US 7,063,229 B2Granted

Single handed container for mixing foods

AssigneeKellogg Company

InventorsDavid J. Westerhof, Brian Bone, Heath Doty, Marc Hunter, Kent Ritzel

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Abstract

The present invention is a container for dispensing two foods simultaneously, such as for example a beverage, such as milk, and a particulate food, such as cereal. The container has an outer cup, an inner cup that fits in the outer cup forming a space between the two and a lid to close the outer cup and hold the inner cup in the outer cup. The outer cup is adapted to hold a beverage in the space between the outer cup and the inner cup. The inner cup is adapted to hold a food product. The outer cup is ergonomically shaped to fit well in a user's hands. The inner cup has a plurality of walls to facilitate the flow of food from the inner cup. The walls define a cavity that is generally v-shaped having a discharge side which is narrower than the opposite side of the cavity. The lid of the preferred embodiment has a raised rim with a small discharge opening in fluid communication with the space between the inner and outer cups. The raised rim has a slope with the highest point being at the discharge opening. The raised rim also defines a generally v-shaped opening in communication with the cavity of the inner cup. The slope of the raised rim and the v-shaped opening allow the container to be tilted without the user's head being tilted.

Claims17

Dependent claims

A container for containing a consumable liquid beverage and a consumable food, said container comprising:

an outer cup having a mouth, bottom and body;
an inner cup having a body portion defining a cavity, top portion and a bottom portion, said inner cup being defined by a plurality of walls, said walls sloping from said bottom portion to said top portion;
a lid having an open central space which is generally v-shaped, a locking flange and a raised rim, said locking flange having the general shape of said outer cup cross section, said locking flange engaging said outer cup to lock said lid to said outer cup with said inner cup being positioned in said outer cup;
said inner cup and outer cup defining a space between said inner and outer cups adapted for receipt of the consumable liquid beverage;
said raised rim is generally an inverted u-shaped in cross section and is defined by a generally flat upper surface, an inner surface and an outer surface, said inner surface defining a central opening, said raised rim including a small discharge opening in communication with said space for the discharge of liquid from within said space, said central opening being narrow at said small discharge opening and widening out from adjacent said small discharge opening, said raised rim slopes from said small discharge opening with said outer and inner surfaces of said rim are longest adjacent said small discharge opening;
said raised rim and said central opening are adapted to permit the user to tilt and empty the contents of the container reducing tilting of the user's head.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 10/348,315Filed 21 Jan 2003 · continuation in part
Priority: 14 Jul 2000
Published: US 2003/0157224 A121 Aug 2003
Granted: 20 Jun 2006
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification4 codes

A47G 19/02
Table service: plates, dishes or the like
B65D 81/3227
Rigid containers disposed one within the other: arranged parallel or concentrically and permitting simultaneous dispensing of the two materials…
A47G
Household or table equipment
B65D
Containers for storage or transport of articles or materials