Container for transport and storage of food products

Abstract

Systems and methods for providing compostable food containers which preserve the quality of a food product for an extended duration of time, and which optionally allow for cooking of the food product therein. In some implementations, the food containers are sturdy, stackable, insulating, and require minimal or no manual labor to assemble. In some implementations, the food container includes a base and a cover which cooperate to form a closed chamber for supporting, protecting, insulating and optionally cooking a food product, such as a pizza. The base and cover may each be formed of a single layer of material including, but not limited to, molded sugarcane fiber (“bagasse”), molded wood fiber, molded bamboo fiber, molded paper or plastic.

1 . A food container comprising:
 a compostable fiber base comprising at least a portion of a raised rim disposed about a perimeter of an upwardly facing food receiving portion which receives a food product, the food receiving portion comprising an inner surface and a plurality of wells disposed in the food receiving portion that extend downwardly from the inner surface and which project outwardly from a bottom face of the base as a number of feet; and   a compostable fiber cover selectively engageable with the base, the cover comprising a central dome portion having a substantially downward facing interior surface and a substantially upward facing exterior surface, the interior surface of the central dome portion having at least a portion of a channel disposed about a perimeter of the central dome portion that is sized and dimensioned to engage the at least a portion of the raised rim of the base when the cover is engaged with the base, and the central dome portion sized and shaped to provide an interior chamber which protects the food product, and the exterior surface of the central dome portion comprises a plurality of dome recesses, at least some of the plurality of dome recesses sized and dimensioned to receive at least a portion of respective ones of the feet of a base of another food container identical to the food container when the another food container is stacked on a top of the cover of the food container.   
     
     
         2 . The food container of  claim 1  wherein the base comprises a number N of wells, the cover comprises a number N of dome recesses, and each of the dome recesses is vertically aligned with one of the wells when the cover is engaged with the base. 
     
     
         3 . The food container of  claim 1  wherein the base comprises eight wells and the cover comprises eight dome recesses, each of the dome recesses is vertically aligned with one of the wells when the cover is engaged with the base. 
     
     
         4 . The food container of  claim 1  wherein the central dome portion comprises a raised outer rim spaced radially outward from a center of the central dome portion, and each of the dome recesses is disposed on the raised outer rim of the central dome portion. 
     
     
         5 . The food container of  claim 4  wherein at least a portion of each of the dome recesses is disposed inward of an apex of the raised outer rim. 
     
     
         6 . The food container of  claim 4  wherein the central dome portion further comprises a raised inner rim spaced radially outward from the center of the central dome portion and spaced radially inward from the raised outer rim. 
     
     
         7 . The food container of  claim 1  wherein each well has a rim adjacent the food receiving portion, which has an oval profile. 
     
     
         8 . The food container of  claim 1  wherein each of the wells and each of the dome recesses are sized and dimensioned to restrict at least one of lateral movement or rotational movement between the cover of the food container and a base of the another food container when the another food container is stacked on the cover of the food container. 
     
     
         9 . The food container of  claim 1  further comprising a plurality of sector portions that each comprises a plurality of raised sector ribs extending upwardly from the food receiving portion. 
     
     
         10 . The food container of  claim 9  wherein each of a plurality of features comprising the raised rim, the wells, the channel, and the raised sector ribs is spaced apart from at least one other of the plurality of features by a distance which is less than or equal to one inch. 
     
     
         11 . The food container of  claim 1  wherein the base has an overall height which is less than or equal to 1.5 inches. 
     
     
         12 . The food container of  claim 1  wherein each of the base and the cover is formed from a single layer of material having a thickness in the range of 0.5 millimeters to 1.0 millimeters. 
     
     
         13 . The food container of  claim 1  wherein the food receiving portion of the base does not have a continuously planar surface which exceeds 2 inches by 2 inches. 
     
     
         14 . The food container of  claim 1  wherein each of the base and the cover has a length dimension which is greater than or equal to 12 inches. 
     
     
         15 . The food container of  claim 1  wherein each of the base and the cover is formed from one of sugarcane fiber, wood fiber, or bamboo fiber. 
     
     
         16 . The food container of  claim 1  wherein the base has a square perimeter with rounded edges, and the food receiving portion has a perimeter having a circular profile. 
     
     
         17 . The food container of  claim 1  wherein the cover has at least one denesting lug which provides a space between at least a portion of the cover and at least a portion of another cover when the cover is stacked together with the other cover. 
     
     
         18 . The food container of  claim 1  wherein the raised rim of the base includes a plurality of cover interface portions that extend radially outward from a remainder of the raised rim, and the channel of the cover is sized and dimensioned to engage each of the plurality of cover interface portions of the base when the cover is engaged with the base to provide an interference fit between the cover and the base. 
     
     
         19 . A food container comprising:
 a base of molded compostable fiber, the base comprising one or more protrusions disposed about a perimeter of an upwardly facing food receiving portion which receives a food product, the base having a bottom face, and the food receiving portion comprising an inner surface with a plurality of wells that project outwardly as respective mateable stacking feet from the bottom face of the base; and   a cover of molded compostable fiber, the cover selectively engageable with the base, the cover having a substantially downward facing interior surface and a substantially upward facing exterior surface, the interior surface of the cover having one or more depressions disposed about a perimeter of the cover that are sized and dimensioned to engage at least a portion of the one or more protrusions of the base when the cover is engaged with the base, and the cover sized and shaped to provide an interior chamber which protects the food product, and the exterior surface of the cover comprises a plurality of recesses, at least some of the plurality of recesses sized and dimensioned to receive at least a portion of respective ones of the mateable stacking feet of a base of another food container identical to the food container when the another food container is stacked on a top of the cover of the food container.   
     
