Convenient solid product dispensing package
A hexagonal dispensing box suitable for mounting in a vehicle cup holder includes a dispensing opening, and a slider which may selectively open and close the dispensing opening. The dispensing opening may be in the top or in one side of the box. The slider may have stops to limit its movement, and may be guided by the box construction. The slider may be attached to an actuation panel extending down one side of the box, and the actuation panel may also serve as a handle for removing the box from the cup holder receptacle, and for handling the box.
This invention relates to product dispensing packages which may conveniently be stored in a vehicle.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONMany vehicles have cup holders in which drinks may be conveniently held. However, relative to candy or other small pieces of food, they are often sold in flexible paper or plastic bags which are difficult to store in a vehicle. Once the packages are opened, the foodstuff is often spilled onto the car seats and can become sticky, or otherwise soil the interior of the vehicle.
Dispensing containers are known, and prior patents relating to such dispensers are disclosed in the following patents:
D. T. Hengami U.S. Pat. No. 6,435,402 granted Aug. 20, 2002
D. T. Hengami U.S. Pat. No. 6,360,942 granted Mar. 26, 2002
D. T. Hengami U.S. Pat. No. 6,273,332 granted Aug. 14, 2001
D. T. Hengami U.S. Pat. No. 6,116,499 granted Sep. 12, 2000
C. G. von Stillfried U.S. Pat. No. 5,505,373 granted Apr. 9, 1996.
However, these containers are generally rectangular, with a size and configuration such that there is normally no convenient place to store them in a vehicle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccordingly, one important object of the invention is to provide a dispensing package which may be conveniently stored in a vehicle.
In accordance with one specific illustrative embodiment of the invention a hexagonal package or box for small solid products is provided with a slide which selectively opens and closes an opening in the package; and the cross-sectional extent of the package is about 2 to 3 inches or about five to eight centimeters, so that it readily fits into drink holders normally found in most vehicles.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the hexagonal container or box may have a product-dispensing opening in the top, and a slide integrally formed from the box material may be selectively moved to open or close the opening. The opening is preferably near one side of the top of the hexagonal box, and the slide extends along the inner surface of the top of the box and is secured to an actuating panel extending down the outside of the box, and overlying one side of the hexagonal box. The actuating panel is hingedly secured to the slide, and is adhered to a side panel of the box at an area spaced down from the top of the box to facilitate movement of the slide to open or close the dispensing opening. The actuating panel may also serve as a handle for removing the box from the vehicle drink holding receptacle, and for passing the box to others, for example.
Additional aspects of the dispenser box may include (1) stops to limit movement of the slide, (2) a gripping arrangement on the slide actuator to facilitate opening and (3) top panels above and below the slide to guide the slide as it is opened and closed.
Incidentally, typical small products which may be dispensed from the box would be candy, chewing gum and medical pills, for examples.
Instead of a hexagonal configuration, the box may be in other configurations such as 5, 7 or 8-sided boxes, or boxes having equilateral polygonal configuration, scaled to fit into a vehicle cup holder.
While the dispensing opening is preferably in the top of the box, it may also be located in one side of the box, normally near the top of the box.
One advantage of the design is the ease of manufacture, in that the final box configuration can be realized by successively folding the extending tabs in an appropriate order, without requiring a separate manufacturing step of inserting the slider into the box assembly.
Other objects, features and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description, and from the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
While the specification describes particular embodiments of the present invention, those of ordinary skill can devise variations of the present invention without departing from the inventive concept.
Referring more particularly to
As shown to advantage in
The slide 24 is hingedly coupled to an actuation panel 26 which overlies one of the sides 28 of the hexagonal box 12. The actuator panel 26 has a lower portion 26′ firmly adhered to side 28 of the box, so that the upper portion of actuator panel 26 may be pivoted in and out to move slide 24 to close and open the dispenser opening 20.
Also visible in
The inner end 24′ of the slider 24 is slightly wider than the outer portion of slider, and has shoulders 38 which engage inwardly extending portions of the top or tabs secured to the top to form stops. These stops prevent the slider 24 from being fully pulled out of the box or container.
The bottom 64 of the box 12 is adhesively secured to the sidewalls by the flaps 66 on the bottom 64 and by the flaps 68 at the lower ends of the sidewalls. The flap 70 is adhesively bonded to sidewall 54 to close the sidewall configuration of the box 12.
Incidentally, with reference to
More specifically, the sides 104, the bottom 106, and the slider 108 are substantially the same as shown and discussed above for the corresponding parts of
However, instead of the apertured inner top closure 34′ of
In closing it is noted that preferred illustrative embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail. However, various alternatives and modifications may be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, by way of example and not of limitation, the product boxes may be made using 5 or 7 sides or other similar polygonal configurations, preferably equilateral and of sizes which are conveniently storable in the drink holders for vehicles. One arrangement for securing the boxes together has been shown, but other equivalent bonding arrangements may not be used, with tabs located in different positions to secure the box closed. The boxes may be formed of cardboard, stiff waxed paper, or sheets of plastic, for examples, with the box materials matched to the intended contents. Accordingly, the invention is not limited to the specific configurations described in detail hereinabove.
Claims
1. A convenient solid product dispensing package or box comprising:
- a box having a substantially hexagonal sidewall configuration, and a top and a bottom;
- a product-dispensing opening in the top of the box adjacent one of the hexagonal sides of the box;
- a movable slide for selectively opening and closing the product dispensing opening, said slide having upper and lower surfaces;
- said slide being hingedly connected to an actuation panel extending down a side of said hexagonal box;
- whereby said dispensing opening may be opened and closed by movement of said actuation panel and the resulting shifting of the slide between open and closed positions.
2. A convenient solid product dispensing package or box as defined in claim 1 wherein said actuation panel includes arrangements for initiating movement thereof.
3. A convenient solid product dispensing package or box as defined in claim 1 wherein the box top includes arrangements for guiding the slide, on both the upper and the lower surfaces of the slide.
4. A convenient solid product dispensing package or box as defined in claim 1 wherein stops are provided for limiting movement of said slide.
5. A convenient solid product dispensing package or box as defined in claim 1 wherein the box or container has a transverse extent between two and three inches.
6. A convenient solid product dispensing package or box as defined in claim 1 wherein the box or container contains small solid product elements which are smaller than the opening for easy dispensing through the opening.
7. A convenient solid product dispensing package or box as defined in claim 1 wherein inner and outer top layers are provided, and wherein said movable slide is guided to move between the inner and outer top layers as the product dispensing opening is opened and closed.
8. A convenient solid product dispensing package or box as defined in claim 1 wherein said box is formed from a single blank.
9. A convenient solid product dispensing package or box comprising:
- a box having a substantially equilateral polygonal cross-sectional sidewall configuration, and a top and a bottom;
- a product-dispensing opening toward the top of the box;
- a movable slide for selectively opening and closing the product dispensing opening, said slide having upper and lower surfaces; and
- said slide being hingedly connected to an actuation panel extending along one surface of said box;
- whereby said dispensing opening may be opened and closed by movement of said actuation panel and the resulting shifting of the slide between open and closed positions.
10. A convenient solid product dispensing package or box as defined in claim 9 wherein said actuation panel includes arrangements for initiating movement thereof.
11. A convenient solid product dispensing package or box as defined in claim 9 wherein the box includes arrangements for guiding the slide, on both sides of the slide.
12. A convenient solid product dispensing package or box as defined in claim 9 wherein stops are provided for limiting movement of said slide.
13. A convenient solid product dispensing package or box as defined in claim 9 wherein the box or container has a transverse extent between two and three inches.
14. A convenient solid product dispensing package or box as defined in claim 9 wherein the box or container contains small solid product elements which are smaller than the opening for easy dispensing through the opening.
15. A convenient solid product dispensing package or box as defined in claim 9 wherein inner and outer top layers are provided, and wherein said movable slide is guided to move between the inner and outer top layers as the product dispensing opening is opened and closed.
16. A convenient solid product dispensing package or box as defined in claim 9 wherein said box is formed from a single blank.
17. A convenient solid product dispensing package or box as defined in claim 9 wherein said box has six sides.
18. A convenient solid product dispensing package or box comprising:
- a box having a substantially equilateral polygonal cross-sectional sidewall configuration, and a top and a bottom;
- a product-dispensing opening toward the top of the box;
- a movable slide for selectively opening and closing the product dispensing opening; and
- an actuator connected to said slide for manual actuation of the slide;
- whereby said dispensing opening may be opened and closed by movement of said actuator panel and the resulting shifting of the slide between open and closed positions.
19. A convenient solid product dispensing package or box as defined in claim 18 wherein the opening is in the top of said box.
20. A convenient solid product dispensing package or box as defined in claim 18 wherein the opening is in one side of said box adjacent the top of the box.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 29, 2003
Publication Date: Mar 31, 2005
Inventor: David Hengami (Torrance, CA)
Application Number: 10/675,318