GB2240323A - Food delivery box - Google Patents

Abstract

A box for delivery of take away food comprises an internal frame (2) having defined therein recesses (1) for holding containers of food. Flaps (11) may extend from opposed edges of each recess (1). The length of the flaps is greater than the distance between the frame (2) and the bottom of the box, so that when a container is placed in a recess the flaps (11) are cammed against the container (6). <IMAGE>

Description

CONTAINER The present invention relates to containers and more particularly to boxes for the carrying of food.

"Take away" restaurants or shops have been known for several decades or more. These restaurants cook food to the order of a customer who takes the cooked food away from the take away restaurant to consume elsewhere. A more recent but well established development has been the provision of home delivery services, where food which has been cooked following a telephoned order is delivered by the restaurant to the customer's home. Customarily, the food is delivered by a motor cycle messenger.

Hereinafter the term "take away restaurant" will for convenience be used to refer to both "take away" and "home delivery" establishments.

In the United Kingdom, one of the most popular types of take away restaurant is that selling Chinese food. Indian take away restaurants have also established considerable popularity. Chinese take aways were perhaps the first take aways to be established. Many Chinese and Indian dishes comprise liquid, for example the dish may be a soup or meat or vegetables prepared in a sauce. The separate dishes of a meal are put into containers (normally aluminium foil) and covered with a lid. The separate containers are stacked in a bag, often a paper bag.

Anybody who has taken a Chinese meal home will know what happens to the sauce. It spills from the containers on the way home. The sauce is greasy and carries an odour which is appealing to the hungry diner but less attractive at breakfast time next day. The sauce quickly finds its way to the clothes of the person carrying the bag containing the food. If the bag is put in a car, the sauce will spill onto the upholstery of the vehicle. When the food containers are carried in a plastic bag, hot liquid is absorbed by the bottom of the bag, weakening it; the result is either that the bottom drops out of the bag, especially when it is being carried over a new and expensive carpet, or that the person carrying the bag has to endure the discomfort of supporting the bag by a bottom which is scaldingly hot, wet and greasy.

Another problem which arises is that the metal foil food containers normally used, whilst attractively cheap, are flimsy and easily crushed or distorted. Such crushing especially happens when the containers are stacked one above another in a bag. The squashing is not only a cause of leakage, but also can crush or otherwise damage the food inside. This deleterious effect on the presentation of the food is a problem for the take away restaurant which seeks to provide a premier service, since it harms the overall quality of the service.

The problems of leaking liquid and crushing of containers has been present since the first take away Chinese meal was served, but hitherto no solution to the problem has been proposed.

In a preferred embodiment the present invention provides a box for transporting a food package. The box has defined in its interior a recess for receiving the package. Normally, there will be more than one recess, but the number of recesses is a matter of choice.

The recess should allow no more than limited movement of the food package in the recess, in order to control crushing of the package and spillage of the contents if the package is not sealed tight.

The recess may, therefore, provide a generally snug fit for the package. The recess may be provided with means which in use, are biased against the package to hold it against movement.

The box acts as a generally rigid frame for holding one or more food packages and to protect them against crushing. To this end, the box normally has, in addition to a side wall around its perimeter, a rigid bottom and a rigid openable top. Of course, even without bottom or top walls, the box may be designed for stacking of two or more boxes with separation between the packages of adjacent boxes, to prevent crushing of the packages.

More usually, however, the box has a rigid bottom wall from which a rigid side wall extends. The box also usually has a rigid lid, which may conveniently be integral with the remainder of the box and connected thereto by a hinge portion.

Internally, the box is provided with a rigid frame in which are formed one or more recesses to receive food packages.

The internal frame is held in the box sufficiently firmly to prevent significant movement thereof in normal use. The frame may be integral with the box or it may be an insert.

One or more sides of the recesses may be provided with a flap extending generally downwardly and inwardly into the interior of the recess, the flap in use being biased against the package in the recess to restrain movement thereof. The biasing may be achieved by resilient means; for example the flap may be joined to the side of the recess by a resilient hinge portion.

