Food container for use with one hand
Patent Information
- Application Number
- US19/097197
- Authority / Receiving Office
- US · United States
- Patent Type
- Applications(United States)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-04-01
- Publication Date
- 2026-10-01
AI Technical Summary
However, the prior art fails to describe such an apparatus in which the food container is sized for being carried in one hand and has a lid which is pivotable via a thumb of the hand carrying the food container.
Smart Images
Figure US20260296744A1-D00000_ABST
Abstract
Description
(b) CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] Not Applicable(c) STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
[0002] Not Applicable(d) THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT
[0003] Not Applicable(e) INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM
[0004] Not Applicable(f) STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR
[0005] Not Applicable(g) BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION(1) Field of the Invention
[0006] The disclosure relates to food containers and more particularly pertains to a new food container for containing a food item and dispensing the food item with one hand.(2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
[0007] The prior art describes various food containers which have transparent walls and pivoting lids which selectively close an aperture for pouring food from the food container. However, the prior art fails to describe such an apparatus in which the food container is sized for being carried in one hand and has a lid which is pivotable via a thumb of the hand carrying the food container.(h) BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a canister with a bottom wall and a perimeter wall. The perimeter wall is coupled to and extends from the bottom wall, and the canister has an interior space defined by the bottom wall and the perimeter wall. An opening of the interior space is defined by a distal edge of the perimeter wall with respect to the bottom wall. A dispensing member is coupled to the canister and comprises a top wall and a peripheral wall. The peripheral wall is coupled to and extends away from the top wall. The top wall is positioned over the opening of the interior space of the canister and has an aperture which extends therethrough to the opening of the interior space of the canister. A lid is coupled via a pivot coupling to the dispensing member at a back end of the top wall. The lid is positionable in a closed position in which a bottom surface of the lid seats atop an upper surface of the top wall and covers the aperture of the top wall. A protrusion is coupled to the lid. The protrusion is positioned on the bottom surface of the lid adjacent to a front surface of the lid and is receivable into a slot in the dispensing member with a snap fit. The protrusion is positioned in the slot when the lid is in the closed position. The lid has a weight sufficient to urge the protrusion fully into the slot to position the lid in the closed position.
[0009] There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
[0010] The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.(i) BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)
[0011] The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
[0012] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a snack container according to an embodiment of the disclosure.
[0013] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of the disclosure.
[0014] FIG. 3 is a side view of an embodiment of the disclosure.
[0015] FIG. 4 is a top view of an embodiment of the disclosure.
[0016] FIG. 5 is a back perspective view of an embodiment of the disclosure.
[0017] FIG. 6 is an in-use view of an embodiment of the disclosure.
[0018] FIG. 7 is a side exploded view of another embodiment of the disclosure.
[0019] FIG. 8 is a side exploded view of yet another embodiment of the disclosure.(j) DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0020] With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through 8 thereof, a new food container embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral 10 will be described.
[0021] As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 8, the snack container 10 generally comprises a canister 12 with a bottom wall 14 and a perimeter wall 16. The perimeter wall 16 is coupled to and extends from the bottom wall 14, and the canister 12 has an interior space 20 defined by the bottom wall 14 and the perimeter wall 16. An opening 22 of the interior space 20 is defined by a distal edge 18 of the perimeter wall 16 with respect to the bottom wall 14. The perimeter wall 16 has a cylindrical shape and is sized to be grasped by a hand of a user. The perimeter wall 16 may have other shapes such as a polygonal prism or the like. The bottom wall 14 has a planar shape such that the canister 12 may be supported atop a support surface by resting the bottom wall 14 atop the support surface.
[0022] The canister 12 comprises a transparent material such that the interior space 20 of the canister 12 is viewable through the canister 12. The transparent material may be any suitable material for facilitating such transparency such as a glass, a polymer like acrylic, polycarbonate, polypropylene, etc., or the like. The entirety of the canister 12 is transparent, but only portions of the canister 12 may be transparent in other embodiments. “Transparent” as used in the present disclosure includes translucent materials which allow light to pass through in a diffuse or otherwise obscured manner. When holding a food item 68 such as a plurality of sunflower seeds in the interior space 20 of the canister 12, the amount or volume of the food item 68 is ascertainable by viewing the food item 68 through the transparent material of the canister 12.
[0023] A dispensing member 26 is removably coupled to the canister 12 via a threaded engagement. In other embodiments, the dispensing member 26 may attach to the canister 12 via a snap fit coupling, a latch, a clamp, or the like. In yet other embodiments, the dispensing member 26 may be permanently affixed to the canister 12. The dispensing member 26 comprises a top wall 28 and a peripheral wall 42. The peripheral wall 42 is coupled to and extends away from the top wall 28. The top wall 28 is positioned over the opening 22 of the interior space 20 of the canister 12 and has an aperture 36 which extends therethrough to the opening 22 of the interior space 20 of the canister 12. The peripheral wall 42 has internal threads 44 which engage external threads 24 of the perimeter wall 16 of the canister 12 to secure the dispensing member 26 to the canister 12.
[0024] The aperture 36 is positioned in a front portion 32 of the top wall 28 and is defined between a front inner edge 38 and a back inner edge 40 of the top wall 28. The front inner edge 38 extends arcuately between a pair of ends of the back inner edge 40, and the back inner edge 40 has a linear shape. The front inner edge 38 is positioned adjacent to a front side 27 of the dispensing member 26 and lies generally parallel to a front side of the perimeter wall 16. The back inner edge 40 lies adjacent to a back portion 34 of the top wall 28.
[0025] The dispensing member 26 further comprises a guide wall 46 which is coupled to the top wall 28 and extends along the front inner edge 38 of the top wall 28. The guide wall 46 extends from the top wall 28 into the interior space 20 of the canister 12 to a lower end 48 of the guide wall 46. The guide wall 46 is angled outwardly with respect to the perimeter wall 16 of the canister 12 from the lower end 48 of the guide wall 46 to the top wall 28. The guide wall 46 is integrally formed with the peripheral wall 42 of the dispensing member 26 but may be formed separately in other embodiments.
[0026] A lid 50 coupled via a pivot coupling 51 to the dispensing member 26 at a back end 36 of the top wall 28. The lid 50 is positionable in a closed position 52 in which a bottom surface 58 of the lid 50 seats atop an upper surface 30 of the top wall 28 and covers the aperture 36 of the top wall 28. The bottom surface 58 of the lid 50 is complementary in shape to the upper surface 30 of the top wall 28 of the dispensing member 26. A front section 62 of the lid 50 has a uniform thickness between the bottom surface 58 and a top surface 56 of the lid 50, and a back section 64 of the lid 50 widens from the front section 62 to a back side 60 of the lid 50. When the lid 50 is in the closed position 52, the bottom surface 58 of the lid 50 is angled toward the canister 12 from the front section 62 of the lid 50 along the back section 64 to the back side 60 of the lid 50. The bottom surface 58 follows an s-curve shaped path from the front section 62 of the lid 50 to the back side 60 of the lid 50. The top surface 56 of the lid 50 has a planar shape which lies parallel to the bottom wall 14 of the canister 12 when the lid 50 is in the closed position 52.
[0027] A protrusion 80 is coupled to the lid 50 and is positioned on the bottom surface 58 of the lid 50 adjacent to a front surface 55 of the lid 50. The protrusion 80 is receivable into a slot 29 in the dispensing member and is positioned in the slot 29 when the lid 50 is in the closed position 52. The protrusion 80 has a snap fit with the slot 29, and the lid 50 has a weight sufficient to urge the protrusion 80 fully into the slot 29 to position the lid 50 in the closed position 52. The weight is at least sufficient to urge the protrusion 80 in this manner when pivoted toward the closed position 52 from the fully open position 54 via a twisting action of a wrist of a user grasping the canister 12. The weight may be sufficient to urge the protrusion80 fully into the slot 29 when dropped from an intermediate position between the fully open position 54 and the closed position 52 such that the lid 50 falls onto the dispensing member. In some embodiments, the weight may even be sufficient to urge the protrusion 80 into the slot 29 when the protrusion 80 is set to rest immediately over the slot 29.
[0028] A lid grip pad 82 is coupled to a front surface 55 of the lid 50 and is frictionally enhanced via a surface texture or a material such as rubber, silicone, or the like to facilitate gripping with a thumb to remove the protrusion 80 from the slot 29 and flip open the lid 50. A dispenser grip pad 84 is coupled to the front side 27 of the dispensing member and is also frictionally enhanced via a surface texture or a suitable material. The dispenser grip pad 84 is positioned to lie immediately adjacent to the lid grip pad 82 when the lid 50 is positioned in the closed position 52.
[0029] The pivot coupling 51 allows free pivoting movement of the lid 50 with respect to the dispensing member 26 through sufficient lubrication, low-friction materials, or other suitable means. The weight of the lid 50 is distributed to be able to be flipped open easily by, for example, a thumb of a hand grasping the perimeter wall 16 of the canister 12 or the peripheral wall 42 of the dispensing member 26. Because the back section 64 of the lid 50 widens from the front portion 32 to the back side 60 of the lid 50, greater mass may be concentrated in the back section 64 of the lid 50 when using a uniformly dense material. The greater mass decreases the angle, compared to other coverings with more uniform mass distribution, across which the lid 50 needs to travel from the closed position 52 for weight to cause the lid 50 to fall backward to a fully open position 54 with respect to the dispensing member 26. This facilitates opening the lid 50 by a relatively weak appendage such as a thumb. The mass distribution as described also facilitates keeping the lid 50 in the fully open position 54 when being tipped forwardly to dispense the food item 68. In some embodiments, additional weight may be added to the back portion 34 to further facilitate these functions.
[0030] The peripheral wall 42 of the dispensing member 26 and an outer surface 66 of the lid 50 align with the perimeter wall 16 of the canister 12 such that the snack container 10 has a uniform cross-sectional shape between the bottom wall 14 of the canister 12 and the top surface 56 of the lid 50.
[0031] In use, the food item 68 may be positioned in the canister 12. The dispensing member 26 may be removed from the canister 12 prior to adding the food item 68 to facilitate easier filling which avoids messes due to the opening 22 of the interior space 20 of the canister 12 being larger than the aperture 36 of the top wall 28 of the dispensing member 26. The dispensing member 26 may be attached to the canister 12 and the lid 50 may be positioned in the closed position 52 to prevent spilling the food item 68 or contaminating the food item 68 due to precipitation or other contaminants or debris falling through the opening 22 of the interior space 20. The food item 68 may then be dispensed by opening 22 the lid 50 and tipping the snack container 10 forwardly.
[0032] As described above, the lid 50 is substantially configured to allow one-handed operation of these functions. A user 70 may grasp the perimeter wall 16 of the canister 12 or the peripheral wall 42 of the dispensing member 26 with one hand 72, and a thumb 74 of the one hand 72 may impart a momentum in the lid 50 which causes the lid 50 to pivot upwardly away from the top wall 28 of the dispensing member 26 and fall backwardly against the peripheral wall 42 of the dispensing member 26, where the lid 50 may rest while in the fully open position 54. Then the user 70 may pour some of the food item 68 out as desired, such as directly into a mouth 78 of the user 70. The lid 50 may impart another momentum upon the lid 50, such as via one or more fingers 76 of the one hand 72 or by a twisting of the canister 12, to move the lid 50 away from the fully open position 54 to the closed position 52.
[0033] Generally, the snack container 10 is designed to contain and dispense food items which may be easily poured, such as food items which comprise small, separated portions. Examples include sunflower seeds, trail mix or nut mix, cereal, and the like. However, other food items may also be used. The canister 12 may be formed at various heights between the distal edge 18 of the perimeter wall 16 and the bottom wall 14. FIGS. 7 and 8 respectively show embodiments with canisters 12 of different heights than the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 through 6.
[0034] With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
[0035] Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
Claims
1. A snack container comprising:a canister comprising a bottom wall and a perimeter wall, the perimeter wall being coupled to and extending from the bottom wall, the canister having an interior space defined by the bottom wall and the perimeter wall, an opening of the interior space being defined by a distal edge of the perimeter wall with respect to the bottom wall;a dispensing member coupled to the canister, the dispensing member comprising a top wall and a peripheral wall, the peripheral wall being coupled to and extending away from the top wall, the top wall being positioned over the opening of the interior space of the canister, the top wall having an aperture extending therethrough to the opening of the interior space of the canister;a lid coupled via a pivot coupling to the dispensing member at a back end of the top wall, the lid being positionable in a closed position in which a bottom surface of the lid seats atop an upper surface of the top wall and covers the aperture of the top wall; anda protrusion coupled to the lid, the protrusion being positioned on the bottom surface of the lid, the protrusion being receivable into a slot in the dispensing member, the protrusion being positioned in the slot when the lid is in the closed position, the protrusion having a snap fit with the slot, wherein the lid has a weight sufficient to urge the protrusion fully into the slot to position the lid in the closed position.
2. The snack container of claim 1, wherein the perimeter wall of the canister is sized and configured to be grasped by a hand of a user.
