Couplable draining container

Abstract

According to the present invention, a draining container is made of material compatible with use in a microwave oven, comprising a bottom with a plurality of wells and an external edge. Said wells collect fluids from foods placed in the container. The container also comprises a retaining flap between the edge and the internal part which prevents the leakage of fluids, and at least one protruding element capable of being reversibly fitted into at least one cavity; said cavity comprises an enlarged part and at least one tail which has a constant depth within the thickness of said container and walls which are an extension of the walls of the enlarged part whose mutual distance decreases towards the end of said tail which is distal to said enlarged part. The protruding element and the cavity are placed on the edge of the container.

Description

[0001] “Couplable draining container”

[0002] Description

[0003] Field of the invention

[0004] The invention relates to the field of accessories for the preparation and consumption of food. Specifically, the invention relates to a plate made of material suitable for being inserted in a microwave and capable of draining liquids from food and collecting them in special recesses.

[0005] Prior art

[0006] In the food sector, many types of tableware and accessories, including disposable ones, are now known for use in ovens and / or microwaves. Many of the disposable tableware items currently on the market have special shapes or features to allow for the draining and retention of condiments, oils, or sauces that often accompany foods. In most cases, however, the dishes available today are such that oils, condiments or sauces may collect on their bottom, which will still impregnate the foods which come into contact with the bottom itself. There are many solutions proposed by some private companies that have dealt with solving these problems.

[0007] An example is the subject of patent US4195746A by D.J. Cottrell in which a food container for storing and transporting food, especially hot foods such as pizza, is described. The container comprises an identical upper and lower portion, each portion having a flat base surface, outwardly extending side walls with a circumferential lip around them. The circumferential lip provides a locking means to reversibly lock the upper and lower portions together. A plurality of vertical cells are located within the base surface and a plurality of buttresses are located in the internal side walls. The device is preferably made of a foam material such as polystyrene and requires only a single mold for its manufacture.

[0008] An example is the subject of patent US2974843A by R.F. REIFERS and W. ROGER describing a food container suitable for packaging meat and poultry products which mechanically traps the product's liquids inside without dehydrating it. The invention also provides a food container with a structure having recesses / wells in its lower surface to effectively trap liquids from the products inside.

[0009] The inventions reported so far, by way of non-exhaustive example, are representative of the inventive-technological framework available to date.

[0010] The inventions cited exhibit technical problems related to the need to make said tableware from non-biodegradable disposable plastics. The inventions mentioned above retain the fluids on the bottom but do not allow for their immediate separation from the food inside the plates / containers. Such fluids, including oil, are often incompatible with microwave cooking and may lead to highly uneven cooking of products, as well as popping of particles which are excessively heated in the microwave, which may consequently dirty the appliance and make the product in the containers significantly less aesthetically appealing. Furthermore, some of the inventions known to date allow two dishes to be interlocked to create a container, however, such interlocking is not secure and the two interlocked elements tend to move away easily as there is no pressure bond between the interlocked elements. Furthermore, the container, seen as prior art, tends, if turned upside down, to create points where said food liquids may settle with the risk that, when the container is opened, these will splash and / or leak into the surrounding environment.

[0011] The object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art mentioned above, by providing a plate provided with means that allow for draining and retaining part of the condiments, oils or sauces that accompany the foods contained therein.

[0012] Another object of the present invention is to provide a plate / tray that is simple to make, inexpensive, but at the same time made of a robust, long-lasting material and which in some embodiments of the invention may be biodegradable: to this end, two of the materials preferably used for the manufacture of the plate of the present invention are shock-resistant polypropylene and / or biodegradable plastic.

[0013] The advantages offered by the present invention will be clearer in light of the detailed descriptions which follow.

