NZ536011A - Container, lid and clip therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

Apparatus for storage, treatment or distribution of meat comprising, a container having a base and four side walls dependent therefrom, a mouth at a substantially opposite end of the container from the base, and an external rib dependant from the side walls, the rib being substantially continuous about the walls and being provided remote from the base and the mouth, and wherein the rib substantially comprises a flange that extends outwardly from the walls and toward the base such that a cavity is provided between the rib and the walls.

Description

Patents Form No. 5 OurRef: WEJ504894 NEW ZEALAND PATENTS ACT 1953 Complete After Provisional No. 536011 Filed: 15 October 2004 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION CONTAINER, LID AND CLIP THEREFOR We, FOODCAP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED, a New Zealand company of Suite 3, Level 3, 8A Cleveland Road, Parnell, Auckland 1001, New Zealand hereby declare the invention, for which We pray that a patent may be granted to us and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: PT054518795 Inftl/tofutl Property Office of N.2. 2 8 OCT 2005 RECEIVED 300483436_1 300483378:WEJ504894/1 2 CONTAINER, LID AND CLIP THEREFOR Field of the Invention This invention relates to containers for storage, treatment or transportation of perishable 5 food products. The invention has a particular application in the storage, treatment or transportation of meat.

Background Containers for meat storage, treatment or transportation are described in US patents 10 5670195 and 6194012. Securely affixing a lid on to containers of this type is advantageous to ensure that the container is effectively sealed, as a fluid tight seal is important to maintaining a desired atmosphere for the products within the container.

The integrity of the container seal, or at least the attachment of the lid to the container is 15 important also for hygiene reasons and to prevent contamination of the container contents.

Containers of this type may hold significant quantities of product which can be very heavy (for example 150 kg), so it is desirable that the container can be easily and securely 20 handled by lifting apparatus. It also follows that the container needs to have significant structural integrity.

Summary of the Invention It is an object of the present mentioned to provide an improved container for the storage, treatment or transportation of perishable food products.

In the alternative is an object of the invention to provide improved apparatus or methods for affixing or detaching a lid to or from such a container.

As another alternative, it is an object of the present invention to at least provide the public with a useful alternative.

Accordingly in one aspect the invention consists in apparatus for storage, treatment or 35 distribution of meat comprising, 300476681:WEJ504894/142 3 a container having a base and four side walls dependent therefrom, a mouth at a substantially opposite end of the container from the base, and an external rib dependant from the side walls, the rib being substantially continuous about the walls and being provided remote from the base and the mouth and extending 5 outwardly from the walls and toward the base, and wherein the rib substantially comprises a flange that extends outwardly from the walls and toward the base such that a cavity is provided between the rib and the walls.

Preferably the rib comprises a first flange part that extends from the walls and a second 10 flange part that extends toward the base.

Preferably the first flange part extends substantially perpendicular to the walls, and the second flange part extends substantially parallel to the walls.

Preferably the rib is substantially continuous about the walls.

Preferably the rib includes a plurality of support webs provided between the rib and the walls.

In a second aspect the invention consists in apparatus for storage, treatment or distribution of meat comprising: a container, a lid for the container, and a plurality of clips engageable with the lid and a rim of the container, whereby the clips 25 secure the lid on the container.

Preferably the rim is provided adjacent to, or comprises a part of, a mouth of the container.

Preferably each clip is substantially unable to be removed from the apparatus without use of a tool.

Preferably a plurality of clips can be removed in a single operation using a tool.

Intellectual Property Office of N-Z. 3 0 APR 2007 RECEIVED! I 300476681 WEJ504894/142 ¥ Preferably each clip comprises a body, one end of the body having two substantially parallel legs dependent therefrom, a projection being provided on one of the legs to engage with the lid, the other end of the body having a projection to engage with the rim.

In a third aspect the invention consists in a clip removal tool for removal of a lid securing clip which secures a lid to a container, the tool comprising a body having a handle and a clip engaging member disposed at an angle to the handle, such that location of the clip engaging member under and end of a clip and location of a base of the clip engaging member on a surface of the container allows the handle to be 10 rotated toward the base of the container to lever the clip free from the container.

Preferably a plurality of clip engaging members are provided whereby a plurality of clubs may be disengaged from the container simultaneously using the tool.

In a further aspect the invention broadly comprises any new feature or combination of features disclosed herein.

Drawing Description One or more embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a container, Figure 2 is a plan view from below of the container of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an end elevation of the container of the preceding Figures, Figure 4 is a side elevation of the container of the preceding Figures, Figure 5 is a side elevation in cross-section of the container of the preceding Figures, 25 Figure 6 is an expanded view of detail A of Figure 5, Figure 7 is a plan view of a lid of the container of the preceding Figures, Figure 8 is a cross-section through the lid as affixed to a mouth or rim of the container of the preceding Figures taken through line B-B of Figure 7, and Figure 9 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a clip disengagement tool. 30 Detailed Description Referring to Figure 1, a container for storage, treatment or transportation of a perishable product such as meat for example is shown, generally referenced 1. The container includes a base 2 and at least one sidewall, but preferably from side walls 4. The side walls preferably taper slightly outwardly from the base toward a mouth of the container 35 (which is obscured in this view by the lid 6) to allow the container to the stacked within a like container.

Intellectual Property Office ot tv z. 3 0 APR 2007 300483378:WEJ504894/1 A rib 5 is provided externally about the walls 4. As can be seen, the rib 5 is provided remote from both the base and the mouth of the container, and in a preferred embodiment is provided substantially midway between the base and the mouth of the container as shown in Figure 1. The rib 5 may contain a number of apertures 7 to facilitate air 5 movement about the container, allow rapid drainage of any liquid about the container (for example when the container is washed or sterilised), and reduce material usage and weight. We have found that Acetal has desirable properties for manufacture of the container, being sufficiently strong and robust and also preventing any movement of gases through the container walls. This material is also food safe.

