GB2473029A

GB2473029A - A food container

Info

Publication number: GB2473029A
Application number: GB0914988A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Mustafa Abbas
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2009-08-27
Filing date: 2009-08-27
Publication date: 2011-03-02
Also published as: GB0914988D0

Abstract

A food container, particularly a sandwich container, comprises a food containing portion and a tray 7 that is transformable from a closed storage conformation to an open tray conformation. The tray preferably comprises a plurality of sheet portions that are overlapped in the storage conformation and less overlapped, or not overlapped, in the tray conformation. Neighbouring sheet portions may be hingedly attached to each other, preferably by fold lines 10, 11. The tray may have: two lines of folds that intersect each other in the tray conformation and are unfolded when the tray is unfolded to its tray conformation; or a single hinge attachment that is unfolded when the tray is unfolded to its tray conformation; or two or more non-intersecting hinge attachments that provide alternately directed attachments that allow the tray to be unfolded between its two conformations like a concertina. Alternatively the tray may be pivotally mounted to the food containing portion. A method of unpacking food from the container comprises expanding the tray to the tray conformation, removing the food from the food containing portion and placing it on the tray.

Description

FOOD CONTAINERS

The present invention relates to containers for food. It finds particular application in disposable containers for take-away food.

Take-away food is usually provided in disposable containers.

Some containers are shaped to be convenient to eat the food from directly. For example, drinks are often provided in a paper cup, a removable lid being provided to seal the liquid in until the consumer wishes to drink the contents. Another example is a pouch for French fries. Again this is generally cup shaped, but the lip at the back is higher than at the front. Fries are loaded in for transport by the consumer generally parallel with their lengths vertical and they remain in that position until they are removed one, or several at a time, by the consumer for immediate transfer to the mouth by hand.

However sandwiches, for example, suffer from a different problem, which is that although they can be eaten directly from the package a bite at a time, this can be awkward for the consumer and many consider the practice uncouth or unattractive. Therefore many consumers prefer to remove the sandwich, or other food item, entirely from the package before beginning to consume it. This leads to other problems. The food item can fall apart, and may have to be placed on an unhygienic surface, such as a desk or the grass, between bites. Consumers generally endure these problems. The present invention, however, aims to alleviate them.

According to the present invention there is provided food containers and methods of unpacking food from a container as defined in the appended claims.

Examples of the invention will now be described, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: FIGURE la shows a sandwich carton according to the invention in its closed conformation; FIGURE lb shows the sandwich carton of Figure la *in an open conformation but with the sandwich still inside; FIGURE ic shows the sandwich carton of Figures la and lb with the tray extended; FIGURE ld shows the sandwich carton of Figures la-c with the tray extended and the sandwich placed thereon; FIGURES 2a-c show steps in the assembly of the tray of Figure 1 into the carton; FIGURE 2d is a cross section through the tray and carton at the pivoted corner; FIGURE 3 shows another example of the tray; FIGURES 4a-b show examples of loose trays; FIGURES 5a-b show a carton having a loose concertina tray; FIGURE 5c shows a carton having an attached concertina tray; FIGURE 6a shows a carton having a divider separating the tray from the sandwich; FIGURE 6b shows a carton having trays in film envelopes attached to the outside of a carton in alternative positions; FIGURES 7a-b show a tray that is wrapped around a sandwich; FIGURe 7c shows another example of a tray wrapped around a sandwich; FIGURE 7d shows an example with a baguette with carton and folded tray; FIGURE 8a shows another example of a tray wrapped around a sandwich; FIGURE 8b-c shows examples of a wrap with a folded tray; FIGURES 9a-b show a tray in the form of a fan; and FIGURES lOa-b show a tray that extends telescopically.

Figures la-d show a sandwich carton 1 according a first example of the invention. The carton is in overall shape the very common triangular prism with the end faces being right angled isosceles triangles. The carton contains the sandwich, which in this case is two halves 2, 3 of a sandwich round, made from two generally square pieces of bread with filling between, which round has been cut diagonally and the two halves stacked up. Figure la shows the carton closed with the sandwich inside visible through a window 4 in the longest, hypotenuse, sidewall 5. The carton is preferably formed from paperboard by methods well known in the art, such as folding from a blank and gluing.

