AU720538B2

AU720538B2 - Package, particularly for sticks with cotton buds

Info

Publication number: AU720538B2
Application number: AU45303/97A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Joao Garcao
Original assignee: Johnson and Johnson Consumer Products Inc; Johnson and Johnson Consumer Companies LLC
Current assignee: Kenvue Brands LLC
Priority date: 1990-06-29
Filing date: 1997-11-20
Publication date: 2000-06-01
Anticipated expiration: 2011-06-28
Also published as: AU4530397A

Description

-1 P/00/011 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT r Invention Title: PACKAGE, PARTICULARLY FOR STICKS WITH COTTON

BUDS

The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: GH REF: P20197-AG/RPW:SLC 2 PACKAGE, PARTICULARLY FOR STICKS HAVING COTTON BUDS The present invention refers to a package, particularly for sticks having cotton buds, which comprises lower, upper, front, rear, and side walls and is made of paper, cardboard, carton or similar material, with a flap portion being provided in one of the said walls. One of the sides of the flap portion defines a fold line, while the remaining sides are linked to the package material by means of a weakened line or line of perforation formed by a series of alternate slots and connecting bridges forming rupture points. The fold line is provided in a direction parallel to that in which the sticks are placed inside the package.

In this kind of package, when opening the package for the first time the user should slightly press the region of the upper wall which is located nearly in the middle of the package width and close to the still closed flap portion.

:Due to that pressing, the bridges forming the rupture points are supposed to break off, releasing the flap to 20 pivot around the fold line and turning the sticks inside the package accessible to the user.

••As it happens in the package known from the state of is...the art, a cover portion terminates within a small distance S• from the side edges of the package. As a result, the u+ 25 following disadvantages are observed: by pressing the region which is indicated for the opening of the cover portion, there is only a partial rupture of the said rupture points (the connecting bridges) in the cover portion in respect of the package wall, due to the fact that the cover portion tends to cave in together with the package wall, just because there is no counter force which prevents the displacement of the cover portion in the direction of the pressing force, so that, in order to complete the opening operation, the user has to pull the cover portion upwards; and due to the fact that the cover portion does not 3 extend up to the package sides, the dimension of the cover parallel to the sticks length is a little shorter than the said sticks length, making it difficult to remove the sticks from the package.

It would be advantageous if at least preferred forms of the present invention provided a package which obviates or ameliorates at least some of the above cited disadvantages, so that a slight compression of the appropriate region of the package wall results in the complete rupture of the connecting bridges of the cover portion.

The present invention provides a package suitable for having cotton bud sticks stored therein, including: a lower wall, an opposing upper wall, opposing front and rear walls extending between the upper and lower walls, and opposing side walls extending between *,Po the upper and lower, and front and rear walls; a flap portion located in and forming part of the upper wall and having a portion of its periphery S 20 integrally connected to a portion of the upper wall along a fold line extending transversely between the side walls, :and the remainder of its periphery linked to a second portion of the upper wall along a perforated line of joining, the remainder of the periphery being defined by 25 opposing first line portions each extending from the fold line and located adjacent to a respective side wall, and a second line portion extending generally across the upper wall and joining the opposing first line portions together, wherein a length of the second line portion opposes the fold line and a short section of this length is curved inwardly towards the fold line to thus define a recess in the flap portion, the recess being of sufficient size to have a user's fingertip placed therein and adjacent to this short section of the second line portion; such that in use, at a predetermined pressure Aapplied by a user in a region of the second portion of the 4 upper wall adjacent to the second line portion, the flap portion is caused to be severed from the second portion of the upper wall adjacent to said region, thereby facilitating further separation along the perforated line of joining if required.

Preferably said length of the second line portion, opposing the fold line, is connected to the first line portions at opposing ends thereof by respective angle line portions, each angle line portion subscribing an acute angle in the upper wall between it and its adjacent and respective side wall.

