RELATED APPLICATIONS

[001] This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 13/902,660, filed May 24, 2013 and entitled "Food Container"; which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61 /773, 129, filed March 5, 2013 and entitled "Food Container," both of which are hereby incorporated by reference for ail purposes.

BACKGROUND

[002] Food containers are used for many purposes, such as for storing food in a refrigerator or freezer, cooking in a microwave or oven, serving, and transporting food items. Thus, food containers must be able to withstand various environments while also being durable enough for daily use. Plastic materials are often used for food containers because of their low-cost and lightweight characteristics. However, many plastic materials can leach unsafe chemicals into food, particularly when exposed to heat such as in cooking or being placed in a dishwasher. Thus, there is a continued need to provide durable and safe food containers.

SUMMARY

[003] A food container includes a glass container, a lid and a protective sleeve. The sleeve covers at least a portion of the side walls and bottom surface of the glass container. The lid has a perimeter that is absent of securing features for the container. The lid has a receiving feature which is engaged by a latch on the protective sleeve when the latch is mo ved from an open position to a locked position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[004] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a food container;

[005] FIG. 2 is a side view of the container of FIG. I;

[006] FIG. 3 shows a top view of the food container of FIG. 1 ;

[007] FIG. 4 pro vides a vertical cross-sectional view of the food container of FIG. 1, with latches unlocked;

[008] FIG. 5 provides a vertical cross-sectional view of the food container of FIG. 1 , with latches in a locked position;

[009] FIG. 6 is a side view of the container of FIG, 5;

[0010] FIG. 7 provides a perspective view of the food container of FIG. 1 ;

[0011] FIG. 8 is a bottom view of an embodiment of the food container of FIG, I ; [0012] FIG. 9 shows a side view of another embodiment of a food container; and

[0013] FIG. 10 is a top perspective view of the food container of FIG. 9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0014] With growing awareness around the dangers of plastic, consumers are seeking out safer materials to store items that they ingest such as food and drink. One such safer material is glass; however, glass can be prone to breaking when dropped. Consequently, glass is a strong material around the house but has limited effectiveness when being moved to different locations. In this disclosure, a food container is described that enables consumers to use glass food storage products on the go by providing a protective layer to prevent breakage. The protective layer is a sleeve that surrounds the outer surface of a glass article, such as described in U.S. Patent

Publication No. 2009/0057257, published March 5, 2009, which is hereby incorporated by reference. The container also has a fid to cover the top of the container, where latches on the sleeve are able to secure the lid by engaging receiving features on either side of the lid. This provides a secure closure to prevent leaking. The lid may be designed with an O-ring to provide an additional seal around the inside of the glass.

[0015] FIGs. 1 and 2 show perspective and side views, respectively, of a food container 100 in one embodiment. The food container 100 includes a protective outer sleeve 1 10 surrounding a glass container 12.0, and a lid 130 covering a top opening of container 120. The sleeve 1 10 covers some or all of the side walls, and some or all of the bottom surface of glass container 120. The sleeve 1 10 includes latches 140 that can be moved from an open, uncoupled position to a locked position. In the embodiment of FIGs. 1 and 2, latch 140 is bent upward to secure the lid 130, preventing leakage from container 12.0. Incorporation of a securing mechanism into sleeve 110, instead of fid 130, enables the use of a wider range of materials for lid 130, while the sleeve 1 10 may be fabricated from other materials suitable for its function as a protective sleeve. For example, sleeve 1 10 may have flexible, stretchable, heat-resistant or other characteristics that are different from lid 130. Thus, the design of container 100 as shall be described herein enables a glass container to be secured and seafed with a lid, using safe, durable plastics and other materials.

[0016] Sleeve 1 10 may be made of, for example, silicone, and is designed to fit snugly on the outer surface of container 120. That is, the sleeve fits tightly enough such that some amount of force must purposely be applied to remove sleeve 1 10 from container 120. For example, a user may be required to peel or stretch the sleeve 1 10 off of container 120 in order to remove it. A user may be required to apply an intentional force to separate sleeve 1 10 from container 120, rather than, for example, container 120 being easily lifted out of sleeve 1 10. In some embodiments, sleeve 1 10 and container 120 may have an interference fit. In other embodiments, sleeve 1 10 and container 120 may have a sliding fit, hut with close enough sizing that the surface friction of sleeve 1 10 requires a user to apply force to insert or remove container 120. Tn further embodiments, the container 120 may have a draft angle along its side walls and the sleeve 1 10 may have a matching draft angle. In yet other embodiments, container 120 may have a draft angle along its side walls while sleeve 1 10 has vertical side walls with no draft angle, to assist in achieving a tight fit on the container 120.

[0017] The sleeve 1 10, container 120 and lid 130 may be provided as a system, with the sleeve 1 10 being pre-mounted on the container 120. However, the sleeve 1 10 may also be removed from container 120 if desired, and placed back on container 120 by stretching the sleeve 1 10 and sliding it back onto container 120. The snug fit of sleeve 1 10 around container 120 helps to ensure thai the sleeve 1 10 will remain on container 120 to protect it at all times, even when being transported, washed, or otherwise manipulated.

