U.S. patent application number 12/277374 was filed with the patent office on 2009-05-28 for package system.
Invention is credited to Michael D. Schroeder.
Application Number | 20090134111 12/277374 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40668818 |
Filed Date | 2009-05-28 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090134111 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Schroeder; Michael D. |
May 28, 2009 |
PACKAGE SYSTEM
Abstract
A package system is provided for combining an article and a
container in an integrated package with the article in nested
relationship within an elongated, vertically oriented recess formed
in the wall of the container. The container includes one or more
reliefs in communication with, or located proximate to, the recess
to facilitate supporting the article in the recess with a covering
material.
Inventors: |
Schroeder; Michael D.; (West
Chester, OH) |
Correspondence
Address: |
WOOD, HERRON & EVANS, LLP
2700 CAREW TOWER, 441 VINE STREET
CINCINNATI
OH
45202
US
|
Family ID: |
40668818 |
Appl. No.: |
12/277374 |
Filed: |
November 25, 2008 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60990374 |
Nov 27, 2007 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
215/10 ; 206/499;
215/383 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 75/54 20130101;
B65D 33/004 20130101; B65D 5/4212 20130101; B65D 25/20 20130101;
B65D 23/12 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
215/10 ; 215/383;
206/499 |
International
Class: |
B65D 21/00 20060101
B65D021/00; B65D 90/02 20060101 B65D090/02 |
Claims
1. A package system, comprising: a container having an elongated,
vertically oriented recess configured to receive an article in
nested relationship within the recess, a first relief portion
communicating with the elongated recess and being configured to
facilitate supporting the article received in the recess; and a
covering material covering at least a portion of the container and
engaging the first relief portion, the covering material being
adapted to secure the article within the recess when the article is
placed in nested relationship with the recess.
2. The package system of claim 1 wherein the covering material
covers the first relief portion.
3. The package system of claim 1 wherein the first relief portion
is a convex ridge.
4. The package system of claim 1 wherein the first relief portion
is a concave groove.
5. The package system of claim 1 further comprising a second relief
portion communicating with the elongated recess and being
configured to facilitate supporting the article received in the
recess.
6. The package system of claim 5, wherein the covering material
covers at least a portion of the container and engages the second
relief portion.
7. The package system of claim 6 wherein the covering material
covers the second relief portion.
8. The package system of claim 5 wherein the second relief portion
is a convex ridge.
9. The package system of claim 5 wherein the second relief portion
is a concave groove.
10. A package system, comprising: a container having an elongated,
vertically oriented recess configured to receive an article in
nested relationship within the recess, a first relief portion
located proximate to the elongated recess and being configured to
facilitate supporting the article received in the recess; and a
covering material covering at least a portion of the container and
engaging the first relief portion, the covering material being
adapted to secure the article within the recess when the article is
placed in nested relationship with the recess.
11. The package system of claim 10 wherein the covering material
covers the first relief portion.
12. The package system of claim 10 wherein the first relief portion
is a convex ridge.
13. The package system of claim 10 wherein the first relief portion
is a concave groove.
14. The package system of claim 10 further comprising a second
relief portion located proximate to the elongated recess and being
configured to facilitate supporting the article received in the
recess.
15. The package system of claim 14, wherein the covering material
covers at least a portion of the container and engages the second
relief portion.
16. The package system of claim 15 wherein the covering material
covers the second relief portion.
17. The package system of claim 14 wherein the second relief
portion is a convex ridge.
18. The package system of claim 14 wherein the second relief
portion is a concave groove.
19. A package system, comprising: a container having an elongated,
vertically oriented recess having an open first end and being
configured to receive an article in nested relationship within the
recess; and a first flare provided at the open first end of the
recess.
20. The package system of claim 19 wherein the recess has an open
second end opposite the open first end.
21. The package system of claim 20 further comprising a second
flare provided at the second opposite end.
Description
[0001] The present application claims the filing benefit of U.S.
Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/990,374, filed Nov. 27, 2007,
the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference
in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates generally to package systems
and, more particularly, to a package system which combines an
article and a container in an integrated package with the article
secured in nested relationship within a recess of the
container.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Consumers are showing preference and demand for new ways to
eat and drink their meals. In response to this demand, suppliers of
beverages and snack foods, for example, have developed new ways of
packaging and marketing these items together in a "bundled" package
as a convenient meal option for consumers. This allows consumers
the convenience of purchasing and handling an integrated package
including both a snack item and beverage and provides consumers
with convenient "grab and go" portability of their meals. This
packaging arrangement also provides significant advantages to the
beverage and snack food suppliers as well since it permits them to
market newer or less-preferred brands to consumers in a "bundled"
package with the supplier's stronger brands. In this way, the
beverage and snack food suppliers are able to introduce newer
products to the market with less risk and also increase sales of
weaker brands by relying on the market strength and consumer
desirability of the supplier's stronger brands.
