TECHNICAL FIELD
The present disclosure relates to containers, and, more specifically, to disposable food containers and lid systems useable with the same.
BACKGROUND
Food containers, such as ice cream containers, may be used for bulk delivery of a food product from a manufacturer or distributor to a vendor or end user. For example, in the ice cream industry, ice cream is delivered to ice cream vendors in three gallon wound paper containers. At the upper end of each container is a metal strip which covers the lip of the bucket opening, and serves to maintain the shape and structural integrity of the paper container as ice cream is dispensed. Typically, these three gallon containers are provided with a paper lid which fits over the metal rim to seal the ice cream within the bucket during transportation and delivery.
In some cases, the three gallon container capacity is sufficient for several days of demand for a particular product (e.g., a particular ice cream flavor). At the end of each day after initially opening the bucket, the paper lid may be replaced on the top of the bucket in order to maintain product freshness and prevent contamination. However, the paper lid delivered with the bucket may lose its shape after several uses. In some cases, a “night cover” made of plastic may be provided for overnight storage of a partially used ice cream container, rather than reusing the original paper cover.
The metal rim on the upper lip of the container is typically formed as a metal strip which is folded over the lip, such that the strip mounts to the upper edge of the container with the edges of the metal strip facing downward. In one configuration, this metal strip extends around the circular periphery of the container lip (the container being generally cylindrical), with the ends of the metal strip overlapping one another. An example of this configuration is shown as container 22 in FIG. 1 in association with other aspects of the present disclosure discussed below in the Detailed Description. While this configuration is suitable for maintaining the shape and integrity of the ice cream container, the overlapping ends of the metal strip may occasionally form a sharp edge or corner accessible to a worker scooping ice cream from the bucket. This sharp corner may pose a risk of scraping or cutting the hand or arm of the user as ice cream is scooped out of the container.
SUMMARY
The present disclosure provides a container lid system compatible with traditional metal-rimmed paper ice cream containers which protects the user from interaction with any sharp metal edges or points. The lid system includes a protector strip disposed over the metal rim, which completely shields the user from contact with any sharp rim edges. A selectively removable and replaceable lid allows the containers to be shipped, opened and used while maintaining protection of with the rim. The lid may also serve as, or be provided with, a replaceable night cover compatible with the protected rim. Accordingly, the metal rim strip is never exposed to the user's hands or arms during use of the ice cream container, either during initial removal of the lid or when replacing and subsequently removing of the night cover.
In one form thereof, the present disclosure provides a container lid system comprising: a container body defining an interior container volume with an access opening; a reinforcement strip fixed to the access opening, the reinforcement strip having an interior portion protruding at least partially into the container volume; a protector strip attached to the reinforcement strip and covering the interior portion of the reinforcement strip; a lid sized to be received over the access opening to substantially seal the interior container volume; and a tear-away strip removably affixed to the lid such that the lid is affixed to the protector strip when the tear-away strip is affixed to the lid, and the lid is removable from the protector strip when the tear-away strip is removed from the lid.
In another form thereof, the present disclosure provides a container lid system comprising: a container with a container body defining an interior container volume with an access opening; a reinforcement strip fixed to the access opening, the reinforcement strip having an interior portion protruding at least partially into the container volume; a protector means for protecting a user of the container from the reinforcement strip; a lid means for substantially sealing the interior container volume; and a dislodging means for separating the protector means from the lid means, the dislodging means manipulable by a user of the container lid system to remove the lid means to access the interior container volume.
