EP0738659A1 - Behälter für landwirtschaftliche Produkte - Google Patents

Behälter für landwirtschaftliche Produkte Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0738659A1
EP0738659A1 EP96105992A EP96105992A EP0738659A1 EP 0738659 A1 EP0738659 A1 EP 0738659A1 EP 96105992 A EP96105992 A EP 96105992A EP 96105992 A EP96105992 A EP 96105992A EP 0738659 A1 EP0738659 A1 EP 0738659A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
cover
container
container according
food products
sides
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Withdrawn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
EP96105992A
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Inventor
Enrique Mindel
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.)
Super Plast Ltd
Original Assignee
Super Plast Ltd
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 Super Plast Ltd filed Critical Super Plast Ltd
Publication of EP0738659A1 publication Critical patent/EP0738659A1/de
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current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
    • B65D43/00—Lids or covers for rigid or semi-rigid containers
    • B65D43/14—Non-removable lids or covers
    • B65D43/16—Non-removable lids or covers hinged for upward or downward movement
    • B65D43/162—Non-removable lids or covers hinged for upward or downward movement the container, the lid and the hinge being made of one piece
    • 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
    • B65D1/00—Containers having bodies formed in one piece, e.g. by casting metallic material, by moulding plastics, by blowing vitreous material, by throwing ceramic material, by moulding pulped fibrous material, by deep-drawing operations performed on sheet material
    • B65D1/38—Baskets or like containers of skeleton or apertured construction
    • 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
    • B65D2251/00—Details relating to container closures
    • B65D2251/10—Details of hinged closures
    • B65D2251/1016—Means for locking the closure in closed position
    • B65D2251/105—The closure having a part fitting over the rim of the container or spout and retained by snapping over integral beads or projections

