GB2059920A

GB2059920A - Moulded plastics trays

Info

Publication number: GB2059920A
Application number: GB7934893A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: GPG International Ltd
Current assignee: GPG International Ltd
Priority date: 1979-10-08
Filing date: 1979-10-08
Publication date: 1981-04-29
Also published as: GB2059920B

Abstract

A tray has a base 2, in the upper face of which is provided a plurality of concentric ridges 5 between which are formed concentric primary drainage channels 7. Extending from the centre 6 of the base to each of the corners are secondary channels 8 which connect with the primary channels 7, and also with a storage channel 10 formed in the upper face of the base along the marginal edge thereof. Two distinct corrugated regions (3,23, Figure 7, not shown) be provided, each having separate systems of channels. The lower face of the base is correspondingly corrugated to facilitate drainage when the tray is inverted. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A tray or container Technical Field The invention relates to a tray or container having means whereby excess fluid which may be deposited on the base thereof from goods carried by the tray or container may be removed.

Statement of Invention and Advantages According to the present invention there is provided a moulded tray or container having a base comprising a corrugated region forming a plurality of concentric ridges in the upper face of the base and corresponding channels in the lower face of the base between which ridges in the upper face of the base are formed an array of concentric primary channels, and at least one secondary channel extending in the upper face of the base from a position at or towards the centre of said corrugated region to a position at or towards an edge of the base and wherein said secondary channel or channels communicates with the primary channels for the collection of fluid from the primary channels and to facilitate flow of that fluid towards the edge of the base.

The base will usually be rectangular or square in plan view with the plurality of concentric ridges conveniently arranged substantially as an array of parallelograms such as oblong rectangles or squares in plan view.

The or a secondary channel may extend generally perpendicularly with respect to the array of primary channels with which it is connected and communicates.

Conveniently the major area of the base is formed by a corrugated region and the or a secondary channel extends from a region at ortowards the centre of the base to or towards an edge (which may be a corner) ofthe base. Desirably the base has a storage channel which is located along the marginal regions of the edges of the base and the or a secondary channel communicates with such storage channel. To facilitate the flow of fluid over the base it is preferred that the secondary channel or channels are biased or inclined so that fluid flows, in the normal position of use of the tray or container, to a position at ortowards an edge (or corner) of the base.Similarly it is preferred that the primary channels are biased or inclined so that fluid flows naturally from the primary channels into the secondary channel or channels with which they communicate. Such biasing or inclination of the channels can, conveniently, be provided by forming the base with a slightly bowed, domed or conical profile whereby the upper face is slightly convex and the lower face is correspondingly slightly concave; it will be realised however that a base can be provided the upper and lower faces of which are, other than for the corrugations, generally flat.

As implied above, the tray or container may have a base with a single corrugated region, for example with a rectangular base where four secondary channels can be provided which communicate with a recessed region at the centre of the base and extend from that region towards the edges of the base and in a preferred embodiment the four secondary channels extend one to each of the four corners of a rectangular base. It is to be realised however that the tray or container of the present invention may have more than one corrugated region and in such a construction the secondary channels of two or more respectively adjacent corrugated regions may communicate with each other to provide a continuous fluid flow path to or towards the edge of the base.

The tray or container of the present invention was primarily developed for the storage and transport of food items such as meat pies where gelatinous fluid which may be deposited on the base from the pies can be displaced along the primary and secondary channels and out of contact with the pies. It is to be realised however that the tray or container, which is preferably injection moulded in plastics material, may be used for the storage or transportation of other items, for example mechanical components where oil may be deposited on the base and collected in the channels.

In addition to the advantages aforementioned that fluid deposited on the base can collect in the primary and secondary channels to flowtherethrough, say to a storage channel, and thereby such fluid is maintained out of contact with items stored by resting on the ridges of the base, the corrugated structure of the base serves to provide torsional rigidity to the tray or container and alleviates flexibility in the base while the corrugated material can be relatively thin.

Furthermore, if a base is provided which, other than for the corrugations, is generally flat as previously mentioned, the channels formed by the corrugated region on the lower face of the base can be used to facilitate the drainage of water from that face after washing of the container and when the container is inverted.

Figures in the Drawings Four embodiments of a tray or container constructed in accordance with the present invention, will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying illustrative drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view from above of a first embodiment of the tray; Figure 2 is a plan view showing the upper face of the base of the tray in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a side elevation of the tray in Figure 1; Figure 4 is a plan view showing the lower face of the base in Figure 1; and Figures 5, 6 and 7 are respectively plan views showing the upper face of part of the base of a second, third and fourth embodiment respectively of the tray and diagrammatically illustrate the primary and secondary channels formed by the corrugated base.

Detailed Description of the Drawings The tray 1 shown in Figures 1 to 4 has a base 2 which in plan view is square and comprises a corrugated region 3. Extending upwardly from the edges of the base 2 are four side walls 4.

The corrugated region 3 forms an array of ridges 5 in the upper face of the base 2, such ridges being formed as parellelograms in plan view and concen tricabouta bossed region 6 at the centre of the base.

As shown in Figure 2 each parallelogram formed by a ridge has substantially equal lengthed sides with opposed included acute angles but for the purpose of description these parallelograms can conveniently be regarded as square where each side of the square extends at an angle of approximately 45O with respect to the edge of the base. Formed between adjacent ridges 5 is an array of primary channels 7.

The tray 1 is formed by injection moulding in thermoplastics material and moulded into the corrugated region 3 are four straight secondary channels 8 in the upper face of the base which communicate between the central region 6 and one with each of the four corner edges of the base 2. Each of the secondary channels 8 intersects the array of primary channels 7 to communicate with those primary channels with which they respectively intersect.

