Food package with resiliently biased lid

• US 5,242,696 A
• Filed: 05/14/1991
• Issued: 09/07/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/1991
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kraft Foods Global Brands LLC (Mondelez International, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Kraft General Foods, Inc. (Mondelez International, Inc.)
• Inventors: McDevitt, John F.
• Primary Examiner(s): WEINSTEIN, STEVEN L
• Application Number:
  US07/699,809
• Time in Patent Office: 847 Days
• Field of Search: 220/339, 220/264, 229/2.5 R, 229/2.5 EC, 426/129, 426/130
• US Class Current: 426/106
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 2251/105 The closure having a part fitting over the rim of the container or spout and retained by snapping over integral beads or projections
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 43/162 the container, the lid and the hinge being made of one piece B65D43/161 takes precedence

Abstract

A polymeric container for a sliced food product comprising a bottom wall, a peripheral wall structure extending upward therefrom, a lid, and an integral hinge connecting the lid to the peripheral wall structure, wherein the hinge biases the lid toward an open position. Locks are provided to maintain the lid in closed position. The locks are configured that may that may be released by application of inward pressure to the front wall of the container, without application of external manual force to the lid.

Claims

1. A polymeric container in combination with a plurality of slices of a food product stacked within the container, said container comprising a bottom wall, a peripheral wall structure extending upward from said bottom wall, a lid comprising a top surface and a rear wall extending downward therefrom, and an integral hinge connection said lid to said peripheral wall structure, said hinge being flexible so that said lid is pivotable through an angle of at least about 90°

between a closed position and an open position while remaining connected to said peripheral wall structure by said hinge;

said peripheral wall structure comprising a rear wall, a front wall opposite said rear wall, and a pair of opposite side walls extending between said front and rear walls;

said peripheral wall structure and said lid having surfaces thereon defining a lock mechanism for maintaining said lid in stable mechanical equilibrium in said closed position;

said flexible hinge in its underformed configuration corresponding to the open position of the lid comprising a series of integrally joined generally rectangular segments which are recited in order proceeding from said rear wall of said container to said rear wall of said lid and including a first segment downwardly extending along the rear wall of said container and spaced therefrom, a second segment extending generally horizontally rearward from the lower end of the first segment, third, fourth, and fifth segments respectively, extending upwardly, rearwardly and downwardly respectively, with the third and fifth segments being of approximately equal length;

a sixth segment extending rearwardly, and having a horizontal dimension less than that of the second segment;

a seventh segment extending upwardly to a fold line at which it intersects the rear wall of the lid to define an inverted U-shaped configuration;

the seventh segment having a vertical dimension less than that of the first segment and having its lower edge at approximately the same elevation as the lower edge of the first segment and each of the segments intersecting its adjacent segments at an angle of about 90°

;

said first three segments defining a first upwardly opening channel and the fifth, sixth and seventh segments defining a second upwardly opening channel with the third, fourth and fifth segments defining a downwardly opening channel which is disposed between the first two, sharing a common side wall with each;

said segments dimensioned and configured relative to each other and the hinge having lines of weakness at the intersection of both aid second and third segments and said fifth and sixth segments such that when the lid is moved from the open position to the closed position, the initial pivotal motion of the lid causes flexure of the hinge in a first mode, which principally comprises flexure at the lines of intersection between the second and third segments and between the fifth and sixth segments which enables the second channel to close upon itself, such that the seventh segment abuts the intersection between the fourth and fifth segment and so that said first and third segments also move toward one another, and the upper portion of said seventh segment comes into abutting contact with said first segment and such that further displacement of the lid toward the closed position causes said first segment to flex away from the rear wall of the container, and the seventh segment to pivot away from the rear wall of the lid until in its closed position, the rear wall of said lid engages said first segment and said seventh segment engages the fourth segment and the lid is maintained in the closed position by said lock mechanism;

and such that in the closed position, the lid is resiliently biased toward the open position by the hinge and sufficient potential energy is stored in the hinge to drive the lid from the closed position toward the open position upon release of the lock mechanism.

2. A combination in accordance with claim 1 wherein said lock mechanism can be released by manual inward defection of said peripheral wall structure without application of external manual force directly to said lid.

3. A combination in accordance with claim 1,

said peripheral wall structure having a substantially horizontal upper rim surface and said lid having a corresponding surface which overlies said rim surface when said lid is in said closed position,

wherein said lid has an open position displaced substantially 180°

from said closed position in which said corresponding surface of said lid is disposed substantially horizontally at an elevation lower than that of said horizontal upper rim surface.

4. A combination in accordance with claim 1 wherein said hinge is capable of storing sufficient potential energy to pivot said lid from said closed position to said open position upon release of said lock mechanism.