GB2412651A

GB2412651A - Container with tamper evident destructible hinge

Info

Publication number: GB2412651A
Application number: GB0404147A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Carl Petrie
Original assignee: PACTIV
Current assignee: PACTIV
Priority date: 2004-02-25
Filing date: 2004-02-25
Publication date: 2005-10-05
Anticipated expiration: 2024-02-25
Also published as: GB2412651B; GB0404147D0

Abstract

A container having a base 1 and a cover 2. The base has a ridge member 53 which circumscribes at least a portion of the circumference of the base and the cover comprises a rim member 23 which circumscribes at least a portion of the cover. The rim member is shaped to couple with the ridge member. At least one of the cover and base further comprises a handle 9a, 9b. The container also has a destructible hinge 3 member adapted to couple the cover and base to one another prior to opening of the container for the first time, the hinge being capable of being destroyed by opening of the cover for the first time. A portion of the 5 hinge can be formed from at least one destructible connection means 7. The destructible connection means can comprise a weakened section.

Description

^ 241 2651 1 "Tamper Evident Container" 3 The present invention relates to

a tamper evident 4 container particularly suitable for foodstuffs.

6 Conventionally, there are many different types of 7 containers used in the food industry for storing, 8 transporting and showing foodstuffs on the shelves 9 in shops and markets. One problem prevalent in supermarkets is that customers will occasionally 11 attempt to obtain access to the contents of food 12 containers in order to taste the foods. This is 13 clearly undesirable since this action could cause 14 contamination of the foodstuffs and furthermore, other customers do not wish to buy the affected 16 products, and tamper-evident containers have been 17 devised to address this problem.

19 US Patent Nos. 5145088 and 5507406 disclose known solutions, but it has been found that these and 21 other conventional tamper evident containers have 22 various drawbacks in terms of cost and manufacture, 1 and also that significant proportions of important 2 parts of the container and/or lid are destroyed when 3 the lid is opened for the first time.

In accordance with the present invention there is 6 provided a container having a base and a cover; 7 the base having a ridge member which 8 circumscribes at least a portion of the 9 circumference of the base; the cover comprising a rim member which 11 circumscribes at least a portion of the cover, the 12 rim member being shaped to couple with the ridge 13 member; 14 at least one of the cover and base further comprising a handle; 16 characterized by a destructible hinge member 17 adapted to couple the cover and base to one another 18 prior to opening of the container for the first 19 time, the hinge being capable of being destroyed by opening of the cover for the first time.

22 Before first opening of the container, the 23 destructible hinge member preferably lies along a 24 hinge axis, and permits the cover to rotate about the hinge axis from an open configuration to a 26 closed configuration in which the rim member couples 27 with the ridge member. Preferably, the rim and 28 ridge members are shaped such that the coupling 29 therebetween forms a selective locking mechanism when the container is in the closed configuration.

31 More preferably, the rim and ridge members are 32 shaped such that the coupling therebetween forms a i. 3 1 seal when the container is in the closed 2 configuration.

4 The handle is typically connected to the cover. The handle of the cover is preferably formed on a 6 portion of the cover that projects outwardly from 7 the cover. Typically, a surface of the cover 8 defines a plane and the handle projects outwardly 9 from the cover on the said plane. Preferably, the portion of the hinge provided on the cover projects 11 outwardly from the cover, and more preferably it 12 projects outwardly from the cover on the plane of 13 the cover surface. Most preferably, the portion of 14 the hinge of the cover and the portion of the handle of the cover are one and the same component.

17 Typically, the base also comprises a handle. The 18 handle of the base is preferably formed on a portion 19 of the base that projects outwardly from the base.

Typically, a surface of the base defines a plane and 21 the handle of the base projects outwardly from the 22 base on the same plane. Preferably, the portion of 23 the hinge provided on the base projects outwardly 24 from the base, and more preferably it projects 2 5 outwardly from the base on the same plane as the 26 base surface. Most preferably, the portion of the 27 hinge of the base and the portion of the handle of 2 8 the base are one and the same component.

Preferably, the cover and base are formed from one 31 piece of material and as such are integral; the 32 hinge portion is typically formed from at least one i. 4 1 destructible connection means. Preferably, the at 2 least one destructible connection means comprises a 3 weakened section of the hinge portion which 4 preferably comprises a tab spot formed between the cover and the base. Typically, a plurality of 6 destructible connection means are provided between 7 the cover and the base, the plurality of 8 destructible connection means being spaced apart 9 from one another.

