Abstract:
A container lid comprises a top, substantially planar surface, means for coupling with a top of a container, a depressed area, a raised area, and a hinge area. The top, substantially planar surface is elongated to define two opposite longitudinal edges and two opposite lateral edges, and each of the two opposite lateral edges extends between and is shorter than each of the two longitudinal edges. The depressed area is surrounded by and extends below the top, substantially planar surface. The raised area is surrounded by and extends above the top, substantially planar surface. The raised area is positioned nearest one of the two opposite lateral edges and the depressed area is positioned nearest the other one of the two opposite lateral edges. The hinge area extends laterally across the top, substantially planar surface and is positioned between the depressed area and the raised area.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The present application is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/112,540, filed Apr. 30, 2008, which is a non-provisional of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/914,892, filed Apr. 30, 2007, both of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Food packaging serves many purposes including protecting food from contamination and spoilage, allowing food to be stacked on shelving in retail stores, providing easy access to the food within the packaging after purchase, conveying information about the food to consumers and attracting the attention of consumers to increase the likelihood that they will purchase the food. 
         [0003]    Some food packaging includes a paper or cardboard container with a plastic lid. To allow for easy stacking, the plastic lids have relatively flat tops with at most a raised outside ridge line along the perimeter and perhaps a slightly raised logo on the interior of the lid. Because food packaging is placed on shelving, most of the packaging is viewed from a side angle. As a result, consumers are not given a good view of the lids when shopping. Because of this, the lids have not performed well at attracting the attention of consumers. In addition, the relatively flat lids are not ideal at conveying information to the consumer because the text or logo information on the lid is not presented in such a way as to be readily apparent to the consumer. In particular, since most plastic lids are a single color, the text and logo information tends to be difficult to differentiate from the other parts of the lid unless the consumer is specifically looking for the logo or text. 
         [0004]    The discussion above is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0005]    A food package has a container and a lid. The lid comprises a top, substantially planar surface, means for coupling with a top of a container, a depressed area, a raised area, and a hinge area. The top, substantially planar surface is elongated to define two opposite longitudinal edges and two opposite lateral edges. Each of the two opposite lateral edges extends between and is shorter than each of the two longitudinal edges. The means for coupling extends downwardly and around from a periphery of the top, substantially planar surface. The depressed area is surrounded by and extends below the top, substantially planar surface. The raised area is surrounded by and extends above the top, substantially planar surface. The raised area is positioned nearest one of the two opposite lateral edges and the depressed area is positioned nearest the other one of the two opposite lateral edges. The hinge area extends laterally across the top, substantially planar surface and is positioned between the depressed area and the raised area. 
         [0006]    This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. The claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in the background. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]    Embodiments of the invention will be described with respect to the figures, in which like reference numerals denote like elements, and in which: 
           [0008]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a food container with lid, under one embodiment. 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a lid and container with the lid hinged open under one embodiment. 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a side view of a lid under one embodiment. 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is an opposite side view of the lid of  FIG. 3 . 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  is a front view of the lid of  FIG. 3 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  is a back view of the lid of  FIG. 3 . 
           [0014]      FIG. 7  is a top view of the lid of  FIG. 3 . 
           [0015]      FIG. 8  is a bottom view of the lid of  FIG. 3 . 
           [0016]      FIG. 9  is a cross sectional view of a lid of one embodiment. 
           [0017]      FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional view of a lid and container of one embodiment. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0018]    Embodiments described herein provide a food container with a lid for distributing, marketing, and consuming food products. For example, the packaging is well suited for use with dry cereal. The lid includes structures that attract consumers&#39; attention and that help to convey information to the consumer. Under one particular embodiment, the structures include a convex dome with a clear window that rises above the remainder of the lid so that it can be seen easily by consumers passing a shelf containing the food package. The visible clear window on the dome encourages consumers to try to look through the window to see if they can view the contents of the packaging. Thus, the consumer&#39;s attention is drawn to the packaging by the clear window. Under further embodiments, logo and text information is framed by placing the logo or text in a concave dome, which draws the consumer&#39;s attention to the logo or text. This makes it easier for the lid to convey the information represented by the logo or text to the consumer. This concave dome has the added benefit of protecting the logo or text from abrasion, thereby improving its ability to convey information to the consumer. 
