US20140065268A1

Movatterモバイル変換

Info

Publication number: US20140065268A1
Application number: US14/017,723
Authority: US
Inventors: Russell Christopher Baker; Adam Nicholas Carroll
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2012-09-04
Filing date: 2013-09-04
Publication date: 2014-03-06

Abstract

Packaging and methods of making and using the same are disclosed.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/696,464 filed on Sep. 4, 2012 and entitled “PACKAGING AND METHODS OF MAKING AND USING THE SAME”, the subject matter of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to packaging and methods of making and using packaging.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Efforts continue to improve packaging of items such as food.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to novel packaging and methods of making and using packaging. The packaging of the present invention provides an alternative method of packaging items such as food, etc. Unlike other known packaging, the packaging of the present invention temporarily attaches closed ends of containers to one another so that openable ends of the containers are positioned away from one another.

In one exemplary embodiment, the packaging of the present invention comprises at least two separatable containers, each container comprising a bottom container wall, at least one container sidewall extending from the bottom container wall so as to form a container volume bound by the bottom container wall and the at least one container sidewall, a container opening surrounded by a container rim extending along an upper edge of the at least one container sidewall, and a removable container lid positionable and sized so as to cover the container opening; and a packaging component that temporarily connects the at least two separatable containers to one another so that container openings of two containers are on opposite ends of the packaging.

In another exemplary embodiment, the packaging of the present invention comprises two separate containers, each container sharing a bottom container wall and comprising at least one container sidewall extending from the bottom container wall so as to form a container volume bound by the bottom container wall and the at least one container sidewall, a container opening surrounded by a container rim extending along an upper edge of the at least one container sidewall, and a removable container lid positionable and sized so as to cover the container opening; wherein container openings of the two containers are on opposite ends of the packaging.

The present invention is further directed to methods of making packaging. In one exemplary embodiment, the method of making packaging of the present invention comprises forming at least two separatable containers, each container comprising a bottom container wall, at least one container sidewall extending from the bottom container wall so as to form a container volume bound by the bottom container wall and the at least one container sidewall, a container opening surrounded by a container rim extending along an upper edge of the at least one container sidewall, and a removable container lid positionable and sized so as to cover the container opening; and temporarily attaching each container to one another via a packaging component so that container openings of two containers are on opposite ends of the packaging.

In another exemplary embodiment, the method of making packaging of the present invention comprises forming two separate containers sharing a bottom container wall, each container comprising at least one container sidewall extending from the bottom container wall so as to form a container volume bound by the bottom container wall and the at least one container sidewall, a container opening surrounded by a container rim extending along an upper edge of the at least one container sidewall, and a removable container lid positionable and sized so as to cover the container opening; wherein container openings of the two containers are on opposite ends of the packaging.

The present invention is even further directed to methods of using packaging. In one exemplary embodiment, the method of using packaging of the present invention comprises inputting one or more items into each container of a packaging, wherein the packaging comprises at least two separatable containers, and each container comprises a bottom container wall, at least one container sidewall extending from the bottom container wall so as to form a container volume bound by the bottom container wall and the at least one container sidewall, a container opening surrounded by a container rim extending along an upper edge of the at least one container sidewall, and a removable container lid positionable and sized so as to cover the container opening; and a packaging component that temporarily connects the at least two separatable containers to one another so that container openings of two containers are on opposite ends of the packaging. In one desired embodiment, the one or more items comprise food items.

In another exemplary embodiment, the method of using packaging of the present invention comprises inputting one or more items into each container of a packaging, wherein the packaging comprises two separate containers, each container sharing a bottom container wall and comprising at least one container sidewall extending from the bottom container wall so as to form a container volume bound by the bottom container wall and the at least one container sidewall, a container opening surrounded by a container rim extending along an upper edge of the at least one container sidewall, and a removable container lid positionable and sized so as to cover the container opening; wherein container openings of the two containers are on opposite ends of the packaging.

