US2596087A - Edible material container - Google Patents

Description

y 6, 1952 P. A. SHOUDY 2,596,087

EDIBLE MATERIAL CONTAINER Filed 001;. 12, 1949 fnz/eniof" .PCLZLZ CZ. J/zouciy Patented May 6, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE EDIE-LE MATERIAL CONTAINER Paul A. Shoudy, Seattle, Wash., assignor to California Container Corporation, Oakland, Calif., a corporation of Delaware Application October 12, 1949, Serial 120,931

- 2 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to containers of paperboard or similar sheet material and more particularly to containers of the type which are adapted for carrying and retention of edible materials such as ice cream.

Objects of the invention are to provide a container which may be economically manufactured in collapsed form and easily set up without the use of special securing means or devices; to retain the contents in a clean and sanitary condition; which may be deposited easily within a close fitting refrigerator compartment and thereafter opened in a simple, easy manner by tearing oil certain closure flaps from the tops of the side walls; and generally to improve containers of this type.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the container in set-up condition after it has been filled and closed;

Fig. 2 is a view of the blank for the container;

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view, taken generally along the line 2--2 of Fig. 1, with a portion of the bottom pad broken away to illustrate the manner of assembling the bottom closure flaps of the container; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the method of removing the closure fiaps from the container.

In general the container of the present inven tion comprises four comparably dimensioned side walls, having bottom flaps constructed so as to be engaged readily in bottom forming relation, and top flaps or extensions certain of which serve as top closures and others serving as lifting or carrying members, enabling the container when filled with ice cream or similar material to be deposited readily in a retail refrigerator cabinet from which the contents may be dispensed.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the container, indicated as a whole at [0, is preferably formed of relatively thin corrugated board having the inside liner formed of a sheet of white sulphite or parchment paper or similar aseptic sheet material to provide for sanitary retention of the contents. The container I is preferably formed from a blank such as illustrated in Fig. 2. The blank is cut and creased to provide four side walls ll, l2, l3 and M which are preferably comparable in size to provide a construction substantially square in cross section.

For thepurpose of forming a bottom closure for the container there is preferably provided a set of bottom flaps l5, I6, I! and [8 formed integrally with the respective side walls H, l2, I3

and I4. Flaps l5 and I! are similarly formed with diagonal edge portions l9 and 20 and reduced end portions 2| and 22. The flap i8 is provided with two projecting portions 23, 23 defining therebetween a recessed portion 24. The flap It has two inclined side edges 25, 25 symmetrically formed and terminating in a reduced end portion 26. As illustrated in Fig. 3 the bottom flaps may be secured in closed position. by first folding the flap 18 at right angles to the side walls, next folding flaps l5 and I! to lie against flap [8 and afterward folding the flap I6 against the other three flaps and pressing inwardly on the end portion 25 until it has cleared the edge of the recessed portion 24 of the flap l3 whereupon the end 26 of the flap will snap in behind the edge of the recessed portion 24 and will maintain the flap assembly from disengagement except by upward pressure against the flaps. In other words the downward pressure produced by the contents within the container will retain the flaps in closed condition.

In order to close the top of the container one or more detachable top flaps are provided. In the present instance a top flap 28 is provided on each of the side walls l2 and I4. These flaps 28 may be made of differing lengths but they are preferably substantially formed of similar size and each is preferably formed so as to be readily detached or torn away from the side walls by providing weakened lines 29, 29 between the flaps and their side walls.

For the dual purpose of securing the flaps in closure forming position and to facilitate the tearing away of the flaps the edges of the flaps are preferably interlocked. In the present instance the interlocking of the flaps is effected by forming cooperating notches in the central portion of the edges of the flaps as indicated at 30, 3B. These notches as illustrated are preferably somewhat wider than the thickness of the paperboard so that interlocking can be easily effected by bringing the flaps down toward each other and at the same time slightly deflecting or twisting the extended edge portions on each side of the notches so that the planes of the flaps will intersect and one-half the free edge portion of one flap will be below and the other half will be above the corresponding edge portions of the opposite flap, as illustrated in Fig. 1.

In the preferred arrangement the weakened lines 29, 29 are formed so that the flaps may not only readily be torn away but they will become detached after only a very few swinging movements relatively to the side walls. In practice,

r to be interlocked.

the flaps 28, 23 are bent over to lie over the 0011-.

lifting of one free edge portion, that is, the over- 3|, 3|, preferably formed as integrally extended portions of the side Walls I and I3; These flaps may be formed with finger openings 32, 32 en abling a person to pick up the container and deposit it at a desired place which, in the case of the use of the container for ice cream, will be a compartment in a retail refrigerator cabinet from which the ice cream is intended to be scooped in retailtrade service.

The'flaps 3 i, 3 i are each defined from t ieir attac'hed side walls by crease lines 33', 33 which facilitate the folding over of these flaps upon the interlocked fiaps 28, 28, thereby serving to protect the flaps 23, 28 from accidentally becoming severed or displaced from the top of the container during handling. After the container has been filled with contents, such as ice cream, up to a level'with the hinge lines 29, and brought substantially to a solid condition by chilling, the flaps 28, 28 will be folded over and interlocked as they are moved to final closure forming position. In such position the flaps 28, 28 will be disposed horizontally over the top of the container and their under surfaces will be in contact with the upper surface of the ice cream. Flaps 3|, 3| will then be'folded over so as to rest upon the flaps 28, 28. Forthe purpose of providing for a smooth t of the flaps 3i, 3! upon flaps 28, 28 the crease lines 33,33 are offset outwardly of the weakened hinge lines 29, why a distance approximately equal to the thickness of the paperboard material. This will cause the 3|, 3| to lie relativ'ely smoothly upon the upper surfaces of flaps Retention of these flaps in downtur-ned condition for an interval will cause them to tend to remain substantially in such position after the retention force is removed and until. such time that it is desired to utilize the flaps 3|, 3| as carrying or lifting elements.

