GB2130179A

GB2130179A - Container for eggs

Info

Publication number: GB2130179A
Application number: GB08232837A
Authority: GB
Inventors: William Nevil Heaton Johnson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1982-11-17
Filing date: 1982-11-17
Publication date: 1984-05-31
Also published as: GB2130179B

Abstract

A container for eggs defines compartments each of a configuration to hold an egg captive, each compartment being connected with the remainder along lines of weakening, perforation or the like (12, 14), whereby each compartment, with an egg retained therein, can be readily detached from the remainder of the container, to form a discrete sub- container (16) for a single egg. At least a portion of said sub-container is readily removable to allow access to the egg therein while the remainder of the sub-container acts as an egg cup. An egg or eggs may be cooked by placing the container or subcontainer in boiling water. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Container for eggs This invention relates to a container for eggs. It is an object of the present invention to provide a container for eggs, by the use of which the labour involved, in catering establishments and the like, in extracting eggs from the container in which they are normally supplied, boiling the eggs, transferring the same to egg cups for serving and subsequent washing up of the egg cups may be avoided.

It is another object of the invention to provide a method of cooking and subsequently serving an egg, utilising a container according to the invention.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a container for eggs, defining a plurality of compartments each of a configuration to hold an egg captive, each portion of the container defining a respective single said compartment being connected with the remainder along lines of weakening, perforation or the like, whereby each said portion, with an egg retained in the respective compartment, can be readily detached from the remainder of the container, to form a discrete sub-container for a single egg, adapted to hold said egg captive, at least a portion of said sub-container being readily removable to allow access to the egg therein while the remainder of the sub-container acts as an egg cup.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of cooking and subsequently serving an egg comprising placing the egg, whilst enclosed in and held captive in, a permeable container, in water, cooking the egg by boiling the water, removing the container with the egg still retained therein after a desired period, and serving the egg in said container, with said container acting as an egg cup.

An embodiment of the invention is described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: FIGURE 1 is a side elevation view of a container embodying the invention, FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the container, and FIGURE 3 illustrates the lower portion of a subcontainer, acting as an egg cup, with an egg in position, said sub-container forming part of the container of Figures 1 and 2.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, a container for six eggs comprises an upper portion 10 and a lower portion 11, of sheet plastics material deformed to provide, in generally the same way as in conventional egg containers, six egg-receiving pockets in the lower portion 10 and six eggreceiving pockets in the upper portion 10, each lower pocket, in use, serving, with a respective upper pocket, to define a compartment for an egg.

As shown in Figure 2, lines of perforation or weakening 12, 14, in the upper and lower portions 10, 11, divide each egg-containing compartment off from the adjoining compartments, and thus divide the container into six sub-containers 16, the arrangement being such that a desired subcontainer may be separated from the remainder by tearing the upper and lower portions 10 and 11, as one, along the appropriate lines 12, 14.

In order that each sub-container shall maintain its integrity when torn off from the remainder of the container, the upper and lower parts thereof are held.together by appropriate retaining means, for example, by inter-engaging press-fastening formations, 1 8, of a type known per se in egg containers, provided at the four corners of each sub-container as viewed in Figure 2, or possibly provided only at two diagonally opposite corners.

Both the upper and the lower portion of each sub-container is preferably provided with perforations or apertures 20 therein.

The supply of eggs in egg containers of the form shown in Figures 1 and 2 allows the boiling of individual eggs to be effected very simply by tearing, from the container, the respective subcontainer containing an egg and placing the subcontainer, with the egg therein, in boiling water for the appropriate period of time (usually four minutes), the apertures 20, and the gaps normally present between the upper and lower parts of the sub-container, allowing the entry of boiling water to cook the egg. After having been boiled for the requisite time, the sub-container, with its egg, may be lifted from the boiling water and served directly, the person who is to eat the egg simply removing the upper part of the sub-container from the lower by pulling off in order to gain access to the egg, the lower part of the sub-container, as shown in Figure 3, serving as an egg cup.

The two portions of the sub-container are, of course, simply discarded after use, so that the necessity for washing up egg cups is avoided.

As shown in the drawings, the lower part of each sub-container, which is to serve as the egg cup, is preferably made of greater depth than the upper part, for effective support of the egg during use as an egg cup, and the lower part of each subcontainer preferably has its peripheral wall formed with vertically extending flutes or corrugations in order to provide thermal insulation between the egg supported by the lower part of the subcontainer and the hand of a person supporting the lower part of the sub-container from the outside.

