Vented container end closure

- Ball Corporation
Skip to: Description  ·  Claims  ·  References Cited  · Patent History  ·  Patent History
Description

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the vented container end closure;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view thereof;

FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of a vented container end closure according to an alternative embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the embodiment of FIG. 4; and,

FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view of the embodiment of FIG. 4.

The broken line showing of a vented container end closure illustrates environment and forms no part of the claimed design. It is understood that the outermost broken line in each drawing figure defines the interior boundary of the claim.

Claims

The ornamental design for a vented container end closure, as shown and described.

Referenced Cited
U.S. Patent Documents
1847794 March 1932 Takeda
2160429 May 1939 Bukolt
2272111 February 1942 Dove
3169678 February 1965 Wilkinson
3215305 November 1965 Frankenberg
3227304 January 1966 Asbury
3246791 April 1966 Asbury
3262611 July 1966 Palmer
3307737 March 1967 Harvey et al.
3326406 June 1967 Brown
D208591 September 1967 Bozek
3362569 January 1968 Geiger
3370169 February 1968 Bozek
3441169 April 1969 Dunn et al.
3446389 May 1969 Brown
3499573 March 1970 Adams
3618815 November 1971 Heffner
3731836 May 1973 Silver
3741432 June 1973 Werth et al.
3744667 July 1973 Fraze et al.
3762597 October 1973 Kaminski et al.
3765208 October 1973 Cozert
3779417 December 1973 Klein
3794206 February 1974 De Line et al.
3826401 July 1974 Zundel
3833144 September 1974 Bollmann et al.
3836038 September 1974 Cudzik
3856184 December 1974 Luviano
3877604 April 1975 Brown
3881630 May 1975 Lovell et al.
3908856 September 1975 Perry
D238150 December 1975 Cudzik
D238659 February 1976 Wallace
D239255 March 1976 Brincks et al.
D239256 March 1976 Brincks et al.
RE28910 July 20, 1976 Dalli et al.
