Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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" STACKABLE STORAGE CONTAINER"
Field of the Invention
: 15 This invention relates in general to
,. storage containers, and relates in particular to
. containers foe storing foodstuffs or the like.
-_ Background of the Invention
Containers for storing small quantities
of food and the like are well known and are widely
used in households and elsewhere. These containers
3 may be made of deformable plastic material such as
polyethylene or the like, and typically come with
25 an easily-detachable lid or closure to provide a
- seal with the container. Such foodstuff containers
. are available in a variety of shapes end sizes, and
frequently are stored on refrigerator shelves or
;` the like by stacking the containers one atop the
" other
.`, Food storage containers of the prior art
generally have bottom surfaces and closures which
are flat, or which at least have substantial flat
portions. Although these flat tops and bottoms
permit the containers to be stacked, a stack of two
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_ or more such prior art containers as a practical
matter may be awkward or difficult to unstack.
Containers of the same general size and
configuration frequently have a surface-contacting
base which can fit on top of the louder closure for
the container, due to the overall shape of the
- container. The closure typically has a raised
peripheral rim surrounding the surface on which the
base of a super adjacent container rests, and this
rim can interfere with attempts to remove a
selected container from a stack of such containers.
` This limitation on sideways displacement easily
leads to tipping or knocking over a stack of
containers, especially where several containers are
stacked in an array from which one attempts to
withdraw an intermediate container.
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Attempting to improve unstack ability of
stacked containers simply by doing away with the
rim surrounding the closure of the same size would
be less than satisfactory. The close bottom-to-top
conforming fit of such stacked containers provides
a desired stability of slacked containers.
Moreover, the peripheral rim of the conventional
. closure provides the sealing engagement with the
l 25 container, and thus is considered an important
Jo feature of the closure.
Summary of the Invention
I- The foregoing and other problems
- 30 associated with foodstuff containers of the prior
art have been overcome or substantially alleviated
by the stackable covered storage container of the
present invention. Stated in general terms, the
present container includes a bottom wall having a
central portion which may be substantially flat,
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_ and having at least one end portion sloping or
beveled upwardly from the central portion. The
container includes a removable closure having a
central portion configured to receive the bottom
wall central portion of a like container stacked on
the closure. The closure also may include at least
one upwardly sloping portion to receive the sloping
or beveled bottom portion in complementary fit, so
that the sloped bottom wall of the container
engages the sloped portion on the closure of a like
container stacked there below.
Stated somewhat more specifically, the
container closure may include a pair of ramp
surfaces flanking a central panel on the closure.
The container bottom wall has beveled surfaces at
opposite ends of a central region, and a central
portion which can rest on the central panel of the
closure. Each beveled surface of the bottom is
aligned to fit onto a corresponding ramp surface of
the closure on which the container is stacked. The
ramp surfaces of the container closure are
preferably spaced inwardly from the periphery of
I the closure, and thereby elevate part of the
stacked container upwardly a short distance from
the closure immediately below. This slight
elevation between stacked containers, as well as
the beveled surfaces at the ends of the container,
promotes easy removal of a container from stack
of such containers.
3G Accordingly, it is an object of the
present invention to provide an improved storage
- container for foodstuffs or the like.
It is another object of the present
invention to provide an improved food storage
container which is easily unstackable from a stack
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_ of containers.
It is yet another object of the present
invention to provide a storage container having
relatively good stability when stacked on like
S containers, yet which is easily removed from a
stack of containers.
The foregoing and other objects and
advantages of the present invention will become
more readily apparent from the following
description of a disclosed embodiment, including
the drawings.
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Brief Description of Drawings
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Fig. 1 is a pictorial view showing a
covered stackable storage container according to a
preferred embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is an end elevation view of the
closed container shown in Fig. lo
Fig. 3 is a side elevation view of the
closed container shown in Fig. 1.
Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the closed
container shown in Fig. 1.
Fig. 5 is a section view taken along line
5--5 of Fig. 4, with a fragmentary lower container
and a phantom upper container added to illustrate a
! ,, stack of containers.
Fig. 6 is a section view taken along line
6--6 of Fig. 3, with the closure shown removed and
elevated above the container for illustrative
purposes
Fig. 7 is a side elevation view showing
one of the disclosed containers being withdrawn
from a stack of such containers
Description of Preferred Embodiment
Turning to the Figures, there is shown
generally at 10 a container according to the
disclosed embodiment, fitted with a closure shown
generally at 11. Both the container and closure
S preferably are made of a suitable lied plastic
- material such as polyethylene or the like. The
f container 10 and its closure are generally
rectangular in overall configuration, although it
should be understood that other shapes may be
utilized in the practice of the present invention.
! The container has a bottom wall 12 and
unitary side walls 13 and 14 extending upwardly
from the bottom wall to terminate at an upper edge
15 which defines the open mouth 16 of the
it 15 container. The container 10 further includes a
Jo pair of end walls 17 and 18 unitary with the bottom
wall 12, and extending upwardly from the bottom
wall to terminate at the upper edge 15. A skirt 19
having a downwardly-facing open channel surrounds
the container 10 a short distance below the open
mouth 16, and it will be appreciated that the skirt
preferably is molded as a unitary part of the
; container.
As best seen in Figs. 3 and 5, the bottom
I, 25 wall 12 includes a substantially flat central panel
23 flanked by a pair of end panels aye and 24b
I¦ which are formed to be beveled upwardly at an acute
angle to join the respective end walls 17 and 18.
