Abstract:
A carton for wrapped fast food, comprising a sheet of rigid material, having a posterior section, posterior fold line, upper and lower winged sections and middle section, said middle section having at least one removable section adjacent to an anterior opening, and a lid to allow the sealing of the anterior opening. The carton facilitates the wrapping of the fast food comprising a substantially flat bread, safe storage and transportation of the wrapped fast food. Preferably, the bottom of the carton is nested within a cup in order to maintain the folded shape of the carton and prevent leakage of its contents, such cup also having a removable portion.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    This invention relates to a sealable carton and method for wrapped fast-food with removable sections. Particularly, but not exclusively, the invention relates to a sealable carton and method for wrapped fast-food including Greek-style souvlakis, gyros or kebabs. The carton facilitates the wrapping, safe storage and transportation of the wrapped fast food. In addition, said carton has one or more removable sections at pre-defined tear lines along the middle section of the carton which can be removed while the fast food is being consumed. Preferably, the bottom of the carton is nested within a cup in order to maintain the folded shape of the carton and prevent leakage of its contents, such cup also having a removable portion. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    It is well known that fast-food vendors have developed cartons that allow ease of transportation and consumption of the food being served. Such cartons have been developed for various kinds of fast-food including hamburgers, tacos, and sandwiches. These cartons may also assist with the consumption of the food by preventing temperature loss, excessive spillage, leakage of contents, and/or keeping the food intact. Prior art examples of such cartons and/or food packaging are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,641,752 and 4,844,330 and US Published Patent Application 2006/0231599 A1. 
         [0003]    Wrapped fast-food including Greek-style souvlakis, gyros or kebabs typically comprise portions of meat and salad wrapped in a substantially flat bread such as pita bread and garnished with various sauces such as tzatziki, chilli sauce and/or hummus. Typically, the meat and salad is wrapped in a conical fashion by the pita bread and eaten from the top of the souvlaki, which forms the open end of the ‘cone’ formed by the pita bread. For convenience, such wrapped fast-food will be referred to in the rest of this specification as ‘souvlaki(s)’ although it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention described can applied to any wrapped fast-food. Vendors do not provide cartons or packaging for a souvlaki in a similar manner to the prior art methods disclosed, e.g. 
         [0004]    hamburger cartons, due to their unusual shape and method of consumption. Therefore, vendors typically provide souvlakis encased in a paper bag and/or thin paper wrapping or napkin. This style of packaging has various disadvantages including temperature loss, lack of robustness and poor storage capability causing leakage and crumbling of the contents with potential contamination of hands, clothing and surroundings as a consequence. In addition, when eating the souvlaki in the usual manner from the top to the bottom, the packaging must be torn open, which can cause parts of the packaging to be removed in an unpredictable way. This usually leads to the contents of the souvlaki being spilled and can make it difficult to consume. In addition, the wrapping of a souvlaki in a speedy and efficient manner requires some training and it would be useful to have packaging that assists a user in the efficient wrapping of a souvlaki. Therefore, there is need for an invention that overcomes the problems in the prior art and allows the souvlaki to be wrapped, transported and consumed in an efficient and convenient manner. In addition, the invention should be inexpensive to produce and suitable for mass production. 
       OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    It is an object of this invention to provide a carton that allows a souvlaki to be transported in a safe and efficient manner and reduce the risk of contamination, or at least provide the public with a useful choice. 
         [0006]    It is also an object of this invention to provide a carton that allows a souvlaki to be eaten in a convenient manner, or at least provide the public with a useful choice. 
         [0007]    In it also an object of this invention to provide a carton that assists a user in the efficient wrapping of a souvlaki, or at least provide the public with a useful choice. 
