EP1291294A1 - Flexible package for storing products separately, namely ingredients for a sandwich - Google Patents

Abstract

The packaging consists of a flexible sachet (1) composed of two outer walls (2,3) and divided internally into compartments (4,5,6) by internal walls (7,8). The walls are sealed together and each has a weakened zone (14) extending from the same edge (9) in the direction of the opposite edge (10). Multi-layered food products (11,12,13) are enclosed in the compartments.

Description

The present invention relates to conditioning and packaging of products, especially food. It relates more particularly to a device for simultaneously packaging products of different types which must be kept separate during marketing and brought into contact at the time of consumption or use. It may concern more specifically the packaging of cereal-based products such as bread and dairy products, especially cheeses, intended to be consumed together, in overlapping layers.

There are commercially formed food compositions by the association of products of different natures, in particular of products cereals such as bread and dairy products such as cheeses, especially to form sandwiches. However these products are prepared at the time of their consumption, or within a period not exceeding one week before the latter, except for products sold on the shelf "Frozen", in order to avoid too prolonged contact between the two food. We thus seek to avoid any migration of moisture from the product wet (cheese) to a drier product (bread) or other migration substances, for example flavorings.

We also know so-called “tender” products sold on the "fresh" shelves (products stored at around 5 ° C), composed of a pastry or cookie product and a fatty filling pasteurized milk, milk powder, anhydrous protein concentrates and vegetable fats, characterized by a dry extract greater than 70%. In the latter case, the fat content of the fodder limits water transfers to the biscuit product. These products have a duration of life of about ten weeks but have the disadvantage of being difficult transportable at room temperature.

But apart from the sandwiches made before consumption, or with a short shelf life, we do not know of similar products or sandwiches made from bakery or cookie products with a fodder based on dry extract cheese lower than 70%. This is due conservation problems and water migration from cheese to cereal product, because these phenomena are harmful for the characteristics organoleptics of the cereal product. They cause in particular a softening of the grain product.

In order to offer such products to the consumer, particularly in the new consumption patterns (ambulatory consumption) one way is to present the two separately to the consumer products, cheese and grain product, either in separate packages or in separate compartments of the same packaging so that it reconstitutes the "Sandwich" at the time of consumption. Usually the latter packaging method is in the form of a tray with at least two compartments forcing the consumer to take it separately with your fingers the different products to combine them before consumption.

Document FR 2 798 369 proposes simultaneous packaging two or more products, made using at least two bags attached, made of a flexible material, preferably each provided with their upper part of means of easy opening. Products can be released simultaneously by the user after opening the upper parts of each pouch. Two flexible reinforcing elements are associated with this set of pouches, so that the user, by pressing on the lateral edges of these flexible elements, can easily produce an opening wide of the pouches as well as a pressure on their contents which tends to expel these. It is thus possible to make a contact between the products contained in the various pouches only at the time of their use or their consumption (in the case of food products). But by the way nature of this packaging and its instructions for use, such a device is practically limited to the packaging of materials intended to be subsequently intimately mixed, and in liquid or pasty form, or in the form of fractionated solids. It is not possible to use it to package ingredients to then form a sandwich or the like, at least one of which would consist of a product baker or biscuit maker massive and rigid, because it could be crumbled during its expulsion from the pouch. On the other hand, the mode of expulsion of ingredients does not lend itself well to contact allowing constitute a food with superimposed layers without manual intervention of the user.

The object of the invention is to offer the consumer a packaging device for storing and transporting simultaneously, but without mutual contact, ingredients intended to form a product, in particular food, with superimposed layers, and making it possible to form said product during the same opening operation without require gripping of said ingredients by the user.

To this end, the invention relates to a packaging device intended to contain at least two products, characterized in that it is consisting of a flexible bag consisting of two external walls, divided internally in at least two compartments by at least one wall internal, said walls being made integral with each other by sealing, each of said walls being provided with a weakening zone extending from the same edge of the packaging device in direction of the opposite edge.

Said weakening zones of said walls are preferably located opposite one another when said device is in the closed state.

The device preferably includes means for initiating tear on an edge of the device from which the areas of embrittlement.

Said tear initiation means can be constituted by a notch.

At least some of said walls can be made in multi-layer material.

Said multilayer material then preferably has one of its outer layers made of a fragile material and its other layer external made of a non-embrittable material.

