EP0858951A1 - Container for serving a ready-to-eat food product - Google Patents

Abstract

The container (1), made of flexible sheets of paper, plastic or metal materials, is impermeable to liquids and grease, comprises at least two pockets, one (6) to hold a food product (9) and another (8) to hold a serviette (7).

Description

The present invention concerns a container for serving a ready-to-eat food product, more especially a container consisting of a sheet of flexible material that is liquid and grease proof in which a vendor may, for example, serve stuffed sandwiches, sausages, a slice of pizza, fried potatoes, sauce and others, in order that the customer may consume it within the same sales outlet or outside.

The field in which the invention falls is that of accessories for food vending outlets equipped to serve customers with ready-to-eat food in a simple, fast and cheap way for the vendor, and at the same time safe and practical for the consumer.

The state of the technique comprises various solutions to serve the products, according to the characteristics of the latter, that are essentially: a) on a dish or tray of cardboard or plastic material, with a separate serviette and possibly cutlery; b) partly or completely wrapped in a conventional sheet of paper, with separate serviette; c) held by means of a sort of treated cardboard "tongs", with which to grip the product and handle it so as to eat it, again with a separate serviette.

The drawbacks of the state of the technique are, for solution a) the cost of the plate or tray; for solutions b) and c) the clumsiness implied for the customer and the scarce effectiveness of the sheet of paper that wraps the product or of the "tongs", especially when the product includes sauces, oils, butter, a liquid or similar, with risk of spilling or leakage of the liquids and greases from the said means. In addition to said drawbacks there is also one in common to all three solutions that force the customer to move away from the point of delivery holding both the product and the serviette.

The present invention obviates said drawbacks; it is a container made of flexible sheets of paper, plastic or metal materials, impermeable to liquids and greases that, as characterized in the claims, comprises at least two pockets, one for the food product and the other for the serviette.

The material used to make these containers will preferably be a sheet of polythene paper, so called "coupled paper", but also a sheet of plastic or aluminium suited to foodstuffs.

The advantages of this container consist mainly in that: the vendor can deliver the required product and the serviette in a single container quickly and at a low cost; being the container perfectly flat and thin, a great quantity of them may be piled up, and stored in a limited space of the outlet, and that the customer may use one hand only to hold the product and the serviette and move to the desired position without risk of getting soiled, or soiling other people or things.

The invention will be described hereunder in further detail with examples of embodiment and the help of drawings in which

Fig. 1 is a first side view,

Fig. 2 is a view from above,

Fig. 3 is a second side view,

Fig. 4 is a first part perspective view,

Fig. 5 is a second part perspective view.

Fig. 1 shows a triangular shaped container 1 of polythene paper; this is a container that can receive, for example, a stuffed sandwich within the first pocket 6 defined by the two walls 2, 3 and by the aperture formed along the shorter side of the triangle and can receive a serviette 7, folded into a triangle, within a second pocket 8 formed in the front wall and having an upper edge conveniently distant from the border of the pocket 6 so as to make easier the introduction and handling of the serviette; S indicate the seams that bind the three parts of the sheet along sides 4 and 5 to form the container.

Fig. 2 shows a view from above of the same container 1 in the pocket 6 of which a stuffed sandwich 9 has been placed.

Fig. 3 shows rectangular shaped container 10 of aluminium for foods; the reference numbers used in Fig. 1 indicate corresponding parts.

Fig. 4 shows a container 10 formed with the back wall 3 extending into a flap 11 that can be folded to cover the aperture 6 and also the part of serviette 7 that extends out of pocket 8.

Fig. 5 shows a container 12, with an overall square shape, in which the back wall 3 bears a triangular shaped flap 3a extending beyond the upper edge of front wall 2 (always bearing a second pocket 8) and this extension 3a covers the jutting out part of a square or rhombus shaped slice of pizza, fitted into the first pocket 6, as shown by 13.

It is understood that the container responding to the present invention may be of various shapes and sizes, each suited to a type and quantity of products to be served.

Claims (5)

1. A container (1) in which to serve a ready-to-eat food product (9) made of flexible sheets of paper, plastic or metal materials, impermeable to liquids and greases, characterized in that the sheets are cut and seamed (5) one upon the other in order to form at least two pockets, a first one (6) to hold the food product (9) and a second one (8) in which to hold a serviette (7).
2. A container according to claim 1 characterized in that the parts of sheet seamed to one another (2, 3 and 8) form a flat element with a thickness equal to that of the overlying sheets.
3. A container according to claims 1 and 2 characterized in that the upper edge of the second pocket (8) is at a distance from the upper edge of the first pocket (6) in order to make easier the introduction and handling of the serviette (7).
4. A container according to claim 1 characterized in that it has a flap (11) suited to covering one or both pockets (6, 8).
5. A container according to claim 1 characterized in that its back wall (3) extends (3a) past the upper edge of front wall (2) in order to cover at least one face of a slice of pizza (13) fitted in the first pocket (6) and jutting out of the same.

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