These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after a review of the following detailed description of the disclosed embodiments and the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The present invention is further described with reference to the appended figures showing exemplary embodiments of the present invention, wherein:

FIG. 1 provides a perspective view of an exemplary packaging of the present invention;

FIG. 2 provides a front view of the exemplary packaging shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 provides a side view of the exemplary packaging shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 4 provides an end view of the exemplary packaging shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 5 provides a perspective view of the exemplary packaging shown inFIG. 1 when the containers are separated from one another;

FIG. 6 provides a cross-sectional view of a single container withinexemplary packaging10 shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 7 provides a front view of exemplary packaging of the present invention with an exemplary packaging component that temporarily connects two separatable containers to one another;

FIG. 8 provides a front view of exemplary packaging of the present invention with another exemplary packaging component that temporarily connects two separatable containers to one another;

FIG. 9 provides a front view of exemplary packaging of the present invention with another exemplary packaging component that temporarily connects two separatable containers to one another;

FIG. 10 provides a front view of exemplary packaging of the present invention with another exemplary packaging component that temporarily connects two separatable containers to one another;

FIG. 11 provides a front view of another exemplary packaging of the present invention; and

FIG. 12 provides a cross-sectional view of the exemplary packaging shown inFIG. 11.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to packaging and methods of making and using packaging. In particular, the present invention is directed to packaging as shown in the figures, as described in the various embodiments shown and described herein, and as recited in the claims below.

Any of the herein-described packaging components may be formed using conventional techniques. For example, many, if not all, of the herein-described components may be thermoformed (e.g., molded) from materials mentioned below, and subsequently joined to and/or assembled with one another so as to result in any of the herein-described packaging of the present invention.

Other EmbodimentsPackaging

1.Packaging10 comprising: at least twoseparatable containers11, eachcontainer11 comprising abottom container wall12, at least onecontainer sidewall13 extending from saidbottom container wall12 so as to form acontainer volume14 bound by saidbottom container wall12 and said at least onecontainer sidewall13, a container opening15 surrounded by acontainer rim16 extending along anupper edge17 of said at least onecontainer sidewall13, and aremovable container lid18 positionable and sized so as to cover said container opening15; and apackaging component19 that temporarily connects said at least twoseparatable containers11 to one another so that container openings15 of twocontainers11 are onopposite ends20 of saidpackaging10. In some desired embodiments, said at least twoseparatable containers11 comprises twoseparatable containers11 as shown inFIG. 1.

2. Thepackaging10 of embodiment 1, wherein eachcontainer11 further comprising aremovable film21 covering said container opening15, saidremovable film21 being temporarily present between said container opening15 and saidremovable container lid18. See, for example,exemplary packaging10 shown inFIG. 7.

3. Thepackaging10 ofembodiment 2, wherein saidremovable film21 comprises an integral tab component22 that extends beyond anouter periphery23 of said container opening15.

4. Thepackaging10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 3, wherein eachcontainer11 has a cross-sectional area extending across saidcontainer volume15, said cross-sectional area being substantially parallel to a first plane P₁containing saidbottom container wall12 and a second plane P₂containing said container opening15. See, for example, the cross-sectional view ofexemplary packaging10 shown inFIG. 6, wherein an exemplary cross-sectional area is shown within plane P₃.

5. Thepackaging10 of embodiment 4, wherein said cross-sectional area has a circular configuration, a triangular configuration, a square configuration, a rectangular configuration, a star-shaped configuration, a pentagonal configuration, a hexagonal configuration, or an oval configuration. It should be noted that the cross-sectional area may have any configuration. Typically, the cross-sectional area configuration is a circular configuration or an oval configuration.

6. Thepackaging10 of embodiment 4 or 5, wherein said cross-sectional area has a circular configuration.

7. Thepackaging10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 6, wherein eachcontainer11 has a substantiallysimilar container volume14.

8. Thepackaging10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 6, wherein at least twocontainers11 have adifferent container volume14. In this embodiment, the length L of onecontainer11 is typically greater than a length L of an adjacent, attachedcontainer11. However, in other embodiments,containers11 may have a similar overall length L but onecontainer11 may have a substantially constant width W along the length L, while theother container11 has an increasing width W along length L (i.e., onecontainer11 has a cylindrical shape, while an adjacent, attachedcontainer11 has a truncated cone shape).

