Food container with lighted interior

Abstract

A storage container is provided. The storage container having a parallelepiped housing with a plurality of walls that define a hollow interior portion. The plurality of walls include a pair of side walls, and a front, rear, and bottom walls. A cover is coupled to the housing, the cover is movable between an open and closed position, the cover enclosing the hollow interior and in contact with a top surface of the walls when in the closed position. A light source is disposed within at least one of the plurality of walls and arranged to project light into the hollow interior. A circuit having a power source is provided, the circuit being electrically coupled to the at least one light source and being configured to transfer electrical power to the at least one light source in response to the cover member being moved towards the open position.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A storage container comprising:
 a housing having a parallelepiped shape, the housing having a plurality of walls that define a hollow interior portion, the plurality of walls having a pair of side walls, a front wall, a rear wall, and a bottom wall;   a cover member movably coupled to the housing, the cover member movable between an open position and a closed position, the cover member enclosing the hollow interior and being at least partially in contact with a top surface of the plurality of walls when in the closed position;   at least one light source, disposed within at least one of the plurality of walls and arranged to project light into the hollow interior; and   a circuit having a power source, the circuit being electrically coupled to the at least one light source and being configured to transfer electrical power to the at least one light source in response to the cover member being moved towards the open position.   
     
     
         2 . The storage container of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one light source is disposed equal to or more than 50% of a distance from the bottom wall to the cover member when the cover member is in the closed position. 
     
     
         3 . The storage container of  claim 2 , wherein the at least one light source is disposed equal to or more than 75% of a distance from the bottom wall to the cover member when the cover member is in the closed position. 
     
     
         4 . The storage container of  claim 1 , wherein the circuit includes a switch disposed within one of the pair of side walls and operably coupled to the cover member. 
     
     
         5 . The storage container of  claim 4 , wherein the switch is configured to electrically couple the power source to the at least one light source when the cover member is in the open position. 
     
     
         6 . The storage container of  claim 5 , wherein the cover member includes a projection sized and positioned to engage the switch when the cover member is in the closed position. 
     
     
         7 . The storage container of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one light source is a pair of light sources with one of the pair of light sources being disposed in one of the pair of side walls. 
     
     
         8 . The storage container of  claim 7 , where the pair of light sources are light emitting diodes (LED). 
     
     
         9 . The storage container of  claim 8 , wherein the pair of light sources have a surface that is flush with an associated inner surface of the pair of side walls. 
     
     
         10 . The storage container of  claim 5 , wherein the power source is a battery. 
     
     
         11 . The storage container of  claim 10 , wherein the battery is removably disposed within the rear wall. 
     
     
         12 . The storage container of  claim 10 , wherein the battery is electrically coupled to a recharging circuit and an electrical port. 
     
     
         13 . The storage container of  claim 12 , wherein the electrical port is configured to couple with a universal serial bus (USB) connector.