US2823490A - Container convertible to a toy - Google Patents

Description

P.- D. GRIEM.

CONTAINER CONVERTIBLE TO A TOY Feb; 18,1 958 Filed June 29, 1955 /8 /8a "*7 "ilk 1941/4 0. @P/f/V hEliZZiUT .ment are also required for the package.

United States Patent 'CONTAINERCONVERTIBLE TO A TOY Paul D.Griem, Toledo, Ohio, assignor to Owens Brush Company, Toledo, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application June. 29,. 1955,:Serial No. 518,820

3"Claims. i (0.46-5.11)

Jhe instantinvention relatesv generally to packages and '10 containers adapted for use in display packages, and

more particularly, to a container that is readily and easily assembled and disassembled and contains a transparent fmember'for displaying an article to be-contained thereby in a' package assembly.

Although the instant.inventionisadapted for use in a number of arts, it may be used with particular advantage in the packaging of individual articles in highlycompetitivefields, such as in the packaging of toothbrushes or.similar articles. For sanitary reasons as well as customer appeal there has developed a very great demand for toothbrushes packagedindividually inpackages wherein the toothbrush or similar-article may be seen by. the customer. Such packages must be reasonably. sturdy and attractiveto have the necessary customerappea-l. Also,

'the packages are preferably assembled. anddi-sassembled .simplified structure which not only fulfills all of. the above mentioned requirements,.but also presents even a greater attractive feature in the appearance of end membersor plugs for the package, either assembled on the package or separately assembled.

In essence, the instant container comprises a central transparent hollow elongated member which receives. the article to be packaged and a pair of plugmembers which fit snugly into opposite ends of .the hollow membento complete the package. The plugv members .have/theappearance and shape of the front and rear end, respectively, of a toy, such as a dog, train, boat or. the like. Each of the. plug members has feet or. comparable. supporting projections (-e. g. wheels) which cooperate to mount the package and the central transparent portion thereofin .a fixed display position so that additional displaymounting structure is not necessary. Each of the plugmembers also has centering or guide means mounted thereon and cooperating with the ends of the elongated hollow member to fix the position of the article therein in ansuitable display position. ..In additiomthe two plug members. may be assembled separately not onlyto define a somewhat altered shape ofthe toy formed by the package, but also to keep the mating plugmembers inassembly so one will not be lost during assemblyandldisassembly operations.

It is .thus an important object of the instant invention to provide an improved container and an improved pack- Patented Feb. 18, 1958 age formed ofthe container -.with an article suitably mounted therein.

It is an additional important object of the instant invention to provide an improved container and an improvedpackage 'formed of the container with an article suitably mounted therein comprising container end plugs which support the package in display position.

It is a further object of the. instant invention to provide an improved container'that is sturdy and attractive in appearance.

It is another object of the instant invention to provide an improved packagewhich is self-supporting, easily assembled and disassembled, and equipped with centering means for displaying the article, andalso has an additional utility because it maybe used as a toy.

Other andfurther objects, features and advantages of the instantinvention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from thefollowing detailed disclosure thereof and the drawings attached hereto and made a part hereof.

On thefdrawings: Figure 1 is.a side'elevational view of apackage embodying the instant invention;

. Figure .2, is a top, plan view 'of'the package shown in Figure 1;

tion 12 and atail end portion'13, in the. form of a toothbrushfhaving bristles 12' mountedat: the head endlf. andian elongatedhandle' defining the tail end portion 13. Other articles maya'lso' be'retainedin the instant package 10 such as fingernail files,"pencils,pens, etc. and it is not absolutely necessary that these articles have such a substantially elongatedshaperasfhere indicated. In fact, other articlesthatare'not elongated in shape may be packaged insIightlydifierent shaped containers .in accordance generallywith the 'teachingsof the instant invention,

"although theqinvention ispreferred for use with elongated articles.

