GB2550386A

GB2550386A - Food container

Info

Publication number: GB2550386A
Application number: GB1608732.2A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Mee David; Morris Andrew
Original assignee: Colpac Ltd
Current assignee: Colpac Ltd
Priority date: 2016-05-18
Filing date: 2016-05-18
Publication date: 2017-11-22
Also published as: GB201608732D0

Abstract

A container suitable for sandwiches comprising: a body 4 tapering inwards from the opening 14; flaps extending away from the opening; and a flange attached 6 to the flaps and overlying the opening to form an aperture to permit nesting. Preferably, the opening is rectangular and the aperture is the same shape, except where the flange obstructs the opening to form an aperture shorter or wider than the opening. Preferably, the aperture has chamfered corners. Preferably, the container is cardboard with film liner. Preferably, the flanges are nested more than 0.2cm or 0.3cm apart. Preferably, the body comprises a pair of opposed triangles spaced by trapezoidal walls, and the flaps extend around the opening. Preferably, the flange does not extend outwards further than the associated flap. Preferably, the container is closed by a plastic lid formed from plastic film. The invention permits easier release of containers from the nested stack.

Description

Food Container

The present invention relates to a container, in particular a container for food having a body formed from a blank and which includes a separate flange part attached around an opening of the body and extends to a stack of such containers.

It is known for food producers to purchase partly assembled food containers from a container manufacturer and then fill and close them using, for example, a machine adapted for the purpose. It is known to produce such containers from folded blanks of material, such as paperboard. For the purpose of this specification ‘paperboard’ is considered to encompass paper, card, cardboard and similar materials.

For example a preformed container may be supplied to a sandwich producer lacking only a lid to close an opening of the container, which may be supplied separately. The sandwich producer then fills the container, through the opening, with the desired sandwich and arranges the filled container in a mould of a closing machine. The closing machine is then operated to bond a film lid across the opening of the container and thereby close the container and provide environmental protection for the sandwich. The container may be substantially sealed by such a process.

Such a process requires preformed containers to be supplied to the customer, which reduces the assembly time for the customer and, to reduce space requirements during shipping, the containers, if suitable, may be stacked and nested within one another. Supplying nested containers is more space efficient, but means that the purchaser must denest the containers prior to filling and closing.

According to the invention there is provided a food container for closure by a lid, the food container comprising a body and a flange, the body being formed from a folded blank and comprising one or more walls defining an enclosure having an opening, the enclosure tapering inwardly away from the opening allowing a plurality of the containers to be nested together, the body further including flaps extending away from the opening around at least some of the opening, the flange being formed separately to the body and bonded to the flaps and comprising a substantially planar flange surface surrounding an aperture, the flange being attached to the flaps such that the aperture substantially overlies the opening such that a lid attached to the flange which closes the aperture will close the container, wherein the flange obscures at least some of the opening.

The flange obstructs, or obscures, at least a portion of the opening and this prevents complete nesting of these containers and they are only able to loosely nest. When completely nested exterior surfaces of the walls defining the enclosure of the nested container are substantially adjacent interior surfaces of walls defining the enclosure of the container in which the nested container is located. By obstructs, or obscures, it is meant that the flange extends into at least a part of the opening, thereby preventing a container being seated fully within that opening and thereby fully nested.

When loosely nested, the flanges of adjacent containers are spaced apart from one another and at least one exterior surface of a wall defining the enclosure of the nested container is spaced apart from an adjacent interior surface of a wall defining the enclosure of the container in which the nested container is located. This separation of the flanges facilitates handling of the nested stack for de-nesting. A further advantage of loosely nesting is that, due to the spacing between at least one set of adjacent walls, air is able to flow more readily into the space between the containers during de-nesting. Facilitating air flow into that space can reduce the pressure reduction between the containers that can be experienced during de-nesting, particularly rapid de-nesting, which can hinder easy separation of the containers. The flange may obstruct at least a part of the opening because the area of the aperture is smaller than the area of the opening. In a different arrangement the aperture may have least one dimension that is smaller than the associated dimension of the opening, for example the length of the aperture, but the width of the aperture may be larger.

The food container may be any suitable shape, for example a tray, triangular sandwich pack, carton or other shape, and is suitable for receiving a food product to be stored. In one embodiment the container is a triangular sandwich pack having an opening adjacent the longest side of the triangle. The body may include one or more windows formed in one or more walls and these windows may be sealed by a film, for example a plastics film.

