TRAVEL & TOOTHBRUSH CONTAINER

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 63/684,620, filed Aug. 19, 2024, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

The invention generally relates to containers, and more specifically, travel containers.

The travel containers were designed to hold bars of soap, shampoo bars, conditioner bars, face bars or any hygiene related item used for travel. The toothbrush container was designed to help keep toothbrushes free from bacteria or coming into contact with other items in people's travel bags. The travel containers and toothbrush container are comprised of a non-plastic shell made from silicone with multiple magnets to allow for easy opening and closing.

Other containers on the market are made from plastic or metal. Most of the toothbrush holders are just for the top of the toothbrush. Our toothbrush container holds the entire toothbrush. Containers currently on the market use various ways to stay close, we use a novel approach which is magnets.

The present invention attempts to solve these problems as well as others.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Provided herein are systems and apparatuses for a travel container.

The systems and apparatuses are set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or can be learned by practice of the systems and apparatuses. The advantages of the systems and apparatuses will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the systems and apparatuses, as claimed.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention not to encompass within the invention any previously known product, process of making the product, or method of using the product such that Applicants reserve the right and hereby disclose a disclaimer of any previously known product, process, or method. It is further noted that the invention does not intend to encompass within the scope of the invention any product, process, or making of the product or method of using the product, which does not meet the written description and enablement requirements of the USPTO (35 U.S. C. § 112, first paragraph) or the EPO (Article 83 of the EPC), such that Applicants reserve the right and hereby disclose a disclaimer of any previously described product, process of making the product, or method of using the product. It may be advantageous in the practice of the invention to be in compliance with Art. 53(c) EPC and Rule 28(b) and (c) EPC. All rights to explicitly disclaim any embodiments that are the subject of any granted patent(s) of applicant in the lineage of this application or in any other lineage or in any prior filed application of any third party is explicitly reserved. Nothing herein is to be construed as a promise.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying figures, like elements are identified by like reference numerals among the several preferred embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the toothbrush container in the closed position, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the toothbrush container in the open position, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the toothbrush container in the closed position, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the toothbrush container in the open position, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a top view of the toothbrush container in the open position, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a top view of the toothbrush container in the open position, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a top view of the toothbrush container in the open position, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a soap container in the closed position, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the soap container in the open position housing soap, according to one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments, read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The detailed description and drawings are merely illustrative of the invention rather than limiting, the scope of the invention being defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the Figures, wherein like numerals reflect like elements throughout. The terminology used in the description presented herein is not intended to be interpreted in any limited or restrictive way, simply because it is being utilized in conjunction with detailed description of certain specific embodiments of the invention. Furthermore, embodiments of the invention may include several novel features, no single one of which is solely responsible for its desirable attributes or which is essential to practicing the invention described herein.

The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in the context of describing the invention are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and/or “including,” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. The word “about,” when accompanying a numerical value, is to be construed as indicating a deviation of up to and inclusive of 10% from the stated numerical value. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (“e.g.” or “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any nonclaimed element as essential to the practice of the invention.

References to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “example embodiment,” “various embodiments,” etc., may indicate that the embodiment(s) of the invention so described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment necessarily includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Further, repeated use of the phrase “in one embodiment,” or “in an exemplary embodiment,” do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, although they may.

As used herein the term “method” refers to manners, means, techniques and procedures for accomplishing a given task including, but not limited to, those manners, means, techniques and procedures either known to, or readily developed from known manners, means, techniques and procedures by practitioners of the chemical, biological, biochemical and mechanical arts. Unless otherwise expressly stated, it is in no way intended that any method or aspect set forth herein be construed as requiring that its steps be performed in a specific order. Accordingly, where a method claim does not specifically state in the claims or descriptions that the steps are to be limited to a specific order, it is no way intended that an order be inferred, in any respect. This holds for any possible non-express basis for interpretation, including matters of logic with respect to arrangement of steps or operational flow, plain meaning derived from grammatical organization or punctuation, or the number or type of aspects described in the specification.

