CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/116,819, filed Nov. 21, 2008, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference into this application.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to pouring spouts. More particular the invention relates to pouring spouts for containers holding granular material.

2. Description of the Related Art

For dry granular items such as bread crumbs, salt, or other fine powders that are dispensed from boxes or containers, a preferred method of dispensing such granular material is by means of a retractable pouring spout that has been fastened to the box.

These retractable spouts are fastened to the box in a variety of configurations. In one commonly used method, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,011,434, the box has an aperture in the side wall of the box to allow the contents to be poured through the aperture. A tab is integrally connected to the box at the bottom end of the aperture. A pouring spout is shaped to fit the aperture and fastened to the box by being secured to the tab.

The pouring spout is attached to the spout by a pair of inward facing prongs cut out from the face of the spout. The prongs are forced through the tab of the box to positively connect the tab and spout. This arrangement is not suitable for every type of spout and box combination. Moreover, it creates holes in the tab of the box which can be undesirable in many applications.

Other arrangements for connecting a spout have been designed. These designs are generally more complicated in terms of the number of moving parts, or the complexity of the manufacturing of the spout or assembly of the spout to the box.

It would be desirable to have a pouring spout and pouring spout container assembly that was simple to manufacture and assemble. It would be desirable to have a pouring spout that did not require prongs or holes on the face of the pouring spout in order to attach the spout to the container.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A pouring spout for adhesive-free attachment to a container with an aperture is provided. The pouring spout has a chute with a front face and a back, side walls extending away from the chute in a direction away from the front face to form the spout, and one or more detents on each side wall in the interior of the spout for securing the spout to a tab on the container. The pouring spout is preferably one piece and is connected to the container without the use of glues or adhesives or any other structural features except for the detents on the side walls of the spout.

A container assembly is also provided. The container assemble includes a container for holding granular material. The container has an aperture in one of the walls or top of the container. The container may be round in which instance there is only one wall. The assembly has a tab connected to the container extending from a portion of the aperture. The tab may be integral with the wall and may simply be formed by incompletely cutting the container to form the aperture. The assembly also includes a pouring spout connected to the tab. The pouring spout has a chute with a front face and back, side walls extending away from the chute in a direction away from the front face to form the spout, and one or more detents on each side wall in the interior of the spout. The spout is secured to the tab by the detents.

No holes or punctures are required to be made on the front face of the chute of the spout in order to secure the spout to the container. Additionally no, punctures are made to the tab portion of the container.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 and 2 are perspective views of a pour spout assembly in the open position in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are a top view of a pour spout assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the invention in the closed and open positions, respectively.

FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of a pour spout assembly in the closed position in accordance with an embodiment of the invention

FIG. 5 is an interior view of a pour spout assembly in the closed position in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are a side cutout view of a pour spout assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the invention in the closed and open position, respectively.

FIGS. 7-10 show various views of a pour spout not attached to a container in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTSDetailed Description

Referring to FIGS. 1-6, a spout 1 (described in more detail below) is inserted into a wall 5 of a container 3. Only a portion of the container 3 is shown. The wall 5 may be any wall of a container including the top, side, or face of a container. The wall 5 can be flat or it can be curved such as on a cylindrical container (not shown). The container 3 (and the wall 5) may be formed of any suitable material such as, for example, cardboard, fiber board, and paperboard. The spout 1, when attached as describe below is can rotate or swing from a closed position (see FIGS. 4, 5 and 6A) to an open position (See FIGS. 1-3B and 6B) by pivoting the spout 1 in the direction away from the wall 5 of the container 3 to allow granular material or other material contained in the container to flow from the container through the wall 5 of the container.

The wall 5 of the container contains an aperture 7, which receives the spout 1 and through which the material contained in the container flows out (as best illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 5). The aperture 7 can be any shape so long as the shape of the spout 1 is chosen so that it fits the shape of the aperture 7. In many embodiments the aperture 7 is substantially rectangular or square but not always. A tab 9 is attached to and extends from the side wall 5 at one end 11 or portion of the aperture 7. Preferably the tab 9 is integral with the container at the end 11 or portion of the aperture 7 from which it extends. Typically, the tab 9 will simply be formed from the container material when the aperture 7 is formed as described below. The spout 1 is attached to the container by being secured to the tab 9 as described in more detail below.