In one preferred embodiment, the internal frame of the box comprises a sheet of resilient plastics material or of cardboard (which can have sufficient inherent resilience for present purposes). Each recess is formed by cutting the sheet such that a flap is formed, which flap is depressed about a hinge region to leave a hole in the sheet, one of the edges of which has extending therefrom a downwardly and inwardly oriented flap. The inherent resiliency of the hinge region is such that, when a food package is placed in the recess, the flap presses against the juxtaposed surface of the container to restrain movement thereof.

Preferably, two flaps are provided, normally on opposed sides of a rectangular recess.

Alternatively or supplementarily to the use of resiliency to urge one or more flaps against a food package in a recess, means may be provided for one or more flaps to be cammed against a food package when the package is placed in a recess.

The flap or flaps may constitute a cam follower which can be urged upwardly by a fixed cam surface provided at the free end of the respective flap. The internal frame of the box in which the recess is defined is capable of movement or flexure such that the edge of the recess to which the flap is joined can move towards and away from the cam surface.

The length of the flap (i.e. the distance between its juncture with the recess edge and its opposed free edge or end) is greater than the separation between the edge of the recess to which the flap is joined and the cam surface when the edge of the recess is in a depressed position.

The arrangement is such that, when a food package is seated in a recess, the edge of the recess must be in a raised position so that the flap, oriented in an inward and downward direction, can be accomodated between the recess edge and the cam surface. The weight of the package urges the edge of the recess downwards and hence the free end of the flap is urged downwardly and outwardly against the cam surface. The force of reaction from the cam surface against the flap urges the flap outwardly and upwardly against the food package so that, in effect, the food package is locked in the recess.

Normally, the cam surface is formed by a bottom of the box.

The food package may comprise a container made of metal foil or expanded plastics material. Such material forms a rigid container for the food which is at the same time flexible or deformable and capable of being crushed by relatively light forces. The container may have a lid which does not form a tight seal with the container, whereby liquid contents, in particular, can spill out of the container.

The box acts to protect the contained food package or packages from external forces. It provides a means to stack food packages without the packages squashing one another.

The box desirably has a bottom made of material which holds or absorbs any spilled liquid to protect the environment from the liquid; the box preferably also has a lid whereby it provides thermal insulation to help keep warm any hot food in enclosed food packages. The box also provides a convenient carrier for transporting food packages.

Another preferred embodiment of the invention is an insert for a bag or other holder for carrying food packages. The inset is provided with one or more recesses in which food packages may be seated and acts as an adapter to help keep the food packages in an upright position in the bag and may also act to help control crushing in a stack of food packages. In use, an insert with a plurality of recesses may be in a generally serpentine configuration in a bag, with recesses located generally above one another in generally horizontal portions of the insert which are spaced apart by

portions of the insert. The upright portions may help to limit crushing. As a whole, a bag containing such an insert with one or more associated food packages is more stable a bag containing packages without an insert.

The insert forms a frame inside the bag or holder, analagous to the frame of the box of the invention. The invention therefore provides a food package carrier. The carrier has defined therein an interior frame. The frame contains at least one recess in which is seated a food package and helps to stabilise the food package. The carrier may contain at least one package of hot food.

Included in the invention is a method of transporting hot food, comprising placing the food in a container, locating the filled container in a recess in a frame of a carrier, placing the frame in a carrier if it is not already in one, and transporting the carrier.

Further included in the invention is the use of a carrier in whose interior there is a frame having a recess defined therein to transport hot food in a package received in the recess. The invention also includes the use of a box in whose interior there is held a frame having a recess defined therein for the delivery to a customer of "take away food" or for a customer to carry "take away food" which food is, in either event, in a container seated in the recess. The food is desirably hot.

The present invention is further described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a box for carrying take away food; Figure 2 is a cross section through a portion of the box of Figure 1; Figure 3 shows the cross section of Figure 2 but with a container in the box; and Figure 4 is a cross section through a carrier bag in which are held containers of food in recess in an insert.

