PACKAGING AND METHODS OF MAKING AND USING THE SAME

Packaging and methods of making and using the same are disclosed.

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Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/696,464 filed on Sep. 4, 2012 and entitled “PACKAGING AND METHODS OF MAKING AND USING THE SAME”, the subject matter of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to packaging and methods of making and using packaging.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Efforts continue to improve packaging of items such as food.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to novel packaging and methods of making and using packaging. The packaging of the present invention provides an alternative method of packaging items such as food, etc. Unlike other known packaging, the packaging of the present invention temporarily attaches closed ends of containers to one another so that openable ends of the containers are positioned away from one another.

In one exemplary embodiment, the packaging of the present invention comprises at least two separatable containers, each container comprising a bottom container wall, at least one container sidewall extending from the bottom container wall so as to form a container volume bound by the bottom container wall and the at least one container sidewall, a container opening surrounded by a container rim extending along an upper edge of the at least one container sidewall, and a removable container lid positionable and sized so as to cover the container opening; and a packaging component that temporarily connects the at least two separatable containers to one another so that container openings of two containers are on opposite ends of the packaging.

In another exemplary embodiment, the packaging of the present invention comprises two separate containers, each container sharing a bottom container wall and comprising at least one container sidewall extending from the bottom container wall so as to form a container volume bound by the bottom container wall and the at least one container sidewall, a container opening surrounded by a container rim extending along an upper edge of the at least one container sidewall, and a removable container lid positionable and sized so as to cover the container opening; wherein container openings of the two containers are on opposite ends of the packaging.

The present invention is further directed to methods of making packaging. In one exemplary embodiment, the method of making packaging of the present invention comprises forming at least two separatable containers, each container comprising a bottom container wall, at least one container sidewall extending from the bottom container wall so as to form a container volume bound by the bottom container wall and the at least one container sidewall, a container opening surrounded by a container rim extending along an upper edge of the at least one container sidewall, and a removable container lid positionable and sized so as to cover the container opening; and temporarily attaching each container to one another via a packaging component so that container openings of two containers are on opposite ends of the packaging.

In another exemplary embodiment, the method of making packaging of the present invention comprises forming two separate containers sharing a bottom container wall, each container comprising at least one container sidewall extending from the bottom container wall so as to form a container volume bound by the bottom container wall and the at least one container sidewall, a container opening surrounded by a container rim extending along an upper edge of the at least one container sidewall, and a removable container lid positionable and sized so as to cover the container opening; wherein container openings of the two containers are on opposite ends of the packaging.

The present invention is even further directed to methods of using packaging. In one exemplary embodiment, the method of using packaging of the present invention comprises inputting one or more items into each container of a packaging, wherein the packaging comprises at least two separatable containers, and each container comprises a bottom container wall, at least one container sidewall extending from the bottom container wall so as to form a container volume bound by the bottom container wall and the at least one container sidewall, a container opening surrounded by a container rim extending along an upper edge of the at least one container sidewall, and a removable container lid positionable and sized so as to cover the container opening; and a packaging component that temporarily connects the at least two separatable containers to one another so that container openings of two containers are on opposite ends of the packaging. In one desired embodiment, the one or more items comprise food items.

In another exemplary embodiment, the method of using packaging of the present invention comprises inputting one or more items into each container of a packaging, wherein the packaging comprises two separate containers, each container sharing a bottom container wall and comprising at least one container sidewall extending from the bottom container wall so as to form a container volume bound by the bottom container wall and the at least one container sidewall, a container opening surrounded by a container rim extending along an upper edge of the at least one container sidewall, and a removable container lid positionable and sized so as to cover the container opening; wherein container openings of the two containers are on opposite ends of the packaging.

These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after a review of the following detailed description of the disclosed embodiments and the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The present invention is further described with reference to the appended figures showing exemplary embodiments of the present invention, wherein:

FIG. 1 provides a perspective view of an exemplary packaging of the present invention;

FIG. 2 provides a front view of the exemplary packaging shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 provides a side view of the exemplary packaging shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 provides an end view of the exemplary packaging shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 provides a perspective view of the exemplary packaging shown in FIG. 1 when the containers are separated from one another;

FIG. 6 provides a cross-sectional view of a single container within exemplary packaging 10 shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 provides a front view of exemplary packaging of the present invention with an exemplary packaging component that temporarily connects two separatable containers to one another;

FIG. 8 provides a front view of exemplary packaging of the present invention with another exemplary packaging component that temporarily connects two separatable containers to one another;

FIG. 9 provides a front view of exemplary packaging of the present invention with another exemplary packaging component that temporarily connects two separatable containers to one another;

FIG. 10 provides a front view of exemplary packaging of the present invention with another exemplary packaging component that temporarily connects two separatable containers to one another;

FIG. 11 provides a front view of another exemplary packaging of the present invention; and

FIG. 12 provides a cross-sectional view of the exemplary packaging shown in FIG. 11.

 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to packaging and methods of making and using packaging. In particular, the present invention is directed to packaging as shown in the figures, as described in the various embodiments shown and described herein, and as recited in the claims below.

Any of the herein-described packaging components may be formed using conventional techniques. For example, many, if not all, of the herein-described components may be thermoformed (e.g., molded) from materials mentioned below, and subsequently joined to and/or assembled with one another so as to result in any of the herein-described packaging of the present invention.

Other Embodiments Packaging

1. Packaging 10 comprising: at least two separatable containers 11, each container 11 comprising a bottom container wall 12, at least one container sidewall 13 extending from said bottom container wall 12 so as to form a container volume 14 bound by said bottom container wall 12 and said at least one container sidewall 13, a container opening 15 surrounded by a container rim 16 extending along an upper edge 17 of said at least one container sidewall 13, and a removable container lid 18 positionable and sized so as to cover said container opening 15; and a packaging component 19 that temporarily connects said at least two separatable containers 11 to one another so that container openings 15 of two containers 11 are on opposite ends 20 of said packaging 10. In some desired embodiments, said at least two separatable containers 11 comprises two separatable containers 11 as shown in FIG. 1.

2. The packaging 10 of embodiment 1, wherein each container 11 further comprising a removable film 21 covering said container opening 15, said removable film 21 being temporarily present between said container opening 15 and said removable container lid 18. See, for example, exemplary packaging 10 shown in FIG. 7.

3. The packaging 10 of embodiment 2, wherein said removable film 21 comprises an integral tab component 22 that extends beyond an outer periphery 23 of said container opening 15.

4. The packaging 10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 3, wherein each container 11 has a cross-sectional area extending across said container volume 15, said cross-sectional area being substantially parallel to a first plane P1 containing said bottom container wall 12 and a second plane P2 containing said container opening 15. See, for example, the cross-sectional view of exemplary packaging 10 shown in FIG. 6, wherein an exemplary cross-sectional area is shown within plane P3.

5. The packaging 10 of embodiment 4, wherein said cross-sectional area has a circular configuration, a triangular configuration, a square configuration, a rectangular configuration, a star-shaped configuration, a pentagonal configuration, a hexagonal configuration, or an oval configuration. It should be noted that the cross-sectional area may have any configuration. Typically, the cross-sectional area configuration is a circular configuration or an oval configuration.

6. The packaging 10 of embodiment 4 or 5, wherein said cross-sectional area has a circular configuration.

7. The packaging 10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 6, wherein each container 11 has a substantially similar container volume 14.

8. The packaging 10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 6, wherein at least two containers 11 have a different container volume 14. In this embodiment, the length L of one container 11 is typically greater than a length L of an adjacent, attached container 11. However, in other embodiments, containers 11 may have a similar overall length L but one container 11 may have a substantially constant width W along the length L, while the other container 11 has an increasing width W along length L (i.e., one container 11 has a cylindrical shape, while an adjacent, attached container 11 has a truncated cone shape).

