GB2485347A

GB2485347A - A container having a recess defining a compartment

Info

Publication number: GB2485347A
Application number: GB1018799.5A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Fiaz Malik; Ishtiak Malik
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2010-11-08
Filing date: 2010-11-08
Publication date: 2012-05-16
Also published as: GB201018799D0

Abstract

A container for housing a small object, such as a toy or a tool, is provided. The container comprises a body portion 102 provided with a first opening 103 and a lid portion 108. A recess 104 is formed on a surface of the body portion. The recess defines a compartment 105 for housing a toy or a tool. The mouth of the recess defines a second opening 107 for the compartment, which allows the toy or the tool to be conveniently deposited into or extracted from the compartment. Covering element 109 may be provided to seal the second opening 107 the covering element may be a label, sticker or similar, and the recess may be a through-hole (see fig 3b).

Description

A container for housing a small object

Field of the Invention

[0001] The present invention relates to a container for housing a small object, such as a toy or a tool, in a recess formed on the surface of its body.

Background of the Invention

[0002] Containers of different shapes and sizes are commonly employed for storing and transporting a wide variety of solid, liquid or gaseous substances.

The bodies of the containers are mainly used for accommodating these substances, although some external features may be added (e.g. a handle) in order to assist in handling and/or transporting.

[0003] For example, patent application WO 2005/027819 describes a baby bottle provided with a vented system for helping the suction of the liquid by the baby. As shown in one of the figures, the bottle also presents two finger grips positioned on the sides of the body of the bottle. These grips have a recessed or concave shape that facilitates handling and gripping.

[0004] European patent EP 0868370 describes a can for holding beverages under pressure. The can is formed of a tubular body, made of a floor, a sidewall, and a cap. The outer perimeter of the cap is joined to the upper edge of the sidewall once the can has been filled with liquid. The joined cap and tubular body, when sealed together, form a first compartment. The cap is provided with a first opening on said first compartment and a second compartment for housing an object, such as a toy or a card. A pull tab that closes the first opening partially obstructs the opening of the second compartment.

[0005] The arrangement described above implies that in order to access the second compartment one needs to manipulate the pull tab, with the risk of breaking it and/or accidentally opening the first compartment. This considerably increases the risk of accidentally contaminating the liquid contained in the first compartment, as well as the risk of loosing pressure in the first compartment. If the pressure inside the first compartment is high compared with the pressure of the environment where the container is opened, there may be even a risk of harming the user that manipulates the pull tab.

[0006] These documents relate only to the general field of the disclosure and are listed herein to assist understanding of the structures and advantages of the present invention.

Statement of the Invention

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a container comprising a lid portion and a body portion, wherein the lid portion is provided with a first opening, and a recess is formed on the surface of the body portion, the recess defining a compartment for housing a toy or a tool.

[00081 Preferably, the container further comprises a covering element for sealing the first opening. A mouth of the recess may define a second opening.

Preferably the covering element for the first opening does not overlap with the second opening.

[0009] The second opening may lie on a plane different from the plane on which the first opening lies. The recess is preferably a through hole. A second covering element for sealing said second opening may be provided.

[0010] The second covering element may be larger than the second opening.

At least part of the section of the second covering element that overlaps with the second opening may be penetrable. Preferably, the second covering element is a labelling element. A safety mechanism for securing the second covering element to the second opening may be provided.

[0011] A second mouth of the recess may define a third opening, and a third covering element for sealing said third opening may be provided.

[0012] The container may be a bottle or a can, and the recess may be positioned on the side or bottom of the container.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0013] There now follows a detailed description of embodiments of the present invention, with reference to the figures identified below.

Figure 1A is a front view of a container comprising a recess in accordance with the present invention.

Figure lB is a side view of a container comprising a recess in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 represents an embodiment of a covering element used for the container in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 3A is a front view of a container in accordance with the present invention, wherein the recess is a through hole.

Figure 3B is a side view of a container in accordance with the present invention, wherein the recess is a through hole.

