U.S. patent application number 12/327759 was filed with the patent office on 2009-05-14 for convenient food container.
Invention is credited to Terry Vovan.
Application Number | 20090120942 12/327759 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40622751 |
Filed Date | 2009-05-14 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090120942 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Vovan; Terry |
May 14, 2009 |
CONVENIENT FOOD CONTAINER
Abstract
A food container includes a base (12) with a food-holding cavity
(14) and a lid (20) that closes the cavity, each formed of plastic
sheeting. The lid defines an eating utensil (32) such as a fork, by
a breakaway line that extends around the utensil and that can be
easily broken to remove the utensil. The base has radially inner
and outer upstanding flanges (64, 62) and an upwardly-opening base
groove (66) between them that receives a lid lip (72). At an
initial opening section (60) that occupies less than one-fifth of
the container perimeter, a section (62A) of the outer base flange
is partially separated from the rest of the base by a cut (80)
extending along the base groove and by opposite breakable lines. At
that section, the inner base flange (64A) is of reduced width to
provide more room for a person to grasp the lid, and there is also
a smaller interference fit between the base inner flange with walls
of the lid groove.
Inventors: |
Vovan; Terry; (Upland,
CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
LEON D. ROSEN
SUITE 1220, 10960 WILSHIRE BOULEVARD
LOS ANGELES
CA
90024
US
|
Family ID: |
40622751 |
Appl. No.: |
12/327759 |
Filed: |
December 3, 2008 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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12075549 |
Mar 12, 2008 |
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12327759 |
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61002672 |
Nov 10, 2007 |
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61098583 |
Sep 19, 2008 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
220/574.1 ;
220/212; 220/574 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 2543/0062 20130101;
B65D 2543/00101 20130101; B65D 43/0249 20130101; B65D 2543/00842
20130101; B65D 2543/00462 20130101; B65D 2401/10 20200501; B65D
2543/00685 20130101; B65D 2543/00731 20130101; B65D 2543/00092
20130101; B65D 2543/00796 20130101; B65D 2543/00296 20130101; B65D
43/0239 20130101; B65D 51/246 20130101; B65D 2543/00648 20130101;
B65D 2543/00509 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
220/574.1 ;
220/574; 220/212 |
International
Class: |
A47G 19/02 20060101
A47G019/02; A47G 19/00 20060101 A47G019/00; B65D 41/00 20060101
B65D041/00 |
Claims
1. A food container that includes a base that forms a food-holding
cavity and a lid, the base and lid each formed of plastic sheeting,
wherein: said lid defines an eating utensil in the same plastic
sheeting that forms a portion of the lid, and said lid defines a
breakaway line that extends around the utensil and that can be
broken to remove the utensil from the rest of the lid portion and
thereby leave a hole in the plastic sheeting of the lid.
2. The food container described in claim 1 wherein: said lid center
portion includes said eating utensil, and includes a surrounding
region that lies primarily in a horizontal plane, said utensil
having projecting portions that extend vertically out of said
plane.
3. The food container described in claim 1 wherein: said lid center
portion defines an extension that is mountable on said eating
utensil to lengthen it.
4. The food container described in claim 2 wherein: said eating
utensil comprises a fork that includes a handle and a head that
forms tines, said head having parts that project out of the plane
of said surrounding region of said lid center portion.
5. The food container described in claim 4 wherein: said utensil
projecting portions project downward below said horizontal plane,
whereby to avoid interference with stacking of a plurality of said
food containers.
6. The food container described in claim 3 wherein: said utensil
projecting portions includes an upward projecting utensil part that
projects above said horizontal plane, and said base has a downward
projecting base support that lies around said upward projecting
utensil portion when two identical food containers are stacked on
one another.
7. The food container described in claim 1 including: a label that
lies over said eating utensil and over an area surrounding the
eating utensil.
8. The food container described in claim 1 wherein: said eating
utensil has a handle with horizontally spaced opposite handle
sides, and each of said handle sides has a vertically-projecting
flange, whereby to strengthen each handle side to avoid breaking
the handle when it is detached from said rest of said lid.
9. The food container described in claim 1 including: a covering
(134) that is closeable over said base cavity, and where said lid
is a storage lid (132) that is formed from sheet plastic and is
stowable under said covering.
10. The food container described in claim 1 including: a covering
(134), and where said lid is a storage lid (132) said covering and
said storage lid being formed from a single deformed sheet of
plastic and that are pivotally connected by a hinge (150), said
eating utensil being formed in said storage lid.
