EP4124582A1

EP4124582A1 - Hermetic lid-container assembly for food with simplified closure

Info

Publication number: EP4124582A1
Application number: EP22185514.1A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Alessio Petro
Original assignee: Bibetech SpA
Current assignee: Bibetech SpA
Priority date: 2021-07-30
Filing date: 2022-07-18
Publication date: 2023-02-01
Also published as: IT202100020576A1

Abstract

A lid - container assembly (20, 10) including a container (10) with an edge area (12) and a planar surface (14), a lid (20) and connection means (30, 40) of male - female type for their removable connection. Furthermore, the container (10) and the lid (20) including means for the reciprocal centering (13, 23). In particular, the planar surface (14) including a projection (13) susceptible to counteract with the lid (20) so that the planes (π1, π2) defined by the lid (20) and by the planar surface (14) are parallel to each other when the lid (20) and the container (10) are coupled.

Description

Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to the technical field of lid-container assemblies for food, and it particularly has as object a hermetic lid-container assembly with simplified and quick closure.

Definitions

In the present text, the term "food use" or its derivatives with reference to a material, indicates the ability of said material to meet the requirements of the existing legislation at the time and in the country of interest.
In the present text, the term "monolithic manufacturing" or its derivatives with reference to at least two bodies, indicates that such bodies, as a consequence of this type of manufacturing, are composed of a single piece because their junction is suitable to support the move of traction forces or shear forces through the contact surface.
In the present document, the term "container" refers to any hollow object suitable for containing solid and / or liquid products.

Background of the invention

Different types of hermetic lid-container assembly are well known for food such as mozzarella, yogurt, ice cream or any other food that is at least partially liquid that needs to be kept in an airtight package.
Typically, the lid and the container can be coupled in various ways.
For example, lids and containers that can be 'screw' coupled or heat-sealed with subsequent 'tear-off' openings are well known.
Alternatively, packaging with pressure closure are well known, in which the lid is simply pressed onto the container until it is hermetically sealed.
In particular, the containers of such known packages have an external edge area with a flat surface slightly projecting with respect to the lateral surface of the container and susceptible to abut the lid when it is pressed on the perimeter of the edge area.
However, these known packages require a high amount of time in the production line, in particular in the food packaging phase.
Indeed, the coupling between the lid and the container requires special care in order to ensure the hermetic closure.

Summary of the invention

Object of the present invention is to overcome, at least partially, the drawbacks illustrated above, by providing a hermetic lid-container assembly that is easy to implement and relatively cost-effective.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a hermetic lid-container assembly being safe and quick to couple.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a hermetic lid-container assembly being able to counteract the leakage of any food and / or other liquids.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a hermetic lid-container assembly that is easy to use.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a hermetic lid-container assembly being able to extend the life of the product contained therein.
Such objects, as well as others that will be clearer hereinafter, are fulfilled by a hermetic lid-container assembly in accordance with what is herein described, shown and/or claimed.
The dependent claims describe advantageous embodiments of the present invention.

Brief description of the drawings

Further features and advantages of the present invention will become more evident by reading the detailed description of some preferred but not exclusive embodiments of the invention, illustrated as a non-limiting example, with the help of the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1A is a schematic front view of the assembly 1 of which FIG. 1B is the enlargement of a detail;
FIG. 2A is a schematic top view of the assembly 1;
FIG. 2B is a sectional view along a plane I-I of the container 10 illustrated in FIG. 2A ;
FIG. 3A is a sectional view along a plane I-I of the assembly 1 illustrated in FIG. 2A , of which FIGs. 3B and 3C are enlargements of two different details.

