EP0378783A1 - Tray-like container for fruit and vegetable products - Google Patents

Tray-like container for fruit and vegetable products Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0378783A1
EP0378783A1 EP89121437A EP89121437A EP0378783A1 EP 0378783 A1 EP0378783 A1 EP 0378783A1 EP 89121437 A EP89121437 A EP 89121437A EP 89121437 A EP89121437 A EP 89121437A EP 0378783 A1 EP0378783 A1 EP 0378783A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
container
foil
flexible
flexible foil
fastened
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP89121437A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
Inventor
Andrea Seu
Pier Luigi Sabba
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Nespak SpA Generale Per L'imballaggio Soc
Original Assignee
Nespak SpA Generale Per L'imballaggio Soc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Nespak SpA Generale Per L'imballaggio Soc filed Critical Nespak SpA Generale Per L'imballaggio Soc
Publication of EP0378783A1 publication Critical patent/EP0378783A1/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D85/00—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials
    • B65D85/30—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials for articles particularly sensitive to damage by shock or pressure
    • B65D85/34—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials for articles particularly sensitive to damage by shock or pressure for fruit, e.g. apples, oranges or tomatoes
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D81/00—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents
    • B65D81/02—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents specially adapted to protect contents from mechanical damage
    • B65D81/05—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents specially adapted to protect contents from mechanical damage maintaining contents at spaced relation from package walls, or from other contents
    • B65D81/127—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents specially adapted to protect contents from mechanical damage maintaining contents at spaced relation from package walls, or from other contents using rigid or semi-rigid sheets of shock-absorbing material