The beveled end panels aye and 24b, as best seen in
Fig. 3, occupy but a relatively small proportion
of the overall length of the bottom wall I so
` that the flat central panel 23 making up the
greater portion of the bottom wall provides a flat
relatively stable support for the closure 10 on a
flat supporting surface such as a counter top or the
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_ like.
It it also seen from Figs 3 and 5 that
the end walls aye and 17b are tilted outwardly a
slight extent relative to vertical; the same
S nonperpendicular attitude exists it the side
_ walls 13 and 14, as seen in Figs. 2 and 6. This
nonperpendicularity of the side walls and end walls
is not essential to the present invention, although
present in the disclosed embodiment.
The downwardly facing exterior surface
aye of the bottom wall central panel 23 may be
recessed slightly above the nominal surface of the
container bottom wall 12~ as best seen in Figs. 5
and 6. This recessed feature of the bottom wall 12
produces the slight longitudinally-extending
channels 25, Fig. 6, flanking the interior surface
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-- of the central panel 23 within the container 10.
The closure 11 has a peripheral
upstanding rim 29 provided by an interior wall 30,
an end wall 31, and an exterior wall 32 combined to
form an annular downwardly-facing channel 33
Jo configured to removably fit onto the upper edge 15
of the container 10. A skirt 34 surrounds the
periphery of the outer wall 32, and the skirt
includes a down-turned flange 35 positioned Jo
extend outwardly a short distance from the side
- walls and end walls of the closed container 10, as
Lo best illustrated in Fig. S. The flange 35 of the
closure is located a short distance above the top
- 30 of the skirt 19 on the container, when the closure
is in place.
The closure 11 includes a central panel
38 flanked by a pair of ramp-defining surfaces aye
and 39b near the respective longitudinal ends of
the central panel. The upper edges on of the ramp
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_ surfaces aye and 39b are spaced inwardly a short
distance from the confronting portion 29' of the
rim 29 surrounding the closure, as most clearly
shown in Fig. 5, so that a panel end portion 41 is
present between the rim portion Andy the upper
edge 40 of each shoulder. Each ramp surface aye
and 39b thus is separate from the rim 29, which can
function in the conventional manner to secure the
closure if to the container 10 without interference
lo from the structure making up the ramp surface. The
it' central panel 38~ as best seen in Figs. 1 and 6, is
' elevated slightly above the surrounding
longitudinal side portions 42 and end portions 41
of the closure, defining a slight depression 43 in
the underside of the closure. The upper edge 40 of
each ramp preferably is slightly lower in elevation
than the rim 29 of the closure.
It should now be apparent that the ramp
surfaces aye and 39b on the -closure 11 are
complementary to the beveled surfaces of the end
panels aye and 24b on the bottom of the container
lo As a container 10 is stacked on the closure
'_ ' if' of a like container lo', Fig. 5, the beveled
end panels aye and 24b of the upper container rest
on the respective ramp surfaces aye and 39b (not
'i shown in Fig. 5) of the supporting closure. The
angles of the end panels aye, 24b preferably are
the same as the angles of the ramp surfaces aye,
39b, so that the complementary engaging end panels
and ramp surfaces provide a relatively stable
stacking of two or more containers so equipped.
-` Because the ramps aye, 39b are shorter than the end
panels aye, 24b as best seen in Fig. 5, the
outermost extent 45 of each end panel (joining the
respective end wall 17 or 18 of the container)
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_ extends outwardly beyond the upper edge 40 of the
corresponding ramp surface and is substantially
aligned with the confronting portion 29' of the
closure rim. This aligned relation of each stacked
container, relative to the peripheral rim on the
closure of the subjacent supporting container,
- facilitates removing one such container from its
position in a vertical stack of like containers,
inasmuch as a person can easily grasp the selected
it 10 container at the open spaces provided between the
i ends of that container and the rim of the closure
on the lower supporting container. Moreover, the
' beveled ends of the container 10 enhance
unstack ability even when the container rests on a
flat closure lacking ramp surfaces or the like,
inasmuch as the outermost extent of each beveled
end is aligned with the closure rim and guides the
container over the peripheral rim of the closure.
The enhanced unstack ability of the
present container is illustrated in Fig. 7, where
several stacked containers A, B, C, D, and E are
shown as they might be placed on a shelf The
middle container C, for example, is withdrawn from
the stack simply by grasping the container end and
pulling away from the stack, while simultaneously
! placing a hand against the upper containers D and E to hold the upper container in place in the stack.
' ! The beveled end surface 24b of container C rides up
lo and over the confronting rim 29' of the lower
container B, enabling the container C to be removed
from the stack without interference from the rim of
the lower container.
It should now be evident that the present
storage container offers enhanced unstack ability
_ over previous such containers, without sacrificing
the desirable feature normally associated with such
containers. The ramp surfaces formed on the
closure of the present container engage the beveled
end panels of a like container to support that
container with enhanced stability, tending to
prevent the supported container from sliding or
other unwanted movement in stacked relation. At
the same time, the central panel 38 between the
ramp surfaces on the closure receives the central
panel 23 on the bottom of the container, thereby
~-~ providing a relatively broad supporting surface to
receive the weight of the above container. As a
result, containers according to the present
_, 15 invention tend to remain nested or stacked together
notwithstanding some degree of jostling or
- movement, until it is desired to separate the
containers by lofting vine off another.
It should also be apparent that the
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foregoing relates to but a disclosed embodiment of
the present invention, and that numerous
modifications and changes may be made therein
without departing from the spirit and scope of the
invention as defined in the following claims.
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