[0004] In the past, suppliers have "bundled" snack food and
beverage items together by shrink-wrapping, taping or otherwise
attaching or packaging the snack food item to the outside of the
beverage container. However, this method of packaging presents a
significant drawback as it oftentimes leaves fragile snack items
susceptible to damage during packaging, transport and distribution
of the "bundled" package from the supplier to consumer. Many
snacks, such as snack bars, are conventionally packaged inside of a
flexible wrapper for such things as protection from environmental
factors. This wrapper, however, offers little to no protection in
subsequent packaging, transport and distribution of the "bundled"
package, and therefore requires a secondary package made of
paperboard, corrugated or other packaging processes and materials
to protect it. This requires additional equipment, materials and
labor which add cost to the product and make the packaging process
inefficient.
[0005] In the past, other types of "bundled" packages have been
offered to consumers as well. For example, suppliers have offered
market premiums and various other articles in nested relationship
within a recess formed in a wall of a container. In these
instances, the container recess is defined by recess walls and the
article may be glued or loosely placed within the recess and
covered with a transparent film so as to secure and/or protect the
item within the recess. However, known configurations of recesses
which completely enclose the item and/or the use of a covering film
over the item present a significant drawback as the item is
typically obscured by shadows within the recess, or condensation or
glare which occurs on the film, and so cannot be easily seen by the
consumer. Also, such recesses and covering films complicate access
and dislodgement of the article by the consumer and typically
require hand assembly of the "bundled" package which adds to the
cost of the assembled package.
[0006] Accordingly, there is a need for an improved package system
for combining an article and a container in an integrated package
with the article secured in nested relationship within a recess of
the container.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The present invention overcomes the foregoing and other
shortcomings and drawbacks of package systems and methods of
packaging heretofore known. While the invention will be described
in connection with certain embodiments, it will be understood that
the invention is not limited to these embodiments. On the contrary,
the invention includes all alternatives, modifications and
equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the
present invention.
[0008] In accordance with the principles of the present invention,
a package system is provided for combining an article and a
container in an integrated package with the article secured in
nested relationship within an elongated, vertically oriented recess
formed in a wall of the container.
[0009] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the
recess is configured to receive an article within the recess so
that the article is supported or contained in nested relationship
within the recess. In this way, the article may be protected
against damage during packaging, shipping, display and transport of
the package system until its use by a consumer. The container may
be formed to be vendable from a vending machine or other automatic
merchandising system so as to meet the strict size and shape
requirements for vendable products.
[0010] In one embodiment of the present invention, the elongated
recess opens vertically at its opposite ends and may be sized and
shaped to compliment the shape of the article nested within the
recess. The open-ended recess improves visibility of the article
within the recess so that light is able to enter the recess through
the open ends. The open-ended recess also simplifies the insertion
and removal of the article relative to the recess which is
particularly advantageous for fragile articles such as snack
foods.
[0011] According to one aspect of the present invention, the
container may include one or more reliefs in communication with, or
located proximate to, the recess to facilitate supporting the
article in the recess with a covering material. The relief may be
concave, such as a groove, or convex, such as a ridge. The groove
and/or ridge allows the covering material, such as a shrink film,
to conform to and better accommodate the shape of the article
nested in the recess. As the covering material engages the groove
and/or ridge it effectively captures the necessary parts of the
article nested in the recess, while allowing a sealed portion of
the wrapper of the article, which is thinner and less necessary to
containment of the article in the recess, to lay more freely for
improved shelf appearance.
[0012] In several embodiments, the covering material may extend
only to the relief portions. In other embodiments, the covering
material may extend past the relief portions. The covering material
may also include one or more tear strips to provide selective
removal of portions of the covering material to thereby allow the
article to be removed from the recess.
[0013] The above and other objects and advantages of the present
invention shall be made apparent from the accompanying drawings and
the description thereof.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and
constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of
the invention and, together with a general description of the
invention given above, and the detailed description given below,
serve to explain the principles of the invention.
[0015] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a package system in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
[0016] FIG. 2 is a side view of an alternate embodiment of the
package system of FIG. 1.
[0017] FIG. 3 is a side view of another alternate embodiment of the
package system of FIG. 1.
[0018] FIG. 4 is a side view of still another alternate embodiment
of the package system of FIG. 1.
