CA2028310C - Display unit for a lobster - Google Patents
Display unit for a lobsterInfo
- Publication number
- CA2028310C CA2028310C CA002028310A CA2028310A CA2028310C CA 2028310 C CA2028310 C CA 2028310C CA 002028310 A CA002028310 A CA 002028310A CA 2028310 A CA2028310 A CA 2028310A CA 2028310 C CA2028310 C CA 2028310C
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- tray
- lobster
- bottom wall
- end wall
- wall portion
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Lifetime
Links
- 241000238565 lobster Species 0.000 title claims abstract description 62
- 210000000078 claw Anatomy 0.000 claims abstract description 24
- XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N water Substances O XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 10
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 claims description 5
- 238000004806 packaging method and process Methods 0.000 claims description 5
- 230000001681 protective effect Effects 0.000 claims description 3
- 230000003014 reinforcing effect Effects 0.000 claims description 2
- 238000000926 separation method Methods 0.000 claims description 2
- 230000000007 visual effect Effects 0.000 claims description 2
- 239000002991 molded plastic Substances 0.000 claims 4
- 239000002985 plastic film Substances 0.000 claims 2
- 229920006255 plastic film Polymers 0.000 claims 2
- 241000238557 Decapoda Species 0.000 description 11
- 230000000875 corresponding effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000005259 measurement Methods 0.000 description 2
- 239000004033 plastic Substances 0.000 description 2
- 230000000844 anti-bacterial effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000009172 bursting Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000007933 dermal patch Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000003292 diminished effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000011261 inert gas Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000000465 moulding Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000012815 thermoplastic material Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000005303 weighing Methods 0.000 description 1
Landscapes
- Packging For Living Organisms, Food Or Medicinal Products That Are Sensitive To Environmental Conditiond (AREA)
- Artificial Fish Reefs (AREA)
Abstract
A display unit comprising at least one tray. Each tray has side walls and corresponding front and back walls, a bottom joining the walls. The side walls are at least twice as long as said back or front walls. The bottom has a front portion and a back portion. The back portion defines a niche to snuggly receive the tail end of a lobster and to superimpose a portion of the tail over the tail end. The front portion comprises a space to receive individually the claws of a lobster. The uppermost portion of the walls defines a window for seeing a lobster to be displayed. The walls are slightly tilted so that the distances between the side walls or between the front and the back walls at the bottom are shorter than their corresponding distance at the top.
Description
The present invention relates to a lobster packaging and display unit, and more particularly to a display unit incorporating a plurality of trays, each tray containing a single lobster, whether fresh or frozen, raw S or uncooked, partly cooked or fully cooked.
Lobsters are generally sent to consumers frozen in bags or grouped and frozen in boxes, where the lobsters are all together in a box, each lobster wrapped in wax paper and frozen. There bags may contain the lobsters 10 wrapped around with frozen water as a block. When the lobsters are frozen, they become trittle, in particular the claws are easily breakable and once the claws are broken, the commercial value of the lobster is considerably diminished. Also when lobsters are packed in 15 bulk and frozen, the whole block has to be defrosted at once.
In order to overcomme or reduce the problems associated with the prior art, the invention provides a lobster packaging and display unit that is preferably made 20 of plastic material and comprises a lobster packaging and display unit comprising at least one tray shaped and sized to receive and conform to a lobster contained therein and to display the lobster to best advantage, wherein:
(a) said at least one tray comprises:
- a bottom wall having a front bottom wall portion and a rear bottom wall portion;
- a front end wall;
- a pair of side walls each having a front side wall portion and a rear side wall portion; and - a rear end wall;
(b) the rear bottom wall portion, the rear side wall portions and the rear end wall are configured and oriented relative to each other so as to form a niche that is sufficiently narrow and deep to snugly receive and 35 retain the tail of the lobster with said tail in folded position under itself;
(c) the front bottom wall portion, the front side .
wall portions and the front end wall are configured and oriented relative to each other so as to form a space wide enough to receive the head and claws of the lobster with said claws extending fully forward on said space without substantially overlapping each other; and (d) the side walls, front end wall and rear end walls have upper edges that extend perpendicularly to each other in a same plane to define a continuous rectangular opening on top of said at least one tray, said opening being at least as long as said bottom wall and at least as wide as said space.
Adv~ntageously, the front end wall of said at least one tray has a height shorter than the height of the rear end wall so that the plane in which extend the upper edges defining the rectangular opening, is inclined downwardly towards the front end wall relative to the bottom wall.
Preferably, t h e f ront bottom wall portion is generally flat and the rear bottom wall portion is angled upwardly rearwardly relative to said front bottom wall portion to raise the tail of the lobster with respect to its claws.
Further preferably, the front bottom wall portion comprises a short upwardly projecting boss positioned centrally just in front of the head of the lobster, between the claws.
