Various different forms of packages made from pasteboard or cardboard are known, and such packages may without difficulties be provided with printing which may, for example, serve decorative, advertising and/or consumer guiding purposes . However, these pasteboard packages are less suited for packing of humid or liquid- containing goods and for s under condition ^' s , where the packages may be exposed to humid surroundings . Plastic packages are sub¬ stantially better suited for such conditions , but dish- or σup- shaped plastic packages, which are most frequently made by injec¬ tion moulding or by vacuum forming of sheet like blanks , are difficult to provide with printing. Therefore, it is usual to place decorations and/or text on the lid of the package.

A package of the type described above is , however, known e. g. from British patent specification No . 1,495,386. This known package is made from two cup-shaped parts , which are made from transparent material and one of which is nested in the other so as to define a space therebetween receiving an insert made from a film-like material provided with printing. In this manner the side walls of the cup-shaped package may be given a decorative effect or provided with a text without any risk that the insert may be damaged by handling and storing of the package, even under more unfavourable conditions . However, the said known package consists of an insert, a lid, and two cup-shaped parts which have to be nested into each other and glued together or fastened to each other in another way. Therefore, the known package is so expensive to produce that it will not be taken into consideration for many purposes of use .

The present invention provides a package of the above type which is substantially cheaper to produce than the above-mentioned known

double walled package. The package according to the invention is characterized in that at the upper rim of the dish- or cup-shaped part the inner side wall is connected to and formed integrally with the outer side wall so as to define between said walls a downward- ly open spacing or pocket. Thus, the package according to the invention comprises only one single dish- or cup-shaped part, because the outer side wall forms a continuation of the inner side wall, and the two side walls may either be in contact with each other or define a spacing therebetween, which may, for example, have a U-shaped or V-shaped cross-section. Such a dish- or cup-shaped part may simply be made as an integral part by injec¬ tion moulding or by vacuum forming, and an insert may simply be pushed into the downwardly open spacing or pocket.

In principle, the dish- or cup-shaped part may be made from any transparent material, such as glass , and the insert may, for example, be a plastic film as in the known package described abov and this film may be adhered to the inner surface of the outer side wall. However, it is preferred to make the dish- or cup- shaped part from plastic material, and to form the insert from a fibrous material, which may easily be provided with printing, such as cardboard, pasteboard, or paper. The package may then be produced at such low costs that it is suited for use as a package of the disposable type.

The dish- or cup-shaped part of the package may have a contour of any desired shape. Thus , the contour may be circular, elliptica or of any other curved form. The insert may then, for example, be a belt or strip of cardboard, pasteboard, or paper having a length corresponding substantially to the peripheral length of the dish- or cup-shaped part, and a width corresponding to the heigh of the outer side wall of said part. The insert, which is provided with printing, may then cover the total area of the outer side wall.

Alternatively, the contour of the bottom of the dish- or cup-shape part may have the form of a polygon . In this case the insert pre-

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ferably includes a bottom part, which is shaped, as the said polygon and has connected to each side thereof an upwardly ex¬ tending rectangular panel which extends in the full length of the said side of the polygon and has a second dimension corresponding substantially to the height of the dish- or cup-shaped part. Such an insert, which may simply be made by folding a sample cut out from a plane material, will not only cover the side walls of the package but also its bottom . If the insert is made from a relatively stiff material, such as cardboard or pasteboard, the package will be relatively stiff and stable even if the dish- or cup-shaped part is made from plastic with a rather small wall thickness . Furthermore, the bottom surface of the insert will be immediately available so that it may be used for price marking, labelling, or stamping, for example of the last date of sale, etc.

