Employment of sealed, usually transparent, plastic bags for housing various products is a well-accepted packaging approach for maintaining such commodities in a ready-to-use condition. Typical products include those produced in food, medical, pharmaceutical, and chemical industries where clean individual-item packaging is generally required. While such sealed bags are highly efficient in maintaining product integrity, access into the interior of a bag for retrieval of a packaged product therein housed many times is not convenient. In particular, a user may need to hand-tear a hole into the bag, or juggle the bag and its housed product while attempting to awkwardly use a cumbersome scissors, utility knife, razor blade, or the like to cut an opening through the bag wall. Not only are such approaches possibly hazardous to the user, they also can be damaging to the product housed in the bag.

In view of the above described obstacles, it is apparent that a need is present for an easily and conveniently usable bag opener. Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a conveniently operable bag slitting apparatus for opening a sealed bag along an edge thereof.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a bag slitting apparatus wherein opposing tensioned arm

members cooperatively embrace the bag and present a blade there between for slitting the bag during linear apparatus movement.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a bag slitting apparatus wherein the opposing tensioned arm members have outer surface portions that are concavely contoured for simultaneous opposing receipt of a finger and thumb of a user.

These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent throughout the description thereof which now follows.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a bag slitting apparatus for opening a sealed bag along an edge of the bag. The apparatus has a first arm having a first outer surface and a first inner surface, and a second arm having a second outer surface and a second inner surface. The first and second arms are in tensioned movable opposed relationship to each other such that the first and second inner surfaces are movably positionable against each other. In a first embodiment, one of these inner surfaces has projecting therefrom a bag cutting blade with a distal blade tip while the other inner surface has a blade tip receiver. In a second embodiment, one of these inner surfaces is a bladed inner surface having extending inwardly therefrom a non- pointed, generally flat, bag cutting blade, while the other inner surface has extending inwardly therefrom a cutting surface. Exteriorly, the first and second outer surfaces are concavely contoured for simultaneous opposingly- squeezing receipt of a finger and thumb of a user.

The apparatus is meant to be disposable once the blade becomes dull to thereby eliminate inadvertent mishaps such as those which can occur with a conventional utility knife while changing a blade. Depending upon use-environment, the apparatus can be fabricated of autoclavable material to thereby maintain clean-room conditions. Additionally, apparatus construction preferably provides smooth

transitions of all surface structures to thereby inhibit contamination and resulting potential cross-contamination during subsequent use. As is apparent, the bag slitting apparatus here defined provides operational utility while supporting convenience, efficiency, and safety in retrieving packaged products.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS An illustrative and presently preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a bag slitting apparatus for opening a sealed bag; Figure 2 is a side elevation view of the apparatus of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a perspective view showing operation of the apparatus of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a side elevation view of a second embodiment of a bag slitting apparatus for opening a sealed bag; Figure 5 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of a bag slitting apparatus for opening a sealed bag; Figure 6 is a perspective view showing operation of the apparatus of Figure 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Throughout all of the drawings figures, like elements are identically numbered. Referring first to Figures 1 and 2, a bag slitting apparatus 10 for opening a sealed bag along an edge thereof is shown. The apparatus 10 has a first arm 12 having a first outer surface 14 and a first inner surface 16, and a second arm 18 having a second outer surface 20 and a second inner surface 22. The first and second arms 12, 18 are in tensioned movable opposed relationship to each other such that the first and second inner surfaces 16, 22 are movably positionable against each other as indicated by the arrow 24 of Figure 2. Such tensioned relationship is conventionally attained by

kinetically stressing the bridge 26 joining the arms 12, 18, as known in the art. One of the inner surfaces, here shown as the first inner surface 16, is a bladed inner surface having projecting therefrom a bag cutting blade 28 with a distal blade tip 30, while the other inner surface, here shown as the second inner surface 22, has a blade tip receiver here shown as a surface-disposed groove 32 in alignment with the blade tip 30. As shown in the first embodiment of Figures 1-3, the apparatus 10, including the blade 28, is fabricated as a single piece of rigid plastic.

The first and second outer surfaces 14, 20 are concavedly contoured distally for simultaneous opposing receipt of a finger 34 and thumb 36 (Figure 3) of a user.

Figure 4 illustrates a second embodiment of a bag slitting apparatus 40 whose construction is identical to that described above for the embodiment of Figures 1-3 except for having a separate blade 42 fabricated of metal such as steel. The blade 42 is accommodated within, and has a tip 44 projecting from, a housing 46 protruding from the first inner surface 16a. The entire apparatus 40, except for the blade 42, is fabricated as a single piece of rigid plastic. Retention of the blade 44 within the housing 46 is accomplished by friction fit and/or adhesive as known in the art.

Operation of either of the apparatus 10, 40 is shown in Figure 3, and is specifically exemplified by the apparatus 10. As is there shown, the concavedly contoured portions 31, 33 of the first and second outer surfaces 14, 20 are grasped by a finger 34 and a thumb 36 of a user, and an edge portion 50 of a plastic bag 52 is positioned between the blade tip 30 and groove 32 (Figures 1 and 2).

The first and second arms 12, 18 are squeezed toward each other and the blade tip 30 pierces the bag 52 to terminate movement within the groove 32. Once such engagement is accomplished, the apparatus 10 is moved along the length of the edge portion 50 of the bag 52 to thereby produce a slit 54 through the bag 52. The apparatus 10 is then removed, and the user can reach through the slit 54 into the bag 52

and retrieve a product 58 therein packaged. In this manner, the bag 52 is efficiently and safely opened, and the apparatus 10 is immediately ready for re-use in opening subsequent bags as needed.

Figures 5 and 6 illustrate a third embodiment of a bag slitting apparatus 110 for opening a sealed bag along an edge thereof is shown. The apparatus 110 has a first arm 112 having a first outer surface 114 and a first inner surface 116, and a second arm 118 having a second outer surface 120 and a second inner surface 122. The first and second arms 112, 118 are in tensioned movable opposed relationship to each other such that the first and second inner surfaces 116, 122 are movably positionable against each other as indicated by the arrow 124 of Figure 5. Such tensioned relationship is conventionally attained by kinetically stressing the bridge 126 joining the arms 112, 118, as known in the art. One of the inner surfaces, here shown as the first inner surface 116, is a bladed inner surface having extending therefrom a bag cutting blade 128 with a flat edge 130, while the other inner surface, here shown as the second inner surface 122, has an inwardly extending cutting surface here non-limitedly configured as a convex bubble surface 132 in alignment with the blade edge 130. The apparatus 110, including the blade 128, can be fabricated as a single piece of plastic. Alternatively, the apparatus 110 can be a two-piece construction of a separate blade and a single piece of plastic for the remainder of the apparatus, or a three-piece construction of a separate blade, a blade retainer cap 144, and a single piece of plastic for the remainder of the apparatus. With all such constructions, only a central portion 140 of the cutting edge 130 is exposed for safety concerns. The first and second outer surfaces 114, 120 are concavely contoured distally for simultaneous opposing receipt of a finger 134 and thumb 136 of a user as shown in Figure 6.

Operation of the apparatus 110 is shown in Figure 6.

As is there shown, the concavely contoured portions 131, 133 of the first and second outer surfaces 114, 120 are

grasped by a finger 134 and thumb 136 of a user, and an edge portion 150 of a plastic bag 152 is positioned between the blade edge 130 and convex bubble surface 132. The first and second arms 112, 118 are squeezed toward each other and the exposed portion of the blade edge 130 cuts the bag 152 as inward movement terminates on the bubble surface 132. Once such engagement is accomplished, the apparatus 110 is moved along the length of the edge portion 150 of the bag 152 to thereby produce a slit 154 through the bag 152. The apparatus 110 is then withdrawn by releasing finger pressure thereon, and the user can reach through the slit 154 into the bag 152 and retrieve a product 158 therein packaged. In this manner, the bag 152 is efficiently and safely opened, and the apparatus 110 is immediately ready for re-use in opening subsequent bags as needed. While a plastic bag 152 is here illustrated, it is to be understood that the apparatus 110 can be employed in opening bags as well as envelopes fabricated of paper, synthetic polymer products and the like.

While an illustrative and presently preferred embodiment of the invention has been described in detail herein, it is to be understood that the inventive concepts may be otherwise variously embodied and employed and that the appended claims are intended to be construed to include such variations except insofar as limited by the prior art.