The invention relates to a combined display and consumer's use package for sliced products, more particularly meat products, comprising a flat tray-like receptacle with a cover sheet of transparent material fastened on its top, means being provided in the top region for suspension of the receptacle in a display case.
Packages of this type are widely used for displaying products in a suspended position within refrigerated display cases in stores. Thereafter, upon removal of the cover sheet, such packages may be used by the consumer as a dish up tray on the table.
US-A-3 792 181 discloses such a displaying package for various kinds of food, including sliced bacon. More specifically fig. 3 and fig. 5 of this reference show a displaying package for bacon. The cup-shaped package has a bottom with opposite end portions slanting upwardly to the adjacent cup side walls. The slanting bottom end portions have a smooth upper surface. Moreover in the well-known package the contents of the packaging cups (bacon slices) are in a way "locked in place" by the cover sheet which is pressed with its central portion into the cup to conform to the upper surface of the contents (i.e. the edges of the mutually overlapping bacon slices). So the slices are prevented from sliding one across the other when the package is held in a suspended position.
The present invention aims at providing a package for sliced products in which the slices are prevented from sagging out into the lower part of the tray in a suspended position of the latter, without having to rely on the contact pressure of the cover sheet on the slice package.
In accordance with the invention this aim is achieved in that the bottom of the tray, as seen along an axis going through the center of the suspension means, is sloping upwardly towards at least one side of the tray, the surface of the sloping bottom portion is provided with protuberances which are formed by a plurality of successive steps extending transversely to said axis(see claim 1).
As a result of the bottom sloping in steps towards the lowermost rim portion of the tray in the suspended position of the latter the individual slices in the slice package will, with the anti-slide effect of the steps of the bottom surface, be effectively prevented from sliding across the bottom and across one another also when the cover sheet remains substantially out of contact with the slice package.
It is to be noted that US-A-3,671,271 discloses a package for sliced luncheon meat, comprising a rectangular tray having a bottom provided with rib-like protuberances. This well-known tray, however, does not have suspension means, but is designed to be sliced into a box which has a window. Moreover there is no bottom portion which is sloping upwardly towards a side of the tray.
An upwardly sloping bottom portion is provided with the paint roller pan disclosed in CA-A-1,187,045, which pan has also a flange with a suspension eye for suspension in the empty position. The upwardly sloping bottom portion is situated beyond the proper (paint) receptacle and merely serves as a striker surface for the paint roller upon having immersed the latter within the proper receptacle.
The invention will be hereinafter further explained by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing.
The package shown in fig. 1 and 2 is a rectangular tray 1 which is made e.g. by vacuum forming of a suitable plastics material, such as polyethylene; flanges 2 are laterally extending from the upper sidewall edges of this tray. A cover sheet made of a suitable transparent plastics material, preferably polyester, is indicated at 3 and functions to close the tray 1 after the meat products (not shown in the drawing) have been put therein. The fastening of the cover sheet 3 is usually taking place by heat sealing, whereby a layer of polyethylene is put in the respective marginal portions of the polyester cover sheet 3. An opening 4 is provided in the middle of one of the short sidewall flanges 2, through which a pin or suspension hook may be inserted. Fig. 2 shows the tray in a suspended position by a cross-sectional view through an axis going through the suspension point. The uppermost portion 5a of the bottom 5, which is disposed closest to the suspension opening 4, has the usual flat form and extends parallel to the plane of the sidewall flanges 2. The lowermost bottom portion 5b, however, has a stepped figuration, such that the tray depth is decreasing stepwise as seen in the lowermost short sidewall of the tray.
The successive steps 6 constitute ribs 7, which function as an anti-slide means on the meat package laid onto the respective bottom portion 5b. Besides shoulders 8 are formed, which may serve as supporting surfaces for the lower edges of thinner sub-packages, which have been superimposed in a mutually overlapping fashion so as to obtain a still more attractive presentation.
At the short sidewall turned away from the suspension means 4 the bottom 5 is provided with two impressions 10 located in the respective corners of the tray, which impressions extend up to a tray depth, which is equal to the depth as measured between the cover sheet 3 and the flat bottom portion 5a. These impressions hardly interrupt the supporting surface for the luncheon meat products but on the other hand provide for the required stability when the tray is put on a horizontal (table) surface as a dish up tray. The bottom portion 5 may also be provided with protuberances or ribs respectively so as to also apply an anti slide effect on the uppermost portion of the luncheon meat package within the tray. These protuberances or ribs respectively may be formed, if desired, by having the bottom portion 5 sloping upwardly towards the upper side of the tray along at least a portion of the width of the tray.
In the modification according to fig. 3 the successive steps 6' have an arcuate form, so that the ribs and shoulders obtained thereby have a corresponding arcuate shape. Such an embodiment may be advantageous for round slices of luncheon meat.