If , alternatively, a bottom of a more moisture resistant material is desired, the bottom of the package - and consequently, also of the insert - may be coated with a moisture resistant agent, such as wax or plastic . Such a coating may, for example, be applied by passing the lower part of the' package through a bath of liquid wax or plastic prior to or after filling of the package. Thereby it may be obtained that a possible spacing between the bottom part of the insert and the inner side of the outer side wall is sealed, whereby the spacing between the outer and inner side walls of the package is hermetically closed. Such a sealing will also cause that the insert is attached or glued to the dish- or cup-shaped part. However, the insert may also be glued to the inner wall of the dish- or cup-shaped part in another manner, for example by means of a glue which has been applied to the surfaces of the insert contacting the side walls of the dish or cup- shaped part.

However, alternatively or additionally, a mechanical interlocking of the insert and the dish- or cup-shaped part may be provided. Thus , projections or depressions adapted to engage with the lower edges of the insert may be provided on the outer and/or the inner side wall adjacent to the bottom of the package. When depressions are formed in the dish- or cup-shaped part, the insert may, for

example, be provided with projecting flaps or extensions adapted to engage with the said depressions in the mounted condition of the insert. Due to the resiliency of the side walls the insert may relatively easily be pushed in position in the spacing between the outer and inner side walls and will thereafter be retained in position .

When the contour of the bottom of the dish- or cup-shaped part is shaped as a polygon the projections or depressions in the side walls of the dish- or cup- shaped part is advantageously formed adjacent to the corners of the polygon . Even if the dish- or cup-shaped part is made with very thin walls, it will be suf¬ ficiently stiff at the corners to retain the insert in position .

The invention also relates to a dish- or cup-shaped part for use i connection with the package described above, and being of a trans parent material, and the dish- or cup- shaped part according to th invention is characterized in comprising an inner side wall which a its upper edge is connected to and formed integrally with an outer side wall so as to define a downwardly open spacing or pocket between these side walls .

Furthermore, the invention relates to a plane blank which is cut out from sheet material and adapted to be used as insert in a package as that described above, and the blank according to the invention is characterized in comprising a polygon-shaped center panel having a rectangular outer panel connected to and extending outwardly from each of its sides . If the said outer panels are folded along the respective sides of the polygon, so that the said outer panels will extend substantially at right angles to the center panel, the insert may be pushed directly upwardly into the spacin between the side walls of a dish- or cup-shaped part being in accordance with the invention and having a corresponding polygon shaped contour.

The invention will now be described more in detail with reference to the drawings , wherein

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Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the package according to the invention,

Fig. 2 is a perspective and partially sectional view of the package shown in Fig. 1 with the lid removed therefrom, Fig. 3 is a perspective and partially sectional view of the package according to Fig. 1 placed upside down,

Fig. 4 is an insert forming a part of the package shown in Figs . 1 - 3, and

Fig. 5 is a perspective and exploded view of a second embodiment of the package according to the invention .

The package shown in the drawings comprises a dish- or cup- shaped part 10 having an upper opening which may be closed by a lid 11. The dish-shaped part 10, which is made from a transparent material, for example by injection moulding of plastic or by vacuum forming of a plastic film, comprises a bottom part 12 and a double side wall. This double side wall comprises an inner side wall 13 and an outer side wall 14 which are interconnected along the upper rim 15 of the dish- shaped part, and which define a downwardly open spacing 16 between the side walls for receiving an insert 17:

This insert is made from a foldable plate or sheet material and coloured and/or provided with another kind of decoration or illustration and/or provided with text as indicated by 18 in Figs . 1 and 5.

The free edge of the outer side wall 14 of the package may be provided with an outwardly extending, plane flange 19, which is preferably positioned at the same level as or slightly below the bottom surface of the bottom part 12 of the dish-shaped part 10, whereby this flange may constitute a supporting surface of the package or part thereof.

