Abstract:
A food container is disclosed that includes a food compartment and a seal-on cover. The food compartment has an outer rim that circumscribes a volume. The food compartment outer rim has tear tab guides that extend outward from the rim. The seal-on cover has a peripheral edge with two portions, the first portion is connected to the rim and the second portion is not connected to the rim and extends past the outer rim forming an overhang. The extended tear tab guides are located adjacent to the overhang and direct the user as to where the tear line begins at the overhang and extends to an opposite side of the peripheral edge. When a user pulls on the overhang, the seal-on cover tears along the tear line and exposes a portion of the volume.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application 62/239,483 entitled “FOOD CONTAINER WITH PEEL OFF COVER” filed on Oct. 9, 2015, the contents of which are incorporate herein by reference. 
         [0002]    This application is also related to U.S. Pat. No. 8,596,491 entitled “CUP LID WITH INTEGRATED CONTAINER” issued on Dec. 3, 2013; U.S. Pat. No. 8,695,845 entitled “TOP MOUNTING CAN CONTAINER” issued on Apr. 15, 2014; U.S. Pat. No. 8,381,935 entitled “CUP LID WITH INTEGRATED CONTAINER” issued on Feb. 26, 2013; U.S. Pat. No. 8,714,393 entitled “CUP LID WITH INTEGRATED CONTAINER” issued on May 6, 2014; U.S. Pat. No. 8,590,730 entitled “TOP MOUNTING CAN CONTAINER” issued on Nov. 26, 2013; U.S. Pat. No. 8,708,181 entitled “LID WITH INTEGRATED CONTAINER” issued on Apr. 29, 2014; U.S. Pat. No. 8,701,914 entitled “TWO-PART RECYCLABLE CUP” issued on Apr. 22, 2014; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/412,602 entitled “TOP MOUNTING BOTTLE CONTAINER” filed on Mar. 5, 2012; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/680,011 entitled “CUP LID WITH INTEGRATED CONTAINER” filed on Nov. 17, 2012; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/680,049 entitled “CUP LID WITH INTEGRATED CONTAINER” filed on Nov. 17, 2012; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/733,153 entitled “CUP LID WITH INTEGRATED CONTAINER” filed on Jan. 3, 2013; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/263,993 entitled “LID WITH INTEGRATED CONTAINER” filed on Apr. 28, 2014; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/269,016 entitled “A CONTAINER LID WITH ONE OR MORE CAVITIES” filed on May 2, 2014; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/274,576 entitled “A CONTAINER LID WITH A FOOD COMPARTMENT AND A SIP-HOLE” filed on May 9, 2014; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/313,907 entitled “A CONTAINER LID SYSTEM WITH A LID PORTION AND FOOD CONTAINER PORTION” filed on Jun. 24, 2014; and U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 62/005,862 entitled “A CONTAINER LID SYSTEM WITH A LID PORTION AND FOOD CONTAINER PORTION” filed on May 30, 2014; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 29/500,266 entitled “BENDABLE DRINKING STRAW” filed on Aug. 22, 2014; U.S. Patent Application 62/038,209 entitled “BENDABLE SAFETY STRAW” filed on Aug. 16, 2014; U.S. Patent Application 62/105,256 entitled “BENDABLE SAFETY STRAW AND LIDS WITH FOOD COMPARTMENT” filed on Jan. 20, 2015; U.S. Patent Application 62/395,911 entitled “FOOD CONTAINERS, TRAYS AND LIDS” filed on Sep. 16, 2016; U.S. Patent Application 62/239,485 entitled “TRAY FOR FOOD CONTAINER” filed on Oct. 9, 2015, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/986,703 entitled “CUP LID WITH INTEGRATED CONTAINER” filed on Jan. 3, 2016 all of which are by the same inventor of the present application. Each of these applications is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0003]    The present invention relates to food containers. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    The increased popularity of fast food establishments, coupled with the popularity for consumption of food on-the-go has led to the need for more convenient food packaging. 
         [0005]    Billions of disposable beverage containers are used every year. Often those containers are part of a larger meal, and current technology dictates placing a lid on the beverage container, and packing the food in a separate and detached container. This may be satisfactory for a consumer seated at a table. However, when the consumer must eat on-the-go, use of the current technology is problematic. Consider, for example, a consumer that is drinking the beverage and would like to access to nuts, candy or another snack. The consumer must set aside a beverage, and then use one hand to hold the snack container and the other hand to access the snack. As shown in this example, current technology does not allow for convenient on-the-go eating. 
