FR2635761A1 - COMPOSITE PACKAGING FOR EGGS, FRUITS OR SIMILAR FRAGILE OBJECTS - Google Patents

Abstract

Composite packaging for eggs, fruit or similar fragile objects of the type comprising a base 1 of papier-mâché or similar opaque material provided with at least two rows of cells 3, 4 for the eggs separated by a row of protuberances 5 and a cover 2 in thermoformed transparent plastic material which can be fixed on the base and closed by snapping, characterized in that the cover 2 is independent of the base 1 and is detachably fixed on the base by two sets of bosses 28 projecting towards the interior, arranged respectively on two opposite side faces 27 of the cover 2 and cooperating with the recesses of the corresponding hooking devices 14, 15 provided on two side tabs 11, 12 articulated on two opposite edges of the base 1 and forming an integral part of that -this.

Description

Composite packaging for eggs, fruit or objects

fragile analogues.

  The present invention relates to a composite packaging for eggs, fruit or similar fragile objects, of the type comprising a base, for example made of papier-mâché or cellulose pulp, comprising at least two rows of cells for eggs or packaged objects, each row of cells being separated from the adjacent row by a row of protuberances. The packaging is closed by means of a lid made of transparent thermoformed plastic which can be fixed on the base

and snapped closed.

  Egg packaging is already known, for example in the form of a papier-mâché honeycomb tray which can be associated with a cover or cover made of thermoformed transparent plastic. As a general rule, the assembly thus formed is then coated with a film of thin heat-shrinkable plastic which holds the two parts together. We have also described in the German utility model 68.101.054 (Transpack) such a package in which two opposite sides of the transparent cover have flaps provided with hooks which engage under a peripheral rim of the tray. Such fixing is unreliable. Nothing is further provided in this document to properly stack the

covers before fitting.

  There are also known egg boxes with a capacity less than the packaging in the form of a tray, generally adapted to a capacity of 6, 10 or 12 eggs, in two rows, which are made in one piece of transparent thermoformed plastic material. Thin-walled. The cover of these boxes is connected to the bottom by one of the longitudinal edges of the box forming a hinge. Despite the advantage of the transparency of such thermoformed plastic boxes which allows the buyer to appreciate the quality of the products contained, a need has arisen for different packaging, in particular comprising cardboard elements to improve the possibilities of information, marking, etc., on the packaging. This is how composite packaging is known in which the honeycomb bottom is made of thermoformed transparent plastic and o the cover consists of a cardboard element which can be flat or bowl-shaped (French patent 2,589,438 ( Alphaform), European patent application 85.559 (Thermopac Company, Ltd), European patent application 87.306 (1illiam Brown), European patent application 36.785 (Hinteregger)). In all these packages, however, the fixing of the cover to the base is

  difficult to perform automatically.

  Also known are egg boxes in which the cover and the base, while being made of two different materials, one of which is transparent, are permanently connected along a side edge forming a hinge. This is so in. French patent 2,272. 309 (Metal box) o the cardboard cover is glued, riveted or stapled on a side edge, at the bottom made of thermoformed transparent plastic. It is the same in German patent 36.35.153 (Packaging corporation) o the transparent plastic cover is fixed by riveting along a longitudinal edge forming a hinge at the bottom of papier mache. The realization of this final fixing forming a hinge is tricky because of the difference of the two facing materials. It also leads to the need to use highly complex packaging methods and machines. The present invention relates to a composite packaging in which the bottom is made of papier-mâché or a similar opaque material, ensuring excellent retention of the eggs or of the objects contained therein and a cover made of thermoformed transparent plastic material allowing excellent vision of the content, these two elements being completely independent and detachably fixed to each other by a set of means which allow both excellent fastening and easy automation

  when packaging products.

  The invention also relates to such a packaging in which the fixing means between the cover and the base are such that the stacking of the two separate parts of the composite packaging takes place easily and by facilitating the

automatic packaging.

  The composite packaging for eggs, fruit or similar fragile objects, according to the invention, comprises a base of papier mache or similar opaque material provided with at least two rows of cells for eggs or similar objects, each separated by a row of protrusions and a transparent thermoformed plastic cover which can be fixed on the base and closed by snap-fastening. According to the invention, the cover is independent of the base and is detachably fixed on the base by two sets of bosses projecting inwards, respectively disposed on two opposite side faces of the cover made of thermoformed transparent plastic. Said bosses cooperate with corresponding recesses practiced on two lateral tongues articulated on two opposite edges of the base

  and being an integral part of it.

  For each boss, the cover preferably has a recess in the form of a hollow rib formed in part of the height of the corresponding side face of the cover. This recess is delimited by a stacking abutment surface capable of cooperating with a boss projecting from another cover during the storage of a stack of superimposed covers. It is thus possible to stack the covers despite the presence of the bosses while precisely adjusting the stacking distance! which favors the automatic setting of the covers during automatic packaging. Furthermore, the presence of these recesses recessed in the side walls of the thin plastic cover

  thermoformed augme.:te the rigidity of it.

