Patent Application
20220135296
The present application is directed to a lid for a container, more specifically a lid which contains advertising or text thereon.
Advertisers are constantly seeking new venues and means for presenting their advertising logos, slogans, and various other advertising information. The most predominant location for placing advertising information is on the surface of product packaging. One of the most common locations for product packaging is on a lid to a product container, such as on the lid of a storage container, e.g., containers used in food products, as well as containers used in footwear products such as shoeboxes, amongst others. Advertising on such containers provides continued product promotion while the packaging is in a customer's presence. However, when such product packaging is discarded shortly after the consumption of the product or removal of the product from the container, then such product packing ceases to function as a noticeable source of advertising space. It would thus be desirable to be able to provide product containers which function as a more tenable long-lasting source of advertising space, even after the product is removed from the container.
Applicants have unexpectedly discovered that a lid for a storage container can be either entirely, or predominantly, made from a magnetic material, which serves the function of covering the contents of the container in the manner usually associated with a lid to a container, but also which can be removed from the lid of the container after the container is opened to function as an independent promotional magnet, e.g., by its placement on a household refrigerator door or a car panel or bumper to display the advertising information.
Thus, there is provided herein, a removable magnetic lid for a container which comprises a magnet having an indicia side and an opposing magnetic side, and wherein the magnet is an entire lid to a container, or a substantial portion of a lid to a container.
Various embodiments are described below with reference to the drawings wherein:
Like reference numerals indicate similar parts throughout the figures.
The present disclosure may be understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description of the disclosure taken in connection with the accompanying drawing figures, which form a part of this disclosure. It is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the specific devices, methods, conditions or parameters described and/or shown herein, and that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments by way of example only and is not intended to be limiting of the claimed disclosure.
Also, as used in the specification and including the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include the plural, and reference to a particular numerical value includes at least that particular value, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Ranges may be expressed herein as from “about” or “approximately” one particular value and/or to “about” or “approximately” another particular value. When such a range is expressed, another embodiment includes from the one particular value and/or to the other particular value. Any ranges described herein can comprises any combination of endpoints of such ranges. Similarly, when values are expressed as approximations, by use of the antecedent “about,” it will be understood that the particular value forms another embodiment. It is also understood that all spatial references, such as, for example, horizontal, vertical, top, upper, lower, bottom, left and right, are for illustrative purposes only and can be varied within the scope of the disclosure. The use of the expressions “comprising” or “comprises” herein shall in further embodiments also be considered to encompass the expressions “consisting essentially of” and “consisting of”.
The containers described herein can be any commercially available storage containers, such as those for food storage, liquid storage, powder storage, apparel products such as shoes, and similar products. Common examples of storage containers include cardboard or plastic containers with lids and multi-sized and shaped lid/container combinations for covering and stacking. The containers can come in a wide variety of sizes, including short ones that hold small amounts of food and larger ones to hold bulk items such as cereal or flour, as well as containers that are made very tall and which hold products like spaghetti.
Materials for storage containers can include plastics like polyethylene (both high- and low-density), polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, and acrylic, metal, such as the non-limiting example of aluminum, wood and paper containers such as the non-limiting example of cardboard. The containers can be of any suitable shape or design, and can be, for example, rectangular, round, square, and oval. The containers can include those used for liquid or semi-solid food products, such as ice cream, water, milk, soda, beer, wine, liquor, yoghurt, butter, cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, peanut butter, jam, spreadable cheese, and the like. In addition, the storage containers can be used for dried food products such as snacks, e.g., chips or granola and the like, dry cereals, nuts, flour, sugar, salt, powdered milk, dried beans and legumes, dried fruits and vegetables, pasta, rice, dried potatoes, yeast, bouillon cubes, spices, powdered foods like instant breakfast products, oatmeal and the like, as well as meal-replacement powders intended for shakes, coffee, powdered eggs, dried meats such as jerky and the like. In addition, the storage containers can include cups, bowls, tubes, jars, boxes, bottles, buckets and any suitable type of storage container. In one embodiment the storage container can be a “to-go” container from a restaurant.
The magnet as described herein, can be any magnet of any suitable material and having any suitable magnetic strength. It will be understood herein that the magnet can preferably be planar or substantially planar. In another embodiment, the magnet can be bent, creased or the like in certain portions, such as wherein it is used as the complete lid of a container, such as the lid of a shoe box, and the portions of the lid which are bent over in a direction perpendicular to the planar portion of the magnet (i.e. the main portion of the top of the shoe box) overlie a portion of the sides of the underlying shoe box. The magnet thickness can be chosen on a variety of factors such as the product in the container, the desired level of production costs, the type and/or shape and/or size of underlying container, any further layers that may or may not be used in the container lid, or the eventual use of the removable magnet once removed from the lid. In one non-limiting embodiment the magnet thickness can be from about 0.1 mil to about 10 mil, preferably from about 0.2 mil to about 5 mil and most preferably from about 0.5 mil to about 3 mil.
