US20240286056A1

US20240286056A1 - Stackable building drink blocks

Info

Publication number: US20240286056A1
Application number: US18/661,290
Authority: US
Inventors: Matthew Andersen; Warren Wilson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2020-08-17
Filing date: 2024-05-10
Publication date: 2024-08-29

Abstract

The present disclosure provides drink boxes for further use as stackable building blocks. Constructional building sets including two or more of the building blocks are described. A building block for a constructional building set may include, but is not limited to: a) a container configured to hold a fluid comprising side walls, a top surface comprising one or more projecting members and a bottom surface comprising one or more recessed members, wherein the projecting members on a first building block are in alignment and frictionally interlockable with the recessed members of a second building block, and wherein at least one of the projecting members forms a mouth for the container; and b) lid operable to engage with and seal the mouth of at least one of the projecting members.

Description

PRIORITY

The present application claims priority to U.S. Design patent application Ser. Nos. 29/746,773, 29/746,774 and 29/746,776, (the Priority Applications) naming Matthew Andersen and Warren Wilson as inventors. The present application incorporates the disclosures of the Priority Applications in their entirety, to the extent not inconsistent herewith.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure provides drink boxes for further use as stackable building blocks.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Billions of drink containers are produced each year. Specifically, juice bottles, boxes, and bags are commonly marketed to parents for their children. These containers are shipped to consumers and used for a very short time and discarded for recycling or as waste in landfills. Shipping these drink containers consumes a large amount of energy corporately, and requires a great amount of space in stores and shipping vehicles on a daily basis. The present invention solves these problems. First, by providing a nested container that saves space in shipping and in retail display.
Furthermore, consumers will retain these stackable containers for use as a play toy, eliminating waste. Children's building blocks are commonly known to be the longest retained toy of all time. The efficient shipment and re-use of these stackable containers will significantly reduce waste and the use of energy worldwide.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a building block having a cap assembly attached to the mouth in a closed position.

FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of a building block having a cap assembly attached to the mouth in a closed position.

FIG. 3 is a bottom perspective view of a building block having a cap assembly attached to the mouth in a closed position.

FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of a building block showing an exploded view of the cap assembly with the spout in a first position for drinking.

FIG. 5 is a top perspective view of a building block having the mouth in an open position, and showing the cap assembly attached to the mouth and the spout pointing outward.

FIG. 6 is a top perspective view of a building block showing an exploded view of the cap assembly with the spout in a second position for storage.

FIG. 7 is a top perspective view of a building block having two projecting members. The mouth of one of the projecting members is sealed. The spout cap assembly and a lid are shown separated from the protrusion having a mouth. A second cap is shown separated from a projecting member with no mouth.

