DE102019128120A1 - FOOD CONTAINER - Google Patents

Abstract

A container (10) is proposed for use e.g. for beverages, which has a wall (12) with an outer surface (14) and an inner surface (16) of substantially uniform thickness. The wall (12) has a fractal profile, which has a series of fractal elements (18-28) on the inner and outer surface (14-16), which form depressions (40) and elevations (42) in the profile of the wall, and in which a recess (40), as seen from one of the outer or inner surfaces (12, 14), forms an elevation (42) on the other of the outer or inner surfaces (12, 14). The profile makes it possible to connect several containers to one another by interlocking depressions and elevations with corresponding elevations and depressions in the container. The profile also improves grip and heat transfer into and out of the container.

Description

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a food container which is suitable for both liquid and solid food.

State of the art

The packaging industry is well developed throughout the industrialized world and is subject to general norms and practices. On the whole, food or beverage packaging must be able to keep food or beverage in a food-safe and hygienic condition and withstand storage and transportation; in particular, they must provide a physical barrier to protect the content to prevent contamination and agglomeration, provide security including tamper control, and be easy to use. In recent years, approaches have been increasingly developed to reduce the amount of packaging material used and to use more environmentally friendly packaging, e.g. through the use of recyclable and biodegradable materials. The reduction of packaging material is a concept that has long been widespread in industry and aims to reduce the amount of packaging material used, its weight and also the energy expenditure for its production.

Bottles, cans, boxes, bags and the like are commonly used in packaging for liquid or other flowable materials. In general, such packaging is either of a substantially cylindrical shape, such as a beverage can or bottle, or a cuboid shape, such as milk or juice cartons of the type which are usually sold under the Elopak ™ or Tetra Pak ™ brands. Such packaging typically consists of a smooth-walled, often multi-layer structure that minimizes the surface and optimizes the useful volume of the packaging. The contents of the packaging are often used to maintain the shape and integrity of the packaging, especially during transport and storage. For example, in many cases a beverage container is supported by the pressure of the beverage within the container and is thus kept in its original shape. This makes it possible to make the walls of the container very thin, so that the walls often become unstable after opening the container and can easily collapse.

Food is often sold in multiple units, such as Cans and bottles, it being customary to pack these with additional packaging, e.g. a shell, a ring or a yoke. This additional packaging also serves to prevent the loosening of individual packaging during transport or storage and thus to avoid damage. However, such additional packaging causes additional costs, both financially and ecologically.

The smooth-walled nature of many packages also reduces grip when handled, and it is not uncommon for a person, particularly large packages, to have difficulty handling such packages without crushing and spilling the contents. This is particularly the case with large plastic beverage bottles.

Description of the invention

The present invention is intended to provide an improved container for food. The invention is particularly suitable, but not limited to containers for liquids, such as e.g. Drinks, and other flowable products.

In one embodiment of the present invention there is provided a food or beverage container comprising: a wall defining an inner chamber of the container, the wall having inner and outer surfaces and being of substantially uniform thickness; the wall having a fractal profile with corresponding convex and concave fractal elements on corresponding elements of the inner and outer surfaces; and wherein the convex and concave fractal elements form depressions and elevations in the profile of the wall.

The present invention accordingly provides a food or beverage container which has a container wall with a shape which is not known in the prior art. The form taught here offers a number of practical advantages over known packaging products.

At least some of the said depressions and elevations preferably have heads with a width which is greater than the width of their base.

The fractal profile of the wall advantageously enables a connection that can be created by the interlocking of a plurality of such containers. This property can offer a number of practical advantages, including the omission of separate and additional connecting elements to hold several containers together, as is the case with the currently available packaging is necessary which relies on sleeves or yokes.

The wall of the container is preferably flexible and thus allows an elastic deformation of the fractal profile of the container. The flexibility of the wall allows detached containers to be loosened by appropriately squeezing one or more containers in order to change the fractal shape of the containers at the connection point.

The corresponding convex and concave fractal elements advantageously provide for an increased surface area of the inner and outer surfaces of the container in relation to the volume of the chamber. An increased surface area can aid heat transfer into and out of the container, e.g. for heating or cooling the content.

In preferred embodiments, the container is substantially cylindrical. In other embodiments, it may have other shapes, such as be substantially spherical, oval, etc.

The container wall can be formed from metal, plastic, an elastomer or glass. It can also be formed from flexible or potentially flexible foods.

The fractal shape of the container wall can also contribute to better handling of the container, while known packaging with a smooth surface can be slippery, especially when wet, e.g. when condensation forms on the outside as a result of cold contents.

Although the focus of this disclosure is on a food or beverage container, the teaching disclosed here should not be understood as being limited to such applications. It also includes containers that can be used for a variety of other applications.

Figure list

• 1 eine schematische Darstellung eines axialen Querschnitts eines Behälters gemäß einer Ausführungsform der vorliegenden Erfindung zeigt;
• 2 und 3 schematische axiale Teilquerschnitte einer Ausführungsform von zwei fraktalen Behältern darstellen, die miteinander verbunden werden;
• 4 und 5 schematische axiale Teilperspektiven der beiden fraktalen Behälter zeigen, die in den 2 und 3 gezeigt sind und miteinander verbunden werden;
• 6 verschiedene Ansichten einer weiteren Ausführungsform eines fraktalen Behälters darstellt;
• 7 bis 9 das An- und Abkuppeln von zwei Behältern nach der Ausführungsform der 6 veranschaulichen; und
• 10 und 11 die Verbindung zweier weiterer Ausführungsformen eines fraktalen Behälters darstellen.

In the following, embodiments of the present invention are described using a few examples, wherein:

• 1 Figure 3 shows a schematic representation of an axial cross section of a container according to an embodiment of the present invention;
• 2nd and 3rd represent schematic partial axial cross sections of an embodiment of two fractal containers which are connected to one another;
• 4th and 5 schematic partial axial perspectives of the two fractal containers show that in the 2nd and 3rd are shown and connected;
• 6 illustrates different views of another embodiment of a fractal container;
• 7 to 9 the coupling and uncoupling of two containers according to the embodiment of 6 illustrate; and
• 10th and 11 represent the connection of two further embodiments of a fractal container.

Description of preferred embodiments

The following description and the accompanying figures outline the teachings contained herein. Elements that are known to those skilled in the art are omitted for clarity, such as, but not limited to, the specific materials from which the container can be made, typical volumes for the container, and so on. In addition, the drawings are not to scale.

The concept proposed here is based on a fractal profile for the wall of a container. Such a profile has a number of advantageous properties for the application of a container, in particular for food and beverages. It is obvious to the person skilled in the art that the profile of the wall cannot have a pure fractal shape across all size scales, but rather has a shape which is determined by practical aspects such as the minimum practicable or desirable size of its fractal components. However, the relationship of the elements of the proposed profile is said to be fractal. In practical exemplary embodiments, the fractal relationship between the elements of a fractal container can extend over two or more size scales.

1 shows schematically a cross section of an embodiment of the container 10th which can be used for drinks, for example. The container has a wall 12th with an outer surface 14 and an inner surface 16 . The wall 12th has a substantially uniform thickness.

As with previously known containers, especially for food, the wall 12th preferably made of a food-safe material or otherwise provided with a food-safe inner lining. For this purpose, as known in the prior art, the wall can be produced from a single-layer material or from a composite of different materials. The wall can be made of a plastic, a metal or a metal alloy, a Elastomer or even made of glass or comprise such a material. It is also possible that in some embodiments the wall is made from flexible or potentially flexible foods (e.g. pasta, dough, liquorice, etc.).

The wall 12th has a fractal profile that contains a number of fractal elements 18-28 on the inside and outside surfaces 14 , 16 having. The fractal elements 18-28 with regard to the practical implementation, fractal properties only to the extent that is within the scope of, for example, the selected manufacturing / forming process, the selected material for the wall, the wall thickness, etc. That is the fractal elements 18-28 are limited in practice by minimum dimensions that are specified by the above-mentioned framework.

The fractal elements 18-28 of the wall as a result of the substantially uniform thickness of the wall 12th , a series of wells 40 and surveys 42 in the profile of the wall, being a recess 40 , from one of the exterior or interior surfaces 12th , 14 seen from a corresponding survey 42 from the other side of the exterior or interior surfaces 12th , 14 seen from forms and vice versa. This property can be seen on large scales, for example on the basis of the depressions 40 and surveys 42 that with corresponding reference numbers in 1 are provided, as well as on smaller scales of the fractal elements 18-28 . The wells 40 and surveys 42 could appear as opposing images on the outer 14 and inner 16 sides of the walls 12th to be discribed. By repeating features (e.g. recesses and elevations) across different scales, the fractal shape or profile is created on the container surfaces. The fractal profile can extend over the entire surface of the container surfaces or only over selected surfaces or parts of surfaces. Thus, in some embodiments, the fractal profile can extend over the entire container, while in other embodiments the majority of the container can be smooth, with only the contact surfaces between the containers having fractal structures.

1 represents only an axial cross section. The fractal elements 18-28 can, in some embodiments, be linear along the length of the wall 12th extend, in other embodiments the elements 18-28 have a pure fractal shape, which is related to cauliflower or broccoli florets, so to speak, so that a series of distinct nodules in both the circumferential and longitudinal direction of the wall 12th arises.

The container 10th can be substantially cylindrical so that the in 1 cross section shown protrudes into and / or out of the plane of the figure. In such embodiments, the container comprises 10th a cover and a base, wherein typically any design of a cover or base known in the prior art can be used. In other embodiments, the container 10th also have any suitable non-cylindrical shape that a person skilled in the art would use to design a container.

The container 10th This embodiment and the other embodiments described and contemplated herein offer a number of practical advantages. One of these advantages is shown in the 2nd to 5 illustrated embodiment can be seen.

Initially, these are axial cross sections of two containers 100 , 110 similar to the representation in 1 , but only a part of the circumference of the wall of each container is shown (see 2nd and 3rd ). Any container 100 , 110 has, as in the embodiment in 1 , a wall 12th with outside 14 and interior surfaces 16 and fractal elements 18-28 which are molded into the wall and on both the outer and inner surfaces 14 , 16 available.

The containers 100 , 110 have the same shapes and fractal profiles and - as shown in the figures - have the same symmetries. By matching the shapes, the recesses can 40 and the corresponding surveys 42 in the walls of the two containers 100 , 110 intertwine and, as especially in 3rd shown, mesh with each other on part of their circumference. In this embodiment, the depressions 40 and surveys 42 the same shapes, but so opposed to each other that they can fit closely together. In some embodiments, this can be achieved by creating two identical arches or plates with a fractal profile and bending them in opposite directions so that a surface of one arch or plate is facing the outer surface of one container and the same surface of the other arch or the other plate becomes the inner surface of the other container.

In addition, the wells point 40 and the surveys 42 in the representations of the 1 to 3rd Areas that could be thought of as enlarged heads with narrower neck sections. The fractal elements therefore have a smaller width or a smaller diameter d at or near their base and a larger width or a larger diameter D further away from their base. This property of the enlarged heads can be applied to all depressions 40 and surveys 42 be common, but in other embodiments only part of the fractal structures in the wall 12th include.

Especially 3rd illustrates how the connection of the two containers 100 , 110 in this exemplary embodiment, since the containers have a substantially curved or round shape, so that the containers only touch and engage with one another along their tangents.

In other embodiments that are substantially different in shape, e.g. square or polygonal, the fractal formations of two containers can be coupled over an entire side wall or part of one or more side walls of the containers.

This property allows several containers to be connected to one another during assembly, without the need for another connecting mechanism, as is usually used in the prior art. In other words, two or more containers 100 , 110 can be achieved simply by interlocking some of the fractal structures of the container walls 12th be connected to each other. The containers do not have to have mutually corresponding shapes for this, since only one or more of the fractal formations of each container have to interlock to establish a connection.

The 4th and 5 represent another embodiment that the embodiment in the 2nd and 3rd is similar. The selected view shows that the fractal structures of the containers 100 , 110 extend substantially linearly in the longitudinal direction at least over a short distance, ie two-dimensionally and not three-dimensionally as in the case of a floret. In this embodiment, they engage in the 4th and 5 shown fractal elements of the container 100 , 110 in the longitudinal direction. If they extend over the entire length of the containers, then they also intermesh evenly over the length of the containers. In the case of three-dimensional fractal elements, the shape of which could also be described as florets, two or more containers are connected to one another along tangents of the containers, with several fractal elements intermeshing along the length of the container.

The containers can be squeezed by the containers 100 , 110 , for example from both sides of the coupling zone, so that the engaged recesses 40 and the surveys 42 deform and open. In this way, the user can see the container 100 , 110 separate relatively easily.

6 shows a further embodiment of a fractal container 200 which has a similar fractal profile to the embodiments shown in the 1 to 5 are shown. The profile also extends linearly over the length of the container 200 , as in particular with the perspective view of the 6 can be seen. The container 200 can have any of the properties described here.

7 shows an embodiment in which wells 240 and surveys 242 do not have the same shape or size, so that they do not fit exactly into one another, as is the case, for example, with the embodiments shown in FIGS 2nd to 5 shown is the case. Still, the recesses can 240 and the surveys 242 partially interlock, as can be seen in the figure. The two containers can be glued into the space or pocket 244 between the partially interlocking depressions 240 and surveys 242 can be introduced, connected. In this way, more than two containers can be connected to one another, depending on the shape of the container in whole or in part.

The containers 200 can be separated from each other by pressure on one or both containers, as in 8th shown. In the example shown in this figure, the pressure can be diametrically opposed to the adhesive pocket 244 be applied according to the arrow in the figure. This pressure causes the walls to deform 12th the container and, as a result, shear stress (and typically compressive and tensile forces) of the adhesive in the pocket 244 that will break or loosen. The containers can also be squeezed from other directions to achieve the same result.

After loosening the adhesive connection, the container can 200 , as in 9 shown to be separated from each other.

10th shows in a schematic way part wall profiles 300 , 300 ' two fractal containers according to a further embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the wall has a profile that could be called a fractal random walk profile, with zigzag wall elements of different lengths ℓ ₁ - ℓ _n .

The two container profiles 300 , 300 ' preferably have at least in part of their extent essentially identical inverted or simulated profiles, so that they are as in 10B represented in a precise nesting arrangement. The two fractal elements 300 , 300 ' can be coupled together, typically through a combination of mechanical gearing and friction. It should be noted that the profile of this embodiment, as in the following embodiment, the in 11 is shown, does not contain fractal elements with elevations or depressions with enlarged heads, as is the case with the embodiments of FIG 1 to 9 the case is, although it is not excluded that some of these embodiments have these properties.

11 shows a further embodiment in which the profiles 400 , 400 ' two containers are only partially nested. It should be noted that the strength of the connection between the containers can be influenced by coordinating the fractal profiles of the two interlocking surfaces.

In preferred embodiments, the lengths ℓ ₁ - ℓ _n the zigzag wall elements advantageously determined as statistical fractals, the dimensions of which can be adjusted via random walk parameters to optimize the interlocking of two or more fractal containers. The connection between the containers can be relatively strong with an increased number and size of the connection points and weaker with fewer connection points.

In the embodiments of the 10th and 11 the connection can be supported by the profiles themselves and optionally, as in the embodiments described above, by the use of adhesive between adjacent containers.

In addition to improving the options for connecting several containers to one another, the container shapes presented here offer a number of other advantages.

First, the fractal nature of the outer surface of the container makes handling the container easier compared to a container with a smooth outer surface. This can be particularly advantageous for larger or heavier containers, in which a secure grip can be achieved with less holding pressure on the container wall.

In addition, the convex and concave fractal elements provide an increased surface area of the inner and outer surfaces of the container in relation to the volume of the chamber. This can increase the heat transfer properties of the container and can be used to e.g. to cool or warm its contents.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the teachings presented here can offer further advantages and properties that containers according to the prior art do not have.

Claims (13)

A food or beverage container comprising: a wall defining an inner chamber of the container, the wall having inner and outer surfaces and being of substantially uniform thickness; wherein the wall has a fractal profile with corresponding convex and concave fractal elements on corresponding elements of the inner and outer surfaces; and the convex and concave fractal elements forming depressions and elevations in the profile of the wall. A food or beverage container after Claim 1 , wherein at least some of the depressions and elevations have heads with a width that is larger than the width of their base. A food or beverage container after Claim 1 or 2nd , wherein the fractal profile of the wall enables connection by interlocking a plurality of the containers. A food or beverage container after Claim 1 , 2nd or 3rd , wherein the wall of the container is flexible and thus allows an elastic deformation of the associated fractal profile. A food or beverage container after Claim 4 , wherein the flexibility of the wall allows the connection or any connection of a plurality of said containers to be released by elastic deformation of interlocking fractal elements of connected containers. A food or beverage container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein at least some of the recesses and protrusions have interlocking or corresponding shapes and sizes so that a protrusion of a container can fit into a recess of a corresponding container to thereby connect two containers together . A food or beverage container after Claim 6 , the recesses and elevations of the two containers matching each other exactly. A food or beverage container after Claim 6 , the recesses and elevations of the two containers partially matching each other. A food or beverage container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the two or more containers can be joined together by an adhesive which is arranged between opposite depressions and elevations of adjacent containers. A food or beverage container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the respective convex and concave fractal elements provide an increased surface area of both the inner and outer surfaces of the container relative to a volume of the chamber. A food or beverage container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the container is substantially cylindrical. A food or beverage container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the wall is formed from metal, plastic, elastomer or glass. A food or beverage container according to one of the Claims 1 to 11 , wherein the wall is formed from a flexible food.

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