Food scoop with sealed base

• US 6,561,414 B1
• Filed: 02/08/2002
• Issued: 05/13/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 02/08/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pactiv Packaging Incorporated (Pactiv)
• Original Assignee: Dopaco Incorporated (Graeme Richard Hart, MBA)
• Inventors: Cai, Liming
• Primary Examiner(s): Kramer, Dean J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chin, Paul T.
• Application Number:
  US10/067,942
• Time in Patent Office: 459 Days
• Field of Search: 294/1.3, 294/1.4, 294/1.5, 294/55, 229/4.5, 229/104, 229/193, 229/400, 229/405
• 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 food scoop of a generally upwardly tapering truncated configuration having a lower portion of rectangular cross section and an upper portion of circular cross section with a bottom in edge contact with the peripheral wall of the scoop completely thereabout and with opposed combined glue and sealing flaps integral with the bottom and bonded to opposed sides of the scoop wall and with the surface of the bottom devoid of fold lines, score lines or perforations.

Claims

1. A food scoop comprising a vertically elongate peripheral wall defining an upwardly opening container, said wall having an upper peripheral edge, and a lower peripheral edge with a bottom panel joined thereto, said upper edge having a first extent of a downwardly concave configuration and a second opposed extent of an upwardly convex configuration positioned higher relative to said first extent, said wall being of a substantially rectangular cross-section adjacent said lower edge and along a predetermined lower height of said scoop upward from said bottom panel, and of a substantially circular cross-section upward from said lower predetermined height along an upper predetermined height to said upper edge, said scoop being of a progressively increasing cross-section upward from said lower edge to said upper edge, said bottom panel having a first pair of laterally spaced coextensive edges integral with said wall along opposed lengths of said lower peripheral edge of said wall, and a second pair of spaced parallel linear edges extending between said first pair of edges and defining therewith a generally rectangular configuration for said bottom panel, said lower edge of said wall between said lengths thereof integral with said first pair of bottom edges being coextensive with said second pair of bottom panel edges and in engagement therewith along the full length of the second pair of edges, and a pair of side sealing panels, each having a base edge integral and coextensive with a linear edge of said second pair of parallel edges of said bottom panel, said side sealing panels overlying and being bonded to said peripheral wall of said scoop for a fixed height upward from said bottom panel.

2. The scoop of claim 1 wherein said peripheral wall includes a front wall panel with opposed vertical edges and a concave upper edge extending substantially between said vertical edges of said front wall panel and defining said first concave extent, and a rear wall panel with opposed vertical edges and an upper convex edge extending substantially between said vertical edges of said rear wall panel and defining said second convex extent, said opposed edges of said rear wall panel being bonded to said opposed edges of said front wall panel.

3. The scoop of claim 2 wherein said side sealing panels are triangular, each with side edges upwardly converging from opposed ends of the corresponding base edge.

4. The scoop of claim 3 wherein said bottom panel is planar and devoid of surface interruptions.

5. The scoop of claim 4 wherein said bottom panel is square.

6. The scoop of claim 5 wherein the side edges of said sealing panels are of equal length and terminate at an upper apex aligned with the bonded opposed edges of said front and rear wall panels.

7. The scoop of claim 2 wherein said bottom panel is planar and devoid of surface interruptions.

8. The scoop of claim 2 wherein said first pair of laterally spaced coextensive edges of said bottom panel are linear.

9. The scoop of claim 8 wherein said bottom panel is planar and devoid of surface interruptions.

10. The scoop of claim 2 wherein said first pair of laterally spaced coextensive edges of said bottom panel are arced and upwardly directed into the respective front and rear wall panels.

11. The scoop of claim 10 wherein said bottom panel is upwardly arched for the full length thereof between said arcuate first pair of bottom edges, said arched bottom panel extending transversely between said second pair of spaced parallel linear edges of said bottom panel whereby said second pair of bottom edges define laterally spaced support edges for said scoop.

12. The scoop of claim 11 wherein said bottom panel is devoid of surface interruptions.

13. For use in the formation of a food scoop of an inverted, truncated generally conical configuration;

a unitary blank, said blank comprising opposed front and rear wall panels aligned along a longitudinal axis of said blank, said panels having spaced base edges, a bottom panel extending between said base edges of said front-and rear wall panels, said bottom panel having a first pair of opposed longitudinally spaced substantially coextensive end edges and a second pair of laterally spaced substantially parallel side edges, said bottom panel being integral with said base edges of said wall panels along said first opposed pair of end edges, a fold line coextensive with each bottom panel end edge for folding of said bottom panel relative to said wall panel lower edges, a pair of side sealing panels, each side panel having a first base edge integral and substantially coextensive with a side edge of said bottom panel, each side panel having an outer edge including edge lengths converging outward from opposed ends of the corresponding side edge of the bottom panel to an apex portion longitudinally spaced between said base edges of said front and rear wall panels.

14. The blank of claim 13 wherein each wall panel base edge includes a linear extent laterally to each side of said bottom panel, each linear extent being greater than one-half the longitudinal distance between the base edges of said front and rear wall panels as defined by the second pair of substantially parallel side edges of said bottom panel.

15. The blank of claim 14 wherein each of said front and rear wall panels includes lateral side edges diverging longitudinally outward from outer edges of the corresponding base edges.

16. The blank of claim 15 wherein said side edges of said front and rear panels extend at substantially right angles from the corresponding base edge extents.

17. The blank of claim 15 wherein said front wall panel has an outer edge concave for a major portion of the length thereof and with a linear lateral extension at each end of the concave portion extending to the corresponding side edges of the front wall panel, said rear wall panel having an outer edge convex for a major portion of the length thereof with beveled end edge portions extending to the corresponding side edges of the rear wall panel.

18. The blank of claim 14 wherein said first pair of opposed longitudinal end edges of said bottom panel are linear and parallel to each other, and wherein said second pair of bottom panel side edges are linear.

19. The blank of claim 14 wherein said first pair of end edges of said bottom panel are convex, and said second pair of bottom panel side edges are linear.

20. The blank of claim 19 wherein said bottom panel is planar and devoid of surface projections.