STACKABLE SNACK FOOD ITEMS, SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR STACKING AND TRANSPORTING SAME

Abstract

A novel snack food item container for stacking and transporting same is disclosed. The snack food items are uniformly sized and shaped, and have one or more openings thereon. The container has a tubular member, having one opening, and a snack food item holder having a base member and a pole member. The pole member is inserted to the opening of the snack food items, and the snack food items are stacked and aligned along the pole member. Then, the snack food items on the snack food item holder are inserted into the tubular member from the opening to enclose the items. The base member of the snack food item holder and the opening of the tubular member engage to enclose and seal the snack food items therein.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application claims the priority from the provisional application 61/305,670, filed on Feb. 18, 2010.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

N/A

NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

N/A

REFERENCE TO A “SEQUENCE LISTING”

N/A

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to stackable snack food items, such as cookies, of uniform size and shape, system and method for stacking and transporting same.

2. Description of Related Art

As various types of snack foods have been invented and introduced to the market, various food packaging systems and methods have also been proposed and utilized to accommodate such snack foods.

One of very common methods of packaging snack food items such as cookies and chips is to pack such food items in an slightly inflated bag, such that, when packaged in a delivery box, inflation of the bag prevents food items therein from squashed or crashed so that they maintain its shape. This would allow such snack food items to be less uniform in size or shape; however, once the bag is opened, food items left therein are vulnerable to pressures applied from outside the bag. Since snack food items are not uniformly shaped or sized, this method could easily take up much more space for a small volume, thus it is not an efficient way of packaging snack food items.

Bagged snack food items are also not suitable for presentation as it is typically transported into a dish or bowl for presentation and consumption.

The other common methods of packing snack food items is to have relatively uniformly shaped and sized food items arranged on a tray, and encloses the food items with the tray in a bag. While this has improved efficiency of packaging food items in smaller space and provided better protection for preventing the food items from being squashed, and provided a better presentation for consumption (i.e. the tray can be used for serving), it does not provide sufficient protection for the pressure coming from the tray opening, i.e. from the top. This solution also failed to provide a better way of re-enclosing (or resealing) the snack food items after the partial consumption of the snack food items.

To improve these deficiencies, U.S. Pat. No. 3,498,798 issued on Mar. 3, 1970 to Baur et al. proposed a packaging of chip-type snack food products, where chip-type snack food products are produced in uniform size and shape to promote stacking in a cylindrical tube container. However, as a user consumes the snack food items from the container in a tubular shape, it gets harder to pick the snack food items from or near the bottom of the container as the user may have to push his or her hand inside. Thus, there is a long felt need for further improvement for packaging snack food items, such as cookies.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide stackable snack food items, system and method for stacking and transporting such stackable food items.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a system for stacking and transporting stackable snack food items that can be used for serving.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a system for stacking and transporting stackable snack food items that can be resealed easily after partial consumption.

Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a system for stacking and transporting stackable snack food items that can be reused as a cooking or molding tool to assist making stackable snack food items.

Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a system for stacking and transporting stackable snack food items that allows accessing to and retrieving the snack food items one at the time such that it prevents a user from touching multiple items at one time for hygiene purposes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a front view of a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is another exploded view of the first embodiment of the present invention with snack food items being stacked together vertically;

FIG. 4 is a exploded view of a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is another exploded view of the second embodiment of the present invention with snack food items being stacked together vertically;

FIG. 6 is a top view of a cover or cover portion of the first or second embodiment, respectively, of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a top view of the snack food items and a holder;

FIG. 8 is a bottom perspective view of a cover or base member of the snack food item holder; and

FIG. 9 is a bottom perspective view of the bottom surface of the tubular member of the container.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A first embodiment of the snack food container 10 of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1, comprising a cylindrical/tubular shape container 11 for packaging snack food items therein, and a cover 12 substantially corresponds to the shape and size of an opening 5 of the container 11 such that the cover 12 frictionally engages and detachably closes the opening 5 of the container 11. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, snack food items are cookies. Alternatively, the cover 12 and opening 5 of the container 11 may be equipped with other types of corresponding detachable fastening or attachment means. The cover 12 may have a handle 13 for easier handling by a user.

