Abstract:
The current invention provides a container, a lid, a combination of the two, and a method of using the same. The container has a base and a sidewall extending upward from the base forming a continuous sidewall around the base. The upper portion of the sidewall has a rim and a skirt around the perimeter. The skirt has a removable tear tab to allow access to a lid for removing the lid from the container. The lid also has vents for air to exit the container, thereby preventing rising of the lid in low pressure areas. The vents further prevent entry of air into the container when the sealed container is taken to areas of higher pressure. A method of filling the container leaving an air gap between the product and the lid and utilizing the aforementioned vents is also provided.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 11/227,594 filed Sep. 15, 2005, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    This invention relates to an improved container. This invention will be shown and described as a container for holding, shipping and storing ice cream, however other products may be used with this invention. 
         [0003]    Products, such as ice cream, are typically packed, shipped, and stored in cardboard containers. One problem with these containers is that they are not structurally sound. Ice cream must fill the entire container in order to give the cardboard container structural strength for stacking multiple layers of the ice cream containers. 
         [0004]    Another problem with this type of container is that as the ice cream thaws and becomes more liquefied the container begins to soften and can fall apart. Thus, a more structurally sound ice cream container is desirable. 
         [0005]    Another problem with traditional ice cream containers is that, as mentioned above, they are traditionally filled clear to the rim with ice cream, and then a lid is placed on top of the ice cream container. When shipments of ice cream in this type of container are shipped over high elevation areas, the air and ice cream in the containers begins to expand as they reach higher elevations. Thus, the lids tend to be either deformed, or pushed completely up off of the top of the container. As a result, ice cream containers may be opened and the contents not fit for consumption. Therefore, a container which accommodates for this problem of shipping ice cream or other frozen products over high elevation areas is desirable. 
         [0006]    In view of the foregoing, it is a primary feature of advantage of the current invention to provide an improved container. 
         [0007]    Another feature or advantage of the current invention is a container which is tamper resistant. 
         [0008]    Another feature or advantage of the current invention is a container which indicates once the container has been opened after being factory sealed. 
         [0009]    Another feature or advantage of the current invention is a container which structurally supports itself and is stackable. 
         [0010]    Another feature or advantage of the current invention is a container which is useable for medium to low temperature applications. 
         [0011]    Another feature of advantage of the current invention is a provision of a container which is efficient in operation, durable in use, and economical to manufacture. 
         [0012]    A further feature or advantage of the current invention is a method of filling ice cream in a container to reduce overflow of ice cream when being shipped over high altitudes or low atmospheric pressures. 
         [0013]    These and other features and advantages of the current invention will become apparent according to the claims and specification that follow. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0014]    One aspect of the current invention is a container having a base and an integral sidewall extending upward from the base forming a continuous sidewall around the base with an integral upper seal rim at an upper portion of the sidewall for engaging a lid and a container skirt around an upper outside portion of the sidewall integrally connected between the sidewall and the upper seal rim. A tear tab is integrally and removably formed in the skirt and approximately parallel to the skirt. The tear tab is formed with a tear tab lever extending upward and outward from the tear tab allowing a user to pull downward and outward to separate the pull tab from the skirt. 
         [0015]    Another aspect of the current invention is a container having an upper seal rib extending outward from and adjacent to the upper seal rim around the upper seal rim. 
         [0016]    Another aspect of the current invention is a lid for sealing a container comprising a continuous inner wall with a lid skirt integrally formed around the inner wall forming a lid channel. A continuous pressure rib is formed inside the lid channel around the lid adjacent the inner wall and the lid channel. A continuous rim shoulder is formed inside the lid channel adjacent the lid channel and the lid skirt and a non-continuous seal rib is formed inside the lid channel around the periphery of the lid channel forming one or more vents. 
         [0017]    Another aspect of the current invention is a lid having one or more lift tabs integrally formed with and extending outward from the lid skirt. 
         [0018]    Another aspect of the current invention is a lid wherein the lid skirt extends greater than 0.1 inches below the inner wall. 
         [0019]    Another aspect of the current invention is a combination of the lid and container wherein the inner wall of the lid is above a fill line within the container on the sidewall providing an air gap between the product within the container and the lid when the container is filled to about the fill line and the product and the lid is placed on the container to seal the product within the container. 
         [0020]    Another aspect of the current invention is a method of filling a container with a frozen product and preventing the frozen product from expanding so much as to pop a lid off of the container when shipped at high altitudes, the method comprised of filling the container with the product to a fill line within the container, placing a sealable lid on the container so that there is an air gap between the product and the lid and providing one or more vents along a seal on the lid which allows air to escape the air gap to outside the container as the pressure inside the air gap increases due to increases in altitude, but the seals preventing air from re-entering the air gap. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0021]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of one embodiment of the container and lid of the current invention. 
           [0022]      FIG. 2  is a front view of the container and lid of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0023]      FIG. 3  is a top view of the container and lid of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0024]      FIG. 4  is a side view of the container and lid of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0025]      FIG. 5  is a sectional view of the container taken along lines  5 - 5  in  FIG. 3 . 
