Combination CD/DVD gift box

Abstract

A container for alternately storing objects of different standardized sizes is provided. The container includes a body portion having a bottom with a sidewall around its outer periphery to define an interior area for receiving the object to be stored. First and second flaps cooperate with the body portion to enclose the interior area. At least one storage member is positioned in the interior area. The storage member is movable between an expanded position, which occupies a portion of the interior area, and a collapsed position, which occupies a smaller portion of the interior area.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a container. More particularly, this invention relates to a single gift box designed to alternatively securely hold either a CD case or a DVD case for presentation as a present or gift.

In today's society people often give one another gifts for various holidays and/or special events. These gifts are generally wrapped with wrapping paper or, more recently, placed in a gift bag along with tissue paper, to permit the person giving the gift to dress up the item as well as obscure the identity of the gift until such time as the gift is opened. While the relatively recent option of using gift bags represents a welcome alternative to having to wrap a gift, as evidenced by the enormous success of gift bags, gift bags can be undesirable to some people for a variety of reasons.

For example, while it is certainly easier to place a gift in a gift bag than to wrap the gift with wrapping paper, the user must generally purchase tissue paper in addition to the gift to bag so that the present may be obscured from view once it is placed in the gift bag. The requirement of having to purchase tissue paper represents an additional expense to the user. Additionally, gift bags can be quite large in relation to the presents that they are holding. Further, gift bags cannot be generally stacked on top of one another for transport to different locations, such as for a birthday party. Accordingly, if a large number of presents are placed in gift bags, the presents may take up a large amount of room and make packing for travel difficult.

In recent years, two very popular gifts are compact discs (“CDs”) and DVDs. These items generally come in a plastic case of a standardized size. For example, a CD case is generally approximately 5½ inches wide by 5 inches tall and is approximately ⅜ of an inch thick. A DVD case, however, in which movies are generally packaged, is approximately 5¼ inches wide by 7½ inches tall and is approximately ⅝ of an inch thick. Because these items are popular gifts of a standardized size, some gift wrap and gift bag manufacturers have created dedicated gift boxes sized to house either a compact disk case or a DVD case. These boxes are generally ornamented on their exterior so that the user does not need to purchase wrapping paper and/or a gift bag. While these boxes overcome some of the problems of the prior art, these boxes do little to obscure the contents of the gift box. Additionally, retailers are required to purchase and stock both types of gift boxes as neither gift box is suitable for holding both DVD cases and CD cases.

Therefore, there is a need for a gift box which can alternatively securely hold either a CD case or a DVD case in an attractive manner. The present invention fills these and other needs.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In order to overcome the above-stated problems and limitations and to achieve the noted advantages, there is provided a combination CD/DVD gift box. The gift box is preferably made of a card stock or paperboard material that is designed to securely enclose either a CD case or a DVD case.

The gift box has a body portion with a peripheral sidewall and a bottom that define an area for receiving the item to be given as a gift. First and second flaps are connected to the upper edge of the side wall to permit the user to close off the area holding the item and thereby secure the item in the area. Inside the container is preferably a pair of storage members that are individually moveable between first and second positions to permit the user to customize the configuration of the interior space of the box depending on the size of the object that is being placed therein. With the storage members in their first position, a CD case may be placed there between. The storage members cooperate with the sidewall of the box to define an area approximately the size of the CD. The storage members, which are biased towards one another, then pinch the CD case there between to hold the CD case securely in place.

Alternatively, the user can collapse the storage members and move them to their second position to provide a larger area inside the storage container for receiving a DVD case. The DVD case then rests on top of a portion of the storage members. With both flaps closed, the storage members press upwardly on the DVD case, thereby pinching it between the storage members and the flaps to securely hold the DVD case in place.