FIG. 8 is a bottom perspective view of a blow-molded building block having two receiving portions able to interlock with the projecting members on the top surface of a second block.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The building blocks of the invention will be understood from the accompanying drawings, taken in conjunction with the accompanying description. It is noted that, for purposes of illustrative clarity, certain elements in various drawings may not be drawn to scale. Several variations of the system are presented herein. It should be understood that various components, parts, and features of the different variations may be combined together and/or interchanged with one another, all of which are within the scope of the present application, even though not all variations and particular variations are shown in the drawings. It should also be understood that the mixing and matching of features, elements, and/or functions between various variations is expressly contemplated herein so that one of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate from this disclosure that the features, elements, and/or functions of one variation may be incorporated into another variation as appropriate, unless described otherwise.
Provided herein are building blocks for a constructional building set. For instance, the building blocks can be used as a toy to form stackable structures. The building blocks include a container that can serve as a drink box or juice box. As such, the container can initially contain a consumable fluid in combination therewith. The consumable fluid can be, for example, a beverage such as a juice, a power drink, and a nutritional drink, among others. The blocks can be provided as a constructional building set and may include a plurality of the building blocks.
The container has side walls, a top surface and a bottom surface. The top surface has one or more projecting members and the bottom surface has one or more recessed members. Each projecting member is in alignment along a vertical axis of the block with a recessed member of the block. Further, the projecting members on a first building block are in alignment and frictionally interlockable with the recessed members of a second building block, thereby forming a stackable structure. The container can include 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or more projecting members and complementary recessed members. In some aspects, a block has an equal number of projecting members and recessed members. Each projecting member can be in alignment with a recessed member along a vertical axis extending from the top surface of the block to the bottom surface of the block.
At least one of the projecting members forms a mouth for the container. When a container has more than one projecting member, one or more than one of the projecting members can form a mouth for the container. It will be understood that when more than one projecting member forms a mouth for the container, each projecting member can further have a lid to engage with and seal a mouth of the container. Further, one or more of the projecting members can be used for purposes other than dispensing the contents of the container. For instance, one or more of the projecting members can be used to display decorative toy figurines available in the industry. When a projecting member is used to display a figurine, the projecting member can comprise a threaded closure, and the figurines can have complementary threaded bases to attach to the block. Non-limiting examples of figurines suitable for use as a display figurine include Good 2 Grow Brand Products such as Pods Toppers® and Spouts Drink Toppers®. The mouth of a container can further have a removable component for sealing the mouth of the container before use.
The blocks further have a lid operable to engage with and seal the mouth of the container. A lid can engage and seal a mouth of the container using any method known in the art. For instance, the lid can engage the mouth through a friction closure, a snapping closure, or a threaded closure, among others.
In some aspects, the lid further has an air inlet valve to aid in consumption of the fluid in the container. The valve can be either automatically operated due to the pressure of the liquid or can be manually operated.
In some aspects, the lid is a cap assembly. The cap assembly may include a sealing element that has an elongated body with a side wall and a top that may have a distal surface and a proximal surface, wherein the side wall forms an interface to engage and attach the cap assembly to the mouth of the at least one of the projecting members. The cap assembly further may have an elongated drinking member that has a drinking end and a second end, wherein the second end is attached and in fluid communication with an orifice in the top of the sealing element. In some aspects, the second end of the drinking member is reversibly attached to the top of the sealing element in a first drinking position to extend the drinking end away from the container, and reversibly attached to the top in a second storage position to extend the drinking end internally towards the interior of the container. When the drinking member is in the storage position, the projecting member is interlockable with the recessed members of a second building block. In some aspects, the drinking member is a flip straw member capable of movement between a vertical and angled position about the cap assembly, said flip straw member stored in a crevice on the top surface of the lid.
In some aspects, the drinking member further has a base that includes a top surface and a bottom surface, wherein the base is attached at the top surface to the second end of the drinking member. The top surface of the base is operable to engage the distal surface of the top in a first position to extend the drinking end of the drinking element through an orifice in the top surface for drinking. The bottom surface of the base is also operable to engage the distal surface of the top in a second storage position to extend the spout internally towards the interior of the container. In one aspect, the base further has a stopper attached to the bottom surface of the base, wherein the stopper is operable to cover the orifice in the top of the sealing element when the base engages the sealing element in the second position for storage. In some aspects, the drinking end of the spout further has an air inlet valve to aid in controlling spilling of the fluid from the container.
The container, the one or more projecting members, and one or more recessed members can be of any size and shape provided the block is stackable with other blocks. Further, the size and shape of the container, projecting members, and recessed members of a first building block can be different from the size and shape of the container, projecting members, and recessed members of a second block provided the first and second blocks are interlockable. In some aspects, the size and shape of the container, projecting members, and recessed members of a block are interlockable with other building blocks of the instant disclosure. In other aspects, the size and shape of the container, projecting members, and recessed members of a block are interlockable with other building blocks known in the art. For instance, the blocks can be interlockable with Mega Blocks®, Lego®, Everblocks®, and Duplo®.