Definitions

  • the object of the invention is a soft, particularly transparent or translucent container, especially intended for fruit and vegetable products.
  • containers particularly for fruit and vegetable products, which are formed from a rigid plastics material foil, such as foil of PVC, and especially from a transparent or translucent plastics material foil, which by a thermoforming process is molded in form of a tray-like, or a cellular tray-like container.
  • a rigid plastics material foil such as foil of PVC
  • a transparent or translucent plastics material foil which by a thermoforming process is molded in form of a tray-like, or a cellular tray-like container.
  • contain­ers particularly tray-like, or cellular tray-like contain­ers, were provided, which consist of a foamed, suitably shaped plastics material, such as foamed polystyrene. Howev­er, such foamed plastics materials can be hardly produced in their transparent or translucent state.
  • the present invention is grounded on the problem of providing a container of the type as described in the preamble, which while being formed from a rigid, parti­cularly transparent or translucent plastics material foil, such as a foil of PVC, will nevertheless simply and economi­cally afford a sufficiently soft support for the articles having been accomodated therein, whereby the above disclosed inconveniences are avoided.
  • a container formed from a relatively rigid plastics material foil, particularly a foil of PVC, and especially a relatively rigid, transparent or translucent plastics mate­rial foil.
  • the internal surface of this container is at least for the most lined with a flexible, particularly transparent or translucent plastics material foil, which is meant for bearing any articles, and is so fastened to the container that one or more air cushions are formed between the rigid foil container and the flexible container-lining foil.
  • the rigid and the flexible plastics mate­rial foil from which this container is made afford an ex­tremely soft support for any articles having been accomodat deeplyed therein.
  • the pres­sure- and vibration-dampening action on any articles receiv­ed in such a container is considerably higher than in the known containers of foamed plastics material, since, as a result of the flexible container-lining foil being extreme­ ly resilient, the softness of the air cushions as provided in the container of the invention, is greater than the soft­ness of the foamed plastics material.
  • the container according to the invention can be made in a simple manner and at a low cost, by using the normal molds for the thermoforming of rigid plastics materi­al foils.
  • the flexible container-lining foil may be applied either simultaneously to the thermoforming of the rigid foil, or immediately thereafter, such as, for example, with the aid of suitably shaped countermolds. It is even possible to apply the flexible foil to the rigid foil by a first step, prior to the thermoforming process.
  • the flexi­ble foil is a two-layer foil, with air pockets being formed in the desired areas, between the two layers.
  • the use is superfluous of special countermolds for fastening the flexible foil to the thermoformed rigid foil.
  • the flexible foil according to this embodiment can be caus­ed to fully adhere to the surface of the rigid foil, and can be fastened thereto during the very same thermoforming pro­cess, owing to the heat treatment to which both foils are subjected while being thermoformed. Thus, the manufacturing time is further reduced.
  • the cellular tray-like container is formed from a foil 1 of a relatively rigid plas­tics material, particularly from a relatively rigid, trans­parent or translucent foil of PVC.
  • This foil 1 has been so molded that a cellular tray-like container is made, com­prising four concave cells 2 which are symmetrically arrang­ed relative to the center of the container.
  • the cells 2 are separated from each other by cross-like arranged ribs 3.
  • Each cell is provided for any desired, preferably roundish article, particularly a fruit or vegetable product to be ac­comodated therein, which in Figure 1 is shown by a dash-­and-dot line, and is designated by numeral 4.
  • the internal wall of the molded rigid foil 1 is lined with a flexible foil 5 of plastics material, particularly a foil of PVC, and especially a foil of flexible, transparent or translucent plastics material.
  • the flexible foil 5 is caused to adhere to the rigid foil 1 only in some areas, whereby a plurality of separate air cushions 6 in form of lenticular air pock­ets, are thus formed. These air cushions may be entirely or partly arranged on the internal surface of the container, either in a random order, or according to a precise order.
  • the flexible foil 5 is fastened to the rigid foil 1, at different loca­tions of the rigid foil 1, and according to distinct flexi­ble foil-fastening patterns.
  • the flexible foil 5 is fastened to the rigid foil 1 at the upper edge of the cellular tray-like container and of the cell-­separating ribs 3, or rather at the upper edge of each cell 2.
  • Each cell 2 is thus provided with a single air cushion 7 spreading over the whole internal surface of the cell, form­ed from the rigid foil 1.
  • the flexible foil 5 is fastened to the rigid foil 1 not only in the area of the upper edge of each cell 2, but also in the area of the bottom of each cell 2, particularly about a flexible foil-fastening line 8 which is closed over itself, and extends concentrically around the most deep zone of the respective cell.
  • each cell 2 is provided. with a ring-like closed air cushion 9 spreading over the sidewalls of cell 2, and with an air cushion 9′ spreading over the whole bottom of cell 2, which is separate from the air cushion 9 for the cell sidewalls.
  • FIG. 4 A further improvement of this modified embodiment is shown in Figure 4.
  • a third, intermediate, flexible foil-fastening line 10 is provided, which extends in a plane substantially parallel to the plane containing the flexible foil-fastening line 8, and is similarly closed over itself.
  • This intermediate flexible foil-fastening line 10 is substantially coaxial to the flex­ible foil-fastening line 8, and divides the air cushion 9 according to the embodiment shown in Figure 3, into two sep­arate air cushions 9 and 9 ⁇ , which spread over the cell sidewalls, and are both in form of annular bands.
  • the cellular tray-like containers according to the in­vention, shown in Figures 1 to 5, are manufactured in an ex­tremely simple and quick manner, while the rigid foil is be­ing thermoformed, or immediately after the rigid foil ther­moforming process.
  • the flexible foil 5 is applied to the rigid foil 1 with the aid of a particular countermold, and is fastened thereto at the desired locations, by taking ad­vantage of the action of heat on the flexible foil 5 during the rigid foil thermoforming process.
  • the shape, the parti­cular size, and the arrangement of the air cushions are se­lected in view of their economical and easy realization, and also in view of the type of articles for which the contain­ers are intended, so that a support is ensured for each con­tainer, with its properties of softness and resiliency being perfectly consistent with the type of goods to be contained therein.
  • the container ac­cording to the invention is a tray-like container.
  • This tray-like container is formed from a rigid, parti­cularly transparent or translucent plastics material foil 1, just as in the above-disclosed embodiment of a cellular tray-like container.
  • the flexible foil 5, which is of a si­milar type as for the tray-like container according to the above disclosed embodiment, is fastened to the upper edge of the tray-like container formed from the rigid foil 1, so that this tray is sealed at its upper edge, and a single air cushion is provided.
  • the flexible foil 5 becomes deformed under the weight of said article, and takes the configuration of the article itself, however in such a manner that the flexi­ble foil 5 will not come into contact with the bottom of the tray-like container formed from the rigid foil 1, whereby a pressure- and vibration-dampening air cushion is thus formed therebetween, for an article 4 to be softly supported in the container.
  • an article is supported also owing to the particular resiliency of the flexible foil 5, since for having a sufficiently deep housing molded for an article 4 to be received therein, the flexible foil 5 has to be deformed to a considerable extent.
  • any air contained bet­ween the flexible foil 5 and the tray-like rigid foil con­tainer 1 may be vented, this in order to avoid, should no venting means be provided, that the air contained therebet­ween may offer a too high resistance against the required deformation of the flexible foil 5, and the required pres­sure- and vibration-dampening action on the articles accomo­dated in the containers according to the invention.
  • FIGs 8 and 9 there is shown a modified embodiment of the tray-like container according to Figure 6.
  • the flexible foil 5 is fastened to the rigid foil 1 molded in form of a tray-like container, as the embo­diment according to Figure 6 is, not only about the outward upped edge of this container, but also at the intermediate zone of its bottom, so that an air cushion 12 is formed, which is closed over itself, and spreads over the container sidewalls, and over a lateral area of the container bottom which is adjacent to the container sidewalls.
  • the flexible foil 5 is fastened, in this example, to the intermediate zone of the tray-like container bottom at four points 13 being each located at the respect­ive corner of a rectangular quadrilateral which is concen­tric to the container bottom.
  • this rect­angle may be, of course, differently sized as required, so that the lateral zone of the container bottom over which the air cushion is caused to spread, will be enlarged or re­duced accordingly.
  • the flexible foil 5 may be further fastened about a flexible foil-fastening line 14 interconnecting the flexible foil-fastening points 13. If desired, the flexible foil-fastening points 13 may be even omitted, and only the flexible foil-fastening line 14 will be used for fastening the flexible foil 5 thereabout.
  • an example is shown of an air cushion which is obtained by means of flexible foil-fastening points 13 arranged in a rather spaced apart relation.
  • the air cushion 12′ spreads also over the bottom of the tray-like container, and the flexible foil 5, apart from being fastened to the rigid foil 1 at the flexible foil-fastening points 13, is also fastened to a further flexible foil-fastening point 15 provided in the center of the tray-like container bottom, which particu­larly corresponds to the center of the quadrilateral defined by the flexible foil-fastening points 13.
  • an air cushion having the same features as the air cushion 12′ shown in Figures 10 and 11 may be obtained, even with a different arrangement of the flexible foil-fastening points 13 and 15 and, may be, also by using a combination of flexi­ble foil-fastening lines and points, obviuosly according to the desired morphologic features of the said air cushion.
  • a two-layer flexible foil 5 is provided, with air-containing or swollen not-bonded zones between its two layers, whereby air cushions are formed in the manner of air pockets.
  • These air pockets may be of any desired shape, and may be arranged either at random, or according to any parti­cularly suitable geometrical pattern, fit for any shape of the containers to which the said flexible foils are to be fastened.
  • the flexible foil is only to be laid on the rigid foil 1, and the said foils are to be sim­ply thermoformed.
  • the action of heat on both of the flexible and rigid foils while they are being subjected to their thermoforming process, is sufficient for guaranteeing the fastening of said foils to each other, so that the use of a properly shaped countermold is no more required, such as in the case of a one-layer flexible foil which is to be fasten­ed to the rigid foil only at predetermined locations, about predetermined lines, or in predetermined zones.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Containers Having Bodies Formed In One Piece (AREA)
  • Buffer Packaging (AREA)
  • Packaging Frangible Articles (AREA)
EP89121437A 1989-01-18 1989-11-20 Tray-like container for fruit and vegetable products Withdrawn EP0378783A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
IT8912409A IT1232460B (it) 1989-01-18 1989-01-18 Contenitore soffice,in particolare trasparente o traslucido,in special modo per prodotti ortofrutticoli
IT1240989 1989-01-18

