Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6793096
-
Patent Number
6,793,096
-
Date Filed
Tuesday, October 7, 200321 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, September 21, 200420 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
- Birch, Stewart, Kolasch & Birch, LLP
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 206 15
- 220 315
- 220 324
- 220 326
- 220 784
- 220 788
- 220 794
- 215 216
- 215 237
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A food item receiving container. A case defines a receiving space. A lid functions to close the case. Locking wings are integrally formed at edges of the lid, so that they can be pivoted upward and downward. Flange portions are formed on upper end outer surfaces of sidewalls of the case, so that the locking wings are engaged with the flange portions to be maintained in a locked state. An engaging groove is defined on a lower surface of each flange portion. Each locking wing has an elastic engaging part which is formed to be flexed and cover the lower surface of the flange portion when the corresponding locking wing is pivoted downward, and engaging protuberances which are horizontally formed on an upper surface of the elastic engaging part to be engaged with the engaging groove of the flange portion while elastically deforming the elastic engaging part.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to a food item receiving container and, more particularly, to a food item receiving container which is constructed to prevent odor and/or water from leaking to thereby keep a food item in an airtight manner.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, when placing a food item in a refrigerator, etc., peculiar odor of the food item and/or water is likely to leak. In order to avoid this situation, the food item is normally received in an airtight receiving container.
Referring to
FIG. 1
, a conventional airtight receiving container includes a case
1
opened at an upper end thereof, a lid
2
for opening and closing the case
1
, and locking wings
3
for locking the lid
2
to the opened upper end of the case
1
.
The case
1
has a rectangular box-shaped configuration which defines a receiving space therein. Adjacent to upper ends of four side walls
1
a
and
1
b
of the case
1
, locking projections
4
are formed. In this regard, two locking projections
4
are projectedly formed on an outer surface of each side wall
1
a
and
1
b
of the case
1
.
A sealing groove (not shown) is continuously defined adjacent to four edges on a lower surface of the lid
2
so that the opened upper end of the case
1
can be inserted into the sealing groove.
The locking wings
3
are formed integrally with four respective sides of the lid
2
so that they can be pivoted upward and downward (in directions shown by the arrows) Two locking slots
5
are defined in each locking wing
3
to be operatively associated with the two locking projections
4
.
Therefore, after a food item is received in the receiving space of the case
1
by a user, the lid
2
is closed, and the locking wings
3
formed integrally with the lid
2
are pivoted downward. In doing so, the locking projections
4
formed on the side walls
1
a
and
1
b
of the case
1
are engaged into the locking slots
5
, respectively, whereby the lid
2
is firmly locked to the case
1
.
If the four locking wings
3
are pivoted upward, the locking projections
4
are disengaged from the locking slots
5
. In this way, the lid
2
is opened.
However, the conventional airtight receiving container constructed as mentioned above suffers from defects in that, since the locking projections
4
of a substantial size are projectedly formed on the side walls
1
a
and
1
b
of the case
1
, an aesthetic appearance of the airtight receiving container is deteriorated. Also, the possibility of the locking projections
4
to hinder an operation for washing the case
1
is increased. That is to say, when washing the case
1
using a scrubber, etc., the locking projections
4
projectedly formed on the side walls
1
a
and
1
b
of the case
1
may hinder the washing operation.
Further, because the locking slots
5
are defined in the locking wings
3
, the likelihood of a foreign substance to be captured in the locking slots
5
is increased, whereby sanitary issues are raised.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a food item receiving container in which locking wings and their locking pattern are modified in such a way as to render an aesthetic appearance of the container and increase user convenience.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a food item receiving container in which locked states of the locking wings are maintained in a reliable manner.
