U.S. patent application number 12/852405 was filed with the patent office on 2012-02-09 for vented container.
Invention is credited to Li Yao.
Application Number | 20120031907 12/852405 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 45555348 |
Filed Date | 2012-02-09 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120031907 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Yao; Li |
February 9, 2012 |
Vented Container
Abstract
A vented container consists of multiple zip locks and tiny
channels formed between its lid and its base. The zip locks
securely attach the lid to the base, while the channels allow steam
inside of the container to escape freely but keep liquid from
spilling out.
Inventors: |
Yao; Li; (New York,
NY) |
Family ID: |
45555348 |
Appl. No.: |
12/852405 |
Filed: |
August 6, 2010 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
220/367.1 ;
220/380 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 2543/00685
20130101; B65D 2543/00796 20130101; B65D 2543/00092 20130101; B65D
2543/00027 20130101; B65D 2543/00537 20130101; B65D 2543/00731
20130101; B65D 2543/00351 20130101; B65D 51/1627 20130101; B65D
43/0212 20130101; B65D 2543/0062 20130101; B65D 2543/00527
20130101; B65D 2543/00296 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
220/367.1 ;
220/380 |
International
Class: |
B65D 51/16 20060101
B65D051/16; B65D 43/03 20060101 B65D043/03 |
Claims
1. A food container comprising: (A) a base having (i) a
substantially planar bottom; (ii) base side walls extending
substantially vertically upward from said bottom; (iii) a base
flange extending substantially horizontally outward from said base
side walls; (iv) an inverted, U-shaped base rim extending outward
from said base flange, (v) multiple grooves of the same shape
crossing horizontally on the top surface of said base rim; (B) a
lid having (i) a substantially planar top; (ii) lid side walls
extending substantially vertically downward from said top; (iii) a
lid flange extending substantially horizontally outward from said
lid side walls; (iv) an inverted, U-shaped lid rim extending
outward from said lid flange; (v) multiple ridges, of a shape
matching said grooves, crossing horizontally on the bottom surface
of said lid rim, wherein the number of said ridges is fewer than
that of said grooves; and (vi) a locking lip which extends
vertically downward from said lid rim surface, whereby upon said
lid mating onto said base, zip locks are formed by grooves and
ridges, and channels are formed between said grooves and the bottom
surface of said lid rim.
2. The container according to claim 1, wherein said grooves and
said ridges are arch-shaped.
3. The container according to claim 2, wherein the maximal diagonal
of said channels is less than 1 millimeter.
4. The container according to claim 3, wherein at least a second
base is stackable within said base.
5. The container according to claim 3, wherein at least a second
lid is stackable within said lid.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates to disposable food containers used in
Chinese take-out restaurants, and, more particularly, relates to a
container that prevents accidental spillage of the liquid inside
while allowing steam escaping relatively freely from the
container.
[0002] Cooked foods generally contain solid substances, such as
rice, meat and vegetable and liquid substances, such as oil, sauce
and broth. In take-out restaurants, a food container used to store
and transport such foods generally consists of a base portion and a
lid portion made from a resilient polymeric material. On one hand,
the lid has to be securely attached to the base to avoid accidental
opening of the container and to prevent inside liquid from spilling
out. On the other hand, in a closed environment, moisture generated
and accumulated inside the container will quickly cause foods,
especially vegetables, losing their original taste, texture and
color. In order to prevent such thing from happening, people
usually punch a hole through a container lid so that steam can
escape from the inside of the container. However, the hole leaves a
potential risk. In most case, a person buys a take-out food and
will enjoy it later at another place. The irregular movement during
carry often causes the liquid to jiggle and splash within the
container. The jiggling and splashing can cause the liquid to spill
out of the container and taint everywhere inside of the bag holding
the container and other nearby items.
[0003] Many attempts have been made to provide a container and
cover for preventing the splashing and spilling of liquids;
however, such attempts have resulted in cups, containers, and
covers that are expensive to produce, difficult and cumbersome to
use, and/or inadaptable to the need in this situation. An example
of a container lid that attempts to solve the splashing problem is
shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,795,052, issued Jul. 26, 1983 to Hayes.
The Hayes lid disclosed a lid having a vent path, which has an
inlet above and an outlet below the level of the lid. The path is
constructed so that, as it extends from inlet to outlet, it
traverses the lid from edge to axially opposing edge and back
again. Although the Hayes lid solved the problem in his situation,
it is inadaptable here since when the liquid flows into and blocks
the path steam can no longer escape from the container, as Hayes
described in his patent. Same problem exists in U.S. Pat. No.
5,988,426, issued to Stern. When the filter in the Stern patent,
which is formed of a hydrophobic material and mounted over the vent
hole, is tainted with liquids, its ventilating efficiency is
greatly impaired. In addition, the cost of manufacturing such
container in Stern is higher. U.S. Pat. No. 7,055,712, issued to
Tang, disclosed a container for hot carry-out food includes a
container body and a cover, each having flanges and the flanges
defining a pair of seals between which is a condensation collecting
chamber and radially outboard of an outermost seal is a second
condensation collecting chamber which is continuously vented to
atmosphere through radial venting passages or channels. Under
elevated pressures, as might occur when hot food is packages in the
container, the innermost seal opens permitting steam/gasses to vent
into the innermost condensation collection chamber in which the
steam might condense as condensate. Under higher internal container
pressures, the outboard most seal may also open and vent gasses
from the innermost condensation chamber through/into the outermost
condensation collection chamber and continuously from the latter to
atmosphere through a plurality of continuously open circumferential
spaced radial venting passages or channels. Although a clever
design, there are two problems in Tang's--(1) moisture can still be
accumulated inside the container, and (2) the attachment between
the lid and the base is not as secure as it should be.
[0004] It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to
provide a container to prevent spilling of liquid from the
container while allowing steam to escape relatively freely from the
container.
[0005] Another object of the invention is to provide such a lid
that is relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture and to
use.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] In accordance with the above-stated objects, the present
invention provides a vented container that consists of a lid and a
base. The base has a planar bottom, base side walls extending
vertically upward from said bottom, a base flange extending
horizontally outward from said base side walls, an inverted,
U-shaped base rim extending outward from said base flange, and
multiple grooves of the same shape crossing horizontally on the top
surface of said base rim. The lid has a planar top, lid side walls
extending vertically downward from said top, a lid flange extending
horizontally outward from said lid side walls, an inverted,
U-shaped lid rim extending outward from said lid flange, multiple
ridges, of a shape matching said grooves, crossing horizontally on
the bottom surface of said lid rim, and a locking lip which extends
vertically downward from said lid rim surface. Upon mating,
multiple zip locks are formed between the lid rim and the base rim
by grooves and ridges, and multiple channels are formed between
said grooves and the bottom surface of said lid rim. In the
preferred embodiment, grooves and ridges are arch-shaped, and the
maximal diagonal of said channels is up to 1 millimeter, so that it
prevents liquid from spilling out but allows steam pass through
freely.
[0007] It is preferable that base and lid are stackable on a second
base and lid, respectively, in order to save storing space.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] The vented container of the present invention will be better
understood by those of ordinary skill in the art and others upon
reading the ensuing specification, when taken in conjunction with
the appended drawings, wherein:
[0009] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the lid and the base of the
present invention wherein the lid is separate from the base,
showing arch-shaped grooves and ridges;
[0010] FIG. 2 is a side view of the lid and the base mating
together with removal of a portion of lid showing relative position
between the lid and the base;
[0011] FIG. 3 is a detailed side view of a portion of the lid and
the base mating together, showing zip locks and tiny channels
formed between the lid and the base;
[0012] FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view of the mating edge between
the lid and the base taken along section line 3A-3A' of FIG. 3,
showing a zip lock formed between arch-shaped grooves and
ridges;
[0013] FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view of the mating edge between
the lid and the base taken along section line 3B-3B' of FIG. 3,
showing a tiny channel formed between arch-shaped grooves and the
bottom surface of the lid;
[0014] FIG. 4C is a cross-sectional view of the mating edge between
the lid and the base taken along section line 3C-3C' of FIG. 3;
and
[0015] FIG. 5 is an alternative view of FIG. 4A, wherein the lid is
separate from the base, showing an arch-shaped groove on the base
rim and an arch-shaped ridge on the lid rim.
