PRODUCE CONTAINER

Abstract

A produce container includes a receptacle, a lid and a hinge. The receptacle includes a mouth circumscribed by a rim and a base having an edge. The lid is associated with the receptacle to close off the month. The hinge attaches the lid to the receptacle and is located towards or at the rear of the receptacle. The edge is configured to cooperate with the hinge so as to facilitate disposition of the produce container in an erect position.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application relates to and claims priority from AU Provisional Patent App. Ser. No. 2015901644 Filed May 7, 2015, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIGURE SELECTED FOR PUBLICATION

FIG. 1

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to packaging containers. More particularly, the present invention relates to a produce container capable of being disposed in an upright or tipped or inclined position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) or consumer packaged goods (CPG) such as fresh produce are products that are sold quickly and at relatively low cost. With the introduction of supermarket's own “private label products”, FMCG and CPG brands find themselves fighting for shelf space. They have always fought against their key competitors, and now they are also battling with their key distributors. Traditional produce containers are designed to be placed horizontally in a recumbent position and stacked on top of one another on display shelves. These containers have the shortcomings that:

1) the produce inside the containers are not readily visible to consumers;

2) it is difficult for shop assistants to visual assess the number of items left on the shelves during stock taking; and

3) it is difficult for shoppers to visually inspect and reach horizontally positioned containers that are placed towards the back of a shelf.

It is an aspect of the present invention to provide a produce container which may overcome or at least ameliorate the above shortcoming or which will at least provide a useful alternative.

ASPECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a produce container including:

a receptacle including a mouth circumscribed by a rim and a base having an edge;

a lid associated with the receptacle to close off the month; and

a hinge which attaches the lid to the receptacle, the hinge being located towards or at the rear of the receptacle;

wherein the edge is configured to cooperate with the hinge so as to facilitate disposition of the produce container in an erect position.

Preferably, the produce container has a curved perimeter defined by the rim. More preferably, the curved perimeter is substantially circular.

It is preferred that the base of the receptacle is so curved as to correspond to the perimeter of the rim. Most preferably, the rim has a first, outwardly extending flange.

In a preferred embodiment, the base includes two appendages located towards the rear of the receptacle. Preferably, the appendages are provided at opposite ends of the edge. More preferably, the appendages are configured and arranged to enable the receptacle to be steadily disposed in an erect position.

The hinge is preferred to be elongate in shape extending continuously along the rear of the container.

Preferably, the lid has a second, outwardly extending flange. More preferably, the second flange corresponds with the first flange. Even more preferably, the second flange is spaced from the first flange when the lid is engaged with the receptacle to close off the mouth.

Preferably, the ratio of the width of the hinge to the height of the receptacle is 32:13. More preferably, the height of the receptacle is the distance from the hinge to the bottom of the appendages.

In a preferred embodiment, the width of the hinge is about 64 mm. The height of the receptacle is preferred to be about 26 mm.

Preferably, when disposed in the erect position, the receptacle is inclined to the horizontal. The angle of inclination is preferred to be in the range of 68 to 88 degrees.

Preferably, locking means are provided to secure the lid to the receptacle. The locking means are preferred to be in the form of interlocking formations forming part of the lid and receptacle, respectively.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention may be better understood from the following non-limiting description of a preferred embodiment, in which:

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a produce container in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the counting device of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a bottom perspective view of the produce container of FIG. 1 with the lid in an open state;

FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of the produce container of FIG. 1 with the lid in a closed state;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the produce container of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an end view from rear of the produce container of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the produce container of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 8 is a side view illustrating the produce container of FIG. 1 being placed together with two other identical containers in a series on a shelf.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, a produce container 10 has a receptacle 12 and a lid 14 which are joined via a hinge 16. The receptacle 12 has a mouth 18 circumscribed by a rim 20 and a base 22 having an edge 24. The lid 14 is associated with the receptacle 12 to close off the month 18. The hinge 16 which attaches the lid 14 to the receptacle 12 is located at the rear of the receptacle 12. The hinge 16 is elongate in shape extending continuously along the rear of the container 10. The edge 24 is configured to cooperate with the hinge so as to facilitate disposition of the produce container in an erect position.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, locking means are provided to secure the lid 14 to the receptacle 12. The locking means are in the form of interlocking formations forming part of the lid and receptacle, respectively. The interlocking formations of the lid 14 are in the form of inwardly directed lugs 36 carried on the lid 14. The locking formations of the receptacle 12 are aligned recesses 38 carried on the receptacle 12 in which the lugs 36 are removably received upon closing of the lid 14.