To access the sandwich the consumer unseals the carton, which in this example is by tearing open the seal 6 of the longest sidewall 5 and hinging it open. The hinge is provided at the between the longest sidewall 5 and the end face that is the lower one in the view of Figures la-d, and is preferably formed of a fold between the paperboard of the sidewall 5 and the paperboard of the lower end face. Figure lb shows package after that operation. The seal 6, which is provided along the other three edges of the sidewall 5, may be constructed using methods well known in the art such as gluing of the wall to tabs 6 extending at right angles from the neighbouring walls of the carton (as shown in Figure ib), or by ripping a perforation (not shown) . (The latter can be either a single line perforation or a parallel pair of perforations that allow of strip of wall material to be ripped out of the package.) In accordance with the invention, the carton is also provided with an unfoldable tray 7. In this example it is stored inside the carton 1 next to the sandwich 2, 3, as shown in Figure lb. The tray is made of a square of paperboard, or other sheet material, that has been folded into four. Unfolded the material of the tray is strong enough to support its own weight.

The tray is fixed to the lower triangular wall of the carton with a fastener 8, or rivet etc., that passes through one layer of the folded tray and the wall of the carton. This fixing provides a pivot for the folded tray, about which it may be rotated out of the carton in the direction indicated by arrow 9. During the rotation, the folded tray remains generally in the same plane which, in Figure ib, is the horizontal plane.

The next step in preparing the tray 7 for use is to unfold it to the position shown in Figure ic. In this position, the tray is a square having diagonal folds marked 10 and 11.

These provide the tray with greater stiffness than a piece of paperboard that has no folds, and because three of the folds (those marked 10) are valley folds and only one (11) is a mountain fold, the tray is slightly dished.

The two halves 2 and 3 of the sandwich are removed from the carton and are placed on the tray ready for consumption, as shown in Figure id. Since the area of the tray in the folded form was approximately the same as that of one the sandwich halves and because the tray was folded into four, the unfolded tray has an area of approximately twice that of the sandwich round, and so provides a fairly generous space for the sandwich. The dishing of the tray helps to prevent crumbs from spreading off it.

The process of assembling the tray into the carton is shown in Figures 2a-2d. Figure 2a shows a paperboard blank 7 for the tray of Figures la-d. In overall shape, this is a square, but is provided with a hole 12 at one corner for the fixing. This hole is offset to one side of the diagonal that starts at that corner. On the other side of that diagonal opposite to the hole 12 a piece of paperboard is cut out 14, so that the hole is not obscured by it when the tray is folded up. (The corner 15 at the other end of the diagonal 13 can also be cut off at the point shown by the dotted line for the same reason but as explained later the need for that does not always arise.) The blank is first folded with a valley fold along the diagonal 13, bringing the half 16 opposite the hole on top of the half 17 having the hole, resulting in the form shown in Figure 2b.

A second valley fold is made along the other diagonal of the square, bringing the half 18 opposite the hole on top of the half 19 having the hole, the half 18 then being allowed to hinge back slightly to give the form shown in Figure 2c, which has four triangular sheet portions with the folds providing hinged attachments between them. This hinging back means that the tip of the half 18 (Figure 2b) does not block access to the hole 18 in the next operation; that makes cutting off of the tip as shown at 15 in Figure 2a to no advantage -on the other hand, it may be simpler, if the assembly is performed by machine, to keep all four portions, or layers, of the tray pressed together in which removal of the tip 15 makes access to the hole 12 easier. (Note also that the second valley fold actually provides a valley fold and a mountain fold in the unfolded conformation of the tray.) The hole 12 is then offered up to a corresponding hole 20 in the front corner of the lower triangular face of the carton, with the layer of the tray having the hole being lowermost.

The legs 21 of a paper fastener 22 are then passed through both holes and are then bent flat against the lower wall of the carton to bind the tray to it.

