Electronic cigarette container and method therefor

Abstract

An electronic cigarette container has a main body section having a hollow interior, the main body section having an open top end. A top cover is coupled to the main body section to cover the open top end. A holding mechanism is formed at a bottom end of the main body section to hold an electronic cigarette

1 - 20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . A container comprising:
 a body section having at least three side walls, a bottom, and an open top; and   a cover releasably coupled to the body section, the cover including a plate member and at least three side wall members, an interior surface of the cover including a space for securing an electronic cigarette to the cover,   wherein the cover is insertable into the body section, such that at least a portion of each side wall member of the cover is adjacent a corresponding side wall of the body, and the plate member covers the open top; and   wherein the cover is configured to remove the electronic cigarette from the container when the cover is removed from the body section.   
     
     
         22 . The container of  claim 21 , wherein each side wall member defines a plane that is substantially orthogonal to a plane that includes the plate member. 
     
     
         23 . The container of  claim 21 , wherein each of the at least three side wall members has a length equal to a length of each of the other side wall members. 
     
     
         24 . The container of  claim 21 , wherein the at least three side wall members are dimensioned to fit within the open top of the body section, such that an outside surface of the cover lies flush with an outside surface of the body section when the cover is inserted into the body section. 
     
     
         25 . The container of  claim 21 , wherein the interior surface of the cover includes a protrusion that defines the space for securing the electronic cigarette to the cover. 
     
     
         26 . The container of  claim 25 , wherein the protrusion includes a tube having a diameter larger than a diameter of the electronic cigarette to secure the electronic cigarette to the cover. 
     
     
         27 . The container of  claim 21 , wherein each side wall of the body section is tapered such that a cross section of a first end of each side wall is larger than a cross-section of a second, opposite end of each side wall. 
     
     
         28 . The container of  claim 27 , wherein the first end of each wall is adjacent the cover. 
     
     
         29 . A container comprising:
 a body section having at least three side walls, a bottom, and an open top, the bottom including a space for receiving a first end of an electronic cigarette;   a cover releasably coupled to the body section, wherein the cover includes a plate member and at least three side wall members, an interior surface of the cover including a space for receiving a second end of the electronic cigarette to secure the electronic cigarette to the cover, and   the electronic cigarette;   wherein the cover is configured to remove the electronic cigarette from the container when the cover is removed from the body section.   
     
     
         30 . The container of  claim 29 , wherein the bottom includes a protrusion that defines the space for receiving the first end of the electronic cigarette. 
     
     
         31 . The container of  claim 30 , wherein the protrusion includes a tube having a diameter larger than a diameter of the first end of the electronic cigarette, such that there is a space between the tube and the first end of the electronic cigarette when the cover is inserted into the body section. 
     
     
         32 . The container of  claim 30 , wherein the interior surface of the cover includes a protrusion that defines the space for securing the electronic cigarette to the cover. 
     
     
         33 . The container of  claim 32 , wherein the protrusion includes a tube having a diameter larger than a diameter of the second end of the electronic cigarette to secure the electronic cigarette to the cover, such that removing the cover from the body section also removes the electronic cigarette from the body section. 
     
     
         34 . The container of  claim 30 , wherein the first end of the electronic cigarette is intended to be placed into a user's mouth during use before any other portion of the electronic cigarette. 
     
     
         35 . The container of  claim 30 , wherein an external surface of the cover includes a tab, wherein pulling the tab along a longitudinal axis of the container removes the cover from the body section. 
     
     
         36 . A container comprising:
 a body section having at least three side walls, a bottom, and an open top, the bottom including a space for receiving a first end of an electronic cigarette;   a cover releasably coupled to the body section, wherein the cover includes a plate member and at least three side wall members, an interior surface of the plate member including a space for receiving a second end of the electronic cigarette to secure the electronic cigarette to the cover, and an exterior surface of the plate member including a tab; and   the electronic cigarette;   wherein the cover is configured to remove the electronic cigarette from the container by pulling on the tab.   
     
     
         37 . The container of  claim 36 , wherein the tab is foldable, such that the tab has a first position wherein an entirety of the tab lies flush against the cover, and a second position for allowing a user to grip an upper surface and a lower surface of the tab and pull the tab along a longitudinal axis of the container. 
     
     
         38 . The container of  claim 36 , wherein the cover includes a surface feature complementary to a surface feature of the tab to lock the tab to the cover. 
     
     
         39 . The container of  claim 38 , wherein one of the cover and the tab includes a protrusion, and the other of the cover and the tab includes a recess for receiving the protrusion. 
     
     
         40 . The container of  claim 36 , wherein the body section includes exactly three side walls, and the cover includes exactly three side wall members.