Patent Application
20150048089
Containers for food products are well known in the art. Such containers typically include a receptacle and a lid. The lid may be attached to the container in various manners. One example of such a container includes a lid formed of a flat paperboard closure panel and a plastic peripheral ring.
Such previously known container lids are not without shortcomings. For example, when placed over a receptacle, the flat closure panel of the lid will prevent the lid from being attached to the receptacle when food or other contents are heaped or stacked above a peripheral rim of the receptacle. If the contents are loaded into the receptacle such that they extend above a plane formed by the peripheral rim of the receptacle, the flat closure panel comes into interference with the contents, thereby preventing the plastic ring from attaching a top rim of the receptacle.
Additionally, in recent years, continuing efforts have been made to increase the recyclability of packaging, and in particular, food packaging. However, another disadvantage of previously known container lids made of multiple materials (e.g., paperboard and plastic) was that they were not recyclable due to containing multiple materials and were therefore, upon disposal, were placed in waste that was directed for landfills.
Accordingly, a need exists for a lid that permits food or other contents to be heaped or stacked above a peripheral rim of the receptacle to which the lid is attached. A further need exists for a lid made of multiple materials that can be separated so that the materials can be recycled apart from one another.
One embodiment of the present invention is directed to a container lid adapted for placement over a container base. The lid may comprise a cover portion having an upwardly projecting or dome-shaped central section, a generally flat and horizontal peripheral lid rim extending outwardly around at least part of the cover portion, and a plastic ring circumscribing at least part of the lid rim. The plastic ring can include a horizontal flange and a skirt depending downwardly therefrom. The plastic ring may also optionally include one or more locking projections extending inwardly from the skirt and a channel defined between an upper surface of each locking projection and a lower surface of the lid rim.
The lid's cover and rim portions may be formed from a paper-based material, including but not limited to, a pressed paperboard material or a molded fiber material. A lower surface of the plastic ring's flange may be semi-permanently attached to an upper surface of the lid rim and may be optionally secured thereto by an adhesive, a polymeric film or a heat seal coating. In one embodiment, the plastic ring is injection molded onto the lid rim. A bond formed between the lower surface of the plastic ring's flange and the upper surface of the lid rim may be adapted to be broken by a user such that the plastic ring can be separated from the lid rim upon disposal. This allows the cover and lid rim portions, which may be formed from a paperboard material, to be discarded separately from the plastic ring.
Another aspect of the present invention is directed to a method of manufacturing the container lid described herein. One embodiment of the method comprises the steps of providing a paperboard material, cutting a blank from the paperboard material, die stamping the blank to form an upwardly extending cover portion and a generally flat and horizontal peripheral lid rim extending around at least part of the cover portion, placing the formed paperboard blank in an injection molding machine, and forming an injection molded plastic ring around at least part of the lid rim.
Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawing figures.
In the accompanying drawing, which forms a part of the specification and is to be read in conjunction therewith in which like reference numerals are used to indicate like or similar parts in the various views:
The invention will now be described with reference to the drawing figures, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout. For purposes of clarity in illustrating the characteristics of the present invention, proportional relationships of the elements have not necessarily been maintained in the drawing figures.
The following detailed description of the invention references specific embodiments in which the invention can be practiced. The embodiments are intended to describe aspects of the invention in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. Other embodiments can be utilized and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. The present invention is defined by the appended claims and the description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense and shall not limit the scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.
The present invention is directed generally to a container lid 10 having a plastic ring 12 and also to a method of manufacturing same. The container lid 10 is adapted for placement over a receptacle or container base 14. As discussed in greater detail below, the ring 12 facilitates attachment of the lid 10 to the container base 14. The ring 12 may be separated from the remained of the lid 10 upon disposal so that the ring 12 and the remainder of the lid 10 may be recycled and/or composted separately from one another.
Referring to the figures,
The term “paper,” as used herein, is a broad term and includes without limitation all types of paper products, such as paperboard, kraft paperboard, reprocessed paperboard, molded paper, molded fiber, pulp slurry, corrugated paper, cardboard, coated paper, paper laminates and multi-ply paper. The term “pulp slurry,” as used herein may include, for example, an aqueous slurry containing cellulose or cellulosic fiber derived from a plant or wood pulping process or paper recycling process. The term “pressed paperboard,” as used herein, is a broad term and includes without limitation paper that is constructed from a generally planar paperboard blank and deformed into shape under pressure. In an embodiment wherein the cover 16 and rim 18 portions of the lid 10 are formed of pressed paperboard, generally radial score lines may be formed in the paperboard blank prior to the blank being formed into shape. The blank can then be formed into shape by a forming press that includes upper and lower heated dies having corresponding male and female surfaces. During the forming process, pleats may be formed at the score lines.