         [0019]    In the discussion below, relative placement terms such as above, below, raised, lowered, top, bottom, front, back, and side are used. These terms are to be understood as being relative to the orientation of the structures shown in the attached drawings and relative to each other. 
         [0020]      FIG. 1  provides a perspective view of a container  100  with a lid  102  used to contain food products. Lid  102  includes a front  170 , a back  172 , a side  174  and an opposite side  176 . Lid  102  also includes a top area or region  112  that has a periphery  115  contiguous with and defined by skirts  106  and  108  that are separated by a slit  110 . 
         [0021]    Top area  112  includes a planar region or surface  113  that surrounds a concave or depressed area  118  and a convex or raised area  114  having a window  116 . In the embodiment of  FIG. 1 , convex area  114  and concave area  118  are both oval shaped domes. However, in other embodiments, other shapes may be used for the convex and concave areas such as squares, triangles, pentagons and octagons, for example. In some of the Figures, lines are shown crossing convex area  114  and concave area  118  to provide a sense of the shapes of these areas. However, such lines are not present in the actual lid. 
         [0022]    Planar region  113  includes a hinge area  120  that is aligned with slit  110  and that extends from side  176  to side  174  between convex area  114  and concave area  118 . The portion of lid  102  between hinge area  120  and front  170  is referred to herein as front portion  180  and the portion of lid  102  between hinge area  120  and back  172  is referred to herein as back portion  182   
         [0023]    By lifting on tab  104 , a user is able to separate skirt  106  from skirt  108  along slit  110  by bending planar surface  113  along hinge area  120  as shown in  FIG. 2 . In  FIG. 2 , front portion  180  of the lid is detached from container  100  and is hinged relative to back portion  182 , while back portion  182  remains attached to container  100 . When lid  102  is hinged open in this configuration, an opening  200  is created between front portion  180  and container  100 . The contents within container  100  may be extracted from container  100  by reaching into the container or by pouring the contents out of the container through opening  200 . 
         [0024]    Near periphery  115  of top area  112  are a ridge  124  on front portion  180  and a ridge  126  on back portion  182  which each terminate before hinge area  120 . Under some embodiments, terminating before hinge area  120  includes terminating at the boundary of hinge area  120 . Ridges  124  and  126  are raised relative to planar surface  113  but are not raised as high as the top of window  116  in convex dome  114 . Ridges  124  and  126  provide a structure for fitting within the underside of another container that is stacked on top of lid  102  during shipping or during retail display. 
         [0025]    Ridge  124  and hinge area  120  together define an interior region  130  on top area  112 , where convex area  114  is located within interior region  130 . Ridge  126  and hinge area  120  together define a second interior region  132  on top area  112 , where concave area  118  is located within second interior region  132 . 
         [0026]    Concave area  118  includes a raised logo or text  122  that is formed as part of the lid and is raised relative to the surface of the concave area  118  but is below planar surface  113 . Concave area  118  thereby frames logo  122 , drawing the user&#39;s attention to the logo while also protecting the logo from wear. 
         [0027]    Convex area  114  raises window  116  above planar surface  113  and ridges  124  and  126 . Under one embodiment, window  116  is clear or transparent so that objects below lid  102  can be viewed from above lid  102 . By raising this window above ridges  124  and  126 , consumers can see the window when passing a display that contains the package. This allows consumers to notice that the dome is clear and thereby invites them to come closer to the packaging to view the contents below the window. 
         [0028]      FIGS. 3 and 4  show side views of lid  102 . The side view of  FIG. 3  shows skirt  106  and skirt  108  separated by a slit  310  and the side view of  FIG. 4  shows skirt  106  and skirt  108  separated by slit  110 . Lid  102  has a length  300  measured from front end  170  to back end  172 , which under one embodiment is 6.15 inches. Skirt  106  has a length  306  from front end  170  to slit  310  and skirt  108  has a length  308  from slit  310  to back end  172 . Under one embodiment, length  306  is 3.193 inches and length  308  is 2.957 inches. As such, slit  310  is not centered between front end  170  and back end  172 . In  FIG. 4 , skirt  106  has a length  406  and skirt  108  has a length  408  that are the same as lengths  306  and  308 , respectively. However, in other embodiments, length  406  may be different from length  306  resulting in a hinge area that runs diagonally across lid  102 . 
