EP0812773B1 - Box for packaging of pastries or cakes - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a pastry box folding formed of a bottom and a lid, nested.

The boxes called “pastry boxes” are boxes generally made of cardboard, having folded parts, the cover of which is connected to the bottom. The cover is made three flaps with folded and folded lines. The panel of the cover is connected by a hinge to one of the four flaps bordering the panel at the bottom of the box. Shutters from the bottom like those of the cover deploy to take a parallelepiped shape.

Such pastry boxes, used mainly in pastry, are also used in neighboring areas, for example to package products like pizza.

In all cases, these boxes have several disadvantages to use.

First of all to place the products in the box, on the counter, you have to deploy the whole formed from the bottom and the cover, which has a certain bulk. The placement of products inside the bottom is not easy if these are relatively fragile products, especially at the end of filling the bottom. Now, so that the products are required and will not be damaged during transport, the box must be practically filled. That means depending on the products to be packaged, we will choose the size of the box.

We encounter the same difficulties when it comes to to take the products out of the box.

As the cover is also connected to the bottom, it is not very aesthetic to present the box as what.

The only solution is to cut the cover. But there will then remain the bottom bordered by its shutters. To facilitate access to the product contained in the background, it is possible cut the flaps or at least notch them to to open.

Another difficulty is that the cover being made in the same side of cardboard as the bottom, it is not possible to choose a different decoration or material for the bottom cover. The functions of the cover and the background are different. The fund must receive the products that may possibly be wet, so is it sometimes necessary to garnish the bottom with a non-absorbent sheet not humidity. The cover that is the most apparent from the box could be in a different material from that of the bottom.

Finally, the products to be packaged do not always have the same height, so it is necessary to store boxes of heights different depending on the products to be packaged.

There is also another solution but not widely used namely that of the usual boxes, not folding, formed separate bottom and cover. But this solution has practically the same drawbacks as folding boxes: it is difficult to place fragile or large products dimensions (and relatively flexible) like pizzas. These same difficulties exist in use, to access products. Finally, as there is no hinge which ensures a certain rigidity, the closed box remains very flexible unless we use cardboard or a rigid plastic sufficient, which adds to the price. However, this flexibility would particularly troublesome for large boxes, for example for pizza.

The object of the present invention is to remedy these disadvantages and proposes to create a pastry box, extremely simple to manufacture, very compact empty, which fits and closes easily and quickly and allows to give characteristics to the bottom and the lid functional and. different aesthetics.

• le couvercle est séparé du fond,
• le couvercle est formé d'un panneau bordé par des volets, l'ensemble étant muni de lignes de pliage pour que les volets puissent être rabattus à plat ou déployés en position d'utilisation pour donner au couvercle une forme de parallélépipède,
• deux volets opposés étant munis d'une découpe,
• le fond comprend un panneau bordé de volets formant les côtés du fond,

les volets restant reliés par des coins non collés munis chacun d'un pli suivant une bissectrice, deux volets opposés étant munis d'une découpe,

• un organe d'accrochage placé dans la découpe de chaque volet et relié au volet, cet organe d'accrochage dépassant vers l'extérieur du volet, pour venir se loger dans la découpe correspondante du couvercle,

seulement deux côtés opposés du couvercle et du fond reçoivent les organes d'accrochage.To this end, the invention relates to a pastry box having the following characteristics

• the cover is separated from the bottom,
• the cover is formed by a panel bordered by flaps, the assembly being provided with fold lines so that the flaps can be folded flat or deployed in the position of use to give the cover a shape of a parallelepiped,
• two opposite flaps being provided with a cutout,
• the bottom comprises a panel bordered by shutters forming the sides of the bottom,

the remaining flaps connected by non-glued corners each provided with a fold along a bisector, two opposite flaps being provided with a cutout,

• a fastening member placed in the cutout of each shutter and connected to the shutter, this fastening member protruding towards the outside of the shutter, to be housed in the corresponding cutout of the cover,

only two opposite sides of the cover and the bottom receive the hooking members.

The cover formed by flaps is made for example like the lid of a classic pastry box except that has four components, not three, and two opposing components are preferably provided with an elongated cutout. Such product is a particularly simple realization in cardboard.

The cover can also be made of cardboard corrugated folded and assembled at the time of use.