The container of a block can be shaped like a square box or a rectangular box. The container of a block can also be cylindrical. When the container is a square box or cylindrical, the block can have one projecting member and one recessed member. In one aspect, the container is a rectangular box. In one aspect when the container is a rectangular box, the block has two or more projecting members and two or more recessed members. In one aspect, the container is a rectangular box with curved side edges. Alternatively, the container is a rectangular box with sharp corners. In some aspects, the container of a block is a rectangular box with two semicircular opposing sidewalls. In such a configuration, two adjacent blocks having semicircular sidewalls in contact with each other can rotate about a vertical axis extending from a projecting member of the block and a corresponding recessed member of the block when one or both of the blocks are interlocked with other blocks.
The dimensions of the elements of the blocks, including the container, the projecting and recessed members, and the lids, can and will vary depending on the fluid, the intended user, or the target compatible blocks known in the art with which it is desired for the instant blocks to be compatible.
The container can have a length ranging from about 1 to about 8 inches, a width ranging from about 0.5 to about 5 inches, and a height ranging from about 0.5 inches to about 5 inches. In some aspects, the container has a length ranging from about 3 to about 5 inches, a width ranging from about 1.5 to about 3 inches, and a height ranging from about 1.5 inches to about 2.5 inches.
The container is configured to hold a fluid. As such, the container has a generally hollow inner volume formed between the top surface and the bottom surface for holding the fluid. The container can hold about 0.1 fl oz to about 200 fl oz of a fluid. In some aspects, the container can hold about 0.5 fl oz to about 100 fl oz of a fluid, about 1 fl oz to about 50 fl oz of a fluid, or about 4 to about 40 fl oz of the fluid.
The projecting and recessed members can be rectangular, circular, triangular or any other shape. The size of projecting and recessed members can also vary, and can depend on the size and shape of the container. For instance, the size of a projecting member can be similar but sufficiently smaller than the size of the container such that the projecting member can interlock with a recessed member of a second block. For instance, the projecting and recessed members can be circular, square shaped or rectangular provided the members are complementary. As used herein, the term “complementary” refers to projecting and recessed members that are of a size and shape such that, each projecting member of a first block is interlockable with each recessed member of a second block of the disclosure. As explained above, the recessed members can also be complementary with other building blocks known in the art.
In some aspects, the container is rectangular and has two or more projecting members and two or more recessed members. When stacked with another container, one or more of the projecting members can interlock with one or more of the projecting members of the other container. In some aspects, the container is rectangular and has two projecting members and two or more recessed members. In one aspect, one of the two projecting members forms a mouth for the container. In another aspect, each projecting member forms a mouth for the container.
Material suitable for manufacturing the building blocks will be apparent to an individual of skill in the art. For instance, materials for the blocks and elements of the blocks may include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following materials: paper, cardboard, plastic including, without limitation, BPA-free and recycled plastic material, metal (e.g., aluminum foil), wax coated plant fiber, ceramic, and glass. Further, the material for the elements of the blocks can be the same or can be different for the container, the projecting and recessed elements, and the lid or elements for the cap assembly when the lid is a cap assembly. Methods of manufacturing the blocks can and will vary depending on the material used for the product and the configuration of the product among other variables. For instance, the blocks can be manufactured using blow molding methods. FIG. 8 represents a block manufactured using the blow molding method.
Referring to FIGS. 1-8 , the container 110 of the building block 100 is a substantially rectangular box having two opposing semicircular sidewalls 104 a and 104 b. The container has a top surface 102, a bottom surface 112, and a generally hollow inner volume 103 formed between the top surface 102 and the bottom surface
112. The top surface 102 that has two projecting members 108 and the bottom surface 112 has two recessed members 114. In some aspects, the two projecting members 108 form a mouth 116 for the container. In one aspect shown in FIG. 7 , the mouth 116 a one of the projecting member 108 comprises a lid for engaging one of the projecting members using a threaded closure. In the aspect shown in FIG. 7 , the mouth 116 a one of the projecting member 108 is sealed. Such a projecting member can be used to display decorative toy figurines available in the industry as described above.
In the aspect depicted in the figures, the bottom surface 112 can be recessed into the container 110 from the bottom edge 118 of the container 110. The one or more recessed members 114 extend from the bottom surface 112 and are flush with the bottom edge 118 of the container 110.
One of the lids 122 in the aspect illustrated in the figures is a cap assembly 120. The cap assembly 120 has a sealing element 124 that has a side wall 128 and a top 130 that has a proximal surface 134 and a distal surface (not shown). The side wall 128 forms an interface to engage and attach the cap assembly 120 to the mouth 116 of at least one of the projecting members 108. The cap assembly 120 further has an elongated drinking member 132 that has a drinking end 136 and a second end 138, wherein the second end 138 is attached to a base 142 that has a top surface 144 and a bottom surface 148, wherein the base 142 is attached at the top surface 144 to the second end 138 of the drinking member 132.
In a first position configured for drinking, the drinking member 132 is operable to extend the drinking end 136 through the orifice 140 in the top 130 of the sealing element 124 as shown in FIG. 5 . The bottom surface 148 of the base 142 is also operable to engage the distal surface of the sealing element 124 in a second position to extend the drinking end 136 internally towards the interior of the container 110 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 . In the aspect shown in the drawings, the base 142 further has a stopper 146 attached to the bottom surface 148 of the base 142, wherein the stopper 146 is operable to cover and seal the orifice 140 in the sealing element 124 when the base 142 engages the sealing element 124 in the second position.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A building block for a constructional building set comprising:

