초록 ▼

A plastic container for a particulate product includes a base and a surrounding wall member upstanding therefrom which generally define a container main interior volume. A top connects to the surrounding wall member and includes a large opening sufficient to receive about a 5 inch cylinder therethro

A plastic container for a particulate product includes a base and a surrounding wall member upstanding therefrom which generally define a container main interior volume. A top connects to the surrounding wall member and includes a large opening sufficient to receive about a 5 inch cylinder therethrough. The surrounding wall member includes a pair of pinch pockets having a lateral opening separation W which is not greater than about 2.5 inches and/or a lateral minimum separation C of not greater than about 2.0. In some embodiment, a thumb receiving cavity is provided above the pinch pockets. The pinch pockets are configured and sized for easy grasping and holding of the container.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A plastic container for a particulate product, comprising: a base, a surrounding wall member extending vertically upwardly from the base, and a top opening formed at a top of the vertical wall member, the top opening being large enough for a 5 inch diameter cylinder to pass therethrough in a dire

1. A plastic container for a particulate product, comprising: a base, a surrounding wall member extending vertically upwardly from the base, and a top opening formed at a top of the vertical wall member, the top opening being large enough for a 5 inch diameter cylinder to pass therethrough in a direction parallel to its axis, a pair of pinch pockets, the surrounding wall member, except for the pinch pockets, being located radially outwardly from the top opening,said pair of pinch pockets separated by a circumferential wall portion of the surrounding wall member, the straight line distance between the closest edges of the pinch pockets at the circumferential wall portion constituting a dimension W, the depth of the pinch pockets taken from the circumferential wall portion to the innermost point of the pinch pockets constituting the dimension ID, and the straight line distance between the innermost points of the two pinch pockets constituting a dimension C, andwherein depth D is greater than 1.25 inches and wherein the dimensions W and C together with D being greater than 1.25 inches provide a comfortable fit of the user's hand when holding the container with the user's fingers in one pocket and thumb in the other pocket. 2. A plastic container for a particulate product, said container comprising: a base and a surrounding wall member which extends vertically upwardly from said base,a top opening which connects with the surrounding wall member, the top opening being large enough for a 5 inch diameter cylinder to pass therethrough, in a direction parallel to its axis, a pair of pinch pockets, the surrounding wall member, except for the pinch pockets, being located radially outwardly from the top opening,said pair of pinch pockets separated by a circumferential wall portion of the surrounding wall member, the straight line distance between the closest edges of the pinch pockets at the circumferential wall portion constituting a dimension W, the depth of the pinch pockets taken from the circumferential wall portion to the innermost point of the pinch pockets constituting the dimension D, and the straight line distance between the innermost points of the two pinch pockets constituting a dimension C,and wherein the distance W is less than 2.5 inches, and the depth D, in combination with the distance W, and the distance C provide a comfortable fit of the user's hand when holding the container with the user's finger or fingers in one pocket and thumb in the other pocket. 3. A plastic container for a particulate product, said container comprising: a base and a surrounding wall member which extends vertically upwardly from said base,a pair of pinch pockets separated by a circumferential wall portion of the surrounding wall member, the straight line distance between the closest edges of the pinch pockets at the circumferential wall portion constituting a dimension W, the depth of the pinch pockets taken from the circumferential wall portion to the innermost point of the pinch pockets constituting the dimension D, and the straight line distance between the innermost points of the two pinch pockets constituting a dimension C,a top opening which connects with the surrounding wall member, said top opening being large enough to allow a 5 inch diameter cylinder to pass therethrough in a direction parallel to its axis, the surrounding wall member, except for the pinch pockets, being located radially outwardly from the top opening,and wherein the innermost points of the two pinch pockets, at a depth D, are separated from each other by distance C which is not greater than about 2 inches, and wherein the distance C, in combination with the depth D and the distance W provide a comfortable fit of a user's hand when holding the container with the user's thumb in one pocket and finger or fingers in the other pocket. 