  As a general rule, two bosses are preferably provided on each opposite face of the cover, in the vicinity of the ends of said faces. We can also provide more bosses. In this case, it is however preferable to group the contiguous bosses in the same zone of the lateral face of the cover, in order to leave more room for labeling or printing. A label, for example made of preprinted paper or cardboard, can advantageously be fixed inside the lid, taking into account the transparency of the latter. The label is preferably fixed partly on the upper face of the cover and partly on a side wall in a stripped area

of boss.

  The base of papier-mâché or similar material preferably further comprises protrusions projecting in the vicinity of its opposite edges, the protuberances being placed opposite the recesses of the tongues. The height of these protrusions is such that they can serve as a stop for the recesses made on the tabs, in order to limit the

  folding the tabs inwards.

  The automation of the installation of the covers at the end of packaging is thus facilitated in the same way as the

  reliability of fixing the cover to the base.

  The base may also include two projecting portions forming longitudinal stops, arranged in alignment with the row of protuberances which separates the rows of cells between them. These longitudinal stops cooperate with the cover to limit its longitudinal movement and make it possible to facilitate

fitting the cover.

  The cover preferably includes an inwardly directed axial rib capable of contacting flat top surfaces of the protrusions of the base. The cover therefore preferably has a structure devoid of individual cells, which improves the distribution of the material. The presence of the axial rib allows sufficient resistance to protect the eggs with a minimum of plastic material. The invention will now be described with the aid of a nonlimiting example illustrated by the appended drawings, in which: FIG. 1 illustrates in perspective a package for eggs according to the invention and shows in particular, in exploded view, the base and cover; Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the closed package of Figure 1, taken at the location of one of the fixing means; and FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a stack of two covers for two packages,

according to figure 1.

  As illustrated in Figure 1, the composite packaging, according to the invention, is intended to receive 12 eggs in two contiguous rows. To this end, the packaging comprises a base of papier mache 1 and a cover of thermoformed transparent plastic 2. It will be understood, of course, that the base could also be made of another similar material, for example plastic foam opaque. The base 1 has two rows of cells 3 and 4 for the eggs. The rows 3 and 4 are separated by a central row of protuberances 5, the flattened vertices 6 of which are clearly above the level of a peripheral rim 7 of generally rectangular profile. The rim 7 has two transverse sides 8 and two longitudinal sides 9,10. Along each of the longitudinal sides 9, 10, the base 1 is

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  provided with an articulated lateral tongue 11,12, the articulation forming a hinge 13 (FIG. 2)

  extending over the entire length of the tongue.

  Each of the tabs 11,12 has, in the example illustrated, three hooking devices 14,15

  unevenly distributed along the length of the tongue.

  Thus the tongue 11 has on one side two hooking devices 14a, 14b and in the vicinity of its other end, a hooking device 14c. Likewise, the tongue 12 comprises two attachment devices 15a, 15b in the vicinity of one of its ends and a third attachment device 15c in the vicinity of its other end. The respective hooking devices 14,15 of the two tongues 11,12 are arranged head to tail, as can be seen in FIG. 1, the two hooking devices 14a, 14b facing the insulated hooking device 15c, while that the isolated attachment device 14c of the tongue 11 faces the two attachment devices

15a, 15b of the tongue 12.

  When the respective tongue 11,12 is folded back, as illustrated in the upper part of FIG. 1, the lower face 16 (FIG. 2) of each hooking device 14,15 comes to bear against a protrusion projecting from the base 1 made along one of its longitudinal edges and facing the various fastening devices 14,15. It will be noted that the level of these protrusions 17 is higher than that of the peripheral edge 7 which is at the same level as the top 18 of the partition walls between the cells. As can be seen in Figure 1, the base therefore comprises three protruding projections 17 along

  of each of its longitudinal edges 9.10.

  Referring to FIG. 2, it can be seen that each hooking device 14, 15 has a recess 19 which, in the folded position illustrated in FIG. 2, is delimited downwards by the lower face 16 of the device. hooking 14.15 and upwards by a flange 20. It will be noted that the marginal edges 21 of the tongues 11 and 12 are slightly

curved inward.

  The base 1 also comprises, as can be seen in FIG. 2, two projecting portions 22 forming longitudinal stops, arranged in alignment with the row of protuberances 5 and having an inclined outer surface. These projecting stops 22 are located at a level higher than that of the peripheral rim 7, but lower than that of the

apex 6 of protuberances 5.

