U.S. patent application number 10/565608 was filed with the patent office on 2006-08-10 for container for food.
Invention is credited to Pere Teixidor Casanovas.
Application Number | 20060175223 10/565608 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34073735 |
Filed Date | 2006-08-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060175223 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Casanovas; Pere Teixidor |
August 10, 2006 |
Container for food
Abstract
It comprises two pieces comprising a base (1) and a lid (2). It
is characterized in that the coupling means between the lid (2) and
the base (1) are formed by a rim (3), provided on the edge of one
of the pieces of the container, which defines a C-shape cavity (4),
into which a complementary flange (5), provided on the edge of the
other piece of the container, is fitted. It is obtained a container
for pizzas and the like which occupies a reduced space when it is
opened compared with the well-known container for pizzas, because
the lid is not joined to the base.
Inventors: |
Casanovas; Pere Teixidor;
(Esparreguera, ES) |
Correspondence
Address: |
WOLF BLOCK SCHORR AND SOLIS-COHEN LLP
250 PARK AVENUE
NEW YORK
NY
10177
US
|
Family ID: |
34073735 |
Appl. No.: |
10/565608 |
Filed: |
July 23, 2003 |
PCT Filed: |
July 23, 2003 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/IB03/03450 |
371 Date: |
January 23, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/508 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 2543/00546
20130101; B65D 2543/0049 20130101; B65D 2543/00842 20130101; B65D
2585/366 20130101; B65D 81/3823 20130101; B65D 21/0234 20130101;
B65D 2543/00027 20130101; B65D 2543/00944 20130101; B65D 2543/00314
20130101; B65D 43/0229 20130101; B65D 2543/00351 20130101; B65D
2543/00092 20130101; B65D 21/0223 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
206/508 |
International
Class: |
B65D 21/00 20060101
B65D021/00 |
Claims
1. A container for pizzas and the like, which comprises two pieces
comprising a base (1) and a lid (2) which can be coupled together,
the coupling means between the lid (2) and the base (1) are formed
by a rim (3), provided on the edge of one of the pieces of the
container, which defines a C-shape cavity (4), into which a
complementary flange (5), provided on the edge of the other piece
of the container, is fitted, wherein the base and the lid are
dish-shaped and the lid and the base are formed of at least one
layer of cardboard.
2. A container according to claim 1, wherein said rim (3) which
defines a C shape (4) is provided on the base (1).
3. A container according to claim 1, wherein both the base (1) and
the lid (2) have sloping walls (6, 7).
4. A container according to claim 3, wherein the lid (2) comprises
an orifice (8) in its sloping wall (7) to make opening the
container easier.
5. A container according to claim 3, wherein said flange (5)
presents a cut-out (9) in the zone adjacent to said orifice (8)
provided on the sloping wall (7) of the lid (2).
6. A container according to claim 1, wherein the base (1) comprises
a projection (10) complementary with a complementary cavity (11)
provided on the lid (2), or vice versa.
7. A container according to claim 1, wherein the lid (2) comprises
a series of cuts (12) in its wall (7) directed towards the centre
of the lid (2).
8. A container according to claim 1, wherein both the base (1) and
the lid (2) comprise a layer of corrugated cardboard (13).
9. A container according to claim 1, wherein both the base (1) and
the lid (2) comprise an internal layer (14) of anti-grease
material.
10. A container according to claim 1, wherein both the base (1) and
the lid (2) comprise an external layer (15) of thermally insulating
material.
11. A container according to claim 8, wherein said at least one of
said layers covers all of the base (1) and all of the lid (2)
except the rim (3) or the coupling flange (5).
12. A container according to claim 1, wherein the outside edge of
the lid (2) coincides substantially with the internal edge of the
base (1), said flange (5) fitting inside said C-shape cavity
(4):
13. A container according to claim 13, further comprising at least
a pair of cuts (16) provided on said rim (3), each pair of these
cuts (16) defining a tongue (17).
14. A container according to claim 9, wherein said at least one of
said layers covers all of the base (1) and all of the lid (2)
except the rim (3) or the coupling flange (5).
15. A container according to claim 10, wherein said at least one of
said layers covers all of the base (1) and all of the lid (2)
except the rim (3) or the coupling flange (5).
Description
[0001] The present invention refers to a container for food,
especially designed, although not only, for pizzas and the like,
formed by a base and a lid that are coupled together.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Current pizza containers are made up of a base of corrugated
cardboard sheet and a lid coupled over it. As the container is made
from only one sheet, the lid is joined to the base.
[0003] This type of container has various drawbacks. Firstly, it is
very common that the container with the recently cooked pizza
inside is placed directly onto the table, and on opening the
container the space that the lid takes up can be a real
nuisance.
[0004] Furthermore, they also take up a lot of transport and
storage space, as although they are made up of only one sheet, the
dimensions of it are quite large.
[0005] Another drawback is the time it takes to assemble each
container. The time required for assembling the containers means
that usually a certain amount is mounted and then stored, which
means they occupy even more space.
[0006] There is another type of containers made of sheet material,
preferably cardboard, which are formed of a base and a lid which
are coupled together. The coupling between the base and the lid is
made by fitting the lid into the top part of the base. However,
this type of containers needs some kind of seal or the like, as
without it the container can come open if it is accidentally
tilted.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0007] With the container of the invention all the aforementioned
disadvantages are eliminated, and present other advantages
described below.
[0008] The food container of the invention comprises two pieces
consisting of a base and a lid which can be coupled together, both
the lid and the base being made of at least one layer of sheet
material; and it is characterized in that the coupling means
between the lid and the base are formed by a rim, provided on the
edge of one of the pieces of the container, which defines a C-shape
cavity, a complementary flange provided in the edge of the other
piece of the container fiting inside said cavity.