In order to achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a food item receiving container, comprising: a case opened at an upper end thereof to define a receiving space therein; a lid for closing the opened upper end of the case; a plurality of locking wings integrally formed at edges of the lid, respectively, so that they can be pivoted upward and downward; and flange portions projectedly formed in the shape of a band on upper end outer surfaces of side walls of the case, respectively, so that the locking wings can be engaged with the flange portions to be maintained in a locked state; wherein at least one engaging groove is defined on a lower surface and at a middle portion, facing a corresponding locking wing, of each flange portion, and wherein each locking wing has an elastic engaging part which is formed to be flexed and thereby cover the lower surface of the flange portion when the corresponding locking wing is pivoted downward, and engaging protuberances which are horizontally formed on an upper surface of the elastic engaging part to be engaged with the engaging groove of the flange portion while elastically deforming the elastic engaging part.
According to another aspect of the present invention, two elongate engaging grooves are parallel defined on the lower surface of the flange portion; and two elongate engaging protuberances are formed on the upper surface of the elastic engaging part of the locking wing to be engaged into the two elongate engaging grooves, respectively.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, the engaging groove of the flange portion is formed with a first inclined surface which is inclined upward from an outside toward an inside of the flange portion; and the upper surface of the elastic engaging part of the locking wing comprises a second inclined surface which is inclined in an opposite direction to the first inclined surface of the engaging groove so that the second inclined surface is engaged with the first inclined surface while the locking wing is in the locked state.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1
is a perspective view schematically illustrating a conventional airtight container for receiving a food item;
FIG. 2
is a partially broken-away exploded perspective view illustrating a food item receiving container in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3
is a partial enlarged perspective view illustrating the food item receiving container according to the first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4
is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IV—IV of
FIG. 2
;
FIG. 5
is a partial enlarged cross-sectional view for the ‘V’ part of
FIG. 4
, illustrating a structure of a locking wing;
FIGS. 6 and 7
are partial cross-sectional views sequentially illustrating a locking procedure of the locking wing;
FIG. 8
is a partial enlarged perspective view illustrating a food item receiving container in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 9
is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IX—IX of
FIG. 8
;
FIG. 10
is a partial enlarged cross-sectional view for the ‘X’ part of
FIG. 9
;
FIGS. 11 and 12
are partial cross-sectional views sequentially illustrating a locking procedure of a locking wing according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Reference will now be made in greater detail to a preferred embodiment of the invention, an example of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numerals will be used throughout the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.
Referring to
FIG. 2
, a food item receiving container in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention includes a rectangular case
10
which is formed by injection-molding of plastic and defines a receiving space
11
therein, a rectangular plate-shaped lid
20
which is coupled to the rectangular case
10
to close an opened upper end of the rectangular case
10
, and locking wings
30
L and
30
R for locking the lid
20
to the case
10
in a state wherein the lid
20
closes the opened upper end of the case
10
.
Concretely speaking, the rectangular case
10
has a configuration of a rectangular box which has four side walls
12
and one bottom wall
13
. The receiving space
11
which is opened at an upper end thereof is defined in the rectangular case
10
. Sealing projections
14
are formed on upper ends of the four side walls
12
, that is, along the opened upper end of the case
10
, so that the rectangular lid
20
can be coupled to the sealing projections
14
.
At the upper ends of the four side walls
12
and adjoining the sealing projections
14
, flange portions
15
having the shape of a band are projectedly formed on outer surfaces of the side walls
12
, so that the locking wings
30
L and
30
R can be engaged with the flange portions
15
to be maintained in a locked state.
To this end, as can be readily seen from
FIGS. 3 through 5
, engaging grooves
17
of a predetermined length are defined on lower surfaces
16
and at middle portions, facing the respective locking wings
30
L and
30
R, of the flange portions
15
. In this preferred embodiment of the present invention, two elongate engaging grooves
17
are parallel defined on the lower surface
16
of each flange portion
15
.
Further, referring to
FIGS. 3 and 4
, the rectangular lid
20
functions to open and close the opened upper end of the rectangular case
10
, and is also formed by injection-molding of plastic. Sealing grooves
21
are defined adjacent to edges of the rectangular lid
20
. A sealing packing
22
is accommodated in the sealing grooves
21
. Accordingly, if the sealing projections
14
are inserted into the sealing grooves
21
, as the sealing packing
22
is squeezed, the rectangular lid
20
is firmly coupled to the opened upper end of the rectangular case
10
.
