US 2008/0173653 A1Published application

Dispensing container

AssigneeReckitt Benckiser (Brands) Limited

InventorsLaurent Hainaut, Simon Dutton

Life of this patent

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Abstract

A container having sides with contours that permit ready and essentially automatic orienting of the container upon grasping the container at the contoured areas. The container may have distinct, discontinuous contours on opposite sides, thus defining grasping sides of the container. If a dispensing portion is offset from the container's central axis, then upon grasping the container at the distinct contoured grasping sides, the dispensing orifice is automatically positioned at a predetermined orientation with respect to the user's grasping hand. Such contours thus provide a tactile indicator of the orientation of the container, permitting orienting of the container in a user's hand without the need for visual assessment or inspection of the container. The closure of the container may further be shaped and configured to provide another tactile indicator of the orientation of the container. For instance, an asymmetrical closure may be provided. Preferably, such asymmetry is about the axis extending between the contoured sides of the container.

Claims12

Dependent claims

A palm-held container shaped to fit in the palm of a user's hand, said container comprising:

a central axis;
a top end and a bottom end at opposite ends of said central axis;
a side surface extending between said top and bottom ends;
a front-back axis substantially perpendicular to said central axis and defining a front side of said side surface at a first end thereof and a back side of said side surface at a second end thereof opposite said first end;
and
a side-side axis substantially perpendicular to said central axis and to said front-back axis and defining a left side of said side surface at a first end thereof and a right side of said side surface at a second end thereof opposite said first end;
wherein:
said left and right sides are provided with contours defining distinct left and right sides of container;
said contours are distinguished from each other such that upon grasping said contours, said left and right sides of said container are automatically positioned to provide a predetermined orientation of said container with respect to the user's hand;
and
said container is palm-sized so that when one of said front and back sides is held in the palm of a user's grasping hand, the thumb of the grasping hand extends over one of said left and right sides and at least one of the other four fingers of the grasping hand extends over the other of said left and right sides.

8 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 12/002,151Filed 14 Dec 2007
Priority: 15 Dec 2006
Published: 24 Jul 2008
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification6 codes

B65D 1/0223
Bottles or similar containers with necks or like restricted apertures, designed for pouring contents: characterised by shape
B65D 23/102
Handles: gripping means formed in the walls, e.g. roughening, cavities, projections
B65D 47/261
With slide valves , i.e. valves that open and close a passageway by sliding over a port, e.g. formed with slidable spouts: having a rotational or…
B65D 47/40
Closures with filling and discharging, or with discharging, devices: with drip catchers or drip-preventing means

Family

Application29/275,159Continuation in part · filed 15 Dec 2006
Application12/002,151Continuation in part
US 9,090,373 B2Related patent
US D588,924 S1Related patent
US 2008/0173653 A1This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.