AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION Standard Patent Applicant (s): Cargill Australia Limited Invention Title: A LID AND METHOD OF PROTECTING STORED FOOD PRODUCTS The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method for performing it known to me/us: - 1 A LID AND METHOD OF PROTECTING STORED FOOD PRODUCTS Technical Field A lid for use with a container for protecting stored food products is disclosed. 5 A method of protecting stored food is also disclosed. Whilst the lid will be discussed primarily in relation to its use with containers for the storage of meat products, the lid can have broader application, for example with containers for the storage of other foodstuffs. Background 10 Fresh and chilled meat food products are distributed from an abattoir and meat and further processing plants to many retail outlets where the product is sold to consumers. Special consideration needs to be given to protect the food products during shipping and storage to prevent the products from being contaminated from external sources. Depending on the volume of sales, the product may need to reside at a retail 15 outlet or a storage facility for a brief or extended period. One suitable type of storage and transportation container for fresh and chilled meat products is a cardboard box or carton. These boxes may be specially constructed for a particular application, depending on the size and type of meat to be contained. Sometimes only some of the supplied meat products may be removed from the carton 20 for display to customers, due to limitations of display space. In some instances the quantity of meat products that are supplied in the carton to the retailer will not be immediately sold and will need to be stored at the retailer's store. Unfortunately, once opened, most cardboard boxes or cartons have limited capacity to provide protection for the remaining stock of meat product. Once the box or 25 carton has been opened to remove some meat, the remainder is exposed. This problem is compounded by the need for the retailer to store many different types of meat and also by the need to regularly clean the store. Such activities can increase the possibility of external environmental contamination of the remaining stored meat products. 30 Summary of the Disclosure In a first aspect there is provided a lid adapted to be overlaid on and bonded to a container, the lid comprising a panel having one or more edges, one or more side walls, each side wall extending from an edge of the panel, a flap formed partly by a -2 sidewall and partly by the panel, such that when the lid is bonded to the container, the flap is moveable between an open position which allows access to products located within the container, and a closed position in which said access is restricted. 5 In one form the flap is defined by two severance lines each extending through one of the side walls, and across the panel. In one form each of the severance lines extend across the panel from a first position at one of the one or more edges to a second position at another of the one or more edges, 10 the first position of each severance line being on the same edge of the panel, the second position of each severance line being on different edges of the panel. In one form the severance lines extend at an angle to one another for at least a portion of their length, and parallel to one another for at least a portion of their length. 15 In one form the flap is repeatedly moveable about a hinge formed in the lid. Brief Description of the Drawings Notwithstanding any other forms which may fall within it scope, embodiments 20 of the lid and method of protecting stored food products will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a top view of a blank for a lid in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a top, perspective view of the embodiment of Fig. 1 in use; 25 Fig. 3 is a top, perspective view of the embodiment of Fig. 1 in use. Detailed Description of Specific Embodiments Referring to the drawings and in particular Fig 1, a lid blank 10 is shown having 30 a generally rectangular shaped central panel 12, two side panels 14 extending from side edges 18 and two end panels 16 extending from end edges 20 of the central panel 12. The lid blank 10 is a one-piece construction, with the side and end panels 14, 16 being hingedly pivotable at the respective side and end edges 18, 20 of the central panel 12, -3 along a respective crease line 22, 23. The central panel 12 is of a size designed to overlay an open top of a four sided, rectangular box 24, shown in Figs 2 and 3. The resultant box and lid combination is sealed by bonding the side and end panels 14, 16 of the lid 10 to an uppermost portion 5 of a respective exterior wall 28 of the box 24. The bonding can be accomplished by gluing, stapling or other forms of adhering or heat-sealing and the like. An opening located in the central panel 12 enables the contents of the box 24 to be accessed when required. As shown in Fig 1, the opening comprises a flap 32 formed as part of the central panel 12. The flap is defined by several severance lines 36, 38 10 formed by a series of perforations extending through one end panel 16 and across a portion of the central panel 12. This flap 32 can either be lifted upwardly or