Abstrict A containment vessel is disclosed that generally includes a container
body with an interior containment volume and a lid closure having
a substantially enclosed cavity configured to hold a desiccant material
therein. The integrated desiccant lid closure generally has an interiorly
disposed surface with a plurality of openings for exposing the desiccant
material to the internal atmosphere of the container while retaining
the desiccant material within the lid enclosure. The container body
and the lid closure may be adapted to conform to a substantially
matched polygonal shape, such as that of a prism. Disclosed features
and specifications may be variously controlled, adapted or otherwise
optionally modified to improve moisture control for stored food
products. Exemplary embodiments of the present invention generally
provide for the long-term storage of tea sachets.
Claims 1. A containment vessel comprising: a container body having an
interior containment volume; a lid closure having a substantially
enclosed cavity, said lid closure suitably adapted for receiving
a desiccant material disposed within said cavity, said lid closure
comprising an interiorly disposed engagement surface with respect
to said container body and at least one opening in said interiorly
disposed surface of said lid closure, said opening suitably configured
to at least partially expose said desiccant material to the internal
atmosphere of said containment vessel while substantially retaining
the disposition of said desiccant material within said lid closure
cavity; said container body comprising a first substantially polygonal
shape; and said lid closure comprising a second substantially polygonal
shape, wherein said lid closure is suitably configured for engagement
with said container body to provide a substantially sealed interior
containment volume.
2. The containment vessel of claim 1 wherein said first polygonal
shape is substantially similar to said second polygonal shape.
3. The containment vessel of claim 2 wherein said first and second
polygonal shape comprise a triangular shape.
4. The containment vessel of claim 1 wherein said desiccant material
comprises at least one of silica gel, a clay desiccant, montmorillonite,
vermiculite, activated alumina, a molecular sieve, DRIERITE, and
ZORB-IT.
5. The containment vessel of claim 1 wherein at least one of said
container body and said lid closure are manufactured from pressed-metal.
6. The containment vessel of claim 1 wherein the interior containment
volume of said container body is suitably configured for receiving
tea sachets.
7. The containment vessel of claim 6 wherein said tea sachets
comprise at least one of a shape, volume and planar projection substantially
matched to at least one dimension of said container body.
8. A container body suitably adapted for use as a containment vessel,
said container body comprising: an interior containment volume;
said container body suitably configured for engagement with a lid
closure, said lid closure having a substantially enclosed cavity
suitably adapted for receiving a desiccant material disposed within
said cavity, said lid closure comprising an interiorly disposed
engagement surface with respect to said container body and at least
one opening in said interiorly disposed surface of said lid closure,
said opening suitably configured to at least partially expose said
desiccant material to the internal atmosphere of said containment
vessel while substantially retaining the disposition of said desiccant
material within said lid closure cavity.
9. The container body of claim 8 wherein said container body comprises
a polygonal shape.
10. The container body of claim 9 wherein said polygonal shape
comprises a triangular shape.
11. The container body of claim 9 wherein said container body
is from pressed-metal.
12. The container body of claim 9 wherein the interior containment
volume of said container body is suitably configured for receiving
tea sachets.
13. The container body of claim 9 wherein said tea sachets comprise
at least one of a shape, volume and planar projection substantially
matched to at least one dimension of said container body.
14. A lid closure suitably adapted for use with a container body,
said lid closure comprising: a substantially enclosed cavity, said
lid closure suitably adapted for receiving a desiccant material
disposed within said cavity; an interiorly disposed engagement surface
with respect to said container body and at least one opening in
said interiorly disposed surface of said lid closure, said opening
suitably configured to at least partially expose said desiccant
material to the internal atmosphere of said container body while
substantially retaining the disposition of said desiccant material
within said lid closure cavity; and wherein said lid closure is
suitably configured for engagement with said container body to provide
a substantially sealed interior containment volume.
15. The lid closure of claim 14 wherein said lid closure comprises
a substantially polygonal shape.
16. The lid closure of claim 15 wherein said polygonal shape comprises
a triangular shape.
17. The lid closure of claim 14 wherein said desiccant material
comprises at least one of silica gel, a clay desiccant, montmorillonite,
vermiculite, activated alumina, a molecular sieve, DRIERITE, and
ZORB-IT.
18. The lid closure of claim 14 wherein said lid closure is fabricated
from pressed-metal.
19. The lid closure of claim 14 wherein the interior containment
volume of said container body is suitably configured for receiving
tea sachets.
20. The lid closure of claim 19 wherein said tea sachets comprise
at least one of a shape, volume and planar projection substantially
matched to at least one dimension of said container body.
Description RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Patent Application No. 60/574855 filed in the United States Patent
and Trademark Office on May 26 2004 by David Watson and Jeffery
Irish.
