CN104108514A

CN104108514A - Expanding Food Storage Container

Info

Publication number: CN104108514A
Application number: CN201410150604.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: J－M·德克雷姆
Original assignee: Dart Industries Inc
Current assignee: Dart Industries Inc
Priority date: 2013-04-16
Filing date: 2014-04-15
Publication date: 2014-10-22
Anticipated expiration: 2034-04-15
Also published as: CA2847318A1; BR102014009218B1; US20140305935A1; EP2792608B1; ES2576131T3; MX2014004572A; MX345012B; AU2014201882A1; EP2792608A1; CN104108514B; BR102014009218A2; HUE029227T2; PL2792608T3; AU2014201882B2

Abstract

An expanding food storage container includes a base and a cover. The cover includes a support ring and a dome having a side wall closely received in the support ring. The support ring includes spaced tabs extending toward the side wall of the dome. The outer face of the dome sidewall includes a plurality of camming threads and support threads extending outward along helical paths. There is a pair of threads for each tab, with the threads spaced peripherally to closely receive the associated tab therebetween. Rotation of the dome with respect to the support ring causes the threads to ride up or down the tabs, raising or lowering the dome with respect to the support ring. The upper and lower ends of the threads include a horizontal slot which closely receives the associated tab. The tab includes a depression near its end which receives a lock button extending outward from the dome sidewall within the slot. The lock button may be selectively received within the depression to selectively secure the dome in the expanded or collapsed position.

Description

Expandable food storage container

The cross reference of related application

The application relates to the application attorney docket 131740 – D200 of common pending trial, this application with referring to mode include in herein.

Statement about federation's patronage research and development

Inapplicable.

Background technology

The present invention generally relates to a kind of domestic food reservoir vessel.Particularly, the present invention relates to the inflatable or a kind of improved food storage container of contraction to store or to use as required.

Known and made matrix be provided with lid to store or transport food.Certainly, this lid can be removed, to show or to supply the food that is positioned at matrix.A common issue of this structure is the food that needs to adapt to different amounts.For example, matrix can have the lid that is slightly arch, thereby is together defined for the enclosure space of storage.Yet, such as some relatively large food of barbecue or high cake, can not pack in this enclosure space.The usual solution of this problem is to provide to a kind of second lid with larger vault, and this second lid will hold larger food.The shortcoming of this solution is that it need to buy the second lid and two required storage areas of lid increase.

Summary of the invention

The object of this invention is to provide a kind of expandable food storage container with matrix and lid, wherein, lid can optionally expand as required or collapse.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a kind of lid for food storage container, and this lid can expand as required or collapse.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a kind of expandable lid, and this expandable lid can be locked in and expand or collapsed position.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a kind of so expandable lid, and this expandable lid can make whole container and food terminate in expansion or collapsed position.

These and other objects realize by expandable food storage container.This lid comprises carrier ring and vault, and this vault has the sidewall being closely received in carrier ring.Carrier ring comprises the isolated lug towards the sidewall extension of vault.The outside face of vault sidewall comprises along the outward extending a plurality of cam type screw threads of spirality path and support thread.Each lug has a double thread, and this double thread is circumferentially spaced apart closely to receive the lug being associated between them.Make vault rotate and cause screw thread motion up or down on lug with respect to carrier ring, thereby make vault rise or decline with respect to carrier ring.The top and bottom of screw thread comprise the horizontal groove that can closely receive the lug being associated.This lug comprises depressed part near its end, and this depressed part is used for being received in groove from the outward extending locking press button of vault sidewall.Locking press button is optionally received in depressed part, optionally vault is fixed on, expands or collapsed position.

Accompanying drawing explanation

Above mentioned object of the present invention and feature are done explaination more in detail with reference to accompanying drawing, and in the accompanying drawings, identical Reference numeral represents similar elements, and therein:

Fig. 1 is under collapsed configuration, according to the top perspective view of the food storage container of collapsing of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is the top perspective view of the container lid under expanded configuration;

Fig. 3 is the decomposition top perspective view of container;

Fig. 4 is the lateral plan of the container lid under expanded configuration;

Fig. 5 is that 5-5 along the line cuts open the cross sectional detail of getting; And

Fig. 6 is that 6-6 along the line cuts open the cross sectional detail of getting.