In yet another form thereof, the present disclosure provides a method of manufacturing a container comprising: providing a container body defining an interior container volume with an access opening disposed at a boundary of the interior container volume; affixing a reinforcement strip to the access opening, such that an interior portion of the reinforcement strip protrudes at least partially into the container volume; attaching a protector strip to the reinforcement strip to cover the interior portion of the reinforcement strip, such that the interior portion is rendered inaccessible by a user when the protector strip is attached to the reinforcement strip; and providing a lid with a tear-away strip attached thereto, the tear-away strip removably affixed to the lid by a loop of thinned and/or perforated material corresponding to the boundary of the interior container volume.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of this disclosure, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and the invention itself will be better understood by reference to the following description of an embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a perspective, exploded view of an ice cream container with a protector strip and removable lid in accordance with the present disclosure;
FIG. 2 is a perspective, exploded view of the ice cream container and lid system shown in FIG. 1, in which the protector strip is shown mounted to the upper container rim;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the ice cream container shown in FIG. 1 with the lid system mounted thereto;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the ice cream container and lid system shown in FIG. 3, in which an exterior tear-away strip of the lid system is shown in the process of removal;
FIG. 5 is a perspective, exploded view of the ice cream container and lid system of FIG. 4, in which the exterior tear-away strip is completely removed and the lid is removed;
FIG. 6 is an elevation, cross-section view of the ice cream container rim and lid system of FIG. 3, taken along the line VI-VI of FIG. 3;
FIG. 6A is an elevation, cross-section view of an alternative ice cream container rim and lid system similar to the ice cream container rim and lid system of FIG. 6;
FIG. 7 is another elevation, cross-section view of the container and lid system of FIG. 6, illustrating removal of the exterior tear-away strip and container lid;
FIG. 7A is another elevation, cross-section view of the container and lid system of FIG. 6A, illustrating removal of the exterior tear-away strip and container lid;
FIG. 8 is a perspective, exploded view of an ice cream container and lid system according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the container and shipping lid shown in FIG. 8, with the shipping lid mounted to the container;
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the container and shipping lid of FIG. 9, in which a central portion of the shipping lid is in the process of being removed;
FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the container and lid system of FIG. 8, in which the central portion of the shipping lid is removed and a night cover is being attached;
FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the container and lid system shown in FIG. 8, with the night cover attached to the container;
FIG. 13 is an elevation, cross-section view of the container rim and shipping lid shown in FIG. 9, taken along the line XIII-XIII;
FIG. 14 is another elevation, cross-section view of the rim and shipping lid shown in FIG. 13, together with the night cover of FIG. 11; and
FIG. 15 is an elevation, cross-sectional view of the container rim and night cover shown in FIG. 12, taken along the line XV-XV.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. The exemplifications set out herein illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention and such exemplifications are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any manner.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The present disclosure provides a container lid system including a permanently mounted protector strip and a selectively removable cover which is compatible with the protector strip for transportation and/or storage of the container and contents. For purposes of the present disclosure, “permanently mounted” does not indicate that the protector strip is non-removable from the container to which it is attached, but rather that the protector strip may be mounted to the container prior to delivery to the end user and may remain mounted throughout use by the end user without compromising the intended use and function of the container and lid system.
Turning to FIG. 1, container and lid system 20 is illustrated in an exploded view, with ice cream container 22, protector strip 24 and lid assembly 26 shown. Container 22 includes a substantially cylindrical container body 28 with a closed lower end and an open upper end defining access opening 30. Container body 28 may be of a known configuration, e.g., a wound paper board construction of a type commonly used for containing food product P such as ice cream. Reinforcement strip 32 is attached at the circular upper rim of container body 28, and is sized and shaped to maintain the circular shape and overall structural integrity of access opening 30. In particular, reinforcement strip 32 is a folded piece of substantially rigid sheet metal with a length slightly longer than the circumference of access opening 30, such that when mounted to container 22 as shown in FIG. 1, reinforcement strip 32 has overlapping ends 34. As illustrated in FIG. 6, reinforcement strip 32 has a folded, generally “P-shaped” cross-section including a downwardly extending interior portion 36 disposed along the interior wall of container body 28, and an exterior portion 38 which curls around an upper rim or lip 40 of container 22. Thus rim 40 and exterior portion 38 of reinforcement strip 32 protrude radially outwardly beyond the outer (cylindrical) surface of body 28 of container 22, as illustrated.
Turning back to FIG. 1, protector strip 24 is formed as a length of plastic or other flexible, moldable and/or pliable material, such as a polymer material, and is sized to fit over reinforcement strip 32, as shown in FIG. 2. The material and geometry of protector strip 24 is chosen such that the edges and corners of protector strip 24 are not sharp and pose no threat of puncture to the skin of users of container and lid system 20, as further described below. Protector strip 24 defines a generally P-shaped cross-section (as shown in FIG. 6) which corresponds to the P-shaped cross-section of reinforcement strip 32. Accordingly, protector strip 24 includes interior portion 42 which extends downwardly from rim 40 of container 22 into the interior cavity of container 22. Interior portion 42 is generally linear in cross-section, and extends downwardly past the corresponding end of interior portion 36 of reinforcement strip 32. This downward extension ensures that a user of container and lid assembly 20 removing product P via access opening 30 is not exposed to interior portion 36 of reinforcement strip 32, and therefore is protected from any sharp edges or corners thereof, such as sharp edges or corners at overlapping ends 34 (FIG. 1). Retention nubs 39 protrude radially outwardly to interact with the lower end of reinforcement strip, as illustrated, in order to form a physical barrier to accidental removal of protector strip 24, e.g., when withdrawing one's hand from opening 30. Protector strip 24 may also be adhesively attached to reinforcement strip 32 and/or container body 28 to the same end.
The linear profile of interior portion 42 gives way at its upper end to an outwardly curving arcuate exterior portion 44, which curves radially outwardly around upper rim 40 and exterior portion 38 of reinforcement strip 32 as illustrated. In an exemplary embodiment, the overall length of reinforcement strip 32 is substantially equal to the circumference of upper rim 40, such that the respective ends of protector strip 24 meet at junction 46 (FIGS. 1 and 2) rather than forming overlapping ends as described above with respect to reinforcement strip 32.
Referring again to FIG. 1, container and lid assembly 20 further includes lid assembly 26 receivable upon protector strip 24 and over upper rim 40 of container 22 to enclose access opening 30, thereby selectively sealing the interior volume of container 22 and product P contained therein. Lid assembly 26 includes lid 48 and exterior tear-away strip 50. As will be described in further detail below, exterior tear-away strip 50 is attached to lid 48 upon initial manufacture of lid assembly 26, and lid assembly 26 is affixed to container 22 (and, specifically, to protector strip 24) such that lid assembly 26 remains permanently affixed during transportation and distribution of container 22 and lid assembly 20. Stated another way, lid assembly 26 serves as a shipping lid when tear-away strip 50 is attached to lid 48, in that tear-away strip 50 prevents removal of lid 48 unless and until strip 50 is permanently removed therefrom. In this way, tear-away strip 50 serves as a tamper-evident construct, because access to product P is prevented until tear-away strip 50 is irreplaceably removed from lid assembly 26.
More specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, tear-away strip 50 includes a radially-inwardly extending protrusion 52 positioned such that physical interaction between protrusion 52 and rim 40 of container 22 (as well as exterior portions 38, 44 of reinforcement and protector strips 32 and 24, respectively) poses a barrier to lifting lid 48 away from container 22. Moreover, tear-away strip 50 is sized and shaped to ensure that lid 48 cannot be removed from container without removal, fracture or substantial plastic deformation of tear-away strip 50. In this way, lid assembly 26 may be said to be “permanently” or “non-removably” affixed to container 22 as long as tear-away strip 50 remains in place.
FIGS. 6A and 7A illustrate an alternative embodiment of container 20, shown as container 20A. Container 20A is similar to container 20 described above, and structures of container 20A analogous to corresponding structures of container 20 are denoted with a common reference number, except with “A” appended to reference numbers of non-identical structures. Except as otherwise set forth below, the structures of container 20A are identical or substantially unchanged from their counterparts in container 20, and the features, functions and uses of container and lid assembly 20 also apply to container and lid assembly 20A.
Alternative lid 48A and tear away strip 50A adapted for compatibility with alternative container 22A and reinforcement strip 32A. As shown, container 22A has an upper rim 40A which lacks the “rolled” structure depicted in FIGS. 6 and 7. Instead, rim 40A is simply a continuation of the cylindrical wall of container 22A terminating at an upper end. Reinforcement strip 32A defines a U-shaped, or “flattened-P” shaped structure which is folded over rim 40A in a generally similar fashion to reinforcement strip 32 described above. Specifically, downwardly extending interior portion 36A is disposed along the interior wall of container body 28A, and an exterior portion 38A curls around lip 40A of container 22A. Exterior portion 38A of reinforcement strip 32A protrudes radially outwardly beyond the outer (cylindrical) surface of body 28A of container 22A, as illustrated. In one embodiment, indentation 41A may be formed in lower portion 36A, e.g., at intervals around the periphery of rim 40A, in order to affix reinforcement strip 32A to container 22A. Similar indentations may also be made in reinforcement strip 32 (not shown). The opposing end of exterior portion 38A may further “pinch” the material of container wall 28A for further augment the affixation of reinforcement strip 32A to container 22A.