3970212 July 20, 1976 Brown
3982657 September 28, 1976 Keller et al.
4024981 May 24, 1977 Brown
4030631 June 21, 1977 Brown
4032034 June 28, 1977 Willis
4039100 August 2, 1977 Wells
4051976 October 4, 1977 Perry
4054228 October 18, 1977 Balocca et al.
4061243 December 6, 1977 Khoury
4062471 December 13, 1977 Perry et al.
4073403 February 14, 1978 Orange
4084721 April 18, 1978 Perry
4105133 August 8, 1978 La Barge et al.
4128186 December 5, 1978 Gane
4146149 March 27, 1979 Beveridge
4148410 April 10, 1979 Brown
4184607 January 22, 1980 Potts
4196823 April 8, 1980 Madden et al.
D255424 June 17, 1980 Bathurst
D255425 June 17, 1980 Bathurst
4205760 June 3, 1980 Hasegawa
RE30349 July 29, 1980 Silver
4210257 July 1, 1980 Radtke
4213538 July 22, 1980 Boardman
4244489 January 13, 1981 Klein
4244490 January 13, 1981 Klein
4252247 February 24, 1981 Asbury
4257529 March 24, 1981 Saunders
4267938 May 19, 1981 Debenham et al.
D259403 June 2, 1981 Frazier
4276993 July 7, 1981 Hasegawa
4280427 July 28, 1981 Potts
4289251 September 15, 1981 Maliszewski
4305523 December 15, 1981 Dalli et al.
4318494 March 9, 1982 Heyn
4320850 March 23, 1982 Drolen, Jr.
4361251 November 30, 1982 Langseder et al.
D267633 January 18, 1983 Christian
4397403 August 9, 1983 Guimarin
4402421 September 6, 1983 Ruemer, Jr.
4416389 November 22, 1983 Wilkinson et al.
4438865 March 27, 1984 Scattaregia
4448325 May 15, 1984 Edwards et al.
4465204 August 14, 1984 Kaminski et al.
4576306 March 18, 1986 Kelsey et al.
4701090 October 20, 1987 Smith
4901880 February 20, 1990 Tatham et al.
4930658 June 5, 1990 McEldowney
4994009 February 19, 1991 McEldowney
5007554 April 16, 1991 Hannon et al.
5011037 April 30, 1991 Moen et al.
5064087 November 12, 1991 Koch
5065882 November 19, 1991 Sugiyama
5129541 July 14, 1992 Voigt et al.
5131555 July 21, 1992 DeMars et al.
5219257 June 15, 1993 Kock
5224618 July 6, 1993 Garbiso
5248053 September 28, 1993 Lundgren
5285919 February 15, 1994 Recchia
5307947 May 3, 1994 Moen et al.
D353769 December 27, 1994 Miller
5375729 December 27, 1994 Schubert
5397014 March 14, 1995 Aydt
5405039 April 11, 1995 Komura
5456378 October 10, 1995 DeMars
D365274 December 19, 1995 Cook
5494184 February 27, 1996 Noguchi et al.
5555992 September 17, 1996 Sedgeley
D382481 August 19, 1997 McEldowney
5653355 August 5, 1997 Tominaga et al.
5655678 August 12, 1997 Kobayashi
D384280 September 30, 1997 Kuczer
D385192 October 21, 1997 Hurst et al.
5683006 November 4, 1997 Cook, III
D387987 December 23, 1997 Neiner
5692636 December 2, 1997 Schubert
5695085 December 9, 1997 Hadener
5711448 January 27, 1998 Clarke, III
5713481 February 3, 1998 Jordan
5715964 February 10, 1998 Turner et al.
D392886 March 31, 1998 Yanes
D396635 August 4, 1998 McEldowney
D397296 August 25, 1998 McEldowney et al.
5819973 October 13, 1998 Traub, Sr. et al.
D402887 December 22, 1998 Hurst
5860553 January 19, 1999 Schubert
5911331 June 15, 1999 Boller
D415026 October 12, 1999 Turner et al.
5964366 October 12, 1999 Hurst et al.
5975327 November 2, 1999 Funk
5979697 November 9, 1999 Kim
6024239 February 15, 2000 Turner et al.
6050440 April 18, 2000 McEldowney
D424438 May 9, 2000 Turner et al.
6059137 May 9, 2000 Westwood et al.
6079583 June 27, 2000 Chasteen
6131763 October 17, 2000 Stanish et al.
6145866 November 14, 2000 Peter
D434983 December 12, 2000 Hurst
6161717 December 19, 2000 Forrest et al.
6202880 March 20, 2001 Strube et al.
D448666 October 2, 2001 Fields
6330954 December 18, 2001 Turner et al.
6354453 March 12, 2002 Chasteen
6375029 April 23, 2002 Anthony et al.
6499329 December 31, 2002 Enoki et al.
D471453 March 11, 2003 Stodd
D476889 July 8, 2003 Fields
D480304 October 7, 2003 Stodd
6715629 April 6, 2004 Hartman et al.
6761281 July 13, 2004 Hartman
6837093 January 4, 2005 Yamasaki
7000797 February 21, 2006 Forrest et al.
7096759 August 29, 2006 Kirko
7100789 September 5, 2006 Nguyen et al.
D535561 January 23, 2007 Smith et al.
D559680 January 15, 2008 Jacober et al.
D579771 November 4, 2008 Cherian
7506779 March 24, 2009 Jentzsch et al.
7513383 April 7, 2009 Hwang
7516869 April 14, 2009 Hajianpour
D600116 September 15, 2009 Cherian
D602776 October 27, 2009 Cherian
D612724 March 30, 2010 Cherian
7748557 July 6, 2010 Robinson
D623963 September 21, 2010 Fairchild et al.
7891519 February 22, 2011 Matsukawa et al.
7918359 April 5, 2011 Paris et al.
7975884 July 12, 2011 Mathabel et al.
D645741 September 27, 2011 Dunwoody
D650276 December 13, 2011 Nesling et al.
D650277 December 13, 2011 Nesling et al.
D650278 December 13, 2011 Nesling et al.
D653538 February 7, 2012 Toms et al.
D653944 February 14, 2012 Seki et al.
8136689 March 20, 2012 Ulstein et al.
8152016 April 10, 2012 Berndt et al.
8177092 May 15, 2012 Mills
8245866 August 21, 2012 Gibson et al.
8336726 December 25, 2012 Ramsey et al.
D678784 March 26, 2013 Aranha
8397935 March 19, 2013 Emanuele, III et al.
D691039 October 8, 2013 Jacober et al.
8567158 October 29, 2013 Chasteen et al.
8573432 November 5, 2013 Emanuele, III et al.
D695611 December 17, 2013 Burleson, Jr. et al.
D696583 December 31, 2013 Ramsey et al.
8627979 January 14, 2014 Thibaut et al.
8646643 February 11, 2014 Forrest et al.
D704555 May 13, 2014 Hernandez
D715144 October 14, 2014 Scott
D715647 October 21, 2014 Jacober et al.