In the meanwhile, referring to
FIGS. 3 through 5
, the locking wings
30
L and
30
R are symmetrically formed at front, rear, left and right sides of the rectangular lid
20
so that they can be grasped by a user's hand when opening and closing the foot item receiving container. A locking structure of the rectangular lid
20
will be described below in detail (since the locking wings
30
L and
30
R formed at four sides of the rectangular lid
20
have the same locking structure, the locking structure will be described with reference to the locking wings formed at left and right sides of the rectangular lid
20
).
First, the locking wings
30
L and
30
R are integrally formed at the middle portions of the four sides of the rectangular lid
20
so that the locking wings
30
L and
30
R can be locked to the flange portions
15
of the rectangular case
10
. In other words, the locking wings
30
L and
30
R are formed integrally with the four sides of the rectangular lid
20
using the same material, so that they can be pivoted upward and downward about boundary regions
32
between the rectangular lid
20
and the locking wings
30
L and
30
R (in the directions shown by the arrows ‘A’ and ‘B’ in FIG.
5
). Namely, the boundary regions
32
serve as hinges. The reason for this is in that the rectangular lid
20
and the locking wings
30
are integrally injection-molded using synthetic resin having a predetermined elasticity.
Each locking wing
30
L and
30
R has an elastic engaging part
31
which covers the lower surface
16
of the flange portion
15
when locking the lid
20
to the case
10
, engaging protuberances
34
which are engaged in the engaging grooves
17
of the flange portion
15
while elastically deforming the elastic engaging part
31
, and an extended part
35
which is curved to allow the locking wing
30
L and
30
R to be pressed and raised by the user's hand.
While each locking wing
30
L and
30
R is pivoted downward about the boundary region
32
(in the direction shown by the arrow ‘A’ in
FIG. 5
) to lock the lid
20
to the case
10
, the elastic engaging part
31
is flexed to cover the lower surface
16
of the flange portion
15
. At a completely pivoted position, an upper surface
33
of the elastic engaging part
31
confronts the lower surface
16
of the flange portion
15
.
The engaging protuberances
34
are formed on the upper surface
33
of the elastic engaging part
31
to project in a horizontal direction and elastically engaged into the engaging grooves
17
. Two elongate engaging protuberances
34
are formed on the upper surface
33
of the elastic engaging part
31
of each locking wing
30
L and
30
R to be properly engaged into the two elongate engaging grooves
17
, respectively.
Hereafter, locking operations using the locking wings
30
L and
30
R of the food item receiving container according to the present invention and effects thereof will be described.
First, after a food item to be stored is received in the receiving space
11
of the rectangular case
10
, the rectangular lid
20
is placed on the opened upper end of the rectangular case
10
. Namely, the rectangular lid
20
is placed on the rectangular case
10
so that the sealing projections
14
of the rectangular case
10
are inserted into the sealing grooves
21
of the rectangular lid
20
, in which the silicon packing
22
is accommodated. At this time, since the sealing projections
14
are inserted into the sealing grooves
21
, the initially placed rectangular lid
20
is prevented from being moved.
In this state, as shown in
FIGS. 6 and 7
, if the extended part
35
of each locking wing
30
L and
30
R is pressed downward, the locking wing
30
L and
30
R is pivoted about the boundary region
32
of the rectangular lid
20
in the direction shown by the arrow ‘A’. Consequently, as the elastic engaging part
31
is elastically deformed, the elastic engaging part
31
covers the lower surface
16
of the flange portion
15
, and the two elongate engaging protuberances
34
are respectively engaged into the two elongate engaging grooves
17
of the flange portion
15
. That is to say, due to this fact that the two elongate engaging protuberances
34
are elastically engaged into the two elongate engaging grooves
17
, the locking wings
30
L and
30
R are held in a locked state, and the rectangular lid
20
is closed in an airtight manner.