The half of the tray 18 is again folded down onto the other half, as indicated by arrow 23, and then placed inside the carton on top of the folded tray to give the position shown in Figure lb. After that, the sandwich is inserted, the side wall 5 is closed and the carton is sealed.

Fixings other than a paper fastener can be used. The fixing allows the tray to rotate about what is a vertical axis in the view of Figure 1. A rivet could be used although it should not be made so tight that it prevents the rotation. Looser fixings allowing rotation in other axes as well such as a loop of wire or cord, or a treasury tag, can be used instead.

Figure 2d shows a cross-section through the carton 1, folded tray 7 and paper fastener 22 at the lower left-hand corner.

Figures 3 and 4 show some alternative constructions of tray that can be used with the same triangular prism carton of Figure 1.

In Figure 3, the tray is again generally a square of paperboard but is of only half the area of that of Figures 1 and 2 so, in use, the sandwich round will fill the tray and the sandwich halves may have to be at least partially stacked thereon in use to avoid spilling over the edges. However, this form does save on paperboard, and takes up less space in the carton. The tray is provided with a hole 12 and cut out 14 at one corner on opposite sides of a diagonal 13 in the same way as that of Figures 1 and 2, and is assembled in the same way. However, only a single fold along the diagonal 13 is provided. Note that the hole 12 and cut out 14 are switched over in position with each other compared to the example of Figure 1, in order that the portion of the paperboard with the hole is the one next to the wall of the carton that has the hole.

Figure 4a shows a tray that is a square of the same size as that of Figures 1 and 2, but is not provided with the hole 12 nor cut out 14. It is folded in the same way as in Figures 2a-c, however, and is inserted into the carton in the same position. To use it, however, it is simply slid out of the carton and is then unfolded.

The tray of Figure 4b is the same size as that of Figure 3 but, again, has no hole 12 and no cut out 14 and is provided with a single fold along one of its diagonals. Again, it is inserted loose in the carton in the same position as the other examples, and is slid out and unfolded for use.

Another example of a tray 7 is shown in Figures 5a and 5b.

Again, this can be used with the triangular prism sandwich carton 1. The tray is a square of paperboard that is folded into four in concertina fashion, that is to say, with alternate, generally parallel spaced apart folds in opposite directions, i.e. mountain and valley folds. More or fewer folds may be employed, depending the thickness of the sandwich.

To assemble the tray 1 with the carton 7, the sandwich round halves 2,3 (obscured in Figure 5a by the tray) are placed inside the carton 1. The tray is folded up concertina fashion into several parallel layers, and in this folded conformation is placed in a space between the sandwich and the hypotenuse wall 5 shown in Figure 5a. (In Figure 5c, which relates to the next example, a similar space is marked D.). The hypotenuse wall 5 is then closed and the carton sealed (as with the previous examples) . Because the folded tray is stored in a different space within the carton compared to the previous examples, the end triangular walls of the carton are larger and the side walls shorter than in the previous examples for the same size sandwich round.

To use the tray 7, the consumer first unseals the carton and removes the tray from it. The tray is then unfolded as shown in Figure 5b, and the sandwich removed and placed on it. The mountain 25 and valley 26 folds again provide the tray with some additional stiffness compared to a piece of paperboard having no folds.

A similar example is shown in Figure 5c. Again, the tray 7 is provided with concertina folds, but the tray is not provided as an entirely separate item from the carton 1, but is provided as an extension to the side wall that opens to provide a door into the sandwich, in this case the hypotenuse wall 5.

The further portions 27 of the tray are preferably formed from the same piece of paperboard as the side wall 5 but are not as wide as the side wall 5, the portion neighbouring side wall 5 being provided with shoulders 28 to both sides to reduce the width. Further, the height A of the side wall 5 is larger than the height B of the neighbouring portion 27 of the tray, which in turn is greater than the height C of the remaining portions 27. This is so that when the tray is folded up, as indicated by the arrows 29, and is swung into the space D between the side wall 5 and the sandwich 2, 3 by closing the side wall 5, the folds of the tray 7 are clear of the upper and lower triangular end walls of the carton. In this case, the seal of the tab 6 depending from the upper end wall is made to the underside of the tray portion neighbouring the side wall 5 at the area marked 31.

