GB2226543A

GB2226543A - Packaging containers

Info

Publication number: GB2226543A
Application number: GB8828968A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ronald Frank Lovatt
Original assignee: DOLPHIN PACKAGING MATERIALS
Current assignee: DOLPHIN PACKAGING MATERIALS
Priority date: 1988-12-12
Filing date: 1988-12-12
Publication date: 1990-07-04
Also published as: GB8828968D0

Abstract

A packaging container is moulded from thermoplastics and adapted for packaging and displaying fragile items such as soft fruits. It comprises a lid (1) and a base (2) which are secured together by interengageable rim structures which engage one within the other and consist of co-operating shoulder and skirt portions which may be provided with interengageable projections and recesses for security. A tab (17) is formed on one of the rim structures which engages internally so that, on engagement, the tab projects upwardly or downwardly from the rim structures to avoid interference with an adjacent container and provides means to conveniently separate the lid and tray. <IMAGE>

Description

A Packaging Container The present invention relates to a container for packaging fragile food products, particularly fruit, and capable of being manufactured by vacuum moulding techniques from thermoplastics.

It is well knows to provide containers made of plastics material to protect food products during transit and while on display in a market place. Commonly such containers have a tray like base and a cover removably secured to the open top of the base. It is common to, transport the containers in close proximity, one another and consequently agitation of the packages during transit often has the effect of disturbing the cover leaving the contents vulnerable to damage.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved packaging container for transporting and displaying fragile foodstuffs which alleviates the disadvantages of the prior art containers.

According to the present invention there is provided a container comprising, a tray part having a base and side walls upstanding therefrom; a lid part having a covering web and downwardly extending side walls, the side walls being provided with rim structures adapted for interengagement one within the other, to secure the lid to cover the tray part; and a tab integrally formed with and extending from the rim structure receivable within the other rim structure whereby the inner rim structure can be withdrawn from the outer rim structure by pulling on the tub.

Preferably the tab is arranged to fold when the lid is secured, so that it projects substantially upwardly or downwardly to alleviate the possibility of interference with an adjacent container.

Preferably the rim structures each comprise a shoulder part extending substantially perpendicular to the associated wall and a skirt extending from the shoulder part parallel to the wall. The rim structures may be provided with indentations which cooperate to improve the security of the lid.

The tab may be provided at a central part of the rim structure on one side wall or may extend from one corner where it economically employs otherwise excess material used during the moulding of the containers.

The base and lid can be formed to provide complementary interengaging parts capable of being engaged one with the other part of another container during stacking.

An embodiment of a container constructed in accordance with the present invention will now be described by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings; in which Figure 1 shows a side view of the container, partly in section; Figure 2 shows a plan view of the container; Figure 3 shows a perspective view of one end of a lid of the container.

Referring to the drawings, the container is made by vacuum moulding thermoplastics and comprises a tray 1 and a lid 2. The tray has a base 3 which is slightly domed towards the interior of the tray 1 and this provides a resilient cushioning effect which helps to prevent damage to the contents during transport. Long opposed side walls 4 and shorter opposed end walls 5 project upwardly from the edges of the base 3. These terminate in a continuous rim structure 6 which consists of a shoulder part 7 projecting perpendicular to the walls 4 and 5 and a skirt 8 which projects upwardly from the shoulder 6.

The lid 2 has a cover panel 9 long opposed side walls 10 and short opposed end walls 11 which project downwardly from the cover panel 9. It will be noted that a recess 12 is provided in the cover panel 9 and this is of a size which corresponds to the base panel 3 which is surrounded by a shoulder 3A. When the containers are stacked the shoulder 3A is received within the recess 12.

The rims of the lid walls 10 and 11 are provided with continuous rim structures consisting of a shoulder 13 projecting perpendicular to the walls 10, 11 and a dependent skirt 14. This rim structure is of a size such that it can be received into the tray rim structure to locate the lid 2.

To secure the lid 2 in place both the tray and lid rim structures are provided with corresponding indentations 15 and 16 respectively, which are resilient and cooperate to form a press fit between the lid and tray rim structures.

In order to reduce the space required for transportation of the containers and to alleviate the likelihood of the lid 2 being displaced by relative movement of an adjacent container the depth of the base walls 4, 5 is made different from that of the lid walls 10, 11 so that adjacent containers can be arranged and inverted with respect to one another without the rim structures touching.

For convenient removal of the lid 2 a tab 17 is formed integrally on the free edge of the lid rim structure. Thus when the lid 2 is secured onto the tray 1 the tab 17 folds to project upwardly as shown in Figure 1.

In Figure 3 the tab 17 is shown in alternative positions 17A, 17B and 17C. The position 17B at a corner of the lid is preferred as this reduces wastage of material as can be seen from the dotted line which indicates the original extent of the plastic sheet panel from which the lid 2 is cut during manufacture. Another option is to locate the tab at the position indicated by 17C, whereat the tab 17 is located on the part of the lid rim structure associated with an end wall or side wall remote from a corner but, is offset from the centreline passing parallel to the walls and through the centre of the lid. Thus, when several lids are moulded simultaneously from a common sheet of plastics material the tabs of adjacent lids do not interfere with one another. Hence material wasted when the lids are cut from the plastics sheet is minimised.

Claims

1. A packaging container comprising: a tray part having a base and side walls upstanding therefrom, a lid part having a covering web and downwardly extending side walls, the side walls of the tray part and the lid part being provided with rim structures adapted for interengagement, one within the other to secure the lid part to cover the tray part; and, a tab integrally formed with and extending from that rim structure which is receivable within the other rim structure whereby the inner rim structure can be withdrawn from the outer rim structure by pulling on the tab.

2. A container according to claim 1 wherein the tab is arranged to be folded, by the effect of interengagement of the rim structures upon securing the lid part to the tray part, to extend from the rim structures in a vertical direction.

3. A container according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the tab is formed at a corner of the rim structure as viewed in plan.

4. A container according to any preceding claim wherein the rim structures each comprise a shoulder part extending substantially perpendicular to the associated side wall and a skirt extending from the shoulder part parallel to the side wall.

5. A container according to claim 4 wherein the rim structures co-operate when interengaged to form an inwardly opening channel when viewed in section.

6. A container according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the rim structures are provided with indentations and projections which co-operate to improve the security of the lid part.

7. A container according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the base has a portion domed toward the interior of the container to provide a resilient structure.

8. A container according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the base and lid are provided with complementary interengageable parts to provide for secure stacking of a plurality of the containers.

9. A container according to claim 8 when appendant to claim 7 wherein the interengageable part of the base is provided by a base shoulder extending downwardly around the edge of the domed portion, and the interengageable part of the lid is provided by a recess shaped to receive the base shoulder.

10. A container according to any preceding claim vacuum moulded from thermo plastics material.

11. A packaging container as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.