[0014] Description of the invention According to the present invention, a draining container is made of material compatible with use in a microwave oven (for example polyethylene, shock-resistant polyethylene, biodegradable plastics and others, and in any case preferably metal-free elements), comprising a bottom with a plurality of wells and an external edge. Said wells are adapted to collect food fluids inserted into the container. In its preferred embodiment, in fact, the container is made for food use, and the foods placed in it release fluids, oil, and condiments which are then collected in said wells in order to avoid excess condiments on the foods to be consumed and to obtain an easy and rapid separation between fluids and food. The fluids descend and settle inside the wells by gravity.

[0015] The container further includes:

[0016] - a retaining flap extending for approximately half the length of the external edge and protruding beyond said external edge in a direction perpendicular to the bottom and with a distal direction from the bottom;

[0017] - at least one protruding element capable of being reversibly fitted into at least one cavity; said cavity comprises an enlarged part having an internal volume coinciding with the volume of the geometric shape of said protruding element and having the same geometric shape. The cavity further comprises at least one tail which has a constant depth within the thickness of said container and walls which are an extension of the walls of the enlarged part whose mutual distance decreases towards the end of said tail which is distal to said enlarged part. The protruding element and the cavity are placed on the edge of the container.

[0018] Finally, it should be noted that the present invention is aimed at food containers such as plates and bowls of any shape and size, which therefore take on the features of a flat plate, deep plate, bowl or tray.

[0019] The advantages offered by the present invention are clear in the light of the above description and will be even clearer from the accompanying figures and the related detailed description.

[0020] The invention will be described hereinafter in at least a preferred embodiment by way of non- limiting example with the aid of the appended figures, in which:

[0021] - FIGURE 1 shows a perspective view of a container 100 according to the present invention; - FIGURE 2 shows a perspective view of two coupled containers 100 according to the present invention;

[0022] - FIGURE S shows four (FIG. 3 A, B, C, D) cross-sections of two containers 100 during mutual connection, according to the present invention;

[0023] - FIGURE 4 shows four (FIG. 4 A, B, C, D) perspective views of the detail of two containers 100 having retaining flaps 110 with a protruding end 111, during mutual connection, according to the present invention;

[0024] - FIGURE 5 shows a perspective view of a container 100 composed of a draining part 10 and a collecting part 11 according to the present invention.

[0025] Detailed description of the invention

[0026] The present invention will now be described purely by way of non-limiting or binding example with the aid of the figures, which illustrate some embodiments relative to the present inventive concept.

[0027] With reference to FIG. 1, a perspective view of a container 100 according to the present invention is shown. In FIG. 1 as in the following description, the embodiment of the present invention currently considered the best is illustrated.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 1, the present invention describes a draining container 100 made of material compatible with use in a microwave oven, comprising a bottom 101 with a plurality of wells 102 and an external edge 103; said wells 102 are suitable for collecting preferably fluids but also smaller elements (food or other). The container 100 further comprises:

[0029] - a retaining flap 110 extending for approximately half the length of the external edge 103 of the container 100 and protruding beyond said external edge 103 in a direction perpendicular to the bottom 101 and with a distal direction from the bottom 101. Where “approximately” means that the extension of the retaining flap 110 is similar to that of half the length of the edge but preferably slightly shorter, to allow for mutual movements between the retaining flaps 110 of two containers 100 that are interlocking with each other as will be described below. The retaining flap 110 is placed on the internal perimeter of the edge 103 and is therefore located between the edge 103 and the internal part of the container 100 thus forming a barrier for fluids which tend (under some conditions) to move from the internal part of the container 100 towards the edge 103;

[0030] - at least one protruding element 120 capable of being reversibly fitted into at least one cavity 130. Said cavity 130 comprises an enlarged part 131 having an internal volume coinciding with the volume of the geometric shape of said protruding element 120 and having the same geometric shape as said protruding element 120. The cavity 130 further comprises at least one tail 132 with a constant depth within the thickness of said container 100 and with walls that are an extension of the walls of the enlarged part 131. Said walls have a mutual distance that is designed to reduce towards the end of said tail 132 distal to said enlarged part 131. The protruding element 120 and the cavity 130 are placed on the edge 103 of the container 100.