9. The packaging 10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 8, wherein each container 11 has a container volume 14 of at least about 3.0 cubic inches (in3).

10. The packaging 10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 9, wherein each container 11 has a container volume 14 of ranging from about 3.0 cubic inches (in3) to about 800 in3 (or any volume value or range of volume values therebetween, e.g., from about 5.3 in3 to about 752.6 in3, in increments of 0.1 in3, e.g., 3.0 in3, 3.1 in3, 3.2 in3, . . . 798.1 in3, 798.2 in3, etc.).

11. The packaging 10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 10, wherein each container 11 has a container volume of ranging from about 18.0 cubic inches (in3) to about 50 in3 (or any volume value or range of volume values therebetween, e.g., from about 18.3 in3 to about 42.6 in3, in increments of 0.1 in3, e.g., 18.1 in3, 18.2 in3, 18.3 in3, . . . 48.1 in3, 48.2 in3, etc.).

12. The packaging 10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 11, wherein said at least two separatable containers 11 comprises two separatable containers 11.

13. The packaging 10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 12, wherein each container 11 comprises a cellulosic material, a polymeric material, a metallic material, or any combination thereof.

14. The packaging 10 of any one of embodiments 2 to 13, wherein said removable film 21 comprises a cellulosic material, a polymeric material, a metallic material, or any combination thereof. Typically, each of said removable films 21 comprises a continuous sheet of cellulosic material (e.g., paper with no holes/openings therein) coated with a polymeric material and/or a metallic material (e.g., aluminum).

15. The packaging 10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 14, wherein said removable container lid 18 comprises a cellulosic material, a polymeric material, a metallic material, or any combination thereof. Typically, each of said removable container lids 18 comprises (i) a continuous sheet of polymeric material (e.g., polymeric material with no holes/openings therein), and (ii) an outer edge polymeric material component extending downward from and integrally connected with said continuous sheet of polymeric material, the outer edge polymeric material component extending along said upper edge 17 of said at least one container sidewall 13 adjacent said container opening 15 when positioned onto said container rim 16.

16. The packaging 10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 15, wherein said removable container lid 18 comprises a polymeric material.

17. The packaging 10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 16, wherein said packaging component 19 comprises a label 24 that covers at least a portion of connecting ends 25 of said at least two separatable containers 11. Typically, said packaging component 19 comprises a sheet of a cellulosic material, a polymeric material, a metallic material, or any combination thereof, more typically, a sheet of a cellulosic material, a polymeric material, or any combination thereof. Typically, an inner surface of said packaging component 19 (i.e., the surface that comes into contact with each of adjacent containers 11) is substantially smooth with no undulations thereon (e.g., a smooth polymeric film surface).

18. The packaging 10 of embodiment 17, wherein said label 24 or a portion thereof is removable so as to enable separation of adjacent containers 11. As shown in FIG. 7, exemplary label 24 extends along a portion of connecting ends 25 of two separatable containers 11. In this embodiment, label 24 has a tab 28 that enables removal of all of label 24 from containers 11. Further, although label 24 is shown as extending from point 26 to point 27 along exemplary packaging 10, it should be understood that label 24 may extend from upper edge 17 of one container sidewall 13 to an opposite upper edge 17 of a container sidewall 13 of another, attached container 11. In other embodiments, label 24 may only cover an intersection 26 between adjacent containers 11.

19. The packaging 10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 18, wherein said packaging component 19 comprises a label 24 that covers at least a portion of connecting ends 25 of said at least two separatable containers 11 and a pull tab 29 operatively adapted to tear said label 24 when pulled. As shown in FIG. 8, exemplary pull tab 29 tears label 24 along tear line 30.

20. The packaging 10 of embodiment 19, wherein said pull tab 29 extends along an inner surface of said label 24 and along a line 30 extending proximate or between adjacent bottom container walls 12 of adjacent containers 11.

21. The packaging of any one of embodiments 1 to 18, wherein said packaging component 19 comprises a label 24 that covers at least a portion of connecting ends 25 of said at least two separatable containers 11 and a perforated line 37 extending proximate a location between said at least two separatable containers 11. See, for example, exemplary packaging 10 shown in FIG. 10.

22. The packaging 10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 16, wherein said packaging component 19 comprises an adhesive component 31. See, for example, exemplary packaging 10 shown in FIG. 5.

23. The packaging 10 of embodiment 22, wherein said adhesive component 31 temporarily bonds outer surfaces 32 of adjacent bottom container walls 12 of adjacent containers 11.

24. The packaging 10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 16, wherein said packaging component 19 comprises an elastic band 33 extending along container sidewalls 13 of adjacent containers 11. See, for example, exemplary packaging 10 shown in FIG. 9.

25. The packaging 10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 24, further comprising one or more items 35 within each container 11. See, for example, exemplary container 11 and items 35 therein shown in FIG. 6.

26. The packaging 10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 25, further comprising one or more items 35 within each container 11, wherein each container 11 contains a similar item 35.

27. The packaging 10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 25, further comprising one or more items 35 within each container 11, wherein at least two containers 11 contain different items 35.

28. The packaging 10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 27, further comprising one or more items 35 within each container 11 with each of said one or more items 35 comprising food.

29. The packaging 10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 28, further comprising one or more items 35 within each container 11 with each of said one or more items 35 comprising potato chips.

30. The packaging of any one of embodiments 1 to 28, further comprising one or more items 35 within each container 11 with each of said one or more items 35 comprising nuts.

46. Packaging 100 comprising: two separate containers 11, each container 11 sharing a bottom container wall 12 and comprising at least one container sidewall 13 extending from said bottom container wall 12 so as to form a container volume 14 bound by said bottom container wall 12 and said at least one container sidewall 13, a container opening 15 surrounded by a container rim 16 extending along an upper edge 17 of said at least one container sidewall 13, and a removable container lid 18 positionable and sized so as to cover said container opening 15; wherein container openings 15 of said two containers 11 are on opposite ends of said packaging 100.

47. The packaging 100 of embodiment 46, wherein each container 11 further comprising a removable film 21 covering said container opening 15, said removable film 21 being temporarily present between said container opening 15 and said removable container lid 18.

48. The packaging 100 of embodiment 47, wherein said removable film 21 comprises an integral tab component 22 that extends beyond an outer periphery 23 of said container opening 15.

49. The packaging 100 of any one of embodiments 46 to 48, wherein each container 11 has a cross-sectional area extending across said container volume 14, said cross-sectional area being substantially parallel to a first plane P1 containing said bottom container wall 12 and a second plane P2 containing said container opening 15.

50. The packaging 100 of embodiment 49, wherein said cross-sectional area has a circular configuration, a triangular configuration, a square configuration, a rectangular configuration, a star-shaped configuration, a pentagonal configuration, a hexagonal configuration, or an oval configuration. It should be noted that the cross-sectional area may have any configuration. Typically, the cross-sectional area configuration is a circular configuration or an oval configuration.

51. The packaging 100 of embodiment 49 or 50, wherein said cross-sectional area has a circular configuration.

52. The packaging 100 of any one of embodiments 46 to 51, wherein each container 11 has a substantially similar container volume 14.

53. The packaging 100 of any one of embodiments 46 to 52, wherein said two containers 11 have a different container volume 14. In this embodiment, the length L of one container 11 is typically greater than a length L of an adjacent, attached container 11. However, in other embodiments, containers 11 may have a similar overall length L but one container 11 may have a substantially constant width W along the length L, while the other container 11 has an increasing width W along length L (i.e., one container 11 has a cylindrical shape, while an adjacent, attached container 11 has a truncated cone shape).

54. The packaging 100 of any one of embodiments 46 to 53, wherein each container 11 has a container volume 14 of at least about 3.0 cubic inches (in3).

