Combination utensil and lid for packaged comestibles

Claim 1

In combination, a utensil and a lid for sealing a container, said container being arranged for holding a product therein and having a circular mouth for access to the contents of said container, said mouth including a circular rim disposed thereabout, said lid comprising a central portion and annular wall means projecting at an angle to the central portion, said wall means encircling the periphery of the central portion and being arranged to cooperate with the rim of the container to secure said lid to said container, said wall means comprising an inner circular wall and an outer circular wall projecting downward from said central portion and defining an annular recess therebetween for receipt of said rim, said inner wall having an annular free edge surface which projects slightly inward radially, said inner wall and said central portion defining a circular central recess therebetween and having an entrance which is smaller in diameter than said central recess, said utensil being formed of a thin, strong, yet relatively flexible plastic and comprising an elongated linear body slightly bowed in cross section along its length to provide longitudinal rigidity and to enable at least two similarly constructed utensils to nest together within said central recess at any diametric angular orientation therein, said utensil body having a pair of opposed arcuate ends, each having a radius of curvature approximately equal to the radius of curvature of said central recess with the maximum length of said utensil body measured between said arcuate ends being approximately the same size as the diameter of the central recess, whereby said utensil is frictionally held within said recess between opposed portions of said inner wall yet can be readily removed therefrom for use on the contents of said container without affecting the ability of the lid to seal said container.