U.S. patent number RE28,658 [Application Number 05/410,991] was granted by the patent office on 1975-12-23 for insulated plastic bucket.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Sweetheart Plastics, Inc.. Invention is credited to Gene D. MacDaniel.
United States Patent |
RE28,658 |
MacDaniel |
December 23, 1975 |
Insulated plastic bucket
Abstract
A container having a wrapped side wall of foam plastic sheet
material with the side margins overlapped and welded together, and
a separately formed bottom having a central portion generally
perpendicular to the container axis and with an annular skirt
extending away from the plane of the central portion and sealed to
the lower margin of the side wall. A lid made of the same material
fits over the upper margin of the container.
Inventors: |
MacDaniel; Gene D. (Lithonia,
GA) |
Assignee: |
Sweetheart Plastics, Inc.
(Wilmington, DE)
|
Family
ID: |
27021222 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/410,991 |
Filed: |
October 30, 1973 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
Reissue of: |
879448 |
Nov 24, 1969 |
03664568 |
May 23, 1972 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
229/403;
229/5.5 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D
43/0212 (20130101); B65D 21/0233 (20130101); B65D
21/0219 (20130101); B65D 81/3867 (20130101); B65D
47/36 (20130101); B65D 2543/00796 (20130101); B65D
2543/00296 (20130101); B65D 2543/00685 (20130101); B65D
2543/00527 (20130101); B65D 2205/00 (20130101); B65D
2543/0074 (20130101); B65D 2543/00537 (20130101); B65D
2543/00657 (20130101); B65D 2543/00851 (20130101); B65D
2543/00027 (20130101); B65D 2543/00092 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65D
21/02 (20060101); B65D 47/00 (20060101); B65D
47/36 (20060101); B65D 43/02 (20060101); B65D
81/38 (20060101); B65d 003/00 (); B65d 005/64 ();
B65d 003/10 () |
Field of
Search: |
;229/43,1.5B,5.5,5.8
;220/97C,97F,9 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Hall; George T.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Birch and Birch
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A container comprising:
a wrapped side wall made from generally rigid foam sheet material
having a lapped side seam, defining openings at opposite ends
thereof;
a preshaped bottom wall made from generally rigid foam sheet
material, said bottom wall having its central portion lying
generally perpendicular to the axis of the side wall and an annular
shirt extending .[.away from the general plane of the.].
.Iadd.outwardly of said .Iaddend.central portion .Iadd.into
proximity with one end of said side wall.Iaddend., said skirt
defining an outer diameter .[.slightly.]. .Iadd.no .Iaddend.less
than the inner diameter of .[.one of.]. .Iadd.the .Iaddend.said
opening.[.s.]. in said container .Iadd.at said one end of said side
wall .Iaddend.whereby said bottom wall may be fitted snugly into
said opening .Iadd.at said one end of said side wall; .Iaddend.
and a heat-sealed seam joining the skirt to said one end of the
side wall.
2. A container as described in claim 1 further characterized by
said side wall being frustoconical in shape and narrower at the
bottom edge and said skirt being frustoconical in shape and being
wider at the bottom and with the upper edge of the skirt joining
the central portion,
said heat-sealed seam joining only the lower portion of the skirt
and the bottom margin of the side wall and with the side wall and
skirt diverging from one another in an upwardly direction.
3. A container as described in claim 1 further characterized by
said side wall being turned over at the upper edge to lend lateral
stiffness to the container.
4. A container as described in claim 1 further characterized by
said lapped seam being formed by overlapping the edges of the blank
from which the side wall is made and welding together the
overlapped margins, the thickness of the side wall at the
overlapped edges being substantially less than twice the thickness
of the side wall material.
5. A container as described in claim 1 further characterized by
said bottom skirt extending upwardly from the central portions and
lying flush against the side wall,
the lower margin of the side wall being turned inwardly beneath the
periphery of the central portion of the bottom with said margins
being sealed to the bottom.
6. A container as described in claim 5 further characterized by
said lapped seam being formed by overlapping the edges of the blank
from which the side wall is made and welding together the
overlapped margins, the thickness of the side wall at the
overlapped edges being substantially less than twice the thickness
of the side wall material.
7. A container as described in claim .[.6.]. .Iadd.4
.Iaddend.further characterized by
said side wall be frustoconical in shape and narrower at the bottom
edge and said skirt being frustoconical in shape and being wider at
the bottom and with the upper edge of the skirt joining the central
portion,
said heat-sealed seam joining only the lower portion of the skirt
and the bottom margin of the side wall and with the side wall and
skirt diverging from one another in an upwardly direction.
8. A container as described in claim .[.6.]. .Iadd.4
.Iaddend.further characterized by said side wall and bottom having
an approximate stock thickness of 0.110 inch.