8893913 November 25, 2014 McClung et al.
8939306 January 27, 2015 Rios
8950619 February 10, 2015 Bork
D727725 April 28, 2015 Jacober et al.
8998015 April 7, 2015 Williams et al.
9033174 May 19, 2015 Chasteen et al.
20020005408 January 17, 2002 Yamasaki et al.
20020113069 August 22, 2002 Forrest et al.
20020139800 October 3, 2002 Hwang et al.
20030038134 February 27, 2003 Chasteen et al.
20030075544 April 24, 2003 Turner et al.
20030098306 May 29, 2003 Cho
20030192889 October 16, 2003 Chasteen et al.
20040056032 March 25, 2004 Vaughan
20040140309 July 22, 2004 Thibaut
20040144787 July 29, 2004 Heck
20040188440 September 30, 2004 Schlattl et al.
20040211786 October 28, 2004 Turner et al.
20050077316 April 14, 2005 Roberts
20050115976 June 2, 2005 Watson et al.
20050224497 October 13, 2005 Wook
20060049196 March 9, 2006 Price
20060196875 September 7, 2006 Cherian
20070039961 February 22, 2007 McEldowney et al.
20070045318 March 1, 2007 Gibson et al.
20070068943 March 29, 2007 Ramsey et al.
20070138178 June 21, 2007 Erickson
20070175896 August 2, 2007 Bursztein
20070215621 September 20, 2007 Shinguryo et al.
20070257035 November 8, 2007 Berndt et al.
20080011786 January 17, 2008 Mathabel et al.
20080110888 May 15, 2008 Turner et al.
20080302793 December 11, 2008 Tirosh et al.
20090001081 January 1, 2009 Schlattl et al.
20090039090 February 12, 2009 Forrest et al.
20090039091 February 12, 2009 Forrest et al.
20090057315 March 5, 2009 Stringfield et al.
20090173740 July 9, 2009 Ferguson
20090194536 August 6, 2009 Ulstein et al.
20090200305 August 13, 2009 Stude
20090206083 August 20, 2009 Heigl
20090266824 October 29, 2009 Turner et al.
20090269169 October 29, 2009 Turner et al.
20100000997 January 7, 2010 Southers
20100018976 January 28, 2010 Christian et al.
20100044383 February 25, 2010 Watson et al.
20100224511 September 9, 2010 Boatner
20100251731 October 7, 2010 Bergida
20100294771 November 25, 2010 Holder et al.
20100326281 December 30, 2010 Nishibe et al.
20110056946 March 10, 2011 Emanuele, III et al.
20110108552 May 12, 2011 Rios
20110168714 July 14, 2011 Renz
20110226636 September 22, 2011 Petti
20110240645 October 6, 2011 Schley et al.
20110253719 October 20, 2011 Cherian
20110266281 November 3, 2011 Thiemann et al.
20110297679 December 8, 2011 Gogola et al.
20110303672 December 15, 2011 Fields et al.
20120012584 January 19, 2012 Chameroy et al.
20120048870 March 1, 2012 Ellerbe, III et al.
20120199586 August 9, 2012 Shamalta
20120199587 August 9, 2012 Norris
20120205378 August 16, 2012 Forrest
20120228296 September 13, 2012 Fields
20120260613 October 18, 2012 Holder et al.
20120312815 December 13, 2012 Ramsey et al.
20130037542 February 14, 2013 Crothers
20130037543 February 14, 2013 McClung et al.
20130075401 March 28, 2013 Forrest
20130118133 May 16, 2013 Jacober et al.
20130126529 May 23, 2013 Nesling et al.
20130264343 October 10, 2013 Neiner
20130264344 October 10, 2013 Neiner et al.
20130270267 October 17, 2013 Ramsey et al.
20130270269 October 17, 2013 Lewis
20130292382 November 7, 2013 Bork
20130299496 November 14, 2013 Forrest et al.
20140054290 February 27, 2014 McClung et al.
20140054332 February 27, 2014 Mcclung et al.
20140069924 March 13, 2014 Malaviya
20140096491 April 10, 2014 Chasteen et al.
20140103044 April 17, 2014 Ramsey et al.
20140110408 April 24, 2014 Mitchell et al.
20140158685 June 12, 2014 Thiemann et al.
20140263320 September 18, 2014 Forrest et al.
20140263327 September 18, 2014 Chasteen et al.
20140263333 September 18, 2014 Keane et al.
20140263334 September 18, 2014 Scott
20140325943 November 6, 2014 Fesler
