Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6454094
-
Patent Number
6,454,094
-
Date Filed
Tuesday, December 14, 199924 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, September 24, 200221 years ago
-
Inventors
-
-
Examiners
Agents
- Katten Muchin Zavis Rosenman
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 206 446
- 206 4591
- 206 4595
- 206 534
- 040 310
- 040 312
- 040 493
- 040 506
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A rotatable label system includes a label and a package with a viewing window that is secured to the container but which allows access to the container and also allows the container to freely rotate relative to the package. The package is configured with a different form factor than the container itself to provide an interstice adjacent the viewing window. The interstice allows consumers to view contiguous portions of the label on the container that are not aligned with the viewing window. As such, consumers are able to easily recognize that the label system is rotatable.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rotatable label system for use with different types of containers, for example pharmaceutical containers, which enables relatively more information to be provided to the consumer about the product, configured in such a way that the rotatable feature is easily recognized by consumers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There is an ever increasing trend to increase the amount of information provided on labels for various containers. This is particularly true for containers which contain pharmaceutical products and various health food products. For example, U.S. Pat. No. D311,423 discloses a dual faced container label. The dual faced container label disclosed in the '423 patent is adapted to the disposed on a generally cylindrical container and configured in a way so that the main product information is viewable on diametrically opposite portions of the container. Unfortunately, the amount of information that can be placed on such a label is limited to the outside surface area of the label. As such, dual sided labels have been developed which contain product information on both sides of the label. There are several problems with such dual sided labels. First, such labels can only be used with products that are generally transparent. Moreover, depending upon the properties of the product within the container, the product information may be somewhat difficult to read thus discouraging consumers from reading the product information on the inside portion of the label.
In order solve these problems. Rotatable label systems have been developed. An example of the rotatable label system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,421. The '421 patent discloses a rotatable label system which includes an inner shell, fixed to the container, and a rotatable outer shell. The rotatable outer shell is provided with a viewing window and is generally configured to have a slightly larger diameter than the diameter of the inner shell. Such a label system is substantially the same size and shape of the container itself and thus has the same form factor as the container. The inner shell is provided with opposing radial rims which serve to limit axial movement of the outer shell with respect to the inner shell. The outer shell is provided with a viewing window for viewing product information which can be printed on the entire outer circumference of the inner shell. In addition, such a system lends itself to printing product information on the outer shell as well.
In operation, consumers simply read the product information through the viewing window and twist the outer shell to review additional information. Although such a rotatable label system enables substantially more product information to be placed on the label than fixed label systems, it is believed that many consumers do not realize that the label system is rotatable due to the form factor of a label system, substantially conforming to the form factor of the container itself. Thus, there is a need for providing a rotatable label system for providing relatively more information about the product than fixed label systems that also enables consumers to easily recognize that the label system is rotatable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Briefly, the present invention relates to a rotatable label system. The label system includes a label which provides a surface for product information about its entire circumference. The rotatable label system also includes a package with a viewing window. The package is secured to the container but allows access to the container and also allows the container to freely rotate relative to the package. An important aspect of the invention is that the package is configured with a different form factor than the container itself In particular, the package in configured with an interstice adjacent the viewing window. The interstice allows consumers to view contiguous portions of the label on the container that are not aligned with the viewing window. As such, consumers are able to easily recognize that the label system is rotatable.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other advantages of the present invention will be readily understood with reference to the follow specification and attach drawings wherein:
FIG. 1
is a front elevational view of a rotatable label system in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 2
is a back elevational view of the rotatable label system in accordance with the present invention illustrating the viewing window in the package.
FIG. 3
is a perspective view of the packaging design illustrating the front and right side views of the rotatable label system in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 4
is a perspective view of the packaging design illustrating the back and left side views of the rotatable label system in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 5
is plan view of the die cut unglued package in accordance with the present invention
FIG. 6
is a plan view of the rotatable label system, illustrated in
FIGS. 1-5
.
FIG. 7
is a plan view of an alternative embodiment of the rotatable label system illustrated in
FIGS. 1-6
, illustrating a cylindrical container and an irregular shaped package.
FIG. 8
is a plan view of an alternative embodiment of the rotatable label system illustrated in
FIGS. 1-6
, illustrating a generally square or rectangular container and a generally circular package.
FIG. 9
is a plan view of an alternative embodiment of the rotatable label system illustrated in
FIGS. 1-6
, illustrating a generally hexagonal container and a generally circular package.
FIG. 10
is a plan view of an alternative embodiment of the rotatable label system illustrated in
FIGS. 1-6
, illustrating a generally circular container and a generally hexagonal package.
FIG. 11
is a plan view of an alternative embodiment of the rotatable label system illustrated in
FIGS. 1-6
, illustrating a generally circular container and a trapezoidal package.
FIG. 12
is a plan view of an alternative embodiment of the rotatable label system illustrated in
FIGS. 1-6
, illustrating a generally circular container and a generally triangular package.
