Pastry shipping container
A shipping container system for shipping pastries, especially adapted for shipping cupcakes, is provided. The system includes an outer box having a detachable outer lid, a receiving divider tray snugly insertable into the outer box and having therein an array of spaced-apart apertures into which pastries are placed for shipping, and a plurality of small posts, the number of which corresponds to the number of pastries, the proximal end of one of each post being inserted into each pastry in vertical orientation prior to shipping. An inner retaining lid encloses the pastries in the outer box, the inner lid being sized to seal the pastries within the outer box, the inner lid having integrally fabricated therein a plurality of outwardly oriented frustum-shaped protrusions, also corresponding in number to the number of pastries, with the protrusions being in concentric registry with the tray apertures on assembly of the system. The posts are each sized to extend, upon insertion of each into their respective pastries and after filling of and closure of the outer box, from the bottom of the box to the apex of its respective protrusion. Upon closure of the box, relative movement between the container and the pastries being shipped therein, both laterally and vertically, is prohibited.
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The invention relates to pastries, particularly cupcakes, and, more specifically, to a container for use in shipping such pastries intact, without concomitant crumbling, breaking, smearing of frosting, and other destructive events frequently encountered in shipping such goods using techniques known in the prior art. While the description of the invention herein will focus specifically on cupcakes, it will be understood that the underlying principles and techniques will be equally applicable, generally, to individual pastries of a wide variety of shapes and compositions.
A cupcake is, most simply, a small cake designed to serve one person. Cupcakes are usually made by pouring cake batter into small paper baking cups placed in a baking tin which holds a plurality of such baking cups, and baking. After baking, frosting, other typical cake decorations such as candy, sprinkles and the like may be, and usually are, added to render the cupcakes highly decorative, often in imaginative ways.
In recent years, the popularity of cupcakes as a confection for celebrating various events has grown, and worldwide sales of cupcakes generally have increased enormously. One need only look to the web site www.cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com/ to appreciate the burgeoning nature of this specialized industry.
Traditional bakery products such as cakes, pies and cupcakes have heretofore been primarily limited to local markets, intended to be baked locally, packaged locally in boxes, and picked up locally by the customers/consumers who then physically carry them home for consumption. In the current expanding cupcake market, such traditional methods have limitations in that the often exotic decorations which appeal to the consumer, and which drives the market expansion, are incompatible with traditional packaging and, especially, are incompatible with conventional shipping methods for pastries.
The growing nationwide market for exotic, and sometimes delicate, cupcakes, and the known inadequacies of traditional shipping methods for such goods, has created an incentive to provide a stable, safe, national-in-scope technique for shipping cupcakes such that they arrive at their respective destinations without being mashed, mangled, smeared and otherwise broken or crumbled.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,303,115B1, a recently issued patent, discloses a cupcake carrier for organizing and protecting cupcakes during storage and shipping. A container is disclosed formed of a single sheet of planar material having flaps which are folded in assembly to form an upwardly opening cavity carrying an insert tray formed of a single sheet of planar material and having circular openings for lightly compressively holding the cupcakes in a grid array. The insert is sized smaller than the base of the container to provide slots about the periphery. The container includes a hinged lid having flaps that enter slots in the closed position to reinforce the outer walls and prevent inner movement of the flaps during transit and storage. The references cited in the '115 patent also provide an overview of the state of the art in this field, and are representative of such.
Other patents which disclose containers for cupcakes which tend to prevent their shifting on transport include U.S. Pat. No. 6,896,140B1 and 6,176,375B1.
In contrast to the known prior art, a shipping container system is provided herein for shipping a plurality of pastries, specifically cupcakes, which keep the pastries intact from their point of shipment to their intended destination.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONA container system for shipping pastries, especially suited for shipping cupcakes is provided. The system includes an outer box having a bottom, one or more vertically oriented side walls, and a detachable outer lid. A pastry-receiving divider tray is snugly insertable into the outer box which, upon insertion, rests adjacent the bottom thereof, the tray having a predetermined plurality of spaced-apart apertures therein arranged in a grid-like array. Each aperture is sized so as to snugly receive one pastry inserted thereinto. The system includes a plurality of small posts, the number of small posts coinciding with the number of pastries to be contained, each of the posts being vertically insertable into one of the pastries, and each pastry having a single post inserted therein prior to shipping.
An inner retaining lid encloses the pastries, the inner lid being sized to extend over the pastries and around the top periphery of the side walls, sealingly and hermetically closing the periphery of the side walls thereat by a peripheral flange extending therearound. The inner lid has, integrally fabricated therein, a plurality of outwardly oriented frustum-shaped protrusions, the number of protrusions corresponding to the number of pastries, the protrusions being formed in an array which places each of the protrusions, upon insertion of the tray into the outer box and placement of the inner lid upon the side walls, in concentric registry with one of the apertures in the tray. The protrusions are all sized to receive, in their apexes, the distal end of the respective posts inserted therein. The length of each of the posts is sized to correspond to the distance from the bottom of the outer box to the apex of each of the frustum-shaped protrusions receiving each post inserted into each pastry upon closure of the box and inner lid.
Upon insertion of the divider tray into the outer box, placement of pastries into the divider tray, insertion of the posts into each of the pastries, one post into each pastry, closure of the inner lid enclosing the pastries in the box, and closure of the outer detachable lid thereover, the container system is formed.
The container system is especially suited to shipping cupcakes.