         [0029]    Lid  102  has a height  320  from the bottom of skirt  108  to the top of ridge  126 . This height is the same as the height from the bottom of skirt  106  to the top of ridge  124 . Under one embodiment, height  320  is 0.51 inches. Planar surface  113  is a height  322  from the bottom of skirt  108  and skirt  106 . Under one embodiment, height  322  is 0.479 inches. The tops of ridges  124  and  126  are a height  324  above planar surface  113 . Under one embodiment, height  324  is 0.031 inches. 
         [0030]    Convex clear window  116  has a top  330  that is a height  332  above the top of ridge  124 . Under one embodiment, height  332  is 0.125 inches. Because convex window  116  is above the top of ridge  124 , it can be viewed by consumers even when the top of the lid is level with the consumer&#39;s eyes or above the consumer&#39;s eyes slightly. This allows consumers to recognize that lid  102  has a clear window through which items below the lid may be viewed. 
         [0031]      FIGS. 5 and 6  show a front view and a back view, respectively, of lid  102 . Lid  102  has a width  504  from side  174  to side  176 . Under one embodiment, width  504  is 2.656 inches. 
         [0032]    In  FIG. 5 , tab  104  is shown as having a base portion  506  and a crown portion  508 . Base portion  506  has a height  510  and crown portion  508  has a height  512 . Under one embodiment, heights  510  and  512  are 0.06 inches each. 
         [0033]      FIGS. 7 and 8  show a top view and a bottom view, respectively, of lid  102 . In the embodiment of  FIG. 7 , lid  102  has an oval shape. In other embodiments, lid  102  may have a square or rectangular shape. In  FIG. 7 , tab  104  is shown to extend out from lid  102  by a distance  700 , which under one embodiment is 0.1 inches. The tab extends along a distance  702 , which under one embodiment is 0.9 inches. 
         [0034]    Convex area  118  has an oval periphery. This oval periphery may be circular or consist of a set of different radial arcs. Similarly, convex area  114  and window  116  have an oval shape that may also be either circular or some other oval construct. In one particular set of embodiments, convex area  114  and concave area  118  are ovals defined by radii between 1.0312 inches and 1.0625 inches and window  116  is an oval defined by radii between 0.6875 inches and 0.71875 inches that is located concentrically within the oval that defines the periphery of convex area  114 . In other embodiments, convex area  114  and concave area  116  may have a non-oval periphery. Under one embodiment, convex area  114  and concave area  118  have equal circumferences. 
         [0035]    In  FIG. 7 , hinge area  120  is shown offset from a center line  704  by a distance  706 , which under one embodiment is 0.118 inches. Center line  704  is halfway between front end  170  and a back end  172  of the lid. 
         [0036]      FIG. 9  provides a cross-sectional view of lid  102  along lines  9 - 9  of  FIG. 7 . In  FIG. 9 , the top  330  of window  116  is shown to be a height  900  above planar surface  113 . Under one embodiment, height  900  is 0.14 inches. Similarly, the top surface of the lowest point of concave area  118  is shown to be a distance  902  below planar surface  113 . Distance  902  under one embodiment is 0.14 inches. Logo  122  is shown in concave area  118  to be raised relative to the top surface of concave area  118 . However, the height of logo  122  is a distance  904  below planar surface  113 . As a result, logo  122  is somewhat protected from contact. 
         [0037]    Skirt  106  is shown to include ribs  908  and  910  and skirt  108  is shown to include ribs  904  and  906 . Ribs  908  and  910  extend around skirt  106  and terminate just before or at slit  110  and slit  310 . Ribs  904  and  906  extend around skirt  108  and terminate just before or at slit  110  and slit  310 . Ribs  904  and  906  define a groove  912  and ribs  908  and  910  define a groove  914 . A lip of a container fits into grooves  912  and  914  to secure lid  102  to container  100  as shown in  FIG. 10 . In particular, in  FIG. 10 , lip  1000  formed on the outer circumference of the top of a container  1002  engages in grooves  912  and  914  and thus holds lid  102  in place on container  1002 . 
         [0038]    Although the invention has been described with respect to particular embodiments, such embodiments are for illustrative purposes only and should not be considered to limit the invention. Various alternatives and other modifications within the scope of the invention in its various embodiments will be apparent to those of ordinary skill.