9. A container as described in claim 8 further characterized by
said side wall being frustoconical in shape and norrower at the
bottom edge and said skirt being frustoconical in shape and being
wider at the bottom and with the upper edge of the skirt joining
the central portion,
said heat-sealed seam joining only the lower portion of the skirt
and the bottom margin of the side wall and with the side wall and
skirt diverging from one another in an upwardly direction,
said turned over portion of the rim being expanded to a thickness
exceeding the thickness of the side wall. .Iadd. 10. A container
comprising:
a wrapped side wall made from foam sheet material having a
heat-sealed lapped side seam and defining openings at opposite ends
thereof;
a preshaped bottom wall made from foam sheet material having a
central portion disposed transversely of the longitudinal axis of
the side wall and an annular skirt extending outwardly from said
central portion having one surface thereof in proximity with the
inner surface of said side wall at one end of the latter; and
a heat-sealed bottom seam joining said one surface of said skirt to
said inner surface of said side wall. .Iaddend. .Iadd. 11. The
invention defined in claim 10, wherein said side wall is
substantially frustoconical; and wherein said bottom wall is
heat-sealed thereto adjacent the smallest end thereof.
.Iaddend..Iadd. 12. The invention defined in claim 10, wherein said
side wall is turned inwardly beneath said skirt in the provision of
said heat-sealed bottom seam. .Iaddend..Iadd. 13. The invention
defined in claim 12, wherein said side wall is substantially
frustoconical; and wherein said bottom wall is heat-sealed thereto
adjacent the smallest end thereof. .Iaddend..Iadd. 14. The
invention defined in claim 1, wherein said side wall is turned
inwardly beneath said skirt in the provision of said heat-sealed
bottom seam. .Iaddend..Iadd. 15. A container as defined in claim 10
wherein said side wall is turned over at the edge defining said
other end thereof to lend lateral stiffness to said container.
.Iaddend..Iadd. 16. A container as defined in claim 12 wherein said
side wall is turned over at the edge defining said other end
thereof to lend lateral stiffness to said container. .Iaddend.
Description
This invention relates to disposable containers and lids made of
plastic, and more particularly comprises a new and improved
insulated disposable container and lid made from foam plastic
sheet. The invention has particular application in the manufacture
of containers in the half gallon and larger range.
There is at the present time a growing demand for disposable
containers in large sizes. This growth in part is the result of the
rapidly growing business of franchised take-out food vendors such
as the roadside fried chicken stands, as well as the generally
increasing labor costs that make reusable containers in all
industries prohibitively expensively. While in the disposable
container industry plastic has captured a significant percentage of
the market in smaller container sizes, thus far the larger
containers of the one gallon size range are almost exclusively
still made of paper. This is particularly true in the insulated
bucket or tub field where heretofore no one has developed a
commercially competitive insulated plastic tub. Conventionally the
large tubs used for example as chicken buckets are made of double
wrap paper. These heavy duty double wrap paper buckets are
expensive, have only limited insulating properties, and generally
are subject to the same failings as paper food containers made in
smaller sizes, namely, they have a taste and odor which effects the
contents, they absorb moisture, etc.
An object of this invention is to provide a simply constructed tub
made of foam plastic which has very high insulating properties.
Another object of this invention is to provide a disposable
insulated container whose side walls may be embossed or otherwise
treated as part of the assembling operation for decorative or
advertising purposes.
Another object of this invention is to provide a large disposable
tub which is moisture proof and grease proof and which is suitable
for the packaging of hydroscopic materials.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a disposable
insulated tub which is suitable for use as an ice bucket and whose
mouth is sufficiently rigid to allow the bucket to be used as a
scoop to gather ice cubes from a chest.
To accomplish those and other objects, this invention is embodied
in a tub made of expanded foam plastic sheet. While the invention
is not limited to containers of a particular size and has
application to both large and small containers, in accordance with
one embodiment typically the sheet may be approximately
.Iadd.0.Iaddend.112. inch thick and having a weight of
approximately 19 grams per square foot. The container is made in
two parts, namely, a side wall blank which is sealed along a side
seam and a preformed bottom having a skirt which abuts against the
bottom of the side wall and is sealed to it. A separate cover or
lid may be provided, which has a snap fit over the mouth of the
container, and the lid is provided with slits that enable vent
openings to be formed in it.
