of the semi-circular stud release system shown. The completed cracker 1H is shown in Figure 9.

Claims

1) A reusable Christmas or party cracker comprising; two hand holding sections two cracker body half sections and a snap bang, the hand holding sections may be a rounded tube with a conical tapered frontal portion, a threaded end with a slot is provided; which protrudes from the forward tapered frontal portion, located centrally on its round diameter, the cracker body has a tapered conical end, in the centre of which is a threaded hole with a slotted end, the body further continues to form a cylinder tube with a hollow tubed interior into which novelty items are inserted and to its forward facing edge is a row of triangular zigzag fringing around the diameter of the round cracker body having semi-circular release studs which are concave (Male) to the underside of each protruding triangle which interlocks with a correspondingly sized convex stud (Female) which is located on the said partially showing triangular sections of the hollow tube interior, these enable the two halves of the cracker to be releasably abutted together by hand.2) A reusable Christmas or party cracker as claimed in claim 1 wherein the threaded end is a round tubed form with a slot, to engage with the threaded corresponding hole and slot in the cracker body.3) A reusable Christmas or party cracker as claimed in claim 2 wherein, in use during assembly; when one snap bang end is slid through the slot in one end of the cracker body, this end can be filled with the novelty items and gift.4) A reusable Christmas or party cracker as claimed in claim 3 wherein, in use during assembly, the opposing end of the snap bang is aligned with the slot in the opposing side and slotted through, achieved by the user unscrewing the cracker ends until the two slots align then feeding the snap bang through said slots, the holding ends are tightened by screwing the holding section in the threaded hole in the cracker body, the snap bang is held in place by the slots misaligning following this tightening.5) A reusable Christmas or party cracker as claimed in claim 4 wherein the snap bang ends are inserted through all four of the slots in the cracker bodies and the holding sections.6) A reusable Christmas or party cracker as claimed in claim 5 wherein the two halves of the cracker body are interlocked as the triangular zigzagged fringes engage together, with the small semi-circular concave studs clipping into the convex semi-circular studs of the release stud system, releasably interlocking the two halve of the cracker together.7) A reusable Christmas or party cracker as claimed in claim 6 wherein the connected male and female release studs located on every protruding and partially showing triangular section of the zigzag effect fringing are pulled apart when the cracker is pulled.8) A reusable Christmas or party cracker as claimed in claim 7 wherein the partially showing triangular sections of the tubed interior are the lower profile portions of the zig zag fringing, which show on every alternate triangular section.

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