Abstract:
The present invention is for a smart container that allows consumers the ability to quickly and easily disassembled the container to allow families to extract the substance from the bottom of the container, so families can save food and money. The smart container is equip with a tamper proof label that has a seal to alert consumers when a label of the container has been broken or tampered with. The label for said container is applied to the hollow body member and the receptacle base member. The label has advertising indicia place on the container so as to be able to market the manufacturer&#39;s brand of goods. The smart container is also able to adjust the size of the container so as to save fridge and/or counter space, when the top portion of the container has been used.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 120 and under all applicable U.S. statutes and regulations, to U.S. application Ser. No.: 12/380,534, filed Feb. 27, 2009. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to an article of manufacture intended for use as a container. The invention enables a user to adjust the size of the container based upon the amount of substance held in the container, in an effort to save fridge and/or counter space. As such, there is a need in the art for a Smart Container. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Wholesale warehouse chains such as Costco and Walmart (Sam&#39;s Club) focuses on selling products at low prices often at very high volume. These goods are usually bulk-packaged and marketed primarily to large families and businesses. Furthermore, those wholesale warehouse chains do not carry multiple brands or varieties where the item is essentially the same except when it has a house brand to sell, typically under the Kirkland Signature label for Costco or the Member&#39;s Mark for Sam&#39;s Club. This results in high volume of sales from single vendor, allowing further reduction in price, and reducing marketing costs. Those wholesale warehouse chains also saves money by not stocking extra bags or packing materials; to carry out their goods, customers must bring their own bags or use the merchandise shipping boxes from the company&#39;s outside vendors. 
         [0004]    In an effort to save money more and more businesses, families, and individuals are shopping at wholesale warehouse chains. As a result businesses, families, and individuals are stuck with large bulky containers that store these various edible substances or foods such as peanut butter, mayonnaise, ketchup, and mustard. Unfortunately, some of these large bulky items require fridgeration. While other items just require counter or storage space. As such, there is a need in the art for manufactures to put the various goods in a Smart Container, which can save fridge and/or counter space. 
         [0005]    The manufactures of peanut butter and mayonnaise as well other goods have been manufacturing their products using the same old storage container design for numerous years now with any change. 
         [0006]    In fact, in a difficult economy families are looking for a way to save a buck. Unfortunately, manufactures have not kept up with the times in manufacturing their products in new storage containers that can help family extract the various substances from the bottom of a container, which are always difficult to extract. Therefore, there is a need in the art for a new container that can help families extract all of the remaining substance from the bottom of a container, thereby saving those families money. 
         [0007]    A typically problem that most user&#39;s encounter when reaching into the lower portion of a container is that the user will get a substance on his/her hands and/or clothing when reaching into the container. As a result, some consumers are discouraged from digging into the lower portion of a container. Therefore, there is a need in the art for a Smart Container. 
         [0008]    A benefit of the Smart Container is that after an user has consumed half or more than half of the substance held in the container, a user can un-screw the top portion of the container from the bottom portion of the container and then discard that top portion of the container and just use the lower portion of the container to make it easier to extract the substance from the lower portion of the container, so the user does not get any of the substance on his/her hands and/or clothing. As a result, user&#39;s are able to extract all of the substance from the bottom of the container and extend the life of the substance contained on the container and save families money. 
         [0009]    The Smart Container is a versatile device that is comprised of a top portion of a Container, a bottom portion of a Container, and a screw top lid. The Smart Container is designed to hold numerous substances including but not limited to peanut butter, jelly, jam, and mayonnaise. One of the benefits of the Smart Container is that it can be disassembled after an user has consumed half or more than half of the substance held in the Container to save fridge and/or counter space. The user would un-screw the top portion of the Container from the bottom portion of the container and then just use the lower portion of the container with the screw top lid. Another benefit of the Smart Container is that a user can easily extract all of the substance from the bottom of the container. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    It is an object of the invention to provide a new manufacturing container for various manufactures intended use, to hold numerous substances including but not limited to peanut butter, jelly, jam, and mayonnaise, wherein the container&#39;s size and volumetric capacity can be adjusted, as the substance contained within the container is consumed by a user. 