The subject of the invention is also an assembly formed by products intended to constitute a multilayer product and their device packaging, characterized in that said packaging device is of the previous type, and in that each of the compartments of said device contains at least one of the products intended to constitute one of the layers of said multilayer product.

Said packaging device can include as many compartments as products intended to constitute said product multilayers.

Preferably, the internal dimensions of said compartments are chosen so as not to allow any movement of said products which they contain when the packaging device has been completely sealed.

In a preferred application example, said multilayer product is a food product.

Said product can then comprise at least one layer containing a wet product and at least one layer of a dry product.

For example, said wet product is or includes cheese, and said dry product is a cereal product.

• on déroule une bobine d'un matériau en nappe présentant une zone médiane de fragilisation dans le sens du déroulement de la bobine, en effectuant le déroulement par ondulations, de manière à réaliser un empilement de plusieurs couches dudit matériau ;
• on scelle lesdites ondulations sur trois côtés dudit empilement ;
• on découpe ledit empilement au niveau de son bord non scellé, de manière à obtenir un sachet ouvert à son bord supérieur et comportant une pluralité de compartiments ;
• on place lesdits produits dans lesdits compartiments ;
• et on scelle ledit sachet selon son bord supérieur.

The invention also relates to a process for packaging at least two products in a single flexible bag, characterized in that:

• a reel of a sheet material is unwound having a middle zone of embrittlement in the direction of unwinding of the reel, carrying out the unwinding by undulations, so as to produce a stack of several layers of said material;
• said corrugations are sealed on three sides of said stack;
• said stack is cut at its unsealed edge, so as to obtain a sachet open at its upper edge and comprising a plurality of compartments;
• said products are placed in said compartments;
• and sealing said bag along its upper edge.

We can then make a notch on the weakening zone in a sealed part.

As will be understood, the packaging device according to the invention consists of a flexible bag, hermetically sealed after introduction of the products it contains, and divided into at least two compartments by one or more internal walls. The internal and external walls of the sachet each have a weakening zone, said zones being preferably located opposite one another and on a longitudinal plane median of the sachet.

When the sachet is opened by the consumer, the different walls separate into two parts which move away as the progress of the opening operation. In particular, the internal wall (s) of the sachet withdraw from the area (s) where the products they separate are made face, thereby achieving contact without displacement of said products. he is therefore possible for the consumer to reconstitute immediately, without digital contact with the products and without the help of a separate utensil, a food or other product with overlapping layers, such as a sandwich or similar. In the following description, we will designate such a product reconstituted by the term "composite product". Advantageously, it is possible for the consumer not to immediately realize a tear total of the device, so that it can be used as a gripping means of the product during consumption.

• la figure 1 qui représente vu en perspective un dispositif de conditionnement selon l'invention à l'état fermé ;
• la figure 2 qui représente vu en perspective et en coupe transversale selon le plan médian II-II ce même dispositif et son contenu ;
• la figure 3 qui représente vu en perspective ce même dispositif en cours d'ouverture.

The invention will be better understood on reading the description which follows, given with reference to the following appended figures:

• Figure 1 which shows in perspective a packaging device according to the invention in the closed state;
• Figure 2 which is seen in perspective and in cross section along the median plane II-II this same device and its content;
• Figure 3 which shows a perspective view of the same device being opened.

The packaging device according to the invention which will be described and is represented in the figures contains, in this privileged example, three components, intended to form a composite “sandwich” type product comprising fodder (e.g. cheese) and two outer layers enclosing the fodder (for example bread, biscuit or any other product cereal). The example described may, obviously for the man of the profession, be suitable for the manufacture and use of a device that does not contain as two components, or containing more than three.

The new packaging device according to the invention is composed of a flexible bag 1 made up of two external walls 2, 3 and comprising three internal compartments 4, 5, 6 in the example shown. These compartments 4, 5, 6 are defined by walls 7, 8 in the form of sheets extending between the upper 9 and lower 10 edges of the bag 1 (parallel to a median longitudinal plane of the bag 1). Each compartment 4, 5, 6, contains a product 11, 12, 13. The internal walls 7, 8 and 2, 3 are made integral by sealing to each other 11, 12, 13, each being provided with a weakening zone 14. The zones of embrittlement 14 of the different walls 2, 3, 7, 8 extend from the same edge 9 of the bag 1 towards the opposite edge 10. They are very preferably located opposite one another when the device is in the closed state. This simultaneously allows the opening of the bag, the release of products 11, 12, 13 and bringing the products into contact with each other for their consumption, in a way that allows a preservation of their relative positions as they existed before the opening of the bag 1. Preferably, the weakening zones 14 are formed in the middle position on the walls 2, 3, 7, 8.