While it saves on paperboard to have the sidewall as part of the tray an uninitiated consumer may manage to rip the tray on opening the package. The concertina tray can alternatively not be hinged to the sidewall forming the door but to one of the other walls (e.g. a sidewall or dividing wall 32, for which see below) . The door sidewall can then be sealed at that edge to the outside of that wall by a tab extending from the free end of the door sidewall.

As shown by the further examples of Figures 6 and 6a, the folded tray need not be stored directly next to the sandwich.

In the example of Figure 6a, which is otherwise similar to the examples of Figures 1 and 2, the carton is provided with an additional wall, a triangular divider 32, that is positioned between the space occupied by the folded tray within the carton and the space occupied by the sandwich within the carton. The divider is glued to the shorter side walls via upstanding tabs 33. Naturally the divider can also be used with a loose tray, such as those of Figures 4a and 4b.

Further, the tray can also be provided attached to the outside of the carton. In the examples of Figures 6b, the tray 7 is sealed in a plastics film envelope 34, which is glued to the outside of the carton 1. To use the tray, the consumer rips open the envelope, takes out the tray and unfolds it. The carton itself is then unsealed, the sandwich removed and placed upon the unfolded tray.

As shown in Figure 6b, for a triangular prism carton the triangular end wall is an area where a tray having a triangular folded shape will fit without protruding, and the side wall 5 is a suitable place to mount a tray that has a rectangular folded conformation.

The envelope provides a hygienic barrier. However, it may also be acceptable to attach the folded tray to the outside of the carton, unwrapped. This may be done with, for example, a blob of glue whose adhesion is insufficient to rip the tray when it is pulled off, or by inserting corners of the folded tray into slits scored through the walls of the carton.

Note that that a tray provided to the outside of the carton could be pivoted to the carton in the manner of Figure 1 etc. Preferably it is then held in place before use, for example, by an envelope or a blob of glue.

Figures 7a-b show another example of the tray. In this example the tray 7 is provided wound around a food item 35, namely a baguette sandwich. The tray 7 is provided from a rectangular piece of paperboard which, when unfolded, is large enough for the baguette to be placed on it, as shown in Figure 7b. The paperboard is folded along a single longitudinal fold, which is then wound round the baguette, overlapping itself. This further folding or wrapping is different from the other folds, in that it is around the food item. The baguette with the tray wound around it are placed inside a container 36, namely a protective plastics film envelope 36. Figure 7c is another example again of a baguette 35 inside a container of a plastics envelope 36. A tray in the form of a rectangular piece of paperboard is wrapped around the baguette. In this case however the tray is not folded but is provided in collapsed form simply by being wrapped around the baguette.

Figure 7d is a further example for a baguette 35. The baguette is again contained in a transparent film 36 which is given form by a packing member 42 on which the baguette is placed with a folded tray 7 placed between it and the packing member 42 and is held there by a loop 43 of the packing member 42 joining opposite edges of the packing member and passing over the baguette. To consume the baguette it the film is removed and the tray slid out and unfolded; the baguette is them removed from the packing member and is placed on the unfolded tray. In this example the tray is a rectangular piece of paperboard with two parallel concertina folds.

A further example is shown in Figure 8a. Here the food item is a type of sandwich known as a "wrap". A carton 37 is provided in a common form for a wrap, which is a cup shape into which the wrap 38 is inserted. A tray 7 is again provided. This is like that of Figure 7 in that it is formed from a rectangular piece of paperboard, which is folded in half longitudinally.

This is then bent round over the top of the wrap in an "n" shape with then ends being tucked between the wrap and the sides of carton. A transparent protective plastics film envelope 36 is sealed round the other parts.

Figures 8b and 8c show further examples involving a wrap 38.

Both have a transparent plastics film 36 providing a container for the wrap. Inside the film a folded tray is provided. To consume the wrap the film is removed, the tray unfolded and the wrap placed upon it. In this example the tray is a rectangular piece of paperboard with a single fold.