           [0026]      FIG. 6  is a partial enlarged view of the container in  FIG. 5 . 
           [0027]      FIG. 7  is a top view of one embodiment of the tear tab of the current invention. 
           [0028]      FIG. 8  is a front view of one embodiment of the tear tab of the current invention. 
           [0029]      FIG. 9  is a top perspective view of one embodiment of the lid of the current invention. 
           [0030]      FIG. 10  is a bottom perspective view of the lid of  FIG. 9 . 
           [0031]      FIG. 11  is a side view of the lid of  FIG. 9 . 
           [0032]      FIG. 12  is a top view of the lid of  FIG. 9 . 
           [0033]      FIG. 13  is a side view of the lid of  FIG. 9 . 
           [0034]      FIG. 14  is a bottom view of the lid of  FIG. 9 . 
           [0035]      FIG. 15  is a sectional view taken along lines  15 - 15  of  FIG. 12 . 
           [0036]      FIG. 16  is a sectional view taken along lines  16 - 16  of  FIG. 12 . 
           [0037]      FIG. 17  is a partial enlarged view of  FIG. 15 . 
           [0038]      FIG. 18  is an enlarged partial sectional view taken along lines  18 - 18  of  FIG. 12 . 
           [0039]      FIG. 19  is an enlarged partial sectional view of  FIG. 16 . 
           [0040]      FIG. 20  is an enlarged partial view of  FIG. 10 . 
           [0041]      FIG. 21  is an enlarged sectional view taken along lines  21 - 21  of  FIG. 3  with the container and lid assembled. 
           [0042]      FIG. 22  is an enlarged partial sectional view taken along lines  22 - 22  of  FIG. 3  with the container and lid assembled. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0043]    The preferred embodiment of the container  10  and lid  100  which assemble together for this invention are shown in  FIGS. 1-22 . Both the container  10  and lid  100  are preferred to be made of food grade polypropylene, but any other type of material can be used with this invention. 
         [0044]    A sidewall  12  extends upward from the base  16  and around the base, thereby creating a product holding portion of the container  10 . The container  10  of this invention can be of any size or shape. However, it is preferred that a top view of the container  10  create an oval shape as shown in  FIG. 3 . Additionally, the shape of the container  10  is preferred to be slightly sloped for ease of molding the container  10  and stacking or nesting the empty container  10 . This type of stacking or nesting ids also preferred for the lid  100 . 
         [0045]    The top portion of the sidewall  12  has both an upper seal rim  24  and a container skirt  18  formed around the outside edge of the sidewall  12 . The upper seal rim  24  helps fit into a lid channel  112  of the lid  100  and forms a seal between the lid  100  and the container  10 . Therefore, the upper seal rim  24  should be properly sized in height and thickness depending on the lid channel  112  of the lid  100  which is to be used with the container  10 . 
         [0046]    A container skirt  18  extends outward from the sidewalls  112  around the upper portion of the container  10  and adds structural strength to the container  10  having a portion of the skirt  18  horizontal and a portion of the skirt  18  relatively vertical. However, the relatively vertical portion of the skirt  18  should still allow for a draft for easy mold release. Additionally, the mold skirt  18  adds strength to the container  10  by the use of multiple skirt ribs  22  integrally formed between the skirt  18  and the sidewall  12 . 
         [0047]    The container skirt  18  also has a tamper resistant rim  32  extending upward from the skirt  18  allowing a lid skirt  106  to remain between the upper seal rim  24  and the tamper resistant rim  32  when the container  10  is engaged by a lid  100 . This is best seen in  FIG. 21 . This prevents a person from easily lifting up on the lid  100  and removing it from the container  10  in places other than the tear tab  14 . 
         [0048]    The container skirt  18  also preferably has a container skirt indent  20 . The container skirt indent  20  allows for ease carrying a cold damp container  10 , however, is not necessary for the current invention. 
         [0049]    The container skirt  18  also has a tear tab  14 . The tear tab  14  is also integrally formed with the container  10 , however, as shown in  FIGS. 8 and 22 , the tear tab  14  is very thin where it attaches to the skirt  18  and is therefore easily torn outward and downward from the container  10  to be removed. Once the tear tab  14  is removed from the container  10 , the user has access to the lid skirt  106  and possibly a lift tab  104  which is integrally formed with the lid skirt  106  to lift the lid  100  off of the container  10 . 
         [0050]    Additionally, the container skirt  18  preferably has one or more skirt protrusions  21 , which is a portion of the skirt  18  which extends further out than the skirt  18 , as shown in  FIG. 3 . The protrusions  21  allow the lid  100  to be made with multiple lift tabs  104 . In other words, the skirt protrusion  21 , as shown, is located axially opposite the tear tab  14  so that no matter how the lid  100  is oriented on the container  10 , the lift tab  104  will not interfere with the tamper resistant rim  32 . Thus, a proper fit of the lid  100  is assured. There should be at least as many protrusions  21  as there are lift tabs  104 . In addition, the lift tabs  104  should orient with the protrusions  21 . 