Figure 1 shows a box for transporting food packages. The box has defined in its interior three upwardly open recesses 1, each for receiving a food package. The recesses 1 are formed in a frame 2 held in the box.

The frame 2 comprises a sheet of plastics or, more preferably, cardboard material. The frame 2 may be a discrete element which snugly fits in the box, for example seated on a depending skirt. In the illustrated embodiment, however, the frame 2 is integral with the box, which may conveniently be of one-piece construction.

In addition to a perimeter wall, constituted by four sections in a rectangular arrangement of which only sections 3a and 3b are visible in Figure 1, the box has an openable and closable lid 4 as well as a bottom wall 5. The bottom wall 5 is clearly shown in Figures 2 and 3. If desired, the box may be provided with handles (not shown).

In use, food packages 6 are placed in the recesses 1 which hold the packages upright and allow no more than limited movement of the food packages 6. A food package 6 can be seen in outline in dotted lines in Figure 3. Normally, the edges 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d of a recess provide a snug seat for the sides 8 and/or a top flange 9 of a food package, as shown in Figure 3.

The food package typically comprises a container of rigid but weak material, such as metal foil or a thin sheet of plastics material. Normally, the package has a top 10 which usually does not provide a liquid tight seal. The foil container now used for take away food has an extended peripheral flange 9, the outer periphery of which extends beyond a cardboard lid seated on the flange and is turned over onto the lid to hold it in place.

After the food packages 6 have been placed in the box, the lid 3 is closed to form a convenient carrier for the food packages 6. The box provides thermal insulation and protection against bumps and other external forces. By virtue of the lid 3, or in the absence of a lid 3 an upwardly projecting side wall, for example, a plurality of boxes can be stacked without significant crushing or squashing of food packages 6 in the box.

If any liquid or other material spills from the food packages 6, the bottom wall 5 prevents the material escaping.

Figures 2 and 3 show a partial cross section through a recess 1 at the edge of the box. Opposed edges 7a and 7c of each recess (see Figure 1) have extending therefrom a flap 11 oriented in a downward and inward direction. The flaps are each joined to the associated edge 7a through a hinge position. In the illustrated embodiment, the flaps 11 of each recess are integral with the frame 2 and were cut as part of the formation of the recesses 1.

It can be seen from Figures 2 and 3 that the length of the flaps 11 from the hinged edge 7a to the free end of the flap 12 is greater than the height of the side wall. The box is made of material with some resiliency, such as cardboard or a suitable plastics material. The edge 7a of the recess may therefore be deflected up and down between relatively raised positions and relatively depressed positions. For example, the edge 7a may be moved from the depressed position of Figure 2 away from the bottom 5 of the box to the raised position of Figure 3.

When the edge 7a is in more depressed positions, the flap 11 is necessarily directed inwards at such angle that a food package 6 cannot properly be received in the recess 1, because it encounters the flap 11 before it descends far enough into the recess 1 to be seated against its edges.

A food package 6 can therefore be seated in a recess 1 only by orienting the flaps 11 in a more upright direction. This can be achieved by lifting the frame 2 slightly or by using the package 6 to push the flaps 11 outwards, but to a position where they are still disposed inwardly as well as downwardly. Such a position is shown in Figure 3.

As can be appreciated from Figure 3, the bottom 5 of the box acts as a cam surface which urges the flap 11 inwards and upwards as cam follower, by virtue of the downward force exerted on the flap 11 by the food package 6 and the force of reaction exerted on the free end 12 of the flap 11 by the bottom 5 of the box.

More generally, therefore, it can be seen that the function of bottom 5 can be replaced by any generally fixed cam surface which can impart an upward force onto the flap 11 when a food package 6 is in place.

By virtue of this camming action, opposed flaps 11 of a recess are urged against the food package 6 and in effect lock it in position.

Such a camming system may be used to hold any suitable article in a recess with an edge having a flap extending therefrom.

If the flaps 11 of the box are not longer than the height of the side wall 3, they may still be urged against the food package 6 by virtue of the inherent resiliency in the hinge position.

