U.S. patent application number 11/553558 was filed with the patent office on 2007-05-03 for container for food.
This patent application is currently assigned to ROTHO KUNSTSTOFF AG. Invention is credited to Bruno Meier.
Application Number | 20070095837 11/553558 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 35530694 |
Filed Date | 2007-05-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070095837 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Meier; Bruno |
May 3, 2007 |
CONTAINER FOR FOOD
Abstract
A container for food is provided, including a bowl with a base,
a side wall, and a bowl brim encircling the top, as well as a
tightly sealing lid, if necessary, with the lid including a
soft-elastic sealing material or being provided with a soft-elastic
seal in the contact area to the bowl brim. Fastening elements are
provided on the lid and/or on the bowl for a detachable fastening
of the lid onto the bowl while applying pressure between the lid
and the bowl brim. Two or more or the fastening elements are
connected to one another such that their movale parts can be moved
together by one slide bar each.
Inventors: |
Meier; Bruno;
(Untersiggenthal, CH) |
Correspondence
Address: |
VOLPE AND KOENIG, P.C.
UNITED PLAZA, SUITE 1600
30 SOUTH 17TH STREET
PHILADELPHIA
PA
19103
US
|
Assignee: |
ROTHO KUNSTSTOFF AG
Industriestrasse Althau 11
Wurenlingen
CH
5303
|
Family ID: |
35530694 |
Appl. No.: |
11/553558 |
Filed: |
October 27, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
220/324 ;
220/784 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 45/16 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
220/324 ;
220/784 |
International
Class: |
B65D 41/16 20060101
B65D041/16; B65D 45/16 20060101 B65D045/16 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 28, 2005 |
DE |
20 2005 017 057.7 |
Claims
1. A container for food, comprising a bowl (1) with a base (8), a
side wall (2, 3), and a brim (9) of the bowl encircling the top, as
well as a lid (4), tightly sealing the brim (9) of the bowl, with
the lid (4) in a contact area (12) facing the brim (9) of the bowl
including a soft-elastic sealing material or having a soft-elastic
seal (18), and with fastening elements (13, 15, 16) being mounted
on the lid (4) and/or at the bowl (1) for a detachable fastening of
the lid (4) to the bowl (1) while forming a pressure between the
lid (4) and the brim (9) of the bowl, two or more of the fastening
elements (13, 15, 16) each are connected to one another such that
movable parts (13, 16) can each be moved together by a slide bar
(5).
2. A container according to claim 1, wherein two of the slide bars
(5) are provided.
3. A container according to claim 2, wherein the bowl side wall
comprises two end walls (2) and two side walls (3), and one of the
slide bars (5) operates fastening elements (13, 16) on each of the
end walls (3) while simultaneously engaging both the corresponding
end wall (2) as well as at least one of the side walls (3).
4. A container according to claim 1, wherein the fastening elements
(13, 15, 16) comprise, on the one hand, essentially horizontally
extending holding surfaces (15) and, on the other hand, latches
(13, 16) engaging the holding surfaces (15).
5. A container according to claim 4, wherein the latches (13, 16)
and/or the holding surfaces (15) are sloped in reference to a
horizontal plane in order to form a contacting slope (14).
6. A container according to claim 4, wherein the latches (13, 16)
comprise a hook-shaped cross-section and are mounted on the lid
(4).
7. A container according to claim 6, wherein the latches (13, 16)
are connected to the two slide bars (5) mounted on the lid (4).
8. A container according to claim 7, wherein the fastening surfaces
(15) are formed by a projection (10) in an area of the brim (9) of
the bowl.
9. A container according to claim 8, wherein recesses (11) are
provided in the projection (10) for forming the holding surfaces
(15).
10. A container according to claim 9, wherein at least one of the
holding surfaces (15) is provided with a guiding surface, extending
approximately perpendicular thereupon and generally parallel to a
direction of movement of the corresponding latch (13).
11. A container according to claim 10, wherein the lid (4) and/or
the slide bar (5) are provided with a roof-shaped edge surface (7),
which laterally cover the latch (13).
12. A container according to claim 11, wherein in an inserted
condition, the slide bars (5) form edge surface (7) of the lid
(4).
13. A container according to claim 10, wherein the guiding surface
comprises a guidance bar (20),
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] The invention relates to a container for food. In
particular, this container comprises a bowl with a base, a side
wall, and a bowl brim encircling the top as well as a tightly
sealing lid on the bowl brim, when necessary. In the contact area
with the bowl brim the lid comprises a soft-elastic sealing
material or is provided with such. Furthermore, fastening elements
are provided, to mount the lid on the bowl in a removable fashion,
namely by applying a pressing force between the lid and the bowl
brim.