[0031] It is absolutely obvious for a person skilled in the art to use wells 102 with various shapes, dimensions and numbers in various embodiments of the present invention without departing from the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0032] Furthermore, it is absolutely obvious to a person skilled in the art to use protruding elements 120 and cavities 130 in various numbers, shapes and dimensions without departing from the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0033] Finally, it is obvious for a person skilled in the art to make changes to the general shape of the container 100 without departing from the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0034] According to the present invention, as mentioned, a pair of containers 100’ and 100” forms a single closed element, as shown in FIG. 2, when said protruding elements 120 are inside said cavities 130 and crushed between the walls of said tails 132.

[0035] In some embodiments of the present invention such as those shown in FIG. 1, 4 and 5, said wells 102 have the shape of a parallelepiped with a hexagonal section.

[0036] In some embodiments of the present invention, said wells 102 are arranged in rows and columns so as to cover the entire surface of said bottom 101.

[0037] In some embodiments of the present invention, the retaining flap 110 protrudes beyond said outer edge 103 in a direction perpendicular to the bottom 101 and distally from the bottom 101 by at least 3 mm. This prevents fluids, oils, condiments and the like from leaking out of the container 100 and from entering said cavities 130. In fact, when two containers 100 are coupled together (as will be discussed below) and are carried in inclined directions or undergo large and sudden movements, the fluids of the foods inside them would tend to settle in the cavities 130 or even leak out from the space between the edges 103 of the two containers 100 if there were no said retaining flap 110. The length of the flap of at least 3mm is such as to guarantee sufficient retention for the escape of even just drops of said fluids or their deposit in said cavities 130.

[0038] In other embodiments of the present invention such as that shown in FIG. 4, the retaining flap 110 has at least one protruding end 111 towards the inside of the container 100; said protruding end 111, protruding for a width at least equal to the thickness of the retaining flap 110. The protruding end is made in the opposite direction to that in which the narrow end of the tails 132 is arranged, so that such movement is not prevented when a first container 100 which has protruding elements 120 inside the enlarged parts 131 of a second container 100 is moved according to a first movement which will be described below so as to cause the protruding elements 120 to enter the tails 132.

[0039] In other embodiments of the invention, such as that shown in FIG. 4 in which the retaining flap 110 has said protruding end, a cavity 130 is disposed on said edge 103 at a first end (said protruding end 111) of said retaining flap 110 (as shown in FIG. 4 A) and a protruding element 120 is arranged on said edge 103 at a second end of said retaining flap 110. FIG. 4B shows a second container 100 (shown in transparency with light grey lines) placed on the container 100 already shown in FIG. 4 A. FIG. 4C shows in detail the insertion of a protruding element 120 of the second container 100 (in transparency) which fits into the enlarged part 131 of the said cavity of the first container 100. FIG. 4D shows in detail the entry of said protruding element 120 into said tail 132 of said cavity 130 (which occurs by performing a clockwise rotation movement of the second container 100 with respect to the first container 100) generating a deformation of the material surrounding the cavity 130 causing said first end of said retaining flap 110 to protrude towards the center of said container 100. In this way, the insertion of the protruding element 120 into the cavity 130 is such as to produce a simultaneous movement away from the protruding end 111 (towards the center of the container 100), thus allowing the (non-protruding) end of the retaining flap 110 of the second container 100 placed in a snap-fit position to be able to slide behind said protruding end 111 and thus eliminating the presence of gaps between the retaining flaps 110. The elimination of possible voids between the retaining flaps 110 ensures that the fluids in the containers 100 are prevented from leaking out and / or depositing in said cavities 130. With specific reference to FIG. 4, it should be noted that the reference marks for said protruding element 120 and said retaining flap 110 are also shown in light grey.