Figure 4 shows a cross section through a carrier bag 13 e.g.

of paper or plastics, which holds a stack of food packages 6, indicated in outline by dotted lines. The packages 6 may be of the type described above with reference to Figures 1 to 7. Also in the bag 13 is an elongate insert 14 in generally serpentine orientation, with horizontal portions 14a connected by upright portions 14b.

The insert may be made of cardboard or another rigid but foldable material. The insert acts as a frame in which the food packages 6 are received by virtue of recesses formed in the horizontal portions 14a. The recesses are desirably provided with a flap extending downwardly and inwardly from an edge thereof, or preferably from opposed edges thereof, as in the embodiment of Figures 1 to 3. The flaps may be biased against the packages 6 by virtue of the resiliency of the hinge at the juncture between the flap and the edge of the seam, or by being cammed against the package if the flaps are of appropriate length.

The nature of such a camming system has already been described with reference to Figures 1 to 3 and need not be further described here.

It will be seen that the insert is an elongate sheet of material with longitudinally spaced recesses, wherein the spacing is greater than the height of the articles to be received in the recesses.

Included in the invention is a holder having defined therein a recess for receiving an article, wherein at least the edge of the recess is provided with a flap and means are provided to urge the flap against an article received in the recess to hold the article therein. Preferably the means comprises a fixed surface which exerts a force on the flap to urge the flap against the article in reaction to a force exerted by the flap on the surface. Preferably the flap is oriented in a direction with a downward component and the surface is oriented to apply an upward force to the flap in reaction to a downward force applied to the flap by the article.

Also included is a box or other structure having an upper cross wall and a lower cross wall. The upper cross wall has a hole therein from an edge of which a flap extends inwardly and downwardly into the recess formed by the hole.

The length of the flap is greater than the separation between the cross walls. Desirably such flaps are provided on opposed edges of the recess.

Of course, the downwardly extending flap may be replaced by an upwardly and inwardly directed flap, also longer than the separation between the cross walls, and which can be urged against an article in the recess by the force exerted on it from the upper cross wall by virtue of the weight of the article.

Claims (31)

1. A food package carrier having defined therein an interior space in which there is held a frame having formed therein a recess which is open at the top to receive a food package and hold it in an upright orientation, a food package being in the recess, the food in the package optionally being hot.

2. A carrier as claimed in claim 1, wherein the food is hot and the package does not have a closure with a liquid tight seal.

3. A carrier as claimed in claim 1, wherein the frame comprises a plastics or cardboard sheet.

4. A carrier as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the recess has an edge from which a flap extends in a generally downward and inward direction, the flap being urged against the food package to help hold it in the recess.

5. A carrier as claimed in claim 4, wherein the recess has flaps extending from opposed edges and urged against the food package.

6. A carrier as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein there are a plurality of recesses.

7. A carrier as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the food is take away food either for taking away from the place of cooking by a customer or for delivery to a customer.

8. A carrier as claimed in any one of the preceding claims which is a box.

9. A box as claimed in claim 8 which is made of cardboard.

10. A box as claimed in claim 8 or claim 9 which comprises, in addition to a side wall forming its perimeter, a bottom wall and an openable and closable lid, the frame either being an insert comprising a plastics or cardboard sheet snugly seated in the box or comprising a plastics or cardboard sheet integral with the box.

11. A box as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 10 wherein the or each recess has one or more flaps as defined in claim 4 or claim 5 and there is an arrangement to cam the or each flap against the food package in the respective recess.

12. A box as claimed in claim 11, wherein the cam arrangement for each flap comprises: a cam surface which urges the free end of the flap opposite the end joined to the recess edge in an upward and inward direction; the internal frame, the frame being capable of movement or flexure such that the edge of the recess to which the flap is joined can move towards the cam surface into a depressed position or away from it into a raised position; and the flap, the flap having a length between its free end and the edge of the recess to which it is joined which is greater than the separation between said edge and the cam surface when said recess is in a depressed position, the arrangement being such that, with the food package in the recess, the edge of the recess must be in a raised position for the flap to be accomodated between said edge and the cam surface and that said edge of the recess is urged downwards and hence the free end of the flap is urged downwardly and outwardly against the cam surface which applies an opposite force of reaction on the flap, the flap thus being urged against the food package.