[0002] In particular, food containers serving as freshness
preserving receptacles for storing and transporting foods should
seal as tightly as possible in order to prevent the oozing of
liquids, as well as any air exchange between the interior of the
container and the environment. For this purpose the lid of a
container of the type mentioned at the outset comprises a
soft-elastic sealing material, at least in the area that is put
onto the brim of the bowl. Alternatively, a soft-elastic seal may
also be provided in the contact area between the lid and the bowl
brim in order to ensure the positioning of the lid on the bowl to
be air and water tight.
[0003] In order to ensure in larger containers with a volume of,
for example, one liter or more, for the positioning of the lid on
the bowl brim to be really air tight it is mandatory that a
permanent pressing force is maintained between the lid and the bowl
brim. For this purpose it is known to provide separately operating
mounting elements in the form of pivotal lashes on the lid, which
engage the bottom of the corresponding protrusions at the exterior
of the bowl in a clamping manner and thus press the lid against the
bowl brim, with the soft-elastic seal being compressed in the
contact area between the lid and the bowl brim. However, in
rectangular and/or cube shaped containers there is the problem that
the bowl side wall evades this pressure between the lid and the
bowl brim, at least at the longer sides, because a container of the
type mentioned at the outset is generally formed with a thin wall
for reasons of weight and expenses and the stability of the side
walls is therefore not always sufficient to create the counter
force against the pressure at the bowl brim necessary for air
tightness. Therefore, in such containers it is necessary to
provided fastening elements at all four sides, which press the lid
against the bowl brim.
[0004] It is obvious that this considerably worsens the handling of
a food container of the type mentioned herein because, in the
above-mentioned known container the user must open a total of at
least four clamping fastening elements embodied as pivotal lashes
with his/her two hands in order to be able to remove the lid from
the bowl. This is naturally not being done in a single step.
SUMMARY
[0005] Based on this prior art, the object of the present invention
is to improve a container of the type mentioned at the outset with
regard to its handling.
[0006] This object is attained in a container having the features
of the invention. Preferred embodiments and further developments of
the container according to the invention are described in the
claims.
[0007] A container for food, embodied according to the present
invention, essentially differs from prior art in that two or more
fastening elements are combined into an operating unit and that
this operating unit is embodied as a slide bar. In a container
having a basically rectangular shape preferably two slide bars are
provided, each of which operate a multitude of fastening elements
so that the fastening elements not only create the pressure between
the lid and the bowl brim in the proximity of the slide bar but
also distributed over the circumference at the two sides without
any slide bars. Therefore, on the one hand, the invention
facilitates the handling of a container of the present type such
that only two operating units for operating all fastening elements
distributed over the circumference are provided, in particular,
thus the container can be opened or closed in a single step, and,
on the other hand, such that the operating units are embodied as
slide bars, which again allows a simplified handling in reference
to the known pivotal lashes.
[0008] As already mentioned, it is advantageous if an essentially
rectangular container, i.e. a container with a bowl having two side
walls and two end walls, is provided with a slide bar at each end
wall, which slide bars simultaneously operate at least two
fastening elements, which both engage the corresponding end wall as
well as simultaneously one or both side walls.
[0009] The fastening elements may comprise, on the one hand,
holding surfaces essentially extending horizontally and, on the
other hand, latches, which engage the holding surfaces when closing
the fastening elements. Preferably the latches and/or the holding
surfaces are sloped in order to each form a contact slope in
reference to a horizontal plane so that when sliding the latch onto
the holding surface a movement of the lid occurs in the direction
of the bowl and thus the necessary pressure of the lid towards the
bowl brim is created.
[0010] Preferably, the latches are embodied with a hook-shaped
cross-section and mounted at the lid. On the other hand, this
allows the holding surfaces to be very easily formed by a
projection in the area of the bowl brim and, if necessary, be
provided with recesses, through which the hook-shaped latches can
be inserted and engage the holding surfaces by way of a horizontal
shifting.
[0011] Further advantages result if at least one holding surface,
beneficially the holding surfaces at the side walls of the bowl, is
provided with guidance surfaces extending essentially parallel to a
direction of movement of the corresponding latch and each being
aligned approximately perpendicular to the holding surface.
Preferably this guidance surface is formed by a lateral guidance
bar. The hook-shaped latch then ensures not only that the lid is
tightly positioned in a form-fitting manner against the upward
acting forces at the bowl, but based on the lateral guidance
surface also against a lateral displacement of the lid on the
container. It is obvious that this further improves the tight
positioning of the lid on the container.
[0012] Beneficially, the slide bars according to the invention are
mounted on the lid and, if necessary, connected with the latches
also provided on the lid; because, when the slide bars are mounted
on the lid, they are located at that point of the container which
is handled by the user anyway, when he/she wants to separate the
lid from the bowl. Additionally, the bowl is then free from any
movable parts, which is beneficial regarding the handling of the
bowl as well as regarding the contamination of movable parts.
