AU2003200664A1 - Ventilated container - Google Patents

Description

Regulation 3.2 -1-

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT

APPLICANT:

NUMBER:

FILING DATE: AMKUR PTY. LIMITED Invention Title: VENTILATED CONTAINER The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: VENTILATED CONTAINER Technical area: This invention relates to the area of containers for packaging and in particular to the packaging of objects which require good ventilation, such as small fresh fruits, and to the provision of containers for these which maximise the safety and freshness of the fruits while being transported or stored.

Background to the invention: Small fruits such as berries of various varieties are conventionally stored for sale and transport in punnets. It is not practically possible to store them in large boxes as fruit become crushed under the weight of overlying fruit and the resultant damage is extreme.

As a result it is common to store berry type fruits in synthetic containers which are strong enough to protect the fruit but through which the fruit can be seen at the point of sale.

Purchasers of such fruit want to be able to inspect the fruit, hence the see through nature of the containers, however the containers must also be strong enough to prevent the fruit crushing as well as providing sufficient ventilation to minimise deterioration of the fruit.

A means whereby ventilation of the fruit has been achieved, at least to a certain degree, has been by providing fruit containers, having a body portion to hold the fruit and a lid, in each of which are a plurality of elongate slits. These slits are efficient ventilation devices however they have disadvantages in that they are sharp and tend SPEC/AMKUR-PUNNET-CAP 25/2/03 to cut the fruit in contact with them and also weaken the containers causing them to need to be reinforced with moulded ribs, usually between adjacent slits, which reduces the ease of viewing the fruit. Although it has been known to produce punnets with slits in the lower parts of the ribs in their sides, this is a weak area adjacent the periphery of the base of such a punnet. In addition the sharp sides of the slits can injure the hands of people handling them.

A further problem with the approach of providing slits in punnets is that the tools which cut the slits are easily blunted and costly to repair.

Efforts to overcome the problems produce by the slit method of ventilation have been made by the substitution of circular holes for elongate slits however the former do not provide adequate ventilation.

Outline of the invention: It is an object of this invention to provide a container for small fruits, particularly of the berry variety, which provides sufficient ventilation to minimise damage to the fruit while also substantially avoiding the problems outlined above.

The invention is a fruit punnet having a hollow body portion and a lid, said body having an upper peripheral rim shaped to engage within a peripheral rim of the lid such that air passes into and out of the punnet through at least one gap between the body rim and the lid rim.

It is preferred that the peripheral rim of the body have at least one boss which protrudes from the remainder of the rim such that the lid can compressively engage over the body.

SPEC/AMKUR-PUNNET-CAP 25/2/03 It is preferred that where the punnet is generally rectangular in shape there is a boss protruding from each corner of the body rim. It is further preferred that the body and lid rims are provided with generally parallel outwardly extending flanges.

It is preferred that the punnet be used for the storage of berry type fruits.

It is preferred that rib members be generally provided around the sides of the body said rib members extending into a peripheral well around the interior base of the body. It is further preferred that small circular apertures are provided between adjacent ribs in the well.

It may also be preferred that the punnet lid have an elevated central portion to increase its strength and that air circulation be enhanced by the provision of a plurality of small circular apertures through the lid. It is also preferred that the lid be in hinged relationship with the body.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood we shall describe by way of non limiting example a specific embodiment thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawing Figures Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the punnet of the invention when closed; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the punnet with its lid open; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the interior of the body of the punnet; Fig. 4 shows the lower surface of the body of the punnet of the invention; SPEC/AMKUR-PUNNET-CAP 25/2/03 Description of an Embodiment of the Invention The embodiment of the invention 10 as shown in Figures 1 and 2 is particularly useful as a container for blueberries, which are very delicate fruit, and serves the dual purpose of protecting the fruit from damage and permitting easy inspection of the fruit by a purchaser.

The punnet is manufactured from PVC although PET or any appropriate material could be used particularly if content inspection was not a relevant issue.

The punnet is four sided and has a body portion 20 having a base 21 which is elevated about a peripheral trough 22 adjacent the walls 23. This trough is provided with holes 24 which permit drainage of any juice from damaged fruit and also aid in the ventilation of the punnet. The body portion is strengthened by moulded ribs extending from the trough and up the adjacent sides.

The punnet has a lid hinged at one side thereof which can engage with an upper rim of the body portion, the upper rim having a flange 41 which extends outwards from the body portion. The rim width is generally constant except that it widens into protruding bosses 45 over which the lid can compressively fit. This arrangement provides an air gap between the lid and the body between the bosses on those sides of the body other than that where the lid is hinged to the body.

This vastly increases the ventilation within the punnet when compared with other such containers and as a result, while in this embodiment of the invention it is preferred that some apertures 31 provided in the lid for increased ventilation, these need not take the form of any large excisions in the lid and, as a result, there is no necessity for any further reinforcement of the lid although in this embodiment of the invention a central portion is elevated to provide increased strength over a generally flat lid..

SPEC/AMKUR-PUNNET-CAP 25/2/03 For this reason the lid is largely transparent, apart from any labelling which may be applied, and the fruit can be clearly seen by purchasers further, as there is airflow there tends to be no build up of condensation inside the punnet. The existence of several small holes in the lid, while aiding ventilation, do not damage the fruit in the way that the elongate slits in other containers do and also do not have the same tendency to damage the moulding tool.

The invention therefore has many advantages over earlier containers, the main one being the greatly increased ventilation within the punnet of the invention provided by the air flow through the periphery of the punnet as described. Although in the embodiment of the invention described above this flow is provided on three sides the invention is not restricted to this particular number nor to a four sided punnet. It is in fact envisaged that any shaped punnet could be used and also the lid could be removeable. It would however be able to engage with the punnet body due to its compressive fit over the bosses on the body rim.

The invention is further not restricted to containers for fruit but could be applied to containers for storage of any material which requires good ventilation.

Whilst we have described herein a specific embodiment of the invention it is envisaged that other embodiments of the invention will exhibit any number of and any combination of the features previously described and it is to be understood that variations and modifications in this can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

SPECIAMKUR-PUNNET-CAP 25/2/03

Claims (11)

1. A fruit punnet having a hollow body portion and a lid, said body having an upper peripheral rim shaped to engage within a peripheral rim of the lid such that air passes into and out of the punnet through at least one gap between the body rim and the lid rim.

2. A fruit punnet as claimed in claim 1 wherein the peripheral rim of the body has at least one boss which protrudes from the remainder of the rim such that the lid can compressively engage over the container.

3. A fruit punnet as claimed in claim 2 wherein the body is generally rectangular in shape such that the container rim has corners from each of which a boss protrudes.

4. A fruit punnet as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3 wherein the body and lid rims are provided with generally parallel outwardly extending flanges.

A fruit punnet as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein rib members are provided generally around the sides of the body said rib members extending into a peripheral well around the interior base of the body.

6. A fruit punnet as claimed in claim 5 wherein small apertures are provided between adjacent rib members in the well.

7. A fruit punnet as claimed in claim 6 wherein the apertures are circular.

8. A fruit punnet as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7 wherein small apertures are provided in the lid to facilitate air flow.

9. A fruit punnet as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein the lid has an elevated central portion to increase its strength.

SPEC/AMKUR-PUNNET-CAP 25/2/03 A fruit punnet as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9 wherein the lid is in hinged association with the body.

11. A fruit punnet substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED this 25 th day of February, 2003 AMKUR PTY. LIMITED By Its Patent Attorneys A TATLOCK ASSOCIATES K:\WP\SPEC\AMKUR-PUNNET.CAP