13. A box as claimed in claim 12, wherein said edge of the recess is urged downwardly by the weight of the food package.

14. A box as claimed in claim 12 or claim 13 and as defined in claim 10, wherein the cam surface is formed by the bottom of the box.

15. A carrier as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the carrier is a bag and the frame is an insert held in the bag.

16. A carrier as claimed in claim 15, wherein the insert comprises an elongate strip of rigid but foldable material and is in a generally serpentine configuration with generally horizontal portions in which are defined the recesses and intermediate portions connecting the horizontal portions.

17. A food package carrier which contains food packages located in recesses and is substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to or as shown in the accompanying drawings.

18. A take away food carrier (the term "take away food carrier" refers also to home delivery food carriers), comprising a box in whose interior there is held a frame having formed therein a recess which is open at the top to receive a container of take away food and is adapted to hold the container in an upright orientation.

19. A carrier as claimed in claim 18 and as further defined in any one of claims 3 to 6 or 9 to 14.

20. A take away food carrier bag insert, the insert comprising an elongate sheet of rigid but foldable material in which there are defined longitudinally spaced recesses to receive take away food containers, the spacing between the recesses being greater than the height of the container which the insert is designed to receive.

21. An insert as claimed in claim 19, wherein the rigid but foldable material is cardboard.

22. An insert as claimed in claim 19 or claim 20, wherein each recess is as defined in claim 4 or claim 5.

23. A take away food carrying box substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to or as shown in the accompanying drawings.

24. A take away food carrier bag insert substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to or as shown in the accompanying drawings.

25. A method of transporting hot food, comprising placing the food in a container to form a food package, locating the food package in an upwardly open recess defined in a frame of a carrier, placing the frame in the carrier if it is not already in it such that the food package is held upright in the carrier, and transporting the carrier.

26. A method as described in claim 24 wherein the carrier containing the food package is as defined in any one of claims 3 to 17.

27. The use of a carrier in whose interior there is a frame having an upwardly open recess defined therein to transport hot food in a package located in the recess.

28. The use of claim 26 wherein the hot food is take away food (the term "take away food" refers herein also to home delivery food).

29. The use of a box in whose interior there is held a frame having an upwardly open recess defined therein for the delivery to a customer of take away food or for the carrying by a customer of take away food which is, in either event, in a container seated in the recess.

30. A box or other structure having an upper cross wall and a lower cross wall, the upper cross wall having a hole formed therein whereby a recess is formed between the cross walls, and a flap extending from one cross wall in a direction inwards relative to the recess, the length of the flap being greater than the separation between the walls such that the flap is cammed inwards against an article in the recess by force exerted on its free end by the juxtaposed cross wall by virtue of the weight of the article.

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows CLAIMS 1. The use to transport hot food in a container of a box comprising a rigid bottom wall, rigid side walls and a rigid openable and closable lid, the box having located in its interior a frame or platform held to prevent movement thereof in normal use of the box and the frame or platform having defined therein an upwardly open recess to receive in snug fit a container of hot food.

2. The use of claim 1, wherein the frame or platform is a discrete insert.

3. The use of claim 2, wherein the frame or platform comprises a sheet of plastics or cardboard material snugly seated in the box.

4. The use of claim 3, wherein the frame or platform is seated on a skirt depending from the sheet.

5. The use of claim 1, wherein the frame or platform is integral with the box.

6. The use of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the recess has flaps extending from opposed edges thereof in a generally downward and inward direction and there is an arrangement to cam the flaps against a container of food in the recess.