a. a container configured to hold a fluid comprising side walls, a top surface comprising one or more projecting members and a bottom surface comprising one or more recessed members, wherein the projecting members on a first building block are in alignment and frictionally interlockable with the recessed members of a second building block, and wherein at least one of the projecting members forms a mouth for the container; and

b. a lid operable to engage with and seal the mouth of at least one of the projecting members.

2. The building block of claim 1, wherein the container initially contains the fluid in combination therewith.

3. The building block of claim 1, wherein the mouth comprises a flip straw member capable of movement between a vertical and angled position about the lid, said flip straw member stored in a crevice on top of the lid.

4. The building block of claim 1, wherein the lid further comprises an air inlet valve.

5. The building block of claim 1, wherein the container is a rectangular box and comprises two or more projecting members and two or more recessed members.

6. The building block of claim 5, wherein the building block comprises two lids, each operable to engage with and seal the mouth of at least one of the projecting members.

7. The building block of claim 1, wherein the container comprises a bottom edge, the bottom surface is recessed into the container from the bottom edge, and the one or more recessed members extend from the bottom surface and are flush with the bottom edge of the container.

8. The building block of claim 1, wherein the container is rectangular with curved side edges.

9. The building block of claim 8, wherein two opposing sidewalls of the container are semicircular.

10. The building block of claim 1, wherein the container is a square comprising one projecting member and one recessed member.

11. The building block of claim 1, wherein the container is a cylinder comprising one projecting member and one recessed member.

12. The building block of claim 1, wherein the lid is a cap assembly comprising:

a. a sealing element comprising a side wall and a top comprising a proximal and a distal surface, wherein the side wall forms an interface to engage and attach the cap assembly to the mouth of at least one of the projecting members; and

b. an elongated drinking member comprising a drinking end and a second end, wherein the second end of the drinking member is removably attached and in fluid communication with an orifice in the top of the sealing element.

13. The building block of claim 12, wherein the drinking member is operable to extend through the orifice in the top of the sealing element for drinking.

14. The building block of claim 12, wherein the drinking member further comprises a base comprising a top surface and a bottom surface, wherein the base is attached at the top surface to the second end of the drinking member, and wherein the top surface of the base is operable to engage the distal surface of the sealing element in a first drinking position to extend the drinking end through the orifice in the top, or the bottom surface of the base is operable to engage the distal surface of the sealing element in a second storage position to extend the drinking end internally towards the interior of the container.

15. The building block of claim 14, wherein the base further comprises a stopper attached to the bottom surface of the base, wherein the stopper is operable to cover the orifice in the top of the sealing element when the base engages the sealing element in the second storage position.

16. A constructional building set comprising a plurality of building blocks of claim 1.

17. A dual function drink box and building block comprising:

a. a container comprising side walls, a top surface comprising one or more projecting members and a bottom surface comprising one or more recessed members, wherein the projecting members on a first building block are in alignment and frictionally interlockable with the recessed members of a second building block, and wherein at least one of the projecting members forms a mouth for the container;

b. a lid operable to engage with and seal the mouth of at least one of the projecting members; and

c. a generally hollow inner volume formed between the top surface and the bottom surface, the generally hollow inner volume configured to hold a consumable fluid.