US 5,494,187 AGranted

Breadbox

AssigneeLeifheit AG

InventorsRolf G. Schuelein, Helmut Deimel

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Abstract

A breadbox is usable as both a breadbox and a cutting board. The breadbox has a bottom portion (1), opposite side walls (2, 3), and a movable flap (5) which closes off a front opening of the breadbox. The flap has a cutting board surface and at least one shaft for pivotally coupling the flap (5) to the side walls so that the flap (5) is swivelable from a closed position where the flap closes the front opening of the breadbox (5) to an open position where the breadbox is open and the flap (5) is positioned substantially in a horizontal plane, such that the flap (5) has the cutting board surface exposed upwardly so as to be usable as the cutting board. The breadbox has a receptacle for crumbs which is disengageably attached to the front edge of the bottom of the breadbox. The receptacle for crumbs has a first edge which is mounted on the bottom portion, and a second edge that extends under at least a bottom of the flap so that when the flap is swiveled toward the first closed position, crumbs on the work surface of the flap fall into the receptacle for crumbs. There is a gap between the bottom of the flap and the second edge of the receptacle for crumbs. The gap facilitates removal of the receptacle for crumbs from the bottom portion of the breadbox. This structure makes it easy to remove the receptacle for crumbs without disassembling portions of the flap.

Claims22

Dependent claims

A breadbox comprising:

a bottom portion (1) extending in a first plane and having opposite sides;
side walls (2, 3) connected to respective opposite sides of said bottom portion, and defining a front opening of the breadbox;
a flap (5) having a bottom edge, said flap (5) closing the front opening of the breadbox, said flap including a work surface (37);
at least one shaft means for swivelably coupling said flap to said side walls, said at least one shaft means having a horizontal axis (6) positioned in a second plane that is substantially in parallel to and above a support surface (22) on which said breadbox rests;
said flap being swivelable in a downward direction about said horizontal axis (6) from a closed position where said flap (5) closes the front opening of the breadbox to an open position wherein the front opening of the breadbox is open, so that said work surface of said flap, when said flap is in said open position, extends in a third plane which is above said first plane in which the bottom portion (1) extends and which is substantially in parallel with said support surface;
and
an attachable and detachable receptacle for crumbs (8), said receptacle for crumbs (8) having:
a first edge that is attachably and detachably engageable with a front edge (13) of the bottom portion (1) of the breadbox, whereby the receptacle for crumbs is separable from said breadbox without a need to disassemble the flap, by pulling the receptacle for crumbs in a forward direction away from said front edge (13);
and
a second edge positioned below the bottom edge of said flap when said flap is in said open position, said second edge of the receptacle for crumbs extending under said flap (5) when the receptacle for crumbs is attached to the bottom portion of the breadbox.

7 more elements

A combined breadbox and cutting board comprising:

a bottom portion (1) extending in a first plane and having opposite sides;
side walls (2, 3) connected to respective opposite sides of said bottom portion, and defining a front opening of the breadbox;
a flap (5) having a bottom edge, said flap (5) closing the front opening of the breadbox, said flap including a work surface (37);
at least one shaft means for swivelably coupling said flap to said side walls, said at least one shaft means having a horizontal axis (6) positioned in a second plane that is substantially in parallel to and above a support surface (22) on which said breadbox rests;
said flap being swivelable in a downward direction about said horizontal axis (6) from a closed position where said flap (5) closes the front opening of the breadbox to an open position wherein the front opening of the breadbox is open, so that said work surface of said flap, when said flap is in said open position, extends in a third plane which is above said first plane in which the bottom portion (1) extends and which is substantially in parallel with said support surface;
and
an attachable and detachable receptacle for crumbs (8), said receptacle for crumbs (8) having:
a first edge that is attachably and detachably engageable with a front edge (13) of the bottom portion (1) of the breadbox, whereby the receptacle for crumbs is separable from said breadbox without a need to disassemble the flap, by pulling the receptacle for crumbs in a forward direction away from said front edge (13);
and
a second edge positioned below the bottom edge of said flap when said flap is in said open position, said second edge of the receptacle for crumbs extending under said flap (5) when the receptacle for crumbs is attached to the bottom portion of the breadbox.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.