GB2291407A - Cheese container - Google Patents

Abstract

A cheese container has a tubular wall 1 within which are slidably received a lid 12 and a base 11 that form with the tubular wall 1 a compartment within which is accommodated cheese 16. Opposed ends of the tubular wall 1 are castellated to provide indents 6 within which are received straps 17 that are passed around the tubular wall over the lid and under the base. The straps 17 compress the cheese 16 between the lid and the base and retain them at a maximum predetermined spacing for maintaining the cheese 16 in a desired predetermined shape. Several containers may be column stacked with projections 8 of one container being received in complementary recesses 10 of an immediately overlying container in the stack. <IMAGE>

Description

TITLE "A cheese container" TECHNICAL FIELD & BACKGROUND ART The present invention relates to a cheese container and a method of using same, more specifically but not exclusively, the invention relates to a container for storing blocks of cheese during their maturing process.

The invention may also be applicable to containers for the storage of other produce.

When a commercially formed cheese has been produced it is normally placed in a pressing tower where excess moisture and air are squeezed out. The cheese is then formed into a generally cuboid shape (although other shapes such as cylindrical may be applicable) before being wrapped and sealed, usually within a polythene enclosure.

Due to the physical nature of cheese and its characteristic of maturing over a length of time, gases may be produced while the cheese is within the polythene enclosure. The gaseous release tends to deform the cheese from its desired intended shape and thereby decrease the commercial usefulness of the cheese, for example, a randomly shaped block of mature cheese may be inconvenient for further processing (such as cutting and packaging into relatively small portions suitable for retail to individual consumers where such cutting and packaging is effected by automatic handling equipment).

To alleviate the cheese from deforming from its desired shape whilst undergoing the aforementioned maturing process, the cheese may be confined within a suitably shaped container. U.K. Patent G.B.2,088,831 discloses a cheese box or container having the spring mounted pressure plate which reacts against a lid of the box and on a cheese block within the box to alleviate undesirable deformation which may develop in the shape of the cheese during its maturing process.

It is a characteristic of cheeses, however, that not all mature and deform to the same extent. For instance, it may be the case that certain cheeses require less compression forces applied by the spring mounted pressure plate than others to retain the generally cuboid or other intended shape. The spring mounted pressure plate as disclosed in the aforementioned Patent does not provide for a substantial alteration of force provided against the cheese. It is an object of the present invention to provide a cheese container suitable for storing cheese or the like whilst maturing and which alleviates deformation of the cheese from its intended shape in a manner that is an improvement over the cheese box disclosed in G.B. Patent No. 2,088,831.

STATEMENT OF INVENTION & ADVANTAGES According to the present invention there is provided a cheese container comprising a base, a lid and a tubular wall portion which together form a compartment within which cheese is to be accommodated, at least one of the lid and base being displaceable within the tubular wall portion to vary the size of the compartment and characterised by strap means that is engageable around the base and lid to maintain the base and lid at a maximum predetermined spacing from each other for alleviating distortion from its intended shape of cheese accommodated within the compartment.

Further according to the present invention there is provided a method of storing cheese comprising providing a cheese container as specified in the immediately preceding paragraph, confining cheese within the compartment of said container and alleviating distortion of the cheese from its shape within the compartment by securing said displaceable lid and/or base within the tubular wall portion by strap means which restrains the lid and base at a predetermined maximum spacing from each other with the lid and base firmly sandwiching the cheese therebetween.

Preferably the wall portion has one or more indents or castellations provided at at least one end thereof and within which indents or castellations the strap means is received at a depth over the wall portion determined by the intended position of the displaceable lid and/or base within the wall portion.

In an embodiment, the container is of cuboid or other parallelopipedon shape comprising a base and a lid which are substantially parallel to each other, and side walls defining the tubular portion of the container within which both the lid and base are displaceable. The side walls are formed with indents or castellations capable of receiving strapping which holds the lid and the base within the side walls to sandwich the cheese and to apply a desired force against the cheese for alleviating distortion of the cheese from its intended cuboid or parallelopipedon shape (bearing in mind that the strapping restrains the lid and the base from moving further apart than a predetermined spacing as the cheese attempts to deform and expand the volume of the compartment).The depth to which the strapping is received within the indents or castellations is variable to hold the lid and base against the cheese according to the size and depth of the cheese within the compartment. A lower depth of cheese allows the straps to be retained more deeply within the indents or castellations in the side walls thereby permitting different depths of cheese to be accommodated with the desired force.

One end of the tubular wall portion of the container can include one or more upstanding projections and the other end one or more recesses that are complementary to the projections so that two similar containers can be column stacked in vertical alignment with the upstanding projections of one container being received in the recesses of the other container which overlies or underlies it.

This method of connection of two or more containers may be used to provide a secure and stable stack.

Preferably the lid and base of the container are identical components and are releasably mounted within the tubular wall portion to be held within that portion by strapping which passes through indents or castellations formed in the wall portion, thus providing an easily manoeuvred container package within the compartment of which the cheese is accommodated and secured against deformation in its shape.

Although the present invention will usually be applied to containers for storing cheese in a cuboid or other parallelopipedon shape, it will be realised that the invention may be applied with advantage to the storage of cheese in other shapes, particularly cylindrical where the tubular wall portion forms a cylindrical compartment within which portion at least one of the lid or base is co-axially displaceable.

DRAWINGS One embodiment of a cheese 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 shows a tubular wall part of the container without the lid and base fitted thereto; Figure 2 shows a lid or base of the container, and Figure 3 diagrammatically illustrates the container in use for storing cheese and shows such container in a section corresponding to the line III-III of Figure 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The container has a tubular wall portion 1 formed as a plastics moulding of generally parallelopipedon shape to have four side walls 2 forming upper and lower end rectangular openings 4 and 5 in the wall portion. The ends of the walls 2 adjacent to the end openings 4 and 5 are castellated to provide an array of indents 6 which are spaced about the periphery of the wall portion 1. The indents 6 in the opposite ends of the wall portion are similarly disposed and in alignment with each other.

Projecting upwardly from an upper edge 7 of the wall portion 1 are a peripherally spaced array of projections 8.

Formed within a bottom edge 9 of the wall portion 1 are an array of recesses 10 which are peripherally spaced to correspond with the projections 8 and are complementary in shape thereto so that several similar wall portions 1 can be stacked in vertical alignment as a column with the upstanding projections 8 of one wall portion engaging within the recesses 10 of an immediately overlying wall portion to present a stable stacking arrangement.

The container has a base 11 and a lid 12 which are conveniently identical and formed as plastics mouldings (as shown in Figure 2) to have a flat plate 13 reinforced by a network of ribs 14.

To assemble the container and during use thereof, the base 11 is inserted into the tube presented by the wall portion 1 through the upper end 4 thereof to be received in complementary manner and as a close sliding fit within that portion and so that the base rests on ledge-like projections 15. The projections 15 are integrally formed with the wall portion 1 and project inwardly of that portion in the plane of the lower end opening 5. Cheese 16 to be matured is now inserted into the wall portion 1 through the open end 4 to rest on the plate 13 of the base 11.Following this the lid 12 is also inserted into the tubular wall portion 1 through the open end 4 so that the lid is received in complementary manner and as a close sliding fit within the wall portion parallel to the base 11 for the plate 13 of the lid to abut the cheese 16 and close a compartment within which the cheese 16 is accommodated.

Straps (one of which is shown at 17 in Figure 3) are now wound about the assembled components 1, 11 and 12 to pass through the indents 6 over the lid 12 and under the base 11. The straps 17 (which will usually be inextendible but adjustable in length although they may be elastomeric) are now tightened, conveniently by an adjustable buckle arrangement 18, causing the opposing base and lid 11, 12 to be displaced relatively towards each other within and relative to the walls 2 whilst maintaining their parallel relationship to compress the cheese 16 into a generally cuboid shape as the straps 17 move deeper into the indents 6 at the opposite ends of the walls 2.When the required amount of force has been applied by the straps 17 to sandwich the cheese firmly between the lid and the base, the cheese 16 is left to mature, conveniently with the container stacked, as aforementioned, as part of a vertical column with several similar cheese containers.

During maturing of the cheese it will be apparent that the straps 17 will restrain the base 11 and lid 12 at a maximum predetermined spacing from each other so that the container maintains a substantially constant size compartment within which the cheese is accommodated. Consequently the container structure resists expansion of the cheese which would otherwise deform the cheese from its desired generally cuboid shape and size as presented by the compartment of the container.

It will be appreciated from Figure 3 that the castellations presented by the indents 6 provide a convenient means for ensuring free circulation of air about the container. Furthermore, the location of the straps 17 within the indents 6 ensure that the base and lid of the container may be secured within the wall portion 1 clear of the upper and lower edges 7 and 9 of that wall portion to facilitate column stacking of several similar containers.

Claims (8)

1. A cheese container comprising a base, a lid and a tubular wall portion which together form a compartment within which cheese is to be accommodated, at least one of the lid and base being displaceable within the tubular wall portion to vary the size of the compartment and characterised by strap means that is engageable around the base and lid to maintain the base and lid at a maximum predetermined spacing from each other for alleviating distortion from its intended shape of cheese accommodated within the compartment.

2. A container as claimed in claim 1 in which the wall portion has one or more indents or castellations provided in at least one end thereof and within which indents or castellations the strap means is received at a depth over the wall portion determined by the intended position of the displaceable lid and/or base within said wall portion.

3. A container as claimed in claim 2 in which the base and the lid are substantially parallel and are both displaceable within the tubular wall portion, said wall portion being formed with indents or castellations at each end thereof capable of receiving strapping for holding the lid and the base within the wall portion and against cheese accommodated within the compartment.

4. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which both the lid and the base are displaceable within the tubular wall portion and said tubular wall portion has a ledge-like projection on which the base can rest within that wall portion to support cheese that is to be accommodated within the compartment during assembly of the container.

5. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which one end of the tubular wall portion includes one or more upstanding projections and the other end of said wall portion has one or more recesses that are complementary to the projections so that two similar said containers can be stacked as a vertical column with the upstanding projections of one of the containers being received in the recesses of another container which overlies or underlies it to provide a stable stack.

6. A method of storing cheese comprising providing a cheese container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, confining cheese within the compartment of said container and alleviating distortion of the cheese from its intended shape by securing said displaceable lid and/or base within the tubular wall portion by the strap means which restrains the lid and base at a predetermined maximum spacing from each other with the lid and base firmly sandwiching the cheese therebetween.

7. A cheese container substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying illustrative drawings.

8. A method of storing cheese as claimed in claim 6 and substantially as herein described.