To give the film 36 form in the example of Figure 8c a rectangular sheet member 44 is provided between the wrap 38 and the tray 7. This member can alternatively be a cup shaped carton holding the wrap, as shown in Figure 8a.

In the previous examples the area taken up by the tray has been reduced by folding it and/or wrapping it round the food so that portions of the tray overlap with each other. In the following examples the area of the tray is again reduced by overlapping portions of the tray but this time the tray is extended from its collapsed conformation to its use conformation by sliding component portions of the tray relative to each other.

In Figure 9a a tray 7 in the form of a fan comprising four 45 degree sectors is provided. The sectors 39 are made of paperboard and each have a hole through them near the apex.

These are joined together with a paper fastener 22 passing through the holes. In the example of Figure 9 the fan tray is provided loose inside a triangular prism sandwich carton 1 in a furled conformation with the sectors overlying each other completely.

To use the fan tray the consumer takes it out of the carton 1 and separates the sectors by rotating them around the fastener relative to each other keeping them generally in the same plane. Although, as with the example of Figures 1 and 2, a looser fastener could be used, a fixing that provides pressure between the sectors, such as a paper fastener or rivet, will help to keep the sectors in position. Of course, the pressure should not be made so great as to make it difficult to unfurl the tray. Figure 9b shows the unfurled tray 7, with the sandwich on it in dashed outline so as not to obscure the view of the tray.

Figures lOa-b show a further example of a tray in accordance with the invention. In Figure lOa a sandwich carton 1 is a triangular prism container holding two halves 2, 3 of a sandwich round. The hypotenuse side wall 5 has been unsealed and hinged down to reveal the tray 7 which is glued to the wall 7 and was stored inside the carton in space D. The tray 7 is telescopic comprising four segments 40. Each segment is a rectangle which is the same width but the long side of which is slightly shorter than the one below. The short sides 41 of each (except for the uppermost segment) are folded over for a few millimetres to form a tab to retain the segment above.

In their storage conformation shown in Figure lOa the segments of the tray 7 are stacked up and overlap each other entirely.

To use the tray the consumer slides the segments out reducing the overlap to a small portion of the segments, removes the sandwich and places it on it, as shown in Figure lOb. The sandwich 2, 3 is shown in dotted outline so as not to obscure the view of the tray 7.

Alternatively the tray 7 can be mounted with what is shown as the upper face in Figure lOa face down, with the tabs 41 of the longest segment being glued to the side wall 5.

The examples above have concentrated on disposable cartons for take-away food, especially sandwiches. However the invention is not limited to these. The invention can be used with reusable food containers, for example, a lunch box.

In many of the above examples the overlapping portions are folded. As is known in the art paperboard is a suitable material for folding. Paperboard is also a material used for disposable items because it is cheap and easily recycled.

In the above examples the paperboard for the carton and/or tray is preferably coated, which has two main functions. A moisture barrier coating is provided preferably on the inside of the carton to stop moisture or grease in the food item from soaking into the paperboard. Coatings can also be made used inside or out, or on the tray, to improve the printability of the surface. Coatings can be provided also to improve strength. Coatings can be laminated to combine those functions. Suitable coating materials include polymers such as polythene, polypropylene, polyester, PVC or acrylic, and metal films.

For materials that are not easily folded, the folds can be replaced by having the portions of the tray as separate pieces and joining those pieces with other forms of hinged attachment. As is for hinges these can include both separate hinges that are attached to both the portions to be hinged and hinges formed from cooperating shaped features at the edges of the two portions.

A reusable lunch box according to the invention can be made, for example, from a plastics material or a metal; in most cases these are not foldable.

Many of the examples above have involved a container having a the shape of a triangular prism for two halves of a sandwich round. The invention is not however limited to containers of that shape; other shapes may be used, whether for sandwiches or otherwise. Usually the shape of the tray in its collapsed conformation will be chosen to be convenient to be included in or with the container. For example a cuboid box has only rectangular faces so it will be convenient for the tray to be rectangular in its collapsed conformation.

