NZ240752A

NZ240752A - Single face corrugated board food container formed from single piece blank

Info

Publication number: NZ240752A
Application number: NZ24075291A
Authority: NZ
Inventors: Alex Ong
Original assignee: Visy Board Co Pty
Priority date: 1990-11-26
Filing date: 1991-11-26
Publication date: 1994-10-26
Also published as: JPH06502831A; WO1992009486A1

Description

240752 Priority Data(s): ... /!'.*?& Compile Specification Fi'cd: &*?.'/J'.ft I tibfMfko 2'6 OCT 1994 Publication Date: p o. J Tr>*r\s — Patents Form No. 5 PATENTS ACT 1953 Number Dated COMPLETE SPECIFICATION CONVENIENCE FOOD CONTAINER We, VISY BOARD PROPERTIES PTY LTD. an Auctralian company, of .262-266 Edwardes Street, Reservoir, Victoria 3073, Australia L roistered as 2> coppery fte <pcporations ISlo of tte Shsfe. Victor^ do hereby declare the invention for which we pray that a Patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: 2& A - 2 - * V < w Field of the Invention This invention relates to containers suitable for convenience food products and other products requiring packaging for a relatively short period of time, which 5 packaging is disposed of shortly after purchase of the product. Background of the Invention The use of moulded polystyrene containers for hot food products, such as hamburgers, pizzas and pizza slices, is becoming increasingly unacceptable due to the environmental 10 consequences of the use of such containers. While some convenience food suppliers have adopted die-cut thin paperboard (box-board) containers, such containers have not found widespread acceptance in the convenience food industry due to their low heat insulating properties and lower package appeal. 15 It has been proposed to use die-cut thin corrugated board (E flute), but this product has not as yet found commercial acceptance due to its cost and assembly difficulties. Background of the Invention and Object It is an object of the present invention to provide a 20 container suitable for convenience foods and other products requiring temporary packaging which may be disposed of shortly after purchase.

The invention provides a convenience food container of the type adapted to transport a food product which is consumed 25 shortly after purchase, said container being formed from a die-cut blank comprising a shaped base having a shallow dished configuration, and a shaped lid said base and lid being formed with manually releasable inter engaging means adapted to hold the lid in a closed position relative to the base to form a 30 container which encloses the food product in a manner which insulates the food product from the surroundings, said blank being cut from single-face corrugated board and the base and lid being constructed such that the corrugations of said single-face corrugated board are arranged on the inside of said 35 base and lid to reduce the tendency of the food product to adhere to the base/or lid.

Single face board is less expensive than double face board, but its Insulating properties are rtbV "significantly o \ ' \ MRMSS • 9 Aural 1994 • >J,'~ lr ' 'Si,- - 3 - 2/: f. ■ - ' * 0 p lower than that of double face board. The exposure of the "•» corrugations on the inside of the container maximises the insulating properties of the container and has the advantage of reducing the tendency of the food product to stick to the 5 inside surface of the container. In this way, additional wrapping of the product in a stick-resistant paper, which is sometimes required for paperboard containers, is unnecessary.

In a presently preferred form of the invention, the board is die-cut with the corrugations extending parallel to the 10 primary or longitudinal direction of the blank.

In another form of the invention, the board is die-cut with the corrugations extending at an acute angle the acute angle most preferred being about 45°. By orienting the corrugations at such an angle some of the difficulties 15 associated with die-cutting the blank are reduced since the corrugations tend to intersect the major lines of die-cutting rather than running parallel thereto. It will be appreciated that if the corrugations run parallel to the major direction of die-cutting, it may be difficult to locate the die-cut at a 20 position which does not at least partly intersect one of the corrugations to create undesired free material. However, the problem is not insurmountable, as shown in the last preferred embodiment of the invention described below.

V OJ- aMnM» ~r-:\ !^Us!SS4 " Brief Description of the Drawings Embodiments of the invention are shown in the accompanying drawings in which : Figures 1 and 2 are plan views, from opposite sides of a blank showing a first embodiment; of the invention; Figure 2a is a fragmentary sectional elevation of the blank; Figures 3 and 4 are front and rear perspective views of a container made from the blank of Figures 1 and 2; Figure 5 is a front perspective view of the container open; Figure 6 is a plan view of a blank showing a second embodiment of the invention in which the direction of die-cutting with respect to the flute is changed; Figure 7 is a perspective view of the container formed from the blank of Figure 6, in the open condition; Figures 8 and 9 are views similar to Figures 6 and 7 showing a third embodiment of the invention. Description of the Preferred Embodiments Referring firstly to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, a blank 1 for forming a hamburger container is die-cut from a sheet of single-face corrugated board with the major longitudinal direction of the blank parallel to the longitudinal direction of the flutes 2.

The blank 1 comprises a lid portion 3 and a base portion 4 die-cut and scored to define a rectangular top 5 and a rectangular base 6, side panels 7 and 8 on the lid portion 3 and side panels 9 and 10 on the base portion 4, end panels 11 and 12 on the lid portion 3 and visy.spe 91 11 26 24 rj 13 and 14 on the base portion 4, with the side panels 12 and 14 being connected along a score or fold line 15.

Each end panel 11 to 14 has a generally triangular ear portion 16a to 16h extending from opposite ends thereof 5 and cut from the adjacent side panels 7 to 10 to enable the ear portions 16a to 16h to be folded inwardly of the side panels 7 to 10 where they are adhesively secured to the inner corrugated faces of the side panels 7 to 10 to define clam-shaped top and base portions 3 and 4, as 10 shown most clearly in Figures 3 and 5 of the drawings.

The outermost edges of the side panels 7 and 8 and the outermost edges of the end panel 13 have shaped projections 17 and 18 on the side panels 7 and 8 and 19 and 20 on the end panel 13. It will be appreciated, 15 particularly from Figures 3 and 5 of the drawings, that the projections 17 and 18 extend forwardly from the lid portion 3 while the projections 19 and 20 extend laterally from the base 4 such that when the lid 3 is closed on to the base 4 the projections 17 and 18 are 20 laterally deflected by the projections 19 and 20 until they engage under the projections 19 and 20 to hold the lid 3 in a closed position with respect to the base 4.

It will be noted that projections 19 and 20 have downwardly and outwardly sloping camming surfaces 21 and 25 22 for the above purpose. It will be appreciated that the above described closure mechanism is particularly simple to close and open, and for this reason is preferred.

It will be noted that the end panels 12 and 14 have 30 a pair of spaced parallel die-cut lines 23 and 24 which intersect the fold line 15 and extend into each panel 12 visy.spe 91 11 26 and 14. These die-cut lines 23 and 24 define a toggling strap 25 which is able to be bent inwardly about the fold line 15 to maintain the container in an opened condition, although this is not illustrated in Figure 5 of the drawings and is not in any way important to the invention.

Referring now to Figures 6 to 9 of the drawings, two alternative embodiments of the invention are shown in which the blanks 30 and 40 for forming a hamburger container of different design are die-cut from a sheet of single-face corrugated board with the major longitudinal direction of the blank at about 45° to the longitudinal direction of the flutes 31 and 41. Alternatively, the corrugations may extend transversely of the blank or longitudinally as in the previous embodiment.

By orienting the flutes at 45° to be blank, the die-cut lines of the blanks 30, 40 do not run parallel to the corrugations 31, 41 for any significant distance whereby loose edges caused by cutting the corrugations along their length may be avoided if desired. However, it will be appreciated from the embodiment of Figures 1 to 5 that this problem is not regarded by the present applicant as being significant.

Each blank 30 and 40 comprises a base 32,42 and hinged lids 33,43 having sides which are adhesively secured by the truncated triangular tabs 34, 44 at the edges of the bases 32, 42 and the lids 33,43. The tabs 34 44 are clearly visible in the assembled container shown in Figures 7 and 9 of the drawings.

In the embodiment of Figures 6 and 7, the lid 33 is visy.spe 91 11 26 2W7Z2 held in place by means of a cut-out latching tab 35, formed in an extended front portion of the lid 33, which engages an opening 36 in the front wall of the base 30. In the embodiment of Figures 8 and 9 a latching tab 5 44 engages an opening 46 in the lid, the opening 46 having a finger opening 47 into which the user's finger may be inserted to bend the top portion of an extension 48 of the front wall of the base 42 downwardly to displace the latching tab 45 from its lid engaging 10 position in the opening 46 to allow the lid to be raised with respect to the base by engagement of the user's thumb under the front edge of the lid. This means that the lid may be opened by a simple finger and thumb action rather than by multiple action as is usually 15 required to displace a latching tab from its engaged opening.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 10 of the drawings, a pizza container blank 50 is illustrated. While in this embodiment the flutes 51 are shown running 20 longitudinally of the blank, they may equally run transversely or at any desired angle. The manner in which this blank is assembled and closed will be well understood by a person skilled in the art, and is illustrated in greater detail in U.S. Patent 4,765,534 ""-'25 to Zion et al. '' • <- In each of the above embodiments, the inner J 8 DfCJ90|^ corrugated surface of the board may be treated by means / of a known grease resistant material to reduce the «\ ^ r- . r- "bleeding" of grease and other food 30 products from the outside of the container.

