U.S. patent application number 14/756943 was filed with the patent office on 2016-05-19 for food container.
The applicant listed for this patent is Kimberly Pirrella. Invention is credited to Kimberly Pirrella.
Application Number | 20160137364 14/756943 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 55961035 |
Filed Date | 2016-05-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160137364 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Pirrella; Kimberly |
May 19, 2016 |
Food container
Abstract
A food container for the storage of left over food or unused
portions of food in a refrigerator for subsequent use, the food
container having a base member and a securable lid member of
semi-rigid material, the lid being snap fit or hingeably secured to
the base member, the lid member having indicia incorporated therein
identifying the days of the week which allow the user to identify
the day upon which food was introduced in the container for
storage, which indicia can be reset when the contained food is
consumed and the container is reused at a later date.
Inventors: |
Pirrella; Kimberly; (Toms
River, NJ) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Pirrella; Kimberly |
Toms River |
NJ |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
55961035 |
Appl. No.: |
14/756943 |
Filed: |
November 2, 2015 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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62123386 |
Nov 17, 2014 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
206/459.5 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 51/245 20130101;
B65D 2203/00 20130101 |
International
Class: |
B65D 51/24 20060101
B65D051/24 |
Claims
1. An improved food container with weekly calendar indicia for
preservation of foods by refrigeration or freezing, the improved
food container comprising: a base member having a base wall and
four upstanding peripheral side walls defining an upper peripheral
edge, said base wall and said four upstanding side walls defining a
cavity for the receipt of food stuffs; a lid member having an upper
outer surface and lower inner surface, and having a peripheral edge
cooperable with said upper peripheral edge of said base member
affecting air tight closure of said cavity of said base member; and
a weekly calendar indicia positioned on said upper surface of said
lid member, said weekly calendar indicia sequentially identifying
the days of the week indicating the day of placement of said food
stuffs in said improved food container, and closure day of said
food container.
2. The improved food container in accordance with claim 1 wherein
said weekly calendar indicia comprises a plurality of embossed
protrusions unitary with said lid member construction and extending
upwardly from said upper outer surface of said lid member, each of
said indicia sequentially identifying a separate day of said
week.
3. The improved food container in accordance with claim 2 wherein
each of said embossed protrusions aligns with a complimentary
depression on said lower inner surface of said lid member.
4. The improved food container in accordance with claim 3 wherein
said weekly calendar indicia is activated by applying selective
fingertip pressure to said embossed protrusion identifying a select
day of said week protrusion depressing said select calendar indicia
day protrusion into said aligned depression formed on the lower
inner surface of said lid member.
5. The improved food container in accordance with claim 4 wherein
said weekly calendar indicia is reset by applying select fingertip
pressure to the select depression on said lower inner surface of
said lid member.
6. The improved food container in accordance with claim 1 wherein
said weekly calendar indicia comprises a button strip area secured
in said lid member, said weekly calendar indicia having a separate
depressible button corresponding to each day of said week, said
depressible button activated by fingertip pressure depressing said
select button.
7. The improved food container in accordance with claim 6 wherein
said weekly calendar indicia depressed button is reset by
reapplying fingertip pressure to said depressed button releasing
said depressed button to an undepressed orientation.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] Applicant claims the benefit of provisional application Ser.
No. 62/123,386, filed Nov. 17, 2014.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a food container for the
storage of food, either freshly prepared, or leftovers, or unused
portions, in a refrigerator. More particularly, it addresses a food
container, the lid of which contains the days of the week indicia
allowing the user to identify the day in which the food stuff was
placed in the container for storage and refrigeration.
[0004] 2. Description of the Prior Art
[0005] Left over food from a meal or unused portions of food
present daily predicaments to homemakers, cooks, and chefs.
Depending upon the number of people consuming the food, the portion
may be too large for complete consumption and result in leftovers
to be stored and refrigerated for later consumption. Alternatively,
many cooks prepare meals in advance and wish to refrigerate this
food until use. These cooks many times include working mothers who
prefer to cook meals on the weekend for storage and consumption
during the week because of their work schedule. Still further, with
many families being dual income families having both parents
working outside the home and the youth of today being involved in
multiple activities, sports, and the daily grind of school work,
many families do not get to sit and eat a daily meal together, thus
forcing the homemaker, cook, or chef to store food stuff in a
container for later consumption.
[0006] In any of these instances, the homemaker, cook or chef often
resorts to a storage container for storing the food for a future
date or for a subsequent meal. These containers vary from wrapping
the product in aluminum foil or in plastic bags, or in some
instances, the use of storage containers. These storage containers
as opposed to foil or plastic wrap are semi-rigid and are formed of
a base member having a container cavity portion and a lid member
which is secured to the base portion in a snap fit manner or other
similar sealing means. These type of containers can be transparent,
translucent, or opaque. More often than not the homemaker, cook, or
chef does not take the time to stop and accurately mark the
container, noting which day the leftovers were placed for
refrigeration. Thus, a homemaker, cook, or chef will go through the
refrigerator, oftentimes finding a food product that has overstayed
its welcome and has gone bad.
