NZ530899A - A convenience foodstuff package - Google Patents

Abstract

A foodstuff package for convenience foodstuff such as hamburgers/sandwiches. The package includes a foodstuff gripping section (10) which has an elongate wall (11b) with projecting upper flap elements (12a and 12b) and corresponding lower flap elements. In use, the flap elements overlap one another and can be joined together to form respective upper and bottom walls, enabling an item of foodstuff to be gripped. Only a part of the peripheral side of the foodstuff is engaged by the elongate wall.

Description

3 0 8 9-9 A CONVENIENCE FOODSTUFF PACKAGE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a package for use with convenience foods more particularly take out food including hamburgers.

It is well known that hamburgers obtained from a fast food or convenience food outlet can be difficult to eat in a tidy manner. Frequently hamburger fillings can fall out from between the buns of the burger, even when held with two hands. 15 Most notably, burger fillings are forced out of the rear of the burger as a bite is taken from the front.

The problem is most noticeable with respect to large burgers that are 'piled high' with a number of fillings. Fillings 20 (including sauce) can end up on the customer's hands, food tray or lap. Likewise when the customer takes a break from eating, the burger can fall apart when temporarily placed on the tray or plate. Reconstruction of the burger may be difficult in order to resume eating.

Eating a hamburger in a moving vehicle is an even more difficult undertaking. It is common for a driver to end up with a substantial amount of the filling in his/her lap.

Not surprisingly, when a driver approaches a "drive-thru' fast food outlet, the consideration of how messy the food is to eat my affect the purchase decision. This is important as SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) 2 statistics suggest that a significant proportion of purchases are made by drive-thru. In one particular fast food outlet, drive-thru may account for over half of total sales.

In an attempt to overcome the sometimes difficult construction of 'large' hamburgers by fast food restaurant staff, a collar arrangement can be used to surround the periphery of the bottom bun. Fillings are then systematically added and the collar prevents excess from spilling out of the side of the 10 bun. f ) The collar solution described above does not solve the problem for a customer of actually eating a burger in a tidy manner, SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a hamburger package that facilitates the consumption of a hamburger, particularly at least reducing the amount of 20 filling falling out of the foodstuff during eating. in one broad aspect of the invention there is provided a foodstuff package comprising a foodstuff gripping section to (in use) partially engage about a peripheral side edge of an 25 assembled item of foodstuff, the gripping section including a first side wall which, in use, engages along only a part of the peripheral side of the assembled item of foodstuff; a bottom wall projecting from the first side wall to, in use, locate with an underside of the assembled item of foodstuff; 30 and an upper wall projecting from the first side wall to, in use, locate with an upperside of the assembled item of foodstuff, wherein both of the upper and b^nL.'Jil i I I . nrp / '"'CU-ECTUAL property I OFFICE OF N.z I 15 DEC 2008 j [RECE(VED| 2a statistics suggest that a significant proportion of purchases are made by drive-thru. In one particular fast food outlet, drive-thru may account for over half of total sales.

In an attempt to overcome the sometimes difficult construction of xlarge' hamburgers by fast food restaurant staff, a collar arrangement can be used to surround the periphery of the bottom bun. Fillings are then systematically added and the collar prevents excess from spilling out of the side of the 10 bun.

The collar solution described above does not solve the problem for a customer of actually eating a burger in a tidy manner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a hamburger package that facilitates the consumption of a hamburger, particularly at least reducing the amount of 20 filling falling out of the foodstuff during eating.

In one broad aspect of the invention there is provided a foodstuff package comprising a foodstuff gripping section to (in use) partially engage about a peripheral side edge of an 25 assembled item of foodstuff, the gripping section including a first side wall which, in use, engages along only a part of the peripheral side of the assembled item of foodstuff; a bottom wall projecting from the first side wall to, in use, locate with an underside of the assembled item of foodstuff; 30 and an upper wall projecting from the first side wall to, in use, locate with an upperside of the assembled item of foodstuff, wherein both of the upper and bottom walls are 2b w formed by two wall elements which are hingedly coupled to the first side wall and partially overlap one another, the partially overlapping parts of the wall elements being joined together, and a second side wall which extends from the first 5 side wall to form a collar which engages about the remainder of the peripheral side edge of the assembled item of foodstuff to locate and maintain said gripping section with the assembled item of foodstuff prior to consumption of the foodstuff, the second side wall being connected to the first 10 side wall by means whereby the second side wall can be removed prior to consumption of the foodstuff.