The container is suitable for closure by a lid and the lid may comprise a film, for example a plastics film, may comprise a paperboard material, or may comprise a combination of the two, for example a composite lid in which a film covers a window through a paperboard part.

The body is formed from a folded blank and may be formed by any suitable method as are known in the art. If the body is to be self-supporting prior to the attachment of the flange the blank may be erected by the use of tabs which clip into corresponding slots in the blank, or tabs or parts of walls could be bonded, for example glued or heat sealed, to walls or other tabs. The body may be erected using such methods and be self-supporting prior to the flange being attached to the flaps as this provides a more robust structure, but the walls of the enclosure could be held in place by the flange once it is attached, for example glued or bonded to the flaps. A blank is a pre-formed component in which intended fold lines are predefined by creases, scores, perforations or other weaknesses. The flange is formed separately from the body, meaning that the flange does not form part of the blank from which the body is folded. This provides a greater degree of freedom for the design as the flange design can be readily altered without any modifications to the blank for the body and the flange can be made from a different material to the blank if desired. The flange may be an appropriately shaped, substantially planar, sheet of paperboard through which an aperture is formed.

The one or more walls of the container body may be any suitable shape, but each wall is preferably substantially planar. Curved walls can be formed if required, but the erection of the container from the blank can be more complicated. The one or more walls define an enclosure into which food may be placed through an opening and the opening has flaps extending therefrom to which the flange is attached. The flaps extend away from the opening. The opening of the body may be defined by a rim and the flaps may extend from the rim away from the opening. The rim may be substantially planar and the flaps may extend away from the rim in substantially parallel with the plane of the rim. The, or each, wall may include one or more flaps. Each wall may include one flap.

In order for the containers to be able to nest the cross section of the container at a first distance from the opening must be smaller than the opening so that a part of a substantially identical container, which may be substantially opposite the opening, can pass into the opening. Although it is not essential for nesting, the tapering cross sectional shape of the container may substantially match the shape of the opening and possibly also the aperture as this provide a more efficient use of space. As an example, a substantially rectangular tapering cross section may be used with a substantially rectangular opening and aperture.

The tapering may be substantially even on all walls, producing a pyramid or truncated pyramid shaped enclosure. The tapering may be uneven, for example an enclosure may be formed by a pair of substantially triangular, or heavily tapered, walls separated by a pair of rectangular walls, which may be tapered to a lesser degree than the triangular walls, for example they may be substantially trapezoidal walls. Such an uneven tapering can produce, for example, a substantially triangular enclosure suitable for a triangular cut sandwich.

The flaps need not substantially surround the opening, but flaps may extend away from the opening substantially all around the opening. The flaps are formed as part of the blank from which the body is formed and may be an extension from an end of each of the walls that define the opening.

The aperture of the flange overlies the opening of the body allowing food to pass through the aperture and into the enclosure through the opening. As noted above, the area of the aperture may smaller than that of the opening as this prevents complete nesting. Alternatively, the aperture may have a different shape than the opening so that it obscures at least some of the opening.

The aperture may be any suitable shape and may substantially match the shape of the opening. For example, if the opening is defined by a substantially rectangular rim the aperture may be substantially rectangular in shape. The shape and size of the aperture may substantially match that of the opening which the exception of some predetermined locations in which the aperture may extend into and obscure a part of the opening. For example the aperture may obscure one or more parts of the opening at one, or both, ends of a rectangular aperture. A part of both ends of the opening may obstructed to the same degree such that the loosely nested containers form a substantially symmetrical stack, with each container substantially central within the opening of the one below.

The aperture may shorter than the opening. This is an easy configuration to manufacture, as the opening remains rectangular in shape. The aperture may be arranged symmetrically over the opening, or asymmetrically, for example it may be arranged so that only one end of the opening is obscured. The aperture may be at least 0.2 cm shorter than the opening, at least 0.4 cm, or at least 0.8 cm shorter than the opening. The aperture may be less than 1 cm shorter than the opening, less than 0.8 cm shorter, or less than 0.4 cm shorter than the opening.