Detailed Description of the Embodiments

[0014] Figures 1A and lB show a container in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The container 101 is formed of a hollow body 102 provided with a first opening 103. The preferred shape of the body is that of a bottle or a can. However, any polyhedral shape, cylindrical shape, conical shape, ellipsoidal shape, hyperboloidal shape, paraboloidal shape, spherical shape, or any combination thereof, could be equally used with the present invention without departing from its scope. The container may be made of plastic, resin, glass, waxed paper, metal such as aluminium or any other material which is suitable for its principal use for containing gaseous or liquid substance 112, or granular solid substances, pourable solid substances, or gencrally homogenous contents (such as sweets or candies). The container may be made by blow moulding, pre-form moulding, vacuum moulding, injection moulding or other techniques.

[0015] A recess 104 is formed on the surface of hollow body 102. Recess 104 preferably forms an integral part of hollow body 102. For example, recess 104 can be preferably obtained by creating a concave shape on the surface of hollow body 102. A mouth of recess 104 may define a second opening 107.

[0016] Second opening 107 and first opening 103 may lie in different planes.

For example, Figures 1A and lB show second opening 107 lying on a plane which is perpendicular to the plane on which first opening 103 lies.

[0017] Recess 104 may be positioned on the side or bottom part of container 101. One of the possible advantages of positioning recess 104 in those areas is to allow the user to more conveniently extract the object housed in compartment 105.

[0018] Another advantage of the position of recess 104 relates to the stability of container 101 as a whole. For example, a small object 104 placed on the bottom of container 101 may improve the stability of container 101. If the mass density of small object 106 is greater than the mass density of substance 112, then the centre of mass of container 101 would be shifted downwards, thus resulting in a more stable container 101. This would be even more important when container 101 is not completely full with substance 112 or even empty.

[0019] Small object 106 can be extracted at any time, independently of whether substance 112 is present or not in container 101. Further, the presence of substance 112 inside container 101 can help small object 106 to be hidden from the sight of the user. This may be important, for example, when small object 106 is a surprise, for example a prize toy.

[0020] The shape of recess 104 is such that compartment 105 created by said recess is adapted for housing a small object 106, such as a tool or a toy. The small object may also be a rigid or semi-rigid small receptacle, for example in the form of an eggshell, for sealing a toy or a tool. The small object may be provided with an element (e.g., a string or a tab) to help the object to be extracted from compartment 105.

[0021] Recess 104 can be of many different shapes. Possible shapes include a cubical shape, a cylindrical shape, a hexahedronal shape, an apex-truncated pyramid, and others. These shapes, for example the apex-truncated pyramid (with the truncated-apex corresponding to the second opening 107) may facilitate small object 106 to be retained within compartment 105.

Additionally, the shape of recess 104 can be adapted to the shape of the small object as necessary. For example, if small object 106 is in the shape of an egg, then an egg-like recess 104 can be provided so that compartment 105 is better suited for holding small object 106.

[0022] First opening 103 may be provided with a covering element 108.

Covering element 108 may be a cap, a pull-tab cover, a flat top, aluminum foil, or any other suitable covering element.

[0023] The position of first opening 103 and second opening 107 is such that covering element 108 does not overlap with second opening 107 when positioned over first opening 103. For example, the closest points of the first and second openings are at a distance so that covering element 108 does not overlap with second opening 107. One of the advantages of such configuration is that recess 104, or similarly second opening 107, is accessible without any interaction with covering element 108. In other words, first opening 103 and second opening 107 can be accessed independently. In this way, there is no risk of accidentally breaking first opening 103 when accessing recess 104.

[0024] A further advantage is that covering element 108 can be designed without any constraint on the position or shape of second opening 107. For example, covering element 108 can be designed to completely seal first opening 103, or to completely match the shape of first opening 103. This, in turn, may improve the sealing mechanism of first opening 103. Further advantages of this solution can be envisaged.

[0025] A second covering element 109 can be provided for sealing the second opening 107. Second covering element 109 may be larger than second opening 107. The second covering element 109 may be covered by a label of the container 101. In a preferred embodiment, second covering element 109 is itself a labelling element, such as a label, a sticker, or similar arrangements.

[0026] Figure 2 shows an embodiment of the container in accordance with the disclosed invention. Shaded area 110 represents at least a part of the second covering element 109 that overlaps with second opening 107. The shaded area 110 of the second covering element 109 is penetrable. One way of making area 110 penetrable is by puncturing 110 in at least one point. An alternative way is to create a closed perimeter 111 by puncturing area 110 in multiple points. Another way is to use in that part of the second covering element a material that is easy to pierce, such as stretched aluminium foil. In addition, a marker (e.g., a written indication, a cross, a dot) can be used to better indicate penetrable area 110 to the user.

