A CONTAINER COMPRISING A TRAY-SHAPED BOTTOM PART AND A COVER PART

Abstract: A container comprises a tray-shaped bottom part (1) with an opening covered by a cover part. The cover part is sealed to the bottom part along a circumferential rim (10) thereof to form a sealed compartment. The cover part comprises a first cover sheet (2) sealed to the bottom part (1) along a portion (11) of the rim (10) thereof, and a second cover sheet (3) peelably sealed to the first cover sheet (2) and to the bottom part (1) along the remaining portion (12) of the rim (10) thereof. The resulting container is easy to open and to handle without risk of spilling the contents thereof.

Description: Title: A container comprising a trav-shaped bottom part and a cover part- Technical Field The invention relates to a container comprising a tray-shaped bottom part with an opening covered by a cover part sealed to the bottom part along a circumferential rim thereof so as to form a sealed compartment. Background Art DE-B 2, 140,733 discloses a container of the above type and adapted to contain ready-made dishes to be warmed up in boiling water or an oven, such as a microwave oven, said container comprising a tray-shaped bottom part of aluminium and a cover part of aluminium sealed to the bottom part along the rim thereof. Weakening lines divide the cover part into three portions, each portion being provided with a gripping member to be gripped when the portion in question of the cover part is to be removed from the bottom part. Correspondingly, DK-B 1 60,702 discloses a container of the above type and comprising a tray-shaped bottom part and a pealable cover sheet of polyester. This container is also suited for freezing and storing articles of food and can be used later on in connection with the warming up of said article of food in an oven, such as a microwave oven. Finally, DE-A1 2,840,223 discloses a tobacco pouch of plastic sheet with an opening closed by means of a peelable closure strip. Brief Description of the Invention The object of the invention is to provide a container of the above type, which is particularly suited for storing and preparing articles of food, and which is easy to open without risk of spilling the contents thereof. The container according to the invention is characterised in that the cover part comprises a first cover sheet sealed to the bottom part along a portion of the rim thereof, and a second cover sheet sealed to the first cover sheet and peelably to the bottom part along the remaining portion of said rim thereof. As a result, the peelable cover sheet need only be removed in order to allow access to the interior of the container, said cover sheet preferably covering a small portion of the opening of the container. As the peelable sheet can be removed without risk of removing the entire cover part, the risk of some of the contents being spilled in connection with the opening is reduced compared to the known containers. In addition, as the first cover sheet remains on the tray, the entire container possesses an improved stability compared to the corresponding known containers after the opening. According to the invention the second cover sheet may be peelably sealed to the first cover sheet and the first cover sheet more strongly sealed to the bottom part. Theoretically speaking, the first cover sheet could also be peelably sealed to the bottom part. It is, however, pre¬ ferred that the first cover sheet is relatively strongly sealed to the bot¬ tom part, or at least more strongly sealed thereto than the peelable sheet in such a manner that the risk of a portion of the first cover sheet being peeled off in connection with the opening of the container is mini- mized. In addition according to the invention the second peelable cover sheet may extend in an overlapping manner onto the first cover sheet in the mutual sealing area of said sheets. This embodiment turned out to be particularly advantageous in practise, inter alia in order to avoid portions of the first cover sheet from being peeled off too when the peelable cover sheet is removed. Moreover according to the invention the two cover sheets may be mutu- ally sealed along a straight line. This embodiment is particularly advan¬ tageous especially in connection with an additional embodiment of the invention where the tray-shaped bottom part is rectangular with two pairs of opposing side walls, and where the sealing line between the two cover sheets extends parallel to one of the side walls, preferably the shortest side wall. In this manner the handling of the container during the opening and the pouring out of the contents is particularly advan¬ tageous. Furthermore according to the invention the peelable cover sheet may comprise a gripping member extending beyond the sealing line with the bottom part or with the first cover sheet. In this connection it turned out to be particularly advantageous that the peelable cover sheet extends past the sealing line with the first cover sheet to form a gripping strip with a free edge parallel to the sealing line between the two sheets. This embodiment is particularly suited for production as both cover sheets can be formed with both parallel side edges and parallel end edges with the result that they can be unwound their respective roll, be brought into a mutually overlapping position, and be welded together in the over¬ lapping area, whereafter they can simultaneously be welded to the bottom part along the rim thereof. In addition according to the invention the first cover sheet may cover at least 50%, and preferably at least 75 to 95% of the opening of the bottom part. Generally speaking, a maximum covering of the opening of the bottom part should be preferred for the sake of the rigidity and consequently for the sake of the handling of the container. On the other hand, the portion of the opening covered by the peelable sheet should be of such a size that it is possible to pour out the contents of the con¬ tainer. Moreover according to the invention at least one cover sheet and prefer- ably both cover sheets may comprise a polymer. Finally according to the invention the bottom part may be made of a resilient material, which preferably comprises a polymer. Although it is preferred, of course, to use a relatively resilient or semi-rigid bottom part, it is obvious that a rigid bottom part can also be used. Brief Description of the Drawings The invention is explained in greater detail below with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is an isometric view of a preferred embodiment of a container according to the invention, and Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along the lines ll-ll of Fig. 1 . Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention The container comprises a tray-shaped bottom part 1 and a cover part 2, 3. The expression tray-shaped bottom part should be understood in the broadest sense as said bottom part can be substantially completely flat, i.e. without side walls, or it can be substantially deeper than shown in the Figure. The bottom part 1 is rectangular and comprises a bottom 4. Two pairs of opposing side walls 5, 6 and 7, 8 extend upwards from the bottom 4 and continue at their upper end into a common flange 9, on which the upper rim 10 of the bottom part is positioned. The cover part 2, 3 comprises a first cover sheet 2, which is relatively firmly sealed to the rim 10 of the bottom part 1 along the major portion thereof by means of a first welding line 1 1 illustrated by means of x'es. The first cover sheet 2 covers the major portion of the opening of the tray-shaped bottom part 1 . The cover part comprises furthermore a second cover sheet 3, which is peelably sealed to the remaining portion of the upper rim 10 of the bottom part 1 along a second welding line 1 2 indicated by means of o'es as well as to the first cover sheet 2 by means of a welding line 14 provided in the area at the free edge 1 6 of the first cover sheet 2 and indicated by means of triangles. The second peelable cover sheet 3 extends in an overlapping manner a distance past the welding line 14 with the first cover sheet 2 to form a gripping strip 1 5 being gripped when the peelable cover sheet 3 is to be removed. Like the adjacent free edge 1 6 of the first cover sheet, the free edge 1 7 of the gripping strip 1 5 is parallel to the short side walls 5, 6 and the rims 1 8, 1 9 of the associated flange portions. In this manner both cover sheets 2, 3 are advantageously provided with parallel side edges. In the above embodiment, the peelable cover sheet 3 extends a distance past the welding line 14 with the first cover sheet 2 to form a gripping strip 1 5. A gripping strip 20 can, however, also or instead be provided by the peelable cover sheet 3 extending a distance past the welding line 1 2 with the upper rim 10 of the bottom part 1 , cf. the dotted lines in the drawing. In this connection, the associated flange portion 9a can be formed with such a width that it is possible to grip said flange portion without touching the associated side wall 8 of the bottom part 1 . The previously described embodiment can, of course, also advantageously be provided with such a broad flange portion. Furthermore, an opening 21 can advantageously be provided in the broad flange portion of the flange 9. The insertion of a device, such as a tooth of a fork, into said opening renders it possible to remove the container from boiling water without the fingers coming in contact with said water. When the container comprises a further broad flange portion 9a. which can be gripped without the associated side wall 8 being touc¬ hed, it is possible to open the container without burning the fingers when the container and consequently the contents thereof are warmed up in boiling water. The broad flange portion 9a can, of course, be provided according to desire at any or more of the three side walls 7, 8, and 6 associated with the peelable cover sheet 3. The tray-shaped bottom part 1 can be made of any resilient, semi-rigid or rigid material. It is, however, for certain applications and for material-saving reasons preferred to use a resilient or semi-rigid laminate, such as a PE/PA/PE-laminate which has been deepdrawn into the desired shape and is of a thickness of 150 μm. It is preferred to use a relatively resilient material containing a polymer for the two cover sheets. Thus the first cover sheet 2 can be made of for instance PP/PE-laminate of a thickness of for instance 70 μm, the PE-layer facing inwards. The peel¬ able cover sheet 3 can be made of for instance a PA/PE-laminate of substantially the same thickness as the first cover sheet, the PE-layer also facing inwards. The strength of the sealings between the abutting surfaces can be con¬ trolled by means of a suitable material combination of the surfaces. The latter applies both to the composition of the material and to the applica¬ tion of a surface coating or the adhesive. The mutual sealing of the two cover sheets and the sealing thereof to the bottom part can be per¬ formed by any sealing method, such as by way of thermal sealing and ultrasonic sealing.

Claims: Claims. 1. A container comprising a tray-shaped bottom part with an opening covered by a cover part sealed to the bottom part along a circumfer¬ ential rim thereof to form a sealed compartment, c h a ra cte ri sed in that the cover part comprises a first cover sheet (2) sealed to the bottom part (1) along a portion (11) of the rim (10) thereof, and a sec¬ ond cover sheet (3) peelably sealed to the first cover sheet (2) and to the bottom part (1) along the remaining portion (12) of the rim (10) thereof. 2. A container as claimed in claim 1; c h a racte ri sed in that the second cover sheet (3) is peelably sealed to the first cover sheet (2), and that the first cover sheet (2) is more strongly sealed to the bottom part (1). 3. A container as claimed in claim 1 or 2, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the peelable second cover sheet (3) extends in an overlapping man¬ ner onto the first cover sheet (2) in the mutual sealing area (14) of the sheets. 4. A container as claimed in one or more of the preceding claims, c h a r a cte ri sed in that the two cover sheets (2, 3) are mutually sealed along a straight line (14). 5. A container as claimed in one or more of the preceding claims, and where the tray-shaped part is rectangular witht two pairs of opposing side walls, c h ara cte rised in that the sealing line (14) between the two cover sheets (2, 3) extends parallel to one of the side walls, preferably the shortest side wall (4, 5). 6. A container as claimed in one or more of the preceding claims, ch ara cteri sed in that the peelable cover sheet (3) comprises a gripping member (15) extending beyond the sealing line (12, 14) with the bottom part (1) or with the first cover sheet (2). 7. A container as claimed in one or more of the preceding claims, characterised in that the peelable cover sheet (3) extends past the sealing line (14) with the first cover sheet (2) to form a gripping strip (15) with a free edge (17) parallel to the sealing line (14) between the two sheets (2, 3). 8. A container as claimed in one or more of the preceding claims, c h a ra cte ri s e d in that the first cover sheet (2) covers at least 50%, and preferably at least 75 to 95% of the opening of the bottom part (1). 9. A container as claimed in one or more of the preceding claims, c h a ra ct e ri s e d in that at least one cover sheet and preferably both cover sheets (2, 3) comprise a polymer. 10. A container as claimed in one or more of the preceding claims, ch a ra cte ri sed in that the bottom part (1) is made of a resilient material, which preferably comprises a polymer.

Inventors: SCHULZ WERNER, SCHULZ, WERNER
Applicants: RAACKMANNS FAB AS, SCHULZ WERNER, RAACKMANNS FABRIKER A/S, SCHULZ, WERNER
Application year: 1993
Main classification: B65D77
IPC codes: B65D17, B65D43, B65D53, B65D75, B65D77