Retainer rod assembly for retaining a roll of kitchen wrap and a method therefor

Abstract

A retainer rod assembly for retaining a roll of kitchen wrap in a box includes a tube and a pair of end caps. The tube has a first end and a second end. The tube is designed to be inserted into a roll of kitchen wrap to retain the roll of kitchen wrap inside a box containing the roll of kitchen wrap. Each of the end caps is detachably coupled to a respective one of the first end of the tube and the second end of the tube. Each of the end caps includes a body and a shaft projecting from the body. The body has a diameter that is greater than a diameter of the shaft and a diameter of the tube to retain the tube from sliding axially out of the roll of kitchen wrap.

Description

(b) CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] Not Applicable(c) STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

[0002] Not Applicable(d) THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

[0003] Not Applicable(e) INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM

[0004] Not Applicable(f) STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR

[0005] Not Applicable(g) BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION(1) Field of the Invention

[0006] The disclosure relates to holders for roll of kitchen wrap and more particularly pertains to a new retainer rod assembly for retaining a roll of kitchen wrap in a box containing the roll of kitchen wrap. Boxes containing rolls of kitchen wrap, such as plastic wrap or aluminum foil, have tabs built into the ends of the boxes to retain the roll in the box when removing sections of the kitchen wrap. However, these tabs rarely effectively keep the roll in the box. The new retainer rod assembly holds the roll in the box.(2) Description of Related Art including information disclosed under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98

[0007] The prior art relates to rolls of kitchen wrap and retaining devices. The prior art, as best understood, does not disclose a retainer rod assembly that includes a tube with a pair of removeable, bulbous end caps, where the tube is insertable through the side walls of a rolled product box and secured with the end caps and used to retain the rolled product within the box.(h) BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above in a retainer rod assembly generally comprising a tube and a pair of end caps. The tube has a first end and a second end. The tube is designed to be inserted into a roll of kitchen wrap to retain the roll of kitchen wrap inside a box containing the roll of kitchen wrap. Each of the end caps is detachably coupled to a respective one of the first end of the tube and the second end of the tube. Each of the end caps includes a body and a shaft projecting from the body. The body has a diameter that is greater than a diameter of the shaft and a diameter of the tube to retain the tube from sliding axially out of the roll of kitchen wrap. The body of each of the end caps is bulbous in shape.

[0009] There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

[0010] The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.(i) BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

[0011] The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

[0012] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a retainer rod assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0013] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0014] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the disclosure in use.(J) DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through 3 thereof, a new retainer rod assembly embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral 10 will be described.

[0016] As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 3, the retainer rod assembly 10 for retaining a roll of kitchen wrap 40 in a box 42 generally comprises a tube 12 and a pair of end caps 14. The tube 12 has a first end 16 and a second end 18. The tube 12 is designed to be inserted into a roll of kitchen wrap 40 to retain the roll of kitchen wrap 40 inside a box 42 containing the roll of kitchen wrap 40. Each of the end caps 14 is detachably coupled to a respective one of the first end 16 of the tube 12 and the second end 18 of the tube 12. Each of the end caps 14 includes a body 20 and a shaft 22 projecting from the body 20. The body 20 has a diameter that is greater than a diameter of the shaft 22 and a diameter of the tube 12 to retain the tube 12 from sliding axially out of the roll of kitchen wrap 40.

[0017] In the exemplary embodiment, the body 20 of each of the end caps 14 is bulbous in shape. The body 20 could be spherical or oval-shaped or ellipsoid. In another possible embodiment, the body 20 could be other shapes, such as square or pyramidal or conical.

[0018] The tube 12 and the end caps 14 together have a length greater than the length of the box 42 containing the roll of kitchen wrap 40 such that the body 20 of each of the end caps 14 is positioned outside of and adjacent opposing ends 44 of the box 42. For example, the tube 12 could be sized to extend all the way to the opposing ends 44 of the box 42, such as shown in FIG. 2. However, in another possible embodiment, the tube 12 could extend out through the opposing ends 44 of the box 42, or possibly short of the opposing ends 44 of the box 42. The shaft 22 of each of the end caps 14 could be made of virtually any length, though in the exemplary embodiment the shaft 22 is about 1.0 inch or less in length. Since the box 42 containing the roll of kitchen wrap 40 could be of different dimensions, the tube 12 and the end caps 14 should be made long enough to guarantee that the body 20 of each of the end caps 14 is positioned outside of the box 42. For example, many commercial versions of the box 42 are about 12.0 to 14.0 inches in length and about 2.0 to 4.0 inches in width, so the tube 12 has a diameter less than 2.5 inches and a length less than 15.0 inches to fit such commercial versions of the box 42. However, other dimensions are within the scope of the disclosure.

[0019] The shaft 22 of each of the end caps 14 is insertable into an aperture 24 in a respective one of each of the first end 16 and the second end 18 of the tube 12. In the exemplary embodiment in FIG. 1, the shaft 22 includes a male threading 26 and the tube 12 includes a female threading 28 at the aperture 24 in each of the first end 16 and the second end 18 of the tube 12. However, other connections are within the scope of the disclosure. For example, the outside of the shaft 22 and the inside of the tube 12 could be smooth, wherein the shaft 22 couples with the tube 12 by friction fit. In another possible embodiment, the shaft 22 could include a resilient outer layer to promote a strong connection. In yet another possible embodiment, the shaft 22 could be hollow and designed to receive a portion of the tube 12 therein.

[0020] In one possible embodiment, each of the tube 12 and the end caps 14 is made of metal. In another possible embodiment, each of the tube 12 and the end caps 14 is made of plastic.

[0021] The retainer rod assembly 10 is used to retain the roll of kitchen wrap 40 in the box 42. The user inserts the tube 12 into one of a pair of openings 46 in the opposing ends 44 of the box 42, and then through the roll of kitchen wrap 40. The user couples each of the end caps 14 to a respective one of the first end 16 of the tube 12 and the second end 18 of the tube 12, thereby retaining the tube 12 from sliding axially out of the roll of kitchen wrap 40. The user opens the box 42 and unrolls a section of the roll of kitchen wrap 40 while the roll of kitchen wrap 40 is retained in the box 42 by the tube 12. The roll of kitchen wrap 40 may be plastic or aluminum, or possibly other materials, such as parchment paper. Once the roll of kitchen wrap 40 is exhausted, the user can remove the retainer rod assembly 10 and reuse it with another roll of kitchen wrap 40.

[0022] With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0023] Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.

Claims

1. A retainer rod assembly for retaining a roll of kitchen wrap in a box comprising:a tube, said tube having a first end and a second end, said tube being configured to be inserted into a roll of kitchen wrap to retain the roll of kitchen wrap inside a box containing the roll of kitchen wrap; anda pair of end caps, each of said end caps being detachably coupled to a respective one of said first end of said tube and said second end of said tube, each of said end caps including a body and a shaft projecting from said body, said body having a diameter being greater than a diameter of said shaft and a diameter of said tube to retain said tube from sliding axially out of the roll of kitchen wrap.

2. The retainer rod assembly of claim 1, wherein said body of each of said end caps is bulbous in shape.

3. The retainer rod assembly of claim 1, wherein said tube and said end caps together have a length greater than the length of the box containing the roll of kitchen wrap such that said body of each of said end caps is positioned outside of and adjacent opposing ends of the box.

4. The retainer rod assembly of claim 1, wherein said shaft of each of said end caps is insertable into an aperture in a respective one of each of said first end and said second end of said tube.

5. The retainer rod assembly of claim 4, wherein said shaft includes a male threading and said tube includes a female threading at said aperture in each of said first end and said second end of said tube.

6. The retainer rod assembly of claim 1, wherein said tube has a diameter less than 2.5 inches and a length less than 15.0 inches.

7. The retainer rod assembly of claim 1, wherein each of said tube and said end caps comprises metal.

8. The retainer rod assembly of claim 1, wherein each of said tube and said end caps comprises plastic.

9. The retainer rod assembly of claim 1, wherein said tube and said end caps together have a length greater than the length of the box containing the roll of kitchen wrap such that said body of each of said end caps is positioned outside of and adjacent opposing ends of the box.

10. The retainer rod assembly of claim 9, wherein said shaft of each of said end caps is insertable into an aperture in a respective one of each of said first end and said second end of said tube.

11. The retainer rod assembly of claim 10, wherein said shaft includes a male threading and said tube includes a female threading at said aperture in each of said first end and said second end of said tube.

12. The retainer rod assembly of claim 11, wherein said tube has a diameter less than 2.5 inches and a length less than 15.0 inches.

13. The retainer rod assembly of claim 12, wherein each of said tube and said end caps comprises metal.

14. The retainer rod assembly of claim 12, wherein each of said tube and said end caps comprises plastic.

25. A method of retaining a roll of kitchen wrap in a box, said method comprising the steps of:providing a retainer rod assembly comprising:a tube, said tube having a first end and a second end, said tube being configured to be inserted into a roll of kitchen wrap to retain the roll of kitchen wrap inside a box containing the roll of kitchen wrap; anda pair of end caps, each of said end caps being detachably coupled to a respective one of said first end of said tube and said second end of said tube, each of said end caps including a body and a shaft projecting from said body, said body having a diameter being greater than a diameter of said shaft and a diameter of said tube to retain said tube from sliding axially out of the roll of kitchen wrap;inserting said tube into one of a pair of openings in opposing ends of a box containing a roll of kitchen wrap;inserting said tube through the roll of kitchen wrap;coupling each of said end caps to a respective one of said first end of said tube and said second end of said tube and thereby retaining said tube from sliding axially out of the roll of kitchen wrap; andopening the box and unrolling a section of the roll of kitchen wrap while the roll of kitchen wrap is retained in the box by said tube.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the roll of kitchen wrap is plastic and said step of unrolling a section of the roll of kitchen wrap includes unrolling a piece of plastic kitchen wrap.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the roll of kitchen wrap is aluminum and said step of unrolling a section of the roll of kitchen wrap includes unrolling a piece of aluminum kitchen wrap.

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