TRANSPORT BOX FOR FRESH FOOD

Abstract: A transport box (1) for handling fresh food such as meat, fish, vegetables or the like, comprises a bottom section (2), sidewalls (3, 4, 5, 6) and possibly a lid. The interior side of the bottom is provided with draining means (9) for draining liquid such as serum or the like that exudes from the food. The draining means comprise recesses or pits (8) arranged in the bottom section extending from the corners and along the sides of the box. At the underside of the bottom section, the recesses form projections or beads (11) that serve as supporting and guiding means when stacking the box on top of another. Additionally, this arrangement serve as reinforcement of the bottom section. Alternatively, the recesses may be interconnected with passages (10), or extend continuously along the sides of the box forming one sole recess.

Description: Transport box for fresh food The present invention relates to a box for transporting fresh food such as meat, fish, vegetables or the like, where the box has a bottom and sidewalls, and possibly a lid. Further the box comprises draining devices in its bottom section, for draining liquid as blood serum or the like that may exude from food contained therein. Known in the art are boxes for transport of fish where ice water and blood plasma from the fish is drained out of the boxes through holes made in the corners between the walls and the bottom section. One problem related to this type of boxes is that the draining liquid from the boxes will pollute their surroundings wherever they are placed or put into stock. Further, it is known to place a cloth or the like in the bottom of a transport box or the similar packing, the cloth is arranged to absorb liquid that exudes from the fresh food. The use of a cloth as mentioned above, represents increased costs due to the work related to arranging/removing the cloth and to the purchase costs of the cloth itself. Moreover, this solution does not fully satisfy hygienic demands. As an additional example of the state of the art, the Norwegian patent no. 162.335, owned by the applicant, shows a transport box where liquid exuding from fresh food contained therein being collected in a cavity comprised in a double bottom section. The above mentioned arrangement prevents pollution of the surroundings when the box is in use, but as the cavity of the double bottom is difficult to clean after use, this box is not suited for reuse. The present invention discloses a transport box with provisions for collecting liquid that exudes from fresh food contained therein, meanwhile it is easy to clean and thus is hygienic in use. Further, the box is robust, it has good and safe stacking properties, it is cheap to produce and is very suitable for reuse. The invention is characterised in that draining means arranged in the bottom section of the box communicates with recesses formed at the interior side of the bottom, the recesses extend from the corners and along the sides. Furthermore, the recesses are so formed that they represents projections at the underside of the box serving as guiding means when stacking. Simultaneously, the above mentioned arrangement of the recesses will represent a structural reinforcement of the bottom section. The independent claims 2-4 define advantageous features of the present invention. The invention will now be described in more detail by means of examples and with reference to the drawings in which: Fig. 1 shows, in top view, a material blank which the box according to the invention is formed from Fig. 2 shows a box formed from the material blank shown in figure 1, seen in partial side and top view Fig. 3 shows the box seen in partial side and bottom view Preferably, the box according to the invention may be collapsible and made out of a thermoplastic material well suited for reuse. A box of this type is further described and shown in the applicants Norwegian patent no. 172283. Figure 1 shows an unfolded material blank 1 from which a box is fabricated, comprising a bottom section 2 and sides 3, 4, 5, 6 which are hinged or otherwise joined to the bottom section. In the bottom section of the box, at the interior side thereof, there are arranged draining means that communicate with recesses or pits 8 that are rounded at the corners of the box and extending along the sides thereof. The recesses or pits may be interconnected with passages 10 allowing the liquid to move freely between these. This feature secures that all of the recesses may be filled up with liquid, providing a maximum collecting capacity. Possibly, instead of arranging passages 10 interconnecting distinctive recesses 8 as shown in Fig. 1 , it may be arranged one sole recess that extends continuously along the sides of the box (not shown). The volume of the recess(es) may be 2 - 5 % of the box volume. However, this will depend on the field of use. For instance, a box designed for transport of meat and having approximately 40 litres of transport volume, the appropriate volume of the recess(es) may be 1 - 1 ,5 litres of liquid. As described above, one object of the recesses is to collect liquid. Another important object is to reinforce the bottom section of the box. As will be seen in figure 2 and 3, the recesses projects downwards and are forming projections or beads 11 beneath the sides and the bottom of the box. These beads appears as "corrugations" in the plain bottom section, and provide increased stiffness and bending strength of the bottom section. Further, the beads have a third function, namely to serve as support and guiding devices when stacking one box on top of another. The beads are so formed that they fit the inside of an underlying box, and rest against the interior sidewalls of said box. In case the underlying box has a lid, the beads may cooperate with recesses arranged in the lid or projections formed thereupon (not shown).

Claims: Claims 1. Transport box (1) for handling fresh food such as meat, fish, vegetables or the like, comprising a bottom section, sidewalls and possibly a lid, where the interior side of the bottom is provided with draining means (9) for draining liquid as blood serum or the like that exudes from the food, characterized in that recesses or pits (8) are arranged in the bottom section and extend from the corners along the sides of the box, the recesses forming projections or beads ( 1) at the underside of the bottom section, said beads (11) serve as supporting and guiding means when stacking the box on top of another and serve additionally as reinforcement of the bottom section. 2. Transport box as disclosed in claim 1 , characterized in that the pits (8) are interconnected with passages (10). 3. Transport box as disclosed in claim 1, characterized in that the pits (8) are formed continuous and defines an uninterrupted recess along the sides of the box. 4. Transport box as disclosed in claim 1-3, characterized in that the volume of the pits represents 2 - 5 % of the total box volume.

Inventors: BOGEN ODDVAR, BOGEN, ODDVAR
Applicants: BOGEN ODDVAR, NORSK HYDRO AS, BOGEN, ODDVAR, NORSK HYDRO A.S
Application year: 1995
Main classification: B65D81
IPC codes: B65D21, B65D81