The. package'10'also comprises a container (indicated as 10"in1Figure .3 wherein the article 11 is not shown) madeupof' an elongated hollow transparent tube or envelope -14 open'at bothendsand adapted to axially receive the article 11 therein. The elongatedenvelope. 14 is preferably 'tubu'larfin shape,"but itmay'have other (substantially uniform) cross-sectional shapes such as square or triangular shapes which would still permit the *hollow envelope 14 topreceive the'article ,11. The envelope 14is,' however, preferably tubular in shape because this simplifiesthe shaping of the'plug'portions inserted therein (whichwill be'descr'ibed hereinafter) and it also'sirnplifies the formation oft-he envelope itself,

" which is-preferablymade ofa' transparent-material that is substantially rig-id tomake a snug fitting with the plug members to be describedbut'may have a certain amount of flexibility. E Rigidftransparent synthetic resins .such as the p olyacrylates; polystyrene, or :therlikemay: be. used to form the :tube 1'4. Preferably, the -tubel lis madenf cellulose-acetate, :cellulose .raceitate-lbutyrate, or compartablewtransparent cellulose ester--whichis :slightly :flexible 1 to afford -easy.-.handli-nga.andsirnpact resistance :desiredin .a package .of thistype, but which issuitably rigid (to make "The pair of plugs 15 and 16 each have a projection 17 3 and 18, respectively, thereon releasably and snugly fitting into an end 14a and 14b, respectively, of the envelope 14 to close the same. At the first plug or head plug 15, the first projection 17 thereon releasably and snugly fits Within the end 14a of the tube 14, with the extremity of the tube end 14a fitting fiush against a shoulder 17a at the base of the projection 17. The first projection 17 extends outwardly from the head plug 15 in generally axial alignment with the tube 14 and axially opposed to the corresponding projection 18 on the tail plug 16. A first recess 19 preferably having a generally annular cross-section smaller in size than the overall cross-section of the first projection 17 is formed in the outwardly extending face of the projection 17 and generally concentrically aligned therewith.

The second plug or tail plug 16 has a second projection 18 thereon releasably and snugly fitting within the other tube end 14b, with the tube end 14b fitting flush against a shoulder 18a at the base of the projection 18. The annular shoulders 17a and 18:: on the plugs 15 and 16, respectively, fix the relative position of the elements 14, 15 and 16 in the assembled package 10. The second projection 18 on the tail plug 16 has a third projection 20, of telescopic shape, extending outwardly from the second projection 18 and being of smaller cross-section than the second projection 18, and defining therewith an annular shoulder 20a at the base of the third projection 20. The second projection 18 and the third projection 20 are axially aligned and generally concentric and the third projection 20 is adapted to fit snugly and releasably into the first recess 19 of the head plug 15, as shown in Figure 4, whenever the plugs 15 and 16 are momentarily separated from the tube 14. This alfords the advantage of coupling means between the two plugs 15 and 16 so that such plugs will remain in pairs, in mating engagement, before and after assembly and one of such pairs will not be lost. In addition, the assembled plugs 15 and 16 provide a toy in and of themselves. Because of the snug fit between the first recess and the third projection 20, the hollow space within the toy formed by the plugs 15 and 16 alone will permit this toy to float on water (which in the case of the plug members shaped as the front and rear portion of a boat will have particular use).

The plug members 15 and 16 are preferably made of a suitable lightweight synthetic resin material that has a certain amount of resilience or flexibility so as to assure a snug fit with the tube 14 and with the plug members themselves. Preferably a natural or synthetic elastomer is used having a sufficient amount of rigidity to be selfsupporting, but also having an adequate amount of elastomeric properties to permit the snug fits hereinbefore described. Polyethylene is preferred for use in the prac-- vtice of the instant invention, because it can be molded easily in the rather complicated shapes of the instant plugs 15 and 16 and it has a very smooth waxy texture and resilience or elastomeric properties to the extent desired.

