Abstract:
A container having a product cavity formed by a bottom panel, front and back panels and end panels extending upwardly from the bottom panel. The front and back panels, a receptacle platform and a pair of support panels for the platform extend outwardly from at least one end wall. The receptacle platform has a receptacle aperture. A cover panel can overlie the product cavity and the platform and may have an aperture above the platform aperture.

Description:
This invention is directed to a container with an auxiliary holding means. 
     In many food items, the main food item is accompanied with additional items such as sauces or dressings. These additional items are usually placed in small cups or receptacles. These cups or receptacles are then placed in the container with the main food item. This leads to a number of problems. If the main food item is hot then it will heat the sauce or dressing in the cup or receptacle which may have adverse effects on the sauce or dressing. The cup or receptacle will come into contact with the main food item. If the cup or receptacle is not sterile it can contaminate the main food item. The cup or receptacle may pick up elements of the main food item, such as grease or sauce, and become difficult or messy to handle. The cup or receptacle is loose within the container and may become dislodged or fall out of the container before it is finally delivered. 
     It would be advantageous to eliminate these problems by separating the cup or receptacle from the main food item. 
     Although the container has been discussed in relation to food items it should be noted that the cup or receptacle could contain screws, bolts, nails or other hardware if the container contains a project to be formed, or could contain batteries for a toy or other electronic device. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a top plan view of a blank for the container 
         FIG. 2  is an isometric view of a partially assembled container. 
         FIG. 3  is an isometric view of the closed container. 
         FIG. 4  is a top plan view of a blank for another embodiment of the container. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The container is illustrated with a single cup or receptacle. It will be understood that the container can accommodate more than a single cup or receptacle. This can be done by having receptacle platforms at each end of the container. The number of cups that can be accommodated by a receptacle platform will depend on the width of the container. A wide container can hold two or more receptacle on the platform. 
     The term “attachment line” is used throughout the application. The attachment lines may be score lines, reverse score lines or cut and score lines depending upon the requirements for the particular line. 
     In  FIG. 1 , the blank  10  is divided by parallel longitudinal attachment lines  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18  and  20  into a closure flap  22 , a cover panel  24 , a back panel  26 , a bottom panel  28 , a front panel  30  and a closure panel  32 . Attachment line  20  is in two sections. A cut line  34  extends between the two sections of attachment line  20 . The cut line  34  forms a closure aperture  36  in the closure panel  32 . The cut line  34  has two ends  38  and  40  which extend outwardly from attachment line  20  and a central section  42  which is parallel to and offset from attachment line  20 . The closure aperture  36  is wide enough to accommodate the closure flap  22 . 
     End panels  44  and  46  are attached to opposite ends of bottom panel  28  along parallel transverse attachment lines  48  and  50 . The side edges of the end panels  44  and  46  are defined by the attachment lines  16  and  18 . End panels  44  and  46 , front panel  30  and back panel  26  have the same height in the erected container so for all of these panels the distance is the same between the attachment line between the panel and the bottom panel  28  and the side opposite the attachment line between the panel and the bottom panel  28 . The distance is the same between attachment lines  16  and  12 , between attachment lines  18  and  20 , between attachment line  48  and the opposite edge  52  of end panel  44 , and the distance between attachment line  50  and the attachment line  54  forming the opposite edge of end panel  46 . 
     Side flaps  56  and  58  are attached to the side edges of end panel  44  along attachment lines  16  and  18  respectively. Side flap  56  is attached to the back panel  26  by diagonal attachment line  60  which extends from the juncture of attachment lines  16  and  48  to the juncture of the side edge of back panel  26  and outer side edge  57  of side flap  56 . Side flap  58  is attached to the front panel  30  by diagonal attachment line  62  which extends from the juncture of attachment lines  18  and  48  to the juncture of the side edge of front panel  30  and the outer side edge  59  of side flap  58 . The outer edges  64  and  66  of side flaps  56  and  58  are aligned with the opposite edge  52  of end panel  44 . The outer edges  64  and  66  of the flaps  56  and  58  are supports for the cover  24  in the formed container. 
     Triangular support panels  68  and  70  are attached to the side edges of end panel  46  along the attachment lines  16  and  18  respectively. Support panel  68  is attached to back panel  26  by diagonal attachment line  72  which extends from the juncture of attachment lines  16  and  48  to the outer corner  74  of back panel  26 , the juncture of the top edge of back panel  26  with the top edge of support panel  68 . Support panel  70  is attached to front panel  30  by diagonal attachment line  76  which extends from the juncture of attachment lines  18  and  48  to the outer corner  78  of front panel  30 , the juncture of the top edge of front panel  30  with the top edge of support panel  70 . The outer edges  80  and  82  of support panels  68  and  70 , respectively, are aligned with the opposite edge  54  of end panel  46 . The support panels support the receptacle platform  84  and the cover  24  in the formed container. 
     Receptacle platform  84  is attached to end panel  46  along the attachment line  54  forming the opposite edge of the end panel  46 . The receptacle platform  84  has an aperture  86  for holding the cup or receptacle. The aperture is shown as formed of a number of cut wedges  88  that surround the cup or receptacle in the filled container but may be open. 
     The receptacle platform has been shown with one aperture  86  but could be provided with additional apertures if the container had an appropriate width from front to back. If needed an additional receptacle platform and support structure could be formed on end panel  44 . 
     The cover panel  24  may have an aperture or apertures  90  which align with the aperture or apertures  86  in the formed container. The aperture  90  should be equal to or smaller than the top of the cup or receptacle to hold the cup or receptacle in place. The aperture  90  should have the same or a smaller diameter or size than the aperture  86 . 
     In forming the container, the front panel  30 , back panel  26 , and end panels  44  and  46  are bent upwardly around attachment lines  18 ,  16 ,  48  and  50 . The support panels  68  and  70  and the side flaps  56  and  58  are bent outwardly around attachment lines  14  and  16  and diagonal attachment lines  72 ,  76 ,  60  and  62 . The receptacle platform  84  is bent downwardly around attachment line  54  to rest on the support panels  68  and  70  and the front and back panels  30  and  26 . The receptacle or receptacle  92  are placed in the apertures  86  and the main item is placed in the cavity formed by the front panel  30 , back panel  26 , end panels  44  and  46  and bottom panel  28 . The closure panel  32  is bent downwardly around attachment line  20  forming the closure aperture  36 . The cover panel  22  is bent downwardly around attachment line  14  and the closure flap  22  is inserted into closure aperture  36 . The closure aperture or apertures  90  will be over the receptacle or receptacles  92  holding the receptacle or receptacles is place and allowing the purchaser to see what is in the receptacle or receptacles. 
     Although the front, back and end panels of the container are shown as being perpendicular to the bottom panel in the formed container, it should be understood that these panels can be angled outwardly from the bottom panel is some embodiments. 
       FIG. 4  shows the blank for another embodiment of the container. In this embodiment the position of the closure flap  22  with its attachment line  12  and the closure panel  32  with its attachment line  20  and cut line  34  are reversed. The closure panel  32   a  is attached to cover panel  24  along attachment line  20   a  and cut line  34   a , and the closure flap  22   a  is attached to front panel  30  along attachment line  12   a . All other parts of the container remain the same and the reference numerals are the same. The container is still closed by placing closure flap  22   a  through closure aperture  36   a  formed by the cut line  34   a.    
     The material of construction may be corrugated board or fiberboard. 
     It will be understood that other changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.