3. The snack container of claim 1, wherein the perimeter wall of the canister has a cylindrical shape.
4. The snack container of claim 1, wherein the canister comprises a transparent material such that the interior space of the canister is viewable through the canister.
5. The snack container of claim 1, wherein the dispensing member is removable from the canister.
6. The snack container of claim 5, wherein the peripheral wall has internal threads which engage external threads of the perimeter wall of the canister to secure the dispensing member to the canister.
7. The snack container of claim 1, wherein the aperture of the top wall of the dispensing member is positioned in a front portion of the top wall.
8. The snack container of claim 1, wherein the aperture of the top wall of the dispensing member is defined between a front inner edge and a back inner edge of the top wall.
9. The snack container of claim 8, wherein the front inner edge extends arcuately between a pair of ends of the back inner edge, the back inner edge having a linear shape.
10. The snack container of claim 8, wherein the dispensing member further comprises a guide wall, the guide wall being coupled to the top wall and extending along the front inner edge of the top wall, the guide wall extending from the top wall into the interior space of the canister, the guide wall being angled outwardly with respect to the perimeter wall of the canister from a lower end of the guide wall to the top wall.
11. The snack container of claim 1, wherein the bottom surface of the lid is complementary in shape to the upper surface of the top wall of the dispensing member.
12. The snack container of claim 1, wherein a front section of the lid has a uniform thickness between the bottom surface and a top surface of the lid, a back section of the lid widening from the front section to a back side of the lid, the bottom surface of the lid being angled toward the canister from the front section of the lid along the back section to the back side of the lid.
13. The snack container of claim 1, further comprising a lid grip pad coupled to a front surface of the lid, the lid grip pad being frictionally enhanced.
14. The snack container of claim 13, further comprising a dispenser grip pad coupled to a front side of the dispensing member, the dispenser grip pad being frictionally enhanced, the dispenser grip pad being positioned to lie immediately adjacent to the lid grip pad when the lid is positioned in the closed position.
15. A snack container comprising:a canister comprising a bottom wall and a perimeter wall, the perimeter wall being coupled to and extending from the bottom wall, the canister having an interior space defined by the bottom wall and the perimeter wall, an opening of the interior space being defined by a distal edge of the perimeter wall with respect to the bottom wall, the perimeter wall being sized and configured to be grasped by a hand of a user, the perimeter wall having a cylindrical shape, the canister comprising a transparent material such that the interior space of the canister is viewable through the canister;a dispensing member coupled to the canister, the dispensing member comprising a top wall and a peripheral wall, the peripheral wall being coupled to and extending away from the top wall, the top wall being positioned over the opening of the interior space of the canister, the top wall having an aperture extending therethrough to the opening of the interior space of the canister, the dispensing member being removable from the canister, the peripheral wall having internal threads which engage external threads of the perimeter wall of the canister to secure the dispensing member to the canister, the aperture being positioned in a front portion of the top wall, the aperture being defined between a front inner edge and a back inner edge of the top wall, the front inner edge extending arcuately between a pair of ends of the back inner edge, the back inner edge having a linear shape, the dispensing member further comprising a guide wall, the guide wall being coupled to the top wall and extending along the front inner edge of the top wall, the guide wall extending from the top wall into the interior space of the canister, the guide wall being angled outwardly with respect to the perimeter wall of the canister from a lower end of the guide wall to the top wall;a lid coupled via a pivot coupling to the dispensing member at a back end of the top wall, the lid being positionable in a closed position in which a bottom surface of the lid seats atop an upper surface of the top wall and covers the aperture of the top wall, the bottom surface of the lid being complementary in shape to the upper surface of the top wall of the dispensing member, a front section of the lid having a uniform thickness between the bottom surface and a top surface of the lid, a back section of the lid widening from the front section to a back side of the lid, the bottom surface of the lid being angled toward the canister from the front section of the lid along the back section to the back side of the lid;a protrusion coupled to the lid, the protrusion being positioned on the bottom surface of the lid adjacent to a front surface of the lid, the protrusion being receivable into a slot in the dispensing member, the protrusion being positioned in the slot when the lid is in the closed position, the protrusion having a snap fit with the slot, wherein the lid has a weight sufficient to urge the protrusion fully into the slot to position the lid in the closed position;a lid grip pad coupled to a front surface of the lid, the lid grip pad being frictionally enhanced; anda dispenser grip pad coupled to a front side of the dispensing member, the dispenser grip pad being frictionally enhanced, the dispenser grip pad being positioned to lie immediately adjacent to the lid grip pad when the lid is positioned in the closed position.