55. The packaging 100 of any one of embodiments 46 to 54, wherein each container 11 has a container volume 14 of ranging from about 3.0 cubic inches (in3) to about 800 in3 (or any volume value or range of volume values therebetween, e.g., from about 5.3 in3 to about 752.6 in3, in increments of 0.1 in3, e.g., 3.0 in3, 3.1 in3, 3.2 in3, . . . 798.1 in3, 798.2 in3, etc.).

56. The packaging 100 of any one of embodiments 46 to 55, wherein each container 11 has a container volume 14 of ranging from about 18.0 cubic inches (in3) to about 50 in3 (or any volume value or range of volume values therebetween, e.g., from about 18.3 in3 to about 42.6 in3, in increments of 0.1 in3, e.g., 18.1 in3, 18.2 in3, 18.3 in3, . . . 48.1 in3, 48.2 in3, etc.).

57. The packaging 100 of any one of embodiments 46 to 56, wherein each container 11 comprises a cellulosic material, a polymeric material, a metallic material, or any combination thereof.

58. The packaging 100 of any one of embodiments 47 to 57, wherein said removable film 21 comprises a cellulosic material, a polymeric material, a metallic material, or any combination thereof.

59. The packaging 100 of any one of embodiments 46 to 58, wherein said removable container lid 18 comprises a cellulosic material, a polymeric material, a metallic material, or any combination thereof.

60. The packaging 100 of any one of embodiments 46 to 59, wherein said removable container lid 18 comprises a polymeric material.

61. The packaging 100 of any one of embodiments 46 to 60, further comprising a label 24 that covers at least a portion of connecting ends 25 of said two separate containers 11.

62. The packaging 100 of any one of embodiments 46 to 61, further comprising one or more items 35 within each container 11.

63. The packaging 100 of any one of embodiments 46 to 62, further comprising one or more items 35 within each container 11, wherein each container 11 contains a similar item 35.

64. The packaging 100 of any one of embodiments 46 to 62, further comprising one or more items 35 within each container 11, wherein said two containers 11 contain different items 35.

65. The packaging 100 of any one of embodiments 46 to 64, further comprising one or more items 35 within each container 11 with each of said one or more items 35 comprising food.

66. The packaging 100 of any one of embodiments 46 to 65, further comprising one or more items 35 within each container 11 with each of said one or more items 35 comprising potato chips.

67. The packaging 100 of any one of embodiments 46 to 65, further comprising one or more items 35 within each container 11 with each of said one or more items 35 comprising nuts.

Methods of Making Packaging:

31. A method of making the packaging 10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 30, said method comprising: forming each container 11; and temporarily attaching each container 11 to one another via the packaging component 19.

32. The method of embodiment 31, further comprising: positioning one or more items 35 within each container 11.

33. The method of embodiment 32, further comprising: sealing each container 11 with a removable film 21 covering the container opening 15.

34. The method of any one of embodiments 31 to 3, further comprising: temporarily attaching the removable container lid 18 so as to cover the container opening 15.

68. A method of making the packaging 100 of any one of embodiments 46 to 67, said method comprising: forming each container 11 so as to share a bottom container wall 12.

69. The method of embodiment 68, further comprising: positioning one or more items 35 within each container 11.

70. The method of embodiment 69, further comprising: sealing each container 11 with a removable film 21 covering the container opening 15.

71. The method of any one of embodiments 68 to 70, further comprising: temporarily attaching the removable container lid 18 so as to cover the container opening 15.

Methods of Using Packaging:

35. A method of using the packaging 10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 30, said method comprising: inputting one or more items 35 into each container 11.

36. A method of embodiment 35, further comprising: providing the packaging 10 to a consumer.

37. A method of embodiment 35 or 36, further comprising: separating two containers 11 from one another.

38. A method of embodiment 37, wherein said separating step comprises removing at least a portion of a label 24 surrounding at least a portion of each of the two containers 11.

