Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
,
CONTAINER ASSEMBLY INCLUDING REMOVABLE SECONDARY CONTAINER
Field of the Invention
[0001] The present invention relates to containers for products,
including consumer
and industrial liquid products, and more particularly to a container assembly
that
includes a primary container onto which a secondary container is removably
attached.
Background
[0002] There are many situations in which it is beneficial, and in some
cases
necessary to have two materials used during an activity, where one of the
materials is
needed in less volume than the other. Some examples of such situations are: a
fabric
softener with a laundry detergent, a primer with a paint, a thinning agent
with a
concentrated chemical, a solid ifier with an epoxy resin. In each of these
cases, two
containers are needed to store and carry the two combinable substances.
[0003] While separate containers are a fine method for storing the
materials, the use
of two containers has downside. For example it typically necessitates that the
two
products are somehow associated with one another so that the purchaser
correctly buys
the two proper components. It also requires additional shelf space in stores,
which is
becoming more and more difficult with the proliferation of various products
for sale.
There is also the problem that the products can become separated (either in
the store or
on the consumer's storage shelf) thus leading to wasted time searching for the
product.
Furthermore, manufacturers also risk loss of sales of one of the products if
the
consumer does not purchase the complimentary products together.
[0004] The primary solution to this issue has been to secure the
secondary container
to the primary container, such as packaging the two containers together (e.g.,
co-
packaging the containers or shrink-wrapping the containers together),
attaching the
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secondary container to the neck or handle of the primary container, such as
with a
plastic tie or ring, or adhering the secondary container to the side of the
primary
container. While these solutions address many of the problems associated with
keeping two containers together during display in a store, they do not address
the
problem of keeping the containers together after purchase.
[0005] A need therefore exists for an improved container assembly for
attaching two
containers together where one is removably reattachable to the other.
Summary of the Invention
[0006] The present invention relates to a container assembly which includes
a
primary container and a secondary container removably attached to the primary
container. The primary container includes a top, a bottom and a side. The side
includes a recess in which the secondary container is located when attached to
the
primary container. The recess is defined by two side walls extending laterally
from a
rear wall of the recess toward an outer surface of the side wall. The
secondary
container includes a top, a bottom and a side.
[0007] The secondary container is attached to the primary container through
a set of
securing attachments, each including a protrusion and mating indentation. At
least one
of the walls of the primary container and the side of the secondary container
includes
the set of protrusions, and the other of the walls of the primary container
and the side of
the secondary container includes the set of mating indentations.
[0008] The openings in the primary container and secondary container are
each
located in either the top, side or bottom of the respective container.
[0009] In one embodiment the walls of the recess in the primary container
each
include a protrusion which extends into the recess and toward one another, and
the side
of the secondary container includes the set of indentations located on
opposite surfaces
of the side and projecting into the container side toward one another. The
indentations
extend along a portion of the secondary container side substantially to the
bottom of the
secondary container.
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[0010] In another embodiment the walls of the recess in the
primary container
include the indentation with each wall having one indentation that projects
away from
the secondary container, and the side of the secondary container includes the
protrusions located on opposite surfaces of the side and projecting outward
from the
container side toward the indentations. The indentations extend along a
portion of the
primary container side substantially to the top of the primary container.
[0011] The walls are preferably spaced apart from one another such
that the walls
are closest wherein the protrusion is located and are further apart furthest
from the
protrusion.
[0012] In one embodiment, the bottom and a portion of the side of
the primary
container extend below the bottom of the secondary container so as to form a
ledge on
which the bottom of the secondary container sits.
[0013] The primary container may include an upper protrusion
formed on the rear of
the recess and positioned at a height at or above the top of the secondary
container, the
upper protrusion inhibiting the secondary container from sliding vertically
upward.
[0014] The foregoing and other features of the invention and
advantages of the
present invention will become more apparent in light of the following detailed
description
of the preferred embodiments, as illustrated in the accompanying figures. As
will be
realized, the invention is capable of modifications in various respects, all
without
departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and the description
are to be
regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive.
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=
Brief Description of the Drawings
[0015] The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of the
present
invention may be more apparent from the following more particular description
of
embodiments thereof, presented in conjunction with the following drawings.
[0016] FIG. 1 is a front view of a container assembly with a secondary
container
removably attached to a primary container according to the present invention.
[0017] FIG. 2 is a top view of the container assembly of FIG. 1.
[0018] FIG. 3 is a right side view of the container assembly of FIG. 1.
[0019] FIG. 4 is a section view of the container assembly of FIG. 1 taken
along lines
4-4 in FIG. 1.
[0020] FIG. 4A is an enlarged view of a securing mechanism according to
an
embodiment of the invention.
[0021] FIG. 5 is another embodiment of a container assembly according to
the
present invention.
[0022] FIG. 6 is a section view of the container assembly of FIG. 5 taken
along lines
6-6 in FIG. 5.
[0023] FIGS. 7A ¨ 7C illustrate a secondary container according to an
embodiment
of the invention for use in the container assembly of FIG. 1.
[0024] FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate the primary container of FIG. 1 without
the
secondary container attached.
Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments
[0025] A better understanding of various features and advantages of the
present
methods and devices may be obtained by reference to the following detailed
description
of illustrative embodiments of the invention and accompanying drawings.
Although
these drawings depict embodiments of the contemplated methods and devices,
they
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should not be construed as foreclosing alternative or equivalent embodiments
apparent
to those of ordinary skill in the subject art.
[0026] Referring to the drawings, and initially to FIG. 1, one
preferred embodiment of
a container assembly 10 according to the present invention is shown. A bottle
is shown
in the illustrated embodiment however, as will become apparent, the invention
is
applicable to a wide variety of containers. Also, it is contemplated to that
the containers
are preferably made from plastic material, although various other materials
can be used.
The container assembly 10 includes a primary or first container 12 and a
secondary
container 14. The secondary container 14 is removably attached to the primary
container 12 as will be discussed in more detail below.
[0027] The primary container 12 includes a top 16, a bottom 18 and
a side 20. The
top preferably includes an opening for dispensing the products located in the
container.
The opening could alternately be located on the side 20 or bottom 18. In the
illustrated
embodiment, the top includes a neck 22 which circumscribes the opening and a
cap
(not shown) is removably attached to the neck 22 for closing the opening in a
conventional manner.
[0028] The container side 20 in the illustrated embodiment is semi-
rectangular in
shape so as to have four side portions 20A, 20B, 20C and 20D. Of course, the
side 20
could be cylindrical or any other shape thus changing the number of side
portions. The
side 20 includes at least one recess 26 in which the secondary container 14 is
located
when attached to the primary container. The recess is defined by two walls 28
extending laterally from the rear of the recess 26 to the outer surface of the
side wall 20.
The lateral walls 28 interact with the secondary container 14 for securing the
secondary
container 14 to the primary container 12. In the illustrated embodiment, the
recess 26 is
formed in the side portion 20A, however it could be formed in any side
portion. Also
there could be two or more recesses 26 formed in the side 20, each having
respective
lateral projecting walls 28.
[0029] The secondary container 14 includes a top 30, a bottom 32
and a side 34.
The top 30 preferably includes an opening for dispensing the products located
in the
secondary container 14. The opening could alternately be located on the side
34 or
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bottom 32. In the illustrated embodiment, the top 30 includes a neck 36 which
circumscribes the opening and a conventional cap (not shown) that is removably
attached to the neck 36 for closing the opening in a conventional manner.
[0030] As with the primary container 12, the secondary container side 34 in
the
illustrated embodiment is semi-rectangular in shape, as shown in Figs. 7A-7C,
so as to
have four side portions 34A, 34B, 34C and 34D. Of course, the side 34 could be
cylindrical or any other shape thus changing the number of side portions. The
secondary container 14 is sized to fit within the recess 36 in the primary
container 12.
The side 34 of the secondary container 14 interacts with the walls 28 as
discussed
below for removably securing the secondary container 14 to the primary
container 12.
[0031] The attachment of the secondary container to 14 the primary
container 12 is
through a set of securing attachments 40, each securing attachment including a
protrusion 42 and mating indentation 44. Referring to Fig. 4, which is a
section through
the primary and secondary container sides 20, 34, in the illustrated
embodiment, the
walls 28 of the primary container 12 include protrusions 42 that extend into
the recess
and toward one another. The protrusions 42 may be a single protrusion 42 on
each of
the walls 28 or may be multiple protrusions 42 on each wall spaced apart
vertically from
one another. The protrusions 44 can more clearly be seen with reference to
Figs. 8A
and 8B which shown the primary container 12 without the secondary container 14
attached.
[0032] The secondary container 14 includes mating indentations 44 formed on
opposite surfaces of the side 34 of the secondary container 14 (e.g., 34B and
34D).
The indentations 44 project into the container side 34 toward one another and
are
configured to mate with the protrusions 42. An embodiment of the secondary
container
14 illustrating the indentations is shown in Figs. 7A-7C.
[0033] More particularly and with reference to Fig. 4A, which is an
enlargement of
one securing mechanism 40, the wall of the primary container 12 includes a
bulbous
protrusion 42 which seats within a mating indentation 44 on the secondary
container 14.