Detailed description of some preferred embodiments

With reference to the above mentioned figures, it is here described a lid-container assembly 1 for the storage of one or more foods.
The food may be at least partially liquid, such as mozzarella in its preserving liquid, yogurt, stracchino, ice cream and the like.
Therefore, the assembly 1 may be hermetic.
The assembly 1 may include a container 10 and a lid 20 that may be coupled in a removable way.
The container 10 and the lid 20 may have any possible shape suitable for the purpose, for example a cylindrical or parallelepiped shape.
For example, as particularly illustrated in FIGs. from 1A to 3C, the assembly may have a circular plan shape.
However, the container 10 and the lid 20 may be made in any other shape, without departing from the scope of the appended claims.
Advantageously, the lid 20 may include a cover wall 26 lying on a plane π2 and a lateral surface 27.
The wall 26 may include an inner surface 21 and an opposite surface 28 susceptible to remain visible.
On the other hand, the container 10 may have a main hollow body 11 with a lateral surface 17 and a back wall 16.
The lateral surface 17 and the back wall 16 may define a compartment 1617 and an opening 1618, where the compartment 1617 may contain the food, and the opening 1618 may allow its introduction.
Furthermore, the lateral surface 17 may include an edge area 12 with a perimeter portion 121 extending along its perimeter in correspondence with the opening 1618.
In particular, the walls 26 and 16 and the walls 27 and 17 may be facing each other when the container 10 and the lid 20 are coupled.
More particularly, the perimeter portion 121 may come into contact with the same inner surface 21 of the wall 26.
Suitably, the edge area 12 may include a planar surface 14 projecting with respect to the same edge area 12 and lying on a plane π1.
For example, the planar surface 14 may be a laminar projection having annular shape, in the event the body 11 is cylindrical, or of any other shape suggested by the plan of the latter.
Furthermore, the planar surface 14 may have a perimeter portion 141 extending along the perimeter of the latter.
Preferably, the plane π1 and the lateral surface17 may be incident.
Suitably, the edge area 12 may include a surface 15 interposed between the perimeter portion 121 and the surface 14.
Preferably, the surface 15 and the surface 14 will be incident with one another.
According to a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of the invention, the same surfaces will be reciprocally perpendicular.
However, it is understood that the surfaces 14 and 15 may define different angles without departing from the scope of the appended claims.
Advantageously, the container 10 and the lid 20 may include means for the mutual connection and disconnection.
Preferably, such means will be snap-in connection means, and even more preferably of male - female type.
In this way, the coupling between the container 10 and the lid 20 will be quick, thus ensuring the hermetic sealing of the latter.
Moreover, it may be possible to couple and decouple again the same container 10 and lid 20 for an indefinite number of times.
For example, the container 10 may include connecting means 30 of male type, while the lid 20 may include connecting means 40 of female type.
It is however understood that the opposite may occur, that is to say that the container 10 may include connecting means of female type while the lid 20 may include connecting means of male type, without departing from the scope of the appended claims.
According to a preferred but not exclusive example, more specifically shown in FIG. 3B , the connecting means 30 may include a projection 31 made in correspondence of the perimeter portion 121 of the edge area 12.
On the other hand, the connecting means 40 may include a counter-shaped recess 41 and made in correspondence of the surface 21.
It is understood that the projection 31 and the recess 41 will be suitably dimensioned in order to ensure the joint mutual connection, as well as the the hermetic sealing of the assembly 1.
Advantageously, the container 10 and the lid 20 may include means for the reciprocal centering.
Such means will be particularly useful during the food packing, in order to avoid misalignments between the container 10 and the lid 20, thus ensuring a rapid and hermetic closure.
To this end, the surface 14 may include a projection 13 extending along the same surface, at an average distance d from the perimeter portion 141, as specifically shown in FIG. 3C .
In particular, the distance d may be calculated between the external area of the perimeter portion 141 and the external area of the projection 13.
In particular, the projection 13 may have an abutment portion 1323 opposite to the lateral surface 17 and susceptible to face the lateral surface 27 when the container 10 and the lid 20 are coupled.
On the other hand, the lateral surface 27 of the lid 20 may include centering means 23 with a counteracting portion 2313 susceptible to come into contact with the abutment portion 1323 during the coupling between the container 10 and the lid 20.
In this way, the planes π1 and π2 will be substantially parallel and a hermetic connection between the container 10 and the lid 20 may be obtained.
In order to favor such process, the centering means 23 may include a lead surface 24 made in correspondence of the surface 21.
For example, such lead surface 24 may be a ribbing adjacent to the recess 41, as specifically shown in FIG. 3B .
It is understood that the same lead surface 24 may include a portion 241 defining a wall of the recess 41.
In other words, the latter will be laterally bordered, at least partially, by the portion 241 and by the lateral surface 27.
In this way, a quick and correct connection between the recess 41 and the projection 13 will be favored.
It is therefore understood that the centering means will speed up the food packaging.
Indeed, it will be possible to insert the food in the main body 11, to put the lid 20 on the container 10, reciprocally centered with the aid of the abovementioned centering means, and to press the same lid 20 until closure.
Moreover, the average distance d between the projection 13 and the perimeter 141 may be dimensioned, in a per se known way, in order to prevent possible unintentional decouplings between the lid 20 and the container 10.
In particular, the edges of the lateral surface 27 of the lid 20 may be completely contained within the perimeter portion 141 or they may be aligned with it.
Moreover, as guarantee of the non-opening of the lid 20, the latter may include a seal portion 22.
The seal portion 22 may be at least partially removed in a per se known way, in order to allow the decoupling between the lid 20 and the container 10 and to allow the extraction of food.
According to a preferred but not exclusive embodiment, all the elements of the container 10 and of the lid 20 may be made of co-molded materials.
Advantageously, the used materials may be for food use.
The present invention comprises several similar or identical parts and/or elements. Unless otherwise specified, similar or identical parts and/or elements will be indicated with a single reference number, meaning that the described technical characteristics are common to all the similar or identical parts and/or elements.
From what described above, it is clear that the invention reaches the intended purposes.
The invention is susceptible to numerous modifications and changes. All the details may be replaced by other technically equivalent elements, and the materials may be different depending on requirements, without departing from the scope of the invention defined in the appended claims.

