According to the invention there is provided a container made of cardboard, paperboard or similar lightweight sheet material, having at least one internal carrier for contents, the said carrier being suspended in the container body for upward movement, the suspension means being actuable by a user to move the carrier up.

With such an arrangement contents supported on the said carrier may be elevated by the user moving the carrier up. One possible use of such a facility is to elevate a number of layers of contents, e. g. confectionery, one by one to the top of the container, for presentation and consumption. Another possible use would be to display a single item of contents, such as a bottle of beverage, following opening of the container top.

Preferably the said carrier fits in the container in slidable up and down fashion.

In one form of the invention the container has at least two of said carriers, arranged in a stack, the said suspension means acting directly on the bottom one thereof.

The said carrier, or the bottom one thereof, preferably forms a false bottom above a fixed base of the container.

The container will usually have an open or openable top, with the said suspension means extending out of the top of the container for actuation by a user.

Preferably the said suspension means comprises at

least one flexible elongate tension member such as a tape, which may extend outwardly over the edge of the open of the container. Such a tension member may then be connected to a sleeve actuator which surrounds the outside of the container and is slidable down the same to move the carrier up. one form of the invention the container has at least two of said tension members, spaced substantially equidistantly around the container, and secured to the said carrier. Such at least two tension members may comprise a single length of material, or two or more separate lengths. In another form the container has only one said tension member, which is secured to the container body at one end, extends movably under the said carrier in supporting fashion, and is actuable by a user at its other end.

Some embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompany drawings, in which:- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a container for three layers of confectionery, according to the invention, with its lid removed; Figure 2 is a vertical medial cross-section view of the container of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a perspective view of the container of Figure 1, with the top layer of confectionery removed; Figure 4 is a vertical medial cross-sectional view of the container in the condition illustrated in Figure 3; Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 3 but showing the second layer of confectionery elevated to the top of the container ; Figure 6 is a vertical medial cross-sectional view of the container in the condition illustrated in Figure Figure 7 is a similar cross-sectional view with both top and middle layers of confectionery removed;

Figure 8 is a perspective view of a second embodiment; Figure 9 is a perspective view of the s~ Figure 8, with its platform partly elevated; Figure 10 is a plan view of a blank for making a carrier for use in a container according to a third embodiment; Figure 11 is a perspective of the carrier made from the blank of Figure 10; Figure 12 is a perspective view of a container including two carriers as shown in Figure 11; and Figure 13 is a view similar to Figure 12 but partly broken away.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, a square cardboard container 1 has a base 2 and side walls 3 and houses three layers of chocolates 4 to 6, each layer topped by a paper cover 7. The container has a false bottom in the form of a square platform 8 of cardboard, dimensioned to be an easy sliding up and down fit in the container, and acting as a carrier for the container contents. The platform 8 rests on the base 2 of the container 1. A plastics tape 9 extends underneath the platform 8, where it is glued to the latter, up two opposite inside walls of the container, and out over the tops of the walls where the ends of the tape are glued to a square cardboard sleeve 10 which makes an easy sliding up and down fit on the outside of the container walls. It will thus be understood that the opposite parts of the tape constitute two elongate flexible tension members connecting the platform 8 to the sleeve 10.

The manner of use of the container will be clear from Figures 3 to 7. When the chocolates of the top layer 4 have been consumed and that layer removed, the user slides the sleeve 10 down to the position shown in Figure 3, thereby elevating the middle layer 5 to the top of the container. The friction between the various

parts is sufficient to hold them in this position without any help from the user. When the chocolates of the middle layer have been consumed, that is removed and the sleeve is slid down to the position shown in Figure 7, thereby elevating the bottom layer 6 to the top, wherein again it is held by friction.

Figures 8 and 9 show a circular container in which three separate tapes 11 are used to support and elevate a platform 12, by means of a circular sleeve 13. Beyond these differences, this embodiment operates in the same way as the previous one.

Figure 10 shows a cardboard blank for making a carrier 14 for container contents, e. g. confectionery, as shown in Figures 11 to 13. Two such carriers 14 make a frictional sliding fit in a square container body 15, supported for upward movement by a plastics tape or ribbon 16 which passes slidably through two slots 17 in the base of the lower carrier (see Figure 13) with its ends extending out over the opposite top edges of the container body for actuation by a user. When the carriers 14 are elevated in turn to a position where their side walls are no longer confined within the container body, their walls automatically fall open as shown in Figures 12 and 13, to provide access to the contents, e. g. chocolates. The tape or ribbon 16 need not be fixed to the lower carrier, and may merely pass under the lower carrier, but some form of attachment is desirable to prevent inadvertent removal of the tape or ribbon from the container.

It will also be understood that these carriers could be elevated by pulling down on only one end of the tape, if the other end were to be secured to the container body. Again the friction between the parts is such as to hold them in any desired position without assistance from the user.

The parts of a container according to the invention could be made of lightweight sheet material other than

cardboard or paperboard, for example injection moulded plastics or light metal, or of a mixture of such materials. Containers according to the invention may be used for all manner of contents, such as confectionery, toiletries, giftware, jewelry, beverages, tobacco, multimedia articles, and games and toys.