Container Sealing and/or Protection Apparatus

Abstract

Apparatuses and methods for sealing and/or protecting containers are disclosed herein. In various embodiments, a container sealing and/or protection apparatus may comprise a cover and a sleeve coupled to the cover and configured to fit around at least a portion of a container, wherein the cover and the sleeve are configured to slide onto at least a portion of the container and wherein the sleeve is adapted to constrict upon application of heat to resist detachment of the cover from the container and/or to environmentally seal the container.

1 . A container sealing and/or protection apparatus, comprising: 
 a cover;    a sleeve coupled to the cover; and    wherein the cover and the sleeve are configured to slide onto at least a portion of the container and wherein the sleeve is adapted to constrict upon application of heat to resist detachment of the cover and/or sleeve from the container and/or to environmentally seal the container.    
   
   
       2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the cover is configured to overlie a top portion of a container and the sleeve is configured to cover one or more sides and a bottom of the container.  
   
   
       3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the sleeve comprises two or more side members configured to fold to a position generally orthogonal to the cover.  
   
   
       4 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein the side members are coupled to each other by welding.  
   
   
       5 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the sleeve consists of a heat shrinkable polymer layer.  
   
   
       6 . The apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein the heat shrinkable polymer layer is at least one layer chosen from a polyvinyl chloride layer, a polyethylene layer and a polyolefin layer.  
   
   
       7 . The apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein the heat shrinkable polymer layer has a thickness up to about 7 millimeters prior to application of heat to the polymer layer.  
   
   
       8 . A container sealing and/or protection apparatus, comprising a generally flat sheet, the sheet having a first portion configured to cover a first side of a container, and a second portion disposed around the perimeter of the first portion and configured to fold to cover one or more additional sides of the container, the second portion adapted to constrict upon application of heat thereto such that the second portion substantially conforms to a shape of the container to resist detachment of the sheet from the container and/or to environmentally seal the container.  
   
   
       9 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the first portion is configured to cover a top of the container and the second portion is further configured to fold to encompass one or more sides and at least a portion of a bottom of the container.  
   
   
       10 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein at least a portion of the second portion consists of a heat shrinkable polymer layer.  
   
   
       11 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the heat shrinkable polymer layer is at least one layer chosen from a polyvinyl chloride layer, a polyethylene layer, and a polyolefin layer.  
   
   
       12 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the heat shrinkable polymer layer has one or more first portions that have a first thickness and one or more second portions that have a second thickness.  
   
   
       13 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the different thicknesses result in different rates of shrinkage between the first portions and the second portions.  
   
   
       14 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the heat shrinkable polymer layer is responsive to the application of heat from a hair dryer.  
   
   
       15 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the second portions are thicker than the first portions and strategically located to provide for greater wear resistance.  
   
   
       16 . A method for sealing and/or protecting a container, comprising: 
 providing a container sealing and/or protection apparatus having: 
 a cover;  
 a sleeve coupled to the cover; and  
 wherein the cover and the sleeve are configured to slide onto at least a portion of a container and wherein at least the sleeve is adapted to constrict upon application of heat;  
   sliding the container sealing and/or protection apparatus onto the container; and    applying heat to the sleeve to constrict the sleeve to resist detachment of a lid from the container and/or to environmentally seal the container.    
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein said providing the container sealing and/or protection apparatus having the cover and the sleeve comprises providing a container sealing and/or protection apparatus having a cover configured to overlie a top of a container and a sleeve configured to cover one or more sides and a bottom of the container.  
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising: 
 providing a second container sealing and/or protection apparatus having: 
 a second cover;  
 a second sleeve coupled to the second cover; and  
 wherein the second cover and the second sleeve are configured to slide onto at least a portion of the container and wherein the second sleeve is adapted to constrict upon application of heat;  
   sliding the second container sealing and/or protection apparatus onto the container so that both the first and second container sealing and/or protection apparatuses overlap to collectively cover all surfaces of the container; and    applying heat to the second sleeve to constrict the second sleeve to resist detachment of the second cover from the container and/or to environmentally seal the container.    
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the providing a first container sealing and/or protection apparatus having a sleeve and/or providing a second container sealing and/or protection apparatus having a sleeve comprises providing one or more container sealing and/or protection apparatus having two or more flaps configured to be folded to a position generally orthogonal to the cover.  
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising bonding the two or more flaps to each other.  
   
   
       21 . The method of  claim 16  further comprising: 
 providing a second container sealing and/or protection apparatus having a generally flat sheet, the sheet having a first portion configured to cover a first side of a container, and a second portion disposed around the perimeter of the first portion and configured to fold to cover one or more additional sides of the container, the second portion adapted to constrict upon application of heat to constrict and substantially conform to a shape of the container;    placing the second container sealing and/or protection apparatus onto the container such that it overlaps the first container sealing and/or protection apparatus; and    applying heat to one or more sections of the second portion to constrict the one or more sections such that the first and second container sealing and/or protection apparatus collectively cover all surfaces of the container and to resist detachment of the sheet from the container and/or to environmentally seal the container.    
   
   
       22 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the providing the container sealing and/or protection apparatus comprises: 
 providing a generally flat sheet, the sheet having a first portion configured to cover a first side of a container, and a second portion disposed around the perimeter of the first portion and configured to fold to cover one or more additional sides of the container, the second portion adapted to constrict upon application of heat to constrict and substantially conform to a shape of the container to resist detachment of the sheet from the container and/or to environmentally seal the container; and    applying heat to one or more sections of the second portion to constrict the one or more sections to form a sleeve to fit around at least a portion of the container.    
   
   
       23 . The method of  claim 22 , further comprising: 
 providing a second container sealing and/or protection apparatus having a generally flat sheet, the sheet having a first portion configured to cover a first side of a container, and a second portion disposed around the perimeter of the first portion and configured to fold to cover one or more additional sides of the container, the second portion adapted to constrict upon application of heat to constrict and substantially conform to a shape of the container to resist detachment of the sheet from the container and/or to environmentally seal the container;    placing the second container sealing and/or protection apparatus onto the container;    applying heat to one or more sections of the second portion to constrict the one or more sections to form a sleeve to fit around at least a portion of the container and so that both container sealing and/or protection apparatuses overlap to collectively cover substantially all surfaces of the container; and    applying heat to the sleeve of the second container sealing and/or protection apparatus to constrict the second sleeve to resist detachment of the sheet from the container and/or to environmentally seal the container.