CONTAINER FOR FRANGIBLE ITEMS

CONTENANT POUR ARTICLES FRANGIBLES

English Abstract

A container comprises a sheet of polymer formed into a base portion. The base portion has cavities for receiving frangible items. An intermediate cover portion has cavities for covering the frangible items. A first hinge rotates the intermediate cover portion onto the base portion to hold the frangible items captive. A top cover portion has at least one concavity. A second hinge rotates the top cover portion onto the intermediate cover portion to hold the base, intermediate and the top cover portions closed together. Flanges define peripheries of the base, intermediate and top cover portions. The intermediate peripheral flange has a cut-out at each corner of the intermediate cover portion defining a cut-out edge that is non-parallel to the longitudinal edges of the base portion, and has a dimension greater than a corresponding lateral flange portion of the top peripheral flange in a longitudinal dimension of the container.

French Abstract

Un contenant comprend une feuille de polymère formée dans une partie de base. La partie de base comporte des cavités pour recevoir des objets fragiles. Une partie couvercle intermédiaire comporte des cavités pour couvrir les objets fragiles. Une première charnière fait tourner la partie couvercle intermédiaire sur la partie de base pour maintenir les objets fragiles captifs. Une partie couvercle supérieure présente au moins une concavité. Une seconde charnière fait tourner la partie couvercle supérieure sur la partie couvercle intermédiaire pour maintenir la partie de base, la partie intermédiaire et la partie couvercle supérieure fermées ensemble. Des brides définissent les pourtours de la partie de base, de la partie intermédiaire et de la partie couvercle supérieure. La bride périphérique intermédiaire présente une découpe à chaque coin de la partie couvercle intermédiaire définissant un bord de découpe qui est non parallèle aux bords longitudinaux de la partie de base, et présente une dimension supérieure à celle dune partie bride latérale correspondante de la bride périphérique supérieure dans une dimension longitudinale du contenant.

Claims

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CLAIMS:
1. A container for receiving frangible items comprising:
a sheet of polymer formed/cut into:
a base portion having item receiving cavities for
supporting frangible items, and a base peripheral
flange defining a periphery of the base portion;
an intermediate cover portion having item covering
cavities for covering the frangible items in the item
receiving cavities, the intermediate cover portion
having an intermediate peripheral flange defining a
periphery of the intermediate cover portion;
a first hinge between a first longitudinal edge of
the base portion and the intermediate cover portion for
rotating the intermediate cover portion onto the base
portion to hold the frangible items captive in sets of
the item receiving cavities and item covering cavities;
a top cover portion having at least one concavity
and a top peripheral flange defining a periphery of the
top cover portion;
a second hinge between a second longitudinal edge
of the base portion, and the top cover portion for
rotating the top cover portion onto the intermediate
cover portion to hold the base portion, the
intermediate cover portion and the top cover portion
closed together; and
cut-outs only in the intermediate peripheral
flange at each corner of the intermediate cover portion
away from the first hinge, each said cut-out defining a
cut-out edge being non-parallel to the longitudinal
edges and having a dimension greater than a
corresponding lateral flange portion of the top
peripheral flange in a longitudinal dimension of the
container.
2. The container according to claim 1, wherein the cut-out
edges are straight edges.

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3. The container according to any one of claims 1 and 2,
wherein the cut-out edges are at an angle ranging between 10
degrees and 80 degrees from the respective lateral edges of
the intermediate peripheral flanges.
4. The container according to claim 3, wherein the cut-out
edges are at an angle of 45 degrees from the respective
lateral edges of the intermediate peripheral flanges.
5. The container according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
wherein the intersections of the cutout edges with a
remainder of the intermediate peripheral flange are rounded.
6. The container according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
further comprising strengthening protrusions in each said
corner, inward of the intermediate peripheral flange and
adjacent to a respective cut-out, each said strengthening
protrusion having a top edge coplanar with the intermediate
peripheral flange, and a body projecting from the top edge
toward one of the item covering cavities.
7. The container according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
wherein the cut-outs are die-cut cut-outs.
8. The container according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
wherein the frangible items are eggs, and each of the sets
of egg receiving cavities and egg covering cavities receives
one egg.
9. The container according to claim 6, wherein the
strengthening protrusions are arched protrusions, with the
top edge being arcuate.