In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a tub constructed in
accordance with this invention;
FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of another embodiment of
tub constructed in accordance with this invention;
FIG. 3 is a side view, partly in section, of a lid which may be
used with either of the tubs shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;
FIG. 4 is a fragmentary, cross-sectional, detail of two tubs shown
in FIG. 1 and illustrating their nested relationship;
FIG. 5 is a detail view of the rim of the tubs of FIGS. 1 and
2;
FIG. 6 is a fragmentary cross-sectional detail of the tub of FIG. 2
and showing how two such tubs nest;
FIG. 7 is a plan view of the lid of FIG. 3;
FIG. 8 is a fragmentary cross-sectional detail of the lid showing
how a vent opening is formed in it;
FIG. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along
the section line 9--9 of FIG. 1; and
FIG. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary detail view showing the way the
lid fits on the container rim.
The bucket 10 shown in FIG. 1 has a side wall 12 and a bottom 14.
The side wall 12 may be made from a blank having curved and
parallel top and bottom edges of conventional form and with
diverging side edges so that when the side wall is rolled into the
container shape it is frustoconical with the desired side wall
taper to facilitate nesting. In accordance with one embodiment the
side wall 10 along with the bottom 14 are made from generally rigid
expanded styrene sheet of approximately .112 inch in thickness and
weighing 19 gram per sq. ft. with a cell size of 4 to 5 mils. It is
to be understood that these dimensions are not limitations to the
scope of this invention.
The side edges 16 and 18 of the side wall 12 are overlapped as
shown in FIG. 9, compressed, and sealed together to form a liquid
tight seam running from top to bottom of the side wall when it is
formed. The total thickness of the overlapped portion 20 of the
side wall is less than twice the stock thickness and preferably
does not exceed substantially the single stock thickness of the
material.
The bottom 14 of the container is preshaped before assembly with a
generally flat central portion 22 and a skirt 24 which extends
downwardly from the central portion 22 generally with a downward
flare of approximately 3.degree.. The flare of the skirt is in part
determined by the angle of the side wall 12. The outer diameter of
the skirt 24 at the bottom edge 26 is equal to or slightly larger
than the inner diameter of the bottom edge 28 of the side wall 12
so that when the bottom is assembled as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 the
outer surface of the skirt 24 at its lower edge 26 engages the
inner surface of the lower margin 28 of the side wall. This
relationship is particularly evident in FIG. 4 where the bottoms of
two containers are shown in their nested relationship.
When the bottom 14 is assembled in the side wall 12, the lower
edges are heat sealed together in a manner shown in FIG. 4, and the
mating surfaces of the skirt and lower margin of the side wall fuse
through a height of approximately one thirty-seconds inch. From
that point, the skirt and side wall diverge in an upward direction
to form a well 30 which is particularly desirable as a grease
trough when buckets are used to contain fried foods such as
chicken. In a one gallon tube size, typically the height of the
skirt 24 measured from its lower margin to the upper surface of the
central portion 22 is approximately 13/16 inch, and the trough 30
therefore has a height of approximately 25/32 inch. Its volume is
of course also a function of the taper of side wall 12. Typically
it may be 12.degree.. Thus the trough has substantial volume to
accommodate grease or other substances which are given off from the
material packaged in the tub.
To enhance the appearance of the tub, broaden its applications, and
increase its stiffness at the mouth 32, the rim 34 is turned over
as shown in FIG. 5 to form a semi-rolled lip and preferably the
material of the rim is somewhat expanded so as to increase its
stiffness. The application of heat to the sheet material when the
rim is rolled to form the configuration illustrated may be utilized
to expand the sheet material to the desired thickness.
The embodiment of FIG. 1 nests as shown in FIG. 4 on the bottom 14.
The inner corner 38 of the lower edge 26 of the skirt of the upper
container rests on the outer radius 40 which joins the skirt 24 to
the central portion 22 of the bottom. When the container is made in
the dimensions suggested above, the pitch or stack height may be
approximately 3/4 inch, and the side walls of adjacent containers
will be held apart slightly and the rims of adjacent containers
will be separated sufficiently to allow for ready separation of the
containers.
The container 50 shown in FIG. 2 differs from the container of FIG.
1 in the construction of the bottom. Thus, the container 50 has a
side wall 52 with a semi-rolled rim 54 identical to that of FIG. 1,
but the bottom 56 is distinctive. The bottom includes a generally
horizontal central portion 58 which may or may not be bowed
upwardly as shown in the drawing to resist sagging, and the bottom
also includes a peripheral skirt 60 which extends upwardly from the
margin of the central portion 58. The skirt 60 is upwardly flared
so that it forms the same angle with the vertical as does side wall
52. Typically this flare may be an angle of 12.degree..
In FIG. 6, the details of the connection between the skirt 60 and
side wall 52 are shown. In that embodiment, the bottom 56 is
preshaped in the form shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, and the axial extent
of the skirt 60 is substantially the same as the skirt 24 in the
embodiment of FIG. 1. The skirt 60 is heat sealed to the inner side
of the side wall 52 of the container, and the bottom 62 of the side
wall is wrapped about the radius 64 which joints the skirt 60 and
the wall 58 so as to form a smooth juncture between the side wall
of the container and the bottom. The lower edge 62 of the side wall
where it wraps about the radius 64 is compressed so as to form a
smooth union between the outer surface 66 of the side wall and the
lower surface 68 of the bottom 58.
