Patent Application
20250236440
Disposable containers for packaging, distributing, displaying, or otherwise housing consumer items, especially perishable foods, are becoming increasingly important. Historically, perishable products were brought to market and sold quickly to avoid loss due to exposure to natural elements causing ripeness and eventual decay.
The advent of plastics resulted in many products being wrapped or packaged in plastic, both in the form of flexible plastic bags and solid plastic containers. The use of plastics in the modern-day convenience food industry has significantly improved the “shelf life” of perishable products, allowing both merchants and their customers to store their products for longer periods of time, resulting in substantial savings, and greater distribution.
Typically, plastic containers will include a fairly rigid lid and base. Ideally, the lid should be capable of properly and effectively sealing the container, yet the container should be constructed so that the lid is relatively easy to remove, and in some circumstances, replace, since it may be expected that the container and lid would be reused.
Initial use and later reuse of the lid with the base favors hand securement by a user. Mechanical couplings between the lid and the base typically provide sufficient closure and sealing for consumer use. The physical act of coupling a base and a lid generally requires two hands on the base and the lid to simultaneously squeeze the outermost perimeters together in a tedious and often cumbersome fashion. Moreover, should the user fail to properly secure the lid to the base, the container will likely leak resulting in loss of food and/or damaging spills.
Furthermore, in the food service and household settings, although not limited to such settings, amounts of food identified for containing and storing at a given instance may vary considerably. For example, a consumer taking food home from a restaurant may have any desired amount left to store and consume at a later time. The consumer may even choose to eat varying amounts over the course of coming days. The restaurant, or even the consumer, typically has containers of varying sizes to accommodate these differing volumes. Of course, managing more types of containers requires more storage capacity as well as a greater variety of unused storage containers resulting in greater logistical maintenance and inventory monitoring to ensure that the desired containers are available on demand. Moreover, larger containers of these varying sizes tend to fill disposal containers more quickly than smaller containers once discarded such that properly sized containers are preferably available for food in a given instance even after the food has been consumed.
There is thus a need for a container, particularly a disposable container, that addresses present challenges and characteristics such as those discussed above.
While the specification concludes with claims which particularly point out and distinctly claim the invention, it is believed the present invention will be better understood from the following description of certain examples taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals identify the same elements and in which:
The drawings are not intended to be limiting in any way, and it is contemplated that various embodiments of the invention may be conducted in a variety of other ways, including those not necessarily depicted in the drawings. The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification illustrate several aspects of the present invention, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention; it being understood, however, that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangements shown.
The following description of certain examples of the invention should not be used to limit the scope of the present invention. Other examples, features, aspects, embodiments, and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description, which is by way of illustration, one of the best modes contemplated for conducting the invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of other different and obvious aspects, all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions should be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive.
It will be appreciated that any one or more of the teachings, expressions, versions, examples, etc. described herein may be combined with any one or more of the other teachings, expressions, versions, examples, etc. that are described herein. The following-described teachings, expressions, versions, examples, etc. should therefore not be viewed in isolation relative to each other. Various suitable ways in which the teachings herein may be combined will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings herein. Such modifications and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the claims.
With respect to
In the present example, as discussed briefly above, container (10) has a dual configuration, such as shown in
With respect to
Base housing (14) further includes a bottom (34), with sidewalls (24, 26, 28, 30, 32) vertically extending upward therefrom to an upper peripheral frame (36), which defines an opening (38) into a base chamber (40). In this respect, base chamber (40) may be defined by sidewalls (24, 26, 28, 30, 32), bottom (34), and upper peripheral frame (36), although additional features may further define base chamber (40) in one or more examples. Upper peripheral frame (36) can be configured to provide rigidity to base housing (14) about opening (38) and further includes an upper sealing surface (42) configured to engage a lower sealing surface (44) (see
To this end, lid housing (12) of the present example includes a cover (46) with a lid stacking frame (48) and a lower peripheral frame (49) configured to provide rigidity to lid housing (12). Lower peripheral frame (49) further includes lower sealing surface (44), as discussed above, and surrounds cover (46) such that cover (46) extends therebetween and upward therefrom. Cover (46) of the present example can also be generally rectangular in shape to complement base housing (14) and can be domed to further define a lid chamber (50). When connected together, lid chamber (50) and base chamber (40) collectively define inner storage space (11). Of course, lid housing (12) may take alternative shapes to that shown in the present example such that the invention should not be intended to be unnecessarily limited to the domed and/or rectangular shape described herein. Lid housing (12) also respectively includes at least one grip tab (51) extending from lower peripheral frame (49), externally of lid chamber (50) to aid in gripping and removal of lid housing (12) from a base housing (14) or from a second lid housing (12) as discussed below in greater detail. Each end portion of lid housing (12) also respectively includes an end protrusion (60) adjacent an end channel (62). As can be seen in
Double lock inner securement (16) has base securement portion (20) on base housing (14) and lid securement portion (18) on lid housing (12).