If desired, instead of the whole of the upper part of the sub-container being removed to allow access to the egg, an upper portion of each upper part of each sub-container may be connected with the remainder via a line of weakening or perforation and may have a portion affording a tag which can be grasped to allow said upper portion to be torn off, thereby allowing access to the egg, which is nevertheless held captive within the subcontainer.

It will be appreciated that since the opening of the six-egg container in the conventional manner by pivoting the upper part relative to the lower part about a flexible "hinge" strip along one side of the container, such a hinge strip will not normally be provided so that the upper and lower parts of the six-egg container will normally be connected only via the cooperating fastenings 1 8.

There is thus not, in principle, any limitation on the number of egg spaces which may be provided in a container, and for catering establishments and the like the use of the container affording 24 egg spaces (i.e. 6 x 4) may be preferred.

Preferably the plastics material of the container is adapted to undergo a readily visible colour change after it has been subjected to boiling water for the time required to cook an egg, e.g. for four minutes, so that the cook can determine, simply from observing the colour of the plastics subcontainer being boiled, with its egg, whether or not the egg has been fully cooked. The desired colour change may be afforded either by incorporating a suitable pigment or chemical in the plastics material itself, or, alternatively, each sub-container may have affixed thereto a piece of an appropriate indicator material.

In order to facilitate the cracking of an uncooked egg the inner walls of both the upper and lower portions of each sub-container may be adapted to grip the egg. In this way the two portions of the sub-container provide a reinforcement of the egg shell so that a firm hold can be taken of the egg without risk of crushing the egg during the cracking operation. For example the inner walls could be sculptured to provide a friction grip on the egg that is sufficient to provide a purchase on the egg, but is sufficiently weak to enable the upper portion of the sub-container to be easily removed as described above so that the lower portion can function as an egg cup.

When an egg-cracking operation has been completed, the yoke and white emptied from the shell, both the shell segments and the two portions of the sub-container can be discarded.

Egg containers as described with reference to the drawings may be utilised in the home, but would be particularly suitable for establishments in which large scale catering is undertaken, for example in restaurants and hotels, as well as in hospitals, for example, old-age pensioners and children's hospitals, in schools, etc.

It will be appreciated that, if desired, all of the eggs in a six-egg container or a larger multiple egg-container may be cooked simultaneously in a suitable vessel, with the sub-containers being torn off after cooking but just prior to serving. The container described may thus, for example, be useful in the preparation of picnics etc.

Claims

1. A container for eggs, defining a plurality of compartments each of a configuration to hold an egg captive, each portion of the container defining a respective single said compartment being connected with the remainder along lines of weakening, perforation or the like, whereby each said portion, with an egg retained in the respective compartment can be readily detached from the remainder of the container, to form a discrete subcontainer for a single egg, adapted to hold said egg captive, at least a portion of said subcontainer being readily removable to allow access to the egg therein while the remainder of the subcontainer acts as an egg cup.

2. A container according to claim 1, in which said sub-container is capable of withstanding boiling without losing integrity.

3. A container according to claim 2, wherein each said sub-container incorporates a visual indicator adapted to provide a visual indication when the sub-container has been subjected to boiling water for a predetermined period of time.

4. A container according to claim 3, wherein said container, or a part thereof, is adapted to change colour when it has been subjected to boiling water for a predetermined period of time.

5. A container according to any preceding claim, which is made of plastics material.

6. A container according to any preceding claim, wherein at least said remainder of each sub-container is externally fluted or corrugated to provide heat insulation.

7. A container according to any preceding claim, wherein the walls of each said subcontainer are perforated to allow entry of water when the sub-container with the egg therein, is immersed in water for cooking the egg.

8. A container according to any preceding claim, wherein each said sub-container comprises an upper and lower portion and the inner wall of each said portion is adapted to grip the shell of an egg.

9. A method of cooking and subsequently serving an egg, comprising placing the egg, whilst enclosed in and held captive in, a permeable container, in water, cooking the egg by boiling the water, removing the container with the egg still retained therein after a desired period, and serving the egg in said container, with said container acting as an egg cup.

10. A container for eggs, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.

11. A method of cooking and serving an egg, substantially as hereinbefore described.

1 2. Any novel feature or combination of features described herein.