Patent Application
20100308052
Containers for food products are well known in the art. Such containers often include a receptacle and a lid. In the manufacture of many food containers, the receptacle is made from paper stock having a seamed sidewall with an upper rolled lip and a bottom wall connected to the sidewall. The lid, which may be hingedly attached to the receptacle, can be mounted to the receptacle in a variety of manners including via a friction fit, screw connection, an adhesive connection and the like.
It is common practice in the packaging industry to fill the receptacle with a product and thereafter secure the lid to the open end of the receptacle. A variety of lidding machines have been devised for this purpose, including high-speed automated lidding machines. Typical lidding machines include a queue or conveyer containing filled receptacles and a magazine containing lids suitable for attachment to the receptacles. The lidding machine selects a lid from the magazine and places it on a filled receptacle. However, lidding machines are generally not adapted for applying lids having “living” hinges onto receptacles.
Accordingly, a need exists for a lid having a “living” hinge that can be placed on a receptacle by an automatic lidding machine. A further need exist for a lid having a “living” hinge wherein the lid's mount structure can be releasably positioned so as to not interfere when the lid is placed onto the receptacle.
The present invention is directed to a hinged lid structure that is configured to be attached to a receptacle. The lid includes a top portion and mount structure connected together by a hinge. The top portion may contain an upper wall with a skirt depending therefrom. The upper wall is designed to overlie at least a portion of the receptacle's free end and the skirt is configured to be positioned outside of and circumscribe at least a portion of the receptacle's free end. The mount structure includes two generally parallel walls forming a channel therebetween configured for receiving a portion of a periphery of the container's sidewall.
The hinge connecting the top to the mount structure may be a “living” hinge constructed of thin flexible material and may be formed integral with the top and mount structure. In order to manufacture the lid as a single integral unit and in a single mold, the lid is typically formed with the mount structure in an open position. Due to the elasticity and resiliency of the “living” hinge, the mount structure is predisposed to stay in an open position and will spring back to an open or partially open position once it is released from its folded position. This prohibits the lid from being applied to the receptacle using a typical automatic lidding machine because the mount structure's channel is not aligned align with the receptacle's sidewall.
The lid is provided with a retaining feature for maintaining the mount structure in a folded relationship with respect to the top. When the mount structure is in a fully folded position, the lid may be placed onto the receptacle in a manner in which the mount structure's channel receives a portion of a periphery of the container's sidewall therein. The retaining feature includes a corresponding projection and recess configured for releasable snapping engagement. In one embodiment, the projection extends from the mount structure and is adapted to be received within a recess defined in either the top's upper wall or skirt. In another embodiment, the projection extends from either the top's upper wall or skirt and is adapted to be received within a recess defined in the mount structure. The lid's retaining features is designed such that the projection may be releasably snapped into the recess to maintain the mount structure in a folded position so that the lid can be attached to the receptacle by an automatic lidding machine.
Certain embodiments of the invention are outlined above in order that the detailed description thereof may be better understood, and in order that the present contributions to the art may be better appreciated. In this respect, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of embodiments in addition to those described and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein, as well as the abstract, are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Though some features of the invention may be claimed in dependency, each feature has merit when used independently.
Further features of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present invention relates from reading the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
The invention will now be described with reference to the drawing figures, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout. For purposes of clarity in illustrating the characteristics of the present invention, proportional relationships of the elements have not necessarily been maintained in the drawing figures.
The reference 10 designates generally a container comprising a receptacle 12 and a lid structure 14. In the illustrated structure, the receptacle 12 includes a sidewall 16 and a bottom wall 18. Receptacle 12 has an upper open end 20 that provides an access opening thereto. The upper portion of the receptacle 12 has an outwardly rolled upper lip 22 as best seen in
In one embodiment, the receptacle 12 is constructed from a paperboard blank and is formed by wrapping the paperboard blank about a mandrel and joining the marginal edge portions of the blank to form a sidewall seam 24. The receptacle 12 includes the bottom wall 18 which may be secured to the sidewall 16 by heat bonding or via the use of adhesives. Such receptacles are well known in the industry. The paperboard can be coated to prevent the migration of components of food, for example, water and/or fat into the paper. The coating can be polyethylene or the like. The receptacle 12 in each of the forms of the invention described herein, can be substantially the same and for convenience are shown as being of the same construction and components. While the cross-sectional shape of the receptacle 12 can be of any suitable shape, the illustrated receptacle 12 has a somewhat rectangular shape with rounded corners. The sidewall 16 is tapered to permit nesting of receptacles 12 for shipping and storage.
