GB2404181A

GB2404181A - Food bag convertible to tray

Info

Publication number: GB2404181A
Application number: GB0317038A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Robert Bicknell; Brian Dion
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-07-22
Filing date: 2003-07-22
Publication date: 2005-01-26
Anticipated expiration: 2023-07-22
Also published as: GB2404181B; GB0317038D0

Abstract

A disposable bag having a mouth 24 for receiving goods and a base 18 for supporting the goods, wherein the bag is collapsable into a tray or plate structure and the tray or plate structure comprises walls upstanding from the base to retain goods contained in the bag in said tray or plate structure. The bag is formed from a planar sheet which comprises a plurality of folds to form the base and opposing first and second sides 20 and opposing first and second faces 22. The upstanding walls are formed by the sides and the faces. Conversion from bag to tray configuration is effected by pulling handles 32 at the top of the sides 20 away from one another and downwardly. The sides 20 and faces 22 are interconnected by gusset portions 28, 29. The bag may contain takeaway food to be eaten from the tray.

Description

24Q41 81

FOOD BAG

The present invention relates to a disposable bag, particularly but not exclusively to a disposable food bag for carrying takeaway foods.

Takeaway foods are commonly supplied in bags which allow the user to conveniently collect and carry the food whereby the bag provides some insulation to prevent the foods from getting cold. These bags are usually made of paper and they are disposed after use. In addition to the food provided in the bag, often a napkin is included to prevent spillage of the food product on the user's clothing.

When a bag of the above type is used, the meal is frequently eaten away from the amenities of the restaurant, such as in a vehicle, where no adequate support surface, such as a table, is available. Many takeaway orders are eaten whilst seated in a vehicle. As a consequence of this, the food content of the bag is often spilt on the user or the interior of the vehicle whilst the food is consumed.

Common paper napkins that are sometimes provided with the food are too small to protect the user's clothing in these situations. These napkins have the additional disadvantage that they can easily slip from a person's lap or clothing.

The present invention aims to provide an improved disposable bag which obviates or at least mitigates the above described problems and/or which provides improvements generally.

According to the present invention there is provided a bag and a blank according to any of the accompanying claims.

In an embodiment of the invention there is provided a disposable bag having a mouth for receiving goods and a base for supporting the goods, the bag being adapted to be converted or reconfigured into a tray or plate structure without removing the goods from the bag, the tray or plate structure having at least one wall upstanding from the base to retain the goods in the collapsed bag.

This bag has the important advantage that as the bag is converted, for example by collapsing it, one or more upstanding walls remain which form a tray or plate structure. The tray or plate structure is generally flat having a flared upstanding perimeter. The collapsed bag can thus conveniently sit in the lap of the user with its base and provide a tray or plate structure to the user thereby preventing soiling of the user's clothes or the surface on which the user is seated. This is particularly convenient when takeaway foods are consumed in confined spaces such as a vehicle whereby no table or other structure is provided for locating the bag thereon.

The disposable bag as disclosed herein has the important advantage that spillage of foods is prevented and that due to the shape of the plate or tray structure, the collapsed bag can be seated and retained in the lap of the user thereby obviating the need for securing the collapsed bag to the clothing of the user to prevent the collapsed bag from accidentally slipping or falling from the user's lap.

In another embodiment of the invention, there is provided a bag formed from a planar sheet, the sheet comprising a plurality of folds to form a base and opposing first and second sides and opposing first and second faces. The bag can thus be manufactured from a single planar sheet.

The upstanding wall may be formed by a side or a face.

Preferably, the walls extend around the perimeter of the tray or plate structure to adequately support the food in the collapsed or reconfigured bag and to protect the user's clothing. The walls are then formed by the sides and the faces of the bag. A side or a face may extend over a suitable distance from the base such that the side or face forms a bib.

In a preferred embodiment, the bag comprises means for supporting the upstanding wall. The support means may comprise at least one overlapping portion of the planar sheet. The face may comprise a face portion and the side may comprise a side portion, the support means comprising interconnected, at least partially overlapping side and face portions.

The support means may comprise securing means for securing the overlapping portions. The overlapping portions of the planar sheet may be secured by any suitable means such as an adhesive, repeated pleats or folds, tape or any other suitable means for securing the overlapping layers of the planar sheet.

In a preferred embodiment the overlapping portions of the planar sheet form the corners of the tray or plate structure.

In another embodiment of the invention, the faces comprise an arrangement of flaps, tabs or tongues comprising the overlapping portions of the sheet, the flaps being arranged on a face portion of the bag, the flaps providing support to the bag. The flaps ensure that the bag retains its shape when it is in a non-collapsed position and they effectively reinforce the sides of the bag which allows the bag to retain goods of a substantial weight depending on the planar sheet material. The flaps may be located inside the bag on the insides of the sides or faces. Preferably, the flaps are located on the outside of the bag to facilitate the reconfiguration of the bag by pulling the flaps away from the bag.

In a further embodiment of the invention the flaps are moveable away from the faces, to convert or reconfigure the bag into a tray or plate structure without removing the goods from the bag, the flaps or tabs forming corner portions of the tray or plate structure. In particular, the corner portions of the tray or plate structure are formed by the overlapping layers of the sheet material.

The flaps may be arranged one over the other, this has the advantage that is convenient for the user to remove the flaps from the faces of the bag so as to collapse or reconfigure the bag. Preferably, the flaps are releasably adhered to the face portion to allow the flaps to be moved in the desired position.

In yet another embodiment of the invention, the bag is collapsible into a planar position when not in use. This facilitates storage of empty bags as they take up minium space and prevent the bags from inadvertently being damaged during transport and handling.

In yet another embodiment of the invention the sides comprise a handle portion. The handle portion preferably comprises one or more overlapping or juxtaposed layers of a sheet of material to reinforce the handle portion. The sheet of material may be formed from a single blank or alternatively layers of an additional material may be provided over the handle portion to reinforce this. This additional material may comprise paper, a plastics material, cardboard or a similar sheeted material.

The bag thus has a dual purpose. It serves to facilitate transport of the goods contained therein and it also functions as a tray or plate to prevent the goods from spilling onto the user or onto another surface when the bag is collapsed.

In yet another embodiment of the invention, there is provided a blank, the blank being adapted to form a bag, the bag being collapsable into a tray or plate structure having at least one upstanding wall to retain goods in the collapsed bag.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the blank may comprise a plurality of folds to form the bottom, sides and faces. The blank may further comprise securing means for securing overlapping or juxtaposed portions of the blank, the overlapping portions providing support to the bag.

In yet another embodiment of the invention, there is provided a blank comprising a plurality of folds to form a base, opposing first and second sides and opposing first and second faces, each face comprising a face portion and each side comprising a side portion, the face and side portions being interconnected to form a corner portion, the corner portion causing the faces and sides to stand up from the base.

In a further embodiment, the bag may comprise an arrangement of flaps formed from overlapping portions of the blank. The blank preferably comprises an approximate rectangular base, approximate rectangular side portions and approximate rectangular shaped faces, the faces, base and sides being interconnected as a continuous sheet.

The invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 presents a diagrammatic perspective view of a bag according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 presents a diagrammatic perspective view of the bag of Figure 1 in a reconfigured position, and; Figure 3 presents a plan view of a blank corresponding to the bag of Figures 1 and 2.

The disposable bag 10 has a mouth 24 for receiving goods such as food stuffs and a base 18 for supporting the goods.

The bag 10 is adapted to be reconfigured into a tray or plate structure 26 as shown in Figure 2. The tray structure 26 comprises walls 19 that are upstanding from the base 18 to retain goods contained in the bag in the tray or plate structure 26.

The bag 10 is formed from a planar sheeted material 12 in the form of a blank 14. The bag comprises a plurality of folds 16 which form the base 18, opposing first and second sides 20, and opposing first and second faces 22.

The sides 20 extend from the base 18 so as to conveniently form a bib. The upstanding walls 19 are supported by overlapping portions 28 of the planar sheet. The overlapping portions 28 are formed by a side portion 41 and a face portion 42 which are partially adhered on top of one another. Any suitable adhesive can be used for this purpose. It is however important that the adhesive is sufficiently strong to prevent the overlapping layers 28 from becoming undone when the bag 10 is collapsed as this would otherwise prevent the walls 19 from extending upright to form the tray structure 26.

The overlapping portions 28 form flaps 29 which are provided on the side portions of the bag 10. In an alternative embodiment (not shown here), the flaps 29 can be arranged on the faces 22. However, the arrangement of the flaps 29 on the sides 20 has the advantage that the flaps 29 are clearly visible which allows the user to conveniently move the flaps 29 away from the sides 20 to thereby collapse the bag 10 into the tray structure 26. The flaps 29 are releasably adhered to the sides 20 to allow the flaps to be released.