Detailed description of the present invention

With reference to Fig. 1, the food storage container of collapsing according to the present invention is always indicated by Reference numeral 10.Container 10 generally comprises matrix 12 and lid 14.Matrix is shown in Figure 1 for the dish of general planar, but alternatively it can be shallow bowl or dark bowl.Lid 14 can be such as being secured to matrix 12 by common known circumferential interlocking sealing member, a series of locking intermediate plates etc. for food storage container, just as known in the art.In preferred embodiment, lid 14 is optionally fixed to matrix 12 by the known structure of locking tongue 16, and as US D389, shown in 018, this locking tongue is received in the hole of matrix 12 interior couplings.As will be more talked out below, lid 14 is fixed to matrix 12 permission users and utilizes the handle 18 being positioned on lid 14 tops to mention whole unit (together with inner food).

Because matrix can take various forms and the present invention is mainly lid 14, the following describes with the major part of accompanying drawing and will concentrate on lid 14.Lid 14 comprises carrier ring 20, and vault 22 is arranged on this carrier ring, and both are all preferably made by suitable plastics.Carrier ring 20 is generally the form of a cylindrical section body, and wherein, cylindrical shape ring wall 24 has 26He lower end, upper end 28.As the most clearly visible in Fig. 3, lid 14 comprises around upper end at least two lugs 30 that 26 circumference is spaced apart and extend radially inwardly.

Vault 22 comprises the general cylindrical shape sidewall 32 with 34He lower end, upper end 36.Being dimensioned to of ring wall 24 and sidewall 32 makes one will closely pack in another, but still allows freely relatively rotating and longitudinal movement between the two.A series of cam type screw threads 38 extend radially outwardly from sidewall 32, and have spiral form because they with the mode that is similar to screw thread from upper end 34 or near position extend to lower end 36.Lug 30 on carrier ring and screw thread 38 extend toward each other, and are dimensioned to overlapping.Screw thread 38 is also spaced apart around sidewall 32 to be similar to the mode corresponding with the spacing of lug 30, and expectation exists at least one screw thread 38 being associated with each lug 30.In addition, in the situation that there is a screw thread being associated with each lug 30, each screw thread 38 is all by spaced apart, with the similar edge contact of the lug 30 that is associated with them.For example, shown in preferred embodiment, screw thread is right-hand screw, and when observing from top, screw thread 38 coordinates the right side edge place at lug 30 with lug 30, thereby cam type screw thread 38 is positioned at lug 30 tops (rather than below).In other words, cam type screw thread 38 will contact with the leading edge 40 of lug 30 respectively.

Suppose that screw thread 38 and lug 30 have overlapping characteristic, can be susceptible to vault 22 and be supported by the bottom surface being resisted against on the lug 30 being associated at leading edge 40 places of screw thread 38.Also can imagine, placing or removing in process, vault 22 will cause vault 22 longitudinally to move up or down to be similar to screw thread mode inside or outwards motion with respect to carrier ring 20 with respect to the hand rotation of carrier ring.In this way, can see that lid 14 can mainly be received in the collapsed configuration of (Fig. 1) in carrier ring 20 from vault 22 and move to vault 22 and extend upward Fig. 2 over carrier ring 20() expanded configuration.In this expansion or collapse in process, can see that the volume being enclosed in lid 14 will expand and increase along with lid 14, and along with lid 14 is collapsed and reduces.

Lug 30 and cam type screw thread 38 will support vault 22, and resist gravity with respect to carrier ring 20 these vaults of maintenance.Yet cam type screw thread 38 tilts, and this supporting can not stablized as expected.In order to contribute to that vault 22 is remained on to expanding position, one or more being transitioned into down against platform 42 in cam type screw thread 38.Under against each in platform 42, be the form of radially outer ledge, ledge is around a part for the circumference of vault sidewall 32, and with lower end 36 horizontal-extending abreast.The degree of depth of platform 42 preferably equals the degree of depth of cam type screw thread 38.Against the Design of length of platform 42, become to allow lug 30 to be accepted in its below to the amount that is enough to provide for vault 22 when the expanding position in Fig. 2 and 4 the stable rest position of resisting gravity.

