Abstract:
A portable, disposable pet feeding container having two thin walled primary bowls held by a relatively thick bowl support. The bowl bottom is roughened to resist slippage during use and the top rim is positioned essentially horizontally on essentially vertically extending bowl walls above the bowl support to resist cross contamination and provide a sealing contact line. An adhesive coated lid seals in the bowl contents prior to use. An auxiliary bowl can be placed within a primary bowl or the base of one bowl extended beneath the other to increase volume, weight and traction of the one bowl.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    A portable disposable container has two bowls for consumables, secured together by a support, with rims above the support and roughened bottoms, an auxiliary bowl can be placed in one of the bowls.  
           [0003]    2. Description of Related Art  
           [0004]    Portable disposable food containers are common in the art. Plural adjacent compartment food containers with individual portions sealed and easily separated with food for convenient use are common with D. St. Pierre et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,904,263, issued 18 May 1999, an example. Plural adjacent compartment food containers with individual portions for different foods sealed for convenient use are common with G. Hustad et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,657,874, issued 19 Aug. 1997, an example.  
           [0005]    Providing convenient portable disposable food containers is common. J. Zarski, U.S. Pat. No. 5,947,056, issued 7 Sep. 1999, and T. King et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,752,464, issued 19 May 1998, are examples of duel container pet feeding containers that are pivotable together and easily transportable for food and water with sealed closures for each container.  
           [0006]    M. Gorlick et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,901,848, issued 11 May 1999, and D. Donovan, U.S. Pat. No. 3,530,917, issued 29 Sep. 1970, are examples of adjacent food containers with a peelable film cover on a rigidified flange to seal in the contents.  
           [0007]    Providing for container resistance to movement while the contents are consumed by pets is old with A. Sharkan et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,184, issued 11 May 1993, and A. Demko, U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,678, issued 21 Aug. 1990, examples.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0008]    Portable disposable food containers are integral with or separable from a bowl support. The base of the bowls are roughened to resist sliding on a support surface and the top has an essentially horizontal rim for sealing the contents in the containers with a removable lid. The rims are essentially vertically positioned above the bowl support to resist cross-contamination or mixing. An auxiliary bowl can be placed within one of the bowls. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]    [0009]FIG. 1 is a top view of the food container.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 2 is a side view of the food container.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 3 is a side view of the food container bowl of FIG. 2 with an auxiliary bowl therein.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 4 is a side view modification of the food container bowl shown in FIG. 3. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0013]    The food container  1  is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a top view showing one lid  3  over a primary bowl, sealing the contents in the bowl, and another lid  3  peeled back to reveal the bowl rim  22 , bowl interior  25 , adhesive free area  32  of tab  31  and adhesive  26  on the lid under side. FIG. 2 is a side view showing the bowl  2  irregular base  21 , lower container smaller diameter  23 , raised rim  22 , over support  4  with lids  3 .  
         [0014]    The present portable food container  1 is designed primarily for feeding pets in a hurry or for convenience when on the road. By simply pulling back on the tab  31  the removable lids  3  are separated from the primary bowl  2  and the container can be placed on the floor or ground. A meal consisting of water  51  and a dry or prepared moist mixture  52  is available to a pet. The primary combination consists of the lids  3  and integral or separate bowls  2  and bowl support  4 .  
         [0015]    The bowl  2  has an essentially horizontal rim  22  that extends above the bowl support  4  a short distance on essentially vertical bowl walls. Having the rim raised above the support  4  helps prevent food being consumed from tumbling or being knocked into the liquid when, for example, solid food  52  and water  51  are being provided. The raised rim  22  also acts to prevent liquid, being lapped up, from draining into the solid or other food compartment and wetting it, for example, when dry food is being fed to a pet. Having the rims raised also provides a line of contact for sealing removable lids. It is easier and more reliable to form a seal between the container and lid with the narrow ({fraction (1/16)}-¼ in.) rim. Pressure can be placed and concentrated at and around the rim to provide a continuous seal line between the rim and lid using the preferably pressure sensitive adhesive  26  on the lower surface of the lid  3 .  
         [0016]    The base of the bowls  2  is formed in an irregular shape  21  that functions to prevent slipping, as food or drink is consumed, and to strengthen the container. The irregularities  21  can be in the form of pyramids or relatively sharp concentric circles, etc., so that the irregularities on the base will engage with the ground , grass, concrete, etc., when placed on the ground. This type surface resists sliding and overturning when the food or drink in the container is consumed.  
         [0017]    The food bowls  2  are spaced and secured together by a bowl support  4 . The bowl support is a relatively rigid essentially flat member that extends beyond the bowl rims  22  on all sides and is secured to the bowls near the upper extremes  24  and top of the bowls a short distance below the bowl rims. The bowl support  4  can be an independent, essentially rectangular rigid member with sides  42  and ends  43  and upper surface  45  and lower surface  46  and openings  44  to frictionally receive independent bowl containers  2 . This arrangement permits consumption from more than one bowl when unequal amounts are being consumed from the two bowls. The removal and replacement of bowls is aided by having the bowls with a slightly smaller base  23  than the top  24 . This allows easy insertion of the bowl base  23  with a limited top area  24  force fit. A small 1 to 3 degree taper on the bowl upper essentially vertical wall extreme  24  insures a tight fit while maintaining a space between the bowl support and bowl rim  22 . As an alternative, the bowl  2  and bowl support  4  can be molded as a single unit with the bowl support  4  thicker and more rigid than the bowls  2 . The bowls in either instance are relatively thin with relatively flexible sides and base. The thickness of the bowl supports is preferably thicker than the thickness of the bowls in the order of being two to one or more. With the thickness of the bowls being preferably from 0.010 to 0.025 inch the bowl support can be from 0.030 to 0.090 inch.  
         [0018]    The lids  3  are impermeable resilient paper, plastic or a laminate of the two preferably having an adhesive  26  on the surface facing the container, either covering the entire lower surface  32  or around the periphery where the rim  22  of the container is contacted.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 3 shows the use of an auxiliary bowl. During some periods of time, such as during hot weather, it may be necessary to provide more water than food. It may also be desirable to increase the weight of the package to hold it in place on the ground. Since the weight of the water volume is normally greater than that of the food, to increase the weight of the package, and to provide more water, an auxiliary water space can be provided under the food in the food bowl. To do this a second inwardly extending rim  64  can be molded into the bowl or a separate auxiliary bowl  62  can be inserted into the bowl  2 . The auxiliary bowl can be provided with water  51  and a lid  65 , having a tab  63 , that is placed on the auxiliary rim  64 .  
         [0020]    The auxiliary water bowl  62  is inserted into the smaller base  23  of the food bowl  2  with its base  67  resting on the food bowl irregular shape base  21 . The second inwardly extending rim  64  of the auxiliary water bowl  62  is covered with an auxiliary lid  65  having a tab  63  for convenient removal of the lid. As with the lid  3 , the lid  65  seals the water in the auxiliary container to prevent contamination of the food. After placement of the auxiliary water bowl  62  in the bowl  2 , food  52  is placed on top of it and the lid  3  is sealed in place over the two.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 4 is a modification of FIG. 3 wherein the bowl  71 , intended for water, is elongated  73  to extend under the bowl  74  to add water volume, weight and traction with both roughened areas  21  on the base. The bowl  74  either rests on the upper extension  72  of the bowl  71  or is formed as an integral part of the elongation.  
         [0022]    It is believed that the construction, operation and advantages of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. It is to be understood that the present disclosure is illustrative only and that changes, variations, substitutions, modifications and equivalents will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art and that such may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the following claims.