VACUUM INSULATED FOOD STORAGE CONTAINER AND LID
Disclosed is a double-wall vacuum-insulated food container with complementary lid. The body of the container has a base and an upwardly-extending side wall terminating in an upper free edge. The container also has an inner portion and a complementary outer portion with a gap between. The lid sealingly fits onto the upper free edge of the container. The lid includes a central member and a surrounding frame with a sealing ring. The sealing ring serves as an interface between a lower peripheral edge of the frame and the upper free edge of the container. The frame has fastening members which complementary features disposed about the upper free edge of the container. Within the container is a separator having an outer profile substantially complementary with an inner contour of the container, whereby the interior of the container may be selectively divided by a user.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONVarious embodiments relate generally to food storage systems and devices and, more specifically, relate to vacuum-insulated food storage containers with complementary lids.
This section is intended to provide a background or context. The description may include concepts that may be pursued, but have not necessarily been previously conceived or pursued. Unless indicated otherwise, what is described in this section is not deemed prior art to the description and claims and is not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Maintaining the proper temperature for foods after preparation but before consumption can be difficult. This can be due to small portion size, having a relatively large surface area for radiating or absorbing heat and having a relatively small mass that is insufficient to retain heat or the lack thereof. Further, prior art food storage containers often suffer from inadequate thermal insulative properties. Hot foods quickly become warm or cool and cold foods melt or warm up. Air may be exchanged across a container-lid boundary leading to degradation of the food quality or, worse, contamination. A user's enjoyment of the stored foods is thus inhibited, and the desired freshness may be diminished.
What is needed is a food storage container and lid having improved thermal and atmospheric sealing performance.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe below summary is merely representative and non-limiting.
The above problems are overcome, and other advantages may be realized, by the use of the embodiments.
In a first aspect, an embodiment provides a double wall vacuum insulated food container with insulated lid that offers superior performance in terms of thermal transfer and atmospheric sealing. The container includes a body portion and a lid portion. The body portion has, in a use configuration, a base or floor and at least one upwardly extending side wall terminating in an upper free edge. The at least one wall may be round, oval, rectangular, square, or any other desired shape. The container comprises an inner portion and a complementary outer portion, there being an air gap in between the two for improved thermal performance. The air gap may be maintained as a vacuum, at low pressure, filled with air, or filled with a preferred gas or combination of gases, or some combination thereof. In one non-limiting embodiment, the air gap may also be filled with a foam insulation. In a preferred embodiment, the container is formed of stainless steel.
A complementary lid portion is configured to sealingly fit onto the upper free edge of the container. The lid comprises a central substantially planar member and a surrounding frame with sealing ring. The planar member is provided with enhanced thermal characteristics. For example, the planar member may have an upper portion and a lower portion, each being peripherally joined, substantially mutually parallel, and having an air gap there between. The surrounding frame is configured to mechanically receive the planar member there within. The sealing ring serves as an interface between a lower peripheral edge of the frame and an upper free edge of an underlying container. The frame is preferably provided with plural fastening members adapted to selectively engage with complementary features disposed about the upper free edge of the container. In one embodiment, the frame is provided of metal or plastic and the fastening members are connected to the frame, such as through the use of a living hinge.
Selectively disposed within the container is at least one separator having an outer profile substantially complementary with an inner contour of the container, whereby the interior of the container may be selectively divided by a user.
Aspects of the described embodiments are more evident in the following description, when read in conjunction with the attached Figures.
This patent application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/623,206, filed Jan. 29, 2018, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
With respect to
Preferably, the upper free edge 20 is equidistant from the base 16 along all points about the container 10. However, in certain embodiments, it may be desirable to have one or more discontinuities or regions where the distance from the base 16 to the upper free edge 20 is not uniform.
The at least one upwardly extending side wall 18 can be provided in a variety of vertical projections, including round, oval, square, rectangular, or other geometries. For example, there may be four such walls 18 arranged in the shape of a square with two pairs of oppositely facing, mutually parallel walls, as depicted in
The body portion 12 in a first embodiment is provided of stainless steel due to its superior cleanability and thermal qualities. An outer surface of the container 10, when provided of stainless steel, may be polished or brushed, the latter enabling easier gripping, particularly in damp or wet environments. In the first embodiment, the stainless steel is 0.5 mm thick.
In one embodiment, the floor 16 is flat and featureless. However, in other embodiments, the base 16 may be provided with linear or discrete features 26 (
Preferably, the body portion 12, including the floor 16 and at least one side wall 18, is comprised of an inner wall 22 and an outer wall 24 (
At the upper free edge 20 of the body portion 12, the outer wall 24 forms an outwardly projecting shoulder 30, as seen at least in
As shown with respect to the embodiments of
The planar member 40 is preferably provided of stainless steel due to its superior cleanability and thermal qualities. The planar member 40 is also preferably hollow, having an upper surface 50, a lower surface 52, and a surrounding side wall 54 formed into a single, hollow unit, as shown in
About a lower edge of the periphery of the planar member 40, at the juncture of the lower surface 52 and the side wall 54, is an inwardly extending shoulder 56. This shoulder 56 preferably extends continuously about the entire planar member 40.
The frame 42 may be formed of plastic or metal, though plastic may be preferred in some embodiments due to its lower weight, pliability and resistance to denting, and ability to be provided in a variety of colors. The frame 42 is preferably provided with a substantially vertical, inwardly facing side wall 60 that forms a continuous enclosed space dimensioned to snugly receive the planar member 40. Formed at a lower extent of the side wall 60 is an inwardly projecting shelf 62 dimensioned to complement the dimensions of the inwardly extending shoulder 56 of the planar member 40. The inwardly extending shoulder 56 of the planar member 40 thus rests on the inwardly projecting shelf 62 of the frame 42 and is retained there through interference fit in a first embodiment. In alternative embodiments, the planar member 40 is retained within the frame 42 via gluing, welding, and/or mechanical features or means.
As shown in
In a first, rest position, shown in
The prong 76 associated with each clasp 70 may be a discrete element that has a narrow width with respect to the respective clasp 70. Alternatively, the prong 76 may have a width that is a greater percentage of the width of the respective clasp 70, all the way up to 100% of the respective clasp width. In the embodiments of
The lower extent of the frame 42 is provided with a peripheral, downwardly facing channel 94, as seen in
Optionally, the food container 10 may include a body portion divider 100a, 100b (
For example, the divider 100a is configured to extend across a width of the respective body portion 12. The end walls 102 are planar. Both the end walls 102 and the intermediate wall 104 are dimensioned in this embodiment to span the width of the body portion 12, as seen in
In another embodiment, the divider 100b is configured and dimensioned to fit vertically, on the diagonal between opposite corners of a four-sided body portion 12, such as the square body portion 12 seen in
The foregoing description has been directed to particular embodiments. However, other variations and modifications may be made to the described embodiments, with the attainment of some or all of their advantages. Modifications to the above-described systems and methods may be made without departing from the concepts disclosed herein. Accordingly, the invention should not be viewed as limited by the disclosed embodiments. Furthermore, various features of the described embodiments may be used without the corresponding use of other features. Thus, this description should be read as merely illustrative of various principles, and not in limitation of the invention.
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS
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- 10 container
- 12 body portion
- 14 lid portion
- 16 base or floor
- 18 side wall
- 20 upper free edge
- 22 inner wall
- 24 outer wall
- 26 linear or discrete features
- 30 outwardly projecting shoulder
- 40 planar member or portion
- 42 frame
- 44 sealing member
- 48 depression or aperture
- 49 cap or cover
- 50 upper surface
- 52 lower surface
- 54 side wall
- 56 inwardly extending shoulder
- 60 inwardly facing side wall
- 62 inwardly projecting shelf
- 70 clasps
- 72 hinge
- 76 prong
- 78 oblique angle
- 82 upwardly projecting point
- 90 substantially vertical upper portion
- 92 angled lower portion
- 94 peripheral, downwardly facing channel
- 100a body portion divider
- 100b body portion divider
- 102 parallel, vertically extending end walls
- 104 vertical intermediate wall
- 106 divider bottom wall
- 200 container
- 212 body portion
- 214 lid portion
- 235 pressure release valve
Claims
1. A vacuum-insulated container comprising:
- a body portion, wherein the body portion has a floor and at least one upwardly extending side wall terminating in an upper free edge, and wherein the at least one upwardly extending side wall comprises an inner portion and a complementary outer portion defining a thermally-insulating, side wall gap between; and
- a lid portion configured to sealingly fit onto the upper free edge, wherein the lid portion comprises a substantially planar member and a frame having sealing ring, wherein the substantially planar member comprises an upper portion and a complementary lower portion defining a thermally-insulating, planar member gap between, wherein the frame is configured to mechanically receive and surround the substantially planar member there within, and wherein the sealing ring is configured to serve as an interface between a lower peripheral edge of the frame and the upper free edge.
2. The vacuum-insulated container of claim 1, further comprising a separator selectively disposed within the vacuum-insulated container, wherein the separator has an outer profile substantially complementary with an inner contour of the vacuum-insulated container, and whereby the interior of the vacuum-insulated container may be selectively divided with the separator.
3. A container comprising:
- a base having at least one upwardly extending side wall terminating in an upper free edge, wherein the at least one upwardly extending side wall comprises an inner portion and a complementary outer portion defining a thermally-insulating, side wall gap between;
- a lid configured to fit onto the upper free edge, wherein the lid comprises a substantially planar member and a frame defining a channel, wherein the substantially planar member comprises an upper portion and a complementary lower portion defining a thermally-insulating, planar member gap between, wherein the frame is configured to receive the substantially planar member therewithin; and
- a sealing member disposed in the channel, wherein the sealing member is configured to create an air-tight seal between a lower peripheral edge of the frame and the upper free edge.
4. The container of claim 3, wherein the base comprises stainless steel, and the substantially planar member comprises of stainless steel.
5. The container of claim 3, wherein the base has one of: a rectangular shape and a square shape.
6. The container of claim 3, further comprising a separator selectively disposed within the container, wherein the separator has an outer profile substantially complementary with an inner contour of the container.
7. The container of claim 6, wherein the separator is configured to span between two parallel sections of the at least one upwardly extending side wall.
8. The container of claim 6, wherein the separator is configured to span between two opposing corners of the at least one upwardly extending side wall.
9. The container of claim 3, wherein the frame further comprises at least one clasp configured to engage a fastening feature on the base.
10. The container of claim 9, wherein the at least one clasp comprises at least one of: a living hinge, a flag hinge and a piano hinge.
11. The container of claim 9, wherein the fastening feature comprises a shoulder and the at least one clasp comprises a prong configured to engage the shoulder.
12. The container of claim 9, wherein the at least one clasp is configured to engage a fastening feature while the lid is maintained relatively stationary with regards to the base.
13. The container of claim 1, wherein the lid portion includes a pressure release valve button configured to, when pressed, equalize an atmosphere within the container and an atmosphere outside the container.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 28, 2019
Publication Date: Aug 1, 2019
Inventor: Hongyuan Han (New Vernon, CT)
Application Number: 16/258,724