When the containers of the type shown in FIGS. 2 and 6 are nested,
the outer surface of the bottom 62 of the side wall 52 rests on the
upper inner edge 70 of the skirt 60, and the cups are thereby
spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the distance (pitch)
of the stacked containers of the type shown in FIG. 1.
The lid shown in FIGS. 3 and 7 to 10 is made of the same material
and has substantially the same stock thickness as the containers of
FIGS. 1 and 2. The container lid 100 includes a top wall 102 and a
downwardly extending skirt 104. The skirt 104 is provided with an
undercut ring 106 accentuated on its inner surface 108, which is
adapted to engage the lower end 110 of the rolled rim 34 of the
container so as to retain the lid in place over the container
mouth, as illustrated in FIG. 10. The underside of the lid, in the
juncture of the central portion and the skirt is contoured to mate
snugly with a portion of the cross-section of the rolled rim 34 of
the container. The lid is provided with four upstanding bosses 112
in the top wall 102, which serve several functions. The outer edges
114 of the bosses 112 are each curved as is clearly shown in FIG. 7
so as to substantially define a circle. The bosses are adapted to
fit within the skirt 24 of a container bottom stacked above it and
retain that upper container in place. That is, the curved sides 114
of the bosses will prevent the upper container from slipping
sideways on the top.
Preferably at least two of the bosses 112 are provided with a
diagonal cut 116 which allows a portion of the bosses containing it
to be bent inwardly as shown in FIG. 8 to form a vent opening 118.
That is, the cut 116 forms a flap 120 in the top wall of the boss,
which flap may be bent downwardly as shown in FIG. 8 to open the
top of the boss. It will be appreciated that when the flap 120 is
left in the formed position as in FIG. 3, the lid 100 forms a seal
for the container, but when the flaps are folded downwardly as
suggested in FIG. 8, the interior of the container is vented. Even
when the flaps 120 are bent so as to form the vent openings 118,
they do not interfere with the container which is stacked above
when in fact several containers are placed one above the other.
The vent openings 118 are of sufficient size so that the fingers
may be inserted through them so as to provide a convenient handle
to carry the bucket. Thus the vent openings not only perform their
main function of venting the contents of the container but also
form a handle for the convenient carrying of the package made up of
the container and lid.
From the foregoing description the containers and lid of this
invention will be appreciated to have many advantages over prior
art containers. The containers may have any cross sectional shape
as the bottoms are preshaped and the entire container is made of
plastic. The preshaped bottom may be either formed by thermoforming
techniques such as pressure or vacuum forming, or it may be shaped
by matched molds which work on the sheet. Because of the nature of
the material used, both the bottom and top may be heat sealed. Thus
the bosses 112 provided in the container lids not only facilitate
stacking of filled containers, but they further facilitate stacking
of the lids themselves. When the empty lids are stacked one on top
of the other, the bosses 112 will cooperate with the skirts 104 to
retard accidental "slicing" of the lids horizontally from a stack.
The openings in the bosses provided by the slits form not only
vents but gripping means as well. Moreover, it is apparent that the
vent sizes may be varied by changing the angle of the bent flaps.
In fact the vent flaps may be bent up or down, or even be torn off
if desired. The vents are particularly desirable when the
containers are used for chicken or other hot foods to allow the
steam given off by the food products to escape. In this way the
contents are kept relatively dry as the steam given off by the food
will not tend to make the contents soggy. It will also be
appreciated that the bosses 112 allow the slits to be formed
horizontally in them by a horizontal blade as the lids are moved
horizontally below it. Similarly, the lid may be trimmed from its
web by a horizontal blade, and the arrangement may be used for lids
of different diameters with altering the arrangement.
The grease trough provided in the embodiment of FIG. 1 further
allows the contents to drain so that the food itself does not stand
in the grease which drains from it. Because of the nature of the
material from which the container is made, it will be apparent that
the side wall material may be selectively expanded so as to provide
raised or embossed lettering in the side wall for advertising for
decorative purposes. A bucket formed of the material identified is
moisture proof and grease proof and is suitable for storing
hydroscopic materials. The relatively stiff rim allows the
container to scoop hard materials such as ice without becoming
mutilated.
While the containers are suitable for use with the lid of FIG. 3,
it will be appreciated that inside fitting lids could also be used
with them. Moreover, the foam material may be combined with other
materials such as an open web-like fabric or a film for added
strength or texture.
* * * * *