11. A method for forming an eating utensil and storing it with a
food container, comprising: forming the eating utensil in a piece
of plastic sheeting with said plastic sheeting defining a breakaway
line that extends around the utensil and that is breakable to
remove the utensil from the rest of the piece of plastic sheeting,
and mounting said piece of plastic sheeting on the container.
12. A plastic food container that has a vertical axis and that
includes a base that forms a food-holding cavity and a lid that
covers the base, wherein: said base has a top peripheral region
that forms an upward projecting radially inner base flange, an
upward projecting radially outward base flange, and an upwardly
opening base groove between said base flanges; said lid has a
downwardly opening lid groove that receives said radially inward
base flange, and said lid has a peripheral lid lip that lies in
said base groove; said lid lip is inaccessible except at an initial
opening location where said outward base flange has a breakaway
section that is breakable by hand to provide access to said lid lip
so the lid lip can be grasped and lifted to open the container;
said inner base flange has a predetermined average radial width and
has a narrow section that has a smaller average radial width (Y)
than said predetermined average width, said narrow section lying
directly radially inward of said breakaway section.
13. The food container described in claim 12 wherein: said lid
groove forms an upwardly-facing shoulder and said inner base flange
forms a downward facing shoulder, with said base flange having a
smaller width than said lid groove to enable said base shoulder to
be moved out of alignment with said lid shoulder.
14. The food container described in claim 12 wherein: said
breakaway section of said outward base flange has a pair of
radially-extending flattened portions with primarily radial break
lines therein, and walls of said base groove form a primarily
circumferential cut that connects said radial break lines, said
circumferential cut lying closer to said base inner flange than
said base outer flange.
15. A food container that includes a base forming a food-holding
cavity and a lid that lies over said base and closes it, wherein:
said base has a top peripheral region that forms radially inward
and radially outward base flanges that each has radially inner and
outer flange walls and a connecting top and said base forms a base
groove that lies between said base flanges and has a groove bottom
wall; said lid has a lid flange with radially inner and outer
flange walls and a top, and that forms a downward opening lid
groove that receives said base inward flange, said lid having a lip
at a radially outer edge of said lid, said lip lying in said base
groove; the inner and outer flange walls of said outer base flange
have upper ends spaced apart by an average first spacing that
results in an interference fit of said outer base flange in said
lid upward groove, except at an initial opening location where
upper ends of said inner and outer flange walls of said outer
flange are spaced apart by a second spacing (Y) that is less than
said first spacing.
16. The food container described in claim 15 wherein: at said
initial opening location a limited part of said base outer flange
and of said base groove bottom wall forms a breakaway section that
can be easily hand breakable, to provide access to said lid
lip.
17. The food container described in claim 16 wherein: said
breakaway section has a circumferentially-extending cut and at
least one primarily radially-extending line that extends primarily
radially from and end of said cut to a radially outer edge of said
base; said lid flange covers said cut, to resist accidental
breaking of said breakaway section.
18. The food container described in claim 16 wherein: said lip of
said lid that lies in said base groove, and said lip has a
corrugation (122) that forms upstanding ribs (122).
19. A food container that includes a base forming a food-holding
cavity and a lid that lies over said base and closes it, wherein:
said base has a top peripheral region that forms radially inward
and radially outward base flanges that each has radially inner and
outer flange walls and a connecting top and said base forms a base
groove that lies between said base flanges and has a groove bottom
wall; said lid has a lid flange with radially inner and outer
flange walls and a top, and that forms a downward opening lid
groove that receives said base inward flange, said lid having a lip
at a radially outer edge of said lid, said lip lying in said base
groove; said lid lip having an outer lid edge that lies adjacent to
a radially inner wall of said base outer flange, and said lip
having corrugations that form upstanding ribs to stiffen said lip
against upward flexing of its outer lip edge.
20. The food container described in claim 19 wherein: said
corrugations form upstanding ribs that are angled from both radial
and circumferential directions.
21. The food container described in claim 19 wherein: said lid
flange outer wall and said outward base flange are spaced apart by
a radial distance (W) of no more than 10 mm and said lip has a
radial width (X) of no more than 10 mm, whereby the lid lip is
difficult to grasp.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE
[0001] This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 12/075,549 filed Mar. 12, 2008, which claims priority from
U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/002,672 filed Nov.
10, 2007. Applicant also claims priority from U.S. provisional
patent application Ser. No. 61/098,583 filed Sep. 19, 2008.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] When a person buys ready-to-eat food, the store often
provides at least one eating utensil such as a fork. The container
that holds the food can be provided with an eating utensil that was
attached to the container at the factory that supplies the
container. The food containers are often sold wholesale at a low
price such as several cents per container, and the cost of
producing a utensil and the cost of mounting the utensil on the
container, can increase the wholesale price appreciably. A way to
significantly lower the cost for a utensil and installing it would
be of value.
