Ergonomically advantageous container

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9845171-B2
Application number	US-201414541249-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 14, 2014
Priority date	Nov 15, 2013
Publication date	Dec 19, 2017
Grant date	Dec 19, 2017

Abstract

Containers are disclosed herein that include a reservoir, a handle disposed on the reservoir at an angle defined by a grip axis. The handle is configured for a single grip position and having a midpoint that coincides with a midpoint of a user's grip when the handle is gripped by a user. A first center of gravity coincident with a resting axis is substantially perpendicular to the bottom wall when the bottom wall is placed on a horizontal surface. A second center of gravity coincident with a carrying axis is substantially perpendicular to the grip axis when the container is carried by the handle.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A container, comprising:
a reservoir having a front wall, a rear wall, side walls, a bottom wall, and a top wall, the reservoir further comprising an angled wall portion disposed opposite of a pour spout and angled relative to the bottom wall, the angled wall portion being configured to support the container with the pour spout in a generally vertical orientation during refilling of the reservoir, when the angled wall portion is placed on a horizontal surface;
a handle disposed on the top wall at an angle defined by a grip axis, the handle being configured for a single grip position and having a midpoint that coincides with a midpoint of a user's grip when the handle is gripped by a user;
a first center of gravity coincident with a resting axis that is substantially perpendicular to the bottom wall when the bottom wall is placed on a horizontal surface; and
a second center of gravity coincident with a carrying axis that is substantially perpendicular to the grip axis when the container is carried by the handle.

2. The container of claim 1 , wherein the pour spout disposed on the top wall adjacent the handle.

3. The container of claim 2 further comprising threads disposed on the pour spout.

4. The container of claim 3 further comprising a cap having threads complementary to the threads disposed on the pour spout, wherein the cap provides a liquid impervious seal.

5. The container of claim 1 , wherein the pour spout extends from the top wall to a height (H 1 ) below a height (H 2 ) that corresponds to that of an upper most portion of the handle.

6. The container of claim 1 , wherein the bottom wall comprises a concave central portion.

7. The container of claim 6 , wherein the concave central portion of the bottom wall is configured to nest with the top wall of a second container to allow the containers to be stacked on top of one another.

8. The container of claim 1 , wherein the resting axis and the carrying axis are separated by an angle (α) ranging from about 15 to about 60 degrees.

9. The container of claim 1 , wherein the container is comprised of at least one of a polymer, a plastic, metal, glass, a cellulosic material, a laminated material, a recycled material, and combinations thereof.

10. The container of claim 1 further comprising an interior and/or exterior lining and/or coating.

11. The container of claim 1 , wherein the container has a maximum fill height of about 7 inches and a maximum fill volume of about 1 gallon.

12. The container of claim 11 , wherein the container has a void volume of about 5%.

13. The container of claim 1 further comprising a liquid.

14. A container, comprising:
a reservoir having a top wall and a bottom wall configured to support the container in a generally vertical orientation when the bottom wall is placed on a horizontal surface;
a handle disposed entirely above the top wall at an angle defined by a grip axis, the handle being configured for a single grip position and having a midpoint that coincides with a midpoint of a user's grip when the handle is gripped by a user, wherein the top wall and the handle are disposed opposite the bottom wall when the bottom wall is placed on a horizontal surface;
a first center of gravity coincident with a resting axis that is substantially perpendicular to the bottom wall when the bottom wall is placed on a horizontal surface; and
a second center of gravity coincident with a carrying axis that is substantially perpendicular to the grip axis when the container is carried by the handle,
wherein the second center of gravity remains substantially coincident with the carrying axis as the contents of the container are dispensed from the reservoir.

15. The container of claim 14 further comprising at least one of a liquid and a particulate-based substance.

16. The container of claim 14 , wherein the container dispenses more than 50% of a total volume of a liquid at a pour angle of 50°.

17. The container of claim 14 , wherein the container has a generally square outline of 9.25″×9.25″ (23.5 cm×23.5 cm) with a 5″ (12.7 cm) base and rounded slightly tapered sides.

18. A container, comprising:
a reservoir having a front wall, a rear wall, side walls, a bottom wall, and a top wall;
a liquid comprised within the reservoir;
a handle disposed entirely above the top wall at an angle defined by a grip axis, the handle being configured for a single grip position and having a midpoint that coincides with a midpoint of a user's grip when the handle is gripped by a user;
a threaded pour spout disposed on the top wall adjacent the handle, the threaded pour spout and handle disposed opposite the bottom wall when the bottom wall is placed on a horizontal surface;
a cap disposed on the pour spout to provide a liquid impervious seal to the container;
a first center of gravity coincident with a resting axis that is substantially perpendicular to the bottom wall when the bottom wall is placed on a horizontal surface; and
a second center of gravity coincident with a carrying axis that is substantially perpendicular to the grip axis when the container is carried by the handle,
wherein the second center of gravity remains substantially coincident with the carrying axis as the contents of the container are dispensed from the reservoir.

19. The container of claim 18 , wherein the container has a volume of about 1 pint, or about 1 to about 3 quarts, or about 1 to about 5 gallons, or about 500 ml to about 1 liter, or about 2 to about 10 liters.

Assignees

• Johnson & Son Inc S C
• Johnson & Son Inc S C

Inventors

• Conway Simon M
• Babinski Linda J

Classifications

• B65D1/0246 Primary

  Closure retaining means, e.g. beads, screw-threads · CPC title

• B65D25/2882

  Integral handles (B65D25/2867 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B65D23/10

  Handles · CPC title

• B65D41/04

  Threaded or like caps or cap-like covers secured by rotation · CPC title

• B65D21/0231 Primary

  Bottles, canisters or jars whereby the neck or handle project into a cooperating cavity in the bottom (B65D81/361 takes precedence) · CPC title