         [0011]    It also an object of the invention to provide a manufacturer&#39;s container which can be disassembled quickly and easily to allow families to extract the substance from the bottom of the container, so families can save food and money. 
         [0012]    It an object of the invention to provide a label that is applied to said hollow body member and said receptacle base member, wherein said label is perforated around the point where said hollow body member and said receptacle base member are connect to allow for quick and easy separation of the top half and bottom half of the label that is applied to the container, through the use of threading. 
         [0013]    It an further object of the invention to provide a label that is tamper resistant and provides notice to consumers when the seal of the label has been broken. 
         [0014]    It an also object of the invention to provide a label having advertising indicia place on said label to market the manufacturer&#39;s brand. 
         [0015]    It is a further object of the invention to provide a manufacturer&#39;s container that can be disassembled after an user has consumed half of the substance held in the container. 
         [0016]    It is also an object of the invention to provide a manufacturer&#39;s container that can be disassembled after an user has consumed more than half of the substance held in the container. 
         [0017]    It is also an object of the invention to provide a manufacturer&#39;s container that can be disassembled after an user has consumed more than half of the substance held in the container. 
         [0018]    It is one of the objectives of the invention to decrease the container&#39;s volumetric capacity as desired, by unscrewing the hollow body member of the container. 
         [0019]    It is also an objectives of the invention to provide a new manufacturer&#39;s container that can be disassembled to save fridge and/or counter space, when needed. 
         [0020]    It is also one of the objectives of the invention to provide a new manufacturer&#39;s container that can be disassembled to allow families to easily extract all of the substance from the bottom of the container. 
         [0021]    It is another objectives of the invention to provide a new manufacturer&#39;s container that can be disassembled so the user does not get any of the substance on his/her hands and/or clothing; allowing the user to easily extract a substance such as peanut butter, or mayonnaise from a receptacle base member of the container. 
         [0022]    It is also an object of the present invention to provide a container that is easy to manufacture, simple to assemble, reliable in operation, and relatively inexpensive to produce. 
         [0023]    These and other objects of the invention will become apparent in view of the drawings and the detailed description. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0024]    These as well as other features of the present invention will become more apparent upon reference to the accompanying drawings wherein like numerals designate corresponding parts in the several figures summarized as follows: 
           [0025]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the assembled Smart Container showing the hollow body member of the container, the receptacle base member of the container, and a screw top lid are connected. 
           [0026]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the assembled Smart Container showing that the screw top lid is connected to the receptacle base member of the container. 
           [0027]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the disassembled Smart Container showing the hollow body member of the container, the receptacle base member of the container, and the screw top lid. 
           [0028]      FIG. 4  is the front view of the disassembled Smart Container. 
           [0029]      FIG. 5  is the back view of the disassembled Smart Container. 
           [0030]      FIG. 6  is a side view of the disassembled Smart Container. 
           [0031]      FIG. 7  is the other side view of the disassembled Smart Container. 
           [0032]      FIG. 8  is a top view of the disassembled Smart Container. 
           [0033]      FIG. 9  is a bottom view of the disassembled Smart Container. 
       
    
    
       [0034]    Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, various features of embodiments of the invention. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0035]    The following detailed description and accompanying drawings are provided for purposes of illustrating and describing presently preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention in anyway. It will be understood that various changes in the details, materials, arrangements of parts or operational conditions which have been herein described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of the invention may be made by those skilled in the art within the principles and the scope of the invention. 
         [0036]    Referring to the drawings more particularly by reference numbers,  FIGS. 1 through 9  show a storage container  20 . The present invention provides an apparatus and method for altering the size and capacity of a storage container  20  comprised of a hollow body member  30 , a receptacle base member  40 , and a cap member  50 . 