[0003] Some containers with food already in them, are opened by
breaking a shielding part of the base to provide access to a lid
lip that is grasped to open the lid. The breaking of the part is
evident, and serves to discourage breaking in, while also assuring
a buyer that the container has not been broken into by someone who
wants to "just take a tiny taste of the food." Even when the
shielding part is broken, it can be difficult for a person to grasp
the lid, and container constructions that facilitated grasping the
lid after breaking the shielding part would be of value.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a food
container is provided that can include an eating utensil at little
or no cost, and that has a tamper evident portion that still allows
easy opening of the container. The container includes a base and a
lid that covers the base, with both formed of sheet plastic, as by
providing at least one separate sleet for the base and one for the
lid or by providing a single sheet with a hinge portion that
connects the base and lid. A sheet formed by the lid or a separate
sheet pivotally connected to the lid, defines at least one eating
utensil. The eating utensil is defined by a breakaway line formed
in the sheet that extends around the utensil and that can be easily
broken to remove the utensil from the rest of the sheet. When the
utensil is formed in the lid, a label can lie over the utensil to
block a hole in the lid left when the utensil is removed. The
utensil can be formed in a flat lid central portion, and the
utensil preferably includes a portion that extends out of the plane
of the central portion.
[0005] The base has inner and outer upward flanges that form a base
groove between them. The lid forms an upward lid flange that
receives the base inner flange, and the lid forms a lid lip that
lies in the base groove. It is very difficult for a person to grasp
the lid lip to open the container, except at an initial opening
region. At the initial opening region, a part of the base outer
flange and base groove walls can be broken away to provide better
access to the lid lip, by reducing the radial width of the base
inner flange so the part that can be broken away extends further
radially inward along the underside of the lip lid. Also, the
interference fit between the inner base flange and the lid flange
is reduced at the initial opening region.
[0006] The novel features of the invention are set forth with
particularity in the appended claims. The invention will be best
understood from the following description when read in conjunction
with the accompanying drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] FIG. 1 is an exploded isometric view of a food container of
the invention, without a label over the lid.
[0008] FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the container of FIG. 1 with
the lid closed on the base.
[0009] FIG. 2A is an enlarged view of area A-A of FIG. 2.
[0010] FIG. 3 is a plan view of the container of FIG. 2.
[0011] FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on line B-B of FIG. 3, but
with a label on the lid.
[0012] FIG. 4A is a sectional view of initial opening area D-D of
FIG. 4.
[0013] FIG. 4B is a sectional view of a majority of the perimeters
of the base and lid as shown in area E-E of FIG. 4.
[0014] FIG. 4C is a sectional view of area F-F of FIG. 4.
[0015] FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on line C-C of FIG. 3.
[0016] FIG. 5A is an enlarged view of area G-G of FIG. 5.
[0017] FIG. 6 is a top view similar to that of FIG. 3, but showing
a spoon as the utensil instead of a fork.
[0018] FIG. 7 is a top view similar to that of FIG. 6, but showing
both a fork and a spoon as utensils, and also showing an
extension.
[0019] FIG. 7A shows the extension of FIG. 7 removed from the lid,
and shows it mounted on a fork that is shown in phantom lines.
[0020] FIG. 8 is a left side elevation view of the container of
FIG. 3, which includes the initial opening section.
[0021] FIG. 9 is a bottom view of the container of FIG. 3.
[0022] FIG. 10 is a plan view of the lip of the lid of a container
of another embodiment of the invention.
[0023] FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken on line 11-11 of FIG.
10.
[0024] FIG. 12 is an isometric view of an open food container of
another embodiment of the invention wherein an eating utensil is
formed on an auxiliary sheet that is pivotally connected to the
lid.
[0025] FIG. 13 is a plan view of a portion of the container of FIG.
12.
[0026] FIG. 14 is a plan view of a food container of another
embodiment of the invention.
[0027] FIG. 15 is a sectional view taken on line H-H of FIG.
14.
[0028] FIG. 15A is an enlarged view of area J-J of FIG. 15.
[0029] FIG. 15B is an enlarged view of area K-K of FIG. 15.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0030] FIG. 1 shows a food container 10 that includes a base 12
that forms a cavity 14 that holds food, and that includes a lid 20
that covers the base. The base and lid have peripheral portions 22,
24 that latch against one another to securely hold the lid down
against the base. The base and lid are each preferably formed of a
sheet of plastic that has been thermally deformed, although the
base and lid could be formed of a single piece of sheet plastic
that also forms a hinge between them.
