초록 ▼

A container assembly for holding, shipping, and consuming a product, such as a frozen confection, is provided. The container assembly includes a container, a lid, and a utensil. The utensil is connected to the assembly so that a consumer is able to spoon the product from the container. A consumer ma

A container assembly for holding, shipping, and consuming a product, such as a frozen confection, is provided. The container assembly includes a container, a lid, and a utensil. The utensil is connected to the assembly so that a consumer is able to spoon the product from the container. A consumer may purchase the assembly containing a product, open the container, remove the utensil, and consume the product using the self-contained utensil. The assembly may also include a membrane for ensuring freshness and to indicate tampering of the product. The utensil may be attached directly to the lid, or in a pocket between sealed membranes.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A lid and utensil assembly, comprising: a generally oval-shaped lid having a planar, continuous inner wall, a continuous side wall formed around and extending generally perpendicularly from the inner wall, a non-continuous seal rib on the interior of the side wall and extending around the periphe

1. A lid and utensil assembly, comprising: a generally oval-shaped lid having a planar, continuous inner wall, a continuous side wall formed around and extending generally perpendicularly from the inner wall, a non-continuous seal rib on the interior of the side wall and extending around the periphery of the side wall forming one or more vents, and an attachment member extending downwardly from the inner wall and including a lip surrounding a distal end of the attachment member; anda one-piece rigid utensil having a cup-shaped portion with a continuously curved outer edge and a handle terminating in an end edge wherein the continuously curved outer edge of the cup-shaped portion is generally coplanar with the handle, the cup-shaped portion having a convex side, a plurality of strengthening ribs extending from the convex side of the cup-shaped portion substantially the length of the handle, and a single utensil attachment point comprising a single aperture through the handle located adjacent the terminal end edge of the handle away from the cup-shaped portion to aid in gripping, leveraging and removing the one-piece rigid utensil from the lid by pulling on the handle opposite the end edge;wherein the attachment member of the lid is adapted to engage the single aperture generally such that the utensil is selectively secured to and removed from the lid, wherein the continuously curved outer edge of the cup-shaped portion is positioned adjacent to and facing the continuous inner wall when the one-piece rigid utensil is secured to the attachment member. 2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the lid further comprises a plurality of side wall ribs spaced around the lid and extending at least partially from the inner wall to the side wall. 3. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the lid further comprises a lid skirt formed around and extending downwardly from the side wall. 4. The assembly of claim 3 wherein the non-continuous seal rib is formed inside the lid skirt around the periphery of the lid skirt. 5. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the lip is oval shaped. 6. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the convex side of the utensil includes a continuous rib around the handle. 7. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the cup-shaped portion of the utensil is wider than the handle. 8. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the aperture includes slots extending radially outward from the aperture to give flexibility to the aperture for attachment of the utensil to the lid. 9. A container, lid, and utensil assembly, comprising: a generally oval-shaped container having a base, an integral sidewall extending upward from the base and forming a continuous sidewall around the base, an upper seal rim at an upper portion of the sidewall for engaging a lid, and a container skirt around an outside portion of the sidewall between the sidewall and the upper seal rim;a generally oval-shaped lid having a planar, continuous inner wall, a continuous side wall formed around and extending generally perpendicularly from the inner wall, a non-continuous seal rib formed on the interior of the side wall around the periphery of the side wall forming one or more vents and adapted to engage the upper seal rim of the container, and an attachment member extending downwardly from the inner wall and including a lip surrounding a distal end of the attachment member;a one-piece rigid utensil having a cup-shaped portion with a continuous outer edge and a handle with a terminal end wherein the continuous outer edge of the cup-shaped portion is generally coplanar with the handle, the cup-shaped portion having a convex side, a plurality of strengthening ribs extending from the convex side of the cup-shaped portion substantially the length of the handle, and an elongated aperture through the handle disposed adjacent the terminal end of the handle, wherein the elongated aperture has an elongated portion extending generally along a center line between and parallel to the plurality of strengthening ribs to aid in gripping, separating and removing the one-piece rigid utensil from the lid upon pulling on the handle generally opposite the terminal end;wherein the aperture in the utensil is secured to the attachment member on the lid for securing the utensil with the continuous outer edge facing the continuous inner wall of the lid; anda tear-away membrane connected to the upper seal rim of the container to seal the inside of the container. 10. The assembly of claim 9 wherein the container skirt includes an arcuate-shaped cutout having a contour to match product packaging on the container. 11. The assembly of claim 10 wherein the product packaging includes graphics relating to contents of the container. 12. The assembly of claim 9 wherein the length of the utensil is greater than the height between the base and upper seal rim of the container. 13. The assembly of claim 9 further comprising a peel or tear-away membrane connected to the upper seal rim of the container to seal the inside of the container. 14. The assembly of claim 9 wherein the upper seal rim of the container includes a substantially planar top surface. 15. The assembly of claim 14 wherein the top surface of the upper seal rim is adapted to abut the lid such that air is able to pass through the vents in the lid during ambient pressure changes experienced during transport. 16. A container, lid, and utensil assembly, comprising: a generally oval-shaped container having a base, an integral sidewall extending upward from the base and forming a continuous sidewall around the base, an upper seal rim at an upper portion of the sidewall for engaging a lid, and a continuous container skirt around an outside portion of the sidewall between the sidewall and the upper seal rim;a generally oval-shaped lid having a planar, continuous inner wall, a continuous side wall formed around and extending generally perpendicularly from the inner wall, a non-continuous seal rib formed on the interior of the side wall around the periphery of the side wall forming one or more vents and adapted to engage the upper seal rim of the container;a heat-sealed pouch attached within the container to the lid, the pouch comprising a first membrane with an outer peripheral edge continuously attached to and terminating at the upper seal rim, and a second membrane having an outer peripheral edge with one or more second membrane lift tabs, the outer peripheral edge of the second membrane connected to the first membrane to create a pocket between the first and second membranes, the heat-sealed pouch contained between the generally oval-shaped lid and the upper seal rim of the generally oval-shaped container, wherein the outer peripheral edge of the first membrane includes one or more first membrane lift tabs and wherein the second membrane lift tabs are spaced between the first membrane lift tabs for separating the second membrane from the first membrane and the first membrane from the upper seal rim or separating the first membrane from the upper seal rim and the second membrane from the first membrane;a one-piece rigid utensil having a cup-shaped portion and a handle, the cup-shaped portion having a convex side, a plurality of strengthening ribs extending from the convex side of the cup-shaped portion substantially the length of the handle, the utensil positioned in the pocket between the first and second membranes of the heat-sealed pouch covered by the oval-shaped lid; andwherein the oval-shaped lid has an attached position to the upper seal rim of the oval-shaped container and a detached position, wherein the one or more lift tabs have a generally folded-down position when the oval-shaped lid is in the attached position. 17. The assembly of claim 16 wherein the container skirt includes an arcuate-shaped cutout with a contour to match product packaging on the container. 18. The assembly of claim 16 wherein the lid further comprises a plurality of generally vertical ribs spaced around the lid and extending at least partially from the inner wall to the side wall. 19. The assembly of claim 16 wherein the heat-sealed pouch is removably attached to the upper seal rim of the container. 20. The assembly of claim 16 wherein the heat-sealed pouch is removably attached to the side wall of the lid.