[0040] In other embodiments of the present invention such as that shown in FIG. 5, the container 100 comprises a draining part 10 and a collecting part 11 which are separable from each other. Said draining part 10 comprises said wells 102 which pierce the bottom 101 of said draining part 10 from one side to the other. The collecting part 11 has a continuous bottom 101. The draining part 10 is inserted inside the collecting part 11 with the edges 103 and the bottoms 101 in mutual contact. The edge 103 of said collecting part 11 comprises said cavities 130. The edge 103 of said draining part 10 comprises through holes 133 to allow said protruding elements 120 to enter the cavities 130 of the collecting part 11. It is therefore possible to place food in the container 100, wait for the fluids to drain into the wells 102 and then extract the draining part 10 from the collecting part 11. In this way the food remains in the draining part 10 while the fluids in the collecting part 11 so that they can also be easily recovered.

[0041] Specifically, FIG. 5 shows a draining part 10 raised from a collecting part 11 where it is possible to observe how said wells 102 create holes that pass through the bottom 101 of said draining part 10 from side to side. Furthermore, in FIG. 5, said through holes 133 of the draining part 10 are drilled in a manner aligned with said cavities 130.

[0042] In some embodiments of the present invention, said protruding elements 120 are present on the edge 103 of the draining part 10 as shown in FIG. 5.

[0043] In other embodiments of the present invention, said protruding elements 120 are present on the edge 103 of the collecting part 11 and, the draining part 10 has on its edge 103, further through holes 133 aligned with said protruding elements 120 to allow their passage.

[0044] In some embodiments of the present invention, the bottom 101 of said collecting portion 11 comprises an absorbent portion. In this way, the fluids passing through the wells 102 are immediately absorbed by said absorbent part and it is therefore possible to place the draining part 10 (with the food inside it) on a new collecting part 11 in order to remove further fluids and / or to prevent the fluids captured in said absorbent part from giving off unpleasant odors. In some embodiments of the present invention, the container 100 is made of biodegradable plastic.

[0045] According to the present invention, a reversible connection method between two containers 100’, 100” is also described. Some steps of the said connection method are represented schematically in FIG. 3A-D. In the reversible connection method, a first container 100’ (in the mode shown in FIG. 2) is arranged with the edge 103 in contact with the edge 103 of a second container 100” (FIGS. 3A and B) and a pressure is applied to bring the two containers 100’, 100” together so that at least one protruding element 120 of the first container 100’ is inserted into an enlarged part 131 of at least one cavity 130 of the second container 100” and respectively and simultaneously at least one protruding element 120 of the second container 100” is inserted into an enlarged part 131 of at least one cavity 130 of the first container 100’ (FIG. 3C). Said first 100’ or said second container 100” is moved with a first movement with respect to said second 100” or said first container 100’ keeping (the two containers 100’, 100”) pressed against each other (FIG. 3D). Said first movement causes the entry of said at least one protruding element 120 into said tail 132 of said at least one cavity 130 (FIG. 3D). The walls of said tail 132 retain said protruding element 120 by crushing and therefore keep said first container 100’ firmly connected and in contact with said second container 100”. The connection between the first 100’ and the second 100” container is reversible by moving the first 100’ or the second 100” container with respect to the second 100’ or the first 100’ container with a second movement of equal amplitude but in the opposite direction to said first movement and moving the first 100’ and the second 100” container away from each other. Said second movement causes the protruding element 120 to exit from the tail 132 of the cavity 130 and to re-enter the enlarged part 131 of said cavity 130. Said first movement, in the case of circular containers such as those shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 4 and 5 is a rotation movement (clockwise with specific reference to the said Figures) of one container with respect to the other.

[0046] Said first movement, in other embodiments of the present invention in which the containers 100 have, for example, a square or rectangular shape, is a translational movement of one container with respect to the other, conducted in one direction. All tails 132 of the cavities being oriented according to said direction.

[0047] Finally, it is clear that modifications, additions or variations that are obvious to a person skilled in the art may be made to the invention described so far, without thereby departing from the scope of protection provided by the appended claims.

