Package

Abstract

A container with a selectively openable cover to selectively allow access to one or more compartments is disclosed.

Description

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/639,549, filed Mar. 7, 2018, which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to a container, and more specifically to a container for storing perishables that has features for resisting undesired opening.

BACKGROUND

It is often desirable to provide a container for storing items, which may include perishable items, that also has features that make opening it child resistant.

SUMMARY

Certain embodiments according to the present disclosure provide a package with one or more selectively openable and/or closable lid portions.

In one aspect, for instance, a package is provided including a case and a tray, wherein the tray is selectively insertable and removable from the case. The tray having at least one product storage compartment, a first end, and a second end. The case having a first end with an opening configured to allow insertion and removal of the tray at least partially within the case, and the case having a second end opposite the case first end, wherein the case second end includes a slot for lockably retaining a tab located on the tray second end. The tab located on the tray second end is movable by a user input between a locked position and a released position, wherein the tab and the slot of the case cooperate to form a mechanical stop inhibiting removal of the tray from the case when the tray is inserted into the case and the tab is in the locked position. The tab is movable by a user input to the release position in which the tab is disengaged from the case to remove the mechanical stop and allow removal of the tray from the case.

In another aspect, a package is provided that includes a case and a tray, wherein the tray is selectively insertable and removable from the case. The tray having a plurality of product storage compartments, a first end, and a second end. The case having a first end with an opening configured to allow insertion and removal of the tray at least partially within the case, and the case having a second end opposite the case first end, wherein the case second end includes a slot for lockably retaining a tab located on the tray second end. The tab located on the tray second end is movable by a user input between a locked position and a released position, wherein the tab and the slot of the case cooperate to inhibit removal of the tray from the case when the tray is inserted into the case and the tab is in the locked position. The tab is movable by a user input to the release position in which the tab is disengaged from the case to allow removal of the tray from the case. A cover is bonded to a top surface of the tray over the plurality of storage compartments and blocking access to the plurality of storage compartments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all embodiments may be shown. Indeed, embodiments may be illustrated or described in many different forms and the present disclosure should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout, and wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of an embodiment of a package in a closed position;

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of the package of FIG. 1 in a partially open position;

FIG. 3 illustrates another perspective view of the package of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of a tray that may be used with the package of FIGS. 1 and 2, with a cover;

FIG. 5 illustrates a perspective view of the tray of FIG. 4 with the cover removed to reveal individual compartments of the tray;

FIG. 6 illustrates a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a tray;

FIG. 7a illustrates a top view of an embodiment of a package having a tray and a case;

FIG. 7b illustrates a top view of an alternative embodiment of a package having a tray and a case;

FIG. 8a illustrates a section of an embodiment of a tray having top and bottom tabs that may be pushed toward each other to release a locking mechanism retaining the tray within the case;

FIG. 8b illustrates a portion of an embodiment of a package with the tray partially pulled out of the case into a partial open position;

FIG. 9 illustrates a perspective view of an embodiment of a tray with a cover partially removed to partially open a compartment of the tray;

FIG. 10a illustrates a top view of the tray of FIG. 7b;

FIG. 10b illustrates a top view of yet another embodiment of a tray;

FIG. 10c illustrates another alternative embodiment of a tray; and

FIG. 10d illustrates yet another alternative embodiment of a tray.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all embodiments may be shown. Indeed, embodiments may take many different forms and the present disclosure should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. As used in the specification, and in the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an”, “the”, include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

The terms “substantial” or “substantially” may encompass the whole as specified, according to certain embodiments, or largely but not the whole specified according to other embodiments.

Some embodiments of a package 100 may include a tray 110 and/or a case 140, such as shown in FIG. 1, with package 100 in an a closed position. Tray 110 may include one or more pull tabs or ends 112, 113 that a user may grip to remove and/or slide tray 110 out from an interior region of case 140. Case 140 may have a side wall 141 defining an interior region therein into which tray 110 may slide, enter, and/or be retained. In some embodiments, case 140 may have a first end 142 that may be substantially open to allow tray 110 to enter or exit therefrom. Case 140 may have a second end 143 oppositely disposed first end 142. Second end 143 may be open or may be closed as shown in FIG. 3. Tray 110 may extend from a first end 112 to a second end 113, which may be oppositely disposed first end 112. Tray 110 may include one or more tabs 130 that may protrude from tray 110 and/or may engage one or more slots 145 in case 140. Tab(s) 130, if included, may provide a latching or locking mechanism that may work in cooperation with slot(s) 145. For example, tab(s) 130 may engage or cooperate with slot(s) 145 preventing or inhibiting sliding of tray 110 out of cover 140 until a user selectively engages the tab(s) 130 by pushing them down or inward to release them from slot 145 and/or cover 140 to allow sliding of tray 110 relative to case 140.