39. A method of embodiment 37 or 38, wherein said separating step comprises pulling a tab 29 so as to tear a portion of a label 24 surrounding at least a portion of each of the two containers 11.

40. A method of embodiment 37 or 38, wherein said separating step comprises removing a label 24 surrounding at least a portion of each of the two containers 11.

41. A method of embodiment 37, wherein said separating step comprises tearing along a perforated line 37 within the label 24.

42. A method of embodiment 37, wherein said separating step comprises removing an elastic band 33 surrounding at least a portion of each of the two containers 11.

43. A method of any one of embodiments 35 to 42, further comprising: removing the removable container lid 18 of at least one container 11.

44. A method of any one of embodiments 35 to 43, further comprising: removing a removable film covering 21 so as to provide access to the container volume 14 of at least one container 11.

45. A method of any one of embodiments 35 to 44, further comprising: replacing the removable container lid 18 so as to cover a container opening 15 of at least one container 11.

72. A method of using the packaging 100 of any one of embodiments 46 to 67, said method comprising: inputting one or more items 35 into each container 11.

73. A method of embodiment 72, further comprising: providing the packaging 100 to a consumer.

74. A method of any one of embodiments 68 to 73, further comprising: removing the removable container lid 18 of at least one container 11.

75. A method of any one of embodiments 68 to 74, further comprising: removing a removable film 21 so as to provide access to the container volume 14 of at least one container 11.

76. A method of any one of embodiments 68 to 75, further comprising: replacing the removable container lid 18 so as to cover a container opening 15 of at least one container 11.

It should be understood that although the above-described packaging and methods are described as “comprising” one or more components or steps, the above-described packaging and methods may “comprise,” “consists of,” or “consist essentially of” any of the above-described components, features or steps of the packaging and methods. Consequently, where the present invention, or a portion thereof, has been described with an open-ended term such as “comprising,” it should be readily understood that (unless otherwise stated) the description of the present invention, or the portion thereof, should also be interpreted to describe the present invention, or a portion thereof, using the terms “consisting essentially of” or “consisting of” or variations thereof as discussed below.

As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” “including,” “has,” “having,” “contains”, “containing,” “characterized by” or any other variation thereof, are intended to encompass a non-exclusive inclusion, subject to any limitation explicitly indicated otherwise, of the recited components. For example, packaging and/or method that “comprise(s)” a list of elements (e.g., components, features or steps) is not necessarily limited to only those elements (or components or steps), but may include other elements (or components or steps) not expressly listed or inherent to the packaging and/or method.

As used herein, the transitional phrases “consists of” and “consisting of” exclude any element, step, or component not specified. For example, “consists of” or “consisting of” used in a claim would limit the claim to the components, materials or steps specifically recited in the claim except for impurities ordinarily associated therewith (i.e., impurities within a given component). When the phrase “consists of” or “consisting of” appears in a clause of the body of a claim, rather than immediately following the preamble, the phrase “consists of” or “consisting of” limits only the elements (or components or steps) set forth in that clause; other elements (or components) are not excluded from the claim as a whole.

As used herein, the transitional phrases “consists essentially of” and “consisting essentially of” are used to define packaging and/or method that includes materials, steps, features, components, or elements, in addition to those literally disclosed, provided that these additional materials, steps, features, components, or elements do not materially affect the basic and novel characteristic(s) of the claimed invention. The term “consisting essentially of” occupies a middle ground between “comprising” and “consisting of”.

Further, it should be understood that the herein-described packaging and methods may comprise, consist essentially of, or consist of any of the herein-described components and features, as shown in the figures with or without any feature(s) not shown in the figures. In other words, in some embodiments, the packaging and/or methods of the present invention do not have any additional features other than those shown in the figures, and such additional features, not shown in the figures, are specifically excluded from the packaging and/or methods. In other embodiments, the packaging and/or methods of the present invention do have one or more additional features that are not shown in the figures.