pushed downwardly so as to pivot about the remainder 34 of the central panel 12. In Fig. 1 the lid blank 10 is shown in its preassembled state, i.e. as a blank sheet 15 prior to being folded or attached to a box. The lid blank 10 is formed from a material that is foldable and thus may be made from fibreboard, cardboard, corrugated board, box board or paper board. The central panel 12 has an angled severance line 36 when the lid 10 is shown in plan. The angled severance line 36 is formed by a series of perforations extending through side panel 16 and across side edge 20 into central panel 20 12. The perforations are positioned in a substantially straight line and extend at an angle with respect to the side edge 18. The perforations extend from a position which is interior to the side panel 16 and located at the periphery of the side flap 40 in a longitudinal direction with respect to the lid 10, the position being laterally between the centre of the side flap 41 and the lateral edge of the side flap 42. The perforations 25 extend to a position that is longitudinally partway between the end crease line 23 and the centre point 45 of the central panel 12, and laterally at the side crease line 22. The central panel 12 further includes a side severance line 38. The side severance line extends along both sides of the central panel 12 from the position at which the angled severance line 36 meets the sides 18 of the central panel 12. The side 30 severance line 38 extends to a crease line 46 which extends across the central panel 12 to divide the flap 32 from the remainder of the central panel 34. The flap is therefore hinged about crease line 46 with respect to the remainder of the lid 10. By breaking the perforations of angled severance lines 36 and side severance -4 lines 38, a separated portion of the central panel 12 can be moved out of the plane of the central panel 12, forming a flap 32. The flap 32 can move in relation to the central panel 12 but is joined thereto along a crease line 46 that extends transverse to the length of the central panel 12, generally midway along the length of the central panel 12. 5 In use, once the central panel 12 is overlaid on and bonded to an open top of a four sided, rectangular box 24, the flap 32 can be pulled upwardly and pivoted out of the carton 26 to allow access to products located inside the carton 26. To close the carton 26, the flap 32 can be pushed back towards the carton 26, where an edge face of the flap 32 can come into frictional engagement with an edge face of that portion of the 10 central panel 12 that surrounds the flap 32. Being made of cardboard or the like, the respective opposing edges faces of the flap 32 and the portion of the central panel 12 that surrounds the flap 32 can have some degree of surface roughness to facilitate the frictional engagement in the 'flap closed' position. In addition, by their nature, materials such as cardboard, fibreboard and so on have a natural degree of resilience, 15 which means that the flap 32 has a tendency to return to the closed position. The flap 32 can be repeatedly moved between the open and closed positions while ever the carton 12 is in use. In an alternative mode of use, the flap 32 can also be pushed inwardly towards an interior of the carton 26 in order to access the products located inside the carton 26. 20 In still further embodiments, there can be more than one flap formed in a lid. Further embodiments of the lid will now be described wherein, for convenience, like parts to those shown in the foregoing embodiment have been numbered with like numerals. In one embodiment (not illustrated) a window is arranged to be aligned with the 25 flap 32 in the lid 10. The window may be formed using any type of transparent sheeting, such as a thin film of clear plastic. The window enables a user view the products located inside the carton 26 once the flap 32 has been opened. The contents of the carton 26 can therefore remain unaccessed until such time as the window is broken open. The window enables the carton 26 itself to be used for product display purposes, 30 in addition to transportation and storage, without compromise to the hygiene of the contents of the carton (for example, foodstuffs). The window also allows a seller of the products to view the contents and make a determination about the nature and type of product in the carton 26 without exposing the contents to air and thereby reducing -5 effective shelf-life. In still further embodiments, the window need not be aligned with the flap, but can be located in another part of the lid as an inspection port. In still further embodiments, the lid need not be of a one-piece construction, and 5 the side and end panels that are hingedly pivotable at the side and end edges of the central panel, may be joined thereto by gluing or fastening. The flap may be formed by an elongate zip (not illustrated) which extends along a cut positioned where the severance lines 36 and 38 are positioned. By the undoing or unlocking the zip, a separated portion of the central panel (the flap 32) can be pivoted 10 out of the plane of the remainder 34 of the central panel 12 along a fold line 46 that is created in the central panel 12. Like the arrangement shown in Figs. 2, once released by undoing the zip 44, the flap