The invention also provides a unit as defined hereinabove, which comprises two or more of the above mentioned trays, each being identical in shape and size and connected in adjacent and longitudinally parallel rela-tionship through their adjacent upper edges.
This permits to ship and display several lobster at the same time.
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a display unit comprising two trays which are separable;
~ 20283 1 0 Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 of figure 1;
Figure 3 is a top plan view of a box in which the display unit shown in figure 1 can be laterally slid;
SFigure 4 is a top plan view of the display unit shown in figure 1, whithout any lobster being shown;
Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 of figure 1;
Figure 6 is a perspective view of a another 10display unit comprising four trays that are separable or not;
Figure 7 is a prespective view of a further display unit having only one tray;
Figure 8 is perspective view of a box sized to 15receive the tray shown in figure 7;
Figure 9 is a side elevational view of the box shown in figure 3, with a display unit as shown in figure 1 slid in it;
Figure 10 is a top plan view of a further display 20unit comprising only one tray with a concave back portion;
and Figure 11 is a cross-section view taken along line 11-11 of the tray shown in figure 10;
The display unit 10 as shown in figure 1, com-25prises two trays 12 and 14. However, it could also contain one and more trays (1, 4, 6 or more for instance). Each tray has side walls 16, 18 or 20, 22 respectively, a front wall 24 or 26 and a back wall 28 or 30 (better shown in figure 4). A bottom wall 32 or 34 joins said walls. The 30side walls are at least twice as long as the back or front walls. The bottom wall 32 or 34 has a front portion 32a or 34a and a back portion 32b or 34b. The back bottom wall portion and the surrounding walls defines a niche to snuggly receive the tail 35a of a lobster 35, and to superimpose the 35portion of the tail 35b over said tail as shown in figures 1, 2 and 5. Preferably, this back portion is angled upwardly rearwardly to enhance the tail.
As shown in figures 1 and 2, the front portion of each bottom wall, kike the one numbered 32a, comprises a space to receive individually the claws 35c and the members 35d joining said claws to the body of a lobster to indivi-dually expose said claws with said members. The uppermost portion of the walls such as 16, 18, 24 and 28 define an opening or window for seeing the lobster to be displayed.
The walls 16, 18, 24 and 28 are slightly tapering upwardly outwardly so that the distance "a" between the side walls at the bottom of the tray is shorter than the corres-ponding distance "b" between the same walls on top of them.
In a very preferred embodiment, the back wall 28 lS of the tray is taller than the front wall 24 (as is better shown in figure 2) and define together with the side walls 16 and 18 a forwardly and downwardly inclined window for a better view of the lobster to be displayed. The display unit is preferably free from any sharp angle in order to prevent its breakage.
The lobster is generally coverd with a transparent film 38. The film 38 may be over the tray or in intimate contact with the top surface of the lobster. In such a case, the film is dshaped according to the shape of the lobster or covering the totality of the cavity of the tray.
In one embodiment, the film takes the shape of the lobster and is intimately adhering thereto and sealed to the walls of the tray as shown in figure 2, i.e. to the side walls of the tray including the back and front walls. In another embodiment, the lobster is skin packed for instgance by molding all around the lobster as to seal with said skin the lobster from its environment.
In a more preferred embodiment, as already discussed, the bottom wall of the tray near the back wall is upwardly angled as clearly shown at 32b in figure 2.
In order to tightly fit the tail of the lobster, a convenient way is to give a tapering shape to the side walls, such as 16a and 18a, near the back wall 28 of the tray, and the portion of the bottom wall 32b therebetween, as shown in figure 4.
As shown in figure 1, the tray preferably comprises a boss 40 located on the longitudinal axis of the tray to allow one of the claws and the members joining the claws to the body of a lobster to be disposed on one of the lo sides of the boss, the other claw and the other member being disposed on the other side of the boss. This boss 40 may take various forms. For instance, it may be conically troncated or have an ovoid or egg shape but is such as to enhance the value of the claws. Preferably, the side walls of each tray are provided with a plurality of reinforcing ribs 42, as shown in figures 1 and 6.
Still in a preferred embodiment, the upper edges of the side wals, together with those of the front wall and the back wall, define a flange that extends outwardly as to provide the opening or window with a lip 38 having a continuous regular contour.
The lip 44 may be extended further. For instance it may include a downward extension in the form of a continuous wall 46, better shown in figure 2. This extension may also be further extended outwardly as shown in figure 1 at 48 and 50.
When two trays are molded simultaneously, the downward extension between the adjacent trays such as shown at 12 and 14, may be further extended so as to produce a common wall such as shown at 52, joining adjacent trays.
This common wall may be provided with a line of weakness 56, if desired. The trays may be provided with other means to separate them into individual trays, as is well known, if one wishes, in order to obtain a display unit having separable trays. It should be noted that the lip 44 and the _ 20283 1 n outward extension 46 are preferrably continuous between the trays.