[0016] In the various figures of the drawings, like reference
characters designate like parts.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0017] In FIG. 1, it shows the perspective view of the lid and the
base of the vented container, where the lid 10 is separate from the
base 20. The base 20 has a substantially planar bottom 21, base
side walls 22 extending substantially vertically upward from the
bottom 21, a base flange 23 extending substantially horizontally
outward from the base side walls 22, an inverted U-shaped base rim
24 extending outward from said base flange 23, and multiple grooves
25 crossing horizontally on the top surface of said base rim 24.
the lid 10 has a substantially planar top 11, lid side walls 12
extending substantially vertically downward from the top 11, a lid
flange 13 extending substantially horizontally outward from the lid
side walls 12, an inverted U-shaped lid rim 14 extending outward
from the lid flange 13, and multiple ridges 15 crossing
horizontally on the bottom surface of said lid rim 14. In general,
the ridges 15 and the grooves 25 are same shape and are able to
mate. The ridges 15 are fewer than the grooves 25. In the preferred
embodiment, both ridges 15 and grooves 25 are arch-shaped and the
number of ridges 15 is half of that of grooves 25.
[0018] In FIG. 2, it is a side view of the lid and the base mating
together. A portion of the lid rim 14 is removed to show relative
position between the lid and the base. In the preferred embodiment
where the number of ridges 15 is half of that of grooves 25, zip
locks 31 are formed where ridges 15 mate with grooves 25 and
channels 32 are formed where no ridges are present against grooves.
FIG. 3 is a detailed side view showing zip locks 31 and tiny
channels 25 formed between the lid and the base. In the preferred
embodiment, the maximal diagonal of said channels is less than 1
millimeter to prevent liquid from spilling out while allow stream
passing through freely.
[0019] FIG. 4A shows a cross-sectional view of the mating edge
between the lid and the base taken along section line 3A-3A' of
FIG. 3, showing a zip lock formed between an arch-shaped groove 25
and a ridge 15. FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view of the mating
edge between the lid and the base taken along section line 3B-3B'
of FIG. 3, showing a tiny channel formed between an arch-shaped
groove 25 and the bottom surface of the lid. The inlet 33 connects
to the inside of the container through a gap 35 between the lid rim
and the base rim. The outlet 34 connects to atmosphere. Steam
inside of the container can freely escape from the inlet 33 to the
outlet 34. FIG. 4C shows a cross-sectional view of the mating edge
between the lid and the base taken along section line 3C-3C' of
FIG. 3.
[0020] FIG. 4A-4C also show a locking lip 36, which extends
vertically downward from said lid rim 14 and further securely holds
the lid onto the base.
[0021] FIG. 5 is an alternative view of FIG. 4A, where the lid is
separate from the base, showing an arch-shaped groove on the base
rim and an arch-shaped ridge on the lid rim. It is worth of noting
that although the lid and the base shown here are manufactured by
compression molding, other molding methods including injection can
be used to produce the present invention.
[0022] While preferred embodiments of the invention have been
discussed and illustrated, it should be understood by those of
ordinary skill in the art and others that changes can be made to
the illustrated embodiments without departing from the spirit and
scope of the present invention. For example, the grooves and the
ridges could be of other geometrical shape. Also, the number of
grooves and ridges could be in other ratio. Since such changes can
be made to the illustrated embodiments while remaining within the
scope of the invention, the invention should be defined solely with
reference to the appended claims.
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