Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Combined Container and Building Block
FIELD
100011 This disclosure relates to the field of containers, and more
particularly to containers that are
designed to be used as toy building blocks once they have served their purpose
as containers for goods.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Containers for goods are often sold in single-use molded plastic
containers that are generally
discarded after use. The discarding of these materials represents an economic
loss of materials and
resources. Even when these materials are recycled instead of being sent to a
landfill, there is an
economic cost associated with the recycling process. There is an interest in
reducing the amount of
resources used and in reusing items, but this is often not feasible. One way
to promote the reuse of
containers has been to design containers that can be used as building blocks,
while they contain goods
and/or once their purpose as a container has been served.
[0003] Various containers adapted for stacking or interlockable connection are
known. For example,
US 2,631,747 describes a combined container and toy building block that can
stack vertically through the
lid of one container being received in the base of another container. US
3,391,824 describes a stacking
container that can stack vertically through the lid(s) of one or more
containers being received by
corresponding recesses in the base of one or more other container(s). US
4,624,383 describes
interlocking containers that slidingly engage along their side walls and stack
vertically through the lid of
one container being received by a corresponding recess in the base of another
container. US 6,506,091
describes a container that has male connectors formed along on side and a
second container comprising
corresponding female receptacles formed along one side, wherein the containers
can be joined or
stacked through engagement between the male connectors and the female
receptacles. The male
connectors are threadably engaged with the side of the container such that
they can be unscrewed to
allow dispensing of the container's contents. US 7,175,498 describes a
container that has male
connectors formed on one side and corresponding female connectors formed on
another side, as well as
a capped spout formed on top of the container and a corresponding spout
receptacle formed on the
bottom of the container, thereby allowing containers to be joined side-to-side
and stacked vertically.
US 2006/0261063 describes an interlocking container with slidably engagable
sides, a capped spout on
the top of the container, and a corresponding recess on the bottom of the
container that allows
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containers to be joined side-to-side and vertically stacked. US 0369,100
describes a combined container
and building block that has a male connector on one side and a corresponding
recess on another side.
US D586,225 describes an interlockable bottle that slidingly engages along its
sides, allowing adjacent
bottles to be joined side-to-side.
[0004] While these containers are useful for the particular problems they
address, it remains desirable
to provide a container which, after its initial use as a container, can be
used as a safe and economical toy
building block.
SUMMARY
[00051 Provided is a container that can be used as a building block once it
has served its purpose as a
container for goods. The container is particularly suited for use as a toy
building block. The container
may comprise a hollow body portion formed of side walls, a top wall, and a
bottom wall; with a male
connector outwardly extending from a first side wall and a recess, arranged to
fittingly engage the male
connector of a like container, extending into a second side wall, allowing
adjacent containers to be
releasably joined together. The container may also comprise a neck extending
from the top wall and a
second recess formed in the bottom wall, said second recess arranged to
receive the neck of a like
container, thereby allowing like containers to be stacked.
[0006] One embodiment is a container comprising a hollow body portion formed
of a plurality of side
walls, a bottom wall, and a top wall; a male connector outwardly extending
from a first side wall; a first
recess formed in a second side wall, said first recess arranged to fittingly
engage the male connector of a
first like container; a neck upwardly extending from the top wall; and a
second recess extending into the
bottom wall, said second recess arranged to fittingly receive the neck of a
second like container.
[0007] In an embodiment, the neck is arranged to engage a cap and when the
neck is engaged with said
cap, the combined size and/or shape of the neck and the cap prevents the neck
of the second like
container from being received by the second recess, such that the neck of the
second like container may
only be received by the second recess when it is uncapped.
[0008] In a further embodiment, the first recess is arranged to engage the
male connector of the first
like container by snapping together of said containers.
[0009] In an embodiment the container comprises four side walls, wherein the
male connector and the
first recess are formed in opposing side walls.
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[0010] In a further embodiment, the neck extends upward centrally from the top
wall.
[0011] In an embodiment, the container is a substantially square shape along
the horizontal plane.
[0012] In an embodiment the neck is a threaded neck.
[0013] In a further embodiment, a container of the disclosure is in
combination with a cap arranged to
engage the neck of the container.
[0014] In an additional embodiment, a product is contained within the hollow
body portion of the
container. In a further embodiment, the product is a liquid product. In yet
another embodiment, the
product is a bath product. In an embodiment, the product is a bath product
selected from shampoo,
conditioner, body wash, shower gel, foam bath, bubble bath, or liquid soap.