As best shown in FIG. 4, the produce container 10 has a curved perimeter 26 defined by the rim 20. In the present embodiment, the curved perimeter 26 is substantially circular. Also, the base 22 of the receptacle 12 is so curved as to correspond to the perimeter 26 of the rim 20. The rim 20 has a first, outwardly extending flange 28. The lid 14 also has a second, outwardly extending flange 30.

The second flange 30 corresponds with the first flange 28. The second flange 30 is spaced from the first flange 28 when the lid 14 is engaged with the receptacle 12 to close off the mouth 18.

Turning to FIGS. 2, 3, 5, 6 & 7, the base 22 has two appendages 32 & 34 located towards the rear of the receptacle 12. The appendages 32 & 34 are provided at opposite ends of the edge 24. As shown in FIG. 8, in combination with the hinge 16, the appendages 32 & 34 serve the purpose of supporting and holding up the container 10 when it is disposed in an erect position. The appendages 32 & 34 are in the shape of knobs being configured and arranged to enable the receptacle 10 to be steadily disposed in the erect position.

It will be appreciated that the ratio of the width of the hinge 16 to the height of the receptacle 12 is 32:13. As best shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the height of the receptacle 12, indicated as A-A, is the distance from the hinge 16 to the bottom of the appendages 32 & 34. In this exemplary embodiment, the width of the hinge is about 64 mm whilst the height of the receptacle 12 is about 26 mm.

Referring to FIG. 8, when disposed in the erect position, the receptacle 12 of the container 10 is inclined to the horizontal at an angle of 70 degrees. It should be noted that the angle of inclination 8 is preferred to be in the range of 68 to 88 degrees such that the container 10 being in the erect position is not prone to falling over.

As shown in FIG. 8, the erected container 10 is placed in a series behind identical containers 10A & 10B on a shelf 40 for display

Now that a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in some detail, it will be apparent to a skilled person in the art that the produce container of the present invention may offer at least the following advantages:

1. it facilitates stacking on a shelf in a space-saving manner;

2. it facilitates display of the goods carried inside each and every single container in a series of containers;

3. it enables consumers to view the produce contained in the container thereby improving the shopping experience; and

4. it is aesthetically pleasing.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention described herein is susceptible to variations and modifications other than those specifically described. All such variations and modifications are to be considered within the scope and spirit of the present invention the nature of which is to be determined from the foregoing description.

Claims

1. A produce container including:

a receptacle including a base having an edge extending therefrom and a mouth circumscribed by a rim;

a lid associated with the receptacle to close off the mouth; and

a hinge which attaches the lid to the receptacle, the hinge being located towards or at a rear of the receptacle;

wherein the edge is configured to cooperate with the hinge so as to facilitate disposition of the produce container in an erect position, wherein the base is substantially flat relative to a single plane and has a generally rectangular shape.

2. The produce container of claim 1, wherein the produce container has a curved perimeter defined by the rim.

3. The produce container of claim 2, wherein the curved perimeter is substantially circular.

4. The produce container of claim 1, wherein the base of the receptacle is so curved as to correspond to a perimeter of the rim.

5. The produce container of claim 1, wherein the rim has a first, outwardly extending flange.

6. The produce container of claim 1, wherein the base includes two appendages located towards the rear of the receptacle.

7. The produce container of claim 6, wherein the appendages are provided at opposite ends of the edge.

8. The produce container of claim 6, wherein the appendages are so configured and arranged as to enable the receptacle to be steadily disposed in the erect position.

9. The produce container of claim 1, wherein the hinge is elongate in shape extending continuously along the rear of the container.

10. The produce container of claim 5, wherein the lid has a second, outwardly extending flange.

11. The produce container of claim 10, wherein the second flange corresponds with the first flange.

12. The produce container of claim 10, wherein the second flange is spaced from the first flange when the lid is engaged with the receptacle to close off the mouth.

13. The produce container of claim 1, wherein a ratio of a width of the hinge to a height of the receptacle is 32:13.

14. The produce container of claim 1, wherein a height of the receptacle is a distance from the hinge to the bottom of the appendages.

15. The produce container of claim 1, wherein width of the hinge is about 64 mm.

16. The produce container of claim 1, wherein the height of the receptacle is about 26 mm.

17. The produce container of claim 1, wherein when disposed in the erect position, the receptacle is inclined to a horizontal axis.

18. The produce container of claim 17, wherein angle of inclination relative to the horizontal axis is in a range of 68 to 88 degrees.

19. The produce container of claim 1, wherein locking means are provided to secure the lid to the receptacle.

20. The produce container of claim 19, wherein the locking means in the form of interlocking formations forming part of the lid and receptacle, respectively.