9. Thepackaging10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 8, wherein eachcontainer11 has acontainer volume14 of at least about 3.0 cubic inches (in³).

10. Thepackaging10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 9, wherein eachcontainer11 has acontainer volume14 of ranging from about 3.0 cubic inches (in³) to about 800 in³(or any volume value or range of volume values therebetween, e.g., from about 5.3 in³to about 752.6 in³, in increments of 0.1 in³, e.g., 3.0 in³, 3.1 in³, 3.2 in³, . . . 798.1 in³, 798.2 in³, etc.).

11. Thepackaging10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 10, wherein eachcontainer11 has a container volume of ranging from about 18.0 cubic inches (in³) to about 50 in³(or any volume value or range of volume values therebetween, e.g., from about 18.3 in³to about 42.6 in³, in increments of 0.1 in³, e.g., 18.1 in³, 18.2 in³, 18.3 in³, . . . 48.1 in³, 48.2 in³, etc.).

12. Thepackaging10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 11, wherein said at least twoseparatable containers11 comprises twoseparatable containers11.

13. Thepackaging10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 12, wherein eachcontainer11 comprises a cellulosic material, a polymeric material, a metallic material, or any combination thereof.

14. Thepackaging10 of any one ofembodiments 2 to 13, wherein saidremovable film21 comprises a cellulosic material, a polymeric material, a metallic material, or any combination thereof. Typically, each of saidremovable films21 comprises a continuous sheet of cellulosic material (e.g., paper with no holes/openings therein) coated with a polymeric material and/or a metallic material (e.g., aluminum).

15. Thepackaging10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 14, wherein saidremovable container lid18 comprises a cellulosic material, a polymeric material, a metallic material, or any combination thereof. Typically, each of saidremovable container lids18 comprises (i) a continuous sheet of polymeric material (e.g., polymeric material with no holes/openings therein), and (ii) an outer edge polymeric material component extending downward from and integrally connected with said continuous sheet of polymeric material, the outer edge polymeric material component extending along saidupper edge17 of said at least onecontainer sidewall13 adjacent saidcontainer opening15 when positioned onto saidcontainer rim16.

16. Thepackaging10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 15, wherein saidremovable container lid18 comprises a polymeric material.

17. Thepackaging10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 16, wherein saidpackaging component19 comprises alabel24 that covers at least a portion of connecting ends25 of said at least twoseparatable containers11. Typically, saidpackaging component19 comprises a sheet of a cellulosic material, a polymeric material, a metallic material, or any combination thereof, more typically, a sheet of a cellulosic material, a polymeric material, or any combination thereof. Typically, an inner surface of said packaging component19 (i.e., the surface that comes into contact with each of adjacent containers11) is substantially smooth with no undulations thereon (e.g., a smooth polymeric film surface).

18. Thepackaging10 ofembodiment 17, wherein saidlabel24 or a portion thereof is removable so as to enable separation ofadjacent containers11. As shown inFIG. 7,exemplary label24 extends along a portion of connecting ends25 of twoseparatable containers11. In this embodiment,label24 has atab28 that enables removal of all oflabel24 fromcontainers11. Further, althoughlabel24 is shown as extending frompoint26 to point27 alongexemplary packaging10, it should be understood thatlabel24 may extend fromupper edge17 of onecontainer sidewall13 to an oppositeupper edge17 of acontainer sidewall13 of another, attachedcontainer11. In other embodiments,label24 may only cover anintersection26 betweenadjacent containers11.

19. Thepackaging10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 18, wherein saidpackaging component19 comprises alabel24 that covers at least a portion of connecting ends25 of said at least twoseparatable containers11 and apull tab29 operatively adapted to tear saidlabel24 when pulled. As shown inFIG. 8,exemplary pull tab29 tears label24 alongtear line30.

