Flexible Basket Lid Hinge Structure

Description

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit under Title 35 United States Code § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.: 63/648,157; Filed: May 15, 2024; the full disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to removable covers for baskets, boxes, and other containers. The present invention relates more specifically to hinged container covers and methods for manufacturing durable hinge structures on a flexible lid constructed of a single piece of formed material.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

The present invention is directed to an improved hinge structure on a removable lid for permeable basket containers of the type described in detail in Patent Application Publication No.: US 2023/0404114 A1; Entitled: Immersion Defrost Basket Systems & Methods, the full disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. In order to process products in the processing baskets disclosed in the above cited reference, a lid is required. The lid must be easy to install and remove by snapping into the processing basket at varying heights to properly constrain products that are being processed.

Achieving NSF (National Sanitation Foundation) sanitation approvals and positioning a lid in place to retain the loaded product in position against the powerful water movement in a semi-flexible plastic basket is difficult. There are preferably six parallel vertical rows of positioning holes in the side walls of the basket, two toward the front, two around the center and two towards the rear of the basket from front to back. Each lid has tabs that are approximately one quarter inch wide. The tabs have tapered/rounded ends that are designed to prod into the processing basket's vertical positioning holes. These tabs lock the lid into the basket at varying heights.

Making the lid latch easily and securely requires some specific structural improvements. The basket itself is very rigid but semi-flexible at the same time, especially towards the middle. The lid must be wide enough to overcome the processing baskets walls flexing and still keep the positioning tabs engaged. Some processing baskets are quite long which means the plastic material and panels bow more. The bending of the tabs as they move down through the processing basket when being installed places considerable pressure and stress on the tabs as they are ratcheted through the holes on the way in and out of the processing basket.

Removal of the lid requires a reversal of the above process. Again, placing considerable pressure and stress on the position tabs as well as the plastic sheet material of the lid. It would be preferable to change the materials to withstand this force without the plastic sheet or the tabs cracking or breaking.

The lid must therefore be bent in a curve to be installed. This requires a force per linear inch of material being bent. This is hard on the material and the end user if no area of the lids in thinned to create a hinge. Opposing handles are preferably installed on the lid to allow the user to apply leverage. The narrower the lid, the less leverage can be applied by the user and the more difficult bending the lids becomes. This means that the thinned hinge area must be even thinner on lids that are narrower. The handles also facilitate installation and removal of the lid. Preferably, the handles are located opposite each other as the end user must cause the flex/bend in the lid. This force must be in the same plane. As the force is being placed in the center, the material must be much thicker to assure that the halves of the lid bend evenly. This prior design causes a lot of stress in the hinge, and field testing shows that the hinge eventually cracks. NSF will not allow fasteners on the processing basket or the lid. They will also not allow piano hinge type mechanisms. The present invention overcomes each of the aforementioned issues.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The device of the present invention integrates variable length cutaways in the lids to create a feature that effectively operates as a resilient hinge to allow easy bending of the lid for insertion and/or removal from the container. This novel feature can be shortened or elongated based on the lid width to achieve the perfect amount of resistance for the end user and the lid installation into and out of the processing basket. This ensures that the material does not work harden and crack. Importantly, this resilient hinge feature works well without any portion of the lid being thinned which would otherwise create a weak point.

The force to bend the lid is reduced and the entire length of the lid bends evenly. This allows a reduction in the material thickness from 3/16″ to ⅛″, also making the lid easier to bend. There is force required to stop the lid from inverting. The manufacturing process allows for customizing the resilient hinge feature length and shape to assure that all lids flex easily. Again, this novel design reduces the stress along the material and allows elongated lid life even though the lid material is much thinner.

As discussed above, another benefit of this design is that the lid halves stay much flatter across their entire length making the lid engage in the correct holes more simply and assuredly. In the end, the design of the present invention is lighter due to being thinner, bends more controllably, and is far less likely to break. Moreover, there is no thinning of the material, extra material or unapproved fasteners or piano style hinges required to achieve this objective.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a prior art bendable basket lid of the type used with porous baskets used in the food service industry.

FIG. 1B is a detailed perspective view (Detail A) of the prior art bendable basket lid shown in FIG. 1A.

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a bendable basket lid of the present invention.

FIG. 2B is a detailed perspective view (Detail B) of the exemplary embodiment of the bendable basket lid of the present invention shown in FIG. 2A.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the exemplary embodiment of the bendable basket lid of the present invention shown in FIG. 2A displaying its unitary construction from a single plastic panel.

FIG. 4 is a perspective assembly view of the bendable basket lid of the present invention shown in FIG. 2A fitted with handles and positioned over a porous basket of the type used with the associated bendable lid.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Some existing lid designs (see FIGS. 1A & 1B) have a radius groove for thinning the cross section to allow the lid to be flexed for an easier fit into the basket. The groove design concentrates the flex of the material in a very limited area causing the material to fatigue. The improved lid design of the present invention has relief slots that spread the flex area over a longer distance. The increased flex distance eliminates the concentration of stress on the material and solves the fatigue problem. Relief slots spread the flex of the material over the length of the web between the slots.

Reference is made to FIG. 1A which is a perspective view of a prior bendable basket lid of the type used with porous baskets in the food service industry. Bendable basket lid 10 is generally constructed with a first lid portion 12 and a second lid portion 14. A rough hinge is created between first and second lid portions 12 & 14 by way of bend groove 16 and bend slots 18. The creation of a thinner area of plastic along the midline of basket lid 10 provides a manner of bending the basket lid for insertion into and fixing within the basket as described in more detail below.

FIG. 1B is a detailed perspective view (Detail A) of the prior bendable basket lid shown in FIG. 1A. As shown in FIG. 1B, bend groove 16, with the associated bend slots 18, are seen edge on to form the thinned area of plastic defining a hinge between first lid portion 12 and second lid portion 14. As described above, this structure in the prior embodiments, although it does allow for bending of the basket lid, can rapidly degrade and break over time through repeated use. The improved structures of the present invention overcome the problems associated with the prior hinge structures.

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the flexible basket lid of the present invention. Bendable basket lid 20 is generally constructed with first lid portion 22 and second lid portion 24. Between the first and second lid portions 22 & 24, hinge structures comprised of hinge rib members 26 and hinge gaps 28 provide significant improvements over the prior embodiments.

FIG. 2B is a detailed perspective view (Detail B) of the exemplary embodiment of the flexible basket lid of the present invention shown in FIG. 2A. The detailed view of FIG. 2B shows one end of the hinge structure positioned generally mid-line along the bendable basket lid. This improved hinge structure is made up of hinge rib members 30 positioned between hinge gaps 28. At each end of the hinge line an additional hinge rib is formed to create a smooth edge to each end of the lid. Interior to the end rib is hinge rib member 30 defined by rib slots 32a & 32b.

When the basket lid is bent along the hinge line, hinge gaps 28 allow the inside edges of the first and second lid portions 22 & 24 to bend downward (in the view shown) below the hinge rib members 30. Bending forces are therefore experienced on the individual hinge rib members 30 spaced along the length of the hinge structure. Because each hinge rib member 30 is longer than it then wide and connected only at the end points, these bending forces are distributed throughout the length of the rib member rather than at a central point in a manner that prevents or reduces degradation of the strength of the material after repeated bending.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the exemplary embodiment of the bendable basket lid of the present invention shown in FIG. 2A displaying its unitary construction from a single plastic panel. One objective of the present invention is to manufacture a bendable basket lid from a single unitary piece of plastic material. The preferred plastic material for the present invention is ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW PE or simply UHMW in the industry). FIG. 3 discloses the manner in which the entire bendable plastic lid 20 might be cut and configured from a single panel of UHMW. Bendable basket lid 20 is generally constructed with first lid portion 22 and second lid portion 24. The hinge structure configured along a midline between first and second lid portions 22 & 24 are again made up of a number of hinge rib members 30 with hinge gaps 28 extending between them. Bordering and defining each hinge rib member 30 are rib slots 38a & 38b. Also shown in FIG. 3 are apertures cut for various other uses on or through the bendable plastic lid 20. These include handle attachment holes 42 as well as flow aperture arrays 44. The additional end ribs are shown on each end of the basket lid 20 as described above to reinforce the end edges of the mid-line hinge structure. Finally, and significantly, positioning tabs 40 are shown in FIG. 3 placed and structured to be easily inserted into and removed from (when the basket lid is bent) aligned apertures in the porous basket (see FIG. 4). The size of each of the above features cut into the unitary plastic panel of which the lid is constructed may vary according to the specific size of the container and the level of permeability required.