The magnet once removed can be affixed to an object, such as any ferromagnetic object, and thus, should be of a suitable magnetic strength to be affixed to such an object, such as, but not limited to, sufficient magnetic strength to be affixed to an object selected from the group consisting of a refrigerator, freezer, microwave, dishwasher, oven, vent hood, sink, kitchen or other cabinet containing a metal component, and a metal part of a car. The size of the magnet will preferably correspond to at least an entire opening of a corresponding container, but may further also be of sufficient size to also include a conventional pull tab for removing the magnetic lid when opening the container, such as when the magnet is a film magnet of very thin magnetic material. In one embodiment, the size of the magnet will be less than the size of an opening to a container, as is described herein.
For purpose of explanation and illustration, and not limitation, exemplary embodiments of the removable magnetic lid are for the container as described above, and in accordance with the disclosed subject matter, and are shown in
Referring to
The magnet 21 can function as the entire lid of the container 30, such as, for example, in the pull-tab configuration shown in
In one embodiment, it will be understood herein that the magnet 21 acts as the entire lid of the container 30 generally means that the magnet 21 is operating, not in addition to the retaining element 23, but as the sole material covering an opening 33 to the container 30, although the retaining element 23 can optionally also be used therein. That is to say, in one embodiment the lid is in the absence of another material which is part of the lid, and/or to which the magnet 21 is adhered. Stated alternatively, the magnet 21 acts as the actual lid to the container, and when removed from the removable magnetic lid 20, there is either a large opening 33 to the lid as compared to when the magnet 21 was present in the lid (such as is shown in
In keeping with the above, when the magnet 21 acts as the entire lid of the container, it is that the magnet 21 covers more than 95% of the opening 33 of the underlying container 30, preferably more than 99% of the opening 33 of the underlying container 30, and most preferably covers 100%, or more, of the opening 33 of the underlying container 30. Such a depiction is shown in
Further in keeping with the above, when the magnet 21 pertains to “a substantial portion” of a lid of the container 30, it is that the magnet 21 covers from about 50% to about 94%, preferably from about 75% to about 90%, and most preferably from about 80% to about 90% of the opening 33 of the corresponding underlying container 30. In an alternative embodiment, the when the magnet 21 is “a substantial portion” of a lid of the container 30 is that it comprises 99% to 110% of the opening 33 of the underlying container 30, but is in this embodiment, the magnet 21 may be used also in conjunction with a retaining layer 23, and an optional food protection layer 25, such as that shown in
In the embodiment depicted in
Referring to
The magnet 21 can be removed from the removable magnetic lid 20 by pushing the magnet 21 from the indicia side 22 with one's finger(s) and/or hand(s) such that the magnet 21 is separated from the retaining element 23. Alternatively, or in addition to this method, the magnet 21 can be removed from the removable magnetic lid 20 by prying and/or peeling the magnet 21 from the inside 26 of the retaining element 23. When the magnet 21 is removed from the removable magnetic lid 20, it can be magnetically adhered by its magnetic side 24 to a suitable ferromagnetic surface, e.g., a surface which is made of an iron-containing metal, or which contains an iron-containing metal underneath such surface. Such surfaces can be a surface of an object, such as those objects, preferably kitchen objects (appliances) described herein above, and as is shown in the non-limiting embodiments of
The retaining element 23 can be made of any suitable material, such as is described herein above for the container 30, and can be the same or different material from that used to manufacture the container 30. In one preferable embodiment, the container 30 is manufactured of paper or carboard, which can have an optional moisture-impermeable coating, e.g., wax, thereon, and the retaining element 23 is made of a plastic material. The retaining element 23 can have a ledge 27 on a portion of the inside 26, on which ledge 27 an outer periphery of the indicia side 22 of magnet 21 is shown resting in
In the normal position of the removable magnetic lid 20, i.e., in an orientation corresponding to its placement on a container, which normal position is depicted in the embodiments of
The retaining element 23 can have an upper retaining end 28 and a side retaining end 29. In
In one non-limiting embodiment, the upper retaining end 28 extends over the entire surface area of the indicia side 22 of the magnet 21 and is clear so that the indicia are still visible when the retaining element 23 is placed over the magnet 21, such as is shown in
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
In one embodiment herein, there is also provided a method of removing magnet 21 used in removable magnetic lid 20 from the removable magnetic lid 20 as shown in
It is to be understood herein that any of the embodiments described herein to one figure herein can be used in any other figure and in combinations of such embodiments. In one embodiment, any configuration or description provided herein can be omitted from the corresponding figure or description and the resulting embodiments can be in the absence of such an omitted embodiment or description.
While the above description contains many specifics, these specifics should not be construed as limitations of the invention, but merely as exemplifications of preferred embodiments thereof. Those skilled in the art will envision many other embodiments within the scope and spirit of the invention as defined by the claims appended hereto.
Where this application has listed the steps of a method or procedure in a specific order, it may be possible, or even expedient in certain circumstances, to change the order in which some steps are performed, and it is intended that the particular steps of the method or procedure claim set forth herein below not be construed as being order-specific unless such order specificity is expressly stated in the claim. Any of the structure, components, methods or procedures described herein can be used by any user in the manner described herein.
While the preferred embodiments of the devices and methods have been described in reference to the environment in which they were developed, they are merely illustrative of the principles of the inventions. Modification or combinations of the above-described assemblies, other embodiments, configurations, and methods for carrying out the invention, and variations of aspects of the invention that are obvious to those of skill in the art are intended to be within the scope of the claims.