20. Thepackaging10 ofembodiment 19, wherein saidpull tab29 extends along an inner surface of saidlabel24 and along aline30 extending proximate or between adjacentbottom container walls12 ofadjacent containers11.

21. The packaging of any one of embodiments 1 to 18, wherein saidpackaging component19 comprises alabel24 that covers at least a portion of connecting ends25 of said at least twoseparatable containers11 and a perforated line37 extending proximate a location between said at least twoseparatable containers11. See, for example,exemplary packaging10 shown inFIG. 10.

22. Thepackaging10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 16, wherein saidpackaging component19 comprises an adhesive component31. See, for example,exemplary packaging10 shown inFIG. 5.

23. Thepackaging10 of embodiment 22, wherein said adhesive component31 temporarily bondsouter surfaces32 of adjacentbottom container walls12 ofadjacent containers11.

24. Thepackaging10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 16, wherein saidpackaging component19 comprises anelastic band33 extending along container sidewalls13 ofadjacent containers11. See, for example,exemplary packaging10 shown inFIG. 9.

25. Thepackaging10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 24, further comprising one ormore items35 within eachcontainer11. See, for example,exemplary container11 anditems35 therein shown inFIG. 6.

26. Thepackaging10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 25, further comprising one ormore items35 within eachcontainer11, wherein eachcontainer11 contains asimilar item35.

27. Thepackaging10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 25, further comprising one ormore items35 within eachcontainer11, wherein at least twocontainers11 containdifferent items35.

28. Thepackaging10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 27, further comprising one ormore items35 within eachcontainer11 with each of said one ormore items35 comprising food.

29. Thepackaging10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 28, further comprising one ormore items35 within eachcontainer11 with each of said one ormore items35 comprising potato chips.

30. The packaging of any one of embodiments 1 to 28, further comprising one ormore items35 within eachcontainer11 with each of said one ormore items35 comprising nuts.

46. Packaging100 comprising: twoseparate containers11, eachcontainer11 sharing abottom container wall12 and comprising at least onecontainer sidewall13 extending from saidbottom container wall12 so as to form acontainer volume14 bound by saidbottom container wall12 and said at least onecontainer sidewall13, acontainer opening15 surrounded by acontainer rim16 extending along anupper edge17 of said at least onecontainer sidewall13, and aremovable container lid18 positionable and sized so as to cover saidcontainer opening15; whereincontainer openings15 of said twocontainers11 are on opposite ends of saidpackaging100.

47. Thepackaging100 of embodiment 46, wherein eachcontainer11 further comprising aremovable film21 covering saidcontainer opening15, saidremovable film21 being temporarily present between saidcontainer opening15 and saidremovable container lid18.

48. Thepackaging100 of embodiment 47, wherein saidremovable film21 comprises an integral tab component22 that extends beyond anouter periphery23 of saidcontainer opening15.

49. Thepackaging100 of any one of embodiments 46 to 48, wherein eachcontainer11 has a cross-sectional area extending across saidcontainer volume14, said cross-sectional area being substantially parallel to a first plane P₁containing saidbottom container wall12 and a second plane P₂containing saidcontainer opening15.

50. Thepackaging100 of embodiment 49, wherein said cross-sectional area has a circular configuration, a triangular configuration, a square configuration, a rectangular configuration, a star-shaped configuration, a pentagonal configuration, a hexagonal configuration, or an oval configuration. It should be noted that the cross-sectional area may have any configuration. Typically, the cross-sectional area configuration is a circular configuration or an oval configuration.

51. Thepackaging100 of embodiment 49 or 50, wherein said cross-sectional area has a circular configuration.

52. Thepackaging100 of any one of embodiments 46 to 51, wherein eachcontainer11 has a substantiallysimilar container volume14.

53. Thepackaging100 of any one of embodiments 46 to 52, wherein said twocontainers11 have adifferent container volume14. In this embodiment, the length L of onecontainer11 is typically greater than a length L of an adjacent, attachedcontainer11. However, in other embodiments,containers11 may have a similar overall length L but onecontainer11 may have a substantially constant width W along the length L, while theother container11 has an increasing width W along length L (i.e., onecontainer11 has a cylindrical shape, while an adjacent, attachedcontainer11 has a truncated cone shape).