Thus, by pressing the adequate portion of the package wall where the flap portion is located, the package side walls prevent the flap portion from caving in together with the wall region which is being compressed, so that the flap portion and the region adjacent thereto tend to separate, ee thus resulting in the rupture of the connecting bridges.

q0 9@ o* S"The opening operation can, therefore, be carried out in a single step. Also because the package width substantially 20 coincides with the flap portion width, it is easier to remove sticks (when used) from the package.

too.

Notwithstanding any other forms which may fall within too.

c the scope of the present invention, preferred forms of the !0 00 S.present invention will now be described in more detail, 25 with reference being made to the attached drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the package, with the cover portion still integrated with the package upper wall, in its closed position; and Figure 2 is a perspective view of the package with the cover portion in its opened position, with the connecting bridges already torn off.

The parallelepipedal shaped package 1 has in its upper wall 2 a cover portion 3 which, in one of its sides, is entirely linked to the wall 2 by means of a folding line 4, Swhile in the remaining of its periphery, the cover portion 3 is linked to the wall 2 by means of a weakened line formed by alternate slots 10 and connecting bridges defining rupture points.

The cover portion 3 presents a recess 9 centrally formed on its edge 11 opposite the said folding line 4, with the transition from those edges of the package adjacent to the folding line 4, to the said opposite edge 11 is made according to an angle.

By applying a finger pressing on the region indicated by the reference 6 the upper wall 2 of the package 1 caves in, but the cover portion 3 does not because its sides are supported by the side walls 7 of the package, thus causing the rupture of the said connecting bridges 5 and opening of the cover portion 3.

As previously mentioned, besides hastening the opening S"of the cover portion, the proposed improvement will allow *ooo an easy withdrawal of the sticks 8 from the interior of the 9* package 1.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described with reference to the attached drawings, which is a mere example of the oo inventive concept intended to be protected. For example, o. :the transition from those edges of the package adjacent to o the folding line 4, to the said opposite edge 11 of the cover portion has been described as being made according to an angle, but the same can have a different configuration, provided that the connecting bridges 5 are torn off when a finger pressing is applied to the appropriate location of the upper wall of the package.

Whilst the invention has been described with reference to a number of preferred embodiments, it should be appreciated that the invention can be embodied in many other forms.

Claims

1. A package suitable for having cotton bud sticks stored therein, including: a lower wall, an opposing upper wall, opposing front and rear walls extending between the upper and lower walls, and opposing side walls extending between the upper and lower, and front and rear walls; a flap portion located in and forming part of the upper wall and having a portion of its periphery integrally connected to a portion of the upper wall along a fold line extending transversely between the side walls, and the remainder of its periphery linked to a second portion of the upper wall along a perforated line of joining, the remainder of the periphery being defined by opposing first line portions each extending from the fold line and located adjacent to a respective side wall, and a second line portion extending generally across the upper o .o wall and joining the opposing first line portions together, wherein a length of the second line portion opposes the fold line and a short section of this length is curved inwardly towards the fold line to thus define a recess in 9**e :the flap portion, the recess being of sufficient size to 0000 oe have a user's fingertip placed therein and adjacent to this short section of the second line portion; 9*e* 25 such that in use, at a predetermined .9'o pressure applied by a user in a region of the second portion of the upper wall adjacent to the second line portion, the flap portion is caused to be severed from the second portion of the upper wall adjacent to said region, thereby facilitating further separation along the perforated line of joining if required.

2. A package as claimed in claim i, wherein said length of the second line portion opposing the fold line is connected to the first line portions at opposing ends thereof by respective angle line portions, each angle line ,portion subscribing an acute angle in the upper wall 7 between it and its adjacent and respective side wall.

3. A package as claimed in any one of the preceding claims having a parallelepiped configuration.

4. A package substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this 19th day of November 1997 JOHNSON JOHNSON CONSUMER PRODUCTS, INC. By their Patent Attorneys GRIFFITH HACK *W S 4 .4 *S S