The present invention relates to the art of lids manufactured from aluminum such that the lids are disposable, and more particularly, the present invention is directed to a method of manufacturing an improved disposable lid that helps alleviate accidents by the consumer and permits nesting of the lids.
Disposable aluminum pans and lids are often referred to as foil pans/lids widely used by consumers to cook and keep food warm. The lids have been manufactured by well know methods. Typically a die is used to stamp a sheet of aluminum into a lid. During the stamping process upper and lower dies are pressed together with the sheet of aluminum feed between the dies. After pressing the lid is formed. The main issues with the existing lids (Prior Art
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing an improved disposable aluminum lid.
The improved disposable aluminum lid is formed from stamping aluminum. The improved disposable aluminum lid includes a top base that terminates about an edge to raised ridge around the periphery of the edge. The raised ridge extends into a downwardly extending skirt. The skirt terminates into a rolled lip formed into the sides of the improved disposable aluminum lid. In addition, during the forming of the improved disposable aluminum lid the corners of the skirt are crimped and rolled into a corner rolled lip of aluminum. The corner rolled lip in the corners prevents the user from cutting themselves when handling. In addition, the improved disposable aluminum lid is formed with a slight tapering β between the raised ridge and the downwardly extending skirt. Preferably the tapering is defined at an angle between 3 and 10 degrees and more preferably at about 5 degrees. Therefore, when stacking or nesting the improved disposable aluminum lids, the lids nest easily and virtually perfectly on top of each other. As such, the improved disposable aluminum lid can be packaged and shipped without concern of damage to the lids.
Numerous other advantages and features of the invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description of the invention and the embodiments thereof, from the claims, and from the accompanying drawings.
A fuller understanding of the foregoing may be had by reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
While the invention is susceptible to embodiments in many different forms, there are shown in the drawings and will be described herein, in detail, the preferred embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood, however, that the present disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the spirit or scope of the invention and/or claims of the embodiments illustrated.
With reference to Prior Art
To solve the above concerns and problems an improved disposable aluminum lid was developed, referenced generally a numeral 100 (
Continuing to refer to the figures, in one of the embodiments of the present invention there is provided an improved disposable aluminum lid 100. The lid is configured to include a top base 102 terminating around a periphery at an edge 104. The lid further includes a raised ridge 106 extending around the periphery of the edge 104. A skirt 108 is provided and extends downwardly from the raised ridge 106. The skirt 108 extends continuously around the top base 102 to form a well 306 there-between (shown partially in
From a material standpoint, when forming the improved disposable aluminum lid 100, a taper between the raised ridge 106 and the downwardly extending skirt 108 uses more material then if the skirt extends at a zero degree taper if the overall length extension of the skirt is the same. In comparing Prior Art
Referring now also to
Excess aluminum can then be recycled for future use. The improved disposable aluminum lids 100 when formed are then moved away from the stamping section for packaging. As shown in
As provided by various embodiments of the present invention there is provided an improved disposable aluminum lid. The improved disposable aluminum lid is defined to include a lid stamped from aluminum and configured to have (a) a top base terminating around a periphery at an edge; (b) raised ridge extending around the periphery of the edge; (c) a skirt downwardly extending from the raised ridge; and (d) a rolled lip formed into the terminating edge of the skirt, wherein the rolled lip is formed into the entire terminating edge of the skirt including sides and corners defined by the lid. In other aspects the improved disposable aluminum lid is further configured to include an angle defined between the raised ridge and the downwardly extending skirt to be between 3 and 10 degrees, and is preferred to be at 5 degrees.
In other embodiments there is provided a method of manufacturing improved disposable aluminum lids to provide nesting of the lids. The method comprising the steps of (a) placing a sheet of aluminum between a pair of die shoes; (b) stamping the pair of die shoes together to form, from the sheet of an aluminum, an improved disposable aluminum lid; and (c) configuring the pair of die shoes, such that the improved disposable aluminum lid is configured to include: (i) a top base terminating around a periphery at an edge; (ii) a raised ridge extending around the periphery of the edge; (iii) a skirt downwardly extending from the raised ridge; (iv) a rolled lip formed into the terminating edge of the skirt, wherein the rolled lip is formed into the entire terminating edge of the skirt including sides and corners defined by the lid; and (v)an angle defined between the raised ridge and the downwardly extending skirt to be between 3 and 10 degrees. The method further comprising the step of nesting a plurality of the improved disposable aluminum lids on top of each other wherein the angle defined between the raised ridge and the downwardly extending skirt allows the plurality of nested improved disposable aluminum lids to rest over one another such that the entire rolled lip of one of the improved disposable aluminum lids rests adjacently over the entire rolled lip of an adjacent improved disposable aluminum lid positioned underneath thereto.
From the foregoing and as mentioned above, it will be observed that numerous variations and modifications may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concept of the invention. It is to be understood that no limitation with respect to the specific methods and apparatus illustrated herein is intended or should be inferred. It is, of course, intended to cover by the appended claims all such modifications as fall within the scope of the claims.
The present application is a continuation of U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 15/466,910, which is a continuation in part of U.S. Design application Ser. No. 29/579,142 filed Sep. 28, 2016 for a LID FOR A PAN.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20180086502 A1 | Mar 2018 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 15466910 | Apr 2017 | US |
Child | 15586547 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 29579142 | Sep 2016 | US |
Child | 15466910 | US |