US20020067865A1

US20020067865A1 - Food storage bags with multiple compartments

Info

Publication number: US20020067865A1
Application number: US09/729,941
Authority: US
Inventors: Todd Stutzman
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-12-06
Filing date: 2000-12-06
Publication date: 2002-06-06

Abstract

A refrigerator food storage and freezer bag with multiple compartments in which different foods may be stored. The bag is partitioned into separate chambers so that several food items can be stored in the same bag with each food item having its own compartment. The number of chambers varies depending upon the specific storage requirements of the user. For example, the multiple storage chamber bag may have two, three, or four separate storage chambers. Each storage chamber has its own pressure zipper locking mechanism to close the compartment and keep the contents of the chamber fresh. The multiple compartment storage bag conserves space within a refrigerator or freezer because multiple food items can be stored in a single bag, e.g. food items to prepare a full meal.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to storage receptacles. More particularly, the present invention relates to storage and freezer bags having multiple compartments.

2. Description of the Related Art

The use of plastic film bags with a closeable mouth such as by a pressure zipper type closure is well known for the storage of foods within a refrigerator or a freezer. It would be desirable to have a multiple compartment bag for storing different foods so they can be thawed and cooked or warmed together to make a predetermined meal. Multiple compartment bags would take less precious storage space in the freezer than a large number of single-compartment bags. It would also be desirable to have a bag which is re-usable.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,804,265, issued Sep. 8, 1998, to Saad et al., describes various embodiments of a freezer storage bag having multiple bags. The bag has an inner food contacting bag and an outer support bag surrounding the inner bag. This bag acts essentially as a first single bag with a second bag surrounding the first bag to reduce freezer burn and has no provision for storing different foods in individual bags.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,119,855, issued Sep. 19, 2000, to Yeager et al. Describes various embodiments of a storage bag with multiple compartments. The bag has a first outer panel, a second outer panel, and an inner panel constructed from a plastic film. The panels are connected together to form a storage bag with a first compartment and a second compartment. A first compartment is made to contain an absorbent pad or similar material which is saturated with water and permanently sealed. The second compartment is attached to the first compartment and contains a sealable and openable compartment where articles of clothing and the like are stored which require a certain level of humidity to maintain them in a useable condition. The first compartment is made of plastic film which is permeable to moisture. The second compartment is made of permeable material, at least in the area where it contacts the first compartment such the moisture may reach the article to be stored. No provision is made for opening and closing the first compartment, once it is attached to the second compartment.

U.S. Patent to Hosier et al. describes a two-compartment container for containing materials that are to be delivered simultaneously for mixture of materials that are to be used at separate times. It further discloses forming more than two compartments by supplying one or more extra semi-permeable seals. The multiple bag container of Hosier et al. is not intended as a freezer bag and is sealed around its contents for a single use, only. No provision is made for re-closing any of the compartments for a second period of use. The primary embodiment of the two-compartment container is to provide an easily rupturable wall between the two compartments so that the two materials may be mixed before rupturing the permanent seal to the outside for deployment of the mixed material for its intended use.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,844, issued Feb. 19, 1991, to Robinson et al. describes a compartmented double zipper pouch having first and second pockets adjacent one another with a common wall portion. Each pocket has an opening with a pressure actuated re-sealable fastener. This multiple bag is not constructed of material intended for freezing, and one of the bags has adhesive for attaching to packages for shipping and thus may not be reuseable due to tearing during removal from the shipped package. The overlapping compartments sharing a wall and dividing the two compartments would not be a suitable configuration for storage or freezing, since flavors of the different foods may, over time, permeate through such a wall with an undesirable result. Also, since food generally contains substantial amounts of water, the shared wall compartment configuration of the '844 disclosure would result in a bulky configuration with separation forces developing around the mutual edges which may result in failure of the bag through the development of a rupture.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,020,013, issued Feb. 1, 2000, to Kozma describes a freezer bag having two compartments. One compartment is for receiving food through a mouth for freezing and is sealed by interlocking zippers. A second compartment is formed in the mouth of the first compartment for holding water which will freeze and is sealed by another pair of interlocking zippers at the entrance to the bag mouth. This provides a triple seal at the mouth for long term storage of foods. There is no separate access to the food containing compartment.

