The SlimFit consists of several parts. The main part is the outer case called the SlimFit. It should be possible to store it inside a laptop bag. The Slimfit is used to store one or more lunch boxes or two snack boxes and a thermos bottle. All the products have the same height and depth, only varying in width.
The SlimFit is used to contain the lunch or snack boxes and thermos bottle and it can be placed inside a laptop bag. It adds a level of security against spilling, and keeps the lunchboxes in place and accessible. Furthermore, the boxes are proportional in width, meaning that two snack boxes equal the width of one lunch box. The bottle will also be stored inside the SlimFit.
The lid of the lunch box will have the same dimensions as the Clip & Go Brunch Box of EMSA. However, the bottom part of the mold will have different dimension. It will have depth of 50 mm instead of 58 mm. Snackbox The lid of the snack box will have the same dimensions as the lid of the Clip & Go Snack box with a 0.55L volume. However, the bottom part of the mold will have different dimension. It will have a depth of 50 mm instead of 58 mm.
The thermos bottle will be round and have a diameter of 50mm. To improve insulation properties it will have two walls. The bottle cap will have a slightly smaller diameter. Inside this cap, there will also be a stainless steel disk, making sure the cap is fully insulated. This lid will be glued inside the bottle cap. The outside of the cap will have small vertical textures to improve grip. The inside of will contain three helical screw threads. Furthermore, inside the bottle cap, aligned with the screw threads, there will be a bump that exactly complements/fits a notch on the outside of the bottle’s drinking part to ensure that the cap is locked into position.
Using Espacenet, patents can be found. As a first guess, the search term ’lunchbox bag’ was used. A lunchbox housing bag was found. The code A45C11/20 was connected to this patent. Next, this code was used to find more patents and codes. All codes which were used are displaced in table below. Only relatively highly relevant patents were taken into consideration.
Nr. | Codes | Meaning |
---|---|---|
1 | A45C11/20 | Lunch or picnic boxes or the like |
2 | F25D3/08 | portable, i.e. adapted to be carried personally |
3 | F25D3/06 | Movable containers |
4 | B65D25/00 | Details of other kinds or types of rigid or semi-rigid containers* |
*: More specific codes of B65D25 were also researched, such as B65D25/005, /02, /34 and /38. There were, however, no patents found that were relevant to this case.
The product has as goal to cover the lunchbox. Furthermore, it can be used as a lunch mat. The design of a lunchbox bag is similar to our product, but the unfolding to a lunch mat is different. Thereby, no conflicts are expected.
The system consist of 3 stacked compartments with a carrying case for the lunchbox. Ice can be used in the middle compartment to keep the box at a low temperature. Storing different kinds of food in one product, is a core idea in our design, but our box is from canvas. Also, it is designed to fit in a laptop case. The idea is not patented, but the implementation is. Thereby, a conflict is not expected.
The product consists of a collapsible insulated container, which uses insulating gel. The outside of the product looks quite similar to our product, but our design does not have the goal to insulate the inside. Furthermore, the patent does not include a lunchbox or a bottle. Thereby the product will probably have no conflict with this patent.
The patent consist of a bag which carries the lunchbox and prevent items form going bad. A big difference between our design and this design is the storage of only one box. Also, the bag is used to preserve the inside components. Still, the design of the lunchbox inside a canvas bag is the similar to our product and could result in conflict.
The product is defined as a food storage box, consisting of a plastic clam shell box which houses a food tray. The tray consists of multiple compartments that differ in shape and volume. Each of these compartments provides a visual nutritional guide using graphics and/or labels located on the bottom surface to aid the user in packing a nutritionally balanced meal. All food wells are sized for specific age groups or special diets, considering their appropriate portion sizes. There is placed a rubber over-mold inside the interior lid, which, when closed, fits around each compartment and the perimeter of the tray to prevent leaking and mingling of food. It therefore also functions as a seal. Thus, the relevant patent is in this case the modular part of the idea. While this is somewhat similar to the different compartments of the SlimFit, this product divides the lunchbox into several compartments, while the SlimFit has in fact a lunchbox space as one of the compartments. Therefore, it will probably not conflict.
The product is an insulated container that provides place for food and beverages. The container is boxshaped like a general school lunchbox and consists of a main body and a lid. Further, the lid is joined to the box by use of a hinge that can make the led lie flat next to the main body when the box is open. While the idea of a main product with multiple compartments is similar to the SlimFit, this idea is a much more bulky ’version’ of the SlimFit. The SlimFit’s advantage is that it is suitable for a laptop bag, which means that it will be a slim design.
Almost all implementations of our concept are already used and patented. Nevertheless, the combination and the goal of our product is different. Thereby, it is not expected to have big conflicts with other products. When the Portable lunch box bag with preservation function results in a conflict, EMSA could try to buy the patent.