Appropriately, the weakening zones 14 are designed to so as not to damage the part of the wall sheet material ensuring the protection of each product, and thus avoiding any contact between products before opening the packaging. Preferably the weakening zones are produced by a laser beam but any other appropriate means to meet the above requirements would be usable in the context of the invention.

Preferably we find on the upper edge 9 of the bag 1 at the weakening zone 14 of the usual means for initiating The tearing. Thus, in the example shown, this function is ensured by a notch 15. Primers would also be possible, or any other functionally equivalent means. Sealing zones 16, 17, 18 initially extend on three sides of the bag 1, the upper edge 9 serving when compartments 4, 5, 6 are filled with products 11, 12, 13 before final sealing of the bag 1 according to a fourth sealing zone 19 located near the upper edge 9 of the bag 1.

The sachet 1 is opened by pulling on each side of the upper part of the bag 1, according to the arrows 20, 20 '. The effort is exerted both on the external walls 2, 3 and on the internal walls 7, 8. The tear, guided by the weakening zones 14, propagates simultaneously along the internal walls 7, 8 and external 2, 3 of the sachet 1. This gives progressive access to the composite product reconstituted, the various products 11, 12, 13 which constitute it being brought to contact with each other as the internal walls 7 are removed, 8 torn.

• laque/polyéthylène-téréphtalate (PET)
• laque/polypropylène orienté (OPP) /Aluminium/Laque
• Laque/PET/polyéthylène (PE)/PET
• Laque/OPP/PE/OPP
• Laque/PET métallisé/PE/OPP
• Laque/PET/Aluminium/Laque.

For the production of such packaging, materials with several layers preferably chosen from the following families will be used:

• lacquer / polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
• lacquer / oriented polypropylene (OPP) / Aluminum / Lacquer
• Lacquer / PET / polyethylene (PE) / PET
• Lacquer / OPP / PE / OPP
• Lacquer / metallized PET / PE / OPP
• Lacquer / PET / Aluminum / lacquer.

Due to their nature (composite materials), these materials provide both good protection of products 11, 12, 13, and a satisfactory ability to seal and weaken the material. Of preferably, a fragile material can be chosen to constitute the face on which is made the weakening zone 14, and a material not embrittled for the layer opposite to it.

These materials are given by way of example, but any other type materials with one or more layers having the same characteristics protection, flexibility, and tear-off can be used as part of the invention, if it is compatible with prolonged contact with the products enclosed by the packaging device, in particular with food. We can possibly use different materials for constitute the various walls 2, 3, 7, 8.

In the case of multi-layer materials, the embrittlement of different walls 2, 3, 7, 8 is preferably made on the layer or layers outer material, leaving the inner layers intact, to leave a barrier between the products avoiding any contact between them and any migration of the components from one to the other: water in the case of wet products towards dry products, aromas, etc ....

Of course, the packaging device according to the invention can have as many compartments 4, 5, 6 as there are products 11, 12, 13 different intended to be superimposed at the time of consumption for form a composite product, such as a sandwich. This device packaging can also find other applications than in the food sector.

An exemplary embodiment of this conditioning device will be given by way of illustration and not limitation. This example concerns the case where all the walls 2, 3, 7, 8 are made of the same material.

We start from a coil of a suitable sheet material such as one of those previously mentioned, presenting a median zone of embrittlement 14 located in the direction of unwinding of the coil. The unwinding is carried out so as to produce a stack of layers of the material according to a number of ripples proportional to the number of compartments 4, 5, 6 desired; the height of each ripple defines the height of bag 1 and the width of the spool defines the width of bag 1. These undulations are sealed on three sides of the stack (in the case of a multi-layer material "flesh" against "flesh" and "leather" against "Leather"). The sealing is carried out edge to edge preferably thermally, but any other known means is possible.

To access the product receiving cavities, it is cut the stack at the unsealed edge so as to obtain a bag 1 open at its upper edge 9. Then place each product 11, 12, 13 in a compartment 4, 5, 6, and the bag is hermetically sealed according to its upper edge 9. A notch 15 is then produced on the area of embrittlement 14, in a sealed part, if the use of this mode has been retained assistance in opening the bag 1.