Description

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CONTAINER FOR FRANGIBLE ITEMS
FIELD OF THE APPLICATION
The present application relates to containers for
receiving frangible objects such as eggs, and to structural
components of such containers.
BACKGROUND OF THE ART
Egg containers of all kinds have been developed
for the transportation and sale of eggs. As eggs are
relatively fragile, the egg containers must protect the eggs
from the various manipulations involved from the packaging
of the eggs to the consumer's refrigerator.
One significant improvement in egg containers is
the use of thermoformed plastics as material for the egg
containers. Thermoformed plastics are typically
transparent, which allows the eggs to be visible, and are
relatively inexpensive to produce. As they can inspect the
eggs by seeing through the material of the egg container,
the consumers do not need to open the egg container, as is
the case with cardboard egg containers, for instance. In
the case of cardboard boxes, it may occur that the boxes are
not closed properly after inspection. This may cause the
breakage of eggs if the improperly closed egg container is
subsequently manipulated by another consumer.
SUMMARY OF THE APPLICATION
It is therefore an aim of the present disclosure
to provide a novel egg container.
Therefore, in accordance with the present
application, there is provided a container for receiving
frangible items comprising: a sheet of polymer formed/cut
into a base portion having item receiving cavities for
supporting frangible items, and a base peripheral flange
defining a periphery of the base portion; an intermediate
cover portion having item covering cavities for covering the

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frangible items in the item receiving cavities, the
intermediate cover portion having an intermediate peripheral
flange defining a periphery of the intermediate cover
portion; a first hinge between a first longitudinal edge of
the base portion and the intermediate cover portion for
rotating the intermediate cover portion onto the base
portion to hold the frangible items captive in sets of the
item receiving cavities and item covering cavities; a top
cover portion having at least one concavity and a top
peripheral flange defining a periphery of the top cover
portion; a second hinge between a second longitudinal edge
of the base portion, and the top cover portion for rotating
the top cover portion onto the intermediate cover portion to
hold the base portion, the intermediate cover portion and
the top cover portion closed together; and a cut-out in the
intermediate peripheral flange at each corner of the
intermediate cover portion away from the first hinge, each
said cut-out defining a cut-out edge being non-parallel to
the longitudinal edges and having a dimension greater than a
corresponding lateral flange portion of the top peripheral
flange in a longitudinal dimension of the container.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a two-
fold egg container;
Fig. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a three-
fold egg container;
Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the three-fold egg
container of Fig. 2, with a closing cut-out in accordance
with a first embodiment of the present disclosure; and
Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of the closing cut-out
of Fig. 3.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to the drawings and more particularly to
Fig. 1, an egg container is generally shown at 10. The egg

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containers described hereinafter are preferably made of
transparent or translucent plastics, for instance using a
thermoforming process or other molding process. Other
materials and/or processes may be used as well. The
containers described hereinafter may be used to contain eggs
or any other frangible items (e.g., tomatoes).
The egg container 10 of Fig. 1 is a two-fold egg
container, as it has two portions hinged to one another.
The egg container 10 has a base portion 11 having a
plurality of egg-receiving cavities 12 (e.g., six, twelve,
eighteen, twenty-four, or any other suitable number), with
each cavity 12 supporting an egg. A top cover portion 13 is
hinged to the base portion 11 by hinge 14, in a longitudinal
dimension of the egg container 10. The top cover portion 13
may or may not have egg cavities to cover a top portion of
the eggs supported by the egg-receiving cavities 12.
Alternatively, the top cover portion 13 may present a flat
top surface as in Fig. 1, with or without strengthening
components (e.g., arches, posts). Although not shown,
mating connectors or any other suitable type of connectors
are provided on the periphery of the base portion 11 and top
cover portion 13 for interlocking them when the egg
container 10 is closed.
Referring to Fig. 2, a three-fold egg container is
generally illustrated at 10'. The egg container 10' is
similar to the egg container 10 of Fig. 1, but has an
intermediate cover portion 15. The intermediate cover
portion 15 is hinged to the base portion 11 by hinge 16, in
a longitudinal dimension of the egg container 10'. The
hinges 14 and 16 are preferably on opposite edges of the
base portion 11. The intermediate cover portion 15
typically has egg cavities 17 to cover a top portion of the
eggs supported by the egg-receiving cavities 12. Although
not shown, mating connectors or any other suitable type of
connectors are provided on the periphery of the top cover
portion 13 and the intermediate cover portion 15 for
interlocking them when the egg container 10' is closed.

