Plastic disposable lid

Abstract

This invention relates to a plastic disposable lid having a continuous perimeter wall surrounding the lid. At least a portion of the perimeter wall is formed by at least ten segmented flutes. When the lid is rectangular or oval, there are preferably an equal number of segmented flutes on opposite sides of the lid i.e. 3 on each side and 2 on each end of a rectangular or oval lid. The segmented flutes having a combined width equal to at least 50% of the length of the perimeter wall with each of these segmented flutes having an indented surface forming at least a portion of the inside surface of the lid, and a raised surface forming at least a portion of the outer surface of the perimeter wall. These segmented flutes preferably have a width of 0.75 to 2.0 inches and a segmented depth of about ⅛ to ⅜ inches. Another feature is having a shoulder assembly that has fastener tabs and the shoulder assembly is sized to surround a food container i.e. a chicken roaster pan and wherein the fastener tabs attach the lid to the bottom surface of the pan's lip.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a plastic disposable lid which can be used for closing containers. More particularly the present invention relates to a one-piece plastic lid having inclined sides and end walls each formed of at least two large segmented tubular strengthening flutes and a shoulder assembly having a plurality of fastener tabs to releasably attach the lid to a container such as a container that holds a chicken.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Aluminum foil pans are used for cooking, baking and roasting since they are efficient in quickly distributing heat and are also relatively inexpensive thus, making them disposable. A wide variety of shapes and sizes of aluminum foil pans have been built and developed. Generally the roasting pans for roasting are rectangle, oval or square in shape. Plastic disposable lids are generally used to cover roasting pans for take-out foods such as roasted chicken or left overs. Of course, the lids can be used for any container such as a plastic container that a food item is placed in. Generally the lids are stackable and some have ribs on the side walls. In these lids it has been found that the ribs are not sufficient to prevent the side walls from collapsing when someone inadvertently stacks other items on a covered container.

[0003] Therefore it would be desirable to have a strengthened roasting lid and one that also has an easily useable mechanism for securely attaching the lid to the roasting pan.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] In accordance with the present invention I provide a plastic disposable lid having a perimeter wall with at least ten spaced segmented flutes forming said perimeter wall, the at least ten segmented flutes having a combined width equal to at least 50% of the length of the perimeter wall, each of the at least ten segmented flutes having an indented surface facing an inside of the lid, each of the at least ten segmented flutes having a raised surface forming an outer surface of the perimeter wall.

[0005] Another object of the present invention is to provide a one-piece plastic disposable lid i.e. a roasting pan lid having an inclined perimeter wall and a shoulder assembly surrounding the perimeter wall. The shoulder assembly has a plurality of fastener tabs that permit the lid to be releasably mounted on a food container. At least a portion of the perimeter wall is formed by at least ten segmented tubular flutes. These segmented tubular flutes extend the width of the perimeter wall and have a combined width equal to at least 50% of the length of the perimeter wall. Each of these segmented tubular flute have a concave surface forming at least a part of the inside wall surface of the perimeter wall, and their convex surface forming at least part of the outer surface of the perimeter wall. These at least ten segmented tubular flutes each has a flute width of 0.75 to 2.0 inches, a segmented arc that extends for 30-90° and which has a radius of about 0.625 to 2.25 inches, and each segmented arc has a segmented depth of about ⅛ to ⅜ inches.

[0006] Further objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a plastic disposable lid according to my invention.

[0008] FIG. 2 is a right plan view of the plastic disposable lid of FIG. 1.

[0009] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

[0010] FIG. 4 is a rear plan view of the plastic disposable lid of FIG. 1.

[0011] FIG. 5 is a top view of the plastic disposable lid of FIG. 1.

