Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
US
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CONTAIN WAVING CLASSIFY GUIDE MARS
The invention relate to continuer for a number of
fruit and vegetable product and the like which are particularly
suitable for ebbs and comprise two parts, at least one of
which is provided with recesses for the produce, held together
and capable of being folded Anita each other by means of a
spine and two parallel grooves bounding same and capable of
being secured together by means of a closure of the press
stud type. Containers of this kind, which are generally
rectangular and of Aryan length depending on the number of
items contained, are constructed from a sheet of thermoplastics
material having a thickness of a few millimeters, are often
filled and sealed by machines designed for the purpose, for
which reason they are constructed with male and female closure
guide members consisting of oylindrioal prescience with
conical end which own be Inverted into oylindrioal and
conically hollowed cavities jade between the recesses or along
the peripheral edges of the container.
The said Closure guide member made between the
recesses and/or along the edges of the container are also
constructed in a configuration other than a cylindrical
configuration while making use of the same concept, although
with poor results on every oases either because they are placed
at some distance from the spine or because the projections of
the male and/or female member have to be of a restricted
height with respect to the surfaces bounding the edge of the
cavities in order to be usable with the container filling and
closing machine now in use.
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It very often happens in fact that the closures flatten
against each other, fail to make a closure or do so inadequately
instead of mating together correctly.
It is an object of the present invention to provide
closure guide members which make it possible for the spine of
the container to be placed in a plane at right angles to the
plane or planes in which the two parts of the container meet
so as to avoid the disadvantages described.
According to the present invention there is provided
a container having closure guide members for eggs, fruit or like
products, which container is constructed from a sheet of
synthetic thermoplastics material and is formed of two portions
held together by a flat spine and by two grooves binding the
spine, and having recesses to house the products in at least one
of the portions which have mating ledges and cylindrical spacers,
the said portions being capable of being closed together by means
of pressure closure members in such a way that the said mating
ledges are in contact with each other, in which the closure
guide members comprise a ramp made as a continuation of the
grooves on the portions and a ramp on the spine, the ramps
ma tingly engaging one another to align the two portions during
closure of the container, and also in which additional spacers
are provided and are of a height corresponding to the height of
said cylindrical spaces.
The invention also provides a container comprising:
first and second portions, at least one of the portions having
compartments therein for accommodating a product; a spine between
the first and second portions; a strip member defining a groove
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on each side of the spine, each strip member being fixed along
one edge thereof to the spine and along the other edge thereof
to the first or second portion respectively so that the first
and second portions can move relative to each other between
a closed and an open position; and closure guide means to
facilitate proper alignment of the first and second portions
during closure of the container, the guide means comprising
a pair of spine ramps on the spine, and a ramp on each of the
first and second portions adjacent the strip member which
ma tingly engages one of the pair of spine ramps respectively
during closure of the container.
The present invention will be further illustrated,
by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings,
in which:
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Flog 1 is a plan vise of a container in the open
position alongside another container which is partly indicated
by mean of it outline only;
Fig. 2 it a side vie of the container in the open
position;
Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic side vie, similar to that
of Fig. 2, of the container in a closed position from which
a part has been removed in order to provide a cross sectional
view Or a ramp taxes along the line ~-~ of Phyla;
Fig. 4 is a partial diagra~matio view of the container
in the closed position from which a part has been removed in
order to provide a cross-sectional view of a ramp taken along
1 the line 4-4 of Foggily
Figs. 5 and 6 are partial diagrammatic side views of
the container in the open and loosed positions respectively;
Figs. 7 and 8 are partial diagrammatic side views of
an alternative arrangement corresponding to those of Fig. 5
and 6; and
Figs. 9 and 10 are similar view to those of Figs. 1
and 2 of another embodiment.
As illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the container
consists of two parts 9 and 10 keynoted to similar parts
9 and 10, of which only the outline is partly indicated on
the right of Foggily, by means of a predetermined weak fracture
line 11.
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Each part 9, or body of the container, is provided
with recesses 12 to house the produce whereas part 109 or the
cover of the container, is designed to contain the parts of
the produce which project from the recesses 12 although i-t
does not include individual recesses.
Although not illustrated in the drawings the two parts
of the container may each include recesses, each designed to
contain half of each individual item and it it clear that in
this situation the depth of the two parts will be that shown
by dashed line 13, as shown in Fugue, without the principal
characteristics of the invention being affected thereby
Parts 9 and 10 are held together and own be folded
back on each other by means of a spine 14 which is bounded
laterally by two grooves 15, by which means the container can
be closed with press studs having a male portion 16 which it
substantially cylindrical with a conical point and a female
portion 17 comprising a cavity with an elliptical edge in
order to assist elastic yielding of the said edge as the male
portion is inserted.