4. A plastic container for a particulate product, said container comprising: a base and a surrounding wall member which extends vertically upwardly from the base,a top which connects with said surrounding wall member, said top including a large enough opening therein for a 5 inch diameter cylinder to pass therethrough in a direction parallel to its axis, a pair of pinch pockets, the surrounding wall member, except for the pinch pockets, being located radially outwardly from the top opening,said pair of pinch pockets separated by a circumferential wall portion of the surrounding wall member, the straight line distance between the closest edges of the pinch pockets at the circumferential wall portion constituting a dimension W, the depth of the pinch pockets taken from the circumferential wall portion to the innermost point of the pinch pockets constituting the dimension D, and the straight line distance between the innermost points of the two pinch pockets constituting a dimension C,the depth D and the distance W providing a comfortable fit for the user's hand when holding the container with the user's thumb in one pocket and the user's finger or fingers in the other pocket, and wherein the width W is less than 2.5 inches, the distance C is less than 2 inches, and the depth D is more than 1.25 inches. 5. A plastic container for a particulate product, comprising: a base, a surrounding wall member upstanding from the base, and a top opening formed at the top of the surrounding wall member, and all parts of the surrounding wall member having at least one outward portion thereof located laterally outwardly of the top opening,the surrounding wall member having a recessed portion spaced inwardly from said outward portions to form a generally horizontal support surface,a pair of pinch pockets formed in the recessed part of the surrounding wall member,a pair of pinch pockets separated by a circumferential wall portion of the surrounding wall member, the straight line distance between the closest edges of the pinch pockets at the circumferential wall portion constituting a dimension W, the depth of the pinch pockets taken from the circumferential wall portion to the innermost point of the pinch pockets constituting the dimension D, and the straight line distance between the innermost points of the two pinch pockets constituting a dimension C,the depth D and the distance W providing a comfortable fit for the user's hand when holding the container with the user's thumb in one pocket and the user's finger or fingers in the other pocket, andthe pinch pockets and the circumferential wall portion being recessed sufficiently that the top or bottom of the user's hand, as positioned with the user's thumb in one pinch pocket and the user's finger or fingers in the other pinch pocket can engage the support surface for added support of the container. 6. A plastic container as claimed in claim 5, wherein the generally horizontal support surface is an upper support surface located above the pinch pockets such that the surface of the user's hand which faces upwardly can engage the upper support surface. 7. A plastic container as claimed in claim 5, wherein the generally horizontal support surface is a lower support surface located just below the pinch pockets such that the surface of the user's hand which faces downwardly can engage the lower support surface. 8. A plastic container as claimed in claim 5, including both an upper generally horizontal support surface and a lower generally horizontal support surface, the upper support surface being located above the pinch pockets such that the surface of the user's hand which faces upwardly can engage the upper support surface, and wherein the lower support surface is located just below the pinch pockets such that the surface of the user's hand which faces downwardly can engage the lower support surface. 9. A plastic container as claimed in claim 5, wherein the generally horizontal support surface is substantially horizontal. 10. A plastic container for a particulate product, said container comprising: a base and a surrounding wall member which extends vertically upwardly from said base,a top opening which connects with the surrounding wall member, the top opening being large enough for a 5 inch diameter cylinder to pass therethrough in a direction parallel to its axis, a pair of pinch pockets, the surrounding wall member, except for the pinch pockets, being located radially outwardly from the top opening,said pair of pinch pockets separated by a circumferential wall portion of the surrounding wall member, the straight line distance between the closest edges of the pinch pockets at the circumferential wall portion constituting a dimension W, the depth of the pinch pockets taken from the circumferential wall portion to the innermost point of the pinch pockets constituting the dimension D, and the straight line distance between the innermost points of the two pinch pockets constituting a dimension C, and wherein the distance W is less than 2.5 inches. 11. A plastic container as claimed in claim 10, wherein W is about 2.5 inches. 12. A plastic container as claimed in claim 11, wherein C is about 1.75 inches. 13. A plastic container as claimed in claim 10, wherein W is between about 2.0 and 2.5 inches. 14. A plastic container as claimed in claim 13, wherein W is about 2.5 inches. 15. A plastic container for a particulate product, said container comprising: a base and a surrounding wall member which is upstanding from said base,a pair of pinch pockets separated by a circumferential wall portion of the surrounding wall member, the straight line distance between the closest edges of the pinch pockets at the circumferential wall portion constituting a dimension W, the depth of the pinch pockets taken from the circumferential wall portion to the innermost point of the pinch pockets constituting the dimension D, and the straight line distance between the innermost points of the two pinch pockets constituting a dimension C,a top opening which connects with the surrounding wall member, said top opening being large enough to allow a 5 inch diameter cylinder to pass therethrough in a direction parallel to its axis, the surrounding wall member, except for the pinch pockets, being located radially outwardly from the top opening,and wherein the innermost points of the two pinch pockets, at a depth D, are separated from each other by distance C which is not greater than about 2 inches. 