First-In First-Out Storage Container
A storage container used to provide first-in, first-out storage of consumable products stored in individual packages, which utilizes a bottom panel, front panel, rear panel, side panels, a base, and a slot, to allow the user to efficiently and reliably remove the first-stored individual package through the slot located on the front panel of the storage container near its base. In addition, a pull tab and handles are made part of the storage container to allow for ease in transport of the storage container. Further, single bands of material are wrapped around the perimeter of the storage container to provide additional support to the storage container. Optionally, a lid is used to cover the open top of the storage container. Additionally, the base can be removed from the storage container such that the storage container will be collapsible.
Not Applicable
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENTNot Applicable
REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER LISTING COMPACT DISC APPENDIXNot Applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention provides an improved storage container, more particularly for the storage of items where it is desirable to access the stored items in the order in which they were stored.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention provides an improved apparatus for storing consumable products, such as individual servings of pumped breast milk. In particular, the present disclosure is directed to storage containers using a “first-in, first-out” storage method for the consumable products where the age or freshness of the consumable product is of importance to the extent that the stored products are organized such that the items are used in the same order they were stored.
2. Background
Storage containers have long been known and widely used for many purposes including the storage of consumable products. The present invention relates to an apparatus that enables the user to store a specific amount of a consumable product in an individual package, wherein the apparatus is designed to hold a plurality of said individual package. Existing storage containers provide for storage of a plurality of individual packages; however, the means for assuring usage of the first-stored individual package typically involves an inefficient and unreliable practice of placing the date on each individual package and searching through all of the stored individual packages for the one individual package with the oldest marked date. In the present invention, when choosing one of the individual packages for consumption of the consumable product, the user can remove only the desired amount in a more convenient manner while guaranteed of safely and efficiently removing the individual package that has been stored for the longest amount of time. This is of particular concern with certain consumable products, such as pumped breast milk, where longevity and freshness are critical for health and safety reasons. In addition, breast milk is commonly pumped and then stored in plastic bags, which can be difficult to mark and cumbersome to sort through.
In the present invention, efficient and reliable removal of the first-stored individual package is accomplished through a first-in, first-out process. In this process, the first prepared individual package is placed inside the storage container on top of the base of said storage container. Subsequently prepared individual storage packages will be placed in the storage container sequentially on top of the most recently stored individual package or once on the base of the storage container in the event all of the previously stored individual packages have been used. In order to accomplish the first-in, first-out process, the first-stored individual package is removed from the storage container through a small slot cut in the front panel of the storage container near the bottom of the storage container, such that the individual package resting on top of the base at the bottom of a stack of stored individual packages is the individual package that is removed from the storage container. Consequently, the stack of individual packages will drop down inside the storage container such that the individual packages can easily be removed in the exact same order in which they were stored in the storage container.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention is a storage container made of a thin, durable, and flexible, non-corrosive material such as plastic, which has a bottom panel located at its bottom edge. A hard base made of a durable, non-corrosive material such as plastic is designed to sit inside the storage container and fits on top of the bottom panel. Extending up from the bottom panel are a continuous front panel, a continuous rear panel, and two continuous side panels, made of the same material as the bottom panel. Each of these four panels terminates at the upper edge of the storage container, which is open. The front panel of the storage container further includes an open slot located just above the bottom edge of the storage container. The slot is as wide as the front panel and narrow in height. In addition, a small pull tab in the shape of a loop, which can be used to move the storage container horizontally along its base, is attached to the front panel, below the upper edge of the storage container. Further, a handle is attached to each side panel near the upper edge of the storage container, to allow for lifting of the storage container. In order to provide stability to the storage container, a band of flexible, durable material is wrapped around the perimeter of the storage container's base and attached to the front, rear, and side panels at the bottom edge of the storage container. Additional bands of flexible durable, material are wrapped around the storage container, parallel to the band at the bottom edge, at the upper edge and also at an approximate vertical midpoint of the storage container to provide further stability. Alternatively, a flat lid made of a durable, hard material, which fits inside the opening of the storage container near its upper edge is also provided. The lid can be easily attached to and removed from the storage container at its upper edge through connectors such as small hooks or the like, which are attached to the edges of the lid and will hook on to the upper edge of the storage container. An additional alternative lid, also made of a durable, hard material, is also provided. This alternative lid is designed like a lid for a typical shoebox with a flat surface and a short lip extending uniformly downward around the perimeter of the flat surface. The alternative lid is of sufficient size to rest on top of the storage container's upper edge, with the lip of the alternative lid partially covering the uppermost ends of the front panel, rear panel, and side panels of the storage container.
In the drawings, which form a part of this application,
Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts, there is shown in
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Near the bottom edge of the front panel 2, just above where the front panel is connected to the bottom panel 1, a slot 3 is cut out of the front panel 2. The width of the slot 3 is approximately the same as the width of the front panel 2. The lower edge of the slot 3 is located on the front panel 2 at a point where it approximately lines up with the top surface of the base 7 when it is placed on the bottom panel 1 inside the storage container. The overall height of the slot 3 is large enough such that a single serving storage bag 12 containing a quantity of liquid that has been stored in the storage container can be removed from its stored position on the base 7 by the user when the user reaches in the slot 3 and pulls on the single serving storage bag 12. Further, the overall height of the slot 3 is preferably minimized such that a single serving storage bag 12 stored in the storage container will not inadvertently fall out of the slot 3 unless the single serving storage bag 12 is pulled through the slot 3 by the user.
Additionally, in the preferred embodiment of the storage container, as shown in
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It should be understood that the foregoing disclosure relates primarily to the preferred embodiment of the invention and that numerous modifications or alterations may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
Claims
1. A storage container, which comprises:
- (a) a bottom panel and a continuous front panel, rear panel, and two side panels that extend from the bottom panel and terminate at an open top end;
- (b) a hard base that sits on top of the bottom panel; and
- (c) a slot cut in the front panel just above said base when sitting on top of the bottom panel.
2. A storage container as recited in claim 1, wherein said base is removable.
3. A storage container as recited in claim 1, further comprising a pull tab located on said front panel.
4. A storage container as recited in claim 1, further comprising handles attached to the side panels.
5. A storage container as recited in claim 1, wherein a single band of material is wrapped around the perimeter of the bottom panel and the bottom edges of the front panel, rear panel, and side panels.
6. A storage container as recited in claim 5, further comprising an additional single band of material wrapped around the perimeter of the open top end and the top edges of the front panel, rear panel, and side panels.
7. A storage container as recited in claim 6, further comprising an additional single band of material wrapped around the approximate vertical midpoint of the front panel, rear panel, and side panels.
8. A storage container as recited in claim 1, further comprising a lid to cover the open top end.
9. A storage container as recited in claim 8, wherein said lid has a main panel that sits inside the open top end and includes four hooks attached to said lid such that the hooked end of said hooks will hook on to the top edge of the front panel, rear panel, and side panels.
10. A storage container as recited in claim 8, wherein said lid has a main panel that rests on top of the open top end and includes a perimeter lip around the main panel such that the lip will cover the top edge of the front panel, rear panel, and side panels.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 21, 2012
Publication Date: Jun 26, 2014
Inventors: David Spennacchio (Jupiter, FL), Regina Spennacchio (Jupiter, FL)
Application Number: 13/724,242
International Classification: B65D 25/00 (20060101); B65D 25/28 (20060101); B65D 25/02 (20060101);