[0009] Thanks to this characteristic, it is obtained a container
for pizzas and the like made up of a base and lid that fit
together. Therefore, the container of the invention takes up less
space when opened if compared to currently known pizza containers,
as the lid can be removed from the table, or it can even be used as
a plate.
[0010] Furthermore, thanks to the aforementioned coupling means, no
type of seal is necessary to avoid the container opening if
tilted.
[0011] Preferently, the aforementioned rim which defines a C-shape
cavity is provided on the base.
[0012] Advantageously, both the base and the lid have sloping walls
to make storage easier.
[0013] Also advantatgeously, the lid comprises an orifice in its
sloping wall making it easier to open the container. This way, the
container can be opened by inserting a finger into the orifice and
raising the lid.
[0014] Another point that makes removing the lid easier is that the
said flange has a cut-out in the area adjacent to the
aforementioned orifice in the sloping wall of the lid.
[0015] To pile up the containers the base comprises a projection
complementary with a cavity provided in the lid, or vice versa.
[0016] To make it easier to put the lid in place, it comprises a
series of cuts in its wall directed towards the centre of the
lid.
[0017] According to a preferred embodiment, both the base and the
lid comprise a layer of corrugated cardboard, thus permitting the
container to present thermal insulating properties as well as the
desired stiffness.
[0018] Advantageously, both the base and the lid comprise an
internal layer of anti-grease material and/or an internal layer of
thermally insulating material.
[0019] Preferently, at least one of the mentioned layers covers the
whole of the base and the lid except the rim or the coupling flange
to make production of the container easier and to avoid unnecessary
waste of material.
[0020] To facilitate the storing of the containers, the external
edge of the lid coincides substantially with the internal edge of
the base, so that the lid is placed upside down inside the base,
with the said flange being inserted in said C-shape cavity.
[0021] To make it easier to remove the lid from inside the base
when they are coupled in the storage or transporting position, when
the container of the invention is empty, said rim comprises at
least one pair of cuts, each pair of these cuts defining a
tongue.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0022] To better understand all the aforementioned, there are some
accompanying drawings which, diagramatically and only as a
non-limitative example, represent a practical embodiment.
[0023] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the base and the lid which
form the container of the invention separated one from each
other;
[0024] FIG. 2 is an elevation view of one sectioned end of the
container of the present invention, with the base and the lid
coupled together;
[0025] FIG. 3 is an elevation view of two containers of the present
invention piled one on top of the other;
[0026] FIG. 4 shows an elevation view of a container of the present
invention sectioned, with the base and the container coupled in
their storage and transporting position when empty; and
[0027] FIG. 5 is an elevation view of two bases of the container of
the present invention coupled together for its transporting and
storage.
DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0028] As can be appreciated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the container of the
present invention is formed by a base 1 and a lid 2 which can be
coupled together.
[0029] To couple the pieces together, the base 1 comprises a rim 3
along its edge which defines a C-shape cavity 4, while the lid 2
comprises a flange 5 which is fitted into said cavity 4. To make
this coupling easier, the lid 2 has a series of cuts 12 distributed
around the edge in a suitable way.
[0030] To remove the lid 2 an orifice 8 is provided for a finger to
be inserted and the lid 2 to be raised. To make opening the
container of the invention even easier, the flange 5 comprises a
cut-out 9 in the zone adjacent to the said orifice 8.
[0031] Therefore, it is obtained a container made up of two pieces,
base 1 and lid 2, it being easy to fit and remove the lid 2.
[0032] In FIG. 2, it can be appreciated in detail the layers which
form both the base 1 and the lid 2. In the case of the represented
embodiment, the base 1 and the lid 2 have the same number of layers
and said layers present of the same characteristics.
[0033] Specifically, and according to the represented embodiment,
the lid 2 and the base 1 are made from an intermediate layer 13 of
corrugated cardboard, which presents characteristics of adequate
thermal insulating and stiffness. Furthermore, the base 1 and the
lid 2 comprise an internal layer 14 of an anti-grease material and
an external layer 15 of a thermally insulating material. To make
production of the invented container easier and to avoid
unnecessary waste of material, the internal layer 14 and the
external layer 15 do not cover the rim 3 or the flange 5.
[0034] As can be clearly appreciated from FIG. 3, the containers of
the present invention can be piled up one on top of the other. This
characteristic is achieved by the provision of a projection 10 in
the base 1 complementary with a cavity 11 provided in the lid 2, or
vice versa, so that when two containers of the present invention
are piled up the said projection 10 is fitted inside the
complementary cavity 11.
[0035] So that the container takes up the least possible space when
empty in its storage or transporting position, both the base 1 and
the lid 2 have sloping walls 6, 7, so that the internal edge of the
base 1 coincides substantially with the external edge of the lid 2,
or vice versa. If required, it is also possible to transport and
store the lids 2 piled one on top of the other independently of the
bases 1, which will also be piled one on top of the other. These
storage positions can be appreciated clearly in FIGS. 4 and 5.
[0036] To make it easier to remove the lid 2 in the storage
position when the lid 2 is placed upside down on the base 1, there
are provided some cuts 16 (FIG. 1) which define tongues 17. If
removal of the lid 2 from the base 1 is required, simply pulling
one of the said tongues 17 gives access to the flange 5, which when
pulled removes the lid 2.
[0037] Although a specific embodiment of the invention has been
referred to, it is evident to a person skilled in the art that the
described container is susceptible to numerous variations and
modifications, and that all the aforementioned details can be
substituted by technically equivalent others, without departing
from the scope of protection defined by the appended claims.
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