The advantage of this embodiment lies in the perfect superposition of the weakening zones 14 of the different walls 2, 3, 7, 8.

This packaging is particularly advantageous for the packaging of products of different natures intended to be eaten together, for example bread and cheese. It is particularly suitable for making a sandwich composed of two slices of bread 11 and 13 and a slice of cheese 12 (which can be associated with other wet ingredients, such as raw vegetables, a product cold cuts, etc.), which will be placed respectively in the compartments 4, 5, 6 of bag 1 and will be combined when opening of the bag 1. The latter is carried out by first pulling on the tear initiation devices to engage the latter, then on the sides of the bag 1 so that the tear spreads along the areas of embrittlement 14 placed on the internal walls 2, 3 and external 7, 8 of the bag 1, which will ensure the opening of the bag 1 and release the products 11, 12, 13 who are getting in touch with each other and constituting the sandwich. This packaging is all the more remarkable as it suffices to consumer with a single gesture to open the packaging and constitute the sandwich, the bottom of the partially torn sachet used for grip of the product during consumption and avoiding direct contact with the product. When the wet product 12 of the sandwich has several components, these can be placed all together in one compartment 5, or be placed in separate compartments so not to be put in contact with each other until the opening of the packaging device.

This reconstitution function of a sandwich type product is all the better assured that the various products 11, 12, 13 present in the closed packaging are kept in their compartments 4, 5, 6 respective, facing each other, with very few possibilities displacement in their compartment 4, 5, 6. For this purpose, the dimensions compartments 4, 5, 6 (their width and height after sealing the packaging) are optimally chosen to be only a few larger than the corresponding dimensions of the products 11, 12, 13 that they are intended to contain. In this way, it is certain that when opening packaging, the different products 11, 12, 13 will overlap to each other without overflow.

Claims (14)

Packaging device intended to contain at least two products, characterized in that it consists of a flexible bag (1) constituted by two external walls (2, 3), internally divided into at least two compartments (4, 5, 6 ) by at least one internal wall (7, 8), said walls (2, 3, 7, 8) being made integral with each other by sealing, each of said walls (2, 3, 7, 8) being provided with a weakening zone (14) extending from the same edge (9) of the conditioning device in the direction of the opposite edge (10). Device according to Claim 1, characterized in that the said weakening zones (14) of the said walls (2, 3, 7, 8) are located opposite one another when the said device is in the closed state. Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it includes means for initiating tearing on an edge (9) of the device from which extend the weakening zones (14). Device according to claim 3, characterized in that said tear initiation means consist of a notch (15). Device according to one of Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that at least some of the said walls (2, 3, 7, 8) are made of a material with several layers. Device according to claim 5, characterized in that said multi-layer material has one of its outer layers made of an embrittable material and its other outer layer made of a non-embrittable material. Assembly formed by products (11, 12, 13) intended to constitute a multilayer product and their packaging device, characterized in that said packaging device is of the type according to one of claims 1 to 6, and in that each compartments (4, 5, 6) of said device contains at least one of the products (11, 12, 13) intended to constitute one of the layers of said multilayer product. An assembly according to claim 7, characterized in that said packaging device comprises as many compartments (4, 5, 6) as products (11, 12, 13) intended to constitute said multilayer product. Assembly according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the internal dimensions of said compartments (4, 5, 6) are chosen so as to allow no movement of said products (11, 12, 13) which they contain when the device packaging has been fully sealed. Assembly according to one of Claims 7 to 9, characterized in that the said multilayer product is a food product. An assembly according to claim 10, characterized in that said product comprises at least one layer (12) containing a wet product and at least one layer (11, 13) of a dry product. An assembly according to claim 11, characterized in that said wet product is or comprises cheese, and in that said dry product is a cereal product. Method for packaging at least two products in a single flexible bag, characterized in that : a reel of a sheet material is unwound having a middle zone of embrittlement in the direction of unwinding of the reel, carrying out the unwinding by undulations, so as to produce a stack of several layers of said material; said corrugations are sealed on three sides of said stack; said stack is cut at its unsealed edge, so as to obtain a sachet open at its upper edge and comprising a plurality of compartments; said products are placed in said compartments; and sealing said bag along its upper edge. Method according to claim 13, characterized in that a notch is then made on the embrittlement zone in a sealed part.

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