Definitions

  • This invention relates to a container for agricultural food products constituted by individual items of small size, such as strawberries, grapes, cherries, miniature tomatoes, mushrooms, garlic, and the like, which are sensitive to impact and pressure and will be damaged if not protected from them. It particularly relates to such containers that are space saving and may be stacked upon one another without damage to their contents and are adapted for storing the food products on shelves, as well as for permitting the consumer conveniently to select any desired ones and carry them away.
  • each filled container is wrapped in a flexible plastic sheet, Such wrapping, however, while preventing the products from spilling from the containers, cannot protect them against pressure, and therefore it is practically impossible to stack the containers on the shelves, one upon the other, without causing mechanical damage to the products Further, the products may not be piled too high above the rim of the container, to avoid their being damaged in spite of the presence of the overlying plastic sheet and their spilling out when the consumer removes the sheet.
  • the agricultural food products container is characterized in that it comprises a body and a cover hinged to the body, said body and cover having apertured sides, and having preferably a net-like structure, and said cover being displaceable from an open position, permitting to fill the container with food products, to a closed position, wherein the container completely encloses the food products and protects them from mechanical damage.
  • Body and cover are preferably hingedly connected with one another on one side thereof.
  • closure means are provided to secure cover and body together when the container is in its closed position.
  • Said means preferably comprise cooperating elements located on the rim of the cover and on the rim of the body, which elements may conveniently create a snap closure.
  • the body of the container according to the invention is tapered outwards from its bottom up and its cover is tapered inwards from its bottom up.
  • the maximum cross-sectional areas of the body and cover are substantially equal and, the top area of the cover is substantially equal to the bottom area of the body.
  • the cover sides are slanted inwards, from the bottom up, to provide a tapered cover, by an angle that is approximately the cleavage angle, as hereinafter defined, of the products which the container is intended to house.
  • the body sides are slanted outwards by an angle which is determined by the requirement that the top area of the cover be substantially equal to the bottom area of the body and by the ratio of the heights of body and cover.
  • the body and cover sides may comprise at least one non-apertured portion to permit applying labels or other indications to them.
  • the container according to the invention is preferably made of molded plastic matter, preferably of a polyolefin, more preferably of polypropylene.
  • the body and the cover may be separately molded and hingedly connected together, or they may be molded together in a single operation, the hinge connection being formed by an intermediate or web portion between the rims of the body and of the cover.
  • a container 10 comprises a body 11 and a cover 12. Both body and cover have sides which are provided with apertures 13, so that they have a net-like structure.
  • the top of the cover is likewise provided with apertures 13, as seen in Fig. 3, while the bottom of the body, shown in Fig. 4, is a full plate 19, not provided with apertures.
  • one side, and specifically that indicated by 15 in Fig. 3 has unapertured areas 16 in the cover and 17 in the body, to which areas labels, or other matter for display purposes, may be applied.
  • suitable labels is of considerable importance, not only because it provides information to the buyer which is a promoting factor in sales, but also because the label can be so applied that its being intact guarantees that the container has not been opened and that the buyer obtains a fresh produce.
  • the body and the cover have been provided with unapertured corners 18, so that the container's horizontal cross-sections are not rectangular, but octagonal, with four long and four short sides, these latter obtained by cutting them off, so to speak, the ends of the long sides - all as clearly seen, in particular, in the plan views.
  • the sides of the body are tapered, as indicated at 20. More precisely, they are slanted outwards from the bottom up.
  • the sides of the cover are also tapered, but are slanted inwards from the bottom up, as seen at 21. How the angles, by which the cover and body sides are slanted, are preferably determined, will be explained later on.
  • Cover 12 is hinged to body 11 by hinge 25, and rotates about said hinge in the direction of the arrow of Fig. 5, when being closed. 12' indicates in broken lines an intermediate position of the cover during to its closure.
  • the hinge 25 can be made in any convenient way, but can be constituted merely by a web 26 connecting the rims of body and cover, as shown in cross-section in the details of Fig. 5a.
  • the cover and body could also be two separate pieces, connected by a different type of hinge. Suitable hinges can easily be provided by persons skilled in the art.
  • the container constitutes a unit consisting of two components connected by an integral hinge.
  • Fig. 6 illustrates one embodiment of closure means, connecting body and cover in the closed position of the container.
  • Fig. 6 is a partial cross-section showing the engagement of the rims of the cover and body on the side of the container opposite to the hinge.
  • the cover is provided with a vertical, downwardly extending rim 30, having an inwardly directed, generally horizontal projection 31; and the body edge 33 is provided with a short, downwardly extending rim 35.
  • projection 31 will engage, with its slanted underside, the edge 33 of the body, rim 30 will bend outwards permitting said projection 31 to ride over said rim 35, and when the closed position, shown in Fig. 6, is reached, said projection 31 will snap under said rim 35 and lock the cover to the body.
  • the elasticity of rim 30 will of course permit easily to bend it outwards to permit the disengagement of projection 31 from rim 35 and therefore the opening of the container.
  • a number of containers of food products in cardboard holders which have standard measurements according to various national standards.
  • the dimensions of the container according to the invention can easily be determined so that a maximum number of containers may be inserted in such a holder for transportation.
  • Fig. 7 shows such a holder at 40.
  • the holder has lateral dimension of 380 x 275 mm, and the dimensions of the containers 10 are calculated so that six of them will fit in that particular holder, but of course different dimensions, according to different standards, may be adopted in each particular case.
  • the dimensions of the container according to the invention can be varied as desired to accomodate the requirements of the market, starting e.g. from 250 and 500 gr. and 1 kg of inner space.
  • the container is generally produced and supplied to the customers in a series of sizes, to constitute what may be called a family of containers.
  • the containers according to the invention no matter what their size, can be packed into the cardboard containers in such a way as to exploit their inner volume to the full.
  • Fig. 8 shows containers stacked on stacks which are three high on a shelf 41.
  • the containers of Fig. 8, while being embodiments of the invention, are shown, for purposes of illustration, as being different, and specifically shorter, than those of Figs. 1-6, but it should be understood that any containers according to any embodiment of the invention can be stacked in the same way. Stacked containers can be kept on shelves and taken therefrom by their purchaser.
  • the area of the bottom of the body of the container is equal to the area of the top of the cover, so that the containers, when stacked, may have an optimum stability.
  • the angle by which the sides of the covers slant is such that a maximum amount of food product may be packed into the container, viz. the inner space of the cover may be used to house food products, and yet, when the container is opened by the purchaser, the food product will not spill out.
  • a granular material is heaped in a heap, it will arrange itself so that the sides of the heap be at a certain angle to the horizontal, and, if it is attempted to make a heap with sides at a larger angle to the horizontal, the material at the periphery of the heap will slide down until a certain angle of the sides, which depends on the particular material, is reached. This angle can be called "cleavage angle".
  • the food products, with which this invention deals are not granular, but consist of individual items of the size, e.g., of a cherry, or slightly larger or smaller, and therefore no definite cleavage angle can be defined.
  • heaps of these food products will spill if their sides are too close to the vertical, so that, in general, persons skilled in the art may, for each of those products, identify what may be called a "cleavage angle" Therefore, it may be said that the sides of the cover are slanted by a cleavage angle, by which is meant that they are so slanted that food products may be stacked above the upper rim of the body and may be retained by the cover, when this is closed, and yet not spill off when the cover is opened.
  • the upper cross-section of the body and the lower cross-section of the cover are preferably equal, and it is preferred that the bottom of the body and the top of the cover have the same area, and since, further, the body, which is intended to house the greatest part of the food product, is normally higher than the cover, generally the sides of the body will be less sharply slanted than those of the cover, as clearly seen in the drawings.
  • the container conform to certain dimensional parameters.
  • the ratio of the height of the body to the height of the cover is preferably comprised between 3:1 and 2:1.
  • the containers are made of plastic matter that can be injection molded, in particular a polyolefin and more particularly, polypropylene.
  • body and cover are injection molded together.
  • the injection molding technique is very well known to persons skilled in the art, and no particular teaching is required by them to be able to manufacture the container according to the invention.
  • the container according to the invention has many advantages over the prior art, in addition to those mentioned. It provides protection against mechanical damage. It prevents their scattering, which may occur when using prior art containers. It prevents the damage caused to many products by their being stored in closed containers. It allows passage of the ambient air. It is particularly adapted for storing agricultural products in refrigerated spaces, a type of storage that is often required in general, it considerably increases the shelf life of the agricultural products. Furthermore, the apertures provided therein make it possible, if desired, to wash or sterilize the products contained therein, after packaging, without the need to take out the food products and handle them separately.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Ceramic Engineering (AREA)
  • Containers Having Bodies Formed In One Piece (AREA)
EP96105992A 1995-04-17 1996-04-17 Behälter für landwirtschaftliche Produkte Withdrawn EP0738659A1 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
IL11340695A IL113406A0 (en) 1995-04-17 1995-04-17 Container for agricultural food products
IL11340695 1995-04-17

