BLANK AND METHODS OF CONSTRUCTING A FOOD HOLDER FROM THE BLANK

Abstract

A food holder for retaining a food product is provided. The food holder is formed from a continuous blank of sheet material. The food holder includes a top tray including a center panel, a side panel, and an end panel coupled together along a plurality of fold lines. The food holder further includes a bottom tray including a center panel, a side panel, and an end panel coupled together along a plurality of fold lines. The bottom tray is rotatably coupled to the top tray along a hinge line. The top tray is rotatable relative to the bottom tray from an open position to a closed position. The food holder further includes a moveable section including a portion of at least one of the top tray side panel and the bottom tray side panel. The moveable section facilitates movement of the top tray relative to the bottom tray for retaining the food product.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 a top plan view of a blank of sheet material for constructing a food holder according to one embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a food holder constructed from the blank shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the food holder shown in FIG. 2 placed within an exemplary clam-shell container.

FIG. 4 is another perspective view of the food holder shown in FIG. 2 placed within an exemplary clam-shell container with a food product contained therein.

FIG. 5 is another perspective view of the food holder shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of a blank of sheet material for constructing a food holder according to a first alternative embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of a blank of sheet material for constructing a tandem unit of two food holders according to the first alternative embodiment shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of two food holders constructed from the blank shown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a food holder constructed from the blank shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 10 is a top plan view of a blank of sheet material for constructing a tandem unit of two food holders according to a second alternative embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a tandem unit of two food holders constructed from the blank shown in FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of two food holders constructed from the blank shown in FIG. 10.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the two food holders shown in FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is a top plan view of a blank of sheet material for constructing a tandem unit of two food holders according to a third alternative embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of two food holders constructed from the blank shown in FIG. 14.

FIG. 16 is another perspective view of the two food holders shown in FIG. 15.

FIG. 17 is a top plan view of a blank of sheet material for constructing a tandem unit of two food holders according to a fourth alternative embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a tandem unit of two food holders constructed from the blank in FIG. 17.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of the two food holders shown in FIG. 18.

FIG. 20 is a top plan view of a blank of sheet material for constructing a food holder according to a fifth alternative embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of a food holder constructed from the blank shown in FIG. 20.

FIG. 22 is another perspective view of the food holder shown in FIG. 20.

Claims

1. A food holder for retaining a food product, the food holder is formed from a continuous blank of sheet material, the food holder comprising: a top tray including a center panel, a side panel, and an end panel coupled together along a plurality of fold lines;a bottom tray including a center panel, a side panel, and an end panel coupled together along a plurality of fold lines, the bottom tray rotatably coupled to the top tray along a hinge line, the top tray rotatable relative to the bottom tray from an open position to a closed position; anda moveable section including a portion of at least one of the top tray side panel and the bottom tray side panel, the moveable section facilitates movement of the top tray relative to the bottom tray for retaining the food product.

2. A food holder in accordance with claim 1 wherein the moveable section includes at least one triangular panel defined within a portion of at least one of the top tray side panel and the bottom tray side panel.

3. A food holder in accordance with claim 1 wherein the moveable section includes two triangular panels separated by the hinge line, the two triangular panels include a first triangular panel defined within a portion of the top tray side panel and a second triangular panel defined within a portion of the bottom tray side panel.

4. A food holder in accordance with claim 1 wherein the moveable section further comprises a first glue flap extending from the top tray side panel along a fold line and configured to couple to a portion of the top tray end panel, and a second glue flap extending from the bottom tray side panel along a fold line and configured to couple to a portion of the bottom tray end panel.

5. A food holder in accordance with claim 4 wherein the top tray further comprises a locking tab formed within a portion of the top tray end panel and the bottom tray further comprises a hook portion formed within a portion of the second glue flap, the locking tab is configured to engage the hook portion such that the top tray is removably coupled to the bottom tray in the closed position.

6. A food holder in accordance with claim 4 wherein the top tray further comprises a locking tab formed within a portion of the top tray end panel and the bottom tray further comprises a cutout portion formed within a portion of the second glue flap, the locking tab is configured to engage the cutout portion such that the top tray is to removably coupled to the bottom tray in the closed position.

7. A food holder in accordance with claim 1 wherein the top tray and the bottom tray in the closed position form a cavity wherein the cavity is sized to receive the food product.

8. A food holder in accordance with claim 7 wherein the moveable section is moveable from a first configuration to a second configuration when the top tray and the bottom tray are moved towards one another, wherein the hinge line moves away from the cavity and the side panels rotate about the hinge line when the moveable section moves from the first configuration to the second configuration.