The aperture may include one or more chamfered corners which obscure corresponding corners of the opening. This has the advantage that a smaller area of the opening is obscured by the flange and also facilitates airflow into the space between containers during de-nesting. Each of the chamfered corners may extend at least 0.1 cm into the opening, at least 0.2 cm, or at least 0.4 cm into the opening. Each of the chamfered corners may extend less than 0.5cm into the opening, less than 0.3 cm shorter, or less than 0.2 cm into the opening.

The obstruction of the opening may be in the direction of the greatest tapering of the enclosure as this means the distance offset between adjacent flanges when loosely nested is less dependent upon tolerances in the manufacture of the flange and associated aperture. If the enclosure tapers 1cm along a first axis and 1 mm along a second, perpendicular, axis for every 1 cm away from the opening a 1 mm difference in aperture dimension along the first axis could result in a 1 mm difference in flange offset, which the same difference along the second axis may result in a 1 cm difference in flange offset.

The aperture may be wider than the opening in one or more dimensions, for example a substantially rectangular aperture which is configured to create an obstruction at one or both ends of the long dimension may be wider in the short dimension than the opening as this facilitates fitting of the flange as small offsets in the direction of the short dimension will not result in an undesired obstruction in the short dimension. However, it is preferred that the flange is arranged and fitted to the body using a computer controlled device, for example a robotic arm or similar. When the flange is fitted to the body the body may be located in a mould, for example a recess and the use of computer controlled assembly may reduce the likelihood of variations in the position of the flange relative to the body and this means that the increase in width required may be reduced and the stack is likely to be more symmetrical.

Obscuring the opening is advantageous for de-nesting operations, but the obstruction may hinder filling of the container if too great an obstruction is created. The aperture may obscure no more than 1 cm at one end, or 0.5 cm at each end of the opening. For example an aperture may be no more than 1 cm shorter than the opening. If chamfered corners, or other features, are provided in the aperture to obscure at least some of the opening then the chamfers may obscure no more than 0.5 cm of each end of the opening. Obscuring features may be limited to being located within end regions of the aperture so as to obscure portions of end regions of the opening. The aperture may obscure no more than 0.8 cm at one end, or 0.4 cm at each end of the opening.

The aperture and the opening may both be substantially rectangular, and the aperture may be shorter along the long dimension and wider along the short dimension than the opening. The aperture may be wider than the opening by less than 0.5 cm, less than 0.3 cm, or less than 0.2 cm. The aperture may be wider than the opening by at least 0.1 cm, at least 0.2 cm, or at least 0.4 cm. Since the rim of the body will be visible though the aperture of it is wider than the opening a smaller excess width for the aperture may be preferred.

As noted above, the body and / or the flange may be formed from paperboard. Paperboard is a known material for this sort of product and can be readily formed as required. The paperboard of the body may include a film liner bonded to an inner surface thereof to provide moisture protection for the body. A film liner may also facilitate sealing of the container. The film liner may be laminated to the paperboard to form the body in the form of a sheet of may be sprayed, painted, or otherwise applied to the paperboard surface, for example to one or both surfaces of the blank. Other surfaces of the body and / or the flange may include a film layer. The film liner may also be used to heat seal parts of the blank together to form the body.

The flange may obscures at least some of the opening such that, when a plurality of the containers are nested flanges of adjacent food containers are held more than 0.2 cm apart, or more than 0.3 cm apart or more than 0.5 cm apart.

The area of the aperture may be smaller than the area of the opening such that, when a plurality of the containers are nested flanges of adjacent food containers are held more than 0.2 cm apart, or more than 0.3 cm apart or more than 0.5 cm apart.

The flange adjacent a wall of the body may not extend away from the opening further than the flap associated with that wall. The flange may extend substantially the same distance away from the opening as the flaps such that the outer edges of the flange and flaps substantially match.

The container may be closed by a lid formed from a plastics film, or a lid formed from paperboard, or from a combination of film and paperboard. The film may be transparent so that a consumer can view the content of the container through the film. The closing of the container may occur after the container has been filed with a food product.

The invention also provides a nested stack of substantially identical food containers, the food containers being as described above, and the flanges of adjacent containers in the stack may be separated by at least 0.2 cm, or at least 0.3 cm, or at least 0.5 cm.

The invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the following figures in which:

Figure 1 shows a schematic view of a food container;

Figure 2 shows a flange for the container of Figure 1;

Figure 3 shows a blank for manufacturing the body of the food container of Figure 1;

Figure 4 shows the erected body of the container of Figure 1;

Figure 5 shows a cross section though the container of Figure 1 after filling and closing;

Figure 6 shows a schematic view of the food container of Figure 1 in which the outline of the opening is represented as a dotted line visible through the flange;

Figure 7 shows a different food container;

Figure 8 shows nested prior art food containers;

Figure 9 shows view of a nested stack of the containers of Figure 1;

Figure 10 shows a cross section through several adjacent containers of Figure 8.

Figure 1,2,3 and 4 show a food container 1 and parts for forming that food container 1. The food container 1 is suitable for closure by a lid 2 (shown in Figure 5). The food container 1 comprises a body 4 and a flange 6. The body 4 is formed from a folded blank 8 and comprises one or more walls 10 defining an enclosure 12 having an opening 14. The enclosure 12 tapers inwardly away from the opening 14 allowing a plurality of the containers 1 to be nested together. The body 4 further includes flaps 16 extending away from the opening 14 around at least some of the opening 14. The flange 6 is formed separately to the body 4 and is bonded to the flaps 16. The flange 6 comprises a substantially planar flange surface 18 surrounding an aperture 20. The flange 6 is bonded to the flaps 16 such that the aperture 20 substantially overlies the opening 14 such that a lid 2 attached to the flange 6 which closes the aperture 20 will close the container 1. The opening 14 has a first area 22 and the aperture 20 has a second area 24. The flange 6 is configured to obscure at least some of the opening 14 with an obscuring region 60. This is because, in this case, the second area 24 is smaller than the first area 22.

The flange 6, as shown in Figure 2, is substantially planar and is formed from similar material to that used to form the blank 8 that forms the body 4.

Figure 3 shows the blank 8 which is used to form the body 6 of the food container 1. The blank comprises two pairs of walls 10, a pair of triangular walls 26 and a pair of trapezoidal walls 28. The blank includes a tab 30 extending from a base of one of the trapezoidal tabs 28 which allows the bases 34 of the trapezoidal tabs 28 to be joined together by gluing the tab to the other of the trapezoidal tabs 28. The blank also includes a tab 32 extending from a side 36 of one of the triangular walls 26 allowing the side 36 of one of the triangular walls 26 to be joined to one of the trapezoidal walls 28 by gluing the tab 32 thereto.

The blank 8 also includes flaps 16 which extend from a rim 38 which will define the opening 14 when the blank 8 is erected.

Figure 4 shows the blank of Figure 3 after folding and securing. The body 4 comprises the pair of opposed triangular walls 26 spaced apart by the trapezoidal walls 28. The rim 38 at a free end of the walls 10 defines the opening 14 in to the enclosure formed by the walls 10. The flaps 16 extend away from the opening 14 and flange can be attached, for example glued or otherwise bonded, to the flaps 16.

Figure 5 shows a cross section though the container 1 of Figure 1 after filling and closing. The enclosure 12 defined by the body 4 now includes a sandwich 40 and a lid 2 has been attached, for example glued or otherwise bonded, to the flange 6. From this view it can be seen that the long dimension of the aperture 20 through the flange 6 is not as long at the opening 14 of the enclosure 12 and that the flange 6 therefore obscures at least some of the opening 14 at opposing end of the long dimension.

Figure 6 shows a schematic view of a food container 301 in which the outline of the opening 14, as defined by the rim 38, is represented as a dotted line visible through the flange 306 where necessary. The aperture 320 and the opening 14 are both substantially rectangular in shape. In this case the width of the aperture 320 is greater than the width of the opening 14, but the length of the aperture 320 through the flange 6 is less than that of the opening 14 of the enclosure 12 and the flange 306 therefore obscures at least some of the opening 14 such that the effective opening into the container 301 is shorter than the length of the opening 14, but small offsets in the position of the flange 306 in a direction along the width of the aperture 320 will not result in the flange 306 obscuring a portion of the width of the opening 14 such that the effective opening into the container 301 is narrower than the width of the opening 14. As a result of the widening of the aperture 320, the flange 306, and possibly also the flaps 16, could be made wider such that the width of the flange surface 318 to which a lid can be sealed is not significantly reduced.