Active recess (52) and passive recess (53) of each base securement portion (20) of the double lock inner securement (16) are positioned inward from upper peripheral frame (36) such that upper peripheral frame (36) surrounds both active recess (52) and passive recess (53) of each base securement portion (20). Such inward positioning more effectively leverages compression against lid housing (12) while releasably connecting lid housing (12) to base housing (14). Notably, all of base housing (14), including sidewalls (24, 26, 28, 30, 32), bottom (34), upper peripheral frame (36), support frame (54), active recesses (52), and passive recesses (53), are integrally formed of unitary construction, specifically thermoformed of polypropylene material in the present example. Alternative constructions of differing material may be used in one or more examples such that the invention may not be intended to be unnecessarily limited to being constructed as shown herein.
The snapped locked relationship with first lid housing (12), second lid housing (12), and base housing (14) can be seen in more detail in
When lid housing (12) is connected to base housing (14) in the enlarged configuration, such as shown in
When a first lid housing (12) is connected to second lid housing (12) in the compact configuration, such as shown in
As discussed above, each end portion of each lid housing (12) also respectively includes end protrusion (60) adjacent to end channel (62). As shown in the present example, end protrusions (60) on one lid housing (12) align with end channels (62) of another lid housing (12) in a predetermined alignment such that end protrusions (60) are received within end channels (62). This predetermined alignment aids with alignment of protuberances (58) and recesses (56) to ease connecting lid housings (12) in the compact configuration. In contrast, the positioning of end protrusions (60) and end channels (62) are thus further configured to inhibit two lid housings (12) from being in a snap locked relationship with each other unless the orientation of the end protrusions (60) of first lid housing (12) are aligned with the predetermined alignment to achieve the snap fit relationship discussed above.
The following examples relate to various non-exhaustive ways in which the teachings herein may be combined or applied. It should be understood that the following examples are not intended to restrict the coverage of any claims that may be presented at any time in this application or in subsequent filings of this application. No disclaimer is intended. The following examples are being provided for nothing more than merely illustrative purposes. It is contemplated that the various teachings herein may be arranged and applied in numerous other ways. It is also contemplated that some variations may omit certain features referred to in the below examples. Therefore, none of the aspects or features referred to below should be deemed critical unless otherwise explicitly indicated as such at a later date by the inventors or by a successor in interest to the inventors. If any claims are presented in this application or in subsequent filings related to this application that include additional features beyond those referred to below, those additional features shall not be presumed to have been added for any reason relating to patentability.
A container assembly, comprising: (a) a first housing, wherein the first housing includes a first portion of a double lock securement including a first recess and a first protuberance adjacent to the recess; and (b) a second housing, wherein the second housing includes a second portion of the double lock securement including at least one second recess; wherein the first protuberance of the first housing is configured to releasably lock with the at least one second recess of the second housing.
The container assembly of Example 1, wherein the first housing is a first lid housing, wherein the first lid housing includes a cover and a lower peripheral frame.
The container assembly of Example 2, wherein the second housing is a base housing, wherein the base housing includes a bottom, an upper peripheral frame, and a plurality of sidewalls extending upward from the bottom to the upper peripheral frame, and wherein the second portion of the double lock securement includes an active recess and a passive recess.
The container assembly of Example 3, wherein the first protuberance of the first lid housing releasably locks with the active recess of the base housing.
The container assembly of Example 4, wherein the first lid housing further includes at least one grip tab extending from the lower peripheral frame to aid in gripping and removal of the first lid housing from the base housing.
The container assembly of any one or more of Examples 4 through 5, wherein the active recess of the base housing includes a detent such that the first protuberance of the first lid housing is configured to releasably snap lock with the active recess of the base housing.
The container assembly of Example 3, further comprising a third housing, wherein the third housing is a second lid housing, wherein the second lid housing includes a first recess and a first protuberance adjacent to the recess, wherein a bottom of the first recess of the second lid housing releasably locks with the active recess of the base housing, and wherein the first protuberance of the second lid housing releasably locks with the first recess of the first lid housing while the protuberance of the first lid housing releasably locks with the first recess of the second lid housing.
The container assembly of Example 2, wherein the second housing is a second lid housing, wherein the second lid housing includes a cover and a lower peripheral frame, and wherein the second portion of the double lock securement further includes a second protuberance adjacent to the at least one second recess.
The container assembly of Example 8, wherein the first protuberance of the first lid housing releasably locks with the at least one second recess of the second lid housing, and wherein the second protuberance of the second lid housing releasably locks with the first recess of the first lid housing.
