Precise volume, disposable food container

• US 4,502,623 A
• Filed: 08/04/1982
• Issued: 03/05/1985
• Est. Priority Date: 08/04/1982
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Dopaco Incorporated (Graeme Richard Hart, MBA)
• Original Assignee: Clinton Fultz, Franklin Moore Jr
• Inventors: Moore, Franklin Jr., Fultz, Clinton
• Primary Examiner(s): Price, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): Elkins, Gary E.
• Application Number:
  US06/405,073
• Time in Patent Office: 944 Days
• Field of Search: 221/303, 221/304, 221/307-310, 221/47, 221/63, 312/43, D 7/6, 229/8, 229/21, 229/41 R, 229/41 B, 229/1.5 B, 229/16 R, 229/33, 294/55, 206/499
• US Class Current: 229/400
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 5/18 by folding a single blank to U-shape to form the base of the container and opposite sides of the body portion, the remaining sides being formed primarily by extensions of one or more of these opposite sides, e.g. flaps hinged thereto B65D5/36 takes precedence

Abstract

A disposable container for serving a food product, such as french-fried potatoes or the like, particularly in a fast-food establishment. The disposable container is constructed from a single piece or blank of paperlike material or light card stock material. The blank has a front panel, a back panel, and a bottom panel, the back panel has a pair of extending side sections which are folded to a position substantially normal to the back panel. Each of the side sections has portions which engage the front panel and the bottom panel to establish a predetermined spacing between the front panel and the back panel. Thus, a predetermined volume is established in the disposable container.

Claims

1. A disposable open top container for collecting and serving a food product and adapted to be used in a fast-food establishment, the container comprising:

a unitary piece of paper-like material including a front panel and a back panel connected by a bottom panel,

the front panel having a projecting lip portion with an upwardly curved upper edge to form a scoop and the back panel having a downwardly curved upper edge,

a pair of opposed side walls connected to the front panel and projecting therefrom at substantially right angles,

a pair of opposed side walls connected to the back panel and projecting therefrom at substantially right angles,

each of the side walls projecting from one of the panels having a first edge portion and a second edge portion forming an obtuse angle therebetween, the first edge portions of the side walls having a length generally equal to the spacing between the front and back panels adjacent the bottom panel and engaging the other of the panels for precisely spacing the back panel with respect to the front panel to determine the volumetric capacity of the container, the second edge portions of the side walls diverging from the one panel towards the plane of the other panel,

the side walls projecting from the other panel overlapping the side walls projecting from the one panel and being adhesively attached thereto to fix the relative positions of the panels,

each of the side walls projecting from the other panel having an edge portion diverging from the one panel towards the plane of the other panel,

the front panel having a pair of slots extending from the open top on opposite ends of the lip portion and partially separating the front panel from the side walls projecting therefrom, the slots providing a spring-like deflectable lip portion to facilitate separating the container from an adjacent container within a stack of nested containers.

2. A disposable open top container for collecting and serving a food product and adapted to be used in a fast-food establishment, the container being arranged in a vertical stack of the containers disposed in inverted nested relation and retained within a dispenser unit with the lowermost container in the stack engaging an abutment located at the bottom of the dispenser unit, comprising:

a unitary piece of paper-like material including a front panel and a back panel connected by a bottom panel,

the front panel having a lip portion projecting beyond the back panel to form a scoop,

a pair of opposed side walls foldably joined to the front panel and extending substantially at right angles from the front panel,

a pair of opposed side walls foldably joined to the back panel and extending substantially at right angles from the back panel,

each of the side walls of one of the panels having a first edge portion and second edge portion forming an obtuse angle therebetween, the first edge portions of the side walls engaging the other of the panels for precisely spacing the back panel with respect to the front panel to determine the volumetric capacity of the container,

the side walls of the other panel at least partially enclosing the side walls of the one panel and being adhesively attached thereto to fix the relative positions of the panels,

the lip portion on the front panel of the lowermost container in the stack engaging the abutment on the dispenser unit and being flexible toward the back panel and around the abutment to release the lowermost container from the stack of inverted containers in a dispenser unit,

the front panel having a pair of slots extending from the open top on opposite ends of the lip portion and partially separating the front panel from the side walls projecting therefrom, the slots providing a spring-like deflectable lip portion to facilitate separating the container from the adjacent container within the stack of nested containers.