         [0006]    To further aggravate this problem, gaining access to the snacks contained in the snack container is cumbersome and, often, inadvertently leads to spilling the entire contents of the snack container. For example, most people have opened a bag of chips or candy with too much force sending chips/candy flying in various directions. 
         [0007]    What is therefore needed is food container that overcomes these shortcomings, and fosters convenient on-the-go eating. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the claimed subject matter. This summary is not an extensive overview, and is not intended to identify key/critical elements or to delineate the scope of the claimed subject matter. Its purpose is to present some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later. 
         [0009]    The present invention provides an elegant solution to the needs described above and provides numerous additional benefits and advantages as will be apparent to persons of skill in the art. A food container is disclosed that includes a food compartment and a seal-on cover. The food compartment has an outer rim that circumscribes a volume. Adjacent to the food compartment rim are one or more tear tab guides that extend outward from the rim and act as directional tear guides for removing a portion of the seal-on cover. The seal-on cover has a peripheral edge with two portions, the first portion is connected to the rim and the second portion is not connected to the rim and extends past the outer rim forming an overhang. The extended tear tab guides located adjacent to the cover overhang inform the user where the tear line begins. The tear line begins at the overhang and extends to an opposite side of the peripheral edge. When a user pulls on the overhang, the seal-on lid cover tears along the tear line and exposes a portion of the food compartment volume. 
         [0010]    In certain embodiments, the food compartment may be symmetrical about a food compartment symmetry axis. The food compartment may also include a food container coupling structure adapted to be detachably connected to a lid complementary coupling structure. The food compartment may have a pour spout. An edge of the extended tear tab guides which are adjacent to the seal-on cover overhang may be parallel to the tear line, assisting the user to tear the cover along the tear line. 
         [0011]    In other embodiments, the seal-on cover may be symmetrical about a lid symmetry axis. The first portion of the peripheral edge may be connected to the rim by an adhesive or heat treatment. The tear tab guides also provide a larger surface area on which to adhere the seal-on cover, such that when a user pulls at the overhang of the seal-on cover, the cover is securely adhered to the tear tab guide, favoring a tear along the intended tear line. The seal-on cover may also have a notch adjacent to the overhang, and/or a score line, both of which favor a tear along the intended tear line. 
         [0012]    In yet other embodiments, the peripheral edge of the seal-on cover may also have a third portion that is not connected to the rim and extends past the outer rim forming a second overhang. The tear line extends from the overhang to the second overhang, and when a user pulls on the overhang or the second overhang, the seal-on cover tears along the intended tear line and exposes a portion of the food container volume. 
         [0013]    Additional aspects, alternatives and variations as would be apparent to persons of skill in the art are also disclosed herein and are specifically contemplated as included as part of the invention. The invention is set forth only in the claims as allowed by the patent office in this or related applications, and the following summary descriptions of certain examples are not in any way to limit, define or otherwise establish the scope of legal protection. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]    The invention can be better understood with reference to the following figures. The components within the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed on clearly illustrating example aspects of the invention. In the figures, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views and/or embodiments. It will be understood that certain components and details may not appear in the figures to assist in more clearly describing the invention. 
           [0015]      FIG. 1A  illustrates a top perspective view of a first embodiment of a novel food container designed to guide a user into tearing a seal-on cover along an intended tear line. 
           [0016]      FIG. 1B  illustrates a top perspective view of a second embodiment of a novel food container designed to guide a user into tearing a seal-on cover along an intended tear line. 
           [0017]      FIG. 1C  illustrates a top perspective view of a third embodiment of a novel food container designed to guide a user into tearing a seal-on cover along an intended tear line. 
           [0018]      FIG. 1D  illustrates a top perspective view of a fourth embodiment of a novel food container designed to guide a user into tearing a seal-on cover along an intended tear line. 
           [0019]      FIG. 2A  illustrates a bottom perspective view of the first embodiment shown in  FIG. 1A . 
           [0020]      FIG. 2B  illustrates a bottom perspective view of the second embodiment shown in  FIG. 1B . 
           [0021]      FIG. 2C  illustrates a bottom perspective view of the third embodiment shown in  FIG. 1C . 
           [0022]      FIG. 2D  illustrates a bottom perspective view of the fourth embodiment shown in  FIG. 1D . 
           [0023]      FIG. 3A  illustrates the first embodiment shown in  FIG. 1A  a with score line. 
