High strength corrugated carton design and lid for modified atmosphere packaging of fresh produce and fresh-cut flowers

Abstract

A container assembly including, a carton base having a substantially planar bottom surface, a lid having a top surface and a plurality of sidewalls extending therefrom. The lid is releasably engaged with the carton base and forms an interior space when engaged with the carton base. The top surface of the lid includes: a plurality of raised platforms, each raised platform having a substantially planar top surface, and a plurality of channels extending between each of the raised platforms such that each of the plurality of channels continuously extends to a perimeter of the lid. Additionally, the carton base is formed of three distinct laminate layers, with at least one of the laminate layers including a resin and a board weight of 200 g/m 2 to 300 g/m 2 .

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A container assembly, comprising:
 a carton base having a substantially planar bottom surface;   a lid having a top surface and a plurality of sidewalls extending therefrom;   wherein the lid is releasably engaged with the carton base and forms an interior space when engaged with the carton base;   wherein the top surface of the lid includes: a plurality of raised platforms, each raised platform having a substantially planar top surface, and a plurality of channels extending between each of the raised platforms such that each of the plurality of channels continuously extends to a perimeter of the lid, and   wherein the carton base includes a liner, wherein the liner is formed of three distinct laminate layers.   
     
     
         2 . The container assembly of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the laminate layers includes a resin. 
     
     
         3 . The container assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the liner is attached to a cardboard base layer. 
     
     
         4 . The container assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the liner has a board weight of 200 g/m 2  to 300 g/m 2 . 
     
     
         5 . The container assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the carton base includes a plurality of sidewalls, each sidewall having at least one scallop configured to receive a corresponding channel of the lid when the lid is engaged with the carton base. 
     
     
         6 . The container assembly of  claim 5 , wherein each of the carton base sidewalls includes at least one support surface immediately adjacent to the at least one scallop, wherein the support surface abuts an interior surface of the raised platform of the lid, when the lid is engaged with the carton base. 
     
     
         7 . The container assembly of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a tape layer overlapping and sealing the lid and the carton base when the lid is engaged with the carton base.   
     
     
         8 . The container assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the lid includes a countersunk surface having a plurality of ventilation holes. 
     
     
         9 . The container assembly of  claim 8 , wherein the lid includes an antimicrobial sheet secured over the ventilation holes. 
     
     
         10 . A container assembly, comprising:
 a carton base having a substantially planar bottom surface and a plurality of sidewalls forming an interior space, wherein the plurality of sidewalls of the carton base are formed of a cardboard base layer and a liner attached to an interior surface of the carton base, and wherein the liner includes a resin layer intermediate to two paper layers;   a lid having a top surface and a plurality of sidewalls extending therefrom; and   wherein the lid is releasably engaged with the carton base and encloses the interior space when engaged with the carton base.   
     
     
         11 . The container assembly of  claim 10 , wherein the liner has a board weight of 200 g/m 2  to 300 g/m 2 . 
     
     
         12 . The container assembly of  claim 10 , wherein the top surface of the lid includes:
 a plurality of raised platforms, each raised platform having a substantially planar top surface, and a plurality of channels extending between each of the raised platforms such that each of the plurality of channels continuously extends to a perimeter of the lid.   
     
     
         13 . The container assembly of  claim 10 , wherein a plurality of containers may be stacked vertically on one another. 
     
     
         14 . The container assembly of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 a tape layer overlapping and sealing the lid and the carton base when the lid is engaged with the carton base.   
     
     
         15 . The container assembly of  claim 10 , wherein the liner is also attached to an exterior surface of the carton base. 
     
     
         16 . The container assembly of  claim 10 , wherein the carton base includes at least one corner adjoining two adjacent sidewalls, wherein at least one of the sidewall is folded to form a double layer at the at least one corner. 
     
     
         17 . The container assembly of  claim 10 , wherein the lid includes a countersunk surface having a plurality of ventilation holes. 
     
     
         18 . The container assembly of  claim 10 , wherein the lid includes an antimicrobial sheet secured over the ventilation holes. 
     
     
         19 . The container assembly of  claim 12 , wherein each sidewall of the carton base having at least one scallop configured to receive a corresponding channel of the lid when the lid is engaged with the carton base. 
     
     
         20 . The container assembly of  claim 19 , wherein each of the carton base sidewalls includes at least one support surface immediately adjacent to the at least one scallop, wherein the support surface abuts an interior surface of the raised platform of the lid, when the lid is engaged with the carton base.