11 Preferably, the hinge member comprises a plurality 12 of hinge segments. Preferably, the handle of the 13 cover is arranged between two spaced apart hinge 14 segments and the handle of the base is arranged between two spaced- apart hinge segments. Typically, 16 one of the respective two hinge segments is common.

18 Preferably, the ridge portion circumscribes a 19 significant proportion of the circumference of the base, and more preferably, the ridge portion 21 circumscribes at least three sides or 75% to 95% of 22 the circumference of the base. Typically, the ridge 23 portion does not circumscribe the portion of the 24 base adjacent the handle/hinge member of the base.

26 Preferably, the cover and base are formed from 27 plastic.

29 Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to 31 the accompanying drawings, in which: 5 1 Fig. 1 is a plan view of a first embodiment of 2 a container having a base and a cover or lid in 3 accordance with the present invention; 4 Fig. 2 is a side view of the container of Fig. 1; 6 Fig. 3 is a plan view of the container of Fig. 7 1 with the lid closed; 8 Fig. 4a is a side view of the container of Fig. 9 3; Fig. 4b is a more detailed side view of a hinge 11 portion of the lid and base of Fig. 4a; 12 Fig. 4c is a more detailed side view of a 13 portion of a rim (opposite that of Fig. 4b) of 14 the lid and base of Fig. 4a; Fig. 4d is a cross-sectional view of the lid 16 and base showing the configuration of the hinge 17 portion of Fig. 4b when the lid is closed; 18 Fig. 4e is a cross-sectional view of the lid 19 and base showing the configuration of the portion of the rim of Fig. 4c when the lid is 21 closed; 22 Fig. 4f is a further cross-sectional view 23 showing various angles of the lid and base of 24 Fig. 4d; Fig. 4g is a further cross-sectional view 26 showing various angles of the lid and base of 27 Fig. 4e; 28 Fig. 4h is a further cross-sectional view 29 showing various angles of the lid and base of Fig. 4e; 1 Fig. 5 is a plan view of the hinge of Fig. 4b; 2 Fig. 6a is a plan view of the hinge of Fig. 5 3 in an open configuration; 4 Fig. 6b is a cross-sectional view across section B-B of Fig. 6a; 6 Fig. 7a is a further but smaller plan view of 7 the base and lid of Fig. 1 in the open 8 configuration; 9 Fig. 7b is a cross-sectional view across section A-A of the lid and base of Fig. 7a; 11 Fig. 7c is a more detailed view of a portion of 12 the hinge of Fig. 7b; 13 Fig. 8 is a plan view of a second embodiment of 14 a lid and base in accordance with the present invention; and 16 Fig. 9 is a side view of the lid and base of 17 Fig. 8.

19 Fig. 1 shows a first embodiment of a clear (see through) plastic container having a base 1 and a lid 21 2 in an open configuration, in accordance with the 22 present invention. The container is particularly 23 useful for holding foodstuffs such as fruit, 24 vegetables and prepared foods.

26 Immediately after manufacture and prior to closure 27 for the first time and opening thereafter, the lid 2 28 is coupled to the base 1 by means of a hinge 3. In 29 the embodiments shown in Fig. 1, the hinge comprises three hinge portions 5 although it should be noted 31 that any suitable number of hinge portions 5 could 32 be used to provide the hinge 3. The hinge portions 1 5 are all provided on a longitudinal axis, such that 2 the lid 2 can be rotated about the longitudinal axis 3 of the hinge 3, through 180 from the open 4 configuration shown in Fig. 2 to the closed configuration shown in Fig. 4a and Figs. 4d and 4e.

6 The hinge portions 5 are preferably formed by one or 7 more tab spots 7 and as shown in Fig. 1, there are 8 three tab spots 7 per hinge portion 5, but any 9 suitable number of tab spots 7 could be utilised.

The tab spots 7 can be formed either by heating the 11 plastic in the region of the lid 2 and base 1 that 12 will make up the hinge portion 5 such that the 13 separate lid 2 and base 1 components are coupled 14 together, or more preferably the tab spots 7 can be formed by providing the lid 2 and base 1 as integral 16 components to one another and removing, by for 17 instance cutting, the rest of the plastic that 18 connects the lid 2 to the base 1.

It should be noted that the views shown in Figs. 4b 21 and 4c are intended merely to show the relative 22 dimensions of the lid 2 and base 1 and that the lid 23 2 and base 1 do not take up the actual configuration 24 shown in Figs. 4b and 4c; in fact, they take up the configuration in Figs. 4d and 4e. In other words, 26 Figs. 4b and 4c show that the lid 2 is formed to be 27 over-sized with respect to the base 1, such that the 28 base 1 will stretch somewhat when the lid 2 is 29 closed in order for the base 1 to accommodate the lid 2. In this manner, tension is applied to the 31 base 1, which increases the strength and rigidity 32 thereof when the lid 2 is closed.

2 A circular handle or tab 9a, 9b is located in 3 between each pair of hinge portions 5, where the 4 handle portion 9a projects outwardly from the base 1 and the handle portion 9b projects outwardly from 6 the lid 2.

8 The lid 2 comprises a central portion 21 and a rim 9 23, which circumscribes the outer perimeter of the central portion 21. The rim 23 comprises a 11 substantially flat horizontal portion 25 which has 12 its innermost edge integrally connected to the 13 outermost edge of the central portion 21. The 14 outermost edge of the horizontal portion 25 is coupled to a side wall 27, having a dog-leg shape 16 created by two main portions 27a, 27b. Portion 27a 17 is connected to the horizontal portion 25 at an 18 angle of 75 to 85 , typically 80 , so that the 19 portion 27a extends in towards the central portion 21. Portion 27b is connected to portion 27a at an 21 angle of 150 to 160 , typically 154 , so that it 22 extends outwardly therefrom. Thus the apex of the 23 wall 27 where the portions 27a,b are connected forms 24 a V-shape pointing in towards the central portion 21. The rim 23 is completed by a substantially 26 horizontally arranged lip 29 which projects 27 outwardly from the outermost part of portion 27b.

29 The base 1 generally comprises a receptacle portion 51 and an upstanding ridge portion 53 which projects 31 upwardly from the receptacle portion 51. The ridge 32 portion 53 circumscribes substantially the whole 1 perimeter of the receptacle portion 51, except for 2 the area in proximity to the hinge 3. When the 3 container is closed as shown in Fig. 3, this gap in 4 the ridge portion 53 allows a user access to the connecting portion 30a of the lid 2, which overlies 6 the connecting portion 30b of the base 1.

8 The ridge portion 53 comprises a first inner segment 9 65 connected to the receptacle portion 51 via a horizontal annular ring 59a, and a second outer 11 segment 75, which is connected to the outer edge of 12 the first ridge segment 58a via another horizontal 13 annular ring 69. The outermost upper edge of the 14 second segment 75 is connected to an upper or innermost edge of a downwardly extending lip 61, so 16 that the second segment 75 and the lip 61 together 17 form a substantially U-shaped member 63. The U 18 shaped member 63 provides the ridge portion 53 and 19 thus the base 1 with enhanced strength and rigidity.

21 The first ridge segment 65 has two main portions 22 65a, 65b. First portion 65a is connected to the 23 outermost edge of the annular ring 59a, from which 24 it extends upwards and inwards towards centre of the receptacle portion 51 to form an undercut. The 26 angle between the annular ring 59a and wall portion 27 65a is in the region of 70 to 80 , and is typically 28 74 .

The second wall portion 65b is connected to the 31 upper surface of the first portion 65a, from which 32 it extends upwards and outwards, away from the 1 centre of the receptacle portion 51 to form a 2 funnel. The angle between wall portions 65a and 65b 3 is in the region of 140 to 160 , and is typically 4 148 . Thus, wall 65 has a general dog-leg shape, with an apex at the junction between the wall 6 portions 65a,b that protrudes radially-inwards 7 towards the centre of the receptacle portion 51.

9 The second ridge segment 75 is very similar in construction and arrangement to the first ridge 11 segment 65, and also has first and second portions 12 75a,b. The first portion 75a is connected to the 13 outer edge of the substantially horizontally 14 arranged annular ring 69, from which it extends upwards and inwards towards the centre of the 16 receptacle portion 51 to form another undercut. The 17 angle between the annular ring 69 and wall portion 18 75a is in the region of 50 to 70 , and is typically 19 60 .

21 The second wall portion 75b is connected to the 22 uppermost edge of first portion 75a, from which it 23 extends upwards and outwards away from the centre of 24 the receptacle portion 51. The angle between wall portions 75a and 75b is in the region of 120 to 26 130 , and is typically 124.51 . Thus, wall portion 27 75 also has a general dog-leg shape.