Claims

Claims1. A draining container (100) made of material compatible with use in a microwave oven, comprising a bottom (101) with a plurality ofwells (102) and an external edge (103); said wells (102) being suitable for collecting fluids; said container (100) having the shape of a plate, tray, or bowl of any shape, circular, rectangular, polygonal, and further comprising:- a retaining flap (110) capable of extending for approximately half the length of the external edge (103) of the container (100) and of protruding beyond said external edge (103) in a direction perpendicular to the bottom (101) and with a distal direction from the bottom (101);- at least one protruding element (120) capable of being reversibly fitted into at least one cavity (130); said cavity (130) comprising an enlarged part (131) having an internal volume coinciding with the volume of the geometric shape of said protruding element (120) and having the same geometric shape; said cavity (130) further comprising at least one tail (132); said tail (132) having a constant depth within the thickness of said container (100); said tail (132) having walls that are an extension of the walls of the enlarged part (131); said walls having a mutual distance suitable to reduce towards the end of said tail (132) distal to said enlarged part (131); said protruding element (120) and said cavity (130) being placed on the edge (103) of the container (100).

2. Container (100), according to the preceding claim 1, wherein said wells (102) have the shape of a parallelepiped with a hexagonal section.

3. Container (100), according to the preceding claim 1 or 2, wherein said wells (102) are arranged in rows and columns so as to cover the entire surface of said bottom (101).

4. Container (100), according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the retaining flap(110) has at least one protruding end (111) towards the inside of the container (100); said protruding end (111), protruding for a width at least equal to the thickness of the retaining flap (110).

5. Container (100), according to the preceding claim 4, wherein a cavity (130) is arranged on said edge (103) at a first end, said protruding end (111), of said retaining flap (110) and a protruding element (120) is arranged on said edge (103) at a second end of said retaining flap (110); the entry of said protruding element (120) into said tail (132) of said cavity (130) generating a deformation of the material surrounding the cavity (130) producing a movement of said first protruding end (111) of said retaining flap (110) towards the center of said container (100).

6. Container (100), according to any of the preceding claims, comprising a draining part (10) and a collecting part (11) mutually separable; said draining part (10) comprising said wells (102); said wells (102) piercing the bottom (101) of said draining part (10) from one side to the other; said collecting part (11) having a continuous bottom (101); said draining part (10) being inserted inside said collecting part (11) with the edges (103) and the bottoms (101) in mutual contact; the edge (103) of said collecting part (11) comprising said cavities (130); the edge (103) of said draining part (10) comprising through holes (133) to allow said protruding elements (120) to enter the cavities (130) of the collecting part (11).

7. Container (100), according to the preceding claim 6, wherein the bottom (101) of said collecting part (11) comprises an absorbent part.

8. Container (100), according to any of the preceding claims, being made of biodegradable plastic.

9. Pair of containers (100’, 100”), according to any of the preceding claims 1-8, realizing a single closed element when said protruding elements (120) are inside said cavities (130) and crushed between the walls of said tails (132).

10. Method of reversible connection between two containers (100’, 100”), according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a first container (100’) is arranged with the edge (103) in contact with the edge (103) of a second container (100”) and a pressure is applied to bring the two containers (100’, 100”) closer together so that at least one protruding element (120) of the first container (100’) is inserted into an enlarged part (131) of at least one cavity (130) of the second container (100”) and respectively at least one protruding element (120) of the second container (100”) is inserted into an enlarged part (131) of at least one cavity (130) of the first container (100’); said first container (100’) or said second container (100”) being moved with a first movement with respect to said second container (100”) or said first container (100’) keeping them pressed against each other; said first movement causing said at least one protruding element (120) to enter said tail (132) of said at least one cavity (130); the walls of said tail (132) retaining said protruding element (120) by crushing and thus keeping said first container (100’) firmly connected and in contact with said second container (100”); the connection between the first container (100’) and the second container (100”) being reversible by moving the first container (100’) or the second container (100”) with respect to the second container (100”) or to the first container (100’) with a second movement of equal amplitude but opposite direction to said first movement and moving the first container (100’) and the second container (100”) away from each other; said second movement causing the protruding element (120) to exit from the tail (132) of the cavity (130) and to re-enter the enlarged part (131) of said cavity (130).

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