Further objects, features and advantages of the present invention over the prior art will become apparent from the detailed description of the drawings which follows, when considered with the attached figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The features of the invention noted above are explained in more detail with reference to the embodiment illustrated in the attached drawing figures, in which like reference numerals denote like elements, in which FIGS. 1-12 illustrate an embodiment of the present invention, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a combination CD/DVD gift box of the present invention in a closed condition;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the gift box of FIG. 1 with a flap in an opened condition;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the gift box of FIG. 2 with both flaps in an opened condition;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the gift box of FIG. 3 in a fully opened condition ready to receive a gift;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the gift box of FIG. 4 taken along the line 4-4;

FIG. 6 a top plan view of the gift box of FIG. 4 after receiving a gift, namely a CD case;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the gift box of FIG. 6 taken along the line 7-7;

FIG. 8 a top plan view of the gift box of FIG. 4 after receiving a gift, namely a DVD case;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the gift box of FIG. 8 taken along the line 9-9;

FIG. 10 is a top plan view of the gift box of FIG. 8 with the first and second flaps in closed positions, with the dashed lines illustrating the DVD case contained therein;

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the gift box of FIG. 10 taken along the line 11-11; and

FIG. 12 illustrates a plan view of a blank of material that can be folded along the illustrated fold lines to make the gift box of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings in more detail and initially to FIG. 1, numeral 10 generally designates a combination CD/DVD gift box of the present invention. The gift box 10 is used to cover, disguise or wrap an object that is to be given to someone as a present or gift and is illustrated in a closed condition, as it would be when it contained the gift.

Looking at FIGS. 1-5, the container 10 includes a body portion 12 having a sidewall 14 and a bottom 16. The sidewall 14 and the bottom 16 cooperate to define an interior space 18 within which an object 20 (FIGS. 6-11) that is being presented as a gift may be positioned. A first lid or flap 22 is connected to the body portion 12 and provided to enclose the object 20 within the interior spacing 18. A second flap 24 is coupled with the body portion 12 opposite the first flap 22 and cooperates therewith to keep the first flap 22 in a closed position. The gift box 10 also includes a pair of storage members 26 which permit the user to selectively alter the size and configuration of the interior space 18 depending on the size of the object 20 to be stored therein.

The sidewall 14 includes a front sidewall 28, a right sidewall 30, a rear sidewall 32 and a left sidewall 34. The sidewalls 28, 30, 32, and 34, are connected to one another and cooperate to define an outer periphery of the body portion 12. The bottom 16 is connected to a lower edge 36 of the sidewall 14 around its outer periphery 38.

The first flap 22 is connected to the front sidewall 28 along its upper edge. As best illustrated in FIG. 3, the first flap 22 includes a pair of side flanges 40 and a front flange 42 positioned on its outer periphery. The flanges 40, 42 are received in the interior space 18 of the body portion 12 when the first flap 22 is in the closed position (see FIG. 11). The first flange 22 also includes an aperture 44 there through. The aperture 44 permits a user to stick their finger there through to lift the first flap 22 from the closed position illustrated in FIG. 2 to the open position illustrated in FIG. 3.

The second flap 24 is connected with an upper edge of the rear wall 32. The second flap 24 is designed to cover the aperture 44 in the first flap 22 when the second flap 24 is in the closed position illustrated in FIG. 1. To retain the second flap 24 in the closed position, a retention device 46 is provided. While the retention device could be of any manner known in the art, in the illustrated embodiment, the retention device 46 comprises a hook and loop fastener system. In that regard, a section of hook material 48 is placed on an outer surface 50 of the first flap 22 and a section of loop material 52 is provided on an inner surface 54 of the second flap 24. FIG. 11 illustrates the hook and loop sections 48, 52 combined to function as the retention device 46 to maintain the second flap 24 in the closed position.

The storage members 26 are preferably coupled with the right and left sidewalls 30, 34 and are positioned adjacent thereto. The storage members 26 are preferably made out of the same material as the remainder of the gift box 10, as discussed in greater detail below. The material of the storage members 26 causes the storage members 26 to have a rest position, which is illustrated in FIG. 5. The storage members 26 are preferably formed from a single piece of material which has been bent to provide an inner sidewall 56 and an upper wall 58. The upper wall 58 is connected to the sidewall 30, 34 via a v-shaped member 60 and the inner sidewall 56 is connected to the bottom 16 via a tongue 62. The v-shaped member 60 provides resiliency to the storage member 26 when the storage member 26 is moved from the rest position in FIG. 5 to a first position, most closely illustrated in FIG. 7, as will be discussed in greater detail below.

