Stackable baking cup container

Abstract

A baking cup container is disclosed which has a bottom and either a cylindrical body member extending upwardly therefrom or an inverted truncated conical-shaped body member extending upwardly therefrom. The bottom of the container has structure thereon as does the upper end of the container so that the containers may be secured together and stored in a stacked position.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a baking cup container which may be used individually to store baking cups such as cupcake cups or muffin cups and which may be connected together to be stacked one on top of another for storage purposes.

2. Description of the Related Art

Baking cups such as used for baking cupcakes or muffins are constructed of paper. The storage of the baking cups is difficult since they are easily crushed if improperly stored. Further, some bakers have a wide variety of seasonal baking cups and have a wide variety of baking cups having different sizes on hand. If the baking cups are left in their original packages, they consume a great deal of storage space. Further, most of the original packages consist of thin crushable wrap that does not protect the cups therein.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key aspects or essential aspects of the claimed subject matter. Moreover, this Summary is not intended for use as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

A stackable baking cup container is disclosed comprising a clear container which may have a cylindrical shape or which may have an inverted, truncated conical shape including a bottom wall, an upstanding wall portion, and an open upper end with a cover which may be selectively attached to the open upper end of the container. The container has a shape such as to receive a plurality of nested baking cups therein. The lid and bottom wall of the container is configured so that the bottom wall of the container may be selectively removably attached to the upper end of a container positioned therebelow to enable a plurality of containers to be stored in a stacked position.

The lids may be either screwed to the upper ends of the containers or snap-fitted thereon in a variety of different ways. A variety of different ways of securing the containers together is disclosed.

It is preferred that the containers are comprised of a clear plastic material but the containers could be non-transparent. If the containers are non-transparent, a small window should be provided therein to permit a person to view the contents of the containers

It is therefore a principal object of the invention to provide an improved baking cup container.

A further object of the invention is to provide a stackable baking cup container.

A further object of the invention is to provide baking cup containers which may be stacked one upon the other so as to consume less storage space.

A further object of the invention is to provide a stackable baking cup container which is preferably comprised of a clear plastic material to enable a person to view the contents of the container.

A further object of the invention is to provide a stackable baking cup container which prevents the baking cup from becoming crushed or otherwise deformed.

A further object of the invention is to provide a baking cup container which is economical of manufacture, durable in use and refined in appearance.

These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the following figures, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various views unless otherwise specified.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the baking cup containers of this invention together with the baking cups;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a container having a particular diameter;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 except that the container has a smaller diameter than that shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view illustrating a plurality of the containers of this invention screwed together in a stacked condition with the uppermost container having a lid screwed thereto;

FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view illustrating a modified form of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view which illustrates yet another form of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIGS. 5 and 6 but which shows a further method of securing the containers together; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating a plurality of the containers of this invention secured together in a stacked manner.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Embodiments are described more fully below with reference to the accompanying figures, which form a part hereof and show, by way of illustration, specific exemplary embodiments. These embodiments are disclosed in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. However, embodiments may be implemented in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense in that the scope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims.

In FIG. 1, the numeral 10 refers to one form of the stackable baking cup container of this invention which includes a bottom wall 12, an upstanding cylindrical wall 14 having external threads 16 at the upper end thereof. The container 10 is adapted to receive the baking cups 18 which are shown in FIG. 1 to be in a nested condition. If only a single container 10 is being used, the lid 20 may be screwed onto the threads 16 of the container 10. As seen in FIG. 4, the bottom 12 has an internally threaded section 22 provided thereon.

FIG. 4 illustrates a plurality of the containers 10 screwed together with the threaded portion 22 of the upper container 10 being screwed onto the threads 16 of the lower container. The uppermost container 10 will have the lid 20 screwed onto the threads 16 of the uppermost container 10.

FIG. 2 illustrates a container 10 having a particular diameter adapted to receive a baking cup 18 therein. FIG. 3 illustrates that the container 10′ has a smaller diameter than the container 10 of FIG. 2 to accommodate a baking cup 18′ which is smaller than the baking cup 18.

FIG. 5 illustrates a modification of the invention which does not utilize threads. As seen in FIG. 5, the container 100 has an annular recessed portion 102 at its lower end and has an annular recessed portion 104 at its upper end. The containers 100 may be stacked one upon the other by snapping the upper container 100 onto the lower container 100 as illustrated in FIG. 5.

FIG. 6 illustrates a further modification of the container and is generally indicated by the reference numeral 200. Container 200 has a downwardly protruding annular member 202 at its lower end with the upper end of the container 200 having a generally U-shaped recessed annular portion 204 adapted to receive the protruding member 202 of the container positioned thereabove. The containers 200 may be stacked as seen in FIG. 6.

FIG. 7 illustrates yet a further embodiment of the invention which is generally indicated by the reference numeral 300. As seen in FIG. 7, the containers 300 are not cylindrical but are tapered so as to define an inverted truncated conical shape. The lower end of the container 300 has a laterally protruding annular projection 302 while the upper inner end of the container 300 has an inwardly extending annular recessed portion 304. The containers 300 may be stacked together by snapping the containers together so that the annular protrusion 302 of the upper container is received by the annular recess 304. In all of the embodiments of FIG. 5-7, a lid may be snap-fitted onto the container or onto the uppermost container if the containers are in their stacked position.

It is preferred that the containers are comprised of a clear plastic material but the containers could be non-transparent. If the containers are non-transparent, a small window should be provided therein to permit a person to view the contents of the containers.

Thus it can be seen that a novel container has been provided for baking cups such as cupcake cups or muffin cups which enables the containers to be stacked together or individually used. The fact that the containers are constructed of a clear plastic material enables a person to visually determine the types of cups that are in any of the various containers. The containers of this invention prevent the baking cups from being crushed and enable the user to sort the baking cups by placing the same in different cups depending upon their seasonal nature or sizes.

Thus it can be seen that the invention accomplishes all of its stated objectives.

Although the invention has been described in language that is specific to certain structures and methodological steps, it is to be understood that the invention defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific structures and/or steps described. Rather, the specific aspects and steps are described as forms of implementing the claimed invention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be practiced without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, the invention resides in the claims hereinafter appended.

Claims

1. A stackable baking cup container, comprising:

a generally inverted truncated conical-shaped container having a bottom, an upstanding wall portion, and an upper end which is selectively closable by a lid;

said container having a shape such as to receive a plurality of nested baking cups therein; and

said upper end and said bottom of said container being configured so that the bottom of a container may be selectively removably attached to the upper end of a container positioned therebelow to enable a plurality of containers to be stored in a stacked position.

2. The container of claim 1 wherein said container is comprised of a clear plastic material.

3. A stackable baking cup container, comprising:

a cylindrical-shaped container having a bottom, an upstanding wall portion, and an upper end which is selectively closable by a lid;

said container having a shape such as to receive a plurality of nested baking cups therein;

said upper end and said bottom of said container being configured so that the bottom of a container may be selectively removably attached to the upper end of a container positioned therebelow to enable a plurality of containers to be stored in a stacked position;

4. The container of claim 3 wherein said container is comprised of a clear plastic material.