In one of the most preferred embodiments of the invention better shown in figure 4, each of the side walls adjacent the upwardly tapering bottom wall portion 32b, defines first upwardly inclined lowermost portions 16a and 18a, second substantially vertically tapered middle portions 16b and 18b, and third upwardly inclined uppermost portions 16c and 18c. The upper edges of the uppermost portions 16c and 18c are in the same plane as the upper edges of the side walls extending along the front bottom wall portion. At one end, the first second and third portions adjacent to the side walls of the front bottom wall portion merge with said side walls. At the other opposite end, they merge with the back wall.
As can be seen, the display unit can be molded w`ith thermoplastic material, as is well known.
Each tray of the display unit is intended to receive a lobster whether fresh or frozen, raw or uncooked, partly cooked or fully cooked. The lobsters may be raw frozen, fresh frozen or fresh. They can, for instance, be fresh packed, using techniques such as inert gas and bactericidal medium to keep the lobster at about 2C. In a particular embodiment, the display unit comprises in each tray, a lobster and water which is frozen to hold the lobster within the tray, said lobster bieng protected with a transparent protective film.
The box of the display unit may be provided with lateral openings in which the unit can be slid, as is shown in figure 3 and in figure 9. Preferably, the box has an upper surface 60 hiding the uppermost portion of the side walls or the lip 44, as shown in figure 9, and four other surfaces 62, 64, 66 and 68 surrounding all the sides of the display unit except the side walls. The upper surface of 202~3 1 0 the box defines a open frame hiding the lip, thereby producing a window to view the lobster.
If desired, the display unit may instead comprise a box as shown in figure 8 having a front side 72, a back side 74, a pair of lateral sides 76 and 78, and a bottom 80 joining the sides, the front, back and lateral sides. The bos has dimensions corresponding to the walls of one of said trays, whereby the box can snuggly receive a tray, the edge of the box being then able to engage under the lip and be confined within the downward extension of said lip.
As shown in figure 3, the frame 60 may also be provided with lines of weakness, such as shown at 61.
There may be many variations in the shape of the niche. In this connection reference can be made to figures 10 and 11, which shows a niche in which the back portion of the bottom 132 b has a U-shaped concave cross-section to receive the tail of a lobster and to superimpose the portion of the tail over said tail end, as indicated previously.
EXAMPLES
The following examples will serve to illustrate particular embodiments of the invention.
Examples The following display units were made as shown in figures 3 and 9 for small (200-300 g) and medium size (300-500 g) lobsters. The measurements as shown for sides 60 to 68 of figure 9 and f, g, h' of figure 3 were as follows:
SMALL MEDIUM
Lobsters are generally sent to consumers frozen in bags or grouped and frozen in boxes, where the lobsters are all together in a box, each lobster wrapped in wax paper and frozen. There bags may contain the lobsters 10 wrapped around with frozen water as a block. When the lobsters are frozen, they become trittle, in particular the claws are easily breakable and once the claws are broken, the commercial value of the lobster is considerably diminished. Also when lobsters are packed in 15 bulk and frozen, the whole block has to be defrosted at once.
In order to overcomme or reduce the problems associated with the prior art, the invention provides a lobster packaging and display unit that is preferably made 20 of plastic material and comprises a lobster packaging and display unit comprising at least one tray shaped and sized to receive and conform to a lobster contained therein and to display the lobster to best advantage, wherein:
(a) said at least one tray comprises:
- a bottom wall having a front bottom wall portion and a rear bottom wall portion;
- a front end wall;
- a pair of side walls each having a front side wall portion and a rear side wall portion; and - a rear end wall;
(b) the rear bottom wall portion, the rear side wall portions and the rear end wall are configured and oriented relative to each other so as to form a niche that is sufficiently narrow and deep to snugly receive and 35 retain the tail of the lobster with said tail in folded position under itself;
(c) the front bottom wall portion, the front side .
wall portions and the front end wall are configured and oriented relative to each other so as to form a space wide enough to receive the head and claws of the lobster with said claws extending fully forward on said space without substantially overlapping each other; and (d) the side walls, front end wall and rear end walls have upper edges that extend perpendicularly to each other in a same plane to define a continuous rectangular opening on top of said at least one tray, said opening being at least as long as said bottom wall and at least as wide as said space.
Adv~ntageously, the front end wall of said at least one tray has a height shorter than the height of the rear end wall so that the plane in which extend the upper edges defining the rectangular opening, is inclined downwardly towards the front end wall relative to the bottom wall.
Preferably, t h e f ront bottom wall portion is generally flat and the rear bottom wall portion is angled upwardly rearwardly relative to said front bottom wall portion to raise the tail of the lobster with respect to its claws.
Further preferably, the front bottom wall portion comprises a short upwardly projecting boss positioned centrally just in front of the head of the lobster, between the claws.
The invention also provides a unit as defined hereinabove, which comprises two or more of the above mentioned trays, each being identical in shape and size and connected in adjacent and longitudinally parallel rela-tionship through their adjacent upper edges.