7. The use of claim 6, wherein the cam arrangement for each flap comprises: a cam surface which urges the free end of the flap opposite the end joined to the recess edge in an upward and inward direction; the internal frame or platform, the frame or platform being capable of movement or flexure such that the edge of the recess to which the flap is joined can move towards the cam surface into a depressed position or away from it into a raised position; and the flap having a length between its free end and the edge of the recess to which it is joined which is greater than the separation between said edge and the cam surface when said recess is in a depressed position, the arrangement being such that when a food container is in the recess the edge of the recess must be in a raised position for the flap to be accomodated between said edge and the cam surface, said edge of the recess being urged downwardly by the weight of the container of food and hence the free end of the flap being urged downwardly and outwardly against the cam surface which applies an opposite force of reaction on the flap, the flap thus being urged against the food container.

8. The use of claim 7, wherein the cam surface is formed by the bottom of the box.

9. The use of any one of the preceding claims wherein the box is made of cardboard.

10. The use of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the frame or platform has defined therein a plurality of recesses.

11. The use of any of the preceding claims, wherein a container of food is received in the recess, the container optionally being made of metal foil.

12. The use of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the food comprises a sauce or other liquid.

13. The use of a box to transport a container of hot food and substantially as hereinbefore described.

14. A method of packaging hot food for transport comprising: placing the food in a container, seating the container in a recess in a frame or platform of a box as defined in any one of claims 1 to 10, and closing the lid of the box, whereafter the box is transported.

15. A method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the container is closed with a top after the food has been placed in it.

16. A method as claimed in claim 14 or claim 15, wherein the container is made of metal foil and/or the food comprises a sauce or other liquid.

17. A method of packaging hot food for transport and substantially as hereinbefore described, other than with reference to prior art.

18. A method of transporting hot food, wherein the food is packaged using a method as defined in any one of claims 14 to 17 before it is transported.

19. A take away food carrier (the term "take away food carrier" refers also to home delivery food carriers), comprising a box having a rigid bottom wall, rigid side walls and a rigid openable and closable lid, there being held in the interior of the box a frame or platform having formed therein a recess which is open at the top to receive a container of take away food and is adapted to hold the container in an upright orientation.

20. A take away food carrier as claimed in claim 19, wherein the box, the container or the food, or any combination thereof, is/are as further defined in any one of claims 1 to 12.

21. A take away food carrier box substantially as hereinbefore described.

22. A take away food transport box (the term "take away" refers also to home delivery), comprising a rigid bottom wall, and rigid side walls and an openable and closable lid, the box having held in its interior a frame or platform in which is formed a recess open at the top to receive a container of food and hold it in an upright orientation.

23. A box as claimed in claim 22 and as further defined in any one of claims 1 to 10.

24. A box as claimed in claim 22 or claim 23, wherein a container of hot food is received in the recess.

25. A box as claimed in Claim 24, wherein the container is made of metal foil and is optionally closed with a top.

26. A box as claimed in claim 24 or claim 25, wherein the food comprises a sauce or other liquid.

27. A take away food transport box substantially as hereinbefore described.

28. A box for transporting containers of hot food, comprising a rigid bottom wall, rigid side walls and rigid openable and closable lid, the box having held in its interior a frame or platform in which is defined a recess to receive in snug fit a container of hot food, the recess having flaps extending in a generally downward and inward direction and the box comprising an arrangement to cam the flaps against a container in the recess, the cam arrangement comprising: a cam surface which urges the free end of the flap opposite the end joined to the recess edge in an upward and inward direction; the internal frame or platform, the frame or platform being capable of movement or flexure such that the edge of the recess to which the flap is joined can move towards the cam surface into a depressed position or away from it into a raised position; and the flap having a length between its free end and the edge of the recess to which it is joined which is greater than the separation between said edge and the cam surface when said recess is in a depressed position, the arrangement being such that when a food container is in the recess the edge of the recess must be in a raised position for the flap to be accomodated between said edge and the cam surface, said edge of the recess being urged downwardly by the weight of the container of food and hence the free end of the flap being urged downwardly and outwardly against the cam surface which applies an opposite force of reaction on the flap, the flap thus being urged against the food container.

29. A box as claimed in claim 28, wherein the cam surface is formed by the bottom of the box.

30. A box as claimed in claim 28 or claim 29 and as further defined in any one of claims 2 to 5, 9 or 10.

31. A box as claimed in claim 28 and substantially as hereinbefore described.