US20140272015A1

US20140272015A1 - Container Assemblies, Cookies, And Related Designs

Info

Publication number: US20140272015A1
Application number: US13/839,945
Authority: US
Inventors: Nathan D. Ehrlich; Sarah Moffat
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Norton Rose Fulbright Us LLP; Homer TLC LLC; Home Depot Product Authority LLC
Priority date: 2013-03-15
Filing date: 2013-03-15
Publication date: 2014-09-18
Also published as: USD869961S1; USD814317S1; MX2014003204A

Abstract

Container assemblies are presented, some of which comprise a container having a wall that includes a window; a top coupled to the wall, the top comprising a removable lid; and a bottom coupled to the wall. In certain embodiments, the assembly may include two sockets coupled to the wall; and a handle coupled to the two sockets such that the handle may move in the sockets. In certain embodiments, the container assembly comprises edible products, and it comprises a sleeve coupled to the container that is configured to hold a financial transaction card. Ornamental designs for container assemblies and edible products, such as cookies, are also disclosed.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to container assemblies for holding edible products like cookies, designs for containers, cookies, and cookie designs. This invention also relates to ornamental designs for the container assemblies and for the edible products.

SUMMARY

Container assemblies configured to contain edible products are disclosed. In one embodiment, a container assembly is presented comprising: a container comprising: a wall comprising a window; a top coupled to the wall, the top comprising a removable lid; a bottom coupled to the wall; two sockets coupled to the wall; and a handle coupled to the two sockets such that the handle may move in the sockets.
In another embodiment, a container assembly is presented comprising: a container having a wall that includes a window; edible products in the container, at least one of the edible products being at least partially visible through the window; and a sleeve coupled to the container and sized to hold a financial transaction card.
In still another embodiment, a container assembly is presented comprising: a cylindrical container having a window; and cookies in the container visible through the window.
In certain of the above embodiments, the container assembly further comprises edible products in the container. In certain embodiments, the edible products comprise cookies. In specific embodiments, each cookie includes a shape comprising one of a hammer, a saw, a tape measure, and a paint can.
In certain of the above embodiments, the container assembly may further comprise: a sleeve coupled to the handle and configured to hold a financial transaction card. In some embodiments, the sleeve is coupled to the handle with a tie. In certain embodiments, the sleeve has an open end. In certain of the above embodiments, the sleeve may contain a financial transaction card in the sleeve loaded with an amount of money or credit or loadable with an amount of money or credit.
In some of the above embodiments, the wall of the container assembly comprises plastic. In some of the above embodiments, the window comprises plastic and is transparent. In certain of the above embodiments, the top and bottom of the container comprise tin coated steel.
In other embodiments, the container assembly comprises: a sleeve configured to retain a financial transaction card; a financial transaction card configured to be loaded with an amount of money; and a tie coupled to the sleeve and the handle.
In another embodiment, a container assembly is presented that comprises a wall having a window; cookies in the container visible through the window; and a sleeve coupled to the container and sized to receive a financial transaction card.
In various embodiments, the top, bottom, and/or wall may comprise paper, cardboard, aluminum, painted or colored glass, a polymer material, or another suitable material.
In certain embodiments, the window may be an opening. In other embodiments, window may comprise a substantially transparent or a substantially translucent material.
In some embodiments, the sleeve may comprise plastic, paper, or cardboard.
In certain embodiments, the financial transaction card may be preloaded with an amount of money or credit, including $5, $10, $15, $20, $25, $30, $35, $40, $45, $50, $55, $60, $65, $70, $75, $80, $85, $90, $95, $100 or more. In other embodiments, a purchaser may select the amount to load on the gift chard.
In another embodiment, a composition is presented comprising: an edible product that includes a shape comprising one of a hammer, a saw, a tape measure, and a paint can.
In another embodiment, the ornamental designs for a container assembly as shown and described are presented.
In another embodiment, the ornamental designs for edible products as shown and described are presented.
In another embodiment, the ornamental designs for cookies as shown and described are presented.
This disclosure includes designs and ornamental designs for edible products, each of which may be applied as surface indicia to an edible item such as a cookie or another edible item such as chocolate or candy.
This disclosure also includes designs and ornamental designs for container assemblies. In certain embodiments, the ornamental designs do not include bottom surfaces. In certain embodiments, the ornamental designs do not include bottom surfaces or other details of the container assemblies besides the shape of the wall, the shape of the window, and/or the shape of the sleeve.
The term “coupled” is defined as connected, although not necessarily directly, and not necessarily mechanically.
The terms “a” and “an” are defined as one or more unless this disclosure explicitly requires otherwise.
The term “substantially” is defined as being largely but not necessarily wholly what is specified (and include wholly what is specified) as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. In any disclosed embodiment, the term “substantially” may be substituted with “within [a percentage] of” what is specified, where the percentage includes 0.1, 1, 5, and 10 percent.
The terms “comprise” (and any form of comprise, such as “comprises” and “comprising”), “have” (and any form of have, such as “has” and “having”), “include” (and any form of include, such as “includes” and “including”) and “contain” (and any form of contain, such as “contains” and “containing”) are open-ended linking verbs. As a result, a container assembly or composition that “comprises,” “has,” “includes” or “contains” one or more elements possesses those one or more elements, but is not limited to possessing only those one or more elements. Likewise, an element of a system or composition that “comprises,” “has,” “includes” or “contains” one or more features possesses those one or more features, but is not limited to possessing only those one or more features.
Furthermore, a structure or composition that is configured in a certain way is configured in at least that way, but may also be configured in ways that are not listed. Metric units may be derived from the English units provided by applying a conversion and rounding to the nearest millimeter.
The feature or features of one embodiment may be applied to other embodiments, even though not described or illustrated, unless expressly prohibited by this disclosure or the nature of the embodiments.
Any embodiment of any of the disclosed container assemblies and compositions can consist of or consist essentially of—rather than comprise/include/contain/have—any of the described elements and/or features and/or steps. Thus, in any of the claims, the term “consisting of” or “consisting essentially of” can be substituted for any of the open-ended linking verbs recited above, in order to change the scope of a given claim from what it would otherwise be using the open-ended linking verb.
Details associated with the embodiments described above and others are presented below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following drawings illustrate by way of example and not limitation. For the sake of brevity and clarity, every feature of a given structure may not be labeled in every figure in which that structure appears. Identical reference numbers do not necessarily indicate an identical structure. Rather, the same reference number may be used to indicate a similar feature or a feature with similar functionality, as may non-identical reference numbers.

Unless otherwise noted, the figures are drawn to scale, meaning that the sizes of the depicted items are accurate relative to each other for at least the embodiments depicted in the figures.

FIGS. 1A-1G are perspective, front, back, left, right, top, and bottom views, respectively, of an embodiment of a container assembly.

FIGS. 2A-2C are front, left, and right views, respectively, of the container assembly of FIGS. 1A-1G with cookies inside.

FIGS. 3A-3G are perspective, front, back, left, right, top, and bottom views, respectively, of an embodiment of the container assembly of FIGS. 1A-1G with a sleeve comprising a financial transaction card coupled to the container.

FIGS. 4A-4C are front, left, and right views, respectively, of the container assembly of FIGS. 3A-3G with cookies inside the container.

FIGS. 5A-5F are perspective, top, left, right, front, and back views, respectively, of one embodiment of a cookie.

FIGS. 6A-6F are perspective, top, left, right, front, and back views, respectively, of one embodiment of a cookie.

FIGS. 7A-7F are perspective, top, left, right, front, and back views, respectively, of one embodiment of a cookie.

FIGS. 8A-8F are perspective, top, left, right, front, and back views, respectively, of one embodiment of a cookie.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various features and advantageous details are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and the specific examples, while indicating embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, and not by way of limitation. Various substitutions, modifications, additions, and/or rearrangements will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from this disclosure.
In the following description, numerous specific details are provided to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. One of ordinary skill in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the invention may be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, and so forth. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the invention.
FIGS. 1A-1G depict an embodiment of container assembly 10, which is one example of the present container assemblies. In the present embodiments, container assembly 10 is configured to resemble a paint can in appearance, e.g., container assembly 10 comprises a container that is substantially cylindrical, has a handle, and has a removable lid, much like a paint can. In various embodiments, container assembly 10 may resemble a standard gallon sized paint can (6⅝″×7 13/16″), a standard quart sized paint can (4¼″×4⅞″), a standard pint sized can (3 7/16″×3 15/16″), or a standard half-pint sized paint can (2⅞″×2⅞″).
Container assembly 10 comprises a container 11 comprising bottom 20 and a top 18 comprising a removable lid 16. Bottom 20 and top 18 are coupled to a wall 22. Top 18, removable lid 16, and bottom 20 are substantially circular.
In the embodiment shown, top 18 comprises a lip or a ring surrounding an opening into which removable lid 16 is secured.
In the illustrated embodiment top 18, removable lid 16, and bottom 20 comprise tin coated steel. In other embodiments, top 18, removable lid 16, and bottom 20 may comprise paper, cardboard, aluminum, painted or colored glass, a polymer material, or another suitable material.
In the illustrated embodiment, wall 22 comprises a substantially opaque polymer material. In other embodiments, wall 22 may comprise paper, cardboard, tin coated steel, aluminum, painted or colored glass, or another suitable material.
In addition, wall 22 comprises a window 24 which, in the illustrated embodiment, comprises a substantially transparent polymer material. In other embodiments, window 24 may comprise an opening (that is, a hole or an aperture). In still other embodiments, window 24 may comprise a substantially translucent material. The oblique lines on window 24 indicate it is one or more of translucent and transparent.
In the illustrated embodiment, a handle 12 is coupled to sockets 14 located in wall 22. In the illustrated embodiment, handle 12 is comprised of bent wire and is configured to be rotatable in sockets 14.
Container 11 is configured to contain edible products, such as cookies, chocolates, candies, or other food items. FIGS. 2A-2C depict the container assembly 10 of FIGS. 1A-1G with assorted cookies 40 inside of container 11. Cookies 40 are considered to comprise a part of container assembly 10 in embodiments where cookies are present.
At least parts of some of cookies 40 are visible through window 24. In some embodiments, cookies 40 are wrapped in a wrapper or bag, such as a plastic bag. In certain embodiments, cookies 40 may be individually wrapped or may be wrapped in smaller portions than the whole contained within container 11 (for example, container 11 may comprise two, three, or more separate bags of assorted cookies 40).
FIGS. 3A-3G depict the container of FIGS. 1A-1G with a sleeve 30 attached to it. In the illustrated embodiment, sleeve 30 is configured to retain a card 32 and is attached to handle 12 with a tie 34 through hole 36 of sleeve 30. In the illustrated embodiments, sleeve 30 comprises an open end 33 into which financial transaction card 32 may be placed. While card 32 is coupled to container 11 in this embodiment by being positioned in sleeve 30, which is coupled to handle 12 with tie 34, in other embodiments, card 32 may be coupled to container 11 in other ways that do not involve attachment to handle 12. For example, in other embodiments, card 32 could be coupled to container 11 (such as to wall 22 or top 18) using an adhesive or tape, or it could be coupled to another structure (like an actual or mock paint mixing stick) that is coupled to container 11.
Card 32 may be a financial transaction card in some embodiments. In such embodiments, card 32 may be loaded or provided with a certain amount of money or credit, or may be configured to be loaded or provided with a certain amount of money or credit. In various embodiments the amount may be in predetermined increments ($25, $50, $100, etc.) or the amount may be specified by a customer.
In other embodiments, card 32 is not a financial transaction card. In some such embodiments, card 32 may include indicia, such as indicia encouraging the reader to purchase a financial transaction card and place the same in sleeve 30.
In the illustrated embodiment, sleeve 30 comprises a transparent polymer material. In other embodiments, sleeve 30 may be translucent or opaque. In certain embodiments, sleeve 30 may comprise paper or cardboard. The oblique lines on sleeve 30 indicate it is one or more of translucent and transparent.
In the embodiment shown, tie 34 comprises an elastic band tied in a knot around handle 12. In other embodiments, tie 34 may comprise a substantially inelastic material. In certain embodiments, tie 34 may comprise thread, string, twine, rope, plastic, or a zip tie.
Sleeve 30, card 32, and tie 34 are considered to comprise a part of container assembly 10 in embodiments where those elements are present.
FIGS. 4A-4C depict the container assembly 10 of FIGS. 3A-3G with assorted cookies 40 inside of container 11. Cookies 40 are considered to comprise a part of container assembly 10 in embodiments where cookies are present.
At least parts of some cookies 40 are visible through window 24. In some embodiments, cookies 40 are wrapped in a wrapper or bag, such as a plastic bag. In certain embodiments, cookies 40 may be individually wrapped or may be wrapped in smaller portions than the whole contained within container 11 (for example, container 11 may contain two, three, or more separate bags of assorted cookies 40).
FIGS. 5A-5F depict a hammer cookie 42, which is one of the assorted cookies 40 that may be present inside container 11 of container assembly 10.
FIGS. 6A-6F depict a saw cookie 44, which is another of the assorted cookies 40 that may be present inside container 11 of container assembly 10.
FIGS. 7A-7F depict a tape measure cookie 46, which is still another of the assorted cookies 40 that may be present inside container 11 of container assembly 10.
FIGS. 8A-8F depict a paint can cookie 48, which is still another of the assorted cookies 40 that may be present inside container 11 of container assembly 10.
In the illustrated embodiment, cookies 40 comprise shortbread cookies. One skilled in the art would understand that cookies 40 may be coated, for example, with chocolate, mint chocolate, white chocolate, butterscotch, frosting, icing or another coating or topping. In such embodiments, the design on each of the hammer cookie 42, saw cookie 44, tape measure cookie 46, and/or paint can cookie 48 may be formed in the coating or topping in addition to or instead of in the cookie itself.
One skilled in the art would also understand that any suitable cookie flavor, such as sugar cookies, ginger snaps, chocolate chip cookies, white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, or may be used in addition to or instead of shortbread cookies.
One skilled in the art would further understand that other edible products, such as chocolates, having the same or similar shapes as assorted cookies 40 may be used in addition to or instead of cookies 40.
The above specification and examples provide a complete description of the structure and use of an exemplary embodiment. Although certain embodiments have been described above with a certain degree of particularity, or with reference to one or more individual embodiments, those skilled in the art could make numerous alterations to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the scope of this invention. As such, the illustrative embodiment of the present devices is not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, they include all modifications and alternatives falling within the scope of the claims, and embodiments other than the one shown may include some or all of the features of the depicted embodiment. For example, components may be combined as a unitary structure and/or connections may be substituted. As another example, one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that, in alternate embodiments, cookies 40 may instead be chocolates. Further, where appropriate, aspects of any of the examples described above may be combined with aspects of any of the other examples described to form further examples having comparable or different properties and addressing the same or different problems. Similarly, it will be understood that the benefits and advantages described above may relate to one embodiment or may relate to several embodiments.
The claims are not to be interpreted as including means-plus- or step-plus-function limitations, unless such a limitation is explicitly recited in a given claim using the phrase(s) “means for” or “step for,” respectively.

