Double angle clamshell container

• US 5,816,485 A
• Filed: 04/10/1997
• Issued: 10/06/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Paper Company
• Original Assignee: International Paper Company
• Inventors: Bernstein, Linda A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Elkins, Gary E.
• Application Number:
  US08/838,814
• Time in Patent Office: 544 Days
• Field of Search: 229/109, 229/110, 229/120, 229/146, 229/902, 229/903, 229/906
• US Class Current: 229/120
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 5/2033 polygonal having more than four sides, e.g. hexagonal, octogonal
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 5/241 and the gussets folds connected to the inside of the container body B65D5/247 and B65D5/248 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 5/244 and the gussets folds connected to the outside of the container body B65D5/247, B65D5/248 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 5/5475 for dividing a "cross-like" container body into separate parts
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 5/667 Lids in the form of an inverted tray
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 229/906 Baked goods

Abstract

A dome shaped crown for a clamshell container is formed by two sets of sidewalls having different shapes. A narrow space is provided between adjacent pairs of sidewalls, the spaces permitting venting of warm, moist air due to the presence of a heated sandwich packaged in the container. The container is formed from a unitary blank of paperboard. In one embodiment, the crown is dome shaped and the lower tray is provided with straight walls. In the second embodiment, both the crown and the lower tray have sidewalls of different slopes. Any type of releasable latch between the two halves may be employed.

Claims

1. A unitary blank of paperboard for forming a clamshell container, said blank including an upper crown half and a lower tray half, said upper crown half including a polygonal central top panel having edges, a plurality of sidewall panels secured to said top panel edges to form a ring of upper sidewall panels, said upper sidewall panels each having at least two foldably connected sections, one of said two sidewall sections being a radially innermost section and the other of said two sidewall sections being a radially outermost section, said upper sidewall panels having foldable glue tabs, circumferentially positioned venting spaces between adjacent said upper sidewall panels, said venting spaces located radially inwardly of and radially aligned with said glue tabs, said lower tray half including a polygonal central bottom panel having edges, a plurality of lower sidewall panels secured to respective said bottom panel edges to form a ring of lower sidewall panels, said lower sidewall panels having foldable glue tabs, said upper and lower blank halves foldably joined together.

2. The blank of claim 1 wherein said circumferentially positioned venting spaces are each in the general form of an isosceles triangle whose two equal sides point radially inwardly toward said central panel, each of said two equal sides having radially innermost and radially outermost segments at an angle to each other, each said radially innermost segment of said two sides defining an end of a respective said radially innermost section of each said sidewall.

3. The blank of claim 1 wherein said upper crown half glue tabs are integrally joined to respective upper half radially outermost upper half sections.

4. A clamshell container having an upper crown half and a lower tray half, said halves being foldably connected together and formed of a unitary blank of paperboard, said upper crown half having a polygonal top central panel top panel having edges, a plurality of upper sidewall panels secured to said central top panel edges to form a ring of upper sidewall panels, said upper sidewall panels each having two foldably connected sections, one of said two sidewall sections being a radially innermost section and the other of said two sidewall sections being a radially outermost section, said two foldably connected sections being at an angle to each other to thereby form an upper crown half whose sidewalls have two different slopes, said upper crown sidewall panels having foldable glue tabs, circumferentially located venting spaces between adjacent said upper sidewall panels, said venting spaces located radially inwardly of and radially aligned with said upper glue tabs, said lower tray half including a polygonal central bottom panel having edges, and a plurality of sidewall panels secured to said bottom panel edges to form a ring of lower sidewall panels.

5. The clamshell container of claim 4 wherein said circumferentially located venting spaces are each in the general form of an isosceles triangle whose two equal sides point radially inwardly toward said top central panel, each of said two equal sides having radially innermost and radially outermost segments at an angle to each other, each said radially innermost segment of said two venting spaces sides defining an end of a respective said radially innermost section of each said sidewall.

6. The clamshell container of claim 4 wherein said upper crown half glue tabs are integrally joined to respective upper half radially outermost upper half sections.

7. A unitary blank of paperboard for forming a clamshell container, said blank including an upper crown half and a lower tray half, said upper crown half including a polygonal central top panel having edges, a plurality of upper sidewall panels secured to said central top panel edges to form a ring of upper sidewall panels, said upper sidewall panels each having two foldably connected sections, one of said two sidewall sections being a radially innermost section and the other of said two sidewall sections being a radially outermost section, said upper sidewall panels having foldable glue tabs, circumferentially located venting spaces between adjacent said upper sidewall panels, said venting spaces located radially inwardly of and radially aligned with said upper glue tabs, said lower tray half including a polygonal central bottom panel having edges, a plurality of sidewall panels secured to said bottom panel edges to form a ring of lower sidewall panels, said lower sidewall panels each having two foldably connected sections, said lower sidewall panels having foldable glue tabs, circumferentially located venting spaces between adjacent said lower sidewall panels, said lower venting spaces located radially inwardly of and radially aligned with said lower glue tabs.