Expandable and contractible food storage container

Abstract

A container bottom and container cover both have horizontally moving asymmetrical accordion pleats. The container and cover expands and contracts horizontally to adjust the size of the container the container opening. The cover correspondingly adjusts to fit the container opening to allow for different shapes, sizes, and volumes of food or other matter stored therein. Each accordion pleat has a pair of accordion walls hinged together of two different widths. Upon compression of the container and cover each accordion pleat collapses separately by a larger width wall forcing the narrower width wall to bend back behind an adjacent accordion wall.

1 . A transformable storage device which changes the size and shape of a container, a container opening and a mating container cover, the device comprising: 
 a container comprising a bottom, side walls, and a top opening defined by a common top edge of the side walls, a portion of a horizontal section of the bottom and two opposing side walls formed of a series of container accordion pleats expansible and contractible in a horizontal direction to transform the horizontal size and shape of the container and horizontal size and shape of the top opening in the container to accommodate a variety of sizes and shapes of external items through the top opening into the container for storage therein;    a cover comprising a top surface and a peripheral edge of the top surface connectable to the top opening of the container to close the container, a portion of a horizontal section of the top surface and two opposing sides of the peripheral edge formed of a series of cover accordion pleats expansible and contractible in a horizontal direction in conformity with the container accordion pleats to transform the horizontal size and shape of the peripheral edge of the cover to mate with the top opening in the container to close the container for any size and shape of the container and any size and shape of the top opening of the container.    
   
   
       2 . The device of  claim 1  wherein each of the container accordion pleats comprises a pair of container accordion walls hinged together, comprising a first container accordion wall and a second container accordion wall, the first container accordion wall wider than the second container accordion wall so that upon compression, each of the container accordion pleats is separately collapsible with the first container accordion wall of each of the pleats forcing the second container accordion wall to snap backward internally overlapping the adjacent first container accordion wall, thereby collapsing the container accordion pleat and locking the container accordion pleat in a closed position and shortening a horizontal length of the container by a difference in width between the expanded container accordion pleat and the contracted container accordion pleat.  
   
   
       3 . The device of  claim 2  wherein the container is expansible and contractible to any desired length in increments of the difference in width of each of the container accordion pleats between the expanded and contracted position and changing the number of container accordion pleats changes the size of contraction and expansion of the container.  
   
   
       4 . The device of  claim 2  wherein each of the cover accordion pleats comprises a pair of accordion walls hinged together, comprising a first cover accordion wall and a second cover accordion wall, the first cover accordion wall wider than the second cover accordion wall so that upon compression, each of the cover accordion pleats is separately collapsible with the first cover accordion wall of each of the pleats forcing the second cover accordion wall to-snap backward internally overlapping the adjacent cover accordion wall, thereby collapsing the cover accordion pleat and locking the cover accordion pleat in a closed position and shortening a horizontal length of the cover by a difference in width between the expanded cover accordion pleat and the contracted cover accordion pleat.  
   
   
       5 . The device of  claim 4  wherein the cover accordion walls are structurally less rigid than the container accordion walls so that contracting and expanding the container accordion pleats causes the contracting and expanding of the cover accordion pleats with the cover in place on the container to maintain the cover to be the same size as the top opening of the container.  
   
   
       6 . The device of  claim 4  wherein the cover is expansible and contractible to any desired length in increments of the difference in width of each of the cover accordion pleats between the expanded and contracted position and changing the number of cover accordion pleats changes the size of contraction and expansion of the cover.