     
         20 . The food container of  claim 19  wherein the base has a rectangular-shaped outer perimeter with rounded corners, the outer perimeter defined by first and second parallel edges and third and fourth parallel edges, wherein the food container further comprises channels that are non-parallel with each of the first, second, third, and fourth parallel edges of the base. 
     
     
         21 . The food container of  claim 19  further comprising a plurality of sector portions in the food receiving portion, each sector portion of the food receiving portion including one of the plurality of wells that extends downwardly from the food receiving portion. 
     
     
         22 . The food container of  claim 21  wherein each well has a rim adjacent the food receiving portion which has a profile in the shape of at least one of an oval, a circle, a triangle, a square, or a symbol. 
     
     
         23 . The food container of  claim 19  further comprising a plurality of sector portions in the food receiving portion, each sector portion including a raised sector portion rim which extends upward from the food receiving portion and is adjacent one or more adjacent channels which delineate the sector portions. 
     
     
         24 . The food container of  claim 19  further comprising a plurality of raised sector ribs, wherein at least some of the raised sector ribs in each sector portion have a length dimension which extends radially with respect to a well. 
     
     
         25 . The food container of  claim 23  wherein the base comprises a base flange surrounding at least a portion of the raised rim, and the cover comprises a cover flange surrounding at least a portion of the cover. 
     
     
         26 . The food container of  claim 25  wherein the base flange comprises at least one base fastening recess which extends downwardly from the base flange, and the cover flange comprises at least one corresponding cover fastening protrusion which extends downwardly from the cover flange, the at least one base fastening recess sized and dimensioned to receive at least a portion of the at least one cover fastening protrusion when the cover is engaged with the base. 
     
     
         27 . The food container of  claim 26  wherein the at least one base fastening recess and the at least one cover fastening protrusion are each sized and dimensioned to provide an audible cue when the at least one base fastening recess is separated from the cover fastening protrusion. 
     
     
         28 . The food container of  claim 26  wherein the at least one base fastening recess has a depth that is greater than 5 millimeters and a diameter that is greater than 8 millimeters, and the at least one cover fastening protrusion has a depth which is 1 millimeter less than the depth of the at least one base fastening recess, and a diameter which is 1 millimeter greater than the diameter of the at least one base fastening recess. 
     
     
         29 . The food container of  claim 26  wherein the at least one base fastening recess comprises a plurality of recesses each having an upward facing surface and a downward facing surface, the downward facing surface of each of the plurality of recesses sized and dimensioned to be weight-bearing when the base is disposed on a planar support surface. 
     
     
         30 . The food container of  claim 25  wherein the base flange comprises at least one base fastening protrusion which extends upwardly from the base flange, and the cover flange comprises at least one corresponding cover fastening recess which extends upwardly from the cover flange, the at least one cover fastening recess sized and dimensioned to receive at least a portion of the at least one base fastening protrusion when the cover is engaged with the base. 
     
     
         31 . The food container of  claim 25  wherein, when the cover is engaged with the base, a perimeter of the cover flange is vertically aligned with a perimeter of the base flange. 
     
     
         32 . The food container of  claim 19  further comprising a number N of channels which delineate a corresponding number N of sector portions of the food receiving portion, where N is a positive integer. 
     
     
         33 . The food container of  claim 19  wherein each of the base and the cover is formed from a single layer of material. 
     
     
         34 . The food container of  claim 19  wherein each of the base and the cover is formed from one of sugarcane fiber, wood fiber, or bamboo fiber. 
     
     
         35 . The food container of  claim 19  wherein the food receiving portion has a circular profile. 
     
     
         36 . The food container of  claim 19  wherein the base and the cover are each formed from a single layer of material, and the base and the cover are sized and dimensioned to be nestable with other bases and covers, respectively. 
     
     
         37 . The food container of  claim 19  wherein a plurality of channels are equally radially spaced to enable cutting of the food product into equally sized pieces when a cutting tool moves along the plurality of channels. 
     
     
         38 . A food container comprising:
 a base comprising one or more depressions disposed about a perimeter of an upwardly facing food receiving portion which receives a food product, the food receiving portion comprising an inner surface and a plurality of wells disposed in the food receiving portion that extend downwardly from the inner surface and that project outwardly as respective feet from the bottom face of the base; and   a cover selectively engageable with the base, the cover having a substantially downward facing interior surface and a substantially upward facing exterior surface, the interior surface of the cover having one or more protrusions disposed about a perimeter of the cover that are sized and dimensioned to engage at least a portion of the one or more depressions of the base when the cover is engaged with the base, and the cover sized and shaped to provide an interior chamber which protects the food product, and the exterior surface of the cover comprises a plurality of recesses, at least some of the plurality of recesses sized and dimensioned to receive at least a portion of respective ones of the feet of a base of another food container identical to the food container when the another food container is stacked on a top of the cover of the food container.   
     
     
         39 . A food container comprising:
 a base comprising one of a raised rim or channel disposed about a perimeter of an upwardly facing food receiving portion which receives a food product, the food receiving portion comprising an inner surface and a plurality of depressions disposed in the food receiving portion that extend downwardly from the inner surface and that project outwardly as respective mateable stacking feet from the bottom face of the base; and   a cover selectively engageable with the base, the cover having a substantially downward facing interior surface and a substantially upward facing exterior surface, the interior surface of the cover having the other of the raised rim or channel disposed about a perimeter of the cover that are sized and dimensioned to engage the one of the raised rim or channel of the base when the cover is engaged with the base, and the cover sized and shaped to provide an interior chamber which protects the food product, and the exterior surface of the cover comprises a plurality of recesses, at least some of the plurality of recesses sized and dimensioned to receive at least a portion of respective ones of the mateable stacking feet of a base of another food container identical to the food container when the another food container is stacked on a top of the cover of the food container.