In a second broad aspect of the invention there is provided a blank for constructing a holder for a convenience foodstuff, a 15 hamburger or a sandwich, the blank comprising an elongate wall which, in use, can engage along only a part of the peripheral side of the foodstuff; a pair of first flaps hingedly coupled to a first side edge of the elongate wall; and a pair of second flaps hingedly coupled to a second side edge of the 20 elongate wall, wherein the first flaps, in use, are able to be hinged to a position substantially normal to the side wall and moved to overlap one another, the second flaps, in use, are able to be hinged to a position substantially normal to the side wall and moved to overlap one another, joining means 25 whereby the overlapping portions of the first flaps can be joined together to form an upper wall, joining means whereby the overlapping positions of the second flaps can be joined together to form a bottom wall whereupon the resultant holder can, in use, be engaged with a part of the foo'dstuff such that 30 the upper wall and bottom wall engage respectively with a portion of an upperside and an underside of the foodstuff and 'ntellectual property OFPfCE OF N.z. 1 5 DEC 2008 D l~~ r-" 1 I t mm mm* ;2c the side wall is located along a part of the length of a peripheral edge of the foodstuff. ;Yet in a further broad aspect of the invention there is 5 provided a holder for a convenience foodstuff, a hamburger or a sandwich, the holder being able to engage about a part of a peripheral side edge of the foodstuff, the holder comprising a side wall which, in use, engages only along a part of the peripheral side edge of the foodstuff; a bottom wall formed by 10 a pair of conjoined first flaps projecting from the side wall; and an upper wall formed by a pair of conjoined second flaps projecting from the side wall, wherein the bottom wall and upper wall project from a common side surface of the side wall and are substantially parallel to one another, the flaps are 15 conjoined such that a curve along the length of the side wall is formed whereby in use the holder can be engaged with said part of the peripheral side edge of the foodstuff such that the sidewall engages with said part of the peripheral side edge and the upper and bottom walls engage with a part of an 20 upperside and lowerside of the foodstuff. ;I thTTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ;OfFtCE OP N,Z. ;15 DEC 2008 ;RECEIVED ;WO 03/010049 ;PCT/NZO 2/00133 ;3 ;BRIEF DESCRIPTION OP THE DRAWINGS ;The foodstuff package according to the present invention will 5 be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:- ;Figure 1 illustrates a general view of the typical use situation for a hamburger package according to the 10 present invention. ;Figure 2 is a pattern view of the hamburger parage according to the present invention, ;15 Figure 3 is a general view of a hamburger, utilising the present invention, ready for eating, ;Figures 4-7 are general and orthographic views of construction of a second embodiment of the hamburger 20 package according to the present invention and ;Figure 8 is a plan view of a paperboard blank for a third embodiment according to the present invention, ;25 ;DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION ;The term *hamburger' referred to herein encapsulate all 30 similar foods of a sandwich nature such as chicken burgers and vegetarian burgers etc. 'Hamburger' is simply used as a convenient descriptive term. The present invention has, as SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) WO 03/010049 PCT/NZ02/00133 will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, application to other forms of foodstuffs which are held in the hand for the purposes of consumption.

Figure 1 best illustrates a typical usage situation where a fast food customer would expect to encounter a hamburger package according to the present invention. The novel hamburger package is generally denoted 10. Familiar food products accompanying the hamburger B are French fries F and a 10 soft drink D.

Hamburger B is often supplied to the customer in a paperboard box package P as illustrated. Alternatively, hamburgers are increasingly supplied in a paper wrapper. In each case the 15 packaging is for temporarily storing the hamburger and retaining heat.

As illustrated in Figure 1 hamburger B is surrounded by a collar 11 which forms part of a gripping portion 10. 20 Extending therefrom is a top wall formed from two overlapping substantially oval or egg shaped elements 12a and 12b. Correspondingly, underneath the burger is a bottom wall formed from elements 13a and 13b (Figures 2 and 7) . These elements 12a, 12b, 13a, and 13b combine with a part lib of wall 11 to form the food6tuff gripping Bection- To aid construction of the hamburger B by fastfood restaurant staff, the collar 11 and bottom wall 13a/13b may be formed into a circular wall with a partial base. Top wall 12a/12b 30 may remain 'unfolded' to allow firstly a bottom bun and then subsequent fillings to be added into the collar 11, finally topped with a sesame seed bun. In the known way hamburger B SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) has- been constructed within collar 11 without fillings spilling out of the side of the burger.

Top wall elements 12a/l2b may then be folded down to form a 5 partial cover for the hamburger- B, thereby completing the assembly operation.

Hamburger B and ite package 10/11 may be wrapped or placed in paperboard box P for presentation to a customer as illustrated 10 by Figure 1.

Figure 2 illustrates a paperboard blank from which a hamburger package can be formed. By way of example, the total length of the blank (from end to end of the collar 11) is about 390mm.

Paperboard exhibits the necessary stiffness to form a suitably strong package as would be required for a single use. Alternatively, materials such as plastic could be used to form the package . or even an edible material to accompany the 20 burger.

The first step of assembling hamburger package is forming cylindrical collar 11. The distal end 14 includes a food grade contact adhesive 15 to be adhered to end 16 of collar 25 length 11. In the illustrated embodiment a slit or line 17 is provided as a guide for the edge of end 14 determine the correct diameter of collar 11.

An alternative to an adhesive is a tab and slit arrangement 30 (not shown but of the general type of construction shown in Figure 8 or forming the joining of the lid and base of the packaging appearing in Figure 1).

SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) 6 Substantially oval or egg shaped elements 13a/13b may be creased where each protrudes from collar 11 to overlap. Contact adhesive 18 then forms a bond to hold elements 13a/l3b in place.

At this level of completion the hamburger B may be assembled, following which "top" wall elements 12a and 12b may be creased and adhered together (by adhesive 19) to form a partial cover over the sesame seed bun.

When the hamburger B is to be eaten by a customer it is intended that a substantial portion of collar 11 be removed to allow a bite to be taken out of the side of hamburger B. To facilitate customer removal of collar 11 a perforated arc 20 15 is provided adjacent the first pair of top/bottom wall elements 12a, 13a. Correspondingly end 14 of collar 11 can be peeled away from adhesive 15 to remove a portion 11a of collar 11 completely from the gripping portion 10. The removed portion (lla) is illustrated in dotted detail by Figure 3.

Hamburger B is ready to eat, the principal advantages of the package being that it provides a gripping section 10 i.e. a place to hold the burger (between top and bottom walls 12/13) and the 'back' wall (the remaining portion lib of collar 11) 25 to prevent or contain Bpillage from the rear of the burger as it is eaten from the front.

It should be noted that all edges potentially contacting a customer's mouth are rounded to avoid injury.

Figures 4 to 7 illustrate the appearance of package 10 with collar portion lla removed. Figures 4 to 7 also illustrate an SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) alternative embodiment where collar portion lla is not provided at all. Such an embodiment may be applicable depending on the requirements of the fast food business or where assembly of a hamburger is not otherwise an issue.

■ • In situations where the alternative form of Figures 4 to 7 is to be used, the hamburger B is constructed in the usual manner to the stage that it is ready to be wrapped. Before wrapping {e.g. in a conventional paper wrapper) the package 10 is 10 fitted. Firstly, wall elements 13a and' 13b are folded and adhered in closed position or secured using slotted arrangement. The hamburger B is placed on the package and walls 12a are folded down on top of the hamburger. The hamburger and package are then enclosed in the usual paper 15 wrap.

It would be possible for the package according to the invention to be completely pre-folded and then the burger 'slotted' into the package before wrapping.

Alternatively, the package could be supplied to the customer assembled but not fitted to the hamburger or completely unassembled for the customer to assemble and fit to the hamburger.

As discussed, a paperboard blank appears to be the most practical method of constructing the package of the invention simple burger holder as illustrated by Figures 4 to 7, however, further methods and materials may be utilised. Walls 30 12a/12b and 13a/l3b may be interlinked by a suitable slot arrangement thereby avoiding the use of adhesive.

SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) 8 Figure 8 illustrates a paper-board blank utilising a slot arrangement. No adhesive is required to maintain the holder together. The interlinking nature of slots 21 and 22 will be apparent from Figure 8.

Future embodiments may also only require a single wall in place of 12a/l2b and 13a/13b attached at one wall.

It will be appreciated that packaging, in addition to its 10 practical advantage, may also be branded accordingly (name of the burger etc) and include any other desirable information.

The hamburger package as described can be incorporated into future novel packaging methodB. For example, the removable 15 collar section may also have covering panels extending therefrom that completely enclose the burger. Perforations can then separate the covering walls to end up with a hamburger gripping portion 10 as illustrated. This method avoids the need for any paper wrapper or larger paperboard 20 box.

Yet a further embodiment may rely on a two-piece package that slides together to encapsulate the burger like a pharmaceutical capsule. The one piece that remains of the 25 package then has the features of the gripping portion 10 as illustrated.

The hamburger package of the present invention facilitates consumption of a hamburger, particularly in situations such as 30 when driving a vehicle (leading to greater safety). Not only is the hamburger filling more reliably retained in the burger, SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) 9 sauces are generally captured or absorbed by the packaging to avoid it escaping onto hands/laps etc.

It has been observed that any increase in materials required 5 (in addition to that known for the construction of mere collars used to construct a hamburger) is offset by the saving in napkins used by customers to clean themselves and, overall, increased customer satisfaction, leading to healthier sales.

SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26)

Claims (1)

10 A blank for constructing a holder for a convenience foodstuff, a hamburger or a sandwich, the blank comprising an elongate wall which, in use, can engage along only a part of the peripheral side of the foodstuff; a pair of first flaps hingedly coupled to a first side edge of the elongate wall; and a pair of second flaps hingedly coupled to a second side edge of the elongate wall, wherein the first flaps, in use, are able to be hinged to a position substantially normal to the side wall and moved to overlap one another, the second flaps, in use, are able to be hinged to a position substantially normal to the side wall and moved to overlap one another, joining means whereby the overlapping portions of the first flaps can be joined, together to form an upper wall, joining means whereby the overlapping positions of the second flaps can be joined together to form a bottom wall whereupon the resultant holder can, in use, be engaged with a part of the foodstuff such that the upper wall and bottom wall engage respectively with a portion of an uppersiae and an underside of the foodstuff and the side wall is located along a part of the length of a peripheral edge of the foodstuff. The blank as claimed in claim 1 wherein the joining means are formed by open ended slits in each flap. The blank as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein each flap is of substantially oval shape. The blank as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the first flaps are hingedly coupled to the side wall, one adjacent to each of opposite ends of the side wall and the second flaps are also each hingedly INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE OF N.Z. -3 NOV® RECEIVED 11 coupled to the side wall adjacent a respective said opposite end of the side wall. The blank as claimed in claim 4 wherein the joining means are formed by. an open ended slot in each of the first and second flaps the open ended slot in each flap being adjacent a distal end of the flap. The blank as claimed, in any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the first and second flaps are configured such that when moved, in use, to an overlapping position, create a curve in the length of the elongate side wall . The blank .as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein the blank is formed from paperboard. A holder for a convenience foodstuff, a hamburger or a sandwich formed from a blank as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7 . A blank as claimed in claims 1 substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE OF N.Z. - 3 NOV RECEIVED