Abstract:
The invention discloses a method and an apparatus for a food container which includes an inner member (which can be a cup or a bottle) for holding a particulate food; an outer member (which can be a second cup or a second bottle) adapted to receive the inner member, with a space between the inner and the outer members, for a liquid food; where the inner member interlocks with the outer member and openings are provided for the discharge of the liquid food; and the particulate food and the liquid food can be consumed simultaneously by tilting the container towards the mouth of the user to discharge or withdraw particulate food from the inner member and liquid food from the outer member through the aperture.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a portable food container, and more specifically, a single handed container which consists of two separate containers holding two different food types which are mixed while eating. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Research shows that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. One of the most common breakfast foods is cereal. Cereal is typically placed in a container, milk is poured over the cereal, and the consumer consumes the mixture with a spoon. Cereal consumption normally requires two hands, and is not an activity which can be safely performed while the consumer is engaged in various other activities such as driving a vehicle. 
     In a move to make breakfast consumption more convenient, many manufacturers have offered breakfast bars, breakfast sandwiches and other breakfast foods which can be consumed with a single hand. There have also been several attempts to construct a container which stores cereal and milk separately, allows the two to be mixed when consumed and allows the consumer to eat the mixture with a single hand. 
     U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,588,561 and 5,753,289, issued to Ness, describe a container for holding cereal and milk in a separate compartments. Cereal is placed in the inner, inflexible container, while milk is placed in the outer flexible table. Cereal is shaken from the inner, inflexible, container into the consumer&#39;s mouth, and the consumer then squeezes the outer flexible container to squirt milk into the consumer&#39;s mouth. In this manner, the cereal and the milk are mixed inside the consumer&#39;s mouth. The Ness patents also require rotation of the portable food container to a dispensing position before the consumer can use the product. A need exists for a simplified single handed container, which will allow an individual to consume cereal and milk with a single hand while hiking, camping, driving, or while involved in other activities. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, a need exists for a simplified, one handed container, which stores a dry particular food separately from a liquid food, and which allows the consumer to easily mix the two foods types without the need for rotation or squeezing. 
     These and other objects, features and technical advantages are achieved by a system which includes a food container which is comprised of an inner cup, for holding a particulate food, and an outer cup which is adapted to receive the inner cup within it in a manner in which a space is left between the two cups for holding a liquid food. The inner cup includes a flange that interlocks with the open end of the outer cup in a liquid tight manner. The flange has at least one aperture for discharging the liquid food. The particulate food and the liquid food are consumed simultaneously by tilting the container towards the mouth of the user to discharge the particulate food from the inner cup and the liquid food from the outer cup through the aperture. The particulate food can be a ready to eat cereal and may be of the non-flake type. The flange has a horizontal surface containing the aperture. The aperture may allow the liquid food to flow through it by gravity, or it may prevent the liquid food to flow through it unless a sucking force is applied to the aperture. An additional member may be included with the container which partially covers the opening of the inner cup and is used to regulate the discharge of the particulate food. The flange can also have a vent aperture. The outer cup is composed of a moisture resistant paper and the inner cup is made of plastic. 
     The objects, features and technical advantages are also achieved by a method of dispensing particulate food and a liquid food comprising providing an inner cup containing a particulate food and an outer cup adapted to receive the inner cup with a space there between, and where the space contains a liquid food. The inner cup has a flange which interlocks with the open end of the outer cup in a liquid tight manner and this flange has an aperture for discharging the liquid food. By tilting the container, both the particulate and the liquid food are simultaneously discharged into the mouth of the user. The particulate food is a ready to eat cereal and can be of the non-flake cereal type. The liquid food can be discharged through the aperture through gravity flow or may be sized to require the liquid food to be sucked from the aperture. The method can further include a mechanism to regulate the discharge of the particulate food from the inner cup. 