The background is of an even simpler realization and it has no glued parts. It is cut and creased along the fold lines between the panel and the shutters. he there are additional fold lines at the corners connecting two parts each time. These corners are separated at the shutters by fold lines, for example grooved; and every corner has a fold line following the bisector. The corners thus form bellows when the flaps are raised.

For the placement of products in the background, it remains open, the flaps folded back or at least very flared. This considerably facilitates access to the bottom for the setting up or taking products.

Once the bottom is filled with products, just raise the edges and slightly compress the two flaps provided with hooking members for engaging the cover over so that it hangs on the two hooking members. The hinge formed by the fold lines of the flaps at the panels or shutters between them gives the whole a certain elasticity pushing the flaps outwards, that is to say now the hooking members in the cutouts of the corresponding cover flaps.

The excellent resistance of the assembly means the box allows you to make the cover with dimensions larger than those at the bottom so as to facilitate the fitting the cover or removing it, much more easily only if the assembly was tightly adjusted.

To open, just compress the organs to hang them in and lift the cover, the bottom being retained by the weight of the products it contains.

According to a particularly advantageous characteristic of the invention, the fastening members are parts hollow hollow, for example, made by thermoforming; these parts are attached to the bottom flaps to exit through the corresponding cut; so the funds can easily stack since the hooking members are placed into each other in the stack. This gives a stack very space-saving.

In most cases, the attachment devices and the cutouts are located in the middle of the side or cover flap and from the bottom.

In some cases we place a ribbon or a string around the box, also it is advantageous that the organs hooks are split on both sides of the axis of symmetry on the side or that they have a slot for the passage string or tape, so that it does not sink the organ hanging.

When the fastening member is split, the cutting of the cover flap can also be replaced by two cuts.

Although usually the pastry boxes are rectangular shape with square base, rectangular shapes are also possible according to the invention.

Finally, the invention allows very great flexibility of achievement. The cover being separated from the bottom, it can be made of a material different from that of the bottom. Lid, and in particular the outside of the cover, can be in a decorative material. The back panel or the whole interior bottom surface can receive manufacturing a waterproof film to prevent possible products damp placed on the bottom do not permeate the constituent material from the bottom (for example cardboard).

This may be necessary in some cases such as for packaging fatty products such as pizza undersides.

The separation of the bottom and the lid also allows greater flexibility in manufacturing and storage. The user can for the same format (i.e. the same square or rectangular basic shape of given dimensions), have funds of different heights for the same cover ; the cover may have a uniform decoration identifying the store, a chain of stores, etc ... Finally, there note that the elasticity and the spring effect created by the corners connecting the shutters and which tend to spread the shutters, that is to say to open the bottom, are extremely interesting to guarantee the commitment of the organs hanging in the cutouts of the cover.

Although the fasteners could in theory also attach for example by gluing on the outside of two parts, this solution is not interesting because it does not allow such precise positioning of the organs attachment to the bottom flaps and consequently cutouts of the cover flaps. In addition, it does not facilitate not stacking because the bottoms will then be stacked with an interval corresponding to the thickness of the fastening members.

Different embodiments and materials have have been considered for the present invention.

In some cases, if the background is made of thermoformed, the hanging members can be produced at the same time as the background.

• les figures 1A et 1B montrent respectivement le couvercle et le fond d'une boíte pâtissière selon l'invention, dans deux positions avant la mise en place du couvercle sur le fond,
• la figure 2 est une vue en plan d'un fond de boíte selon l'invention,
• la figure 3 est un détail du verrouillage du fond et du couvercle.

The present invention will be described below in more detail with the aid of the appended drawings in which:

• FIGS. 1A and 1B respectively show the cover and the bottom of a pastry box according to the invention, in two positions before the fitting of the cover on the bottom,
• FIG. 2 is a plan view of a box bottom according to the invention,
• Figure 3 is a detail of the locking of the bottom and the cover.

According to Figures 1A and 1B, the invention relates a folding pastry box comprising a cover 1 and a background 2.

The cover 1 is formed by a panel 101 of shape square or rectangular. This panel 1 is bordered by shutters 102, 103, 104, 105. These shutters are connected to panel 101 by fold lines forming hinges 106, 107, 108, 109. The flaps are interconnected by edges 110, 111, 112, 113 formed in this example by gluing folded legs to the interior; these legs, not shown, extend by example one of the shutters and are glued against the adjacent shutter to form the edges 110, 111, 112, 113. To put the flat cover, two homologous flaps have lines folding 114, 115 and 116, 117 according to the bisector of each angle.