[0007] Applicant's invention incorporates an indicia which allows
the homemaker, cook or chef to identify the day of the week in
which food was placed in the particular container.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
[0008] An object of the present invention to provide for a novel
food container for use in a refrigerator which incorporates an
indicia which allows the user to identify the day of the week in
which food was placed into the container.
[0009] A still further object of the present invention is to
provide for a novel container for food for use in a refrigerator
which is easily cleaned and is dishwasher safe.
[0010] A further object of the present invention is to provide for
a novel food container for use with food stuffs for the
refrigerator in which the user can easily and clearly identify the
day of the week of introduction of food stuffs into the container
and the indicia thus used provides the user the ability to
determine if the food stuffs are still edible for consumption or if
the food stuffs must be discarded.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] A food container for the storage of left over food or unused
portions of food in a refrigerator for subsequent use, the food
container having a base member and a securable lid member of
semi-rigid material, the lid being snap fit or hingeably secured to
the base member, the lid member having indicia incorporated therein
identifying the days of the week which allow the user to identify
the day upon which food was introduced in the container for
storage, which indicia can be reset when the contained food is
consumed and the container is reused at a later date.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] These and other objects of the present invention will become
apparent, particularly when taken in light of the following
illustrations wherein:
[0013] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the food container and
indicia of the present invention; and
[0014] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the
food container and the indicia of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0015] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a food container 10 of the
present invention. Food container 10 comprises a base member 12
having a bottom 14, and four sides 16, 18, 20, and 22 (not shown).
Base member 12 has an open top defining a cavity (not shown).
Securable to the base member is a lid 30. Lid 30 may be hingeably
secured to the base member and have snap fit securing means, or the
lid 30 may be completely separate from the base member 12 and have
snap fit securing means 32 around all four of the upper peripheral
edges of the base member 12. The base member 12 and the lid 30 are
made of semi-rigid material such as plastic, and they may be
transparent, translucent, or opaque.
[0016] Incorporated into the lid 30 of the food container 10 is a
weekly calendar indicia 34. The calendar indicia 34 comprises seven
raised, resilient depressible buttons 35 through 41, each button
having a day of the week or the first letter of the day of the week
embossed or imprinted thereon. As illustrated in FIG. 1 the
depressible buttons 35 to 41 are embossed from left to right with
the letters S, M, T, W, Th, F, and S representing the days of the
week, Sunday through Saturday.
[0017] This aids the user in knowing how long the particular
container has been in use for the particular food items contained
therein. The user now can identify the exact day in which the food
stuff was placed in the container for refrigeration. This allows
the homemaker, cook or chef more control over the advanced prepared
food, leftovers or unused portions of food which are contained in
the refrigerator.
[0018] The depressible buttons 35 through 41 indicating the day of
the week are integral with lid 30 and formed thereon unitarily. The
buttons extend upwardly away from lid 30, and if one were to
inspect the interior underside of lid 30, they would see
corresponding complimentary indentations in the interior surface of
lid 30 corresponding with the upwardly extending depressible
buttons 35 through 41 visible on the exterior surface of lid 30.
When the food stuffs stored in the container are utilized, the
user, be it the cook, chef, or whomever, resets the depressible
button by merely pressing on the depressible button 35 through from
the underside of the lid 30 thereby returning the selected
depressible button 35 through 41 to an erect orientation on the
outer surface of the lid 30. The next time that the container is
used and food stuffs are stored therein for refrigeration, the cook
or chef would merely press down on the selected depressible button
35 through 41 which corresponds to the day of the week in which the
food is being stored. The depressible button 35 through 41 would
then remain in a depressed state identifying the day the food
stuffs were stored therein until reset in the manner heretofore set
forth.
[0019] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the
container 10. It is identical in all respects with the exception of
the manner in which the calendar indicia is secured and positioned
on the lid 30. To that end, the same reference numerals utilized in
FIG. 1 apply to FIG. 2. In FIG. 2, the resilient depressible
buttons 35 through 41 are not raised and embossed from the lid, but
are separate from the lid and contained in a separate designated
section. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the buttons are
flush with the top of the lid and are depressible as illustrated
with button 35 representing the day Sunday, which is shown in a
depressed state, which would indicate when the food stuffs
contained in the container were stored therein. Resetting of the
buttons would be in the same manner as discussed with FIG. 1, the
user would merely push the button from the reverse side of the lid
to reset it to a position of being flush with the outer surface of
the lid. Again, all of the reference numerals associated with FIG.
2 are identical to the reference numerals utilized with FIG. 1.
[0020] Therefore, while the present invention has been disclosed
with respect to the preferred embodiments thereof, it will be
recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art that various
changes and modifications can be made without departing from the
spirit and scope of the invention. It is therefore manifestly
intended that the invention be limited only by the claims and the
equivalence thereof.
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