The lid 10 may further include printing or other graphics on an upper exterior surface 20 of the cover portion 16. One or more of the inside and outside surfaces of the lid 10 may be coated with a polymeric coating, a polymeric film or another material or liner suitable for impeding liquids or moisture from penetrating therethrough.
As shown in
Turning attention now to the ring 12, the ring 12 may comprise a generally horizontal flange 24 and a generally downwardly extending peripheral skirt 26. The ring 12 circumscribes all or at least a portion of the lid rim 18 and may be constructed of a plastic, polymeric material, molded fiber material, or other suitable material now known or hereafter developed. In one embodiment, the ring 12 is formed of an injected molded plastic.
As shown in
As illustrated in
In the embodiment where the cover 16 and rim 18 portions of the lid 10 are constructed of a pressed paperboard material and the container 14 is constructed of a molded fiber material, the resulting container 14 and lid 10 assembly 44 may be fully recyclable upon disposal.
Turning now to the method of manufacture, the pressed paperboard cover 16 and rim 18 portions of the lid 10 can be formed in accordance with well-known manufacturing processes, as set forth above. In one embodiment, the pressed paperboard lid 12 is formed in a process similar or identical to that used in forming pressed paperboard plates or bowls. The cover 16 portion of the lid 10 can be formed in a die stamping operation. This may be necessary to form an upwardly extending or dome-shaped cover portion 16 of the lid 10 having a significant depth. The lid rim 18 is also formed in the die-stamping operation. The paperboard portions of the lid 10 may be formed in the typical fashion such that it includes creases or pleats so that it takes the shape somewhat typical of a normal pressed paperboard plate or bowl, albeit optionally having a dome shape with a cross-sectional profile that is deeper than that of a normal plate. In that regard, the lid 10 may be similar in nature to an upside down plate or bowl. The dome shape of the cover portion 16 provides the container 14 and lid 10 assembly 44 with a capacity that is greater than if the cover portion 16 were flat. The dome-shaped cover portion 16 allows the lid 10 to cover contents that heaped or stacked above a horizontal plane formed by the container's rim 22. Further, one of the primary differences between the lid 10 and the typical paperboard plate or bowl is that the lid 10 may have printing on its upper exterior surface 20. It will be understood that the top surface 20 of the lid 10 is analogous to the bottom surface of the typical paperboard plate or bowl. Portions of the top surface 20 of the lid 10 may be generally flat and/or may take on a convex or concave shape or have indentions or protrusions formed therein, as desired.
Once the paperboard cover 16 and rim 18 portions of the lid 10 are formed, they can be placed in an injection molding machine such that the plastic ring 12 may be formed around the lid rim 18. In one embodiment, the plastic ring 12 is semi-permanently affixed to the lid's rim 18 via an adhesive, a polymeric film or a heat seal coating which may be applied to the upper surface 28 on the lid's rim 18 prior to the paperboard portions of the lid 10 being placed in the injection molding machine. Once complete, the lid 10 may be kept separate from the container 14 until a product (e.g., food) is placed in the container 14. At that time, the lid 10 may be snappingly engaged with the container 14 to cover and contain the contents within the container 14.
From the foregoing, it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all the ends and objects hereinabove set forth together with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the structure. It will be understood that certain features and sub combinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and sub combinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims. Since many possible embodiments of the invention may be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is also to be understood that all matters herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings are to be interpreted as illustrative and not limiting.
The constructions described above and illustrated in the drawings are presented by way of example only and are not intended to limit the concepts and principles of the present invention. Thus, there has been shown and described several embodiments of a novel invention. As is evident from the foregoing description, certain aspects of the present invention are not limited by the particular details of the examples illustrated herein, and it is therefore contemplated that other modifications and applications, or equivalents thereof, will occur to those skilled in the art. The terms “having” and “including” and similar terms as used in the foregoing specification are used in the sense of “optional” or “may include” and not as “required”. Many changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications of the present construction will, however, become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering the specification and the accompanying drawings. All such changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be covered by the invention which is limited only by the claims which follow.
This Application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/865,433, filed on Aug. 13, 2013, to Ronald D. Robertson entitled “Pressed Paperboard Lid with Plastic Ring and Method of Manufacture,” currently pending, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61865433 | Aug 2013 | US |
