Abstract: A molded, one-piece stackable package for fragile articles, such as circuline fluorescent light bulbs with bulb-shaped adapters and attached fittings, has a bottom tray and a top cover mutually hinged together respectively at one side wall. The tray interior has a center support defining an annular trough between the tray side walls and the support in which the circuline bulb will nest without substantial lateral movement. The center support also defines a cavity contoured and tapered to partially receive a light-bulb shaped article. Corner posts and a center foot extend from the outer surface of the bottom of the tray to support the tray. The cover has a second center support with a second socket compartment to receive the other portion of the light-bulb shaped article when the package is in a closed position.

Abstract: Packaging pads comprise top and bottom sheets laminated together along peripheral surface portions with a pocket of comminuted filler material centrally disposed between the sheets. Apparatus for manufacturing the pads continuously feeds an endless bottom sheet along a predetermined travel path, and liquid adhesive is applied to the upper surface of the sheet as it so travels. A stream of filler material is divided into spaced apart individual pocket amounts and these filler amounts are joined to the adhesive coated surface of the bottom sheet. A top sheet coated with liquid adhesive on the underside thereof is laminated onto the bottom sheet and the pocket amounts of filler material. The thus formed continuous laminate is transversely cut midway between adjacent pockets of filler material to thereby form individual packaging pads.

Abstract: An accordian fold molded packaging tray is disclosed having article engaging surfaces thereon which change orientation relative to articles stored in the tray such that when articles are placed in the tray such surfaces help to channel the stored articles into position within the tray and then the surfaces are rotated into engagement or proximity to such stored articles to hold the articles during subsequent shipment and storage. This change in orientation of the article engaging surfaces is accomplished by reduction of the overall dimension of the tray which causes the article engaging surfaces to rotate about fold lines formed in the tray.

Abstract: A deliddable ovenable container, such as a molded pulp tray with a liner obtained from a thin film of polyester, useful for packaging food to be frozen for sale and storage and subsequently heated by the consumer in either a microwave or a conventional oven, with means to insure that a transparent and flexible lid of polyester film sealed thereto by heat and pressure subsequently can be peeled away from the polyester liner of the tray without any undesirable delamination of the liner from the molded pulp base of the tray, either at freezing temperatures before heating or at high temperatures after heating, to expose the food for consumption.

Abstract: YA molded sheet of the single layer type for packing at least two directly superimposed layers of fluorescent light tubes comprising upwardly directed contours including longitudinally spaced apart tube cradling surfaces for each tube and longitudinally extending narrow tube separating ribs for a plurality of tubes in an upper layer, and downwardly directed contours including a series of flat support surfaces to hold the rest of the sheet elevated thereabove to facilitate drying of the damp sheet during manufacture, the series of support surfaces being dimensioned and arranged to contact the upper part of the same number of tubes in a lower layer and resist lateral shifting of the upper layer of tubes with respect to the lower layer of tubes.

Abstract: An inexpensive, disposable, three-dimensionally contoured container, suitable for many purposes including holding food during exposure to high temperatures for long times in either a microwave or a conventional oven without any detrimental effect to the container or the food. The container consists of an essentially impervious liner of polyethylene terephthalate directly bonded by its own substance to a pre-formed contoured base obtained by molding to final shape nonbrowning substantially 100% bleached kraft wood pulp from an aqueous slurry thereof against an open-face suction mold, and drying the same under pressure imposed by a mating pair of heated dies. The liner is formed by bonding to the pulp base a 0.5-2.0 mil thick film of thermoformable, substantially amorphous, substantially unoriented polyethylene terephthalate having a molecular weight which is understood to be in excess of 15,000.

Abstract: A molded paper pulp container comprising a pocketed section mutually hinged to a flat bottom cover section, both said sections comprising tapered walls bordering on said hinge, the external surfaces of said tapered walls bordering on said hinge comprising projecting abutting elements cooperating together to limit the inverted folding around said hinge. The molded paper pulp containers, mainly egg cartons, may be stacked in their flat open condition with the bottoms of the cover sections of a number of stacked containers maintained parallel thus allowing easy unstacking by mechanical devices such as suction-cups equipped unstackers.

Abstract: A unitary tray molded to substantially finished form of conventional fibrous pulp or foamed plastic material for use, for example, as an inexpensive disposable carry tray in fast food and beverage establishments, the tray featuring one or more sockets for holding a slightly tapered or straight walled beverage cup or other such container. The improved container holding socket has been developed to accommodate and stabilize not one but a range of sizes of containers, for example from the narrower size juice "glasses" to the several intermediate sizes of soft drink and coffee cups to the wider size milkshake containers. The container holding socket comprises preferably three stabilizing shoulders positioned in spaced apart opposition to each other at a height significantly above the bottom of the socket, to hold the wider sizes of containers and support them against tipping.

Abstract: Packing spacer sheets are automatically fed one at a time to a pick-up station from a stack, with selected sheets arranged to arrive in inverted condition so that all packing sheets are properly oriented into packing position. Sheets can be pulled from stack by a transfer carrier having gripping jaws with teeth that dig into rib structures on sheet and jaws can open to engage other portions of sheet and thus hold the sheet to assure all teeth are pulled out of sheet. Stack can be a horizontal nesting of generally vertically disposed sheets carried by narrow spaced belts stepped along on a low friction surface with fixed retainer to stop forward face of stack and permit front sheet to be pulled off.

Abstract: A container comprises two mating portions which are latched together for packaging a product therebetween with the latching arrangement including a slot in at least two spaced corners of the peripheral rim on one portion and corresponding tongues on the other mating portion.