29 When the lid 2 is rotated about the hinge 3, the rim 23 of the lid 2 approaches the ridge portion 53 of 31 the base 1, and first engages the funnel formed by 32 the second wall portion 65b. The outermost edge of 1 the rim 23 is forced past the apex between the wall 2 portions 65b, and 65a requiring the lid and the base 3 to deform to a certain extent. Once the rim 23 has 4 been forced past the apex, the rims is held in place by the undercut formed between the annular ring 59a 6 and the wall portion 65a. The undercut formed 7 between the annular ring 69 and the wall portion 75a 8 also retains the lip 29 of the lid 2. Thus, with 9 two locking undercut formations provided between the lid 2 and the base 1, the lid 2 is held firmly in 11 place with the foodstuffs etc. being held within the 12 container.

14 In this preferred embodiment of the container, the lid is slightly oversized to fit past the apex of 16 the wall portions 65a,b, and either or both of the 17 lid 2 and the base 1 must deform as the rim 23 is 18 being forced past the apex and into the undercut.

19 Also, the rim 23 typically has a larger diameter than the undercut, and so the deformation must be 21 maintained while the lid 2 is in place on the base 22 1. This makes the seal between the rim 23 and the 23 undercut more secure and less prone to leaks, and 24 makes it less likely that the lid 2 will accidentally become detached from the base 1. Also, 26 the resultant forces of tension created in the base 27 and compression exerted on the lid strengthen the 28 container when it is closed.

Another useful feature is the mismatch of the angles 31 between the wall portions 65a and 27a. Typically the 32 angle of the base wall portion 65a (74 ) is more 1 acute than the angle of the lid wall portion 27a 2 (80 ) that fits within it. This mismatch between 3 the angles increases the deformation of the lid 2 4 and the base 1, and stretches out the uppermost part of the base portion 65a when the lid is in place as 6 the two wall portions 27a and 65a seek to lie flat 7 against one another in the closed container, which 8 in turn increases the rigidity of the container and 9 the security of the seal.

11 When a consumer wishes to open the container for 12 consumption of the foodstuffs, the consumer firmly 13 holds the handle 9b that is attached to the lid 2, 14 and the handle 9a attached to the base 1. The handles 9a and 9b are then moved in opposite 16 directions - e.g. handle 9a is pulled down, and 17 handle 9b is pulled up. This action destroys the 18 tab spots 7 of the hinge portions 5 and thus the lid 19 2 is separated from the base 1 allowing access to the foodstuffs therein.

22 The fact that the tab spots 7 have been destroyed 23 provides a highly useful indicator that the lid 2 24 has been opened and thus a retail outlet can tell if the foodstuffs within the container have been 26 tampered with.

28 Optionally, and as shown in Fig. 6a and Fig. 7a, a 29 further weakened portion 70a, 70b can be provided on the connecting portion 3Oa of the lid 2 and the 31 connecting portion 30b of the base 1 to form a pair 32 of secondary hinges 7Oa, 7Ob. The secondary hinges 1 7Oa, 7Ob can be formed by, for example, 2 intermittently scoring the plastic on the connecting 3 portion 30a, 30b along a line parallel to but spaced 4 apart from the hinge 3. The secondary hinges 7Oa, 70b provide the advantage that when the handles 9a, 6 9b have been pulled apart for the first time, the 7 handle portion 9a, 9b of the respective connecting 8 portions 30, 30b will tend to rotate about the 9 secondary hinges 70a, 70b such that the handles 9a, 9b will tend to remain splayed apart which makes it 11 easier for: 12 1) the consumer and shop employees to see that the 13 container has been tampered with; and 14 2) the consumer to see the handles when subsequently opening the lid 2.

17 Accordingly, the secondary hinges 70a, 70b provide a 18 prominent visual indication of when the (primary) 19 hinge 3 has been torn. Furthermore, the secondary hinges 70a, 70b actually aid tearing or destruction 21 of the (primary) hinge 3 since the user will find it 22 easier to pull the handles 9a, 9b apart.

24 The second embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 8 and Fig. 9 is very similar to the embodiments 26 shown in Fig. 1 through 7, the only difference being 27 that the base 101 and lid 102 shown in Fig. 8 and 28 Fig. 9 is rectangular rather than oval.

Embodiments of the invention have the great 31 advantage that, because the ridge portion 53 can 32 cover substantially the whole of the perimeter of 1 the receptacle portion 51, the lid 2 and base 1 can 2 be used by the consumer over and over again because 3 the ridge portion 53 can continue to lock the lid 4 to the base, and also because the ridge portion 53 and rim 23 are shaped to form a seal therebetween.

7 Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention 8 are conveniently provided with a hinge portion 5 9 which not only acts as a hinge 3 but also acts to provide evidence of tampering with the base 1 and 11 lid 2, and because it is only the hinge portions 5 12 that are destroyed when the lid 2 is opened for the 13 first time, the attractive appearance of the lid 2 14 and base 1 is not denigrated.

16 Modifications and improvements may be made to 17 embodiments of the present invention described 18 herein without departing from the scope of the 19 invention.

Claims

1 CLAIMS 3 1. A container having a base and a cover; 4 the base having a

ridge member which circumscribes at least a portion of the 6 circumference of the base; 7 the cover comprising a rim member which 8 circumscribes at least a portion of the cover, the 9 rim member being shaped to couple with the ridge member; 11 at least one of the cover and base further 12 comprising a handle; 13 characterized by a destructible hinge member 14 adapted to couple the cover and base to one another prior to opening of the container for the first 16 time the hinge being capable of being destroyed by 17 opening of the cover for the first time.

19 2. A container according to claim 1, wherein the destructible hinge member lies along a hinge axis, 21 and wherein the cover is rotatable about the hinge 22 axis from a closed configuration in which the rim 23 member couples with the ridge member to an open 24 configuration.

26 3. A container according to claim 2, wherein the rim 27 and ridge members are shaped such that the coupling 28 therebetween forms a selective locking mechanism 29 when the container is in the closed configuration.

31 4. A container according to claim 2 or claim 3, 32 wherein the rim and ridge members are shaped such 1 that the coupling therebetween forms a seal when the 2 container is in the closed configuration.

4 5. A container according to any preceding claim, wherein the handle is connected to the cover.

7 6. A container according to claim 5, wherein the 8 handle of the cover is formed on a portion of the 9 cover that projects outwardly from the cover.

11 7. A container according to claim 6, wherein a 12 surface of the cover defines a plane and the handle 13 projects outwardly from the cover on the said plane.

8. A container according to any of claims 5 to 7, 16 wherein the portion of the hinge provided on the 17 cover projects outwardly from the cover.

19 9. A container according to claim 8, wherein the portion of the hinge projects outwardly from the 21 cover on the plane of the cover surface.

23 10. A container according to any of claims 5 to 9, 24 wherein the portion of the hinge of the cover and the portion of the handle of the cover are one and 26 the same component.

28 11. A container according to claims 5 to 10, wherein 29 the base comprises a handle.

1 12. A container according to claim 11, wherein the 2 handle of the base is formed on a portion of the 3 base that projects outwardly from the base.

13. A container according to claim 12, wherein a 6 surface of the base defines a plane and the handle 7 of the base projects outwardly from the base on the 8 same plane.

14. A container according to any of claims 11 to 13, 11 wherein the portion of the hinge provided on the 12 base projects outwardly from the base.

14 15. A container according to claim 14, wherein the portion of the hinge projects outwardly from the 16 base on the same plane as the base surface.

18 16. A container according to any of claims 11 to 15, 19 wherein the portion of the hinge of the base and the portion of the handle of the base are one and the 21 same component.

23 17. A container according to any preceding claim, 24 wherein the cover and the base are formed from one piece of material.

27 18. A container according to any preceding claim, 28 wherein the hinge portion is formed from at least 29 one destructible connection means.

1 19. A container according to claim 18, wherein at 2 least one destructible connection means comprises a 3 weakened section of the hinge portion.

20. A container according to claim 19, wherein the 6 weakened section of the hinge portion comprises a 7 tab spot formed between the cover and the base.

9 21. A container according to any preceding claim, wherein a plurality of destructible connection means 11 are provided between the cover and the base, the 12 plurality of destructible connection means being 13 spaced apart from one another.

22. A container according to any preceding claim, 16 wherein the hinge member comprises a plurality of 17 hinge segments.

19 23. A container according to claim 22, wherein the handle of the cover is arranged between two spaced 21 apart hinge segments and the handle of the base is 22 arranged between two spaced-apart hinge segments.

24 24. A container according to claim 23, wherein one of the respective two hinge segments is common.

27 25. A container according to any preceding claim, 28 wherein the ridge portion circumscribes a 29 significant proportion of the circumference of the base.

32 26. A container according to claim 25, wherein ridge 1 portion circumscribes at least three sides or 75% to 2 95% of the circumference of the base.

4 27. A container according to any preceding claim, wherein the ridge portion does not circumscribe the 6 portion of the base adjacent the handle/hinge member 7 of the base.

9 28. A container according to any preceding claim, wherein the cover and base are formed from plastic.