This permits to ship and display several lobster at the same time.
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a display unit comprising two trays which are separable;
~ 20283 1 0 Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 of figure 1;
Figure 3 is a top plan view of a box in which the display unit shown in figure 1 can be laterally slid;
SFigure 4 is a top plan view of the display unit shown in figure 1, whithout any lobster being shown;
Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 of figure 1;
Figure 6 is a perspective view of a another 10display unit comprising four trays that are separable or not;
Figure 7 is a prespective view of a further display unit having only one tray;
Figure 8 is perspective view of a box sized to 15receive the tray shown in figure 7;
Figure 9 is a side elevational view of the box shown in figure 3, with a display unit as shown in figure 1 slid in it;
Figure 10 is a top plan view of a further display 20unit comprising only one tray with a concave back portion;
and Figure 11 is a cross-section view taken along line 11-11 of the tray shown in figure 10;
The display unit 10 as shown in figure 1, com-25prises two trays 12 and 14. However, it could also contain one and more trays (1, 4, 6 or more for instance). Each tray has side walls 16, 18 or 20, 22 respectively, a front wall 24 or 26 and a back wall 28 or 30 (better shown in figure 4). A bottom wall 32 or 34 joins said walls. The 30side walls are at least twice as long as the back or front walls. The bottom wall 32 or 34 has a front portion 32a or 34a and a back portion 32b or 34b. The back bottom wall portion and the surrounding walls defines a niche to snuggly receive the tail 35a of a lobster 35, and to superimpose the 35portion of the tail 35b over said tail as shown in figures 1, 2 and 5. Preferably, this back portion is angled upwardly rearwardly to enhance the tail.
As shown in figures 1 and 2, the front portion of each bottom wall, kike the one numbered 32a, comprises a space to receive individually the claws 35c and the members 35d joining said claws to the body of a lobster to indivi-dually expose said claws with said members. The uppermost portion of the walls such as 16, 18, 24 and 28 define an opening or window for seeing the lobster to be displayed.
The walls 16, 18, 24 and 28 are slightly tapering upwardly outwardly so that the distance "a" between the side walls at the bottom of the tray is shorter than the corres-ponding distance "b" between the same walls on top of them.
In a very preferred embodiment, the back wall 28 lS of the tray is taller than the front wall 24 (as is better shown in figure 2) and define together with the side walls 16 and 18 a forwardly and downwardly inclined window for a better view of the lobster to be displayed. The display unit is preferably free from any sharp angle in order to prevent its breakage.
The lobster is generally coverd with a transparent film 38. The film 38 may be over the tray or in intimate contact with the top surface of the lobster. In such a case, the film is dshaped according to the shape of the lobster or covering the totality of the cavity of the tray.
In one embodiment, the film takes the shape of the lobster and is intimately adhering thereto and sealed to the walls of the tray as shown in figure 2, i.e. to the side walls of the tray including the back and front walls. In another embodiment, the lobster is skin packed for instgance by molding all around the lobster as to seal with said skin the lobster from its environment.
In a more preferred embodiment, as already discussed, the bottom wall of the tray near the back wall is upwardly angled as clearly shown at 32b in figure 2.
In order to tightly fit the tail of the lobster, a convenient way is to give a tapering shape to the side walls, such as 16a and 18a, near the back wall 28 of the tray, and the portion of the bottom wall 32b therebetween, as shown in figure 4.
As shown in figure 1, the tray preferably comprises a boss 40 located on the longitudinal axis of the tray to allow one of the claws and the members joining the claws to the body of a lobster to be disposed on one of the lo sides of the boss, the other claw and the other member being disposed on the other side of the boss. This boss 40 may take various forms. For instance, it may be conically troncated or have an ovoid or egg shape but is such as to enhance the value of the claws. Preferably, the side walls of each tray are provided with a plurality of reinforcing ribs 42, as shown in figures 1 and 6.
Still in a preferred embodiment, the upper edges of the side wals, together with those of the front wall and the back wall, define a flange that extends outwardly as to provide the opening or window with a lip 38 having a continuous regular contour.
The lip 44 may be extended further. For instance it may include a downward extension in the form of a continuous wall 46, better shown in figure 2. This extension may also be further extended outwardly as shown in figure 1 at 48 and 50.
When two trays are molded simultaneously, the downward extension between the adjacent trays such as shown at 12 and 14, may be further extended so as to produce a common wall such as shown at 52, joining adjacent trays.
This common wall may be provided with a line of weakness 56, if desired. The trays may be provided with other means to separate them into individual trays, as is well known, if one wishes, in order to obtain a display unit having separable trays. It should be noted that the lip 44 and the _ 20283 1 n outward extension 46 are preferrably continuous between the trays.
In one of the most preferred embodiments of the invention better shown in figure 4, each of the side walls adjacent the upwardly tapering bottom wall portion 32b, defines first upwardly inclined lowermost portions 16a and 18a, second substantially vertically tapered middle portions 16b and 18b, and third upwardly inclined uppermost portions 16c and 18c. The upper edges of the uppermost portions 16c and 18c are in the same plane as the upper edges of the side walls extending along the front bottom wall portion. At one end, the first second and third portions adjacent to the side walls of the front bottom wall portion merge with said side walls. At the other opposite end, they merge with the back wall.
As can be seen, the display unit can be molded w`ith thermoplastic material, as is well known.
Each tray of the display unit is intended to receive a lobster whether fresh or frozen, raw or uncooked, partly cooked or fully cooked. The lobsters may be raw frozen, fresh frozen or fresh. They can, for instance, be fresh packed, using techniques such as inert gas and bactericidal medium to keep the lobster at about 2C. In a particular embodiment, the display unit comprises in each tray, a lobster and water which is frozen to hold the lobster within the tray, said lobster bieng protected with a transparent protective film.
The box of the display unit may be provided with lateral openings in which the unit can be slid, as is shown in figure 3 and in figure 9. Preferably, the box has an upper surface 60 hiding the uppermost portion of the side walls or the lip 44, as shown in figure 9, and four other surfaces 62, 64, 66 and 68 surrounding all the sides of the display unit except the side walls. The upper surface of 202~3 1 0 the box defines a open frame hiding the lip, thereby producing a window to view the lobster.
If desired, the display unit may instead comprise a box as shown in figure 8 having a front side 72, a back side 74, a pair of lateral sides 76 and 78, and a bottom 80 joining the sides, the front, back and lateral sides. The bos has dimensions corresponding to the walls of one of said trays, whereby the box can snuggly receive a tray, the edge of the box being then able to engage under the lip and be confined within the downward extension of said lip.
As shown in figure 3, the frame 60 may also be provided with lines of weakness, such as shown at 61.
There may be many variations in the shape of the niche. In this connection reference can be made to figures 10 and 11, which shows a niche in which the back portion of the bottom 132 b has a U-shaped concave cross-section to receive the tail of a lobster and to superimpose the portion of the tail over said tail end, as indicated previously.
EXAMPLES
The following examples will serve to illustrate particular embodiments of the invention.
Examples The following display units were made as shown in figures 3 and 9 for small (200-300 g) and medium size (300-500 g) lobsters. The measurements as shown for sides 60 to 68 of figure 9 and f, g, h' of figure 3 were as follows:
SMALL MEDIUM
2 trays 2 trays Sides no.
68 sO 58 Measurements (cm) f 200 217 g 60 6S
h' 15 20 Each small tray itself has a dimension of about 70-80 cm wide, tapering to 24 cm and is about 255 cm long.
The medium tray has a dimension of about 90 cm tapering to about 30 cm and is about 290 cm long.
Large size trays for lobsters of 500-800 grams were also made.
The lobsters were placed in such display units and tested, the small package was containing lobsters weighing in general between 200-300 grams, 300-500 grams and 500-800 grams respectively. The lobsters were covered with a film after having added water, the film was pressed against the water, thereby the film was stopped from stretching and bursting, by preventing it from moving more deeply into the display unit, thereby making an excellent skin patch.
As can be easily seen, with such a display, the lobster can be seen and is protected by the skin or plastic filom. Moreover, the skin is protected because of the depth of the display unit. Furthermore, the water accompanying the lobster with such an arrangement is greatly reduced.
- ` Z02831 0 These examples were obtained after having obtained and produced over 20 prototypes, illustrating the difficulty to obtain a good match.
As can be seen, the tray is preferably at an angle in order to emphasize its display characteristics, the back being lifted to enhance the tail of a lobster and to reduce the amount of water carried with it.
- The back portion is narrower to increase the visual impact`, to maintain the tail well centered and to reduce the quantity of water.
- The central portion is centering and emphasizing the claws, and it prevents the skin of the film from moving down too far between the claws and to burst. Also, the quantity of water needed is reduced.
- The lip assists in obtaining a better anchorage of the film and enabie easy separation of the tray in individual units.
Although the present invention has been explained hereinabove by way of preferred embodiments thereof, it should be pointed out that any modifications to these preferred embodiments, within the scope of hte appended claims, is not deemed to change or alter the nature and scope of the invention.
68 sO 58 Measurements (cm) f 200 217 g 60 6S
h' 15 20 Each small tray itself has a dimension of about 70-80 cm wide, tapering to 24 cm and is about 255 cm long.
The medium tray has a dimension of about 90 cm tapering to about 30 cm and is about 290 cm long.
Large size trays for lobsters of 500-800 grams were also made.
The lobsters were placed in such display units and tested, the small package was containing lobsters weighing in general between 200-300 grams, 300-500 grams and 500-800 grams respectively. The lobsters were covered with a film after having added water, the film was pressed against the water, thereby the film was stopped from stretching and bursting, by preventing it from moving more deeply into the display unit, thereby making an excellent skin patch.
