Partitioned Tray Having Tabs, For Pies And The Like

Abstract

A tray for pies such as pizza, fruit, meat or cream pies. The tray is divided into a number of equal size sectors by double partition walls, with a pie portion in each sector, so that a user need not cut the pie to take a portion, and so that when the pie is heated, the portions will not coagulate. Individual tray sectors each containing a pie portion, can be removed from the remainder of the tray (and then thawed or heated individually) by cutting the tray along the tops of the partition walls. The tray is formed by cutting a central hole in a generally circular blank, drawing the blank upwardly at the location of the partition walls, and forcing the partition walls inwardly as they are being formed, until their inner ends meet to close the central hole. A rim is then formed if desired. Two tabs are attached at diammetrically opposed edges of the tray. When the tabs are pulled, the tray opens up into the form of a blank, separating the pie pieces.

Parent Case Text

This application is a continuation in part of my co-pending application Ser. No. 26,389 filed Apr. 7, 1970, now abandoned, for "Partitioned Tray for Pies, and Method of Forming Same."

Description

This invention relates to a partitioned tray for food products such as fruit pies, both baked and unbaked, cream pies, ice cream pies, pizza pies, meat pies and the like.

Food items such as pies of various kinds are commonly sold in trays, and the pie is often reheated or cooked in the tray. The pie is then cut into portions for serving. Pies would be more conveniently handled if they were pre-cut, so that upon heating the pie the portions would be ready for serving. However, if a pie is cut before heating, there is a tendency for the contents of the pie to coagulate at the cuts, so that the portions have to be separated once again when the pie is served.

In one of its aspects, the invention provides a partitioned tray which separates the portions of a ready-cut pie. The tray includes double thickness partitions or walls which separate the portions of pie and retain the ingredients when the pie is cooking. Consequently when the pie is ready to serve, each portion is confined between adjacent walls and can be removed from the tray independently of adjacent portions of pie.

According to the invention, the partition walls radiate from the centre of the tray and are unconnected with each other at the centre of the tray. A pair of tabs are provided, connected to the periphery of the tray at diammetrically opposed locations. The arrangement is such that when the tabs are pulled, the tray opens up or flattens, with the portions of the tray between the partition walls moving outwardly and away from each other. This separates the contents of the tray into discrete portions for easy use.

These and other aspects of the invention will become apparent from the following description, taken together with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a blank for a tray of the invention:

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of a tray made from the FIG. 1 blank;

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of a portion of a tray formed from the FIG. 1 blank;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view on lines 4 -- 4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view on lines 5 -- 5 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a portion of the tray of FIG. 2;

fIG. 7 is a sectional view of a portion of a tray similar to the FIG. 2 tray showing a cover in place thereon;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view through a partition wall of a tray according to the invention;

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of a modified blank for a tray of the invention;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a portion of a tray sector formed from the FIG. 9 blank;

FIG. 11 is a bottom plan view of another tray according to the invention;

FIG. 12 is a top plan view of a portion of another modified blank for a tray of the invention;

FIG. 13 is a top plan view of a tray made from the FIG. 12 blank;

FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view of another embodiment of a tray according to the invention;

FIG. 15 is a top plan view of another blank for a tray of the invention;

FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing a tray formed from the blank of FIG. 15 and positioned in a pan, the pan being partly cut away;

FIG. 17 is a perspective exploded view showing a tray similar to that of FIG. 16 but with a rim, and in position to be connected to a base member; and

FIG. 18 is a top plan view showing a portion of a modified blank.

Reference is first made to FIG. 1, which shows a blank 10 for use in forming a tray according to the invention. The blank 10 is made of thin sheet material, e.g., aluminum foil or cardboard of a ype which may be baked (called baking board), and is circular in outline. The blank 10 has six sets of generally diammetrical score lines indicated at 12 dividing the blank into six sectors 14. Each set of score lines 12 consists of a central score line 16 in the upper surface of the blank, and two side score lines 18 in the lower surface of the blank. A circumferential score line 20 is provided in the upper surface of the blank near its rim, to facilitate forming the rim of the finished tray.

