WO2003084827A1

WO2003084827A1 - A container provided with a recess in a sidewall for accommodating an audio medium and/or a media player

Info

Publication number: WO2003084827A1
Application number: PCT/FI2003/000249
Authority: WO
Inventors: Janne Tervo; Heikki Koivurova
Original assignee: Janne Tervo; Heikki Koivurova
Priority date: 2002-04-05
Filing date: 2003-04-01
Publication date: 2003-10-16
Also published as: FI20020655A; FI20020655A0; AU2003216758A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a container, which container consists of a space (19) closed with walls for storing liquid, gas or solid, and which container includes at least one part, openably attached to the container, such as a cover (2) attached to an opening (18) in a wall (6-11) or part of the wall of the space (12) for closing the space (1) in the container. Characteristic to the container in accordance with the invention is that the container includes a storing place (3) made of the same object as the walls (6-11) of the closed space (1) of the container and which storing place is located on the side wall (6, 8-10) of the container, and to which storing place (3) at least one recorded media (4; 22) and/or a media player intended for playing the replaceable recorded media has been removably attached.

Description

A CONTAINER PROVIDED WITH A RECESS IN A SIDEWALL FOR ACCOMODATING AN AUDIO MEDIUM AND/OR A MEDIA PLAYER

The present invention relates to a container, which container consists of a space for storing liquid, gas or solid loose material and includes at least one part openably attached to the container, such as a cover attached to an opening in a wall of the space, or in a part of a wall, for closing the space in the container.

In packages used for storing products made of gaseous, liquid or solid loose material information about the product, such as an instruction for use, has been traditionally printed on a label stuck on the side of the package or printed on a paper and delivered with the container. Recently, information about the content of a package has been started to deliver by means of a recorded media included in the package. Usually recorded media delivered with these kind of combined packages are cassettes or CDs containing recorded text, sound, pictures or computer programmes. The place for storing a recorded media is, in present packages, a case separate from the actual storing space for the product, an envelope-like or a pocket- like case, made of paperboard, paper and/or thin plastic, which has been attached to a suitable place inside or outside the package. As an example of present known packages which include a place for a recorded media, a paperboard package for cereals may be mentioned, on side of which, inside the package, a separate CD- pocket with CD-ROM, made of transparent plastic and paper has been attached.

These present known combined packages are suitable for packing CDs and C- cassettes mostly in disposable packages. The envelope-like case made of paper and/or thin plastic does not give much mechanical protection for the recorded media delivered with the package. Therefore they may be used as a storing place for a recorded media before opening the package and the case for a recorded media. Once the package has been opened the recorded media is separated from the package and may be easily lost or distinguishing it from other corresponding recorded media is difficult. A storing case for a recorded media in present combined packages is usually made separately from the rest of the package and it is attached to the package afterwards. Therefore the manufacturing of a storing case includes several manufacturing phases separate from the manufacturing of the container for the package. Due to these, the manufacturing of packages is relatively complicated, slow and expensive. Furthermore, because presently known combined packages are disposable, they are neither suitable for repeated or continuous use nor for use as design products used as presents. In addition, in present most known solutions the storing place of a recorded media is placed on the cover, which means that the storing place cannot be made to a bottle-like container, because the cover must be at least the size of the recorded media.

The object of the invention is to present a container, which includes a recorded media giving the container and/or itse contents additional value, and by means of which the earlier mentioned disadvantages of present combined packages are elimated. Especially, the object of the invention is to present a container for storing gaseous, liquid or solid loose material where the storing place for a recorded media is simple and advantageous to manufacture as well in appearance suits the design and construction of the container which makes the container suitable for use as a design-product used as a present. Furthermore, the object of the invention is to present a container the storing place for a recorded media of which is suitable for a bottle-like container, and which gives good mechanical protection for the recorded media attached removably to it as well as is suitable for repeated attachments and detachments of the recorded media.

The object of the invention is accomplished by a container, the characteristics of which are presented in the claims.

In this application a container refers to a container-like object suitable for continuous and repeated usage with includes walls stiffly connected to each other for storing gaseous, liquid and solid loose material. A recorded media refers to an electric, magnetic, optical or some other recording the use of which requires a separate media player. A media player refers to a device for playing the earlier mentioned recorded media.