Instead of or in addition to having tab(s) 130 that engage slots 145, slots 145 may be configured to cooperate with one or more pockets 114, 115 on tray 110 as shown in FIG. 1 (pocket 115 is shown in additional detail in FIG. 3). Pockets 114, 115, if included, may extend and/or protrude downwardly or upwardly from tray 110 and may be disposed at respective ends 112, 113 of tray 110. Protruding pockets 114, 115 may then engage slot(s) 145. Pockets 114, 115 may be located at either end 112, 113 of tray 110 so that, for example, either may engage slot 145 and tray 110 may be inserted into case 140 with either end 112, 113 entering first. A user may disengage pocket 114, 115 from slot 145 by providing an input such as a push or pull force to deflect respective end 112, 113 enough to disengage pocket 114, 115 from the edges of slot 145.

Tray 110 may include one or more tray compartments 111 within which items, products, contents, etc. may be stored or retained, as shown in FIG. 2. Tray 110 is shown in more detail in FIGS. 4 and 5. For example, any or all of compartments 111 may be configured to contain edible, medicinal, and/or perishable contents within. As discussed further below, package 100 may include a cover 160 over all or some of compartments 111 that may facilitate protection, insulation, and/or preservation of freshness of the contents of package 100.

Package 100 is shown in an example of a partially open position in FIGS. 2 and 3, with tray 110 pulled and/or slid slightly out of case 140. In this partially open position, cover 160 is visible and is covering compartments 111, with the top openings of two compartments 111 partially visible near pull tab 112. Cover 160 may be removable from tray 110 to uncover any or all of compartments 111 and/or to allow a user access to any or all compartments 111.

For example, a user may remove tray 110 from case 140, may remove (e.g., peel back) cover 160 from one or more of the compartments 111, and may access the contents therein. An example of cover 160 partially pulled back to uncover a single compartment 111 is shown in FIG. 9. For another example, referring again to FIGS. 2 and 3, a user may remove tray 110 only partially from case 140, for example enough to reveal one or two compartments 111 (when tray 110 includes more compartments 111, perhaps 4-8 compartments 111, etc.). Continuing this example, the user may then peel back or remove only as much of cover 160 that is necessary to access the contents in the now accessible compartments 111.

Cover 160, as shown for example in FIG. 4, may be any of a variety of materials, shapes, sizes, and/or configurations or any combination thereof. For example, cover 160 may be a plastic single layer or multilayer film that is bonded to tray 110 by heat sealing and/or use of an adhesive. Cover 160 may be coupled and/or attached to tray 110 or any component thereof in any of a variety of ways, including, but not limited to, by glue, adhesion, ultrasonic welding, bonding, heat sealing, or any other way or any combination thereof.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, cover 160 may cover any or all of tray compartments 111. Cover 160 may include one or more frangible areas such as perforated lines 171, 172 that may separate and/or divide cover 160 into a plurality of panels each of which may cover a selected compartment or group of compartments, such as individual panels 161, 162, 163, and 164 illustrated for example in FIG. 4. If included, the frangible areas such as perforated lines 171, 172 may be provided to facilitate controlled breaking, tearing, and/or separating of cover 160 so that it may be selectively removed by a user (e.g., by hand) to uncover or partially uncover only as many compartments as the user desires. A user may grasp a portion of cover 160 and peel it back, separating it along a perforated line 171 or 172 to uncover or partially uncover a compartment or group of compartments 111 so that the user may then access the contents of that compartment or group of compartments 111. FIG. 5 illustrates tray 110 with cover 160 completely removed to uncover all compartments 111.

Tray compartments 111 may be arranged in various configurations, such as the side by side and end to end configuration shown in FIG. 6. This configuration of compartments 111, with two side by side pairs, and each compartment 111 of each pair arranged end to end or serially, is merely one example a configuration that may be used. Optionally, a pocket 114, 115 may be included on either end 112, 113 of tray 100. This may facilitate insertion of tray 100 into case 140 by allowing either end 112, 113 to be inserted first. Moreover, even if pockets 114, 115 configured to engage a corresponding slot 145 in case 140 are offset from center as shown in FIG. 6, by being diagonally opposite one another, and with slot 145 offset from center in similar fashion, either pocket 114, 115 or end 112, 113 may engage the slot 145.