The blank 10 also includes a central hexagonal hole 22 having sides 24. It will be noted that each of the central score lines 16 radiates from the centre of one of the sides 24 at right angles thereto, and the side score lines 18 radiate from the ends of the sides 24 at right angles thereto. The purpose of the hole 22 is to permit inward movement of the sectors 14 when the blank is formed into a tray, as will now be explained.

The blank 10 is formed into a tray by forcing each sector inwardly as indicated by arrows 26, and drawing the portions of the blank at the central score lines upwardly. As the sectors 14 move inwardly double partition walls 28 (FIGS. 2 and 4) are formed, and the central hole 22 substantially disappears as the walls 28 move inwardly until they meet. The portions of the blank between the walls 28 are of course held down during this process.

The completed tray is shown at 30 in FIG. 2. After the walls 28 are formed, the edge is bent up to from a rim 32. The rim 32 may contain overlapping portions 34 where the ends of the walls 28 are bent over circumferentially to form part of the rim, and may be held by crimping, tabs, or heat resistant glue as desired. The rim 32 will normally hold the double walls 28 in their formed condition, and the presence of a relatively heavy pie in the tray will also help to hold it in formed condition.

It will be realized that the various score lines and cuts in the blank 10 can all be made during a single integrated forming operation, and in fact the score lines can be eliminated if appropriate forming machinery is used which can bend the cardboard or foil in the desired locations without score lines.

The pie to be placed in the tray 30 can be any kind, e.g., a pizza pie, a fruit pie, a cream pie, an ice cream pie, a meat pie, or the like. If the pie is of stiff consistency, not likely to run, such as a pizza pie, then it does not matter if the walls 28 do not meet tightly at the centre and that the tray sectors are not watertight. In fact, when the tray 30 is to be used for pizza, the bottom of the tray will normally include holes 36 as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 1, to expedite heating of the pizza.

If the pie in question is of relatively liquid consistency, then the sectors of the tray should be relatively watertight. This can be accomplished by ensuring that the walls 28 are pushed tightly together at the centre of the tray, and by crimping the side walls of each sector together. This is shown in the bottom view of FIG. 3, which shows the side walls 38 of each individual sector 14 as crimped together at 40. Alternatively, tabs or heat resistant glue can be used, in the case where the tray material is baking board.

The height of the partition walls 28 is normally made such that these walls completely separate adjacent segments of pie. In other words, the height of the walls 28 is normally equal to or greater than the maximum depth of a pie to be placed in the tray. This ensures that the pie segments are effectively separated during heating and cooling, and it also helps to prevent the sides of the pie segments from drying out, particularly when the side walls 38 are substantially vertical. This situation is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, where the depth of a pie 42 located in the tray 30 is shown as slightly less than the height of the walls 28.

However, for some relatively stiff consistency pies, such as pizza pies, it is found that the height of the walls 28 can be very slightly less than the maximum depth of the pie. Provided that the walls 28 are nearly the same height as the pie, the cheese toppings on adjacent pizza segments will coagulate together only at isolated scattered locations when the pizza is heated in the tray, and the individual pizza segments can still easily be removed.

The tray shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 has a number of advantages. Firstly, a consumer need not cut and separate individual servings, since the portions are already separated in the tray. This is particularly useful for pizza pies bought in supermarkets, because when such pies are heated, their cheese topping melts and the pies become very difficult to cut and separate without producing long tendrils of cheese. The precut feature is also useful for pies of liquid consistency (e.g. many fruit pies when heated) where the entire filling tends to collapse into the space left by the first segment removed from the pie.

Secondly, the individual tray sectors can be removed from the remainder of the tray, because of the double partition walls 28. Preferably the side walls 38 of each sector 14 are spaced apart, as best shown in FIG. 4, with a relatively flat top wall 44 joining the side walls 38. This construction enables a consumer to separate individual tray sectors by introducing scissors or a knife into the space 46 between the sidewalls 38. If desired, the top wall 44 can be perforated, as shown at 48 in FIG. 6, to facilitate separation of the tray sectors. The perforations can extend onto the rim if desired, depending on the type of folding used for the rim. Normally the trays will be made of thin sheet aluminum foil or baking board, of a thickness sufficient so that the trays can support pies without damage in ordinary handling, but thin enough so that the material can be readily cut with scissors or a knife.

