Patent Application
20190084756
The present disclosure is generally directed to food storage containers, and more particularly to a storage container for storing produce therein. The food storage container is preferably designed to contain produce that typically sits on a counter or other surface, rather than in a refrigerator.
It is generally known in the art of food storage that some produce lasts longer when stored in containers that are not completely sealed, but instead are at least in part exposed to atmosphere. Certain types of produce breathe, releasing carbon dioxide which can build up inside a container. Carbon dioxide building within a container can have negative effects on the produce, such as off smells, bad tastes or the like. Therefore, providing airflow into and out of a container can extend the edible life of the produce. As such, vented produce containers are often utilized to keep produce fresher for a longer period of time. Several products available today attempt to address the issue. For example, in some cases, modified atmosphere may be used for produce preservation. In other cases, some existing containers help maintain the freshness for produce that is typically stored in the refrigerator, such as strawberries or leafy greens. However, such containers may not work well for produce that is typically stored outside of a refrigerator, such as tomatoes or bananas.
Additionally, produce that is stored in the refrigerator in a sealed container will generate increased humidity. However, these increased humidity levels are of less concern, because the lower temperature inside the refrigerator prevents or delays mold growth. However, such high humidity can cause problems for produce stored inside a sealed container at ambient temperatures. For example, high humidity encourages mold growth on the produce, especially at ambient (approximately 70° F.) temperatures. Further, high levels of moisture within a produce container outside the refrigerator can cause the produce to absorb the moisture and become too soft. As such, a solution for storing and preserving produce is needed on the marketplace that aims to prevent mold growth and produce from becoming soft. The solution should be simple, and it should extend the shelf life of produce.
A food storage container is provided that may be used to store and preserve produce typically stored on kitchen counters or other surfaces outside of a refrigerator. The food storage container preferably includes each of a lid member and a container portion wherein the lid member is releasably engageable with the container portion. The lid member preferably includes a handle that helps a user to remove the lid member from the container portion. The container portion may be similar to other containers long known and understood in the art because it includes a repository for storing produce therein.
The lid portion of the storage container preferably includes each of an upper lid member and a lower lid member. Each of the upper and lower lid members are preferably provided with a plurality of apertures to allow regulated, controlled flow of air, water vapor, and other gases into and out of the container. The result is a higher level of humidity and carbon dioxide inside the container as compared to ambient levels outside the container, but lower levels of both than would exist in the container without apertures. This breathability may help in part to preserve the shelf life of produce contained within the storage container.
A membrane layer is preferably provided between the upper and lower lid members. The membrane layer may either be water vapor permeable or water vapor and gas permeable. When it is the latter, two membrane layers may be placed side by side, with one layer being water vapor permeable, and the second being gas permeable. The permeability of the water vapor permeable membrane preferably allows a controlled rate of water vapor passage through its membrane, thus regulating and preventing undesirably high levels of humidity within the storage container. Similarly, the permeability of the gas permeable membrane preferably regulates oxygen and carbon dioxide passage therethrough to maintain desirable levels. Excess amounts of such gases are thus able to escape the storage container, and are less likely to contribute to the spoiling of produce within the container.
The membrane (or membranes) is preferably selectively engageable between the upper and lower lid members. A thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) grid member may also be provided to further seal the upper and lower lid members to one another and prevent excess humidity or humidity and gases from escaping. As produce respirates, it uses up available oxygen within the container. The membrane(s) allow some oxygen into the container to allow the produce to continue to breathe. Preferably, each of the upper and lower lid members includes structural supports that align with one another. In a preferred embodiment, the membrane layer is placed between the support structures so as to further be secured between the upper and lower lid members. The support structures also preferably align with one another so that the upper and lower lid members do not bow or otherwise weaken with repeated use over time.
A bottom, interior surface of the container portion of the food storage container is preferably dimpled. As such, it preferably includes each of peaks and valleys. Condensation and other moisture from the produce stored therein preferably falls into the valleys, and the produce itself rests on the peaks. That way, the produce does not soften or mold by sitting in liquid that accumulates in the valleys of the dimpled interior surface.
The food storage container may be provided in a plurality of sizes and shapes to accommodate a variety of different types of produce. Moreover, the lid portion of the food storage container may be modified for use with a variety of different types of produce.
The present disclosure is directed to a food storage container 1 that preferably uses one or more permeable membranes to regulate water vapor, or water vapor and other gas flow, into and out of the container 1 to extend the edible shelf life of produce. A container 1 would typically be stored on a kitchen counter or other surface at ambient temperatures, and not in a refrigerator. The food storage container 1 may take on a number of shapes and sizes, but the embodiment illustrated in
Like other containers known and understood in the art, the food storage container 1 includes each of an upper portion 5 and a lower portion 10. At the upper portion 5 of the food storage container 1, the food storage container 1 is preferably provided with a lid member 15. The lower portion 10 is preferably formed as a container portion 20. The container portion 20, as known and understood in the art, includes a repository in which fruit, vegetables and other produce may be stored.
At the lower portion 10 of the food storage container 1, the container portion 20 is provided with leg members 25 that extend downwardly from the container portion 20. The leg members 25 help to elevate the food storage container 1 from a kitchen counter surface or other surface on which the food storage container 1 may rest. When the food storage container 1 is not in use, it does not abut the counter surface, and air is able to flow freely under the food storage container 1. Air flow underneath the food storage container 1 may help prevent temperature transfer from the counter surface to contents being stored within the container portion 20 of the food storage container 1. In addition, leg members 25 may help with stacking of the container 1 with other containers. When containers like the container 1 are stacked on top of one another, the leg members 25 provide a gap between adjacent containers to allow for air flow there between. Such air flow preferably allows technology of the containers to operate effectively and not defeat the purpose of the containers, namely keeping their contents fresh.
The food storage container 1 preferably includes each of a front portion 30 and a rear portion 35. The front portion 30 preferably includes a handle member 40 which may be used to separate the lid member 15 from the container portion 20 to access produce therein, or to help secure the lid member 15 to the container portion 20.
Turning to
The lid member 15 is illustrated in
The lower lid member 55 may include a recessed perimeter 65 on an upper portion 67. The recessed perimeter 65 preferably extends substantially downwardly into the lower lid member 55. The recessed perimeter 65 is preferably provided at a thickness and depth that is suitable to receive and engage a sealing grid member 70 that is preferably made of a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE). The grid member 70 may help to seal the upper lid member 50 to the lower lid member 55. The grid member 70 preferably includes a rim portion 72 that extends around the perimeter of the grid member 70 and extends downwardly, so that it may be received within the recessed perimeter 65 of the lower lid member 55 (as illustrated in
The grid member 70 preferably includes a plurality of apertures 73 that extend through the grid member 70 such that air may pass through the apertures 73 and subsequently escape through holes in the upper lid member 50, described below. In the illustrated embodiments, the apertures 73 are square-shaped with rounded corners and are arranged in a grid pattern. In other embodiments, the apertures 73 may take on alternative shapes and be arranged in a pattern different than the illustrated grid pattern.
The grid member 70 also preferably includes several raised standoff members 74 extending upwardly from the surface of the grid member 70. The standoff members 74 in the illustrated embodiments are located along the midline of the grid member 70, and there are three standoff members 74. In alternative embodiments, the standoff members 74 may be arranged differently on the grid member 70. Moreover, there may be more or fewer standoff members like the standoff members 74 in alternative embodiments. In some embodiments, the standoffs may also include connection points (not illustrated) that releasably connect with connection points (not illustrated) on the underside of the upper lid member 50 to releasably secure the grid member 70 to the upper lid member 50.
A membrane layer 75 is preferably secured between the upper lid member 50 and the lower lid member 55 in a manner described herein below with respect to
In some alternative embodiments, a second membrane layer (not illustrated) may be positioned adjacent to the water vapor permeable membrane 75, between the upper lid member 50 and the lower lid member 55. In that embodiment, the gas permeable membrane layer is similar to membranes used in existing produce preserving technology that regulates the flow of oxygen and carbon dioxide into and out of the container 1. The preferred material of the gas permeable membrane is a thin, non-woven fabric substrate coated with a polymer, such as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). Such membrane may work in parallel with water vapor permeable membrane 75. In another embodiment, a single membrane 75 may be permeable to water vapor, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and other gases.
In the illustrated embodiment, and as described herein, the water vapor permeable membrane layer 75 is provided within the lid member 15. In alternative embodiments, the membrane layer 75 (and in some embodiments a gas permeable membrane layer) may be integrated into a different portion of the food storage container 1, such as the container portion 20. Similarly, in alternative embodiments, the membrane layer 75 may be provided at a different location and in a different orientation with the food storage container 1. For example, the membrane layer could be on a side portion of the food storage container 1 such that it is substantially perpendicular to the orientation in which it is presently illustrated.
It should be noted that the preferred ratio for the membrane layer relative to the volume of the container is 40 in2 of a water permeable membrane and 1 in2 of a gas permeable membrane (when a gas permeable membrane is used) for a 16 cup container. This ratio (of the membrane layer(s) 75 relative to the volume of the container portion 20) may vary depending on the preferred properties of the container 1 and the particular produce that may be stored within the food storage container 1. With that in mind, if the volume of the container portion 20 were to increase or decrease for various sized food storage containers 1 (some of which are provided as examples herein), then the area and/or size of the membrane layer 75 (or layers) may similarly change to preserve a preferred ratio of the water vapor and potentially gas vapor to the container portion 20.
It should be noted that in some embodiments, a single 40 in2 membrane layer may be used. However, in other embodiments, five membranes that are 8 in2 may be used on a single container instead. Any configuration of membranes would be suitable so long as the above noted ratio (or any other desired ratio) is maintained.
Turning now to
As shown in
The lower lid member 55 also preferably includes support structures 95 that extend upwardly from the lower lid member 55. In the preferred embodiment, the support structures 95 of the lower lid member 55 are preferably shaped and sized substantially the same as the support structures 85 of the upper lid member 50. The support structures 95 of the lower lid member 55 are also preferably positioned and located on the lower lid member 55 such that the structures 85, 95 substantially line up with one another when the upper lid member 50 and the lower lid member 55 are engaged.
Thus, the support structures 85, 95 not only act to help secure the membrane layer 75 in place, but may also provide structural support to the lid member 15. Without the support structures 85, 95 and their wall portions 90, 100 respectively, the lid member 15 may eventually bow with continued use. It should be noted that in the illustrated embodiments, the support structures 85, 95 are formed as complementary hexagonal structures that form a honeycomb pattern as known and understood in the art. However, in alternative embodiments, the structures 85, 95 may take on other shapes that also complement one another so as to help provide support to the lid member 15.
As shown in
The membrane layer 75 is preferably positioned and located between the upper lid member 50 and the lower lid member 55, as described in detail above. As such, the nose portion 105 may also abut the membrane layer 75 (and potentially the second gas permeable membrane layer, if present), which preferably abuts the grid member 70, as shown in
The lower lid member 55 is also preferably provided with apertures 110 that extend entirely through its surface. Such apertures 110 may have the same shape and characteristics of apertures 80, or may be different. Preferably, however, apertures 110 share a similar percentage of open space with respect to lower lid member 55 as aperatures 80 have with upper lid member 50.
Turning now to
More particularly, when the upper lid member 50 is pressed downwardly onto the lower lid member 55 (or alternatively, the lower lid member 55 is pressed upwardly into the upper lid member 50), the outer arm member 115 flexes inwardly so as to substantially abut the arm member 125 of the upper lid member 50. As such, the arm member 125 is preferably more rigid than the outer arm member 115. To disengage the upper lid member 50 from the lower lid member 55, the upper and lower lid members 50, 55 should be pulled apart from one another at a sufficient force to disengage the outer arm member 115 from the arm member 125. While the inner arm member 120 was identified above, it should be noted that the principal purpose of the inner arm member 120 is to provide the recessed perimeter 65 that is designed to receive and engage the grid member 70, as described above. Other structures for securing upper and lower lid members 50, 55 are envisioned, such as snap securement, frictional securement, and the like.
Turning now to
When the lid member 15 is pulled upwardly, the flange member 145 preferably provides some resistance, but not enough resistance to make it too challenging to lift the lid member 15 from the container portion 20. In any event, the seal between the seal number 130 and the walls 150 of the container portion 20 should be sufficient to prevent water vapor and gases from escaping between the seal member 130 and the walls 150 and instead to pass through the apertures 80, 110 provided in the upper lid member 50 and the lower lid member 55, respectively.
A bottom surface 155 within the container portion 20 of the food storage container 1 is preferably dimpled. As such, the interior bottom surface 155 is provided with each of peaks 160 and valleys 165. When produce is placed within the container portion 20 such that it rests on the interior bottom surface 155, the peaks 160 preferably act as a surface upon which produce may rest. Condensation or juices that drip from produce may be collected within the valleys 165 formed by the surface 155. Produce rests on the peaks 160 so that it does not sit in the accumulated moisture within the valleys 165. This dimpled surface and its peaks 160 and its valleys 165 may help to preserve the shelf life of the produce that is contained within the container portion 20. In an example embodiment, the bottom surface 155 is generally flat, save for the dimples. However, in other embodiments, there may be a general slant to the bottom surface 155 to cause water to travel down the slant to a predetermined location in the container 1. Additionally, it is noted that shapes other than dimples may be used. Preferably, however, any texturing to the bottom surface 155 does not damage food products stored in the container 1.
It is further contemplated that lid members such as the lid member 15 or the lid member 175 may be modified or used with produce that is better preserved with less air flow through the lid member. Such produce, like bananas, thrives on a greater humidity level, and as a result its humidity levels should be higher within the container portion. Because bananas are often stored in these modified containers, it is foreseeable that the undersides of the lids disclosed below may include one or more hooks to hold bananas.
In alternative embodiments, a user may be able to adjust the air flow through the lid member so that it is approximately fifty percent (50%) of that discussed above. Those embodiments may use hinged flaps, sliding flaps, releasable panels, louver members, accordion-style panels, hinged door members, or releasable trays to adjust the air flow in the manner described above. Other means for reducing the water vapor (and humidity) that escapes the container portion are also considered herein, and the above examples are not limiting.
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. 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 the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/560,616, filed Sep. 19, 2017, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62560616 | Sep 2017 | US |
