EP3012560A1

EP3012560A1 - Refrigerating packaging container

Info

Publication number: EP3012560A1
Application number: EP14425134.5A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Stefano Verre
Original assignee: Smurfit Kappa Italia SpA
Current assignee: Smurfit Kappa Italia SpA
Priority date: 2014-10-23
Filing date: 2014-10-23
Publication date: 2016-04-27

Abstract

A refrigerating packaging container (1) is described, adapted to package, cool and keep at low temperatures one or more consumer products (8), comprising at least one containing means (2) of at least one of said consumer products (8), said containing means (2) comprising at least one tubular element (4) equipped with at least one layer of an internal coating impermeable to at least one refrigerating means (3) contained inside said containing means (2) to cool at least one of said consumer products (8) placed in said containing means (2).

Description

The present invention refers to a refrigerating packaging container of consumer products, in particular aimed to show and to cool bottled beverages.
Currently, innovations about materials and technologies for packaging consumer products allow getting high economic advantages, allowing to rationalize the production, to extend the product life, to facilitate its handling, to favor its commercial success, to follow consumer's needs, and to decrease environmental impacts.
In such context, a refrigerating system is known, comprising a bucket, preferably made of stainless steel, equipped with an internal refrigerating element, to be placed in a freezer and to be used according to needs, keeping constant the temperature of the beverage inserted in the bucket. Such known refrigerating system uses refrigerating means' alternative to ice, but needs wide storage space inside the freezer, above all in environments such as bars and restaurants, where the simultaneous use of many cooling systems is required.
A refrigerating system is also known (like the one called "WILL CHILL") comprising a bucket for ice made of fabric, portable and foldable. Such bucket allows inserting ice in the hollow space between two thermal fabrics characterizing the known bucket.
A refrigerating bucket for ice is also known (like the one called "RAVI POCKET") made of plastics and adapted to be modeled, portable and foldable. Such bag softens under the effect of hot water, then can be modelled by giving it the desired shape, and finally it is filled with cold water and ice to make it again rigid but with its previously impressed shape.
Both known portable refrigerating systems have some drawbacks: since such systems are lacking a structural integrity, they are subjected to breakages and/or leakages; moreover, under an operating mode, it is difficult to optimize their transport since they cannot be stacked.
Packaging systems for ice or other consumer products are also known in the art, comprising a container with double chamber, in which the hollow space is filled with insulating material, such systems being made of metallic material, or of insulated plastics, or of polystyrene; in particular, polystyrene lightens the weight of such packaging systems, having the disadvantage of being very fragile and susceptible of being broken and/or have leaks.
In particular, a packaging device for ice is known, such as the one disclosed in US5020337 , composed of a four-sided box, with a reinforced bottom in which granular ice particles are inserted, and of a plastic bag adapted to guarantee the device water-tightness. Upon needs, such packaging device for ice is transformed into a refrigerating device for consumer products which is portable and ready for use; when the user removes an adhesive fastening band, the four-sided box expands, allowing the user to insert products to be refrigerated. The system is structurally stable, and guarantees a tight closure, but has great overall sizes.
A manual refrigerating device is also known, such as the one disclosed in FR2858970 , composed of a polystyrene glass coated with cardboard, suitable to house a beverage, a bottle or a can. Inside such glass, by using a suitable system, an amount of ice is crushed and squashed against the glass walls, forming an ice sheath, and allowing to keep the beverage cool during its use by a user.
A second type of refrigerating devices is also known, like the one disclosed for example in WO9324796 , composed of a glass with two chambers, which allows inserting a refrigerating solution inside this chamber. The glass placed in a freezer reaches the optimum temperature through the action of the refrigerating solution, and after the insertion of the consumer product inside the glass, an action starts for releasing cold from the glass to the beverage, keeping it at the desired temperature.
Both known devices for glass refrigeration, however, do not allow packaging the consumer products and, moreover, the glass device equipped with refrigerating solution needs enough space in a freezer to allow its preventive refrigeration, and above all in commercial environments, where it is necessary to simultaneously cool many refrigerating devices, the required storage space is big; instead, the use of a manual glass device is constrained to the operation of the system for forming the ice sheath.
A packaging and refrigerating device is also known, which needs to be assembled by a user before being used. Such device comprises a cylindrical supporting element made of a single sheet of suitable material, and a water-tight flexible coating, wherein a first end of the sheet can be connected, through an adhesive, to a second end of the sheet to form the final cylindrical element, such as described, for example, in GB2425243 . Such device allows refrigerating the cylindrical element when it is not yet assembled, reducing its overall sizes, but such type of assembling does not confer structural integrity to the device, keeping it subjected to possible leakages and/or breakages.
It is clear from the prior art that there is not a simple and functional system which simultaneously allows packaging and refrigerating consumer products, guaranteeing their integrity.
Therefore, object of the present invention is solving the above prior art problems by providing a refrigerating packaging container adapted to package, cool and keep at low temperatures consumer products.
Another object of the present invention is providing a simple and functional refrigerating packaging container.
The above and other objects and advantages of the invention, as will result from the following description, are obtained with a refrigerating packaging container as claimed in claim 1.
Preferred embodiments and non-trivial variations of the present invention are the subject matter of the dependent claims.
It is intended that all enclosed claims are an integral part of the present description.
It will be immediately obvious that numerous variations and modifications (for example related to shape, sizes, arrangements and parts with equivalent functionality) could be made to what is described, without departing from the scope of the invention, as appears from the enclosed claims.
The present invention will be better described by some preferred embodiments thereof, provided as a non-limiting example, with reference to the enclosed drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the refrigerating packaging container according to the present invention in its closed configuration;
Figure 2 shows a top perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the refrigerating packaging container according to the present invention in its open configuration;
Figures 3 to 5 show a perspective view of the main components of the refrigerating packaging container according to the present invention; and
Figure 6 shows a top view of the refrigerating packaging container according to the present invention during its use.