54. Thepackaging100 of any one of embodiments 46 to 53, wherein eachcontainer11 has acontainer volume14 of at least about 3.0 cubic inches (in³).

55. Thepackaging100 of any one of embodiments 46 to 54, wherein eachcontainer11 has acontainer volume14 of ranging from about 3.0 cubic inches (in³) to about 800 in³(or any volume value or range of volume values therebetween, e.g., from about 5.3 in³to about 752.6 in³, in increments of 0.1 in³, e.g., 3.0 in³, 3.1 in³, 3.2 in³, . . . 798.1 in³, 798.2 in³, etc.).

56. Thepackaging100 of any one of embodiments 46 to 55, wherein eachcontainer11 has acontainer volume14 of ranging from about 18.0 cubic inches (in³) to about 50 in³(or any volume value or range of volume values therebetween, e.g., from about 18.3 in³to about 42.6 in³, in increments of 0.1 in³, e.g., 18.1 in³, 18.2 in³, 18.3 in³, . . . 48.1 in³, 48.2 in³, etc.).

57. Thepackaging100 of any one of embodiments 46 to 56, wherein eachcontainer11 comprises a cellulosic material, a polymeric material, a metallic material, or any combination thereof.

58. Thepackaging100 of any one of embodiments 47 to 57, wherein saidremovable film21 comprises a cellulosic material, a polymeric material, a metallic material, or any combination thereof.

59. Thepackaging100 of any one of embodiments 46 to 58, wherein saidremovable container lid18 comprises a cellulosic material, a polymeric material, a metallic material, or any combination thereof.

60. Thepackaging100 of any one of embodiments 46 to 59, wherein saidremovable container lid18 comprises a polymeric material.

61. Thepackaging100 of any one of embodiments 46 to 60, further comprising alabel24 that covers at least a portion of connecting ends25 of said twoseparate containers11.

62. Thepackaging100 of any one of embodiments 46 to 61, further comprising one ormore items35 within eachcontainer11.

63. Thepackaging100 of any one of embodiments 46 to 62, further comprising one ormore items35 within eachcontainer11, wherein eachcontainer11 contains asimilar item35.

64. Thepackaging100 of any one of embodiments 46 to 62, further comprising one ormore items35 within eachcontainer11, wherein said twocontainers11 containdifferent items35.

65. Thepackaging100 of any one of embodiments 46 to 64, further comprising one ormore items35 within eachcontainer11 with each of said one ormore items35 comprising food.

66. Thepackaging100 of any one of embodiments 46 to 65, further comprising one ormore items35 within eachcontainer11 with each of said one ormore items35 comprising potato chips.

67. Thepackaging100 of any one of embodiments 46 to 65, further comprising one ormore items35 within eachcontainer11 with each of said one ormore items35 comprising nuts.

Methods of Making Packaging:

31. A method of making thepackaging10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 30, said method comprising: forming eachcontainer11; and temporarily attaching eachcontainer11 to one another via thepackaging component19.

32. The method of embodiment 31, further comprising: positioning one ormore items35 within eachcontainer11.

33. The method ofembodiment 32, further comprising: sealing eachcontainer11 with aremovable film21 covering thecontainer opening15.

34. The method of any one of embodiments 31 to 3, further comprising: temporarily attaching theremovable container lid18 so as to cover thecontainer opening15.

68. A method of making thepackaging100 of any one of embodiments 46 to 67, said method comprising: forming eachcontainer11 so as to share abottom container wall12.

69. The method of embodiment 68, further comprising: positioning one ormore items35 within eachcontainer11.

70. The method of embodiment 69, further comprising: sealing eachcontainer11 with aremovable film21 covering thecontainer opening15.

71. The method of any one of embodiments 68 to 70, further comprising: temporarily attaching theremovable container lid18 so as to cover thecontainer opening15.