Characteristic to the container in accordance with the invention is the fact that the container includes a storing place made of the same object as the walls of the closed space, and which storing place is located on the side wall of the container, and to which storing place at least one recorded media and/or a media player intended for palying the replaceable recorded media has been removably attached. In this kind of container desired proudct made of liquid, gaseous or solid loose material may be stored, and information giving additional value to the product in the container, for example, instructions for use of the product or music to be listened to during the use of the product, may be included to the recorded media and/or repeating media attached to the container removably. The information keeps well with the product because there is a storing place in the container for the recorded media standing repeating attachments and detachments, to which storing place a recorded media may be attached always after use. In a bottle-like container a side wall is usually the largest wall of the container in area. When the storing place is located on the side wall, it may be formed in a relatively small bottle-like container which is not possible to those present known containers in which the storing place is in the cover of the container. The side wall is also the best place considering the use of a recorded media, and on the side wall the recorded media is easy to see and, therefore, the recorded media may be used in a bottle-like container as a label and the additional value in appearance brought by the recorded media may be utilized as well as possible. Furthermore, this kind of container may be constructed as good- looking by design and appearance and long-lasting as well as to protect a recorded media and/or repeating media from mechanical wearing so that this kind of container and its content is very suitable for use as a design product used as a present.

In an advantageous application of the invention a container includes several storing places in which at least one recorded media is attached. In case several recorded media are wanted to be included in one container, it is possible to form separate storing places for each of the recorded media. As the storing places are manufactured from the same object as the walls of the container, the manufacturing is simple and advantageous although there were several storing places.

In the second advantageous application of the invention the storing place is a recess. This kind of storing place is simple and easy to manufacture from the same object as the container. It may be manufactured, for example, with mold technique by forming a suitable storing place of the shape of a recorded media or repeating media to the wall, cover or bottom of the container in one manufacturing phase at the same time with the manufacturing of the rest of the container. Therefore, when manufacturing this kind of container there is no need for separate manufacturing phase for case/place for recorded media and the attaching of it afterwards to the package as in present combined packages. In addition, a recess is easy to make of the shape and size of a recorded media, and a recorded media is possible to attach to the recess removably with attaching elements, which are simple and advantageous to manufacture/attach.

In the third advantageous application of the invention the storing place includes an openable cover attached to it. Due to the cover it is possible to protect a recorded media better than in an open recess. In case the cover is manufactured to be waterproof it also protects against moisture. Therefore, the cover is especially advantageous in containers, which are used and kept in dusty or wet surroundings. Furthermore, by means of a cover on a storing place it is possible to have advantageously variation and/or desired individual shapes to the appearance of the container and storing place.

In the fourth advantageous application of the invention the recorded media is an electric, optical, magnetic or some other record, the use of which requires a separate repeating media. These kind of recorded media are durable, compact by construction and clear by shape so that they are relatively easy and simply attachable, as earlier described, to a storing place constructed to containers used for storing various kind of liquid, gaseous and solid loose material.

In the fifth advantageous application of the invention the container includes at least one attaching element for attaching a recorded media to the storing place. The recorded media may be attached removably to the storing place, for example, by shaping the storing place such that the recorded media is slightly tight, and the recorded media stays in its place without special attaching elements. By means of a special attaching element formed of the storing place or separately attached to it, the recorded media is, however, possible to attach to the storing place in such a way that it is easier to attach and detach as well as it stays in place more reliably.

In the sixth advantageous application of the invention the storing place is a recess of the shape of recorded media and the recess includes attaching elements for attaching the recorded media to the recess. This is how the recorded media is possible to be attached to the container such that it does not take much space and is suitable to the container by appearance. Furthermore, in this kind of recess it is possible to use attaching elements which utilize the shape of the recorded media such as various kind of arm-like attaching elements grabbing the edges or some other suitable places of the recorded media, to which elements the recorded media catches without mounting or adjusting separate attaching elements while sticking it to the recess.

Next, the invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 illustrates a container in accordance with the invention inclined from above when the storing place of the recorded media and the cork are closed, Figure 2 illustrates a container in accordance with figure 1 inclined from above, when the cover of the storing place of the recorded media of the container is open and the cork has been taken off, and

Figure 3 illustrates another container in accordance with the invention inclined from above In accordance with the figure 1 and 2 the square, bottle-like container includes a space 1 to be closed with a removable cork 2 for storing drink in the container. The space 1 includes side walls 6 and 8, head walls 9 and 10, a bottom 7 and an upper wall 11 with a neckpart 12 with an opening in it, which is possible to close with a cork 2. Furthermore, the container in accordance with the figures 1 and 2 includes a storing place 3 formed in accordance with the invention to the wall 6 of the space 1, to which the storing place 3 the recorded media 4 has been attached removably, and which includes a cover 5 attached with hinges for closing the recorded media inside the storing place. In this case the recorded media 4 attached to the storing place 3 is a CD with recorded music in it.

The container 1 in accordance with the figures 1 and 2 has been manufactured of one object except for the cork 2 and the cover 5. The material of the container is some suitable transparent glass-like material such as glass or plastic. The cover 5 of the storing place is of the same material as the rest of the container, but it has been manufactured from a separate object than the rest of the container. The cover has been attached to the edge of the storing place 3 by means of hinges 17 in accordance with the figures 1 and 2. The cork 2 is made of plastic, for example, or some other suitable material, which may be transparent or non-transparent. On the inner surface of the cork there is a thread matching with the outer thread of the neckpart 12, in order to close the opening 18 of the neckpart 12 with the cork as with a recognized thread cork.

The storing place 3 of a recorded media 4 includes, in accordance with the application in figures 1 and 2, an outer recess 14 which is as deep as the cover 5 is thick and an inner recess 15 which is somewhat deeper than the thickness of the recorded media attached to the storing place and which inner recess is sideways mainly of the same shape and size as the recorded media. The outer recess 14 is of the shape of a straight cut circle at the head walls 9 and 10. The outer recess is open at the head wall 10 in accordance with the figure 2. Instead, at the head wall 9 it has been closed with the edge of the head wall 9 reaching the outer surface of the side wall 6. Hinges 17 have been attached between the open part of the outer recess 14 on the head wall 10 side and the edge of the cover 5. In this case the cover 5 may turn from the position presented in figure 2, on the whole, to the position in accordance with figure 1 against the bottom surface of the outer recess 14. The storing place 3 includes, furthermore, an attaching element 16 for attaching the recorded media 4 and loosening recesses 13 for making it easier to detach the recorded media. In this case the attaching element 16 is a cylindrical central hub, placed in the middle of the inner recess 15, which reaches from the bottom surface of the inner recess 15 to somewhere on the level of the bottom surface of the outer recess 14. The loosening recesses 13 (2 pcs.) have been formed in accordance with the figure 2 to the outer edge of the inner recess 15 and they reach in depth to the level of the bottom surface of the inner recess. They are so big in size that it is possible to put fingers around the recorded media while loosening it from the inner recess.

The cover 5 of the storing place 3 is a plate object, as thick as the depth of the outer recess 14 and the outer parametres of it equal the size and shape of the outer recess. In the middle of it there is a shoulder part 19 of the same size and shape as the recorded media, in the middle of which there is a central recess 20 of the same size as the central hub, which central hub yields when the cover is closed. The cover 5 has been attached with hinges on the head wall 10 side to that place on the bottom of the outer recess 14 as earlier presented. In that case, when the cover is closed as illustrated in figure 1 the outer surface of the cover is placed mainly on the same level as the outer surface of side wall 6 of the container. In this case the cover has been made rather tight such that there are no remarkable gaps between it and the edge of the outer recess 14, but the cover will, however, be pressed relatively easy against the bottom of the outer surface when closed.

Figure 3 presents another application of the container in accordance with the invention. There the recess 21 forming the storing place for a recorded media has been placed, as earlier presented in applications in accordance with figures 1 and 2, to the side wall of the container. The construction of the recess forming the storing place differs, however, from the earlier presented application. As presented in figure 3 the storing place for a recorded media has been formed, in this case, only from one recess 21, the depth of which is somewhat greater than the thickness of the recorded media 22 attached to the recess. Furthermore, the storing place in the application in accordance with the figure 3 does not include a cover, but the recorded media is considered to be protected well enough when it has been attached only to the recess 21. The recess 21 includes, however, a central hub 23 and loosening elements 24 formed to the edge of the recess as in the application in accordance with the figures 1 and 2. In this case the central hub has been made to fit in the central opening in the middle of the recorded media so tight that the recorded media stays in the recess although the container was leaned or shaken. The container in accordance with the figure 3 is equal with figures 1 and 2 in other respects being a bottle-like container made of glass-like material with a cork (not presented in fig. 3) screwed to the neckpart.

In applications in accordance with the figures 1-3 the container is a bottle and the material in the container is a drink, for example, beverage or liquor. The recorded media of the container is a CD containing music recorded on it to be listened while having the drink stored in the container. This way the container, the recorded media and the drink together form a product, which is, as a commercial product, much more versatile and more desirable than just a drink packed in a conventional bottle. In the same principle this kind of bottle may be applied with many other products. In accordance with the idea of the invention the product in the container may be, in principle, whatever liquid, gaseous or solid loose material. Therefore, the container in accordance with the invention might be a container meant for potato chips, for example, and the recorded media may be, for instace, a DVD of a recorded videofilm while watching of which the potato chips in the container may be eaten. Naturally, possible utilizing application of this kind of container is not limited to storing only various kind of nutritive substances. The container in accordance with the invention might be used to store various kinds of chemicals used in households, among other things. In such case the container might include a recorded media, which would include instructions for usage and/or safety instructions of the chemicals in the container. Furthermore, applying the principle the container in accordance with the invention might be used, for example, in construction industry for packages/containers of many various products made of liquid, gaseous or solid loose material such as paints or various kind of glues, the use of which requires instructions for use or some other important information about the product or the usage of the product.

The construction and shape of the container in accordance with the invention may vary depending on the requirements of the said various purposes of use, however, only in such a way that the container will, by its constructional properties, remain within the limits in accordance with the idea of the invention. The container in accordance with the invention may be, for example, a bottle-like, ajar-like or a boxlike container. Furthermore, the thickness of the walls of the container (and therefore the size and shape of the space for the product), tightness and the materials used for manufacturing of the container may vary. The materials used for manufacturing the container and different parts of it are advantageously such that the container is suitable for continuous use and for use, for example, as a design product used as a present. Therefore, for manufacturing of the container in accordance with the invention it is advantageous to use relatively stiff and long- lasting material, such as some suitable metal, plastic or wood.

An essential part of the container in accordance with the invention is a storing place for a recorded media and/or repeating media and a recorded media and/or repeating media attached to it. The storing place and the attaching elements of a recorded media and/or repeating media possible being included in it may be manufactured and shaped in different ways in different solutions of the invention depending on what kind of recorded media and/or repeating media will be attached to the container. Therefore, the storing place does not necessarily have to be a recess but it may also be, in case of a plate record, a hollow-like place of the size of a recorded media formed on a side wall, to which place the recorded media will be attached while pushed to the bottom of the hollowlike place. In some applications the container may include several storing places for attaching several recorded media to one container. These storing places may be either different or of the same kind and the recorded media to be removably attached to them may be different or of the same kind (for example CDs of various shapes). In some other application the container in accordance with the invention includes only a repeating media intended for repeating the recorded media which repeating media has been attached to the storing place. An example of this kind of container is the bottlelike container in accordance with the figures 1-3 which includes a removable CD-player, which may be listened to while having the drink stored in the container. Furthermore, in some application of the container in accordance with the invention the container may include a storing place for a repeating media as well as for a recorded media/recorded media suitable with it/them.

The invention is not limited to the presented advantageous application but it can vary within the frames of the idea of the invention formed in the claims.

Claims

1. A container which includes a space closed with walls (1) for storing liquid, gaseous or solid material, and which container includes at least one part attached to be opened to the container, such as a cover (2) attached to an opening (18) formed to a wall (6-11) or to a part of a wall (12) of the space (1) in order to close the space (1) in the container, c h ar a c t e r i z e d in that the container includes a storing place (3) formed of the same object as the walls (6-11) of the closed space (1) of the container, which storing place is located on the side wall (6, 8-10) of the container, and to which storing place (3) at least one recorded media (4; 22) and/or a media player intended for playing a replaceable recorded media has been removably attached.

2. A container in accordance with claim ^c h ara ct e r i z e d in that one container includes several storing places (3).

3. A container in accordance with claim 1 or 2, c h ara c t e r i z e d in that the storing place (3) is a recess (14, 15; 21).

4. A container in accordance with any of claims 1-3, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the storing place (3) includes a cover (5) attached openably.

5. A container in accordance with any of claims 1-4, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the recorded media (4; 22) is an electric, optical, magnetic or some other record for use of which a separate repeating media is required.

6. A container in accordance with claim 5, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the container includes at least one attaching element (16; 23) for attaching the recorded media (4; 22) to the storing place (3).

7. A container in accordance with claim 5 or 6, ch ara c t e ri z e d in that the storing place (3) is mainly a recess (14, 15; 21) of the shape of a recorded media

(4; 22), and that the recess (14, 15; 21) includes attaching elements (16; 23) for attaching the recorded media (4; 22) to the recess.