Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D77/00—Packages formed by enclosing articles or materials in preformed containers, e.g. boxes, cartons, sacks or bags
  • B65D77/10—Container closures formed after filling
  • B65D77/20—Container closures formed after filling by applying separate lids or covers, i.e. flexible membrane or foil-like covers
  • B65D77/2024—Container closures formed after filling by applying separate lids or covers, i.e. flexible membrane or foil-like covers the cover being welded or adhered to the container
  • B65D77/2068—Means for reclosing the cover after its first opening
  • B65D77/2096—Adhesive means
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D65/00—Wrappers or flexible covers; Packaging materials of special type or form
  • B65D65/38—Packaging materials of special type or form
  • B65D65/46—Applications of disintegrable, dissolvable or edible materials
  • B65D65/466—Bio- or photodegradable packaging materials
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D77/00—Packages formed by enclosing articles or materials in preformed containers, e.g. boxes, cartons, sacks or bags
  • B65D77/10—Container closures formed after filling
  • B65D77/20—Container closures formed after filling by applying separate lids or covers, i.e. flexible membrane or foil-like covers
  • B65D77/2024—Container closures formed after filling by applying separate lids or covers, i.e. flexible membrane or foil-like covers the cover being welded or adhered to the container
  • B65D77/2028—Means for opening the cover other than, or in addition to, a pull tab
  • B65D77/2032—Means for opening the cover other than, or in addition to, a pull tab by peeling or tearing the cover from the container
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D79/00—Kinds or details of packages, not otherwise provided for
  • B65D79/02—Arrangements or devices for indicating incorrect storage or transport
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D2203/00—Decoration means, markings, information elements, contents indicators
  • B65D2203/02—Labels

Definitions

• the invention relates to a container such as a resealable container for soft fruit or other items.
• the area of soft fruit retailing has many difficulties and it would be beneficial to producer, supplier and consumer to have a container to store soft fruit between field 10 and table which would allow the consumer easy access and where the life of the fruit would be extended for as long as possible.
• the present invention provides such a container.
• the present invention provides according to a first aspect a resealable container comprising: an at least semi rigid receptacle with an opening, and a lip surrounding its opening; a closure for closing the opening, and 20 an adhesive which provides a releasable and resealable bond between the closure and the lip of the receptacle, whereby when the bond is released substantially all of the adhesive remains on one of the closure or the lip.
• An at least semi-rigid receptacle includes a rigid receptacle as well as a semi-rigid 25 receptacle.
• the adhesive is such that the bond can be broken and resealed several times.
• Said adhesive preferentially attaches to either the lip or the closure.
• the adhesive is applied using hot melt at, for example, 180°C.
• the adhesive is applied as a cold liquid and allowed to dry.
• the lip includes a substantially flat portion.
• the lip may be between 2 mm and 6 mm wide.
• Figure 1 is a perspective view, partly cut away, of a punnet forming part of a container
• Figure 2 is a perspective view of a closure for closing the opening of the punnet of figure 1, the closure being shown upside down with respect to the orientation of the
• FIGs 3 to 5 are partial cross sections showing the engagement and disengagement of the closure with the punnet.
• Figure 6 shows the punnet with closure attached.
• Figures 1 to 6 show a resealable container for soft fruit or other items.
• the container comprises an open-topped, rigid or semi-rigid receptacle in the form of a so-called punnet 1 and a closure 5 for closing the open top 2.
• the punnet is provided with a lip 3 surrounding the open top 2, said lip being substantially flat or including a substantially flat portion, the flat portion having a minimum width of 2 mm.
• the punnet 1 is form- or blow-moulded from a flat sheet of standard, food grade polypropylene. This polypropylene may be biodegradable due to the incorporation of an additive. The dimensions of the punnet 1 will be determined by the contents of the container.
• Figure 2 shows a closure 5 for closing the open top 2 of the punnet 1, the closure being made from a flat sheet of oriented polypropylene, which can be either a single, or laminated, extrusion and which may be micro-, macro- or non-porous.
• the sheet material will shear but not stretch in a particular direction due to the nature of oriented polypropylene.
• the closure 5 may be manufactured as one of a series of closures in a strip 7 which may then be wound onto a reel for ease of handling during manufacture.
• Adhesive 4 is applied to the closure 5 (usually whilst it is still in a strip with other closures before winding up in a reel).
• the adhesive bonding and sealing the punnet 1 and the closure 5 together is of a type that provides a reieasable and resealable bond thereby allowing the closure to be partially or completely removed from the punnet 1 and then resealed to it. This allows, for example, the removal of a single piece of fruit by the consumer and the resealing of the container to maintain the fruit left in the container in a fresh condition. It is further desired that the bond should be airtight and consequently that the adhesive should remain bonded with one of the surfaces (in this case, where the receptacle is a punnet for fruit, with the closure 5, but in other cases it may be with the lip of the receptacle), but reieasable from the other surface. Any adhesive that does not remain bonded with the one surface after opening but remains bonded irregularly to both surfaces makes the formation of an airtight seal on resealing unlikely or impossible.
• a preferred adhesive is a hot-melt adhesive, which is applied to the closure 5 at a high temperature (140-180°C, typically substantially 180°C) so as to form a substantially permanent bond with the material of the closure 5.
• the adhesive is applied in a desired pattern, typically in the shape of a band 4 of overall shape and dimension matching the shape and dimension of the flat portion of the lip 3 of the punnet 1.
• the adhesive may be in the form of a continuous surface or may be broken up into a patch pattern.
• the moulded punnet 1 is filled with the desired fruit.
• the strip 7 comprising a plurality of closures 5 is aligned with the top of the punnet 1 with the side with the adhesive facing the lip and aligned therewith (see Figure 3).
• the closure 5 is engaged with the lip of the punnet (see Figure 4) and separated from the remainder of the strip 7.
• the container may then be sold to a consumer.
• the closure 5 may be peeled back from the lip of the punnet (see Figure 5 and 6).
• the adhesive 4 remains substantially permanently bonded to the closure 5 but releases from the lip of the punnet 1 without leaving traces of adhesive likely to prevent formation of an airtight seal. If the consumer wishes to keep some of the fruit in the punnet, the closure is then reengaged with the lip of the punnet and once again the adhesive forms an airtight bond and seal. The process may be repeated several times so long as the lip remains clean.
• the closure 5 will normally be porous, as this will allow an appropriate atmosphere to be maintained within the container, which, can double the shelf life of the product. Also, when the consumer opens and reseals the container after purchase, the life of the product left in the container will be extended much further than if the container remained open because the proper atmosphere within the container will be re-established.
• the sheet material from which the closure is made includes perforations of a size, which may be, for micro-porous material, below 100 ⁇ m, for macro-porous material above 100 ⁇ m.
• one or two lines of 40-80 ⁇ m perforations may be created by an electrostatic or laser perforating machine along the length of the film material comprising the closure.
• the closure may also carry printing (directly or on a separate carrier layer such as paper), which is used as a label detailing the contents of the container.
• the closure may also incorporate a means by which the consumer can establish whether the contents satisfy their requirements as to freshness - i.e.; a 'smell box', for the detection of odour.
• the closure is dimensioned so that it overhangs 6 the lip 3 of the punnet 1 by 3 mm, (either all round the punnet or just at one edge or in one corner as appropriate), this overhang forming a means for the consumer to grip the closure for peeling the closure off the lip as is shown in Figure 5 to open the container and expose the contents.
• the width selected for the lip 3 of the punnet 1 will be determined by the strength of the resealable attachment required between the punnet and the closure 5.
• a lip width of up to 6 mm may be used, a wider lip allowing a stronger resealable attachment between the punnet 1 and the closure 5 but requiring more force to open.
• Factors other than attachment strength may determine the lip width in each application, such factors including whether provision should be made for the application of a clip-on lid to the receptacle should the closure become unavailable or fail.
• An alternative means of attaching the closure to the punnet would involve manufacturing the cover from two sheets of film attached across their width by the adhesive wherein the sheets can peel apart. The shape and dimensions of the lip of the punnet is then cut out from the bottom sheet and peeled away leaving the adhesive attached to the closure.
• the adhesive 4 is a food grade, commonly available, permanent adhesive meeting the requirements of FDA regulation CFR.21.175.105 'Adhesives' allowing for indirect food use which, when applied to a polypropylene surface using hot melt at 180°C, becomes preferentially attached to that surface and will form a non-permanent seal between it and the surface of the lip of the punnet.
• an adhesive which is applied cold and allowed to dry on the surface to which preferential attachment is required i.e. the surface of the closure film
• the adhesive forming a permanent bond with that surface and a reieasable bond with the surface of the flat lip of the punnet.
• the punnet 1, closure 5 and adhesive 4 form a resealable container wherein the adhesive 4 attaches preferentially to the closure 5.
• the invention is not limited to the above example.
• the adhesive (4) can be of a non-food grade standard.
• closure materials manufactured by a casting process such as polyester, polyethylene or other materials.
• the punnet may also be made of other materials to suit a particular application (or cost) requirement and these may be polyester, polyethylene, polystyrene or other materials.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Biodiversity & Conservation Biology (AREA)
• Packages (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=9922915

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (5)

Families Citing this family (33)

Family Cites Families (20)

• 2001
  • 2001-09-28 GB GB0123397A patent/GB2380180B/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2002
  • 2002-09-23 EP EP02765035A patent/EP1438238B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2002-09-23 US US10/491,152 patent/US20050000965A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2002-09-23 DE DE60217702T patent/DE60217702D1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2002-09-23 WO PCT/GB2002/004302 patent/WO2003029100A1/en active IP Right Grant

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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