This invention relates to a blank for a box, a box folded from the blank and a box convertible into a serving tray. More specifically, but not exclusively, the box is useful for containing at least two pizzas or other relatively flat food products, the blank is a blank from which such a food products box is folded and the serving tray formed from a box is adapted to have pizza or any other flat food product served thereon.
A box for containing a pizza, generally for delivery or take-away, is very well known and generally comprises a square box (although many other shapes are known in the art) for receiving a pizza therein, made from cardboard, corrugated board or paper board.
The known pizza box includes a receiving portion or base and a covering portion or lid, which is hingedly connected to the base and which is adapted to open and close the receiving portion in which the pizza is located. Should the transport or delivery of two pizzas be required, the known pizza box is usually made to accommodate this by being relatively longer in length, so that the two pizzas are located next to one another, in a side-by-side configuration on the base of the pizza box.
Original pizza box designs have been patented and registered as designs since at least 1968. There are thus numerous different types of pizza boxes known in the art, having different features and being adapted for different uses.
It is also known to stack pizza boxes on top of one another by utilising a stackable pizza box support. The known pizza box support is generally a plastic support stand which is used with a cardboard box in which the pizza is located for delivery or in which they are sold after they have been cooked. The support prevents the top of the box from touching the pizza when the boxes are stacked one on top of the other. This stacking means does not allow the pizzas to be stacked on top of one another in a single box and each pizza must still be located in its own box.
It is also known to insert a stacking means into a pizza box, so that one pizza is locatable underneath the stacking means on a base of the pizza box and another pizza is locatable on top of the stacking means. Such a known stacking means is generally made of a cardboard material and includes a stacking base having elevation walls for elevating the base from the bottom of the pizza box and is generally the same size as the pizza box so that is snugly fits therein. A disadvantage of this stacking means is that it is a separate portion inserted into an existing pizza box.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a blank for a box, a box folded from the blank and a box convertible into a serving tray which are useful alternatives to the above known pizza (or other relatively flat food product) boxes and which at least partially overcome and alleviate the above disadvantages.
According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a single-piece blank foldable into a box defining a cavity for receiving at least two food products, the blank comprising a base portion on which a first food product is receivable, a stacking portion hingedly coupled to the base portion and locatable within the cavity of the box when the box is formed for receiving a second food product, and a lid portion also hingedly coupled to the base portion being openable and closable to open and close the cavity within the box when the box is formed.
The food products may be pizza or any other relatively flat food product.
The arrangement is such that the blank includes various score lines, some being fold lines and some being tear lines, so that the lid and stacking portions are removable from the base portion so that the base portion may be adapted to provide a first serving tray for serving the first food product and the stacking portion may provide a second serving tray for serving the second food product.
The base portion may include a substantially flat base panel having a perimeter defined by opposing side edges, a front edge and a rear edge; and a pair of opposing side walls extending from the respective side edges at a fold line, a front wall extending from the front edge at a fold line and a rear wall extending from the rear edge at a fold line.
The side walls may include corner reinforcing tab members extending from opposite ends of each of the side walls.
The base panel may define first and second receiving formations in the form of a first pair of slots and a second slot respectively, for facilitating formation of the first serving tray.
The stacking portion may include a stacking panel having a perimeter defined by opposing side edges, a front edge and a rear edge; and opposing side walls extending from the respective side edges at a fold line, a front wall extending from the front edge at a fold line and a rear wall extending from the rear edge at a fold line.
The stacking portion may be hingedly and removably connected to the base portion at a first tear line defined between the front wall of the stacking portion and the front wall of the base portion, so that the stacking portion is foldable into and out of the cavity and removable from the base portion.
A hold tab may be coupled to the front wall of the base portion and removably coupled to the stacking portion via first tear line, so that when the stacking portion is removed from the base portion, the hold tab remains coupled to the front wall of the base portion.
When the stacking portion is removed from the base portion, the hold tab may include a first connecting formation in the form of a first pair of tabs adapted to be received by the first receiving formation.
The lid portion may include a lid panel having a perimeter defined by opposing side edges, a front edge and a rear edge; and opposing side walls extending from the respective side edges at a fold line and a front wall extending from the front edge at a fold line.
The rear edge of the lid portion may be hingedly coupled to the upper end of the rear wall of the base portion at a fold line, so that the lid portion is foldable to open and close the cavity.
The lid portion defines a second tear line spaced from and parallel to the fold line where the lid portion is coupled to the base portion, so that a major part of the lid portion is removable from the box, so that the rear wall of the base portion includes an extended rear wall portion, so that the first serving tray may be formed by the base portion.
When the lid portion is removed from the base portion, the extended rear wall portion may include a second connecting formation in the form of a second tab adapted to be received by the second receiving formation in the base panel.
The blank may include various ventilation apertures to allow for ventilation to the pizzas located in the box.
According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a box defining a cavity for receiving at least two food products, the box comprising a base portion on which a first food product is receivable, a stacking portion hingedly coupled to the base portion and located within the cavity for receiving a second food product, and a lid portion also hingedly coupled to the base portion being openable and closable to open and close the cavity.
The food products may be pizza or any other relatively flat food product.
The arrangement is such that the box includes various score lines, some being fold lines and some being tear lines, so that the lid and stacking portions are removable from the base portion so that the base portion may be adapted to provide a first serving tray for serving the first food product and the stacking portion may provide a second serving tray for serving the second food product.
The base portion may include a substantially flat base panel having a perimeter defined by opposing side edges, a front edge and a rear edge; and a pair of opposing side walls extending from the respective side edges at a fold line, a front wall extending from the front edge at a fold line and a rear wall extending from the rear edge at a fold line.
The side walls may include corner reinforcing tab members extending from opposite ends of each of the side walls.
The base panel may define first and second receiving formations in the form of a first pair of slots and a second slot respectively, for facilitating formation of the first serving tray.
The stacking portion may include a stacking panel having a perimeter defined by opposing side edges, a front edge and a rear edge; and opposing side walls extending from the respective side edges at a fold line, a front wall extending from the front edge at a fold line and a rear wall extending from the rear edge at a fold line.
The stacking portion may be hingedly and removably connected to the base portion at a first tear line defined between the front wall of the stacking portion and the front wall of the base portion, so that the stacking portion is foldable into and out of the cavity and removable from the base portion.
A hold tab may be coupled to the front wall of the base portion and removably coupled to the stacking portion via the first tear line, so that when the stacking portion is removed from the base portion, the hold tab remains coupled to the front wall of the base portion.
When the stacking portion is removed from the base portion, the hold tab may include a first connecting formation in the form of a first pair of tabs adapted to be received by the first receiving formation.
The lid portion may include a lid panel having a perimeter defined by opposing side edges, a front edge and a rear edge; and opposing side walls extending from the respective side edges at a fold line and a front wall extending from the front edge at a fold line.
The rear edge of the lid portion may be hingedly coupled to the upper end of the rear wall of the base portion at a fold line, so that the lid portion is foldable to open and close the cavity.
The lid portion defines a second tear line spaced from and parallel to the fold line where the lid portion is coupled to the base portion, so that a major part of the lid portion is removable from the box, so that the rear wall of the base portion includes an extended rear wall portion, so that the first serving tray may be formed by the base portion.
When the lid portion is removed from the base portion, the extended rear wall portion may include a second connecting formation in the form of a second tab adapted to be received by the second receiving formation in the base panel.
The box may include various ventilation apertures to allow for ventilation to the pizzas any other relatively flat food product located in the box.
According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided a box defining a cavity for receiving a food product, the box comprising a base portion on which the food product is receivable and a lid portion hingedly coupled to the base portion being openable and closable to open and close the cavity, the arrangement being such that the box includes various score lines, some being fold lines and some being tear lines, so that the lid is removable from the base portion and the base portion is adapted to be formed into a serving tray for serving the food product.
The food products may be pizza or any other relatively flat food product.
The base portion may include a substantially flat base panel having a perimeter defined by opposing side edges, a front edge and a rear edge; and a pair of opposing side walls extending from the respective side edges at a fold line, a front wall extending from the front edge at a fold line and a rear wall extending from the rear edge at a fold line.
The side walls may include corner reinforcing tab members extending from opposite ends of each of the side walls.
The base panel may define first and second receiving formations in the form of a first pair of slots and a second slot respectively, for facilitating formation of the serving tray.
The lid portion may include a lid panel having a perimeter defined by opposing side edges, a front edge and a rear edge; and opposing side walls extending from the respective side edges at a fold line and a front wall extending from the front edge at a fold line.
The rear edge of the lid portion may be hingedly coupled to the upper end of the rear wall of the base portion at a fold line, so that the lid portion is foldable to open and close the cavity.
The lid portion defines a second tear line spaced from and parallel to the fold line where the lid portion is coupled to the base portion, so that a major part of the lid portion is removable from the box, so that the rear wall of the base portion includes an extended rear wall portion, so that the serving tray may be formed by the base portion.
When the lid portion is removed from the base portion, the extended rear wall portion may include a second connecting formation in the form of a second tab adapted to be received by the second receiving formation in the base panel.
The box may include various ventilation apertures to allow for ventilation to the pizzas or any other relatively flat food product located in the box.
According to a fourth aspect of the invention there is provided a stacking portion hingedly coupled to a base portion of a food products box defining a cavity, the stacking portion being locatable within the cavity of the box while remaining attached to the base portion and the box thus being adapted to receive a first food product on the base portion and a second food product on the stacking portion.
The invention will now be described further by way of non-limiting examples with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:
Referring to
The blank 10 is a foldable single-piece cardboard, corrugated board or paperboard blank from which the box 12 is formed. Once formed, the box 12 defines a cavity 14 for receiving at least two pizzas (a first pizza 16 and a second pizza 18), one stacked on top of the other. The box 12 comprises a base portion 20 on which the first pizza 16 is receivable, a stacking portion 22 hingedly coupled to the base portion 20 and locatable within the cavity 14 for receiving the second pizza 18, and a lid portion 24 also hingedly coupled to the base portion 20 being openable and closable to open and close the cavity 14 within the box 12.
The arrangement is such that the blank 10 includes various score lines, some being fold lines and some being tear lines, so that the lid portion 24 and stacking portion 22 are removable from the base portion 20 so that the base portion 20 is adapted to provide a first serving tray 26 for serving the first pizza 16 and the stacking portion 22 provides a second serving tray 28 for serving the second pizza 18, as shown in
The base portion 20 includes a substantially flat base panel 30 having a perimeter defined by opposing side edges 32, a front edge 34 and a rear edge 36. A pair of opposing side walls 38 extend from the respective side edges 32 at a fold line 40, a front wall 42 extends from the front edge 34 at a fold line 43 and a rear wall 44 extends from the rear edge 36 at a fold line 46, so that the cavity 14 is formed by the side walls 38, front wall 42 and rear wall 44, when they are folded in upwardly. The side walls 38 include corner reinforcing tab members 48 extending from opposite ends of each of the side walls 38. When the box 12 is folded, these corner reinforcing tab members 48 are located to abut the front wall 42 and rear wall 44 in order to provide additional strength at the corners of the box 12. The base panel 30 defines first and second receiving formations in the form of a first pair of slots 50 and a second slot 52 respectively, for facilitating formation of the first serving tray 26.
The stacking portion 22 includes a stacking panel 54 having a perimeter defined by opposing side edges 56, a front edge 58 and a rear edge 60. Opposing side walls 62 extend from the respective side edges 56 at a fold line 64, a front wall 66 extends from the front edge 58 at a fold line 68 and a rear wall 70 and rear wall portion 71 extend from the rear edge 60 at a fold line 72. The stacking portion 22 is hingedly and removably connected to the base portion 20 at a first tear line 74 defined between the front wall of the stacking portion 22 and the front wall of the base portion 42, so that the stacking portion 22 is foldable into and out of the cavity 14 and removable from the base portion 20.
As shown in detail in
The lid portion 24 includes a lid panel 80 having a perimeter defined by opposing side edges 82, a front edge 84 and a rear edge 86. Opposing side walls 88 extend from the respective side edges 82 at a fold line 90 and a front wall 92 extends from the front edge 84 at a fold line 94. The rear edge 86 of the lid portion 24 is hingedly coupled to the upper end of the rear wall 44 of the base portion 20 at a fold line 96, so that the lid portion 24 is foldable to open and close the cavity 14. The lid portion 24 defines a second tear line 98 spaced from and parallel to the fold line 96 where the lid portion 24 is coupled to the base portion 20, so that a major part of the lid portion 24 is removable from the box 12, so that the rear wall of the base portion 44 includes an extended rear wall portion 100, so that the first serving tray 26 is formed by the base portion 20. When the lid portion 24 is removed from the base portion 20, the extended rear wall portion 100 includes a second connecting formation in the form of a second tab 102 adapted to be received by the second slot 52 in the base panel 30.
The blank 10 (and thus the box 12) includes various ventilation apertures 104 to allow for ventilation to the pizzas 16 and 18 located in the box 12.
In use, the box 12 can be easily folded from the single-sheet blank 10 by folding the side, front and rear walls 38, 42 and 44 respectively of the base portion 20 in an operatively upwardly direction to be perpendicular to the base panel 30, to define the cavity 14. The first pizza 16 is receivable on the base panel 30, whereafter the stacking portion 22 is folded over and inserted into the cavity 14 so that the front wall 66 of the stacking portion abuts the front wall 42 of the base portion and the base panel 30 rests on the side, front and rear walls 62, 66 and 70 respectively of the stacking portion 22. The stacking panel 54 is therefore spaced from the base panel 30 and forms a surface for receiving the second pizza 18 thereon. The lid portion 24 is then folded to close the cavity 14 and the pizzas 16 and 18 contained therein. Similarly, the lid portion 24 is spaced from the stacking panel 54. The box 12 is easily transportable when folded and convenient to hold two pizzas. However, it is foreseen that by increasing the width of the box, the box could hold 4 pizzas, so that two pizzas are located side-by-side on the increased width base panel and two pizzas are located side-by-side on the increased width stacking panel.
When the lid portion 24 of the box 12 is opened and the pizzas 16 and 18 are to be removed for consumption, the stacking panel 54 is removed from the box, as shown in
According to the second embodiment of the invention, a blank 10A for a box is shown in
It will be appreciated that variations in detail are possible with a blank for a box, a box folded from the blank and a box convertible into a serving tray according to the invention without departing from the scope of the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2010/02067 | Mar 2010 | ZA | national |