Container having an arched portion and Lid Therefor
A container includes a bowl having a bottom and a sidewall, wherein a ledge is disposed on an inner surface of the sidewall and includes two opposing horizontal portions having a lowermost portion defining a first plane therebetween. A paperboard lid is removably retained within the bowl, wherein the lid includes an apex that lies in a second plane, which is parallel to the first plane. The distance between the first plane and the second plane is between about 0.15 cm to about 1.3 cm.
Not applicable
REFERENCE REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENTNot applicable
SEQUENTIAL LISTINGNot applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Background
The present disclosure relates to a container having a disposable paper lid.
2. Description of the Background
Consumers have a variety of food storage needs, which have been provided for by various disposable containers for storing food products and other contents. Typically, these containers include a bowl or other receptacle with a lid that fits on the bowl to seal the container. These containers are typically designed to be throwaway items that can only be used one time, or are fashioned from non-biodegradable materials that allow the container and lid to be re-usable to consumers indefinitely. Thus, there is a need for a less expensive, semi-disposable container, made out of environmentally friendly materials.
Single use containers having lids made of paperboard or other similar materials are also known in the art. However, these container are not reusable. Rather, the containers and lids are designed to be used once and then disposed of. Besides not being reusable, concerns have arisen over the seal provided by such containers and paper lids.
Moreover, prior art containers with paper lids are incapable of withstanding significant loads being placed thereon and have therefore not been traditionally used in connection with food storage. For example, a container with a paper lid that is placed in a lunch bag, which might also separately contain fruit, drinks, snacks, or other items that could be placed on top of the container, would likely exert too great of a force on the lid and cause same to become unsealed from the container. Alternatively, these prior art containers used the food product within the container to support the lid from below to prevent it from collapsing under a load from above. As such, only foodstuffs that would not deflect or be damaged by a load from above could be used with these containers and paper lids.
Thus, the prior art fails to provide for a container having a disposable paper lid that provides a good seal with a container. Additionally, the prior art fails to provide for containers with paper lids that are capable of withstanding loads without deforming the lid or the contents within the container.
It is an object of the present invention to address the above mentioned disadvantages.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccording to one embodiment, a container includes a bowl having a bottom and a sidewall, wherein a ledge is disposed on an inner surface of the sidewall and includes two opposing horizontal portions having a lowermost portion defining a plane Y therebetween. A paperboard lid is removably retained within the bowl, wherein the lid includes an apex that lies in a plane Z, which is parallel to the plane Y. The distance between the plane Y and the plane Z is about 0.15 cm to about 1.3 cm.
According to another embodiment, a bowl for a container includes a bottom, a sidewall, and a ledge disposed on an interior surface of the sidewall. The ledge includes at least one arched portion and at least one horizontal portion. The arched portion has a radius of curvature of about 15 cm to about 160 cm.
According to yet another embodiment, a lid includes a body portion having a planar profile in a non-deflected state and first and second pairs of opposing edges. The first and second pairs of edges are coextensive with the planar profile of the body portion in the non-deflected state when not placed on a container. The first pair of edges is coextensive and the second pair of edges is not coextensive with the planar profile of the body portion in the non-deflected state when the body portion is placed on a container and in a deflected state.
As shown in
The bowl 102 generally includes a bottom 110 for resting on a support surface (not shown) and a continuous sidewall 112 extending upwardly and outwardly from the bottom 110 to define a bowl cavity 114. The sidewall 112 terminates in a continuous rim 116, which defines an opening 118 of the bowl 102. The bowl 102 is preferably reusable and integrally molded from a seamless thermoplastic such as polypropylene, polyethylene, polyolefin, or other resilient polymeric material. As will be described in more detail below, the engagement between the bowl 102 and the lid 104 can generally be described as an interference fit, in which the body portion 106 of the lid 104 is larger than the opening 118 of the bowl 102. The interference fit causes the lid 104 to press against the bowl 102, thus frictionally engaging the bowl to provide a seal between the bowl 102 and the lid 104.
With reference again to
As best illustrated in
Turning to
The plurality of nubs 126 and the ledge 122 are designed to enhance the sealing integrity between the bowl 102 and the lid 104. The nubs 126 and the ledge 122 define a gap 135 therebetween for retaining the lid 104 within the bowl 102. The gap 135 may be best characterized as the distance D between the innermost portion of the ledge 132, i.e., the portion of the ledge 122 adjacent the inner surface 124 of the bowl 102, and the corresponding portion of the nub 126. In a preferred embodiment, as noted above, the distance D is uniform. However, it is also contemplated that the distance D may vary throughout the length of the sidewall 112. For example, the ledge 122 and/or nubs 126 of the sidewall portions 112A-D of the present embodiment may be modified, i.e., spaced from one another, to create a uniformly narrowing or expanding distance D as the ledge 122 and nubs 126 extend toward the corner portions 120A-D. In one embodiment, it is contemplated that the variation in distance D may be from about 0% to about 200% of the distance D, and more preferably from about 10% to about 100% of the distance D, and most preferably from about 10% to about 50% of the distance D. In use, the nubs 126 provide resistance as the lid 104 is inserted and removed from the bowl. 102. To remove the lid 104 from the bowl 102, the edges 106A-D of the lid 104 must be moved past the relatively rigid nubs 126. Thus, the plurality of nubs 126 assist in maintaining the engagement between the lid 104 and the bowl 102.
The operation of the plurality of nubs 126 and the ledge 122 to engage the lid 104 with the bowl 102 is best understood by reference to
When placed in a pre-operative position above the bowl 102, the plane X defining the body portion 106 of the lid 104 is substantially coextensive with the plane Y of the ledge 122. The arched portions 122B and 122D of the ledge 122 cause the lid 104 to arch upwardly from the planes X and Y to an apex 136 as shown in
In one alternative embodiment, the portions 122A-D of the ledge 122 are all horizontal and the edges 106A-D of the lid are all substantially disposed entirely coextensive with the plane Y. In this embodiment, the lid 104 is slightly larger than the opening 118 of the bowl 102, which when the lid 104 is wedged within the bowl 102, causes the lid 104 to arch upwardly while the edges 106A-D of the lid 104 remain substantially coextensive with the plane Y.
Having the lid 104 arch gives the paper lid 104 a greater ability to withstand a vertical load F without relying on contents within the container 100 to support the lid 104 from below. The arched lid 104 allows the container 100 to hold food and other contents that are not rigid enough to support a paper lid from below without smashing, crushing, or otherwise exerting unwanted forces on the food or other contents of the container 100. If the lid 104 was not arched, any vertical load F on the top of the lid 104 would cause it to deflect inwardly, thereby unsealing the lid 104 from the bowl 102 and potentially harming the contents disposed within the container 100. The arched lid 104 of the present embodiment can withstand a maximum vertical load F of about 8 N to about 18 N before the lid 104 begins to deflect.
In addition to withstanding greater vertical loads F than traditional flat paper lids, another advantage of the arched lid 104 is that it deflects condensation away from the contents of the container 100. For example, when a sandwich is placed within a container or plastic bag, condensation may form within the container or bag, thereby causing the sandwich to become soggy or otherwise filled with unwanted moisture. In the present embodiment, the bottom 110 of the bowl 102 includes a raised surface 138. The raised surface 138 and the sidewall 112 define a trough 140 therebetween (see
As shown in
Referring now to
The variation in the length of the nubs 126 may be provided as a continuous tapering or in discrete stepped intervals about entire nubs or portions of one or more nubs 126. In the present embodiment, as shown in
In certain embodiments, the bowl 102 is successively reused with a plurality of disposable lids 102. To illustrate, in one example, a user places food within the bowl 102 of the container 100 and uses a first disposable lid 104 to seal the bowl 102. At lunch, the disposable lid 104 is removed, the food consumed, and the disposable lid. 104 is thereafter disposed of while the bowl 102 kept for later re-use. The bowl 102 may be washed and made available for use with another disposable lid 104. In other embodiments, a life span of the disposable lid 104 is beyond a single use, such as a discrete number of uses or a set time frame. It is also contemplated that the lid 104 can be used as a sanitary surface upon which the user may place his or her food while eating, prior to disposing of the lid 104.