[0019] FIG. 5 is a front view of a package system in accordance
with an alternate embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0020] Referring now to the Figures, and to FIG. 1 in particular, a
package system 10 is shown in accordance with one embodiment of the
present invention. The package system 10 includes a sealed
container 12 having a bottom wall 14 (also seen in the embodiments
in FIGS. 2-4) and an arcuate side wall 16 which, in one embodiment,
converges at an upper end of the container to define a container
neck 18. In one embodiment, the neck 18 of the container 12
provides an opening (not shown) into the body of the container 12
and is sealed in a conventional manner by an internally threaded
cap 20 mating with external threads (not shown) provided on the
container neck 18.
[0021] The container 12 may comprise a generally rigid glass or
molded plastic bottle, jar, metal can or carton by way of example.
Alternatively, the container 12 may comprise a flexible package
such as a bag, stand-up pouch, aseptic package or squeeze tube, or
any other suitable type of rigid or flexible container known by
those of ordinary skill in the art having an internal cavity (not
shown) which is adapted to safely store the contents of the
container 12 for an extended period of time until use of the
package system 10 by a consumer. In the case of generally rigid
cartons and flexible containers, it will be appreciated that the
container may not have a neck as described above. Instead, the
container may have converging side walls that are glued or
otherwise sealed or joined together at the top of the container, or
the container may be folded into a box-like shape having a flat
top, so that the top of the container can be peeled or cut open,
opened through a conventional recloseable seal, or pierced with a
straw by way of example.
[0022] The container 12 may be filled with a variety of different
liquids such as fruit juice, milk, isotonics, water, beer, a soft
drink, petroleum products or other liquid chemical products, by way
of example. Alternatively, as will be described in detail below,
the container 12 may be filled with a variety of different loose
solids such as salty snacks, sweet snacks, cereal, nuts, granola
and dried fruit, toys, trinkets or various chemical products by way
of example.
[0023] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the
package system 10 includes at least one elongated, vertically
oriented recess 22 (one shown) which is formed in the arcuate side
wall 16 of the container 12 and is configured to receive an article
24 (shown in FIGS. 2-4) within the recess 22 so that the article 24
is supported or contained in nested relationship within the recess
22. The article 24 may comprise a variety of different packaged or
wrapped solids or loose solids, such as described above, or an
energy bar, snack bar, granola bar, a market premium or some other
type of suitable edible or non-edible article.
[0024] The recess 22 may be sized and shaped to complement the
shape of the article 24 nested within the recess 22 so that the
recess 22 is generally congruent with an inner surface of the
article 24. In this way, the container 12 and article 24 may
sufficiently contact each other to allow them to be joined together
through an intermediate adhesive or other fixative as will be
described below. In several embodiments, the recess 22 extends
upwardly into a shoulder portion of the container 12 near the
container neck 18 and is open vertically at opposite ends. The
open-ended recess 22 provides several distinct advantages,
including improved visibility of the article 24 within the recess
22 since light is able to enter the recess 22 through the open
ends. The open-ended recess 22 also simplifies insertion and
removal of the article 24 relative to the recess.
[0025] In one embodiment, one or both of the open ends of the
recess 22 may widen at that point to allow the wrapper of the
article 24 to "flare out." This improves shelf appearance of the
package system 10 as the wrapper may otherwise distort or lose
integrity as it is held against the container 12 by a covering
material as described in detail below.
[0026] The container may also include a relief 26 in communication
with, or located proximate to, the recess to further facilitate
supporting the article 24 with a covering material 27. The relief
26 may be concave, such as a groove, or convex, such as a ridge.
The relief 26 may be formed in the arcuate side wall 16 near the
bottom wall 14 as shown in the embodiment of FIG. 1. With continued
reference to the embodiment in FIG. 1, the relief 26 is in the form
of a concave groove which facilitates the capture of the bulk of
the article 24 with the covering material 27 while allowing any
packing material of the article 24, such as a wrapper to flare out.
The groove 26 allows the covering material 27, such as a shrink
film, to conform to and better accommodate the shape of the article
24 nested in the recess 22. As the covering material 27 engages the
open recess it effectively captures the necessary parts of the
article 24 nested in the recess 22, while allowing a sealed portion
of the wrapper of the article 24, which is thinner and less
necessary to containment of the article 24 in the recess 22, to lay
more freely for improved shelf appearance. For example, if the
article 24 is shrink wrapped to a surface that does not appreciated
its shape, density, etc., the wrapper of the article 24 may be
crushed against the surface resulting in a loss of shelf appeal. It
should be understood that the relief 26 may be formed near the
bottom wall 14 as shown in FIG. 1 or near the container neck 18 or
any other point in between to facilitate the proper degree of
pressure required to hold the article 24 in the recess 22.
