GB2199015A

GB2199015A - Box for packaging pieces of confectionery

Info

Publication number: GB2199015A
Application number: GB08624103A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Bruce Broderick Moore; John Hadley
Original assignee: Cadbury Ltd
Current assignee: Cadbury UK Ltd
Priority date: 1986-10-08
Filing date: 1986-10-08
Publication date: 1988-06-29
Anticipated expiration: 2006-10-08
Also published as: GB8624103D0; GB2199015B

Abstract

A chocolate box 10 has an integral hinged lid 12 and contains chocolate pieces 28 in respective open-topped recesses 22 provided in upper and lower trays 20 in the box 10. A transparent protective cover sheet 34 overlies the upper tray 20 and has portions which rest on the latter to mitigate compression damage to the chocolate pieces 28. The cover sheet 34 has downwardly opening recesses 36 overlying some of the recesses 22 in the upper tray. The lid 12 has a window 48 therein to enable the contents of the box 10 to be viewed with the lid 12 closed. <IMAGE>

Description

BOX FOR PACKAGING PIECES OF CONFECTIONERY This invention relates to a box for packaging pieces of confectionery, eg. chocolates.

It is well known to package pieces of confectionery such as chocolates in a box wherein at least one tray having open topped recesses therein is provided to accomodate individual pieces of confectionery. It is also common practice to protect such confectionery by providing a corrugated paper sheet which overlies the pieces of confectionery in the tray. Whilst this provides a degree of protection against damage during transport, the provision of such a corrugated sheet of paper is not particularly effective in preventing the confectionery from turning over within the recesses, particularly when roughly handled. Whilst this may not itself damage the pieces of confectionery, it is nevertheless not desirable for the customer to purchase a box of confectionery where the confectionery is not properly presented.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a box for packaging pieces of confectionery wherein the problem of the confectionery turning over in the recesses is mitigated.

According to the present invention, there is provided a box for packaging pieces of confectionery including a lid, and at least one tray having open-topped recesses therein to accomodate individual pieces of confectionery, the box further including a protective cover sheet which is arranged to overlie the or at least one of the trays in the box, wherein said protective cover sheet has portions which rest on portions of the tray in use and also has downwardly opening recesses arranged to overlie at least some of the open-topped recesses in said tray.

Preferably, said tray has an upstanding rim and also partition walls which define the open-topped recesses, and the protective cover sheet is provided with a surrounding lip which rests on the upstanding rim of said tray, some of said portions of the protective cover sheet engaging against at least some of the partitions. Engagement in this way helps to absorb compression forces which might otherwise damage the confectionery.

Most preferably, the bases of the recesses in the protective cover sheet lie a short distance (eg about 3mm) below the upstanding rim so as to leave a space between the bases of the recesses and the lid when the latter is closed. This also assists in preventing compression damage to the confectionery.

Preferably, the protective cover sheet has an upstanding peripheral wall which fits within the upstanding rim of the tray, and the peripheral lip extends outwardly from the top of the peripheral wall to rest on the upstanding rim of said tray.

Preferably, the liz is provided with a window therein, and said protective cover sheet is transparent at least in a region which is exposed to view through the window in the lid.

Preferably also, the protective cover sheet is provided with a downwardly-opening recess which is arranged to overlie more than one recess in said tray in the region thereof which is exposed to view so that a smooth un-recessed portion of the protective cover sheet is exposed to view through the window in the lid.

The window in the lid is preferably glazed with a transparent plastics sheet.

It is particularly convenient for the bases of the downwardly-opening recesses in the protective cover sheet to be substantially co-planar.

With the above described cover sheet, it can be arranged so that the bases of the downwardly-opening recesses in the protective cover sheet engage against the pieces of confectionery in the open-topped recesses when the cover sheet and tray are in mutual engagement.

It will be further appreciated that the lip of the protective cover sheet will normally be arranged immediately under the lid so that the lid and any side flaps to the box serve to retain the protective cover sheet in position. Furthermore, it will be appreciated that the whole box will also normally be wrapped closely in a clear plastics wrapping which has to be removed before the lid can be opened.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing which is a perspective view of a box of confectionery according to the present invention.

Referring now to the drawing,.the box 10 is of rectangular shape and is formed of cardboard with an integral lid 12 and side flaps 14. The lid 12 is connected to the remainder of the box 10 along a rear longitudinal edge 16 and is provided with a flap 18 along its front longitudinal edge, the flap 18 being arranged to be tucked into the front of the box 10 in the usual way when the lid 12 is closed. In this embodiment, the box 10 includes a pair of trays 20 (only the upper one of which is shown) which are stacked one above the other in the box with a rectangular sheet of protective paper (not shown) separating the two trays 20.

Each tray 20 is composed of a vacuum formed plastics sheet having a plurality of open-topped recesses 22 therein defined by partition walls 24 having tops 26 which are substantially co-planar. A piece of chocolate confectionery 28 is disposed in each recess 22. The recesses 22 are of different shapes so as to correspond roughly to the outline of the piece of chocolate confectionery 28 which it is designed to accommodate, but is of slightly larger area. As can be seen from the drawing, the tops of the pieces 28 project slightly above the tops 26 of the recesses 22. Each tray 20 further includes an upstanding rim 30 which projects upwardly from the tops 26 of the recesses 22 by a distance of about 3 mm in this embodiment and which terminates in an outwardly directed lip 32. The lip 32 is designed so as to be a close fit within the box 10.