While the specification has been described in detail with respect to specific embodiments thereof, it will be appreciated that those skilled in the art, upon attaining an understanding of the foregoing, may readily conceive of alterations to, variations of, and equivalents to these embodiments. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention should be assessed as that of the appended claims and any equivalents thereto.

Claims

1. Packaging comprising:

at least two separatable containers, each container comprising a bottom container wall, at least one container sidewall extending from said bottom container wall so as to form a container volume bound by said bottom container wall and said at least one container sidewall, a container opening surrounded by a container rim extending along an upper edge of said at least one container sidewall, and a removable container lid positionable and sized so as to cover said container opening; and
a packaging component that temporarily connects said at least two separatable containers to one another so that container openings of two containers are on opposite ends of said packaging.

2. The packaging of claim 1, wherein each container further comprising a removable film covering said container opening, said removable film being temporarily present between said container opening and said removable container lid.

3. The packaging of claim 2, wherein said removable film comprises an integral tab component that extends beyond an outer periphery of said container opening.

4. The packaging of claim 1, wherein each container has a cross-sectional area extending across said container volume, said cross-sectional area being substantially parallel to a first plane containing said bottom container wall and a second plane containing said container opening.

5. The packaging of claim 4, wherein said cross-sectional area has a circular configuration, a triangular configuration, a square configuration, a rectangular configuration, a star-shaped configuration, a pentagonal configuration, a hexagonal configuration, or an oval configuration.

6. The packaging of claim 4, wherein said cross-sectional area has a circular configuration.

7. The packaging of claim 1, wherein each container has a substantially similar container volume.

8. The packaging of claim 1, wherein at least two containers of said at least two separatable containers have a different container volume.

9. The packaging of claim 1, wherein each container has a container volume of ranging from about 3.0 cubic inches (in3) to about 800 in3.

10. The packaging of claim 1, wherein said at least two separatable containers comprises two separatable containers.

11. The packaging of claim 1, wherein each container comprises a cellulosic material, a polymeric material, a metallic material, or any combination thereof said removable film comprises a cellulosic material, a polymeric material, a metallic material, or any combination thereof and said removable container lid comprises a cellulosic material, a polymeric material, a metallic material, or any combination thereof.

12. The packaging of claim 1, wherein each container comprises a cellulosic material, a polymeric material, a metallic material, or any combination thereof said removable film comprises a cellulosic material, a polymeric material, a metallic material, or any combination thereof and wherein said removable container lid comprises a polymeric material.

13. The packaging of claim 1, wherein said packaging component comprises a label that covers at least a portion of connecting ends of said at least two separatable containers.

14. The packaging of claim 13, wherein said label or a portion thereof is removable so as to enable separation of adjacent containers.

15. The packaging of claim 14, wherein said packaging component comprises a label that covers at least a portion of connecting ends of said at least two separatable containers and a pull tab operatively adapted to tear said label when pulled.

16. The packaging of claim 15, wherein said pull tab extends along an inner surface of said label and along a line extending proximate or between adjacent bottom container walls of adjacent containers.

17. The packaging of claim 14, wherein said packaging component comprises a label that covers at least a portion of connecting ends of said at least two separatable containers and a perforated line extending proximate a location between said at least two separatable containers.

18. The packaging of claim 1, wherein said packaging component comprises an adhesive component, said adhesive temporarily bonding outer surfaces of adjacent bottom container walls of adjacent containers.

19. The packaging of claim 1, further comprising one or more items within each container.

20. The packaging of claim 19, wherein said one or more items within each container independently comprise a food item.

Patent History
Publication number: 20140065268
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 4, 2013
Publication Date: Mar 6, 2014
Inventors: Russell Christopher Baker (Columbus, GA), Adam Nicholas Carroll (Encinitas, CA)
Application Number: 14/017,723
Classifications
Current U.S. Class: Packaged Or Wrapped Product (426/106); Arrangements Of Plural Receptacles (220/23.83); Coaxial, Abutting Receptacles (206/430)
International Classification: B65D 71/50 (20060101);