[0027] In several embodiments, such as the embodiments in FIGS. 3
and 4, the covering material 27 may extend only to the relief
portions. In other embodiments, such as the embodiment in FIG. 2,
the covering material 27 may extend past the relief portions. In
this embodiment, the covering material 27 may optionally include
tear strips 29a, 29b. The optional tear strips 29a may be located
near the upper relief portion 30 or the optional tear strips 29b
may be located near the lower relief portion 26. Some embodiments,
such as the one shown in FIG. 2, may include tear strips 29a, 29b
at one or both the upper and lower relief portions 30, 26. When a
portion of the covering material 27 is removed at the tear strip
29a or 29b, a pocket is formed with the remaining covering material
27 and the recess 22. This allows the article 24 to be removed from
the package system 10. If the article 24 or any portion thereof is
returned to the package system, the pocket frictionally engages the
article 24, holding it place. The article 24 may then be removed
again at a later time.
[0028] In several embodiments of the package system 10, and as seen
in FIGS. 2-4, a second relief may be utilized. In FIG. 2, container
28 contains a groove 26 in the arcuate side wall 16, near the
bottom 14, similar to the embodiment in FIG. 1. Container 28
additionally includes a second relief 30 in communication with the
recess 22 near the container neck 18. It should be understood that
the placement of the reliefs 26 and 30 may exist along any point of
the arcuate side wall 16 and that their positions may be driven by
the size and shape of the article 24. In the embodiment of FIG. 2,
the second relief 30 is also concave in the form of a groove.
[0029] As described above and as seen in the embodiment of the
package system 10 in FIG. 3, the reliefs 34 and 36 may also be
convex in shape. In this embodiment, the container 32 includes two
reliefs 34 and 36, each in the form of a convex ridge that are
located in communication with, or proximate to, the recess 22. The
convex ridges 34, 36, when engaged by the covering material 27,
such as shrink wrap, may hold the article 24 underneath and on the
top. The reliefs may also be a combination of concave and convex
shapes. For example, in the embodiment in FIG. 4, the container 38
contains two reliefs 40, 42 positioned similar to the embodiments
in FIGS. 2 and 3. The relief 40 is a concave groove, while the
relief 42 is a convex ridge. In other embodiments the reliefs 40
and 42 may be convex and concave in nature respectively. Similar to
the previous embodiments, the location of the reliefs along the
arcuate side wall 16 between the container neck 18 and the bottom
wall 14 may be dependent on the size, shape, and density of the
article 24 to be contained in the recess 22. In some embodiments of
the package system 10, the recess 22 may additionally flare near an
end of the recess 44 as seen generally in FIG. 1. The flare at the
end of the recess 44 may work in conjunction with a ridge relief,
such as the relief 34 in FIG. 3, to position and stabilize the
article 24 in the recess 22 by allowing it to rest on the ridge
and/or by inducing friction upon the nested article 24 when it is
covered by a covering material. The flared end may accommodate the
thinner end of the packing material of the article 24 as well as
facilitate removal and replacement of the article 24 in the
recess.
[0030] In an alternate package system 50 as shown in FIG. 5, the
package may include a sealed container 52 having a bottom wall 54
and an arcuate side wall 56. A radius of the arcuate side wall 56
tapers from a first end of the wall 58 to a second end of the wall
60. The arcuate side wall 56 at the first end of the wall 58 at an
upper end of the container 52 converges to define a container neck
62, forming a shoulder 64. In one embodiment, the neck 62 of the
container 52 may provide an opening (not shown) in the body of the
container 52 which is sealed in a conventional manner by an
internally threaded cap 66 mating with external threads (not shown)
provided on the container neck 62.
[0031] The container 52 in this embodiment, includes at least one
elongated, vertically oriented recess 68 which is formed in the
arcuate side wall 56 of the container 52 and is configured to
receive an article (not shown) similar to the article 24 in the
embodiments in FIGS. 1-4 within the recess 68 so that the article
is supported or contained in a nested relationship with the recess
68. In this embodiment, the container 52 may also include a relief
70 formed in the arcuate side wall 56 and in communication with the
recess 68. The relief 70 may be positioned so that it is also in
communication with the bottom wall 54, although the relief may be
positioned at different locations along the arcuate side wall 56 to
accommodate different articles. The shoulder 64 in the embodiment
may act similar to a second relief in supporting the article when
packaged with the covering material 27. When covered by the
covering material 27, the relief 70 may support the article from
underneath with the covering material 27 while the covering
material 27 on the shoulder 64 of the arcuate side wall 56 may hold
the top of the article nested in the recess 68.
[0032] While all of the present invention has been illustrated by a
description of various embodiments and while these embodiments have
been described in considerable detail, it is not the intention of
the applicants to restrict or in anyway limit the scope of the
appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and
modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. The
invention in its broader aspects is therefore not limited to the
specific details, representative apparatus and method, and
illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures
may be made from such details without departing from the spirit or
scope of the applicant's general inventive concept.
* * * * *