US 7,584,843 B2
Pocket-size hand-held container for consumer items
John H. Kutsch, Crystal Lake, Ill. (US); Rutger Thiellier, Chicago, Ill. (US); Andrew Vest, Midlothian, Va. (US); Janet Thompson, Chesterfield, Va. (US); Xuam Pham, Glen Allen, Va. (US); Robert T. Mitten, Glen Allen, Va. (US); Yvonne DeVerry, Midlothian, Va. (US); Gary Mengeu, Wheeling, W. Va. (US); and Stephen Getsy, Pittsburg, Pa. (US)
Assigned to Philip Morris USA Inc., Richmond, Va. (US)
Filed on May 01, 2006, as Appl. No. 11/414,341.
Claims priority of provisional application 60/700014, filed on Jul. 18, 2005.
Prior Publication US 2008/0202955 A1, Aug. 28, 2008
Int. Cl. B65D 85/10 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 206—267  [206/37; 220/345.1] 17 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A pocket-size hand-held container for containing a supply of consumer items comprising:
a frame having an internal storage compartment, the frame including front and back portions, and top and bottom portions spaced apart in a longitudinal direction of the container and interconnected by side portions, wherein the front portion forms an access opening to the storage compartment, the access opening disposed closer to the top end portion than to the bottom end portion,
a lid attached to the front portion to be slid linearly in the longitudinal direction between closed and open positions, wherein:
in a fully closed position, the lid overlying the access opening, and
in a fully open position, the lid exposing the access opening and situated within the footprint of the container; and
a securement structure formed by the lid and the frame for yieldably holding the lid in the fully closed position, wherein the front portion includes a pair of slots extending generally parallel to the side portions and the lid including a pair of downwardly protruding rails slidably disposed in the slots; each rail includes a downwardly projecting rib having an enlarged head at its back end, the head including an upwardly facing surface underlying a downwardly facing surface of the front portion; and each enlarged head includes a downwardly facing surface which is beveled upwardly from the respective rib to define a wedge surface enabling the rails to be snapped downwardly into the respective slots.