[0018] Using glass as the material that will contact food provides advantages over other materials. For example, plastic containers are more resilient than glass in terms of breakage, but can contain potentially harmful chemicals. Stainless steel containers may be potentially coated with harmful materials and are likely to add a metallic taste to food or drink. Protective carrying bags or cases for glass containers are known in the art, but these protective items are not designed a s part of the container product and thus can be lost or misplaced or can easily slip off the container, leaving the container unprotected. These protective items are also often used to provide insulative properties and are made of materials that must be cleaned separately from the glass container. In the food container 100 described herein, the sleeve 1 10 and container 120 are designed as a unit, so that they can remain together during the various phases of use. The sleeve 1 1 0 and glass container 120 are dishwasher safe, oven safe, freezer safe and microwave safe, without having to remove the protective sleeve.

0Θ19] FIG. 3 illustrates a top view of the container 100, in which the lid 130 and latches 140 are shown. Latches 140 are coupled to the sleeve 1 10, near the upper rim of sleeve 1 10. In some embodiments, latches 140 are integrally formed with the sleeve 1 10, extending approximately perpendicularly to the surface of sleeve 1 10. In such embodiments, the latches pivot by being pulled upward and stretched to engage lid 130. In FIG. 3 the latches 140 are shown in an open position, uncoupled to lid 1 30. The lid 130 has receiving features, configured as slots 135 in this embodiment, to engage latches 140 when the latches 140 are pivoted upward. For example, latches 140 may snap into slots 135.

[0Θ2Θ] Latches 140 may have a neck portion 142 (FIGs, 1 -2) that fits into slots 135, and an outer tab portion 144. The outer tab portion 144 may be configured to have a large enough surface area to prevent the latch 140 from slipping out of slot 135 and to facilitate a user grasping onto it. The slots 135 are configured here to be linear, to receive the latches 140 which are configured as flat tabs. However, in other embodiments, other shapes for latches 140 and slots 135 are possible. For example, latches 140 may be configured as a C-shaped handle to assist a user in carrying the container 100 in addition to serving as a locking element. In such an embodiment, the lid 130 may have two receiving elements rather than a singl e slot on its edge, to receive the two ends of the handle-shaped latch. The slots could be circular, square, or a cutout of another shape according to the cross-sectional shape of the handle.

[0021] Latches 140 in the embodiment of FIG. 3 are located near an upper rim of sleeve 1 10 so that they are close in proximity to lid 130. In other embodiments, latches 140 may be away from the upper rim of the sleeve, such as mid-way along the side wall of sleeve 1 10 or extending from the bottom surface of the sleeve. In yet other embodiments, latches 140 need not pivot upward but may, for example, be moved by pulling or stretching it upward to be inserted into the receiving feature of the lid. For instance, a latch may be configured as a rod extending vertically from the side wail or from the upper edge of the sleeve. The rod may have a ball or tab at its end that the user may grasp onto extend the rod upward to place it into a receiving groove in the lid.

[0022] FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the container 100, showing glass container 120 with sleeve 110 on its outer surface, and lid 130 covering glass container 120. Lid 130 has a depressed center that forms a lip 132 on its underside, where the lip 132 contacts the interior wall 122 of container 12.0. By lid 130 contacting the interior wall 12.2. of container 12.0, the contents inside container 120 are securely prevented from leakage. The indented center of lid 130 also keeps the contents away from the upper opening of the container 120, which can also help to prevent leakage. A sealing element such as a gasket or O-ring 150 may be included with lid 130, to provide further sealing between lid 130 and container 12.0. In this embodiment, O-ring 150 is seated within a groove 136 in lip 132. O-ring 150 may be made of, for instance, rubber or other suitable materials designed to withstand the same temperatures and conditions as lid 130, glass container 120 and sleeve 1 10.

[0023] In this embodiment, latch 140 is fonned integrally with and of the same material as sleeve i 10, where sleeve 1 10 is a pliable material such as silicone. The pliability of the material allows sleeve 1 10 to be snugly fit onto container 120, and also allows latch 140 to pivot with respect to sleeve 1 10. in other embodiments, latch 140 may be a separate component that is pivotally coupled to sleeve 1 10, where sleeve 1 10 is still made of the pliable material and latch 140 may be, for example, a different material hingedly coupled to sleeve 1 10.

