U.S. patent application number 12/284299 was filed with the patent office on 2010-03-18 for stackable container with interlocking arrangement.
Invention is credited to Khim Seang Chhay.
Application Number | 20100065461 12/284299 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42006269 |
Filed Date | 2010-03-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100065461 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Chhay; Khim Seang |
March 18, 2010 |
Stackable container with interlocking arrangement
Abstract
A food container including a container cover, a container body,
and an interlocking arrangement which includes a stacking seat
continuously indent at a top surface of the container cover along a
peripheral edge thereof and an engaging rim continuously protruded
at a bottom surface of the container body along a peripheral edge
of the bottom wall, wherein the engaging rim has a size and shape
geometrically matching with the stacking seat in such a manner that
when the container is arranged in stack formation above another the
identical container, the engaging rim is complementarily coupled
with the stacking seat to engage the bottom surface of the
container cover with the top surface of the identical container so
as to substantially retain said two containers in position and
avoid a lateral relative movement between the two containers.
Inventors: |
Chhay; Khim Seang;
(Alhambra, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
DAVID AND RAYMOND PATENT FIRM
108 N. YNEZ AVE., SUITE 128
MONTEREY PARK
CA
91754
US
|
Family ID: |
42006269 |
Appl. No.: |
12/284299 |
Filed: |
September 18, 2008 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/505 ;
206/499; 206/508; 206/519; 220/675; 220/781 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 21/0222
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
206/505 ;
206/499; 206/508; 206/519; 220/675; 220/781 |
International
Class: |
B65D 21/036 20060101
B65D021/036; B65D 1/40 20060101 B65D001/40; B65D 43/03 20060101
B65D043/03 |
Claims
1. A food container, comprising: a container body which comprises a
surrounding wall and a bottom wall to define a top opening and a
storage cavity within said surrounding wall and said bottom wall; a
container cover detachably coupling with said container body at
said top opening to enclose said storage cavity; and an
interlocking arrangement, which comprises: a stacking seat
continuously indent at a top surface of said container cover along
a peripheral edge thereof; and an engaging rim continuously
protruded at a bottom surface of said container body along a
peripheral edge of said bottom wall, wherein said engaging rim has
a size and shape geometrically matching with said stacking seat in
such a manner that when said container is arranged in stack
formation above another said identical container, said engaging rim
is complementarily coupled with said stacking seat to engage said
bottom surface of said container cover with said top surface of
said identical container so as to substantially retain said two
containers in position and avoid a lateral relative movement
between said two containers.
2. The food container, as recited in claim 1, wherein said stacking
seat has a base wall and two side engaging walls upwardly and
spacedly extended from said base wall to define an recessing
channel between said two side engaging walls, such that when said
engaging rim is disposed along said stacking seat, said side
engaging walls are adapted to block the lateral movement of said
engaging rim.
3. The food container, as recited in claim 2, wherein said engaging
rim has two sidewalls downwardly protruded from said bottom surface
of said container body to define a width slightly smaller than a
width of said stacking seat, such that when said engaging rim is
disposed along said stacking seat, said sidewalls of said engaging
rim are engaged with said side engaging walls of said stacking seat
respectively.
4. The food container, as recited in claim 3, wherein said stacking
seat has a U-shaped cross section that said recessing channel has a
uniform height and a uniform width between said two side engaging
walls, wherein said engaging rim has a U-shaped cross section
corresponding to said stacking seat and has a uniform width
slightly smaller than said width of said stacking seat.
5. The food container, as recited in claim 3, wherein said stacking
seat has a trapezoid cross section that said side engaging walls
are inclinedly extended from said base wall, wherein said engaging
rim has a trapezoid cross section corresponding to said stacking
seat that said sidewalls are extended inclinedly.
6. The food container, as recited in claim 4, wherein each of said
stacking seat and said engaging rim is substantially rectangular in
shape.
7. The food container, as recited in claim 5, wherein each of said
stacking seat and said engaging rim is substantially rectangular in
shape.
8. The food container, as recited in claim 1, wherein said
interlocking arrangement further comprises a retention seat indent
at said top surface of said container cover and surrounded within
said stacking seat, and a retention member which is integrally
protruded at said bottom surface of said container body and has a
size and shape geometrically matching with said retention seat,
such that said retention member is complementarily coupled with
said retention seat once said engaging rim is complementarily
coupled with said stacking seat so as to retain said containers in
a stacked manner.