can be pulled and pivoted upwardly away from the carton 26 to allow the products located inside the carton 26 to be accessed. To close the carton 26, the flap 32 can be 15 pushed back downward towards the carton 26, where the respective edge faces of the flap and that portion of the central panel that surrounds the flap can be realigned and the zip can then be closed to reseal the carton 26. In Figs. 2 and 3 the assembled carton 26 is shown, with the single flap arrangement as previously described for and shown in Fig. 1. The side and end panels 20 14, 16 of the lid 10 are folded orthogonally to the central panel 10 and the interior faces of the side and end panels 14, 16 are bonded to the exterior wall 28 of the box 24 so as to form a sealed carton 26. Such a carton 26, when closed can be used for the transportation, storage and display of food products, particularly perishable foodstuffs such as meat products. If the carton is constructed to the particular industry 25 specifications that may apply, the carton can also be used in additional specialist applications, such as the export of meat products. In terms of materials of construction, it is possible to construct the lid and the box from a number of materials, one of which can be corrugated fibreboard. Other suitable board grades range from small flutes such as N&E that are approximately 1 30 2mm in profile through to B flute (3mm), C flute (4mm) and A flute (4mm). In addition, twin flute combinations and tri-walled board grades may be used. All of these board grades can have different paper grades. Box board or paper board are also suitable for use.
-6 In terms of making a lid from a lid blank, such as the blank 10 illustrated in Fig 1, this may be achieved manually or automatically using a packaging machine. Using either method, the lid blank may be made available in a flat configuration, onto or into which one or more crease lines, one or more severance lines or a zipper closure can be 5 provided. The apparatus for providing these features in the lid blank (not shown) may be part of an assembly line and have a receptacle in the form of a magazine for holding a number of preformed lid blanks. Consecutive individual pre-forms may then be fed to a number of sequential work stations within in the assembly line, such as a folding machine, a perforating machine, and a closure attachment machine as required, so as to 10 form the pre-forms into a flat, pre-assembled condition. In use it is envisaged that the sealed carton, packed with products in accordance with a customer's order, can be despatched to the customer's site, where the carton will be received and stored until the product are required for sale. If the customer is a retail butcher, the sealed and unopened carton may sit on racking in a cool storage room. 15 When the products are required for sale, the flap can be formed in the lid and the meat products removed via the opening and displayed. The flap can then be closed, or locked in the case of a zipper closure, and the carton can be returned to storage. Because the opened carton has the same shape as the opened cartons, a number of cartons can be stored together in the usual manner (for example, by stacking). 20 An advantage of lid is that it enables the receiver of the products to take only those products that they need from the cartons and leave the remaining product within the carton. As the carton remains intact after opening, with the lid sealed to the box, the carton can be conveniently stored until needed. Thus the lid and the method provide a convenient way of providing access to the product located within the carton and 25 protecting the products from external contamination. A further advantage that follows from the use of the carton having this particular lid construction detail is that can minimises handling of product, i.e. transportation, display and storage may be achieved within a single carton. This feature can also assist the receiver to reduce waste by reducing the quantity of display product inventory needed. 30 A reference herein to a prior art document is not an admission that the document forms part of the common general knowledge in the art in Australia. In the claims which follow and in the preceding description of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary -7 implication, the word "comprise" or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising" is used in an inclusive sense, i.e. to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence or addition of further features in various embodiments of the invention. 5 In addition, variations and modifications may be made to the parts previously described without departing from the spirit and ambit of the lid and method as may now be defined in the appending claims. For example, as will be understood, while the invention has been described and illustrated with reference to the lid blank in the form of a rectangular, it may be simply adapted to form other shapes of lids, such as round, 10 square, triangular, domed etc. In addition the lid may be constructed from materials having configurations other than a one-piece construction, which may have interlocking configurations for connecting any side and end panels to the central panel, such as a tab and slot configuration, staples glued etc.