Dispensing – Plural sources – compartment – containers and/or spaced jacket – With selecting means
Reexamination Certificate
2003-06-24
2004-11-23
Derakshani, Philippe (Department: 3754)
Dispensing
Plural sources, compartment, containers and/or spaced jacket
With selecting means
C222S132000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06820767
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a container for storing and dispensing food items and beverages, and more particularly, to a container that has a vessel and a removable lid member with a lid aperture therethrough for accessing an interior of the vessel, with the lid member being rotatable between a tongue and groove lid secured configuration and a tongue and groove lid releasing configuration relative to the vessel.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the past, when faced with the prospect of storing and/or dispensing a number of different types of food items at the same time, a person would generally use a like number of different containers and/or snack bowls, one each for each different type of food item. This practice frequently resulted in an excessive use of containers and required a significant amount of space to effectively store same, a consideration that may be particularly acute when travelling or in other situations or locations where limited storage space is available. Likewise, this use of multiple containers required a significant amount of counter or table space to allow for the concurrent dispensing of food items contained therein and was relatively inefficient in this respect, especially insofar as a consumer using multiple containers and/or snack bowls was effectively required to juggle same when switching between different types of food items.
Containers having compartmented vessels with selectively rotatable dispensing lid members have been developed to overcome these problems and to better store and dispense one or more different types of food items, beverages, or the like, such as can be seen, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 1,667,818 (Page) for a Canister and Like Box or Container, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,903,127 (Dorman) for a Dispensing and Storage Container, and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,890,627 (Storey) for an Apparatus, Adaptable to Sales Containers, For Volumetric Dispensing of Powdered Materials. The different containers disclosed by each of these three patents are all subject to a common problem, however, in that their respective lid members are either screw or snap fit onto their respective vessels. As such, the rotation of these lid members to selectively dispense the food items contained therein, and/or the removal of same to effectively allow their respective containers to be filled or re-filled with food items, requires the expenditure of significant effort and energy, such that weak or frail persons, including, without limitation, the very young, the very old, those with poor gripping ability, and sufferers of arthritis and other debilitating conditions, may not be equal to the task. In part because of the resulting difficulty that may be so associated with their opening and disassembly, these containers are neither adapted to be easily loaded, unloaded, nor to removal or interchanging of their respective partition members.
Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a container assembly, for storing and dispensing food items and beverages, that has a removable lid member that is easily rotatable between a lid secured configuration and a lid releasing configuration.
Another object of one aspect of the invention is to provide a container assembly, for storing and dispensing food items and beverages, that has a rotatable lid member with a lid aperture therethrough for easily accessing an interior thereof.
A further object of one aspect of the invention is to provide a container assembly, for storing and dispensing food items and beverages, that is sealable so as to provide for the effective, secure and safe storage of food items and beverages.
An additional object of one aspect of the invention is to provide a container assembly, for storing and dispensing food items and beverages, that is subdivided into a plurality of substantially separate compartments so as to allow for substantially separate storage of a plurality of types of food items therewithin.
A still additional object of one aspect of the invention is to provide a container assembly, for storing and dispensing food items and beverages, that requires relatively little storage space.
A still further object of one aspect of the invention is to provide a container assembly, for storing and dispensing food items and beverages, that allows for efficient and selective dispensing of individual types of food item selected from the plurality of such types that may be stored therewithin.
A yet still further object of one aspect of the invention is to provide a container assembly, for storing and dispensing food items and beverages, that is simple and easy to use.
Another object of one aspect of the invention is to provide a container assembly, for storing and dispensing food items and beverages, that is easy to disassemble.
Yet another object of one aspect of the invention is to provide a container assembly, for storing and dispensing food items and beverages, that has a durable and reliable construction and is freezer, microwave, and dishwasher safe.
Still yet another object of one aspect of the invention is to provide a container assembly, for storing and dispensing food items and beverages, that reduces the risk of spillage or accidental loss of any food items or beverages that may be stored therewithin.
Another object of one aspect of the invention is to provide a container assembly, for storing and dispensing food items and beverages, that is inexpensive and easy to manufacture.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is disclosed a container assembly for storing and dispensing food items and beverages. The assembly comprises a vessel and a selectively removable lid member. The vessel defines a longitudinal axis, a bottom wall, and a continuous side wall that extends upwardly from the bottom wall toward a substantially annular rim portion. The rim portion defines a top opening to an interior of the vessel, and is shaped and dimensioned so as to define a first tongue and groove member. The selectively removable lid member has a perimeter lid portion surrounding a substantially circular central lid portion. The perimeter lid portion engages the rim portion of the vessel in substantially juxtaposed relation. The central lid portion is in substantially overlying relation with the top opening of the vessel. The central lid portion defines a lid aperture therethrough for accessing the interior of the vessel. According to this preferred embodiment of the present invention, the perimeter lid portion of the lid member is shaped and dimensioned so as to define a complementary mating second tongue and groove member that is rotatable with the lid member about the longitudinal axis and relative to the first tongue and groove member of the vessel between a lid secured configuration and a lid releasing configuration. The lid secured configuration is such that the tongue and groove members fully engage one another so as to prevent longitudinal movement of the lid member relative to the vessel. The lid releasing configuration is such that the tongue and groove members are configured with respect to one another so as to permit longitudinal movement of the lid member relative to the vessel. The lid member is removable from the vessel in the lid releasing configuration.
According to a further aspect of the preferred embodiment of the invention, the assembly further comprises a selectively removable blocking member having a perimeter blocking portion surrounding a central blocking portion. The perimeter blocking portion is substantially interposed in juxtaposed relation between the rim portion and the perimeter lid portion of the lid member. The central blocking portion is in substantially overlying relation with the top opening of the vessel, and is substantially interposed in at least partially obstructing relation between the lid aperture and the interior of the vessel. The blocking member is removable when the lid member is removed from the container assembly.
According to another aspect of the preferred embodimen
Derakshani Philippe
Kusner & Jaffe
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