US20190352039A1

US20190352039A1 - Food storage containers

Info

Publication number: US20190352039A1
Application number: US16/413,220
Authority: US
Inventors: Bryan W. Lane
Original assignee: Walmart Apollo LLC
Current assignee: Walmart Apollo LLC
Priority date: 2018-05-15
Filing date: 2019-05-15
Publication date: 2019-11-21

Abstract

In some embodiments, a food container for retaining and displaying a plurality of food items includes a base having triangular overall perimeter. The base includes a bottom wall portion and a sidewall portion extending upwardly from the bottom wall portion such that the bottom wall portion and the sidewall portion together define three interconnected substantially circular cavities each configured to retain a substantially circular food item. The container further includes a lid configured to couple to the base and cover the substantially circular cavities of the base and the food items retained in the substantially circular cavities of the base. The lid is also configured for uncoupling from the base to uncover the cavities of the base and provide access to the food items retained in the substantially circular cavities of the base.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/672,018, filed May 15, 2018, which is incorporated herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates generally to containers for storing food items and, in particular, to containers for storing and displaying multiple food items.

BACKGROUND

It is well known to store individual food items such as pies in single product containers that include a tray or pan and a transparent lid, and provide for both storage of the food items and display of the food items to the consumers. Generally, a consumer interested in buying a variety of such food items would have to buy and transport multiple containers, which is not always convenient for the consumer. Since each container is individually manufactured, both the amount of materials required and the manufacturing costs of such containers can be substantial.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Disclosed herein are embodiments of containers for storing and displaying multiple food items to the customers and methods for opening and closing such containers. This description includes drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective front view of a food container including a base and a lid and storing three food items in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the food container of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the food container of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view through line 4-4 of FIG. 2, showing portions of the lid of the container being coupled to portions of the base of the container, and showing portions of the food items being contained in the container;

FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of a base of the container of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the base of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a front elevational view of the base of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a bottom plan view of the base of FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is a perspective front view of an underside of the lid of the container of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a top plan view of the underside of the lid of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a perspective front view of a base of another food container for storing three food items in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 12 is a top plan view of the base of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a perspective front view of an underside of the lid compatible with the base of FIG. 11; and

FIG. 14 is a top plan view of the underside of the lid of FIG. 13.

Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention. Certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. The terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary technical meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions by persons skilled in the technical field as set forth above except where different specific meanings have otherwise been set forth.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Generally speaking, pursuant to various embodiments, containers for storing and displaying multiple food items to the customers and methods for opening and closing such containers are provided.
In some embodiments, a food container for retaining and displaying a plurality of food items includes a base having a bottom wall portion and a sidewall portion extending upwardly from a perimeter of the bottom wall portion. The bottom wall portion and the sidewall portion together define three interconnected substantially circular cavities each configured to retain a portion of a substantially circular food items. The base includes a multi-faceted central protuberance extending upwardly from the bottom wall portion. The container further includes a lid having a top wall portion and a skirt portion depending downwardly from a perimeter of the top wall portion. The top wall portion and the skirt portion together define three interconnected substantially circular cavities configured to cover the interconnected substantially circular cavities of the base. The top wall portion includes a central protuberance extending downwardly therefrom. The portions of the central protuberance of the base, together with the portions of the sidewall portion located opposite the portions of the central protuberance of the base, define a plurality of channels that interconnect the three substantially circular cavities of the base.
In some embodiments, a base for a food container for retaining and displaying a plurality of food items includes a bottom wall portion having a perimeter and a sidewall portion extending upwardly from the perimeter of the bottom wall portion. The bottom wall portion and the sidewall portion together define three interconnected substantially circular cavities each configured to retain a portion of a substantially circular food item. The base also includes a central protuberance extending upwardly from the bottom wall portion and including a plurality of facets. Three of the facets of the central protuberance each define a part of a respective one of the three interconnected substantially circular cavities of the base.
In some embodiments, a lid for coupling to a base of a food container for retaining and displaying a plurality of food items includes a top wall portion having a perimeter and a skirt portion depending downwardly from the perimeter of the top wall portion. The top wall portion and the skirt portion together defining three interconnected substantially circular cavities configured to cover matching substantially circular cavities of the base. The lid further includes a central protuberance extending downwardly from the top wall portion and including a plurality of facets. Three of the facets of the central protuberance each define a part of a respective one of the three interconnected substantially circular cavities of the lid.
In some embodiments, a food container for retaining and displaying a plurality of food items includes a base having a bottom wall portion and a sidewall portion extending upwardly from a perimeter of the bottom wall portion. The bottom wall portion and the sidewall portion together define three interconnected substantially circular cavities each configured to retain a substantially circular food item. The container further includes a lid configured to substantially cover the substantially circular cavities of the base. The base comprises at least one of a polymer material and a plastic material. The outer perimeter of the base forms a generally triangular shape having rounded corners and inwardly curved side portions.
FIGS. 1 and 2 show an exemplary embodiment of a food container 100 for retaining and displaying a plurality of food items 90. Exemplary food items that may be retained in the container 100 and displayed to the customers may include, but are not limited to, ready to consume food items (e.g., baked items (e.g., fruit and/or cream-based pies, meat-based pies, or the like), cooked items, frozen items, cold-cut items, etc.), as well as food items that require preparation (e.g., defrosting, cooking, baking, etc.) for consumption. In some embodiments, the food items 90 are at least partially retained in a packaging material. For example, as can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the food items 90 (i.e., pies) are retained in a packaging-type material 92 (e.g., metalized (aluminum, tin, or the like), cardboard, or the like pans). It will be appreciated that, in some embodiments, the food items 90 retained in the container 100 may be fully enclosed (or not at all enclosed) in a packaging material. In some aspects, the food items 90 retained in the container 100 are of identical types (e.g., baked pies, meat pot pies, etc.), but are of different varieties (e.g., cherry pie, apple pie, and blueberry pie; or chicken pot pie, beef pot pie, and turkey pot pie, etc.).
FIG. 5 illustrates the base 110 of the exemplary container 100. In some embodiments, the base 110 has a one-piece construction, and may be thermoformed, injection-molded, blow-molded, or the like. In some embodiments, the base 110 is polymer-based and includes one or more polymers, co-polymers, and/or plastic materials. It will be appreciated that the base 110 may likewise be formed from a paperboard material, a metalized material, or the like. In one aspect, the base 110 comprises one or more materials that render the base 110 not suitable for heating (e.g., baking, cooking, microwaving, etc. at high temperatures) the food items 90 for consumption, since these material(s) would melt upon being heated. While the base 110 has been illustrated as being made of a material that is not transparent, it will be appreciated that the base 110 may be made of a transparent material, such that portions of the food items 90 retained in the base 110 could be visible to the customers through the sidewalls of the base 110.
With reference to FIG. 5, the base 110 of the container 100 has a bottom wall portion 112 and a sidewall portion 114. The sidewall portion 114 extends upwardly from a perimeter 116 of the bottom wall portion 112. The exemplary base 110 of FIG. 5 is shaped such that the bottom wall portion 112 and the sidewall portion 114 together define three interconnected substantially circular cavities 118, 120, and 122. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5-7, the cavities 118, 120, and 122 are oriented relative to one another such that the base 110 is generally triangular. By “generally triangular,” it is meant that an overall outer perimeter of the base 110 forms a generally triangular shape having three rounded corners and three sides interconnecting the rounded corners. In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 5-8, the overall generally triangular perimeter of the base 110 includes three sides each having inwardly curved (i.e., concave) side portions interconnecting outwardly curved (i.e., convex) side portions.
Each of the substantially circular cavities 118, 120, and 122 of the base 110 of the container 100 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 is configured to retain a portion of a substantially circular food item 90 (e.g., pie) and the packaging 92 (e.g., foil pan) that retains the food item 90. The cavities 118, 120, 122 may be sized, for example, from about 4 inches to about 9 inches to accommodate various typically commercially available individual pies and pies meant to be shared by more than one person. While the exemplary base 110 of FIG. 5 has been illustrated as including three substantially circular cavities 118, 120, and 122 configured to accommodate three substantially circular food items 90 (e.g., pies, cakes, etc.), which may be all identical or different, and which may all have the same shape or different shapes, it will be appreciated that the cavities 118, 120, and 122 may be configured to have any other shape depending on the food items 90 to be retained therein. In other words, in some aspects, one or more the cavities 118, 120, and 122 may be shaped in the form of ovals, triangles, rectangular or non-rectangular polygons, etc.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the perimeter of the bottom wall portion 112 includes three substantially circular perimeter portions 116 a, 116 b, and 116 c, and three linear perimeter portions 116 d, 116 e, and 116 f interconnecting the substantially circular perimeter portions 116 a-c. Similarly, the sidewall portion 114 includes three substantially circular sidewall portions 114 a, 114 b, and 114 c, and three linear sidewall portions 114 d, 114 e, and 114 f interconnecting the substantially circular sidewall portions 114 a-c. In the exemplary base 110 illustrated in FIG. 5, none of the three substantially circular perimeter portions 116 a-c of the bottom wall portion 112 of the base 110 forms a complete circle. Similarly, none of the three substantially circular sidewall portions 114 a-c of the base 110 forms a complete circle. In some aspects, as will be discussed in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 11-12, the base 110 may be constructed such that each of the three substantially circular perimeter portions 116 a-c of the bottom wall portion 112 of the base 110 forms a complete circle, and such that each of the three substantially circular sidewall portions 114 a-c of the base 110 forms a complete circle.
With reference to FIG. 5, the sidewall portion 114 of the base 110 extends upwardly from the perimeter 116 a-c of the bottom wall portion 112 to a peripheral rim 124 including three substantially circular peripheral rim portions 124 a, 124 b, 124 c extending along the three substantially circular cavities 118, 120, 122 of the base 110. The peripheral rim portions 124 a-c of the sidewall portion 114 each include an upwardly-facing surface 126 having an inner edge 128 and an outer edge 130. The exemplary base 110 of FIG. 5 includes a raised perimeter portion 132 extending upwardly from the outer edge 130 of the upwardly-facing surface 126 of the peripheral rim 124. In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 5-7, the raised perimeter portion 132 includes three substantially circular portions 132 a, 132 b, 132 c extending along the three interconnected substantially circular cavities 118, 120, 122 of the base 110. In some aspects, as will be discussed in more detail below, portions of a lid 111 complementary to the base 110 may come in contact with portions of the upwardly-facing surface 126 of the peripheral rim 124 and/or portions 132 a-c of the raised perimeter portion 132 when the lid 111 and the base 110 are coupled together to enclosed three food items 90 within the container 100.
The exemplary base 110 further includes a flange 134 extending outwardly from the raised perimeter portion 132 of the peripheral rim 124. In some aspects, the flange 134 includes features (e.g., recesses, projections, etc.) that facilitate the interlocking of the base 110 and the lid 111 when the lid 111 and the base 110 are coupled together as shown in FIG. 1. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the flange 134 includes an upwardly-facing surface 136 that extends outwardly in a direction from the raised perimeter portion 132 of the peripheral rim 124 and terminates in a free edge 138, and includes multiple recesses 140 configured to receive matching protrusions of the lid 111 when the lid 111 and the base 110 are coupled together. In some aspects, portions of the flange 134 a, 134 b, and 134 c proximate the recesses 140 a, 140 b, 140 c may be used by a consumer as handles to pick up and carry the base 110 (alone or when coupled to the lid 111). As can be seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, the flange 134 of the base 110 includes three curved portions 134 d, 134 e, and 134 f extending outwardly from the raised perimeter portion 132 of the peripheral rim 124 between (and thereby interconnecting) the exterior-facing portions of the raised perimeter 132 of adjacent cavities 118, 120, 120. In the exemplary base 110 shown in FIG. 5, each of these curved interconnecting portions of the flange 134 includes three additional recesses 140 d, 140 e, 140 f configured to receive complementary protrusions 141 of the lid 111 when the lid 111 and the base 110 are coupled together. As such, the exemplary base 110 illustrated in FIG. 5 has a flange 134 that includes 6 lid-coupling recesses 140 a-f in total.
