CONTAINER FOR HOLDING SMALL ITEMS
A package is provided for housing one or more product items, including a lid (20) with peripheral walls (24) snugly fitting to peripherals walls (44) of a molded housing (40). The walls of the molded housing may flex to improve the sealing of the package. An internal liner (70) may be provided for added product freshness. A display aperture (63) may be provided in the housing for viewing the product items without opening the package.
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This non-provisional application relies on the filing date of provisional U.S. Application Ser. No. 61/091,855 filed on Aug. 26, 2008, which is incorporated herein by reference, having been filed within twelve (12) months thereof, and priority thereto is claimed under 35 USC §1.19(e).
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a closable storage container for holding small items, and more particularly, to a container adapted to closely hold a nestable sealed packet, with the container closed by a tightly fitting lid.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of closable storage containers or packages are in use at the present time to hold consumer product items such as smokeless tobacco, breath mints, medication, throat lozenges, candy, and the like. One form of package is a formed metal “tin” comprising a bottom enclosure and a tightly fitting lid. Such a package may be expensive to make, and may not provide a perfectly air-tight seal. Furthermore the metal construction does not provide any view of the contents of the “tin.”
SUMMARYIt is an object of the subject disclosure to provide a package or container for holding small product items that is easy to manufacture, provides excellent sealing to retain product freshness, and allows the consumer to see what is inside the unopened container.
The present disclosure is directed to a package for holding product items including a top or lid with a close fit to a bottom or housing. In some embodiments, the housing is adapted to receive and retain a container liner. In some embodiments the container liner is at least partly transparent. In some embodiments the housing comprises a display aperture which allows the contents to be seen even when the lid is closed upon the housing. Variations of the illustrative embodiment, including variations in the shape of the lid, housing, or liner, or the shape, size and location of any aperture, are also within the contemplation of the present invention and are further described below.
It should be appreciated that the present invention can be implemented and utilized in numerous ways, including without limitation as a process, an apparatus, a system, a device, and a method for applications and from other suitable materials now known and later developed. These and other unique features of the system disclosed herein will become more readily apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings.
So that those having ordinary skill in the art to which the disclosed system appertains will more readily understand how to make and use the same, reference may be had to the following drawings.
The present invention overcomes many of the prior art problems associated with all-metal “tins” for holding small product items. The advantages, and other features of the package disclosed herein, will become more readily apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art from the following detailed description of certain preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the drawings which set forth representative embodiments of the present invention and wherein like reference numerals identify similar structural elements whenever possible.
All relative descriptions herein such as left, right, up, down, topside, underside and the like are with reference to the Figures, and not meant in a limiting sense. Smokeless tobacco pouches are used as exemplary contents of the package. The illustrated embodiments can be understood as providing exemplary features of varying detail of certain embodiments, and therefore, unless otherwise specified, features, components, modules, elements, and/or aspects of the illustrations can be otherwise combined, interconnected, sequenced, separated, interchanged, positioned, and/or rearranged without materially departing from the disclosed systems or methods. Additionally, the shapes and sizes of components are also exemplary and unless otherwise specified, can be altered without materially affecting or limiting the disclosed technology to holding tobacco products.
The package comprises a top or lid and a housing or bottom.
Housing 50 may comprise a top flange 58 at the top surface of housing upper wall 54. In some embodiments, product contents within the container may be sealed for freshness or safety, for example by sealing a foil or film (not shown) onto top flange 58. If the container is sealed in this fashion, then to preserve the effectiveness of the seal, leaf 57 may preferably be provided without defining an opening through housing upper wall 54.
In order to help ensure freshness of product items, and to facilitate packaging operation, product items inside the container may be packaged within a liner.
Tub 70 may be formed with tub flange 78, and tub retaining projections 79 that engagingly fit complementary indentations on the inside of housing 60. In the embodiment shown in
Tub 70 may be made of vacuum-formed plastic and overseal 80 may be made of foil; both materials may be chosen to provide barrier properties (such as moisture or oxygen barrier properties) and sufficient structural strength. The items may include such products as smokeless tobacco pouches, tea bags, breath mints, medication, throat lozenges, candy, chewing gum, and the like.
The new container provides a lid 20 that fits snugly on housing 30 or other housings shown herein. In certain embodiments the side walls of the housing may be designed to engage the lid with a flexing action so that the side walls must be squeezed in order to release the lid. A plastic housing may more readily provide such flexing action than a metal housing. Furthermore, the snug flex fit may be designed to create a “popping” noise when the lid is removed.
The lid and housing as described herein are particularly suitable for forming a package sized as is common for a tobacco, medication, or candy container, that is, a substantially rectangular package sized to be held conveniently in the hand. Other sizes and shapes of container may be produced according to same principles. For example, an elongated container might be made which may be more useful for holding pencils, candy sticks, drinking straws, or cigars. An oval-shaped container might be made which may be considered more fashionable and used for holding cosmetics, for example.
While the invention has been described with respect to preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that various changes and/or modifications can be made to the invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.
Claims
1. A package comprising: wherein the lid peripheral wall closely fits around the housing peripheral wall with a friction or interference fit.
- i) A metal lid, comprising a lid face portion bounded by a lid peripheral wall;
- ii) a plastic housing, comprising a base portion bounded by a housing peripheral wall with a top flange;
2. The package as recited in claim 1, wherein said housing peripheral wall flexes inward with respect to the lid peripheral wall when the package is closed.
3. The package as recited in claim 2, wherein in a closed configuration, said housing peripheral wall, when flexed inward, moves away said lid peripheral wall and allows said lid to be removed.
4. The package as recited in claim 1, further comprising a sealing membrane, wherein the sealing membrane is sealed to the top flange.
5. The package as recited in claim 1, further comprising an insertable liner.
6. The package as recited in claim 5, wherein said insertable liner comprises a vacuum formed tub and a liner seal.
7. The package as recited in claim 5, wherein said insertable liner comprises a external engagement feature shaped to engage a complementary internal engagement feature inside said housing.
8. The package as recited in claim 5, further comprising a display aperture in the housing base portion.
9. The package as recited in claim 8, wherein said tub is transparent and said items within said tub are visible through said display aperture.
10. The package as recited in claim 2, further comprising a leaf formed in said housing peripheral wall and engaging means formed on said leaf for engaging said lid peripheral wall, said leaf being connected to said housing peripheral wall for inward movement when pressed, such inward movement releasing said engagement means from engagement with said lid peripheral wall to facilitate removal of said lid from the package.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 24, 2009
Publication Date: Aug 4, 2011
Applicant: MEADWESTVACO CORPORATION (Richmond, VA)
Inventors: Ryan A. Bailey (Richmond, VA), John A. Gelardi (Midlothian, VA)
Application Number: 13/060,956
International Classification: B65D 25/14 (20060101); B65D 41/10 (20060101); B65D 25/54 (20060101);