As can be easily seen, with such a display, the lobster can be seen and is protected by the skin or plastic filom. Moreover, the skin is protected because of the depth of the display unit. Furthermore, the water accompanying the lobster with such an arrangement is greatly reduced.
- ` Z02831 0 These examples were obtained after having obtained and produced over 20 prototypes, illustrating the difficulty to obtain a good match.
As can be seen, the tray is preferably at an angle in order to emphasize its display characteristics, the back being lifted to enhance the tail of a lobster and to reduce the amount of water carried with it.
- The back portion is narrower to increase the visual impact`, to maintain the tail well centered and to reduce the quantity of water.
- The central portion is centering and emphasizing the claws, and it prevents the skin of the film from moving down too far between the claws and to burst. Also, the quantity of water needed is reduced.
- The lip assists in obtaining a better anchorage of the film and enabie easy separation of the tray in individual units.
Although the present invention has been explained hereinabove by way of preferred embodiments thereof, it should be pointed out that any modifications to these preferred embodiments, within the scope of hte appended claims, is not deemed to change or alter the nature and scope of the invention.
Claims (17)
1. A lobster packaging and display unit comprising at least one tray shaped and sized to receive and conform to a lobster contained therein and to display the lobster to best advantage, wherein:
(a) said at least one tray comprises:
- a bottom wall having a front bottom wall portion and a rear bottom wall portion;
- a front end wall;
- a pair of side walls each having a front side wall portion and a rear side wall portion; and - a rear end wall;
(b) the rear bottom wall portion, the rear side wall portions and the rear end wall are configured and oriented relative to each other so as to form a niche that is sufficiently narrow and deep to snugly receive and retain the tail of the lobster with said tail in folded position under itself;
(c) the front bottom wall portion, the front side wall portions and the front end wall are configured and oriented relative to each other so as to form a space wide enough to receive the head and claws of the lobster with said claws extending fully forward on said space without substantially overlapping each other; and (d) the side walls, front end wall and rear end wall have upper edges that extend perpendicularly thereto in a same plane to define a continuous rectangular opening on top of said at least one tray, said opening being at least as long as said bottom wall and at least as wide as said space, wherein the front end wall of said at least one tray has a height shorter than the height of the rear end wall so that the plane in which extend the upper edges defining the rectangular opening, is inclined downwardly towards the front end wall relative to the bottom wall.
(a) said at least one tray comprises:
- a bottom wall having a front bottom wall portion and a rear bottom wall portion;
- a front end wall;
- a pair of side walls each having a front side wall portion and a rear side wall portion; and - a rear end wall;
(b) the rear bottom wall portion, the rear side wall portions and the rear end wall are configured and oriented relative to each other so as to form a niche that is sufficiently narrow and deep to snugly receive and retain the tail of the lobster with said tail in folded position under itself;
(c) the front bottom wall portion, the front side wall portions and the front end wall are configured and oriented relative to each other so as to form a space wide enough to receive the head and claws of the lobster with said claws extending fully forward on said space without substantially overlapping each other; and (d) the side walls, front end wall and rear end wall have upper edges that extend perpendicularly thereto in a same plane to define a continuous rectangular opening on top of said at least one tray, said opening being at least as long as said bottom wall and at least as wide as said space, wherein the front end wall of said at least one tray has a height shorter than the height of the rear end wall so that the plane in which extend the upper edges defining the rectangular opening, is inclined downwardly towards the front end wall relative to the bottom wall.
2. The unit of claim 1, wherein the front bottom wall portion comprises a short upwardly projecting boss positioned centrally just in front of the head of the lobster, between the claws.
3. The unit of claim 2, wherein the front bottom wall portion is generally flat and the rear bottom wall portion is angled upwardly rearwardly relative to said front bottom wall portion to raise the tail of the lobster with respect to its claws.
4. The unit of claim 3, wherein:
- said at least one tray is free of any sharp corner or edge;
- the front end wall, the side walls, the rear end wall and the boss have smooth surface; and - said upper edges also have smooth surfaces and define a rectangular flange extending in said plane, whereby it becomes possible to heat seal said at least one tray with a protective plastic film without having said plastic film being torn out by the lobster contained in said at least one tray.
- said at least one tray is free of any sharp corner or edge;
- the front end wall, the side walls, the rear end wall and the boss have smooth surface; and - said upper edges also have smooth surfaces and define a rectangular flange extending in said plane, whereby it becomes possible to heat seal said at least one tray with a protective plastic film without having said plastic film being torn out by the lobster contained in said at least one tray.