Figure 7 shows a different food container 101. In this food container 101 the body 4 is the same as that of Figure 1, but the flange 106 is different. The aperture 120 through the flange 106 is substantially rectangular to match the opening 14 of the body, but corners 42 of the aperture 120 include chamfers 44 such that the chamfers 44 obscure at least some of the opening 14. In this case, the chamfers 44 provide the obscuring region 60. In this case, the aperture 120 is substantially rectangular in shape and the length and width substantially match the length and width of the opening. However, it should be understood that one, or both, of the length and width of the aperture could be greater than that of the opening to facilitate manufacture.

Figure 8 shows nested prior art food containers 201 arranged in a stack 46. In the prior art food containers 201, the size and shape of the aperture through the flange is substantially identical to the size and shape of the opening and so the flange substantially does not obscure the opening. This means that the containers 201 can nest tightly and the flanges 206 are arranged close together in the stack 46. Separating these flanges 206 manually or mechanically can be difficult as it can be complicated to reliably select only one flange and, once selected, the walls of the containers are close together providing only a small area for air flow into the container during separation, at least at the initial stages of separation.

Figure 9 shows a nested stack 48 of the food containers 1 of Figure 1. The stack 48 occupies a greater volume than the stack 46 of Figure 8 because the flanges 6 are spaced apart by a predetermined distance. That spacing distance is determined by the taper of the body 4 and the amount of the opening 14 that is obscured by the flange 6, together with the location of the flange part creating the obstruction. In this case the flanges 6 are spaced by at least 0.2cm.

Figure 10 shows a cross section through several adjacent containers 1 of Figure 8. A further advantage of proving a container 1 in which the flange obscures at least some of the opening is that, when nested, not only are the flanges 6 spaced further apart facilitating access to grip each flange, but the walls 10 are also spaced apart reducing the suction effect which can occur when de-nesting. The spacing of the walls 10 provides a wide flow channel 50 between adjacent containers 1 in a stack and this can reduce the pressure drop within a container, and subsequent resistance to motion, that can be experienced when de-nesting. This reduction in the suction effect created by the pressure drop can be enhanced by reducing the area of contact between the flange 6 and the body 4 of the container nested, for example by using chamfered corners or other features which may extend into the opening.

Claims

1. A food container for closure by a lid, the food container comprising a body and a flange, the body being formed from a folded blank and comprising one or more walls defining an enclosure having an opening, the enclosure tapering inwardly away from the opening allowing a plurality of the containers to be nested together, the body further including flaps extending away from the opening around at least some of the opening, the flange being formed separately to the body and bonded to the flaps and comprising a substantially planar flange surface surrounding an aperture, the flange being attached to the flaps such that the aperture substantially overlies the opening such that a lid attached to the flange which closes the aperture will close the container, wherein the flange obscures at least some of the opening.

2. A food container as claimed in claim 1, in which the opening is substantially rectangular in shape and the aperture substantially matches the shape of the opening, with the exception of at one or both ends of the opening where the flange obstructs the opening.

3. A food container as claimed in claim 2, in which the aperture is shorter than the opening.

4. A food container as claimed in claim 3, in which the aperture is wider than the opening.

5. A food container as claimed in claim 2, in which the aperture includes one or more chamfered corners which obscure the opening.

6. A food container as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the body and flange are formed from paperboard.

7. A food container as claimed in claim 5, in which the paperboard of the body includes a film liner bonded to an inner surface thereof.

8. A food container as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the flange obscures at least some of the opening such that, when a plurality of the containers are nested flanges of adjacent food containers are held more than 0.2 cm apart.

9. A food container as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the body comprises a pair of opposed triangular walls spaced apart by trapezoidal walls.

10. A food container as claimed in claim 9, in which flaps extend from each wall such that the flaps substantially surround the opening.

11. A food container as claimed any preceding claim, in which the flange adjacent a wall of the body does not extend away from the opening further than the flap associated with that wall.

12. A food container as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the container is closed by a lid formed from a plastics film.

13. A nested stack of substantially identical food containers, the food containers being as claimed in any of claims 1 to 11, and the flanges of adjacent containers in the stack being separated by at least 0.2 cm.

14. A nested stack of food containers as claimed in claim 13, in which the flanges of adjacent containers in the stack are separated by at least 0.3 cm.

15. A food container substantially as described herein, with reference to, or as shown in Figures 1 to 7 and 9 to 10.

16. A nested stack of food containers substantially as described herein, with reference to, or as shown in Figures 1 to 7 and 9 to 10.