Patent Publication Number: US-2021163179-A1

Title: Food container

Description:
PRIORITY 
     The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/942,552 filed Dec. 2, 2019, which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Disposable food containers include common paper plates, bowls, clam shells, trays, etc. Typically food containers are provided in a generally open configuration. In transporting food a container can be equipped with a lid or cover to prevent spillage. A food container can be open to receive food and to eat the food placed on or in the container. At other times, the user would appreciate a container which can cover or otherwise enclose the food. Covering the food is useful in a variety of situations. For example, if the food is to be cooked (or even heated) in a microwave oven, covering, or preferably enclosing, the food reduces splattering and controls moisture loss. The user may wish to cover the food to keep it warm during the time between cooking and eating. The user may also wish to cover the food while transporting it, as may occur when food is prepared and/or served at a first location and eaten at a second location. In certain aspects, some of the food may not be eaten during a meal and a container can be used to store the uneaten portion for later consumption. In certain situations a lid is specifically configured for a particular food container with various lids for various containers. At times it is difficult to match the lid with the container. 
     There remains a need for uniform easy to use receptacle that can be reversibly converted to a lidded container for transport and storage of food. 
     SUMMARY 
     Certain embodiments are directed to a food receptacle having a top and a bottom surface, a base portion and a raised side edge or wall forming a container portion, and a lip or rim portion, the lip or rim portion having a plurality of attachment projections and plurality of attachment impressions, the attachment projections and attachment impression are configured so that a first receptacle can be stack with a second receptacle having the same orientation, i.e., top side up, wherein (i) when stacked, the bottom of an attachment projection of the first receptacle aligns with the top of an attachment projection of the second receptacle, and the bottom of an attachment impression of the first receptacle aligns with the top of an attachment impression of the second receptacle; and (ii) when employed as a container the second receptacle is inverted and used as a lid relative to the first receptacle, the top of an attachment projection of the first receptacle aligns with the a complementing attachment impression of the second receptacle and vice versa forming a reversible attachment between the first and second receptacle. In certain aspects, the food receptacle is circular, square, oval, triangular, or rectangular. In other aspects, the attachment projections and the attachment impressions alternate. The food receptacle can have hollow upstanding partitions having a top surface and a bottom surface, wherein bottom surface forms a hollow that can complement the top surface of a second receptacle when stacked. 
     Other embodiment are directed to a food container comprising a first and second receptacle, the first and second receptacle comprising a top and a bottom surface, a raised side edge forming a container portion, and a lip portion, the lip portion having a plurality of attachment projections and plurality of attachment impressions, the attachment projections and attachment impression are configured so that a first receptacle can be stacked with a second receptacle, wherein (i) when stacked, the bottom of an attachment projection of the first receptacle aligns with the top of an attachment projection of the second receptacle, and the bottom of an attachment impression of the first receptacle aligns with the top of an attachment impression of the second receptacle; and (ii) when employed as a container the second receptacle is inverted and used as a lid relative to the first receptacle, the top of an attachment projection of the first receptacle aligns with the a complementing attachment impression of the second receptacle forming a reversible coupling between the first and second receptacle. 
     Other embodiments of the invention are discussed throughout this application. Any embodiment discussed with respect to one aspect of the invention applies to other aspects of the invention as well and vice versa. Each embodiment described herein is understood to be embodiments of the invention that are applicable to all aspects of the invention. It is contemplated that any embodiment discussed herein can be implemented with respect to any method or composition of the invention, and vice versa. Furthermore, compositions and kits of the invention can be used to achieve methods of the invention. 
     The use of the word “a” or “an” when used in conjunction with the term “comprising” in the claims and/or the specification may mean “one,” but it is also consistent with the meaning of “one or more,” “at least one,” and “one or more than one.” 
     Throughout this application, the term “about” is used to indicate that a value includes the standard deviation of error for the device or method being employed to determine the value. 
     The use of the term “or” in the claims is used to mean “and/or” unless explicitly indicated to refer to alternatives only or the alternatives are mutually exclusive, although the disclosure supports a definition that refers to only alternatives and “and/or.” 
     As used in this specification and claim(s), the words “comprising” (and any form of comprising, such as “comprise” and “comprises”), “having” (and any form of having, such as “have” and “has”), “including” (and any form of including, such as “includes” and “include”) or “containing” (and any form of containing, such as “contains” and “contain”) are inclusive or open-ended and do not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps. 
