AU601874B2 - Container assembly and a container insert - Google Patents

Description

Tl: COMMONWEALTH OF AU The Patents Act 19, 601874

STRALIA

52-1969 TED ad u t to rS.UT A STREET__- Name of Applicant: Address of Applicant: AMCOR LIMI Actual Inventor: Address for Service: SOUTHGATE STREET SOUTH MELBOURNE, VIC. 3205 MAURICE COURTENEY GROVES G.R. CULLEN COMPANY, Patent Trade Mark Attorneys, Dalgety House, 79 Eagle Street, Brisbane, Qld. 4000, Australia.

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR THE INVENTION ENTITLED: CONTAINER ASSEMBLY AND A CONTAINER INSERT 1 The following statement is a full description of the invention including the best method of performing it known to us.

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Lk The invention relates to a container assembly and a container insert for such an assembly.

Packaging currently employed for fresh chilled and/or fresh frozen fish, meat and/or poultry or like produce generally is required to be leak proof. In the past, to ensure that a suitable leak proof package was provided, the package employed sometimes consisted of a cardboard or fibreboard container constructed to ensure that produce juices did not leak therefrom. In some instances, the interior of the container was treated in some way either by being coated in wax or plastics material. In another earlier proposal, a container bottom or outer was employed and a plastics liner consisting of a bag was placed over the outer r and the produce then placed within the liner. Once the outer 15 was filled to a sufficient degree, the plastics liner was then folded over the produce and the container sealed with a lid usually comprising a separate carton.

In the first proposal mentioned above, where the container was coated with wax or the like, the coating was 20 not suitable for use with a variety of produce. Generally speaking, waxed containers are only suitable for produce such as fruit or the like where the wax or other coating cannot readily permeate into the produce. Waxed or other coatings were not suitable for providing leak proof packaging intended for carrying produce such as fresh chilled or frozen fish, meat or poultry.

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4I 3 The second proposal referred to above, namely the use of a plastics liner introduced an added step into the process required for assembling the container for use. Not only did the card or fibreboard container require erection but the plastics liner, which was provided as a plastics bag needed to be unfolded and placed over the card or fibreboard container. Because of the effects of static electricity, it was sometimes difficult to perform this function. In addition, card or fibreboard containers with plastics liners when used with chilled or frozen meat presented additional difficulties. There was a tendency for the plastics liner to t t become entrapped in the meat or other frozen product and n folds of the liner became securely trapped within the frozen product and could not readily be separated other than by partially thawing the product. It is undesirable to thaw frozen ih.eat or the like and then refreeze it. Such thawing and refreezing enables the product to deteriorate and is not 0 recommended.

S".It is an object of the present invention to provide 20 a container which at least minimises the disadvantages referred to above.

0 aAccording to one aspect of the invention, there is 0 1provided a container assembly including a container insert, a container bottom and a lid, the insert being made of plastics material and having a body portion for receiving produce and a downwardly extending skirt portion extending at least 4 partially around and down the body portion from an upper periphery thereof and spaced outwardly from an adjacent side or sides of the body portion and said skirt portion having a flared free edge, the container bottom having a base panel and an upstanding peripheral wall defining an upper open periphery, said bottom having a shape corresponding substantially to the shape of the insert whereby the insert is receivable within the bottom such that the peripheral wall is received between the skirt portion and the adjacent side 1 0 or sides of the body portion such that the skirt portion extends along the peripheral wall of the bottom, the lid having a main panel and a lid peripheral wall consisting of opposed pairs of wall panels, the panels of one said pair having a step for engagement with the flared free edge when the lid is positioned relative to the insert such that removal of the lid may cause the skirt portion to be torn to provide tamper indication.

The container insert may have any suitable shape.

Preferably, the container insert is substantially square or reotangular when viewed in plan. The container insert has a bottom wall. It is preferred that the bottom wall of the container insert be substantially corrugated or formed with Sribs extending therealong. The container insert may have a continuous side wall or a plurality of side walls. Where the insert is substantially square or rectangular when viewed in plan, the insert has two pairs of opposed side walls. The 4 L c I ~LL_ iRI~1 *I 4 a A side walls of the insert may be substantially planar or VI alternatively may be ribbed or corrugated as described above in relation to the bottom wall. The ribs or corrugations in :1 the side walls, when present, may extend substantially vertically when the insert rests on the bottom wall. The ribs or corrugations in the base and the side walls may occur at equal or unequal intervals.

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As mentioned above, the insert has a downwardly depending return skirt portion extending at least partially around the body portion thereof. The return skirt portion Sextends from the upper periphery of the insert and downwardly therefrom when the insert rests on its bottom wall.