With reference to the Figures, the present invention deals with a refrigerating packaging container 1 of consumer products 8, in particular of beverages, such as, for example, wines or spirits, or beverages, etc., contained in their related containers such as, for example, bottles, cans, etc.
The refrigerating packaging container 1 according to the present invention is therefore advantageously suitable for packaging, for internally cooling and for keeping at low temperatures one or more consumer products 8 by introducing therein at least one refrigerating means 3, and is composed of at least one containing means 2, for example with a cylindrical shape, or a frusto-conical shape, or a squared shape or any other suitable shape, adapted to first allow packaging therein at least one of such consumer products 8, and, secondly, cooling of these or other products 8 placed therein, together with at least one refrigerating means 3 such as, for example, full, or hollow, or granular ice or dry ice.
For example, a container 1 according to the present invention like the one which will be described below, can be used for packaging and selling bottles of wine, spirits or beverages and, once having been opened and suitably filled with refrigerating means, such as for example ice, for operating as classical ice bucket for cooling such bottle.
Advantageously, therefore, as shown in the Figures, the containing means 2 comprise at least one tubular element 4 made of resistant material, such as, for example, spiral-shaped cardboard, plastics or other similar ones, at least one bottom 5 and at least one closing element 6 suitably to be respectively connected with a lower edge and an upper edge of the tubular element 4. Moreover, such tubular element 4 is equipped with at least one layer of an internal coating impermeable to such refrigerating means 3 composed of, for example, aluminum- and polythene-coated paper, or coupled paper, or reinforced paper, or other similar paper, suitable to guarantee the water-tightness of the internal surface of the tubular element 4 in contact with the refrigerating means 3 contained inside the containing means 2 to cool at least one of such consumer products 8 placed therein.
Moreover, the container 1 according to the present invention can comprise at least one bearing element 7, preferably made of polystyrene, arranged on the upper surface of the bottom 5. Such bearing element 7 has preferably a concave shape suitable to favor the correct positioning of at least one of such consumer products 8 inside the containing means 2.
Advantageously, the lower edge of the tubular element 4 is connected with the bottom 5, preferably made of a tin- or aluminum-coated band, through at least one mechanical operation, such as, for example, a seaming operation or another suitable operation of overlapping at least one flange of the tubular element 4 with at least one edge of the bottom 5, obtaining an air-tight joint between bottom 5 and tubular element 4.
The bottom 5 of such containing means 2 is advantageously equipped with- at least one recess such as for example a curling or other similar one, arranged as a circle on the external edge of the bottom 5. A solution of natural or synthetic rubber in water is applied onto such recess, such as, for example, putty; generally, following the application of putty on the recess, there is a step of drying such putty, obtaining a gasket adapted to improve the air-tightness conditions of the containing means 2.
The closing element 6, such as for example a cover also made of a band coated with tin, aluminum or other similar material, is adapted to be connected and to be disconnected to/from the tubular element 4 through a manual insertion and extraction action.
Finally, such tubular element 4 has on its external surface at least one identifying element of the container 1, such as, for example, a label made of paper, or plastic- or wood- or cork-coated label, suitable to favor a commercial and advertising communication.
Obviously, the physical sizes of the containing means 2 and, consequently, of its components, are adapted to the shape and the size of existing consumer products 8, by diametrically changing, for example from 46 mm to 174 mm, allowing the container 1 to be adapted to the different types of existing consumer products 8.
As described above, it is clear that the invention has the following advantages:

rationalizing the production process, since such refrigerating packaging container is simple and functional;
allowing the products to be stacked and handled, such refrigerating packaging container allows an easy transport and storage of the consumer products;
guaranteeing low environmental impacts, since the refrigerating packaging container is composed of economic and recycled materials;
enabling a commercial and advertising communication through the use of labels on the external packaging of such refrigerating packaging container;
allowing a double use of such container, both as packaging and as cooling bucket.

Claims

Refrigerating packaging container (1), adapted to package, cool and keep at low temperatures one or more consumer products (8), characterized in that it comprises at least one containing means (2) of at least one of said consumer products (8), said containing means (2) comprising at least one tubular element (4) equipped with at least one layer of an internal coating impermeable to at least one refrigerating means (3) contained inside said containing means (2) to cool at least one of said consumer products (8) placed in said containing means (2).
Container (1) according to the previous claim, characterized in that said internal coating impermeable to said refrigerating means (3) is composed of aluminum- and polythene-coated paper or coupled paper or reinforced paper.
Container (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that said containing means (3) further comprise:
- at least one bottom (5) adapted to be connected with a lower edge of said tubular element (4);

- at least one closing element (6) adapted to be connected with an upper edge of said tubular element (4);

- at least one bearing element (7) arranged on the upper surface of said bottom (5), said bearing element (7) having a concave shape for positioning at least one of said consumer products (8).
Container (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that said tubular element (4) is made of spiral-shaped cardboard.
Container (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that said tubular element (4) is equipped on the external surface with at least one identifying element of said container (1).
Container (1) according to claim 3, characterized in that said bottom (5) is equipped with at least one recess arranged as a circle on the external edge of said bottom (5).
Container (1) according to the previous claim, characterized in that at least one solution of rubber in water is applied onto said recess of said bottom (5).
Container (1) according to claim 3, characterized in that said closing element (6) is adapted to be connected to and to be disconnected from said tubular element (4) through at least one manual insertion and extraction action.
Container (1) according to claim 3, characterized in that said closing element (6) and said bottom (5) are made of tin- or aluminum-coated band, and in that said bearing element (7) is made of polystyrene.
Container (1) according to claim 3, characterized in that said bottom (5) is adapted to be connected with said lower edge of said tubular element (4) through at least one seaming system.