Since the individual tray sectors can be removed, a user can remove one pie section in its tray sector and can heat the removed section still in its tray sector without heating the remainder of the pie. The user thus avoids destroying the freshness of the entire pie when he wishes to consume only one section. Similarly, if the pie is a frozen pie, the user can remove one pie section in its tray sector and thaw (and heat, if desired) the removed section in its tray sector without thawing the remainder of the pie. The user can also carry the removed pie section, in its tray sector, in a lunch pail or picnic basket.

If desired, the top of the tray can be closed by a top 50 (FIG. 7) which will typically be molded from clear plastic in cases where the top is to be removed before the pie is to be heated. The top 50 includes a number of wedge shaped top sectors 52, and side walls 54 bordering each top sector 52. The side walls 54 extend downwardly alongside the side walls 38 of the tray partition walls, and are joined by connecting walls 56 which overlie the top walls 44 of the tray. The rim of the cover 50, not shown, is molded to fit in the same way outside the rim of the tray and can if desired be hooked slightly inwardly to hook under the tray rim to hold the cover in place. By this arrangement the cover 50 covers each individual pie section in the tray. If desired, the connecting walls 56 of the cover can be perforated, as shown at 58, so that the cover sectors can be removed with the tray sectors for transportation in a lunch pail, picnic basket, or the like.

Although the side walls 38 of the tray partition walls have been shown as spaced apart, they can if desired be crushed tightly together, as shown in FIG. 8. It is more difficult with this arrangement to separate individual tray sectors, but if the top wall 44 is perforated, the tray sectors can still be separated from each other where desired.

Referring back to FIG. 1, it will be noted that the length of each side 24 of the hole 22 is made equal approximately to twice the desired height of the side walls 38. The sides 24 are each almost exactly twice the height of the side walls 38 when the side walls 38 are crushed tightly together as shown in FIG. 8. When the side walls 38 are spaced apart, then each side wall is slightly less than half the dimension of the sides 24 when the score lines 18 radiate from the ends of the sides 22 as shown in FIG. 1.

When the side walls 38 are spaced apart, and when the score lines 18 radiate from the ends of the sides 24, some distortion of the tray material is needed if the inner ends of the side walls are to meet tightly at the centre of the tray to seal the hole 22. This is because the tray sectors have not moved radially inwardly quite enough to close the hole 22 by the time the side walls 38 are fully formed. This distortion can be reduced by having the score lines 18 radiate from positions just outside the ends of the sides 24, as shown in FIG. 9, where primed reference numerals indicate parts corresponding to those of FIG. 1.

In FIG. 9 blank, the central score lines 16' still radiate from the centres of the sides 24', but the side score lines 18' radiate from points 58 located a short distance radially outwardly of the sides 24' along diagonals joining the vertices of the octagonal hole 22'. The spacing d1 between each score line 18' and the end of its associated side 24' is approximately half the desired spacing between the bottoms of the side walls 38. The increased distance d2 between associated score lines 18' ensures that when the side walls 38 are formed, their inner ends will move inwardly sufficiently to press tightly against each other.

In practice the spacing d1 between each side score line 18' and the end of its associated side 24, when used, can be very slight, since the spacing between the tops of the side walls 38 will normally diminish at the centre of the tray, where the side walls meet, and also because of the thickness of the materials used.

When the side walls 38 of the tray partition walls are spaced apart, the resultant trays have potential for nesting within each other, particularly when the wall of the rim 32 slopes outwardly. The spaces between adjacent side walls 38 form channels 60 (FIG. 3) within which the tops of the partition walls of another tray may fit when the trays are stacked.

However, at the bottom centre of the tray, the crimped together portions 40 of the side walls 38 may interfere with nesting. This problem can be dealt with by crushing or folding the bottoms of the crimped portions 40 upwardly, to leave a clearance in the channels 60 at the location where the channels meet. The partition walls of a tray with which the tray in question is to be stacked will then fit within the channels 60.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 9, cuts 62 can be made in the blank 10' between the vertices of the hole 22' and the adjacent points 58. Further cuts 64 are then made from the points 58, each cut 64 slanting outwardly approximately to an imaginary line (shown at 66 in FIG. 9) extending perpendicular to the side 24' at the end of such side. The cuts 62, 64 define a pair of flaps 68 which can be folded over each other (as shown in FIG. 10) when the tray is formed, the bottom wall of the tray between the side walls being bent up as shown at 70 to complete the vertex of the sector. This arrangement clears the bottom of the channels 60 at the location where the channels meet, to enable nesting of trays. The edges of the side walls 38' above the flaps 68 can be crimped together, as shown at 40' to help seal each sector of the tray.

Although the blank 10 and the resulting tray have been shown as circular, other shapes can be used if desired. For example, the blank 10 can be hexagonal, as indicated by chain dotted lines 72 in FIG. 1. In that case, the resulting tray will normally also be hexagonal.

The tray 10 can have any appropriate number of partition walls. For example, many pies are cut in eight pieces, and in that case the tray will have eight partition walls and can have a octagonal exterior shape. The central hole 22 will then also be octagonal, with score lines radiating at right angles from each side of the central hole as shown in FIGS. 1 and 9. (If the tray has five or more sides, it may be considered for practical purposes to be substantially circular.) The tray can also be rectangular or square and can be divided by orthogonal upright walls into rectangular or square portions. For example, FIG. 11 is a bottom plan view of a square tray 74 formed from a square blank having a square central hole. The tray 74 has four partition walls 76, each partition wall having side walls 78 spaced apart to form channels 80, so that the trays can nest in each other. At their inner ends, the tops of the partition walls meet at a point 82 to close the central hole, and the bottoms are cut and folded as explained in connection with FIGS. 9 and 10, to seal the sectors 84 and to remove any central obstruction in the channels 80 which would interfere with nesting. At the outer edge of the tray, where the partition wall is folded over at a rim 86, the material in the rim is crushed upwardly (in the case of foil) or suitably cut and folded (in the case of baking board) to maintain a V-configuration in the bottom of the channels 80, for nesting.

Although it has been assumed that the central hole 22 in the blank will have as many sides as there are partition walls, the central hole can if desired be circular, as shown at 88 in FIG. 12. In the case of a circular hole, considerably more material distortion is needed if the inner ends of the partition walls are to meet tightly when the tray is formed. However, in the case of stiff pies such as pizzas, the inner ends of the partition walls need not meet tightly at the centre; instead, a small gap can be left in the centre. FIG. 13 shows a tray 90 having such a central gap, indicated at 92. The gap 92 results from the use of the circular hole shown in FIG. 12 with four partition walls 93, and will be less pronounced when six or eight partition walls are present.

As shown in FIG. 14, a tray 94 can be formed as previously described but having no rim and can then be placed inside a conventional pan 96 of a type having no upright partition walls. In this case the tray 94 is effectively a liner for a conventional tray, to separate the portions of pie during heating and cooling. The tray 94 can be glued to the pan 96 or it can be held to the pan by the weight of the pie. If the rim of the pan 96 is outwardly bulged at its bottom, this will also help to retain the insert. Alternatively, the partition walls can (in the case of baking board) simply be single wall strips glued to the bottom of a pan. However, this arrangement lacks the double wall feature enabling removal of tray sections, and in addition it would be relatively expensive to manufacture.

FIG. 15 shows a blank 100 for forming a tray similar to the tray 94 of FIG. 14. The blank 100 is divided by eight sets of lines 102 into eight sectors 104, to receive eight pieces of pie or the like. Each set of lines 102 has the usual central score line 106 and a pair of side score lines 108, all radiating at right angles from a side of a central octagonal hole 110. The blank 100 differs from the blanks previously described in that it includes two diammetrically opposed tabs 112, 114. Each tab 112, 114 is of height d5 substantially greater than the dimension d6 between central score line 106 and its associated side score lines 108.

The blank 100 is folded to form a tray 116 (FIG. 16) which is typically placed inside a pan 118. The pan 118 has a rim 120 which fits closely around the tray and, together with the weight of pie segments 122, holds the tray 116 in folded form with the tray partition walls 123 meeting relatively tightly at the centre of the tray. The tabs 112, 114 are folded to project upwardly along and above the rim 120 of the pan 118. Each tab 112, 114 is preferably cut in two segments so that it can be folded easily.