[0015] Another embodiment is a container comprising a hollow body portion
formed of a plurality of
side walls, a bottom wall, and a top wall; a male connector outwardly
extending from a first side wall; a
first recess formed in a second side wall, said first recess arranged to
fittingly engage the male connector
of a first like container in a snap-fit manner effecting a locking together of
said containers into a
cohesive assembly; and an opening extending into a hollow interior of the
hollow body portion for
introduction or removal of contents to and from the container through the
opening.
[0016] A further embodiment is a container comprising a hollow body portion
formed of a plurality of
side walls, a bottom wall, and a top wall; a neck upwardly extending from the
top wall around a passage
into a hollow interior of the body portion for pouring of contents from the
container through the neck; a
cap engagable to and removable from the neck for selective closing and opening
of the passage to the
hollow interior of the body; and a recess extending into the bottom wall, said
second recess arranged to
fittingly receive the neck of a like container only when the neck of the like
container is uncapped.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0017] Figure 1 depicts an isometric view of a container of the disclosure.
[0018] Figure 2 depicts a rear perspective view of the container of Figure 1.
[0019] Figure 3 depicts a front side view of the container of Figure 1.
[0020] Figure 4 depicts a perspective view of three containers of Figure 1
arranged together as building
blocks.
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[0021] Figure 5 depicts a front sectional view of the container of Figure 1
sectioned in the plane and
direction indicated by section lines 1-1 in Figure 1.
[0022] Figure 6 depicts a left side elevation view of the container of Figure
1.
[0023] Figure 7 depicts a right side elevation view of the container of Figure
1.
[0024] Figure 8 depicts a top plan view of the container of Figure 1.
[0025] Figure 9 depicts a bottom plan view of the container of Figure 1.
[0026] Figure 10 depicts a right elevation view of the container of Figure lin
combination with a cap.
DESCRIPTION
[0027] Throughout the following description specific details are set forth in
order to provide a more
thorough understanding to persons skilled in the art. However, well known
elements may not have been
shown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the disclosure.
Accordingly, the
description and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative, rather than a
restrictive, sense. Further,
where considered appropriate, reference numerals may be repeated among the
figures to indicate
corresponding or analogous elements.
[0028] The present disclosure provides generally a container that can be used
as a building block once
it has served its purpose as a container for goods. In particular the
disclosure provides a container that
can engage other containers through fitting engagement between a male
connector and corresponding
recess on side walls of adjacent containers and/or through a neck upwardly
extending from the top face
of one container being received in a corresponding recess in the bottom of
another container. In this
manner, containers of the disclosure can be joined together as building blocks
to form various three
dimensional structures. In particular, the container of the disclosure is
suitable for use as a toy building
block once it has served its purpose as a container for goods.
[0029] Having a container become a useful toy after it has served its purpose
as a container for goods
may reduce the amount of material entering landfills. It may also add value or
appeal to the goods
being sold in the container, since the container itself has a secondary use.
It may also promote
additional purchases of the goods to amass a collection of containers.
Finally, this type of container may
provide a simple, economical, safe, and engaging child's toy.
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[0030] An embodiment of a container of the disclosure is illustrated in
Figures 1 to 10. The container
110 comprises a front side wall 116, a right side wall 112, a male connector
120 outwardly extending
from right side wall 112, a rear side wall 214, a left side wall 210, a side
recess 212 formed in left side
wall 210, a top wall 114, a neck 118 upwardly protruding from top wall 114, a
bottom wall 910, and a
bottom recess 510 extending into bottom wall 910. Neck 118 may be engaged with
a cap 1010,
enabling the container to securely contain goods.
[0031] The cap may be an internally threaded screw-on cap for engagement with
mating external
threads on the neck, or the cap may be another style of cap, for example a cap
for engaging the neck in
a snap-fit manner. In an embodiment, the engagement mechanism of the cap is of
a known child
resistant 'safety' type mechanism to prevent cap removal by young children
without adult or
supervisory assistance.
[0032] Bottom recess 510 is designed to receive neck 118 of another container
of identical structure,
allowing containers to be stacked on top of one another such that top wall 114
and bottom wall 910 of
the stacked containers are in physical contact, as shown by stacked containers
110b and 110c in Figure
4. Further, male connector 120 and side recess 212 are arranged to fittingly
engage, allowing adjacent
containers to be joined together as shown by containers 110a and 110b in
Figure 4. In this manner,
containers may be joined together, side-to-side and/or top-to-bottom, to form
structures comprising a
plurality of containers of the disclosure. In an embodiment, male connector
120 and side recess 212
may engage by snapping together by moving the male connector into the side
recess by relative
movement of the containers toward one another in a horizontal direction
bringing the sides of the
containers together in a face-to-face manner.