In this way, the rectangular lid
20
is locked in a one-touch manner along the flange portion
15
of the rectangular case
10
. In this state, the rectangular lid
20
remains locked to the rectangular case
10
until an intended opening force is applied.
Meanwhile, if the extended part
35
of each locking wing
30
L and
30
R is grasped and raised, as the elastic engaging part
31
of the locking wing
30
L and
30
R is elastically deformed, the two elongate engaging protuberances
34
are disengaged from the two elongate engaging grooves
17
. Therefore, as the locked state of the locking wings
30
L and
30
R is released, it is possible to easily remove the rectangular lid
20
to open the rectangular case
10
.
With the rectangular lid
20
removed from the rectangular case
10
, since the locking structures of the rectangular case
10
, for locking the locking wings
30
L and
30
R, are not exposed to the outside, an aesthetic outer appearance of the receiving container is not deteriorated, and it is possible to easily wash the rectangular case
10
.
Herein below, a construction of a food item receiving container in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. Because the receiving container of this second embodiment is constructed in the same manner as the receiving container of the first embodiment except a locking structure of locking wings, detailed description for the same component elements will be omitted herein.
At upper ends of the four side walls
112
and adjoining sealing projections
114
, flange portions
115
having the shape of a band are projectedly formed on outer surfaces of the side walls
112
of a rectangular case
110
, so that locking wings
130
of a rectangular lid
120
can be engaged with the flange portions
115
to be maintained in a locked state.
To this end, as can be readily seen from
FIGS. 8 through 10
, engaging grooves
117
of a predetermined length are defined on lower surfaces
116
and at middle portions, facing the respective locking wings
130
, of the flange portions
115
. In this preferred embodiment of the present invention, the engaging grooves
117
are defined to extend in a lengthwise direction of the lower surfaces
116
of the flange portions
115
. The engaging groove
117
of the flange portion
115
is formed with a first inclined surface
117
a
which is inclined upward from an outside toward an inside of the flange portion
115
, so that an engaging protuberance
134
of the locking wing
130
can be firmly locked to the first inclined surface
117
a.
The locking wings
130
are formed at middle portions of four sides of the rectangular lid
120
so that they can be locked on the flange portions
115
of the rectangular case
110
. Each locking wing
130
has an elastic engaging part
131
which covers the lower surface
116
of the flange portion
115
when locking the rectangular lid
120
to the rectangular case
110
, an engaging protuberance
134
which is engaged in the engaging groove
117
of the flange portion
115
while elastically deforming the elastic engaging part
131
, and an extended part
135
which is curved to allow the locking wing
130
to be pressed and raised by the user's hand.
While each locking wing
130
is pivoted downward about a boundary region
132
(in the direction shown by the arrow ‘A’ in
FIG. 10
) to lock the rectangular lid
120
to the rectangular case
110
, the elastic engaging part
131
is flexed to cover the lower surface
116
of the flange portion
115
. At a completely pivoted position, an upper surface
133
of the elastic engaging part
131
confronts the lower surface
116
of the flange portion
115
.
The engaging protuberance
134
is formed on the upper surface
133
of the elastic engaging part
131
to project in a horizontal direction and elastically engaged into the engaging groove
117
. To this end, the upper surface
133
of the elastic engaging part
131
is formed to have the same contour as the engaging groove
117
. In other words, an upper surface of the engaging protuberance
134
comprises a second inclined surface
134
a
which is inclined in an opposite direction to the first inclined surface
117
a
of the engaging groove
117
so that the second inclined surface
134
a
is engaged with the first inclined surface
117
a
while the locking wing
130
is in the locked state.
Hereafter, locking operations using the locking wings
130
of the food item receiving container according to the present invention and effects thereof will be described.
First, after a food item to be stored is received in a receiving space
111
of the rectangular case
110
, the rectangular lid
120
is placed on the opened upper end of the rectangular case
110
. Namely, the rectangular lid
120
is placed on the rectangular case
110
so that the sealing projections
114
of the rectangular case
110
are inserted into the sealing grooves
121
of the rectangular lid
120
, in which the silicon packing
122
is accommodated.
