Detachable food package

Abstract

A food tray system comprises a single plastic sheet that forms a row of width-spaced and elongated trays ( 12, 14, 16 ) that each has a cavity ( 30 ) and a flange ( 32 ) at the top. Each flange is joined to the flange of an adjacent tray by a tear line ( 36 ). A front portion ( 52 ) of each tray is tapered in width and the cavity has a front wall ( 24 ) inclined to the vertical by at least 8° to facilitate a person pouring the contents into his/her mouth. A lidding film ( 50 ) that covers each cavity, has a film part that overhangs the inclined front end of the tray flange to form a tab ( 64 ) that can be grasped. A notch ( 80, 82 ) leading to each end of a tear line, has a notch inner end ( 80 i, 82 i ) extending in the width direction (W).

1 . A food tray system comprising:
 a single plastic sheet that forms a single row of rigid and elongated trays ( 12 ,  14 ,  16 ) spaced along a horizontal width direction (W), each tray having primarily vertical tray side walls ( 20 ,  22 ) and end walls ( 24 ,  26 ), and a tray bottom wall ( 28 ) that together form a cavity ( 30 ) for holding food, and each tray having a flange ( 32 ) extending outward from the tray side walls, with pairs of adjacent trays forming a tear line ( 36 ) between flanges at their sides, with each tear line formed by a weakening of said sheet of plastic along the tear line;   each tray having a width (K) along said width direction and having a length (M) along a horizontal length direction that is perpendicular to said width direction, with each tray length being a plurality of times as great as its width, whereby to provide a row of elongated trays.   
     
     
         2 . The system described in  claim 1  wherein:
 each of said flanges has front and rear end portions ( 52 ,  53 ) spaced apart along said length direction, with said flange front portion being tapered in width so its extreme front end has a width (V) that is no more than one-half the tray width (K) as it exists along a majority of the tray length.   
     
     
         3 . The system described in  claim 1  wherein:
 the cavity at each tray front end has a lateral width (X) that is no more than half of the width (J) of said cavity along a majority of the cavity length, and said tray front end wall ( 24 ) is inclined from the vertical by at least 10°.   
     
     
         4 . The system described in  claim 1  including:
 a plurality of lidding films each covering the cavity of one of said trays and attached to the flange of the corresponding tray;   each tray having a front portion of a length (S) of at least one centimeter along which the cavity and flange are tapered to have a progressively smaller lateral width at progressively more forward locations therealong to leave a cutout ( 70 );   each lidding film extends over said cutout by a distance of at least 5 millimeters to form a tab ( 64 ) that can be grasped without grasping said flange.   
     
     
         5 . The system described in  claim 1  wherein:
 the flanges of adjacent trays which are joined by tear lines, have notches ( 80 ,  82 ) at their opposite ends with each notch leading to an end of a tear line;   each tear line comprising a plurality of through slots ( 40 ) spaced by connections ( 42 ), with each slot having a predetermined slot width (Q);   each of said notches has an inner notch end ( 80   i ,  82   i ) extending perpendicular to the tear line along a distance (T) equal to at least twice said slot width.   
     
     
         6 . The system described in  claim 1  including:
 a second single sheet of plastic that forms a single row of covers ( 104 ) spaced along said width direction with said covers having primarily vertical side walls and a top and having a flange ( 120 ) extending outward from a bottom of said side walls, with pairs of adjacent covers forming a tear line ( 122 ) between their flanges with each tear line formed by a weakening of said sheet along the tear line, each cover of a row being latchable to a tray of its row to form a row of closed containers.   
     
     
         7 . The system described in  claim 6  wherein:
 said flanges ( 32 ,  120 ) of the tray and cover of each container being positioned to lie facewise adjacent to each other when the container is closed.   
     
     
         8 . The system described in  claim 6  wherein:
 each of said trays and each of said covers is of primarily triangular shape, each tray and each cover having a narrow end, and having a wide end that is at least twice as wide along said width direction as said narrow end, with pairs of trays and pairs of covers each having adjacent wide and narrow ends.   
     
     
         9 . The system described in  claim 8  wherein:
 said plurality of trays and covers each forms a row with opposite ends, said row comprising an even number of trays or rows so opposite ends of each row are parallel.   
     
     
         10 . The system described in  claim 1  wherein:
 said plastic sheet comprises a layer of fibers and polymer film pressed into said layer of fibers;   said tear line is formed of perforations in said plastic sheet with each perforation formed by punching out areas of said sheet that are spaced apart along the tear line.   
     
     
         11 . The system described in  claim 10  wherein:
 said perforations each has a width (Q) of no more than one millimeter and said perforations are spaced apart by a distance of no more than one millimeter.   
     
     
         12 . A food tray system comprising:
 a single plastic sheet that forms a row of rigid and elongated trays ( 12 ,  14 ,  16 ) spaced apart along a horizontal width direction (W), each tray having primarily vertical tray opposite side walls ( 20 ,  22 ), a tray front wall ( 24 ), a tray rear wall ( 26 ), and a tray bottom wall ( 28 ), that together form a cavity ( 30 ) for holding food, each tray having a tray top and having a flange ( 50 ) extending outward from the tray top with flanges of adjacent trays of the row joined along a tear line ( 36 ) where said sheet is weakened and can be torn;   a tray front portion ( 52 ) of each tray being tapered in width along a region forward of the corresponding tear line to have a smaller width at a front end of said region than at a rear end of said region, to facilitate pouring of food out through said front end.   
     
     
         13 . The system described in  claim 12  wherein:
 said tray opposite side walls diverge in an upward direction, with each of said side wall inclined by an angle (D) of about 5° from the vertical, and said tray front end has a primarily vertical end wall that extends at an upward and frontward angle (D) of at least 10° from the vertical.   
     
     
         14 . A food tray system comprising:
 a single plastic sheet that forms a row of rigid trays ( 12 ,  14 ,  16 ) spaced along a width direction (W), each tray having tray side and end walls ( 20 ,  22 ,  24 ,  26 ) and a tray bottom wall ( 28 ) that together form a cavity ( 30 ) for holding food, and each tray having a flange ( 32 ) extending outward from said side walls with a pair of adjacent tray forming a tear line ( 36 ) between their flanges, each tear line having front and rear ends and having slots ( 40 ) of a predetermined average width (Q);   at a first of said tear line ends, the flanges of a pair of adjacent trays form a notch ( 80 ,  82 ) with a notch inner surface ( 80   i ,  82   i ) that extends within 7° of said width direction along a distance (T) of at least twice said tear line width, whereby to avoid the creation of a sharp hook at an end of a tray flange.   
     
     
         15 . The system described in  claim 14  wherein:
 said plastic sheet comprises a layer of fiber material laminated with a polymer film;   each of said tear lines is formed by spaced perforations in said plastic sheet that each extends along a tear line.   
     
     
         16 . A food tray system comprising:
 plastic sheeting that forms a plurality of rigid trays spaced along a width direction, each tray having tray side and end walls and a tray bottom that together form a cavity for holding food, and each tray having a flange extending outward from a top of said side and end walls with a pair of adjacent trays forming a tear line between their flanges, each tear line having front and rear ends separated along a length direction;   a lidding film that lies on and adheres to the flange of each of said trays to close the top of the corresponding cavity but each lidding film being peelable off the flange;   each flange having a front end portion with an inclined flange side ( 55 ) that extends at an incline angle (E) of between 15° and 60° to said tray length direction to leave a cutout ( 70 ), where a non-inclined flange edge would lie, and the lidding film on each tray extends over said cutout to form a tab ( 64 ) that can be grasped.   
     
     
         17 . The food tray system described in  claim 16  wherein:
 said lidding film has opposite sides that are each spaced inward from a corresponding tear line, except at the tab of the lidding film.   
     
     
         18 . A food tray system comprising:
 a single plastic sheet that forms a tray that has primarily vertical tray opposite side walls and end walls and that has a tray bottom wall, said walls together forming a cavity for holding food, said tray having a tray top and having a flange extending outward from the tray top;   said tray opposite side walls extending at a small incline (D) of about 5° to the vertical, and said tray front having a cavity front end wall that extends at a front-ward and upward incline angle (C) from the vertical that is at least twice said small angle.   
     
     
         19 . The system described in  claim 18  wherein:
 said plastic sheet forms a plurality of tray devices that are each identical to said tray and that are spaced apart in a width direction and have top flanges, with said flanges joined by tear lines each comprising elongated through slots and connecting locations of said flanges that lie between said through slots.   
     
     
         20 . The system described in  claim 18  wherein:
 said plastic sheet forms a plurality of tray devices that are identical to said tray and that are spaced in a width direction from said tray, with flanges of said tray and an adjacent one of said tray devices joined to each other by a tear line in said sheet of plastic along which the flanges of the tray and tray device can be separated;   said tray and tray devices being arranged in a single row, with each tray and an adjacent tray device having front and rear ends that form notches where there is a space between each tray and an adjacent tray device.   
     
     
         21 . The system described in  claim 20  wherein:
 each of said tear lines comprises alternating through slots ( 40 ) and connections ( 42 ), and each tear line has front and rear ends and each tray and an adjacent tray device form a notch ( 80 ,  82 ) in the flange at said tray and tray device front and rear ends, each notch having an outer end furthest from an end of the corresponding tear line and having an inner end ( 80   i ,  82   i ) where the notch merges with an end of the tear line;   each notch inner end extends within 7° of said width direction along a distance (T) of at least twice the width (Q) of said tear line through slots, whereby to avoid the creation of a sharply pointed hook when the tear line is torn.   
     
     
         22 . A food tray system with pie-shaped trays comprising:
 a single plastic sheet that forms a row of rigid trays ( 102 ) spaced along a horizontal width direction (W) with each tray having front and rear ends that are spaced along a horizontal length direction (L), each tray having primarily vertical tray side walls ( 112 ) and a tray bottom wall ( 114 ) that together form a cavity ( 110 ) for holding food, and each tray having a flange ( 120 ) extending outward from a tray side wall with pairs of adjacent trays forming a tear line ( 122 ) between their flanges with the tear line formed by a weakening of said sheet of plastic along the tear line;   said trays are each of a pie shape which includes opposite side walls that each converge in a first direction toward a narrow tray end ( 140 ) and diverge in an opposite second direction toward a wide tray end ( 142 );   said trays being arranged with alternate trays having their wide tray ends ( 142 ) at a front end of the row and with trays lying between said alternate trays having their narrow tray ends ( 140 ) at said front end of the row.   
     
     
         23 . The system described in  claim 22  including:
 a plastic sheet that forms a row of covers ( 104 ) spaced along said width direction (W) with each cover having side walls forming a cavity and with each cover having an outward extending flange, with pairs of adjacent covers forming a tear line between their flanges;   said covers are each of a pie shape with narrow and wide cover ends and arranged with alternate covers having narrow ends lying between the wide end of a cover between them, said covers each being mountable on one of said trays, each tray having at least one held-down flange ( 130 ) and each cover having at least one lift up flange ( 132 ,  134 ).