Patent Application
20080308617
Not applicable.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to containers with a novel content material release opening.
2. Description of Related Art
Many different containers are found in the prior art which are designed to dispense granular materials held therewithin, with the type of granular material ranging from coarse granular material such as coarse sea salt to finer granular material such as baby powder, baking soda, or other such fine granular materials. The number of different types of dispensing openings used in the prior art to dispense the granular materials is quite large, to say the least. For example, there are pour spouts, funnels, basic openings in the walls of the container, and many other types of dispensing openings. However, the vast majority of these dispensing openings are designed to release granular material in quantity, but are not well-suited to “sprinkling” granular material such as artificial sweetener, salt, or the like onto foodstuffs or liquids for flavoring thereof. Therefore, there is a need for a container having a dispensing opening which is capable of sprinkling the granular material to control the dispensing of the granular material from the container.
Of course, it is true that there are many different sprinkling-type dispensing openings found in the prior art, but in general these all include some type of opening having a rigid cover having a plurality of smaller openings formed therein, as is found in a salt shaker or the like. The problem with these types of dispensing containers is that they cannot be assembled by standard carton assembly machines and the container generally cannot be formed from a single blank of material, thereby requiring additional assembly steps and therefore increasing the production cost of the container. There is therefore a need for a container having a dispensing opening which is capable of sprinkling the granular material from the container and which is constructed in such a fashion that it can be manufactured by standard carton blank manufacturing devices and moreover can be assembled by standard carton assembly machines.
The present invention relates to containers having a novel content material release opening. The invention is particularly useful for gradually sprinkling or otherwise releasing granular materials from the container.
In one aspect, a wall of the container is combined with a standard flap (such as a dust flap or glue flap) in order to form a composite content material release opening. The flap includes one or more small openings along its edge. These small edge openings can be manufactured much more easily compared to a small punch hole, which often becomes stuck in the container material (similar to a card hole aggregate debris or “chad”).
In one aspect, the container is formed using a novel box blank. The box blank generally comprises a top wall panel, a bottom wall panel, and a plurality of side wall panels. A major opening is formed in one of the wall panels. The box blank also comprises a flap having a flap edge with at least one flap edge opening. The flap is configured so that the at least one flap edge opening may be aligned with the major opening in the wall panel to form a composite content material release opening.
In yet another aspect, the major opening is formed in a wall panel selected from the group consisting of the top wall panel, the bottom wall panel, or a side wall panel. In still a further aspect, the major opening comprises a foldable flap in one of the wall panels. The foldable flap may extend to an edge of the wall panel. In another aspect, the opening comprises a hole in one of the wall panels.
In another aspect, the flap edge has a plurality of flap edge openings. The flap edge openings may be any suitable shape or size, but preferably comprises a rectangular slot.
The present invention is also directed to a one-piece box formed of foldable material formed using the box blank as discussed above. A sticker with pressure sensitive adhesive may be optionally used to cover at least a portion of composite content material release opening formed by the flap edge openings and the major opening in the wall.
Additional aspects of the invention, together with the advantages and novel features appurtenant thereto, will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following, or may be learned from the practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
The present invention is directed to novel containers, novel blanks for making the containers, and methods of making the containers. The container is generally comprised of three or more side walls, and typically comprises both a top wall and a bottom wall. In addition, the container has at least one flap, such as a dust flap or glue flap. At least one of the walls of the container has a major opening covered at least in part by the flap. The flap has an edge with at least one flap edge opening therein so that together the major opening in the wall and the flap edge opening form a composite content material release opening. In one aspect, the major opening is formed in a side wall of the container, and a side glue flap covers at least a portion of the major opening to form the composite content release opening. In another aspect, the major opening is formed in a top wall of the container, and a top glue flap covers at least a portion of the major opening to form the composite content release opening. It will be appreciated to those skilled in the art that other flap and wall combinations (side walls, top wall, bottom wall, etc.) may be used to form the composite content release opening by making modifications to the teachings and various embodiments discussed herein.
The composite content release opening is preferably resealable. In one aspect, a foldable flap used to form the major opening in the container wall resealably covers the opening by frictionally engaging the periphery of the major opening. In another aspect, the foldable flap used to form the major opening removably engages one or more slots in the glue flap to resealably cover the composite content release opening. Further, a sticker having pressure sensitive adhesive can be optionally applied to reseal the composite content release opening.
Although specific exemplary embodiments are discussed herein, it will be readily appreciated that the flap edge openings and the major opening in the wall may combine to form many different arrangements and types of composite content material release openings. However, when dispensing granular material, it is generally preferred that the composite content material release opening formed by the interaction of the flap edge openings and the major opening in the wall be generally rounded rectangles in shape. The exact shape of the composite content material release opening is not particularly critical to the present invention so long as the dispensing of the contents of the container is facilitated. Typically, the flap edge openings have dimensions on the order of 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1 mm, or less.
Further, one of the advantageous features of the present invention is that the major opening in the wall can be easily formed during the manufacturing process. Similarly, the flap edge openings in the glue or dust flap may likewise be die cut from the sheet of construction material from which the box blank is being removed merely by using slightly modified die cut machines already used in the packaging industry. This means that the container of the present invention can be manufactured and assembled without requiring large-scale transformations of already existing equipment. In fact, as virtually all other granular dispensing containers include elements which must be added to the container after manufacturing or require punching of small holes through the material, the production of these prior art containers is more time-consuming and labor-intensive than the production of the present invention. Therefore it is believed that the present invention provides a significant improvement over those prior art containers.
Referring to the drawings wherein identical reference numerals denote the same elements throughout the various views,
The container 10 is of general standard design and construction. However, in this embodiment of the present invention, side wall 20a includes a major opening 30. The major opening 30 is preferably a generally rectangular, oval or circular opening formed in side wall 20a and extending therethrough, as shown best in
As shown in
As shown in
In this embodiment, the major opening 30 is covered by a resealable flap 40 which is hingedly connected to the side wall 20a via fold line 42. The resealable flap 40 is operative to resealably cover the major opening 30 and thus the flap edge openings 28 to alternatively prevent and permit dispensing of the contents of the container (typically granular material) through the flap edge openings 28 and the major opening 30. Optionally, a sticker having pressure sensitive adhesive (not shown) may be applied over at least a portion of the resealable flap 40 in order to assist with closure of the flap.
The container 110 is of general standard design and construction. However, in this embodiment of the present invention, top wall 114 includes a major opening 130. The major opening 130 is preferably generally rectangular, oval, or circular opening formed in top wall 114 and extending therethrough. This major opening 130 is formed by punching out or die cutting the specific section of top wall 114 during the manufacturing process. In this embodiment, the major opening is formed by making a hole in top wall 114.
Top glue flap 122b is connected to and extends upward from side wall 120b. The top glue flap 122b has a flap edge 126 having a flap edge opening 128 extending into the top glue flap 122b from the flap edge 126. The flap edge opening 128 is a generally semi-circle opening. The specific shape of the flap edge opening 128 may be modified or changed depending on the content material to be released from container 110 and the desired flow rate for the content material. The top glue flap 122b preferably has a width so that the flap edge 126 is aligned with or extends slightly beyond the edge of the major opening 130 of the top wall 114.
When the top glue flap 122b is placed in parallel alignment behind the top wall 114 in preparation for assembly of the container 110, the width of the top glue flap 122b positions the flap edge opening 128 in alignment with and directly behind the major opening 130 with the flap edge 126 of the top glue flap 122b being preferably positioned beyond the major opening 130. The top glue flap 122b thus covers and closes a large portion of the major opening 130 with the only open portions remaining in the major opening 130 being those corresponding with the flap edge opening 128 of the top glue flap 114. The top glue flap 122b is then secured to the top wall 114 by at least one line of glue or other adhesive (or using other sealing means, such as heat sealing as is known in the art) which is placed on the outer face of the side glue flap 122b then is pressed into contact with the top wall 114. The container 110 is thus assembled in the form shown in
In this embodiment, the major opening 130 is covered by a sticker having pressure sensitive adhesive on its periphery (not shown). The sticker is operative to resealably cover the major opening 130 and thus the flap edge opening 128 to alternatively prevent and permit dispensing of the contents of the container (typically granular material) through the flap edge opening 128 and the major opening 130.
In this embodiment of the present invention, side wall 320a includes a major opening 330. The major opening 330 is preferably a generally rectangular opening formed in side wall 320a and to the edge of the side all 320a. This major opening 330 is formed by punching out or die cutting the specific section of side wall 320a during the manufacturing process. In this embodiment, the major opening is formed by making a foldable flap 340 in side wall 320a, in which the foldable flap 340 extends to the edge of the side wall 320a.
As shown in
The container is assembled in a manner similar to the container described in the first embodiment. When the side glue flap 324 is placed in parallel alignment behind the side wall 320a in preparation for assembly of the container 310, the width of the side glue flap 324 positions the flap edge openings 328 in alignment with and positioned directly behind the major opening 330 with the flap edge 326 of the side glue flap 324 being preferably positioned beyond the major opening 330. The glue flap 324 thus covers and closes a large portion of the major opening 330 with the only open portions remaining in the major opening 330 being those corresponding with the flap edge openings 328 of the side glue flap 324. The side glue flap 324 is then secured to the side wall 320a by at least one line of glue or other adhesive (or using other sealing means, such as heat sealing as is known in the art) which is placed on the outer face of the side glue flap 324 then is pressed into contact with the side wall 320a. The container 10 is thus assembled in the form shown in
In this embodiment, however, the major opening 330 is covered by a resealable flap 340 which is hingedly connected to the side wall 320a via fold line 342. The resealable flap 340 removably engages one or more corresponding cuts or slots 329 in the side glue flap 324, preferably by folding the resealable flap 340 along the dashed fold line 343 shown in
It is to be understood that numerous additions, substitutions, and modifications may be made to the container of the present invention which fall within the intended broad scope of the above description. For example, the size, shape, and construction materials used in the construction of the various elements of the present invention may be modified or changed so long as the functionality of the invention is neither degraded nor destroyed. Also, it should be noted that although the present invention has been described as being used with granular materials, it is entirely possible that the present invention may be used with other materials which will be determined by the end user of the container. Finally, the location and arrangement of the various openings such as the major opening, and the flap edge openings, may be moved, modified, or changed to any of the top wall, bottom wall, side walls, and such modifications should be understood to be a part of this disclosure.
From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all ends and objectives herein-above set forth, together with the other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to 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 matters herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings are to be interpreted as illustrative, and not in a limiting sense. While specific embodiments have been shown and discussed, various modifications may of course be made, and the invention is not limited to the specific forms or arrangement of parts and steps described herein, except insofar as such limitations are included in the following claims. Further, 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 claims.
This application is based on and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/934,434, filed on Jun. 13, 2007, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60934434 | Jun 2007 | US |
