Food container for receiving food, in particular for catering purposes onboard aircrafts

Abstract

 A food container 2 according to the invention for receiving food, in particular for catering purposes onboard aircrafts, is combined with a flexible liner 4, in particular a tray liner, a placemat, a tablemat or the like, wherein said liner 4 in a wrapping position being folded or rolled around the container 2 and being fixed in the wrapping position by detachable fixing means.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a food container for receiving food, in particular for catering purposes onboard aircrafts.

[0002] Food containers of this kind are well-known and are in broad use for catering purposes, in particular onboard aircrafts. They may be used for receiving food and/or catering articles.

[0003] It is an object of the invention to provide a food container for receiving food, in particular for catering purposes onboard aircrafts, the handling of which is simplified.

[0004] The object is achieved by a food container as claimed in claim 1.

[0005] The invention is based on the idea to combine a food container with a flexible liner, in particular a tray liner, a placemat, a tablemat or the like. According to the invention in a wrapping position the liner is folded or rolled around the container and is fixed in the receiving position by detachable fixing means. Accordingly, the food container and the liner form a compact unit which may be stored and handled in a comfortable manner. The food container may e. g. receive food, in particular snacks, and/or catering articles, in particular a cup or the like. Since according to the invention the food container is wrapped by the liner, the articles received within the food container are prevented from being dropped out of the container during handling. After serving the food container e. g. to a passenger, the passenger may release the fixing means thereby causing the liner to unfold so that the passenger has access to the contents of the food container. Since the food container is combined with the liner, both articles may be served to a passenger in one step thereby simplifying the service.

[0006] According to a preferred embodiment, the fixing means includes at least one gluestrip. With this embodiment, it is very simple to detach the fixing means. Furthermore, suitable gluestrips are inexpensive.

[0007] According to another preferred embodiment the fixing means includes at least one banderole. Suitable banderoles may e. g. be manufactured from paper and are inexpensive, too. In order to unfold the liner, the user may tear the banderole.

[0008] According to the respective requirements, the liner may be manufactured from paper and/or foil and/or tissue. In particular, it is preferred that the tray liner is manufactured from paper or a tablecloth-like material.

[0009] According to a particularly preferred embodiment, the liner is embodied as a bag. In this embodiment, the liner may particularly be used as a wastebag for receving the empty food container and packaging material after the user has consumed the food received in the food container.

[0010] According to a further development of the above-mentioned embodiment, the liner includes a waterproof inner coating or insert. In this embodiment, e. g. waste received in the bag-like liner may be handled in a clean and comfortable manner.

[0011] According to a particularly preferred embodiment, the liner includes a separate pouch for receiving catering articles, in particular a cutlery pack. In this embodiment, the food container according to the invention combines all catering articles which are required to consume e. g. a snack on onboard aircrafts, namely a food container for receiving food, a tray liner and a cutlery pack received in the separate pouch.

[0012] Basically, the container may be a reusable container. According to a preferred embodiment, the container is a disposable container.

[0013] The use of a flexible liner, in particular a tray liner, a placemat, a tablemat or the like for wrapping a food container for receiving food, in particular for catering purposes onboard aircrafts, wherein the liner in a wrapping position being folded or rolled around the container and being fixed in the wrapping position by detachable fixing means is claimed in claim 9. Preferred embodiments of the use according to the invention are claimed in subclaims 10 to 16.

[0014] The invention will now be explained in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein all features which are claimed in the claims or described in the specification or which are shown in the drawings define the subject matter of the invention, either taken alone or in arbitrary combination with each other, regardless of their combination in the claims and the dependencies of the claims as well as regardless of the wording used in the specification and the representation used in the drawings.

[0015] In the drawings:

Fig. 1

is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the invention with the liner being in the wrapping position,

Fig. 2

is a perspective view of the food container of fig. 1 with the liner being in the open position,

Fig. 3

is a perspective view of the liner without the food container illustrating the use of a pouch in the liner for receiving a cutlery pack and

Fig. 4

is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the invention with the liner being in the open position.

[0016] Throughout the various drawing figures, the same or similar elements are referenced by the same reference numerals.

[0017] In Fig. 1 a first embodiment of a food container 2 for receiving food, in particular for catering purposes onboard aircrafts, is shown wherein according to the invention the container 2 is combined with a flexible liner 4 which in the present embodiment is a tray liner or a placemat. In Fig. 1 the liner 4 is shown in a wrapping position in which it is folded or rolled around the container 2 and is fixed in the wrapping position by detachable fixing means which in the present embodiment include a gluestrip 6. As shown in Fig. 1, in the wrapping position of the liner 4 the food container 2 and the liner 4 form a unit which may be stored, handled and served to a passenger in an easy and comfortable manner.

[0018] In order to consume the food received in the food container 2, the user, e. g. a passenger onboard aircrafts, may simply detach the gluestrip 6 thereby causing the liner 4 to unfold or unroll.

[0019] Fig. 2 shows the food container 2 and the liner 4 after detaching the gluestrip 6. The liner 4 is unfolded so that the user has access to the contents of the food container 2 and may consume e.g. a snack 8 received in the food container 2. As shown in Fig. 2, catering articles, e. g. a cup 10 may be received in the food container 2. In the present embodiment, the liner 4 is manufactured from a tablecloth-like material and is embodied as a bag with a handle 12. After consuming the food received in the food container 2, the user may use the liner 4, which is provided with a waterproof inner coating or insert, as a wastebag and may introduce the food container 2, packaging material and unconsumed food into the wastebag.

[0020] As shown in Fig. 3, in the present embodiment the liner 4 includes a separate pouch for receiving catering articles, in particular a cutlery pack 16. As can be taken from Fig. 3, in the present embodiment the pouch 14 is located in the area of the handle 12 and consequently in the area of the upper end of the bag defined by the liner 4.

[0021] Fig. 4 shows a second embodiment of a food container 2 according to the invention which differs from the embodiment of Fig. 1 in that the liner 4 is manufactured from paper.

Claims

1. Food container (2) for receiving food, in particular for catering purposes onboard aircrafts,
wherein the container (2) is combined with a flexible liner (4), in particular a tray liner, a placemat, a tablemat or the like,
said liner (4) in a wrapping position being folded or rolled around the container (2) and being fixed in the wrapping position by detachable fixing means.

2. Food container as claimed in claim 1 wherein the fixing means includes at least one gluestrip (6).

3. Food container as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the fixing means includes at least one banderole.

4. Food container as claimed in one of the preceding claims, wherein the liner (4) is manufactured from paper and/or foil and/or tissue.

5. Food container as claimed in one of the preceding claims, wherein the liner (4) is embodied as a bag.

6. Food container as claimed in claim 5, wherein the liner (4) includes a waterproof inner coating or insert.

7. Food container as claimed in one of the preceding claims, wherein the liner (4) includes a separate pouch (14) for receiving catering articles, in particular a cutlery pack (16).

8. Food container as claimed in one of the preceding claims, wherein the container (2) is a disposable container.

9. Use of a flexible liner, in particular a tray liner, a placemat, a tablemat or the like for wrapping a food container for receiving food, in particular for catering purposes onboard aircrafts, wherein the liner in a wrapping position being folded or rolled around the container and being fixed in the wrapping position by detachable fixing means.

10. Use as claimed in claim 9, wherein the fixing means includes at least one gluestrip.

11. Use as claimed in claim 9 or 10, wherein the fixing means includes at least one banderole.

12. Use as claimed in claim 9, 10 or 11, wherein the liner is manufactured from paper and/or foil and/or tissue.

13. Use as claimed in one of claims 9 to 12, wherein the liner is embodied as a bag.

14. Use as claimed in claim 13, wherein the liner includes a waterproof inner coating or insert.

15. Use as claimed in one of claims 9 to 14, wherein the liner includes a separate pouch for receiving catering articles, in particular a cutlery pack.

16. Use as claimed in one of claims 9 to 15, wherein the container is a disposable container.

Drawing