EP1074485A1

EP1074485A1 - Pack for a food product of paste consistency, with an improved tear-open feature

Info

Publication number: EP1074485A1
Application number: EP00830527A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Alessandro Grazia
Original assignee: OFFICINE MECCANICHE NATALINO CORAZZA SpA
Current assignee: OFFICINE MECCANICHE NATALINO CORAZZA SpA
Priority date: 1999-07-28
Filing date: 2000-07-25
Publication date: 2001-02-07
Also published as: ITBO990425A1; ITBO990425A0; IT1310421B1

Abstract

A pack (10) intended for an individual portion of processed cheese or other food product of paste consistency consists in a wrapper (12) fashioned from a flat blank (12') of appropriate outline that presents a panel functioning as the bottom (16) of the pack, folds forming the sides (20, 22, 24) of the pack and folds (26, 28, 30) forming the top of the pack. The wrapper (12) also incorporates a ribbon (41) with a liftable portion (46) that can be pulled to tear the wrapper (12) and open the pack; the effect of pulling the tear ribbon (41) is to detach one side (24) of the wrapper initially from the adjoining sides (20, 22) and from the bottom (16), whereupon this same partially detached side (24) can be pulled further in such a way as to tear back the top (31') of the wrapper, to which it remains connected, and open the pack completely.

Description

The present invention relates to a pack for a food product of paste consistency.
The food product is preferably a derivative of milk, typically a processed cheese, but might be any given food product of paste consistency, for example a stock cube.
Conventionally, individual portions of processed cheese are packaged in special wrappers fashioned from aluminium foil or other material; the pack containing such a product is opened by means of a tear ribbon associated with the inside face of the wrapper and presenting an externally projecting portion that is designed to be lifted and pulled in such a way as to tear the wrapper and thus break open the pack.
The ribbons currently utilized allow a complete or near complete opening of the pack, and to this end are of significant length so that when pulled, the greater part of the wrapping can be torn apart. For example, there are conventional packs in which the ribbon allows the bottom and one corresponding side to be pulled back completely. Other packs have ribbons positioned to tear around all sides of the wrapper, allowing its complete separation into two pieces.
The prior art embraces a further manufacturing method whereby portions of the food product in question are packaged in aluminium wrappers with no tear-open element of any description; such wrappers are therefore torn open directly by consumers using their fingers, though in this way the consumer has to risk touching the contents of the pack, with the result that the fingers are dirtied and hygiene is compromised by reason of the product being handled.
Thus, all of these conventional packs are opened completely in direct fashion either using notably long ribbons, which signifies a waste of material for the manufacturer and involves associating the long ribbon with the corresponding wrapper by way of excessively lengthy operations which also limit the efficiency of the packaging machines employed, or alternatively, no use is made whatever of a ribbon and the operation of opening the wrapper is imprecise, with the result that the fingers of the consumer come into contact with the food product, creating a source of annoyance for the consumer and corresponding drawbacks as regards hygiene not to mention the loss of part of the packaged product which clings to the raggedly torn wrapper.
Accordingly, a pack for a food product of paste consistency is recited in claim 1, in particular for a paste food product consisting in a derivative of milk, typically a processed cheese or other edible product, comprising a wrapper enveloping a portion of the food product, fashioned from a flat blank of appropriate outline presenting at least a longitudinal axis and exhibiting a panel designed to establish a bottom, folds establishing the sides of the pack and folds establishing the top of the pack, also linear means associated with the wrapper and presenting a liftable portion by which the linear means are pulled to tear the wrapper and open the pack, characterized in that the linear means utilized to tear and open the pack consist in a linear element composed of a central portion that extends along the panel establishing the bottom of the wrapper, close to an edge by which the bottom is separated from a fold coinciding with a first side of the pack, and opposite lateral portions extending from the central portion and occupying positions, when the wrapper is folded, on opposite second and third sides adjoining the first side of the pack, and in that one of the lateral portions of the linear tear element terminates in an end portion projecting externally of the wrapper and affording the liftable portion of the linear means.
An alternative embodiment of the pack according to the invention, recited in claim 11, is intended likewise for a food product of paste consistency, in particular a paste food product consisting in a derivative of milk and typically processed cheese; the pack comprises a wrapper enveloping a portion of the food product, fashioned from a flat blank of appropriate outline and exhibiting a panel designed to establish a bottom, folds establishing the sides of the pack and folds establishing the lid or top of the pack, also linear means associated with the wrapper and presenting a liftable portion by which the linear means are pulled to tear the wrapper and open the pack, characterized in that the linear tearing means serve to detach one side of the wrapper initially from the adjoining sides and from the bottom of the selfsame wrapper, whereupon the detached side is pulled further so as to tear the top of the wrapper, still connected to the detached side, and open the pack.
Adopting a pack according to the invention, it becomes possible for the user to open the wrapper partially by means of the linear tear element and thereupon open the pack completely by pulling with the fingers directly on the side of the wrapper separated initially from the main part of the pack by pulling the tear element.
Accordingly, the linear tearing means utilized will be sparing in length so as to economize on the amount of material used for the linear tear element in manufacture and reduce the relative costs, and moreover enable a rapid application of the linear element to the wrapper, which in turn allows the use of packaging machines capable of significantly high output potential.
Furthermore, as there is no risk of the fingers coming into contact with the product and becoming dirtied, one succeeds in eliminating a source of annoyance to the consumer and overcoming problems connected with the doubtful hygiene of a product that has been touched by human hands.
Other advantages of the invention are recited in the dependent claims.
The invention will now be described in detail, by way of example, with the aid of the accompanying drawings, in which:

figure 1 illustrates a first preferred embodiment of the pack disclosed, viewed in perspective;
figure 2 illustrates the blank, viewed in plan from above, used to fashion the first preferred embodiment of the pack disclosed;
figure 3 illustrates the operation of opening the first preferred embodiment of the pack disclosed, viewed in perspective;
figure 4 illustrates a significant detail of a second preferred embodiment of the pack disclosed, viewed in perspective;
figure 5 illustrates the blank, viewed in plan from above, used to fashion the second and, shown in phantom lines, a third preferred embodiment of the pack disclosed;
figure 6 is a perspective view similar to that of figure 4, illustrating in particular the operation of opening the second preferred embodiment of the pack disclosed.

Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings show a first embodiment of a pack 10 for a food product of paste consistency, in particular a processed cheese, comprising a wrapper 12 intended to envelop one portion of such a product; the wrapper 12 is fashioned by folding a flat blank 12' of suitable outline 15, having at least a longitudinal axis M and exhibiting a panel designed to function as the bottom 16 of the pack, which appears as a sector to a circle, or triangular, also folds establishing the sides 20, 22 and 24 of the pack and flaps 26, 28 and 30 making up the top of the pack, as well as folds located between the side folds of the pack which are pinched double to form tabs 34, 36 and 40 and flattened over the corresponding sides.
The top 31' of the pack 10 is fashioned from a separate triangular sheet or lid 31 cut from the same material as that used for the wrapper and held on the product P by means of the flaps 26, 28 and 30, which extend from the sides 20, 22 and 24 and are bent parallel to the bottom 16.
The lid 31 of the pack is secured to the wrapper by a sealing operation. To this end, the lid 31 and the wrapper 12 will both be cut from a material of which at least one face is heat-sealable.
The operations of fashioning the pack and more especially of sealing the lid 31 can be implemented as described in Italian patent application n° BO97A 000751, filed in the name of the same applicant, of which the content can be deemed an integral part of the present invention insofar as it is pertinent to the objects stated herein.
As regards the step of heat-sealing the top flaps to the lid, accordingly, no further description is necessary.
Referring to figure 2, in particular, it will be seen how the blank 12' is folded substantially in conventional manner to form a bottom 16 which has the outline of a sector to a circle, but could also be triangular, from which the sides 20, 22 and 24 of the pack extend perpendicularly.
In particular, the blank 12' can be cut from a sheet of tin foil, or aluminium foil, of which at least the surface positioned on the inside of the finished wrapper is coated previously with lacquers to render it heat-sealable. The blank 12' might also be cut from a film of heat-sealable plastic. The lid 31 in its turn is cut from a separate roll of material similar in all respects to that used for the wrapper blank.
Observing figure 2, the phantom lines indicated on the blank coincide with fold or crease lines by which the appearance of the wrapper is determined.
More exactly, the blank 12' exhibits a central panel 16 separated on either side by longitudinal crease lines 1620 and 1622 (converging on a vertex) from relative folds 20 and 22 coinciding with the longitudinal sides of the wrapper, and separated similarly at the rear by an arcuate transverse crease line 1624 from the end fold 24 of the pack.
The three folds 20, 22 and 24 in question are separated in turn by respective crease lines 2026, 2228 and 2430 from three folds denoted 26, 28 and 30 respectively, located outermost on the blank and functioning as flaps by which the lid 31 of the pack is retained.
The longitudinal folds 20 and 22 are separated at the forwardmost end by respective crease lines 2040 and 2240 from two corresponding folds 40a and 40b that will be pinched together along an intermediate crease line 40ab dividing these same folds 40a and 40b and extending forward from the vertex of the bottom panel 16. The folds 40a and 40b in question are designed when brought together to form a tab 40 at the tip of the pack, which is folded back and flattened against one side 22 of the pack.
The longitudinal folds 20 and 22 are separated at the rear end by respective crease lines 2034 and 2236 from two relative folds 34a and 36a, separated in turn by intermediate crease lines 34ab and 36ab from further folds 34b and 36b which are separated by corresponding crease lines 2434 and 2436 from the end fold 24.
The pairs of folds 34a-34b and 36a-36b serve when united, as will be explained in due course, to create corresponding end fold tabs 34 and 36 which are folded and flattened against the sides 20 and 22 of the pack.
The rear corners of the wrapper also incorporate pairs of folds denoted 34'a-34'b and 36'a-36'b, separated by respective crease lines, which when brought together will create a double thickness of material that is flattened over the corresponding longitudinal top flaps 26 and 28.
The folds denoted 34'a and 36'a constitute the topmost layer of the parts of the end fold tabs 34 and 36 flattened over the longitudinal flaps 26 and 28 and denoted 34' and 36' in figure 1.
The lid 31 is preferably sealed to the sides of the wrapper around the periphery (not specifically illustrated in the accompanying drawings).
The pack 10 comprises linear means 41 associated with the wrapper 12 and presenting a liftable portion 46 by which the selfsame linear means are held and pulled to tear the wrapper and open the pack.
To advantage, such linear means by which to tear and open the wrapper comprise a linear element 41 exhibiting a central portion 41a that passes across the bottom 16 of the pack, in the neighbourhood of an edge that separates the bottom panel from a corresponding fold coinciding with a first side 24 of the pack, also two opposite lateral portions 41b and 41c extending from the central portion 41a and, with the wrapper 12 folded as shown in figure 1, occupying positions on opposite second and third sides 20 and 22 of the pack adjoining the first side 24 in the neighbourhood of the edge separating the second and third sides from the end fold 24.
In the particular case of the first preferred embodiment, the lateral portions 41b and 41c extend between the folds by which the tabs 34 and 36 are formed on the top flaps 20 and 22 of the wrapper
Of the two lateral portions presented by the linear tear element, one portion 41b terminates in an end portion 41d that extends between the layers of a corresponding end fold tab 36' folded over the top flap 28, parallel to the bottom 16, and affords a terminal part disposed externally of the wrapper in such a way as to function as the lift and pull element of the linear means.
In practice, and as illustrated, the linear tear element 41 is disposed transversely to the median line M of the blank.
To open up the pack as illustrated in this first embodiment, the consumer takes hold of the linear tearing means and, tearing the projecting liftable portion 46 exposed on the top of the pack, tears the wrapper in such a way as to detach the rear end fold 24 of the pack from the adjoining longitudinal sides 20 and 22 and from the bottom 16.
This produces an intermediate position indicated in figure 3, in which only the rear end fold 24 is separated from the contents of the pack, remaining connected to the pack itself by way of the crease line along which the selfsame fold 24 is attached to the corresponding top flap 30.
Detached in part from the remainder of the pack, the rear end fold 24 can now be pulled in such a way as to separate the heat-sealed lid 31 similarly from the contents and detach it from the remainder of the pack, along the two sides, producing a tear preferably along the heat-seal between the lid and the wrapper and opening up the pack completely as indicated by the phantom lines of figure 3.
Figures 4 to 6 illustrate a second preferred embodiment of the pack 100 according to the present invention in this instance appearing quadrangular, and more exactly rectangular, although the shape could equally well be square.
This second type of pack is fashioned, in a manner substantially familiar to a person skilled in the art, by making a succession of folds in a blank 112' of substantially quadrangular outline as illustrated in figure 5. The various crease lines along which the blank is folded to form the wrapper are not indicated, being substantially obvious to a person skilled in the art, except for the creases around the panel 116 coinciding with the bottom of the pack, and those delimiting the outermost folds coinciding with the flaps which are flattened over the lid 131 to form the top 131' of the pack.
The lid 131 of this second pack is sealed to the wrapper 112 in similar fashion to that described for the first embodiment. More precisely, the lid is sealed to the sides of the wrapper around the periphery (not specifically illustrated in the accompanying drawings).
As discernible from figure 4, the blank 112 is folded in such a way as to generate the bottom 116, and in addition four sides constituting two flank faces 120 and 122, and two end faces of which one only, denoted 124, is visible in figure 4.
The wrapper exhibits flaps extending from the uppermost edges of the sides and bent parallel to the bottom 116, consisting in two top flaps 126 and 128 corresponding with the flank faces, and two top flaps corresponding with the end faces, of which one only, denoted 130, is visible in figure 4.
Also illustrated in figure 4 are two tabs 134 and 136 flattened against the end face, consisting in adjacent folds lying between the folds establishing the sides, which are pinched together so that the resulting tabs 134 and 136 are of double thickness. Two identical tabs are flattened also against the opposite end face (not illustrated) of the pack.
To advantage, in the second preferred embodiment, linear means by which to tear and open the wrapper comprise a linear element 141 exhibiting a central portion 141a that passes across the bottom 116 of the pack in the neighbourhood of an edge or shorter side of the wrapper separating the bottom panel from a corresponding fold coinciding with a first side 124 of the pack, also two opposite lateral portions 141b and 141c extending from the central portion 141a and, with the wrapper 112 folded as shown in figure 4, occupying positions on opposite second and third sides 120 and 122 of the pack adjoining the first side 124 in the neighbourhood of the edge separating the second and third sides from the end or first side 124.
Of the two lateral portions making up the linear tear element, one portion 141b extends across a fold coinciding with a top flap 124, which will be folded parallel to the bottom 116, and terminates in an end portion 141d disposed externally of the wrapper in such a way as to function as the lift and pull element 146 of the linear means.
To open up the pack as illustrated in this second embodiment, in practice, the user takes hold of the linear tearing means, pulling the exposed liftable portion 146 away from the top of the pack, and thus tears the wrapper in such a way as to detach the end face 124 of the wrapper from the flanks 120 and 122 and from the bottom 116.
This produces an intermediate position as shown in figure 6, in which only the end 124 is separated from the contents of the pack, remaining connected to the pack itself by way of the crease line along which the selfsame end 124 is attached to the corresponding top flap 130.
Detached in part from the remainder of the pack, the end 124 can now be pulled in such a way as to separate the heat-sealed lid 131 similarly from the contents and detach it from the remainder of the pack, along the two sides, making a tear preferably along the heat-seal between the lid and the wrapper and opening up the pack completely as indicated by the phantom lines of figure 6.
Referring to figure 5, it will be seen that in a further embodiment of the invention, the wrapper of rectangular outline could be provided with a linear tear element 241 extending parallel with the longer side of the rectangle rather than the shorter side as in the case of the second preferred embodiment.

Claims

A pack (10; 100) for a food product (P) of paste consistency, in particular for a paste food product consisting in a derivative of milk, typically a processed cheese or other food product, comprising a wrapper (12; 112) enveloping a portion of the food product, fashioned from a flat blank (12'; 112') of appropriate outline (15; 115), presenting at least a longitudinal axis (M) and exhibiting a panel designed to establish a bottom (16; 116) of the pack, folds establishing the sides (20, 22, 24; 120, 122, 124) of the pack and folds (26, 28, 30; 126, 128, 130) establishing the top of the pack, also linear means (41; 141) associated with the wrapper (12; 112) and presenting a liftable portion (46; 146) by which the linear means (41; 141) are pulled to tear the wrapper (12; 112) and open the the pack, characterized in that the linear means utilized to tear and open the pack consist in a linear element (41; 141) composed of a central portion (41a; 141a) that extends along the panel establishing the bottom (16; 116) of the wrapper, close to an edge by which the bottom (16; 116) is separated from a fold coinciding with a first side (24; 124) of the pack, and opposite lateral portions (41b, 41c; 141b, 141c) extending from the central portion (41a; 141a) and occupying positions, when the wrapper (12; 112) is folded, on opposite second and third sides (20, 22; 120, 122) adjoining the first side (24; 124) of the pack, and in that one of the lateral portions (41b; 141b) of the linear tear element terminates in an end portion (41d; 141d) projecting externally of the wrapper and affording the liftable portion (46; 146) of the linear means.
A pack as in claim 1, wherein the top (31'; 131') consists in a lid (31; 131) joine permanently to the side (24; 124) which is pulled to open the pack.
A pack as in preceding claims, presenting a base (16) in the shape of a sector to a circle or of a triangle.
A pack as in claims 1 and 2, presenting a base of quadrangular shape
A pack as in claim 4, presenting a base (116) of rectangular shape.
A pack as in claim 4, presenting a base of square shape.
A pack as in claim 3, wherein the linear tear element (41) extends transversely to a median line (M) of the blank.
A pack as in claims 3 and 7, wherein the endmost portions (41b, 41c) of the linear tearing means extend between relative folds that are pinched together to form tabs (34, 36) flattened against the pack.
A pack as in claim 5, wherein the linear tear element (141) extends along the shorter side of the rectangular base (116).
A pack as in claim 4, wherein the linear tear element (241) extends along the longer side of the rectangular base (116).
A pack (10; 100) for a food product (P) of paste consistency, in particular for a paste food product consisting in a derivative of milk, typically a processed cheese or other food product, comprising a wrapper (12; 112) enveloping a portion of the food product, fashioned from a flat blank (12'; 112') of appropriate outline (15; 115) exhibiting a panel designed to establish a bottom (16; 116) of the pack, folds establishing the sides (20, 22, 24; 120, 122, 124) of the pack and folds (26, 28, 30; 126, 128, 130) establishing the top of the pack, also linear means (41; 141) associated with the wrapper (12; 112) and presenting a liftable portion (46; 146) by which the linear means (41; 141) are pulled to tear the wrapper (12; 112) and open the pack, characterized in that the linear tearing means (41; 141) serve to detach one side (24; 124) of the wrapper initially from the adjoining sides (20, 22; 120, 122) and from the bottom (16; 116) of the selfsame wrapper, whereupon the detached side (24; 124) is pulled further so as to tear the top (31'; 131') of the wrapper, still connected to the detached side (24; 124), and open the pack.
A pack as in claim 11, presenting a base (16) in the shape of a sector to a circle or of triangular shape, wherein the side detached by the action of the tearing means (41) is an end fold (24) of the pack.
A pack as in claim 11, presenting a base (116) of rectangular shape, wherein the side detached by the action of the tearing means (141) is a shorter side of the pack.
A pack as in claim 11, presenting a base (116) of rectangular shape, wherein the side detached by the action of the tearing means (241) is a longer side of the pack.