Plastic coffee container with horizontal handle

Abstract

A plastic container for a particulate product such as coffee includes a base and a surrounding wall member upstanding therefrom. A top connects to the surrounding wall member and in a preferred embodiment includes a large opening sufficient to receive about a 5 inch cylinder therethrough. The surrounding wall member has a handle. In one embodiment, the handle includes a longitudinal pocket formed in the surrounding wall member adjacent the top. The longitudinal pocket extends parallel to the top and has a depth and shape for receipt of fingers of a user. Preferably, the surrounding wall member also includes a thumb receiving concavity above the pocket. For added strength, the pocket can include a central vertical brace. In another embodiment, the handle includes a pass-though opening in which the fingers of the user pass so as to substantially surround the handle.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]Containers for particulate (roast or ground) coffee have many unique requirements which need not be considered for other containers. For example, coffee particulates give off gases while being stored, and are deleteriously affected by air. Thus, coffee particulate containers must prevent the ingress of air and hence be air-tight; but such containers must also be suitably robust to withstand a build-up of pressure, or alternatively, the container must vent the built up gases before the pressure thereof damages (miss-shapes or breaks) the container.[0002]While particulate coffee containers were previously generally made of metal formed into a cylinder with a top and a bottom (which was thus easily made robust and air-tight), new cylindrical and other shaped plastic containers, particularly with layered walls, have now been found to be suitable for containing particulate coffee. However, while such plastic containers have sufficient size to store a desi...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008]It is an advantage of the present invention that a plastic container containing a particulate product, portions of which the user periodically withdraws therefrom, includes a longitudinal pocket which is easily engaged and held.

[0009]It is also an advantage of the present invention that the handle formed by a pocket includes a thumb receiving cavity or rest located above the pocket, making the container easier to grip and hold.

[0010]It is a further advantage that the use of a horizontal handle provides additional label space if desired or necessary.

[0011]Other features and advantages of the present invention are stated in or apparent from detailed descriptions of presently preferred embodiments of the invention as discussed in greater detail below.

Problems solved by technology

For example, coffee particulates give off gases while being stored, and are deleteriously affected by air.

However, while such plastic containers have sufficient size to store a desired volume of particulate coffee, typically in the range of 2-4 pounds and having diameters of about 5-7 inches, such containers have been difficult to carry.

Thus, ease of use by the user of such plastic containers at home has also been a problem.

However, such pinch handles require significant friction to be generated by the thumb / fingers of the user to prevent slippage, which friction is the result of the force with which the thumb / fingers engage the pinch handle.

Thus, such pinch handles are difficult for the user to grasp and then to hold with the required force for a sufficient time due to tiring of the thumb / finger muscles, so that the overall container weight which a user is able to hold effectively is limited.

In addition, such containers may be hard to hold in view of the moment exerted on the wrist of the user due to the distance from the wrist to the center of gravity of the container.

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