Protector strip 24A is similarly formed to protector strip 24, and includes interior portion 42A extending below the bottom end of reinforcement strip 32A and a curled exterior portion 44A along its upper end as shown.
Tear-away strip 50A includes a radially-inwardly extending protrusion 52A, similarly configured to protrusion 52 of tear-away strip 50. Physical interaction between protrusion 52A and exterior portions 38A, 44A of reinforcement and protector strips 32A and 24A, respectively, poses a barrier to lifting lid 48A away from container 22A. This barrier ensures that lid 48A cannot be removed from container without removal or substantial deformation of tear-away strip 50A, such that lid 48A may be said to be “permanently” or “non-removably” affixed to container 22A as long as tear-away strip 50A remains in place. Tear-away strip 50A is removable using the same principle as tear-away strip 50, described in further detail below.
Turning to FIGS. 4 and 7, removal of tear-away strip 50 from lid 48 is illustrated. Tab 54 may be grasped by a user of container and lid assembly 20, and then pulled away from lid 48 as illustrated. A thinned and/or perforated boundary 56 between tear-away strip 50 and lid 48 guides and facilitates the point of separation of tear-away strip 50 from lid 48. In particular, thinned and/or perforated boundary 56 is sized and shaped to allow separation of tear-away strip 50 from lid 48 “by hand,” i.e., without the use of tools or mechanical advantage, by a typical user of container and lid assembly 20 including adolescent and older people.
The thinned and/or perforated boundary 56 forms a loop around the entire circumference of lid assembly 26, such that continued pulling on tab 54 continues this separation until tear-away strip 50 is completely removed from lid 48 as illustrated in FIG. 5. Once completely removed, the physical impediment to removal of lid 48 posed by protrusion 52 is no longer present, and lid 48 becomes selectively removable and replaceable from access opening 30 by the user of container and lid assembly 20. In this way, the removal of tear-away strip 50 from lid 48 transitions the lid from a tamper-evident “shipping lid” structure and function to a replaceable “night cover” structure and function.
As shown in FIG. 5, tear-away strip 50 may be removed along direction D1 (or any direction away from container 22) and discarded. Lid 48 may then be lifted away from container 22 and protector strip 24 along direction D2. In order to provide a “snap fit” functionality to lid 48, an inwardly extending ridge 58 may be formed along an inner surface at a lower axial end of lid 48. As best seen in FIG. 7, ridge 58 is positioned to abuttingly engage the adjacent exterior portion 44 of protector strip 24. The material of lid 48 may be chosen to be flexible enough to deform during installation and removal of lid 48, such that ridge 58 is allowed to deflect outwardly to clear exterior portion 44 and facilitate removal of lid 48.
In an exemplary embodiment, both lid 48 and tear-away strip 50 are made from a polymer material. In another exemplary embodiment, lid 48 may be formed from a paper material, and bonded to tear-away strip 50 by welding (e.g., ultrasonic welding) to tear-away strip 50. In still another embodiment, tear-away strip 50 and lid 48 may both be formed from a paper material, with perforation and/or material thinning to facilitate removal of strip 50 from lid 48.
With tear-away strip 50 removed, lid 48 operates as a night cover as noted above, because lid 48 is selectively removable from and reattachable to upper rim 40 of container 22 via protector strip 24. Advantageously, the design of FIGS. 1-7 provides a shipping cover in the form of lid assembly 26 which can be converted to a night cover by removal of tear-away strip 50. This modularity cooperates with the provision of protector strip 24, described in detail above, to ensure that protector strip 24 can be installed upon manufacture and/or filling of container 22, and need never be removed by the vendor or end user from the underlying reinforcement strip 32. Thus, the user of container and lid assembly 20 need never see or otherwise interact with any sharp metal edges which may be present on reinforcement strip 32. Moreover, this arrangement allows for the use of an industry standard design of container 22 (i.e., a wound paper material with a metal reinforcement strip 32), which offer significant economies of scale, while also protecting users from any sharp edges that may be present on reinforcement strip 32.