FIG. 13
is a plan view of a n alternative embodiment of the rotatable label system illustrated in
FIGS. 1-6
, illustrating a generally circular container and a relatively larger generally circular package.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a packaging design for use with different types of containers, for example, pharmaceutical containers, which enables relatively more information about the product in the container to be provided to the consumer relative to containers with fixed label systems. The system in accordance with the present invention includes a label which may be affixed or printed on the container and a package with a viewing window. The package is configured to. capture the container yet allow access to the contents of the container and also enable the container to rotate relative to the package.
An important aspect of the invention, is that the package is configured with a different form factor (i.e. size and/or shape) than the container. In particular, the package is configured to form an interstice adjacent the viewing window relative to the container. As such, information on the label contiguous to the portion of the label aligned with the viewing window can be seen by the consumer. Such a configuration enables consumers to easily recognize that the label system is rotatable.
Although the principles of the present invention are described and illustrated having a generally rectangular package, as generally illustrated in
FIGS. 1-6
, virtually any container configured such that an interstice is formed between the package and the container adjacent the viewing window is within the broad principles of the present invention. For example, for a generally cylindrical container, virtually any regular or irregular polygonal shaped package will form an interstice relative to the container adjacent the viewing window, such as triangular, hexagonal shaped packages, for example, as shown in
FIGS. 10-12
. The principles of the present invention are also applicable to non-polygonal shaped packages, such as cylindrical being relatively larger in diameter than the diameter of the container, for example, as shown in FIG.
13
. Also, the principles of the present invention are also applicable to irregular shaped containers, configured to form an interstice relative to the container adjacent the viewing window, for example, as shown in FIG.
7
. In addition, the principles of the present invention are also applicable with different shaped containers, such as polygonal shaped containers and virtually any shape container, for example, as shown in
FIGS. 8 and 9
, which, when combined with the package forms an interstice adjacent the viewing window on the package.
An exemplary embodiment of the rotatable packaging system in accordance with the present invention is illustrated in
FIGS. 1-6
and generally identified with the reference numeral
20
. The rotatable label system
20
includes a label (not shown) and a package
22
for rotatably housing a, for example, generally cylindrical container
24
. The label may be a separate label, affixed to the container, or may be screen printed directly on the container
24
.
The package is formed with a different form factor than the container itself. As best shown in
FIGS. 2 and 4
, the viewing window
23
enables the contents of the label to be viewed outside the package
23
. An important aspect of the invention relates to the configuration in which the form factor for the package
22
is different from the form factor of the package
22
, thus forming an interstitial area adjacent the viewing window
23
, for example, the interstitial area
26
(
FIG. 6
) between the outer surface of the container
24
and the inner surface of the package
22
. As shown in
FIG. 6
, this interstitial area
26
is generally formed adjacent the viewing window
23
which enables additional product information on the label to be viewed by the consumer even though it is not aligned with the viewing window to enable the consumers to easily recognize that the label contains additional information other than what is aligned with the viewing window. As such, the system entices consumers to rotate the container
24
within the package
22
.
FIGS. 1-6
illustrate how an exemplary system is fabricated. A plan view of the die cut of an unassembled package
22
is illustrated in FIG.
5
. The package
22
is amenable to be formed from any packaging material and die cut by conventional techniques. As shown, the unassembled package includes a front vertical panel
34
, a rear vertical panel
36
, a right vertical side panel
38
and a left vertical side panel
40
. The viewing window
23
is formed in the rear vertical panel
36
. The various panels and flaps are coupled together at fold lines as discussed below. The fold lines are conventionally formed by die cuts and form hinges between the various panels and flaps.
A pair of bottom glue flaps
44
and
46
may be formed adjacent the front panel
34
and rear panel
36
, respectively. These glue flaps
44
and
46
may be formed with angled outer surfaces
48
and
50
and notched inner surfaces
52
and
54
as shown to facilitate assembly of the container
22
. The glue flaps
44
and
46
are attached to the front and rear panels
34
and
36
at a pair of fold lines
56
and
58
. A closure flap
60
is disposed adjacent the left side
40
at a fold line
61
. The glue flaps
44
and
46
may be secured to each other by way of a suitable adhesive and form a glue surface for the closure flap
60
. The glue flaps
44
and
46
as well as the closure flap
60
capture the bottom end of the container
24
to prevent downward axial movement of the container
24
while allowing the container
24
and the package
22
to be fully rotatable with respect to each other.
A top flap
64
is formed with a generally circular aperture
66
and a plurality of radial perforations
68
. The central aperture
66
as well as the radial perforations
68
allow a neck
70
(
FIG. 1
) of the container
22
to be slipped therethrough, thereby capturing the top part of the container
24
, while still allowing the container
24
rotate relative to the package
22
. The top flap
64
is formed adjacent the right side vertical flap
38
at a fold line
70
.
A pair of collar flaps
72
and
74
are formed adjacent the rear vertical panel
40
and front vertical panel
34
, respectively at a pair of fold lines
76
and
78
. These collar flaps
72
and
74
are formed with generally circular portions
77
and
79
having a radius of a curvature selected to be slightly larger than the diameter neck
70
of the container
24
. The collar flaps
72
and
74
may be provided with radial perforations
80
in order to facilitate assembly of the package
24
.
The vertical panels
34
,
36
,
38
and
40
are joined together at vertical fold lines
82
,
84
and
86
. Disposed adjacent the right side panel
38
is a glue panel
88
. The glue panel
88
is adapted to be secured to the interior of the front vertical panel
34
. The glue panel
88
is secured to the right side vertical panel
38
at a fold line
90
.
The package
22
is assembled by folding along the fold lines
82
,
84
,
86
and
90
to form a generally rectangular box. An adhesive may then either be applied to the glue panel
88
or the along the edge of the interior of the vertical panel
34
. The glue panel
88
is then assembled to the vertical panel
34
to form a generally rectangular cross section. The bottom glue panels
44
and
46
are then folded along their fold lines
56
and
58
toward the interior of the generally rectangular box shape. These glue panels
44
and
46
may be secured together with a suitable adhesive. Subsequently, the closure panel
60
is folded along the fold line
61
and secured to the glue panels
44
and
46
with a suitable adhesive closing the bottom portion of the package
22
.
Subsequently, a container may be disposed in the open top of the package
22
with its cap
92
(
FIG. 2
) removed. The collar panels
72
and
74
are folded along their fold lines
78
and
76
and may be used to form a gluing surface for the top closure panel
64
. The top closure panel
64
is then folded along its fold line
70
and secured with a suitable adhesive to the collar panel
72
and
74
. Once assembled the top closure panel
64
captures an annular shoulder
94
(
FIG. 6
) of the container
24
axial movement toward the top of the container
24
is prevented. The radial perforations
68
and
80
facilitate placement of the collar flaps
72
and
74
as well as the closure flap
64
around the neck
70
of the container
24
. Subsequently, the container cap
92
is screwed in place and the package with the container
24
inside is ready for shipment.
Alternatively, the package
22
can be assembled in the same manner, except that the top closure panel
64
is closed first while the bottom glue flaps
44
and
46
and bottom closure flaps
60
are open. In this embodiment, the container cap
92
is removed from the container
22
and the container is fed in through the bottom of the package so that the neck
70
of the container
22
protrudes through the central aperture
66
in the top closure flap
64
. At this point, the bottom glue flaps
44
and
46
as well as the bottom closure flaps
60
may be closed in the manner as discussed above.
Once the package in accordance with the present invention is assembled as discussed above, the cap
92
or the neck
70
may be rotated by the consumer to align various portions of an inner label to be viewable through the viewing window
23
. As mentioned above, by providing a container package which allows for an interstitial area adjacent the viewing window
23
relative to the outer surface of the container
24
, consumers will easily recognize that aspect of a rotatable system.
There are also other advantages of the present invention. In particular, the package
22
in accordance with the present invention also forms a package for the product. In the system disclosed in the '421 patent, the products with the rotatable label system are known to be generally disposed in additional packages which adds to the cost of the product.
Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. Thus, it is to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described above.
Claims
- 1. A rotatable label system comprising:a container having an opening and a first form factor including a round portion; a cap adapted for closing the opening; a label disposed on an outer surface of said round portion; a housing configured with a second form factor and formed with a viewing window located in a flat portion of said second form factor; and said container housed within said housing so as to locate the label completely behind the plane of said flat portion so as to permit viewing of the label through the window so that an interstice is defined adjacent the window between the container and housing, said interstice being configured so as to enable a portion of the label not aligned with the window to be viewed from outside the housing, wherein said cap is exposed so as to permit access to the contents of the container by opening the cap and so as to enable the container to be rotated in the housing.
- 2. The rotatable label system as recited in claim 1, wherein said label is formed from a material other than said container.
- 3. The rotatable label system as recited in claim 1, wherein said label is formed on said container.
- 4. The rotatable label system as recited in claim 1, wherein said first form factor is generally circular.
- 5. The rotatable label system as recited in claim 4, wherein said second form factor is generally polygonal.
- 6. The rotatable label system as recited in claim 4, wherein said second form factor is generally not polygonal.
- 7. The rotatable label system as recited in claim 4, wherein said second form factor is irregularly shaped.
- 8. The rotatable label system as recited in claim 5, wherein said second form factor is generally square.
- 9. The rotatable label system as recited in claim 5, wherein said second form factor is generally rectangular.
- 10. The rotatable label system as recited in claim 1, wherein said first form factor is generally polygonal.
- 11. The rotatable label system as recited in claim 4, wherein said first form factor is generally not polygonal.
- 12. The rotatable label system as recited in claim 4, wherein said first form factor is irregularly shaped.
- 13. The rotatable label system as recited in claim 5, wherein said first form factor is generally square.
- 14. The rotatable label system as recited in claim 5, wherein said form factor is generally rectangular.
US Referenced Citations (16)
Foreign Referenced Citations (5)
Number |
Date |
Country |
WO 9740724 |
Nov 1997 |
WO |
WO 9818617 |
May 1998 |
WO |
WO 9819288 |
May 1998 |
WO |
WO 9819289 |
May 1998 |
WO |
WO 9843226 |
Oct 1998 |
WO |