GRIPPING FEATURES

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority to and any benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/739,116, filed December 19, 2012, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

[0002] This disclosure relates to a sleeve for a product package, in particular a container and closure. The sleeve comprises tactile features useful to a user opening the container. The sleeve, closure, and container of the product package can be used with, among other things, beverage products, nutritional products, and pharmaceutical products. In some product package designs, the sleeve acts as a tamper evidence sleeve to indicate to the user that the container has not been opened before the first use by the user. A concern with tamper evidence sleeves applied to closures and containers is that the sleeve may make opening the container more difficult, especially for users with decreased gripping ability. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a sleeve for a closure and container where the sleeve does not make opening the container overly difficult, while providing a tamper evident seal at the time of the product's intended use.

[0003] While a variety of product packages, and in particular sleeves for closures and containers, have been made and used, it is believed that no one prior to the inventor(s) has made or used an invention as described herein. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004] While the specification concludes with claims that particularly point out and distinctly claim the invention, it is believed the present invention will be better understood from the following description of certain examples taken in conjunction with the

accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals identify the same elements.

[0005] FIG. 1 depicts a perspective view of an exemplary product package showing a container and closure in a closed position.

[0006] FIG. 2 depicts a perspective view of the container and closure of FIG. 1 in an open position.

[0007] FIG. 3 depicts partial front view an exemplary sleeve having perforations.

[0008] FIG. 4 depicts a partial perspective view of the sleeve of FIG. 3 applied to the container and closure of FIG. 1.

[0009] FIG. 5 depicts a partial front view of another exemplary sleeve having perforations.

[0010] FIG. 6 depicts a partial perspective view of the sleeve of FIG. 5 applied to the container and closure of FIG. 1.

[0011] FIG. 7 depicts a partial front view of another exemplary sleeve, showing an ink applied to an upper portion of the sleeve.

[0012] FIG. 8 depicts a partial perspective view of the sleeve of FIG. 7 applied to the container and closure of FIG. 1.

[0013] FIG. 9 depicts a perspective view of another exemplary sleeve, showing an ink applied to an upper portion and a lower portion of the sleeve applied to the container and closure of FIG. 1.

[0014] FIG. 10 depicts a partial front view of another exemplary sleeve, showing an ink applied to an upper, perforated portion of the sleeve.

[0015] FIG. 11 depicts a partial perspective view of the sleeve of FIG. 10 applied to the container and closure of FIG. 1. [0016] The drawings are not intended to be limiting in any way, and it is contemplated that various embodiments of the invention may be carried out in a variety of other ways, including those not necessarily depicted in the drawings. The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification illustrate several aspects of the present invention, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention; it being understood, however, that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangements shown.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] The following description of certain examples of the invention should not be used to limit the scope of the present invention. Other examples, features, aspects, embodiments, and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description, which is by way of illustration, one of the best modes contemplated for carrying out the invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of other different and obvious aspects, all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions should be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive.

I. Exemplary Product Package

[0018] FIGS. 1-2 illustrate an exemplary product package (10) comprising closure (100) and container (200). Container (200) comprises a body (210). Body (210) comprises a neck (212) extending from body (210). Neck (212) comprises threads (202), a middle flange (204), and a lower flange (208). Neck (212) is configured to engage with a closure (100) as further described below.

[0019] As seen in FIG. 2, closure (100) is removable from container (200). In the present example, closure (100) comprises a top surface (118), a side wall (102), a locking ring (106), and a sealing disk (107). In some versions sealing disk (107) is omitted. When sealing disk (107) is omitted, top surface (118) is positioned continuously across the top of closure (100) such that closure (100) is a unitary piece. Side wall (102) extends generally downward from top surface (118) and comprises a gripping surface (116). Gripping surface (116) comprises a plurality of protrusions (117) that are vertically oriented and generally equally spaced around the circumference of side wall (102). In the present example, gripping surface (116) increases friction between a person's fingers and closure (100) when the person is attempting to remove closure (100) from container (200). [0020] Locking ring (106) is an optional feature and in the illustrated version is shown attached to side wall (102). Upon removal of closure (100) from container (200), locking ring (106) separates from side wall (102) and remains with container (200) as seen in FIG. 2. This separating locking ring (106) provides evidence of tampering by indicating whether closure (100) has previously been partially or fully removed from container (200). This separation of locking ring (106) is facilitated by the initial attachment of locking ring (106) to side wall (102) being perforated.