           [0024]      FIG. 3B  illustrates the second embodiment shown in  FIG. 1B  with a score line. 
           [0025]      FIG. 3C  illustrates the third embodiment shown in  FIG. 1C  with a score line. 
           [0026]      FIG. 3D  illustrates the fourth embodiment shown in  FIG. 1D  with a score line. 
           [0027]      FIG. 4A  illustrates the first embodiment shown in  FIG. 1A  with the seal-on cover removed along the tear path of the score line. 
           [0028]      FIG. 4B  illustrates the first embodiment shown in  FIG. 1B  with the seal-on cover removed along the tear path of the score line. 
           [0029]      FIG. 4C  illustrates the first embodiment shown in  FIG. 1C  with the seal-on cover removed along the tear path of the score line. 
           [0030]      FIG. 4D  illustrates the first embodiment shown in  FIG. 1D  with the seal-on cover removed along the tear path of the score line. 
           [0031]      FIG. 5A  illustrates a top perspective view of the first embodiment with the seal-on cover detached so the entire structure of the food container can be seen. 
           [0032]      FIG. 5B  illustrates a top perspective view of the first, second third and fourth embodiments with the seal-on covers detached so the entire structure of the food containers can be seen. 
           [0033]      FIG. 6  illustrates the first embodiment attached and detached to a coupling lid of a beverage container. 
           [0034]      FIG. 7  illustrates the first embodiment attached and detached to a coupling lid of a beverage container, where the seal-on cover has been removed along the intended tear line. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0035]    Reference is made herein to some specific examples of the present invention, including any best modes contemplated by the inventor for carrying out the invention. Examples of these specific embodiments are illustrated in the accompanying figures. While the invention is described in conjunction with these specific embodiments, it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the invention to the described or illustrated embodiments. To the contrary, it is intended to cover alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. 
         [0036]    In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. Particular example embodiments of the present invention may be implemented without some or all of these specific details. In other instances, process operations well known to persons of skill in the art have not been described in detail in order not to obscure unnecessarily the present invention. Various techniques and mechanisms of the present invention will sometimes be described in singular form for clarity. However, it should be noted that some embodiments include multiple iterations of a technique or multiple mechanisms unless noted otherwise Similarly, various steps of the methods shown and described herein are not necessarily performed in the order indicated, or performed at all in certain embodiments. Accordingly, some implementations of the methods discussed herein may include more or fewer steps than those shown or described. Further, the techniques and mechanisms of the present invention will sometimes describe a connection, relationship or communication between two or more entities. It should be noted that a connection or relationship between entities does not necessarily mean a direct, unimpeded connection, as a variety of other entities or processes may reside or occur between any two entities. Consequently, an indicated connection does not necessarily mean a direct, unimpeded connection unless otherwise noted. 
         [0037]    The following list of example features corresponds with  FIGS. 1-7  and is provided for ease of reference, where like reference numerals designate corresponding features throughout the specification and figures: 
         [0038]      5 A—first embodiment of a food container 
         [0039]      5 B—second embodiment of a food container 
         [0040]      5 C—third embodiment of a food container 
         [0041]      5 D—fourth embodiment of a food container 
         [0042]      10 —pour spout 
         [0043]      12 —food compartment 
         [0044]      15 —seal-on cover 
         [0045]      17 A—first portion of seal-on cover peripheral edge 
         [0046]      17 B—second portion of seal-on cover peripheral edge 
         [0047]      20 A—rim of food container (first embodiment) 
         [0048]      20 B—rim of food container (second embodiment) 
         [0049]      22 —food compartment volume 
         [0050]      25 A—cover overhang for tearing the seal-on cover (first embodiment) 
         [0051]      25 B—cover overhang for tearing the seal-on cover (second embodiment) 
         [0052]      30 A—extended tear tab guides that act as a direction guide for tearing a seal-on cover (first embodiment) 
         [0053]      30 B—extended tear tab guides that act as a direction guide for tearing a seal-on cover (second embodiment) 