Also located in the upper face of the base and extending around the marginal side edges of the base 2 is a storage channel 10 with which the secondary channels 8 communicate.

By the arrangement of the primary and secondary channels 7 and 8 fluid deposited on the base 2 of the container from articles such as pork pies which are stored within the container on the ridges 5 can collect within these channels and flow from the primary to the secondary channels and therefrom to the storage channel 10 out of contact with the stored items. If required, the base of the tray can be moulded with the channels 7 and 8 appropriately biased or inclined to facilitate such fluid flow, for example by providing a slightly domed profile to the base whereby its upper face is slightly convex and its lower face is correspondingly slightly concave.

It will be seen from Figure 2 that the primary channels 7 are interrupted by four secondary ridges 9 which communicate from the bossed region 6 one to each of the side walls 4 to extend substantially perpendicularly with respect to the respective side walls and to connect together the array of ridges 5.

As the base 2 of the tray is of corrugated structure the lower face of the base on the underside of the tray is the inverse ofthe upperface and this is shown in Figure 4 where the ridges 5 form channels 5a, the secondary channels 8 form ridges 8a, and the secondary ridges 9 form channels 9a. The channels 5a communicate with the channels 9a either directly or by way of channels 9b which extend alongside the ridges 10a corresponding to the storage channels 10.

By this arrangement it will be apparent that if the base is optionally of a profile which, other than for the corrugations, provides generally flat upper and lower faces, then when the tray is washed and inverted for drying, such water as lays on the underside of the base can collect in the channels 5a and flow therefrom either directly into the channels 9a or by way of the channels 9b to drain off at the edge of the base.

The base is moulded so that the thickness of the material thereof is substantially constant, however the corrugated structure of the base imparts considerable torsional rigidity to the tray and also alieviates flexibility in the base to an extent which is considerably greater than that provided by a substantially flat base the thickness of material of which is substantially the same as that of which the corrugations are formed.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 5 the base 2 is of oblong rectangular shape in plan with a width to length ratio of substantially 2:3. The corrugated region of the base is symmetrical about the line A - A in Figure 5. The general arrangement of the corrugated region 3 is substantially the same as that previously described for the first embodiment but it will be seen from Figure 5 that the acuteness of the inciuded angles in the parallelogram formed ofthe concentric ridges 5 is increased as compared to that shown in Figure 2. A similar effect is shown for the third embodiment of the tray in Figure 6 where an oblong rectangular base is provided having a width to length ratio of 1:2.

Each of the embodiments as above described has a single corrugated region formed by concentric ridges and secondary channels; in the embodiment of Figure 7 however the tray has an oblong rectangular base with a width to length ratio of 1:2 and comprises two corrugated regions 3 and 23 which are substantially identical and are square in plan view. The base in Figure 7 is symmetrical about the line B - B and for convenience only the corrugated region 3 is shown in full. Extending between the corrugated regions 3 and 23 is a central ridge 19 from which the adjacent ridges 5 extend to define primary channels 7 which communicate with the secondary channel 8.

Claims

1. A moulded tray or container having a base comprising a corrugated region forming a plurality of concentric ridges in the upper face ofthe base and corresponding channels in the lower face of the base between which ridges in the upper face of the base are formed an array of concentric primary channels, and at least one secondary channel extending in the upper face of the base from a position at or towards the centre of said corrugated region to a position at or towards an edge of the base and wherein said secondary channel or channels communicate with the primary channels for the collection of fluid from the primary channels and to facilitate flow of that fluid towards the edge of the base.

2. A tray or container as claimed in claim 1 in which the base is rectangular in plan view.

3. A tray or container as claimed in claim 2 in which the base is square in plan view.

4. A tray or container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the ridges are formed substantially as parallelograms in plan view.

5. A tray or container as claimed in claim 4 in which the ridges are formed substantially as rectangles in plan view.

6. A tray or container as claimed in claim 5 in which the ridges are formed substantially as squares in plan view.

7. A tray or container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the or a secondary channel extends from a position at or towards the centre of said corrugated region to communicate with a storage channel located in the upper face of the marginal edge region of the base.

8. A tray or container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the or a storage channel is provided in the upper face of the base to extend substantially around the base in the marginal edge region thereof.

9. A tray or container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the corrugated region is substantially rectangular in plan view and four secondary channels are provided which communicate from a position at or towards the centre of said corrugated region substantially one with each of the four corners of said rectangular corrugated region.

10. A tray or container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the secondary channel or channels are biased or inclined so that in the normal position of use of the tray or container fluid flows naturally along the secondary channel or channels to a position at or towards an edge of the base.

11. A tray or container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the primary channels are biased or inclined so that in the normal position of use of the tray or container fluid flows naturally from the primary channels into the secondary channel or channels with which they communicate.

12. A tray or container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the corrugated region has secondary ridges in the upper face thereof which extend from a position at or towards the centre of said corrugated region to position at or towards the edge of the base, said secondary ridges forming corresponding channels on the lower face of the base with which channels on the lower face of the base corresponding to ridges on the upper face of the base communicate to facilitate the drainage of fluid from the lower face of the base when the tray or container is inverted.

13. Atray or container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the base comprises at least two said corrugated regions in which the secondary channels of two or more respectively adjacent corrugated regions communicate with each other to provide a continuous fluid flow both in the upper face of the base to or towards the edge of the base.

14. A tray or container substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying illustrative drawings.