The sides 20 further comprise handles 32 which facilitate transport of goods contained in the bag 10. As the sides 20 and handle portions 32 extend from the bag 10 over some distance, the sides 20 are usable as a bib to protect the chest or torso of the user whilst the tray like structure 26 is located in the lap of the user to protect the clothing of the user.

In use, the bag 10 is filled with goods, preferably food stuffs. The bag 10 is transported by means of the handles 32 to a desired location. When the goods are going to be consumed, the bag 10 adapted to be reconfigured into the state as shown in Figure 2 by pulling the flaps 29 away from the sides 20. The reconfigured bag 26 can then be conveniently placed in the lap of the user. A side 20 is located over the chest or torso of the user to protect the clothing. The goods are subsequently consumed by the user whereby any spillage is contained within the tray or plate structure 26. After use, the bag is disposed of in an appropriate manner.

The blank 14 is dye cut out of a sheeted material. Multiple blanks can be cut simultaneously from this material whereby the blanks are located adjacent one another so as to minimise wastage of the material. The blank 14 is provided with folds 16 and the overlapping portions 28 of the blank 14 are secured with a suitable adhesive to form the flaps 29. The blank 14 is then folded so as to form the bag structure whereby the flaps 29 are located either on the sides 20 or alternatively they are located on the faces 22 of the blank 14.

The blank 14 can be provided with printed instructions and/or advertising or other suitable information (not shown).

There is thus provided a bag and a blank as herein before described. It is evident that the bag and blank may be used to contain a wide variety of goods ranging from food stuffs to liquids. However, the bag as herein before described is particularly suitable to contain takeaway foodstuffs as these are often consumed in inconvenient locations where no adequate support surface such as a table is available, or where space is limited. - 9 -

Claims

1. A disposable bag having a mouth for receiving goods and a base for supporting the goods, wherein the bag is adapted to be converted or reconfigured into a tray or plate structure without removing the goods from the bag, the tray or plate structure comprising at least one wall upstanding from the base to retain goods contained in the bag in said tray or plate structure.

2. A bag according to claim 1 formed from a planar sheet comprising a plurality of folds to form the base and opposing first and second sides and opposing first and second faces.

3. A bag according to claim 2, wherein the upstanding wall is formed by a side or a face.

4. A bag according to claim 2 or 3, wherein a side and/or a face extends from the base so as to form a bib.

5. A bag according to any of claims 2 to 4, wherein the bag comprises means for supporting the upstanding wall.

6. A bag according to claim 5, wherein the face comprises a face portion and the side comprises a side portion, the support means comprising interconnected, at least partially overlapping side and face portions.

7. A bag according to claim 6, wherein the support means comprises securing means for securing at least part of the overlapping portions.

8. A bag according to any of claims 5 to 7, wherein the overlapping portions form a flap or tab, the flap reinforcing the structure of the bag.

9. A bag according to claim 8, wherein the flap is arranged on a side portion of the bag.

10. A bag according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the flap is movable away from the face, the flap forming a corner portion of the tray or plate structure.

11. A bag according to any of claims 8 to 10, wherein the bag comprises at least two flaps, the flaps being arranged one over the other.

12. A bag according to any of claims 8 to 11, the flap is releasably adhered to a face portion of the bag.

13. A bag according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the bag is adapted to be reconfigured or converted in a planar form when the bag is not in use.

14. A bag according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the sides comprise a handle portion to facilitate transport of the bag.

15. A bag according to claim 14, wherein the handle potion is reinforced with a sheeted material.

16. A bag formed from a planar sheet, the sheet comprising a base,

17. A blank adapted to form a bag according to any of the preceding claims.

18. A blank comprising a plurality of folds to form a base, opposing first and second sides and opposing first and second faces, each face comprising a face portion and each side comprising a side portion, the face and side portions being interconnected to form a corner portion, the corner portion causing the faces and sides to stand up from the base.

19. A blank according to claim 18, wherein the blank is adapted to form a tray or plate structure comprising at least one upstanding wall.

20. A blank according to any of claims 17 to 19, wherein the base is of an approximately rectangular shape, the side portions and the faces are of an approximately rectangular shape, the faces, base and sides being interconnected as a continuous sheet.

21. A bag and a blank as herein before described and as shown in any of the accompanying drawings.