[0031] The lid has a center portion 30 in which an eating utensil
32 such as a fork, has been formed during thermal forming of the
lid. FIG. 2 shows that the fork preferably is three dimensional, in
that the head 34 of the fork with tines 35 is bent out of the plane
of the top of the fork handle 36 and therefore out of the plane in
which most of the lid center portion 30 lies. The projection is
preferably downward to avoid interference with stacking of
containers on one another. However, FIG. 4 shows that the utensil
can have an upward projecting utensil part 32U, and with the base
having a downward projecting base support 26 that lies around the
upward projecting utensil part. Then, when identical containers are
stacked, there is no interference.
[0032] The fork handle 36 (FIG. 2A) has ribs 38, 39 that stiffen
the handle. The fork periphery is separated from the rest, or
surrounding portion of the lid center portion 30 by cuts, or
breakaway lines 44 that extend around a majority of the fork but
that leave connecting parts 46 that must be broken to remove the
fork. The ribs 39 at opposite sides of the fork help stiffen the
fork to prevent damage to it during breaking of the connecting
parts. A paper label 50 (FIG. 4) preferably lies over the fork and
areas of the lid surrounding the fork, to provide a seal over the
cuts in the lid center portion that form the fork and for
sanitation.
[0033] FIG. 7 shows a fork and knife 52, 53 that can be broken out
of a lid 54. The figure also shows an extension 55 that can be
broken out of the lid. FIG. 7A shows that the extension 55 is
formed with sides 56 that grasp opposite sides of the fork. The
extension is useful where the small diameter of the lid 54 results
in a fork that is too short for easy handling.
[0034] The food containers are disposable and are sold wholesale in
large quantities at low prices. The forming of one or more utensils
in the lid while forming the entire lid as by thermal deforming of
a plastic sheet, avoids the need to separately produce utensils and
separately mount them on the container.
[0035] FIG. 1 shows that the peripheral portion 24 of the lid is
uniform around the axis 52 of the container. The term "radial"
refers to directions toward and away from the axis. The peripheral
portion 22 of the base is uniform except at an initial opening
region, or tamper-evident region 60. The base peripheral portion 22
has upstanding outer and inner base flanges 62, 64 and forms a base
upward-opening groove 66 between the upstanding flanges with a
groove bottom wall 67. The lid peripheral portion 24 has an upward
flange 68 that forms a downward-opening groove 70 that receives the
base inner flange 64 when the lid is closed. When the lid is
closed, a lid lip 72 lies in the base upward-opening groove 66 and
cannot be grasped by a person because the base outer flange 62 is
in the way. It is very difficult for a person to initially open the
lid, without first breaking at least one end of an outer base
flange portion 62A of the initial opening region 60 to move the
flange portion out of the way so the lid lip 72 can be grasped to
lift the lid.
[0036] FIG. 4B shows the closed container along almost all of its
periphery (around more than 3/4ths, or 270% of the periphery)
except at the initial opening region. The base flanges 62, 64 each
has primarily vertical inner and outer flange walls, with the base
outer flange 62 having flange walls 100,102 joined by a top 103 and
the base inner flange 64 having flange walls 104, 106 joined by a
top 107. The lid flange 68 also has flange walls 110, 112. The lid
flange walls 110,112 converge in a downward direction D, and the
corresponding base flange walls 104, 106 converge in a downward
direction and engage the lid flange walls. As a result, it requires
a firm upward force on the lid, while the base is held down, to
open the container. However, at the initial opening region 60 shown
in FIG. 4A, the base inner flange walls 104, 106 are closer
together at their upper ends than in FIG. 4B, so the inner flange
at 64A has a smaller width Y and so there is less interference fit
with the lid flange walls 110, 112, which facilitates initial
opening of the lid.
[0037] FIG. 3 shows that at the initial opening, or tamper-evident,
region 60, the section 62A of the base outer flange 62 is partially
separated from the rest of the base by a circumferential cut 80 and
by radial lines 82, 84 of perforations or scoring that can be
easily broken by hand (i.e. most people can break it). The rest of
the base outer flange cannot be torn or broken by hand. The outer
flange is flattened (to a height less than half that of the rest of
the flange) at the lines 82, 84. The cut 80 has opposite ends at
80A, 80B, and the breakable lines 82, 84 extend primarily radially
out from the cut ends. The lid lip 72 covers the cut 80, including
its opposite ends 80A, 80B, to reduce the possibility that the
section 62A will be inadvertently broken.
