Envelopes – wrappers – and paperboard boxes – Paper or paperboard cup
Reexamination Certificate
2002-06-28
2003-09-02
Elkins, Gary E. (Department: 3727)
Envelopes, wrappers, and paperboard boxes
Paper or paperboard cup
C220S023830, C220S738000, C229S902000, C493S128000, C493S152000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06612485
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to food and condiment containers typically used in fast food restaurants and similar venues.
2. Description of Problem to be Solved and the Related Art
Transportation and use of separate condiment and food containers may be manageable in an eat-in setting, however, venues that require consumers to carry and eat their food away from where it is purchased (e.g. stadiums, amusement parks, and drive-through restaurants) make the use of completely separate containers for food and condiment inconvenient and messy. Consumers desiring to use condiments on their food in such situations are generally faced with two options: a) to carry both a container full of food and a separate container for their condiment of choice, or b) to apply the condiment directly to their food. The former can be cumbersome, often requiring two hands. In the case of drive through restaurants where consumers often eat while driving this is hazardous. The latter often results in uneven condiment distribution on the food, as well as an unpleasant mess and excessive use of napkins when the condiments find themselves on the hands, clothes, and surroundings of the consumer who is forced to eat a food already covered in condiments.
A solution to this problem is to provide a food container with the ability to hold a condiment separate from the food, allowing the food and condiment to remain apart, but be easily carried together in one hand. Such a container would not only enable consumers to have a free hand with which they could dip and eat their food, but would also decrease the uneven, messy condiment distribution that often results when one applies condiments directly to food.
Prior containers have been designed to achieve this objective. U.S. Pat. Nos.: 5,137,210; 5,720,429; 5,875,957; and 6,349,874 all propose food containers with an integral pocket for holding condiments. While these containers eliminate the need for an additional condiment container and allow consumers to carry separate food and condiment in the same hand, their designs are vulnerable to spillage. If the sides of such a container were grasped or squeezed too tightly, the pocket volume would be compressed, forcing the condiment out of the top of the pocket and creating a mess.
An alternative to this design is to have a food container with the ability to hold a condiment container that would otherwise be separate. U.S. Pat. Nos.: 4,620,631; 6,152,362; and 6,193,201 attempt to employ this alternative by proposing condiment container support devices that are attached or bonded to food containers. These support devices are not formed from the same blank as the food container, requiring their attachment to the container by the manufacturer or consumer. Such attachments represent a costly modification of existing manufacturing processes for food containers, and an inconvenience to vendors and/or consumers.
The containers disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.: 5,417,364; 5,775,570; 6,152,362; 6,216,946; and 6,360,944 utilize food containers with integral condiment container support devices, eliminating the need for attachments. These containers all enable an originally separate condiment container to be joined to a food container. U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,364 proposes a shelf style support for a condiment container, folding outward from the sides of the food container. This design lacks support for the condiment container on the side of the shelf not attached to the food container's wall, allowing for potential spillage to occur if the food container is jarred or tilted and the condiment container slides off of the unattached end.
Incorporating a more secure holding device, U.S. Pat. Nos.: 5,775,570; 6,216,946; and 6,360,944 propose containers with integral condiment support devices that encompass condiment containers, lessening the possibility that the condiment container will separate from the food container accidentally. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,216,946, however, the manner in which the condiment container support device is deployed from its upright position creates a container wall of uneven height. Spillage of the food container's contents out of the shortened portion of the wall due to a tilting or jarring of the container is a definite possibility with such a design. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,216,946 and 6,360,944 also extend their condiment support devices from the upper lip of the food containers. This represents a potential balance problem, as the weight of a full condiment container inserted into the support device may cause the entire structure to tip once some of the food in the container that would normally counterbalance this effect has been eaten. Furthermore, while U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,216,946 and 6,360,944 are cut from one blank, their production requires several additional cutting and scoring steps, complicating manufacture.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,775,570 incorporates an integral condiment support device that does not extend from the upper lip of the food container. The support device in this design, however, is formed from a piece of the container's wall, such that the deployment of the device results in spaces or holes in the wall of the container through which food may spill. In addition, for the support device to be deployed, a portion of the wall of this container must be pushed inward. This reduces the volume of the container. If a consumer were to fill the container with food prior to deciding that they wished to use the support device, the reduction in container volume caused by the deployment of the device would cause spillage, provided the deployment was not already made impossible by the full capacity of the container.
Although the deployment of the support device in U.S. Pat. No. 6,152,362 creates only a small slit in the wall of the container from which it is formed, the use of the support device requires an additional condiment holding piece into which the condiment container must be inserted if the support device that is an integral part of the container is to be used. This piece is separate from both the food and condiment containers, making the use of the container more costly and complicated for both manufacturers and consumers.
It is therefore desirable for a container serving the above stated purpose to not only have the integral ability to securely hold a condiment container, but also to hold that container in such a manner that the containing ability and stability of the food container is not compromised by the deployment or positioning of the condiment support device. In addition, a structure and method of production that requires few steps in addition to those already employed in the process currently used to manufacture food containers such as french fry cups and baskets is ideal.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention overcomes the above difficulties by proposing a food container cut from a continuous blank that has a continuous lip with an integral loop member for supporting a condiment container. The loop member, extending from the exterior surface of the food container, is closed by a lap joint at the vertical seam of the container, and does not contact the lip of the container.
Although the entire structure is formed from a continuous blank, the loop member is formed from a part of the blank distinct from the part of the blank that is used to form the containing member. No structural changes in the containing member of the invention are created by the deployment and use of the loop member. This avoids the difficulties that are apt to occur in prior art containers where the use of condiment support devices requires structural changes in the containing member.
The loop member securely holds the condiment container, even when the food container is shaken or tilted. The diameter of the loop member is such that upon insertion, the condiment container rests snuggly within the confines of the loop and exterior surface of the container. The lip of the condiment container contacts the edges of the loop member, providing more than adequate support against the dow
Lackner Nicholas F.
Shestak Adam M.
Elkins Gary E.
Paper Products Co., Inc.
Paul A. Beck & Assoc.
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