Abstract:
A cap/utensil combination having a cap having a cap top with an inner surface having at least a contact area thereof that is substantially smooth, and having at least one upwardly standing sidewall attached to the cap top, sidewall having an inner surface. The inner surface of the sidewall has a rib structure. A utensil has first and second points of contact with sections of the rib structure and at least partially along an axis of symmetry of the utensil and a third point of contact at least partially within a contact plane through the axis of symmetry, the contact plane being substantially perpendicular to a plane of the inner surface of the cap top. The three-points of contact ensure that the utensil is securely held within the cap, and yet is readily removable therefrom.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates in general to containers and closure structures for such containers, and more particularly, to a cap for a container having attached thereto a utensil. 
   BACKGROUND 
   Containers, such as jars made of glass, plastic, etc., for powdered and granular materials are well known. Although these containers may have a variety of shapes, typically they are cylindrical in configuration and incorporate lids or caps that screw on or otherwise attach to the container to seal an open top of the container. When such containers are used for materials having a powder or granular consistency, such as coffee, etc., a scoop is sometimes included inside the container. 
   When one desires to remove a portion of the enclosed powder or granular material, the scoop must be sought and is typically buried in the enclosed powder or granular material. To find the scoop, a user is forced to be involved in a messy search process whereby the powder or granular material may be contaminated. 
   Containers are also known in the art that are designed to contain powder or granular materials and include cap having a lip on an interior or bottom surface of the cap for selectively attaching the scoop. The lip is resiliently deformable when an edge of the scoop is pressed against it, to thereby secure the scoop to the underside of the cap. However, this approach to securing the scoop to the cap in the prior art necessitates incorporating a structure on a bottom surface of the cap that engages the scoop. 
   Therefore, there is a need in the prior art for a simplified method of attaching a scoop to a cap, as well as an improved structure for holding the scoop or other utensil inside the cap, which is attached to a container. 
   SUMMARY 
   In one embodiment the cap/utensil combination has a cap having a cap top with a substantially smooth inner surface, and having at least one upwardly standing sidewall attached to the cap top. A rib is included on the inner surface of the sidewall. A utensil may have first and second points of contact at least partially along an axis of symmetry of the utensil and a third point of contact at least partially within a contact plane through the axis of symmetry. The utensil has a handle and a material section attached thereto. A first end of the handle, which is opposed from a second end of the handle attached to the material section, engages the rib at a first point of contact. The material section has a first end opposed from a second end, which is attached to the second end of the handle. The first end of the material section engages the rib at a second point of contact, which is located substantially opposite the location of engagement of the rib by the first end of the handle. A third point of contact occurs between the top open portion of the utensil and a smooth area on the inner surface of a cap top. The three-points of contact ensure that the utensil is securely held within the cap, and yet is readily removable. 
   In one embodiment, the utensil has a bowl, which has an opening having a top plane generally parallel to the plane of the opening of the container. In another embodiment, the bowl has an opening having a top plane that is not parallel to the plane of the opening of the container, and preferably generally perpendicular to the plane of the opening of the container. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel, are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in the several figures of which like reference numerals identify like elements, and in which: 
       FIG. 1  is a top view of one embodiment of the cap/utensil combination; 
       FIG. 1   a  is a cross-sectional side view of the  FIG. 1  cap/utensil combination; 
       FIG. 2  is a top view of another embodiment of the cap/utensil combination; 
       FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional side view of the  FIG. 2  cap/utensil combination; 
       FIG. 4  is a top view of another embodiment of the cap/utensil combination; 
       FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional side view of the  FIG. 3  cap/utensil combination; 
       FIG. 6  is a top view of yet another embodiment of the cap/utensil combination; 
       FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional side view of the  FIG. 5  cap/utensil combination; 
       FIG. 8  is a top view of a further embodiment of the cap/utensil combination; 
       FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional side view of the  FIG. 8  cap/utensil combination. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   While the present invention is susceptible of embodiments of various forms, there are shown in the drawings, and will hereinafter be described, some exemplary and non-limiting embodiments, with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the invention. It is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments illustrated. 
