LEAK RESISTANT FOOD TRAY

Abstract

A leak resistant paperboard tray formed from a blank having a scored surface that defines a base, panels and webbing flaps at the corners. When folded at the score lines of the scored surface in an appropriate manner, an leak resistant food tray forms and the webbing flaps are then adhered to neighboring walls to retain the shape in the folded condition. The adhesive is applied to exterior facing surfaces of the webbing flaps so that food contents of the container do not come into contact with the adhesive and thereby avoiding the risk of contamination.

Claims

1. A leak resistant food tray, comprising: a scored surface that has score lines that define a base, a plurality of panels, and a plurality of webbing flaps, the base having a perimeter and being separated from the panels by two pairs of the score lines, each of the plurality of panels being defined by further ones of the score lines that diverge in a direction outward away from the perimeter of the base in an oblique manner and that separate the plurality of webbing flaps from neighboring ones of the panels, each of the webbing flaps being divided into symmetric halves by additional ones of the score lines, the scored surface being foldable at all of the score lines in a manner that bends the plurality of panels into an upright orientation from the base and folds the webbing flaps so that one of the halves of the webbing flaps faces a neighboring one of the panels.

2. The leak resistant food tray of claim 1, wherein the two pairs of score lines that define the perimeter of the base are transverse to each other, the score lines of one of the pairs being substantially parallel to each other, the score lines of a remaining one of the pairs being substantially parallel to each other.

3. The leak resistant food tray of claim 1, wherein the scored surface in a flattened configuration fits within an area defined by intersecting parallel lines in line with peripheral edges of the plurality of panels.

4. The leak resistant food tray of claim 1, further comprising: a coating on an interior facing side of the base and on interior facing sides of each of the panels, the webbing flaps lacking the coating and thus being free and clear of the coating, the coating being resistant to staining by water and by grease.

5. The leak resistant food tray of claim 1, wherein the scored surface is folded at the score lines in the manner that bends the plurality of panels into the upright orientation from the base and folds the webbing flaps so that one of the halves of the webbing flaps faces a neighboring one of the panels; further comprising: means for adhering the one of the halves of each of the webbing flaps to neighboring ones of the panels to maintain the scored surface in the upright orientation.

6. The leak resistant food tray of claim 5, wherein the plurality of panels include a pair of side panels and a pair of end panels, the side panels being longer in lengthwise dimension than the end panels, the webbing flaps being adhered to the side panels.

7. The leak resistant food tray of claim 5, wherein the plurality of panels include a pair of side panels and a pair of end panels, the side panels being longer in lengthwise dimension than the end panels, the webbing flaps being adhered to the end panels.

8. The leak resistant food tray of claim 5, further comprising: a coating on an interior facing side of the base and on interior facing sides of each of the panels, the webbing flaps lacking the coating and thus being free and clear of the coating, the coating being resistant to staining by water and by grease.

9. The leak resistant food tray of claim 5, wherein the panels taper to the base, the open top defining a perimeter larger than the perimeter of the base.

10. The leak resistant food tray of claim 5, in combination with a plurality of additional scored surfaces each of a different dimension and each being arranged and maintained in the open tray orientation and nested with each other.

11. The leak resistant food tray of claim 5, in combination with a plurality of additional containers each of a substantially same dimension and being arranged and maintained in the open tray orientation and stacked in succession upon each other in a stable manner without tipping over.

12. The leak resistant food tray of claim 5, wherein said means for adhering includes a plurality of adhesive dots arranged between the one of the halves of each of the webbing flaps and the neighboring ones of the panels in line with each other closer to the additional ones of the score lines than to the further ones of the score lines for at least a majority of a length of the further ones of the score lines.

13. The leak resistant tray of claim 5, wherein said means for adhering includes an adhesive that maintains adhesion integrity despite exposure to microwave energy delivery of 800 watts within confines of a microwave oven.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

[0073] For a better understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the following description and accompanying drawings, while the scope of the invention is set forth in the appended claims.

[0074] FIG. 1 is an isometric top view of a leak resistant food tray in accordance with the invention.

[0075] FIG. 2 is an isometric view of stacking multiple leak resistant containers of the same dimension.

[0076] FIG. 3 is a top view of nesting multiple leak resistant containers of different length and width dimensions, although the height is substantially the same for each.

[0077] FIG. 4 is a top view of a blank that is scored for folding into the shape of the lead resistant food tray of FIG. 1.

[0078] FIG. 5 is an isometric bottom view of the leak resistant food tray of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0079] Turning to the drawings, FIGS. 1-5 show a leak resistant food tray 10 with webbing flaps 12 at the edge corners that render the tray leak resistant. The leak resistant food tray 10 has slightly tapered panelsside panels 14 and end panels 16 that taper to a base 30.

[0080] In the case of FIGS. 1 and 5, the side panels 14 are longer lengthwise than the end panels 16. However, the side panels 14 and the end panels 16 could instead be the same length. Further, the side panels 14 are symmetric to each other and the end panels 16 are symmetric to each other.

[0081] For purposes of illustration, one of the webbing flaps 12 is shown before its attachment to the side panel 14 with eight adhesive dots 18 applied to one exterior facing surface that faces the outward facing side of a side panel 14 and is to be pressed against it. That exterior facing surface is part of one half 22A of two symmetric halves 22A, 22B of one of the webbing flaps 12. The two halves 22A, 22B arise because of a fold line 24 formed by additional score lines along a symmetric centerline of the webbing flap 12. Such Is typical for all the webbing flaps 12 to make attachment to neighboring side walls 14 or end walls 16 as the case may be.

