Patent Publication Number: US-2013248646-A1

Title: Product Containers with Rolled Goods

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not applicable. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to improvements in the construction and configuration of a product container for rolled goods, particularly product packaging for trash bags which are provided on a roll. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Product containers serve several functions in the retail marketplace. One important function of a product container is to communicate information to a consumer about the product itself. Product containers can also provide a sealed, portable package for the product, ensuring that the product has not been tampered with or otherwise disturbed since packaging. In some cases, product containers also serve as a convenient, transportable package for the product, especially when handles are provided for carrying the product container. 
     Numerous other considerations are also taken into account when designing and selecting product containers for a particular product. Certain product containers may serve as a dispenser, enabling a consumer to store the product in the container and permitting dispensing of individual products or items when needed. Such dispensing containers are available in a variety of configurations depending on the specific product to be packaged. Additionally, retailer and logistical concerns may also necessitate that the product container be capable of being easily stacked, or palletized, in a finite amount of space without crushing under the weight of the stacked product. 
     Product packaging comes in a myriad of shapes and sizes. Product containers are often comprised of a combination of various cardboard material, rigid plastic material, and flexible plastic wrap. The materials selected for constructing the product container, including the rigidity, toughness, and other properties of a particular grade of material selected, address the various needs described above in addition to other considerations. Additionally, product container selection and design further requires that these needs be balanced against minimizing the cost and weight of the product container. 
     In view of the considerations discussed above, the invention disclosed herein is particularly advantageous when a product container is used for rolls of product, particularly coreless rolls of product. One example of a coreless roll of product that can be used as part of the present invention is a coreless roll of trash bags, or even multiple coreless rolls of trash bags. In general, most trash bags may be provided in a rolled configuration. In some cases, the individual trash bags are still partially joined when rolled, but, in other cases, the trash bags may be separated prior to or during the rolling process. In view of the foregoing, the present invention addresses some of the important considerations detailed above. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is a product container for a roll of product. Certain embodiments of the present invention comprise a top panel, a flexible outer wrap, and at least one roll of product. Each roll of product has a first end and a second end with a central axis extending between the first end and the second end. The top panel is placed adjacent to and at least partially covers the first end of the first roll of product. The flexible outer wrap is placed securely around the top panel and the at least one roll of product. 
     In some embodiments of the present invention, the product container may further comprise an access window located in the top panel which is proximate the central axis of at least one roll of product. The access window may be comprised of a portion of the top panel that is removable. In other embodiments, the access window may be comprised of a portion of the top panel that may be peeled away. 
     The top panel may, in some embodiments, be comprised of a cardboard material, a polymer material, or any other suitable material. The flexible outer wrap may be a shrink film, the shrink film being heat-activated to securely wrap around the top panel and the at least one roll of product. 
     While the present invention is applicable to a variety of products in a roll configuration, in certain embodiments of the present invention, the at least one roll of product is a roll of trash bags. Moreover, in some specific embodiments, the at least one roll of product may be a coreless roll of trash bags wherein the coreless roll of trash bags can be accessed from the interior of the roll, accessing the innermost bag within the roll of trash bags. In some embodiments, a leader may be placed on the innermost bag within the roll of the trash bag, the leader being easily accessible through the access window. 
     It is contemplated that the present invention may be utilized in ways that are not fully described or set forth herein. The present invention is intended to encompass these additional uses to the extent such uses are not contradicted by the appended claims. Therefore, the present invention should be given the broadest reasonable interpretation in view of the present disclosure, the accompanying figures, and the appended claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED DRAWINGS 
       A full and complete understanding of the present invention may be obtained by reference to the detailed description of the present invention and certain embodiments when viewed with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawings can be briefly described as follows. 
         FIGS. 1A and 1B  provide perspective views of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  provides an exploded view of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  provides a perspective view of a second preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The present disclosure illustrates several embodiments of the present invention. It is not intended to provide an illustration or encompass all embodiments contemplated by the present invention. In view of the disclosure of the present invention contained herein, a person having ordinary skill in the art will recognize that innumerable modifications and insubstantial changes may be incorporated or otherwise included within the present invention without diverging from the spirit of the invention. Therefore, it is understood that the present invention is not limited to those embodiments disclosed herein. The appended claims are intended to more fully and accurately encompass the invention to the fullest extent possible, but it is fully appreciated that certain limitations on the use of particular terms are not intended to conclusively limit the scope of protection. 
