A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material, which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the United States Patent and Trademark Office files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a multiple purpose container having a resealable cap such that the container may be displayed as a decorative item on a table, shelf or the like surface. The container includes an interior cavity accessible when the cap is removed. In one embodiment, the cavity is configured to accommodate a product or article of interest therein. In one embodiment, the cap includes a selectively deployable fastener such that the container may be displayed as a decorative item hung from a surface such as a limb of a tree or plant as an ornament.
2. Description of the Related Art
Concerns grow daily over the storage and treatment of waste products such as, for example, plastic and glass bottles and other containers. So called “green” solutions for handling waste products include recycling, cleaning and reuse, or adapting the waste product to a new use to avoid its disposal within landfills and the like.
The inventor has recognized that a green solution for certain containers may include making the containers useful for multiple purposes such as, for example, being used as a container for an article or product of interest as well as used as a display or decorative item.
The present invention resides in one aspect in a multiple purpose container and decorative item, comprising: a container portion selectively configurable in color, shape and size, and having an interior cavity selectively configured to contain a predetermined volume of a product of interest disposed within the interior cavity, the product of interest includes at least one of a flowable liquid, a cream, a powder, a granule, and a crystal; a cap portion selectively affixed to the container portion, the cap portion configured to seal and unseal the interior cavity and to provide storage of and repeatable access to the product of interest disposed therein; and a selectively deployable fastener coupled to the cap portion by a coupling means and deployable between a stored position and a deployed position; wherein the container portion is configured of a desired color, shape, size and/or combinations thereof to achieve multiple functions to contain the product of interest within the interior cavity and to provide an aesthetic, decorative and/or ornamental feature.
In one aspect of the invention, the container portion and the cap portion are selectively fabricated from one of high-density polyethylene, polyethylene high-density, and Polypropylene; and the deployable fastener and the coupling means are selectively fabricated from one of high-density polyethylene, polyethylene high-density, Polypropylene, a metal and a metal alloy.
The present invention resides in another aspect in a set of multiple purpose container and decorative items, comprising: a plurality of container portions, each of the plurality of container portions selectively configurable in color, shape and size, and having an interior cavity selectively configured to contain a predetermined volume of a product of interest disposed within the interior cavity, the product of interest includes at least one of a flowable liquid, a cream, a powder, a granule, and a crystal; a plurality of container portions, each of the plurality of container portions selectively affixed to a respective one of the plurality of container portions, each of the plurality of container portions configured to seal and unseal the interior cavity and to provide storage of and repeatable access to the product of interest disposed therein; and a plurality of selectively deployable fasteners, each of the plurality of selectively deployable fasteners coupled to a respective one of the plurality of cap portions by a respective coupling means and deployable between a stored position and a deployed position; the plurality of container portions selectively fabricated from one of high-density polyethylene, polyethylene high-density, and Polypropylene; the plurality of cap portions selectively fabricated from one of high-density polyethylene, polyethylene high-density, and Polypropylene; the plurality of selectively deployable fasteners selectively fabricated from one of high-density polyethylene, polyethylene high-density, Polypropylene, a metal and a metal alloy; and each the coupling means selectively fabricated from one of high-density polyethylene, polyethylene high-density, Polypropylene, a metal and a metal alloy; wherein the plurality of container portions is configured of a desired color, shape, size and/or combinations thereof to achieve multiple functions to contain the product of interest within the interior cavity and to provide an aesthetic, decorative and/or ornamental feature.
The features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood when the Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments given below is considered in conjunction with the figures provided, wherein:
In these figures like structures are assigned like reference numerals, but may not be referenced in the description of all figures.
While this invention may be embodied in many forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail one or more preferred embodiments. It should be appreciated that this disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the illustrated embodiments.
In one exemplary embodiment, the product of interest 24 may be a relatively high quality flowable liquid, powder, granule, crystal, or cream including by way of example and not limitation, a perfume, cologne, cosmetic preparation or the like, or a food stuff including by way of example and not limitation, a maple, pancake and/or other syrup, honey, salt and/or pepper, herb and/or seasoning, or the like, or combination thereof. In one embodiment, the flowable liquid, powder or cream may be a relatively inexpensive household item such as, for example, liquid soap, shampoo, baby powder, hand cream or the like. It should be appreciated that in one embodiment, the multiple purpose container and decorative item 10, including the container portion 20 and the cap portion 40, may be distributed without a product or article of interest disposed in the interior cavity 22. As such, the container portion 20 would be useful as a general purpose storage container that is fillable and refillable by a user thereof. As shown in
In one embodiment, the container portion 20 may be comprised of one or more colored, treated and/or textured surfaces to achieve a preferred aesthetic, decorative and/or ornamental appearance. In one embodiment, an exterior surface 21 of the container portion 20 may include decorative indicia 23 painted or otherwise applied to the exterior surface 21 to achieve a decorative or festive effect. In one embodiment, decorative indicia 23 comprises a surface upon which a consumer may write, using a standard writing instrument, a desired message, note, and/or image, or the like. In one embodiment, the surface 21 may be wrapped in a film or the like, to achieve the decorative or festive effect. It should be appreciated that in addition to the above, the container portion 20 may be configured in other desired color (e.g., red, green, blue, silver), treatment (e.g., gloss or polish), texture, shape, size and/or combinations thereof such as, for example, an item of scenery such as a fireplace, holiday scene (e.g., snowman, holiday carolers), as well as a figurine depicting a fictional or real person, a character, an animal (e.g., a domesticated animal or pet like a dog, cat, bunny, or the like, or a wild animal like a lion, a monkey, an elephant or the like), a tree, plant, a waterfall, or the like, or a structure of interest such as a cabin, a house, bridge, or other architectural components or features such as a statue, fountain, or monument.
As shown in
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the deployable fastener 42 and the coupling means 46 cooperate such that the fastener 42 freely rotates for selective storage and deployment. In one embodiment, the fastener 42 is fixedly positioned in the deployed position. It should also be appreciated that the deployable fastener 42 and the coupling means 46 are constructed of relatively sufficient material to permit not only repeated, free rotation between the closed and open positions but also allow the deployable fastener 42 and coupling means 46 to accommodate a weight of the container portion 20 and the cap portion 40. As such, the multiple purpose container and decorative item 10 can be repeated hung from a limb of a tree or the like when the container portion 20 is fully loaded with the volume of the product of interest 24, when the container portion 20 is fully empty of the volume, and volumes between the fully loaded and fully empty conditions.
In one embodiment, the multiple purpose container and decorative item 10, including any portion thereof such as for example the container portion 20 and the cap portion 40, is selectively fabricated from high temperature, food safe plastic such as, for example, high-density polyethylene (“HDPE”), polyethylene high-density (“PEHD”), Polypropylene (“PP”) or the like capable of withstanding a minimum temperature of about one hundred eighty degrees Fahrenheit (180° F.). In such an embodiment, the product of interest 24, such as, for example, a relatively pure maple syrup, will exhibit a suitable shelf life. As should be appreciated, this relatively high temperature plastic allows the container portion 20 to be cleaned (e.g., washed) for reuse to contain food product or similar uses such as “green” uses. In another embodiment, the deployable fastener 42 and the coupling means 46 similarly are selectively fabricated from a material capable of withstanding a minimum temperature of about 180° F. such as, for example, HDPE, PEHD, PP, a metal or metal alloy, or the like.
As can be appreciated, in a first mode of operation or use, the container portion 20 and the cap portion 40 cooperate to provide storage and repeatable access to the flowable liquid, cream, powder or other product of interest 24 stored within the interior cavity 22 of the container portion 20. In this first mode of operation, the container portion 20 and the cap portion 40 also cooperate to provide a function of a decorative item that can be displayed on a surface such as, for example, a table, desk, shelf or the like, or, by selectively deploying the deployable fastener 42, hung from a surface such as, for example, a branch of a tree, plant or the like. As such, the container portion 20 and the cap portion 40 cooperate to provide the described multiple purpose container and decorative item 10. Similarly, in a second mode of operation or use, when the flowable liquid, cream, powder, granule, crystal, or other product of interest 24 is exhausted, rather than discarding the container portion 20 and the cap portion 40, the aesthetic, decorative and/or ornamental nature of the multiple purpose container and decorative item 10 is still functional, such that the multiple purpose container and decorative item 10 is still useful and is not discarded. Since the multiple purpose container and decorative item 10 remains useful, it does not become a waste product bound for a landfill.
In one embodiment, illustrated in
As shown in
In one embodiment and as shown in
One or more embodiments of the present invention have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, many construction techniques and materials may be utilized. Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.
This application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 14/062,371 filed Oct. 24, 2013, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety ; and which in turn claims priority benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of then-copending, commonly owned U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. Nos. 61/755,175, filed on Jan. 22, 2013 (Attorney Docket No. 1508-0008), 61/777,592, filed on Mar. 12, 2013 (Attorney Docket No. 1508-0009), 61/838,690, filed on Jun. 24, 2013 (Attorney Docket No. 1508-0011), and 61/844,678, filed on Jul. 10, 2013 (Attorney Docket No. 1508-0013). The disclosures of these US patent documents are also incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61755175 | Jan 2013 | US | |
61777592 | Mar 2013 | US | |
61838690 | Jun 2013 | US | |
61844678 | Jul 2013 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 14062371 | Oct 2013 | US |
Child | 14552055 | US |