Turning to Figure 2, the base of the container can be seen, having wheels 8 which allow the container to be transported across a surface such as a production facility or through an aisle of a retail store.

The container is shown in end elevation in Figure 3 and in side elevation in Figure 4, both views showing the rib 5. In these Figures recesses 10 in the periphery of the lid 6 are also clearly visible.

Turning to Figures 5 and 6, the rib 5 can be viewed in greater detail. As can be seen, the 20 rib comprises a generally outwardly projecting flange portion 12 and a downwardly projecting flange portion 14. Although these portions of shown as being generally planar in the drawings, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the rib could be substantially curved. Flange portion 12 projects roughly perpendicularly outwards from the walls 4, and flange portion 12 is directed in a generally parallel direction to the walls 4. The flange 5 25 may be provided in a variety of different ways, but in the preferred embodiment of flange is constructed as a unitary item which is affixed to the container walls after the container walls have been formed. A shoulder 16 is preferably provided in the walls 4 and a corresponding shoulder 18 is provided on the flange. The flange can then be moved upwardly from the base of the container into abutment as shown in Figure 6 and may be 30 glued or welded to affix it in place.

The rib 5 provides a number of practical advantages. Firstly, it provides additional strength to the overall container structure. It also limits the extent to which one container may be nested into another container. Therefore, the containers may be easily nested 35 and de-nested. The rib provides a space between containers when containers are provided adjacent to each other. In practice this has the advantage that air may flow 300483378:WEJ504894/1 6 between the walls of adjacent containers which is beneficial when the contents of the containers needs to be kept at a required temperature, for example when placed in a cool store or chiller. Also, the rib defines a cavity 20 within which lifting or manoeuvring apparatus (in particular automated lifting or manoeuvring apparatus) may be disposed to 5 engage the container with a lifting or transport mechanism to thereby buy facilitate safe transportation, lifting or other movement of the container.

In Figure 7 the lid 6 is shown in plan view. As can be seen, the lid has a number of depressions 22 which are adapted to support wheels 8 of another container and thereby 10 facilitate stacking of containers one above the other.

A valve 24 is also shown in Figure 7. This may be used to introduce a desired atmosphere into the container, for example flush the interior of the container with a gas or mixture of gases such as carbon dioxide.

Turning to Figure 8, a clipping mechanism is shown in cross-section. A peripheral portion of the lid 6 has a groove or recess 30. A clip 32 has a body 34 which has two legs 36 and 38 dependent from one end thereof. The other end of body 34 has a projection 40. Leg 38 has a projection 42 which extends into recess 30. Therefore, the legs 36 and 38 20 secure the clip to the lid 6. A rim 44 provided about the mouth 46 of the container projects so as to engage with projection 40 of the clip, preventing the clip from being moved in an upward direction to remove the lid 6 from the container.

As can be seen from the drawings, a number of clips 34 are provided. To use the clips to 25 secure the lid to the container, the user simply engages the clips with the lid by pressing the clips onto the lid so that the legs 36 and 38 slide over the appropriate peripheral section of the lid to allow projection 42 to engage with recess 30. Then, the lid is placed over the container, causing projection 40 to slide over the projecting rim 44.

The projection 40 is located very close to the rim of the container, making it very difficult for user to insert a finger for example into the space indicated by arrow 48 to prise the clip away from the container. However, an appropriate tool may be used to disengage the clip. Such a tool is shown diagrammatically in Figure 9. Referring to that Figure, the tool has a handle 50, dependent from which are a series of curved or angled projections 52. 35 In practice, the tips of the projections 52 may be placed within the space indicated by arrow 48 in Figure 8, and the tool may be then rotated on a downward direction so that 300483378:WEJ504894/1 7 regions 54 act as a fulcrum which engages with the rim of the container, thereby allowing the user to prise the clips away from the rim of the container which in turn allows the lid to be removed.

Those skilled in the art to which the invention relates will see that a plurality of tools such as those shown in figure 9 may be arranged, one about each side of the container, in an automated fashion so that the clips can be prised away simultaneously, so that the lid can be removed in one single operation.

The lid clipping mechanism described above allows the container to be sealed in a fluid tight manner, and also provides increased structural rigidity or integrity to the container. 4 300476681: WEJ504894/142 8

Claims (8)

Claims:

1. Apparatus for storage, treatment or distribution of meat comprising, a container having a base and four side walls dependent therefrom, a mouth at a substantially opposite end of the container from the base, and an external rib dependant from the side walls, the rib being substantially continuous about the walls and being provided remote from the base and the mouth, and wherein the rib substantially comprises a flange that extends outwardly from the walls and toward the base such that a cavity is provided between the rib and the walls.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the rib comprises a first flange part that extends from the walls and a second flange part that extends toward the base.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the first flange part extends 15 substantially perpendicular to the walls, and the second flange part extends substantially parallel to the walls.

4. Apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the height of the container is greater than a width of the container. 20

5. Apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the rib is a unitary item affixed to the walls of the container.

6. Apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the walls between 25 the rib and the base are tapered to allow the container to be nested with a like container

7. Apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the rib includes a plurality of support webs provided between the rib and the walls. 30

8. Apparatus for storage, treatment or distribution of meat substantially as herein described with reference to any one of the embodiments shown in the drawings. 35 END OF CLAIMS Intellectual Property Office ot >v.Z. 3 0 APR 2007 300483378:WEJ504894/1 9 Abstract A container (1) for meat storage, treatment and distribution has an external rib (5) to facilitate handling and provide strength. Clips (32) are provided for attacking a lid (6) to the container, and a clip removal tool (52) which allows clips to be removed to open the container.