     Referring initially to  FIGS. 1A and 1B , perspective views of a first embodiment of the present invention are disclosed.  FIG. 1B  illustrates, in broken lines, portions of the embodiment not visible in  FIG. 1A . In the depicted embodiment, the container  100  comprises a top panel  102  and a bottom panel  104  in a roughly parallel configuration. Two rolls of product  120 ,  122  are placed between the top panel  102  and the bottom panel  104  which are placed proximate to and substantially perpendicular to the central axis of each of the rolls of product  120 ,  122 . A flexible outer wrap  106  is provided to serve as the outer walls of the container and extends over at least a portion of the top panel  102  and the bottom panel  104 , thus keeping the top panel  102  and bottom panel  104  in contact with the rolls of product  120 ,  122 . The flexible outer wrap  106  can be either a cylindrical sleeve with an opening at the top and bottom of the flexible outer wrap  106  or more like a bag with a sealed or partially-enclosed bottom and an open top. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the top panel  102  and bottom panel  104  are made using the same material, typically a rigid cardboard material such as paperboard, chipboard, or corrugated fiberboard. However, in other embodiments, the top panel  102  and bottom panel  104  may be made with distinct materials which may be selected from any suitable material including, but not limited to, thicker, more rigid polymers. For some rolls of product  120 ,  122  which provide more rigidity for the product container  100 , it is contemplated to use flexible materials for the top panel  102  and bottom panel  104  such as paper or polymer films. The specific material selection is driven by the need to provide sufficient rigidity for the product container  100  as a whole based upon the expected utilization and the various conditions the product container  100  may be subjected to before and after purchase by a consumer. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the flexible outer wrap  106  is a polymer film, particularly a shrink wrap or shrink film. When the flexible outer wrap  106  is a heat-activated shrink wrap material, the flexible outer wrap  106  can be shrunk to surround at least a portion of the top panel  102  and bottom panel  104 . The force of the shrunken flexible outer wrap keeps the top panel  102  and bottom panel  104  in close contact with the rolls of product  120 ,  122 . As seen in the depicted embodiment, the top edge  108  of the flexible outer wrap  106  extends up over the top panel  102  and inward from the perimeter of the top panel  102 . Similarly, in some embodiments, the bottom edge  110  of the flexible outer wrap extends down below the bottom panel  104  and inward from the perimeter of the bottom panel  104 . Thus, in the depicted embodiment the shrink wrap flexible outer wrap  106  securely sandwiches the rolls of product  120 ,  122  between the top panel  102  and the bottom panel  104 . 
     The flexible outer wrap  106  can be transparent, translucent, opaque, or even a combination of a number of the foregoing. For example, if the flexible outer wrap is mostly or entirely transparent, a consumer may visually inspect the rolls of product  120 ,  122  prior to purchase. In other embodiments, the flexible outer wrap  106  may be entirely opaque using either a colored film or a transparent film with printing covering the entirety of the flexible outer wrap  106 . Furthermore, in yet another embodiment, the outer wrap  106  may consist of transparent film with printed material covering only a portion of the flexible outer wrap  106  allowing information to be communicated about the product to the consumer on the printed area while also allowing visual inspection of a portion of the rolls of product  120 ,  122  contained therein. 
     Rolls of product  120 ,  122  are particularly advantageous with respect to the present invention for at least a couple of reasons. First, rolls of product are not square or rectangular, but rather are generally cylindrical in shape. Traditional cardboard packaging is generally square, resulting in wasted space in the corners of the square container when holding cylindrical rolls of product. In contrast, the flexible outer wrap  106  better accommodates the shape of the rolls of product  106  resulting in a more efficient, and cost-effective, product container. 
     In addition to minimizing the material required versus a square container, the present invention is even more advantageous when used with certain rolls of product  120 ,  122 , particularly when the rolls of product provide strength and rigidity in one or more directions. For example, one embodiment of the present invention contemplates that the rolls of product  120 ,  122  are rolls of trash bags. When tightly rolled, larger rolls of trash bags are generally rigid along the perimeter of the cylindrical roll, i.e. it is difficult to indent the roll of trash bags along the cylindrical wall when pushed toward the central axis of the roll. Additionally, a roll of trash bags when placed upright, i.e. the central axis running up and down, is capable of supporting a great deal of weight in the vertical direction. However, the ends of a roll of trash bags are not necessarily consistent, nor rigid, due to manufacturing realities which cause the bags to vary slightly in location along the height of the roll of trash bags. Thus, the rigid top panel  102  and bottom panel  104  provide for a flat, rigid surface at the top and bottom of the rolls of product  120 ,  122 . 
       FIG. 2  provides an exploded view of the product container  100  to better illustrate the assembly and arrangement of one embodiment of the present invention. In the disclosed embodiment of  FIG. 2 , the top panel  102  and the bottom panel  104  are shown surrounding one or more rolls of product  120 ,  122  such as one or more rolls of trash bags. After the top panel  102 , bottom panel  104  and rolls of product  120 ,  122  are assembled as shown, the outer wrap  106  is placed around the panels  102 ,  104  and rolls of product  120 ,  122 . In the depicted embodiment, the flexible outer wrap  106  is a shrink wrap and heat is be applied by hand or through the use of a heat tunnel to shrink the flexible outer wrap  106 , thus providing the product container illustrated in  FIG. 1A . 
     As noted previously, the present invention is particularly advantageous for rolls of product. Such rolls of product may be provided with a central cylinder, or core, located along the central axis of the roll of product. The core is typically manufactured from a paper or cardboard material with individual units of the product wrapped tightly around the core. A roll of products with a core is usually utilized by accessing the outermost unit on the roll, exposing the next outermost unit until all of the units on the roll are depleted and the core is exposed. While a roll of products with a core may be utilized with the present invention, certain embodiments of the present invention are even more advantageous when using coreless rolls of products. 
     The lack of a core uniquely enables some coreless rolls of product to be accessed from the innermost units at the center of the roll. In these cases, as each innermost unit is removed and utilized, the next innermost unit can be accessed until all of the units are utilized. As previously noted, this invention is particularly useful for rolls of trash bags, especially coreless rolls of trash bags where the trash bags can be pulled individually from the center of the roll. In such cases, certain embodiments of the present invention may provide additional unique advantages by utilizing an access window in the top panel, allowing access to the central axis of the coreless rolls and the innermost bags for coreless rolls of trash bags. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , in certain embodiments of the present invention the top panel  102  may be provided with holes to access the rolls of product  120 ,  122 . In the depicted embodiment, a first access hole  140  and a second access hole  142  are provided in the top panel  102 . In some embodiments the access holes  140 ,  142  are created when the consumer removes separable portions of the top panel  102  from the container  100 , thereby exposing the rolls of product  120 ,  122 . In other embodiments, the access holes  140 ,  142  may be cut into the top panel  102  before packaging. In such cases, a removable adhesive cover may be utilized to cover the access holes  140 ,  142  if desired. 
     In certain embodiments, it may be advantageous when a first access hole  140  and a second access hole  142  provide internal access near the central axis of each of the respective rolls of product  120 ,  122 . Consequently, individual units  130 ,  132  from the rolls of product  120 ,  122  may be pulled through the corresponding access holes  140 ,  142 . In certain embodiments, it may be advantageous to provide leaders  150 ,  152  attached to the innermost units of the rolls  120 ,  122  to facilitate in removal of the first innermost unit, such as the first trash bag from a roll of trash bags. 
     When the first access hole  140  and second access hole  142  are properly sized, subsequent items may follow the preceding item when removed from the container  100 . For example, when the rolls of product are rolls of trash bags, it has been discovered that smaller access holes  140 ,  142  with limited area impede the ability to easily access the trash bag by providing too much resistance when pulled through a small hole. On the other hand, if the access holes  140 ,  142  are too large, subsequent trash bags have a tendency to fall back within the container  100 . Thus, depending on the thickness and stiffness of the trash bags, it has been determined that access holes  140 ,  142  having a diameter of between 0.75 inches and 2 inches are better suited for most trash bags having wall thicknesses between 0.6 mil and 3 mil. Moreover, it has been determined that, in certain preferred embodiments for trash bags having a wall thickness of 0.7 mil to 1.3 mil, the access holes  140 ,  142  should have a diameter of between 1 inch and 1.5 inches. 
     As previously noted, the specific embodiments depicted herein are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Indeed, it is contemplated that any number of different embodiments may be utilized without diverging from the spirit of the invention. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to more fully encompass the full scope of the present invention.