FIGS. 7a and 7b illustrate alternative embodiments of tray 110 (or 110′) and case 140 (or 140′). These are merely examples of sizes, shapes, configurations and orientations of trays and cases that may be included with package 100. As shown in FIG. 7a, tray 110 may, for example, include four compartments 111 arranged consecutively. Case 140 may be sized, shaped, and/or configured as a relatively long and narrow member to correlate to such a configuration of tray 110. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 7b, tray 110′ may, for example, have four compartments 111 arranged in a square pattern with resulting size, shape, and configuration, and case 140′ may be sized, shaped, and/or configured to correlate to tray 110. It is understood that any number, size, shape, orientation, and/or configuration of compartments 111 may be used, and/or tray 110 and/or case 140 (or tray 110′ and/or case 140′) may be modified accordingly.

Tray 110 may include a first push tab 130 and/or a second push tab 131, such as shown in FIG. 8a (see also FIG. 6). Either or both push tab 130, 131, if included, may operate similar to a button or the like, and/or may be pushed, depressed, or otherwise engaged or operated so that it will disengage the slots 145 of a corresponding case. A user may operate the push tabs 130, 131 as shown by arrows in FIG. 8a to release the tabs 130, 131 from engagement with case 140. The user may then slide and/or pull tray 110 from case 140 as shown in FIG. 8b. A user may slide and/or push tray 110 into case 140 to again cover one or more compartments 111 and/or until the tabs 130, 131 re-engage case 140 and/or slots 145. In some embodiments, an audible and/or tactile click, a visual indicia, or other indicia or combination thereof may indicate to a user that the tabs 130, 131, which may be a child resistant opening feature, have re-engaged case 140.

FIG. 9 illustrates panel 161 being removed from tray 110 and/or compartment 111 by a removal motion R to uncover the contents therein. If aforementioned perforated lines in cover 160 are used, they may facilitate the clean break and removal of panel 161 from over a single compartment 111 without necessitating removal of cover 160 entirely or uncontrollably from tray 110. Other panels of cover 160 may be included and, if so, may be removed from a single compartment or group of compartments 111.

A variety of alternate tray embodiments are shown in FIGS. 10a-10d. FIG. 10a illustrates tray 110′ with three individual product storage compartments 111′ arranged in series in a direction from first end 112′ to second end 113′. FIG. 10b illustrates an embodiment of a tray 210 with a single product storage compartment 211 between tray first end 212 and tray second end 213. FIG. 10c illustrates an embodiment of tray 310 having four product storage compartments 311 arranged in series in a direction transverse to a direction from tray first end 312 to tray second end 313. FIG. 10d illustrates an embodiment of a tray 410 having six product storage compartments 411, arranged in a pair of series of three compartments 411, with each series of three compartments arranged serially in a direction from first tray end 412 to second tray end 413, and with the pair of series of three side by side in a direction transverse to the direction from first tray end 412 to second tray end 413. It is understood that FIGS. 10a-10d are provided for illustrative purposes only, and virtually any number, size, shape, configuration, and/or orientation of product storage compartments may be included.

It is understood that package 100, tray 110, case 140, and/or cover 160, and/or any component thereof, may be made of any of a variety of materials, including, but not limited to, any of a variety of suitable plastics material, any other material, or any combination thereof. Suitable plastics material may include, but is not limited to, polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polystyrene (PS), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), crystallized polyethylene terephthalate (CPET), mixtures and combinations thereof, or any other plastics material or any mixtures and combinations thereof. It is understood that multiple layers of material may be used for any of a variety of reasons, including to improve barrier properties, or to provide known functions related to multiple layer structures. The multiple layers, if included, may be of various materials, including but not limited to those recited herein.

It is further understood that package 100, tray 110, case 140, and/or cover 160, and/or any component thereof, may be substantially rigid, substantially flexible, a hybrid of rigid and flexible, or any combination of rigid, flexible, and/or hybrid, such as having some areas be flexible and some rigid. It is understood that these examples are merely illustrative, are not limiting, and are provided to illustrate the versatility of options available in various embodiments of package 100, tray 110, case 140, and/or cover 160, and/or any component thereof.