In some embodiments, each of the three linear sidewall portions 114 d-f interconnecting the substantially circular sidewall portions 114 a-c includes a strengthening rib 170 a, 170 b, 170 c integrally formed therein. The strengthening ribs 170 a-c are formed such that they provide the linear sidewall portions 114 d-f with greater rigidity than the substantially circular sidewall portions 114 a-c of the base 110. The strengthening ribs 170 a-c may be formed from a material identical to the material forming the substantially circular sidewall portions 114 a-c, but may have a greater thickness, resulting in a greater rigidity and strength of the strengthening ribs 170 a-c as compared to the substantially circular sidewall portions 114 a-c of the base 110. The strengthening ribs 170 a-c of the linear sidewall portions 114 d-f contribute to the overall strength and rigidity of the base 110, restricting the base 110 from bending and/or buckling when the base 110 is picked up and/or carried by a consumer, even when the base 110 bears the weight of three food items 90 retained therein. It will be appreciated that the thickness of the three linear sidewall portions 114 d-f does not have to necessarily be greater than the thickness of the substantially circular sidewall portions 114 a-c, since the strengthening rib 170 a-c provided by the linear sidewall portions 114 d-f increases the overall strength and rigidity of the base 110 even when the linear sidewall portions 114 d-f and the three substantially circular sidewall portions 114 a-c all have an identical thickness.
With reference to FIGS. 5 and 8, the exemplary base 110 includes a multi-faceted central protuberance 142 extending upwardly from the bottom wall portion 112. In some embodiments, the central protuberance 142 of the base 110 includes three major facets 144, 146, and 148 and three minor facets 150, 152, and 154 each located between adjacent ones of the major facets 144, 146, and 148. As used herein, the terms “major” and “minor” used in conjunction with the facets of the central protuberance 142 of the base 110 (and the facets of the central protuberance 143 of the lid 111) refer to the relative sizes of the facets, with the term “major” referring to the relatively larger- sized facets 144, 146, and 148, and the term “minor” referring to the relatively smaller- sized facets 150, 152, and 154. While the central protuberance 142 has been illustrated as having six facets, it will be appreciated that the number of facets has been shown by way of example only and that the central protuberance 142 may have more than six facets, or less than six facets, depending on the physical dimensions of the base 110.
In some aspects, each of the three major facets 144, 146, and 148 of the central protuberance 142 includes a strengthening rib 156 a, 156 b, and 156 c integrally formed therein. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5-8, the strengthening ribs 156 a-c of the central protuberance 142 are sized and shaped to be mirror images of their respectively opposite strengthening ribs 170 a-c of the sidewall portion 114. In some aspects, similar to the strengthening ribs 170 a-c, the strengthening ribs 156 a-c may have a substantially greater rigidity as compared to the substantially circular sidewall portions 114 a-c. Similarly to the strengthening ribs 170 a-c, the strengthening ribs 156 a-c may be formed from a material identical to the material forming the sidewall portion 114, but may have a greater thickness and in turn greater rigidity and strength as compared to the substantially circular sidewall portions 114 a-c of the base 110.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the three major facets 144, 146, and 148 of the central protuberance 142 are spaced from, located directly opposite of, and extend along the three linear sidewall portions 114-d-f. As such, the strengthening ribs 170 a-c of the sidewall portion 114 of the base 110 are each located directly opposite their respective strengthening ribs 156 a-c of the central protuberance 142. In the illustrated embodiment, the strengthening ribs 170 a-c, in combination with the strengthening ribs 156 a-c, contribute to the overall strength and rigidity of the base 110 and advantageously restrict and/or prevent the base 110 from bending and/or buckling when the base 110 is picked up and/or carried by consumers, even when the base 110 bears the weight of three food items 90 retained therein. Notably, while the base 110 illustrated in FIGS. 5-8 includes three pairs of strengthening ribs (i.e., 170 a-156 a, 170 b-156 b, and 170 c-156 c), it will be appreciated that the number of strengthening ribs has been shown by way of example only, and that the base 110 may have more than six strengthening ribs or less than six strengthening ribs, depending on the physical dimensions of the base 110.
In some embodiments, the three spaces between the major facets 144, 146, and 148 of the central protuberance 142 and the three linear sidewall portions 114 d-f define three channels 180, 182, 184 that interconnect the three substantially circular cavities 118, 120, 122 of the base 110. In particular, as can be seen in FIG. 6, the channel 180 is formed by the space located between the linear sidewall portion 114 d (and strengthening rib 170 a) of the sidewall portion 114 and the major facet 144 (and strengthening rib 156 a) of the central protuberance 142, the channel 182 is formed by the space located between the linear sidewall portion 114 e (and strengthening rib 170 b) of the sidewall portion 114 and the major facet 146 (and strengthening rib 156 b) of the central protuberance 142, and the channel 184 is formed by the space located between the linear sidewall portion 114 f (and strengthening rib 170 c) of the sidewall portion 114 and the major facet 148 (and strengthening rib 156 c) of the central protuberance 142. Without wishing to be limited by theory, since the cavities 118, 120, and 122 of the base 110 are interconnected via the continuous channels 180, 182, and 184 that are flanked by their respective pairs of strengthening ribs (i.e., 170 a-156 a, 170 b-156 b, and 170 c-156 c), the strength and rigidity of the base 110 is advantageously improved because the adjacent substantially circular cavities 118, 120, and 122 are not separated from each other by any natural creases and/or fold lines that would facilitate the adjacent ones of the cavities 118, 120, 122 to bend or buckle relative to one another (due to the weight of the food items 90 retained therein) when picked up and/or carried by consumers.
The exemplary central protuberance 142 of the base 110 includes a top-most upwardly-facing surface 162. The top-most upwardly-facing surface 162 may be entirely flat, or may have one or more surfaces and/or edges that are curved and/or beveled. For example, in the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 10, the top-most upwardly-facing surface 162 is substantially flat in its entirety, and the edges of the surface 162 extending along each of the minor facets 150, 152, and 154 are flat, while the edges of the surface 162 extending along each of the major facets 144, 146, and 148 are beveled and have a curved portion.
The top-most upwardly-facing surface 162 of the central protuberance 142 includes a lid-coupling aperture 164, as can be seen in FIGS. 5 and 8. As will be discussed below, when a lid 111 is coupled to the base 110, the lid-coupling aperture 164 receives (e.g., by way of snap fit, friction fit, etc.) a complementary projection of the lid 111 in order to facilitate a secure interlock between the lid 111 and the base 110. The lid-coupling aperture 162 may be of any shape, for example, circular, square-shaped, rectangular, triangular, etc. In some embodiments, the top-most upwardly-facing surface 162 of the central protuberance 142 is located in a substantially same horizontal plane as the upwardly-facing surface 136 of the flange 134 of the base 110. In other words, in some aspects, the height of the top-most upwardly-facing surface 162 relative to the upwardly-facing surface of the bottom wall portion 112 is substantially the same as the height of the upwardly-facing surface 136 of the flange 134 relative to the upwardly-facing surface of the bottom wall portion 112. While the central protuberance 142 includes a lid-coupling aperture 164 in the illustrated embodiments, it will be appreciated that the lid-coupling aperture 164 is an optional feature, and that in some embodiments, the central protuberance 142 may not include the lid-coupling aperture 164. Further, while the central protuberance 142 includes the lid-coupling aperture 164 in the illustrated embodiments, it will be appreciated that in some aspects, instead of the lid-coupling aperture 164, the central protuberance 142 may include other coupling means (e.g., hooks, tabs, adhesive tape, etc.) that enable the coupling of the base 110 to the lid 111.
In some aspects, each of the strengthening ribs 156 a-c of the respective major facets 144, 146, and 148 of the central protuberance 142 extends away from the upwardly-facing surface of the bottom wall portion 112 at an angle that is not 90 degrees relative to the upwardly-facing surface of the bottom wall portion 112. In other words, the strengthening ribs 156 a-c are not perpendicular to the upwardly-facing surface of the bottom wall portion 112. Similarly, each of the strengthening ribs 170 a-c of the linear sidewall portions 114 a-c, respectively, extends away from the upwardly-facing surface of the bottom wall portion 112 at an angle that is not 90 degrees relative to the upwardly-facing surface of the bottom wall portion 112.
In some embodiments, each of strengthening ribs 156 a-c is oriented at an angle that is from about 95 degrees to about 120 degrees relative to the upwardly-facing surface of the bottom wall portion 112. Similarly, each of strengthening ribs 170 a-c is oriented at an angle that is from about 95 degrees to about 120 degrees relative to the upwardly-facing surface of the bottom wall portion 112. In some aspects, each of the minor facets 150, 152, and 154 is oriented relative to the upwardly-facing surface of the bottom wall portion 112 at the same angle as the strengthening ribs 156 a-c, namely, from about 95 degrees to about 120 degrees. In other aspects, each of the minor facets 150, 152, and 154 is oriented relative to the upwardly-facing surface of the bottom wall portion 112 at a greater angle than the strengthening ribs 156 a-c, namely, from about 100 degrees to about 130 degrees.
In some aspects, the sidewall portion 114 of the base 110 is oriented relative to the upwardly-facing surface of the bottom wall portion 112 at the same angle as the minor facets 150, 152, and 154 of the central protuberance 142. As such, the structures of the base 110 (i.e., the segments of the sidewall portion 114 located in the circular cavities 118, 120, 122 and the minor facets 150, 152, 154 of the central protuberance 142) that come in contact with and support the packaging material (e.g., metalized pan) holding the food items 90 are all oriented at the same angle relative to the horizontal plane (and relative to the upwardly-facing surface of the bottom wall portion 112 of the base 110) to correspond to the angle of the sidewalls of the packaging material, which facilitates a stable cradling of the packaging material that holds the food items 90 (or food items 90 that do not have individual packaging) by the base 110.
In the embodiments illustrated in the drawings, the strengthening ribs 156 a-c of the central protuberance 142 and the strengthening ribs 170 a-c of the sidewall portion 114 are oriented such that they diverge from each other as they extend in a direction from the bottom wall portion 112 toward the top-most upwardly-facing surface 162 of the central protuberance 142. In other words, the distances between the bases of the strengthening ribs 156 a-c and the bases of the respective opposing strengthening ribs 170 a-c are less than the distances between the upper edges of the strengthening ribs 156 a-c and the upper edges of their respective opposing strengthening ribs 170 a-c. To put it another way, in the embodiment of FIG. 6, each of the channels 180, 182, and 184 has its smallest width at its bottom-most portion, continuously increases in width in a direction away from the bottom wall portion 112, and has its greatest width at its top-most portion.
In some aspects, the minor facets 150, 152, and 154 of the central protuberance 142 each extend upwardly from a base of the central protuberance 142 in a direction away from the upwardly-facing surface of the bottom wall portion 112 and each terminate in upwardly-facing lips 166 a, 166 b, 166 c. As can be seen, for example, in FIG. 5, each of the upwardly-facing lips 166 a-c is located below (i.e., is recessed relative to) the top-most upwardly-facing surface 162 of the central protuberance 142. In some embodiments, the upwardly-facing lips 166 a-c provide surfaces that support thereon at least a portion of packaging material 92 (i.e., the outer rim of the metalized pan) retaining the food items 90, as shown, for example, in FIGS. 1 and 2.
FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate a lid 111 of the container 100 in more detail. In some embodiments, the lid 111 has a one-piece construction, and may be thermoformed, injection-molded, blow-molded, or the like. In some embodiments, the lid 111 is polymer-based and includes one or more polymers, co-polymers, and/or plastic materials. It will be appreciated that the lid 111 may likewise be formed from a paperboard material, a metalized material, or the like. In one aspect, the lid 111 is comprises of one or more materials that prevent the lid 111 from being used as a cover for a container base in which the food items 90 are prepared by heating (e.g., baking, cooking, microwaving, etc.) at high temperatures, since such materials would melt upon being heated. While the lid 111 has been illustrated as being made of a material that is transparent to enable the consumer to see the food item 90 retained in the container 100, it will be appreciated that the lid 111 may be made of a non-transparent material in some embodiments.
With reference to FIG. 10, the exemplary lid 111 of the container 100 includes a top wall portion 113 and a skirt portion 115 depending downwardly from a perimeter 117 of the top wall portion 113. The top wall portion 113 and the skirt portion 115 together define three interconnected substantially circular cavities 119, 121, 123 configured to cover the interconnected substantially circular cavities 118, 120, 122 of the base 110. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 10, the three interconnected circular cavities 119, 121, and 123 are oriented relative to one another such that the lid 111 has a generally triangular overall shape. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 10, the generally triangular overall perimeter of the lid 111 includes sides having inwardly curved (i.e., concave) side portions interconnecting outwardly curved (i.e., convex) side portions.
Each of the substantially circular cavities 119, 121, and 123 of the lid 111 illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10 is configured to cover a portion of a substantially circular food item 90 (e.g., pie) and the packaging 92 (e.g., metalized foil pan) that retains the food item 90. For example, when the lid 111 is coupled to the base 110 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the food items 90 retained in the container 100 are fully enclosed by the base 110 and lid 111 of the container 100. The circular cavities 119, 121, 123 of the lid 111 may be sized from about 4 inches to about 9 inches to accommodate various typically commercially available individual pies and pies meant to be shared by more than one person. While the exemplary lid 111 of FIG. 10 has been illustrated as including three circular cavities 119, 121, and 123 configured to cover three circular items 90 (e.g., pies, cakes, etc.), which may be all identical or all different and which may all have the same shape, or all have different shapes, it will be appreciated that the cavities 119, 121, and 123 may be configured to have any other shape depending on the food item 90 to be covered. In other words, in some aspects, one or more the cavities 119, 121, and 123 may be shaped in the form of ovals, triangles, rectangular or non-rectangular polygons, etc.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 10, the perimeter 117 of the top wall portion 113 includes three substantially circular perimeter portions 117 a, 117 b, and 117 c that each form a complete circle. The skirt portion 115 includes three substantially circular skirt portions 115 a, 115 b, and 115 c neither of which forms a complete circle, and three linear skirt portions 115 d, 115 e, and 115 f interconnecting the substantially circular skirt portions 115 a, 115 b, and 115 c.
The skirt portion 115 of the lid 111 extends downwardly from the perimeter 117 of the top wall portion 113 to a peripheral rim 125 including three substantially circular portions 125 a, 125 b, 125 c extending along the three interconnected substantially circular cavities 119, 121, 123 of the lid 111. Within each of the cavities 119, 121, and 123, the top wall portion 113 of the lid 111 includes recessed peripheral portions 113 a, 113 b, 113 c and raised central portions 113 d, 113 e, 113 f. In the illustrated embodiment, the outer edges of the recessed peripheral portions 113 a-c coincide with their respective substantially circular perimeter portions 117 a-c from which the skirt portion 115 of the lid 111 extends, and the inner edges of the recessed central portions 113 a-c are sized and shaped such they are substantially identical to the size and shape of the perimeter portions 116 a-c of the base 110. As a result, the upwardly-facing surface of the top wall portion 113 includes central recessed portions (corresponding to the raised central portions 113 d-f) at least in part surrounded by a raised portion (corresponding to the inner edges of the recessed central portions 113 a-c), with the central recessed portion being substantially identical in diameter to the perimeter portions 116 a-c of the base 110.
This resulting relieved configuration of the upwardly-facing surface of the top wall portion 113 of the lid 111 facilitates the stacking of the base 110 of another container 100 on top of the lid 111, for example, during transportation of the containers to retail locations, or during display of the containers 100 on shelves at retail locations. In particular, when another container 100 is stacked on top of the lid 111 of the container 100, portions of the base 110 corresponding to the underside of the perimeter portions 116 a-c of the bottom wall portion 112 are nested within the central recessed portions of the upwardly-facing surface of the lid 111 that correspond to the raised central portions 113 d-f while being partially surrounded by the raised portions of the upwardly-facing surface of the lid 111 that correspond to the inner edges of the recessed central portions 113 a-c. This nested arrangement resulting in from the relieved configuration of the upwardly-facing surface of the lid 111 advantageously restricts the base 110 of one container 100 from inadvertently slipping off the lid 111 of another container on top of which it is stacked.
Each of the peripheral rim portions 125 a-c of the lid 111 includes a downwardly-facing surface 127 having an inner edge 129 and an outer edge 131. In the illustrated embodiment, a flange 135 extends outwardly from the outer edge 131 of the peripheral rim 125. In some aspects, the flange 135 includes features (e.g., recesses, projections, etc.) that facilitate the interlocking of the lid 111 and the base 110 when the lid 111 and the base 110 are coupled together as shown in FIG. 1. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the flange 135 includes a downward-facing surface 137 that extends outwardly in a direction away from the outer edge 131 of the peripheral rim 125 and terminates at an outer edge 139, and includes multiple protrusions 141 extending downwardly from the downward-facing surface 137 and being configured to mate with the matching recesses 140 of the base 110 when the base 110 and the lid 111 are coupled together as shown in FIG. 1.
In particular, as discussed above, the flange 134 of the base 110 includes three curved portions 134 d-f that extend outwardly from the raised perimeter portion 132 of the peripheral rim 124, interconnect exterior-facing portions of the raised perimeter 132 of adjacent cavities 118, 120, 120 and include three recesses 140 configured to receive complementary protrusions 141 of the lid 111 when the lid 111 and the base 110 are coupled together. In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10, the downward-facing surface 137 of the flange 135 of the lid 111 includes three protrusions 141 configured to mate with three (of the 6) complementary recesses 140 of the base 110. In particular, in the illustrated embodiment, the flange 135 of the lid 111 includes portions 135 a, 135 b, 135 c that extend outwardly from each of the cavities 119, 121, and 123 of the lid 111 and form three handle-like structures each of which may be used by the consumer to grasp the lid 111 (when carrying the container 100, or when attempting to open the container 100), and each of which includes the above-referenced protrusions 141.
In some embodiments, the downward-facing surface 137 of the flange 135 of the lid 111 may include 6 protrusions 141 configured to mate with all 6 of the complementary recesses 140 of the base 110. For example, while the three curved portions of the flange 135 d, 135 e, 135 f of the exemplary lid 111 that extend outwardly from the peripheral rim 125 while interconnecting exterior-facing portions of the raised perimeter 133 of adjacent cavities 119, 121, 123 do not include any protrusions 141 (that could mate with the recesses 140 in the corresponding curved portions of the flange 134), it will be appreciated that in some embodiments, each of these curved portions of the flange 135 could include an additional base-coupling protrusion 141, bringing the number of protrusions 141 of the lid 111 to six total.
The exemplary lid 111 of FIG. 10 includes a raised perimeter portion 133 extending downwardly from the outer edge 131 of the downwardly-facing surface 127 of the peripheral rim 125. In the illustrated embodiment, the raised perimeter portion 133 includes three substantially circular portions 133 a, 133 b, 133 c extending along the three interconnected substantially circular cavities 119, 121, 123 of the lid 111. As will be discussed in more detail below, portions of the flange 134 of the base 110 complementary to the lid 111 come in contact with portions of the downwardly facing surface 127 of the peripheral rim 125 and/or portions 133 a-c of the raised perimeter portion 133 when the base 110 and the lid 111 are coupled together.
With reference to FIGS. 9 and 10, the exemplary lid 111 includes a multi-faceted central protuberance 143 extending downwardly from the top wall portion 113. In some aspects, the central protuberance 143 of the lid 111 includes three major facets 145, 147, and 149 and three minor facets 151, 153, and 155 each located between adjacent ones of the three major facets 145, 147, and 149, as shown, for example, in FIGS. 9 and 10. While the central protuberance 143 has been illustrated as having six facets, it will be appreciated that the number of facets has been shown by way of example only, and that the central protuberance 143 may have more than six facets, or less than six facets, depending on the physical dimensions of the lid 111.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 10, the minor facets 151, 153, and 155 of the central protuberance 143 and their respective opposing skirt portions 115 d-f are located directly opposite of each other and are sized and shaped to be mirror images of each another. In some embodiments, each of the three minor facets 151, 153, and 155 of the central protuberance 143 is interconnected by a respective strengthening rib 157 a, 157 b, and 157 c with a respective linear skirt portion 115 d-f. The strengthening ribs 157 a-c contribute to the overall strength and rigidity of the lid 111, restricting the lid 111 from bending and/or buckling when being picked up and/or carried by consumers. Notably, while the lid 111 illustrated in FIGS. 9-10 includes three strengthening ribs (i.e., 157 a-c), it will be appreciated that the number of strengthening ribs has been shown by way of example only, and that the lid 111 may have more than three strengthening ribs or less than three strengthening ribs depending on the physical dimensions of the lid 111.
In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 10, the three spaces between the minor facets 151, 153, and 155 of the central protuberance 143 and their respective linear skirt portions 115 d-f define three channels 181, 183, 185 that interconnect the three substantially circular cavities 119, 121, 123 of the lid 111. In particular, the channel 181 is formed by the space located between the linear skirt portion 115 d and the minor facet 151 and the strengthening rib 157 a, the channel 183 is formed by the space located between the linear skirt portion 115 e and the minor facet 153 and the strengthening rib 157 b, and the channel 185 is formed by the space located between the linear skirt portion 115 f and the minor facet 155 and the strengthening rib 157 c.
In some aspects, each of the three major facets 145, 147, and 149 of the central protuberance 143 is curved and has a radius of curvature substantially identical to the radius of curvature of the skirt portions 115 a-c. As can be seen in FIG. 10, each of the three major facets 145 147, and 149 forms a part of a substantially the same circle with their respective circular skirt portions 115 a-c. In the illustrated embodiment, each of the major facets 145, 147, and 149 of the central protuberance 143 includes a rounded pillar 165 a, 165 b, and 165 c, respectively, extending therefrom. In addition, each substantially circular portion 115 a-c of the skirt portion 115 includes three additional rounded pillars. In particular, portion 115 a includes rounded pillars 165 d, 165 e, and 165 f, portion 115 b includes rounded pillars 165 g, 165 h, and 165 i, and portion 115 c includes rounded pillars 165 j, 165 k, and 165 m.
In some embodiments, when the lid 111 is coupled to the base 110 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the rounded pillars 165 a-165 m overlie a portion (e.g., an outer flange) of a packaging material 92 (e.g., a metalized pan) that holds the food items 90, acting as stops that restrict the packaging material 92 from inadvertently bouncing upwardly past the rounded pillars 165 a-165 m while the containers 100 are transported. This spatial relationship of the outer flange of the packaging material 92 of the food items 90, the downward-facing surface of the top wall portion 113 of the lid 111, the rounded pillars 165 a-m of the lid 111, and the upwardly-facing surface 126 of the peripheral rim 124 of the base 110, which is shown in more detail in the cross-sectional view provided in FIG. 4, advantageously prevents the food items 90 from being damaged as a result of being smashed into the downward-facing surface of the top wall portion 113.
The central protuberance 143 of the lid 111 includes a bottom-most downward-facing surface 167. The bottom-most downward-facing surface 167 may be entirely flat, or may have one or more surfaces and/or edges that are curved and/or beveled. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 10, the entire bottom-most downward-facing surface 167 is flat while the outer edges of the bottom-most downward-facing surface 167, which serve as the transition between the bottom-most downward-facing surface 167 and the facets of the central protuberance 143, are rounded. In some embodiments, the bottom-most downward-facing surface 167 of the central protuberance 143 is located in a substantially same horizontal plane as the downward-facing surface 137 of the flange 135 of the lid 111. In other words, in some aspects, the height of the bottom-most downward-facing surface 167 relative to the downward-facing surface of the top wall portion 113 of the lid 111 is substantially the same as the height of the downward-facing surface 137 of the flange 135 relative to the downward-facing surface of the top wall portion 113.
In the illustrated embodiment, the bottom-most downward-facing surface 167 includes a base-coupling projection 169 extending downwardly therefrom. As shown, for example, in FIG. 4, when a lid 111 is coupled to the base 110, the lid-coupling aperture 164 of the central protuberance 142 of the base 110 receives the base-coupling projection 169 of the lid 111 in order to facilitate a secure interlock between the lid 111 and the base 110. The base-coupling projection 169 may be of any shape, for example, circular, square-shaped, rectangular, triangular, or the like. While the exemplary central protuberance 143 includes the base-coupling projection 169 in the illustrated embodiments, it will be appreciated that the base-coupling projection 169 is an optional feature, and that in some embodiments, the central protuberance 143 of the lid 111 may not include the base-coupling projection 169. Furthermore, while the central protuberance 143 includes the base-coupling projection 169 in the illustrated embodiments, it will be appreciated that the central protuberance 143 may include an alternative coupling means (e.g., hooks, tabs, adhesive tape, etc.) that facilitates a secure coupling of the lid 111 to the base 110.
In some aspects, each of the major facets 145, 147, and 149 of the central protuberance 143 extends downwardly from the downward-facing surface of the top wall portion 113 at an angle that from about 95 to about 120 degrees relative to the downward-facing surface of the top wall portion 113. Similarly, the minor facets 151, 153, 155 of the central protuberance 143 extend downwardly from their respective strengthening ribs 157 a-c at an angle that is from about 95 to about 120 degrees relative to the strengthening ribs 157 a-c. In some aspects, the skirt portion 115 is oriented relative to the downward-facing surface of the top wall portion 113 at the same angle as the major facets 145, 147, and 149 of the central protuberance 143. As such, the segments of the skirt portion 115 that form the substantially circular cavities 119, 121, and 123 and the major facets 145, 147, 149 of the central protuberance 143 form a part of the same circle and are all oriented at the same angle relative to the downward-facing surface of the top wall portion 113. With reference to FIGS. 9-10, the minor facets 151, 153, and 155 of the central protuberance 143 and their opposing linear skirt portion 115 d-f are oriented such that they diverge from each other as they extend in a direction from their respective strengthening ribs 157 a-c toward the bottom-most downward-facing surface 167. In other words, the distances between the bases of the minor facets 151, 153, and 155 and the bases of their respective opposing linear skirt portion 115 d-f are less than the distances between the lower edges of the minor facets 151, 153, and 155 and the lower edges of their respective opposing linear skirt portion 115 d-f. To put it another way, in the illustrated embodiments, each of the channels 181, 183, and 185 has its smallest width proximate the respective strengthening rib 157 a-c, continuously increases in width in a direction away from the strengthening ribs 157 a-c, and has its greatest width proximate the bottom-most downward facing surface 167.
In use, the exemplary container 100 may be used to store three substantially circular foot items 90, as shown in FIGS. 1-3. As described above, the relieved configuration of the upwardly-facing surface of the skirt portion 115 of the lid 111 permits multiple containers 100 to be stacked on top of one another for the purpose of displaying the containers 100 to the customers at the retail store, as well as for purpose of transporting the containers 100 to the retail store. In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1, the lid 111 is transparent, which allows a customer to see the food items stored in the container 100, which may be appealing to the customers.
A customer desiring to open the container 100 of FIG. 1 and gain access to the food items 90 stored therein would have to grasp portions of the lid 111 and/or the base 110, and pull the lid 111 in a generally upwardly direction away from the base 110 (while also possibly pulling the base 110 in a generally downwardly direction away from the lid 111). This movement of the lid 111 and the base 110 away from each other causes: (1) the protrusions 141 of the lid 111 to be pulled out from the matching recesses 140 of the base 110; (2) the base-coupling projection 169 of the central protuberance 143 of the lid 111 to be pulled out from the lid-coupling aperture 164 of the central protuberance 142 of the base 110; and (3) the lid 111 to be fully detached from the base 110, uncovering the food items 90 located in all three cavities 118, 120, 122 of the base 110, which allows the customer to gain access to all three of the food items 90 retained in the base 110.
After the customer removes pieces of one or more of the food items 90 from the base 110, or removes one or more food items 90 in their entirety from the base 110, the customer can then close the container 100 by generally aligning the protrusions 141 of the lid 111 with the recesses 140 of the base 110 and the base-coupling projection 169 of the lid 111 with the lid-coupling aperture 164 of the base 110 and applying a downward force to portions of the lid 111 and/or an upwardly force to portions of the base 110 in order to snap the protrusions 141 of the lid 111 into their complementary recesses 140 of the base 110 and the base-coupling projection 169 of the lid 111 into its complementary lid-coupling aperture 164 of the base 110.
While the exemplary container 100 is configured with the lid 111 and the base 110 being detachably coupled such that the lid 111 can be opened by being completely detached from (i.e., fully out of contact with) the base 110, it will be appreciated that, in some embodiments, the container 100 may be configured such that the lid 111 is non-detachably attached to the base 110. For purposes of this disclosure, “non-detachably attached” means an attachment that is not meant to be detached. For example, in some aspects, the lid 111 may be movably attached relative to the base 110 at one or more locations (e.g., hinges, pivots, swivels, adhesive attachments, etc.) that permit portions of the lid 111 to move upwardly relative to the base 110 (while remaining non-detachably attached to portions of the base 110) in order to open the container 100 and permit the customer to gain access to the food items 90 therein.
FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate an alternative embodiment of a base 1110 for a food container. The base 1110 is similar to the base 110 of FIGS. 5-8. For example, the base 1110 can be made from identical materials as the base 110 and the circular cavities 1118, 1120, 1122 of the base 1110 may have identical sizes (e.g., from about 4 inches to about 9 inches) to the sizes of the cavities 118, 120, 122 of the base 110 in order to accommodate various typically commercially available individual pies and pies meant to be shared by more than one person. Further, the exemplary base 1110 of FIG. 11 is shaped such that the bottom wall portion 1112 and the sidewall portion 1114 together define three interconnected substantially circular cavities 1118, 1120, and 1122 that are each configured to retain a portion of a substantially circular food item 90 (e.g., pie) and the packaging 92 (e.g., foil pan) that retains the food item 90. Also similarly to the base 110, the base 1110 is configured such that the three cavities 1118, 1120, and 1122 of the base 1110 are oriented relative to one another such that the base 1110 is generally triangular. The differences between the base 1110 and the base 110 are discussed in more detail below.
One difference between the base 110 and the base 1110 is that in the exemplary base 110 shown in FIG. 5, none of the three substantially circular perimeter portions 116 a-c of the bottom wall portion 112 of the base 110 forms a complete circle, and none of the three substantially circular sidewall portions 114 a-c of the base 110 forms a complete circle. Conversely, the base 1110 shown in FIG. 12 is constructed such that each of the three perimeter portions 1116 a, 1116 b, and 1116 c of the bottom wall portion 1112 forms a complete circle and each of the three sidewall portions 1114 a-c forms a complete circle, as can be seen in FIG. 12.
Another difference is that, as discussed above, in the base 110, the space between the edges of the sidewall portions 114 a-c (i.e., the space, where the circle formed by the sidewall portions 114 a-c is incomplete) defines portions of three channels 180, 182, 184 that interconnect the three cavities 118, 120, 122 of the base 110. Since the three sidewall portions 1114 a-c of the base 1110 form a complete circle, the three cavities 1118, 1120, 1122 of the base 1110 are not interconnected by large open channels akin to the channels 180, 182, 184 of the base 110. The three cavities 1119, 1121, 1123 of the base 1110 are interconnected, however, by a U-shaped recess 1175, 1177, 1179 in each of the sidewall portions 1114 a-c of the base 1110, with the space between the interior-facing sides of each “U” defining a channel 1181, 1183, 1185 that interconnects the cavities 1119, 1121, 1123, as can be seen in FIGS. 12-13.
Notably, while the height of each of the channels 180, 182, 184 of the base 110 extends from the perimeter 116 a-c of the bottom wall portion 112 to the upwardly-facing surface 126 of the peripheral rim 124 of the sidewall portion 114 (see, e.g., FIG. 5), the height of the channels 1181, 1183, 1185 defined by the U-shaped recesses 1175, 1177, 1179 of the base 1110 illustrated in FIG. 11 is significantly less, since the maximum height of each U is less than one half of the height between the perimeter 1116 a-c of the bottom wall portion 1112 and the upwardly-facing surface 1126 of the peripheral rim 1124. It will be appreciated, however, the size of each U-shaped recess 1175, 1177, 1179 of the base 1110 have been shown in FIGS. 11-12 by way of example only, and that, in some embodiments, each U-shaped recess 1175, 1177, 1179 may extend further from the upwardly-facing surface 1126 of the peripheral rim 124 toward the perimeter 1116 a-c of the bottom wall portion 1112.
Yet another difference between the base 110 of FIG. 5 and the base 1110 of FIG. 11 is that the base 1110 does not include a multi-faceted central protuberance akin to the central protuberance 142 of the base 110. In particular, as discussed above, the base 110 includes a central protuberance 142 extending upwardly from the bottom wall portion 112 and including three major facets 144, 146, and 148 and three minor facets 150, 152, and 154 entirely spaced from and located directly opposite of their respective portions of the sidewall portion 114 to define the channels 180, 182, 184 that interconnect the cavities 118, 120, 122. Instead, the base 1110 includes a strengthening rib 1142 that includes portions that are non-detachably attached (e.g., by welding, bonding, adhesives, etc.) to each of the cavities 1118, 1120, 1122 in order to provide strength and rigidity to the base 1110.
In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 11-12, the strengthening rib 1142 is generally triangular and has inwardly curved sides 1142 a, 1142 b, 1142 c, each having a radius of curvature that is substantially identical to the radius of curvature of the raised perimeter portions 1132 a, 1132 b, 1132 c extending from the peripheral rim portions 1124 a, 1124 b, 1124 c of the base 1110, with the outward-facing surface of each of the inwardly curved sides 1142 a-c of the strengthening rib 1142 being non-detachably attached to a respective raised perimeter portion 1132 a-c of each of the cavities 1118, 1120, 1122 to provide a secure attached of the cavities 1118, 1120, and 1122 to one another.
Given that the wall portions 1114 a-c of the cavities 1118, 11120, and 1222 of the base 1110 are separated from one another due to being shaped as complete circles, it is possible that the space between (or the area of attachment) between the adjacent wall portions 1114 a-c may create a natural crease that may facilitate undesired bending and/or buckling of adjacent cavities 1118, 1120, 1122 relative to one another when the base 1110 (bearing the weight of the food items 90 therein) is picked up and/or carried by consumers. As discussed above, the base 110 overcomes this potential disadvantages of the base 1110, since the substantially circular cavities 118, 120, and 122 of the base 110 are interconnected via continuous channels 180, 182, and 184 each flanked by a pairs of strengthening ribs (i.e., 170 a-156 a, 170 b-156 b, and 170 c-156 c.)
Still another difference between the base 110 and the base 1110 is that, in the base 110, the flange 134 extending outwardly from the raised perimeter portion 132 of the peripheral rim 124 extends around the entirety of the perimeter of the base 110, but the flange 1134 extending from the raised perimeter portion 1132 of the peripheral rim 1124 does not extend around the entirety of the perimeter of the base 1110. In particular, as discussed above, the flange 134 of the base 110 includes three curved portions 134 d-f that extend outwardly from the raised perimeter portion 132 of the peripheral rim 124, interconnect exterior-facing portions of the raised perimeter 132 of adjacent cavities 118, 120, 120 and include three recesses 140 configured to receive complementary protrusions 141 of the lid 111 when the lid 111 and the base 110 are coupled together. The flange 1134 of the base 1110 includes three curved portions 1134 a, 1134 b, 1134 c (including three recesses 1140) that are substantially identical to the above-described three curved portions of the flange 134 of the base 110.
However, as discussed above, the flange 134 of the base 110 includes portions 134 a-c that extend outwardly from each of the cavities 118, 120, and 122 of the base 110 and form three handle-like structures each of which may be used by the consumer to pick up and carry the base 110, and each of which includes a recess 140 (providing the flange 134 of the base 110 with 6 recesses 140 in total) that is configured to receive the matching protrusions 141 of the lid 111 when the lid 111 and the base 110 are coupled together. The flange 1134 of the base 1110 lacks such handle-like, lid-coupling recess-including portions (and thus has 3 recesses 1140 in total). It will be appreciated, however, that the base 1110 may be configured in some embodiments to include a flange 1134 that is identical to the flange 134 of the base 110.
FIGS. 13 and 14 illustrate an alternative embodiment of a lid 1111 for a food container that is compatible with the base 1110. The lid 1111 is similar to the lid 111 of FIGS. 9-10. For example, the lid 1111 can be made from identical materials as the base 1110 and the circular cavities 1119, 1121, 1123 of the lid 1111 may have identical sizes (e.g., from about 4 inches to about 9 inches) to the sizes of the cavities 119, 121, 123 of the lid 111 in order to cover various typically commercially available individual pies and pies meant to be shared by more than one person. Further, similarly to the lid 111, the lid 1111 is shaped such that the bottom wall portion 1113 and the sidewall portion 1115 together define three interconnected substantially circular cavities 1119, 1121, and 1123 that are each configured to retain a portion of a substantially circular food item 90 (e.g., pie) and the packaging 92 (e.g., foil pan) that retains the food item 90. Also similarly to the lid 111, the lid 1111 is configured such that the three cavities 1119, 1121, and 1123 of the lid 1111 are oriented relative to one another such that the lid 1111 is generally triangular. The differences between the lid 1111 and the lid 111 are discussed in more detail below.
One difference between the lid 111 and the lid 1111 is that in the exemplary lid 111 illustrated in FIGS. 9-10, none of the three substantially circular skirt portions 115 a-c of the lid 111 forms a complete circle. Conversely, the lid 1111 shown in FIG. 14 is constructed such that each of the three sidewall portions 1115 a-c forms a complete circle, as can be seen in FIG. 14.
Another difference is that, as discussed above, the lid 111 includes three channels 181, 183, 185 that interconnect the three substantially circular cavities 119, 121, 123 of the lid 111. In particular, the channel 181 is formed by the space located between the linear skirt portion 115 d and the minor facet 151 and the strengthening rib 157 a, the channel 183 is formed by the space located between the linear skirt portion 115 e and the minor facet 153 and the strengthening rib 157 b, and the channel 185 is formed by the space located between the linear skirt portion 115 f and the minor facet 155 and the strengthening rib 157 c. Conversely, as can be seen in FIG. 14, the sidewall portions 1115 a-c of the cavities 1119, 1121, and 1123 of the lid 1111 form three complete and separate circles that are spaced from one another and are not interconnected by any channels.
Yet another difference between the lid 111 and the lid 1111 is that the lid 1111 does not include a multi-faceted central protuberance akin to the central protuberance 143 of the lid 111. In particular, as discussed above, the exemplary lid 111 includes a multi-faceted central protuberance 143 including three major facets 145, 147, and 149 and three minor facets 151, 153, and 155, with each of the three major facets 145 147, and 149 forming a part of a substantially the same circle with their respective circular skirt portions 115 a-c and respectively including a rounded pillar 165 a-c extending therefrom (with each substantially circular portion 115 a-c of the skirt portion 115 respectively including three additional rounded pillars 165 d-m). The lid 1111 does not include a multi-faceted central protuberance akin to the central protuberance 143 of the lid 111 and instead simply includes a central triangular-shaped space between the circular skirt portions 1115 a-c. Notably, like the lid 111, the lid 1111 includes twelve rounded pillars 165, but while three of the pillars 165 a-c extend from the central protuberance 143 of the lid 111 and nine of the pillars 165 d-m extend from the circular skirt portions 115 a-c of the lid 111, all twelve of the pillars 1165 a-m extend from their respective circular skirt portions 115 a-c of the lid 1111.
Still another difference between the lid 111 and the lid 1111 is that the lid 111 includes a flange 135 extending outwardly from the outer edge 131 of the peripheral rim 125 and includes three handle-like structures each of which includes a downwardly-extending protrusions 141 configured to mate with matching recesses 140 of the base 110 when the base 110 and the lid 111 are coupled together as shown in FIG. 1. In contrast, the lid 1111 does not include a flange akin to the flange 135 of the lid 111. In other words, in embodiment illustrated in FIG. 13, the lid 1111 lacks a flange extending outwardly from the outer edges of the peripheral rim portions 1125 a, 1125 b, and 1125 c of the skirt portion 1115 that are being shaped to form three handle-like structures, each of which includes a base-coupling downwardly-extending protrusion 141. In will be appreciated, however, that the lid 1111 may be configured in some embodiments to include a flange that is identical to the flange 135 of the lid 111.
The systems and methods described herein advantageously provide for containers that include lids and that are configured to retain and simultaneously display multiple food items.
Those skilled in the art will recognize that a wide variety of other modifications, alterations, and combinations can also be made with respect to the above described embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention, and that such modifications, alterations, and combinations are to be viewed as being within the ambit of the inventive concept.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A food container for retaining and displaying a plurality of food items, the food container comprising:

a base having a bottom wall portion and a sidewall portion extending upwardly from a perimeter of the bottom wall portion, the bottom wall portion and the sidewall portion together defining three interconnected substantially circular cavities each configured to retain a portion of a substantially circular food item;

the base including a multi-faceted central protuberance extending upwardly from the bottom wall portion; and

a lid having a top wall portion and a skirt portion depending downwardly from a perimeter of the top wall portion, the top wall portion and the skirt portion together defining three interconnected substantially circular cavities configured to cover the interconnected substantially circular cavities of the base, the top wall portion including a central protuberance extending downwardly therefrom;

wherein portions of the central protuberance of the base, together with portions of the sidewall portion located opposite the portions of the central protuberance of the base, define a plurality of channels that interconnect the three substantially circular cavities of the base.

2. The food container of claim 1,

wherein the perimeter of the bottom wall portion includes three substantially circular perimeter portions and three linear perimeter portions interconnecting the substantially circular perimeter portions;

wherein the sidewall portion includes three substantially circular sidewall portions and three linear sidewall portions interconnecting the substantially circular sidewall portions; and

wherein none of the three substantially circular perimeter portions forms a complete circle; and

wherein none of the three substantially circular sidewall portions forms a complete circle.

3. The food container of claim 2,

wherein each of the three linear sidewall portions includes a strengthening rib extending upwardly from a respective one of the three linear perimeter portions of the bottom wall portion.

4. The food container of claim 3,

wherein the central protuberance of the base includes three major facets each including a strengthening rib, each of the strengthening ribs of the three major facets of the central protuberance of the base being located directly opposite a respective one of the strengthening ribs of the three linear sidewall portions; and

wherein the three major facets, together with their respective three linear side wall portions, define the channels that interconnect the three substantially circular cavities of the base.

5. The food container of claim 4,

wherein the central protuberance of the base includes three minor facets each located between adjacent ones of the three major facets of the central protuberance of the base, each of the minor facets extending upwardly from a base of the central protuberance and terminating in an upwardly facing lip configured to support at least a portion of packaging material retaining the food item therein; and

wherein the central protuberance of the lid includes three facets, each of the three facets of the central protuberance of the lid including a rounded tab extending therefrom; and

wherein, when the lid and the base are coupled together, the at least a portion of the packaging material is retained between the rounded tab and the upwardly facing lip.

6. The food container of claim 1,

wherein the central protuberance of the base includes a top-most upwardly-facing surface and a lid-coupling aperture formed in the top-most upwardly-facing surface of the central protuberance of the base;

wherein the central protuberance of the lid includes a bottom-most downward-facing surface and a projection extending downwardly from the bottom-most downward-facing surface of the central protuberance, the projection being configured to mate with the lid-coupling aperture of the central protuberance of the base when the lid and the base are coupled together; and

wherein the top-most upwardly-facing surface of the central protuberance of the base and the bottom-most downward-facing surface are in contact with each other, and the projection of the central protuberance of the lid is located in the lid-coupling aperture of the central protuberance of the base when the lid and the base are coupled together.

7. The food container of claim 1, wherein the sidewall portion extends upwardly from the perimeter of the bottom wall portion to a peripheral rim including three substantially circular portions extending along the three interconnected substantially circular cavities of the base.

8. The food container of claim 7,

wherein the peripheral rim includes:

an upwardly-facing surface having an inner edge and an outer edge; and

a raised perimeter portion extending upwardly from the outer edge of the upwardly-facing surface of the peripheral rim; and

wherein a flange extends outwardly from the raised perimeter portion of the peripheral rim, the flange including an upwardly-facing surface including a plurality of recesses configured to receive matching protrusions of the lid when the lid and the base are coupled together.

9. The food container of claim 8, wherein the skirt portion of the lid extends downwardly from the perimeter of the top wall portion of the lid to a peripheral rim including three substantially circular portions extending along the three interconnected substantially circular cavities of the lid.

10. The food container of claim 9,

wherein the peripheral rim of the skirt portion of the lid includes an downward facing surface having an inner edge and an outer edge;

wherein a flange extends outwardly from the outer edge of the downward facing surface of the peripheral rim of the skirt portion of the lid, the flange including:

a raised perimeter portion extending downwardly from a distal edge of the flange; and

a plurality of protrusions configured to mate with the recesses located in the flange of the base when the lid and the base are coupled together.

11. The food container of claim 10, wherein each of the flange of the lid and the flange of the base has a generally triangular overall perimeter.

12. The food container of claim 9, wherein at least one of the base and lid comprises at least one of a polymer material and a plastic material.

13. The food container of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of food items retained at least partially in the interconnected substantially circular cavities of the base.

14. A base for a food container for retaining and displaying a plurality of food items, the base comprising:

a bottom wall portion having a perimeter;

a sidewall portion extending upwardly from the perimeter of the bottom wall portion;

the bottom wall portion and the sidewall portion together defining three interconnected substantially circular cavities each configured to retain a portion of a substantially circular food item;

a central protuberance extending upwardly from the bottom wall portion and including a plurality of facets, three of the facets of the central protuberance each defining a part of a respective one of the three interconnected substantially circular cavities of the base.

15. The base of claim 14,

wherein the sidewall portion includes three substantially circular sidewall portions and three linear sidewall portions interconnecting the substantially circular sidewall portions;

wherein each of the three linear sidewall portions includes a strengthening rib extending upwardly from a respective one of the three linear perimeter portions of the bottom wall portion;

wherein the central protuberance of the base includes three major facets each including a strengthening rib, the three major facets extending upward from the bottom wall portion to a top-most upwardly-facing surface of the central protuberance including a lid-coupling aperture formed therein; and

wherein the central protuberance of the base includes three minor facets each located between adjacent ones of the three major facets of the central protuberance of the base, each of the minor facets extending upwardly from the bottom wall portion and terminating in an upwardly facing lip located below the top-most upwardly-facing surface and configured to support at least a portion of packaging material retaining the food item.

16. The base of claim 15,

wherein each of the strengthening ribs of the three major facets of the central protuberance of the base is located directly opposite a respective one of the strengthening ribs of the three linear sidewall portions;

wherein the three major facets of the central protuberance of the base, together with their respective three linear side wall portions, define the channels that interconnect the three substantially circular cavities of the base;

wherein none of the three substantially circular perimeter portions of the bottom wall portion forms a complete circle; and

17. The base of claim 14, wherein the sidewall portion extends upwardly from the perimeter of the bottom wall portion to a peripheral rim including three substantially circular portions extending along the three interconnected substantially circular cavities, the peripheral rim including an upwardly-facing surface having an inner edge and an outer edge and a raised perimeter portion extending upwardly from the outer edge of the upwardly-facing surface of the peripheral rim.

18. The base of claim 17, wherein a flange extends outwardly from the raised perimeter portion of the peripheral rim, the flange including an upwardly-facing surface including a plurality of recesses configured to receive matching protrusions of a lid.

19. The base of claim 18, wherein the flange has a generally triangular overall perimeter.

20. The base of claim 14, wherein the base comprises at least one of a polymer material and a plastic material.

21. The base of claim 14, further comprising a plurality of food items retained at least partially in the interconnected substantially circular cavities of the base.

22. A lid for coupling to a base of a food container for retaining and displaying a plurality of food items, the lid comprising:

a top wall portion having a perimeter;

a skirt portion depending downwardly from the perimeter of the top wall portion;

the top wall portion and the skirt portion together defining three interconnected substantially circular cavities configured to cover matching substantially circular cavities of the base;

a central protuberance extending downwardly from the top wall portion and including a plurality of facets, three of the facets of the central protuberance each defining a part of a respective one of the three interconnected substantially circular cavities of the lid.

23. The lid of claim 22,

wherein each of the three facets of the central protuberance of the lid includes a rounded tab extending therefrom and configured to overlay at least a portion of food packaging material retaining the food item when the lid and the base are coupled together; and

wherein the central protuberance of the lid includes a bottom-most downward-facing surface and a projection extending downwardly from the bottom-most downward-facing surface, the projection being configured to mate with a lid-coupling aperture of the central protuberance of the base when the lid and the base are coupled together.

24. The lid of claim 22, wherein the skirt of the lid extends downwardly from the perimeter of the top wall portion of the lid to a peripheral rim including three substantially circular portions extending along the three interconnected substantially circular cavities of the lid.

25. The lid of claim 24, wherein the peripheral rim includes an downward facing surface having an inner edge and an outer edge and a flange extending outwardly from the outer edge of the downward facing surface of the peripheral rim.

26. The lid of claim 24, wherein the flange includes a raised perimeter portion extending downwardly from a distal edge of the flange and a plurality of protrusions configured to mate with matching recesses of the base when the lid and the base are coupled together.

27. The lid of claim 25, wherein the flange has a generally triangular overall perimeter.

28. The lid of claim 22, wherein the base comprises at least one of a polymer material and a plastic material.

29. A food container for retaining and displaying a plurality of food items, the food container comprising:

a base having a bottom wall portion and a sidewall portion extending upwardly from a perimeter of the bottom wall portion, the bottom wall portion and the sidewall portion together defining three interconnected substantially circular cavities each configured to retain a substantially circular food item; and

a lid configured to substantially cover the substantially circular cavities of the base;

wherein the base comprises at least one of a polymer material and a plastic material; and

wherein an outer perimeter of the base forms a generally triangular shape having rounded corners and inwardly curved side portions.

30. The food container of claim 29,

wherein the base includes a multi-faceted central protuberance extending upwardly from the bottom wall portion, three facets of the central protuberance each including a strengthening rib;

wherein the sidewall portion includes three linear portions each including a strengthening rib; and

wherein the three facets of the central protuberance that each include the strengthening rib and the three linear portions that each include the strengthening rib are located opposite one another to form three pairs, each of the pairs defining a channel that interconnects the three substantially circular cavities of the base.