GB2394943A

GB2394943A - Container having foldable walls for stacking on a rack

Info

Publication number: GB2394943A
Application number: GB0225672A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Marion Mcquarrie; Richard Haywood; Tim Webb-Jenkins
Original assignee: ALPHA AIRPORT HOLDINGS
Current assignee: ALPHA AIRPORT HOLDINGS
Priority date: 2002-11-04
Filing date: 2002-11-04
Publication date: 2004-05-12
Also published as: GB0225672D0

Abstract

A container comprises a base or top panel (18) at least one wall (16, 20, 24) transverse to the base or top panel (18) and at least one wing (36) projecting outwardly from the base or top panel (18) beyond the wall for the purpose of stacking containers on a rack such as an airline service trolley. The container may comprise a base (18) and walls (16, 20, 24) hinged with respect to the base (18) for movement between upright and collapsed positions, at least one of the walls having holding means (30, 32) for holding an item such as an item of cutlery against the wall during said movement. A top panel (38) may be joined to the base panel (18) by a wall (16) hinged with respect to the base panel (18) whereby the top panel (38) can be pivoted away from the base panel (18) into an upright position to open the container, and wherein the wall (16) is fixed with respect to the top panel (38) to form a stable base on which the top panel rests when in the upright position.

Description

CONTAINERS

This invention relates to containers for use in the provision of goods and services to customers. Whilst preferred aspects of the invention have particular benefits in the field of in

5 flight meal delivery to airline customers, it is envisaged that the invention could be useful in other fields such as home delivery and remote catering.

For the purposes of this specification, goods may take various forms provided that they fit

within containers of the invention, including food, drink and related items such as cutlery, 0 napkins and condiments. Of course, the provision of goods may also be inherent in the provision of services: for example, catering services involve the provision of food and drink.

Hereinafter, therefore, goods and services delivered to a customer may be represented collectively as items that can fit within the container of the invention.

As is well known, it is advantageous and often essential for items to be stored, transported and delivered to customers in a suitable container. The container protects the items during storage, transport and delivery and if suitably labelled and tracked, facilitates the logistics involved in allocating specific items to the customers requiring them. Moreover, where various combinations of items need to be gathered and supplied as a set of items, the 20 container acts as a receptacle for gathering and delivering the set. Such a container can also improve presentation of the items within, and can be used for the return of items after use including disposal of internal wrapping and other waste, for example after foodstuffs within the container have been eaten.

25 On flights where meals are served, most airline customers receive their in-flight meals on a shallow food tray which carries most if not all of the customer's allotted meal. Commonly, the tray carries various items including receptacles such as dishes, bowls and drinking vessels and may have recesses to co-operate with and retain those receptacles. The receptacles contain different elements of the meal such as different courses, and usually have their own 30 removable covers or lids although it is also common for the tray as a whole to have a removable cover or lid which may be of clear plastics material. Other food items may lie loose on the tray above or between the receptacles, such as a biscuit or a piece of bread or cheese, as well as non-food items such as cutlery, a napkin and sachets of condiments which

are commonly supplied together in a clear plastics wrap. Items not provided on the food tray, such as wine or other beverages (especially hot beverages) are served separately by airline staff. 5 There is great pressure in the airline industry to cut costs. For example, aircraft seat width and legroom may be minimised so as to maximise the number of seats per aircraft, thereby to increase the potential for generating revenue from sales of tickets and in-flight services.

Moreover, and particularly at the so-called budget end of the industry, carriers on short-haul routes restrict in-flight service to the bare minimum and commonly charge for every in-flight 0 service a customer requests.

Most airline customers will be familiar with the difficulty of eating a meal in a confined space while sitting in an airline seat, usually using a fold-down table attached to the seat in front. With very little room for manoeuvre and in an environment that may be affected by 5 turbulence, customers must remove multiple lids, covers and wrappings and find space for them before attempting to eat their meal and drink their beverages. In doing so, items may need to be moved, some being left on the tray and others being placed on the table.

Unsurprisingly, it is common for drinks, foodstuffs and other items, especially cutlery, to end up on the customer's lap or on the floor where it may be impossible to recover them for the so rest of the flight.

As is well known, food trays are carried on aircraft in service trolleys or carts that can be moved along an aisle of the aircraft to serve successive seated rows of customers. Trays can be slid out of the trolley before being handed to customers and, after use, can be returned to 25 the trolley.

Normal airline practice is to gather at least some waste on airline food trays after use and to return the waste-carrying trays to the trolley. On landing, the trolley is taken off the aircraft and the trays are unloaded from the trolley. Waste is sorted for recycling and disposal and the so trays are cleaned for re-use. There is a significant cost involved in sorting waste and cleaning trays.

