Receptacles – Arrangements of plural receptacles
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-26
2002-01-15
Newhouse, Nathan J. (Department: 3727)
Receptacles
Arrangements of plural receptacles
C220S023860, C220S212000, C220S287000, C220S703000, C220S709000, C426S120000, C206S217000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06338417
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a food container which can be superimposed over the upper end of a beverage receptacle, and to an assembly comprising the food container and the beverage receptacle.
In more detail, such container has a side wall and a bottom wall, in which is formed at least one channel to allow the passage through the cover of a drinking straw which extends into the beverage receptacle.
Containers of this general type are known, for example, from prior art documents GB-k-2 023 407, FR-A-2 649 080 and FR-A-2 733 403. They allow a consumer to carry both solid foods and drinks ready for consumption together using only one hand without having recourse to difficult manipulations or external supports.
Such containers are therefore particularly suitable for use in fast food restaurants in which structures such as chairs and tables which allow the user consume meals in a seated position are not provided.
The above-mentioned known containers are made in such a way that they can be associated with a single type of receptacle having an upper end of well defined dimensions.
In practice, however, in an individual restaurant establishment drinks are sold in various types of containers, for example metal cans and cups of plastics material, which are decidedly different from one another. Moreover even containers of the same type can have very different capacities, varying for example from 0.1 to 1 litre and therefore decidedly different dimensions at the upper end.
This causes the disadvantages that the individual restaurant establishment must be provided with different types of containers which can be associated with different receptacles and which the staff must chose upon sale to select the container suitable for accompanying the receptacle sold at any one time.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
For the purpose of obviating these disadvantages the object of the present invention is a container and an assembly formed by this latter and a receptacle associated with it, having the characteristics indicated in the following claims.
An individual container according to the invention can be associated with receptacle having different dimensions at the upper end. This allows restaurants to hold stocks of containers of only a single dimension with an evident saving in storage costs. At the same time the operations of the staff upon sale are speeded up since these latter do not have to choose the size of the container to couple to a given receptacle.
The container of the invention can be produced of any conventional material, for example plastics or cardboard, with the use of known technologies, for example thermo-forming.
Advantageously, the containers of the invention can be stacked on one another so as to reduce the costs of transport and storage.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1665289 (1928-04-01), Weaver
patent: 5180079 (1993-01-01), Jeng
patent: 5573131 (1996-11-01), Berjis
patent: 5678720 (1997-10-01), Van Melle
patent: 5695086 (1997-12-01), Viola
patent: 2608131 (1988-06-01), None
patent: 2649080 (1991-01-01), None
patent: 2023407 (1980-01-01), None
patent: 6-227585 (1994-08-01), None
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