[0082] The base 30 is separated from the side panels 14 and the end panels 16 by pairs of score lines that are transverse to each other, with the score lines of each pair being substantially parallel to each other. Each webbing flap 12 is connected to a neighboring side panel 14 along a fold line 26 formed by further score lines and connected to a neighboring end panel 16 along a further fold line 28 formed by further score lines. The adhesive dots 18 are arranged in line to be closer to the additional score lines than to the further score lines over a majority of the length of the fold line 24, because the fold line 24 eventually reaches a corner with the fold line 26 or 28 as the case may be.

[0083] The side panels 14 and the end panels 16 extend upright from the periphery of a base 30. The topside of the base 30 is shown in FIGS. 1-4 and the underside of the base 30 is shown in FIG. 5.

[0084] The interior facing side of the webbing flaps 12 that has no adhesive applied and is free of any gluing areas. Preferably, the exterior facing sides of the one half 22A of the webbing flaps 12 are double-glued at the adhesive dots 18 to hold the corners securely and thus two hits of adhesive dots are applied to each webbing flap 12. The adhesive 18 is conventional and preferably resistant to withstand exposure to microwaves in a conventional microwave oven (such as 800 Watt delivery) without losing adhesion integrity so the adhesive won't release itself when so exposed within confines of a conventional microwave oven powered to deliver the 800 Watt microwave radiation energy and US Food and Drug Administration approved for use with foods.

[0085] A benefit derived from applying the adhesive dots 18 just to the exterior facing side, rather than to the interior facing side, of one half 22A of the webbing flaps 12 is that doing so prevents the interior of the tray from having residual glue contamination of food and avoids the so called angle hair glue filaments from being found in the interior of the tray that might be mistaken for human hair by persons who are served with the trays containing food. The adhered webbing flaps 12 also help retain the side panels 14 and the end panels 16 in their inclined orientations so that the open top has the wider periphery than that of the base 30.

[0086] The slight taper of the side panels 14 and end panels 16 to the base 30 allows for stacking of the leak resistant food trays of the same dimension in the manner of FIG. 2 or for nesting of the leak resistant food trays of different dimensions in the manner of FIG. 3. Either way, the slight taper gives each tray's side panels 14 and end panels 16 that are rigid for giving dimensional stability so as to help avoid tipping over, e.g., when stacked upon each other. Further, the leak resistant food trays 10 can accommodate more food contents than they would otherwise without the taper. Indeed, heavier loads can be accommodated that would otherwise be the case without the taper. It should be appreciated from FIG. 3 that the webbing flaps 12 could be adhered to the end panels 16 as opposed to the side panels 14 or vice versa or to some mixture or side and end panels.

[0087] The interior facing side of the leak resistant food tray 10 is coated with a coating that resists grease staining and resists water staining so that the tray may accommodate greasy foods and foods with thick, viscous gravies that traditional uncoated paperboard food trays cannot accommodate without compromising their integrity. However, there is no need to coat the webbing flaps 12 with such a coating and thus the webbing flaps 12 may lack such a coating altogether.

[0088] Turning to FIG. 4, a paperboard blank 40 is shown scored with score lines on one face and thus has a scored surface. The score lines are folded appropriately to form the configuration of the leak resistant food tray 10 of FIG. 1, which will retain its shape after the webbing flaps 12 are adhered to the side panels 14 or end panels 16 as the case may be. The paperboard blank 40 is coated at least on one side, but the coating only needs to be over the interior facing surfaces of the base and panels. No coating needs to be applied to the webbing flaps 12.

[0089] The blank 40 (in the shape shown) uses up to ninety percent less inter-sheet waste than conventional blanks in forming a food tray, because blanks for conventional food trays are not perfect squares or rectangles. The blank 40 of FIG. 4 allows for a maximum paperboard optimization with minimal waste due to it being essentially a perfect square or rectangle (albeit with chamfered corners). As can be appreciated, the blank 40 in its flattened condition fits within confines of a square or rectangular area (as the case may be) defined by lines (not shown) aligned with the edges of the panels that intersect each other at respective corners.

[0090] Further, the fold lines 42 of FIGS. 4 and 5 define the perimeter of the base 30. Such a base periphery is smaller than the periphery of the open top of the leak resistant food tray 10 of FIG. 1 because of the slight taper of the side panels 14 and end panels 16. This slight taper arises in part due to the both the fold lines 26 and the further fold lines 28 being angled (see FIG. 4) so that the side panels 14 and the 3nd panels 16 diverge as they extend away from the base 30. That is, fold lines 26 and further fold lines 28 are not parallel and not collinear with the fold lines 42 because they obliquely angle from the perimeter of the base outward are symmetric with respect to each other (that is, they define equivalent oblique angles). Also, as can be seen in FIG. 5, the underside of the base 30 is flat.

[0091] The manufacture of the leak resistant food trays 10 may follow the same procedure as the conventional manufacture of a paperboard box that is mentioned in the Background of the Invention of this application. While it is preferred that the leak resistant food trays 10 be formed without lids, one might appreciate from FIG. 3 that should a lid be needed, providing open trop trays 10 of different dimensions would mean that a larger dimension tray could be flipped upside down to serve as a lid for a smaller dimension tray, depending upon the height of the food, if any, that extends above the panel height of the smaller dimension tray.

[0092] The paperboard leak resistant food tray 10 of the present invention is more robust (as a result of its sturdy construction) than conventional finger food paperboard trays so as to handle food beyond finger food such as hot entrs, salads, barbeque dinners and heavy sides such as potato salad, coleslaw, macaroni and cheese etc.

[0093] While the foregoing description and drawings represent the preferred embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.