Preferably, the insert has a return skirt portion extending completely around the upper periphery thereof. The return skirt portion may extend at least partway down the sides of the insert. Alternatively, the return skirt portion may extend along the full height of the sides of the insert or Smay extend from the upper periphery and beyond the bottom wall of the insert. When the insert is filled with produce, the return skirt portion may be folded over the top of that

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produce to substantially cover and extend across the upper periphery of the insert. This is a particularly desirable feature where the return skirt portion extends the full height of the sides of the insert or beyond the base of the insert. To enable the return skirt portion to be folded over Sthe top of the insert once filled with prdduce, the return skirt portion may be slit or adapted to be slit at selected A intervals around the periphery of the insert. Preferably, the return skirt portion, where it extends completely around 9 the insert is slit or adapted to be slit at corners of the insert. Where the skirt is slit at these corners, clearly, the skirt is discontinuous.

Where the return skirt portion extends partway down along the side or sides of the insert, it is preferred that L L ~Y-L-~-rlL-LLIL ~UU~II 6 the free edge of the return skirt portion be slightly outwardly flared. The purpose of this feature will be come apparent below.

The container insert may be made from any desired plastics material. The insert may be made from one or more layers of plastics material and the or each layer may be chosen depending upon the particular properties required for the insert. The plastics material can be chosen to provide an effective barrier against moisture ingress and/or odour permeability and to prevent grease or other contamination of r the container assembly of which the insert may form part.

The insert may be formed employing thermo/vacuum moulding techniques or any other suitable technique. If desired, the produce within the insert may be sealed to enable vacuum sealing or provide for the possibility of gas flushing or 4 purging of the product to provide a gas type seal. If such a feature is desired, a plastics lid of compatible heat sealable material may be sealed to the upper periphery of the insert. To facilitate this, the upper periphery of the insert may be formed with a continuous land surface. The cover may consist of a co-extruded or adhesive laminated film structure which may be sealed to the land surface to thereby enable vacuum sealing or purging of the product to provide a fluid or gas type seal across the upper periphery of the insert.

The container assembly, according to the invention, includes a container bottom which may consist of a conventional scored and slotbid container tray.

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7 qi ii 4 A convenient tray which may be employed may consist of either an E, B or C flute tray which can be either hand or machine erected and glued into its erected state or left unglued. If the tray is left unglued, it will be held into its erected state by the return skirt portion since the upper periphery of the tray will be received between the skirt portion and the sides of the insert when the insert is positioned over the tray. The tray may be made frcii any suitable material such as card or fibreboard or corrugated board. Since the insert provides an effective barrier against moisture, the tray need not be coated or treated in any way for it to resist moisture.

The container assembly "3'y includeLSa lid. The lid may be secured to the remainder of the container assembly in any suitable fashion. Preferably, the lid is provided with integral tamper indicating closure flaps. In one embodiment, the lid has closure flaps with at least one tamper indicating step which, when positioned over a tray carrying a container insert, engages relative to the flared portion provided on the free edge of the return skirt portion to thereby resist removal of the cover. The material o.e the insert can be chosen such that, should the cover be removed against engagement between the flared portion and the step, the return skirt portion adjacent the step is caused to tear to thereby indicate that the cover has at some stage been removed from the remainder of the assembly.

The step may be provided in one side flap of the cover.

This step may consist of a cut-out portion provided in the flap. Preferably, two opposed flaps of the cover are provided with such cut-out portions. It is preferred that Uhe cover be provided with diecut portions to enable the contents held within the insert to be removed without the need for removing the cover from its position over the insert. Preferably, the cover has a main panel and it is this panel which is provided with diecut portions to either enable that panel to be removed or to enable parts of that panel to be partially severed and folded back to reveal the i contents within the insert. Preferably, the main panel is provided with two diecut lines extending diagonally across it whereby, when the panel is severed along these lines a plurality of triangular portions are produced which may be folded away from the insert.

S- Particular preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described in relation to the drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a container insert according to an embodiment of the invention; ,'IO Figure 2a is a perspective view of a cover which a. may form part of a container assembly according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 2b is an inverted perspective view of the insert shown in figure 1; Figure 2c is a perspoctive view of a container bottom which may form part of a container assembly according to an embodiment of the invention;

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i i i ^fl i _1 k -c 1-N 9 Figure 3 is a view of a carton blank which makes up the cover shown in figure 2a; Figure 4 is a view of a carton blank used to make the container bottom shown in figure 2c; and, Figure 5 is a partial sectional view showing the tamper proof connection between the insert of figure 1 and the cover.

As shown in figures 1 and 2b, the insert 10 has a bottom wall 11 and opposed side wall pairs 12,13. A return 10 skirt portion 14 extends down from an upper periphery of the insert 10 and terminates in a flared free end 15. The skirt portion extends over the sides 12, 13, partway therealong and

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4 spaced therefrom. The upper periphery of the insert provides a substantially flat land 16. The wall 11 has a plurality of substantially parallel corrugations 16 formed extending along it. The sides 12, 13 are formed with a plurality of substantially upstanding a parallel corrugations or flutes CC 17.