Methods of Using Packaging:

35. A method of using thepackaging10 of any one of embodiments 1 to 30, said method comprising: inputting one ormore items35 into eachcontainer11.

36. A method ofembodiment 35, further comprising: providing thepackaging10 to a consumer.

37. A method ofembodiment 35 or 36, further comprising: separating twocontainers11 from one another.

38. A method of embodiment 37, wherein said separating step comprises removing at least a portion of alabel24 surrounding at least a portion of each of the twocontainers11.

39. A method of embodiment 37 or 38, wherein said separating step comprises pulling atab29 so as to tear a portion of alabel24 surrounding at least a portion of each of the twocontainers11.

40. A method of embodiment 37 or 38, wherein said separating step comprises removing alabel24 surrounding at least a portion of each of the twocontainers11.

41. A method of embodiment 37, wherein said separating step comprises tearing along a perforated line37 within thelabel24.

42. A method of embodiment 37, wherein said separating step comprises removing anelastic band33 surrounding at least a portion of each of the twocontainers11.

43. A method of any one ofembodiments 35 to 42, further comprising: removing theremovable container lid18 of at least onecontainer11.

44. A method of any one ofembodiments 35 to 43, further comprising: removing a removable film covering21 so as to provide access to thecontainer volume14 of at least onecontainer11.

45. A method of any one ofembodiments 35 to 44, further comprising: replacing theremovable container lid18 so as to cover acontainer opening15 of at least onecontainer11.

72. A method of using thepackaging100 of any one of embodiments 46 to 67, said method comprising: inputting one ormore items35 into eachcontainer11.

73. A method of embodiment 72, further comprising: providing thepackaging100 to a consumer.

74. A method of any one of embodiments 68 to 73, further comprising: removing theremovable container lid18 of at least onecontainer11.

75. A method of any one of embodiments 68 to 74, further comprising: removing aremovable film21 so as to provide access to thecontainer volume14 of at least onecontainer11.

76. A method of any one of embodiments 68 to 75, further comprising: replacing theremovable container lid18 so as to cover acontainer opening15 of at least onecontainer11.

It should be understood that although the above-described packaging and methods are described as “comprising” one or more components or steps, the above-described packaging and methods may “comprise,” “consists of,” or “consist essentially of” any of the above-described components, features or steps of the packaging and methods. Consequently, where the present invention, or a portion thereof, has been described with an open-ended term such as “comprising,” it should be readily understood that (unless otherwise stated) the description of the present invention, or the portion thereof, should also be interpreted to describe the present invention, or a portion thereof, using the terms “consisting essentially of” or “consisting of” or variations thereof as discussed below.

As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” “including,” “has,” “having,” “contains”, “containing,” “characterized by” or any other variation thereof, are intended to encompass a non-exclusive inclusion, subject to any limitation explicitly indicated otherwise, of the recited components. For example, packaging and/or method that “comprise(s)” a list of elements (e.g., components, features or steps) is not necessarily limited to only those elements (or components or steps), but may include other elements (or components or steps) not expressly listed or inherent to the packaging and/or method.

As used herein, the transitional phrases “consists of” and “consisting of” exclude any element, step, or component not specified. For example, “consists of” or “consisting of” used in a claim would limit the claim to the components, materials or steps specifically recited in the claim except for impurities ordinarily associated therewith (i.e., impurities within a given component). When the phrase “consists of” or “consisting of” appears in a clause of the body of a claim, rather than immediately following the preamble, the phrase “consists of” or “consisting of” limits only the elements (or components or steps) set forth in that clause; other elements (or components) are not excluded from the claim as a whole.

As used herein, the transitional phrases “consists essentially of” and “consisting essentially of” are used to define packaging and/or method that includes materials, steps, features, components, or elements, in addition to those literally disclosed, provided that these additional materials, steps, features, components, or elements do not materially affect the basic and novel characteristic(s) of the claimed invention. The term “consisting essentially of” occupies a middle ground between “comprising” and “consisting of”.