20140367382 December 18, 2014 Neiner et al.
20140374419 December 25, 2014 Neiner
20150034648 February 5, 2015 Wilson
20150053681 February 26, 2015 McClung et al.
20150136776 May 21, 2015 Chasteen et al.
20150158627 June 11, 2015 Ramsey et al.
Foreign Patent Documents
2280461 February 2001 CA
2657391 January 2008 CA
2038178 October 2010 EP
2458098 April 2014 ES
2525589 December 2014 ES
1436617 May 1976 GB
1532081 November 1978 GB
2280165 January 1995 GB
2291030 January 1996 GB
2320008 June 1998 GB
H04-311452 November 1992 JP
H05-178345 July 1993 JP
H06-219448 August 1994 JP
3009188 March 1995 JP
H07-132936 May 1995 JP
H07-132937 May 1995 JP
H08-151043 June 1996 JP
H09-58681 March 1997 JP
H09-301364 November 1997 JP
H10-035662 February 1998 JP
H10-245032 September 1998 JP
2001-18960 January 2001 JP
2003-285837 October 2003 JP
3578797 October 2004 JP
2004-359339 December 2004 JP
2005-088961 April 2005 JP
2006-069605 March 2006 JP
2007-22541 February 2007 JP
2009-543737 December 2009 JP
2010-215291 September 2010 JP
4879759 February 2012 JP
2013-531590 August 2013 JP
1023297 November 2004 NL
WO 94/13544 June 1994 WO
WO 96/02432 February 1996 WO
WO 97/22531 June 1997 WO
WO 97/42088 November 1997 WO
WO 00/56613 September 2000 WO
WO 01/46025 June 2001 WO
WO 2008/008892 January 2008 WO
WO 2008/023983 February 2008 WO
WO 2008/057207 May 2008 WO
WO 2011/053776 May 2011 WO
WO 2012/018549 February 2012 WO
WO 2012/143322 October 2012 WO
WO 2013/102595 July 2013 WO
Other references
  • www.crowncork.com: “A Smoother Pour with Crown's Global VentTM ”. 2 pages. Found online Dec. 4, 2015 at http://www.crowncork.com/beverage-packaging/innovations-beverage-cans/global-vent.
  • U.S. Appl. No. 14/877,743, filed Oct. 7, 2015, Jacober et al.
  • Murray “Vented can ends give Coors a smoother pour,” thedrinksreport, Jul. 12, 2013, 3 pages [retrieved from: http://www.thedrinksreport.com/news/2013/14996-vented-can-ends-give-coors-a-smoother-pour.html].
  • International Preliminary Report on Patentability for International (PCT) Patent Application No. PCT/US2014/020821, mailed Sep. 24, 2015 8 pages.
  • Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 29/502,091, mailed Oct. 1, 2015 6 pages.
  • Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 29/502,090, mailed Oct. 14, 2015 7 pages.
  • U.S. Appl. No. 29/482,125, filed Feb. 14, 2014, Dettlaff et al.
  • U.S. Appl. No. 29/502,091, filed Sep. 11, 2014, Scott.
  • U.S. Appl. No. 29/502,090, filed Sep. 11, 2014, Jacober et al.
  • U.S. Appl. No. 29/519,461, filed Mar. 5, 2015, Jacober et al.
  • U.S. Appl. No. 14/812,146, filed Jul. 29, 2015, Chasteen et al.
  • U.S. Appl. No. 14/812,549, filed Jul. 29, 2015, Chasteen et al.
  • News Releases: “The Can, ReinVented: Louisville is Pilot Market for New Bud Light Vented Can” Anheuser-Busch InBev, Jun. 5, 2013, 3 pages.
  • Press Release: “Crown and Molson Coors Debut Cans with New Vented End in Canada,” Crown Holdings, Inc., Jul. 11, 2013, 2 pages.
  • “How Ball Makes Beverage Ends,” Ball, last modified Dec. 5, 2013, 1 page [retrieved from: http://www.ball.com/images/ball—com/product—options—files/How—Ball—Makes—Beverage—Ends.pdf].
  • International Search Report for International (PCT) Application No. PCT/US11/44940, mailed Dec. 22, 2011, 3 pages.
  • Written Opinion for International (PCT) Application No. PCT/US11/44940, mailed Dec. 22, 2011, 5 pages.
  • International Preliminary Report on Patentability for International (PCT) Application No. PCT/US11/44940, mailed Feb. 21, 2013, 7 pages.
  • Official Action for Australia Patent Application No. 2011286291, dated Dec. 12, 2013 3 pages.