The outer box may be rectangular and have four side walls, or it may be circular-cylindrical and have one continuous side wall, or it may have an irregular shape or even a fanciful shape, such as heart-shaped. The box is preferably constructed of cardboard and may include at least one additional reinforcement band therearound.
The divider tray may have a dozen apertures therein, arranged in a regular, spaced-apart array. The posts may be wooden, plastic, or other suitable material. The inner lid is preferably plastic, most preferably a transparent plastic such as polyethylene or polyethyleneterephthalate. The frustum-shaped protrusions extending from the inner lid may be frusto-conical or frusto-pyramidal, and may be pleated along the length of their angled sides.
In the accompanying drawings,
A shipping container system for shipping pastries, especially adapted for shipping cupcakes, is provided. The system includes an outer box having a detachable outer lid, a receiving divider tray snugly insertable into the outer box and having therein an array of spaced-apart apertures into which pastries are placed for shipping, and a plurality of small posts, the number of which corresponds to the number of pastries, the proximal end of one of each post being inserted into each pastry in vertical orientation prior to shipping. An inner retaining lid encloses the pastries in the outer box, the inner lid being sized to seal the pastries within the outer box, the inner lid having integrally fabricated therein a plurality of outwardly oriented frustum-shaped protrusions, also corresponding in number to the number of pastries, with the protrusions being in concentric registry with the tray apertures on assembly of the system. The posts are each sized to extend, upon insertion of each into their respective pastries and after filling of and closure of the outer box, from the bottom of the box to the apex of its respective protrusion. Upon closure of the box, relative movement between the container and the pastries being shipped therein, both laterally and vertically, is prohibited.
A detailed description of the invention and preferred embodiments is best provided with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein
The box depicted in
Another key component of the present invention is the inner lid 24 shown in
On assembly of the components of the container system as described hereinabove, these components all cooperate and act to stabilize the cupcakes contained within and keep them from shifting and suffering aesthetic disfigurement during shipping, all as depicted in
While the invention has been disclosed herein in connection with certain embodiments and detailed descriptions, it will be clear to one skilled in the art that modifications or variations of such details can be made without deviating from the gist of this invention, and such modifications or variations are considered to be within the scope of the claims hereinbelow.
Claims
1. A container system for shipping pastries, especially suited for shipping cupcakes, comprising:
- an outer box, said box including a bottom, one or more vertically oriented side walls and a detachable outer lid, and including
- a pastry-receiving divider tray snugly insertable into said box which, upon insertion, rests adjacent the bottom thereof, said tray having a predetermined plurality of spaced-apart apertures therein arranged in grid-like array, each aperture sized so as to snugly receive one of said pastries inserted thereinto, and
- a plurality of posts, the number of posts coinciding with the number of pastries to be contained, each of said posts being vertically insertable into one of said pastries, and each pastry having a single post inserted therein prior to shipping, and including
- an inner retaining lid enclosing said pastries, said inner lid being sized to extend over said pastries and extend around the top periphery of said side walls, and sealingly and hermetically closing the periphery of said side walls thereat by a peripheral flange extending therearound, the inner lid having, integrally fabricated therein, a plurality of outwardly oriented frustum-shaped protrusions, the number of protrusions corresponding to the number of pastries, said protrusions being formed in an array which places each of said protrusions, upon insertion of said tray and placement of said inner lid upon said side walls, in concentric registry with a respective one of said apertures in said tray, each protrusion sized to receive the distal end of a respective one of said posts,
- wherein the length of each of said posts is sized to correspond to the distance from the bottom of said box to the apex of each said frustum-shaped protrusion receiving each post inserted into each pastry upon closure of said box and inner lid,
- whereby, upon insertion of said divider tray into said box, placement of said pastries into said divider tray, insertion of the proximal ends of said posts into said pastries, one post into each pastry, closure of said inner lid enclosing said pastries in said box, and closure of said outer detachable lid thereover, said container system is formed.
2. The container system of claim 1 wherein said pastries are cupcakes.
3. The system of claim 1 wherein said box is rectangular and has four side walls.
4. The system of claim 1 wherein said box is circular-cylindrical and has one continuous side wall.
5. The system of claim 1 wherein said box is irregular in shape.
6. The system of claim 5 wherein said box is heart-shaped.
7. The system of claim 1 wherein said box is constructed of cardboard.
8. The system of claim 1 wherein said box includes at least one additional reinforcement band therearound.
9. The system of claim 1 wherein said divider tray has a dozen apertures therein, arranged in a regular, spaced-apart array.
10. The system of claim 1 wherein said posts are wooden.
11. The system of claim 1 wherein said posts are plastic.
12. The system of claim 1 wherein said inner lid is plastic.
13. The system of claim 1 wherein said inner lid is transparent plastic.
14. The system of claim 1 wherein said inner lid is polyethylene.
15. The system of claim 1 wherein said inner lid is polyethyleneterephthalate.
16. The system of claim 1 wherein said frustum-shaped protrusions are frusto-conical.
17. The system of claim 1 wherein said frustum-shaped protrusions are frusto-pyramidal.
18. The system of claim 1 wherein said frustum-shaped protrusions are pleated along their angled sides.
19. The system of claim 1 wherein said inner lid has a dozen protrusions therein, arranged in a regular, spaced-apart array.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 10, 2008
Publication Date: Mar 11, 2010
Applicant:
Inventor: Michael A. Voigt (Elkton, MD)
Application Number: 12/283,188