Two frusto-pyramidal spacers project inwardly frond
the top surface 18 of cover 10 and end in mating ledges 22
each of which correlates with a frusto-conical projection 20
which can be inserted into elliptically edged cavities 21 made
in the mating ledges 22' between cover 10 and body 9. These
spacers 19, together with the side walls of cover 10~ prevent
deformation of top surface 18 when the closed containers are
stacked on top of each other. Parallel grooves 23, which
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can also be replaced by intersecting grooves 24, are alto
made in cover lo to form a cushion between the top of the
products placed in recesses 12 and the top surface 18 of
cover lo
The said grooves 23 and 24 are particularly useful when
the packed products are sensitive to pressure, such as eggs
for example, and are transformed into air cushions when labels
advertising the products are glued to the top surface 18
covering the two grooves 23 and 24.
lo It is clear that complete labels have an area equal to
that of the top surface 18 and must be applied when the
container is closed and already filled with egos if these are
to be protected.
Recesses 12 are substantially frusto-conical with side
walls having three sections 25, 26, 27, see Fugue, of
differing keenest which improve the presentation of the
products when the container is made of transparent material
and have ends with annular projections 28, which are themselves
known, to secure the products by elastic means, while the side
wall of each recess 12 is provided with elastific grooves 29
in a radial direction and rigid grooves in a vertical direction.
The recesses 12, along the peripheral zone of the
container end at mating ledges 22'l which have recesses I
associated with similar recesses 30 on mating ledges 22"
of cover lo to act as ventilation apertures.
2 5
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'when the container is opened ledge 22~ and 22" 1 are
in the same plane as ledges 22' and 22, see Phyla, arid end
outwardly in edges 31, see alto Fugue,
Again it will be noted from Fugue that cover 10 is
substantially frusto-pyramidal with a rectangular base, as
will be seen in Foggily, and its side portions haze recesses only
where they correspond to male portions 16 of the pressure
closure and form ridges broadly connected to the four corner.
With particular reference to Fig. 5 it will be seen
that the spine 14 comprises two lateral ramps or inclined
planes 32 and two end ramps 33 which end at the lower profile
of edge 31 instead of being flat as in the embodiments
currently in use.
As cover 10 it turned to close the container, the
ramps 32 come into contact with at least one of ramps 34 formed
as a continuation of grooves 15 in the boy 9 and over 10 and
thus force the swine to take up a position at right annuls to
the mating ledges 22, 22', 22" , 22" I.
Once closed, as can be seen in Fugue, the ramp 32
mate with the ramps 34.
An alternative embodiment of the spine 14 is illustrated
in Figs. 7 and 8 and has a bowed wall 32l instead of ramps 32,
the radius of curvature of which corresponds to that of ramps
34', this having an equivalent function to ramps 34
illustrated in Phoebe-
As can be aeon in Fugue, the ramps 32' and 34' again mate together in this embodiment.
The end ramp I of the spine 14 may also be provided
in greater member instead of the two at the ends of the spine
as shown in Foggily in order to divide up the spine in-to a
number of contiguous sections without thereby affecting the
function of the spine.
As can be seen in Fugue, 5 and 7, two frost-
pyramidal teeth 35 rise from matins ledges 22 of the body 9
adjacent to the spine 14 and the side 36 of the teeth 35
facing the spine 14 provide a ramp for the ridge Boolean matins
ledge 22" and the side wall of the cover 10 close to the
spine 14 during the rotation which brings down cover 10 to
close the container. Any contact between the said ridge and
the ramps 36 prevents the spine 14 from taking up an incorrect
position as the container is loosed. In fact, as the cover
approaches the position in which the container it closed, the
ramps 36 cot as if cover 10 way displayed so as to cause the
spine 14 to take up a position coinciding with a plane at
right angles to the plane of the mating ledges 22, 22', 22~ ,
22" '. It is clear to one skilled in the art that the
teeth 35 may be more than two in number and that some may be
made in the body 9 and other in the cover 10 80 as to push
or pull on cover 10 90 that the spine 14 adopts its correct
position thereby avoiding any crushing of the male and female
members of the pressure closure. An alternative embodiment
of teeth 35 is illustrated in Fig. 1, 2, 3, 5 and 7, in which
these are located lose to the corners of the body 9 or the
cover 10.
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In situations such a these, the teeth 35'advantaxeously each have two ramps 36', and in the arrangement
illustrated in the drawings they act on the ridge between
mating surface 22 " and the corner wall 37 of the recess
which opens opposite recess 12.
It is clear to one skilled in the art that the
ramps I 36' facing grooves 15 may be constructed as a
continuation or extension of the ramps 34 and 14' without being
altered in their function thereby.
'loath particular reference to Figs. 9 and 10, the
container according to the invention is provided with
cylindrical spacers 38, which are themselves known to those
skilled in the art, in order to keep open empty container
at a slight distance from each other when stacked 80 a to
prevent them from binding together, a situation which give
rise to particular difficulty when they are separated
mechanically. In addition, the container in jigs. 9 and 10
is constructed with frusto-conical spacers 19' in the over 10
which are of the same height as the cylindrical spacers 38
and end in mating ledges 20' with the ends 21 " of spacer 21'
made in the body 9 of the container.
These alternative embodiments make it possible to
apply complete label to the covers of empty containers before
they are stacked, and this can be done without any damage to
the label.
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It is alto clear that when the container it
countryside according to Fox and 10, the matins ledges
21 " are at the tame distance prom the matins ledges 22"
as the mutt ledges 20' are from the ledges 22'~' Jo that
the ledges 22 " can mate with the Lydia 22" ' when the
container is closed.
