Patent Publication Number: US-5630544-A

Title: Food products container with pocket

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates in general to flexible containers for holding food products and in particular to a collapsible paper container having a collapsible side pocket for holding the condiment catsup. 
     Restaurants must package the food sold to customers, and containers of all shapes and sizes are commonly used. Small containers are used to hold an individual serving, such as a medium order of French fried potatoes (&#34;fries&#34;), while larger containers hold the customer&#39;s entire order. These containers are usually collapsible so they can be folded and stored flat to save space prior to being used. 
     A customer typically receives the condiment catsup with a food order. A serving of fries may be accompanied by catsup. Unfortunately, the containers which hold the fries do not provide a convenient storage space for this condiment, and the customer must rummage through the container containing the entire order usually finding the condiment lying at the bottom of the container. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an improved collapsible single-serving container which would provide a convenient storage space for the condiment catsup. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a collapsible container for holding food products having an attached collapsible pocket for holding the condiment catsup. The container has a flat, rectangular bottom and tapered front and rear walls connected thereto. Tapered side walls are joined to the bottom and connected between the front and rear walls. The width of the tapered front and rear walls and the tapered side walls increases as they extend upwardly from the bottom to form an opening at the top of the container. The area of the opening is larger than the area of the rectangular bottom. A collapsible pocket having a rectangular bottom is secured to the outside of the front wall of the collapsible container. The pocket has a rectangular front wall spaced apart from the container by a pair of rectangular side walls and a flat, rectangular pocket bottom. The container and pocket collapse by folding flat for compact storage. 
     Various objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, when read in light of the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a front view in perspective illustrating the container with collapsible side pocket. 
     FIG. 2 is a side view of the container and side pocket illustrated in FIG. 1. 
     FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the container and side pocket illustrated in FIG. 1. 
     FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the container and side pocket illustrated in FIG. 1 folded. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now to the drawings, there is illustrated in FIG. 1 a container for holding a food product indicated generally at 1. The container has a front wall 2, a rear wall 3, a flat, rectangular bottom (7 in FIG. 3) and sides 4 and 5. 
     The front and rear walls 2 and 3 are joined to the sides 4 and 5 along the four corner edges 9. The bottom of the front wall 2b and the rear wall 3b and the bottom of the sides 4b and 5b are joined to the bottom of the container 1. The from and rear walls 2 and 3 and the sides 4 and 5 are tapered and extend upwardly and terminate at the top opening 6. The tops of the front wall 2a and rear wall 3a are wider than the bottoms of the front wall 2b and rear wall 3b respectively, and therefore the distance between the sides 4 and 5 increases as the sides extend upwardly from the bottom 7. 
     The tapered sides are shown in FIG. 2. The top of the sides 4a and 5a is wider than the bottom of the sides 4b and 5b and the distance between the front wall 2 and the rear wall 3 increases as the front wall 2 and the rear wall 3 extend upwardly from the bottom 7. The area of the opening 6 is greater than the area of the bottom 7. The sides 4 and 5 have center folds 10 and 11 that extend from the top of the sides 4a and 5a to the bottom of the sides 4b and 5b respectively. 
     A pocket shown generally at 12 is provided. The pocket has a rectangular front wall 13, generally rectangular side walls 14 and 15, a flat, rectangular bottom (8 in FIG. 3), a rectangular rear wall 16, and a top opening 19. The rear wall 16 is attached to the front wall 2 of the container 1. Alternately, a separate pocket rear wall may not be used. Instead, the pocket sides 14 and 15 may be secured to the container 1 so that the from wall 2 of the container forms the pocket rear wall 16. While the pocket can be placed anywhere on the front wall of the container 1, it is desirable that it be positioned low enough to keep the container&#39;s center of gravity low to keep the container standing upright. The pocket can be positioned so that when unfolded, the flat pocket bottom and the bottom of the container form a plane to provide maximum stability in keeping the container in an upright position. The pocket sides 14 and 15 have center folds 17 and 18 that extend from the top of the pocket sides 14a and 15a to the bottom of the sides 14b and 15b respectively. 
     The pocket can be water-resistant to hold the condiment catsup without leaking or soaking through. Suitable materials may be paper stock, coated paper, plastic, foil or foil-covered paper. The material used must be flexible enough to allow the container and pocket to be collapsible. 
     The pocket is appropriately sized to hold the condiment. The volume of the pocket can range from 0.5 to 40 cubic inches, although a typical range is 2 to 5 cubic inches. The pocket opening 19 is sized so that the food product can be dipped into the condiment held by the pocket. The pocket opening can have an area ranging from 0.5 to 10 square inches, although a typical range is 1 to 5 square inches. 
     The bottom 7 of the container, shown in FIG. 3, has a center fold 20 which extends from the bottom of one side 4b to the bottom of the other side 5b. The bottom 7 also has four angular folds 21 which extend from each corner of the bottom to the bottom center fold 20 forming an apex 24. A triangular bottom section 25 is formed on opposite ends of the bottom between the angular folds 21 and the bottom of both sides 4b and 5b. The bottom center fold 20 has end sections 20a which extend between the apex 24 and the bottom of each side 4b and 5b and bisect each triangular section 25. 
     Similarly the bottom of the pocket 8 has a center fold 30 which extends from the bottom of one pocket side 14b to the bottom of the other pocket side 15b. The pocket bottom 8 also has four angular folds 31 which extend from each corner of the pocket bottom to the pocket bottom center fold 30 forming an apex 34. A triangular bottom section 35 is formed on opposite ends of the pocket bottom between the angular folds 31 and the bottom of both sides 4b and 5b. The bottom center fold 30 has end sections 30a which extend between the apex 34 and the bottom of each side 14b and 15b and bisect each triangular section 35. 
     The container can be collapsed as shown in FIG. 4. The front and rear walls 2 and 3 are brought together by folding the sides at the center folds 10 and 11 which move inward towards the interior of the container. The bottom 7 is folded outwards along the bottom center fold 20, but the bottom center fold end sections 20a are folded inwards similar to the side center folds 10 and 11. As the front and rear walls are brought together, the sides 4 and 5 and the triangular bottom sections 25 are folded in half along the side center folds 10 and 11 and the bottom center fold end sections 20a respectively. 
     The pocket can also be collapsed in an identical manner. The front and rear pocket walls 13 and 16 are brought together by folding the pocket sides 14 and 15 at the center folds 17 and 18 which move inward towards the interior of the pocket. The pocket bottom 8 is folded outwards along the bottom center fold 30, but the bottom center fold end sections 30a are folded inwards similar to the side center folds 17 and 18. As the front and rear walls are brought together, the sides 14 and 15 and the triangular bottom sections 35 are folded in half along the side center folds 17 and 18 and the bottom center fold end sections 30a respectively. The collapsed container and pocket can be pressed flat for compact storage. 
     In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, the principle and mode of operation of the present invention have been explained and illustrated in the preferred embodiment, however, it will be understood that the present invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically explained and illustrated without departing from its spirit or scope.