FIELD OF INVENTION
[0002] The present invention provides systems, devices and methods
for food storage; and more particularly, representative and exemplary
embodiments of the present invention generally relate to tea canisters
having integrated desiccant lid assemblies.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
[0003] It is well known that food products may be packaged in a
variety of ways in order to address various types of problems such
as, for example: protection of a food product from damage or tampering;
providing an aesthetically pleasing display of the product to consumers;
extending the shelf-life of the product; preventing the degradation
of characteristics of the product, such as flavor and/or the like;
reducing the incidence of food-borne illness; as well as other problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] In various representative aspects, the present invention
provides a container body with an interior containment volume and
a lid closure having a substantially enclosed cavity configured
to retain a desiccant material therein. The integrated desiccant
lid closure generally has an interiorly disposed surface (with respect
to the interior volume of the container body) and a plurality of
openings in the interiorly disposed surface to at least partially
expose the desiccant material to the internal atmosphere of the
container while retaining the desiccant material within the desiccant
lid enclosure. The container body and the lid closure may be suitably
configured to conform to a substantially matched polygonal shape,
such as a trigonal shape (e.g., a prism).
[0005] Advantages of the present invention will be set forth in
the Detailed Description which follows and may be apparent from
the Detailed Description or may be learned by practice of exemplary
embodiments of the invention. Still other advantages of the invention
may be realized by means of any of the instrumentalities, methods
or combinations particularly pointed out in the claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] Representative elements, operational features, applications
and/or advantages of the present invention reside inter alia in
the details of construction and operation as more fully hereafter
depicted, described and claimed--reference being made to the accompanying
drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like
parts throughout. Other elements, operational features, applications
and/or advantages will become apparent in light of certain exemplary
embodiments recited in the Detailed Description, wherein:
[0007] FIG. 1 representatively illustrates a container in accordance
with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
[0008] FIG. 2 representatively illustrates an integrated desiccant
lid in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
and
[0009] FIG. 3 representatively illustrates a pyramidal tea sachet
that may be stored in an integrated desiccant container in accordance
with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
[0010] Elements in the Figures are illustrated for simplicity and
clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example,
the dimensions of some of the elements in the Figures may be exaggerated
relative to other elements to help improve understanding of various
embodiments of the present invention. Furthermore, the terms "first",
"second", and the like herein, if any, are used inter
alia for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily
for describing a sequential or chronological order. Moreover, the
terms "front", "back", "top", "bottom",
"over", "under", and the like in the Description
and/or in the claims, if any, are generally employed for descriptive
purposes and not necessarily for comprehensively describing exclusive
relative position. Any of the preceding terms so used may be interchanged
under appropriate circumstances such that various embodiments of
the invention described herein may be capable of operation in other
configurations and/or orientations than those explicitly illustrated
or otherwise described.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
[0011] The following representative descriptions of the present
invention generally relate to exemplary embodiments and the inventors'
conception of the best mode, and are not intended to limit the applicability
or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the following
description is intended to provide convenient illustrations for
implementing various embodiments of the invention. As will become
apparent, changes may be made in the function and/or arrangement
of any of the elements described in the disclosed exemplary embodiments
without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
[0012] Various representative implementations of the present invention
may be applied to any system for food packaging, storage or containment.
A detailed description of an exemplary application, namely an integrated
desiccant lid enclosure for the packaging, storage and/or containment
of whole-leaf tea in order to extend the tea's shelf life, is provided
as a specific enabling disclosure that may be generalized to any
application of the disclosed system, device and method for controlling
the moisture content in food containers in accordance with various
embodiments of the present invention.
[0013] In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a containment
vessel with an integrated desiccant lid assembly is disclosed. The
desiccant may be generally retained in a lid enclosure in order
to substantially extend the shelf-life of such food products as
tea, for example, by as much as up to about six (6) months to about
more than two (2) years. This may generally be accomplished by the
action of the desiccant material absorbing moisture through openings
in the lid enclosure, thus controlling or otherwise modifying the
level of moisture in the container. Additionally, the desiccant
lid enclosure helps to prevent the desiccant material from being
lost, damaged, or co-mingled with the product disposed in the interior
containment volume of the container body.
[0014] The geometry of the containment vessel may be configured
to allow a plurality of containers to be `close-packed` to minimize
occluded volume for shipping, storage and/or display. Similarly,
the volume of the containment vessel may be adapted to hold contents
of a specific shape, volume, and/or planar projection substantially
matched to at least one dimension of the containment vessel in order
to maximize the volume of the contents that may be stored in the
container.
[0015] The containment vessel may be fabricated from a variety
of different materials such as metal, wood, plastic, etc.; depending
on the relative need for strength, durability, weight, aesthetic
appearance or other desired features.