In order to provide for a smooth bottom closure at separate panel or liner 3% is provided which is of such size as to fit snugly against the side walls when the liner has been inserted into the set-up container and pushed down to rest flat against the bottom closure flaps.

In the use of the container it will be delivered to theproducer cfice cream or other food prod- 7 not in a fiat tubular condition, the edges of walls I iand. i lihaving been hingedly joined by a strip of'gummed tape 35. The container may be con; ditioned to receive the food product by simply expanding the walls ll, i2, i3 ind i l to open tubular form and by folding upward the bottom flaps as previously indicated so as to cause them The liner 34 is then inserted and pushed down to lie flat against the bottom r 4 closure flaps. The container is then ready to receive its contents. After it is filled the flaps 28, 28 are folded down and interlocked during the downfolding movement and finally the flaps 3|, 3| are folded down against the flaps 28, 28. If desired, a liner of waxed or other sanitary paper may be placed on top of the contents so as to lie beneath flaps 23, 23 and keep such flaps from sticking to the contents.

In the case of the use of the container for ice cream or other chilled food it will be delivered from the producer to a retail store. The corn tainer may be retained closed until after it has been lifted by the handle elements and deposited within a compartment in a refrigeratorcabinet. The handle elements enable the attendant to deposit the container into its receiving compartment with ease as it is under his control at all times due to such handle elements. If two or more containers are to be received within the same compartment one on top of'the other the closure flaps of the underlying containeror containers will be left intact. Otherwise, the closure flaps will be removed. This can be done in a very expeditious manner by simply grasping the exposed edge of a flap near its lateral edgeand lifting upward whereupon the ilapwill break away progressively along its hinge line from one edge to the other. Unless adhesion of the contents upon the opposite flap is too great this flap also will be lifted up due to the'int'erlocked edges of the flaps and will become detached at the same time as the flap that has'be'en grasped by the attendant. The flaps may thus be torn away either as a group or individually depending upon the condition of the contents andrthe fiaps' will then be discarded, leaving the handle flaps intact but out of the way of the attendant who will proceed to dispense the contents of the container.

When the container has been emptied it may easily be removed from the refrigerator eompartment by means of the handle elements. If an overlying container has been previously emptied and removed from the compartment a lower container in the compartment ma then be opened by removal of its detachable flaps. The contents of the lower container are thus maintained out of contact with the bottom of the overlying container *itil the latter has been removed and the convenient feature of enabling the closure flaps to be removed and discarded at the time that the container is in position within its compartment greatly simplifies the problem of maintaining the containers contents in a clean and sanitary corn dition and, the same time, assures that the closure elements will not in any way hamper the attendant in scooping out the content of the container.

While the present description sets forth apieferrcd embodiment the invention, certain changes may be made in the construction withoutdeparting from spirit of the invention,

and it is therefore desired that the present emtwo opposite side walls integrally hinged with respect to the side walls along weakened lines, whereby such flaps may be readily torn from the side walls, the top flaps being of such length that their free portions overlap one another when the flaps are in closed position, the free edge portion of each top closure flap being formed with a centrally located straight slot somewhat wider than the thickness of the flap and extending substantially at right angles to the hinge line of the flap, each slot defining rigidly extended portions on each side thereof, and adapting the free edge portions of the flaps to be interlocked by the interfitting of the slots so that the rigid extended portion on one side of the closure flap will be above the adjacent extended portion of the other flap, and at the other side the rigid extended portion on the first mentioned closure fiap will be below the adjacent extended portion of the other flap, the lines of weakness along the hinges of the flaps with their side walls being sufficiently strong to permit the two flaps to be bent over at right angles to the side wall and interlocked and sufiiciently weak so that the two interlocked flaps may be easily disengaged or torn away from the top edges of the side wall by pulling upward upon one overlying extended edge portion.

2. A container for edible material, such as ice cream and the like, formed of relatively stifi corrugated paperboard material and comprising four interconnected side Walls, a bottom closure member connected to the side walls, severable interlocking top closure flaps on the upper edges of two opposite side walls integrally hinged with respect to the side walls along weakened lines, whereby such flaps may be readily torn from the side Walls, the top flaps being of such length that their free portions overlap one another when the 6 flaps are in closed position, the free edge portion of each top closure flap being formed with a centrally located straight slot and extending substantially right angles to the hinge line of the flap, each slot defining rigidly extended portions on each side thereof, and adapting the free edge portions of the flaps to be interlocked by the interfitting of the slots so that the rigid extended portion on one side of the closure flap will be above the adjacent extended portion of the other flap, and at the other side the rigid extended portion on the first mentioned closure flap will be below the adjacent extended portion of the other flap, the lines of weakness along the hinges of the flaps with their side walls being sufiiciently strong to permit the two flaps to be bent over at right angles to theside wall and interlocked and with ciently weak so that the two interlocked flaps may be easily disengaged or torn away from the top edges of the side wall by pulling upward upon one overlying extended edge portion.

PAUL A. SHOUDY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,444,050 Wright Feb. 6, 1923 1,852,527 King Apr. 5, 1932 1,869,742 Edmunds Aug. 2, 1932 2,039,830 Owens May 5, 1936 2,087,394 Babineau July 20, 1937 2,225,492 Warrick Dec. 17, 1940 2,269,013 Dorfman Jan. 6, 1942 2,398,200 Van Voorhis Apr. 9, 1946

Images