Holder for Packaged Food

This application is a continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 18/615,324, filed on Mar. 25, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.

Generally, this application relates to holders for packaged food, such food pouches (e.g., squeeze pouches used by toddlers) or juice boxes. As used herein, “packaged food” or “packaged food item” includes packaged beverages for the sake of clarity and simplicity. Similarly, as used herein, “food” includes both food and beverages. In particular, this application relates to holders that allow a person to insert or remove a packaged food item into/from a holder, while allowing a user (e.g., toddler) to consume the food through the holder.

According to embodiments, a holder for holding at least one type of packaged food item that packages food is provided, wherein the at least one type of packaged food item includes an outlet through which the food is accessed, the holder comprising: a housing including an interior region in which to house one of the at least one type of packaged food item, wherein the housing includes an upper portion having at least one aperture, wherein the housing is configured to open to receive the one of the at least one type of packaged food item; and an adjustable shelf coupled with the housing, wherein the adjustable shelf is configured to have an adjustable elevation adjustable to a first elevation and a second elevation, wherein the adjustable shelf is configured to be a resting portion for the one of the at least one type of packaged food item, and wherein when the adjustable shelf is at the first elevation, the at least one type of packaged food item extends through the aperture in the upper portion of the housing such that the outlet is at a predetermined area exterior to the housing, and wherein when the adjustable shelf is at the second elevation, the outlet of the one of the at least one type of packaged food item is not at the predetermined area. The aperture is at a third elevation and a distance between the first elevation and the third elevation may be between approximately 5.22-5.42 inches. A width of the aperture may be between approximately 0.44-0.64 inches. The housing may include at least one first receiving feature to receive the adjustable shelf and at least one second receiving feature to receive the adjustable shelf, wherein the at least one first receiving feature is above the at least one second receiving feature. When the adjustable shelf is received by the at least one first receiving feature, the adjustable shelf may be adjustable into a plurality of elevations. The at least one first receiving feature may include a plurality of slots, and wherein the at least one second receiving feature comprises a plurality of slots. The adjustable shelf may include at least one insertion feature and a resting portion upon which the one of the at least one type of packaged food item is configured to rest, wherein the at least one insertion feature is selectively receivable by the at least one first receiving feature and by the at least one second receiving feature, and wherein the resting portion of the adjustable shelf has a different elevation than the at least one insertion feature. The housing may include a lower portion, wherein the adjustable shelf is removable from the interior region of the housing, and wherein when the adjustable shelf is removed from the interior region of the housing, the interior region of the housing is configured to receive the one of the at least one type of packaged food item such that the one of the at least one type of packaged food item rests on the lower portion of the housing. The housing may include a front portion including a hinge portion in a lower region of the front portion, and wherein the front portion is hingedly coupled to another portion of the housing, such that the front portion rotates downwardly to allow placement of the one of the at least one type of packaged food item into the interior region of the housing. The housing may include at least one spring configured to selectively secure the front portion of the housing to another portion of the housing to form the interior region of the housing.

According to embodiments holder is provided for holding at least one type of packaged food item for food, wherein the at least one type of packaged food item includes an outlet through which the food is accessed, the holder comprising: a housing including: a first portion including an upper portion, a lower portion, a at least one receiving feature, and at least one hinge feature, wherein the upper portion comprises a recess, wherein the recess is configured to receive a nozzle of one of the at least one type of packaged food item; and a second portion including at least one hinge feature coupled with the at least one hinge feature of the first portion to form a hinge, such that the second portion is rotatable with respect to the first portion; and a removable shelf including a resting portion and at least one insertion feature, wherein the at least one insertion feature is configured to be received by the at least one receiving feature. The resting portion of the removable shelf may be at a different elevation than the at least one insertion feature of the removable shelf when the at least one insertion feature is received by the at least one receiving feature of the first portion of the housing. The first portion of the housing may include a second at least one receiving feature, and wherein the at least one insertion feature of the removable shelf is configured to be received by the second at least one receiving feature of the first portion of the housing. The first portion of the housing may include a second at least one receiving feature, and wherein the at least one insertion feature of the removable shelf is configured to be received by the second at least one receiving feature of the first portion of the housing. The first portion of the housing may include an opaque material, and the second portion of the housing comprises at least one of a transparent material or a translucent material. Each of the at least one hinge feature of the second portion of the housing may be located in a lower region of the second portion of the housing. The recess in the upper portion of the first portion of the housing may have a width between approximately 0.44-0.64 inches. A distance between the upper portion and lower portion of the housing may be between approximately 5.45-5.65 inches. The housing may include at least one spring configured to selectively secure the first portion of the housing to the second portion of the housing. The at least one spring may be located on the second portion of the housing.

The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of certain techniques of the present application, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purposes of illustration, certain techniques are shown in the drawings. It should be understood, however, that the claims are not limited to the arrangements and instrumentality shown in the attached drawings. Furthermore, the appearance shown in the drawings is one of many ornamental appearances that can be employed to achieve the stated functions of the system.

Users or consumers of packaged food may be young children, such as toddlers. Many such packaged food items are packaged in relatively flexible packages. Such packages may include an outlet for the food, such as a nozzle (in the case of a type of food pouch) or a hole or straw (in the case of a type of juice box). The user of a packaged food item may suck the food through the outlet. Also, compression of the packaged food item (e.g., squeezing a food pouch) may cause the food to exit through the outlet. Such compression may be caused by the user (e.g., a zealous toddler squeezing) or by engagement with foreign objects (e.g., the toddler sitting on the packaged food). Such compression may be undesirable, for example, because such compression may cause the food to go in a location other than the user's mouth, such as on furniture, car seats, clothing, or the like. As such misplaced food should be cleaned up, it may be desirable to reduce the risk of food misplacement.

Further, packaged food items come in various forms and sizes, and package various foods. Some packaged food items may be taller than others. Some packaged food items may have different types of outlets, such as nozzles or straws. A user may consume food from such different packaged food items, and similar problems discussed above may arise for such different packaged food items.

To solve the aforementioned and other problems, various embodiments of holder(s) are disclosed herein, inclusive of the accompanying figures and other documents filed in the instant application. An exemplary holder may substantially house differently-sized packaged food items at different times. An exemplary holder may include an adjustable shelf with an adjustable elevation to accommodate packaged food items having different heights and outlets. An exemplary holder may be openable (e.g., with a hinged-design) such that a packaged food item can be conveniently inserted or removed.

illustrate different views of embodiments of a holder, as described above. The holderis configured to hold one or more packaged food items,(see). Exemplary packaged food items include a juice boxand a squeeze pouch. A juice boxmay include a box and an outlet, such as a straw, which may be configured to punch through a straw hole on the juice box(e.g., a hole on the top of the juice box). A consumer may suck fluid contained in the box through the straw. A squeeze pouchmay include a pouch, which contains the food, and an outlet, such as a nozzle. A consumer may suck the food from the pouch through the nozzle of the squeeze pouch. The nozzle may include a shaft with recesses. The shaft may include one or more recess(es) on the outer surface. The recess(es) may be cylindrical. As will be further explained, such a recess may be received by or engage with the holder.

The holderincludes a housing. The housinghas an interior region in which to house the packaged food items,. The housingmay include a rear portionand a front portion. The rear portionand the front portionmay be attached such that one can rotate with respect to the other. The rear portionand the front portionmay be attached by a hinge. One example of a hinge is a clamshell hinge coupled with each of the rear portionand the front portion. Another example of a hinge is one with hinge portions, such as the depicted hinge. The rear portionand the front portionmay each have mating hinge portions. One of the rear portionor front portionmay have protrusion(s) and the other may have recess(es). The protrusion(s) may mate with or snap into the recess(es) such that the front portionmay rotate with respect to the rear portion. The hinge portions may be in lower regions of the rear portionand the front portion. The front portionmay rotate upwardly/downwardly as shown, for example insuch that the operator may access the interior region of the housing to insert or remove the packaged food item,. In the embodiments of, the rear portionincludes a pair of cylindrical protrusions. Such protrusions may mate with corresponding cylindrical recesses on the front portion(recesses not shown).

The rear portionmay include an upper portion. The upper portionforms at least a portion of the upper portion of the housing. When the rear portionand the front portionare secured with each other, the upper portion of the housingmay be extended by the upper portionof the front portion. The upper portionmay include a recesshaving a widthand another narrower widthproximate an edge of the rear portionor an outer end of the recess. The rear portionmay further have an aperture(or a recess) to accommodate outlet(s) of the packaged food item(s),. The rear portionmay further include one or more handles, a lower portion, one or more apertures(or recesses), one or more receiving features, or one or more ridges. The entirety or only some of the rear portionmay be transparent (including translucent) or opaque. In the case of the rear portionbeing transparent (in whole or in part), it is possible to view the packaged food items,through the rear portionand optionally be able to read words printed on the exterior of the packaged food items,contained within the housing. The rear portionmay be substantially rigid such that squeezing of the consumer's hand or an impact with a foreign object that is not undue will not cause the rear portionto exert a substantial force against the packaged food item,to cause inadvertent flow of food through the outlet of the packaged food item,.

The recessof the rear portionmay accommodate or receive an outlet of the packaged food item,. For example, the recessmay be sized to receive a nozzle of a squeeze pouch. The recessmay have a width, which may be wide enough to receive an outlet of a packaged food item,without compressing or deflecting the outlet (e.g., nozzle of the squeeze pouch) inwardly. In the case of a nozzle of a squeeze pouch, the widthmay be wide enough to accommodate a recess in the shaft of the nozzle. The widthmay also be narrower than the non-recessed portions proximate the recess. This may inhibit vertical movement of the nozzle, as the non-recessed portions of the nozzle may interfere with the upper portionof the front portion. Such a widthmay be between approximately 0.44-0.64 inches, such as approximately 0.54 inches. Further, the depth of the recess(e.g. thickness of the upper portionat or proximate the edge of the recessmay correspond to a height of a recess in the shaft of the packaged food item (e.g., packaged food item). Such a depth of the recessmay not be deeper than a given recess in the shaft of the packaged food item (e.g., packaged food item).

The recessmay have a narrower widthproximate an outer region of the recess. The widthmay be narrower than the width. The widthmay be narrower than the outer diameter of the recessed region of the nozzle of the squeeze pouch. The widthmay be between approximately 0.33-0.53 inches, such as approximately 0.43 inches. The length of the recessmay be between approximately 0.41-0.61 inches, such as approximately 0.51 inches. When inserting the nozzle of the squeeze pouchinto the recess, the upper portionat the region(s) of the widthmay compress or deflect the nozzle (e.g., the recessed region). Optionally, the nozzle (e.g., at the recessed region) may deflect the upper portionregion(s) of the width. With such an arrangement of a narrower width, the squeeze pouchnozzle may snap into the recesswhen being inserted in a substantially horizontal direction. The upper portionmay then horizontally constrain the nozzle of the squeeze pouchfrom horizontal movement unless a stronger force is exerted to snap the nozzle out of the recess. The edge(s) of the upper portionat the widthmay have curvature(s) or other feature(s) (e.g., triangular edge(s)) to promote snapping the nozzle or outlet in and out of the recess. The recessmay become an aperture when the rear portionis secured to the front portion, as an edge of the upper portionof the front portionmay transverse the open side of the recess. The edge of the upper portionof the front portionmay further ensure that the nozzle or outlet is constrained in the horizontal direction. Further, portions of the non-recessed regions of the shaft of the nozzle may interfere with the upper portionof the front portionto further constrain vertical movement of the packaged food item (e.g., packaged food item) by constraining vertical movement of the nozzle or outlet.

The upper portionof the rear portionmay include an aperture, which may receive an outlet of a packaged food item (e.g., straw of juice box). The aperturemay not be configured to receive or accommodate the outlet of a packaged food item (e.g., nozzle of squeeze pouch). The aperturemay have a narrower width and/or no horizontal opening that may prevent insertion of such an outlet. Optionally, the aperturemay be substantially offset from the center of the upper portion(e.g., center of the width of the upper portion) to prevent or discourage insertion of the outlet that can be received by recess.

The rear portionmay further include one or more handles. The handle(s)may be coupled (e.g., integrated) with lateral sides of the rear portion. The handle(s) may be C-shaped to receive fingers of the consumer. The rear portionmay further include ridges(e.g., horizontal ridges) on the lateral and/or rear surface(s) of the rear portion. The ridges, when horizontal, may wrap around the lateral and rear surfaces. The ridgesmay have a curved or rounded profile.

The front portionmay have a lower region, a spring including for example a spring armand optionally a spring arm head, an upper portion, ridges, or one or more constraining portions. The entirety or only some of the front portionmay be transparent (including translucent) or opaque. According to one embodiment, the front portionis transparent and the rear portionis opaque. In the case of the front portionbeing transparent (in whole or in part), it is possible to view the packaged food items,through the front portionand optionally be able to read words printed on the exterior of the packaged food items,contained within the housing. The front portionmay be substantially rigid such that squeezing of the consumer's hand or an impact with a foreign object that is not undue will not cause the front portionto exert a substantial force against the packaged food item,to cause inadvertent flow of food through the outlet of the packaged food item,.

The rear portionand the front portionmay selectively engage and disengage with each other to close and open the housing, respectively. When engaged, the rear portionand the front portionmay be secured together, requiring specific user intervention to open the housing. According to embodiments, disengagement of the rear portionfrom the front portionmay require at least two fingers of an operator—e.g., a thumb and another finger on a single hand, or fingers on separate hands. The distance between the fingers required for disengagement may be between approximately 3.1-3.5 inches, such as approximately 3.3 inches. According to such a design, a child (e.g., toddler) may not be able to disengage the rear portionfrom the front portionwith a single hand, while an adult may be able to cause disengagement.

Selective engagement and disengagement of the rear portionand the front portionmay be effected in the following manner. At a region (e.g., lower region) of the rear portionand a region (e.g., lower region) of the front portionthe rear portionand front portionmay be secured (e.g., by a hinge or portion(s) of a hinge). The front portionmay be able to rotate around the hinge. When the front portionrotates or moves towards the rear portion, they may be selectively engagable with each other. In the embodiments depicted, the rear portionincludes apertures, although it may be possible to have only one aperture. A given apertureis shown as wrapping around the rear region and lateral region of the rear portion, although it may be possible to have the given apertureonly in the rear region or a lateral region of the rear portion. A given aperturemay be sized to receive a human finger, or a tip thereof. In a corresponding region of the front portion, there may be corresponding spring(s) (two are shown). A given spring may include a spring armand a spring arm head. A given spring (e.g., spring arm) may extend rearwardly from the front portion, e.g., in an upper region of the front portion. In the embodiments depicted, a given spring armcan rotate in a horizontal dimension into a compressed state (e.g., rotating inwardly as shown) and a decompressed (e.g., substantially or completely decompressed) state (e.g., as depicted, extending horizontally from the front portiontowards the rear portion).

In the illustrated embodiments, when the rear portionand the front portionare selectively engaged, a given spring armis in a decompressed state, the spring arm headextends at least partially into or through a corresponding aperture. The spring arm headmay be shaped such that it will not readily be forced completely out of the aperture. For example, a forward-facing surface of the spring arm headmay be substantially flat and substantially vertically-oriented, and a corresponding rearward-facing surface of the aperturemay also be flat and substantially vertically-oriented to match the forward facing surface of the spring arm head. Optionally, these surfaces may have complementary mating profiles (e.g., one is the inverse of the other) that discourage the spring arm headfrom exiting the aperturewhen the front portionand/or rear portionexperience forces that would otherwise tend to cause separation.

To effect disengagement, a force may be applied to the spring arm headthrough the aperture. For example, a human finger may force the spring arm headto exit the apertureinto the interior region of the housing. This may cause the spring or spring armto compress. Once the spring arm head(s)are in the interior of the housingand out of the aperture, the front portionmay be moveable (e.g., rotatable) with respect to the rear portion. For example, the front portionmay then be rotatable (e.g., in a downward direction) with respect to the rear portionabout the hinge. Once the housingis opened, a user may insert or remove the packaged food item,. In the case of an outlet of a packaged food item (e.g., nozzle of the squeeze pouch) being snapped into the recessin the upper portionof the rear portion, a removal force may need to be applied to the nozzle itself to snap the nozzle out of the recess. Similarly, an insertion force may need to be applied to the nozzle or outlet of the packaged food item (e.g., packaged food item), or to another portion of the packaged food item, such as a region below but proximate to the nozzle, to snap the outlet into the recess.

In the case of two spring arm headsand two corresponding apertures, each spring arm headmay include a lateral surface that, when the front portionand the rear portionare engaged with each other, each spring arm headexposed via the corresponding aperture. In this state, the lateral surfaces of the two spring arm headsmay face outwardly in opposite directions. The lateral surfaces of the two spring arm headsmay be spaced apart from each other by between approximately 3.1-3.5 inches, such as 3.3 inches. Each spring arm headmay be forced inwardly at the same time to remove each spring arm headfrom the corresponding aperture. At this time, the front portionmay be moved with respect to the rear portion. Such a design may enable an adult using a single hand, where that hand is relatively large and strong, to disengage the front portionfrom the rear portion, while inhibiting a child with a smaller, weaker hand from doing the same.

To close the housing, the spring on the front portionis moved towards the rear portion. The spring may be in a decompressed state before it engages with the front portion. The spring arm headmay deflect inwardly, thereby causing the spring armto deflect inwardly and move into a compressed state. The spring arm headmay have a profile (e.g., rounded and/or slanted profile) that facilitates deflection of the spring when the front portionand the rear portionare forced together. As the front portionand the rear portionare further brought together, the entirety of the spring arm headmay move into a region where the spring arm headis completely exposed through the aperture. At such a time, the spring (e.g., spring arm) may decompress (e.g., automatically decompress due to the memory of the spring arm), thereby forcing the spring arm headinto the aperture.

Either the front portionor the rear portionmay include a rotation-limiting feature that prevents over-rotation of the front portionwith respect to the rear portion. As shown, the front portionincludes a lip in the lower region. As the front portionrotates downwardly, this lip contacts the lower portionof the rear portion, thereby preventing further rotation.

The holdermay further include an shelf(e.g., an adjustable shelf, see). The shelfmay have an adjustable elevation, when measured with respect to the upper portion (in the depicted embodiments,,) or lower portion (in the depicted embodiments, lower portion) of the housing.

The shelfmay selectively couple with the housing. The shelfmay include a resting portionand an insertion feature. The depicted shelfshows two insertion features, each positioned laterally with respect to the resting portion. The shelfmay have a “hat” shape, in which the resting portionis at a different elevation from at least one of the insertion feature(s).

The shelfmay be adjustable. For example, the shelfmay couple with the housingin different orientations. In one orientation, the resting portionmay be at a lower elevation than at least one of the insertion feature(s)(hereinafter, “first orientation,” for exemplary purposes). In another orientation, the shelf may be flipped vertically, such that the resting portionis at a higher elevation than at least one of the insertion feature(s)(hereinafter, “second orientation,” for exemplary purposes).

The shelfmay further be adjustable according to embodiments in which the shelfcouples to the housingvia the insertion feature(s), where the insertion feature(s)are coupled to the housingat different elevations. As shown in, for example,, the housingmay include a plurality of receiving features. The receiving featuresmay be on or part of rear portion. In the embodiments depicted, two given receiving featuresare spaced to form a slot. The slot is sized to receive a given insertion feature. As shown, there may be a total of four slots formed by eight receiving features. Two given slots may oppose each other and be located on or proximate the lateral sides of the rear portionwithin the interior region.

In the depicted embodiments, the shelfmay be adjustable into five configurations. In the first configuration, the shelfis in the first orientation and the insertion featuresare received by the upper pair of opposing slots formed by receiving features. The second configuration is similar to the first configuration, except the shelfis in the second orientation. The third configuration (shown in the embodiments in) is similar to the first configuration, except the insertion featuresare received by the lower pair of opposing slots formed by receiving features. The fourth configuration is similar to the third configuration, except that the shelfis in the second orientation. In the fifth configuration, the packaged food item (e.g., squeeze pouch) may rest on the lower portionoff the rear portion. In various ones of the configurations, the distance between the resting portionor lower portionand the upper portion of the housingmay be between approximately 5.45-5.65 inches, such as approximately 5.55 inches, as may be the case when the packaged food item (e.g., squeeze pouch) rests on the lower portion. In various ones of the configurations, the distance between the resting portionor lower portionof the rear portionand the upper portion of the housingmay be between approximately 5.22-5.42 inches (e.g., approximately 5.32 inches), between approximately 4.67-4.87 inches (e.g., approximately 4.77 inches), and/or between approximately 4.17-4.37 inches (e.g., approximately 4.27 inches).

Once the shelfhas been configured with respect to the housing, the packaged food item,may be inserted into the housing. Depending on the configuration, the packaged food item,may rest on either the resting portionof the shelf(first, second, third, or fourth configuration, described above) or on the lower portionof the rear portionwhen, for example, the shelfhas been removed from the interior region of the housing(fifth configuration, described above). Once the packaged food item,has been inserted, the housingmay be closed, as the front portionmay be secured to the rear portion. Once closed, the shelfmay further be secured to the housingwith one or more constraining portion(s). In the illustrated embodiments, the constraining portion(s)are located on the front portion. The constraining portion(s)may establish a limit to how far the shelfor shelf insertion portion(s)can travel in a forward direction towards the front portion. As illustrated, when the front portionis secured to the rear portion, the constraining portion(s)may be at elevation(s) and/or horizontally located in region(s) corresponding to given slot(s) formed by the receiving feature(s)where the insertion portion(s)are located or are potentially located.

When the shelfis in a proper configuration to accommodate a packaged food item,, the outlet, or a particular portion thereof (e.g., the straw hole in a juice boxor a given recess in the shaft of the nozzle of a squeeze pouch), of the given packaged food item may be at a predetermined area. When the shelfis not in such a proper configuration, the outlet, or the particular portion thereof, may not be in a predetermined area.

For example, as shown in the embodiments of, when the shelfis in the third configuration, the straw hole of the juice box is proximate to and below the aperturein the upper portionof the rear portion. The aperturemay be positioned in a horizontal location (e.g., width and/or depth location(s)) to correspond to the straw hole in the juice box. If, however, the shelfis in a different configuration, the straw hole in the juice boxmay not be at the predetermined area—e.g., it may be too high (i.e., the juice boxwill not fit in the interior region of the housing) or too low (e.g., it may be difficult to insert the straw of the juice boxinto the straw hole through the aperture, or the length of the straw exterior to the holdermay be too short or nonexistent).

As another example, in the embodiments of, if the shelfis not in the fifth configuration (i.e., removed from the housing), an unused squeeze pouchmay not fit in the interior region of the housing. In this example, the lower recess in the shaft of the nozzle of the squeeze pouchis at a predetermined area such that it corresponds to the elevation of the upper portion of the housing. This may be preferable to constrain vertical and horizontal movement of the nozzle while still allowing the cap to the nozzle (not shown) to be attached via the illustrated threads on the nozzle above the recess.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted without departing from the scope of the novel techniques disclosed in this application. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the novel techniques without departing from its scope. Therefore, it is intended that the novel techniques not be limited to the particular techniques disclosed, but that they will include all techniques falling within the scope of the appended claims.