In the airline industry, customers receive other in-flight services which may involve sale of items not for consumption on board an aircraft, such as duty-free drinks, perfumes, cosmetics, tobacco products and gifts. They may also involve lending an item to a customer such as a pair of headphones, a portable video/audio player or a hand-held games machine.

5 Moreover, children may be given play kits to alleviate boredom during the flight. These items are stored and delivered in various ways on board the aircraft but are usually handed to airline customers loose or in bags or boxes, in a separate operation to the provision of meals.

In increasingly sophisticated markets, consumers have come to expect more choice in goods lo and services and for their choices to be delivered with unfailing accuracy. The freedom of consumers to choose places demands upon the logistics systems necessary to enable that choice. In the airline industry, for example, there is a logistical challenge in making sure that catering and other services are delivered efficiently to aircraft around the world and thereafter to airline customers on board those aircraft. This challenge has been heightened by the advent 15 of pre-ordering of in-flight services, for example of airline meals over the internet. It is common for airline customers to be given choices of vegetarian, kosher or halal meals, as well as choices of other dishes, and it is important that the customers' preferences are met, aside from personal taste, there may be moral, religious or health grounds for a customer's choice of meal that would preclude eating any other option. In- flight services other than 20 meals may also be pre-ordered, such as the aforesaid entertainment facilities, and these need to be supplied with similar accuracy. It may also be advantageous for such non-food items to be stored, transported and delivered in a container.

Applicants have therefore identified a need for containers suitable for use in the presentation 25 of airline food and other items, which can fit in existing airline service trolleys, which are disposably cheap and biodegradable, and which are easy to open and use in the confines of an airline seat. Applicants have devised a container that can satisfy these criteria and that is also suitable for non-airline fields such as home delivery and remote catering.

30 From one aspect, the invention resides in a container comprising a base or top panel, at least one wall transverse to the base or top panel and at least one wing projecting outwardly from the base or top panel beyond the wall. The wing makes the container suitable for stowage in a rack such as an airline trolley.

For simplicity, the base or top panel is preferably planar and the wing is preferably co-planar with the base or top panel. The wall may also be planar and is preferably integral with the base or top panel, suitably being folded from a common blank along a fold line separating the 5 wall from the base or top panel. That fold line is preferably straight.

To define the wing from a blank, the fold line advantageously comprises first and second fold line sections in alignment with but spaced from one another. Those fold line sections may be connected by an incision through the blank extending outwardly from the base or top panel lo into the wall to define the wing projecting integrally from the base or top panel. For example, a major central portion of the incision may be straight and parallel to the fold line and minor outer portions of the incision may converge outwardly to form a tapered shallow stub wing.

To suit an airline trolley, it is preferred that opposed walls of the container are not more than Is 250mm apart and that a wing projects at least lOmm beyond each of said walls.

From another aspect, the invention resides in a container comprising a base and walls hinged with respect to the base for movement between upright and collapsed positions, at least one of the walls having holding means for holding an item against the wall during said 20 movement. The holding means may, for example, comprise at least one flap defined by an incision in the wall. That incision may be C-shaped to define a single flap hingeable away from the wall. In that case, a pair of opposed holding means are suitably co-operable to hold an item against the wall. Alternatively, the incision may be H-shaped to define an opposed pair of flaps hingeable away from the wall and co-operable to hold an item against the wall.

25 Where an H-shaped incision is used, it preferably stands orthogonally with respect to a hinge line joining the wall to the base, with the crossbar of the H substantially parallel to said line.

An elongate item held by the opposed flaps can then lie parallel to the hinge line joining the wall to the base.

30 This aspect of the invention extends to the combination of the container as defined and at least one item held by the holding means of at least one wall of the container. That item may for example be an item of cutlery, or a package which can include a napkin. Preferably, a plurality of walls of the container each have a holding means holding a respective item of

cutlery. For example, a knife may be held on a wall to one side of the base of the container, a fork may be held on a wall to an opposite side of the base and a spoon may be held on a wall between the walls holding the knife and the fork. More specifically, where the container has a lid rear-hinged with respect to the base, the knife may be held on a wall to the right of the s base and the fork may be held on a wall to the left of the base. This beneficially emulates a standard place setting. Similarly, a spoon may be held on a third wall of the container, which wall may be to the rear of the base of the container. Moreover, a package may be held on a fourth wall of the container, which wall may be to the front of the base of the container.

lo In a further aspect, the container of the invention comprises a base panel and a top panel, wherein the top panel is joined to the base panel by a wall hinged with respect to the base panel whereby the top panel can be pivoted away from the base panel into an upright position to open the container, and wherein the wall is fixed with respect to the top panel to form a stable base on which the top panel rests when in the upright position. For optimum stability, 5 the wall is preferably generally orthogonal to the top panel.