[0012] FIG. 6 is the top perspective view of another plastic disposable lid according to my invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] Referring to FIGS. 1-3 there is illustrated a plastic disposable lid 10. The plastic disposable lid 10 is preferably a one-piece thin gauge molded and food compatible plastic disposable lid. The lid 10 has a top wall 11, and a continuous perimeter wall made up of two side walls 12 and 13, and two end walls 14 and 16. The lid has five segmented tubular flutes 17 forming the side wall 12 and five segmented tubular flutes 18 forming the side wall 13. The lid has three segmented tubular flutes 19 forming the end wall 14 and three segmented tubular flutes 21 forming the end wall 16. The lid has on each corner thereof a segmented corner flute 25. The segmented tubular flutes 17,18,19 and 21 are preferably segmented tubes joined at their segmented ends by narrow separating lands 20. The side wall segmented tubes 17 and 18 and their respective lands 20 are preferably identical and extend the width 22 of the side walls 12 and 13. Likewise, the end wall segmented tubes 19 and 21 and their respective lands 20 also are preferably identical to each other and identical to the side wall segmented tubes and have a length equal to the side wall width 22. Although the segmented flutes are described as being segmented tubes, they may be of any shape having an indented and a protruding surface. An alternative would be a hollow segmented fnistro-cone, or a segmented box shape. The lid arcuate corner flutes 25 are identical with each other and extend the side wall width 22. It is preferred that the flutes and lands are all joined to each other and extend the entire length of the lid perimeter wall.

[0014] When referring to FIGS. 2, 4 and 5, the segmented tubular flutes 17, 18, 19 and 21 have an outer radius 23, an outer arc 24, center-to-center distance 27 between adjacent flutes, and a width 28. The arc 24 extends for 30° to 90° and preferably extends for 45° to 75°. The width 22 of the side and end walls and the flutes is preferably 1.0 to 5 inches for my lid and more preferably 1.5 to 4.5 inches. When the width 22 is 1.0 to 5 inches, the radius 23 is 0.625 to 2.25 inches and preferably 1.25 to 1.75 inches, the center to center distance 27 is 1.0 to 5.0 inches and preferably 1.0 to 2.0 inches. The land 20 between the flutes has a width of 0.0156 to 1.0 inches.

[0015] When referring to FIG.4, the walls of the lid 10 incline at an angle 31 equal to 0to 30° and preferably 10 to 20°.

[0016] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the top wall 11, has a rectangular indented chambered periphery 30 and a contoured raised design 32 that is raised within the indented periphery.

[0017] My lid 10 has an overall length 33 of 6 to 20 inches; an overall width 35 of 4.0 to 16.0 inches, a length 34 of the indented periphery 30 of 3.0 to 20.0 inches, and a width 36 of the indented periphery 32 of 3.0 to 15.0 inches, a tubular fluted side wall base length 37 of 5.0 to 23.0 inches, and a tubular fluted end wall base width 38 of 3.0 to 18.0 inches.

[0018] The base of the lid 10 has a shoulder assembly 40 that is used to attach the lid 10 to an appropriate container. The shoulder assembly 40 surrounds the lid perimeter wall. The shoulder assembly has a ledge 41 extending horizontally from the base of the lid perimeter wall which is made from joined flutes 17, 18, 19, 21 and 25 and lands 20; a vertical wall 42 extending downwardly approximately perpendicular to the ledge 41; a horizontal lip 43 that extends outwardly from the vertical wall 42. A plurality of fastener tabs 44 are formed in the shoulder assembly and each fastener tab 44 has a length 46 of 1 to 2 inches.

[0019] The shoulder is rounded at 40 between the ledge 41 and the shoulder vertical wall 42 to provide a smooth surface. The side wall 42 has a width 48 of 0.005 to 0.025 inches. The fastener tab 44 has a width 49 of 0.25 to 2.5 inches. The fasteners have a fastener lip 51 that extends into the side wall for 0.0078 to 0.50 inches. The lip is sized to engage the bottom surface of a container lip or bead to secure my lid to the container. The fastener tabs 44 each have their upper lip 51 and a front wall 52 within the shoulder assembly that declines from the lip 51 to the side wall 42. The fastener tabs have side walls integral with the lip 51 and front wall 52. The fastener tabs are flexible such that when the lid is being placed on a container, the end of the container slides on the fastener tab front wall 52 and this causes the fastener lip 51 to flex towards the side wall 42. When the container end passes the fastener lip 51, the fastener lip 51 snaps into a locking position. The fastener tabs are released from the container by lifting the horizontal lip 43 at one of its corners, i.e., the corner marked “LIFT”.

[0020] The lid 10 also has arcuate corner fastener tabs 53 that have the same overall dimensions as the side and end snap fastener tabs 44. They are curved to extend to both sides of the lid corners. My lid preferably has at least one fastener tab on each side and end and at least two diagonally opposite corner fastener tabs.