Claims

1. A container assembly comprising:

a container comprising:

a wall comprising a window;

a top coupled to the wall, the top comprising a removable lid; and

a bottom coupled to the wall.

2. The container assembly of claim 1, further comprising:

two sockets coupled to the wall; and

a handle coupled to the two sockets such that the handle may move in the sockets.

3. The container assembly of claim 1, further comprising:

edible products in the container.

4. The container assembly of claim 3, where the edible products comprise cookies.

5. The container assembly of claim 4, where each cookie includes a shape comprising one of a hammer, a saw, a tape measure, and a paint can.

6. The container assembly of claim 1, further comprising:

a sleeve coupled to the container and configured to hold a financial transaction card.

7. The container assembly of claim 1, further comprising:

a financial transaction card coupled to the container.

8.-9. (canceled)

10. The container assembly of claim 6, further comprising:

a financial transaction card in the sleeve loaded with an amount of money or credit or loadable with an amount of money or credit.

11. The container assembly of claim 1, where the wall comprises plastic.

12. The container assembly of claim 11, where the window comprises plastic and is transparent.

13. The container assembly of claim 1, where the top of the container and the bottom of the container comprise tin coated steel.

14. A container assembly comprising:

a container having a wall that includes a window;

edible products in the container, at least one of the edible products being at least partially visible through the window; and

a sleeve coupled to the container and sized to hold a financial transaction card.

15. The container assembly of claim 14, further comprising:

edible products in the container.

16. The container assembly of claim 15, where the edible products comprise cookies.

17.-19. (canceled)

20. The container assembly of claim 14, further comprising:

21.-22. (canceled)

23. A container assembly comprising:

a cylindrical container having a window; and

cookies in the container visible through the window.

24. The container assembly of claim 23, further comprising:

25. The container assembly of claim 24, further comprising:

a handle coupled to the container, and the sleeve is coupled to the handle.

26. The container assembly of claim 25, where the sleeve has an open end.

27. The container assembly of claim 26, further comprising:

a financial transaction card in the sleeve.

28.-35. (canceled)