Package closure
The present invention is a product package having a first package within a second package wherein the product is accessible with removing the second package.
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This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional application Ser. No. 60/759,661 filed Jan. 18, 2006.
FIELD OF INVENTIONThis invention pertains to package and closure for containment of an internal package containing a product. The product is dispensed without removal of the internal package.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONProduct containment packaging is well known in the art. When an internal package is to be orientated within an external package or shell, it becomes important that the alignment of the internal package is exact so to avoid producing defective product either by damage of the internal package during assembly and, or misalignment of the internal package and disabling the internal package's discharge valve. U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,408 issued to Speitel, Jun. 30, 1987 discloses a refillable sprayer comprising an internal spray bottle having a valve and actuator secured within an external package or shell by means of a locking collar. The internal package is aligned within the shell on the basis of the snug fit of the internal package's walls with those of the external package wherein the vertical walls of the internal package and the shell are essentially contacting each other. Such an arrangement requires that the insertion of the internal package be done by hand or by employing sophisticated assembly equipment.
In order to simplify assembly and eliminate inefficient hand assembly or purchase and maintenance of costly assembly equipment, the internal package ought to have sufficient space between it and the external package or shell. The horizontal and vertical dimensions of the internal package ought to be significantly less than the external package. This solution, however raises other issues. For example, with greater space between the internal and external packages, the internal package may shift or move upon transport of the product or at the point of use by the consumer. This can lead to mechanical damage of the internal package and, or its discharge valve. Even if no damage were to occur, a product requiring shaking before use might rattle around in the extra space or play between internal and external packages. This could be a consumer negative, partly giving a false impression the product is defective and result in customer returns.
It is therefore, a need that such a package assembly avoids the aforementioned problems or issues.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention is a closure for assembly of a product package. The package assembly comprises an object such as an internal package and a second or external package wherein product within the internal package is dispensed without removing the internal package from the external package. This package assembly is efficiently and simply assembled.
Referring now to the illustrations,
The positioning ribs (101) do not necessarily have to completely extend from the central portion (102) to the peripheral edge of the closure (103). For instance, the rib (101′) of
The vertical positioning of the internal package (811) within the external package (810) may be achieved by a variety of means. For example, protrusions (806) may vertically support the internal package (811). Alternatively illustrated in
Fabrication Materials and Methods for Making Closure and Second Package
The material used for the manufacture of the present invention includes non-deformable and deformable materials. Non-deformable material choices for said invention include, but are not limited to, thermoplastic materials such as polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), polystyrene (PS), styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer (SAN), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer (ABS), polycarbonate (PC) polyethylene-terepthalate (PET), and blends thereof. Whether making deformable or non-deformable parts, the parts of the package assembly may be manufactured by any number of plastic manufacturing methods known in the art including but not limited to injection molding.
The dimensions and values disclosed herein are not to be understood as being strictly limited to the exact numerical values recited. Instead, unless otherwise specified, each such dimension is intended to mean both the recited value and a functionally equivalent range surrounding that value. For example, a dimension disclosed as “40 mm” is intended to mean “about 40 mm”.
All documents cited in the Detailed Description of the Invention are, in relevant part, incorporated herein by reference; the citation of any document is not to be construed as an admission that it is prior art with respect to the present invention. To the extent that any meaning or definition of a term in this written document conflicts with any meaning or definition of the term in a document incorporated by reference, the meaning or definition assigned to the term in this written document shall govern.
While particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it would be obvious to those skilled in the art that various other changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is therefore intended to cover in the appended claims all such changes and modifications that are within the scope of this invention.
Claims
1. A closure for securing an object within a package comprising:
- a. a plurality of positioning ribs extending from said closure;
- b. a plurality of vertically raised separate segments about the peripheral edge of said closure;
- c. a plurality of horizontal protrusions extending outward from said separate segments wherein said protrusions are capable of engaging a complementary indent of a package.
2. The closure of claim 1 wherein said raised separate segments form an annular lip about the entire peripheral edge of said closure.
3. The closure of claim 1 comprising a flange extending horizontally and outward from the base of the external wall forming said annular lip wherein said flange is capable of abutting the cross section a package wall.
4. The closure of claim 2 wherein said closure shape is relatively identical as that of the package.
5. A package having an interior package located within an exterior package comprising:
- a) an interior package capable of dispensing a product;
- b) an exterior package comprising 1) an opening for accepting said first package; 2) a collar opposite of said opening, said collar having an orifice of sufficient dimensions to provide access to said internal package;
- c) a closure for securing said internal package within said external package said closure comprising a plurality of vertical protrusions extending from said closure, said protrusions having sufficient length to engage the base surface of said internal package when affixed by an attachment means to said external package; and
- d) an actuator located within said collar for dispensing product from the internal package.
6. The package of claim 5 comprising a plurality of vertically raised portions about the periphery of said closure.
7. The package of claim 6 comprising an attachment means comprising a plurality of protrusions extending from the outside vertical surface of said vertically raised portions and complementary recesses in the inside wall of said external container wherein said protrusions reside in said recesses to secure said closure to said external package.
8. The package of claim 7 wherein the internal package has a dispensing valve stem residing within the orifice of said collar and providing access to the valve stem from outside the exterior package.
9. The package of claim 8 wherein an actuator resides within the collar orifice and the dispensing channel of said actuator is in communication with said valve stem where upon depressing said actuator, the contents of said first package is dispensed through said actuator.
10. The package of claim 9 wherein the actuator is aligned within the collar orifice by means of a series of slots formed in the vertical wall of the actuator and a plurality of complimentary vanes extending within the collar's orifice from the internal surface of the collar.
11. The package of claim 10 having an actuator comprising a plurality of tabs arranged about the periphery of the actuator wherein said tabs have outwardly directed projections that are received by a raised surface formed upon the internal surface of the collar.
12. The package of claim 5 wherein the collar of said second package is affixed directly to said second package.
13. A product package assembly having an interior package located within an exterior package comprising:
- a) an interior package capable of dispensing a product;
- b) an exterior package comprising 1) an opening for accepting said first package; 2) a collar opposite of said opening, said collar having an orifice of sufficient dimensions to accept the shoulder of said first package and allowing for dispensing of the product from the internal package without removing it from the external package;
- c) a closure for securing said internal package within said external package said closure comprising: 1) a plurality of positioning ribs radiating horizontally and outward from the closure's central portion, said ribs terminating about at the outer edge of said closure; 2) a plurality of vertical protrusions extending from said closure, said protrusions having sufficient length to engage the base surface of said internal package within said external package 3) an attachment means for securing said closure to said external package; and
- d) an actuator for dispensing product from the internal package.
14. The package of claim 13 comprising a plurality of vertically raised portions about the periphery of said closure wherein said ribs terminate at the inside vertical surface of said portions.
15. The package of claim 14 wherein the means of attachment comprising a plurality of protrusions extending horizontally from the outside vertical surface of said raised portions and a plurality of complementary recesses in the inside wall of said external container wherein said protrusions reside in said recesses to secure said closure to said external package.
16. The package of claim 15 wherein the protrusions extend from the outside vertical surface of said portions at the point of the attachment of said positioning rib to said inside vertical surface of said portions.
17. The package of claim 13 wherein the internal package has a dispensing valve stem residing within the orifice of said collar and providing access to the valve stem from outside the exterior package.
18. The package of claim 17 wherein an actuator resides within the collar orifice and the dispensing channel of said actuator is in communication with said valve stem where upon depressing said actuator, the contents of said first package is dispensed through said actuator.
19. The package of claim 18 wherein the actuator is aligned within the collar orifice by means of a series of slots formed in the vertical wall of the actuator and a plurality of complimentary vanes extending within the collar's orifice from the internal surface of the collar.
20. The package of claim 19 wherein the actuator comprises a plurality of tabs arranged about the periphery of the actuator wherein said tabs have outwardly directed projections that are received by a raised surface formed upon the internal surface of the collar.
21. The package of claim 20 wherein the collar of said external package is integral with said second package.
22. The package of claim 13 wherein the closure comprising a plurality of raised portions about the periphery of said closure wherein said ribs terminate at the internal side of said raised portion wherein protrusions radiate from the external side of said raised portions at the juncture where the positioning ribs meet the inside wall of the portions.
23. The package of claim 22 wherein the portions form a continuous annular vertical lip about the edge of the closure.
24. The package of claim 23 wherein said ribs comprise three equidistant ribs originating from one central point of said closure wherein said vertical protrusion are molded into the each rib at about its central radius.
25. The package of claim 23 wherein said annular vertical lip and said ribs of said closure are molded as one structural element of said closure.
26. The package of claim 24 wherein said vertical protrusion are made of a deformable, resilient material that creates upward force upon the base of said internal package.
27. The package of claim 26 wherein the base of said internal package is concave.
28. The package of claim 23 comprising a flange extending outwardly from the external wall of said annular vertical lip wherein said flange contacts the cross section of the walls of said second package therein.
29. A package assembly having an interior package located within an exterior package comprising:
- a) an interior package capable of dispensing a product;
- b) an exterior package comprising 1) an opening for accepting said first package; 2) a collar opposite of said opening, said collar having an orifice of sufficient dimensions to provide access to the shoulder of said internal package;
- c) a means for attaching said internal package to said external package comprising a bead on the shoulder of said internal package and a complementary horizontal lip on the internal surface of said collar wherein upon applying force directing the internal package into said external package, the bead snap engages the ridge on the collar.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 18, 2007
Publication Date: Aug 2, 2007
Applicant:
Inventors: Marc Christopher Hatcher (Miami Twp, OH), William Kater Lasala (Mason, OH), Rachel Wiley (Cincinnati, OH), Stephen Paul MacKowiak (Gardner, MA), Robert Vincent Sheehy (North Attleborough, MA)
Application Number: 11/655,002
International Classification: B65D 45/16 (20060101); B65D 39/00 (20060101); B65D 41/16 (20060101);