The protrusion 42 projects a distance L1 toward the side 34 of the secondary
container
14, and has a width dimension W1. As shown in Figs. 8A and 8B, the protrusion
42 has
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a height of H. In one preferred embodiment, the height H is approximately 1.0
inches.
however it should be apparent that other heights H can be used depending on
the size
of the secondary container. The indentation 44 projects a distance L2 toward
the center
of the secondary container 14 and has a width dimension W2. In order to make
the
secondary container 14 easily removable from the primary container 12, the
indentations 44 preferably extend along a portion of the container side 34
toward the
bottom 32. As shown in Figs. 7B, the indentations 44 preferably extend from
the
location where they mate with the protrusions 42 to the bottom 32. The
indentations 44
may taper apart as shown by the numeral 44A.
[0034] Since the secondary container 14 will contain material, such
as liquid, during
use, it is important that the securing mechanisms 40 sufficiently secure the
secondary
container 14 to the primary container 12. To accomplish this, in one
embodiment, the
protrusion has an L1 dimension of approximately 0.054 inches and a width
dimension
W1 of approximately 0.29 inches. The indentation 44 has an L2 dimension of
approximately 0.054 inches, and a width dimension W2 of approximately 0.30
inches.
There is preferably a gap G formed between the mating surfaces of the
protrusion 42
and indention 44. In one embodiment, the gap is approximately 0.010 inches. Of
course it should be readily apparent that the protrusions 42 and indentations
44 could
be reversed, i.e., with the indentations located on the walls 28 of the
primary container
12 and the protrusions 44 located on the sides of the secondary container 14.
In certain
embodiments, the secondary container 12 is configured to be removably secured
to the
primary container so that it can be slid upward and out of engagement with
securing
mechanisms 40. In another embodiment, the secondary container is removed by
pulling the bottle laterally away from the primary container. In the
embodiment shown in
Fig. 1, the side portions 20A of the primary container preferably bow
laterally inward
toward the recess 26 from either side to restrict the secondary bottle from
moving up
and down or side to side within the recess 26. As should be apparent, the use
of the
protrusion/indentation, would work in combination with the bowed sidewall to
retain the
secondary container.
[0035] Preferably the securing mechanisms 40 are positioned
approximately at the
middle of the vertical height of the secondary container 14 in one embodiment.
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Alternatively, the securing mechanisms 40 can be positioned along the lower
portion fo
the vertical height of the secondary container 14 To facilitate disengagement,
the walls
28 of the primary container 12 may taper away from the side 34 of the
secondary
container 14 as they extend upward from the middle of the secondary container
14 as
shown in Fig. 1.
[0036] Referring to Figs. 5 and 6, a second embodiment of the
invention is shown.
Many of the aspects of the first embodiment are applicable to the second
embodiment.
In this embodiment, the dimension Li is approximately 0.055 inches, the
dimension W1
is approximately 0.306 inches, the dimension L2 is approximately 0.055, and
the
dimension W2 is approximately 0.316 inches.
[0037] As shown in the second embodiment, to provide further
securement for the
secondary container 14 on the primary container, an upper protrusion 48 may be
formed in the back of the recess 26 and positioned at a height at or slightly
above the
top 30 of the secondary container 14. The upper protrusion 48 inhibits the
secondary
container 14 from sliding vertically upward without a slight pulling. This
protrusion could
be added to the first embodiment if desired.
[0038] In order to provide extra support for the secondary
container 14, the side 20
and bottom 18 of the primary container may extend below the bottom 32 of the
secondary container to form a ledge on which the bottom 32 of the secondary
container
14 rests. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 5, the ledge 46 is positioned at a
distance
B2 from the bottom 18 of the primary container and extends outward a distance
B1 from
the back of the recess 26. In this illustrated embodiment, the distance B1 is
approximately 0.50 inches and the distance B2 is approximately 0.50 inches.
This
forms a sufficient size ledge 46 to support the secondary container 14.
[0039] As should be apparent, in order to separate the secondary
container 14 from
the primary container 12, the user need only slide the secondary container 14
upward,
thus disengaging the securing mechanisms 40 (as shown above in the first
embodiment
) and the protrusion 48 (as shown above in the second embodiment). The
secondary
container 14 can be easily reattached to the primary container 12 by simply
reversing
the procedure.
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[0040] For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the
principles of the
invention, reference has been made to the preferred embodiments illustrated in
the
drawings, and specific language has been used to describe these embodiments.
However, no limitation of the scope of the invention is intended by this
specific
language, and the invention should be construed to encompass all embodiments
that
would normally occur to one of ordinary skill in the art.
[0041] The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language
(e.g., "such as")
provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and
does not pose
a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed. Numerous
modifications and adaptations will be readily apparent to those skilled in
this art without
departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
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