Vented container for housing a scented product

Abstract

A container for housing scented product includes a bottom wall, a top wall, a plurality of longitudinal sidewalls, and a plurality of lateral sidewalls. The container further includes a scented product disposed within the cavity and a first plurality of selectively openable and closable vents extending through the top wall of the container. The first plurality of vents is configured to at least partially open when a force is applied to one or more of the plurality of longitudinal sidewalls and the plurality of lateral sidewalls of the container. The container further includes a second plurality of selectively openable and closable vents extending through the bottom wall of the container. The second plurality of vents are configured to at least partially open when the force is applied to one or more of the plurality of longitudinal sidewalls and the plurality of lateral sidewalls of the container.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A container for housing a scented product, comprising:
 a container comprising a cavity;   a scented product disposed within the cavity; and   a first selectively openable and closable vent extending through a wall of the container to the cavity, wherein the first selectively openable and closable vent is configured to at least partially open when a force is applied to the container.   
     
     
         2 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein the first selectively openable and closable vent comprises a triangular prism shape. 
     
     
         3 . The container of  claim 2 , wherein a surface of the first selectively openable and closable vent is coplanar with an exterior surface of the wall. 
     
     
         4 . The container of  claim 2 , wherein a side surface of the first selectively openable and closable vent is coplanar with an interior surface of the wall. 
     
     
         5 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein the first selectively openable and closable vent is proximate to a longitudinal end of the container. 
     
     
         6 . The container of  claim 1 , further comprising a second selectively openable and closable vent extending through a second wall of the container, the second wall being opposite the wall in which the first selectively openable and closable vent is located. 
     
     
         7 . The container of  claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of vents oriented in a pattern representing a fragrance of the scented product disposed within the cavity of the container. 
     
     
         8 . The container of  claim 1 , further comprising at least one designated region on the container for receiving the force. 
     
     
         9 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein the first selectively openable and closable vent is aligned with perforations of the container. 
     
     
         10 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein the first selectively openable and closable vent is positioned at a location on the container that deflects the most when the force is applied to the container. 
     
     
         11 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein the first selectively openable and closable vent has a size and configuration to:
 resist opening when subjected to forces typically associated with handling of a container; and   open when the force is greater than the forces typically associated with handling of a container.   
     
     
         12 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein the first selectively openable and closable vent comprises a valve secured to the container. 
     
     
         13 . A container for housing a scented product, comprising:
 a plurality of walls defining at least one cavity within the container;   a scented product disposed within the at least one cavity;   a first plurality of selectively openable and closable vents extending through a first wall of plurality of walls of the container to the at least one cavity, wherein vents of the first plurality of selectively openable and closable vents are configured to at least partially open when a force is applied to one or more walls of the plurality of walls of the container; and   a second plurality of selectively openable and closable vents extending through a second wall of the plurality of walls of the container to the at least one cavity, wherein vents of the second plurality of selectively openable and closable vents are configured to at least partially open when the force is applied to one or more walls of the plurality of walls of the container.   
     
     
         14 . The container of  claim 13 , wherein the vents of the first plurality of selectively openable and closable vents are configured to allow air to flow out of the at least one cavity of the container to an exterior of the container. 
     
     
         15 . The container of  claim 13 , wherein the vents of the second plurality of selectively openable and closable vents are configured to allow air to flow into the at least one cavity of the container from an exterior of the container. 
     
     
         16 . The container of  claim 13 , wherein each vent of the first plurality of selectively openable and closable vents and the second plurality of selectively openable and closable vents comprises an at least general hourglass shaped cross-section. 
     
     
         17 . The container of  claim 13 , further comprising at least one designated region on at least one wall of the container for receiving the force, wherein when the force is applied to the at least one designated region a portion of the container including the first plurality of selectively openable and closable vents experiences a greatest amount of deflection of the container. 
     
     
         18 . The container of  claim 13 , wherein the vents of the first plurality of selectively openable and closable vents comprise a porous material covering a void in the first wall. 
     
     
         19 . The container of  claim 13 , wherein the vents of the second plurality of selectively openable and closable vents comprise valves. 
     
     
         20 . The container of  claim 13 , wherein the vents of the second plurality of selectively openable and closable vents have a size and configuration to:
 resist opening when subjected to forces typically associated with handling of the container; and   open when the force is greater than the forces typically associated with handling of the container.