         [0037]    As shown, the hollow body member  30  has a male threaded portion  33  and a female threaded portion  34  at the respective ends  36  of said hollow member. 
         [0038]    As shown, the receptacle base member  40  has a male threaded portion  43  at the top end  47  of said receptacle base. 
         [0039]    The male threaded portion  33  of the hollow body member  30  is positioned at the top end  37  and the female threaded portion  34  of the hollow body member  30  is positioned at the bottom end  38 , so that the female threaded portion  34  of the hollow body member  30  can be attached to or removed from the male threaded portion  33  of the receptacle base member  40 . 
         [0040]    A label  60  having advertising indicia place on said label  60  which is attached to said container  20  to market the manufacturer&#39;s brand. The label  60  is applied to said hollow body member  30  and said receptacle base member  40 . The label  64  is perforated  70  where said hollow body member and said receptacle base member connect to allow for quick and easy separation of the top half  62  and bottom half  64  of the label  60  that is applied to the container  20 , through the use of threading. 
         [0041]    As shown, in order to decrease the container&#39;s size and volumetric capacity, a user would need to remove the hollow body member  30  from the receptacle base member  40 . 
         [0042]    As shown, in order to increase the container&#39;s size and volumetric capacity, a user would need to attach the hollow body member  30  to the receptacle base member  40 . 
         [0043]    As shown, the cap member  50  has female threads  54  within the rim  55  thereof to mate with the male threads  33  or  43  on the hollow body member  30  or the receptacle base member  40  of the container. 
         [0044]    The cap member  50  is used to secure the contents of the various substances in the container, whether the container  20  is comprised of (a) a hollow body member  30 , a receptacle base member  40  and a cap member  50 ; or (b) a receptacle base member  40  and a cap member  50 . 
         [0045]    In an effort to save money, more and more businesses, families, and individuals are shopping at wholesale warehouse chains. As a result businesses, families, and individuals are buying large bulky containers that store these various edible substances or foods such as peanut butter, mayonnaise, ketchup, and mustard. Some of these large bulky items require fridgeration. While other items just require counter or storage space. As such, there is a need in the art for products to be manufactured in Smart Containers, which can help save fridge and/or counter space when some of the edible substance contained in the container is consumed. Unfortunately, manufactures have not kept up with the times in manufacturing their products in new storage containers. Additionally, there is a need in the art for a Smart Container that can help families extract all of the remaining substance from the bottom of a container to prevent waste as well as preventing the person from getting the substance on his/her hands and/or clothing when reaching they reach into the bottom of the container. 
         [0046]    Wherein a user has consumed the substance contained in a hollow body member  30  of the container, thereby allowing said user to unscrew and remove said hollow body member  30  from said receptacle base member  40  of said container to decrease said volumetric capacity of the container and allow said user to unscrew said cap member  50  from said hollow body member and then attached said cap member  50  to said receptacle base member  40  of said container, and as a result, said hollow body member is discarded and said container&#39;s size and volumetric capacity has decreased. 
         [0047]    A method for altering a food container&#39;s size and volumetric capacity comprising the steps of providing a substance that is edible; a container for holding a substance; said container has a hollow body member, a receptacle base member, and a cap member; said hollow body member is a hollow body member having a male threaded portion and a female threaded portion at the respective ends of said hollow member; said receptacle base member is a receptacle having a male threaded portion at the top end of said receptacle; and said cap member has threads within the rim thereof to mate with threads on the hollow body member or the receptacle base member; and wherein said container&#39;s size and volumetric capacity is altered by positioning said cap member on the hollow body member or receptacle base member of the container to increase or decrease the capacity of said container; wherein said quantity of said substance has decreased because a user has consumed all of said substance held in the hollow body member of the container, thereby allowing said user to unscrew said hollow body member of said container from said receptacle base member of said container to decrease said volumetric capacity of the container and allow said user to unscrew said cap member from said hollow body member and then attached said cap member to said receptacle base member of said container, as a result, said container&#39;s size and volumetric capacity has decreased; and wherein said quantity of said substance has increased because a user has created an additional substance, said user will need to expand the volumetric capacity of the container, by allowing said user to unscrew said cap member from said receptacle base member of said container and attach said hollow body member to said receptacle base member of said container to increase said volumetric capacity of the container, then allow said user to add said additional substance to said container to increase volumetric capacity, then after said additional substance has been added, said cap member is attached to said hollow body member of said container, as a result, said container&#39;s size and volumetric capacity has increased. 