9. The food container, as recited in claim 6, wherein said
interlocking arrangement further comprises a retention seat indent
at said top surface of said container cover and surrounded within
said stacking seat, and a retention member which is integrally
protruded at said bottom surface of said container body and has a
size and shape geometrically matching with said retention seat,
such that said retention member is complementarily coupled with
said retention seat once said engaging rim is complementarily
coupled with said stacking seat so as to retain said containers in
a stacked manner.
10. The food container, as recited in claim 7, wherein said
interlocking arrangement further comprises a retention seat indent
at said top surface of said container cover and surrounded within
said stacking seat, and a retention member which is integrally
protruded at said bottom surface of said container body and has a
size and shape geometrically matching with said retention seat,
such that said retention member is complementarily coupled with
said retention seat once said engaging rim is complementarily
coupled with said stacking seat so as to retain said containers in
a stacked manner.
11. The food container, as recited in claim 8, wherein said
retention seat comprises a continuous retention wall indented at
said top surface of said container cover to define a retention
cavity thereon, wherein said retention member has a continuous
embossing wall downwardly protruded from said bottom surface of
said container body and arranged in such a manner that when said
retention member is received at said retention cavity of said
retention seat, said embossing wall of said retention member is
encirclingly engaged with said retention wall of said retention
seat.
12. The food container, as recited in claim 9, wherein said
retention seat comprises a continuous retention wall indented at
said top surface of said container cover to define a retention
cavity thereon, wherein said retention member has a continuous
embossing wall downwardly protruded from said bottom surface of
said container body and arranged in such a manner that when said
retention member is received at said retention cavity of said
retention seat, said embossing wall of said retention member is
encirclingly engaged with said retention wall of said retention
seat.
13. The food container, as recited in claim 10, wherein said
retention seat comprises a continuous retention wall indented at
said top surface of said container cover to define a retention
cavity thereon, wherein said retention member has a continuous
embossing wall downwardly protruded from said bottom surface of
said container body and arranged in such a manner that when said
retention member is received at said retention cavity of said
retention seat, said embossing wall of said retention member is
encirclingly engaged with said retention wall of said retention
seat.
14. The food container, as recited in claim 12, wherein each of
said retention seat and said retention member is substantially
elliptical in shape.
15. The food container, as recited in claim 13, wherein each of
said retention seat and said retention member is substantially
elliptical in shape.
16. The food container, as recited in claim 1, wherein said
container cover comprises a sealing rim detachably coupling with a
top rim of said container body, and a raised cover casing upwardly
extended from said sealing rim to define said top surface on said
cover casing.
17. The food container, as recited in claim 14, wherein said
container cover comprises a sealing rim detachably coupling with a
top rim of said container body, and a raised cover casing upwardly
extended from said sealing rim to define said top surface on said
cover casing.
18. The food container, as recited in claim 15, wherein said
container cover comprises a sealing rim detachably coupling with a
top rim of said container body, and a raised cover casing upwardly
extended from said sealing rim to define said top surface on said
cover casing.
19. The food container, as recited in claim 1, wherein said
surrounding wall, which is inclinedly extended from said bottom
wall, has a plurality of discrete wall portions integrally extended
in a stair manner, such that said discrete wall portions of said
surrounding wall not only forms a volume indicator but also
substantially increases a volume of said storage cavity in height
from bottom to top.
20. The food container, as recited in claim 17, wherein said
surrounding wall, which is inclinedly extended from said bottom
wall, has a plurality of discrete wall portions integrally extended
in a stair manner, such that said discrete wall portions of said
surrounding wall not only forms a volume indicator but also
substantially increases a volume of said storage cavity in height
from bottom to top.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a container, and more
particularly to a stackable food container with interlocking
arrangement, wherein the interlocking arrangement provides a stable
way for two or more identical containers stacked one by one.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Arts
[0004] The food container has become one of the articles of daily
use and applied on many different purposes such as food storage and
transportation. The food container normally comprises a container
body to contain the food and a cover to enclose the container body
to avoid the food leaking out from the food container and keep it
fresh. It is very common that a user uses the containers for
packing the food and storing it into refrigerator or food shelf.
Generally speaking, the user always stacks one container on the top
of another container to have more efficiency storage space.
Moreover, the food containers are also for transporting the food
everywhere, such as the container for bringing the leftover food
home from the restaurant. Another example is the students pack
their lunch or snack to school. Also, the workers may have to pack
the food such as cheese, meat, or salad into the containers for
selling, storing, and displaying the merchandise in the
supermarket. While the food containers are transported to another
place, it is convenient to stack the containers together to compact
the size for efficiency transportation.
[0005] Accordingly, there exits a great need of stackable food
container for stably stacking the plurality containers one by one
for saving the storage space, and being securely transported to
prevent the container slipped off to accidentally open the cover of
the food container.
[0006] Various types of stackable container assemblies are in the
market. One of the common stackable containers has a protrusion
upwardly protruded from the cover of the container so that the
identical containers can be stacked together. Several drawbacks can
be found on this type stackable container. First, it is hard to
stack any non-identical containers or boxes on the top of this
stackable container. The surface of the protrusion at the cover is
usually non-flat and has small contact area with another
non-identical container or box so that this kind of stackable
container has relatively lower friction to prevent the sliding
happed while stacking the non-identical containers. Also, in order
to enhance the stabilization between the stacked containers, the
central portion of the top surface of the cover is correspondingly
indented to relatively increase the height of the protrusion.
However, the indention of the cover will decrease the capacity of
the container. Furthermore, the protrusion has a curved cross
section such that the containers will be relatively slipped
therebetween. It may cause the food container to be accidentally
opened.
[0007] It would be desirable to provide securer stackable
containers for storage the food at home, to go while ordering food
from the restaurant, and displaying and transporting the plurality
of food containers. The exits stackable containers still not
satisfy the consumers.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] A main objective of the present invention is to provide a
stackable container that can be easily and securely stacked on top
of another, so as to enhance the stabilization of stacking the
containers during transportation and storage.
[0009] Another objective of the present invention is to provide a
stackable container that has geometrically conditioned contours
between the contact surfaces between two stackable containers so as
to substantially avoid lateral movement therebetween and to retain
the stackable containers in position.
[0010] Another object of the present invention is to provide a
stackable container, wherein the stacking operation is quick and
easy by simply stacking up one container on top of another
container.
[0011] Another object of the present invention is to provide a
stackable container, wherein an interlocking arrangement is
provided on the top of the cover and the bottom of the container
having a stacking seat and an engaging rim coupling with each other
to interlock two containers while they are stacking on one
another.
[0012] Another object of the present invention is to provide a
stackable container that the stacking seat has a U-shape cross
section and two side engaging walls of stacking seat adapted to
block the lateral movement of the engaging rim.
[0013] Another object of the present invention is to provide a
stackable container that the two side engaging walls of the
stacking seat are preferred parallel to each other so that has
relatively higher resistance force to occur the lateral
movement.
[0014] Another object of the present invention is to provide a
stackable container that the engaging rim has a U-shape cross
section and two engaging walls parallely protruding out from the
bottom of the container body and extended out of the bottom of the
container body in a preferred parallel manner to define a uniform
width slightly smaller than the distance between two engaging walls
for coupling with the stacking seat so as to form an secure
interlocking system between two stackable containers.
[0015] Another object of the present invention is to provide a
stackable container that the stacking seat and the engaging rim
have a substantially rectangular in shape to effectively block the
lateral movement between two stackable containers.
[0016] Another object of the present invention is to provide a
stackable container having a retention seat on the central surface
of the cover and a retention member on the central bottom of the
container body so that to provide double interlocking arrangement
to form relatively more secure interlocking system between two
stackable containers.
[0017] Another object of the present invention is to provide a
stackable container that the retention seat and the retention
member have a substantially elliptical shape provided on the
central surface of the cover within the stacking seat such that to
utilize the coupling contact surface so as to increase the security
of interlocking between two stacking container.
[0018] Another object of the present invention is to provide a
stackable container that a embossing wall of the retention seat
provided for blocking the lateral movement of the retention member
is preferred parallel to the side engaging walls of the stacking
seat so that has relatively higher resistance force to occur the
lateral movement.
[0019] Another object of the present invention is to provide a
stackable container that an area of the retention member is
slightly smaller than an area of the retention seat so that to form
an interlocking between the retention member and retention seat to
provide the substantial interlocking among the stacking
containers.