FIG. 4 is a perspective assembly view of the bendable basket lid of the present invention shown in FIG. 2A, fitted with handles, and positioned over a porous basket container of the type used in the food service and preparation industry. Porous basket 50 shown in FIG. 4 is constructed of a plastic material similar to that of the bendable basket lid of the present invention. Arrays of flow apertures 52 are positioned through the walls of porous basket 50 that allow liquid to flow in and out from the basket such as upon immersion of the basket and its contents. Additionally positioned through the walls of porous basket 50 are vertical columns of lid positioning apertures 56 & 58. These positioning apertures 56 & 58 are configured through the walls of the basket in vertical alignment with the tabs positioned on bendable basket lid 60. As shown in FIG. 4, these columns of lid positioning apertures extend down to, into, and through the arrays of flow apertures as may conveniently double as lid positioning apertures. Alternately, lid positioning apertures 56 & 58 may extend separately from any flow apertures in the porous side panels of the basket.

In FIG. 4, bendable basket lid 60 is shown positioned above porous basket 50 as it would be aligned for insertion and attachment to the basket once product has been placed within the basket. Bendable basket lid 60 as shown in FIG. 4 has been fitted with handles 62 for both the easy insertion of the basket lid into the basket and the easy bending of the lid along the hinge line 68. Using the handles to bend the basket slightly (in either direction) allows the basket lid to be lowered past basket rim 54 into the walled portion of basket 50. Positioning tabs 70a (three along a first longitudinal edge of the lid in this example) and positioning tabs 70b (also numbering three along a second longitudinal edge of the lid in this example) are then aligned with and inserted into individual lid positioning apertures 56 & 58. The size of basket lid 60 and the top opening of porous basket 50 are such that level placement of basket lid 60 within the basket will result in the positioning tabs being securely inserted into the positioning apertures. The stiffness of the lid hinge structure 68, provided by the hinge ribs members, tends to return the bendable basket lid to a flat configuration, thereby keeping the tabs in place within the positioning apertures.

Although the present invention has been described in conjunction with a number of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize modifications to these embodiments that still fall within the scope of the present invention. Although the present invention has been described in connection with a porous basket or porous enclosure, the fundamental structures of the invention lend themselves to use with containers having non-porous walls and panels. Because UHMW polyethylene material containers are frequently used in the food service industry and are limited in the types of “add-on” hinges and lid latches that can be safely utilized, the present invention finds use in most any environment where a container requires a lid of simple unitary construction with a bendable component or hinge line that must remain durable after repeated use. If the container being utilized does not need to be porous, vertical rows or columns of internal indentations may be utilized in place of lid positioning apertures.

Although the structures of the present invention are best utilized in connection with square or rectangular lids associated with baskets or containers of a similar geometry, other geometric structured containers may also benefit from the implementation of similar hinge structures. Once again, as described above, the specific lengths, widths, and thicknesses of the hinge rib members of the present invention may be varied according to the size of the container, the type of plastic material utilized, and the number of rib members required in a particular application. Each of the above variations is anticipated to fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention.