AU2007100745A4

AU2007100745A4 - A produce container

Info

Publication number: AU2007100745A4
Application number: AU2007100745A
Authority: AU
Inventors: John Lam
Original assignee: Multisteps Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Multisteps Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2007-08-08
Filing date: 2007-08-08
Publication date: 2007-09-06
Anticipated expiration: 2015-08-08

Description

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AUSTRALIA

F B RICE CO Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys Patents Act 1990 MULTISTEPS PTY LTD COMPLETE SPECIFICATION INNOVATION PATENT Invention Title.

A produce container The following statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to us:- 2 SA Produce Container SField of the Invention Z This invention relates to produce containers.

00 Background of the Invention Produce containers, in particular for fresh produce, may perform a number of functions. They may be used to transport produce from the site of production to the site of wholesale and/or retail selling, for example, in supermarkets. In such situations, the _containers may also function to protect the produce while being transported and also while being handled for sale. They may further have the function of display by Spresenting the produce in a manner suitable for inspection during wholesaling and retailing.

In consideration of transportation costs and handling it is desirable for the containers to be light-weight, but in order for the produce to be adequately protected, containers also need to have a degree of crush resistance. In addition, movement of the containers during handling and transportation may cause the produce within the container to move about resulting in damage to the produce and, where display of the produce is an issue, degrading the presentation of the produce within the container.

Summary of the Invention According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a produce container including; a receptacle for receiving articles of produce and having a floor bounded by and integrally formed with a wall portion, the wall portion defining an access opening; an array of individual recesses defined in the floor, each recess being shaped to accommodate an article of produce and a depth of each recess being substantially less than a height of the wall portion; and a lid for closing off the access opening.

The shape of each recess may correspond generally to a shape of the produce to be received in the recess.

The container may include a plurality of spaced feet that project outwardly from an external surface of the floor, each foot having a height greater than the depth of each recess to extend beyond the recesses. The feet may create, when the receptacle is placed on a generally flat surface, clearance between the recesses and the generally flat surface, at least when the receptacle is empty.

3 C The lid may be hingedly attached to the receptacle. The lid and the receptacle jtb may have complementary locking formations for releasably locking the lid to the receptacle. The locking formations may be in the form of tabs carried on the lid and 00 recesses carried on the receptacle in which the tabs are removably received.

Complementary recessed formations may be defined in the receptacle and the lid to facilitate release of the lid from the receptacle.

Brief Description of the Drawings _An exemplary embodiment of a produce container in accordance with the invention is now described by way of example with reference to the accompanying Sdiagrammatic drawings in which:- Figure 1 shows a three dimensional view of a produce container in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention with a lid open; Figure 2 shows a three dimensional view of the produce container of Figure 1 with the lid closed; Figure 3 shows a front view of the produce container with the lid open; Figure 4 shows a side view of the produce container with the lid open; and Figure 5 shows a plan view of the container with the lid open.

Detailed Description of the Exemplary Embodiment In Figure 1, reference numeral 10 generally designates an exemplary embodiment of a produce container. The produce container 10 includes a receptacle 12 for receiving articles of produce (not shown in the figures). The receptacle 12 has a floor 14 bounded by and integrally formed with a wall portion 16. The wall portion 16 defines an access opening 18 through which produce can be placed into or removed from the receptacle 12. An array of individual recesses 20 are defined in the floor 14 and each recess 20 is shaped to accommodate an article of produce. As will be described in more detail below, the depth of each recess 20 is substantially less than the height of the wall portion 16.

The produce container 10 also includes a lid 22 for closing off the access opening 18. Figure 2 shows the produce container 10 with the lid 22 in the closed position.

The recesses 20 have a depth which is substantially less than the height of the wall portion 16. More specifically, a depth in the range from approximately 3% to approximately 70% of the height of the wall portion is suitable, a depth in the range from approximately 4% to approximately 50% of the height of the wall portion is 4

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CN preferable, and a depth in the range from approximately 5% to approximately 15% of t the height of the wall portion is optimal. For example, the height of the wall portion may be about 30 mm and the depth of the recess may be about 3 mm.

00 The shape of each recess 20 corresponds generally to the shape of the produce to

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be received in each recess 20. For example, each recess 20 in the embodiment shown in the figures has a shape corresponding generally to the shape of a strawberry which Scan be accommodated in each recess 20. Other shapes corresponding to other produce Ocan be adopted for the recesses 20, as required. An article of produce is positioned in each recess 20. The recesses 20 maintain the produce in position while the produce container 10 is being handled, transported, displayed, etc, and this helps to inhibit damage to the produce.

As can be seen in Figure 5, the produce container 10 is suitable for holding a single layer of twelve relatively equally sized articles of produce. The arrangement and number of recesses in the floor of the receptacle can be varied depending on the produce to be accommodated in the receptacle.

The overall balance of the filled produce container 10 is also maintained as the produce is less likely to move about and collect at one particular side or end of the produce container 10. The recesses 20 also serve to present the produce in an attractive fashion for inspection.

As can be seen in the figures, the produce container 10 also has a plurality of feet 24 that project outwardly from an external surface 25 of the floor 14. The feet 24 have a height greater than the depth of each recess 20 and project beyond the depth of the recesses 20 to create, when the receptacle 12 is placed on a generally flat surface, clearance between the recesses 20 and the generally flat surface, at least when the receptacle 12 is empty. This arrangement allows for circulation of air below the floor 14 of the receptacle 12. Optionally, the floor 14 and/or the lid 22 may include ventilation holes (not shown in the figures). These allow for ventilation of the interior of the container 10 when the produce container 10 is placed on a generally flat surface or stacked, for example, upon another produce container The lid 22 is hingedly attached to the receptacle 12 via a hinge 26. The lid 22 and the receptacle 12 have complementary locking formations 30, 32 for releasably locking the lid 22 to the receptacle 12. The locking formations of the lid 22 are in the form of spaced tabs 30 carried on the lid 22. The locking formations of the receptacle 12 are aligned recesses 32 carried on the receptacle 12 in which the tabs 30 are removably received.

C Complementary recessed formations 34 and 36 are defined in the receptacle 12 J2 and the lid 22 to facilitate release of the lid 22 from the receptacle 12. In more detail, as can be seen in Figure 2, when the access opening 18 is closed by the lid 22, the 00 recessed formations 34 and 36 together define an opening 38 which facilitates manual release of the lid 22 from the receptacle 12. In addition, this opening 36 allows for ventilation of the interior of the produce container The produce container 10 is moulded of a suitable synthetic plastics material as a one-piece construction. Ideally, the synthetic plastics material is a transparent _material to render the contents of the container 10 readily visible.

S 10 It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations Sand/or modifications may be made to the invention as shown in the specific embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as broadly described. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.

Claims

2. The produce container according to claim 1, wherein a shape of each recess corresponds generally to a shape of the produce to be received in the recess.
3. The produce container according to claim I or claim 2, further including a plurality of spaced feet that project outwardly from an external surface of the floor, each foot having a height greater than the depth of each recess to extend beyond the recesses.
4. The produce container according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the lid is hingedly attached to the receptacle. A produce container substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.