EP0319493A1

EP0319493A1 - A stackable carrier for take away foods such as pizza and similar products

Info

Publication number: EP0319493A1
Application number: EP88830520A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Nello Breviglieri
Original assignee: IMBALLAGGI BREVIGLIERI SpA
Current assignee: IMBALLAGGI BREVIGLIERI SpA
Priority date: 1987-12-04
Filing date: 1988-12-02
Publication date: 1989-06-07
Also published as: IT8705011V0; IT212162Z2

Abstract

The stackable carrier is folded from a single sheet of material (1) punched with creases (2) and cuts (3) in such a way as to form a base (4), surrounded by adjoining side walls (5, 6) of dissimilar height from which trasversely hinged flaps (7, 8) extend at either end; the flaps are formed by making cuts along the wall hinge creases (2), and their height matched to the height of the lower side walls (5). At least two pairs of adjoining flaps (7, 8) are folded inwards parallel with one other so as to bridge each corner at an angle to the two relative walls (5, 6) and create an additional reinforced wall that comfortably supports the weight of the carriers (19) stacked above. Each stacked carrier is prevented from slipping by the higher side walls (6) of the carrier beneath.

Description

The invention relates to a stackable carrier for take-away foods such as pizza and similar products. It has become a standard practice in recent times for the consumer to purchase foods prepared by a specialist retailer, for example a pizzeria or a pâtisserie, and take them home for subsequent consumption.
The most simple method of wrapping such foods is to envelop them in a sheet of paper of the quality manufactured specifically for such purposes, and fasten the package in such a way that it remains secure.
This method is used currently only to wrap single pies, or pizzas, and requires the precaution of positioning a cardboard form over the dish so as to prevent the paper wrapper from coming into contact with its uppermost surface, which is generally soft and sticky.
A more practical method, and one that is essential where there are several pizzas to be carried, is to place each single item in a rigid container that will take the weight of further containers stacked above it; in this way, crushing is avoided, and the items on top are prevented from sticking to those beneath.
The containers in question are, in most instances, plain cardboard boxes fashioned in the appropriate dimensions with lids to enable introduction of the food.
One drawback of such containers is that they need to be of a certain thickness in order to bear the weight of other containers stacked above them.
A further drawback, namely, instability, stems from the fact that plain cardboard boxes are completely smooth, and the topmost boxes of a stack can easily slide off.
Regarding take-away pizza in particular, containers have subsequently appeared fashioned in a tray type format from thin plastic material, with sides that are splayed upwards and exhibit sockets the reverse sides of which project out and downwards. The sockets are provided in even number and spaced apart at uniform distance, sunk to two different depths, and alternated in such a way that one tray can either fit snugly into another, or be raised from it through a distance equal to the difference between the dissimilar depths, according to which of the two sets of sockets are aligned. Such an expedient is significantly advantageous, inasmuch as the trays occupy limited space when not in use, and are utilized simply by taking the top tray from a supply stack, and positioning in like manner on the topmost tray of the stack to be taken away, having first rotated it through an angle equal to the distance between two adjacent sockets. Thus, inserting the deeper projections of one tray into the shallower sockets of the tray immediately beneath, it becomes possible to carry a number of the filled and stacked trays from one location to another without the underside of any tray coming into contact with the contents of the one beneath. In practice, however, this advantage is gained only with cold take-away foods, or foods no warmer than room temperature.
When taking away a number of pizzas, for example, one is presented with the problem of the high temperature of the pizza, contrasted with the low softening temperature and limited thickness of its carrier. The geometry of these plastic trays, in particular, is such that each tray covered becomes practically sealed airtight by the tray stacked above it, and the internal temperature rises above the softening temperature of the plastic material, resulting in deformation of the tray.
The temperature values and the thickness of the tray material cannot be varied to compensate for such contingencies, however, in view of the fact that a pizza, in particular, must necessarily be served and eaten hot, as if straight from the oven, otherwise one loses those gastronomical features typical of the dish, i.e. its unmistakable taste and flavour.
As regards the thickness of the tray, this cannot increase beyond a certain point without comprising the economy of manufacture, and in practice, even were the thickness of the plastic material to be increased, the temperature generated internally of the covered tray would still remain higher than its softening temperature.
A further drawback of the trays in question stems similarly from the airtight seal that is created by covering the tray, namely, that with vapour given off by the hot pizza being unable to escape, the baked dough becomes soggy, and the taste inevitably suffers.
Accordingly, the object of the present invention is one of providing a stackable carrier for pizzas and similar food products, that remains free from the drawbacks mentioned above.
The stated object is fully realized with a carrier as characterized in the appended claims, which is fashioned from a single sheet of cardboard punched with creases and cuts in such a way as to fold into a base with side walls. According to the invention, a given number of adjoining walls are of dissimilar height, and their corresponding longitudinal ends extend into flaps that are fashioned by making cuts along the creases which unite the walls with the base; the height of the flaps is matched to that of the lower of the side walls, and each two adjoining flaps can be folded together to bridge the relative corner of the base at an oblique angle, creating an additional strengthened wall to take the weight of the carriers stacked above.
One of the advantages of a carrier according to the invention is that of its strong stacking potential, achieved notwithstanding the use of relatively thin cardboard, without the carriers sliding in relation to one another, and without any danger of the lower carriers being crushed. The side walls are arranged in a polygonal formation, abundant in number, and at given points are several times thicker than the flat unfolded sheet. What is more, using cardboard of limited thickness, it becomes possible to stack and store a generous number of the flat unfolded sheets in a relatively small space.
A further advantage of the carrier disclosed is that one eliminates the possibility of either the carrier or its contents tending to deteriorate due to the high temperature of the contents themselves. Even in situations where several pizzas are stacked straight from the oven for immediate take-away, the cardboard material is able to withstand their high temperature comfortably; moreover, the temperature level in question will always remain within safe limits, as the carrier is never sealed in totally airtight fashion, a feature singularly advantageous from the standpoint of retaining the taste and the flavour of a dish such as pizza.
The invention will now be described in detail, by way of example, with the aid of the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig 1 shows the plan of a sheet of material creased and cut to fold into a carrier for take-away foods according to the invention;
fig 2 shows a perspective of an almost completed carrier fashioned from the sheet of fig 1;
fig 3 is a perspective showing a small stack of carriers according to the invention;
fig 4 shows an alternative embodiment of the folded carrier of fig 2, seen in perspective;
fig 5 shows a further alternative embodiment of the folded carrier of fig 2, seen in perspective;
fig 6 is a side elevation showing two carriers as in fig 5, stacked one on top of the other.