[0021 ] Middle flange (204) of container (200) is positioned between locking ring (106) and side wall (102). Middle flange (204) is configured to engage with locking ring (106) to retain locking ring (106) substantially stationary while side wall (102) and top surface (118) of closure (100) are rotated thereby causing locking ring (106) to separate from side wall (102) during removal of closure (100) from container (200). In some versions, middle flange (204) and locking ring (106) engage using corresponding teeth to retain locking ring (106) generally stationary during opening closure (100). Other suitable locking configurations for middle flange (204) and locking ring (106) will be apparent to one with ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings herein.

[0022] Side wall (102) comprises an interior surface with threads corresponding to threads (202) on container (200). The threads of side wall (102) are configured to engage with threads (202) of container (200) so that closure (100) can be screwed onto and off of container (200). When tightening closure (100) onto container (200), closure (100) is pulled downward toward lower flange (208) due to the threaded arrangement between closure (100) and container (200). When removing closure (100) from container (200), the opposite occurs, and closure (100) is driven upward away from lower flange (208).

[0023] In view of the teachings herein, various modifications to container (200) and closure (100) of product package (10), as well as features of container (200) and closure (100), will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. II. Exemplary Sleeve

[0024] When closure (100) is closed onto container (200), as shown in FIG. 1, in some versions a sleeve is applied over all or a portion of product package (10), and in particular container (200) and/or closure (100). In some versions, the sleeve is applied over the portion where closure (100) couples with container (200) to provide evidence of tampering by indicating whether closure (100) has previously been partially or fully removed from container (200). In versions where the sleeve is applied over the portion where closure (100) couples with container (200), the sleeve extends partially down body (210) of container (200). In some other versions, the sleeve extends down the entirety of container (200).

Suitable sleeve configurations will be apparent to one with ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings herein. In some versions, the sleeve comprises opening features, such as perforations or a gripping feature, to allow a user to more easily remove the sleeve from closure (100) and container (200) and/or to more easily remove closure (100) from container (200). The examples below include merely illustrative versions of sleeves that can be readily incorporated to a variation of closures (100) and containers (200).

A. Exemplary Sleeve with Perforations

[0025] FIGS. 3-4 show a portion of an exemplary sleeve (300) comprising opening perforations (302). In the present example, sleeve (300) comprises an upper portion (310) and a lower portion (312). Perforations (304) are positioned between upper portion (310) and lower portion (312) and extend annularly around sleeve (300). Perforations (304) may extend around a portion of sleeve (300), or perforations (304) may extend partially around sleeve (300). When sleeve (300) is applied to closure (100) and container (200) as shown in FIG. 4, upper portion (310) is positioned over closure (100), while lower portion (312) is positioned over container (200). Perforations (304) are positioned over the portion where closure (100) couples with container (200). When closure (100) is removed from container (200), closure (100) is rotated to tear perforations (304) to allow the removal of closure (100) from container (200). The tearing of perforations (304) also indicate to the user that container (200) has been opened. Once closure (100) is removed from container (200), upper portion (310) of sleeve remains with closure (100), of course upper portion (310) can be removed from closure (100) and disposed if desired, or designed to be removed from closure (100) once container (200) has been opened. Lower portion (312) of sleeve remains with container (200) in the present example. Of course in other versions, lower portion (312) can be removed from container (200) and disposed after opening container (200).

[0026] As shown in FIG. 3, sleeve (300) also comprises perforations (302). In the present example, perforations (302) are slits cut into upper portion (310) of sleeve (300). Perforations (302) are positioned vertically and substantially evenly across upper portion (310). In some versions, perforations (302) are manufactured by creating slits in a flat film from which sleeve (300) is made prior to applying sleeve (300) to closure (100) and container (200). In some versions, sleeve (300) is applied to closure (100) and container (200) by wrapping sleeve (300) over the desired area of closure (100) and container (200) and attaching the ends of sleeve (300) together, e.g., by adhesive attachment, ultrasonic bonding, or some other suitable form of attachment. Sleeve (300) is then heated to shrink sleeve (300) tightly against closure (100) and container (200). Sleeve (300) thus corresponds to the shape of closure (100) and container (200). As sleeve (300) is applied to closure (100) and container (200) and heat shrunk, perforations (302) expand to form openings (306) as shown in FIG. 4. Openings (306) align over the gripping surface (116) of closure (100) to allow a user to directly engage gripping surface (116) of closure (100). By engaging gripping surface (116), the friction between a person's fingers and closure (100) increases to allow an easier removal of closure (100) from container (200). In this way, sleeve (300) does not create an impediment to a user's direct access to gripping surface (116).