         [0048]    In the preferred method of this invention for allowing consumers to have quick and easy access to edible substance contained in the bottom of a container comprising the steps of providing a container for holding a substance that is edible; said container has a hollow body member, a receptacle base member, and a cap member; said hollow body member has a male threaded portion and a female threaded portion at the respective ends of said hollow member; said receptacle base member has a male threaded portion at the top end of said receptacle; said cap member has threads within the rim thereof to mate with threads on the hollow body member or the receptacle base member, said hollow body member and said receptacle base member have a label which is applied to said members, said label is perforated near the point where said hollow body member and said receptacle base member are connected through the use of threading, said label has advertising indicia place on the container to market a manufacturer&#39;s brand of goods; and wherein said quantity of said substance has decreased because a user has consumed all of said substance held in the hollow body member of the container, then said user can break said perforated label by unscrewing said hollow body member from said receptacle base member and discard the hollow body member of the container so said user can gain quick and easy access to the edible substance in said receptacle base member. 
         [0049]    Wherein the hollow body member and the receptacle base member have different volumetric capacity. 
         [0050]    Wherein said hollow body member and said receptacle base member are of substantially the same volumetric capacity. 
         [0051]    Wherein said hollow body member and said receptacle base member are formed of a clear material. 
         [0052]    A smart container comprising: a hollow body member, a receptacle base member, and a cap member; said hollow body member has a male threaded portion and a female threaded portion at the respective ends of said hollow member; said receptacle base member has a male threaded portion at the top end of said receptacle; said hollow body member and said receptacle base member have a label which is applied to said members; said label is perforated around where said hollow body member and said receptacle base member are connected through the use of threading; said label has advertising indicia place on the container to market a manufacturer&#39;s brand of goods; and said cap member has female threads within the rim thereof to mate with male threads on the hollow body member or the receptacle base member of the container. 
         [0053]    Wherein said manufacturer has filled the container with an edible substance and a user has consumed all of said edible substance held in said hollow body member of the container. 
         [0054]    Wherein said user want to quickly and easily extract said edible substance from said receptacle base member, then said user can break said perforated label by unscrewing said hollow body member from said receptacle base member and discard the hollow body member of the container so said user can gain quick and easy access to the edible substance in said receptacle base member. 
         [0055]    Wherein said user wants to free up counter space, then said user can break said perforated label by unscrewing said hollow body member from said receptacle base member and discard the hollow body member of the container, and then attached said cap member to said receptacle base member of said container, as a result, said container&#39;s size and volumetric capacity has decreased thereby free up counter space. 
         [0056]    Wherein said user wants to free up space in a refrigerator for the container, then said user can break said perforated label by unscrewing said hollow body member from said receptacle base member and discard the hollow body member of the container, and then attached said cap member to said receptacle base member of said container, as a result, said container&#39;s size and volumetric capacity has decreased thereby free up refrigerator space. 
         [0057]    Wherein the hollow body member and the receptacle base member have different volumetric capacity. 
         [0058]    Wherein said hollow body member and said receptacle base member are of substantially the same volumetric capacity. 
         [0059]    Wherein said hollow body member and said receptacle base member are formed of a clear material. 
         [0060]    The presently disclosed embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive; the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims, rather than the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein. 
         [0061]    While the description above refers to particular embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood that many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit thereof. The presently disclosed embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.