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In order to close the egg container 10', the
intermediate cover portion 15 is firstly hinged into contact
with the base container 12, as illustrated by arrow A. The
top cover portion 13 is then hinged onto the intermediate
cover portion 15, as illustrated by arrow B.
If the hinging movement along arrow B is performed
before the movement along arrow A is completed, the top
cover portion 13 may impede the movement of the intermediate
cover portion 15. Referring to Fig. 2, outer corners 21 of
the peripheral flange 20 of the intermediate cover portion
may get caught lateral portions of the peripheral flange
22 of the top cover portion 13.
Therefore, according to Figs. 3 and 4, the three-
fold container 10' comprises closing cut-outs 23 in the
15 corners 21. The cut-outs 23 may have a straight cut-out
edge 24 extending between an intersection 25 with a
longitudinal edge 26 of the peripheral flange 20 and an
intersection 27 with a lateral edge 28 of the peripheral
flange 20. However, the intersections 25 and 27 are
preferably slightly rounded, so as not to bear pointy edges.
In the illustrated embodiment, the straight edge 24 is at 45
degrees of both the longitudinal edge 26 and the lateral
edge 28. The angle between the straight edge 24 and the
lateral edge 28 must be between 10 and 80 degrees.
An arched protrusion 29 may be provided in the
corners 21 having a cut-out 23. The arched protrusion 29
extends from a main flat surface of the intermediate cover
portion 15 to the planar surface of the peripheral flange
20. The arched protrusions 29 strengthen the corners 21 of
the flange 20. The arched protrusion 29 may be a frusto-
conical segment (Fig. 4) , and may be used as a bumper for
stacking purposes. In such as case, the arched protrusion
is a positive angle, as shown in Fig. 4.
The edge 24 may have outlines other than a
straight one. The edge 24 may have more than one straight
segment, or may have arcuate portions. However, as shown
concurrently in Figs. 3 and 4, the intersections 25 of the

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cut-outs 23 with the longitudinal edge 26 must be at a
distance X from the lateral edge 28 that is at least equal
to the width W of the peripheral flange 22. In this manner,
if the cut-outs 23 contact the lateral flange portion of the
peripheral flange 22, the peripheral flange 22 and the edge
24 will slide with respect to one another, as a result of
the non-planar relation between the edge 24 and the
peripheral flange 22. The intersection 25 is inside the
flange 22.
In manufacturing the egg container 10' with the
cut-outs 23, it is considered to die-cut the egg container
10' when in an unfolded flat and open condition, thereby
defining the outline of the egg container 10'. The egg
container 10' may be molded with the cut-outs 23 as an
alternative.
The egg containers 10 and 10' may have one of more
of the elements described above. Although the egg
containers 10 and 10' are preferably made of a transparent
thermoplastic that is molded (e.g., vacuum molded,
thermoformed), it is considered to provide some of the
above-referred embodiments in other materials.
The egg containers of the present disclosure may
contain any suitable number of egg receiving cavities. One
suitable material for the egg containers of the present
application is polyethylene terephthalate (PET) . PET has
many advantages, as this material can be transparent or
opaque and can be produced at high volume and at low cost.
Wall thicknesses of PET cases in a contemplated embodiment
are of 0.0175 inch in thickness, but other thicknesses as
low as 0.014 to as high as 0.022 inch are also contemplated.

Representative Drawing