Further the tray in its opened use conformation need not be rectangular; in the example of Figure 9a-b it was a sector of a circle, but it could be a semi-circle, a regular polygon; a full circle, a trapezium (the 4 sided shape having two parallel sides) a parallelogram, and so on.

Claims

CLAIMS: 1. A food container comprising: a food containing portion, and a tray that has a closed, storage conformation and an open, tray conformation in which food can be placed on the tray, and wherein the tray is transformable from the storage conformation to the tray conformation.
2. A food container as claimed in claim 1 wherein the tray comprises a plurality of sheet portions that are overlapped in the storage conformation and that are less overlapped, or are not overlapped in the tray conformation.
3. A food container as claimed in claim 2, wherein neighbouring ones of the sheet portions are hingedly attached to one another.
4. A food container as claimed in claim 3 wherein neighbouring ones of the sheet portions of the tray are joined to each other by fold lines.
5. A food container as claimed in claim 4 wherein the tray has two lines of folds that intersect each other in the tray conformation, and which are unfolded when the tray is unfolded from its storage conformation to its tray conformation.
6. A food container as claimed in claim 3 wherein the tray has a single said hinge attachment that is unfolded when the tray is unfolded from its storage conformation to its tray conformation.
7. A food container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the tray has two or more non-intersecting hinge attachments that provide alternately directed attachments that allow the tray to be unfolded between its storage and tray conformations in a concertina manner.
8. A food container as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the tray in its tray conformation is rectangular.
9. A food container as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the tray in its tray conformation is square.
10. A food container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7 wherein the tray in its tray conformation is, as circle, or a sector of a circle.
11. A food container as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the tray is provided in its storage conformation inside the food containing portion.
12. A food container as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the tray in its storage conformation is folded round the food.
13. A food container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 11 wherein the tray in its storage conformation is separated from the food containing portion by a divider.
14. A food container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10 wherein the tray is provided in its storage conformation fixed to the outside of the food containing portion.
15. A food container as claimed in claim 14 wherein the tray is provided in its storage conformation in a film envelope.
16. A food container as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the tray in its storage conformation and the food containing portion are joined by a pivotal mount that allows the tray to be displaced from the position in which it is stored in or on the food containing portion.
17. A food container as claimed in claim 16 wherein the pivotal mount is arranged to allow the tray to be pivoted from its storage position in its storage conformation.
18. A food container as claimed in claim 16 or claim 17 wherein the pivotal mount is arranged to allow the tray to rotate about an axis perpendicular to the sheet portions of the tray.
19. A food container as claimed in claim 18 wherein the pivotal mount is provided by a hole in at least one of the sheet portions and a hole in the food containing portion and a member passing through those holes.
20. A food container as claimed in claim 16 or claim 17 wherein the pivotal mount comprises a hinge between an edge of one of the sheet portions and a wall of the food containing portion.
21. A food container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 13 wherein the tray is removable from the food containing portion.
22. A food container as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the food containing portion and/or tray is made from disposable material.
23. A food container as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the food containing portion and/or tray is made from paperboard.
24. A food container as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the food containing portion contains some food.
25. A food container as claimed in claim 24 wherein the food is a sandwich.
26. A food container as claimed in claim 25 wherein the sandwich has filling between two layers of bread.
27. A food container as claimed in claim 25 wherein the sandwich comprises two or more triangular sandwiches that are stacked.
28. A blank for the container of any one of claims 1 to 27 and a blank for the tray of the same one of those claims.
29. A plurality of blanks for the container of any of claims 1 to 27 and a plurality of blanks for the tray of the same one of those claims.
30. A method of unpacking food from a container, the container comprising a food containing portion, containing food, and a tray in a closed, storage conformation, the method comprising: expanding the tray to a tray conformation, removing at least a portion of the food from the food containing portion and placing it on the tray.
31. A method as claimed in claim 30 wherein the method comprises opening the food containing portion to expose the tray in its storage conformation.
32. A method as claimed in claimed 30 and 31 comprising eating the food.
33. A method as claimed in any one of claims 30 to 32 comprising disposing of the tray and food containing portion.