Envelopes – wrappers – and paperboard boxes – Paperboard box – With closure for an access opening
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-03
2001-08-14
Elkins, Gary E. (Department: 3727)
Envelopes, wrappers, and paperboard boxes
Paperboard box
With closure for an access opening
C229S117280, C229S117300, C229S117350, C229S122000, C229S164200
Reexamination Certificate
active
06273332
ABSTRACT:
II. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of packaging and, in particular, to packaging for pourable food and other items.
B. Prior Art
A wide range of pourable products, such as candies, cereals, laundry soaps, and many other products, are dispensed in cardboard boxes. To access the contents, a user must generally open the top of the box. Sometimes the contents are held in a wax paper bag inside the box, and the bag must be opened as well. To store the contents, the user closes the bag and then closes the box.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,505,373 discloses a novel box for conveniently storing and dispensing pourable items. The box has a back wall and a slide connected to the back wall. The slide has a slide opening and two side tabs extending from the slide. A front wall with an opening is connected to the back wall. The box also has an interior supporting wall having first and second side slits. The slide is disposed within the box, with each of the tabs being inserted into a corresponding one of the slits. The box has an open position in which the openings are aligned and in which the contents of the box may be poured out. The box also has a closed position for storing the contents.
III. SUMMARY OF INVENTION
Broadly defined, the present invention is an improved packaging system for products that can be poured. Most commonly, those products will be solid pourable products, such as cereals, candies, rice, detergents, and a multitude of other products. However, in a broad sense, the packaging system can be used with liquids and other pourable products.
One aspect of the present invention is a box with an opening and a mechanism to open and close the opening. The system includes a liner. The liner may have a removable portion, defined by one or more lines of weakness or by other means such as a removable sticker. The removable portion of the liner is aligned with the box opening.
The system can optionally include a cartridge, into which the liner is affixed, for insertion into the box. The cartridge serves to maintain the liner in the proper position within the box.
As another option, the system can include a sound module. As the box is opened, the sound module is activated. The sound module can play music, an advertising message, and/or any combination of sounds for that sound modules can generate.
In one particular embodiment of the invention, a system for conveniently storing and dispensing pourable items has a front wall with an opening and an inside surface, a back wall, a first and a second side wall, a top and a bottom flap and a slide that is in contact with the inside surface of the front wall, said slide having an opening. The front wall, back wall, first and second side walls, and top and bottom flaps are interconnected so as to form a box. The slide is movable between an open position in which the slide opening substantially aligns with the front wall opening and a closed position in which said slide opening is entirely out of alignment with the front wall opening, thereby closing the box. An inner liner inside said box has a removable area defined by one or more lines of weakness. The removable area is positioned adjacent to at least a portion of the front wall opening. The system also has a retaining cartridge for the inner liner.
Related embodiments may have one or more other features. The lines of weakness on the bag may be perforations. Alternatively, instead of lines of weakness, the bag may simply be made of a material through which the user can cut an opening with a knife or other cutting tool. The cartridge may have four sides, three sides, or even two sides. A one-sided cartridge is also possible. The system may include a liner retention band that typically extends about the cartridge, to hold the bag within the cartridge. The system may include a sound module. In one embodiment, the sound module is activated when the slide is lifted into the open position, to play sounds that have been stored within the module, such as voices, music and the like. In another embodiment, graphics are printed on the slide such that when the slide is in the closed position, the graphics are visible through the opening in box.
Various other aspects of the invention will become apparent from a review of the Detailed Description below, the Drawings and the Claims.
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Elkins Gary E.
Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly LLP
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