Patent ID: 7243815

Claim:
A thermoformed container, comprising: a container base defining bottom and rear panels, said rear panel being substantially planar over the entire surface thereof; a container lid defining top and front panels, said container lid sized to matingly engage the container base in a closed position to define an interior space configured for receiving an article; a hinge interconnects the rear panel of the base to the top panel of the lid at an upper edge of said rear panel and a rear edge of said top panel to allow the lid to be selectively moved from a closed position in which the lid engages the base to an open position in which the lid disengages the base; wherein the outer surface of the top panel defines a top panel plane, the outer surface of the rear panel defines a rear panel plane, the outer surface of the front panel defines a front panel plan and the outer surface of the bottom panel defines a bottom panel plane, the rear panel plane intersects the top and bottom panel planes, and the front panel plane intersects the top and bottom panel planes to define four interior angles at the intersections of said planes, and wherein the hinge is located within the interior angle defined by the intersection between said top and rear panel planes; opposed lateral side panels wherein the base mates to the lid along a joint that extends diagonally across the lateral side panels from the hinge toward the front panel; and a handle integrally formed on one of said lateral side panels, said handle defined by an upper handle portion formed in the container lid on one side of the diagonally extending joint and a lower handle portion formed in the container base on the opposite side of the diagonally extending joint, said upper handle portion having a downwardly extending pocket formed in the container lid and said lower handle portion having a cooperatively formed downwardly extending pocket such that said pocket in said lower handle portion at least partially receives said pocket in said upper handle portion when the container is in the closed position to thereby stabilize the handle, and said handle further including an upwardly extending protrusion formed on said lower handle portion in a position to be received in a cooperatively shaped upwardly extending opening in said upper handle portion when the container is in the closed position and to thereby stabilize the handle.