Referring now to
As shown in
Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to certain embodiments, one skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be practiced by other than the described embodiments, which have been presented for purposes of illustration and not of limitation. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the embodiments contained herein.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITYNumerous modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the foregoing description. Accordingly, this description is to be construed as illustrative only and is presented for the purpose of enabling those skilled in the art to make and use what is herein disclosed and to teach the best mode of carrying out same. The exclusive rights to all modifications which come within the scope of this disclosure are reserved.
Claims
1. A container, comprising:
- a bowl including a bottom and a sidewall, wherein a ledge is disposed on an inner surface of the sidewall and includes two horizontal portions on opposing portions of the inner surface of the sidewall, the two horizontal portions having a lowermost portion defining a plane Y therebetween; and
- a paperboard lid removably retained within the bowl, wherein the lid arches upwardly in a continuous curve to an apex that lies in a plane Z, which is parallel to the plane Y, and
- wherein the distance between the plane Y and the plane Z is between about 0.15 cm to about 1.3 cm.
2. The container of claim 1, wherein the paperboard lid includes first and second pairs of parallel edges.
3. The container of claim 1, wherein the ledge includes at least one arched portion having a radius of curvature of between about 15 cm to about 160 cm.
4. The container of claim 2, wherein at least one nub is disposed above the ledge and wherein the at least one nub and the ledge form a gap therebetween.
5. The container of claim 4, wherein the first and second pairs of parallel edges are disposed within the gap when the lid is retained within the bowl.
6. The container of claim 5, wherein the lid includes a tab.
7. The container of claim 6, wherein the bowl includes at least two nubs having a space therebetween for receiving the tab therein.
8. The container of claim 7, wherein the bowl includes a plurality of spaces such that the lid can be inserted in multiple orientations.
9. A bowl for a container, comprising:
- a bottom;
- a sidewall; and
- a ledge disposed on an interior surface of the sidewall, wherein the ledge includes at least one arched portion and at least one horizontal portion,
- wherein the arched portion has a radius of curvature of between about 15 cm to about 160 cm.
10. The bowl of claim 9, wherein the sidewall comprises first, second, third, and fourth portions.
11. The bowl of claim 9 further including at least one nub disposed above the ledge, wherein the at least one nub and the ledge define a gap therebetween for retaining a lid therein.
12. The bowl of claim 11, wherein the bowl includes a plurality of nubs of varying lengths.
13. The bowl of claim 9, wherein the ledge includes two opposing arched portions.
14. The bowl of claim 13, wherein the ledge includes two opposing horizontal portions having angled surfaces.
15. A lid, comprising:
- a body portion having a planar profile in a non-deflected state and first and second pairs of opposing edges,
- wherein the first and second pairs of edges are coextensive with the planar profile of the body portion in the non-deflected state when not placed on a container, and
- wherein the first pair of edges is coextensive, and the second pair of edges is not coextensive, with the planar profile of the body portion in the deflected state when the body portion is placed on a container.
16. The lid of claim 15, wherein the second pair of edges have a radius of curvature of between about 15 cm to about 160 cm when the lid is in the deflected state.
17. The lid of claim 15 further including a tab.
18. The lid of claim 15 further including a communication member attached thereto.
19. The lid of claim 18, wherein the communication member is attached to the lid by a perforated portion.
20. The lid of claim 15, wherein the lid is seated on a container to cause the second pair of edges to be placed into the deflected state.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 7, 2012
Publication Date: Dec 12, 2013
Inventor: Robert R. Turvey (Sanford, MI)
Application Number: 13/491,533
International Classification: B65D 43/04 (20060101); B65D 51/24 (20060101); B65D 25/02 (20060101);