For ease of manufacture, it is preferred that the wall and the base panel are formed from a common blank and are separated by a fold line defining the hinge. Similarly, it is preferred that the wall and the top panel are formed from a common blank and separated by a fold line.

20 In that case, tongues may extend substantially orthogonally from the wall to engage with a skirt depending substantially orthogonally from the top panel. Elegantly, the skirt can sandwich the tongues.

The invention extends to a rack such as an airline service trolley carrying at least one 2s container, or combination of container and item, as defined in accordance with the invention.

For example, the rack may carry at least one container having a pair of wings, the rack having a pair of runners on which the pair of wings of the container rests.

The invention also extends to a method of stacking containers on a rack such as an airline 30 service trolley, the rack having parallel upright side walls and the inner side of each side wall defining an array of spaced horizontal runners that face and are horizontally aligned in pairs with the runners of the corresponding array on the other side wall, the method comprising

supporting a lower container on a pair of runners and resting at least one upper container upon the lower container supported by the runners.

The lower container may have opposed wings resting on the pair of runners. Alternatively, 5 the lower container may rest on a tray that rests on the pair of runners.

In order that the invention can be more readily understood, reference will now be made by way of example to the accompanying drawings in which: lo Figure l is a plan view of a blank for making a container in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the blank of Figure l being folded into the container of the preferred embodiment; Figure 3 is a perspective view corresponding to Figure 2 but showing a lid portion of the container fully completed and front, back and side walls collapsed; Figure 4 is a perspective view corresponding to Figure 3 but showing the front and 20 side walls upright; Figure 5 is a perspective view of the container of Figures 3 and 4 showing the front, side and rear walls upright and the lid portion closed over the front and side walls; 25 Figure 6 corresponds to Figure 5 but shows the container with contents within; Figure 7 shows the container of Figure 6 but with the lid portion opened and the front, rear and side walls collapsed to expose the contents of the container; and 30 Figures 8(a), 8(b), 8(c) and 8(d) are schematic front views of airline service trolleys loaded with various combinations of containers in accordance with preferred embodiments of the invention.

Referring firstly to Figure 1 of the drawings, a blank 10 for making the container of the invention is preferably of cardboard although other materials may be used. An example of the material that may be used is white single-side corrugated card plus a topliner, preferably but not necessarily of 230 grammes per square metre quality.

s The blank 10 of Figure 1 comprises a body portion 12 to the right as shown and a lid portion 14 to the left as shown, joined by a generally oblong rear wall 16 which forms part of the body portion 12 and extends into the lid portion 14. The body portion 12 and the lid portion 14 comprise various parts delineated by lines of weakness for the purpose of folding, lo hereinafter referred to as fold lines. These fold lines may be defined by various means such as crease lines, score lines or lines of perforations. Crease lines are currently preferred.

The body portion 12 comprises a generally oblong base panel 18 defining two parallel long sides and two parallel short sides. An oblong front wall 20 extends along the long side of the 5 base panel 18 further from the lid portion 14, separated from the base panel 18 by a fold line 22 defining that long side of the base panel I 8. A respective generally oblong side wall 24 extends along each of the short sides of the base panel 18, separated from the base panel 18 by fold lines 26 partially defining the respective short sides of the base panel 18. The rear wall 16 extends along the long side of the base panel 18 closer to the lid portion 14, separated 20 from the base panel 18 by a fold line 28 defining that long side of the base panel 18.

It will be noted from Figure 1 that the front wall 20, side walls 24 and rear wall 16 bear shaped slits penetrating the blank. Specifically, each of the side walls 24 and the rear wall 16 have an H-shaped slit 30 and the front wall has two C-shaped slits 32. These are to define 25 formations for holding items when the finished container is in use, as will be explained.

The H-shaped slits 30 of the side walls 24 are slightly offset toward the front wall 20 of the body portion 12 and are oriented perpendicularly to the short sides of the base panel 18, such that the crossbar of each H is parallel to the adjacent short side. The H-shaped slit 30 of the 30 rear wall 16 is similarly oriented with respect to the adjacent long side of the base panel 18 and is offset slightly toward one side wall 24. Each Hshaped slit 30 is symmetrical about its crossbar to define holding formations in the form of opposed flaps that can be hinged or bent out of the general plane of the rear wall 16 and side walls 24.