[0020] Another object of the present invention is to provide a
stackable container that a retention wall of the retention member
protruding and extending out from the bottom of the container body
in a preferred parallel manner parallely to the side walls of the
engaging rim so that has relatively higher resistance force to
occur the lateral movement.
[0021] Another object of the present invention is to provide a
stackable container that the surface of the cover having the
interlocking arrangement is flat so that a non-identical container,
box, or any other food cans can stably stack on the top of the
stackable container.
[0022] Another object of the present invention is to provide a
stackable container that a raised cover casing is provided at the
container cover so that to increase the capacity of the
container.
[0023] Accordingly, in order to accomplish the above objects, the
container of the present invention comprises a container body, a
container cover, and an interlocking arrangement, wherein the
container body and container cover are detachable coupling with
each other and one container stacks on the top of another one by
the interlocking arrangement to securely stack one by one.
[0024] These and other objectives, features, and advantages of the
present invention will become apparent from the following detailed
description, the accompanying drawings, and the appended
claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0025] FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a stackable container
according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
[0026] FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the stackable
container according to the above preferred embodiment of the
present invention.
[0027] FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the stackable container
according to the above preferred embodiment of the present
invention.
[0028] FIG. 4A is a schematic view illustrating two stackable
containers being in a stack formation according to the above
preferred embodiment of the present invention.
[0029] FIG. 4B is a schematic view illustrating the interlocking
arrangements of the two stackable containers being in a stack
formation according to the above preferred embodiment of the
present invention.
[0030] FIG. 5 illustrates an alternative mode of the interlocking
arrangement of the stackable container according to the above
preferred embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0031] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, a container,
such as a food container, according to a preferred embodiment of
the present invention is illustrated, wherein the container
comprises a container cover 20, a container body 10 sealably closed
by the container cover 20.
[0032] The container body 10 comprises a bottom wall 11 and a
surrounding wall 12 provided at the peripheral of the bottom wall
11 to define a storage cavity and a top opening within the bottom
wall 11 and the surrounding wall 12 therein. It is appreciated that
the container body 10 and the container cover 20 are preferred made
by a thermoformed plastic container, and more specially made by a
Polypropylene (PP5), wherein the polypropylene is durable and good
for heat-resistant, it is not only reusable but also light and
simple to manufacture, so that the polypropylene container can be
used in a restaurant as a to-go box or at home for the food
storage.
[0033] The container further comprises an interlocking arrangement
30 for the containers being arranged in stack formation. The
interlocking arrangement 30 comprises a stacking seat 31 integrally
provided at the container cover 20 and an engaging rim 32
integrally provided at the container body 10 to detachably
interlock with the stacking seat 31 when the containers are in
stacked formation.
[0034] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the stacking seat 31 is
continuously indented at the top surface 21 of the container cover
20 along the peripheral edge thereof. The engaging rim 32 is
continuously and outwardly protruded at the bottom surface of the
bottom wall 11 of the container body 10 at the peripheral edge
thereof, wherein the engaging rim 32 has a size and shape
geometrically matching with the stacking seat 31 in such a manner
that when the container is arranged in stack formation above
another identical container, the engaging rim 32 is complementarily
coupled with the stacking seat 31 to engage the bottom surface of
the container body 10 with the top surface 21 of the container
cover 20 of the identical container so as to substantially retain
the two containers in position and avoid a lateral relative
movement between the two containers, as shown in FIGS. 4A and
4B.
[0035] As illustrated in FIG. 3, the stacking seat 31 comprises a
base wall 311, which is a flat bottom surface, and two side
engaging walls 312 upwardly extended from the base wall 311 to
define a recessing channel 313 within the base wall 311 and the
side engaging walls 312. Accordingly, each of the side engaging
walls 312 is a flat surface, i.e. the non-curving surface, upwardly
extending from the base wall 311. Preferably, the stacking seat 31
has a U-shape cross section that the two side engaging walls 312
are upwardly extending in a parallel manner, wherein the recessing
channel 313 is formed with a uniform high and width between two the
side engaging walls 112. Therefore, the stacking seat 31 forms a
relatively high resistance force for the lateral movement of the
engaging rim 32 of the container body 20 while the engaging rim 32
is coupling with the stacking seat 31 to interlock two the stacked
containers.
[0036] The engaging rim 32 is protruding outwardly from the bottom
wall 11 of the container body 10 and has a size and a shape
geometrically fit into the stacking seat 31 to detachably couple
with the stacking seat 31, wherein the engaging rim 32 has a
U-shape cross section corresponding to the stacking seat 31.
Accordingly, the engaging rim 32 comprises two side walls 321
preferred parallely extended out from the bottom surface of the
bottom wall 11 of the container body 10, wherein the engaging rim
32 has a uniform high and width slightly smaller than the recessing
channel 313 of the stacking seat 31 for securely engaging the
engaging rim 32 and the stacking seat 31. In order words, the
stacking seat 31 and the engaging rim 32 have a substantially
rectangular shape to form at the peripheral edges of the container
cover 20 and the container body 10 respectively so that the
interlocking arrangement 30 has relatively higher resistance for
preventing the lateral movement between two stacking
containers.
[0037] Accordingly, when the two containers are arranged in stack
formation, the engaging rim 32 is disposed within the recessing
channel 313 at a position that the engaging rim 32 is sandwiched
between the two side engaging walls 312. In other words, the outer
side engaging wall 312 of the stacking seat 31 forms an outer
boundary to encircle the engaging rim 32 while the inner side
engaging wall 312 of the stacking seat 31 forms an inner boundary
to encircle the engaging rim 32. In addition, the side walls 321 of
the engaging rim 32 are frictionally engaged with the side engaging
walls 312 of the stacking seat 31 respectively. Therefore, the
seating seat 31 and the engaging rim 32 are interlocked with each
other to retain the containers in stack formation.
[0038] It is appreciated that the two side engaging walls 312A can
be inclinedly extended from the base wall 311A such that the
recessing channel 313A has a trapezoid shape that the area of the
recessing channel 313A is gradually reducing towards the base wall
311A. Accordingly, the engaging rim 32A also has a corresponding
trapezoid shape that the side walls 321A are two inclined walls,
wherein the width of the engaging rim 32A is gradually reducing
towards the bottom end thereof, as shown in FIG. 5
[0039] It is worth to mention that the stacking seat 31 and the
engaging rim 32 are provided at the peripheral edges of the
container cover 20 and container body 10 respectively, wherein this
interlocking arrangement 30 can provide the relatively largest
interlocking area to efficiently prevent the lateral movement
between two stacking containers.
[0040] In addition, the side engaging walls 312 of the stacking
seat 31 and the side walls 321 of the engaging rim 32 have the same
high and flat engaging surface so that increases the contact
surface between the interlocking arrangement on the container cover
20 and container body 10, as shown in FIG. 4B, such that the
friction is increasing so as to increases the resistance force of
lateral movement to securely interlock the stacking containers.
Moreover, the flat top surface 21 of the container cover 20 can
further incorporate with other non-identical containers or other
boxes.
[0041] Accordingly, the interlocking arrangement 30 further
comprises a retention seat 33 provided at the container cover 20
and a retention member 34 provided at the container body 10 to
incorporate with the stacking seat 31 and the engaging rim 32 for
providing a double-interlocking configuration of the containers in
stack formation.
[0042] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the retention seat 33 is indent at
a center portion of the top surface 21 of the container cover 20
and is surrounded within the stacking seat 31. The retention member
34 is integrally protruded at the bottom surface of the container
body 10 and has a size and shape geometrically matching with the
retention seat 33, such that the retention member 34 is
complementarily coupled with the retention seat 33 once the
engaging rim 32 is complementarily coupled with the stacking seat
31 so as to retain the containers in a stacked manner.
[0043] Accordingly, the retention seat 33 comprises a continuous
retention wall 331 indented at the top surface 21 of the container
cover 20 to define a retention cavity 332 thereon, wherein the
retention member 34 has a continuous embossing wall 341 downwardly
protruded from the bottom surface of the container body 10 and
arranged in such a manner that when the retention member 34 is
received at the retention cavity 332 of the retention seat 33, the
embossing wall 341 of the retention member 34 is encirclingly
engaged with the retention wall 331 of the retention seat 33, as
shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B. Accordingly, the bottom wall of the
retention cavity 332 also is a flat surface.
[0044] Preferably, the retention wall 331 of the retention seat 33
is a flat surface and is extended parallel to the side engaging
walls 312 of the stacking seat 31. Likewise, the embossing wall 341
of the retention member 34 is a flat surface and is extended
parallel to the side walls 321 of the engaging rim 32. Accordingly,
the parallel interlocking arrangement can provide efficiency
resistance for lateral movement so as to provide the secure
stacking system.