None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a food storage bags with multiple compartments solving the aforementioned problems is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a refrigerator food storage and freezer bag having multiple compartments in which different foods may be stored. The bag is partitioned into separate chambers so that several food items can be stored in the same bag with each food item having its own compartment. The number of chambers varies depending upon the specific storage requirements of the user. For example, the multiple storage chamber bag may have two, three, or four separate storage chambers. Each storage chamber has its own zipper locking mechanism to close the compartment and keep the contents of the chamber fresh. The multiple compartment storage bag conserves space within a refrigerator or freezer because multiple food items can be stored in a single bag, e.g. food items to prepare a full meal. The inventive multiple compartment bag may be washed and reused.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a refrigerator storage and freezer bag having multiple compartments for accommodating different foods.

It is another object of the invention to provide a refrigerator storage and freezer bag having multiple compartments in which each two adjacent compartments share a common edge.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a refrigerator storage and freezer bag as above having re-openable and closeable mouths for placing in and removing food therefrom.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a refrigerator storage and freezer bag as above having zipper pressure seals for closure of each of the compartment mouths.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a refrigerator storage and freezer bag as above having radial common edges emanating from a single central point.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a refrigerator storage and freezer bag having a central point and common radial edges as above and having four compartments, the mouths of which form a square.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a refrigerator storage and freezer bag which is reusable.

It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.

These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an environmental, perspective view of a food storage and freezer bag having multiple compartments according to the present invention. [0021]
FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line [0022] 2-2 of FIG. 2 with the compartments filled with foods.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of an embodiment similar to that of FIG. 1, having sealable compartment mouths at the end of each compartment. [0023]
FIG. 4 is a plan view of an embodiment similar to that of FIG. 3, having three sealable compartments. [0024]
FIG. 5 is a plan view of an embodiment of the invention having four radially disposed sealable compartments.[0025]
Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings. [0026]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is a food storage and freezer bag having multiple compartments in which different foods may be stored. The bag is partitioned into separate chambers so that several food items can be stored in the same bag with each food item having its own compartment. The number of chambers varies depending upon the specific storage requirements of the user. For example, the multiple storage chamber bag may have two, three, or four separate storage chambers. Each storage chamber has its own pressure zipper locking mechanism such as a ZIPLOC® mechanism to close the compartment and keep the contents of the chamber fresh. The multiple compartment storage bag conserves space within a refrigerator or freezer because multiple food items can be stored in a single bag, e.g. food items to prepare a full meal. [0027]
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a perspective and a plan view, respective, of one embodiment of the present invention. Multiple container [0028] freezer bag system 10 features two-container freezer bag 12, having first compartment 14 and second compartment 16. First compartment 14 has lower edge 18 and upper edge 20, and second compartment 16 has lower edge 22 and upper edge 24. First compartment 14 and second compartment 16 are separated along shared edge 26, pre-sealed by heat or other convenient means. First compartment 14 has mouth 28, and second compartment 16 has mouth 30 for inserting and removing food, each respective mouth being located opposite shared edge 26. Mouth 28 is sealed by pressure zipper seal 32 or other appropriate re-sealable means. Mouth 30 is sealed by pressure zipper seal 34 or other appropriate re-sealable means. The two-container freezer bag 12 may be constructed of upper layer 36 and lower layer 38 of plastic sheet or film of polyethylene or similar material.
Referring to FIG. 3 there is shown end-opening multiple compartment [0029] freezer bag system 40, featuring end-opening multiple compartment freezer bag 42. End-opening freezer bag 42 features first compartment 44 and second compartment 46. First compartment 44 has lower end 48 and side 50. Second compartment 46 has lower end 52 and side 54. First compartment 44 and second compartment 46 are separated by shared edge 56, pre-sealed by heat or other appropriate means. First compartment 44 has mouth 58, and second compartment 46 has mouth 60 for inserting or removing food. Mouth 58 is sealed by pressure zipper seal 62 or other appropriate re-sealable means. Mouth 60 is sealed by zipper seal 64 or other appropriate re-sealable means.
Referring to FIG. 4, there is shown an end-mouth multiple compartment refrigerator storage and [0030] freezer bag system 40 having a multiple compartment bag 42, similar to that of FIG. 3, above, but having an additional compartment added. Third compartment 66 features lower end 70 and side 72. Third compartment 66 is separated from second compartment 46 by shared edge 74, pre-sealed by heat or other appropriate means. Third compartment 66 has mouth 76 for inserting and removing food. Mouth 76 is sealed by pressure zipper seal 78 or other appropriate re-sealable means.
Referring to FIG. 5, there is shown a plan view of radially disposed, multiple compartment refrigerator storage and [0031] freezer bag system 80. Multiple compartment refrigerator storage and freezer bag 82 is in the general shape of a square with triangular-shaped compartments and features first compartment 84, second compartment 86, third compartment 88 and fourth compartment 90, which adjoins first compartment 84, and are separated by shared edges 92, 94, 96, and 98, respectively. First compartment 84 is located along a first side of refrigerator storage and freezer bag 82 and features mouth 100 sealed by pressure zipper seal 102. Second compartment 86 is located along a second side of refrigerator storage and freezer bag 82 and features mouth 104 sealed by zipper seal 106. Third compartment 88 is located along a third side of refrigerator storage and freezer bag 82 and features mouth 108 sealed by pressure zipper seal 110. Fourth compartment 90 is located along a fourth side of refrigerator storage and freezer bag 82 and features mouth 112 sealed by zipper seal 114. Each of these mouths may be opened through their respective zipper seals and food inserted and removed as desired. Other sealing means may be employed as desired, and freezer bag 82 is re-useable.
The inventive bags of the present invention are conveniently made from sheets of flexible plastic sheet or film such as polyethylene, but may be constructed from other appropriate materials. The multiple compartments present the user the option to prepare an entire meal and store individual menu items in the individual compartments. [0032]
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims. [0033]