Description of the Embodiments

Generally speaking, the travel container and toothbrush container comprise a silicone outer shell with an outer row of magnets along the opening sides to allow for easy opening and closing of the containers. The travel container holds or houses body wash bars, shampoo bars, conditioner bars, face care bars or other hygiene products used during travel. The travel container separates items that are potentially wet from coming into contact with other items consumers typically take with them during travel. The toothbrush container is designed specifically to keep toothbrushes from coming into contact with bacteria or grime that typically collects in travel bags. In other embodiments, the travel containers may be Pill Containers, Makeup Containers, Medicinal Containers, Travel Case Container to carry smaller containers, Dental containers, Eye Contacts container, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 1, the toothbrush container 100 comprises a top shell 110 operably coupled with a bottom shell 120, wherein the top shell 110 includes a top row of magnets 112 and the bottom shell 120 includes a bottom row of magnets 122, as shown in FIG. 2. The top row of magnets 112 and the bottom row of magnets 122 substantially align when the toothbrush container 100 is in a closed position, as to secure the container 100 in the closed shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. The top row of magnets 112 and the bottom row of magnets 122 are spaced apart to facilitate easy opening for a user to transition the toothbrush container 100 to the open position, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. The top shell 110 and the bottom shell 120 are connected with an interconnected section 140, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. The top shell 110 and the bottom shell 120 include no hidden internal edges and include a width housing Wh to contain the toothbrush, as shown in FIG. 2. The toothbrush container 100 includes a width Wt and a thickness Tt, as shown in FIG. 3, that fits the thickness of a given toothbrush. The interconnected section 140 includes a width Wi that allows the top shell 110 and the bottom shell 120 to lay substantially flat and horizontal, allowing the toothbrush to be removed and inserted into the toothbrush container 100, as shown in FIG. 4. The top row of magnets 112 includes a top lip portion 114 and the bottom row of magnets 122 includes bottom lip portion 124, as shown in FIG. 4, that allow the toothbrush container to substantially seal, as shown in FIG. 5. The toothbrush container has no hidden edges internally in the top shell and the bottom shell to prevent bacteria growth, where hidden edges internally in the top shell and the bottom shell could become areas that house bacteria.

In one embodiment, the top row of magnets 112 may include a plurality of magnets 116 and the bottom row of magnets 122 may include a plurality of magnets 126, as shown in FIGS. 5-7. As shown in FIG. 5, the plurality of magnets 116 may be separated by a distance Dm to allow ease of opening for the toothbrush container 100. In another embodiment, the interconnected section 140 connecting the top shell 110 and the bottom shell 120 may include a plurality of sections 142, as shown in FIG. 5. The plurality of sections 142 may be separated by a distance Ds, as to allow the top shell 110 and bottom shell 120 to be sealed but still allows the user to separate the plurality of magnets 116, 126. As shown in FIG. 5, the top row of magnets 110 may be in a substantially rectangular shape covering the entire perimeter of the toothbrush container. The plurality of magnets 116, 126 on the shorter sides of the perimeter may be separated by distance Dss, which is greater than distance Dm, in one embodiment. The plurality of magnets 116, 126 also have a width Wp that is smaller than the distance Dm to allow for ease of opening the toothbrush container. In alternative embodiments, the width Wp of the plurality of magnets 116, 126 is the same as the distance Dm, as shown in FIG. 6. In another embodiment, the width Wp of the plurality of magnets 116 is smaller than the distance Dm between the magnets, as shown in FIG. 7.

As shown in FIG. 8, a soap container 200 comprises a top shell 210 operably coupled to a bottom shell 220 in a similar fashion as the toothbrush container. The top shell 210 includes a top row of magnets 212 and the bottom shell 220 includes a bottom row of magnets 222 that substantially align with the top row of magnets 212. The soap container includes rounded edges 230 on the top shell 210 and the bottom shell 220. The soap container 200 includes a width Wc, a height Hc, and a length Lc that may be adjusted for the soap size 300, as shown in FIG. 9. The soap container has no hidden edges internally which could become areas that house bacteria. Both the toothbrush container and the soap container use silicone and are free of plastic.

All publications and patent applications mentioned in this specification are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.

While the invention has been described in connection with various embodiments, it will be understood that the invention is capable of further modifications. This application is intended to cover any variations, uses or adaptations of the invention following, in general, the principles of the invention, and including such departures from the present disclosure as, within the known and customary practice within the art to which the invention pertains.