   Embodiments of the cap/utensil combination provide improvements over prior art approaches, especially in that the utensil, which may be a scoop, spoon, or other configuration, is designed to fit within the interior of the cap. The utensil may be designed and dimensioned such that the utensil may be mounted within the cap without using any structure such as posts or pins on the inner surface of the cap top. Furthermore, in some embodiments the utensil&#39;s design does not protrude past the open end of the cap when mounted inside the cap. The cap also remains in position during shipping, handling and use. Although the utensil is secured within the cap, it is easily removable and replaceable by a user. The cap may have a multi-lead thread for easy on and off of the container. The cap may also incorporate anti back-off features and other design features that are well known in the art. 
     FIG. 1  shows one embodiment of the cap/utensil combination  8 , wherein a utensil  10  is held with a cap  12 . Utensil  10 , in this embodiment has an opening  10   a ; the plane of the opening  10   a  is preferably generally perpendicular to the opening  12   a  of cap  12 . In this manner the bowl remains generally clean, both when the cap and container are sealed together and when the cap is apart from the container in an open position. 
   The cap  12  is depicted in an embodiment as being circular, for example, and being securable onto the open portion of a container not shown. It will be understood that other shapes of cap  12  are possible with different types of attachment means such as latches or clasps.  FIG. 1   a  shows a cross-sectional view of the utensil  12  and cap  10 . The cap  12  has a top  14 , which has an inner surface  16  and an outer surface  18 . Depending from the top  14  is a sidewall skirt  20 . Sidewall skirt  20  has an inner surface  22  and an outer surface  24 . An attachment structure  26 , such as threads  27 , is formed at the open end  28  on the inner surface  22  of the sidewall  20 . 
   The cap  12  has an internal rib  30 , which is located on the inner surface  22  of sidewall  20 . The internal rib  30  is spaced a predetermined distance from the inner surface  16  of cap top  14 . As can be seen in  FIG. 1 , the internal rib  30  is continuous along the entire circumference of the sidewall skirt  20 . It will be understood that internal rib  30  does not need to be continuous and that it can be segmented in different areas along the inner surface  22  of sidewall skirt  20 . 
   The utensil  10  may have a handle  40  attached to a material section  42 . Material section  42  may be, for example, a scoop  43  having a top end  44  and a closed bottom end  46 . The handle  40  as shown in  FIG. 1 , has a first end  48  and a second end  50 . The material section  42  has a first end  52  and a second end  54 , which is attached or otherwise connected to the second end  50  of the handle  40 . 
   The first end  48  of the handle  40  can be flared as depicted in  FIG. 1  and can snap or otherwise be held under the internal rib  30  on the inner surface  22  of the sidewall skirt  20  as shown in  FIG. 1   a . Similarly material section  42  has a second end  54 , which is held under the rib  30 . It will be understood that the handle  40  can be made such that it can express a degree of flexibility so that utensil  10  can be easily removed from cap  12  when desired but held fast within cap  12  as necessary. 
   It will be seen in  FIGS. 1 and 1A  that first end  48  of handle  40  forms a first point of contact  60  between the utensil  10  and cap  12 . A portion  61  of material section  42  forms a second point of contact  62  between the utensil  10  and the cap  12 . A third point of contact  64  is formed between the sidewall  65  of the material section  42  and an area  70  on the inner surface  22  of the sidewall skirt  20 . The area  70  can be substantially flat. It will be understood that the term “point of contact” need not be limited to one specific point. The contact may occur for a length along a surface, such as the portion  71  of the first end  48  of handle  40  contacts the inner surface  22  of the sidewall skirt  20  for a length along the sidewall skirt  20 . 
     FIG. 2  shows one embodiment of the cap/utensil combination wherein a utensil  100  is held within a cap  102 . The cap  102  is depicted in one embodiment as being circular, for example, and being screwable onto the open portion of a container. Other shapes of the cap  102  are possible with different types of attachments means to the container. The  FIG. 2  utensil  100  and cap  102  are also shown in a cross-sectional view in  FIG. 3 . The cap  102  has a cap top  104 , which has an inner surface  106  and an outer surface  108 . Upstanding from the cap top  104  is a sidewall  110 . The sidewall  110  has an inner surface  112  and an outer surface  114 . An attachment structure  116 , such as threads, is formed at the open end  118  on the inner surface  112  of the sidewall  110 . 