[0024] Because lid 130 is used primarily as a cover and not as a securing mechanism onto glass container 12.0, the material for lid 130 is not required to have a flexibility to enable it to snap onto the container 120. For example, the perimeter 134 of lid 130 may have a bottom surface that lies in a substantially planar fashion over the opening of glass container 120 without needing a U- shaped lip, as in conventional container lids, to secure it over the edge of glass container 120, Lid 130 may be made of a relatively hard plastic such as polypropylene or nylon, which are materials that are free of, for example, phthalates or bisphenol-A. Plastic food container lids known in the art typically require softer materials that are flexible enough to snap directly onto the container, which allows the ability for the lid to seal to a container but results in flimsy and less safe materials. In contrast, by incorporating the latches 140 into sleeve 1 10, the lid 130 does not need to flex and conform over the edge at the opening of glass container 120, That is, lid 130 does not provide the securing mechanism to container 120. Instead, sleeve 1 10 is used to provide the mechanism to secure lid 130 onto container 120. Thus, lid 130 may be a higher durometer material than the durometer of sleeve 1 10. Harder durometer plastics can be used for lid 130, making lid 130 durable against, for example, breakage from mechanical stresses or deformation from thermal stresses. The sleeve 1 10 may be of the same or different material as lid 130, chosen for its desired properties as a protective sleeve. The ability of the lid 130 to be made of a stiffer material, absent of a pre- formed securing mechanism, may be further assisted by the use of O-ring 150.

[0025] In some embodiments, lid 130 may be fabricated from food-safe materials, where the O-ring 150 provides a seal with the interior of the container 120 to prevent leakage. Materials for lid 130 include polymers such as polypropylene, nylon, high-density polyethylene and low- density polyethylene; metals such as stainless steel, anodized aluminum and enameled steel;

silicone; glass; bio-plastics; wood, such as bamboo; and ceramic. Materials for sleeve 1 10 include silicone, thermoplastic elastomers (e.g., Santoprene ^® ), polychloroprene (e.g., Neoprene), felt (natural or man-made), leather, latex -rubber, heat-resistant fabrics, and polyester films capable of serving as a heat shield (e.g., Mylar ^® ).

[0026] FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of container 100 with latches 140 in their locked position, where the latches 140 are pivoted upward to engage with lid 130. FIG. 6 shows a side view of FIG. 5, with the latches 140 in their locked position. As can be seen, the seating of latches 140 in slots 135 provides the mechanism to hold lid 130 onto container 120, whereas the planar perimeter 134 (FIG. 5) of lid 130 simply rests on top of container 120. That is, the latches 140 of sleeve 1 10 provide the locking between lid 130 and container 120, rather than features of the lid 130 itself being used to secure to glass container 120.

[0027] FIG. 7 shows an additional perspective view of container 100. Sleeve 1 10 may be designed with one or more openings 1 12 that are through-holes. These openings i 12 allow a user to see the contents within the container 120, and also enable water drainage between the slee ve 1 10 and container 120 during washing. Thus, the openings 112 enable the sleeve 1 10 to remain on the container 120 during all stages, from food preparation, through cooking, and washing. The openings 1 12 allow the use of an opaque material for sleeve 1 10, such as silicone, while still allowing visual access w ^r hen sleeve 1 10 is on container 120. Visual access allows a user to ascertain the contents inside the food container, and to assess cleanliness of the container while washing. FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the coniainer 100, showing that the bottom surface of sleeve 1 10 has a large opening 1 14 in this embodiment, to further facilitate drainage of water during washing and to allow visual access. Sleeve 1 10 still covers a portion 1 16 of the bottom of glass container 120, such as the periphery in FIG. 9, to provide protection for the glass. Covering at least a portion of the bottom surface of the glass container 120 also enables slee ve 1 10 to serve as a trivet, such as when container 1 10 is being used to serve hot food.

[0028] Although sleeve 1 10 has side walls that are patterned with an array circular holes in these embodiments, other shapes and patterns of openings are possible. Furthermore, the quantity and sizes of openings may vary. Other features may also be molded on the outer surface of sleeve 1 10 to enhance the ability of a user to grip the surface. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, exemplary raised bumps 1 13 are incorporated onto the sleeve 1 10 to provide a gripping area. Text or images may also be incorporated into the sleeve, such as to illustrate instructions for the user, or logos.

[0029] FIG. 9 provides a side view of another embodiment of a food container 200 in which slee ve 210 has a thicker band 215 at its upper edge, compared to the thickness of the remainder of sleeve 210. Band 2.15 provides increased tension, to deter sleeve 210 from sliding off container 220. Latches 240 also have increased thickness in this embodiment, compared to latches 140 of the previous figures. The increased thickness can provide higher durability and/or improved securing of lid 230 to container 220.

[0030] FIG. 10 shows a top perspective view of the food container 200, showing additional features of the lid 230, In this embodiment, fid 230 has a raised edge 232 around a top surface of its perimeter. Raised edge 232 may assist in retaining latch 240 in slot 235 by providing an additional surface to catch latch 240. Raised edge 232 may be present around the entire perimeter of lid 230, or just a portion near the slot 235. Lid 230 also has a raised track 260 within its depressed central area that enables another food container 200 to be stacked on top of the lid 230. For example, track 260 may be a circular ring sized to fit into opening 1 14 of FIG. 8.

[0031] While the specification has been described in detail with respect to specific embodiments of the invention, it will be appreciated that those skilled in the art, upon attaining an understanding of the foregoing, may readily conceive of alterations to, variations of, and equivalents to these embodiments. These and other modifications and variations to the present invention may be practiced by those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the scope of the present invention, which is more particularly set forth in the appended claims. Furthermore, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the foregoing description is by way of example only, and is not intended to limit the invention.