[0027] Perforations (302) may vary in size, shape, and/or arrangement to produce a variety of size, shape, and/or arrangements of openings (306). FIGS. 5-6 show another exemplary sleeve (400) comprising perforations (402). Sleeve (400) is similar to sleeve (300) and comprises an upper portion (410), a lower portion (412), and perforations (404). In the present example, perforations (402) are slits cut into upper portion (410) of sleeve (400). As shown in FIG. 5, perforations (402) are positioned vertically across upper portion (410) in staggered rows. Perforations (402) along the upper row are sized smaller than perforations (402) along the lower row. Of course in some other versions, perforations (402) have the same size regardless of if they are located in the upper row or lower row. Still in other versions, perforations (402) can be of differing sizes within the same row. Perforations (402) are substantially evenly spaced relative to other opening perforations (402) in the illustrated version. In some other versions, perforations (402) have uneven spacing. In view of the teachings herein, other ways to arrange, size, and shape perforations (402) will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 6, when sleeve (400) is applied to closure (100) and container (200), perforations (402) expand to form openings (406). Because the slits of perforations (402) varied in size, openings (406), created from expansion of perforations (402) when applied to closure (100) and container (200), also vary in size. Accordingly, perforations (402) positioned along the upper row expanded to smaller openings (406) than perforations (402) positioned along the lower row that expanded to larger openings (406). Openings (406) align over the gripping surface (116) of closure (100) to allow a user to directly engage gripping surface (116) of closure (100). By engaging gripping surface (116), the friction between a person's fingers and closure (100) increases to allow an easier removal of closure (100) from container (200). Again, in this way, sleeve (400) does not create an impediment to a user's direct access to gripping surface (116).

[0029] The number, shape, and alignment of opening perforations (402), and corresponding openings (406), over closure (100) may vary. For example, openings (306, 406) shown in FIGS. 4 and 6 are circular; however, openings (306, 406) have other shapes (e.g. oval, square, rectangular, triangular, hexagonal, etc.) in other versions. In such other versions, the various different shapes and sizes of openings (306, 406) can be achieved by altering the style of cut used to create perforations (302, 402), and/or changing the amount of stretching sleeve (300, 400) undergoes when applied to closure (100) and container (200), and/or changing the amount of shrinking sleeve (300, 400) undergoes when applied to closure (100) and container (200). In some versions, perforations (302, 402), and corresponding openings (306, 406) are asymmetrically spaced around sleeves (300, 400) at varying heights. In some versions, the size of each perforation (302, 402), and corresponding opening (306, 406), on a sleeve (300, 400) are different. In some other versions, openings (306, 406), are formed by punching or cutting openings (306, 406), instead of slits as in the case of perforations (302, 402), into sleeve (300, 400) before or after sleeve (300, 400) is applied to closure (100) and/or container (200). Other suitable perforation (302, 402), and

corresponding openings (306, 406) configurations will be apparent to one with ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings herein. B. Exemplary Sleeve with Gripping Feature

[0030] FIGS. 7-8 show exemplary sleeve (500) for product package (10), where sleeve (500) comprises gripping features (502). Sleeve (500) is similar to sleeve (300) and comprises an upper portion (510), a lower portion (512), and perforations (504). However, instead of perforations (302), and corresponding openings (306), sleeve (500) comprises gripping features (502). In the present example, gripping features (502) are formed by applying an ink or other material to a gripping zone of sleeve (500) as described further below. The gripping zone of sleeve (500) is an area where gripping features (502) would be beneficial to improve handling of closure (100) and/or container (200) to facilitate opening of container (200). As shown in FIG. 7, gripping features (502) are positioned across upper portion (510) of sleeve (500). In the present example, gripping features (502) are applied to sleeve (500) while sleeve (500) is in a flat film or sheet form prior to application of sleeve (500) to closure (100) and container (200). In other versions, gripping features (502) are applied to sleeve (500) after sleeve (500) is applied to closure (100) and container (200) as described previously.

[0031] The ink used to form gripping features (502) is similar to ink used to print label artwork and information onto sleeve (500). The ink is applied in higher levels than the levels used to print the artwork to form gripping features (502). In some other versions, the ink used can be different from the ink used for printing sleeve artwork or information. In some versions, other materials are used to apply gripping features (502) to sleeve (500) instead of or in addition to ink. For instance, rubber or elastomeric beads are applied in some versions instead of or in addition to ink. In some versions, beads of polymeric material, or beads of adhesive are applied to create gripping features (502). In view of the teachings herein, other materials suitable for use as gripping features (502) will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 8, when sleeve (500) is applied to closure (100) and container (200), gripping features (502) are positioned over at least a portion of closure (100). When removing closure (100) from container (200), a user engages gripping features (502). By engaging gripping features (502), the friction between a person's fingers and sleeve (500) increases to allow an easier removal of closure (100) from container (200). Any number, shape, size, and arrangement of gripping features (502) over closure (100) can be used. For example, gripping features (502) shown in FIGS. 7-8 are circular; however, in other versions gripping features (502) have other shapes (e.g. oval, square, rectangular, triangular, hexagonal, etc.). In some versions gripping features (502) are asymmetrically spaced around sleeve (500) at varying heights. The size of each gripping feature (502) on sleeve (500) can be the same or different. Other suitable gripping feature (502) configurations will be apparent to one with ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings herein.