The lid structure 14 includes a top portion 26, a mount structure 28 and a hinge 30. As illustrated in
The top portion 26 is configured to overlie the upper open end 20 of the receptacle 12 when the lid structure 14 is in a closed position. As seen, the top portion 26 is constructed as having a flange 32 for extending around at least a portion of perimeter of the receptacle's upper open end 20 and a skirt 34 depending from the flange 32. The skirt 32 is configured to be positioned outside of and circumscribe at least a portion of the receptacle upper open end 20. The skirt may include a recessed region 56 for accommodating a portion of the mount structure 28 when the lid 14 is in a closed position. The flange 32 defines an opening 58. A paperboard cover 36 may be suitably secured to the flange 32 as, for example, by adhesion or heat sealing and encloses opening 58. The use of a paperboard for cover 36 permits the printing of indicia and information thereon such as a brand name, product type, net weight, nutritional data and the like. However, it should be understood that while the figures show the top portion 26 having a flange 32 defining an opening 58 covered with a paperboard sheet 36, the upper wall of the top portion 26 in other embodiments may be constructed of a continuously planar wall formed of the same polymeric material as the remainder of the lid structure 14.
The top portion 26 of the lid structure 14 may further include a lock protrusion 42 which is in the form of an undercut extending from the skirt 34 or a tamper evident tab 38. The flange 32 is provided with an opening 52 to facilitate molding of the lock protrusion 42 as an integral assembly. When the lid structure 14 is in a closed position, the lock protrusion 42 engages the underside of the receptacle's rolled upper lip 22. As depicted in
The top portion 26 may also be provided with one or more elongated ribs or bars 48 projecting from the flange 32 opposite the mount structure 28 to help retain the shape of the upper end of the sidewall 16 and prevent tampering when the lid structure 14 is in a closed configuration. The ribs 48 engage an interior surface of the sidewall adjacent 16. Further, the skirt 34 may be provided with one or more ribs 50 extending inwardly therefrom for engaging an undersurface of lip 22 to assist in holding the lid structure 14 in a closed position.
The lid's mount structure 28 is best seen in
As best illustrated in
In order to manufacture the lid structure 14 as a single integral unit and in a single mold, the lid structure 14 is typically formed in an open position, similar to that shown in
In order to retain the mount structure 28 in a folded position so that the lid 14 can be applied to the receptacle 12 using a lidding machine or operation, the lid 14 comprises a retaining feature. The retaining feature includes a corresponding projection and recess configured for releasable snapping engagement. In the embodiment illustrated in
In the embodiment shown in
The lid 14 is designed so that the projection 68 may be releasably snapped into the recess 54 to hold the mount structure 28 in a folded position. As the mount structure 28 is rotated about hinge 30 toward its fully folded position, the projection 68 contacts and slightly interferes with a portion 40 of the top wall 32 just before the mount structure 28 reaches its fully folded position. The hinge 30 and skirt 34 temporarily deform in order to allow the projection 68 to pass by the area 40 and be snappingly received within recess 54. The hinge 30 and skirt 34 also temporarily deform in order to allow the projection 68 to become snappingly disengaged from recess 54 when mount structure 28 is rotated away from its fully folded position. Once the lid 14 is applied to a receptacle 12, the retaining feature, along with the lock protrusion 42 and ribs 50, aid in maintaining the lid 14 in a closed position covering the receptacle's open end 20.
From the foregoing, it may be seen that the hinged lid of the present invention is particularly well suited for the proposed usages thereof. Furthermore, since certain changes may be made in the above invention without departing from the scope hereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. It is also to be understood that the following claims are to cover certain generic and specific features described herein.
This application is a continuation-in-part of and claims priority to U.S. application Ser. No. 11/833,752 filed Aug. 3, 2007 to George Zeiler, et al. entitled Hinged Lid for a Food Container, currently pending, the entire disclosure, including the specification and drawings, of which is incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 11833752 | Aug 2007 | US |
| Child | 12834471 | US |
