Tamper evident pizza box

Abstract

A tamper evident food container 1 made from a foldable sheet material, including a base portion and a lid portion attached to the base portion. The container 1 further includes a locking tab insertable into a slot to retain the container 1 in a closed position. The container 1 further includes a release assembly for enabling release of the locking tab, the release assembly including a frangible line of weakness 15 for facilitating tearing of the release assembly, the frangible line of weakness 15 dividing the release assembly into sections 15, 17 which separate upon tearing of the line of weakness to expose the locking tab for release and opening of the container 1. As the container 1 needs to be physically damaged in order to open, a consumer is easily able to identify if their container 1 has been tampered with or opened prior to taking delivery.

1 . A tamper evident food container made from a foldable sheet material, including a base portion and a lid portion attached to the base portion, the container further including a locking tab associated with one of the base and lid portions and a slot associated with the other of the base and lid portions, the locking tab being insertable into the slot to retain the container in a closed position, the container further including a release assembly for enabling release of the locking tab, the release assembly including a frangible line of weakness for facilitating tearing of the release assembly, the frangible line of weakness dividing the release assembly into sections which separate upon tearing of the line of weakness to expose the locking tab for release and opening of the container. 
     
     
         2 . A tamper evident food container as claimed in  claim 1  wherein one end of the frangible line of weakness terminates at the slot, and an opposite end of the frangible line of weakness terminates at a peripheral edge of a flap door, the flap door enabling a person to insert at least a portion of a finger into the container and engage an underside of the release assembly and thereby facilitate tearing of said line of weakness. 
     
     
         3 . A tamper evident food container as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the locking tab is formed in a wall panel of the base portion and the slot is formed in the lid portion. 
     
     
         4 . A tamper evident food container as claimed in  claim 3  wherein the lid portion includes a cover panel and one or more flaps connected to the cover panel foldable downwardly about a fold line, the slot being formed generally where the cover panel and a front flap of the lid portion intersect. 
     
     
         5 . A tamper evident food container as claimed in  claim 4  wherein the release assembly is formed in the cover panel and each section of the release assembly remains connected with the cover panel upon tearing of the line of weakness. 
     
     
         6 . A tamper evident food container as claimed in  claim 5  wherein each section of the release assembly includes a crease line about which said sections of the release assembly remain connected with the cover panel. 
     
     
         7 . A tamper evident food container as claimed in  claim 6  wherein said crease line permits said sections of the release assembly to be hinged with respect to the cover panel upon tearing of the line of weakness. 
     
     
         8 . A tamper evident food container as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the frangible line of weakness extends across a mid-region of the release assembly to divide the release assembly into two generally equally sized sections. 
     
     
         9 . A tamper evident food container as claimed in  claim 8  wherein said crease lines are positioned such that the sections open outwardly from the middle like a double-leaf door upon tearing of the line of weakness. 
     
     
         10 . A tamper evident food container as claimed in  claim 9  wherein one end of each crease line terminates at or near the slot, and an opposite end of each crease line terminates at a perforated line defining an edge portion of each section, said edge portion separating from the cover panel upon tearing of the perforated line. 
     
     
         11 . A tamper evident food container as claimed in  claim 10  wherein tearing of the perforated line is facilitated by engagement of the underside of the release assembly by a finger of said person, said tearing occurring simultaneously with tearing of said frangible line of weakness. 
     
     
         12 . A tamper evident food container as claimed in  claim 3  wherein the slot includes a bottom edge which is part of a foldable lip member formed in the front flap of the lid portion, the foldable lip member being configured to fold inwardly into the container by entry of the locking tab into the slot. 
     
     
         13 . A tamper evident food container as claimed in  claim 12  wherein the foldable lip member has a width defined by a pair of spaced apart cut lines in the front flap, the width of the lip member being less than the slot. 
     
     
         14 . A tamper evident food container as claimed in  claim 3  wherein the locking tab includes a first tab portion having a side wing at each side of a centrally located main body section, the side wings being configured to fold backwards during entry of the locking tab into the slot. 
     
     
         15 . A tamper evident food container as claimed in  claim 14  wherein each side wing is defined by a partial cut line which is orientated substantially perpendicular an upper edge of the front wall panel, and a horizontally orientated cut aligned parallel to the upper edge of the front wall panel. 
     
     
         16 . A tamper evident food container as claimed in  claim 13 , wherein the locking tab includes a first tab portion having a side wing at each side of a centrally located main body section, the side wings being configured to fold backwards during entry of the locking tab into the slot, and wherein the main body section has a width substantially the same as the width of the lip member. 
     
     
         17 . A tamper evident food container as claimed in  claim 14  wherein the locking tab further includes a second tab portion having a pair of rear edges configured to engage behind the front flap. 
     
     
         18 . A tamper evident food container as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the container is a pizza box