It is further understood that any of a variety of processes or combination thereof may be used to form package 100, tray 110, case 140, and/or cover 160, and/or any component thereof, or any layer or substrate used therein. For example, any component, layer, or substrate, or combination thereof, may be thermoformed, injection molded, injection stretch blow molded, blow molded, extrusion blow molded, coextruded, subjected to any other suitable process, or subjected to any combination thereof. In some embodiments, package 100, tray 110, case 140, and/or cover 160, and/or any component thereof may be formed substantially of injection molded and/or thermoformed suitable plastics material, although other materials and forming processes may be used instead of or in addition to injection molding and thermoforming, respectively. In some embodiments, tray 110 may be thermoformed and case 140 may be injection molded, for example. Various materials and/or processes may be used to form package 100, tray 110, case 140, and/or cover 160, and/or any component thereof, as will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. In some embodiments, tray 110, case 140, and/or cover 160, and/or any component thereof, may be substantially a one-piece design and/or substantially formed as an integral or unitary structure.

It is understood that, while some directional terms are used herein, such as top, bottom, upper, lower, inward, outward, upward, downward, etc., these terms are not intended to be limiting but rather to relate to one or more exemplary orientations, positions, and/or configurations of package 100, tray 110, case 140, and/or cover 160, and/or any component thereof. It is understood that package 100, tray 110, case 140, and/or cover 160, and/or any component of package 100, may be oriented differently than shown in the various figures.

These and other modifications and variations may be practiced by those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope, which is more particularly set forth in the appended claims. In addition, it should be understood that aspects of the various embodiments may be interchanged in whole or in part. Furthermore, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the foregoing description is by way of example only, and it is not intended to limit the scope of that which is described in the claims. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the exemplary description of the versions contained herein.

Claims

1. A package, comprising:

a case and a tray, wherein the tray is selectively insertable and removable from the case;

the tray having at least one product storage compartment, a first end, and a second end;

the case having a first end with an opening configured to allow insertion and removal of the tray at least partially within the case, and the case having a second end opposite the case first end, wherein the case second end includes a slot for lockably retaining a tab located on the tray second end; and

wherein the tab located on the tray second end is movable by a user input between a locked position and a released position, wherein the tab and the slot of the case cooperate to form a mechanical stop inhibiting removal of the tray from the case when the tray is inserted into the case and the tab is in the locked position;

wherein the tab is movable by a user input to the release position in which the tab is disengaged from the case to remove the mechanical stop and allow removal of the tray from the case.

2. The package of claim 1, wherein the tray includes at least a second product storage compartment.

3. The package of claim 2, wherein the tray includes a plurality of compartments arranged in series in a direction from the first tray end to the second tray end.

4. The package of claim 2, wherein the tray includes a plurality of compartments arranged in series in a direction transverse to a direction from the first tray end to the second tray end.

5. The package of claim 1, wherein the tray tab is located on a top surface of the tray second end.

6. The package of claim 5, wherein the tray includes a second tray tab located on a top surface of the tray first end.

7. The package of claim 6, wherein the first tray tab and the second tray tab are located proximate diagonally opposite corners of the tray, and the tray and case are configured such that either the first tray tab or the second tray tab are engageable with the case slot and either end of the tray may be inserted into the case first and either the first tray tab or the second tray tab may be moved into the case slot to provide the locking position with the case slot.

8. The package of claim 5, further including a second tray tab on a bottom surface of the tray configured to lockably engage a second case slot proximate the bottom of the case.

9. The package of claim 8, wherein a user input may simultaneously move the first tray tab and the second tray tab from the locked positions to a first tray tab release position and a second tray tab release position to allow the tray to be removed from the case.

10. A package, comprising:

a case and a tray, wherein the tray is selectively insertable and removable from the case;

the tray having a plurality of product storage compartments, a first end, and a second end;

the case having a first end with an opening configured to allow insertion and removal of the tray at least partially within the case, and the case having a second end opposite the case first end, wherein the case second end includes a slot for lockably retaining a tab located on the tray second end; and

wherein the tab located on the tray second end is movable by a user input between a locked position and a released position, wherein the tab and the slot of the case cooperate to inhibit removal of the tray from the case when the tray is inserted into the case and the tab is in the locked position;

wherein the tab is movable by a user input to the release position in which the tab is disengaged from the case to allow removal of the tray from the case; and

a cover bonded to a top surface of the tray over the plurality of storage compartments and blocking access to the plurality of storage compartments.

11. The package of claim 10, wherein the cover includes a plurality of selectively removable panels, and wherein each panel of the plurality of selectively removable panels is configured to cover and block access to less than all of the storage compartments.

12. The package of claim 11, wherein each panel of the plurality of selectively removable panels is separated by a break line.

13. The package of claim 12, wherein the break line is at least one of a scored and perforated line.

14. The package of claim 12, wherein the tray includes at least three product storage compartments, the cover includes at least three panels, and wherein each panel is configured to cover an individual product storage compartment when the cover is bonded to the top surface of the tray.