The container assembly of Example 9, wherein the first recess of the first lid housing includes a detent such that the second protuberance of the second lid housing is configured to releasably snap lock with the first recess of the first lid housing, and wherein the at least one second recess of the second lid housing includes a detent to allow for the first protuberance of the first lid housing to releasably snap lock with the at least one second recess of the second lid housing.
The container assembly of any one or more of Examples 8 through 10, wherein the first lid housing further includes a first end protrusion proximate to a first end channel, wherein the second lid housing further includes a second end protrusion proximate a second end channel, and wherein the first end protrusion of the first lid housing is received withing the second end channel of the second lid housing while the second end protrusion of the second lid housing is received withing the first end channel of the first lid housing thereby urging alignment of the first lid housing relative to the second lid housing toward a predetermined alignment.
A method of assembling a container assembly, comprising: (a) selecting a first housing comprising a first portion of a double lock securement including a first recess and a first protuberance adjacent to the first recess; (b) selecting a second housing comprising a second portion of a double lock securement including at least one second recess; (c) flipping the first housing upside-down relative to the second housing such that the first portion of the double lock securement overlaps with the second portion of the double lock securement; and (d) releasably locking the protuberance of first housing with the at least one recess of the second housing thereby at least partially assembling the container assembly.
The method of assembling a container assembly of Example 12, wherein the first housing is a first lid housing, wherein the first lid housing includes a cover and a lower peripheral frame.
The method of assembling a container assembly of Example 13, wherein the second housing is a base housing, wherein the base housing includes a bottom, an upper peripheral frame, and a plurality of sidewalls extending upward from the bottom to the upper peripheral frame, and wherein the second portion of the double lock securement includes an active recess and a passive recess.
The method of assembling a container assembly of Example 14, wherein releasably locking includes releasably locking the first protuberance of the first lid housing with the active recess of the base housing.
The method of assembling a container assembly of Example 15, wherein the first lid housing further includes at least one grip tab extending from the lower peripheral frame to aid in gripping and removal of the first lid housing from the base housing.
The method of assembling a container assembly of any one or more of Examples 12 through 16, wherein the second housing is a second lid housing, wherein the second lid housing includes a cover and a lower peripheral frame, and wherein the second portion of the double lock securement further includes a second protuberance adjacent to the at least one second recess.
The method of assembling a container assembly of Example 17, wherein releasably locking includes releasably locking the first protuberance of the first lid housing with the at least one second recess of the second lid housing and releasably locking the second protuberance of the second lid housing with the first recess of the first lid housing.
The method of assembling a container assembly of Example 18, wherein the first lid housing further includes a first end protrusion adjacent to a first end channel, wherein the second lid housing further includes a second end protrusion adjacent to a second end channel, and wherein the first end protrusion of the first lid housing is received within the second end channel of the second lid housing while the second end protrusion of the second lid housing is received withing the first end channel of the first lid housing thereby urging alignment of the first lid housing relative to the second lid housing toward a predetermined alignment.
The method of assembling a container assembly of any one or more of Examples 18 through 19, wherein both the first lid housing and the second lid housing each include at least one grip tab extending respectively from each lower peripheral frame.
It should be understood that any of the examples described herein may include various other features in addition to or in lieu of those described above. By way of example only, any of the examples described herein may also include one or more of the various features disclosed in any of the various references that are incorporated by reference herein.
It should be understood that any one or more of the teachings, expressions, embodiments, examples, etc. described herein may be combined with any one or more of the other teachings, expressions, embodiments, examples, etc. that are described herein. The above-described teachings, expressions, embodiments, examples, etc. should therefore not be viewed in isolation relative to each other. Various suitable ways in which the teachings herein may be combined will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings herein. Such modifications and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the claims.
It should be appreciated that any patent, publication, or other disclosure material, in whole or in part, that is said to be incorporated by reference herein is incorporated herein only to the extent that the incorporated material does not conflict with existing definitions, statements, or other disclosure material set forth in this disclosure. As such, and to the extent necessary, the disclosure as explicitly set forth herein supersedes any conflicting material incorporated herein by reference. Any material, or portion thereof, that is said to be incorporated by reference herein, but which conflicts with existing definitions, statements, or other disclosure material set forth herein will only be incorporated to the extent that no conflict arises between that incorporated material and the existing disclosure material.
Having shown and described various versions of the present invention, further adaptations of the methods and systems described herein may be accomplished by appropriate modifications by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention. Several such potential modifications have been mentioned, and others will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For instance, the examples, versions, geometrics, materials, dimensions, ratios, steps, and the like discussed above are illustrative and are not required. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention should be considered in terms of the following claims and is understood not to be limited to the details of structure and operation shown and described in the specification and drawings.