         [0008]    It is also an object of this invention to provide a carton that is inexpensive and suitable for mass production, or at least provide the public with a useful choice. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    The present invention aims to provide a carton to contain a souvlaki and method, which allows the souvlaki to be wrapped, transported and consumed in an efficient manner. The carton comprises a sheet of rigid material, having a posterior section, posterior fold line, upper and lower winged sections and middle section for placing an unwrapped souvlaki having at least one removable section, anterior opening and a lid to allow the sealing of the anterior opening. The carton facilitates the wrapping of a souvlaki wherein a pita is placed in the middle section with the edges adjacent to the side pita marker line and bottom pita marker line, placing left thumb on the folding back the carton along the upper winged section line and using the edge of the upper winged section to fold over the pita and hold it down while folding the middle section of the carton in a substantially conical manner to bring the lower winged section into contact with the upper winged section wherein the lower line marker is placed substantially parallel over the upper line marker and subsequently said lower line marker is slidably positioned under the said upper line marker and upper winged section is unfolded at the upper winged section line and held over lower winged lateral section, forming an anterior opening of the carton which can be sealed by the lid and folding the posterior section of the carton at the posterior fold line. Preferably, a separate cup section is provided with a shape allowing it to be nestled to the posterior section of the carton after said folding of the posterior fold line, which provides stability and rigidness to the carton, and prevents leakage of any souvlaki sauces. The middle section of the carton has at least one removable portion, which can be torn off while consuming the souvlaki. The cup itself may also have at least one removable portion. 
         [0010]    In the first aspect the invention provides a carton for wrapped food includes: a sheet of rigid material having a posterior section with substantially adjacent and parallel bottom fold line, substantially tapered lateral winged section and top edge with lid; 
         [0011]    wherein said bottom fold line is folded substantially parallel to said bottom edge and lateral winged sections are folded substantially conically to contact each other and comprise a middle section with a top opening which may be sealed with said lid; wherein said middle section has at least one removable section along its length formed by weakening the material along tear lines, the first said removable section starting from said top edge; 
         [0012]    whereby said removable section can be removed along the tear lines during consumption of the wrapped food contents of the carton. 
         [0013]    Preferably, bottom fold line of said carton is supported by a cup of rigid material having a substantially similar shape to the base section of the carton. 
         [0014]    Preferably, said cup includes: 
         [0015]    a sheet of rigid material with base section, bottom section and two winged sections wherein said bottom section is folded to contact the two winged sections and sealed using adhesive means to form a cup with top opening; 
         [0016]    wherein bottom of said carton can be supported being placed into top opening of said cup. 
         [0017]    Preferably, said base section of said cup includes at least one removable section along its length formed by weakening the material along tear lines, the first said removable section starting from anterior opening of said cup. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0018]    The invention will be described by way of example only with reference to the drawings, in which: 
           [0019]      FIG. 1  is a top view of a schematic for forming the unfolded carton of this invention. 
           [0020]      FIG. 2  is a top view of a schematic for forming the unfolded cup accessory of this invention. 
           [0021]      FIG. 3  shows a front lateral view of the carton of the invention, folded in accordance with the preferred embodiment. 
           [0022]      FIG. 4  shows a rear lateral view of the carton of the invention, folded in accordance with the preferred embodiment. 
           [0023]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the carton of the invention from the front, showing the cup attached to the carton, folded in accordance with the preferred embodiment. 
           [0024]      FIG. 6  is an exploded perspective view of the carton of the invention from the front, showing the cup accessory separate from the carton, folded in accordance with the preferred embodiment. 
           [0025]      FIG. 7  is a view of the carton of the invention showing the first stage of folding the carton according to the preferred embodiment. 
           [0026]      FIG. 8  is a view of the carton of the invention showing the second stage of folding the carton according to the preferred embodiment. 
           [0027]      FIG. 9  is a view of the carton of the invention showing the third stage of folding the carton according to the preferred embodiment. 
           [0028]      FIG. 10  is a view of the carton of the invention showing the fourth stage of folding the carton according to the preferred embodiment. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0029]    The invention will be described in relation to the preferred embodiment with reference to the drawings. 