[0021] My lid preferably has at least two end flutes, each joined by a land 20. The end flutes have a combined width distance equal to at least 40% of the length of each end wall, i.e., if 38 is 5 inches and there are two segmented flutes on the end wall, then the combined width of the two flutes is at least 2 inches. There are preferably three side flutes each joined by a land 20. The side flutes have a combined width distance equal to at least 50% of the length of each side wall, i.e., if 37 is 8 inches and there are three segmented flutes on the side wall, then the combined width of the three flutes is at least 4 inches. Of course it is preferred that both the side and end flutes are of the same size. Also it is preferred that there are four corner flutes and that the end, side, corner flutes, and the connecting lands 20 that join adjacent flutes extend the entire perimeter of the lid.

[0022] Although I have shown my lid as being rectangular, my lid can have any of the other conventional shapes—i.e., oval or round. My lids preferably have at least 10 segmented flutes having a combined width equal to at least 50% of the perimeter wall of the lid, i.e. when the lid is round, at least 50% of the diameter of the lid perimeter wall; when the lid is oval or rectangular, there are preferably at least two segmented flutes on each end, and four segmented flutes on each side with the total width of the end and side flutes being equal to at least 50% of the lid side and end wall; when the lid is square, each wall has at least three segmented flutes; and when the lid is round, there at least 10 segmented flutes have a combined width equal to at least 50% of lid perimeter wall.

[0023] FIG. 6 illustrates a plastic disposable lid 60 being substantially the same as the plastic disposable lid 10 except lid 60 does not have the raised design 32. The remaining portions of this lid uses numbers the same as FIG. 1 to identify the same elements in the lid 60 as were identified in the lid 10.

[0024] The relatively large flutes of my invention gives stability to the sides and ends of my plastic disposable lid. It is of course understood that although I show only rectangular lids in FIGS. 1 to 6, my lid also includes the popular round and oval shapes. In those instances, there is only one wall and no side or end walls( round lid) and the end walls have an arcuate shape ( oval lid).

[0025] It will become apparent to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made in the foregoing without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A one-piece plastic disposable lid having an inclined perimeter wall, comprising

a shoulder assembly surrounding the perimeter wall, said shoulder assembly having a plurality of fastener tabs that permit the lid to be releasably mounted on a food container,

at least a portion of the perimeter wall is formed by at least ten segmented tubular flutes,

each of said at least ten segmented tubular flutes extend the width of the perimeter wall and have a combined width equal to at least 50% of the length of the perimeter wall,

each of said at least ten segmented tubular flutes have a concave surface forming at least a part of an inside wall surface of the perimeter wall, and their convex surface forming at least part of the outer surface of the perimeter wall,

each of said at least ten segmented tubular flutes has a flute width of 0.75 to 2.0 inches, a segmented arc that extends for 30-90° and which has a radius of about 0.625 to 2.25 inches, and

each segmented arc has a segmented depth of about ⅛ to ⅜ inches.

2. The one-piece plastic disposable lid of claim 1 wherein said at least ten segmented tubular flutes have a combined width equal to at least 60% of the length of each end wall, the segmented arc extends for 45 to 75°, the segmented depth is about {fraction (3/16)} to {fraction (5/16)} inches, and the flute width is 1.0 to 1 ⅝ inches.

3. The one-piece plastic disposable lid of claim 1 wherein, the perimeter wall is oval or rectangular and has end walls and side walls each having a plurality of the segmented flutes, said end walls each having at least two segmented flutes having a combined width equal to at least 40% of the length of each end wall, each of said side walls having at least three side wall segmented tubular flutes, said at least three side wall segmented tubular flutes having a combined width equal to at least 50% of the length of each side wall.

4. The one-piece plastic disposable lid of claim 3 wherein said lid is a 4 by 6 to an 18 to 20 inch lid, the width of each end and side wall is 1 to 5 inches, each of said side walls have at least 4 side wall segmented tubular flutes.

5. The one-piece plastic disposable lid of claim 2 wherein, there are four corner flutes, five side wall segmented tubular flutes, and three end wall segmented tubular flutes, and a land joining each adjacent flute.

6. The one-piece plastic disposable lid of claim 3 wherein, there are at least 10 fastener tabs four of which are corner fastener tabs.

7. The one-piece plastic disposable lid of claim 1 wherein, said shoulder assembly has a ledge extending horizontally from the base of the lid perimeter wall and a vertical wall extending downwardly approximately perpendicular to the ledge and a horizontal lip that extends outwardly from the vertical wall; at least six fastener tabs are formed in the shoulder assembly vertical wall, each of said at least six fastener tabs is spaced a predetermined distance from an inside of the ledge to provide a space to accommodate a pan lip, each of said at least six fastener tabs has a length of 1 to 2 inches.

8. The one-piece plastic disposable lid of claim 3 wherein, said shoulder assembly has a ledge extending horizontally from the base of the lid perimeter wall and a vertical wall extending downwardly approximately perpendicular to the ledge and a horizontal lip that extends outwardly from the vertical wall; at least six fastener tabs are formed in the shoulder assembly vertical wall, each of said at least six fastener tabs is spaced a predetermined distance from an inside of the ledge to provide a space to accommodate a pan lip, each of said at least six fastener tabs has a length of 1 to 2 inches.

9. The one-piece plastic disposable lid of claim 8 wherein said lid is a 4 by 6 to an 18 to 20 inch lid, the width of each end and side wall is 1 to 5 inches, each of said side walls have at least 4 side wall segmented tubular flutes.

10. A plastic disposable lid having a perimeter wall comprising:

at least ten spaced segmented flutes forming said perimeter wall, said at least ten segmented flutes having a combined width equal to at least 50% of the length of said perimeter wall,

each of said at least ten segmented flutes having an indented surface facing an inside of said lid, each of said at least ten segmented flutes having a raised surface forming an outer surface of the perimeter wall.

11. The plastic disposable lid of claim 10 wherein, the width of the perimeter wall is 1.0 to 5 inches, each of said at least ten segmented flutes extends the width of the perimeter wall, said at least ten segmented flutes are tubular and have a combined width equal to at least 60% of the length of said perimeter wall, and of said at least ten segmented flutes are joined in pairs with a land there between, a segmented arc of each of said at least ten segmented tubular flutes extends for 30 to 90°, a depth of each segmented arc is about ⅛ to ⅜ inches, and a segmented flute width of each said ten segmented tubular flutes is 0.75 to 2.0 inches.

12. The plastic disposable lid of claim 11 wherein, the segmented arc of each of said ten segmented tubular flutes extends for 45 to 75°, the depth of each segmented arc is about {fraction (3/16)} to {fraction (5/16)} inches and the width of each flute is 1.0 to 1 ⅝ inches.

13. The plastic disposable lid of claim 11 wherein, said lid perimeter wall has a rectangular or oval shape with two opposite side walls and two opposite end walls, the width of each end and side wall is 1 to 5 inches, each of said side walls having joined to each other 3 to 7 side wall segmented tubular flutes, and each of said end walls have having joined to each other 2 to 4 end wall segmented tubular flutes.

14. The plastic disposable lid of claim 13 wherein, each side wall has 5 side wall segmented tubular flutes, and each end wall has 3 end wall segmented tubular flutes.

15. The plastic disposable lid of claim 13 wherein, each flute is joined to an adjacent flute by a land having a width of 0.125 to 3.0 inches.

16. The plastic disposable lid of claim 10 wherein, said lid has a shoulder assembly surrounding said perimeter wall, and said shoulder assembly having a plurality of fastener tabs that permit the lid to be releasably mounted on a food container.

17. The plastic disposable lid of claim 16 wherein, said shoulder assembly has a ledge extending horizontally from the base of the lid perimeter wall and a vertical wall extending downwardly approximately perpendicular to the ledge and a horizontal lip that extends outwardly from the vertical wall; said fastener tabs are formed in the shoulder assembly vertical wall, and each fastener tab has a length of 1 to 2 inches, there is at least one fastener tab on each of side and end of said lid and at least two diagonally opposite corner fastening tabs.

18. The plastic disposable lid of claim 12 wherein, said lid has a shoulder assembly surrounding said perimeter wall, and said shoulder assembly having a plurality of fastener tabs that permit the lid to be releasably mounted on a food container.

19. The plastic disposable lid of claim 18 wherein, said shoulder assembly has a ledge extending horizontally from the base of the lid perimeter wall and a vertical wall extending downwardly approximately perpendicular to the ledge and a horizontal lip that extends outwardly from the vertical wall; said fastener tabs are formed in the shoulder assembly vertical wall, and each fastener tab has a length of 1 to 2 inches, there is at least one fastener tab on each of side and end of said lid and at least two diagonally opposite corner fastening tabs.