Reclosable container for sliced food products
AssigneeKraft General Foods, Inc.
InventorsJohn F. McDevitt, David J. Johnson, Denis H. Nelson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A reclosable container for sliced food products having a one-piece container body and integral hinge and lid. The front wall of the container body is provided with a forward protrusion to facilitate removal of a desired number of slices. A locking mechanism enables the lid to be locked in closed position, and provides an audible indication when the lid is locked. The container is reusable and may be made from a polymeric material having sufficient transparency to enable the consumer to count slices viewed through the front wall as they are being removed.
Claims8
A reclosable container in combination with a plurality of sliced food products stacked within said container comprising:
- a container body comprising a base wall;
- a pair of opposite side walls, a front wall, and a rear wall extending upward from the base wall;
- and a lip extending outwardly about the upper periphery of said container body along said front, rear and side walls;
- a lid;
- and
- a hinge supporting said lid on said container body for pivotal movement between an open position and a closed position, said hinge being connected to said lip along said rear wall;
- said food products being oriented horizontally and having forward edges disposed adjacent said front wall;
- said front wall having a protrusion defining an access space between said forward edges of said food products and said protrusion so as to maintain a distance of at least about 1/4 in. between said food products and said protrusion, said protrusion having a width of at least about 1 in.
A method of removing at least one slice of stacked, sliced food product from a reclosable container comprising:
- providing a container body having a base wall, a front wall, a rear wall opposite said front wall, and a pair of side walls and a plurality of slices of a food product stacked within said container body;
- providing a reclosable lid attached to said rear wall;
- providing an access cavity formed by forward edges of said sliced food product, a base wall, and a forward protrusion of said front wall of said container body, said access cavity being of sufficient dimensions that a thumb may be inserted into said access cavity;
- opening said lid of said container;
- placing a thumb on a front edge of at least one slice of said food product;
- separating said at least one slice of said sliced food product from other slices;
- grasping said at least one slice of said sliced food product between the thumb and finger;
- removing said at least one slice of said plurality of sliced food product from said container.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.