The C-shaped slits 32 of the front wall 20 are disposed in an opposed mirror-image pair whose convex sides face each other. Each C-shaped slit 32 is adjacent a short side of the front wall 20, and those slits 32 are disposed symmetrically about the central longitudinal and 5 transverse axes of the front wall 20. In this case, the C-shaped slits 32 together define a pair of holding formations in the form of opposed flaps that can be hinged or bent out of the general plane of the front wall 20.

The fold lines 26 dividing the side walls 24 from the base panel 18 of the body portion 12 are lo each in two aligned sections extending inwardly and orthogonally from the long sides of the base panel 18 along the short sides of the base panel 18. Each section of the fold line 26 terminates at a respective end of a slit 34 penetrating the blank, which slit 34 has three parts: a central part being a straight line parallel to and outward of the fold line sections but shorter than the distance between them, and two end parts that join the central part of the slit to the 5 inner end of each respective fold line section 26. The two end parts of the slit 34 converge outwardly with respect to the base panel 18. The slit 34 is thereby shaped to define a wing 36 extending beyond the short side of, and co-planar with, the base panel 18.

The lid portion 14 comprises a generally oblong top panel 38 defining two parallel long sides 20 and two parallel short sides, which panel 38 is slightly larger than the base panel 18 of the body portion 12 so that the lid portion 14 can close over the body portion 12 as will be explained. The rear wall 16 extends along the long side of the top panel 38 closer to the body portion 12, separated from the top panel 38 by a fold line 40 defining that long side of the top panel 38.

A generally oblong front skirt portion 42 extends along the long side of the top panel 38 further from the body portion 12, separated from the top panel 38 by a fold line 44 defining that long side of the top panel 38. A generally oblong side skirt portion 46 extends along each of the short sides of the top panel 38, separated from the top panel 38 by fold lines 48 30 defining the respective short sides of the top panel 38. A further fold line 50 extends centrally and longitudinally along each side skirt portion 46 parallel to the adjacent short side of the top panel 38, dividing the side skirt portion 46 into generally oblong, parallel inner and outer skirt components 43, 45.

The outer skirt component 45 of each side skirt portion 46 has a pair of lugs 52 spaced along and projecting from its outer long side. A corresponding pair of slots 54 are spaced along the fold line 48 defining the short side of the top panel 38. The lugs 52 can engage within the s slots 54 when the lid portion 14 of the blank 10 is folded to form a lid, as will be explained below with reference to Figure 2.

An oblong tongue 56 extends from each short side of the front skirt portion 42 beside one short side of the adjacent side skirt portion 46. The tongue 56 is separated from the front skirt lo portion 42 by a fold line 58 and from the side skirt portion 46 by a slit 60 penetrating the blank 10. The length of each tongue 56 equates to the width of the adjacent side skirt portion 46, and the width of each tongue 56 is slightly less than the width of the front skirt portion 42. i5 Similar tongues 62 extend from each short side of the rear wall 16 adjacent the other short side of the side skirt portion 46. These tongues 62 are also separated from the rear wall 16 by a fold line 64 and from the side skirt portion 46 by a slit 60 penetrating the blank 10. The tongues 62 extending from the rear wall 16 are the same width as the tongues 56 extending from the front skirt portion 42, which width is substantially less than the width of the rear 20 wall 16. Consequently, the tongues 62 extending from the rear wall 16 are offset toward the top panel 38 with respect to the rear wall 16. It will also be noted that the fold lines 64 separating the tongues 62 from the rear wall 16 are slightly outward of the short sides of the rear wall 16 but aligned with the fold lines 48 separating the side skirt portions 46 from the top panel 38.

Referring now to Figure 2, this shows the blank being folded to form a container. The top panel 38 has been folded about the fold line 40 at 90 with respect to the plane of the rear wall 16. The tongues 56 associated with the front skirt portion 42 have been folded about the fold lines 58 at 90 with respect to the plane of the top panel 38 and the front skirt portion 42.

30 The tongues 62 associated with the rear wall 16 have been similarly folded out of the plane of the rear wall 16, towards alignment with the fold lines 48 separating the side skirt portions 46 from the top panel 38. The outer components 45 of the side skirt portions 46 have also been folded out of the plane of the top panel 38.

Subsequent folding of the front skirt portion 42 about the fold line 44 at 90 with respect to the top panel 38 brings the tongues 56 extending from the front skirt portion 42 into alignment with the fold lines 48 separating the side skirt portions 46 from the top panel 38.

5 Continued folding of the side skirt portions 46 along those fold lines 48 enables the side skirt portions 46 to embrace the tongues 56, 62, sandwiching the tongues 56, 62 between the inner and outer components 43, 45 of the side skirt portions 46 as the outer components 45 are folded over the tongues 56, 62 and into contact with the top panel 38. At this stage, the lugs 52 on the outer edge of the side skirt portions 46 engage with the slots 54 along the fold lines lo 48 separating the side skirt portions 46 from the top panel 38. This locks the lid parts and creates a rigid lid held rigidly at 90 to the rear wall 16 of the container, as shown in Figure 3.

It will be noted how the side skirt portions 46 and the front skirt portion 42 co-operate to define a rigid skirt 47 depending from the top panel 38, the side portions of which are of double or even treble thickness by virtue of their inner and outer components 43, 45 and the 5 tongues 56, 62 sandwiched between.

Figure 2 also shows the side walls 24 and front wall 20 hinged out of the plane of the base panel 18, by folding about the respective fold lines 26 and 22. This lifts the side walls 24 clear of the wings 36 which extend outwardly from the short sides of the base panel 18 and 20 remain in its plane. It will be apparent that the slits 34 defining the wings 36 result in corresponding cut-outs at the base of each side wall 24. The cut-outs in the side walls 24 defined by the slits 34 can be used as finger grips to assist customers and service staff to handle the container. Nevertheless, the side and front walls 24, 20 can be collapsed once more as shown in Figure 3. This has benefits in use, as will be explained below with 25 reference to Figure 7.

Figures 4 and 5 show the remaining steps necessary to form a container. Initially, the side walls 24 and front wall 20 are lifted into the fully upright position as shown in Figure 4. At this stage, the short sides of the side walls 24 meet the short sides of the front wall 20, 30 whereupon the side walls 24 are in parallel planes and the front wall 20 is in a plane orthogonal to each side wall 24. Then, as shown in Figure 5, the rear wall is hinged about fold line 40 between the rear wall 16 and the base panel 18, into the upright position at 90 to the plane of the base panel 18. This brings the lid portion 14, disposed rigidly at 90 in

relation to the rear wall 16, over the body portion 12 of the container such that the planes of the base panel 18 and the top panel 38 are parallel. As the top panel 38 is slightly larger than the base panel 18, the skirt 47 depending from the top panel 38 lies outside, embraces and holds together the upper parts of the co-operating upright front wall 20 and side walls 24.

The completed container as shown in Figure 5 will tend to hold itself closed but it may also be held closed by an external sticker or label 66 applied across the junction between the front wall 20 and the front skirt portion 42. Where a label 66 is used, this advantageously contains information (not shown) as to the content and intended destination or enduser of the lo container. The information can be alphanumeric and/or bar coded for example, although other methods of information presentation will be apparent to the skilled reader such as a magnetic strip or a chip readable by a suitable reader.

As mentioned above, it is preferred that the dimensions of the container of the invention are such that the container may be stored within an airline service trolley. Accordingly, it is preferred but not essential that: the long sides of the base panel 18 and the long sides of the front wall 20 of the container of the invention are 240 mm in length; the short sides of the base panel 18 have a length of 185 mm; the short sides of the side walls 24 and the front wall 20 are 75 mm in length or height; the long sides of the top panel 38 of the lid portion 14 are 20 250 mm in length; the short sides of the top panel 38 are 190 mm in length; and each wing projects 15 mm beyond the associated side wall 24.

It will be noted that the top panel 38 of the lid portion 14 is longer and wider than the base panel 18 of the body portion in order for the skirt 47 depending from the top panel 38 to lie 2 j outside and embrace the upper parts of the co-operating front wall 20 and side walls 24.

Moving on now to Figures 6 and 7, these show how the container of the invention may be used in the context of airline meals. They also explain the benefits of certain features of the preferred embodiment.

Figure 6 shows the container closed to show the inter-relationship of its contents, but with an external sticker or label removed ready for opening, and Figure 7 shows the container open but with its contents otherwise undisturbed. It will be apparent that Figure 7 corresponds to

Figure 3, save that the container of Figure 3 is without contents. Moving from the closed container of Figure 6 to the open container of Figure 7 merely involves reversing the steps shown in Figures 3 to 5.

s The contents of the container are: a generally cuboidal box 70 for holding foodstuffs, which may well be of a different material to the container to suit the purposes of food storage; a bottle 72 for holding water or other drinks, which is also substantially cuboidal to maximise space efficiency within the cuboidal container; a frusto-conical cup 74; cutlery being a knife 76, a fork 78 and a spoon 80, which may be of plastics or even of metal but are preferably of lo wood for disposability and airline security; and a thin oblong packet 82 which may contain a napkin, condiments and other items.

As will be apparent, the box 70 and the bottle 72 lie side-by-side on the base panel 18 and the cup 74 is inverted on the top of the bottle 72. The knife 76 is held by the holding formations 5 (i.e. the flaps defined by the H-shaped slit 30) on the side wall 24 to the customer's right as the container is opened, and the fork 78 is held by the corresponding holding formations on the side wall 24 to the customer's left. The spoon 80 is held by the holding formations of the rear wall 16. Each item of cutlery extends along most of the length of the wall against which it is held. The packet 82 similarly extends along the front wall 20 of the container and is held 20 by its holding formations being the flaps defined by the opposed C-shaped slits 32.

When the container is closed as shown in Figure 6, it will be noted thatthe cutlery 76, 78, 80 and the packet 82 together surround, locate and help to protect the box 70, bottle 72 and cup 74 within. The corrugated card material of the preferred embodiment also lends protection 25 against impact damage.

When the container is opened as shown in Figure 7, the lid portion 14 frees the front and side walls 20, 24 as it rises and so allows those walls to collapse outwardly as the rear wall 16 also collapses. It will be noted that when the container is fully open, the lid portion 14 stands 30 upright resting stably on the rear wall 16 which then lies in the plane of the base panel 18, thus holding the top panel 38 vertical when the base panel 18 is horizontal. The rear wall 16 is stiff enough to resist significant flexing under the weight of the lid portion 14, thus keeping the lid portion 14 open under its own weight, which weight is increased by the double/treble

thickness of the side skirt portions 46. This keeps the lid portion 14 out of the way for the purpose of accessing the contents of the container, yet does not require detachment of the lid portion 14 or, consequently, the problem of finding somewhere to put the lid portion 14 while eating. When the container is open, the underside of the top panel 38 of the lid portion 14 may be used to present a marketing or other message to the airline customer. For that purpose, a printed sheet 84 may be applied to the underside of that panel 38 as shown.

lo The reader will appreciate that the container of the preferred embodiment makes in-flight dining much easier. Not only does the lid portion 14 stay open while remaining attached to the container, but cutlery and other items are held securely in place and are presented in accordance with a place setting with a knife 76 to the right, a fork 78 to the left and a spoon 80 above the 'plate' defined by the base panel 18. The spoon 80 can remain in its holding l s formation 30 while the knife 76 and fork 78 are in use, ready for a dessert course while at no risk of being dropped. Yet, the deep walls 16, 20, 24 of the container collapse out of the way to afford easy access to all of its contents and to define a tray upon which the customer can arrange his or her meal.

20 Cutlery and other items may be returned to their holding formations 30, 32 during a meal, for example when the customer wishes to pause to watch a movie, read a book or visit the lavatory. In this way, cutlery and other items are less likely to be lost during turbulence or due to the customer's clumsiness exacerbated by lack of space. Moreover, it is very simple to close the container, which will remain closed of its own accord, if it is desired temporarily to 25 move the meal out of the way as will be necessary upon leaving one's seat or folding away one's tray table. The container can then be re-opened at the customer's convenience, cutlery removed from its holding formations 30, and the meal resumed.

At the end of the meal, the closed container can be used for the storage and return of 30 wrappers and the empty box 70 and bottle 72 within. Unlike existing airline food trays, the customer need not wait for airline staff to take away these remnants before being able to fold away the table on which those remnants lie: it is possible to close the container and stow it elsewhere, for example on the floor or on an adjacent empty seat, without making a mess.

When returned to airline staff, the used container and its contents are easier to handle and stow away than existing airline food trays, and can simply be discarded upon landing without cleaning and re-use. However, it is of course possible and desirable that as much as possible of the container and its contents are processed and separated for recycling.

Turning now finally to Figures 8(a) to 8(d), as is well known, food trays are carried on aircraft in service trolleys or carts 86 that can be moved along an aisle of the aircraft to serve successive seated rows of customers. In essence, a service trolley 86 is a waist-high, narrow openfronted box having two parallel upright side walls 88. The trolley 86 rolls on castors 90 lo and has a side-hinged door (not shown) closable over the open front of the box, although there may be two opposed sides each closable by a door. The inner side of each side wall 88 defines an array of spaced horizontal runners 92 that face and are horizontally aligned with the runners 92 of the corresponding array on the other side wall 88. The trays are wide enough to fit snugly between the side walls 88 of the trolley 86 with opposed side portions of 5 the trays resting on an opposed pair of runners 92, whereby several trays can be supported one above another. Trays can also be double-loaded one behind another on the same pair of runners and accessible through the same open front of the trolley. Trays can be slid out of the trolley 86 through the open front and, after use, can be returned to the trolley 86 by the reverse operation.

Containers 94 of the invention are intended for storage in a standard airline service trolley 86, for which purpose the wings 36 extending laterally from the base panel 18 of the container mimic the opposed side portions of a standard airline food tray. Thus, the opposed wings 36 of a container 94 rest on a pair of runners 92, whereby several containers 94 can be supported 25 one above another within the trolley 86. A container 94 can be slid out of the trolley 86 through the open front and, after use, can be returned to the trolley 86 by the reverse operation in the same manner as a tray.

Containers 94 in accordance with preferred embodiments of the invention are significantly 30 deeper than the depth of a typical airline food tray. This obviously allows larger meals to be served to a customer but also improves presentation of a meal because dishes do not have to fit within such a restricted depth. However, this means that containers 94 of the invention cannot necessarily rest on successive runners 92 of a typical airline service trolley 86. For

example, in Figure 8(a), one container 94 lies on the floor 96 of the trolley 86 and alternate runners 92 are not used, thus leaving gaps between successive containers 94. In this example, seven containers 94 fit within one side of the trolley 86; another seven containers 94 can fit within an opposed side of the trolley 86, optionally behind another door or, in a double 5 loaded arrangement, being accessible through the same door. However, it is not essential that every container 94 rests upon runners 92: some containers 94 can rest upon other containers 94 which rest, in turn, upon runners 92.

So, for example, in Figure 8(b), there are four pairs of containers 94 in which each pair lo consists of a lower container 94 resting on runners 92 or on the floor 96 of the trolley 86, and an upper container 94 resting on the lower container 94. It will be noted that the arrangement shown in Figure 8(b) also allows room for a single container 94 to rest on runners 92, in this case shown toward the top of the trolley 86. Thus, each side of the trolley 86 can hold nine containers 94 and the trolley 86 as a whole can hold eighteen containers 94.

The arrangement shown in Figure 8(c) has two pairs of containers 94 like those of Figure 8(b) shown uppermost, and two groups of three containers 94 below in which only the lowermost container 94 rests on runners 92 or on the floor 96 of the trolley 86. Thus, each side of the trolley 86 can hold ten containers 94 and the trolley 86 as a whole can hold twenty 20 containers 94.

Finally, the arrangement shown in Figure 8(d) has two groups of five containers 94 in which only the lowermost container 94 rests on runners 92 or on the floor 96 of the trolley 86.

Again, each side of the trolley 86 can hold ten containers 94 and the trolley 86 as a whole can 25 hold twenty containers 94. In this case, however, the lowermost container 94 of the upper group rests on a standard airline tray 98 which supports that container 94 across its width; otherwise, the weight of the containers 94 above could cause the wings 36 of the lowermost container 94 to bend out of engagement with the runners 92 whereupon the lowermost container 94, at least, would fall.

It will be apparent from Figure 8(a) to 8(d) that the containers 94 are oriented in the trolleys 86 with the front label 66 exposed, enabling airline staff to select a particular meal identified

on a label 66, or to select a container 94 allocated to a seat location specified on the label 66, thereby to satisfy a particular customer's meal preference.

Many variations are possible within the inventive concept. For example, the container of the s invention need not necessarily or exclusively be used for meals or indeed in the airline industry. For example, as mentioned above, customers receive other in-flight services which may involve sale of items not for consumption on board an aircraft, such as duty-free drinks, perfumes, cosmetics, tobacco products and gifts. They may also be lent items such as a pair of headphones, a portable video/audio player or a hand-held games machine, and children lo may be given play kits to alleviate boredom during the flight. All of these items may benefit from being stored and delivered in the container of the invention, provided of course that they will fit. This is an improvement over the bags or boxes used currently, and may enable stowage of such items in airline service trolleys thus enabling them to be provided at the same time as meals or with similar convenience in another trolley.

It is also possible that the invention will find beneficial use in nonairline applications including delivery of items to the home, and in remote catering in general. For example, the wings of the container of the invention are apt to engage with runners in other storage racks akin to airline trolleys.

Whilst the preferred embodiment illustrated and described herein combines features synergistically, such as the self-supporting lid, the wings, the collapsing walls and the provision of holding formations for cutlery and so on, those skilled in the art will appreciate that these and other aspects of the invention could be used independently of one another in 25 some circumstances.

Save as may be claimed herein, the invention is not limited as to the shape, size or construction of the containers. Indeed, many other variations are possible without departing from the scope of the invention as claimed.

Claims

1. A container comprising a base or top panel, at least one wall transverse to the base or top panel and at least one wing projecting outwardly from the base or top panel beyond the wall.

s

2. The container of Claim 1, wherein the base or top panel is planar and the wing is co-planar

with the base or top panel.

3. The container of Claim 2 or Claim 3, wherein the wall is planar.

4. The container of any preceding Claim, wherein the wall is integral with the base or top panel and is folded from a common blank along a fold line separating the wall from the base or top panel.

