Food container
AssigneeW-Y Plastics Products Corp.
InventorsBrian Buchalski, Wai F. Cheng, Michael Lai, Nelson Yeung
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A plastic container has four trapezoidal walls that slant upward and outward to create a top that is larger than its bottom. Each sidewall has a closure flap that is connected to it by a living hinge. There are projections on two opposed sidewalls that are attachment points for a handle. The handles have several apertures that mate with the projections. The plurality of apertures allow the handle to be attached in close relation to the top of the container, allowing the handle to act as a tie-down for the closure flaps. The container also employs several means to limit the extent of nesting of the containers.
Claims14
A container for food, comprising:
- a molded or formed plastic container having a generally rectangular bottom and four integral, contiguous upstanding side walls defining a top opening,
- a flap associated with the upper edge of each side wall;
- living hinge means for joining one edge of each flap to the upper edge of its associated side wall and for permitting the flaps to be inwardly folded to overlie and close the opening and fully unfolded to uncover the opening;
- means integral with the free edge of one flap and with the free edge of the flap which is diametrically opposite the one flap for maintaining such flaps in place after they have been inwardly folded;
- and
- means integral with the exterior of two opposed side walls and adjacent to the living hinge means associated with such side walls for permitting selective mounting and demounting of a plastic strap to the container.
A container for food, comprising:
- a molded plastic container having a generally rectangular bottom and four integral, contiguous, upstanding side walls which are exteriorly and interiorly planar and which define a top opening;
- a flap associated with the upper edge of each side wall;
- living hinge means for Joining one edge of each flap to the upper edge of its associated side wall and for permitting the flaps to be inwardly folded to overlie and close the opening and fully unfolded to uncover the opening;
- first means integral with the free edge of one flap and with the free edge of the flap which is diametrically opposite the one flap for maintaining such flaps in place after they have been inwardly folded;
- second means integral with the exterior of two opposed side walls and adjacent to the living hinge means associated with such side walls for permitting selective mounting and demounting of a plastic strap to the container, the container being nestably stackable with a similar container by inserting the bottom of the similar container into the opening of the container so that the congruent side walls and flaps of the containers are adjacent and generally parallel;
- and
- third means formed on the interior of the container for limiting insertion of the inserted container by abutment with the exterior of the bottom thereof, the second means also limiting such insertion by engagement with the free edges of the side walls and the associated living hinge means of the container, engagement between the second means and both the free edges and the living hinges occurring substantially simultaneously with abutment between the limiting means and the exterior of the bottom of the inserted container.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.