  • Notice of Allowance for Australia Patent Application No. 2011286291, dated Apr. 3, 2014 2 pages.
  • Official Action for Canadian Patent Application No. 2,806,879 dated Oct. 23, 2013, 2 pages.
  • Extended European Search Report for European Patent Application No. 11815019.2 dated Mar. 27, 2014, 7 pages.
  • International Search Report and Written Opinion for International (PCT) Application No. PCT/US12/63384 mailed Feb. 1, 2013, 8 pages.
  • Official Action for Canada Patent Application No. 144505, dated Jun. 13, 2012 2 pages.
  • English translation of Notice of Allowance for China Patent Application No. 201230127943.2, dated Aug. 20, 2012 2 pages.
  • Official Action for Canadian Patent Application No. 150953 dated Feb. 26, 2014, 2 pages.
  • Notice of Allowance with English Translation for China Patent Application No. 201330161204.X, dated Oct. 16, 2013 4 pages.
  • Official Action for Canadian Patent Application No. 151227 dated Feb. 26, 2014, 2 pages.
  • Notice of Allowance with English Translation for China Patent Application No. 201330204259.4, dated Sep. 26, 2013 4 pages.
  • Notice of Allowance (no English translation available) for Russian Patent Application No. 2013501911 dated Feb. 27, 2014, 2 pages.
  • International Search Report and Written Opinion for International (PCT) Application No. PCT/US14/20821 mailed Jun. 24, 2014, 9 pages.
  • Notice of Decision to Grant for Chinese Patent Application No. 201430028024.9 dated May 29, 2014, 4 pages.
  • Official Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/851,979, mailed Sep. 28, 2012 10 pages.
  • Final Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/851,979, mailed Apr. 29, 2013, 11 pages.
  • Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 12/851,979, mailed Jul. 11, 2013, 8 pages.
  • Official Action for U.S. Appl. No. 29/404,996 mailed Apr. 12, 2013, 5 pages.
  • Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 29/404,996 mailed May 30, 2013, 7 pages.
  • Official Action for U.S. Appl. No. 29/464,785 mailed Jun. 24, 2014, 7 pages.
  • Official Action for U.S. Appl. No. 29/464,785 mailed Oct. 6, 2014, 4 pages.
  • Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 29/464,785 mailed Dec. 23, 2014, 7 pages.
  • Official Action for U.S. Appl. No. 29/437,073 mailed Apr. 9, 2014, 6 pages.
  • Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 29/437,073 mailed Jun. 26, 2014, 10 pages.
  • Official Action for U.S. Appl. No. 29/438,299 mailed Apr. 9, 2014, 7 pages.
  • Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 29/438,299 mailed Jun. 26, 2014, 8 pages.
  • “Miller Lite's New Punch-Top Can: A New Gimmick for Your Useless Gadgets,” LA Weekly, Apr. 26, 2012, retrieved from http://www.laweekly.com/restaurants/miller-lites-new-punhc-top-can-a-new-gimmick-for-your-useless-gadgets-2379781, 1 page.
  • Notice of Allowance with English Translation for China Patent Application No. 201180046744.1, dated May 11, 2015 4 pages.
  • Official Action with English Translation for Russia Patent Application No. 2013109931/12, daetd Jul. 21, 2015 7 pages.
  • International Preliminary Report on Patentability for International (PCT) Patent Application No. PCT/US2012/063384, mailed May 14, 2015 7 pages.
  • Official Action for Australia Patent Application No. 2012332214, dated Jun. 10, 2015 3 pages.
  • Official Action for U.S. Appl. No. 13/667,928, mailed Jul. 8, 2015 21 pages.
  • Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 13/667,928, mailed Aug. 26, 2015 9 pages.
  • Official Action for U.S. Appl. No. 29/502,091, mailed Jul. 31, 2015 6 pages.
  • Official Action for U.S. Appl. No. 29/502,090, mailed Jul. 31, 2015, 7 pages.
  • Official Action for U.S. Appl. No. 29/482,125 mailed Mar. 13, 2015, 8 pages.
  • Official Action for U.S. Appl. No. 29/482,125, mailed Jun. 1, 2015 5 pages.
Patent History
Patent number: D762114
Type: Grant
Filed: Mar 5, 2015
Date of Patent: Jul 26, 2016
Assignee: Ball Corporation (Broomfield, CO)
Inventors: Mark A. Jacober (Arvada, CO), Howard C. Chasteen (Westminister, CO)
Primary Examiner: Robert M Spear
Application Number: 29/519,457
Classifications
Current U.S. Class: D9/438