[0045] It is appreciated that the retention seat 33 and the
retention member 34 have a substantially elliptical shape located
at the central surface of the container cover 20 and container body
10 within the stacking seat 31 and the engaging rim 32, wherein the
elliptical shape is adapted to utilize the interlocking area so as
to securely interlock two stacking containers.
[0046] In other words, both the retention wall 331 of the retention
seat 33 and the embossing wall 341 of the retention member 34 are
curved continuous walls extended around the top surface of the
container cover 20 and the bottom surface of the container body 10
respectively. Therefore, the strength of the container cover 20
will be enhanced by the curved continuous wall of the retention
seat 33 and the straight continuous wall of the stacking seat 31
for providing a bending resistance of the container cover 20.
Likewise, the strength of the container body 10 will be enhanced by
the curved continuous wall of the retention member 34 and the
straight continuous wall of the engaging rim 32 for providing a
bending resistance of the container body 10. In addition, the
bottom wall of the retention member 34 is a flat surface and has an
elliptical shape to maximize the holding area for retaining the
food in the container body 10. Therefore, once the food is
contained in the container body 10, the weight of the food is
supported on the bottom wall of the retention member 34 and is
formed as a downward force to enhance the interlocking structure
between the retention member 34 and the retention seat 33 to retain
the two containers in stack information, as shown in FIG. 4A.
[0047] It is appreciated that the retention wall 331A of the
retention seat 33A can be inclinedly indented at the top surface 21
of the container cover 20 that the area of the retention cavity
332A is gradually increasing in an upward direction, as shown in
FIG. 5. The embossing wall 341A of the retention member 34A is
inclinedly protruded from the bottom surface of the container body
10, wherein when the retention member 34A is disposed within the
retention cavity 332A, the embossing wall 341A of the retention
member 34A is frictionally engaged with the retention wall 331A of
the retention seat 33A, as shown in FIG. 5.
[0048] Referring to FIG. 3, two stackable containers stacked on one
another according to the preferred embodiment of the present
invention is illustrated, wherein stacking seat 31 and the
retention seat 33 of the container cover 20 are substantially
engaged with the engaging rim 32 and the retention member 34 of the
container body 10, so that securely interlock the two identical
containers.
[0049] As shown in FIG. 3, the container cover 20 comprises a
sealing rim 22 detachably coupling with a top rim 13 of the
container body 10 to provide a sealing engagement for sealably
closing the container body 10 by the container cover 20, so as to
prevent the food inside the container leaking out and keep it
fresh
[0050] The container cover 20 further comprises a raised cover
casing 23 upwardly extended from the sealing rim 22 to define the
top surface 21 on the cover casing 23, such that the container
cover 20 is adapted for increasing the capacity of the storage
cavity of the container. Accordingly, the problem of the cover of
the conventional stackable containers always indented downwardly to
provide the interlocking system so as limited the capacity of the
container can be improved.
[0051] Accordingly, the surrounding wall 12, which is inclinedly
extended from the bottom wall 11 of the container body 10, has a
plurality of discrete wall portions 121 integrally extended in a
stair manner, to form an reinforcing wall of the container body 10
so as to enhance the strength of the container body 10.
Accordingly, a reinforcing rib 122 is formed between two discrete
wall portions 121 to provide a reinforcing effect for the
surrounding wall 12. In addition, the discrete wall portions 121 of
the surrounding wall 12 not only forms a volume indicator but also
substantially increases a volume of the storage cavity in height
from bottom to top.
[0052] It is appreciated that the interlocking arrangement 30 is
integrally provided with the container body 10 and the container
cover 20, such that the interlocking arrangement 30 are formed at
the time when the container body 10 and the container cover 20 are
manufactured by the single mold to substantially reduce the
manufacturing cost of the stackable container built-in with the
interlocking arrangement 30.
[0053] One skilled in the art will understand that the embodiment
of the present invention as shown in the drawings and described
above is exemplary only and not intended to be limiting.
[0054] It will thus be seen that the objects of the present
invention have been fully and effectively accomplished. The
embodiments have been shown and described for the purposes of
illustrating the functional and structural principles of the
present invention and is subject to change without departure from
such principles. Therefore, this invention includes all
modifications encompassed within the spirit and scope of the
following claims.
* * * * *