[0016] In particular, with reference to FIG. 1 a containment vessel
according to exemplary aspects of the present invention may comprise
a container body 120 with a base 130 and a lid 100. Lid 100 may
be removed to allow contents to be added to or removed from the
internal containment volume of container body 120.
[0017] Lid 100 may comprise an external surface 105 presented to
the environment as well as an interiorly disposed surface 210 that
generally provides a barrier to prevent stored articles from being
removed from container body 120 when lid 100 and container body
120 are engaged to substantially enclose the interiorly disposed
containment volume formed thereby. (see FIG. 2 for example)
[0018] Desiccant lid 200 generally comprises a desiccant enclosure
cavity that holds a desiccant material therein. The interiorly disposed
surface 210 of desiccant lid 200 may be further configured with
openings 215 that allow the desiccant material in the lid enclosure
to experience exposure to the atmosphere of the interiorly disposed
containment volume of container body 120. This allows the desiccant
material to absorb moisture from the interior containment volume
of container body 120.
[0019] Container body 120 may comprise any material, shape, size,
and/or configuration suitably adapted for a particular application
or operating environment. For example, container body 120 may be
fabricated from any material suitable for use in a food container
such as metal, wood, plastic, or composite material. Container body
120 may also comprise any suitable shape, such as trigonal, tetragonal,
pentagonal, and the like. In the exemplary embodiment representatively
illustrated in FIG. 1 for example, container body 120 and lid enclosure
100 are trigonal (e.g., 3-sided). In a representative application,
the containment vessel formed by engagement of desiccant lid enclosure
100 with container body 120 may comprise three sidewalls that are
about 25/8'' wide and about 9'' tall. In a preferred exemplary embodiment,
the containment vessel components may be fabricated from pressed-metal
and may be configured to hold pyramidal-shaped tea satchets (as
representatively depicted, for example, in FIG. 3) that are sized
to fit substantially securely in the internal containment volume
of container body 120.
[0020] Desiccant lid enclosure 100 may comprise any material, shape,
size or configuration for a particular application and/or operating
environment. For example, lid enclosure 100 may be fabricated from
any material suitable for use in a food container lid such as metal,
wood, plastic, or composite material and need not be limited to
the same material used to fabricate any other element of the disclosed
containment vessel. Lid enclosure 100 may also comprise any suitable
shape, such as trigonal, tetragonal, pentagonal, etc. In the exemplary
embodiment representatively illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 for example,
lid enclosure 100 200 may comprise a trigonal shape (e.g., 3-sided)
and fabricated from pressed-metal. Lid enclosure 100 200 may be
about 25/8'' wide on each side and about 3/8'' thick and further
configured to fit the opening of the internal cavity of the container
body 120 substantially opposite base 130.
[0021] With reference to FIG. 2 the openings 215 in desiccant
lid enclosure 200 may be of any number, shape, size and/or arrangement,
and may be formed in any suitable manner. For example, the representatively
illustrated exemplary embodiment has a plurality of openings 215
in the form of three substantially circular holes arranged in a
triangular pattern.
[0022] In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described
with reference to specific exemplary embodiments; however, it will
be appreciated that various modifications and changes may be made
without departing from the scope of the present invention as set
forth in the claims below. The specification and Figures are to
be regarded in an illustrative manner, rather than a restrictive
one and all such modifications are intended to be included within
the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the scope of the
invention should be determined by the claims appended hereto and
their legal equivalents rather than by merely the examples described
above.
[0023] For example, the steps recited in any method or process
claims may be executed in any order and are not limited to the specific
order presented in the claims. Additionally, the components and/or
elements recited in any apparatus claims may be assembled or otherwise
operationally configured in a variety of permutations to produce
substantially the same result as the present invention and are accordingly
not limited to the specific configuration recited in the claims.
[0024] Benefits, other advantages and solutions to problems have
been described above with regard to particular embodiments; however,
any benefit, advantage, solution to problems or any element that
may cause any particular benefit, advantage or solution to occur
or to become more pronounced are not to be construed as critical,
required or essential features or components of any or all the claims.
[0025] As used herein, the terms "comprise", "comprises",
"comprising", "having", "including",
"includes" or any variation thereof, are intended to reference
a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article,
composition or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does
not include only those elements recited, but may also include other
elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method,
article, composition or apparatus. Other combinations and/or modifications
of the above-described structures, arrangements, applications, proportions,
elements, materials or components used in the practice of the present
invention, in addition to those not specifically recited, may be
varied or otherwise particularly adapted to specific environments,
manufacturing specifications, design parameters or other operating
requirements without departing from the general principles of the
same. |