         [0054]      30 BB—additional extended tear tab guides that act as direction guide for tearing a seal-on cover (second embodiment) 
         [0055]      32 —food compartment symmetry axis 
         [0056]      33 —cover symmetry axis 
         [0057]      34 —second cover overhang for tearing the seal-on cover (second and third embodiments) 
         [0058]      35 A—direction of tearing prevented by the extended tear tab guides (first embodiment) 
         [0059]      35 B—direction of tearing prevented by the extended tear tab guides (second embodiment) 
         [0060]      40 A—direction of tearing as guided by the extended tear tab guides (first embodiment) 
         [0061]      40 B—direction of tearing as guided by the extended tear tab guides (second embodiment) 
         [0062]      45 A—tear line (first embodiment) 
         [0063]      45 B—tear line (second embodiment) 
         [0064]      45 C—tear line (third embodiment) 
         [0065]      45 D—tear line (fourth embodiment) 
         [0066]      50 A—score line (first embodiment) 
         [0067]      50 B—score line (second embodiment) 
         [0068]      50 C—score line (third embodiment) 
         [0069]      50 D—score line (fourth embodiment) 
         [0070]      55 —cover notch 
         [0071]      60 —beverage container lid 
         [0072]      65 —beverage container 
         [0073]      70 —food container coupling structure 
         [0074]      75 —lid complementary coupling structure 
         [0075]      80 —beverage container coupling structure 
         [0076]      FIG. 1  illustrates several food containers ( 5 A,  5 B,  5 C,  5 D) comprised of a food compartment  12  and a seal-on cover  15 . The seal-on cover  15 , however, is not designed to be completely removed from the food compartment. This is advantageous for small food items that may be poured into the user&#39;s mouth, such as corn nuts, candies and nuts. If the entire seal-on cover  15  is removed, then the contents may spill when the user picks up the food container ( 5 A,  5 B,  5 C,  5 D) and pours the contents into his or her mouth. As can been seen, the food container ( 5 A,  5 D) may have a pour spout  10  formed into the food compartment  12  and a seal-on cover  15  as shown in  FIGS. 1A and 1D , but the food container ( 5 B and  5 C) need not have such a spout  10 , such as the embodiments in  FIGS. 1B and 1C . 
         [0077]    The food containers ( 5 A,  5 B,  5 C,  5 D) are designed to guide or direct the user to tear the seal-on cover  15  along an intended tear line so as to expose only a portion of the food compartment  12 . In this way, the user may access the contents from the food compartment  12  through a pouring action without spilling the contents. 
         [0078]      FIGS. 2A-2D  correspond to the same embodiments as shown in  FIGS. 1A-1D  respectively, but from an upward perspective view. Likewise, the  FIGS. 3A-3D, 4A-4D, 5B  correspond to the same embodiments shown in  FIGS. 1A-1D . 
         [0079]      FIG. 2A  shows that the rim of the food container  20 A circumscribes a volume  22  (see  FIGS. 4A, 5A and 5B ).  FIG. 2A, 5A and 5B  show the extended tear tab guides  30 A that guide the user where to tear off a portion of the seal-on cover  15  at a particular location where the seal-on cover  15  overhangs  25 A giving access to a portion of the food compartment volume  22 . Further the one or more extended tear tab guides  30 A guide the user for tearing the tab in the direction shown by arrow  40 A, this can be seen more clearly in  FIG. 1A . Once the user begins to tear in the direction of arrow  40 A, the seal-on cover  15  will continue to tear along the line  45 A ( FIG. 4A ). This tear line  45 A is enhanced because the seal-on cover  15  has a peripheral edge with two portions: the first portion  17 A ( FIG. 3A ) is adhered by adhesive, heat treatment or other suitable means to the rim  20 A, and the second portion  17 B ( FIG. 3A ) is not adhered to the rim  20 A because it forms the overhang  25 A that extends past the rim  20 A to a sufficient extent to allow a user to pull on it. The first portion of the peripheral edge  17 A may slightly overhang as well, but that overhang would not be of a sufficient extent to allow a user to pull on it. Preferably, as shown in  FIG. 2A  and in  FIG. 5A , the shaped of the rim  20 A at location  30 A is parallel to the direction of the tear line  45 A, which forms the overhang  25 A and guides the user to tear along the direction of the tear line  45 A exposing a portion of the food compartment volume  22 . Because the tear line  45 A crosses the top of the food compartment  12 , only a portion of the volume  22  will be exposed. This is advantageous because the user may access the contents from the food compartment  12  through a pouring action without spilling the contents.  FIGS. 4A-4D  illustrate how only a portion of the seal-on cover  15  is removed, exposing a portion of the volume  22 . 