9. A food holder in accordance with claim 8 wherein the moveable section includes three adjacent triangular panels coupled together along a plurality of fold lines, the three adjacent triangular panels include a first triangular panel defined within a portion of the top tray side panel, a second triangular panel defined within a portion of the bottom tray side panel, and a third triangular panel defined within a portion of the top tray side panel, the second and third triangular panels are separated by the hinge line, the first and third triangular panels are separated by a fold line that extends away from the hinge line, each of the three adjacent triangular panels includes an interior surface and an exterior surface.

10. A food holder in accordance with claim 9 wherein the moveable section moves from the first configuration to the second configuration by: moving the top tray and the bottom tray toward each other causing the third triangular panel to rotate inwardly towards the cavity such that the exterior surface of the third triangular panel is in a face-to-face relationship with the exterior surface of the first triangular panel when the moveable section is in the second configuration, and the interior surface of the third triangular panel is in a face-to-face relationship with the interior surface of the second triangular panel when the moveable section is in the second configuration, the moveable section conforms to the food product and facilitates the discharge of the food product from the food holder.

11. A food holder in accordance with claim 1 wherein the food holder includes a pair of tear lines extending across a portion of the top tray center panel and the bottom tray center panel such that the tear lines are configured to facilitate gaining access to the food product.

12. A food holder in accordance with claim 1 wherein the top tray side panel is coupled to the top tray center panel along a top tray perforated tear line and the bottom tray side panel is coupled to the bottom tray center panel along a bottom tray perforated tear line such that the top tray side panel and the bottom tray side panel are configured to separate from the top tray center panel and the bottom tray center panel.

13. A food holder for retaining a food product, the food holder is formed from a continuous blank of sheet material, the food holder comprising: a top tray including a center panel, a first side panel, an opposing second side panel, a first end panel, and an opposing second end panel coupled together along a plurality of fold lines;a bottom tray including a center panel, a first side panel, an opposing second side panel, a first end panel, and an opposing second end panel coupled together along a plurality of fold lines, the bottom tray extends from the top tray along a hinge line, top tray is rotatable relative to the bottom tray from an open position to a closed position; anda moveable section including a portion of at least one of the top tray second side panel, and the bottom tray second side panel, the moveable section facilitates movement of the top tray relative to the bottom tray for retaining the food product.

14. A food holder in accordance with claim 13 wherein the bottom tray further includes at least one of a hook portion and a cutout portion, the bottom tray first and second end panels each include a locking tab configured to engage the at least one of the hook portion and the cutout portion.

15. A food holder assembly for retaining a product, the food holder assembly comprising: a food holder formed from a continuous blank of sheet material comprising: a top tray including a center panel, a side panel, and an end panel coupled together along a plurality of fold lines;a bottom tray including a center panel, a side panel, and an end panel coupled together along a plurality of fold lines, the bottom tray rotatably coupled to the top tray along a hinge line, the top tray rotatable relative to the bottom tray from an open position to a closed position; anda moveable section including a portion of at least one of the top tray side panel and the bottom tray side panel, the moveable section facilitates movement of the top tray relative to the bottom tray for retaining the food product; anda tray carton wherein the tray carton is configured to receive at least one of the top tray and the bottom tray.

16. A food holder assembly in accordance with claim 15 wherein the tray carton is configured to receive at least one of the top tray and the bottom tray such that the at least one of the top tray and the bottom tray is positioned adjacent to the tray carton.

17. A food holder assembly in accordance with claim 15 wherein the tray carton is a clamshell container having a top portion and a bottom portion extending from the top portion along a second hinge line, the top portion is configured to receive the top tray wherein the top tray is positioned adjacent the top portion, the bottom portion is configured to receive the bottom tray wherein the bottom tray is positioned adjacent the bottom portion, and the second hinge line is aligned with the hinge line.

18. A food holder assembly in accordance with claim 17 wherein the food holder assembly is rotated between an open configuration and a closed configuration such that the top portion is rotated towards the bottom portion along the second hinge line and the top tray is simultaneously rotated towards the bottom tray along the hinge line.