In use, a user of the gift box 10 would most likely purchase the gift box 10 in the closed condition illustrated in FIG. 1. To place an object 20 therein for storage as a gift, the user would first lift up on the second flap 24 with sufficient force to overcome the retention device 46 and thereby move the second flap 24 to the open position illustrated in FIG. 2. The user would then stick their finger in the aperture 44 in the first flap 22 and lift up on the first flap 22 until it is moved to the open position illustrated in FIGS. 3-5.

At this point, and as best illustrated in FIG. 5, the storage members 26 are in their rest position. If the object 20 that the user wished to store in the gift box 10 was a CD case 64, as illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, the user would move the storage members 26 from their rest position in FIG. 5 to their first position, most closely illustrated in FIG. 7. The user accomplishes this generally by grasping the sides of gift box 10 and placing their thumbs on the intersection between the inner sidewalls 56 and the upper sidewalls 58 on the storage members 26. The user then moves the inner sidewalls 56 of the storage members 26 as far away from each other as possible and to a point where the inner sidewalls 56 are in a generally vertical orientation. At this point, the distance between the inner sidewalls 56 of the storage members 26 is slightly greater than the standard height dimension of a CD case. Additionally, the front sidewall 28 and the rear sidewall 32 are spaced apart from one another a distance slightly greater than the standard width of a CD case. Accordingly, the user can now set the CD case 64 in the interior space 18 of the gift box 10 between the storage members 26 and the front and rear sidewalls 28, 32, as best illustrated in FIG. 6.

Once the CD case 64 is placed in the interior space 18, the user can release the storage members 26 with their thumbs. The compressed v-shaped members 60 will attempt to decompress and to move the storage members 26 to their normal rest position. However, before the storage members 26 can return to their rest position, the inner sidewalls 56 of the storage members 26 will abut the sides of the CD case 64, as illustrated in FIG. 7. This arrangement will function to hold the CD case 64 securely in place during transportation of the gift box.

If the object 20 that the user wishes to store in the gift box 10 is a DVD case 66, as illustrated in FIGS. 8-11, the user simply lays the DVD case 66sideways in the gift box 10 on top of the storage members 26, as best illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9. As illustrated in FIG. 9, the weight of the DVD case 66 will slightly compress the storage members 26 and move the storage members 26 from their rest position of FIG. 5 towards their second position of FIG. 11. As can be seen in FIG. 9, however, the weight of the DVD case is not sufficient to move the storage members all the way to their second position and an upper edge 68 of the DVD case 66 sits above an upper edge 70 of the sidewall 14. If the user was to press downwardly on the upper edge 68 of the DVD case 66, the storage members 26 would compress to their second position, but upon removal of the downward pressure by the user, the compressed relationship between the inner sidewall 56 and the upper wall 58 would exert an upward pressure on the DVD case 66 and return the storage members 26 to the position of FIG. 9.

After placing the DVD case in the interior space 18 of the gift box 10, the user closes the first flap 22 and the second flap 24. By pressing downwardly on the outer surface 50 of the first flap 22 before closing the second flap 24, the user can compress the storage members 26 to their second position, as illustrated in FIG. 11. Once the second flap is closed, as illustrated in FIG. 11, the retention device 46 cooperates with the flaps 22, 24 to hold the DVD case 66 downwardly of the position illustrated in FIG. 9 and the storage members 26 exert an upward pressure to pinch the DVD case 66 between the storage members 26 and an inner surface 72 of the first flap 22.

It should be noted, as illustrated in FIG. 8, that, as a result of the width of a CD case and the width of a DVD case being approximately equal, the distance between the front sidewall 28 and the rear sidewall 32 is also slightly larger than the width of the DVD case 66. Also, the distance between the right sidewall 30 and the left sidewall 34 is slightly larger than the height dimension of a standard DVD case.

While the various portions of the gift box 10 were discussed above in relation to one another and as being coupled to one another, it should be noted that the gift box 10 could be manufactured from a single piece of paper or cardstock. In that regard, FIG. 12 illustrates a blank of cardstock or paperboard material which can be folded along the illustrated fold lines to make the gift box 10 of the present invention. The blank 74 can be stamped or die cut from a sheet of material.

