Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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This invention relates to a con~-ainer for food products
such as sausage.
There has been a long standing unfilled requirement to
provide a package for food products such as sausage that displays
the product to the consumer, that separates each piece for indi-
vidual removal, that can be simply hinged to an open position,
that can be reclo~ed after part only of the contents have been
removed and that can be attractively labelled as to brand.
Sausages are cooked individually. It is common practice
to pack a number of sausages in a container and it is also common
practice to freeze the packecl container oE sausages. The individ-
ual sausages in the container are not usually separated with the
result that sausages in the container become frozen together.
If one wants to use less than the full container of frozen sausage,
it is necessary to chop the frozen block of sausages apart to
obtain the required number of sausayes. This invention overcomes
this difficulty by providing a container for sausages or the like
wherein each sausage is separated from each other sausage. The
user can remove the required number of sausages from the container
without having to chop a frozen block of sausages. The container
of the invention is also made of a transparent plastics material
so that the user can easily see how many sausa~es are left and can
also easily obtain a view of the product at the time of purchase.
See-through containers for meat products are not br~dly neW. There
is, for example, a see-through plastic container for sausage but
it is one where the sausages are not separated into individual
pieces.
While the present container provides for a view of the
product while the container is closed, it also provides for con-
venient labelling of the container so that the product can bebranded. This is an important factor in the marketing of products
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such as sausage. Consumers like -to ~uy these products by brand
and it is important to -them to be able to iclen~ify one brand
from another as well as have a full view of the product at the
-time of sale and a view of the contents of the package as they
are used.
~ container according to the present invention comprises
a tray of transparent plastics sheet material, a cover of trans-
parent plastics sheet material for said tray hincJed to said tray
along a common edge, said tray havlng an edge shoulder, said
cover having an edge configuration adapted to sit on said edge
shoulder of said tray when said cover is hinged to a closed posi-
tion on said tray~ said cover having its free edges formed with a
skirt that extends over said edge shoulder of said tray when
said cover is hinged to a closed posit:ion on said tray, the pla~
tics sheet material of said tray being formed with a plurality of ~. :
cavities, the plastics sheet material of said cover being formed
with a plurality of cavities, said cavities of said tray and said
cavities of said cover being arranged ~o complement each other
when said cover is hinged to a closed position whereby to form
a plurality of packing chambers.
The invention will be clearly understood after reference
to the following detailed specification read in conjunction with
the drawings.
In the drawings:
~: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the container in an
- open position;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of the container in a
closed position;
Figure 3 is a partial view showing -the cover closing on
the tray at the front centre location of a locklng cam but with
the labe~ removed;
Figure 4 is a sectional view along the line 4-4 of
Figure 3; and
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Figure 5 is a view like Figure 4 but in the closed
position.
The container illustrated in the drawings comprises a
tray 10 made from a plastics sheet material and a oover 12 for
~ray lO hinged thereto along a common edge as at 14. The tray
and cover are vacuum formed from a transparent oriented poly-
styrene sheet material having a thickness o about lO thousandths
of an inch. The hinge line is formed by reducing thickness along
the hinge line to about 5 thousandths of an inch.
The tray lO is formed with an edge shoulder 16 which is
adapted ~o receive the marginal edge portion of the cover 12 wh~n
the cover is hinged to a closed position as shown in Figure 2.
The marginal edge portion of the cover is illustrated approaching
the edge shoulder 16 of the tray as the cover approaches the tray
- during closure in Figure 3.
The tray lO is formed with a plurali~y of cavities 18
each adapted to receivQ a single sausaye 20 in the case of a
sausage container.
The cover 12 is also formed with a plurality of cavities
22.
The cavities 18 and the cavities 22 are arranged to
complement each other when the cover 12 is hinged to a closed
position on the tray whereby to form a plurality of individual
packing chambers.
The free edges of the cover are formed with a skirt 24
that extends over the cover shoulder 16 when the cover is in a closed
positîon. Skirt 24 extends from a shoulder 17 that sits in shoulder
to shoulder relation with shoulder 16 when the container is closed.
It will be noted that the depth of the skirt incraas~s from the
hinge line towards the front edge of the container at each side.
Labelling i~ important in food produsts as noted above
and with this in view, the cover is formed with a label 1at 28
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that extends into a portion only of a plurality of cavities but does
nst ~tend across any whole cavityO Thus, the inclusion of the
label flat does not entirely eliminate any packing chamber.
In use, the container is made from a transparent plastics
material so that the contents of -the container are visible when
it is c~osed. ~ label is applied to the label flat as indicated
at numeral 28 with reading matter 28' to identify the brand of the
product. The label, preferably, has a tab which can be wrapped around
the closed edyes of the container as illustr~ted in Figure ~ to ensure
that the package is received by the consumer as shipped from the manu-
facturer. The user must break the tab on the label before opaning
the containex. The tab, once broken is evidence that the container ~ ;~
has been opened.
Manually releasa~le loc~ing means for retaining the
cover and tray in locked relation are provided on the skirt 24 of
the cover 12 and comprise inwardly directed locking cams 26 that
terminate below the upper edge of the skirt and are adapted to ride
over the edge of the shoulder and then spring undernPath the edge
shoulder as the cover is closed on the tray to permit the shoulder
17 to rest ~n shoulder 16 and to lock the cover closed with respect
to the tray. The relationship of the locking cam and the edge
shoulder as the cover is closed is illustrated in Figure 4 and the
relationship on closure is illustratea in Figure 5. The locking
cam is releasable by manual separation of the skirt and shoulder
to release the locking cam from underneath the locking shoulder.
There is a locking cam formed in the skirt 24 at the mid-
point on the two side edges and at the outer corners and a discon-
tinuity 19 in the shoulder 17 at the front centre loca~ion. It has
been found that by separating the skirt and shoulder, at the front
centre ~ocation o~the-discontinuity 19 to move the front centre
cam outwardly with respect to the skirt the cam surfaces
are released so that opening is achieved with
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one simple operation. The four locking cams achieve a secure
closure of ~he container and this is often important in food
storage. It will be appreciated, however, that it i5 not intended
that the container be made with the specific arrangement of lock-
ing cams i]lustrated. Moreover, it will be appreciated that
the speci~ic ]ocking cam arrangement illustrated is capable o
variation. Any camming arrangement that is operable as the cover
close~ on the tray and that snaps into position when the cover
is completely closed on the tray is satisfactory. Its require-
ment is that it be adapted to separate the skirt and edge shoulderin a direction transverse of the direction of closure as the cover
is closed on the tray and, then, permit them to spring towards
each other at closure whereby the cover and tray are lockecl
until released by manual separation oE the skirt and edge shoulder.
The container illustrated is intended ~or packaging
- sausages. It achieves all of the advantages outlined in the
preamble of this specification. It gives the purchaser a
chance to view the product that is being purchased and to identify
it by the label. The label flat has been included in the container
without affecting the ability of the container to maintain each of
the individual pieces separate. The individual pieces can be
easily removed one at a time when the product is rozen and the
container can be opened and reclosed as many times as required
during the use of the full content of the container. The con-
tainer is inexpensive to manufacture.
Embodiments of the invention other than the one illus-
trated will be apparent to those skilled in the art. While the
~ container presently made by the applicant was made by a vacuum
;- forming process, it will be apparent that it could be made by
other processes. Moreover, the arrangement of the cavities is
capable of very substantial variation. It is not intended that
` the disclosure of the invention in the drawings should be consid-
ered as limiting the scope of the claims.
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