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0738659A1 true EP0738659A1 (de) 1996-10-23

Family

ID=11067371

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP96105992A Withdrawn EP0738659A1 (de) 1995-04-17 1996-04-17 Behälter für landwirtschaftliche Produkte

Country Status (2)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0738659A1 (de)
IL (1) IL113406A0 (de)

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1314656A1 (de) * 2001-11-26 2003-05-28 Nortene Technologies Verpackung für Gemüse
NL1020872C2 (nl) * 2002-06-14 2003-12-16 Jacobus Hendrikus Verbeek Verpakkingssamenstel.
WO2011008542A1 (en) * 2009-06-29 2011-01-20 Ellery West Biodegradable produce enclosure
AT17683U1 (de) * 2020-08-07 2022-11-15 Gemuesebau Steiner Gmbh Faltschachtel und Kartonzuschnitt für deren Herstellung

Citations (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2649991A (en) * 1949-09-06 1953-08-25 Plastaket Mfg Company Shipping basket and cover therefor
US3900129A (en) * 1971-08-11 1975-08-19 William A Scholz Cover for retail produce baskets
US4606471A (en) * 1984-07-17 1986-08-19 Alessandro Quercetti Cage box of plastics with an integral cover
US4989744A (en) * 1990-02-12 1991-02-05 Kabushiki Kaisha Tominaga Jyushi Kogyosho Portable container
US5016777A (en) * 1990-01-11 1991-05-21 Morley Marvin Expandable polystyrene container hinge and method of forming
DE9213085U1 (de) * 1992-09-23 1993-01-07 Muscati, Faried, O-1055 Berlin Schachtel
US5465901A (en) * 1994-12-01 1995-11-14 Paine, Jr.; Derrick Basket for produce

Patent Citations (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2649991A (en) * 1949-09-06 1953-08-25 Plastaket Mfg Company Shipping basket and cover therefor
US3900129A (en) * 1971-08-11 1975-08-19 William A Scholz Cover for retail produce baskets
US4606471A (en) * 1984-07-17 1986-08-19 Alessandro Quercetti Cage box of plastics with an integral cover
US5016777A (en) * 1990-01-11 1991-05-21 Morley Marvin Expandable polystyrene container hinge and method of forming
US4989744A (en) * 1990-02-12 1991-02-05 Kabushiki Kaisha Tominaga Jyushi Kogyosho Portable container
DE9213085U1 (de) * 1992-09-23 1993-01-07 Muscati, Faried, O-1055 Berlin Schachtel
US5465901A (en) * 1994-12-01 1995-11-14 Paine, Jr.; Derrick Basket for produce

Cited By (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1314656A1 (de) * 2001-11-26 2003-05-28 Nortene Technologies Verpackung für Gemüse
FR2832701A1 (fr) * 2001-11-26 2003-05-30 Nortene Technologies Emballage notamment pour legumes
NL1020872C2 (nl) * 2002-06-14 2003-12-16 Jacobus Hendrikus Verbeek Verpakkingssamenstel.
WO2003106291A1 (en) * 2002-06-14 2003-12-24 Jacobus Hendricus Verbeek Packaging assembly
WO2011008542A1 (en) * 2009-06-29 2011-01-20 Ellery West Biodegradable produce enclosure
AT17683U1 (de) * 2020-08-07 2022-11-15 Gemuesebau Steiner Gmbh Faltschachtel und Kartonzuschnitt für deren Herstellung

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
IL113406A0 (en) 1995-07-31

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