Ovenable carton with removable lid

Claim 1

In combination, a cover member and a tray member both of substantially rectangular shape, said tray member having an outwardly extended integral top flange and said cover member having outer edges which are aligned with the outer edges of said tray flange, means for adhering the marginal edges of said cover member to the top flange area of the tray to close the tray, said cover member having at least four corners and comprising a generally planar blank of paperboard with upper and lower surfaces including a removable lid portion with an easy opening means, said removable lid portion being defined in said cover member by a pair of continuous, spaced apart, parallel cut lines of partial depth on the upper and lower surfaces of said cover member, said easy opening means comprising a first partial depth cut line in the upper surface of said cover member at one corner which extends from the apex of said corner to a diagonally oriented portion of said upper partial depth cut line between the adjacent sides of said corner, each end of the diagonally oriented portion of the upper cut line including abbreviated upper and lower partial depth cuts, portions of which are generally parallel to the diagonally oriented portion of the upper cut line and generally parallel to the upper partial depth cut lines along each adjacent side wall of the tray, said partial depth cut lines along all edges of the cover member being located inwardly from the innermost edge of the flange area of said tray throughout their entire lengths with the partial depth cut lines on the upper surface of said cover member being spaced from the innermost edge of the flange area by a distance equal to or greater than about one half the width of the flange area of said tray and the partial depth cut lines on the lower surface of said cover member being spaced from the innermost edge of the flange area by a distance equal to or greater than the total width of said flange area to define a delamination area therebetween, wherein upon removal of the lid portion, a substantial portion of the cover member remains adhered to the flange area of the tray around its entire periphery so that the structural rigidity of the tray is not reduced to any substantial degree when the lid portion is removed.