[0001] This invention is concerned with a food container and in particular to such a container
for snacks or light meals, the container serving not only to package the food but
also as the dish from which the meal is eaten.
[0002] Containers for snack foods are normally made out of plastics coated carton board
and suffer from two problems. The first problem is to provide adequate protection
for the contents until use while allowing easy access to the contents. The second
problem is that after heating of the food the container can be uncomfortably hot to
hold or handle.
[0003] It is an object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate these problems.
[0004] The present invention is a food container comprising a body and a lid, the lid being
provided with an inwardly tapering peripheral skirt and the body being provided with
peripheral walls having a resiliently variable outward inclination, the walls being
movable inwardly to allow the skirt to pass down outside the walls and being resiliently
expansible outwardly behind the skirt to lock the lid in position.
[0005] An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example,
with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:-
Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a container according to the present invention;
Fig. 2 diagrammatically illustrates the container with the lid on; and
Fig. 3 diagrammatically illustrates the use of the lid as a stand for the body of
the container.
[0006] As shown in Fig. 1 the body 10 of the container is made from a sheet of plastics
coated carton board, the plastics used for the coating being for example a polyester,
polyethylene or polypropylene. Each corner of the flat sheet of carton board is provided
with four score lines in the general shape of a 'W' so that when the sheet is folded
at the score lines upstanding walls 12 are provided surrounding a base area 14. The
folded score lines 16a to 16d are visible in the upper left hand corner 16 of the
body.
[0007] The walls 12 are not at right angles to the base but are inclined outwardly, the
angle of inclination being resiliently variable about a mean figure i.e. the walls
can be held in any position between the horizontal and the vertical but in the absence
of any applied force will return to an intermediate position at say forty five degrees
to the horizontal.
[0008] The lid 18 comprises an upper portion 20 with a surrounding peripheral skirt 22 and
is formed from a blank of plastics coated carton board cut, folded and secured, in
this embodiment by glue, in the desired shape. The peripheral skirt 22 is not vertical
but as seen in the drawing is inwardly tapered, the angle of taper being less than
the angle of inclination of the walls in the intermediate position. The dimensions
of the lid are such that the skirt 22 can be fitted over the walls 12 only after the
walls have been flexed inwardly to a near vertical position, but when this has been
achieved the lid can move easily down until the tops of the walls 12 engage the underside
of the portion 20. In this position when the walls are released they will tend to
return by natural resilience to their intermediate position and in so doing will expand
outwardly behind the skirt 22 to lock the lid in position as indicated in Fig. 2.
[0009] At at least two opposed portions of the skirt 22 are provided securing tabs 24 only
one of which is visible in Fig. 1. Each tab consists of a depending portion 26 which
can be glued to a wall 12 when the lid is applied to the body, the portion 26 being
attached to the rest of the skirt by frangible lines of weakness 28. Preferably as
shown in Fig. 1, a cutout 30 is provided in the skirt to facilitate breaking of the
frangible lines 28 by for example a thumb.
[0010] When the container with its food contents is ready for use the frangible lines 28
are broken and the lid can then be removed, the walls moving resiliently inwardly
to allow the skirt to pass upwardly past them and expose the contents of the container.
The lid can then be inverted as shown in Fig. 3 to provide a stand for the body of
the container, the bottom of the container being spaced from the portion 20 of the
lid thus insulating the bottom of the container.
1. A food container comprising a body and a lid, the lid being provided with an inwardly
tapering peripheral skirt and the body being provided with peripheral walls having
a resiliently variable outward inclination, the walls being movable inwardly to allow
the skirt to pass down outside the walls and being resiliently expansible outwardly
behind the skirt to lock the lid in position.
2. A food container as claimed in Claim 1, in which the body is made of plastics coated
carton board.
3. A food container as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which the lid is provided
with securing tabs for securing the lid to the body, the tabs being attached to the
lid by a frangible line of weakness.