Claims

A hermetic lid - container assembly for the storage of at least one at least partially liquid food, comprising:
- a container (10) with a main body (11) for the at least one food, which includes at least one edge area (12) with at least one substantially planar surface (14) projecting with respect to the latter and lying on a first plane (π1);

- a substantially planar lid (20) defining a second plane (π2), mutually removably coupleable with said main body (11) in correspondence of with said edge area (12);
wherein said edge area (12) of said container (10) and said lid (20) respectively include first and second snap-in connection means (30, 40) that are mutually removable, the first being of male type, the others being of female type, so that said container (10) and said lid (20) can be mutually coupleable to define a unitary assembly and can be uncoupleable in order to allow the extraction of the at least one food; and

wherein said at least one planar surface (14) of said container (10) and said lid (20) respectively include first and second reciprocal centering means (13, 23), said first centering means including at least one projection (13) extending on said at least one planar surface (14) which includes at least one first abutment portion (1323), said second centering means (23) including at least one second counteracting portion (23) susceptible to interact with said at least one first abutment portion (1323) upon mutual coupling of said container (10) and said lid (20) so that said first and second planes (π1, π2) are substantially parallel.
Assembly according to claim 1, wherein said edge area (12) includes a first perimeter portion (121) susceptible to face said lid (20) when the latter is coupled with said container (10) and at least one second surface (15) interposed between said at least one planar surface (14) and said first perimeter portion (121), said at least one second surface (15) comprising at least one second projection (31) defining said male connection means (30), said first and second projections (13, 31) being mutually spaced.
Assembly according to claim 2, wherein said at least one second surface (15) and said at least one first surface (14) re substantially reciprocally incident, preferably perpendicular.
Assembly according to claim 2 or 3, wherein said lid (20) includes a cover wall (26) with an internal surface (21) which includes said female connection means (40), the same including a recess (41) mutually counter-shaped with respect to said at least one second projection (31) to allow the hermetic removable coupling thereof.
Assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said second centering means (23) include at least one lead surface (24) to favor the connection between said first and second connection means (30, 40) upon mutual coupling of said container (10) and said lid (20) so that said first and second planes (π1, π2) are substantially parallel.
Assembly according to claims 4 and 5, wherein said lead surface (24) and said at least one recess (41) are mutually adjacent.
Assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said at least onefirst planar surface (14) includes a second perimeter portion (141), the latter and said at least one first projection (13) being mutually spaced apart by a predetermined distance (d) to prevent accidental uncoupling of said container (10) and said lid (20) when they are mutually coupled.
Assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said at least one container(10) and said at least one lid (20) are substantially circular in plan.
Assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said lid (20) includes a seal portion (22) at least partially removable so as to guarantee the non-uncoupling of said container (10) and lid (20) and in order to allow the extraction of said at least one food once removed.
Assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said main body (11), said planar surface (14), said first connection means (30) and said first centering means (13) are made of food use material, the same being preferably co-molded.