Further, it should be understood that the herein-described packaging and methods may comprise, consist essentially of, or consist of any of the herein-described components and features, as shown in the figures with or without any feature(s) not shown in the figures. In other words, in some embodiments, the packaging and/or methods of the present invention do not have any additional features other than those shown in the figures, and such additional features, not shown in the figures, are specifically excluded from the packaging and/or methods. In other embodiments, the packaging and/or methods of the present invention do have one or more additional features that are not shown in the figures.

While the specification has been described in detail with respect to specific embodiments thereof, it will be appreciated that those skilled in the art, upon attaining an understanding of the foregoing, may readily conceive of alterations to, variations of, and equivalents to these embodiments. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention should be assessed as that of the appended claims and any equivalents thereto.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. Packaging comprising:

at least two separatable containers, each container comprising a bottom container wall, at least one container sidewall extending from said bottom container wall so as to form a container volume bound by said bottom container wall and said at least one container sidewall, a container opening surrounded by a container rim extending along an upper edge of said at least one container sidewall, and a removable container lid positionable and sized so as to cover said container opening; and

a packaging component that temporarily connects said at least two separatable containers to one another so that container openings of two containers are on opposite ends of said packaging.

2. The packaging ofclaim 1, wherein each container further comprising a removable film covering said container opening, said removable film being temporarily present between said container opening and said removable container lid.

3. The packaging ofclaim 2, wherein said removable film comprises an integral tab component that extends beyond an outer periphery of said container opening.

4. The packaging ofclaim 1, wherein each container has a cross-sectional area extending across said container volume, said cross-sectional area being substantially parallel to a first plane containing said bottom container wall and a second plane containing said container opening.

5. The packaging ofclaim 4, wherein said cross-sectional area has a circular configuration, a triangular configuration, a square configuration, a rectangular configuration, a star-shaped configuration, a pentagonal configuration, a hexagonal configuration, or an oval configuration.

6. The packaging ofclaim 4, wherein said cross-sectional area has a circular configuration.

7. The packaging ofclaim 1, wherein each container has a substantially similar container volume.

8. The packaging ofclaim 1, wherein at least two containers of said at least two separatable containers have a different container volume.

9. The packaging ofclaim 1, wherein each container has a container volume of ranging from about 3.0 cubic inches (in³) to about 800 in³.

10. The packaging ofclaim 1, wherein said at least two separatable containers comprises two separatable containers.

11. The packaging ofclaim 1, wherein each container comprises a cellulosic material, a polymeric material, a metallic material, or any combination thereof said removable film comprises a cellulosic material, a polymeric material, a metallic material, or any combination thereof and said removable container lid comprises a cellulosic material, a polymeric material, a metallic material, or any combination thereof.

12. The packaging ofclaim 1, wherein each container comprises a cellulosic material, a polymeric material, a metallic material, or any combination thereof said removable film comprises a cellulosic material, a polymeric material, a metallic material, or any combination thereof and wherein said removable container lid comprises a polymeric material.

13. The packaging ofclaim 1, wherein said packaging component comprises a label that covers at least a portion of connecting ends of said at least two separatable containers.

14. The packaging ofclaim 13, wherein said label or a portion thereof is removable so as to enable separation of adjacent containers.

15. The packaging ofclaim 14, wherein said packaging component comprises a label that covers at least a portion of connecting ends of said at least two separatable containers and a pull tab operatively adapted to tear said label when pulled.

16. The packaging ofclaim 15, wherein said pull tab extends along an inner surface of said label and along a line extending proximate or between adjacent bottom container walls of adjacent containers.

17. The packaging ofclaim 14, wherein said packaging component comprises a label that covers at least a portion of connecting ends of said at least two separatable containers and a perforated line extending proximate a location between said at least two separatable containers.

18. The packaging ofclaim 1, wherein said packaging component comprises an adhesive component, said adhesive temporarily bonding outer surfaces of adjacent bottom container walls of adjacent containers.

19. The packaging ofclaim 1, further comprising one or more items within each container.

20. The packaging ofclaim 19, wherein said one or more items within each container independently comprise a food item.