         [0051]    To make removing the tear tab  14  easier, the tear tab  14  preferably has a tear tab lever  30  extending upward and outward from the tear tab  14 , as best seen in  FIGS. 8 and 22 . The tear tab lever  30  covers the lift tab  104  and the lid skirt  106  when the tear tab  14  is in place on the container  10 . Additionally, the tear tab lever  30 , by extending upward and outward from the tear tab  14 , allows easier access to grab a hold of the tear tab  14  for removing it. Furthermore, the tear tab lever  30  provides more leverage to aid in tearing out the tear tab  14 . 
         [0052]    It is preferred, but not necessary to have an inner wall tear tab indent  28 , as best seen in  FIG. 5  on the inside of the sidewall  12  opposite the tear tab  14 . Additionally, the inner portion of the sidewall  12  preferably has a fill line  34  for use as an indicator when filling the container  10  to help prevent overfilling the container  10 , which in turn, reduces overflowing of frozen products, such as ice cream when taking them over high altitudes. 
         [0053]    The upper seal rim  24  has an upper seal rim rib  26  around the outside upper portion of the upper seal rim  24 . This upper seal rim rib  26  allows for the container  10  to interfere with a seal rib  110 , preferably within the lid channel  112  of the lid  100 . Therefore, as a lid  100  engages the container  10 , a tight interference fit is formed between the upper seal rim rib and the seal rib  110  on the lid  100  thereby preventing easy removal of the lid  100  from the container  10 . Both the lid  100  and the container  10  are preferably constructed of a relatively flexible material which flexes enough to allow the upper seal rim rib  26  and the seal rib  110  deflects out of the way to pass one another when the lid  100  is being placed onto the container  10 . The frictional fit between the upper seal rim rib  26  and the seal rib  110  are best shown in  FIGS. 21 and 22 . 
         [0054]    The lid  100  also preferably has a pressure rib  102  and a rim shoulder  108  for both guiding the upper seal rim  24  into the lid channel  112  and helping add additional material to the lid  100  thereby creating a tighter fit of the lid  100  on the container  10 . 
         [0055]    The lid  100  preferably has a lid inner wall  114 , which is a continuously formed surface within the lid skirt  106 . Once again, the lid channel  112  should extend around the outside portion of the lid  100  between the lid inner wall  114  and the lid skirt  106 . The lid channel  112  should be as deep and wide as necessary to create a good tight seal and fit with the upper seal rim  24  of the container  10 . Additionally, the lid channel  112  may contain one or more inner channel vertical ribs  120  to help give strength to the lid  100  and also help create a tighter fit between the lid  100  and the container  10 . Exemplary inner channel vertical ribs are best shown in  FIG. 14 . 
         [0056]    As best shown in  FIGS. 10 ,  14 ,  15 ,  17 , and  20 , the seal rib  110  is not continuous around the periphery of the lid  100  thereby creating one or more vents  116 . The vents areas  116  seal between the lid  100  and the container  10  with the upper seal rim rib  26 . However, the seal at the vent  116  allows air within an air gap  118  between a product within the container  10  and the lid  100 , as shown in  FIG. 22 , to escape the air gap  118  as air pressure within the air gap  118  increases by having the air proceed out of the air gap  118  into the lid channel  112  and up and over the upper seal rim  24  and the upper seal rim rib  26  and outside of the container  10 . Thus, when a container that is full of product to about the fill line  34  is transported to lower pressure areas, such as high altitudes, the pressure created within the air gap  118  can escape. This prevents either air or expanding product in low pressures from popping the lid  100  off of the container  110  at these low pressure areas. However, when going to high pressure areas, air cannot enter through the vent  116  because the pressure in the high pressure areas actually pushes the lid  100  tighter onto the container  10  preventing air from entering the air gap  118 . 
         [0057]    As shown above, a method of filling a container to a fill line  34  and placing a lid  100  onto the container  10  and thereby creating an air gap  118  between the product within the container  10  and the lid inner wall  114  of the lid  100  allows for expansion of the product without forcing the lid  100  off the container  10 . Additionally, the container  10  and the lid  100  of this invention are structurally capable of stacking multiple units on top of one another, thereby not needing the structural support of a completely filled container such as cardboard ice cream containers. 
         [0058]    Another advantage of the current invention is when the container is used with ice cream, the plastic container flexes a small amount when scoping ice cream out of the container from along the long axis of the container  10  thereby causing the container to widen and make it easier to scoop the product out of the container  10 . 
         [0059]    Another advantage of the current invention is that this container  10  and lid  100  are easily labeled for product identification with in-mold labels (not shown for clarity of showing the container), which are generally known in the art. The in-mold labels tend to add a less-smooth textured surface around the outside of the sidewall  12  and the lid inner wall  114 . This textured surface caused by in-mold labeling creates an easier to grip container, especially when filled with ice cream which causes a slick wet outer surface of the container  10 . 
         [0060]    The invention has been shown and described above with the preferred embodiments, and it is understood that many modifications, substitutions, and additions may be made which are within the intended spirit and scope of the invention. From the foregoing, it can be seen that the present invention accomplishes at least all of its stated objectives.