The majority of the portions of the blank 74 are readily identifiable by their numerals as discussed above. However, the blank 74 also includes tabs 76 which help form the sidewall 14. The tabs 76 are folded inwardly along fold lines 78 to a generally perpendicular orientation with respect to their adjacent sidewall sections 28, 32. The front and rear sidewall sections 28, 32 are then bent along fold lines 80 until they are generally perpendicular to the bottom 16. The blank 74 also includes a right wing section or panel 80 and a left wing section or panel 82. At this point, the right and left wings 80, 82 are folded along their five fold lines 84 to arrive at the orientation illustrated in FIG. 5. At this time, the tabs 76 can be glued to an interior surface 88 of the sidewalls 30, 34 and the tongues 62 can be glued to the bottom 16.

Many variations can be made to the illustrated embodiment of the present invention without departing from the scope of the present invention. Such modifications are within the scope of the present invention. For example, instead of using two storage members 26 in combination, a single storage member of approximately twice the size could be used and accomplish generally the same objects. Such modification would be within the scope of the present invention. Additionally, while the gift box 10 has been talked about in connection with alternately storing a CD case or a DVD case, the box 10 and the storage members 26 could be configured to various different sizes to hold any combination of containers of varying sizes. For example, the gift box can be configured to hold any combination of VHS tapes, computer game cartridges, cassette tapes, or any other item of standardized size.

Additionally, while use of the box has been described with both of the storage members being in a first position or a second position, an object of a size intermediate a CD case and a DVD case could be positioned in the box 10 by compressing only one of the storage members 26. In this arrangement, the compressed storage member would push upward on the object while the laterally disposed storage member exerted a sideways force on the object. Further, the height of the sidewall 14 is such that a dual CD case, which is generally twice as thick as a single CD case, can also be stored in the gift box 10, as evident from and in the manner illustrated in FIG. 7.

From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all ends and objects hereinabove set forth together with the other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the structure. It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the invention.

Since many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative of applications of the principles of this invention, and not in a limiting sense.

Claims

1. A container for holding objects therein, the container comprising: first and second sidewalls spaced apart from one another; front and rear sidewalls spaced apart from one another, wherein the front and rear sidewalls are spaced apart from one another and connected to one another via the first and second sidewalls, wherein the first and second sidewalls are spaced apart from one another and connected to one another via the front and rear sidewalls; a bottom wall connected to the sidewalls, wherein the bottom and the sidewalls define an interior space having a volume; at least a first flap connected with one of the sidewalls and positioned opposite the bottom wall, wherein the first flap is movable between a closed position and an open position, wherein flap cooperates with the sidewalls and the bottom wall in the closed position to enclose the interior space, and wherein the flap permits access to the interior space in the open position; and a means for varying a configuration of the interior space.

2. The container of claim 1, wherein the means for varying a configuration of the interior space includes a storage member coupled with one of the sidewalls, wherein the storage member is movable between a first position and a second position.

3. The container of claim 2, wherein the storage member is in an expanded condition in the first position, wherein the storage member is in a collapsed condition in the second position, wherein the storage member occupies a larger volume of the interior space in the expanded condition than in the collapsed position, wherein the container has a holding area of a first size when the storage member is in the expanded condition, and wherein the container has a holding area of a increased size when the storage member is in the collapsed position.

4. The container of claim 3, wherein the container is configured to hold an object of a first size when the storage member is in the expanded condition, wherein the container is configured to hold an object of a second size when the storage member is in the collapsed condition, wherein storage member has a rest position intermediate the expanded condition and the collapsed condition, wherein the storage member is biased to its rest position and wherein the storage member is biased against an object of either the first and second size when it is received in the container.

5. The container of claim 4, wherein the storage member includes an inner sidewall and an upper wall, wherein the inner sidewall is biased inwardly when the storage member is in the expanded condition, and wherein the upper wall is biased upwardly when the storage member is in the collapsed condition.

6. The container of claim 2, wherein the storage member is a first storage member, wherein the means for varying a configuration of the interior space further includes a second storage member coupled with one of the sidewalls, and wherein the second storage member is movable between a first position and a second position.

7. The container of claim 6, wherein the storage members vary the amount of the volume of the interior space available for holding an object when moved between their first and second positions, wherein a first storage area is defined when the storage members are in their first positions, wherein a second storage area is defined when the storage members are in their second positions, and wherein the first storage area is smaller in volume than the second storage area.

8. The container of claim 7, wherein the container is configured where the first storage area is sized to hold an object of a first industry standard size and wherein the container is configured where the second storage area is sized to hold an object of a second industry standard size, whereby the container can be selectively used to hold objects of the first and second sizes.

9. A container for holding objects therein, the container comprising: a sidewall having an upper edge and a lower edge, wherein the sidewall defines an outer periphery; a bottom coupled with the lower edge of the sidewall, wherein the bottom and the sidewall cooperate to define an interior space for receiving an object, and wherein the upper edge of the sidewal defines an opening into the interior space; at least one flap, the flap being selectively movable between a first position and a second position, wherein the flap substantially covers the opening into the interior space in the first position and wherein the flap permits access to the opening in the second position; and at least one storage member positioned within the interior space, the storage member being movable between a first position and a second position, wherein movement of the storage member between the first position and the second position permits a user to alter the configuration of the interior space to accommodate objects of different sizes.

10. The container of claim 9, wherein the storage member is movable between a first expanded position and a second collapsed position, wherein the storage member takes up a portion of the interior space and wherein the portion of the interior space taken up by the storage member is greater when the storage member is in the first position than when the storage member is in the second position.

11. The container of claim 10, wherein the storage member has a rest position intermediate the first position and the second position and wherein storage member is biased to the rest position, whereby storage member attempts to return to the rest position from the first position and the second position.

12. A combination CD/DVD gift box for selectively and alternately holding a CD in an industry standard sized CD case and a DVD in an industry standard sized DVD case and where the CD and the DVD are both an item to be gifted to someone, the box comprising: a body portion having an outer wall and a bottom portion, wherein the body portion defines a space for receiving the item to be gifted and an opening permitting access to the space; a first flap connected to the body portion; a second flap connected to the body portion, wherein the first and second flaps are movable and cooperate with the body portion to enclose the space and hold the item to be gifted therein; and at least one storage member positioned in the space, wherein the storage member is movable between an expanded position where the space is configured to hold the CD case, and a collapsed position where the space is configured to hold the DVD case.

13. The box of claim 12, wherein the storage member is biased to a rest position, wherein the rest position is intermediate the expanded and collapsed positions, wherein the storage member is biased against the CD case when it is received in the box when the storage member is in the expanded position, and wherein the storage member is biased against the DVD case when it is received in the box when the storage member is in the collapsed position.

14. A method of alternately storing objects of different sizes in the same container, the method comprising: providing a container having a body portion, which defines an interior space for storing an object, a lid, which selectively permits or prohibits access to the interior space, and a storage member received in the interior space, wherein the storage member is movable between a first position, where the storage member takes up a portion of the interior space, and a second position, where the storage member takes up a smaller portion of the interior space; placing an object of a first size in the container when the storage member is in the first position; placing an object of a second size in the container when the storage member is in the second position; and selectively moving the lid between an open position and a closed position.

15. A generally cross shaped flat blank from which to produce a container for alternately and securely holding objects of different sizes, the container having first and second lids and first and second storage members that are movable to accommodate objects of different sizes, the blank comprising: a first panel for forming the bottom of the container; right and left wing panels on opposite sides of the first panel and separated therefrom via generally vertical fold lines, wherein the right and left wing panels each include a plurality of generally vertical and parallel fold lines therein, and wherein the right and left wing panels are foldable inwardly towards the first panel to define right and left sidewalls and the first and second storage members; a first lid panel separated from the first panel via a front sidewall portion, wherein the front sidewall portion is foldable inwardly toward the first panel to define a front sidewall; and a second lid panel separated from the first panel via a rear sidewall portion, wherein the second lid panel is opposite the first lid panel, and wherein the rear sidewall portion is foldable inwardly toward the first panel to define a rear sidewall.

16. The blank of claim 15, wherein the front and rear sidewall portions are each defined by two generally horizontal fold lines, and wherein the first and second lid panels are foldable inwardly to define the first and second lids.