[0033] In some versions, gripping features (502) may also be positioned over container (200) and/or the top of closure (100). FIG. 9 shows another exemplary sleeve (600) comprising gripping features (602). Sleeve (600) is similar to sleeve (500) and comprises an upper portion (610), a lower portion (612), and perforations (604). However, sleeve (600) comprises gripping features (602) positioned on upper portion (610) and lower portion (612). As shown in the illustrated version, sleeve (600) is applied to a closure (100) and a container (200), with gripping features (602) on upper portion (610) positioned over the side and top surface of closure (100) and gripping features (602) on lower portion (612) positioned over container (200). Gripping features (602) on the top surface of closure (100) allow for added gripping ability on the top of closure (100) in addition to side wall (102). Gripping features (602) are applied to lower portion (610) such that gripping features (602) are positioned over container (200) anywhere that would be beneficial to improve handling of container (200) to facilitate opening of container (200). Gripping features (602) may extend around a portion of closure (100) and/or container (200), or gripping features (602) may extend around the entire closure (100) and/or container (200) as is the case in the illustrated version of FIG. 9.

[0034] When removing closure (100) from container (200), a user can engage gripping features (602) on both closure (100) and container (200). By engaging gripping features (602), the friction between a person's fingers and sleeve (600) increases to allow an easier removal of closure (100) from container (200).

[0035] In some versions, gripping features (602) are applied to the interior surface of sleeve (600). Gripping features (602) then contact container (200) to increase friction between sleeve (600) and container (200) to prevent sleeve (600) from slipping on container (200) when a user opens container (200).

[0036] In some versions, a sleeve may comprise a tear-off portion to remove the sleeve from closure (100) before the closure is removed from container (200). FIGS. 10-11 show exemplary sleeve (700) comprises tear-off portion (714). Sleeve (700) is similar to sleeve (500) and comprises an upper portion (710), a lower portion (712), and perforations (704). However, sleeve (700) comprises tear-off portion (714) positioned on upper portion (710). Tear-off portion (714) comprises perforations (706) along the sides of tear-off portion (714). Tear-off portion (714) extends from the upper edge of sleeve (700) down to perforations (704). Tear-off portion (714) is configured, such that a user may remove tear-off portion (714) by grasping tear-off portion (714) and pulling tear-off portion (714) downward to break perforations (706). The user may then pull tear-off portion (714) to break perforations (704) to fully remove upper portion (710) from sleeve (700).

[0037] Although in the illustrated version shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 perforations (706) are shown to extend vertically down upper portion (710) of sleeve (700), in other versions perforations (706) have other configurations. For instance, each line of perforations (706) can extend down upper portion (710) at different or changing angles. In some versions, perforations (706) extend only partially down upper portion (710) of sleeve (700), stopping short of perforations (704). Other suitable configurations for perforation (706) will be apparent to one with ordinary skill in the art based on the teachings herein.

[0038] Sleeve (700) further comprises gripping features (702). Gripping features (702) are similar to gripping features (502) described above. Gripping features (702) are positioned on tearing portion (714) of sleeve (700). When sleeve (700) is applied to closure (100) and container (200), gripping features (702) on tearing portion (714) are positioned over closure (100). When removing sleeve (700) from closure (100), a user engages gripping features (702) on tearing portion (714). By engaging gripping features (702), the friction between a person's fingers and tearing portion (714) increases to allow an easier removal of tearing portion (714) and the remainder of upper portion (710) of sleeve (700) from closure (100). For instance, a user can remove tear-off portion (714) by grasping tear-off portion (714) with gripping features (702) and pulling tear-off portion (714) downward to break perforations (706). The user can continue pulling tear-off portion (714) to break perforations (704) to fully remove tear-off portion (714) from sleeve (700). The remaining upper portion (710) can then be removed from closure (100) by breaking perforations (704). With upper portion (710) and tearing portion (714) removed from sleeve (700), gripping surface (116) of closure (100) is directly accessible to the user and closure (100) can be removed from container (200) without sleeve (700) impeding this action. [0039] Having shown and described various embodiments of the invention disclosed herein, further adaptations of the devices, methods, and systems described herein may be accomplished by appropriate modification by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the invention disclosed herein. Several of such potential modifications have been mentioned, and others will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For instance, examples, embodiments, geometries, materials, dimensions, ratios, steps, and the like discussed above are illustrative. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention should be considered in terms of the following claims and is understood not to be limited to the details of structure and operation shown and described in the specification and drawings.