Although do not need, preferably spaced apart against platform 42 and lower end 36, and lower end 36 comprises from it and extending radially outwardly and the degree of depth is similar to the peripheral flange 44 of platform 42 degree of depth.Spacing between platform 42 and peripheral flange preferably forms around the slip flush fit of the lug 30 being associated.This by under expanding position for user provides stable sensation.

Can also form locking press button 46, this locking press button is radially outward outstanding from vault sidewall 32 in the position against between platform 42 and peripheral flange 44.So lug 30 will comprise the coupling depressed part 47 extending radially inwardly.As can be imagined, vault 22 is formed in the groove between platform 42 and flange 44 lug 30 is moved to respect to the rotation of ring 20, and be rotated further, can cause lug 30 because elastic deformation strides across locking press button 46, until button 46 is received in the depressed part 47 of coupling.Can be used for like this resisting and be not intended to rotate and optionally keep vault 22.In addition, lug 30 is closely received between platform 42 and flange 44 and will prevents the up or down motion of vault 22 with respect to ring 20.In this way, can make lid 14 be placed in very firm expanding position.In fact, this can be secured to and allow to carry the container 10 loading completely in this expanding position.Even so, user in opposite direction hand rotation vault 22 so that lug 30 strides across button 46 again, to discharge vault and to allow it to move to collapsed position.

When expanding and collapsed position between while moving, cam type screw thread 38 will as described in resist gravity and support vault 22.Yet, have the trend that user lifts vault 22 in rotation process, thereby cam type screw thread 38 and lug 30 disengaged, and container 10 is had to loose sensation.For fear of this situation, can make the spaced apart spacing (not shown) that approximates greatly lug 30 length of cam type screw thread.In this way, the leading edge 40 of lug 30 is by the bottom surface of supporting cam type screw thread 38, and the trailing edge 48 of same lug 30 is by the upper surface of the next adjacent cams type screw thread 38 of next-door neighbour.To repeat this structure around lid 14.As imaginabale, this will significantly reduce the amount of the free perpendicular movement between vault 22 and ring 20, thereby forces vault 22 rise reposefully and decline along with its rotation.

Although preferably along with stability of rotation rise and decline, for below, by the reason of describing, by the spaced apart spacing that equals lug 30 of screw thread 38, be not preferably.Alternatively, the preferably twice of spaced apart lug 30 length of cam type screw thread 38.In order still to rise reposefully and to decline, vault sidewall 32 also comprises a plurality of support thread 50 of radially extending from it.These support thread 50 equate with the number of cam type screw thread 38, and have the degree of depth substantially the same with screw thread 38 and gradient, but the spaced apart distance that is slightly larger than lug 30 length of each cam type screw thread 38 associated with it in support thread 50.So, the cam type screw thread 38 that existence is arranged around replacing of vault sidewall 32, support thread 50, cam type screw thread 38, support thread 50 etc.To be similar to above-mentioned mode, the leading edge 40 of lug 30 approaches or is in contact with it with the bottom surface of the cam type screw thread 38 being associated very much, and the trailing edge 48 of lug 30 very approaches the upper surface of the support thread with being associated 50 or is in contact with it.The same with structure described in first, this will significantly reduce vault 22 and encircle the free amount of vertical movement between 20, thereby forces vault 22 rise reposefully and decline along with its rotation.

To be similar to above for the mode described in cam type screw thread 38, preferably one or more in support thread have from its transition against platform 52, and on this against platform along with under against the contrary radial direction of platform 42, extend.Upper mounting plate 52 will preferably have the length that is similar to lower platform 42.As can be imagined, these upper mounting plates 52 will stop vault 22 with respect to ring 20 motions that continue up or down.Structure before being also similar to, upper peripheral flange 54 extends radially outwardly from the upper end 34 of vault sidewall 32, forms one or more grooves to receive lug 30 when in collapsed position thus with upper against platform 52 combinations.Also as previously mentioned, locking press button 46 can be outstanding from the vault sidewall 32 in this groove, with the depressed part 56 in the outside face with lug 30, optionally mates.