In the embodiment shown in Figs . 1 - 4 the dish-shaped part 10 has a substantially rectangular or square contour. The insert 17, which may advantageously made from pasteboard or cardboard, may conveniently be made by cutting a blank, shaped as shown in Fig. 4, out from a plane sheet material. As shown in Fig. 4 the blank

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may have a rectangular or square bottom panel 20, which is con¬ nected to a rectangular side panel 21 along each of its sides whic are defined by folding lines . The dimensions of the bottom panel 20 correspond substantially to the inner dimensions of the outer side wall 14 at the bottom of the package. When the side panels 21 of the blank has been folded upwardly in relation to the bottom panel 20 the insert, which may be provided with decorations and/o text, may easily and simply be mounted within the dish-shaped part 10 in such a manner that the side panels 21 are received within the spacing 16 defined within the double side wall of the dish-shaped part, while the bottom panel 20 will completely cover the bottom opening defined by the lower flange or rim 19 of the outer side wall 14.

In the embodiment shown in Figs . 1 - 4 depressions 22 (Fig. 3) are formed at the inner side of the outer side wall adjacent to the corners of the package . At the outside of the package these depre sions appear as ridges or ribs 23. When the insert 17 shown in Fig. 4 is dimensioned so that in its mounted condition the outer side wall 14 will apply an elastic force to the bottom panels 20, th edges of the bottom panel 20 will be received in the depressions 2 at the corners of the package, whereby the insert 17 will be re¬ tained in position in the dish-shaped part 10.

The lid or cover 11 is provided with a gripping part 24 and has such outer dimensions that the lid may be pressed down into the upper opening of the dish- shaped part 10 with a light sealing fit so as to close the package as shown in Fig. 1. If desired, the lid may be provided with friction increasing bulges 25 along the periphery thereof .

The embodiment shown in Fig. 5 corresponds in principle to that shown in ^" Figs . 1 - 4. However, in Fig. 5 the cup-shaped part 10 has a circular contour, and the insert 17 may then be formed as a cylindrically folded, belt-shaped blank. In that case the insert 17 does not include a bottom panel. The cylindrical insert 17 may then be glued to the inner side of the outer side wall 14 or to the

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outer side of the inner side wall 13, or it may be retained in position in a similar manner as in the embodiment shown in Figs . 1 - 4, for example by means of bulges 26 formed suitably spaced along the inner periphery of the outer side wall 14 at the bottom of the package .

It is understood that the packages described above have the sub¬ stantial advantage that their appearance and character may totally be changed by replacing the insert 17, because a substantial part of the characteristics of the package normally arises from the printed and/or coloured insert and not from the transparent dish- or cup-shaped part 10. Because the insert 17 is well protected within the dish- or cup-shaped part it may be made from less moisture-resistant fibrous material, which may easily be provided with printing, even when the package is adapted to receive a humid or liquid- containing content and/or to resist storage in a humid atmosphere.

In the embodiments shown in the drawings the spacing 16 between the side walls 13 and 14 of the package has a width or thickness substantially exceeding the thickness of the sheet material from which the insert 17 is made, in order to facilitate manufacture of the dish- or cup-shaped part 10. It should be understood, however, that the dish- or cup-shaped part 10 may be made so that the side walls 13 and 14 are contacting each other prior to mounting of the insert 17 therebetween. When the insert 17 is pushed inwardly between the side walls 13 and 14 it will be retained by a resilient force . The insert 17 may, alternatively, be fastened to the dish- or cup-shaped part by gluening, for example by sealing the down¬ wardly open space formed within the part 10 and receiving the insert 17, for example by means of plastic or wax.

While the drawings show packages having a rectangular and a circular contour, it should be understood that the package accord¬ ing to the invention may have a contour with any polygonal shape and that the insert may be made after the same principle" as shown in Fig. 4. The_ insert may, however, alternatively be made from a

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plurality of separate plane blanks, each being received in and covering part of the total side, wall of the package . In this case, the side walls 13 and 14 may be interconnected along the corners of the dish- or cup-shaped part 10, if desired. Furthermore, the side walls may be interconnected along other substantially verticall extending connecting seams dividing the spacing 16 along each sid surface into two or more pockets . Similarly, the contour of the packaging may have a curved non-circular shape, such as an elliptical shape.

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