     Another embodiment of the present invention can include a food container which is comprised of an inner bottle for holding a particulate food and an outer bottle which is adapted to receive the inner bottle with a space there between the two bottles for holding a liquid food. The inner bottle can have a tripod member that interlocks with the closed end of the outer bottle. The outer bottle has at least one aperture for discharging the liquid food and the particulate food and the liquid food can be consumed simultaneously by tilting the container towards the mouth of the user to discharge the particulate food from the inner container and the liquid food from the outer bottle through the aperture. The particulate food is a ready to eat cereal and can be of the non-flake cereal type. The liquid food can be discharged through the aperture through gravity flow or may be sized to require the liquid food to be sucked from the aperture. The method can further include a mechanism to regulate the discharge of the particulate food from the inner cup. The tripod member can be comprised of a series of convex and concave portions in which the convex portion interlocks into a corresponding rim of the outer bottle and the concave portion provides additional space for holding the liquid food. 
     The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     For a more complete understanding of the present invention, and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a diagram of an outer container of the cup-in-cup design of the current invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a diagram of an inner container of the cup-in-cup design of the current invention; 
     FIG. 3 is a diagram of the mating of the outer cup of FIG. 1 with the inner cup of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 is a drawing of the mated combination of FIG. 3 with an orifice reducer; 
     FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the cup-in-cup combination with the peel seal; 
     FIG. 6 is a drawing of the cup-in-cup design as sold; 
     FIG. 7 is a diagram of the bottle-in-bottle embodiment of the current invention; 
     FIG. 8 is an exploded view of the bottle-in-bottle embodiment; 
     FIG. 9 is a cutaway view of the bottle-in-bottle embodiment; 
     FIG. 10 is a diagram of the tripod shape of the base of FIG.  7 &#39;s bottle-in-bottle embodiment; and 
     FIG. 11 is a drawing of the orifices used to pass milk from inside the outer bottle of the bottle-in-bottle embodiment. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     FIG. 1 shows an outer cup of a cup-in-cup design while FIG. 2 shows the inner cup of the same embodiment. Outer container  100  of FIG. 1 is composed of an upper lip  105 , the sidewall  110 , the bottom  115 , and the inside  120 . In a preferred embodiment, upper lip  105  is constructed of a rigid material, such as moisture proof cardboard. Similarly, sidewall  110  is constructed of a rigid material such as moisture proof cardboard or heavy paper. This rigid sidewall is not intended to be squeezed to force liquid from the aperture of the inner container ( 200  of FIG.  2 ). The bottom  115  is also constructed of a similar material. In normal operation, milk or a similar liquid food is placed inside  120 , the container  100 . 
     Inner container  200  of FIG. 2 is composed of a sidewall  205 , a bottom  210 , and attaching lip  215 , a lip sidewall  220 , an eating surface  225 , and one or more vents  230 . The sidewall  205  and the bottom  210  may be constructed of a rigid or a flexible moisture proof material. The attaching lip  215  must contain enough rigidity and flexibility to meet with and attach to lip  105  of the outer container of FIG.  1 . The lip sidewall  220  connects the attaching lip  215  to the eating surface  225 . The eating surface  225  is the portion of the inner cup  200  which makes contact with the consumer&#39;s lip. Vent  230  allows the milk or similar liquid contained within the inside  120  of outer cup  100  of FIG. 1 to pass into the consumer&#39;s mouth. Opening  235  of inner container holds particulate food, cereal or similar food substance. 
     Referring to FIG. 3, the interrelationship between the outer cup  100  of FIG.  1  and the inner cup  200  of FIG. 2 is shown. The inner cup  200  fits within the interior  120  of the outer cup  100 . When the inner cup  200  is mated with the outer cup  100 , the attaching lip  215  fits securely over lip  105  of the outer cup. When mated, the sidewall  205  and the bottom  210  of the inner cup  200  are contained within the inside  120  of the outer cup. The smaller diameter of the sidewall  205  of the inner cup, as compared to the larger diameter of the sidewall  110  of the outer cup, ensures that the inner cup  200  does not fill the entire opening  120  of the outer cup  100 . This difference in diameters between the inner cup and the outer cup&#39;s sidewalls creates a space between the two containers and ensures that there is sufficient room inside the outer cup for a liquid such as milk. This liquid, contained within opening  120 , of the outer container  100  can pass through the vent  230  of the inner cup into the consumer&#39;s mouth. 