19. A method of constructing a food holder for retaining a food product, the food holder is formed from a continuous blank of sheet material including an interior surface and opposing exterior surface, the food holder comprising a top tray including a center panel, a side panel, and an end panel coupled together along a plurality of first fold lines, a bottom tray including a center panel, a side panel, and an end panel coupled together along a plurality of second fold lines, the bottom tray rotatably coupled to the top tray along a hinge line, and a moveable section including a portion of at least one of the top tray side panel and the bottom tray side panel, the moveable section facilitates movement of the top tray relative to the bottom tray for retaining the food product, the top tray further includes a top tray glue flap including a locking tab defined within the top tray glue flap, the bottom tray further includes a bottom tray glue flap extending from the bottom tray end panel along a fold line, the bottom tray glue flap includes a hook portion that engages the locking tab to maintain the food holder in the closed position, said method comprising: providing the blank of sheet material;folding the top tray center panel, side panel, and end panel towards the interior surface of the food holder along the plurality of first fold lines;folding the bottom tray center panel, side panel, and end panel towards the interior surface of the food holder along the plurality of second fold lines;rotating the top tray relative to the bottom tray along the hinge line from an open position to a closed position to form a cavity; andpositioning the food product within the cavity such that the food product is retained within the food holder.

20. A method in accordance with claim 19 further comprising moving the top tray center panel and the bottom tray center panel towards one another such that the hinge line extends away from the cavity.

21. A method in accordance with claim 19 wherein the moveable section includes a first triangular panel defined within a portion of the top tray side panel, a second triangular panel defined within a portion of the bottom tray side panel, and a third triangular panel defined within a portion of the top tray side panel wherein the second and third triangular panels are separated by the hinge line, the first and third triangular panels are separated along a fold line, each of the first, second, and third triangular panels include an interior surface and an exterior surface, said method further comprises moving the top tray center panel towards the bottom tray center panel such that the hinge line extends outward from the cavity.

22. A method in accordance with claim 21 wherein moving the top tray relative to the bottom tray along the hinge line from the open position to the closed position further comprises moving the third triangular panel towards the second triangular panel along the hinge line to position the exterior surface of the third triangular panel in a face-to-face relationship with the exterior surface of the second triangular panel and to position the interior surface of the third triangular panel is in a face-to-face relationship with the interior surface of the second triangular panel.

23. A method in accordance with claim 22 wherein moving the top tray relative to the bottom tray along the hinge line further comprises moving the top tray end panel and the bottom tray end panel along the hinge line further comprises moving the moveable section inward towards the cavity such that the moveable section facilitates discharge of the food product from the food holder.

24. A method in accordance with claim 19 wherein the moveable section includes a first glue flap extending from the top tray side panel along a first line of separation and a second glue flap extending from the second side panel along a second line of separation, said method further comprising folding the first glue flap towards the interior surface of the top tray over the first line of separation and folding the second glue flap towards the interior surface of the bottom tray over the second line of separation, and coupling the first glue flap to the top tray end panel and the second glue flap to the bottom tray end panel to facilitate retaining the product within the food holder.

25. A method in accordance with claim 19 further comprising folding the top tray glue flap towards the top tray center panel and adhesively coupling the top tray glue flap to a portion of the top tray center panel, and folding the bottom tray glue flap towards the bottom tray center panel and coupling the bottom tray glue flap to a portion of the bottom tray center panel.

26. A method in accordance with claim 19 further comprising coupling the locking tab to the hook portion to maintain the food holder in the closed position.

27. A method in accordance with claim 19 wherein the top tray side panel is coupled to the top tray center panel along a top tray perforated tear line and the bottom tray side panel is coupled to the bottom tray center panel along a bottom tray perforated tear line, said method further comprising separating the top tray center panel from the top tray side panel along the top tray perforated tear line and separating the bottom tray center panel from the bottom tray side panel along the bottom tray perforated tear line to facilitate gaining access to the food product.

28. A method in accordance with claim 19 wherein the food holder includes a pair of tear lines that extend across a portion of the top tray center panel and the bottom tray center panel, said method further comprising separating the top tray center panel and the bottom tray center panel from the food holder along the pair of tear lines to facilitate gaining access to the food product.

29. A blank for forming a food holder for retaining a food product, the blank comprising: a top tray including a center panel, a side panel, and an end panel coupled together along a plurality of fold lines;a bottom tray including a center panel, a side panel, and an end panel coupled together along a plurality of fold lines, the bottom tray rotatably coupled to the top tray along a hinge line, the top tray rotatable relative to the bottom tray from an open position to a closed position; anda moveable section including a portion of at least one of the top tray side panel and the bottom tray side panel, the moveable section facilitates movement of the top tray relative to the bottom tray for retaining the food product.

30. A blank in accordance with claim 29 further comprising two food holders jointed along a perforated tear line that is substantially perpendicular to the hinge line.