[0027] There are multiple advantages associated with such an arrangement.

First, the covering element protects compartment 105 from being improperly or erroneously accessed. Second, the penetrable area 110 helps the user to easily gain access to the small object contained in compartment 105. Third, penetrable area 110 can be used as a sign of the integrity of container 102 and/or recess 104. For example, suppose that the container is sold on a supermarket shelf If a potential buyer or a supermarket clerk notices that the penetrable area has been altered or broken, the container can be considered not to be intact and therefore easily removed or not bought. Further advantages of this solution can be envisaged.

[0028] In addition, a safety mechanism could be provided for securing second covering element 109 to second opening 107. As a way of example, safety mechanisms include an enforced rim around the edge of the covering element 109, additional material to seal the covering element 109, or similar arrangements.

[0029] Figures 3A and 3B show an embodiment of the container in accordance with the invention in which recess 104 is a through hole 113.

Through hole 113 can have any shape and position, and can be oriented in any suitable direction. Through hole 113 can house a small object 106, as described above. A second mouth of through hole 113 can define a third opening 114. Third opening 114 can be provided with a third covering element. In a preferred embodiment, the third covering element is connected with or is an integral part of second covering element 109 (e.g., a label covering the walls of a container). The third covering element can be provided with a penetrable area, as described above in relation to the second covering element 109.

[0030] There are multiple advantages associated with arranging recess 104 as a though hole. Through hole 113 makes the process of extracting small object 106 far easier for the user. For example, the user can simply push with his finger small object 106 from one side of though hole 113 and extract the object on the other side of through hole 113.

[0031] This can provide two further advantages. The first is to avoid having to place an element (e.g., a string or a tab) specifically for extracting small object 106 from compartment 105. The second is being able to have an object that almost or totally fill compartment 105, thus reducing the overall size of said compartment and therefore having more volume available for substance 112.

[0032] Another advantage of having though hole 113 as recess 104 is to facilitate the manufacturing process. For instance, the bottle can be formed around a rod which is then removed to yield through hole 113. Other advantages of this solution can be envisaged.

[0033] The invention described herein is by way of example and comprises primarily the preferred forms of putting the invention into effect. Although the drawings depict preferred embodiments of the present invention, other embodiments have been described within the preceding text. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the container disclosed may have a wide variety of shapes, sizes and configurations. Additionally, persons skilled in the art to which the invention pertains might consider the foregoing teachings in making various modifications, other embodiments, and altemative forms of the invention.

[0034] Alternative embodiments may be envisaged, which nevertheless fall within the scope of the following claims.

[0035] It is, therefore, to be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular embodiments or specific features shown herein. To the contrary, the inventor claims the invention in all its forms, including all alternatives, modifications, equivalents, and alternative embodiments which fall within the legitimate and valid scope of the appended claims, appropriately interpreted.

Claims

Claims 1. A container comprising: abodyportion; and a lid portion having a first opening; wherein a recess is formed on a surface of the body portion, the recess defining a compartment for housing a toy or a tool.
2. The container of claim 1, wherein a mouth of the recess defines a second opening for allowing the toy or the tool to be deposited inside or to be extracted from the compartment.
3. The container of claim 1 or 2, further comprising a covering element for sealing the first opening.
4. The container of claim 3, wherein the first opening and the second opening are spaced apart so that the covering element does not overlap with the second opening.
5. The container of any of the preceding claims, wherein the first opening and the second opening lie on different planes.
6. The container of any of the preceding claims, wherein the recess is a through hole.
7. The container of any of the preceding claims, further comprising a second covering element for sealing the second opening.
8. The container of claim 7, wherein the second covering element is larger than the second opening.
9. The container of claim 8, wherein at least part of a section of the second covering element that overlaps with the second opening is penetrable.
10. The container of claim 9, wherein the second covering element is a labelling element.
11. The container of claim 7, further comprising a safety mechanism for securing the second covering element to the second opening.
12. The container of any one of claims 7 to 11 when dependent on claim 5, wherein a second mouth of the recess defines a third opening.
13. The container of claim 12, further comprising a third covering element for sealing the third opening.
14. The container of any of the preceding claims, wherein the container is a bottle or a can, and the recess is positioned on the side or the bottom of the container.
15. A container substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any of any of figures 1 to 3.