     Referring now to FIG. 4, an orifice reducer  400  can be used to regulate the flow of the dry material, or particulate food, from opening  235  of the inner cup into the consumer&#39;s mouth. This orifice reducer  400  fits within a groove on the eating surface  225  of the inner container between point  405  and  410 . Preferably, this groove  415 , which the orifice reducer fits into, traverses around approximately three-quarters of the circumference of the eating surface  225 . As depicted in FIGS. 2,  3  and  4 , the vent  230  can be a single opening. Alternatively, the vent  230  can consist of several smaller openings. Preferably, a venting hole is also included around the circumference of the eating surface  225  to ensure that a vacuum is not created when liquid passes outside of the vent  230 . 
     FIG. 5 shows an exploded view of the single handed container which consists of the outside cup  100 , the inside cup  200 , the orifice reducer  400  and the peel seal  500 . The peel seal  500  is used to ensure sanitary conditions of the single handed container when shipped. FIG. 6 illustrates the single handed container when it is ready for shipment. 
     In one embodiment of the single handed container, the volume of the outer container  100  is 14 fluid ounces, the volume of the inner container  200  is 9.5 fluid ounces, the diameter of bottom  115  of FIG. 1 is 2.5 inches, the top diameter along the lip  105  of FIG. 1 is 3.625 inches and the height of the outer container is  5  inches. 
     An alternative embodiment, the bottle-in-bottle configuration, of the present invention is shown in FIG.  7 . In this embodiment, the invention consists of two separate bottles which snap together in the base at  705 . This bottle-in-bottle embodiment includes the outer bottle  710 , the inner bottle  715 , and a snap cap  120 . A peel seal, (not show in figure) can also be included to ensure non-contamination. This peel seal is shown in FIG. 8 as item  805 . In a preferred embodiment of the bottle-in-bottle embodiment, the capacity of the outer bottle  710  is 14.5 fluid ounces, while the capacity of the inner bottle  715  is 9.5 fluid ounces. In a preferred embodiment of the bottle in bottle combination, the bottom diameter  810  of FIG. 8 is 2.5 inches while the top diameter  815  is 3.625 inches. The height of the overall container is 5 inches. In this bottle-in-bottle embodiment, the liquid contained in the outer bottle  710  is passed into the consumer&#39;s mouth through an orifice located on the inside diameter of the upper portion of the outside bottle  820 . This orifice allows milk, or similar liquids to flow from the inside of the outer bottle into the consumer&#39;s mouth. The inner bottle holds the particulate food or similar food substance. 
     Referring to the cutaway FIG. 9, the outer bottle  710  is shown with the inner bottle  715  in place. The snap fit between the outer bottle  710  and the inner bottle  715  is shown at  720 . Additionally, the tripod shape  725  of the base of the inner bottle  715  facilitates milk flow from the space between outer bottle  710  and inner bottle  715  into the consumer&#39;s mouth. The tripod shape also provides additional space for the liquid food. FIG. 10 further shows the tripod shape  725 . 
     As previously mentioned, orifice  1105  allows milk to flow from the inside of the outer bottle  710  along the outside of the inner bottle  715  and into the consumer&#39;s mouth. The size and the number of these orifices can be varied to regulate milk flow. 
     Although the present invention and its advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, the scope of the present application is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods and steps described in the specification. As one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from the disclosure of the present invention, processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presently existing or later to be developed that perform substantially the same function or achieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodiments described herein may be utilized according to the present invention. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to include within their scope such processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps.