Container for sliced and fluffed food products

A method of assembling a package, the method comprising:

• providing a web of material for a base member and a web of material for a lid, the base member web including a ridge that defines an outer periphery of the base member, the ridge having a pair of straight portions that extend generally perpendicular to one another;
• forming a gripping portion in the ridge of the base member by removing material from only the base member web, the gripping portion having a plurality of edges which define an outer profile of the gripping portion, the plurality of edges comprising a substantially straight edge that extends inward from one of the pair of straight portions of the ridge, a semicircular edge that extends inward from the other of the pair of straight portions of the ridge about a first radius of curvature, and a rounded edge disposed between the straight edge and the semicircular edge such that the rounded edge connects the straight edge and the semicircular edge, the rounded edge having a second radius of curvature;
• shaping a compartment of the base member in the base member web using a different operation than the operation used to remove material from the base member web and form the ridge gripping portion, the compartment having a bottom wall, an opening opposite the bottom wall, and a plurality of side walls upstanding from the bottom wall, wherein each of the side walls has an upper section that extends vertically downward from the ridge about the opening;
• the lid web including a lip that defines an outer periphery of the lid, the lip having a tab with upper and lower surfaces;
• shaping a plurality of walls of the lid that extend downward a distance from the lip and terminate at a cover wall, the plurality of walls and cover wall being sized to fit within the opening of the compartment;
• bringing the base member web and the lid web together so that the cover wall of the lid closes the opening of the compartment of the base member and the plurality of walls of the lid nest with the upper section of the sidewall portions of the compartment, and the tab of the lid overlaps the gripping portion of the base member formed before bringing the base member web and the lid web together with a portion of the lower surface of the tab being uncovered by the gripping portion, the uncovered portion of the tab lower surface being disposed outward from the outer profile of the gripping portion;
• and
• cutting the base member web and the lid web after the base member web and the lid web have been brought together to form a pair of aligned, straight peripheral edges of the tab of the lid and one of the straight portions of the base member ridge with a section of the straight peripheral edge of the lid tab being disposed outward of the outer profile of the base member gripping portion.

A food package for containing a food product, the package comprising:

• a base member having a bottom wall and a plurality of side walls upstanding from the bottom wall that define an opening of the base member opposite the bottom wall, the plurality of side walls including a pair of side walls that extend generally perpendicular to one another, the side walls each having an upper section that extends substantially vertically downward from the opening, the base member having a ridge and a gripping portion thereof, the ridge extending outward from the plurality of side walls about the opening and defining an outer periphery of the base member, the ridge having a pair of straight portions extending outward from the pair of side walls and substantially straight peripheral edges of the ridge straight portions that extend generally perpendicular to one another;
• a lid having a cover wall for covering the opening of the base member, the lid having a plurality of walls that extend upward a distance from the cover wall and terminate at a lip, the cover wall and the plurality of walls being sized to fit within the opening of the base member, the plurality of walls of the lid nesting within the upper section of the base member side walls with the lid connected to the base member, the lip of the lid having a tab with upper and lower surfaces, the tab of the lid overlapping the gripping portion of the base member with the lid connected to the base member, the tab having a pair of substantially straight edges that are generally perpendicular to each other and are connected by a corner, the tab straight edges being aligned with the straight peripheral edges of the base member ridge with the lid connected to the base member;
• the gripping portion of the base member ridge having a plurality of edges which define an outer profile of the gripping portion, the plurality of edges comprising a substantially straight edge that extends inward from the straight peripheral edge of one of the pair of straight portions of the ridge, a semicircular edge that extends inward from the straight peripheral edge of the other of the pair of straight portions of the ridge about a first radius of curvature, and a rounded edge disposed between the inwardly extending straight edge and the semicircular edge of the gripping portion such that the rounded edge connects the inwardly extending straight edge and the semicircular edge, the rounded edge having a second radius of curvature;
• a sealing area surrounding the opening of the base member;
• a protuberance of the base member upstanding from the gripping portion, the protuberance having a center separated from the sealing area by a first distance and separated from the semicircular edge by a second distance, the first distance being between about equal to about five times the length of the second distance;
• a generally straight diagonal side wall of the plurality of base member side walls connecting the pair of side walls and extending at an angle relative to each of the pair of side walls;
• and
• an enlarged region of the base member ridge intermediate the straight portions thereof and adjacent the generally straight diagonal side wall of the base member, the enlarged region of the base member ridge including the gripping portion and the plurality of edges thereof which define the outer profile of the gripping portion.

A method of assembling a package, the method comprising:

• providing a web of material for a base member and a web of material for a lid;
• forming a cutout in the web of material for the base member by removing material from only the base member web, the base member web including a ridge that defines an outer periphery of the base member and a pair of straight portions of the ridge that extend generally perpendicular to one another, the cutout at least partially defining an outer profile of a gripping portion of the ridge;
• shaping a compartment of the base member in the base member web using a different operation than the operation used to remove material from the base member web and form the cutout, the compartment having a bottom wall, an opening opposite the bottom wall, and a plurality of side walls upstanding from the bottom wall, wherein each of the side walls has an upper section that extends vertically downward from the ridge about the opening;
• shaping a cover wall in the web of material for the lid, the lid web including a lip that surrounds the cover wall and defines an outer periphery of the lid, the lip having a tab with upper and lower surfaces;
• bringing the base member web and the lid web together so that the cover wall of the lid closes the opening of the compartment of the base member and the tab of the lid overlaps the gripping portion of the base member formed before bringing the base member web and the lid web together with a portion of the lower surface of the tab being uncovered by the gripping portion, the uncovered portion of the tab lower surface being disposed outward from the outer profile of the gripping portion;
• cutting the base member web and the lid web after the base member web and the lid web have been brought together to form a pair of aligned, straight peripheral edges of the tab of the lid and one of the straight portions of the base member ridge with a section of the straight peripheral edge of the lid tab being disposed outward of the outer profile of the base member gripping portion.