The box 10 further includes a protective cover sheet which is designed to fit within the box between the upper tray 20 and the lid 12. The protective sheet 34 is vacuum moulded out of a sheet of transparent plastics material and has a plurality of recesses 36 therein which are provided in one half of the sheet 34.

Each recess 36 is arranged to overlie a respective one of the recesses 22 in the upper tray 20 and has an outline which is approximately the same as the recess 22 which it overlies. The recesses 36 are separated by portions 38 of the sheet 34, said portions 38 being co-planar and resting against the tops 26 of the partition walls 24 when the cover sheet 34 is in position within the box 30.

The protective cover sheet 34 is also provided with a large downwardly-opening shallow recess 40 which extends over six of the recesses 22 in the upper tray 20. The outline of the recess 40 corresponds roughly to the overall outline of the recesses 22 which it overlies. Portions 42 of the cover sheet 34 around the shallow recess 40 are substantially flat and co-planar with the portions 38 and rest on the tops 26 of the partition walls 24 which lie under them.

The recesses 36 and 40 are of such a depth that, when the portions 38 and 42 are resting on the tops 26 of the partition walls 24, the bases of the recesses 36 and 40 rest on the tops of the pieces 28.

The protective sheet 34 is additionally provided with an upstanding peripheral wall 44 which projects upwardly from the plane of the portions 38 and 42 to terminate in a planar outwardly directed lip 46 disposed in a plane which is slightly above that of the bases of the recesses 36 and 40. The peripheral wall 44 is, like the rim 30, of rectangular form and is of a size to fit closely within and against the rim 30. The lip 46 rests on the outwardly directed lip 32 of the rim 30. The lip 46 lies in a plane which is spaced a short distance (in this embodiment, 3mm) below the underside of the lid 12 when the latter is closed.

The lid 12 is provided with a shaped window 48 therein.

The window 48 is glazed with a transparent plastics sheet 50 secured to the underside of the lid 12. The window 48 lies directly over the shallow recess 40 completely within the surface area thereof. In packing the box, the trays 20 containing the pieces of chocolate confectionery 28 are placed in the box 10 and then the protective cover sheet 34 is introduced so that the portions 38 and 42 thereof engage against the tops 26 of the partition walls 24 of the uppermost tray 20 and the lip 46 engages against the lip 32 of the upper tray 20. Then, the side flaps 14 are folded inwardly to retain the sheet 34 temporarily in position. Following this, the lid 12 is closed, with the front flap 18 being inserted between the front wall of the box and the front edges of the lips 46 and 32.

Frictional engagement between these parts assists in retaining the lid 12 in its closed position. Finally, the whole box with the lid closed is closely wrapped in a tear-off transparent plastic wrapping (not shown) as is conventional with boxes of confectionery. In the fully packaged box, the recess ;10 lies under the glazing sheet 50 and so enables the pieces of chocolate confectionery 28 to be readily viewed through the window 48. The protective cover sheet 34 assists in preventing the pieces of chocolate confectionery 28 from turning over in their recesses 22 if the box is roughly handled.

Claims

1. A box for packaging pieces of confectionery including a lid, and at least one tray having open-topped recesses therein to accommodate individual pieces of confectionery, the box further including a protective cover sheet which is arranged to overlie the or at least one of the trays in the box, wherein said protective cover sheet has portions which rest on portions of the tray in use and also has downwardly opening recesses arranged to overlie at least some of the open-topped recesses in said tray.

2. A box as cla-imed in Claim 1, wherein said tray has an upstanding rim and also partition walls which define the open-topped recesses, and the protective cover sheet is provided with a surrounding lip which rests on the upstanding rim of said tray, some of said portions of the protective cover sheet engaging against at least some of the partition.

3. A box as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the bases of the recesses in the protective cover sheet lie a short distance below the upstanding rim so as to leave a space between the bases of the recesses and the lid when the latter is closed.

4. A box as claimed in Claim 2 or 3, wherein the protective cover sheet has an upstanding peripheral wall which fits within the upstanding rim of the tray, and the peripheral lip extends outwardly from the top of the peripheral wall to rest on the upstanding rim of said tray.

5. A box as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the lid is provided with a window therein, and said protective cover sheet is transparent at least in a region which is exposed to view through the window in the lid.

6. A box as claimed in Claim 5, wherein the protective cover sheet is provided with a downwardly-opening recess which Is arranged to overlie more than one recess in said tray in the region thereof which is exposed to view so that a smooth un-recessed portion of the protective cover sheet is exposed to view through the window in the lid.

7. A box as claimed in Claim 5 or 6, wherein the window in the lid is glazed with a transparent plastics sheet.

8. A box as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the bases of the downwardly-opening recesses in the protective cover sheet are substantially co-planar.

9. A box for packaging pieces of confectionery substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawing.