US2885136A - Cartons for eggs - Google Patents

Description

J. R. GRANT cARToNs FOR EGGS May 5, 1959 Filed May 3. 195e 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENToR. J@ i? 6kg/mf,

BY M 'A www@ May 5, 1959 J; R. GRANT CARTONS FOR EGGS ssneets-sheet 2 Filed May 3, 1956 May 5, 1959 J. R. GRANT 2,885,136

cARToNs FOR EGGS Filed May 3, 1956 .3V Sheets-Sheet 3f INVENzoR;

e Umted States Patent O rice 1885336 Patented May 5, 1959 Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 5, showing the invention applied to a hinged carton.

The present invention broadly is an improvement upon 2,885,136 coreniggg application Serial No. 619,1?5, blei Ot o er as a continuation-in-part o a an one CARTONS FOR EGGS application seriai No. 375,112, ined August 19, 1953. Jesse R. Grant Chicago, nl. .In the marketing of eggs, oftentimes grading and candling thereof are done at the collecting station and the Allllcafl"n May 3, 1956, Serial NU- 532,593 eggs then packed for shipment to the open market. The carton of the resent invention ermits this o eration 7 claims. i. 229- P P P (C 2 5) by providing for handling of the eggs in accordance with established practices generally known as commercial handling. The carton of the present invention is composed of two separate members, rst a tray in which the eggs rrils lwrinen relates tczieartons fcr eggs andfhls. for lts are supported, tip down, with the cups of that tray being p In .Pa o iec a. new an lfnproie carton e t 1S type' arranged to snugly grip the egg adjacent to its tip, theret lsf a mam ebleet of themvemlon to pfevlde e carton by to support it in an upright position. The cups of the m Welch eggs placed therein at a eeueetmg station can tray are provided with feet depending below the bottoms remain through shipment to market and thence either to of the cup and providina the sole support for the tray cold storage or through the channels of trade to the ulti- The Second portion of The carton consists of a cover mate consumer.

Another object of the invention is to provide a twopiece carton consisting of a tray and cover both formed by molding, preferably formed from a transparent or translucent plastic material through which eggs in the carton are visible.

Another object of the invention is to provide a twopiece carton in which the 'tray has feet depending below the bottoms of the egg cups therein which form a bottom cushion when placed in an egg case and in which the cover has posts extending upwardly from the tops of the inverted cups therein which form a top cushion for a stack of cartons when the same are placed in an egg case.

Another object of the invention is to provide in a carton a tray having a plurality of cups to receive, grip and support eggs, and to provide reinforcing utes in the walls of the cup to strengthen them.

Another object of the invention is to provide a molded egg cup in the tray of a carton which is liexible and capable of being distorted to accommodate eggs, even though those eggs are placed in the cup large end down.

Another object of the invention is to provide a carton for eggs having eye appeal, thereby to stimulate the sale Of eggs at the retail market.

Further objects of the invention not specifically mentioned here will be apparent from the detailed description and claims which follow, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown by way of example and in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of the egg supporting tray of the carton;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan View of the cover portion of the carton;

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along the longitudinal median line of the row of cups in the tray and cover, that is, along the line 3-3 of Figs. l and 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is an end elevational view of the carton;

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view taken along the line .5 5 of Figs. 1 and 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken substantially along the line 6-6 of Figs. 1 and 2, looking in the direction of the arrows and drawn to an enlarged scale;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 and taken substantially along the line 7-7 of Figs. 1 and 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 8 is a detailed view of a preferred top of an inverted cup;

Fig. 9 is a cross sectional view along the line 9-9 of `Fig. 8, looking in the direction ofthe arrows; and

which is entirely removable from the tray and lits over the eggs and bears upon the tray at the outer edges of the carton and also along a line of posts on the tray disposed between the rows of eggs thereon.

Eggs shipped to an open market are inspected and graded upon arrival thereat. In case the shipment is to receive official grading, ten (10) half cases thereof, picked at random, are graded by the official inspectors. The carton of the present invention, having covers which can be removed from the tray while the carton is in the egg case, permits this inspection to be made in an eiiicient manner. Such an inspection includes candling of the eggs and the carton of the present invention is designed to facilitate such operation in accordance with the established practies of commercial handling.

The carton of the present invention is preferably formed of a plastic material that has a certain amount of resiliency, and preferably-though not necessarilythis material is fully transparent or highly translucent, thereby enabling the eggs to be seen through the walls of the carton.

The carton is designed so that stresses placed upon it are transmitted solely through its walls and are not transmitted to the eggs. Each egg is enclosed in a resilient cushion which allows limited movement of the egg, thereby the better enabling it to withstand shocks. When stacked one above the other in the egg case, the tray of an upper carton securely locks with the cover of the carton upon which it is resting, thereby to definitely prevent shifting between the layers, with the result that the eggs are adequately protected.

In its preferred form, the cover of the carton is provided with posts upstanding from the tops of the inverted cups therein. These posts are positioned midway between the feet on the tray, and when the trays are stacked one upon another, the posts nest between the feet on the upper tray to strengthen the interlock between the cartons. Since the feet and posts nest together, there is no loss of egg space between the cartons. When the cartons are stacked one above the other in an egg case, the feet on the bottom carton in the stack rest on the bottom of the egg case and form a bottom cushion for the stack. The posts on the cover of the uppermost carton in the stack bear against the cover of the egg case to form a top cushion for this stack. This arrangement insures a tight pack of the cartons in the egg case which, as is well understood by those skilled in the art, is essential to the adequate protection of eggs in shipment.

The invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawings where in Figs. 1, 3 and 4 it will be seen that the tray, indicated generally at 10, has a plurality of cups 11 that are uniformly spaced apart in spaced rows. Each cup consists of a bottom member 12 that contains a reinforcing rib 13 which stilfens the bottom member. As shown, the rib 13 is circular in shape, but this shape may be varied. Rising from `the edges of the bottom 12 and extending upwardly `inltl outwardly therefrom are inwardly curved or convex interrupted wall portions 14 which at their upper ends blend into a flat upper edge surface 15 of the tray. The surfaces 15 Aextend from end to end of the tray at both sides thereof. The convex wall portions 14 of the cups are positioned so as to securely grip an egg whose tip is resting upon the bottom member 12, thereby to hold that egg uprightly in the cup.

` Interposed between the inwardly curved wall portions 14 am outwardly curved or concave wall portions 16 which `extend below the bottom member 12 of the cup had terminate in feet 17 by which the cup and tray are Supported- It will be noted particularly from Fig. l that the crests of the convex curved wall portions 14 are located equidistant from the median line of the row in which the cup is disposed. It will also be noted thatin the embodiment shown by way of example, at the crest of each of these wall portions 14 is an outwardly curved ilute 18 that extends from the top to the bottom of the wall portion and serves to addlateral resiliency to that wall and to stiien it in a vertical direction.

When molded from a plastic such as modilied polystyrene, polyvinyl, polyethylene or cellulose acetate, with the wall thickness of the tray approximately 2%000ths of an thick, it has been found that the tray` has suflicient strength to protect the `eggs in a satisfactory manner. lf the wall thicknesses of the tray are reduced below 2%0001115 of an inch, asmay `be desirable, it is advisable to reinforce the outwardly concave wall portions 16 and the feet 17 formed thereby. To this end, in the drawing I have shown inwardly bowed flutes 19 in each of the wall portions 16, which utes extend to the bottom of the feet 17. These llutes stiten the feet in a vertical direction, adding strength to the tray.

As will be seen best in Fig. l, the wall portions 14 of four adjacent cups are blended together in a post 20 that is disposed midway between the rows in which the cups tire located. As will be seen best in Fig. 5, the top portion of the post 20 is disposed below the plane in which the `edge portions 1S of the tray are located. Indented into the ktop portion of the post 20 is a socket 21. The utes 18 in the wall portions 14 reinforce and strengthen the post 20.

As will be seen in Fig. 4, at the ends of the tray, wall portions 14 and 16 terminate at their upper ends in a at surface 22 which is parallel to the surfaces 15 at the edges of the tray. Surfaces 22 are disposed in the same plane aslhe tops` of posts 20, which` plane lies below the plane through surfaces 15. The adjacent wall portions 16 of adjacent cups 11, together form walls separating the cups. Preferably the tops 23 of these wall portions curve downwardly from the edge surfaces 15 at the sides lout? the tray and from the posts 20, as is clearly shown in isS.

As will be seen best in Figs. 2, 3. 4 and 5, the cover 25 contains a plurality of inverted cups 26 which are arranged in rows and aligned with the cups 11 in the tray. Each cup 26 has side walls 27 that extend downwardly and outwardly and terminate in an outwardly extending 11st edge or flange 28 that registers with the dat edges 15 atthe sides of the tray. The wall portions 27 of the cover are provided with outwardly bowed flutes 29 which stien these wallsin a vertical direction, and it will be noted that the flutes 29 are aligned with the flutes 18 the wall portions 14 of the cups.

The walls 27 of the four adjacent inverted cups 26 blend into a post 30 which from Fig. 5 will be seen to extend below the plane in which the flanges 28 of the cover are located. The feet 30 are reinforced by the utcs 29 and ft in the sockets 21 in the posts of the tray, thereby to aid the side anges 28 of the cover in supporting the cover upon the tray. The engagement of the feet 30 with the sockets 21 in the posts 20 prevents movement of the cover with respect to the tray.

In order to secure the cover onto the tray, the hat edges 15 of the tray are provided with extensions 35 along the sides of the carton. Each extension projects upwardly and thence inwardly, forming a groove 36 into which the ange 28 of the cover projects. Extensions 35 project beyond the reentrant portion upwardly and outwardly, as indicated at 37.

Located at the transverse center line of the carton are bosses 38 shown to be semi-cylindrical in shape, which bosses extend through the groove 36 and have a portion 39 that overhangs the angc 28 of the cover. The flanges 28 of the cover are provided with recesses 40 (Figs. 2 and 6) which register with the bosses 38 when the cover is registered with the tray. The overhanging portions 39 of the bosses 38 aid in securing the tray and cover together.

Since the grooves 36 formed by the reentrant extensions 35 of the tray are wider in a vertical direction than the thickness of the flanges 28 of the cover, I have provided bosses or offsets 41 in the flanges 28, which bosses 41, as will be seen best in Fig. 7, increases the effective thickness of the anges 28 on the cover to the width of the grooves 36. The edges 42 of the bosses are tapered with respect to flanges 28 to add resiliency to the bosses. Through this arrangement, a snug tit between the trav and cover is achieved.

In order to stiffen the carton along the longitudinal center lines of the rows of cups, the adjacent wall portions 16 of the cups in the tray, which walls together form a divider between the adjacent cups, may be equipped with an indentation 43, preferably of U-shape configuration, as will be best seen in Fig. S, which is centered upon the median line of the row of cups and forms a rib 44 that extends between the cups to stiten the row.

Inasmuch as eggs shipped to the open market may be put in storage, it is necessary to provide for ventilation.

To this end, in the two-piece carton, the at end por tions 45 at the ends of the cover, which are depressed out of the plane of the anges 28 to rest upon end wall sections 22 of the tray, are each provided with an elevated central portion 46 which provides an opening 47 at the end of the carton, through which opening the requisite ventilation is achieved.

The tops of the inverted cups 26 of the cover may be at and provided with adjacent indentations into which the feet of a second tray nest in the manner more fully brought out in my above mentioned copending applica tion. Preferably, however, the top of the cups 26 contain a hat central portion 50 of such shape and dimension as to receive the bottom `12 of a cup in a tray. Indentations S1 extend downwardly and outwardly from the flat portion 50 and are positioned to receive the feet 17 of a tray. Disposed midway between indentatons 51 and rising out of the dat portion 50 are posts 52 which have at tops 53 that lie in a common plane that is parallel to the flat portion 50. With this arrangement, when a tray is registered with the cover, the bottoms 12 of the cups therein will rest upon the llat portion 50, the feet 17 thereon will project into the indentations 51 in the inverted cups, and the posts 52 will project upwardly of the bottoms 12 of the cups alongside the convex wall portions 14 thereof.

The carton shown in the drawings contains twelve egg cups arranged in two rows of six cups each. This particular type of carton is shown by way of example only, as the teachings of the ,invention may be applied to cartons containing three dozen cups arranged in six rows with six cups in each row.

The one dozen carton shown is of such dimension as to permit it to be placed in the section'of a standard egg case alongside of two other similar cartons, forming therewith a layer in the case containing three dozen eggs, in accordance with standard practice.

The next layer, consisting of similar cartons, rests directly upon the tops of the inverted cups, with the feet 17 of that layer and the posts on the inverted cups registering together as above, thereby to lock the upper layer against movement laterally with respect to the lower layer.

In a standard egg case, five layers will thus be placed one upon'the other, and it will be apparent that the entire weight of the upper layers is supported in the case through the cartons in the lower layer. The weight thus imposed upon the inverted cups 26 of the lower layer is transmitted through the walls of those cups to the flanges 28 of the cover and to the feet 30 thereon. The utes 29 in these wall portions stiffen them in a vertical direction suiiiciently to enable this weight to be resisted without damage to the cup. The weight thus imposed upon the cover is transmitted to the tray through the engagement of the flanges 28 on the cover, with the edges 15 of the tray, and through the engagement of the feet 30 on the cover with the posts 20 on the tray, these stresses being transferred through the wall portions 14 and 16 of the cups 11 to the feet 17. Flutes 18 and 19, if the latter be incorporated, stiffen the walls of the cup in a vertical direction sufficiently to withstand these stresses.

The posts 52 on the inverted cups in the top layer of the stack will bear against the under surface of the cover of the egg case and as that cover is drawn down tight the posts 52 will form a top cushion for the stack and will insure a tight pack of the cartons in the egg case. The posts 52 on the top cover and the feet 17 on the bottom tray may be deformed slightly by the pressures applied to them, but when composed of a plastic, as mentioned above, these members will restore to normal when those pressures are removed due to the elasticity of the material.

Shocks placed upon the case are transferred through the walls of the cartons and do not impose any stress upon the eggs themselves; and since the walls of the carton and bottoms 12 of the cups in the trays retain a certain amount of resiliency, limited movement of the individual eggs occasioned by such shock is cushioned and damage to the egg is avoided.

When composed of a transparent plastic material, eggs are clearly visible, and the size, cleanliness, color and damage in shipment, if any, may be determined without removing the egg from the carton; in fact, it is not necessary to remove the cover from the carton to make such an inspection.

If the eggs are to be graded at the market-and they will beif sold on the open marketcandling of the eggs is necessary to determine the quality thereof, quality being the most important factor in determining the value of the eggs. To accomplish this, the shipment is graded by inspecting and candling a prescribed number of half cases, usually ten, picked at random throughout the shipment. The carton of the present invention permits such an inspection to be made.

Assume, for instance, that it is desired to remove the cover from a carton located in the lower layer in an egg case. The operator reaching down into the case, places his fingers between the upwardly extending porti'cn 37 of the bosses 38, forcing that portion outwardly to unlock the cover from the tray. The cover may be then tilted slightly and completely removed from the tray, exposng the eggs which may be picked out of the tray7 two in each hand, as is the practice in candling of eggs. The eggs are then twirled before a strong light to candle them in the usual manner.

In so-called `direct shipments, where the eggs are purchased at the collecting point and shipped to a distributing point, or directly to a retail outlet, commercial handling of eggs is not necessary; nor is rventilationofthe eggs in the carton necessary since the carton is not in tended to go into storage. A hinged carton meets with popular favo-r in direct shipments and the teachings of the present invention can be easily incorporated in a hinged carton such as is shown in Fig. 10. In this embodiment of the invention, the tray, indicated generally at 60, is constructed exactly as hereinbefore described, except that the at surface 61 corresponding to the sur face 15 hereinbefore described, contains bosses 62 corresponding to the bosses 41 on the cover along the edges of the carton. At one side of the carton this surface 61 is extended upwardly as indicated at 63, and formed integral with the flange 64 of the cover, which portion corresponds to the flange 2S hereinbefore described.

Along the opposite edge of the carton, the ange 64 contains an extension 65 projecting downwardly and inwardly to form a groove 66, into which the surface `61 of the tray extends. The lock arrangement 67, corresponding to the lock 38, is employed to secure the cover on the tray. Thus it will be seen that by providing'a hingelike member 63 along one edge of the tray and transferring the locking arrangement to the cover, a hinged carton is provided. The carton is opened by moving the lock 67 outwardly as before and rotating the cover on its hinge to expose the eggs. When the teachings of the invention are applied to a hinged carton, the tray and cover are composed preferably of a transparent plastic having some resiliency to add sales appeal to the carton. l

Thus it will be seen that a carton constructed in accordance with the teachings of this invention affords a strong resilient carriage for eggs in transit, in storage, and through the channels of retail trade to the ultimate consumer. When composed entirely of a transparent or translucent material, the eggs are visible and the carton and eggs form an attractive unit that may be handled easily and safely. This eye appeal may stimulate the purchase and use of eggs.

Transparent plastics suitable for use in cartons of this type are numerous and readily available upon the open market. Such materials possess resiliency and when articles made therefrom are distorted by forces bearing upon them, return to very nearly, if not exactly, normal when the forces are removed. This high recovery charac teristic of the material is utilized in the cartons of the present invention with the result that repeated impacts on the carton are resisted. The carton returns to normal between impacts and better protection of the eggs is thus achieved.

While I have chosen to show my invention by illus tratng and describing a preferred embodiment of it, I have done so by way of example only, as there are many modifications which can be made by one skilled in the art within the teachings of the invention.

Having thus complied with the statutes and shown and described my preferred invention, what I consider new and desire to have protected by Letters Patent is pointed out in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. In an egg supporting carton composed of a resilient moldable material; a tray having cups for supporting the eggs spaced apart in rows; at surfaces on the sides of said carton extending outwardly from the tops of said cups; extensions of said surfaces projecting upwardly therefrom, thence inwardly thereover, thence obliquely outwardly and terminating directly above said upward projection, said extensions forming grooves at the sides of the tray opening towards the centerline thereof; a boss projecting through each groove at the center thereof, which bosses contain inwardly opening grooves aligned with said rst mentioned grooves; posts centered on the longitudinal center line of the tray and disposed between said cups; a cover for said tray having inverted cups each of which is aligned vertically with a cup in the tray; feet ll said `eo'ret' disposed between said inverted cups and 1 said posts `on the tray to support the cover on the tray; ange portions on said cover at the sides thereof, extending outwardly from the `bottoms of said inverted cups, said ilange portions on the cover engaging the dat surfaces on the tray and extending into said grooves to secure the cover on the tray, there being indentations in said ange portions into which said bosses extend to securersaid ange portions against movements longitudinnlly` in the grooves.

2. A carton as specified in claim 1, in which the grooves at the sides of the tray are wider in` a vertical direction than the thickness of the at edges on the cover and in which those edges contain a plurality of offsets which increase their effective thickness suicientlyto form a sought in the grooves. p

3. In a carton for supporting eggs, a tray for receiving Gle eggs; `dat edge portions at the sides of the tray; extensions onthe outer edges of said edge portions extending upwardly, inwardly and thence obliquely outwardly,

and forming inwardly opening grooves at `the sides of the trly; locking bosses projecting through said grooves; a cover, anges along the sides of said cover registered in said grooves, said flanges containing indentations into which the locking bosses extend to lock the flanges against movements longitudinally in the grooves, and bosses projecting out of said `tlanges and engaging thewalls of the grooves to form a snug fit of the anges in the grooves.

` 4. In anlegg supporting carton composed of a resilient moldable material: a tray, a plurality of cups in said tray uniformlyspaced apart in spaced apart rows, each cup including `a dat `bottom from the edges of which inwardly curved wall portions extend `upwardly and outwardly to the tops of the cups, which wall portions are centered upon lines disposed midway between the` center lines of said rows: outwardly curved wall portions extending be-` tween `said inwardly curved wall portions and extending below the bottom of the cup forming feet thereon; outwardly bowed utes at the centers of said inwardly curved wall portions extending from end to end `thereof to increase the lateral `resiliency of the wall portion and to strengthen it longitudinally; and inwardly bowed utes in said outwardly curved wall portions extending fromend to end `of the wall portion to stilfen it and the feet.

5. In an `egg supporting carton consisting of two members composed of a `resilient moldable material; a tray having cups for supporting the eggs spaced apart in rows, posts on said tray disposed between the rows of cups havingtsockets depressed into their upper surfaces, flat on the sides of the tray extending outwardly from the tops of the cups; a cover having inverted cups each of which is aligned vertically with a cup in the tray; feet on the cover depending below the inverted cups and engaged in the sockets in the posts on the tray to support the cover thereon; anges on the `cover along the sides thereof, extending outwardly from the bottom edges of the inverted cups and engaging the hat surfaces on the tray to. support the sides of the cover thereon; a groove in thetrsy opening inwardly thereof, into which groove the flange on the cover projects to secure the cover on the tray; a boss on the tray projecting through said groove, there being an indentation in said ange into which the boss is registered to prevent movements of the flange longitudinally of the groove.

6. In an egg supporting carton consisting of two members composed of a resilient moldable material; a tray having cups `for supporting the eggs spaced apart in rows, posts `on said tray disposed between the rows of cups having sockets depressed into their upper surfaces, hat surfaces on the sides of the tray extending outwardly from the tops of the cups; a cover having inverted `cups each of which is aligned vertically with a cup in the tray; feet on the cover depending below the inverted `cups and engaged in the sockets in the posts on the tray `to support the cover thereon; flanges on the cover along the sides thereof, extending outwardly from the bottom edges of the inverted cups and engaging the at surfaces `on the tray to support the sides of the cover thereon; a groovein the tray opening inwardly thereof, into which groove the tlange on the cover projects to secure the cover on the tray, the height of said groove being greater than the thickness of said ange; and offset portions in said `llange increasing the effective thickness thereof suliciently to forma snug t in the groove.

7. In `an egg supporting carton composed of a resilient moldable material, a `tray having a plurality of` cups for receiving eggs; a at bottom in each cup; feet in each cup depending below said dat bottom, said cups being arranged `in parallel rows and said feet being centered on the center lines of said rows; a cover registered with said tray and having a plurality of inverted cups, one for each cup in the tray and aligned therewith; a flat topon each inverted cup; and posts on each inverted cup, projecting above said at top, said posts being centered on lines midway between said center lines and extending between the feet on the tray cups when `cartons are stacked oneupon the other.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,088,603 Kronenberger Aug. 3, 1937 2,517,465 Cox Aug.` 1, 1950 2,591,446 Lennon Apr. l, 1952 2,600,130 Schilling June l0, 1952 2,656,945 Grant Oct. 23, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 730,144 Great Britain May 18, 1955

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