SAUSAGE CONTAINER (HOT DOG KEEPER)

ENVELOPPE POUR CHAIR A SAUCISSES

English Abstract

SAUSAGE CONTAINER
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

A container particularly designed for storage of sausage such
as frankfurters or the like. The container is particularly adapted for
simple and convenient storage and quick cooling or freezing of the sausage
within the container. The container is vapor-tight, thereby maintaining
the sausage in a useable condition for a longer period of time than is
possible with other types of storage materials used for sausage. The
container also permits removal of the sausage due to the provision of
easy finger access and separation between the plurality of sausages
stored therein.

The container comprises a first dish shaped part having a bottom
wall with integral upstanding peripheral side walls. A closure member
is placed on and tightly engages the upper edge of the dished part thereby
providing a container which is vapor-tight. The bottom wall of the dished
part has a plurality of upwardly extending projections, the preferred
configuration of the projections being upwardly extending pyramids. The
pyramids are spaced from each other equidistant and are arranged in
parallel rows which extend parallel to the side wails of the container.
The container has a greater length than width thereby permitting the
placement of shorter sausages crosswise of the container and longer
sausages lengthwise of the container. A sausage placed in the container
is supported by the side walls of the pyramidal projections and resides
in the trough between such projections. This arrangement for supporting
the sausage permits quick cooling or freezing of the sausage, avoids
interengagement between sausages so that they can be easily individ-
ually removed after freezing and maintains the sausage out of extensive
contact with the various walls of the container, thereby minimizing
sticking of the frozen sausage thereto.

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Thus, in accordance with the present teachings, a
container is provided which is adapted to store sausages or
similarly shaped food products. The container comprises a
bottom wall, upstanding side walls emanating from the periphery
of the bottom wall, terminated in a top edge with a closure
member which is positionable in tight contact with the top
edge to form a closed container. The bottom wall has a
plurality of upwardly extending pyramidal projections which
terminate in apices which have an included angle of substantially
90°. The side walls of each projection is aligned one with
another and extends at an approximate angle of 45° relative
to the flat portion of the bottom wall which connects the base
of one projection to the base of an adjacent projection
thereby forming a generally planar-like supporting surface,
the projection further being proximately positioned one with
respect to the other 50 that the food product is supported
above the flat portion. The upstanding side walls incorporate
a sloping portion proximate the juncture thereof with the
bottom wall which portion incorporates sloping end walls and
wherein the side wall sloping portion and sloped end walls are
continuous between their terminal points which are in juxta-
position with the junctures of the side walls and are
substantially the same angle as the triangular sides of each
projection and which end walls lie in approximately the same
plane as one of the projection sides adjacent thereto and whose
angular relationship with the flat portion is the same as the
projection sides.


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Claims

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property
or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A container adapted to store sausages or
similar shaped food product comprising a bottom wall, upstanding
sidewalls emanating from the periphery of the bottom wall,
terminating in a top edge, a closure member positionable in
tight contact with said top edge to form a closed container,
said bottom wall having a plurality of upwardly extending
pyramidal projections which terminate in apices having an
included angle of substantially 90°, the sidewalls of each
projection being aligned one with another and extends at an approximate
angle of 45° relative to a flat portion of the bottom wall which corrects the
base of one projection to the base of an adjacent projection thereby forming
generally planar-like supporting surfaces, said projections further being proxi-
mately positioned one with respect to the other so that food product is supported
above said flat portion, characterized in that said upstanding sidewalls
incorporate a sloping portion proximate the juncture thereof
with said bottom wall, which portion incorporates sloping end
walls and wherein said sidewall sloping portion and sloping
end walls are continuous between their terminal points which
are in juxtaposition with the junctures of said sidewalls and
and are at substantially the same angle as the triangular sides
of each projection and which end walls lie in approximately
the same plane as one of the projection sides adjacent thereto
and whose angular relationship with said flat portion is the
same as the projection sides.

Description

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BACKGROUND OF TUE INVENTION


Field of the Invention



The present invention relates to a container particularly
designed for storing sausage and especia!ly frankfurters or the like.


Description of the Prior Art


In general, the prior art includes various forms of containers ~;
for supporting consumables such as meats and the like. The advantages of
the present invention are that the container is specifically designed to ~ -
support sausage so ~hat it cannot roll and come in contact with adjoining
pieces of sausage but yet is adapted to take various lengths of sausage.
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BRIEF DESCRlPTiON OF THE DRAWINGS



Fig. I is an exploded perspective view of the container of thepresent invention;
Fig. 2 is an end view of the container of the present invention;
Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;
Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the top of the container;
Fig. 5 is a top plan view oF the bottom of the container;
Fig. 6 is a cross-section taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 4;
Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of the circled portion 7 of Fig. 5;
Fig. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on line 8-8 of

Fig. 5, and further showing in phantom a plurality of sausages supported
in typical fashion therein; and
Fig. 9 is an enlarged view of the circled portion 9 of Fig. 3.