It will be appreciated that the above described visy.spe 91 11 26 ') ,in ~ _ o embodiments show only several particular forms in which the container embodying the invention may be made. For example, the container may be designed so that it does not require gluing for assembly and can be stored in a 5 flat condition. The invention is applicable to other die-cut containers such as pizza containers, as illustrated in Figure 10, where stick-resistance is important.

While the containers described are particularly 10 suitable for hot or cold convenience foods due to the insulating and non-stick properties supplied by the single-face corrugated board inside the containers, the container may be used to package any desired product which requires at least temporary covering in a more 15 protected environment than that provided by plain paperboard. Thus, the container may be particularly suitable where the product to be contained must be protected against relatively small shocks since the primary commercial use for single-face board is as a 20 wrapping or shock absorbing material. ■v A '8D£CI99,$ / t / visy.spe 91 11 26 9 - z

Claims

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: u

1. A convenience food container of the type adapted to transport a food product which is consumed shortly after purchase, said container being formed from a die-cut blank 5 comprising a shaped base having a shallow dished configuration, and a shaped lid said base and lid being formed with manually releasable interengaging means adapted to hold the lid in a closed position relative to the base to form a container which encloses the food product in a manner which insulates the food 10 product from the surroundings, said blank being cut from single-face corrugated board and the base and lid being constructed such that the corrugations of said single-face corrugated board are arranged on the inside of said base and lid to reduce the tendency of the food product to adhere to the 15 base and or lid.

2. The container of claim 1, wherein said corrugations are treated with a grease-resistant material to reduce the penetration of food products through to the outer face of the container. 20

3. The container of claim 1 or 2, wherein at least said base is formed with side panels and end panels folded and interconnected to define said dished base, said base having outwardly extending projections and said lid having oppositely directed projections which are configured and positioned to 25 engage under the projections on the base to retain the lid closed with respect to the base in a manually releasable manner.

4. The container of claim 3, wherein said projections on said base have downwardly and outwardly extending camming edges 30 which engage the projections on the lid to bias said lid projections outwardly as the lid is moved to its closed position with respect to the base so that the lid projections engage under the base projections after they have passed the base projections. 35

5. The container of claim 1 or 2, wherein the base and lid are formed with side panels and end panels folded and interconnected to define said dished base and an oppositely dished lid, a front panel of said base laterally /•■>/ 1 C bbrfmr#9$M ' AogaM 19M - . 9 - 10 - |4 C" 5 directed projections at its upper edge and the side panels of the lid having forwardly directed projections and their forward edges, said forwardly directed projections being adapted to engage under said lateral projections to retain the lid closed 5 with respect to the base.

6. The container of claim 5, wherein said lateral projections have downwardly and outwardly extending camming edges which engage the forward projections on the side panels to bias them outwardly as the side panels pass the front panel projections. 10

7. The container of claim 1 or 2, wherein the base and lid are formed with side panels and end panels folded and interconnected to define a dished base and an oppositely dished lid, a front panel of said lid having laterally directed projections at its upper edge a latching tab extending from its 15 free edge and a front panel of the base is formed with a slot adapted to receive the latching tab to hold the lid in the closed position.

8. The container of claim 1 or 2, wherein the base and lid are formed with side panels and end panels folded and 20 interconnected to define a dished base and an oppositely dished lid, a front panel of said base having being formed with an upwardly directed extension having an outwardly extending latching tab and said lid has a tab engaging opening formed at the junction between the front panel and a top panel of the 25 lid, said base further having a finger access opening adjacent said tab engaging opening to enable the tab to be manually displaced from the opening.

9. The container of any preceding claim, wherein said corrugations extend longitudinally of the blank. 30

10. The container of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein said corrugations extend transversely of the blank.

11. The container of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein said corrugations extend at approximately 45° to the longitudinal direction of the blank. 35

12. A convenience food container substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 5, 6 to 9 and 10 of the accompanying drawings. WEST-WALKER, McCABE i i per. *;attorneys for the applicant tt*n4swyP953S WW