         [0080]    The food compartment  12  for the first embodiment  5 A is symmetrical about food compartment symmetry axis  32 , while the seal-on cover  15  is not. This yields only one location where the user can tear off a portion of the seal-on cover  15 . If the seal-on cover  15  is made symmetrical about the cover symmetry axis  33 , then the user could have a second location/overhang  34  from which to begin tearing open the cover  15 . To further assist in guiding the user to tear along the intended tear line, a score line  50 A may be used. 
         [0081]    Score lines are also shown as  50 A,  50 B,  50 C and  50 D in  FIGS. 3A-3D  that correspond to first, second, third and fourth embodiments, respectively. Further, the user is guided to tear along tear lines  45 A,  45 B,  45 C or  45 D shown in  FIGS. 4A-4D , which correspond to first, second, third and fourth embodiments, respectively. 
         [0082]      FIGS. 1B, 2B, 3B, 4B and 5B , illustrate a second embodiment of the food container  5 B where an extended tear tab guide or guides  30 B are located adjacent to the food container rim  20 B and work together with the seal-on cover  15  to guide the user into tearing the seal-on cover  15  along the intended tear line  45 B. Specifically in  FIGS. 1B and 2B  the rim  20 B extends outward and forms additional tear tab guides that are adjacent to the seal-on cover overhang  30 BB and guide the user where to pull on the overhang  25 B in the direction shown by arrow  35 B. The seal-on cover  15  also has a notch  55  that directs the tear of the cover  15  in the direction of arrow  40 B. It is the combination of tear tab guides  30 B ( FIG. 2B ) and the strategic location of the seal-on cover overhang  25 B and the notch  55  that ensures the user tears along the intended tear line  45 B shown in  FIG. 4B . To further assist in guiding the user to tear along the intended tear line, a score line  50 A- 50 D may be used as shown in the various embodiments in  FIGS. 3A-3D . The notch  55  may be at a terminal end of the score line, further assisting the user in tearing the cover along the tear line. The third and fourth embodiments shown in  FIGS. 1C-1D, 2C-2D, 3C-3D, 4C-4D and 5B  are similar to the ones just described with reference the first and second embodiments, i.e., food container  5 A and  5 B. 
         [0083]    The first embodiment  5 A allows the user to tear open the seal-on cover from only one location, whereas the second embodiment  5 B allows the user to tear open the seal-on cover from two locations, i.e., it has a second overhang  34 . Similarly, the third embodiment  5 C has two tear open locations and the fourth embodiment  5 D has only one. 
         [0084]    It should also be noted that the food compartments for the embodiments shown in the figures are symmetrical, although they do not have to be. 
         [0085]      FIGS. 6 and 7  illustrate how the food container  5 A can be constructed to couple to the lid  60  of a beverage container  65 . The bottom of the food container  5 A may have a coupling structure  70  that detachably mates to a complementary coupling structure  75  located on the lid  60 . The lid  60  may also have a beverage container coupling structure  80  that detachable mates the lid  60  to the rim of the beverage container  65 . Such a lid is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/313,907 entitled “A CONTAINER LID SYSTEM WIWHT A LID PORTION AND FOOD CONTAINER PORTION” filed on Jun. 24, 2014 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/986,703 entitled “CUP LID WITH INTEGRATED CONTAINER” filed on Jan. 3, 2016. Another such beverage container lid is shown in U.S. Pat. No. D767391 entitled “BEVERAGE CONTAINER LID” issued on Sep. 27, 2016. These patent and patent applications are by the same inventor of the present application and both are incorporated by reference here. Other examples of coupling lids are described in the patent applications listed at the beginning of this provisional application, all of which are incorporated by reference. 
         [0086]    The food container described herein may be constructed using a variety of methods, including by non-limiting example thermoformed (thin gauge) and thin wall injection molding. The types of material would be apparent to one of skill in the art and may include by nonlimiting example PP (polypropylene), PET (polyethylene terephthalate), CPET, RPET Polyethylene (HDPE/LDPE), styrene, HIPS, HMWPE, PP/PE blends, custom blends of thermoplastics (which may or may not include post-consumer or post-industrial content) and other proprietary blends of thermoplastics. 
         [0087]    Although exemplary embodiments and applications of the invention have been described herein including as described above and shown in the included example Figures, there is no intention that the invention be limited to these exemplary embodiments and applications or to the manner in which the exemplary embodiments and applications operate or are described herein. Indeed, many variations and modifications to the exemplary embodiments are possible as would be apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art. The invention may include any device, structure, method, or functionality, as long as the resulting device, system or method falls within the scope of one of the claims that are allowed by the patent office based on this or any related patent application.