Lug 30 can comprise a coupling depressed part that is positioned at center, thereby depressed part 47 and depressed part 56 are one and identical, and mates with upper or lower locking press button 46.Yet in fact, this is not preferably, lug 30 comprises near the independent the depressed part 47 and 56 corresponding end that lays respectively at lug 30.This is because lug 30 must stride across via the elastic deformation of lug 30 (or being more likely whole ring wall 24) on button 46.Yet, for the intensity of expectation is provided, expectation be that lug 30 is relatively long.So preferably two depressed parts are used in apart from relatively near position, the end of lug 30, to form user, be easier to the lock function of carrying out.

For the another modification of container 10, be preferably, this modification allows improved assembling.As can be susceptible to, in order at first vault 22 to be assembled in to ring 20, the necessary elastic deformation of lug 30, to straddle in peripheral flange 44 or in upper peripheral flange 54.For fear of this kind of situation, preferably going up peripheral flange is discontinuous as shown in the figure.Particularly, upper peripheral flange will exist only in those regions that are positioned at against directly over platform 52.This by the interior formation of upper flange 54 with screw thread to 38 and 50 corresponding gap or openings, these gaps or opening can comprise lug 30.So, vault 22 can so on time with respect to ring 20 free falls.When ring 20 is installed on matrix 12, this can lock this by matrix and move to stop.Yet when lid 14 removes from matrix 12, vault 22 becomes quite simple from encircling 20 assemblings or unloading.

As visible, like that, by this structure, vault 22 can coordinate and be locked in expansion or collapsed position with suitable depressed part 47 or 56 due to button 46, and against platform and the complete bearing lug 30 of peripheral flange.In this way, user can use handle 18 to lift, carry and conveying containers 10 under these two kinds of situations of collapsing and expand.In addition,, even if in the rotation transient process between expansion and collapsed position, owing to using cam type screw thread 38 and the support thread 50 of closely receiving respectively lug 30, it is stable that container will be felt.

As seen from the above, the present invention is a kind of invention that is extremely suitable for obtaining other intrinsic advantage of all targets set forth and order and structure above.

It should be understood that some feature and distortion effectively, and no matter how further feature can be used these features and distortion with distortion.This is in the scope of claims.

Owing to not departing under the prerequisite of the scope of the invention, the present invention can have a lot of possibility embodiment, thereby it should be understood that all items herein of setting forth in the accompanying drawings or illustrating should be understood to the illustrative and hard-core meaning.

Claims

1. an expandable food storage container, comprising:

Base portion and lid, described lid consists of vault and ring wall.

2. expandable food storage container as claimed in claim 1, is characterized in that:

Between described vault and described ring wall, be provided with a series of support thread.

3. expandable food storage container as claimed in claim 1, is characterized in that:

On described vault, be provided with a series of support thread; And

On described ring wall, be provided with lug; And

Described lug is spaced apart and be positioned to coordinate with described a series of support thread; And

Described lug and a series of screw thread are so positioned, that is, described vault makes described a series of screw thread rotate with respect to described lug with respect to the rotation of described ring wall, and make described vault with respect to the longitudinally motion up or down of described ring wall.

4. expandable food storage container as claimed in claim 3, is characterized in that:

Be provided with against platform, to prevent that described vault from continuing motion up or down with respect to described ring.

5. expandable food storage container as claimed in claim 3, is characterized in that:

Be provided with against platform, to prevent that described vault from continuing motion up or down with respect to described ring; And

Be provided with down against platform, to prevent that described vault from continuing motion up or down with respect to described ring.

6. expandable food storage container as claimed in claim 3, is characterized in that:

7. expandable food storage container as claimed in claim 6, is characterized in that:

Locking press button is formed on described vault, and described vault with respect to the lasting rotation of described ring wall make described lug because elastic deformation strides across described locking press button, and rotate unintentionally and optionally keep described vault for opposing.

8. expandable food storage container as claimed in claim 5, is characterized in that:

Locking press button is formed on described vault, and described vault with respect to the lasting rotation of described ring wall make described lug because elastic deformation strides across described locking press button, and rotate unintentionally and selectivity keeps described vault for opposing.

9. expandable food storage container as claimed in claim 4, is characterized in that: