LIDS FOR EGG BOXES

Abstract: A lid (8) for an egg box (2) has in its major surface an opening from which projects a container (14) for comestibles. Internally of the lid, the container (14) has flanges that are secured to the inside surface of the lid (8), as by being partially or wholly overlain by a flap integral with the lid. The container is sealed so that none of its contents is able to enter the box and contaminate the eggs. The lid is detachably secured to the box, as by means of pips (12) projecting into the box interior and engaging in apertures inside flaps of the lid.

Description: Lids for egg boxes This invention relates to lids for egg boxes, and particularly for egg boxes having a base made of moulded plastics material, and adapted to be fitted with lids of card or like material, on which text and graphics are printed. In such boxes, it is known to cause sidewalls of the base to have inwardly-protruding pips, and to form the lid with flaps which are intended to fit inside the side walls. The flaps have openings in them into which the pips extend, to hold the flaps, and therefore the lids, in place against accidental displacement forces. The base is made of plastics material of substantially-uniform thickness, formed into pockets in an appropriate array, depending on the number of eggs to be in the box. The pockets are of specific cross-sectional shape to hold eggs of a range of sizes firmly in place without applying any compressive forces to them. After the boxes have been filled, and the lids applied to them, they are intended to be stacked on top of each other for transport, storage and display. The combination of base and lid has therefore to be sufficiently strong for the lid of the lowest box in a stack to bear the weight of the superposed boxes without being deformed to such an extent that the eggs in the pockets have any force applied to them by the lid. The present invention aims at increasing the sales appeal of egg boxes by associating with each box a free gift in the form of a container of comestibles, such as freeze-dried coffee granules, the container protruding from the top of the lid and being shaped to fit within a space between the pockets of a superposed box. Accordingly, the present invention provides a lid for an egg box that is as claimed in the appended claims. The present invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is an isometric view of an egg box fitted with a lid of this invention; Figure 2 is a similar view of the box shown in Fig. 1 , with its lid removed; Figure 3 is a cross-section through a vertical plane passing along the major median axis of the base of the box shown in Figs. 1 and 2; Figure 4 is a plan view of that embodiment of the lid of this invention as shown in Fig. 1 before it has been folded to fit on to the base; Figure 5 is a section along the line V-V of Fig. 4, but to a larger scale; Figure 6 is an isometric view of a six-egg box fitted with another embodiment of the lid of this invention, and Figure 7 is an isometric view of the inside of the lid shown in Fig. 6. In all the Figures, similar components in different Figures retain their original references. The box shown in Figs. 1 and 2 has a base 2 of moulded plastics material, such as high-impact polystyrene, which is sufficiently translucent to enable would-be purchasers to see if any eggs in pockets 4 of the box have become broken prior to sale. Nestling within location walls 6 at both ends of the mouth of the base is a lid 8, of which the shape is shown more clearly in Fig. 4, and which is one embodiment of this invention. The base has flat sidewalls 10 formed with integral inwardly-directed pips 12, Extending upwardly (as viewed) from the outer face of the lid 8 is a container 14. Although this is not shown in the drawings, the container has its own lid to give access to its contents after the container has been removed from the lid, which can be effected only after the lid has been removed from the box. The container has integral flanges 16, while the lid 8 has in it an opening 18 of which the shape is dictated by the shape of the bulbous part 20 of the container where it meets its flanges. After the bulbous part 20 has been inserted from the inside face of the lid 8, until the flanges 16 come into contact with the inside face, the container is held in place in the lid, against accidental displacement or pilfering, as by adhesive tape 22. The container 14 is intended to hold attractive comestibles, such as freeze-dried coffee granules, to encourage purchasers to envisage being able to enjoy a cooked egg with a cup of coffee, or with alternative comestibles, by buying only the box of eggs fitted with a lid of this invention. In order to satisfy the legal requirements for food safety, the container 14 is sealed in a manner which does not form part of this invention, and which is therefore not described herein in any greater detail, so that there is no risk of the comestibles tainting the eggs. As an alternative to the use of adhesive tape, the container could be held in place in the lid by using a lid with a long end flap, and folding the flap over so that part of it underlies the opening 18, the two parts of the flap being then glued or otherwise secured together to hold the container in place until the eventual customer tears the flap apart to obtain access to the container. In the base 2, as shown in Fig. 3, there are spaces 24 between the pockets 4. In accordance with one feature of this invention, along one of the median axes of the box the pockets on both sides of the median axis are spaced from each other by greater than the distance between pockets on the same side of the axis, to form a large space 26. In Fig. 3 there is shown in broken lines the outline of an underlying lid 8 with its projecting container 14. The container is designed to have such a shape and size that its sides remain spaced from the walls of the adjacent pockets 4. Although the container is shown and described as being oriented along the shorter of the median axes of the base, it is within the purview of this invention for it to be aligned with the longer axis. In such an instance, the spacings between the pockets on both sides of the respective axis may likewise be made larger than otherwise, to accommodate the use in lids of this invention of long containers 14 able to lie between adjacent pockets without contacting them. In known fashion, the base is formed with pillars 34 that terminate at the mouth of the base in flat ends 36. These ends lie in the same plane as the various surfaces provided in the base as seats for the lid, so that the lid is supported in a load-bearing manner on a base. In the way, the weight of vertically-stacked boxes is transferred through the lids and bases to the base of the bottom box in the stack, without any of the load being imparted to the eggs in the boxes. In the lid shown in Fig. 4, the side flaps 28 have apertures 30 in them to receive the pips 12. The flaps 28 are separated from the main body of the lid by spaced-apart cuts 32, which define a line of fold. The lengths of the cuts are related to the inherent strength of the material of the lid so that the flaps resist being bent out of the plane of the lid, so that they grip the adjacent side walls 10 of the base and, together with the interengaged pips 12 and apertures 30, fasten the lid to the base to resist dislodgement of the lid from its engaged position on the base. Fig. 6 shows a six-egg box 34 fitted with a second form of lid 36 of this invention, while Fig. 7 shows the developed form of the lid from its inside. From these Figs., it can be seen that the container 38 for the comestibles extends along the longer medial axis of the lid proper. In this version, the container is of triangular right cross- section, but it could have different cross-sections, as long as the outside surfaces of the container do not come into load-bearing contact with a superposed box, when several boxes are stacked vertically. In the embodiment, the container may have within it at least one folded sachet (not shown) of dried coffee granules. The container also has translucent walls so that any graphics or lettering on the sachet may be viewed by prospective purchasers. As shown more clearly in Fig. 7, the container 38 has planar flanges 16 formed integrally with the container itself, as by a moulding process. In order to ensure food safety, the flanges 16 have secured to them, in an air-tight manner, a membrane that prevents anything in the container from passing into the interior of the box. Whereas the container may be held in place in its respective opening in the lid 36 by a flap of the lid folded over so as to cover all the inside surface of the lid (as mentioned with respect to the Fig. 1 embodiment), it is preferred to use a smaller integral flap 40. This flap covers only some of the area of the lid, so that it leaves about one-third of the length of the container exposed. When the parallel edges of the flap are glued or otherwise secured to the inside surface of the major portion of the lid, the edge of the flap with its central notch 42 forms a pocket. The container may be inserted into this pocket longitudinally after the flap has been flexed away from the rest of the lid. The container may be held in place solely by the resilience of the flap, or it may be bonded to either or both parts of the lid. After the container has been put in place in the lid, the side flaps 28 are folded about their hinge axes 32 so that the flaps 28 may be inserted into the box interior until the pips 12 in the box walls project into the apertures 30 in the flaps 28, to hold the lid and its container securely in place until the purchaser wants access to the eggs and/or comestibles. Although the lid if this invention has been shown as being applied to egg boxes for holding either six eggs in a 3 x 2 array, or 12 eggs in a 6 x 2 array, of pockets, it may be applied to boxes for holding either different numbers of eggs, or the same number in a different array. Although the container is stated as being used for holding a quantity of dried coffee granules or sachets containing them, it may of course be used for holding other comestibles, such as edible pastes or liquids. Accordingly, it will be seen that this invention provides a lid for an egg box, the lid having a container for comestibles secured in a central position on it, so that the container takes no part of the weight of vertically-superposed boxes. This enables the container to act as a location feature without having force applied to it by a superposed box.

Claims: Claims 1 A lid for an egg box in the form of a plastics base having a pocket for each egg to be housed in the box, the lid being of card or like material and having on one of its axes an opening in which is mounted a container for comestibles, the container having a peripheral flange which is secured to the inside face of the lid, and a chamber that projects from the outer face of the lid, the shape of the chamber being such that, when the lid is in place on the box, and a like box is placed on the box in vertical alignment, the surfaces of the chamber are not in load-bearing contact with the base of the superposed box. 2 A lid as claimed in claim 1 , in which the lid has integral flaps on its longer edges, the flaps extending into the interior of the box and in contact with two inner side faces thereof, the side faces having two or more inwardly-directed pips projecting into aligned openings in the flaps. 3 A lid as claimed in claim 1 or 2, in which the base of the box has integral pillars terminating in flat surfaces lying in the plane of the mouth of the box so that each pillar acts as a support for the lid when in place. 4 A lid as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the container is held in place by means of a flap integral with the lid, the flap being folded about a hinge line so that it comes to overlie virtually the whole of the area of the body of the lid. 5 A lid as claimed in any of claims 1-3, in which the container is held in place by means of a flap integral with the lid, the flap being folded about a hinge line so that it comes to overlie only part of the container. 6 An egg box fitted with a lid as claimed in any of claims 1-4, in which the egg pockets in the box on both sides of its transverse medial axis are spaced apart from each other by a greater distance than are those pockets on the same side of the axis.

Inventors: WALLACE KEITH GRANT, WALLER JOHN FRANCIS, WALLACE, KEITH, GRANT, WALLER, JOHN, FRANCIS
Applicants: STONEGATE FARMERS LTD, WALLACE KEITH GRANT, WALLER JOHN FRANCIS, STONEGATE FARMERS LTD., WALLACE, KEITH, GRANT, WALLER, JOHN, FRANCIS
Application year: 1999
Main classification: B65D85
IPC codes: B65D77, B65D81, B65D85