Claims

I claim:

1. A re-useable refrigerator food storage and freezer bag having multiple compartments comprising:

a) at least a first and a second compartment, mutually connected along a common edge;

b) said first and said second compartments each having an individually openable and closeable mouth; and

c) each of said mouths having a seal which is recloseable during use.

2. The re-useable refrigerator food storage and freezer bag of claim 1, wherein said at least first and second compartments have said individually openable and closeable mouths are located opposite and parallel to said common edge.

3. The re-useable refrigerator food storage and freezer bag of claim 1, wherein said at least first and second compartments have individually openable and closeable mouths located at at least one end of and perpendicular to said common edge.

4. The re-useable refrigerator food storage and freezer bag of claim 3, wherein said openable and closeable mouths extend to said common edge.

5. The re-useable refrigerator food storage and freezer bag of claim 3, wherein said openable and closeable mouths are located at the same end of said storage freezer bag.

6. The re-useable refrigerator food storage and freezer bag of claim 3, having three separately accessible compartments.

7. The re-useable refrigerator food storage and freezer bag of claim 4, having three separately accessible compartments.

8. The re-useable refrigerator food storage and freezer bag of claim 5, having three separately accessible compartments.

9. The re-useable refrigerator food storage and freezer bag of claim 3, having pressure closeable, re-openable zipper seals.

10. The re-useable refrigerator food storage and freezer bag of claim 4, having pressure closeable re-openable zipper seals.

11. The re-useable refrigerator food storage and freezer bag of claim 5, having pressure closeable re-openable zipper seals.

12. The re-useable refrigerator food storage and freezer bag of claim 1, having at least first, second, and third compartments, each adjacent compartment being mutually connected by radially directed common edges emanating from a common point.

13. The re-useable refrigerator food storage and freezer bag of claim 12, wherein said at least first, second, and third compartments have individually openable and closeable mouths located opposite said common point.

14. The re-useable refrigerator food storage and freezer bag of claim 13, having pressure closeable re-openable zipper seals.

15. The re-useable refrigerator food storage and freezer bag of claim 14, having four separately accessible compartments.

16. The re-useable refrigerator food storage and freezer bag of claim 14, wherein said mouths form the sides of a triangle.

17. The re-useable refrigerator food storage and freezer bag of claim 15, wherein said mouths form the sides of a square.