         [0030]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , a schematic for manufacturing the carton  10  is shown, preferably from a flat sheet of a thin, stiff, and resilient material  12  such as laminated paperboard or cardboard. The carton is designed to assist the wrapping of a souvlaki. It is constructed by first placing a pita bread in the centre of the carton with the edges of the pita at the side pita marker line  11   a  and bottom pita marker line  11   b  (said pita marker lines preferably appearing on opposite side of carton, see  FIG. 7  below). It should be noted that as  FIG. 1  shows the external side of the carton, the pita bread would not be visible in  FIG. 1  when placed in the centre of the carton—refer to  FIG. 7  below. It should further be noted that while this specification refers to pita bread, any other substantially flat and flexible food item could be substituted such as a flat bread or naan bread. The carton is constructed by folding the upper winged section  15  backwards at the upper winged section line  15   a  and then folding packaging in a substantially cylindrical manner so that the lower line marker  18  is substantially over and parallel to the upper line marker  17 . Preferably, in order to faciliate the cylindrical folding of the carton, the right thumb is placed on the upper thumb marker  17   a  (which preferably appears on the opposite side of the carton, see  FIG. 7  below) which supports the folded back upper winged section  15  and presses down the side edge of the pita bread. The left hand thumb is placed on the lower thumb marker  18   a  to support the lower winged section  16  and brought around towards the upper thumb marker  17   a.  Subsequently, the posterior section  13  is folded inwards at the posterior fold line  14  of the carton and a cup is placed over the posterior section of the carton to hold it in place (see  FIGS. 2 to 6  below). It should be noted that while the upper line marker  17 , upper thumb marker  17   a,  side pita marker line  11  a and bottom pita marker line  11   b,  are shown on  FIG. 1 , in the preferable embodiment these markings would only appear on the other side of the carton (refer to  FIG. 7 ). The preferred method of folding the carton in a matter according to the preferred embodiment that facilitates the wrapping of a souvlaki is more particularly described in  FIGS. 7 to 10  below. 
         [0031]    After such folding, the carton forms a middle section  20  and anterior opening  22  (not shown—refer to  FIGS. 3-6 ) the latter being sealed by folding the lid  24 . When the carton is ready to be used, a souvlaki can be placed within the anterior opening and the lid closed using the lid tag  26  (refer to  FIG. 4 ). The carton has a plurality of tear lines  28 , which preferably are constructed by perforating the material along the length of the tear lines, which enables a person to tear off the lid and adjacent removable sections  30   a ,  30   b,    30   c,    30   d  of the carton along the length of the middle section, starting with removing the lid and removable section  30   a  which is adjacent to the anterior opening. Preferably such removable sections are arranged in a substantially diagonal and/or zip-like fashion, which allows them to be removed sequentially from  30   a  to  30   d  as the souvlaki is being consumed. This allows the souvlaki to be consumed from top to bottom while preventing spillage and contamination. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that there are various alternatives for the construction of tear lines, for example, weakening the material by making it thinner without perforating it or by chemical weakening. 
         [0032]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , a schematic for a paperboard blank for manufacturing a cup  40  is shown, preferably constructed from the same material as the carton  10 , however, a slightly more rigid and leak-proof material can be used (e.g. thicker paperboard) in order to maximise the support and minimise any leakage of sauces which tend to gravitate towards the bottom end of the carton. The cup  40  is constructed by folding the posterior tab  42  backwards along the posterior fold  44  and folding the lateral wings  46  to connect with the adhesive patches  48  on the posterior tab. Preferably, such adhesive patches will be heat or contact sensitive, and will ensure a leak-proof seal. Preferably, the cup also has a removable section  30   e  edged by a tear line  28  to facilitate consumption of the remainders of the souvlaki. 
         [0033]    Referring to  FIG. 3 , a front lateral view of the folded carton  10  and cup  40  after assembly is shown. A view of the tear lines  28  forming the removable sections  30   a - d  along the middle section  20  and  30   e  on the cup are visible and illustrate how the tear lines are designed to allow removal of the removable sections from top ( 30   a ) to bottom ( 30   e ) when the souvlaki contained within the carton is being consumed. 
         [0034]    Referring to  FIG. 4 , a rear lateral view of the folded carton  10  and cup  40  after assembly is shown. A view of the tear lines  28  is shown to extend laterally along the middle section  20  is shown. The anterior opening  22  can be covered by the lid  24  and sealed by placing an adhesive sticker over the lid tag  26  and the outside of the upper winged section  17 . Alternatively, the lid can be sealed by inserting the lid tag into the upper edge of the anterior opening  22 . The lateral wings  46  are also folded to form the back of the cup, as shown. 
         [0035]    Referring to  FIG. 5 , a front perspective view of the carton  10  and cup  40  after assembly is shown. When in use according to the invention, the carton would contain a souvlaki (not shown) which is sealed by the lid  24  in the manner discussed herein. Preferably, when the souvlaki is ready to be eaten the lid and removable section  30   a  will be removed, followed by removable sections  30   b  to  30   d,  and finally removable section  30   e  of the cup. 
         [0036]    Referring to  FIG. 6 , a front perspective view is shown with the carton  10  and cup  40  separated. It is apparent that the cup is designed to nest the cup opening  60  to the bottom of the carton, and as it is apparent that alterative carton shapes are possible, while keeping the same inventive concept, there are alterative designs of the nesting cup. It is also apparent that while the cartons and/or cups are not being used, they can be stacked together within their respective openings in order to facilitate efficient storage and transportation. 
         [0037]    Referring to  FIG. 7  a view of the carton of the invention at the first stage of folding the carton according to the preferred embodiment is shown. As described above, the carton is designed to assist the wrapping of a souvlaki. It is constructed by a user by first placing a substantially flat bread such as a pita bread  70  in the centre of the carton with the right corner the pita  70   a  at the side pita marker line  11   a  and bottom of the pita at the bottom pita marker line  11   b.  The left corner of the pita  70   b  is positioned over the lower winged section  16 . Various fillings  72  such as meat, salad and condiments can be placed along the inner length of the pita. At the first stage of wrapping, a user holds the upper winged section with their right hand  74  and places their right thumb over the upper thumb marker  17   a  and places their left hand  76  beneath the lower winged section  16  with the left thumb  78  placed over the lower thumb marker  18   a  (not shown). In this stage, the carton is unwrapped, and the upper winged section  15  is not folded back at the upper fold line  15   a.  The posterior section  13  is not folded upwards and the full length of the posterior fold line  14  and lid tag  26  is visible. 
         [0038]    Referring to  FIG. 8  a view of the carton of the invention at the second stage of folding the carton according to the preferred embodiment is shown. At the second stage of wrapping the user folds the right corner of the pita  70   a  towards the left corner of the pita  70   b  by folding back the upper winged section  15  at the upper fold line  15   a,  pressing down the thumb of their right hand  82  over the upper thumb marker  17   a  to use the edge of the upper winged section  15  to push the right corner of the pita  70   a  down. Subsequently, the user folds the middle section of the carton in a substantially conical manner to bring the lower winged section  16  into contact with the upper winged section  15  wherein the lower line marker  18  is placed substantially parallel over the upper line marker  17 . At this stage, the bottom edge of the lower winged section  84  is placed over the bottom of the upper winged section  15  approximately in the area of the posterior fold line  14 . 
         [0039]    Referring to  FIG. 9  a view of the carton of the invention at the third stage of folding the carton according to the preferred embodiment is shown. At this stage, a user presses on the left thumb marker  18   a  to push the edge of the lower winged section  16  under the upper winged section  15 . The thumbs of the left hand  80  and right hand  82  are pushed together so that the lower winged section  16  slides under the upper winged section  15  in a narrower cylindrical fashion. 
         [0040]    Referring to  FIG. 10  a view of the carton of the invention at the fourth stage of folding the carton according to the preferred embodiment is shown. At that stage, the user first unfolds the upper winged section  15  at the upper winged section line  15   a  which is preferably held in place over the lower winged section  16  by the user&#39;s right thumb  100 . Subsequently the posterior section  13  is folded at the posterior fold line  14  and held in place by the user&#39;s right thumb  102 . This forms a top open end of the carton which can be sealed by the lid  24  and the lid tag  26  can be secured by placing it within the top end of the carton or with a section of adhesive material e.g. a sticker. 
         [0041]    As illustrated in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , a separate cup section  40  can provided with a shape allowing it to be nestled to the bottom of the carton after said folding of the posterior fold line, which forms the completed carton containing a souvlaki which has been folded in accordance with the apparatus and method described herein. This carton can be transported and allows the souvlaki to be consumed at a customer&#39;s convenience. 
         [0042]    While the present invention has been illustrated by the description of the embodiments thereof, and while the embodiments have been described in detail, it is not the intention of the Applicant to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus and method, and illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departure from the spirit or scope of the Applicant&#39;s general inventive concept.