Portable food container cover with detachable utensil
AssigneeGeneral Mills, Inc.
InventorsPaul M. Torniainen, John Daugherty, Paul E. Di Mario, James Watson, Gregory J. Landis
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A cover for a portable food container comprising a cover body and a utensil. The utensil includes a head piece and a handle piece. The head piece and the handle piece are each detachably secured to the cover body and are configured for assembly to each other upon detachment from the cover body to form the utensil. In one preferred embodiment, the handle piece includes a reinforcement for limiting longitudinal bending thereof. In an alternative embodiment, the cover further includes a protective film resealably secured to the cover body.
Claims21
A cover for a portable food container including a base and a side wall terminating in a lip opposite the base, the cover comprising:
- a cover body including:
- a face member forming a head opening and a handle opening,
- a skirt extending from an outer periphery of the face member, the skirt sized to selectively receive the lip, wherein the skirt extends downwardly from the face member such that the face member defines an upper most plane of the cover;
- a head piece disposed within the head opening, the head piece defining a leading section terminating at a leading end, a trailing section terminating at a trailing end and a periphery, the head opening being slightly larger than the head piece such that a gap exists between the periphery and the face member;
- a handle piece disposed within the handle opening, the handle piece defining a leading end and a trailing end;
- and
- a first plurality of spaced, breakable tabs extending across the gap to detachably secure the head piece to the face member, wherein the leading end and the trailing end of the head piece, respectively, are each directly connected to the face member by at least a respective one of the first plurality of spaced tabs, the breakable tabs positioned in an upper most plane of the cover body;
- wherein the head piece and the handle piece are configured for assembly to each other upon detachment from the face member to form a utensil.
A cover for a portable food container including a base and a side wall terminating in a lip opposite the base, the cover comprising:
- a cover body including:
- a face member,
- a skirt extending from an outer periphery of the face member, the skirt sized to selectively receive the lip;
- a head piece detachably secured to the face member by at least one tab;
- a handle piece detachably secured to the face member by at least one tab;
- wherein the head piece and the handle piece are configured for assembly to each other upon detachment from the cover body to form a utensil;
- a first gate marking in the face member indicative of a first plastic injection gate;
- a second gate marking in the head piece indicative of a second plastic injection gate;
- a third gate marking in the handle piece indicative of a third plastic injection gate;
- and
- a fourth gate marking in the face member indicative of a fourth plastic injection gate, the fourth gate marking being approximately opposite the first gate marking.
A cover for portable food container including a base and a side wall terminating in a lip opposite the base, the cover comprising:
- a cover body including:
- a planar face member,
- a skirt including a first section, a shoulder, and a second section, the first section extending downwardly from an outer periphery of the face member such that the face member defines an upper most plane of the cover, the shoulder extending radially outwardly from the first section, and the second section extending downwardly from the shoulder with that the second section defines an outer diameter greater than the first section and is sized to selectively receive the lip;
- a head piece detachably secured to the face member;
- and
- a handle piece detachably secured to the face member;
- wherein the head piece and the handle piece are configured for assembly to each other upon detachment from the cover body to form a utensil.
A cover for a portable food container including a base and a side wall terminating in a lip opposite the base, the cover comprising:
- a cover body including:
- a planar face member forming a head opening and a handle opening,
- a skirt including a first section, a shoulder, and a second section, the first section extending downwardly from an outer periphery of the face member such that the face member defines an upper most plane of the cover body, the shoulder extending radially outwardly from the first section, and the second section extending downwardly from the shoulder such that the second section defines an outer diameter greater than the first section and is sized to selectively receive the lip;
- a utensil including:
- a head piece disposed within the head opening, the head piece defining a leading section terminating at a leading end and a trailing section terminating at a trailing end,
- a handle piece disposed within the handle opening, the handle piece defining a leading end and a trailing end;
- a plurality of breakable tabs detachably securing the head piece and the handle piece to the face member, wherein the leading end and the trailing end of the head piece and the handle piece, respectively, are each directly connected to the face member by at least a respective one of the plurality of tabs;
- wherein the head piece and the handle piece are configured for assembly to each other upon detachment from the face member to form the utensil;
- a first gate marking in the face member indicative of a first plastic injection gate;
- a second gate marking in the head piece indicative of a second plastic injection gate;
- a third gate marking in the handle piece indicative of a third plastic injection gate;
- and
- a fourth gate marking in the face member indicative of a fourth plastic injection gate, the fourth gate marking being approximately opposite of the first gate marking.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.