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D13S~RXPl~ON OF' ~ R~JD EMBOIlll~E~ T

The preferred embodiment of the sausage container 5 m~y be seen
in exploded perspective in Fig. 1. The bottom dished part 6 has a tightly
fitting closure member 7. The member 7 has a generally flat center wall 8
and a peripheral upstanding inver~ed U~shaped rim 9. The rim consists of
an upstanding inner wa11 10 an outwardly extending connecting wall 11
and.an outer wall 12. This inverted rTm 9 Forms a slot therein which has
an.inner ~ace 13 on the wall 12 and which i5 molded at approximately 11~
from the vertical. Furthermore there is a similar inner fa e 14 on the
wall 10 which face is molded substantially vertica11y so that ~hen the rim
is placed on ~he dished part 6 ~he walls 10 and 12 pinch together forming :
a vapor-tight seal around the top edge of the dished part 6. The closure
member 7 is also t;ghtly stretched as it is placed on the bottom part 6 to
assist Tn maintaining a tight sealed condition therewith.

The dished bottom part 6 includes a bottom wall 15 hav;ng con-
t t nuous upstanding peripheral walls including end walls 16 and !7 and
side walls 18 and 19 Each of the end and side walls is slanted inwardly
at its lower extremity where it joins the bottom wall 15 as shown at _. j . -
The slanted port70n 20 extends almost to the corners of the dished part
6 but has a corner opening 21 into which m~isture from the sau$age can
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drain. ~e corn~r openi~ng 21 ~ created by slaated ~d ~all~
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20a thllt termi3~te portiDns 20 ,. Furth~more, theae e~d e~zll18
as can be seen be~t in Fig. 5, are in ~lignment with the
outermost pxojection side walls 22 to which ~ey are adjacent.
Accoxdingly, at lea~t alc~ng the outen~o~t extent of the
contrli~er there is colltlnuity of support for the stored food
.~- product. ' . - .
The bottom wal l 15 h~s a plural Tty of upwardiy extendTng - ~ : :
slded pyramidal.pro~ect;Dns (see F;gs. 3 5 7 and 8) having 4 tri~
angular sid~s 22 on each projection. The pyramidal project;ons are j :
spaced equldlstant one from the other and the apexes of same lie
approxi~ately 1 apart. The stde walls 22 of the pyramidal projectTons
are at approximately a 45c angle to the plane of bottom wall 15 and the
incl~ded angle of e~ch apex is approxl~ately 9oD. A~tention Ts direc~ed

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to Fig. 8 which shows a plurality of sausag~, such as ~rankfurters or the
like, in position between the pyramidal projections to minimi~e the contact
between the sausage and the walls of the container and between the pieces
of sausage themselves. Thus, there is a free flow of air around the
sausage to permit rapid cooling or freezing and because of their separa-
tion, the sausages cannot stick to each other after freezing thereby
permitting easy removal thereo-F from the container.


Attention is directed to the fact that the dished bo~tom part 6
has a greater length than width. The width of the container is approxi- -
mately 6", thereby permitting the placement of 10 short sausages or frank- -
furters transverse of the length of the container. In the alternative,
the length of the container is approximately 10", thereby permitting the
placement of 6 long sausages or frankfurters lengthwise of the container
. . .
in lieu of the placement of 10 short frankfurters widthwise of the container.
The height of the bottom part 6 is approximately 1~", thereby providing
clearance for the sausages or frankfurters after placement in the container
and engagement of the closure member on the container so that the frank-
furters do not contact the seal of the container.


A small space is provided at the end of each container, due to
its length and width being longer than the typical sausages placed therein
to provide easy removal of one or a plurality thereof.


Of course, var;ous other uses can be made of the present inven-
tion for storage of consumables such as meats, or the like, where it is
desired to have some drainage of the consumable and support of the con-



sumable above the bottom wall of the container.
.. '....It is preferable that the bottom part 6 of the container be
Fabricated by injection molding from high density polyethylene or poly-

propylene and that the closure member 7 be fabricated from a flexible and ~ -
resilient low density polyethylene.

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While the present description describes a preferred embodi-
ment of the invention, it may be otherwise in a1ternate forms to perform
the same function and achieve the same results within the scope of the
following claims.




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