Decorative container and method for preparing same

Abstract

A decorative container is disclosed having a transparent shell-like housing with an attached balloon which can be removably placed as a cover over an article. The balloon can be inflated by any of three methods including two negative pressure techniques and a positive pressure technique. In one of the negative pressure techniques, a space surrounding the balloon is evacuated while ambient air enters to expand the balloon. When the balloon is inflated, the housing is placed into the open throat of the balloon to seal the balloon. In the second negative pressure and the positive pressure techniques, the shell-like housing has a sealable air passage through which air can flow to inflate the balloon. The balloon can be inflated by evacuating a space around the balloon allowing ambient air to enter the balloon through the air passage in the housing. The air passage is then closed to seal the balloon. The balloon can also be inflated by passing pressurized air through the passage in the housing and then closing the passage when the balloon is inflated. The housing and inflated balloon can then be placed over an article forming a decorative container which can be removed and replaced on the article without deflating the balloon.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.