FIG. 2 shows an exploded view of the container 10. A snack food item holder 15 comprises a base member 16 and a pole member 17 attached to the base member 16 at the first end, which substantially corresponds to the height of the tubular container 11. The snack food item holder 15 is slidably inserted into the tubular container 11, and the cover 12 closes the opening 5 of the tubular container 11 to enclose the snack food items (not shown) inside the container 10. The snack food item holder 15 may optionally have a handle 19 at the second end of the pole member 17, allowing a user to handle the snack food item holder 15 easily.

FIG. 3 shows another exploded view of the container 10 with snack food items 18 stacked on along the pole member 17 of the snack food item holder 15. Each snack food items 18 has a generally uniformed size and shape with an opening 35 (shown in FIG. 7) about the center thereof so that the pole member 17 would be inserted through the opening 35. This may assist centering and aligning the snack food items 18 along the pole member 17 of the snack food item holder 15. For improving the efficiency of using the space within the container 10, the snack food items 18 may have generally flat top and bottom surfaces (not shown). In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, each snack food items 18 is shaped like donut as shown in the accompanying figures.

Once the snack food items 18 are stacked together on the snack food item holder 15, and then inserted into the tubular container 11, then close the opening 5 of the tubular container 11 by frictionally engaging or fitting the cover 12 thereto. The opening 5 of the tubular container 11 and the cover 12 have corresponding and mating means (not shown) that enables enclosing and sealing the snack food items 18 therein.

FIG. 4 is a second embodiment of the snack food container 20 of the present invention. The snack food container 20 comprises a tubular shaped cover 24 having a tubular body portion 21 and top cover portion 22. The top cover portion 22 may have a handle 23 for allowing its users for easier handling thereof. The bottom portion of the tubular shaped cover 24 has an opening 6 for receiving a snack food item holder 25. The snack food item holder 25 comprises a base member 26 and a pole member 27 having first and second end, and the pole member 27 is attached to the base member 26 at the first end. On the second end of the pole member 27, a handle (not shown) may be attached thereto for allowing its users easier handling of the snack food item holder 25. The shape and size of the base member 26 substantially correspond to the bottom opening 6, such that, when the snack food item holder 25 is inserted from the bottom opening 6, the base member 26 closes the opening 6 to create an enclosure. Corresponding fastening means (not shown) are placed at both the opening 6 and the base member 26 for releasably engaging the opening 6 and the base member 26. This allows the container 20 to be resealed after partial consumption of the stacked snack food items 18.

For packaging, referring to FIG. 5, snack food items 18 are stacked together along the pole member 27 on the base member 26 of the snack food item holder 25. The snack food item holder 25 with stacked snack food items 18 are inserted into the tubular cover 24 from the bottom opening 6 till the base member 26 of the snack food item holder 25 engages and closes the opening 6.

FIG. 7 shows a top plan view of the snack food item holder 15 or 25, with a snack food item 18 thereon. The snack food item 18 has an opening 35 therein. The pole member 17 or 27 is inserted through the opening 35. The pole member 17 or 27 helps centering and aligning the snack food items 18 to be aligned along the pole member 17 or 27 while stacking on the snack food item holder 15 or 25.

FIG. 6 shows a decorative feature of the present invention. The cover 12 or top cover portion 22 further comprises one or more coin receiving means 31 for receiving a coin 32 for decoration. The receiving means 31 detachably latches or holds a coin for decoration.

Optionally, in the case of the first embodiment of the snack food container 10 of the present invention, the bottom surface 40 or surface that is interfacing with the tubular container 11 of the cover 12 may optionally have one or more circular cutters 41 and 42 for enabling a user to cut, for example, a cookie dough to form a shape, such that when it is cooked in an oven, the cookies may be stacked in the container 10. Similarly, such cutters 41 and 42 may be attached to the bottom surface (not shown) of the base member 26 of the snack food holder 15 or 25 (in the case of the second embodiment of the snack food container 20). Furthermore, such cutters 41′ or 42′ may be attached at the bottom surface of the tubular container 11 instead. Further optionally, cutters 41 and 42 or 41′ and 42′ may be provided with an appropriate safety measure, such as a cover for preventing any damages to the cutting edges of the cutters 41, 42, 41′ or 42′, and ensuring safety of handlers/users.

The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention has been presented for the purpose of illustration. It is not intended for limiting the present invention to the precise forms disclosed herein, and a person ordinary skilled in the art would appreciate that various modifications and variations (i.e. length, size and shape) may be possible in the light of the present invention without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the pole member 17 or 27 is shown as a single pole in the description and drawings; however, such pole could be more than one pole. In the case of multiple poles, one of those poles may be placed in the center of the base member for handling the snack food item holder and the rest of poles may be placed around the center pole for stacking snack food items therealong.

Claims

1. A container for snack food items, comprising:

a. a tubular member having an opening on one end;

b. a snack food item holder, comprising i. a base member, and ii. a pole member being attached to the base member at one end to stack the snack food items on one another along the pole member on the snack food item holder, wherein the opening of the tubular member detachably engages with the base member to enclose the stacked snack food items.

2. The container as recited in claim 1, wherein the tubular member comprises one or more receiving means for receiving a decorative plate.

3. The container as recited in claim 2, wherein the decorative plate is a coin.

4. The container as recited in claim 1, wherein the base member comprises one or more cutters for cutting dough to shape stackable snack food items.

5. The container as recited in claims 1 further comprises more than one pole member attached to the base member.

6. The container as recited in claim 1 wherein the stackable food items are cookies.

7. A container for snack food items, comprising:

a. a tubular member having an opening on one end;

b. a cover; and

c. a snack food item holder comprising: i. a base member, and ii. a pole member being attached to the base member at one end to stack the snack food items on one another along the pole member on the snack food item holder, wherein the snack food item holder slidably inserted into the tubular member from the opening thereof, and the opening detachably receives the cover to enclose the stacked snack food items on the snack food item holder.

8. The container recited in claim 7, wherein one of top or bottom surfaces of the cover comprises one or more receiving means for receiving a decorative plate.

9. The container as recited in claim 8, wherein the decorative plate is a coin.

10. The container as recited in claim 7, wherein the base member comprises one or more cutters for cutting dough to shape stackable snack food items.

11. The container as recited in claim 7, wherein the cover comprises one or more cutters for cutting dough to shape stackable snack food items.

12. The container as recited in claim 7 comprises more than one pole member attached to the base member.

13. A method of stacking snack food items, the method comprising the steps of:

a. preparing the snack food items having an opening thereon;

b. stacking the snack food items on a snack food item holder along a pole member using the opening of the snack food items, wherein the snack food item holder having a base member, and the pole member is attached to the base member at one end;

c. enclosing the stacked snack food items by inserting the snack food item holder into a tubular member.

14. A kit for stacking and transporting snack food items, comprising:

a. a tubular member having an opening on one end;

b. a cover; and

c. a snack food item holder comprising: i. a base member, and ii. a pole member being attached to the base member at one end to stack the snack food items on one another along the pole member on the snack food item holder, wherein the snack food item holder slidably inserted into the tubular member from the opening thereof, and the opening detachably receives the cover to enclose the stacked snack food items on the snack food item holder.

15. The kit as recited in claim 14, wherein one of top or bottom surfaces of the cover comprises one or more receiving means for receiving a decorative plate.

16. The kit as recited in claim 15, wherein the decorative plate is a coin.

17. The kit as recited in claim 14 further comprises one or more cutters for cutting dough to shape stackable snack food items.

18. The kit as recited in claim 14 comprises more than one pole member attached to the base member.