     As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” “including,” “has,” “having,” “contains”, “containing,” “characterized by” or any other variation thereof, are intended to encompass a non-exclusive inclusion, subject to any limitation explicitly indicated otherwise, of the recited components. For example, a chemical composition and/or method that “comprises” a list of elements (e.g., components or features or steps) is not necessarily limited to only those elements (or components or features or steps), but may include other elements (or components or features or steps) not expressly listed or inherent to the chemical composition and/or method. 
     As used herein, the transitional phrases “consists of” and “consisting of” exclude any element, step, or component not specified. For example, “consists of” or “consisting of” used in a claim would limit the claim to the components, materials or steps specifically recited in the claim except for impurities ordinarily associated therewith (i.e., impurities within a given component). When the phrase “consists of” or “consisting of” appears in a clause of the body of a claim, rather than immediately following the preamble, the phrase “consists of” or “consisting of” limits only the elements (or components or steps) set forth in that clause; other elements (or components) are not excluded from the claim as a whole. 
     As used herein, the transitional phrases “consists essentially of” and “consisting essentially of” are used to define a chemical composition and/or method that includes materials, steps, features, components, or elements, in addition to those literally disclosed, provided that these additional materials, steps, features, components, or elements do not materially affect the basic and novel characteristic(s) of the claimed invention. The term “consisting essentially of” occupies a middle ground between “comprising” and “consisting of”. 
     Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and the specific examples, while indicating specific embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The following drawings form part of the present specification and are included to further demonstrate certain aspects of the present invention. The invention may be better understood by reference to one or more of these drawings in combination with the detailed description of the specification embodiments presented herein. 
         FIG. 1 . A top view of one example of a receptacle. 
         FIG. 2 . A cross-sectional side view of the example of a receptacle of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3 . A top view of a second example of a receptacle. 
         FIG. 4 . A cross-sectional side view of the example of a receptacle of  FIG. 3 . 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
     The following discussion is directed to various embodiments or aspects of the invention. The term “invention” is not intended to refer to any particular embodiment or otherwise limit the scope of the disclosure. Although one or more of these embodiments may be preferred, the embodiments disclosed should not be interpreted, or otherwise used, as limiting the scope of the disclosure, including the claims. In addition, one skilled in the art will understand that the following description has broad application, and the discussion of any embodiment is meant only to be exemplary of that embodiment, and not intended to intimate that the scope of the disclosure, including the claims, is limited to that embodiment. 
     This invention relates to a food receptacle and a food container formed from food receptacles, particularly a food receptacle that can be disposable, and more particularly a food receptacle that can be used in two positions or configurations a first position/configuration for receiving or holding food or other items, and a second position/configuration for enclosing contents (food or other items) in a container formed from two receptacles. In certain aspects, a first receptacle forms the base of a container and a second inverted receptacle forms the lid of the container. The lip or rim of the receptacles will be configured to be reversibly coupled, locked, or snapped together to form a container. In other aspects, the receptacles will be configured to be stackable with the bottom of a first receptacle complemented by the top of a second receptacle. 