5. The unit of claim 4, wherein:
- the front bottom wall portion is generally rectangular;
- the front bottom wall portion, the front side wall portions and the front end wall define a pair of front bottom corners that are truncated;
- the niche defined by the rear bottom wall portion, the rear side wall portions and the rear end wall comprises a lower portion having a generally U-shaped cross-section and a height substantially identical to the height of the lobster's tail in folded position, and an upper portion with opposite walls tapering upwardly outwardly;
- the rear bottom wall portion and the rear end wall define a short rear bottom edge that is truncated; and - the boss is substantially in the shape of a truncated cone.
- the front bottom wall portion is generally rectangular;
- the front bottom wall portion, the front side wall portions and the front end wall define a pair of front bottom corners that are truncated;
- the niche defined by the rear bottom wall portion, the rear side wall portions and the rear end wall comprises a lower portion having a generally U-shaped cross-section and a height substantially identical to the height of the lobster's tail in folded position, and an upper portion with opposite walls tapering upwardly outwardly;
- the rear bottom wall portion and the rear end wall define a short rear bottom edge that is truncated; and - the boss is substantially in the shape of a truncated cone.
6. The unit of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the front side wall portions are provided with reinforcing ribs perpendicular to the upper edges of said front side wall portions.
7. The unit of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein:
- the front end wall, the side walls and the rear end wall are all slightly tapering upwardly and outwardly from the bottom wall to allow nesting of said at least one tray inside another identical tray; and - said at least one tray has four upward corner edges each defining an outwardly projecting flat at a same distance from said upper edges to prevent jamming of said at least one tray when it is nested inside the other tray.
- the front end wall, the side walls and the rear end wall are all slightly tapering upwardly and outwardly from the bottom wall to allow nesting of said at least one tray inside another identical tray; and - said at least one tray has four upward corner edges each defining an outwardly projecting flat at a same distance from said upper edges to prevent jamming of said at least one tray when it is nested inside the other tray.
8. The unit of claim 6, wherein:
- the front end wall, the side walls and the rear end wall are all slightly tapering upwardly and outwardly from the bottom wall to allow nesting of said at least one tray inside another identical tray; and - said at least one tray has four upward corner edges ech defining an outwardly projecting flat at a same distance from said upper edges to prevent jamming of said at least one tray when it is nested inside the other tray.
- the front end wall, the side walls and the rear end wall are all slightly tapering upwardly and outwardly from the bottom wall to allow nesting of said at least one tray inside another identical tray; and - said at least one tray has four upward corner edges ech defining an outwardly projecting flat at a same distance from said upper edges to prevent jamming of said at least one tray when it is nested inside the other tray.
9. The unit of any one of claims 1 to 5 and 8, comprising at least two of said trays, said trays being identical in shape and size and connected in adjacent and longitudinally parallel relationship through their adjacent upper edges.
10. The unit of claim 9, further comprising a weak zone between said adjacent upper edges to allow individual separation of the trays whenever desired.
11. The unit of any one of claims 1 to 5, 8 and 10, made of a molded plastic material.
12. The unit of claim 6, made of a molded plastic material.
13. The unit of claim 9, made of a molded plastic material.
14. A lobster packaging and display unit made of molded plastic material and comprising at least one tray shaped and sized to receive and conform to a lobster containing therein and to display this lobster to best advantage, wherein:
(a) said at least one tray comprises:
- a bottom wall having a front bottom wall portion and a rear bottom wall portion;
- a front end wall;
- a pair of side walls each having a front side wall portion and a rear side wall portion; and - a rear end wall;
- the front end wall, the side walls and the rear end wall slightly tapering upwardly and outwardly from the bottom wall to allow nesting of said at least one tray inside another identical tray;
(b) the rear bottom wall portion, the rear side wall portions and the rear end wall are configured and oriented relative to each other so as to form a niche that is sufficiently narrow and deep to snugly receive and retain the tail of the lobster with said tail in folded position under itself, said niche having a generally U-shaped cross-section and a height substantially identical to the height of the lobster's tail in folded position, and an upper portion with opposite walls tapering upwardly outwardly;
(c) the front bottom wall portion, the front side wall portions and the front end wall are configured and oriented relative to each other so as to form a space wide enough to receive the head and claws of the lobster with said claws extending fully forward on said space without substantially overlapping each other;
(d) the side walls, front end wall and rear end wall have upper edges that extend perpendicularly thereto in a same plane to define a continuous rectangular opening on top of said at least one tray, said opening being at least as long as said bottom wall and at least as wide as said space;
(e) the front end wall of said at least one tray has a height shorter than the height of the rear end wall so that the plane in which extend the upper edges defining the rectangular opening, is inclined downwardly towards the front end wall relative to the bottom wall;
(f) the front bottom wall portion comprises a short upwardly projecting boss positioned centrally just in front of the head of the lobster, between the claws, said boss being in the shape of a truncated cone; and (g) the front bottom wall portion is generally flat and the rear bottom wall portion is angled upwardly rearwardly relative to said front bottom wall portion to raise the tail of the lobster with respect to its claws;
(h) said at least one tray also has four upward corner edges each defining an outwardly projecting flat at a same distance from said upper edges to prevent jamming of said at least one tray when it is nested inside another tray.
(a) said at least one tray comprises:
- a bottom wall having a front bottom wall portion and a rear bottom wall portion;
- a front end wall;
- a pair of side walls each having a front side wall portion and a rear side wall portion; and - a rear end wall;
- the front end wall, the side walls and the rear end wall slightly tapering upwardly and outwardly from the bottom wall to allow nesting of said at least one tray inside another identical tray;
(b) the rear bottom wall portion, the rear side wall portions and the rear end wall are configured and oriented relative to each other so as to form a niche that is sufficiently narrow and deep to snugly receive and retain the tail of the lobster with said tail in folded position under itself, said niche having a generally U-shaped cross-section and a height substantially identical to the height of the lobster's tail in folded position, and an upper portion with opposite walls tapering upwardly outwardly;
(c) the front bottom wall portion, the front side wall portions and the front end wall are configured and oriented relative to each other so as to form a space wide enough to receive the head and claws of the lobster with said claws extending fully forward on said space without substantially overlapping each other;
(d) the side walls, front end wall and rear end wall have upper edges that extend perpendicularly thereto in a same plane to define a continuous rectangular opening on top of said at least one tray, said opening being at least as long as said bottom wall and at least as wide as said space;
(e) the front end wall of said at least one tray has a height shorter than the height of the rear end wall so that the plane in which extend the upper edges defining the rectangular opening, is inclined downwardly towards the front end wall relative to the bottom wall;
(f) the front bottom wall portion comprises a short upwardly projecting boss positioned centrally just in front of the head of the lobster, between the claws, said boss being in the shape of a truncated cone; and (g) the front bottom wall portion is generally flat and the rear bottom wall portion is angled upwardly rearwardly relative to said front bottom wall portion to raise the tail of the lobster with respect to its claws;
(h) said at least one tray also has four upward corner edges each defining an outwardly projecting flat at a same distance from said upper edges to prevent jamming of said at least one tray when it is nested inside another tray.
15. The unit of claim 14, comprising at least two of said trays, said trays being identical in shape and size, and connected in adjacent and longitudinally parallel relationship through their adjacent upper edges.
16. The unit of claim 14 or 15, containing a lobster and a small layer of water inside each tray, said water being frozen and acting as a retaining means to hold the lobster inside the tray, said unit also containing a transparent protective film heat sealed onto each tray to close-fit said lobster.
17. The unit of claim 16, further comprising a box in which said unit is inserted, said box having a top surface provided with at least one large window giving visual access to the lobster.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US60074990A | 1990-10-22 | 1990-10-22 | |
| US07/600,749 | 1990-10-22 |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2028310A1 CA2028310A1 (en) | 1992-04-23 |
| CA2028310C true CA2028310C (en) | 1995-07-04 |
Family
ID=24404898
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002028310A Expired - Lifetime CA2028310C (en) | 1990-10-22 | 1990-10-23 | Display unit for a lobster |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA2028310C (en) |
-
1990
- 1990-10-23 CA CA002028310A patent/CA2028310C/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| CA2028310A1 (en) | 1992-04-23 |
Similar Documents
| Publication | Publication Date | Title |
|---|---|---|
| US5085879A (en) | Lobster packaging and display unit | |
| EP1364558B1 (en) | Microwave cooking tray and sleeve assembly | |
| US7083818B2 (en) | Party tray | |
| US5123527A (en) | Food package having a sleeve enclosure and a rigid base tray | |
| US4230729A (en) | One piece, collapsible package | |
| CN1032250C (en) | Packaging for food products | |
| USRE36867E (en) | Compartmentalized food package | |
| US20030141309A1 (en) | Package with integrated utensil | |
| US4058212A (en) | Package for containing products | |
| EP2516289B1 (en) | Packages for consumable products and methods of using same | |
| MX2007012011A (en) | Reclosable food package. | |
| US3122441A (en) | Candied apple package | |
| GB2207905A (en) | Shoe display and storage device | |
| KR20120081020A (en) | Multi-function condiment container | |
| CN107428453A (en) | For the packing container for the content that can be dipped | |
| CA2524866C (en) | Universal box top lid | |
| EP0677454A1 (en) | Multi-compartment tray for foods | |
| EP0448410B1 (en) | Snack-food packaging | |
| CA2028310C (en) | Display unit for a lobster | |
| GB2297536A (en) | Multi-compartment container with removable compartment | |
| US4572361A (en) | Display system for consumer fluid product containers | |
| GB2327939A (en) | Product packaging and presentation | |
| US9272833B2 (en) | Packages for consumable products | |
| JP3324951B2 (en) | Multiple containers | |
| GB2290073A (en) | Food packaging |
Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| EEER | Examination request | ||
| MKEX | Expiry |