   The cap  102  also has an internal rib  120 , which is located on the inner surface  112  of the sidewall  110 . The internal rib  120  is spaced a pre-determined distance from the inner surface  106  of the cap top  104 . As can be seen in  FIG. 2  the internal rib  120  is continuous along the entire circumference of the sidewall  110 . It is to be appreciated that the internal rib  120  need not be continuous and may be segmented in different areas along the inner surface  112  of the sidewall  110 . 
   The utensil  100  may have a handle  130  attached to a material section  132 . The material section  132  may be, for example, a scoop having a top open end  134  and a closed bottom end  136 . The handle  130  has a first end  138  and a second end  140 . The material section  132  has a first end  142  and a second end  144 , which is attached or otherwise connected to the second end  140  of the handle  130 . 
   The first end  138  of the handle  130  may be flared as depicted in  FIG. 2  and may snap or otherwise be held under the internal rib  120  on the inner surface  112  of the sidewall  110  as shown in  FIG. 3 . Similarly the material section  132  has a first end  142 , which is held under the rib  120 . It is to be appreciated that the handle  130  may be flexible such that the utensil  100  can be removed from the cap  102 . 
   The first end  138  of the handle  130  forms a first point of contact  150  between the utensil  100  and the cap  102 . The first end  142  of the material section  132  forms a second point of contact  152  between the utensil  100  and the cap  102 . A third point of contact  154  is formed between the first opened end  134  of the material section  132  and an area  160  on the inner surface  106  of the cap top  104 . The area  160  may be substantially flat. It is to be understood that the term “point of contact” may refer to a location, such as the portion of the first end  138  of the handle  130  that contacts the inner wall  112  of the side wall  110  or a portion or all of the first end  134  of the material section  132  of the utensil  100  that contacts the area  160  on the inner surface  106  of the cap top  104 . 
   At least portions of the first and second points of contact  150 , 152  lie along an axis of symmetry  162  of the utensil  100 . A plane extending through the axis of symmetry  162  includes at least a portion of the third point of contact  154 . At least portions of the three points of contact therefore lie in a contact plane that is perpendicular to a plane of the cap top. 
     FIG. 4  depicts another embodiment of the cap/utensil combination wherein the utensil  300  is attached under a rib  302  on an inner surface  304  of a sidewall  306  of a cap  308 . The utensil  300  has a handle  320  and a material section  322 , which has an open top  324  (see  FIG. 5 ). The material section  322  in this embodiment also has a pour spout  326 . 
     FIG. 6  depicts a further embodiment of the cap/utensil combination having a utensil  500 , which is removably attached to a cap  502 . In this embodiment the utensil  500  has a material section  504  that is substantially square or rectangular in shape. The utensil  500  is removably secured beneath a rib  506  on an inner surface  508  of a sidewall  510  of the cap  502  (see  FIG. 7 ). 
     FIG. 8  depicts yet another embodiment of the cap/utensil combination in which a utensil  700  is removably attached to a cap  702 . The utensil  700  is attached to the cap  702  at three points of contact  704 ,  706  and  708  (see  FIG. 9 ). The utensil  700 , such as a spoon, has an axis of symmetry  710  and the three points of contact  704 ,  706  and  708  lie in a plane that passes through the axis of symmetry  710  along which lie the contact points  704  and  706 . The utensil  700  has a handle portion  720  and a material section  722 . The utensil  700  is removably secured beneath a rib  730  on an inner surface  732  of a sidewall  734  of the cap  702 . 
   The utensils, as well as the caps, in the various embodiments of the cap/utensil systems described above may be formed from a variety of materials, such as plastic, metal, etc. and may have a variety of different configurations and shapes. Also, the utensil may have different cross-sectional configurations for the material section of the utensil. The handle of the utensil may have numerous different configurations. Furthermore, the handle may be attached to the material section of the utensil at different spaced locations between the opened first end or top of the utensil and the closed bottom end of the utensil. 
   The present invention is not limited to the particular details of the apparatus depicted and other applications are contemplated. Certain other changes may be made in the above-described apparatus without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention, herein involved. It is intended, therefore, that the subject matter in the above depiction shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.