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0378783A1 true EP0378783A1 (en) 1990-07-25

Family

ID=11139827

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP89121437A Withdrawn EP0378783A1 (en) 1989-01-18 1989-11-20 Tray-like container for fruit and vegetable products

Country Status (2)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0378783A1 (it)
IT (1) IT1232460B (it)

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2718418A1 (fr) * 1994-04-11 1995-10-13 Hummer Nathalie Dispositif pour le conditionnement d'une pluralité de produits, procédé de fabrication et aménagement pour la présentation de tels dispositifs.
FR2749282A1 (fr) * 1996-06-04 1997-12-05 Damilleville Pierre Marie Plateau presentoir plastique reutilisable pour bananes
FR2852300A1 (fr) 2003-03-12 2004-09-17 Hvb Innova Ag Emballage pour produits fragiles, notamment pour les fruits et les legumes

Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2187512A1 (en) * 1972-06-01 1974-01-18 Perez Joaquin Thermoplastic sheeting incorporating air pockets - mfd directly from a selectively flattened tubular extrusion bubble
DE3440169A1 (de) * 1984-11-02 1986-05-07 Siemens AG, 1000 Berlin und 8000 München Luftgepolsterte doppelwand-klappverpackung

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2187512A1 (en) * 1972-06-01 1974-01-18 Perez Joaquin Thermoplastic sheeting incorporating air pockets - mfd directly from a selectively flattened tubular extrusion bubble
DE3440169A1 (de) * 1984-11-02 1986-05-07 Siemens AG, 1000 Berlin und 8000 München Luftgepolsterte doppelwand-klappverpackung

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2718418A1 (fr) * 1994-04-11 1995-10-13 Hummer Nathalie Dispositif pour le conditionnement d'une pluralité de produits, procédé de fabrication et aménagement pour la présentation de tels dispositifs.
FR2749282A1 (fr) * 1996-06-04 1997-12-05 Damilleville Pierre Marie Plateau presentoir plastique reutilisable pour bananes
FR2852300A1 (fr) 2003-03-12 2004-09-17 Hvb Innova Ag Emballage pour produits fragiles, notamment pour les fruits et les legumes

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
IT8912409A0 (it) 1989-01-18
IT1232460B (it) 1992-02-17

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