# Patent

## Title
Multi-compartment container system

## Abstract

Multi-compartmentalized container system includes a container having a lid member and a tray member. The lid member includes a plurality of first recesses formed on a bottom surface of the lid member and opening in a first direction, a membrane disposed over the first recesses to retain contents of the first recesses, and at least one second recess formed on an opposite surface to the bottom surface of the lid member and opening in a second direction opposite the first direction. The lid member is releasably lockable to the tray member by placing the bottom surface of the lid member toward the tray member.

## Background
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/311,503, filed Dec. 19, 2005 which is incorporated by reference in its entirety herein, and from which priority is claimed.


FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to container system configurations for foodstuff. More particularly, the invention relates to a multi-compartment food packaging containment system that includes a large base tray compartment and a lid member comprising of a plurality of smaller compartments that hold a variety of foodstuffs that may be combined together in any desired apportionment for consumption purposes. The container system preferably includes tamper-resistant features, as well as tamper-evident features that visually evidence unauthorized ingress if interfered either inadvertently or with the intent to cause harm.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Retail markets have utilized rigid and flexible plastic containers to protect and display both perishable and fragile food items such as sandwiches, salads and bakery items. These traditional roles of plastic packaging are now the minimum expected standards, and the requirements placed on plastic food packaging continue to expand as increasing demands are placed upon it. Presentation, brand presence, consumer desires, added value to enhance commercial competitiveness, differentiation, imagery and psychology has resulted in the design and application of plastic packaging becoming more challenging. Convenience and versatility continue to shape the future of packaging, with consumers gravitating toward packaged. convenience items that minimize the impact on their behavior. This has forced packaging manufacturers to include social and environmental considerations into their development process. The provision of multiple compartments in a variety of shapes and utilities in rigid plastic containers has been one such direction that packaging manufacturers have been pursuing.
Rigid plastic food containers are typically manufactured from Polystyrene, Polypropylene, Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), Polylactide, Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), or other rigid polymers. They generally comprise either of two-parts—a tray and lid—or they may be a one-piece construction with a hinge that modifies one portion of the container to act as the tray and the other connected portion to act as a lid. Furthermore, they are available in a variety of shapes and cross-sections—circular, rectangular, square, and elliptical, etc.
A limitation has been the availability of a single rigid plastic packaging system that incorporates a primary recess and a plurality of secondary conveniently sized recesses that can hold a variety of different foodstuffs and which may be combined with the food in the primary recess in portions desired by the consumer. This invention provides for a unique approach that achieves this objective.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In all embodiments of the invention, the tray and lid members of the container system possess at their edges that are designed to mate with and be releaseably lockable to each other. The releaseably lockable retaining mechanism may include one or more of a variety of snap-fit grip mechanisms.
In one embodiment of the invention, the container system comprises a container with a lid that is molded to form multiple compartments or recesses in it so that a variety of foodstuff can be deposited into them. When the lid is coupled to the tray, the mouths of the recesses comprising the underside or enclosed side of the lid will face the bottom of the tray with the foodstuffs contained in the recesses securely retained in their respective recesses by a membrane that may be plastic film or a metal foil such as aluminum, that is placed over the mouths of all the recesses. The use of such membranes is commonplace and can be found in such food items as frozen microwaveable packaged foods and yogurt cup containers.
In another embodiment of the invention, the lid of the container is molded so that a smaller, second container may be attached to it via a releaseably lockable snap-fit grip, wherein the second container is mounted on the upper side of the lid of the primary aforementioned container. The elements comprising the releaseably lockable snap-fit grip enable a force fit between the lid of the first container and a second condiment container. Therefore, the retail outlet may provide the consumer with prepackaged food product that contains one food type, such as a salad, in the tray of the first container, a second food type, such as a dressing, in the container of the second container, and a variety of alternative foodstuffs, such as bacon bits and grain, in the plurality of recesses comprising the underside of the lid of the first tray. An additional advantage is that all the foodstuff in the container system is clearly displayed for easy viewing by the consumer and the entire integrated package is presented as a single product item for sale.
In another embodiment, the mouths of the recesses of the multi-compartment lid face away from the base of the tray. in this embodiment, the food contents are held in their respective recesses by a second lid that covers the multi-compartmentalized lid and is further secured to the base tray via a releaseably lockable snap-fit grip.
In another embodiment of the invention, a lid of the container system is secured to the tray using tamper-evident tamper-resistant snap-fit grip mechanism. Rigid plastic tamper-evident packaging generally provide visible-to-the-naked-eye indication that a container has been interfered with, that is, it had previously be opened and then re-closed prior to purchase is currently in development, marketed or currently available in the marketplace. This invention is a novel plastic packaging solution that improves significantly on the convenience and therefore marketability of food product.
Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.



BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, Wherein:
FIG. 1 is an exploded isometric view of a prior art container system configuration.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a prior art multi-compartmentalized tray.
FIG. 3 is an exploded isometric view of the tray member and lid member illustrating an exemplary tamper-evident feature.
FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view of the container system in FIG. 3.
FIG. 3B is a fragmentary sectional view of area V-V of the container system in FIG. 3A.
FIG. 3C is a fragmentary sectional view of area W-W of the container system in FIG. 3A.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a multi-compartmentalized container system according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of the invention in FIG. 4.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the underside of the lid element of the multi-compartmentalized container system in FIG. 4 showing the lid recesses comprising the lid, as well as the film or foil cover.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of another embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the container system illustrated of FIG. 10.
FIG. 12 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of area X-X showing the mating of the tray, lid and intermediate multi-compartmentalized lid elements.
FIG. 13 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of the invention depicted in FIG. 12.
FIG. 15 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of area Y-Y of the container system in FIG. 14.
FIG. 16 is an exploded perspective view of another embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 17 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the snap-fit grip mechanism of the top lid member and intermediate lid member.
FIG. 18 is side cross-section view of the container system illustrating how the food containers may be stacked.
FIG. 19 is an embodiment of the invention showing a hingeably connected lid and tray members.
FIG. 20 is an exploded view of the hinge mechanism in FIG. 19.



DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, this embodiment is provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.
FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a container system that is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/173,302 filed 30 Jun. 2005, the structure of the invention of which may be employed in combination with the present invention. In FIG. 1, a first container 10 comprising a base tray member 12 and lid member 14, and a second container 16 that is releaseably lockable to the lid member 14 of the first container 10 via a snap-fit grip mechanism. The snap-fit grip mechanism illustrated, in this instance, comprises raised male ribs 20 in the lid member 14 of the first container 10 that mate with a complementary female annular ring groove 18 of the second container 16 to thereby form an interference fit.
Similarly, FIG. 2 is an illustration of an embodiment of the invention claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,423,449, and which may be employed in combination with the present invention. FIG. 2 depicts a food tray container system 22 that comprises a tray member 26 comprising a plurality of recesses 30, 30′, and a flexible lid member 24 that is affixed to the tray member 26 by adhesive at mating faces 28 and 32.
FIGS. 3, 3A, 3B and 3C show a bowl-shaped container system embodiment of the invention claimed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/166,308 filed 24 Jun. 2005. A tray member 34 and a lid member 36 that can be closed onto the tray member, as well as the snap-fit grip mechanism that enables the releaseably lockable tamper-resistant, tamper-evident feature and lift tab 38 are shown. The tray member 34 has a trapping 40 that receives a trapping section 42 of the lid member 36 and thereafter resists lid member removal. The tray member 34 further has a pull-open portion 44 with a horizontally open slot 46 that receives the lift tab 38 of a pull-open portion 45 of the lid member 36.
The disclosures of U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 11/173,302, 11/166,308 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,423,449 are incorporated herein by reference.
Referring now to the drawings and in particular to FIG. 4, there is shown a rigid polymer plastic construct food container system 47 according to the present invention. The food container system includes a first container assembly 50 that includes a tray member 53 which forms the primary recess into which foodstuff is placed. The tray member 53 of the first container assembly 50 can be molded, through known thermoforming manufacturing means, from a single sheetline of polymer material work piece into a predetermined shape and thickness as required by the specific specifications. The tray member 53 of the first container 50 may also be formed, through known thermoforming manufacturing means, into a curvilinear geometry to thereby provide the end user with a variety of polygonal shapes. The first container assembly 50 also includes a lid member 52 which has a geometry that pennits even mating with the tray member 50 at their peripheral edge. The container system 47 includes a second, smaller container 56 that contains a different food item and is further releaseably fastened on recess 54 of the lid member 52 of the first container assembly using a snap-fit grip. It is anticipated that greater convenience is achieved and that the food packager and retailers end user client, the consumer, will be able to select such food combination product more easily and readily. In the embodiment shown, the second container 56 may be releaseably lockable to the lid member 52 of the first container assembly via snap-fit grips. The tray 57 of the second container assembly 56 may be made, through known manufacturing means, from a single work piece into a predetermined shape and thickness as required by the specific design specifications, and may further be made from material that are dissimilar from the material used to make the first container assembly.
Turning now to FIGS. 5 and 6, it is shown that the underside 58 of the lid member 52 comprises a plurality of recesses 62, 62′, the mouths of which face toward the base of the tray member 52. Disposed over the face of the underside 58 of the lid member 52 is a film or foil 60 that acts to retain the variety of foodstuffs that are contained in the various recesses 62, 62′ comprising the underside 58 of the lid member 52. Retention of the film or foil 60 to the lid member is generally achieved through an adhesive that bonds the film or foil to the lid periphery 64, as well as the ridges 66 of the mouths of the recesses 62, 62′. Access into the recesses 62, 62′ is made by peeling off the film or foil 60 as shown.
FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 depict different configurations embodiments of the invention.
In FIGS. 10, 11 and 12, there is shown a container system 70 according to the present invention that comprises a tray member 72, a top lid member 74 which generally has a planar surface and a geometry that permits even mating with the tray member 72 at their peripheral edge, and a multi-compartmentalized intermediate lid member 78 that is suspended between the tray member 72 and the lid member 74. In this embodiment of the invention, the multi-compartmentalized intermediate lid member 78 comprises a plurality of recesses 80, 80′ that are formed below the planar surface 82 of the intermediate lid, and into which a variety of foodstuffs may be placed. The foodstuffs are retained in their respective recesses 80, 80′ by the lid member 74. As with prior embodiments, retention of the lid member 74 to the tray member 72 is preferably achieved via any number of tamper-evident tamper-resistant sealing mechanisms such as that illustrated in FIG. 3. FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate the placement plane of the edge circumference 84 of the intermediate lid member 78 onto the ledge circumference 86 of the tray member 72, and further illustrates that the manner in which the second lid member 74 securely retains the intermediate lid member 78 to the tray member 72 is be means of a tamper-resistant, tamper-evident snap-fit grip mechanism. There is also shown the lid member 74 placement onto the mouths of the recesses 80 80′ in the intermediate lid member 78 to ensure that the content of the recesses are held in their respective compartments.
Similarly, in FIGS. 13, 14 and 15 illustrate a container system that includes a top lid member 88 that generally has a planar surface and peripheral edge designed to mate with the peripheral edge of the tray member 90 in such a manner as to form a tamper-evident, tamper-resistant seal. In this instance, however, the intermediate lid member 92 that is suspended between the top lid member 88 and tray member 90 is formed with a plurality of recesses 93, 93′ that is configured above the plane 94 of the lid 92.
FIG. 16 illustrates another embodiment of the invention and includes an intermediate lid member 98 that comprises a plurality of recesses 100, 100′ into which foodstuffs may be placed and which further incorporates an edge geometry that permits mating with a complementary mating edge of the tray member 194 to form a tamper-evident, tamper-resistant seal. As with the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 13, the contents are retained in their respective recesses by a top lid member 96. In this instance, however, the lid member 96 is releaseably attached to the intermediate lid member 98 as opposed to the tray member 194 via a snap-fit grip mechanism such as that illustrated in FIG. 17.
FIG. 18 illustrates one manner in which stacking of the container system described herein may be achieved. Discrete or continuous male ribs 102 in the lid member 104 are formed so that they slot into and make a mechanical fit with complementary male ribs 106 in the tray member 108. The slotably connected lid and tray members have thus a mechanical fit that restrict lateral movement of the container system when they are stacked. Male ribs have been used to illustrate this application; however, female grooves may be substituted for male ribs to achieve the same result.
Finally, in FIGS. 19 and 20, therein the shown an embodiment of the invention wherein the top lid member 110 and tray member 112 are hingeably connected to each other by a hinge 114. In this instance, the top lid and tray members are generally produced as a single structure. As in the embodiment of the invention depicted in FIG. 10, the intermediate lid member 116 is suspended between the tray member 112 and the lid member 110.
Plastic packaging sealing mechanisms generally include snap-fit grips that effectively provide a leak-proof seal that allows the consumer to open, close and releaseably lock the container system multiple times. Some of the advantages of this aspect of the invention are that food freshness can be extended then would otherwise occur without sealing and spillage of the food content is prevented.
Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.

## Claims

1. A multi-compartmentalized container system comprising a container comprising:
a lid member comprising
a plurality of first recesses formed on a bottom surface of the lid member and opening in a first direction,
a membrane disposed over the first recesses to retain contents of the first recesses, and
at least one second recess formed on an opposite surface to the bottom surface of the lid member and opening in a second direction opposite the first direction;

a tray member, wherein the lid member is releasably lockable to the tray member by placing the bottom surface of the lid member toward the tray member; and
an insertable container releasably lockable to the lid member by placing the insertable container within the at least one second recess of the lid member.

2. The container system of claim 1, wherein the lid member comprises polystyrene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polylactide, polyvinyl chloride, or other rigid polymers.

3. The container system of claim 1, wherein the tray member comprises polystyrene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polylactide, polyvinyl chloride, or other rigid polymers.

4. The container system of claim 1, wherein the lid member is constructed using a process selected from the group consisting of thermoforming, injection molding, transfer molding and blow molding.

5. The container system of claim 1, wherein the tray member is constructed using a process selected from the group consisting of thermoforming, injection molding, transfer molding and blow molding.

6. The container system of claim 1, wherein the membrane is a foil.

7. The container system of claim 1, wherein the container is stacked with at least one additional container of similar configuration to form a stack of containers.

8. The container system of claim 1, wherein the lid and tray members are releasably lockable using a snap-fit mechanism.

9. The container system of claim 1, wherein the lid and tray members form a tamper-resistant seal.

10. The container system of claim 1, wherein the lid and tray members form a tamper-evident seal.

11. The container system of claim 7, wherein the stack of containers is sized for display in a retail setting.

12. The container system of claim 1, wherein the at least one second recess borders at least one of the first recesses.

13. The container system of claim 1, wherein the at least one second recess is disposed between at least two of the first recesses.

14. The container system of claim 1, wherein the lid member is formed from a sheet of polymer material.

15. The container system of claim 1, wherein the tray member is formed from a sheet of polymer material.

16. The container system of claim 1, wherein the insertable container has a smaller cross dimension than the lid member.

17. The container system of claim 1, wherein the insertable container is sized to be disposed entirely within the at least one second recess.