Finally, two opposite flaps 103, 105 are provided with cutouts 120, 121 to receive a section hooking member corresponding carried by two homologous bottom flaps as will be described later.

The bottom 2 is shown in Figure 1B in line full in an intermediate position, in solid line, and in its position fully extended, in broken lines.

This background consists of a 201 square or rectangular panel bordered by shutters 202, 203, 204, 205 connected to the panel 201 by fold lines forming hinges 206, 207, 208, 209. The shutters are interconnected by corners folded 210, 211, 212, 213 whose shape will appear better on figure 2.

Two opposite flaps, for example 203, 205, are provided of cuts 214, 215 receiving a hooking member 216 like the one shown in section in Figure 3. These organs hooking are housed in the cutouts 120, 121 of the cover 1 when this is placed over the bottom.

The cutouts 214, 215 are preferably located at middle of each pane.

These cuts can also be split, i.e. replaced by two separate cuts 215A, 215B by a strip of material 215C as shown only for shutter 205. These cutouts 215A, 215B receive a single two-part hooking member projecting through the two cuts 215A, 215B or by two separate pieces. These protruding parts leave a corresponding slot therebetween to the band 215C for the passage of the string or ribbon used to eventually tie the packaging.

Figure 3 shows the arrangement of cover 1 and of the bottom 2 in the nesting and hooking position at the fastening member 216 carried by the flap 203 of the bottom and passing through the cutout 120 of the flap 103 of the cover 1.

The hooking member 216 is a section piece corresponding to that of cuts 214 and 120. This part obtained for example by thermoforming from a sheet of rectangular format (format represented by dotted lines under the reference 217 in FIG. 1B), leaves edges 218 and forms a hollow elongated body 219. This body protrudes in the cutout 120. By the edge 217 this attachment piece 216 is fixed to the flap 203 for example by gluing. To clear the hooking member 216 of the cover 1, that is to say for release the cover, just press the body 219 which appears outside to push it in while playing on the elasticity of both the flap 203, the movement elastic articulation at the hinge edge 207 and, finally, on the transfer of elasticity between the flaps at the corners 210, 211, 212, 213 (Figure 1B). This complex transmission of forces is also one of the reasons why it would not be possible to make organs hanging on the four flaps or sides of the bottom and cover.

According to a variant, the fastening member 216 is continues down to joint 207 with an extension 216A which is possibly engaged in a slot made in joint 207 and ensuring the maintenance of the organ 216 by its extension 216A. This organ 216 is put in place, first by engaging the end of the extension 216A in the slot then tilting to engage and clip the body 219 in cutout 120.

The cover 1 and the bottom 2 can be made in different materials such as cardboard more or less rigid, corrugated cardboard or plastic, a material single or compound insulation. The shaping is done by cutting, creasing and if necessary thermoforming.

Claims (4)

1. Folding confectionery box which is formed from a base and a lid, which fit together, having the following features:

   the lid (1) is separate from the base (2),

   the lid (1) is formed from a panel (101) which is bounded by flaps (202-205), the assembly being provided with folding lines (106-109) so that the flaps can be folded over flat or deployed in a position for use in order to give the lid a parallelepipedal shape,

   two opposing flaps (103, 105) being provided with a cut-out (120, 121),

   the base (2) comprises a panel (201) which is bounded

      by flaps (202-205), which form the sides of the base, the flaps remaining connected by corners (210-213) which are not adhesively bonded and which are each provided with a fold (210c-213c) in accordance with a bisecting line, two opposing flaps being provided with a cut-out (214, 215),

   a coupling member (216) which is positioned in the cut-out (214, 215) of each flap (203, 205) and which is connected to the flap (203, 205), the coupling member extending towards the exterior of the flap in order to be arranged in the corresponding cut-out (120, 121) of the lid (1),

   only two opposing sides of the lid (1) and of the base (2) receive the coupling members (216).
2. Box according to claim 1, characterised in that the coupling member (216) is a hollow component of a thermoformed plastics material.
3. Box according to claim 1, characterised in that the coupling member (216) and the cut-outs (120, 121, 214, 215) are located at the centre of the flaps.
4. Box according to claim 1, characterised in that the coupling member (216) is subdivided into two raised portions which leave between them a slot for the passage of a piece of string or a ribbon.

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