Referring to the drawings, a take-away food carrier according to the present invention, denoted 19 in its entirety (fig 2), is fashioned from a single flat sheet of material punched with creases 2 and cuts 3 in such a way that it can be folded into a base 4 surrounded by side walls 5 and 6.
The flat sheet 1 for a carrier 19 according to the invention is punched with oppositely paired side walls 5 and 6, certain or all of which (depending to the embodiment) extend into respective flaps 7 and 8 at each end; according to the invention, the walls of one pair 5, 6 are dissimilar in height to the walls of the other pair 6, 5.
The flaps 7 and 8 are fashioned in each respective wall 5 and 6 by punching cuts 9 along the line of the crease 2 that separates the wall 5 or 6 from the base 4; more exactly, the length of each flap 7 and 8 is such that the flap itself will not extend beyond the wall 6 or 5 toward which it projects, whilst its height is substantially equal to that of the lower pair of side walls 5. Each of the single flaps 7 and 8 hinges with the relative side wall 5 and 6 by way of a transverse crease 20.
One of the two flaps of each adjoining pair 7 and 8 extends into a folding tuck 10 that is hinged along a full-length longitudinal crease 11 and provided with a lug 12 on its projecting longitudinal edge. 13 denotes an angled slot punched into each corner area of the base 4, serving to receive the lug 12 of the relative tuck, as will shortly be described. 14 denotes a substantially central cutaway profile punched into the projecting longitudinal edge of each higher side wall 6, which, with the carrier 19 folded into shape, plunges to a level below that of the top edges of the two lower side walls 5. As will be observed from fig 1, the tucks 10 are associated with the flaps 8 of the higher side walls 6 in order to reduce waste; furthermore, the cut 3 separating each two adjoining side walls 5 and 6 is mitred in such a way as to obtain maximum length on the flaps 7 and 8 while minimizing waste. The sheet 1 can be punched from any given type of cardboard or paperboard, whether of single ply, or sandwich composition as illustrated in fig 2, and in a preferred embodiment, the internal surface will be faced either entirely, or over the areas destined to make contact with the edible product, with a suitable material such as aluminium foil. To form the carrier 19 from the punched cardboard sheet 1, the user first bends the two lower side walls 5 upward along their respective creases 2, then turns the flaps 7 of each wall 5 inward toward the middle of the base 4, effecting folds at the relative transverse creases 20. This same procedure is then repeated for the two higher side walls 6 and their flaps 8, whereupon these same flaps 8 are offered flush to the previously folded flaps 7, and the tucks 10 folded inwards and down to the point at which their lugs 12 locate in the corresponding slots 13 (fig 2).
At this point, the carrier 19 is ready to accept a pizza, pie, flan or other edible product, whereupon it can be stacked as in fig 3.
21 denotes a lid placed over the topmost carrier 19 of a stack (fig 3), which is punched from a single sheet of material the same size as the base 4, with two projections 22 that locate in the two cutaway profiles 14 afforded by the higher side walls 6. A carrier 19 thus embodied is notably lightweight, due to the fact that a relatively thin yet strong material can be selected for the flat sheet 1; more exactly, the bulk of the weight in a multi-carrier stack is taken by key parts, i.e. the flaps 7 and 8 and the tucks 10, which form vertical walls that are three times the thickness of the sheet 1, and combine with the remaining side walls 5 and 6 to form a polygon having a generous number of sides. The possibility of a stacked carrier 19 sliding out of place is prevented by the high side walls 6 of the carrier beneath; movement at right angles to the high side walls 6 is disallowed totally by the projections flanking the cutaway profile 14, whilst movement parallel to the high side walls 6 will be inhibited by the friction generated between these same projections and the side walls of the carrier above. In the unlikely event, however, that there should be a marginal degree of movement in this latter direction, the carrier will continue to be supported by the corners 23 of its base 4, which project beyond the folded flaps 7 and 8.
The cutaway profiles 14 in the high side walls 6 expose the contents of the carrier 19 to a certain degree of ventilation, thus ensuring that internal temperatures cannot rise above critical levels, and that any vapour given off is allowed to escape. In the embodiment of fig 4, one of the lower side walls 5 is provided with a flap 15 of dimensions identical to those of the base 4, which is designed to function as a lid. The lid 15 is provided with a tab 16 that inserts into a corresponding slot 17, formed in a tongue 18 extending from the opposite low side wall 5, when the carrier 19 is shut by lowering the lid 15 into contact with the folded flaps 7, 8 and tuck 10. The slot 17 can be created by punching a C-shaped cut in the tongue 18, so that in bending the tongue 18 horizontal from the upright wall 5, an upwardly projecting stop 24 is created that will prevent a carrier 19 stacked next above from sliding off the relative edge.
In this embodiment, the flaps 7 and 8 are included only at the two ends of the side wall 5 provided with the tongue 18 and at the adjoining ends of the high side walls 6, respectively; notwithstanding this difference, the basic design of the carrier 19 remains the same as described above with reference to fig 2.
In the embodiment illustrated in fig 5, each of the higher side walls 6 exhibits a central section 6a of increased height, which can be used as a handle. Each such central section 6a is punched with two push-out tabs 6b positioned in such a way as to lie vertically aligned in relation to the base 4 once the carrier is folded into shape.
The height at which each tab 6b is located will be such, that when the carriers are stacked in the manner of the two illustrated in fig 6, the top tab of the bottom carrier aligns with the bottom tab of the top carrier. Thus, with the top carrier filled and positioned on the carrier beneath, the bottom tab on each side can be pushed through, and with it, the corresponding top tab of the lower carrier, locking the two carriers together along their side walls 6 and creating a ventilation hole at either side.

Claims

1) A stackable carrier for take-away foods such as pizza and similar products, of the type fashioned from a single sheet of material (1) punched with longitudinal and transverse creases and cuts (2, 3) in such a way as to fold into a base (4) with side walls (5, 6),
characterized
-in that the height of a single side wall (5, 6) is identical to that of the wall directly opposite and dissimilar to that of the wall (6, 5) adjoining;
-in that at least three adjoining side walls (5, 6) extend at their adjoining ends into respective flaps (7, 8) of height substantially identical to that of the lower side walls (5), fashioned by effecting cuts (9) along the relative creases (2) between wall and base; and
-in that two single adjoining flaps (7, 8) form a mutually perpendicular pair, of which one extends into a tuck (10), hinged parallel along a full-length longitudinal crease and provided with a lug (12) on its projecting longitudinal edge which, once the relative side walls (5, 6) have been bent relative to the base (4) into the folded position, the flaps of each pair (7, 8) turned in toward the middle of the base (4) with the tuckless flap (7) innermost, and the tuck (10) folded down flush with the tuckless flap (7), is insertable in a slot (13) located in the base (4).

2) A carrier as in claim 1, wherein the projecting longitudinal edge of each higher side wall (6) exhibits a substantially central cutaway profile (14) which, with the carrier (19) folded into shape, plunges to a level below that of the top edges of the lower side walls (5).

3) A carrier as in claim 1 or 2, wherein each of the single side walls (5, 6) extends longitudinally into a flap (7, 8) at both ends.

4) A carrier as in claim 3, wherein the flaps (8) that extend into a folding tuck (10) are associated with the higher side walls (6).

5) A carrier as in claim 1 or 2, comprising two flaps (8), each with a folding tuck (10), that extend from each end of one lower side wall (5), and a further flap (15) of dimensions substantially identical to those of the base (4), extending from the remaining lower side wall (5); wherein the further flap (15) is hinged with the relative side wall (5) along its entire longitudinal length in such a way as to functon as a lid, and provided with a tab (16) insertable through a corresponding slot (17) formed in a tongue (18) that extends from the opposite side wall (5) and is hinged thereto along the entire longitudinal length encompassed by the tucks (10) of the two flaps (8).

6) A carrier as in claim 1, wherein the entire sheet of material (1), or at least the part brought into contact with the edible product, is fashioned from or faced with a material suitable for wrapping foodstuffs.

7) A carrier as in claim 1, wherein each of the higher side walls (6) exhibits a central section (6a) of increased height functioning as a handle, provided with two punched push-out tabs (6b) which appear vertically aligned once the carrier has been folded into shape, and which are located at respective heights such that when two carriers are stacked on on top of the other, the top tab of the bottom carrier aligns with the bottom tab of the top carrier.