Deep-drawn paper tray, a method and an apparatus for making it, and a tray-formed product package

An apparatus for deep-drawing a paper tray from a paper blank, the apparatus comprising:

• upper and lower moulding tools movable in relation to each other and adapted to shape the paper blank from opposite sides of the paper blank, wherein both the upper and the lower moulding tools comprise a central area and a plurality of concentric zones around the central area in a stepped configuration, to lend a correspondingly stepped profile to the side walls of the tray being formed, the side wall steps being dimensioned low enough for obtaining wrinkle-free side walls for the tray.

An apparatus for deep-drawing paper trays from a paper web material, the apparatus comprising:

• a first set of moulding tools travelling along a track, and a second set of moulding tools mounted at a number of working stations beside said track, the tools of said first set carrying paper blanks being moulded through the working stations and finished trays being released from the track at a tray collecting station, the respective moulding tools of the first and the second set at each working station being movable in relation to each other and adapted to shape the blank from the opposite sides of the blank, by forming a bottom and concentric steps to side walls of the tray one by one at the consecutive working stations.

The paper tray of 47, wherein the tray has a rectangular, circular or oval shape.

The product package of 54, wherein the tray and the lid form a shallow, tray-formed food package.