[0038] FIG. 4A shows that at the initial opening region 60 where
the cut 80 lies, that when the flange section 62A is removed (at
one or both of its ends) up to the cut 80 the lid lip 72 can be
grasped to lift the lid. It is desirable that the radial width W of
a top of the space 86 between wall 102 of the base outer flange and
the lid flange wall 110 be small to prevent a person from inserting
a finger into the space to grasp the lip 72 of the lid. However,
once the outer flange section 62A has been removed, the radial
length X of the lid lip 72 should be long enough to be grasped to
lift the lid. Applicant accommodates these two requirements by
angling the walls 102, 110 to diverge downward to make it difficult
to insert a finger into the space, and by placing the cut 80 so it
lies no further outward than the top 94 of the lid flange outer
wall 110. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4A, applicant also narrows the
base inner flange at the top at 103A so the lid groove 70 can be
more easily lifted off the base inner flange 64A. The
circumferential cut at 80B provides more room for a person's finger
to lie under the lid lip 72 to grasp the lip. At the top of inner
flange portion 64A the distance Y between outer sides of flange
walls 104, 106 is smaller than around most of the container.
[0039] FIGS. 14 and 15 show another food container 160 which has an
initial opening region 162 shown in FIG. 15A and a trapping region
164 in FIG. 15B. It can be seen in FIG. 15A that the base inner
flange 166 and lid flange 170 are similar to the base inner flange
64A and lid flange 68 of FIG. 4A. However, in FIG. 15A the base
inner flange 166 has a downward facing shoulder 172 that abuts a
lid upward facing shoulder 174. When an outer flange section 176 is
broken off to cut 80, a person can grasp a lid lip 180 and shift
the flange 170 to open the container.
[0040] FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate a lip 72D of the lid 20D of
another container. Instead of providing a flat lip, applicant forms
the lip with a corrugation pattern 120 that results in ridges 122.
The ridges stiffen the lip. In a container of the construction
shown in FIG. 4A that applicant has constructed and tested, the lip
radial lengths Y and W were each about 5 mm. Many people find it
difficult to grasp a lid of less than 10 mm radial length, such as
only 5 mm (about 1/5th inch), of the container applicant
constructed that extends beyond the circumferential cut 80 at the
initial opening region. By providing the ribs resulting from
corrugations, applicant roughens the lid lip to make it easier to
grasp between the thumb and index fingers. Also, the corrugations
stiffen the lip to make it more difficult for a person to insert
the tip of a scissors or knife against the outer edge 124 of the
lip to curl it and lift it. The corrugations preferably result in
ribs that are angled from both the radial direction P and the
circumferential direction C. In a container of the construction
illustrated that applicant has constructed, the sheet plastic has a
thickness of 0.028 inch (0.7 mm) and the total thickness at the
corrugations was 0.045 inch (11.5 mm), or at least 50% greater.
[0041] FIG. 1 shows an eating utensil 32 formed in a lid 68 that
closes on a base 12. FIGS. 12-13 show an eating utensil 130 formed
in a storage lid 132 that is pivotally connected to a covering lid
134 that closes on a base 136. The storage lid pivots about axis
140 until it lies on top of the covering lid 134 and snaps into a
covering lid recess 142. Projecting parts of the utensil 130 lie in
the recess 142 of the covering lid. Then, the covering lid 134 with
the storage lid in it, can be closed onto the base 136.
[0042] The base or base element 136 and lids or lid elements 134,
132 are all preferably formed of a single sheet of plastic, with
hinges at 150, 152 for economical forming and handling. Each
element can be separated from the others by tearing along a
hinge.
[0043] Thus, the invention provides a convenient plastic food
container that can be constructed at low cost. One or more eating
utensils are provided and mounted on the container at little
additional cost by forming the utensil(s) in a sheet such as a lid,
which is easily mounted on the rest of the container. This is done
by thermoforming a lid and leaving breakaway lines that define the
outsides of the utensils. The utensil(s) are preferably three
dimensional by having utensil portions project out of the plane of
a surrounding lid portion. A paper label covers the utensil. An
initial opening region of the container includes an outer flange
portion that is easily breakable to provide access to a lid lip
that is grasped to lift the lid. The base inner flange is narrowed
along the initial opening region to facilitate grasping the lid lip
and initially pulling it up off the base inner flange. Although a
round container is shown, the container can have a variety of
shapes. If a container includes a tray lying between the base and
lid, the utensils can be formed in such a tray.
[0044] Although particular embodiments of the invention have been
described and illustrated herein, it is recognized that
modifications and variations may readily occur to those skilled in
the art, and consequently, it is intended that the claims be
interpreted to cover such modifications and equivalents.
* * * * *