In figures 20 and 4 a preferred container bottom is 20 shown. This bottom consists of a slotted flute tray having a main panel 20 having hinged thereto opposed major side panels 21 and minor side panels 22. The major side panels 21 terminate in opposed pairs of sealing flaps 23, 24. When the blank of figure 4 is erected, flaps 23, 24 overlie minor side panels 22. Flaps 23, 24 may be secured or glued to the minor side panels 22 or alternatively, the container bottom may be held in its erected state once the insert 10 is positioned relative to it.

r i _1 i-l When the insert 10 is positioned relative to the container bottom of figure 2c, the upper periphery 25 of the container bottom is received within the space left between the skirt portion 14 and sides 12, 13 of the insert to thereby hold the container bottom in its erected state.

With reference to figures 2a and 3 there is shown a cover )30. The cover has a main panel 31 provided with diagonal diecut serrations 32, 33. These serrations terminate in a circular serration 34 at the centre of the panel 31. As shown in figure 3, the cover 30 has major side S r panels 35 hinged thereto and minor side panels 36 also hinged 'thereto. Each major panel 35 has opposed flaps 37 extending therefrom. The minor panels 36 are provided with a panel t extension 38 hinged thereto about two fold or crease lines 39. When the blank illustrated in figure 3 is erected, flaps M 37 are caused to overlie minor side panels 36 and extensions 'I e t :I '38 are then folded about lines 39 and over flaps 37.

c Extensions 38 are provided with tabs 40 which 'project into respective apertures 41 when the blank is 20 erected and this ensures that the flaps 37 are held in the c position referred to above. Each of the extensions 38 is provided with a cutout 42 terminating in a shoulder or step 43.

As shown in figure 5, a portion of the flair provided at the free edge of the skirt portion may rest upon the step 43 when the cover is positioned relative to the insert carried on the container bottom.

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1 If v^' i i ~I 1_ i 1 i- 11 When mounted in this way, should the cover be removed from the remainder of the assembly, the step 43 causes the skirt portion 14 to tear and this serves to indicate that the cover has been removed.

With the cover in place, the produce within the insert may be removed by tearing along lines 32, 33 and the resultant triangular portions so produced from main panel 31 may then be folded away to reveal the produce within the insert.

i0 The container assembly of the invention is intended to extend the shelf life of fresh chilled and/or fresh frozen

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c fish, meat and/or poultry during storage and subsequent transit. The thermal properties of the assembly are enhanced by provided the insert with at least corrugations in the base thereof. The insert provides an effective barrier against moisture ingress and/or moisture leakage from the product.

Where a cover sheet is sealed against land 16, the insert provides a gas and/or odour impermeable seal. In addition, the skirt portion which extends downwardly over the container i 20 bottom ensures that, during the insertion of produce within the insert, moisture from the produce does not stain or otherwise contaminate the container bottom. By providing an insert as described, frozen or chilled produce can easily be removed therefrom without the possibility of entrapment and this is particularly desirable where the product is completely frozen as there is no necessity to partially thaw the the product to enable its removal.

Claims (9)

1. 2. The assembly of Claim 1 wherein the insert has a corrugated bottom wall or base.
2. 3. The assembly of Claim 1 or 2 wherein the body portion is substantially square or rectangular when viewed in L i it i. I_~jji;. I 13 plan.
3. 4. The assembly of any one of Claims I. to 3 wherein the insert has a continuous said side wall or a plurality of said side walls. The assembly of Claim 4 wherein the or each said side wall is corrugated.
4. 6. The assembly of Claim 5 wherein the corrugations in the or each said side wall extend vertically when the insert is in use.
5. 7. The assembly of any one of Claims 1 to 6 wherein C CC C the skirt portion extends completely around the insert. C, C
6. 8. The assembly of any one of Claims I to 7 wherein o the skirt portion extends the full height of the body C c 9. The assem~bly of any one of Claims 1 to 8 wherein the skirt portion may be slit at selected intervals around the body portion and folded over the body portion. The assembly of any one of Claims 1 to 10 wherein the insert is made of one or more layers of plastics material.
7. 11. The assembly of any one of Claims I to 10 wherein tecontainer bottom is a scored or slotted container tray.
8. 12. The assembly of Claim 11 wherein the tray is an B, 1 B or C f lute tray either glued or unglued and held in its erected state by the returin skirt portion. ,14 41
9. 13. A container assembly substantially as herein described with reference to the drawings. I.DATED this 18th day of July 1990 AMCOR LIMITED By their Patent Attorneys CULLEN CO. C C C a C C aQ C C C C C 4 C C C C CC C C C CCa CC0 C C C Q C ac C G C C o**