5 5. The container of Claim 4, wherein the fold line is straight.

6. The container of Claim 5, wherein the fold line comprises first and second fold line sections in alignment with but spaced from one another.

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7. The container of Claim 6, wherein the fold line sections are connected by an incision through the blank extending outwardly from the base or top panel into the wall to define the wing projecting integrally from the base or top panel.

8. The container of Claim 7, wherein a major central portion of the incision is straight and 2s parallel to the fold line.

9. The container of Claim 8, wherein minor outer portions of the incision converge outwardly. 30

10. The container of any preceding Claim, having opposed walls not more than 250mm apart and a wing projecting at least lOmm beyond each of said walls.

11. A container comprising a base and at least one wall hinged with respect to the base for movement between upright and collapsed positions, the wall having holding means for holding an item against the wall during said movement.

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12. The container of Claim 1 1, wherein the holding means comprises at least one flap defined by an incision in the wall.

13. The container of Claim 12, wherein the incision is C-shaped and defines a single flap hingeable away from the wall.

14. The container of Claim 13, and comprising a pair of opposed holding means co-operable to hold an item against the wall.

1 S. The container of Claim 12, wherein the incision is H-shaped.

16. The container of Claim 15, wherein the incision defines an opposed pair of flaps hingeable away from the wall and co-operable to hold an item against the wall.

17. The container of Claim 15 or Claim 16, wherein the H-shaped incision stands 20 orthogonally with respect to a hinge line joining the wall to the base, with the crossbar of the H substantially parallel to said line.

18. In combination, the container of any of Claims I 1 to 17 and at least one item held by the holding means of the wall of the container.

19. The combination of Claim 18, wherein the item is an item of cutlery, or a package.

20. The combination of Claim 19, wherein the package consists of or comprises a napkin.

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21. The combination of Claim 18 or Claim 19, wherein a plurality of walls of the container each have a holding means holding a respective item of cutlery.

22. The combination of Claim 21, wherein a knife is held on a wall to one side of the base of the container and a fork is held on a wall to an opposite side of the base.

23. The combination of Claim 22, wherein the container has a lid rearhinged with respect to 5 the base and wherein the knife is held on a wall to the right of the base and the fork is held on a wall to the left of the base.

24. The combination of Claim 22 or Claim 23, wherein a spoon is held on a third wall of the container.

25. The combination of Claim 24 when appendant to Claim 23, wherein the third wall is to the rear of the base of the container.

26. The combination of any of Claims 22 to 24, wherein a package is held on a fourth wall of 15 the container.

27. The combination of Claim 26 when appendant to Claim 23, wherein the fourth wall is to the front of the base of the container.

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28. A container comprising a base panel and a top panel, wherein the top panel is joined to the base panel by a wall hinged with respect to the base panel whereby the top panel can be pivoted away from the base panel into an upright position to open the container, and wherein the wall is fixed with respect to the top panel to form a stable base on which the top panel rests when in the upright position.

29. The container of Claim 28, wherein the wall is generally orthogonal to the top panel.

30. The container of Claim 28 or Claim 29, wherein the wall and the base panel are formed from a common blank and separated by a fold line defining the hinge.

31. The container of any of Claims 28 to 30, wherein the wall and the top panel are formed from a common blank and separated by a fold line.

32. The container of Claim 31, wherein tongues extend substantially orthogonally from the wall to engage with a skirt depending substantially orthogonally from the top panel.

33. The container of Claim 32, wherein the skirt sandwiches the tongues.

34. A rack carrying at least one container, or combination of container and item, as defined in any previous Claim.

35. The rack of Claim 34 and carrying at least one container as defined in any of Claims 1 to l o 10 and having a pair of runners on which a pair of wings of the container rests.

36. The rack of Claim 34 or Claim 35 and being an airline service trolley.

37. A method of stacking containers on a rack such as an airline service trolley, the rack 5 having parallel upright side walls and the inner side of each side wall defining an array of spaced horizontal runners that face and are horizontally aligned in pairs with the runners of the corresponding array on the other side wall, the method comprising supporting a lower container on a pair of runners and resting at least one upper container upon the container supported by the runners.

38. The method of Claim 37, wherein the lower container has opposed wings resting on the pair of runners.

39. The method of Claim 37, wherein the lower container rests on a tray that rests on the pair 2s of runners.

40. A container, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to or as illustrated in any of the accompanying drawings.

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41. A rack in combination with at least one container, or a method of stacking containers on a rack, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to or as illustrated in any of Figures 8(a), 8(b), 8(c) or 8(d) of the accompanying drawings.