Dispenser with retractable comic panel

Abstract

A dispenser with a comic panel attached to it that can be viewed and stored. The dispenser comprising a container body which contains an article such as candy or chewing gum, a housing member which encompasses most of the container body, and a comic panel with a tab at the end attached to the container body. The comic panel is viewed when the tab is pulled and stored when the container body is rotated.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]1. Field of the Invention[0002]The invention relates generally to dispensers and more particularly to dispensers of sweets such as candy or chewing gum that provide a hidden function of retractably displaying an elongated flexible member with indicia such as a comic strip.[0003]2. Description of Related Art[0004]Distributing sweets to children is a huge and extremely competitive industry. Children are increasingly discerning when it comes to choosing the type of food they want as there are numerous options out there. One factor children use in determining which sweets to eat is the type of sweets. However, another factor children use in determining which sweet to eat is the presentation of the sweet which includes not only what the sweet looks like but also the packaging of the sweet.[0005]However, traditional packaging such as simply wrapping a candy or chewing gum in a piece of foil or paper is not particularly attractive enough to the children. Th...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009]To use the invention, the child will grip the housing member with one hand and then use another hand to pull the tab on the comic panel or the comic panel itself. The comic panel will then exit the housing member and be viewable to the child. The child can then, for example, enjoy viewing the comic panel while possibly eating the candy contained inside the container body. After the child is done enjoying the comic panel or eating the candy or both, the child can store the comic panel by gripping the housing member with one hand and rotating the container body with another hand. The comic panel is prevented from completely entering the housing member by the tab attached to the comic panel. This allows the child to retrieve the comic panel for reading at a later time.

[0010]In an alternative embodiment, the comic panel is attached instead to the housing member. Now the child will grip the container body with one hand and then use another hand to pull the tab on the comic panel. The comic panel will then exit the housing member and be viewable to the child. The child can then, for example, enjoy viewing the comic panel while possibly eating the candy contained inside the container body. After the child is done enjoying the comic panel or eating the candy or both, the child can store the comic panel by gripping the container body with one hand and rotating the housing member with another hand. The comic panel is prevented from completely entering the housing member by the tab attached to the comic panel. This allows the child to retrieve the comic panel for reading at a later time.

[0011]Furthermore, the dispenser can also have a closure member with a top lid and a bottom lid connected by living hinge on it which facilitates the opening and closing of the closure member. A living hinge is a hinge where a portion of the material is thinned out and when the material is still warm the material is bent at the thinned out portion. The top lid and bottom lid can also snap together to close the closure member. Also, the dispenser can have an optional decorative figure on the closure member to make the dispenser more enticing to children.

Problems solved by technology

However, traditional packaging such as simply wrapping a candy or chewing gum in a piece of foil or paper is not particularly attractive enough to the children.

The children usually cannot see the candy or gum and furthermore there are not enough features in the candy packaging to attract the children to the candy or gum or the features they provide are not enticing to children.

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