16. A plastic container as claimed in claim 15, wherein C is about 1.75 inches. 17. A plastic container as claimed in claim 15, wherein W is between 2.0 and 2.5 inches. 18. A plastic container for a particulate product, said container comprising: a base and a surrounding wall member which extends vertically upwardly from the base,a top which connects with said surrounding wall member, said top including a large enough opening therein for a 5 inch diameter cylinder to pass therethrough in a direction parallel to its axis, a pair of pinch pockets, the surrounding wall member, except for the pinch pockets, being located radially outwardly from the top opening,said pair of pinch pockets separated by a circumferential wall portion of the surrounding wall member, the straight line distance between the closest edges of the pinch pockets at the circumferential wall portion constituting a dimension W, the depth of the pinch pockets taken from the circumferential wall portion to the innermost point of the pinch pockets constituting the dimension D, and the straight line distance between the innermost points of the two pinch pockets constituting a dimension C, and wherein the width W is less than 2.5 inches, the distance C is less than 2 inches. 19. A plastic container as claimed in claim 18, wherein W is about 2.25 inches. 20. A plastic container as claimed in claim 19, wherein C is about 1.75 inches. 21. A plastic container as claimed in claim 2, wherein W is between about 2.0 to 2.5 inches. 22. A plastic container as claimed in claim 21, wherein each said pinch pocket has a vertical height of at least about 2.5 inches, and wherein W is about 2.25 inches. 23. A plastic container as claimed in claim 21, wherein said pinch pockets are centrally directed, and wherein depth D is not less than about 1.25 inch. 24. A plastic container as claimed in claim 23, wherein depth D is in the range of about 1.25-2.25 inches. 25. A plastic container as claimed in claim 24, wherein depth D is about 1.75 inch. 26. A plastic container as claimed in claim 2, wherein C is about 1.0 to 1.5 inches. 27. A plastic container as claimed in claim 26, wherein each said pinch pocket has a vertical length of at least about 2.5 inches, wherein W is about 2.25 inches, and wherein C is about 1.25 inches. 28. A plastic container as claimed in claim 2, wherein said surrounding wall member further includes a thumb receiving concavity above each said pinch pocket. 29. A plastic container as claimed in claim 2, wherein C is not greater than about 2.0 inches. 30. A plastic container as claimed in claim 29, wherein C is about 1.0 to 1.5 inches. 31. A plastic container as claimed in claim 30, wherein each said pinch pocket has a vertical height of at least about 2.5 inches, and wherein C is about 1.25 inches. 32. A plastic container as claimed in claim 29, wherein said pinch pockets have outside walls that are generally collinear to one another, and wherein depth D is not less than about 1.0 inch. 33. A plastic container as claimed in claim 32, wherein depth D is between about 1.25-1.75 inches. 34. A plastic container as claimed in claim 33, wherein depth D is about 1.5 inches. 35. A plastic container as claimed in claim 2, wherein a portion of said surrounding wall member including said pinch pockets is generally curved in cross section. 36. A plastic container as claimed in claim 2, wherein a portion of said surrounding wall member including said pinch pockets is generally straight in cross section. 37. A plastic container as claimed in claim 2, wherein a portion of said surrounding wall member including said pinch pockets is a corner. 38. A plastic container as claimed in claim 2, wherein a portion of said surrounding wall member including said pinch pockets is a peaked side. 39. A plastic container as claimed in claim 2, wherein only a portion of said surrounding wall member including said pinch pockets is substantially recessed radially inward relative to a remainder of said surrounding wall member. 40. A plastic container as claimed in claim 2, wherein only a portion of said surrounding wall member between said pinch pockets is recessed radially inward relative to a remainder of said surrounding wall member. 41. A plastic container as claimed in claim 2, further including a substantially horizontal support surface provided between said pinch pockets. 42. A plastic container as claimed in claim 3, wherein C is about 1.0 to 1.5 inches. 43. A plastic container as claimed in claim 42, wherein each said pinch pocket has a vertical height of at least about 2.5 inches, and wherein C is about 1.25 inches. 44. A plastic container as claimed in claim 3, wherein said pinch pockets have outside walls that are generally collinear to one another, and wherein depth D is not less than about 1.0 inch. 45. A plastic container as claimed in claim 44, wherein depth D is between about 1.25-1.75 inches. 46. A plastic container as claimed in claim 45, wherein depth D is about 1.5 inches. 47. A plastic container as claimed in claim 3, wherein said surrounding wall member further includes a thumb receiving concavity above each said pinch pocket.