In this state, as shown in
FIGS. 11 and 12
, if the extended part
135
of each locking wing
130
is pressed downward, the locking wing
130
is pivoted about the boundary region
132
of the rectangular lid
120
in the direction shown by the arrow ‘A’. Consequently, as the elastic engaging part
131
is elastically deformed, the elastic engaging part
131
covers the lower surface
116
of the flange portion
115
, and the elongate engaging protuberance
134
is respectively engaged into the elongate engaging groove
117
of the flange portion
115
. At this time, as the second inclined surface
134
a
of the engaging protuberance
134
is brought into surface contact with the first inclined surface
117
a
of the engaging groove
117
, they are firmly locked to each other. Hence, the rectangular lid
120
is not unlocked from the rectangular case
110
unless an intended opening force is applied.
Meanwhile, if the extended part
135
of each locking wing
130
is grasped and raised, as the elastic engaging part
131
of the locking wing
130
is elastically deformed, the elongate engaging protuberance
134
is disengaged from the elongate engaging groove
117
. Therefore, as the locked state of the locking wing
130
is released, it is possible to easily remove the rectangular lid
120
to open the rectangular case
110
.
At this time, since the locking structures of the rectangular case
110
, for locking the locking wings
130
, are not exposed to the outside, an aesthetic outer appearance of the receiving container is not deteriorated, and it is possible to wash the rectangular case
110
in an easy manner.
In the meanwhile, while the above embodiments were explained with respect to the food item receiving container having the rectangular case, a person skilled in the art will readily recognize that the present invention can of course be applied to a food item receiving container having a cylindrical case.
As apparent from the above description, in the food item receiving container according to the present invention, engaging grooves of a predetermined length are defined on a lower surface and at a middle portion, facing a corresponding locking wing, of a flange portion which is formed on each side wall of a case. Each locking wing has an elastic engaging part formed with engaging protuberances which are engaged into the engaging grooves while being elastically deformed. Therefore, in the present invention, since a locking structure is formed not to project to the outside through the locking wings, an aesthetic appearance of the entire food item receiving container is not deteriorated. Also, because the case can be easily washed, user convenience is increased. Moreover, due to the fact that the possibility of a foreign substance to be captured in the locking wings is eliminated, a sanitary issue is not raised.
Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.
Claims
- 1. A food item receiving container, comprising:a case opened at an upper end thereof to define a receiving space therein; a lid for closing the opened upper end of the case; a plurality of locking wings integrally formed at edges of the lid, respectively, so that they can be pivoted upward and downward; and flange portions projectedly formed in the shape of a band on upper end outer surfaces of side walls of the case, respectively, so that the locking wings can be engaged with the flange portions to be maintained in a locked state; wherein at least one engaging groove is defined on a lower surface and at a middle portion, facing a corresponding locking wing, of each flange portion, and wherein each locking wing has an elastic engaging part which is formed to be flexed and thereby cover the lower surface of the flange portion when the corresponding locking wing is pivoted downward, and engaging protuberances which are horizontally formed on an upper surface of the elastic engaging part to be engaged with the engaging groove of the flange portion while elastically deforming the elastic engaging part.
- 2. The container as set forth in claim 1, wherein two elongate engaging grooves are parallel defined on the lower surface of the flange portion; and two elongate engaging protuberances are formed on the upper surface of the elastic engaging part of the locking wing to be engaged into the two elongate engaging grooves, respectively.
- 3. The container as set forth in claim 1, wherein the engaging groove of the flange portion is formed with a first inclined surface which is inclined upward from an outside toward an inside of the flange portion; and the upper surface of the elastic engaging part of the locking wing comprises a second inclined surface which is inclined in an opposite direction to the first inclined surface of the engaging groove so that the second inclined surface is engaged with the first inclined surface while the locking wing is in the locked state.
Priority Claims (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
20-2003-0010553 |
Apr 2003 |
KR |
|
20-2003-0014507 |
May 2003 |
KR |
|
US Referenced Citations (7)