Turning now to FIGS. 8-15, an alternative container and lid assembly 120 is illustrated. Assembly 120 is similar to assembly 20 described above, and structures of assembly 120 analogous to corresponding structures of assembly 20 are denoted with a common reference number, except with 100 added to reference numbers of non-identical structures. The features, functions and uses of container and lid assembly 20 also apply to container and lid assembly 120, except as otherwise noted. For example, lid assembly 126 and its relation to lid 148 differs from lid assembly 26 and lid 48, as described in detail below.
Lid assembly 126 includes protector strip 124 having interior portion 142 and exterior portion 144 which cooperate to cover and protect reinforcement strip 32, in similar fashion to protector strip 24 described in detail above. Moreover, lid assembly 126 is received upon and interfaces with container 22 in a substantially identical fashion as lid assembly 26 described above. However, lid assembly 126 further includes a central portion or inset 170 which is removably affixed to interior portion 142 of protector strip 124 by a thinned or perforated boundary loop 156 of material, as best seen in FIG. 13.
When inset 170 is so affixed to protector strip 124 (FIG. 9), and protector strip 124 is affixed to the upper peripheral end of container body 28, lid assembly 126 serves as a shipping lid. That is, inset 170 seals access opening 30 from outside contaminants and user access, creating a sealed interior cavity to protect product P contained therein. Similar to assembly 20 described above, thinned boundary 156 connects interior tear-away strip 150, to protector strip 124. In the present embodiment, tear-away strip 150 is not a separate component from inset 170, but rather constitutes the outer peripheral portion of inset 170. However, it is also contemplated that tear-away strip 150 may be formed as a separate strip of material which dislodges from both inset 170 and protector strip 124, as required or desired for a particular application.
Similar to tear-away strip 50 described above, interior tear-away strip 150 provides a tamper-evident seal for the interior cavity of container 22, in that access to product P requires destruction of the thinned boundary loop 156 via the tearing away of interior tear-away strip 150.
To remove inset 170, a user may grasp tab 154 and pull away tear-away strip 150, carrying inset 170 with it, as illustrated in FIG. 10. When the entire thinned or perforated boundary loop 156 has been torn, inset 170 becomes dislodged from protector strip 124, as shown in FIG. 11, and may be removed along direction D3 (or any suitable direction) and discarded. At this point, access opening 30 is exposed and product P may be dispensed by a user of container and lid assembly 120.
If it is desired to reseal access opening 30, a separate night cover 148 may be provided which is sized and shaped to fit over protector strip 24 and rim 40 of container body 28 in similar fashion to lid 48 described in detail above. Specifically, night cover 148 may be advanced downwardly along direction D4 (FIGS. 11 and 14) so that inwardly extending ridge 58 forms a “snap fit” over exterior portion 44 of protector strip 124 in similar fashion to ridge 58 of lid 48 described in detail above. With night cover 148 securely fastened to container 22, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 15, the interior cavity of container 22 is resealed and any remaining product P contained therein is protected from contamination and user access until night cover 148 is again removed.
Advantageously, container and lid assembly 120 provides the removable inset 170 with less overall material than container and lid assembly 20, which necessarily includes lid 48. Container and lid assembly 120 may therefore selectively exclude night cover 148, such as for users who anticipate or expect to use the entire contents of container 22 without needing to reseal access opening 30 (e.g., for overnight storage of left over product P). Thus, the user of cover and lid assembly 120 is presented with a potential savings as compared to container and lid assembly 20, because the user has the option to use or avoid night cover 148 according to his or her discretion.
While this invention has been described as having an exemplary design, the present invention can be further modified within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention using its general principles. Further, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains and which fall within the limits of the appended claims.
Patent Application
20160016700
