EP1007435A1

EP1007435A1 - Re-closable package

Info

Publication number: EP1007435A1
Application number: EP99922461A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Alessandro Grazia
Original assignee: OFFICINE MECCANICHE NATALINO CORAZZA SpA
Current assignee: OFFICINE MECCANICHE NATALINO CORAZZA SpA
Priority date: 1998-06-19
Filing date: 1999-06-14
Publication date: 2000-06-14
Also published as: IT1304010B1; AU3952299A; WO1999065788A1; ITBO980383A1

Abstract

Package for a food product, the package (10) having a container (12) that wraps said product (11) and realises a bottom wall (14) and peripheral walls (16, 18, 20, 22) of the package and a covering element (24) which is associated to said container (12) to close superiorly said package (10), wherein said covering element (24) presents a peripheral profile (42, 44, 46, 48) and said container (12) presents portions (26, 28, 30, 32) for the upper extension of the peripheral walls (16, 18, 20, 22), which extension portions (42, 44, 46, 48) are able to be superposed with downward folding to the covering element (24) in correspondence with the peripheral edge (42, 44, 46, 48) thereof. The covering element (24) is integrally joined, in correspondence wiht its own peripheral profile (42, 44, 46, 48), to the peripheral walls (16, 18, 20, 22) of the container (12) and it can be detached therefrom when the package is opened. Also provided, on said covering element (24), is a gripping and detaching tab (50) to provide for at least the partial detachment of said covering element (24) from said container (12) and allow the opening of the package.

Description

Description Re-closable Package

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a package for food products, in particular products such as molten cheese, butter, margarine and the like.

Background Art

Currently for packaging the aforementioned products packages are used, generally having prismatic shape with rectangular base, comprising a single outer container, in the form of an aluminium foil or otherwise, which entirely wraps the food product and presents a bottom wall and lateral longitudinal walls of the package extending in ample upper covering flaps which, in the condition of closure of the package, are folded back onto the product with mutual superposition coinciding with the respective free extremities. In order to hold, before opening, said ample upper covering flaps in contact with the product in correspondence with the head and tail ends of said package, the lateral walls of the container also extend longitudinally beyond the ends of the product and are folded back on corresponding portions of the bottom of the container realising extreme longitudinal projections or tabs of triangular shape held assembled by a sort of annular metallic joining rivet.

With such known packages, to remove the product the package is generally ripped in correspondence with an end thereof and access is gained to the interior of the package by lifting the flap portions superiorly extending from the longitudinal walls. Once the package is opened, the required quantity of product is removed and the package is re-closed by setting the extension flaps back onto the product. A drawback present in this kind of known package concerns an excessive use of material constituting the container. In the known package, in order to obtain an effective closure of the package, portions or flaps for the upper superposition of the product are provided, along with related extreme longitudinal triangular holding portions, of considerable dimensions, which configuration conversely entails a significant wastage of material used to realise said holding flaps.

Moreover, since opening the package requires ripping the wrapping container and since known packages do not provide measures suitable to guarantee an acceptable subsequent superposition of the container to the product in correspondence with the ripping line, a sufficiently hermetic re-closure of the package cannot be obtained, with the consequence of a poor conservation of the packaged product subsequent to the initial opening of the package.

It should also be noted that not even in the intact package condition wherein the upper covering flaps co-operate for the closure of the package only by their mutual superposition in correspondence with the respective free ends, in spite of such a considerable usage of material employed to obtain the aforesaid superposition of the flaps, is it possible to obtain a closure of the package that is sufficiently hermetic to guarantee an optimal preservation of the packaged product.

Disclosure of Invention The object of the present invention therefore is to provide a package for food products that overcomes the drawbacks present in already known packages.

The above aims are attained with a package having the characteristics of claim 1 ; in particular a package for a food product, the package being a container that wraps said product and realises a bottom wall and peripheral walls of the package; characterised in that it comprises a covering element that is associated to said container to close said package, wherein said covering element presents a peripheral profile and is integrally joined, in correspondence with at least part of its own peripheral profile, to the peripheral walls of the container and detachable therefrom; said container presenting extension portions of the peripheral walls, which extension portions of the peripheral walls, at least in the re-closure conditions of the package subsequent to the initial opening of the package itself, are able to be superimposed, by folding back, onto the covering element. With the present package it is thus possible to obtain, thanks to the provision of a covering element joined to and detachable - without compromising its integrity in a substantial manner - from the contamer, an easy access to the product contained therein and it is also possible, thanks to the co-operation between the projecting portions of the lateral walls of the package and said covering element, to obtain a re-closure of the package that presents a more hermetic seal with respect to known packages and allows to obtain a better preservation of the packaged product. Moreover, with the present package structure a lesser usage of material used to realise the package is obtained with respect to prior art packages.

The secondary claims refer to particular and advantageous embodiments of the invention.

Further features and advantages of the invention shall be made more readily apparent in the detailed description that follows, made with reference to the accompanying drawings, which represent an embodiment provided purely by way of non limiting example.

Description of the Drawings

- Figure 1 shows a perspective view, in a condition of integrity prior to opening, of a first preferred embodiment of the package of the present invention;

- Figure 2 shows a cross section view of the present package with superposition flaps lifted;

- Figure 3 shows a perspective view of the covering element alone;

- Figures 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, and 4E show partial views illustrating the opening and re-closure of the package according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Description of the Illustrative Embodiment

Figures 1 through 3 show a preferred embodiment 10 of the package of the present invention, which is used to contain a food product 11, such as butter, margarine or molten cheese, having in particular a solid and pasty consistency and which is destined to be used several times in small quantities.

Although the present package 10 can, in principle, be conformed in any required shape, it preferably presents a prismatic shape with rectangular base and comprises an external container 12, which wraps said product 11 and defines a bottom wall 14 and peripheral walls, in particular a head wall 16 a tail wall 18 and opposed longitudinal lateral walls 20 and 22, and a covering element 24 which is advantageously associated to said container 12 to close superiorly said package 10.

As shown, said container 12 presents, starting from the upper edge of the peripheral walls 16, 18, 20, 22, of the flaps or portions extending the peripheral walls themselves, indicated respectively with the numerical references 26, 28, 30, 32, which extending flaps or portions 26, 28, 30, 32 are able to be superimposed in the condition of intact package (as Figure 1 shows), with downward folding, on the covering element 24 in correspondence with the peripheral edge thereof. The present container 12 can be obtained preferably starting from a quadrangular planar blank (not shown in the figures) which is folded back according to transverse and longitudinal crease lines until generating the container of Figure 1.

Folding the blank, to obtain the prismatic container of Figure 1 , produces folded back corner portions 34, 36, 38, 40, provided with respective upper extensions 34', 36', 38' and 40', which are obtained by folding back edges of the blank joining the parts thereof that realise the peripheral walls of the package. In particular, the corner portions 34, 34' and 36, 36', are obtained by respective edges of the blank which extend between the opposite sides of said head peripheral wall 16 and said lateral walls 20, 22 of the container. For the readying of the prismatic container, said intermediate edges are folded along a substantially median line and the two parts thereby resulting are mutually approached and folded back together on said head wall 16 realising said corner portions 34 and 36, and on the covering element 24 in correspondence with the head end realising said upper corner portions 34' and 36'. In turn, the corner portions 38, 38' and 40, 40' are obtained from respective edges of the blank that extend between the opposite sides of said tail peripheral wall 18 and said lateral walls 20, 22 of the container, said intermediate edges are folded along a substantially median line and the two parts that result therefrom are mutually approached and folded back together on said tail wall 18, to realise said edge portions 38 and 40, and on the covering element 24 in correspondence with the tail end to realise the upper edge portions 38' and 40'. Said edge portions 34, 36, 38, 40 in folded back condition define respective edge crease lines 33, 35, 37, 39 separating said mutually adjacent lateral walls, whilst the upper parts 34' , 36', 38', 40' of the edge portions 34, 36, 38, 40 define separating crease lines 33', 35' , 37', 39' between the respectively adjacent upper superposition portions 26, 28, 30, 32. As Figure 1 shows, said crease lines 33', 35', 37', 39' are positioned, in the assembled condition of the package, parallel and in correspondence with the upper border of the lateral walls 20, 22 of the container.

Obviously, although this is a preferred configuration, other configurations or dispositions for the edge junctions between adjacent peripheral walls of the container differing from the one shown herein could be imagined.

In a preferred and advantageous manner, in the present embodiment the covering element 14 is integrally joined, in correspondence with its own peripheral profile, to the peripheral walls 16, 18, 20, 22 of the container.

The peripheral union between said covering element 24 and the peripheral walls of said container 12 is obtained by the mutual welding of the peripheral border of the covering element with the peripheral walls of the container 12, in correspondence with the horizontal folding or crease lines of the upper flaps or extensions 26, 28, 30, 32 able to be folded on the covering element 24. Through said welding, a hermetic union is obtained between the covering element 24 and the container 12 which allows a better preservation of the product in the phases prior to its initial opening and - at least in the areas wherein said union remains intact also after the first and subsequent openings - also subsequently thereto.

With advantages that will become more readily apparent farther on in the present description, according to a characteristic of the present embodiment, the covering element is also joined to the container in such a way as to be detachable therefrom without damaging its substantial soundness, i.e. without causing rips or lacerations in the lateral walls such as to compromise the configuration of the package itself.

As shown in particular in Figure 3 , said covering element 24 presents a rear or tail transverse border 42, longitudinal lateral borders 44, 46 and a front or head transverse border 48 wherefrom a tab portion 50 of said covering element extends longitudinally, which realises, in the way that will become more readily apparent farther on in the present description, means for gripping and pulling said cover used for opening the package. In order to allow a tight and hermetic weld to the peripheral walls of the container, as shown in Figure 2 and 3, said covering element presents said peripheral borders 42, 44, 46, 48 in the form of borders folded perpendicularly, preferably upwards, for a short segment, for instance for a segment indicated with reference h in Figure 2, equal to 3 mm. The upper extension flaps 26, 28, 30, 32 of the container in turn present a width or height H which preferably amounts to about 10, 11 mm. This configuration allows to obtain a peripheral detachment of the covering element 24 from the container 12 without the substantial disassembly thereof and, upon re-closure, a sufficient re-coverage of the covering element 24 by said flaps extending the peripheral walls of the container, with a substantial saving in the quantity of material used for the realisation of the present package with respect to prior art packages.

As Figure 1 shows, in the intact condition of the package, said portion of planar gripping tab 50 is folded backwards, along a crease or folding line 49 (shown in Figure 3) in correspondence with the head border 48, superposing on said covering element 24 and presents a free end part which projects from the superposition portion 26 of the head wall, with the opposite lateral areas of said tab 50 which are, in turn, positioned above said upper flap extensions 30, 32 of the longitudinal walls 20, 22 of the container.

The gripping tab 50 presents in correspondence with the terminal part of the tab, on its upward facing side in the intact condition of the package, means suitable to indicate said tab, so that it can be easily and rapidly identified and employed for opening. Such indication means are distinguished by a different colouring 52 from that of the covering element provided in correspondence with the free teπninal part of said tab. A red colouring of the area 52, contrasting with the metallic coloration of the aluminium foil of the covering element, would be preferred.

Said gripping portion 50 is in the form of an ample portion that extends over the entire width of the border of the covering element and of the wall of the container in correspondence whereof, with the package assembled, it is positioned. Said gripping tab 50 presents a quadrangular part, substantially destined to be covered by the upper projecting portion 26 of the head wall 16 of the container, which is provided with lateral borders 51 and 53 (shown in Figure 3 and in dashed line in Figure 1) which in the assembled condition of the package, as Figure 1 shows, are positioned in correspondence with and substantially parallel to the corner lines 33' and 35' separating said upper superposition portion 26 from the blended upper adjacent portions 30 and 32. This disposition advantageously allows (as subsequent Figure 4C clearly shows), by acting on said gripping portion 50, to cut said upper corner lines 33' and 35' and separate the upper portion 26 of said head wall 16 from the joined upper adjacent portions 30 and 32 of the longitudinal walls 20, 22.

As shown, said tab 50 presents, in extension from said quadrangular part, a part with generally triangular shape having converging lateral borders 55, 57 connecting the free front edge of the tab with said lateral peripheral ripping borders 51 and 53.

In the present embodiment, the peripheral welding line of said covering element 24 to the container 12 therefore defines a preferential breakage area able to allow the openmg of the package and access to the product. In particular, a first preferential breakage line is constituted by the junction line between the forward head edge 48 of the cover and the folding line of said head wall 16 of said container. Two more preferential breakage lines are realised by the longitudinal junction lines between the lateral edges 44 and 46 of the covering element 24 and the folding lines of said longitudinal lateral walls 20, 22 of the container 12.

With reference to the subsequent figures from 4A to 4E, the advantageous manner of employment of the present package can be readily understood.

Figure 4A shows the condition in an as yet intact condition, wherein said tab 50 is folded back on said covering element 24 with partial superposition, on the tab 50 itself, of the upper flap 26 of the head wall 16 of the package and projection, from this folded back portion 26 of the container, of the part 52 of tab provided with the indication colouring. In this condition also all other superposing upper flaps 28, 30, 32 are folded back downwards superposing to the covering element 24 in correspondence with peripheral areas thereof. To open the package, as shown in Figure 4B, it is thus necessary to lift first said superposing flap 26, then said tab 50 and finally said longitudinal superposing flaps 30, 32 (as shown by arrows S in Figure 4B), possibly together with the tail flap 28. Then, in succession, a forward rotation is produced of the tab 50, as shown by arrows R in Figure 4C), exerting a traction which allows to rip and divide the flap or upper extension 26 of the adjacent longitudinal flaps 30, 32, in correspondence with the blending borders 33' and 35' therebetween. Then, by exerting, as shown in Figure 4D, through said tab 50, a lifting traction on the head part of the covering element 24 (exerted in the direction of arrow T in Figure 4D), the junction between the covering element 24 and the container 12 is ripped, in correspondence with the front line 48 of the covering element where the line is welded to the head wall 16, with the total shearing of the upper flap 26. In this phase of traction with lifting of the tab 50, the further separation or ripping of the same covering element 24 is produced, in correspondence with the welded junction between the lateral borders 44, 46 thereof, from the lateral walls 20, 22 of the container.

Once the package has been opened and the content has been utilised, for the first and subsequent re-closures of the package the cover 24 is lowered again on the product 11 (as shown by arrow C in Figure 4E) with said tab 50 which, as shown in Figure 4E, is folded forward, at least for the first times when the package is used, beyond the transverse ripping line 16' (shown in Figure 4D) on the head wall 16, realising a protecting element for said product 11, and the upper flaps 30 and 32 of the lateral walls 20, 22 of the container 12 are then folded downward, as shown by arrows B in Figure 4E, to secure the covering element 24 to the package in the areas wherein it has been detached from the container 12.

With the progressive emptying of the package, which could generally proceed starting from the head area of the package, the head wall 16 and the forward parts of the longitudinal walls 20, 22, together with the front part having the tab 50 of the covering element 24, are progressively crumpled on the product protecting and preserving the part of product remaining inside the package.

The present covering element 24 may remain always integrally connected to the container, at least in correspondence with the tail border 42, for the entire time during which the package is used, with the advantage that no problems are encountered with the repositioning of the cover 24 at the time of re-closure and that the latter can therefore be effected even more easily. Said container 12 and said covering element 24 are both realised starting from a sheet, destined for food packaging uses, of plastically deformable aluminium.

Other materials, for instance paper-based materials, could however be employed instead of said aluminium.

The junction welding between the covering element 24 and the container 12 is obtained by providing at least on the mutually engaging parts a welding shellac which can be activated by heating. It is however preferred to apply the welding shellac on the entire lower surface of the coating element, with the exception of the area 52 of the free end of the grip tab 50, and on the entire inner surface of the container 12. The invention thus conceived may be subject to numerous modifications and variations, without thereby departing from the scope of the inventive concept.

Moreover, all components can be replaced with technically equivalent elements.

Claims

1. Package for a food product, the package (10) having a container (12) which wraps said product (11) and realises a bottom wall (14) and peripheral walls (16, 18, 20, 22) of the package; characterised in that it comprises a covering element (24) which is associated to said container (12) to close said package (10), wherein said covering element (24) presents a peripheral profile (42, 44, 46, 48) and is integrally joined, in correspondence with at least part of its own peripheral profile (42, 44, 46, 48) to the peripheral walls (16, 18, 20, 22) of the container (12) and detachable therefrom; said container (12) presenting portions (28, 30, 32) in extension to the peripheral walls (18, 20, 22), which portions (28, 30, 32) in extension to the peripheral walls (18, 20, 22), at least in the conditions of re- closure of the package subsequent to the first opening of the package itself, are able to superpose, by folding, on the covering element (24).

2. Package according to claim 1 , characterised in that said covering element (24) is joined, in correspondence with its own peripheral profile (42, 44, 46, 48) to the peripheral walls (16, 18, 20, 22) of the container (12) in a hermetic manner.

3. Package according to either of the previous claims, characterised in that said junction between said covering element (24) and the peripheral walls (16, 18, 20, 22) of the container (12) is provided, on said peripheral walls (16, 18, 20, 22), in substantial coincidence with the folding lines of said upper projecting superposition portions (26, 28, 30, 32).

4. Package according to any of the previous claims, characterised in that, in order to join peripherally said covering element (24) to the peripheral walls (16, 18,

20, 22) of the container, said covering element (24) presents an peripheral engagement border (42, 44, 46, 48) folded back perpendicularly to the covering element (24).

5. Package according to any of the previous claims, characterised in that the junction between said covering element (24) and the peripheral walls (16, 18, 20,

22) of said container is obtained by welding.

6. Package according to any of the previous claims, characterised in that, on said covering element (24), gripping and pulling means (50) are provided to allow at least the partial detachment of said covering element (24) from said container (12).

7. Package according to claim 6, characterised in that said gripping and pulling means are in the form of a planar portion (50) extending from said covering element (24) for gripping and pulling.

8. Package according to claim 7, characterised in that said gripping portion (50) extends, by means of a creasing line (49), from one end (48) of said covering element (24).

9. Package according to claim 8, characterised in that said creasing line (49) is realised in correspondence with a border (48) of said covering element (24) whose purpose is to make it integral to the container (12).

10. Package according to any of the previous claims 6 through 9, characterised in that said gripping portion (50), in an intact package condition, is folded backward and it is superimposed on said covering element (24).

11. Package according to any of the previous claims 6 through 10, characterised in that, in an intact package condition, the gripping portion (50) of the covering element (24) presents at least a free end part which projects from the folded upper superposing portion (26) of the lateral wall (16) of the container in correspondence with which said gripping portion (50) is set.

12. Package according to claim 11 , characterised in that at least a lateral wall (16) and the respective upper superposition portion (26) are connected continuously, in correspondence with opposite sides, to corresponding lateral walls (20 and 22) and respective upper superposition portions (30 and 32), through respective folded junction portions (34, 34' and 36, 36') defining respective edge lines (33, 33' and 35, 35') separating said wall (16) and respective upper portion (26) from the adjacent lateral walls (20 and 22) and respective upper portions (30 and 32); and in that said gripping portion (50) presents peripheral borders (51 and 53) which are positioned in correspondence with the edge lines (33' and 35') separating said upper superposition portion (26) from the blended adjacent upper portions (30 and 32) in order to allow, by pulling the first gripping portion (50), the shearing of said edge lines (33' and 35') and the separation between the upper portion (26) of said wall and the adjacent blended upper portions (30 and 32).

13. Package according to any one of the previous claims 6 through 12, characterised in that indication means (52) are provided on said gripping portion (50).

14. Package according to claim 13, characterised in that said indication means (52) are constituted by a different colouring from the one of the covering element

(12) provided in correspondence with the free end (52) of said gripping portion (50) on the upwardly oriented side in the intact condition of the package.

15. Package according to any one of the previous claims 6 through 14, characterised in that in order to open the package the gripping portion (50) is pulled to detach the covering element (24) along at least part of the profile which joins said covering element (24) to the lateral peripheral walls (16, 20, 22) of the container.

16. Package according to any one of the previous claims 6 through 15, characterised in that said gripping portion (50) is so shaped that, after the first opening of the package, it can be folded back on the detachment line, extending beyond it, to protect said product (11) in correspondence with the detachment line.

17. Package according to any one of the previous claims 6 through 16, characterised in that at least part of said peripheral union lines (44, 46, 48) between said covering element (24) and said package (12) define preferential breakage lines between said covering element (24) and said container (12).

18. Package according to any one of the previous claims, characterised in that said package (12) presents a prismatic shape having head (16) and tail (18) peripheral walls and lateral peripheral walls (20, 22) orthogonal to said head (16) and tail (18) parts, and wherein said covering element (24) is in the form of a planar element having its front border (48) joined to said head wall (16) of the container, a rear border (42) joined to the tail wall (18) of said container and lateral border (44, 46) joined to the respective lateral peripheral walls (20, 22) of the container, said gripping and pulling portion (50) of said covering element (24) being situated in correspondence with said head lateral wall (16) of the container

(12).

19. Package according to claim 18, characterised in that to open the package by means of said gripping and pulling portion (50), said covering element (24) is separated from said head wall (16) and from at least part of the adjacent longitudinal walls (20, 22).

20. Package according to claim 16 and claim 19, characterised in that said gripping portion (50) extends from said front border (48) of the covering element (24) and can be fold forward in such a way as to be superposed, in the re-closed condition of the package, to said head wall (16) of the container (12).

21. Package according to any of the previous claims, characterised in that said covering element (24) and said container (12) are realised from a respective planar sheet of aluminium.

22. Package according to any of the previous, characterised in that the junction weld between the covering element (24) and the container (12) is obtained by providing at least on the mutually engaged parts a welding shellac able to be activated by heating.