[0033] Having the containers physically couple or join together under
engagement of the male
connector 120 and side recess 212 provides an advantage over prior art
building block containers where
a loose-fit between adjacent containers maintains them in aligned positions,
but does not actively
couple the containers together into an assembled unit, whereby the assembled
together containers can
be moved as a single cohesive unit. Where a snap fit is used, the engaged snap
fit also prevents relative
movement between the containers in all directions, unlike axial slide-fit
connections in the prior art that
prevent horizontal withdrawal of the containers from one another, but allow
vertical movement
between the containers along the slide axis. The strength of the snap fit
between two joined containers
is preferably strong enough to carry the weight of one container on the other
without disengaging, but
CA 02839306 2014-01-14
weak enough to be separable by young children who will be employing the
building-block functionality
of the containers.
[0034] In an embodiment, neck 118, cap 1010, and bottom recess 510 are
relatively sized such that
neck 118 can only be received by bottom recess 510 when neck 118 is uncapped.
This is intended to
provide an element of safety, since the use of capped containers as building
blocks may present a
choking hazard to young children or pets. In particular, cap 1010 could be
removed from container 110
during play, making it available to be chewed or swallowed by a young child or
pet. If neck 118 can only
be received by bottom recess 510 when neck 118 is uncapped, there is incentive
for the cap to be
removed and discarded before the container is used as a building block,
thereby reducing the possibility
of a child or pet having access to cap 1010.
[0035] In the illustrated embodiment, container 110 is roughly cuboid in
shape. However, other hollow
shapes may be employed. For example, the shape of container 110 may be, but is
not limited to,
rectangular, hexagonal, quadrilateral, triangular, or pentagonal. In an
embodiment, the container is of a
shape that has substantially planar faces.
[0036] Further, in the illustrated embodiment, container 110 comprises a
single male connector 120
and a single side recess 212 situated on opposing side walls. In other
embodiments, the container may
comprise a plurality of male connectors 120 and/or a plurality of side
recesses 212, so long as the male
connectors 120 and the side recesses 212 are positioned such that adjacent
containers can be joined
through engagement between one or more male connectors 120 with one or more
side recesses 212.
For example, the container may comprise a male connector 120 on each of one or
more side walls, said
side walls being adjacent, spaced apart, or opposing. Similarly, the container
may comprise a side recess
212 on each of one or more side walls, said side walls being adjacent, spaced
apart, or opposing. In an
embodiment, the number of male connectors 120 is equal to the number of side
recesses 212. In
another embodiment, at least one side wall may comprise a plurality of male
connectors 120 while at
least one other side wall may comprise a plurality of side recesses 212. In
this embodiment, the position
and number of male connectors and side recesses should be arranged to allow at
least one male
connector 120 to engage at least one side recess 212, thereby bringing the
associated side walls into
contact, or at least into close face-to-face proximity, with one other.
[0037] The container of the disclosure may be made of any material that is
suitable to hold goods and
to be used as a toy building block. Fragile materials, such as glass, and
toxic materials should be avoided
since they may pose a hazard when used as a toy. When the container is
intended to contain a liquid,
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the container should be made of an impermeable material. Preferred materials
are durable materials
that can withstand shipping and repeated use as a toy block; as will readily
be apparent to one skilled in
the art. In an embodiment, the container is made of plastic, for example using
plastic molding
techniques.
[0038] The container of the disclosure may be used to contain a variety of
goods, including liquid or
solid goods. In an embodiment, the contained good is a flowable good such as a
liquid, granular
mixture, or powder. In another embodiment, the good is a bath product; such as
a bath salt, shampoo,
conditioner, liquid soap, bubble bath, shower gel, body wash, bubble bath, or
foam bath. The good may
also be a comestible product, such as a beverage. In an embodiment, the good
may be a good intended
for use by or for children.
[0039] Numerous specific details are set forth herein in order to provide a
thorough understanding of
the exemplary embodiments described herein. However, it will be understood by
those of ordinary skill
in the art that these embodiments may be practiced without these specific
details. In other instances,
well-known methods, procedures and components have not been described in
detail so as not to
obscure the description of the embodiments.
[0040] Further, while the above description provides examples of the
embodiments, it will be
appreciated that some features and/or functions of the described embodiments
are susceptible to
modification without departing from the spirit and principles of operation of
the described
embodiments. Accordingly, what has been described above has been intended to
be illustrative of the
invention and non-limiting. It will be understood by persons skilled in the
art that other variants and
modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as
defined in the
appended claims.
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