     Certain aspects include a method of using a food receptacle/container. The method comprising the steps of providing a first food receptacle for receiving food and a second food receptacle for covering the food. Food is deposited on the first food receptacle. A second receptacle is inverted and positioned over the food with the complementing rim or lip portion of the food receptacle being aligned and engaged, closing the cover over the food inside the newly formed container. While enclosed, the food container can be used to store, heat or dispose of the food. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 4 , the food receptacle  100  can include base  101  having raised wall(s)  102  forming a receiving area  103 . Wall(s)  102  having a top edge  104  and a bottom edge  105 . The top edge  104  transitions into or is attached to a lip or rim portion  106 . Lip or rim portion  106  has a top surface  107  and bottom surface  108 . The bottom edge  105  of the wall(s)  102  transitions into or is attached to the base  101 . In certain aspects the base  101  and lip or rim portion  106  form parallel planes. The lip or rim portion  106  includes at least one attachment projection  109  (as viewed from the top, projects from the top of the lip or rim portion) and at least one attachment impression  110  (as viewed from the top, is a hollow or impression below the lip or rim edge). In certain aspects the attachment projection  109  is on the top surface of the lip or rim portion and has a complementary hollow on the bottom surface of the lip or rim portion. The attachment projection and attachment need not be, but can be formed in the same structure. The attachment impression on one receptacle will typically have a complement projection on a second receptacle, which can form an interlocking pair. In certain aspects, an attachment projection can extend form the top surface while forming a hollow or impression on the bottom surface; and an attachment impression can form a hollow or impression on the top surface and a downward projection on the bottom surface of the lip or rim portion. The projection and impression being configured to form an attachment pair that can be coupled or interlocked to affix a first receptacle to a second inverted receptacle. In certain aspects, a first receptacle is configured to stack on top of a second receptacle. In certain aspect the receptacle is in the form of a plate or bowl. In certain aspects, a receptacle will have 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 or more attachment pairs. In certain, aspects the attachment pairs have circular, square, rectangular, oval, curved oval, or other geometry that forms an interlocking attachment pair. At one extreme, the rim can have one attachment pair where the top surface lip or rim portion projection is along 10, 20, 30, 40 to 50 percent of the top surface, and a complementary lip or rim portion attachment impression is along 10, 20, 30, 40 to 50 percent of the bottom surface. Other aspect include two or more attachment projections along the top surface of the lip or rim and two or more complementary attachment impression along the top surface of the lip or rim. In certain aspects the attachment projections and attachment impression on a surface alternate interchange at some frequency as long a first and second receptacle can be aligned and locked by some degree of rotation of an inverted receptacle, in that the receptacles are configured to stack if in the same orientation. 
     In certain instances the base forms an XY (base) plane with a Z axis perpendicular to the base plane. The height of the receptacle is the distance between the base plane and the plane formed by the lip or rim portion. The wall(s) can be extend at an angle from the base to the lip or rim portion or can be perpendicular to the base plane. In certain aspects the wall(s) can be 90, 100, 110, 12, 13, 140, 150, 160 degrees to 179 degrees, including all values and ranges there between, relative to the base. In certain aspects, the height of a receptacle can have a height of 1, 5, 10, 20, 40, 60, 80 or more mm including all values and ranges there between. The outer diameter of the base of a receptacle can be 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, or more cm, including all values and ranges there between. In certain aspects, the top surface of the lip or rim is 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or more cm wide, including all values and ranges there between. The height of an attachment projection or the depth of an attachment impression can be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or more mm including all values and ranges there between. The attachment projections and/or attachment impressions can have a length along the long axis of the lip or rim portion of 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or more cm, including all values and ranges there between. 
     The receptacle can be any suitable shape and depth for a food container, and can be selected from shapes that include, but are not limited to triangles, squares, rectangles, ovals, various polygons, etc. 
     The food receptacle of the present invention may be made of a rigid material. Suitable rigid materials include foam, plastic, and various other synthetic materials. The food receptacle may be made of cellulose or other natural fibers, including various types of recycled cellulose. If desired, additional rigidity and thermal insulating capability may be provided by the materials selected. For example, the food container may be made of corrugated board. Corrugated board comprises a generally flat layer, and a corrugated layer. The corrugated layer is not joined at all positions to the flat layer, but instead has ribs which are spaced apart from the flat layer and troughs joined to the flat layer. The ribs and troughs are often straight and parallel, but may be sinusoidal. In cross section, a rib may be S-shaped, C-shaped, Z-shaped, or have any other configuration know in the art. Furthermore, if desired, a second flat panel may be joined to the corrugated medium and disposed oppositely from the first flat panel. 
     The food receptacle can be molded from a pulp slurry or pressed from a blank between mating plate-shaped platens. Both methods of manufacture are well known in the art. 
     Suitable attachment pairs include those having two complementary portions which are peripherally spaced apart, and preferably oppositely disposed. One portion is disposed on each contacting surface of a food receptacle lip or rim portion. Suitable attachment pairs include pressure hook and loop fasteners and tab and slot fasteners. In certain aspects, an embossed and deformable mating snap fasteners wherein one wing of a first food receptacle locks or mechanically latches into the other wing of a second food receptacle may be utilized. 
     The food receptacle can be a disposable or a durable/reusable food receptacle. Additionally, the materials from which the food receptacle are made need not be the same throughout. For example, the lip or rim portion may be made of a heavier material than the wall and base, or vice versa. 
     The food receptacle may be configured in a variety of configurations and geometries. However, one of ordinary skill will recognize there are practical limits to the possible geometries.