ES2372549T3 - CONTAINER THAT CONSISTS OF A CONTAINER AND A COVER. - Google Patents

Abstract

"PACKAGING CONSISTING OF A TUB AND A LID", packaging of the type composed of a tub (1) and lid (2) set, of any format, manufactured in appropriate plastic material through the processes of thermoforming, injection, vacuum forming, or similar, and whose respective borders (3) and (4) present the same inverted "U" section, and are fitted to each other, border (3) and (4), said borders being provided with corresponding rims (5) and (6), capable of being united permanently, resulting in a seal, being that on the vertical wall (4a) of the border (4) of the lid (2), is anticipated a perforated line (7) that when broken promotes the opening of the packaging, as well as giving evidence of its tampering.

Description

Container consisting of a container and a lid

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention patent involves an improvement of a container composed of a lid and container assembly according to the preamble of claim 1, made of rigid plastic and obtained by means of the thermoforming, injection molding, vacuum forming processes , or others, wherein said packaging is mainly for the packaging of food products. An example of such a set is disclosed by US 2006/278652 A1.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As is common knowledge, said packaging must present a type of closure that protects a product contained within, which provides total efficiency and safety, which means that the closure must be open-proof and also capable of showing evidence of opening in the point of sale. Additionally, it is desirable that after the package has been opened by the consumer, the lid can be reused to close the container again while the product inside is consumed.

There are different closure systems available on the market and of containers made by injection molding, the most commonly used being a pre-established cutting line placed along the vertical outer wing of the lid that delimits a removable flange and where it is located an element for coupling the lid over the mouth or opening of the container. However, in practice this type of closure is inefficient to prevent opening because potential violators, if careful, can remove the cover without breaking the seal and then replace it.

In thermoformed containers, such as margarine containers, there are different closure systems for the container, with and without seals.

An example of a closure without the use of seals is known as a "cover sheet" consisting of the use of a laminate placed directly on the surface of the product and the simple adjustment of the lid on the container. This system, not being a seal as such, does not prevent or reveal a possible violation of the container.

Another closure system for thermoformed containers consists of a thermoformed seal on the upper edge of the container and the subsequent adjustment of the lid. This seal, since it provides the seal of the container, protects the product and denounces the opening; However, the procedure to open this seal is not practical, requiring in some cases the use of some type of cutting instrument. In addition, the final cost of the container is higher since it uses the closure and an overcap, and requires additional equipment to seal the container's closure.

A third known system for closing this type of packaging, which also provides sealing, involves the use of a band that shrinks over the edge of the lid with the application of heat and extends to the upper portion of the container. This seal consists of a transverse perforated line that can be broken, which is an easy operation for the consumer and which is also an opening indicator. However, it has been shown in practice that this closure is inefficient since, when it does not shrink properly and if a small amount of pressure is exerted from the bottom up on the edge of the lid, it will open together with the seal not broken and can be placed again.

Another sealing system of the closure for thermoformed containers consists of a removable narrow horizontal strip, placed along the vertical outer edge of the lid, and on whose inner face the coupling element of the lid is positioned to the edge of the container body ; said removable strip is delimited by a pair of surrounding cutting lines located on the vertical edge of the lid, and has a protruding tongue that constitutes the gripping element that allows the user to pull the strip and open the container.

The previous sealing system is completely effective in relation to product protection, inviolability and the indication of violation of the package, as well as being easy to open by consumers. However, after the container is first opened, what remains of the vertical edge of the lid is a small narrow piece, which results in an unstable adjustment of the lid on the container body. In addition, the final visual appearance of the lid does not satisfy consumers until after removing the removable portion; A part of the lid disappears.

Finally, from US 2006/278652 A1 a generic type container is known where a cutting line follows the line of the edge of the lid within the superimposed portions of the container and the lid each having a cross-section inserted in U of such that only an inner portion of the lid is removed when the container is opened. As a result, the lid is only loosely attached to the container when placed on it to close it again.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In an attempt to solve these problems in a simple manner, with high efficiency and especially low cost, the applicant developed the present improvement of the type of package consisting of a lid / container assembly, according to claim 1, and which can have any shape (round, square, rectangular, oval, hexagonal, etc.), be made of plastic material (PP, PS, PET, PE, PVC or similar) and be obtained by thermoforming, injection, vacuum forming or similar means.

According to the aforementioned improvement, the upper edge of the container of the inverted "U" section, as well as the edge of the lid of the same section, which is perfectly capable of adapting to the first, now have the respective circumferential outer edge and horizontal, and the edge of the container has a small interrupted section while the edge of the lid has a handle tongue, which, when the container is closed, must coincide with the interrupted section of the container. These edges can be fixed to each other by heat sealing or ultrasound, thus providing a tight seal to the container.

Additionally, and as a main element of this innovation, a perforated line is provided along the outer vertical wall of the edge of the lid, which begins on the side of the handle tongue and ends on the opposite side, and This line may have a short section interrupted diametrically opposite to said handle type tongue, thus configuring the "hinge" of the lid when it is opened.

Thus, after filling the product in the container, the container is closed by fixing the lid of the container in such a way that the handle tongue of the first matches the interrupted section of the flap of the second. This done, the lid tab and the container are joined by heat sealing, ultrasound, or other appropriate means, resulting in a tight seal of the package assembly.

This assembly can only be opened by pulling the handle-like tongue that exists on the edge of the lid, thus beginning the separation, from front to back, along the perforated line existing on the outer side wall of the edge of the same lid. The opening of the lid can be total or not, in the case of the "hinge".

In this way, this improvement has resulted in a package assembly with an opening-proof closure system, absolutely inviolable and completely hermetic in which the separation of the perforated line from the lid is totally and easily evidenced.

The lid, once placed again, has a good closure due to the fact that it presents interference of its internal dimension with the internal dimension of the container. In addition, since the section positioned below the perforated line of the edge of the lid remains fixed to the edge of the container, or in other words, no part of the lid edge is removed when repositioned, the resulting appearance is practically the same as when the package was sealed, and therefore more attractive to consumers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of the present invention and many associated advantages thereof will be more readily understood with reference to the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figures 1 and 2 show a round-shaped container / lid assembly in perspective, with Figure 1 showing an exploded perspective of said assembly.

Figures 3 and 4 show a rectangular shaped container / lid assembly in perspective, with Figure 3 showing an exploded perspective of said assembly.

Figure 5 shows a front perspective view of the container / lid assembly in the closed position.

Figure 5a shows an enlarged perspective of the detail indicated in Figure 5.

Figure 6 illustrates in front perspective the container-lid assembly in the open position, after the perforation of the perforated line.

Figure 6a represents, in exploded perspective, the detail indicated in Fig. 6.

Figure 7 shows the container / lid assembly in closed position from a rear perspective.

Figure 7a shows the detail indicated in Figure 7 in an enlarged perspective, and which configures the "hinge" of the lid and the container, after the perforated line has been broken and consequently the container is opened.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention patent is a "CONTAINER CONTAINER IN A CONTAINER AND A LID", said container composed of a container (1) and a lid (2), of any format (round, square, rectangular, oval, hexagonal , etc.), made of appropriate plastic material (PP, PS, PET, PE, PVC or similar), and by means of thermoforming, injection, vacuum forming or similar means, where the upper edge (3) of the container (1), as well as the contour of the edge (4) of the lid (2), have the same section of an inverted "U", and can be coupled together to close the container.

In accordance with the present improvement, from the free end of the external vertical wall (3a) of the edge (3) of the container (1) a circle-surrounding edge (5) is projected at right angles (orthogonally) ) that has a short interrupted section (5a).

Likewise, from the free end of the wall of the vertical outer edge (4 and 4a) of the cover (2), an edge that circles orthogonally outwards is projected, and said edge has a handle-like tongue (6a), which can coincide with the interrupted portion (5a) of the edge (5) of the container (1) when the lid is placed. This placement of the lid causes the overlap of the edge of the lid (6) over the edge of the container (5), which is then permanently attached by heat sealing, by ultrasound or by any other suitable procedure, where said union configures a seal that guarantees the seal of the container.

Additionally, on the vertical wall (4a) of the cover (2), there is a longitudinal perforated line (7), placed along the entire wall (4a), starting near the side of the handle-like side tab (6a) ) of the edge (6) and ending near its opposite lateral side where in a main design option, said perforated line (7) exhibits an interrupted short section (7a), diametrically opposite to the handle-like tongue (6a), and which It acts as the "hinge" for the open lid (2).

Thus, after introducing the product into the container (1), the lid (2) is placed on it in such a way that the handle tongue (6a) of the edge (6) of the first is juxtaposed with the portion interrupted (5a) of the edge (5) of the second. Then, the edge (6) of the lid (2) and the edge (5) of the container (1) are joined by heat sealing, by ultrasound or by any other appropriate procedure, resulting in a tight seal of the whole container.

And the opening of the container is possible only through the rupture of the perforated line (7) provided on the outer lateral edge (4) that surrounds the lid (2), where said rupture occurs from front to back and gradually, initiated through upward traction of the handle-like tongue (6a) of the lid (2) and ending with the traction of the lid itself which is then opened.

Under the design option where the interrupted portion (7a) of the perforated line (7) is considered, and which acts as the hinge for the lid, the lid (2) is partially separated from the container (1) since said lid remains connected to the container by means of the hinge.

Under a different design option where the perforated line (7) is continuous, the lid (2) is completely separated from the container (1).

However, in both options, the lid (2) can be reused to close the container.

In this way, this improvement results in a package assembly with a completely hermetic closure system that is absolutely open-proof and capable of indicating a potential opening, since the tearing of the perforated line (7) of the lid ( 2) It is easily visible.

Claims (6)

1. Container consisting of a container and a lid consisting of a set of container (1) and lid (2), of any round, square, rectangular, oval, hexagonal, etc. format, made from appropriate plastic material PP, PS, PET, PE, PVC or similar, by means of the thermoforming, injection, vacuum forming process or similar, where the upper edge (3) of the container (1), as well as the edge of the contour (4) of the lid (2), have the same inverted "U" section, where from the free end of The vertical outer wall (3a) of the edge (3) of the container (1) is projected orthogonally outwards, a surrounding edge (5) and which can be joined together to close the container, and from the free end of the outer wall vertical (4a) of the edge (4) of the lid (2), a surrounding edge (6) having a tongue (6a) that forms a tongue to pull it is also orthogonally outward, the container (1) being and the cover (2) permanently connected to each other along a longitudinal perforated line (7), thus forming a tight seal; characterized by the fact that the surrounding edge (5) has an interrupted short section (5a) and the tongue (6a) coincides with the interrupted section (5a) of the container, when the lid (2) fits thereto, and said adjustment allows juxtaposition of the edge (6) and the edge (5) and because the perforated line (7) is placed along the outer vertical wall (4a) of the edge (4) on the cover (2), starting near to one of the lateral sides of the handle-like tongue (6a) of the edge (6), and ending on the opposite side of the handle-like tongue (6a).

2.

 Container consisting of a container and a lid, according to claim 1, characterized in that the perforated line (7) of the outer vertical edge (4a) of the bore (4) of the lid (2) has a section cut interrupted (7a), diametrically opposite to the handle tongue (6a) of the edge (6) of the cover (2), configuring a hinge.

3.

 Container consisting of a container and a lid, according to claim 1, characterized in that the perforated line (7) is continuous.

Four.

 Container consisting of a container and a lid, according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the joint between the edge (6) of the lid (2) and the edge (5) of the container ( 1) is achieved through heat sealing, by means of ultrasound, or any other appropriate means, resulting in airtight closure of the container.

5.

 Container consisting of a container and a lid, according to any of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the lid (2) is reusable.

6.

 Container consisting of a container and a lid, according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the perforated line (7) of the lid (2), once broken, constitutes an indicative opening element .