The tray 116 is particularly adapted for pizza pies, although it can of course be used for other kinds of pie as well. In the case of pizza, after the pizza has been baked, the user grasps the tabs 112,114 and pulls them upwardly and outwardly in opposite directions. This partly opens the tray 116 into the form of the blank 100 shown in FIG. 15, separating all of the pie sections from each other. In effect, each pie segment is carried radially outwardly, away from the other pie sections. The rim 120 of the pan is sufficiently low that it does not interfere with this process, and in addition it usually will slant very slightly outwardly to assist the process.

The result is that neither the pie nor the tray need be cut. Instead, in one quick and easy motion, all the pie sections are separated from each other for individual use, and without touching the pie sections.

The tabs 12, 14 should project enough above the pan rim 120 to enable the user readily to grasp the tabs. In one satisfactory embodiment of the tray 116 for pizza pie, d6 was 5/8 inch, the height of the rim 120 was slightly less than this, and the height of d5 of the tabs was 7/8 inch. The tray 116 was made of baking board, which is a type of thin cardboard able to withstand high temperatures. The central lines 106 were scored in the top surface of the blank, and the side lines 108 were simply lines of perforations. Heavy foil or other suitable material may also be used. However, baking board is particularly suitable because it is not easily crushable and thus the tray expands uniformly and easily when the tabs 112, 114 are pulled.

If desired the pan 118 may be eliminated, and instead, as shown in FIG. 17, the tray may include a flat second piece of material 124 spot glued to the bottoms of the sectors 104 after the blank 100 has been erected. The material 124 (typically baking board) serves to hold the tray of FIG. 17 in assembled condition. The material 124 is glued very weakly to the bottoms of the sectors 104, typically by one or two small spots of glue 126 per sector. The glue used has a low adherence, so that when the tabs 112, 114 are pulled, the glued spots will break (disconnecting the material 124 from the remainder of the tray) and the top portion of the FIG. 17 tray will expand into the form of the blank 100, as before.

A tray such as that illustrated in FIG. 17 and without sides, can be sold carrying pizzas, and packaged in film, without a sidewall. However, if a sidewall is desired, this can easily be provided by providing a rim portion 128 at the end of each sector of the blank, as shown in dotted lines for one sector in FIG. 15. Each rim portion is formed in two halves for easy folding. When folded, as shown in FIG. 17, each rim portion 128 overlaps its neighbour and is weakly spot glued to its neighbour so that when the tabs 112, 114 are pulled, the glue at the rim will break and the rim will open up and flatten as the tray is expanded. A glue which weakens when heat is applied may be used.

In the FIG. 17 tray, the tabs 112, 114 extend along only half the periphery of their respective sectors, rather than along the entire length of the sectors. This still provides ample material for the user to grasp to expand the tray.

If desired, in the embodiment of FIG. 17 the tabs 112, 114 can be made the same height as the other rim portions 128, all being the same height as the partition walls. In effect, the tabs 112, 114 will simply be rim portions 128. In that case, markings can be placed on two diametrically opposed rim portions 128 to indicate that such marked portions are to be pulled apart to open the tray. However, this arrangement is subject to the disadvantage that if the pie extends to the rim portions 128, the pie will interfere with a user's grip on the rim portions. For this reason it is preferred to have the tabs 112, 114 project substantially above the pie. More than two tabs can of course be provided.

If desired, and as shown in FIG. 18 (where primed reference numerals indicate parts corresponding to those of FIG. 15), the tabs (only tab 112' as shown) can be connected to the sidewalls 130 of the partition walls instead of to the base portions of the tray between the partition walls. When the blank shown in FIG. 18 is folded, the tab 112' will stand upright and will project above the partition walls so that it can be grasped by a user. If desired, the tab 112' can, when in upright position, be folded so that it lies tangentially to the periphery of the tray.

Various modifications can be made in the blanks and trays illustrated in FIGS. 15 to 18, in accordance with the teachings of the trays described in connection with FIGS. 1 to 14. For example, the bottom of the tray 116 can include holes for better heat transfer, as described in connection with FIG. 1. When the base member 124 is used, it can include holes aligned with those in the bottom of the tray. The base member 124 need not be solid, but can be netting or other appropriate material glued or adhered to the bottom of the tray to hold it in folded condition until the tabs are pulled by a user.

Pies are placed in trays of the invention in any desired manner. If the pie has a stiff bottom crust and a filling which can be delivered through a spout (e.g., a cream pie, ice cream pie, and many meat pies,) the crust can be cut and placed in the tray, and then the filling can be injected as the tray rotates on a work station. For pizza pies the pie is simply cut and the sections placed in the tray. Other pies, such as fruit pies, may be baked, frozen, and then cut and the sections placed in the tray.

If the pie in the tray need not be baked, but only warmed, and if the pie is of liquid consistency, then the partition walls may be sealed together where they meet at the centre of the tray by a weak sealing compound, e.g. a rubber type compound, which will easily tear when the tabs are pulled. If the tray must withstand heat and if sealing is required, then flaps can be provided at the inner ends of the partition walls and weakly glued, as taught by the FIG. 8 embodiment, to provide substantially watertight compartments. The flaps, being weakly glued, will come apart when the tabs are pulled, allowing the tray to open as previously described.

Claims

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A tray for pre-cut food products, said tray having a plurality of partition walls, each partition wall having an end at the centre of said tray and said partition walls radiating outwardly from said ends to the edge of said tray, each partition wall having an upper edge and first and second sidewalls meeting at said upper edge, said first and second sidewalls also each having a lower edge, a plurality of flat base portions, each base portion extending between and being connected to the lower edges of opposed sidewalls of adjacent partition walls, fastening means for said tray weakly adhesively retaining said first and second sidewalls of each partition wall substantially parallel and said ends of said partition walls in substantially abutting relationship, and a pair of tabs connected to said tray at opposed positions at the outer edge of said tray and projecting substantially above said partition walls, said base portions being separable from each other at the centre of said tray and said partition walls being separable from each other at the centre of said tray, so that when said tabs are pulled outwardly, said fastening means will yield and said sidewalls of said partition walls will flatten and said base portions will all move outwardly and away from each other producing a central aperture in said tray and spacing apart said base portions.

2. A tray according to claim 1 wherein each said tab is connected to a said base portion.

3. A tray according to claim 1 wherein said fastening means includes a flat base member located below said base portions and an adhesive weakly fastening each base portion to said base member to hold said tray in formed condition and so that when said tabs are pulled, said adhesive will break and said base portions will move outwardly.

4. A tray according to claim 1 wherein said partition walls each have a radially outer end, each said tab being connected to a said outer end of a said partition wall.

5. A tray for pre-cut food products, said tray having a plurality of partition walls, each partition wall having an end at the centre of said tray and said partition walls radiating outwardly from said ends to the edge of said tray, each partition wall having an upper edge and first and second sidewalls meeting at said upper edge, said first and second sidewalls also each having a lower edge, a plurality of flat base portions, each base portion extending between and being connected to the lower edges of opposed sidewalls of adjacent partition walls, fastening means for said tray weakly adhesively retaining said first and second sidewalls of each partition wall substantially parallel and said ends of said partition walls in substantially abutting relationship, and a pair of tabs connected to said tray at opposed positions at the outer edge of said tray and extending radially outwardly beyond said base portions, said base portions being separable from each other at the centre of said tray and said partition walls being separable from each other at the centre of said tray, so that when said tabs are pulled outwardly, said fastening means will yield and said sidewalls of said partition walls will flatten and said base portions will all move outwardly and away from each other producing a central aperture in said tray and spacing apart said base portions.

6. A tray according to claim 5 wherein said fastening means includes a flat base member located beneath said base portions and an adhesive weakly fastening each base portion to said base member to hold said tray in formed condition and so that when said tabs are, pulled, said adhesive will break and said base portions will move outwardly.

7. A tray according to claim 5 wherein said partition walls each have a radially outer end, each said tab being connected to a said outer end of a said partition wall.