In the embodiment shown, the tab 9 is rectangular with dimensions that correspond to the dimensions of the aperture 7. The tab 9 is attached at the bottom of end 11 of the aperture 7. Accordingly, the tab 9, when positioned in the same plane as the wall 5, form a top slit 13 and two side slits 15. The tab 9 can flex outwardly away from the wall 5 to form the opening in the wall (aperture 7) through which contents of the container are poured (See FIGS. 1-3B and 6B). When closed, the tab 9 substantially closes the aperture 7 as best shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. A crease, bend or fold 12 in the material can be provided at the end 11 where the tab 9 is attached to the wall 5. The crease, bend or fold 12 allows the tab to open and close more easily.

Referring to FIGS. 7-10, a spout 1 that is not attached to a container 3 is shown. The spout 1 has a front flat portion 17 (alternatively referred to as a chute). Preferably, the front flat portion 17 extends beyond the length of the tab 9 so that it overlaps a portion of the wall 5 when in the closed position as shown in FIGS. 3B and 4. The chute 17 is preferably flat but in some instances may not be flat. For example, the chute 17 may be rounded or V shaped depending on the shape of the tab 9.

Side walls 19 extend away from the chute 17 in a substantially perpendicular direction. Preferably, the side walls 19 are integral with the chute 17 and the entire spout 1 is formed from a unitary piece of plastic, sheet metal, or other acceptable material. The spout 1; however, can be constructed of separate pieces.

The spout 1 is secured to the tab 9 by detents 21 or prongs 21 positioned on the side walls 19 of the spout 1. Two detents 21 on each side wall 19 are shown but more or less could be used as necessary depending on the length of the chute 17. The detents 21 are positioned on the side walls 19 at a distance from the back of the spout 1 that is about equal to the width of the tab 9. In this way, the spout 1 is securely held to the tab 9 and no punctures are required on the front face of the chute 17 and no punctures or holes are made to the tab 9. The exact shape and structure of the detents 21 are not critical to the function of the spout 1. As used herein, detents 21 mean a structural feature on the side walls 19 of the spout 1 that secures the tab 9 to the spout 1. In the embodiment shown, the detents 21 are rectangular notch or tab that protrudes inward. Other shapes can be used such as, for example, triangular tangs or circular protrusions. No glue or adhesive is needed to secure the spout 1 to the tab 9.

In an alternate embodiment, the tab 9 may optionally have raised ridges 23 or a rolled edge along the edges or perimeter of the tab 9. When present, the ridges are held by the detents 21 of the side walls 19 of the spout 1. The ridges or rolled edge are compressed to some extent when secured with the detents 21 in order to provide a tighter fit within the detents 21. This is particularly effective when the tab 9 is constructed of paperboard or cardboard. The raised ridges can help to secure the tab 9 between the detents 21 and the back of the spout 1.

The spout 1 may be formed of any suitable material, including but not limited to, plastic, sheet metal, aluminum or paper. In the preferred embodiment, spout is formed of a springy material so that it retains it shape after flexing. When springy material is used, the angle between the side walls 19 and the chute 17 can greater than 90 degrees (shown best in FIGS. 7 and 9). When the spout 1 is inserted into the side slits 13, the side walls 19 flex outward further securing the spout 1 to the tab 9 (see FIG. 5). When the spout 1 is pulled open, the side walls 19 are forced to flex inward creating consistent pressure to the sides 13 of the aperture 7 and frictionally engaging the sides 13 of the aperture 7 creating a tight secure fit whether the spout 1 is fully opened or partially opened.

Preferably, the top end of the side walls 19 include stop lugs 25 at ends. Stop lugs 25 engage the inner face of the wall 5 of the container when the spout 1 is pulled to the open position and limit the outward movement of the spout and prevent the spout 1 from being pulled out through the aperture 7. Preferably, the top ends of the side walls 19 have shoulder portions 27 and 29. The shoulder portions 27 and 29 are shaped to engage the wall 5 at the upper end of the aperture 7 when the spout 1 is being pulled in the open position or pushed in the closed position. A notch 31 is created between the stop lugs 25 and the shoulder portions 27. This notch 31 helps hold the spout 1 in the open position.

There will be various modifications, adjustments, and applications of the disclosed invention that will be apparent to those of skill in the art, and the present application is intended to cover such embodiments. Accordingly, while the present invention has been described in the context of certain preferred embodiments, it is intended that the full scope of these be measured by reference to the scope of the following claims.