[0013] In order to, on the one hand, minimize the danger of
injuries by hook-shaped latches and, on the other hand, still to
achieve an appealing look, the lid and/or the slide bar are
preferably provided with roof-shaped edge surfaces, which laterally
cover the latches. This may be embodied such that in the inserted
position, the slide bars form the edge surface of the lid, thus,
when two slide bars are provided, form a type of divided ring
extending over the entire circumference of the lid.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] In the following, an exemplary embodiment of the present
invention is explained and described in greater detail using the
attached drawings. In the drawings:
[0015] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a food container according
to the invention;
[0016] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a container according to
FIG. 1 with the lid removed;
[0017] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the lid;
[0018] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a slide bar removed from the
lid;
[0019] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a closed food container from
the bottom;
[0020] FIGS. 6a and 6b are lateral cross-sectional views of the end
of the container, in the unlocked (FIG. 6a) and the locked (FIG.
6b) positions;
[0021] FIGS. 7a and 7b are views, partially in cross-section, of
the lateral brim region of the container; and
[0022] FIG. 8 is an enlarged detail view of a portion of FIG.
5.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0023] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of AN exemplary embodiment
of the present invention shown here diagonally from the top. The
container comprises a bowl 1, with its fundamental shape being
approximately rectangular, and thus having two end walls 2 and two
side walls 3, as well as a lid 4, which here is put onto the bowl 1
in an air-tight manner. At each end, the lid 4 is provided with a
slide bar 5, which is operated by an engaging surface 6. The two
slide bars 5 engage the edge of the lid 4 such that they form a
closed ring with a roof-shaped edge surface 7. This ring is divided
approximately in the middle, because the two slide bars 5 can be
pulled outward in order to allow the lid 4 to be removed from the
bowl 1. Both the bowl 1 as well as the lid 4 and the slide bar 5
are preferably made from plastic, in particular polypropylene,
which is light, inherently stable, and resistant.
[0024] FIG. 2 shows the bowl 1 of the container without a lid in a
similar perspective to FIG. 1. This bowl comprises a base 8 and the
above-mentioned end walls 2 and side walls 3. Slightly below a brim
9 of the bowl there is an encircling projection 10 with recesses 11
for accepting the latches (not shown here), which are mounted on
the slide bars 5. In the present exemplary embodiment, the brim 9
of the bowl is not provided with a soft-elastic seal, because it
would disturb the use as a bowl for food. Rather, a soft-elastic
seal is provided in the lid 4, which is discernible from the
following figures. The bowl 1 is also free from the slide bars
according to the invention or any other movable parts, so that it
more or less represents itself to the user as a conventional
bowl.
[0025] In a similar perspective view FIG. 3 also shows the lid 4
removed from the bowl with its two slide bars 5. In order to allow
the lid 4 to be removed from the bowl 1, both slide bars 5 are
pulled outward so that approximately in the middle a gap is
discernible between the two roof-shaped edge surfaces 7 of the two
slide bars 5. A contact area 12 of the lid 4, visible in the gap,
for placing it onto the brim 9 of the bowl 1 is provided with an
inserted, soft-elastic seal 18, which is not discernible here,
though.
[0026] The latches, which are covered by the roof-shaped edge
surfaces 7 in FIG. 3, are discernible in FIG. 4, which again shows
an isolated slide bar 5 in a similar perspective as in the previous
figures. At the interior side of the edge surface 7 a latch 13 with
a contacting slope 14 is discernible, which, when the lid 4 is put
onto the bowl 1, is inserted into one of the recesses 11 in the
projection 10 of the bowl 1 and engages the projection 10 when
closing the slide bar 5. This is further explained in the following
drawings. At the interior side of the engaging surface 6, four
vertical ribs (not shown here) are mounted in order to, on the one
hand, make the slide bar 5 more stable and, on the other hand, to
engage the recesses 11 in the projection 10 of the end of the bowl
1 (FIG. 2), and to render the mechanical positioning of the lid 4
on the bowl 1 even more stable.
[0027] FIG. 5 again shows the entire container, however, in a
perspective representation from the bottom. Using this
representation it is discernible how the lateral latches 13 each
engage the holding surface 15 formed by the projection 10 and by
the contacting slope 14 (not shown here) cause the desired pressure
of the lid 4 onto the bowl 1 in the area of the lateral walls 3. In
the area of the end walls 2, the slide bars 5 are provided with the
latch surfaces 16, which engage the projection 10 at the end in
order to create the desired pressure between the lid 4 and the bowl
1 at the end as well. Here, too the holding surface 15 is formed by
the bottom of the projection 10.
[0028] As discernible in FIG. 6a, the above-mentioned holding
surface 15 at the end wall 2 of the bowl 1, formed on the
projection 10, is provided with a contacting slope 14 in order to
effect a movement of the lid 4 towards the brim 9 of the bowl when
pushing the latch surface 16 onto the holding surface 15. The
contact area 12 of the lid 4 is provided with a groove 17 facing
the brim 9 of the bowl, into which a hollow profile is inserted in
the form of an encircling, soft-elastic seal 18. When pressing the
lid 4 onto the brim 9 of the bowl, the seal 18 is compressed, which
ensures the air tightness and the lid sealing. The slide bar 5 is
displaced on a gliding surface 19 at the edge of the lid 4 and here
it is guided in appropriate guides (not shown). The closed state of
the slide bar 5 is shown in FIG. 6b.
[0029] As mentioned above, FIG. 6a shows the unlocked position of
the slide bar 5, while FIG. 6b shows the locked position thereof.
In a respective fashion FIG. 7a shows a partial cross-section of a
detail of the container according to the invention in an unlocked
position of the slide bar, while FIG. 7b shows the locked position.
In both FIGS. 7a and 7b, the latch 13 is shown in a cross-section
as a fastening element at the side wall 3 of the bowl 1 and its
cooperation is discernible with the holding surface 15 formed at
the bottom of the projection 10 with the contacting slope 14 of the
latch 13. In FIG. 7a it is also discernible that the latch 13 can
be inserted into the respective recess 11 in the projection 10 of
the bowl when the slide bar 5 is pulled out, after which the latch
13 can engage the holding surface 15 when the slide bar 5 (FIG. 7b)
is inserted, and by action of the contacting slope 14, a movement
of the lid 4 towards the bowl 1 is created as well as a
corresponding formation of a pressure. Laterally the lid 4 is also
provided with a gliding surface 19 for guiding the slide bar 5.
[0030] FIG. 8 shows a detail from FIG. 5 in a view from below,
namely the lateral latch 13 shown in FIG. 5 on the bottom right
side, which is formed at the slide bar 5 with its lateral surface
7. The latch 13 is shown in a closed position, in which it engages
the holding surface 15 from the bottom. In the exemplary embodiment
shown here, the holding surface 15 is provided with a guidance rib
20, which forms, on the side facing the bowl 1, a lateral guidance
surface for the latch 13, which extends approximately perpendicular
to the holding surface 15 and essentially parallel to the direction
of movement of the latch 13. The slide bar 5 and with it the lid 4
are fastened by the latch 13 both horizontally as well as
vertically. In this figure, additionally it is clearly discernible
that the recess 11 in the projection 10 of the bowl 1 is sized such
that the latch 13, released from its engagement with the holding
surface 15 and the guidance rib 20, can be guided upwards through
the recess 11 and thus does not provide any resistance to the
removal of the lid 4 in the opened condition of the slide bar
5.
[0031] The exemplary embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 through 8 for a
container according to the invention also clearly shows the
combination of fastening elements 15, 16 at the ends and side
fastening elements 13, 15, which can be operated with the very same
slide bar 5. Both slide bars 5 can therefore ensure a sealing
pressure between the lid 4 and the brim 9 of the bowl not only at
the ends but also at the side walls 3, in spite of the fact that
only two slide bars 5 are provided connected to one engaging
surface 6 each.
[0032] In the present exemplary embodiment the slide bars 5 are
mounted on the lid 4, which offers advantages in handling, because
the lid 4 is grasped anyway for opening and closing, and which
releases the bowl 1 from any movable parts. However, the slide bars
5 according to the invention can certainly also be mounted on the
bowl 1, in which case the lid would not necessarily have any
movable parts. A combination of those two alternatives is also
possible, i.e. that both the bowl 1 as well as the lid 4 are
provided with movable parts. It is only important that groups of
fastening elements, embodied here by latches 13, 16 and holding
surfaces 15, are connected and uniformly combined to an operating
unit, namely a slide bar 5, so that with only two slide bars 5, the
pressure force can be guided to the bowl 1 and the lid 4 not only
at the ends 3 but also at the side walls 4, in the present example
at a total of six points.
[0033] By the present embodiment of the slide bar 5 with edge
surfaces 7 encircling the lid 4 an appealing look of the container
according to the invention results.
LIST OF REFERENCE CHARACTERS
[0034] 1 bowl [0035] 2 end walls [0036] 3 side walls [0037] 4 lid
[0038] 5 slide bar [0039] 6 engaging surface [0040] 7 edge surface
[0041] 8 base [0042] 9 bowl brim [0043] 10 projection [0044] 11
recesses [0045] 12 contact area [0046] 13 latch [0047] 14
contacting slope [0048] 15 holding surface [0049] 16 latch surface
[0050] 17 groove [0051] 18 seal [0052] 19 gliding surface [0053] 20
guidance rib
* * * * *