As will also be seen, the head plug 15 is shaped generally to define the fore part of a dog defining the head portion 15a and also the fore feet 15b, which feet or mounting portion 15b presents a fiat base 15c. The rear plug 16 has the general shape of the rear part of a dog with rear feet portions 16a extending therefrom in generally parallel alignment to the fore feet portions 15b and also defining a flat bottom supporting surface 16b.

The feet portions 15b and 16a thus are adapted to suphead and fore feet portions 15a and 15b, respectively,

in the head plug 15 afford handle means for manually grasping the head plug 15 during assembly and disassernbly; and in like manner, the tail portion 16; and they feet portions 16a of the tail plug afiord manually graspable means.

It will also be noted that in the tail plug 16 the third projection 20 (and also the second projection 18) have another recess 21 therein and generally concentric thereto. The recess 21 opens into the outer face of the projection 20 and is here shown in enlarged form. Actually, the recess 21 can be made, and preferably is made, to fit substantially the size of the tail end portion 13 of the article 11 so as to receive and position or center the article tail end 13 when the package 10 is assembled. This can also be done by tapering the bottom of the recess 21 or, if it is desired to save material, merely by providing a thin upwardly (or radially) extending fin 22 (shown in full view in Figures 3 and 4) in the lower side of the recess 21 to engage the end of the brush handle 13 and center the same in the tube 14.

Means are also provided in the head plug 15 for cooperation with the recess 21 in the tail plug 16 to effect centering and positioning of the article 11. And such means are in the form of a fourth projection 23 which is positioned centrally within the first recess 19 and is generally concentric with the recess 19 and the projection 17 on the plug 15. The projection 23 extends outwardly from the plug 15 to be substantially flush with the outer edge of the projection 17, so as to cooperate with the head portion 12 of the brush 11 to prevent the head portion 12 from being hidden in the first recess 19. The plug projection 23 thus is urged against the article head 12 in the package 11) so as to exclude the head 12 from the first recess 19 and the fourth projection thus cooperates with the second recess 21 to centrally mount the article 11 in the package 10.

It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the present invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. A package comprising an elongated article having a head end portion and a tail end portion, an elongated hollow transparent tube open at both ends axially receiving the article to retain the same therein, a first plug having a first projection thereon releasably and snugly fitting within one tube end and a first recess in said first projection, and a second plug having a second projection thereon releasably and snugly fitting within the other tube end and a third projection extending outwardly from said second projection and being of smaller cross-section to snugly fit into said first recess, both said plugs having feet portions extending in parallel alignment therefrom to support said package on a surface with the tube in generally parallel alignment with the surface, the head end of said article extending into said first recess in said first projection and the tail end of said article being maintained in fully exposed position within the transparent tube by said third projection.

2. A container comprising an elongated hollow transparent tube open at both ends adapted to receive and display an article, a first plug having a first projection thereon releasably and snugly fitting within one tube end and a first recess in said first projection, and a second plug having a second projection thereon releasably and snugly fitting within the other tube end and a third projection extending outwardly from said second projection and being of smaller cross-section to snugly fit into said first recess, so that said first recess and said third projection may position an article within the hollow tube when said plugs are mounted thereon and said first recess and said third projection may be fit together to assemble said plugs as a toy in the absence of said tube.

3. A container comprising an elongated hollow transparent tube open at both ends adapted to receive and display anarticle, a first plug having a first projection thereon releasably and snugly fitting within one tube end and a first recess in said first projection, and a second plug having a second projection thereon releasably and snugly fitting within the other tube end and a third projection extending outwardly from said second projection and being of smaller cross-section to snugly fit into said first recess, both said plugs having feet portions extending in parallel alignment therefrom to support said package on a surface with the tube in generally parallel alignment with the surf-ace, so that said first recess and said third projection may position an article within the hollow tube when said plugs are mounted thereon and said first recess and said third projection may be fit together to assemble said plugs as a toy in the absence of said tube.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

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