  The cover 2 made of transparent thermoformed plastic, constitutes an independent piece from the base 1. It has a peripheral rim 23, approximately of the same profile as the peripheral rim 7 of the base, with a stiffening gutter 23a (FIG. 2). An axial rib directed inwards 24 comes to bear by its bottom on each of the vertices 6 of the protrusions 5 of the base (Figure 2). The rest of the upper face 25 of the cover 2 is flat. The cover 2 also has two longitudinal side faces 26 and 27, substantially flat and slightly inclined towards the outside. Each of the lateral faces 26, 27 comprises three bosses 28 projecting inwards, each of these bosses being intended to cooperate with the recess 19 of one of the hooking devices 14 and 15. The arrangement of the different bosses 28 on the lateral faces 26, 27 of the cover 2, is therefore the same as the arrangement of the hooking devices 14a, 14b, 14c on the tongue 11 and of the hooking devices

a, 15b, 15c on the tongue 12.

  Each protruding boss 28 is associated with a recess 29 of partially frustoconical structure formed in part of the height of the corresponding lateral face 26, 27 of the cover 2. The recesses 29 extend from the upper face 25 of the cover 2 to to a stacking abutment surface 30 which is arranged at a height such that it can bear on the flange 20 of each device

hanging 14.15.

  Furthermore, the level of this stacking stop surface 30 is chosen so as to precisely regulate the stacking of several covers one inside the other, as illustrated in FIG. 3. In this case, in fact, each stop stacking 30 of the upper cover 2 comes to bear on a boss 28 of the lower cover 2, which avoids any risk of jamming of the two stacked covers. It is thus possible to stack a large quantity of covers without difficulty, each individual cover then being able to be easily gripped by an automatic packaging machine. The transverse lateral wall portion 31 of the cover 2 (FIG. 1) cooperates with one of the longitudinal stops 22 of the base 1. It will be noted that to facilitate fitting of the cover, the inclination of the longitudinal stops 22 is preferably slightly

  greater than that of the lateral faces 31.

  A label 32, for example made of preprinted paper or cardboard, is attached. ., for example, by gluing, inside the cover 2 and can be seen through the transparent plastic. As we can

2635761I

  see it in FIGS. 1 and 2, the label 32 is partly fixed under the upper face 25 of the cover 2 and partly inside the side face 26 in an area of said side face devoid of the notches 29. The asymmetrical arrangement of the three attachment devices 14, 15 which results in the same asymmetrical arrangement of the three recesses 29, makes it possible to leave a sufficiently large area for

  label 32 on each side face of cover 2.

  It will be noted that the label 32 can extend over the entire height of the lateral face 26, since the tongue 11 is located inside the closed package, as illustrated in FIG. 2, and therefore does not interfere with the vision

  of the label 32 through the side wall 26.

  Although the invention has been described ei-

  leaning on an egg box illustrated with a capacity of 12 eggs, it will be understood that the capacity of the box could be different. For eggs, in general, it will preferably be 6, 10

or 12 eggs.

  The particular shape of the lid of the packaging of the invention makes it possible to limit the amount of raw material used. Indeed, thanks to the presence of the single longitudinal rib 24 which prevents the formation of underpockets separated by columns or partition walls, an excellent distribution of the material is obtained while ensuring sufficient resistance for the protection of eggs with

a minimum of plastic material.

  The recesses 29, the cross section of which is at least as large as that of the corresponding bosses 28, allow the creation of a clearance when the covers are stacked on top of each other, as illustrated in FIG. 3, despite the presence inwardly projecting bosses 28 which would otherwise prevent stacking of the covers. In addition, thanks to the stacking stop surfaces 30, one obtains, as indicated previously, a precise adjustment of the stacking distance. Finally it will be understood that the presence of these recesses 29 increases the rigidity of the side walls of the cover 2. The packaging, according to the invention, which has two independent elements, overcomes the usual requirements of boxes comprising a linked cover and base between them permanently by a hinge. It is no longer necessary, in fact, for the separation line between the cover and the base to be exactly at the same level, that is to say that the two elements of the packaging have equal heights. Thanks to the present invention and due to the fact that the cover and the base are separate elements which are assembled together only after filling, it is possible to provide different heights and in particular to increase the height of the cover. to improve the showcase effect due to the material

  transparent and increase the labeling area.

  The label 32 being glued to the inside of the cover is completely protected from dirt and the total height of the cover 2 can be used without the label being hidden, since the tongue 11 or 12 is folded inside the cover behind

label 32.

  After filling the eggs in the base 1, the packaging is closed simply by bringing the two tabs 11 and 12 towards the interior of the box until the lower surfaces 16 of the various hooking devices 14 , 15 come into abutment contact against the bearing surfaces of the protrusions 17. In this position, it suffices to lower the cover 2 onto the base 1 to effect the snap-fastening of the protruding bosses 28 in the recesses 19 of the devices hanging 14.15. During this operation, the correct position of the two elements 1, 2 of the packaging is facilitated by the inclined walls of the two longitudinal stops 22 and the slightly curved edges 21 of the two tabs 11 and 12. The simplicity of these operations nesting makes it easy to automate the fitting of covers 2 at the end of packaging. If it is desired to provide packaging adapted to different size classes, in particular for eggs, it is easy thanks to the design of the packaging of the invention in two parts

  independent, to modify only one of these parts.

  This is how we can keep the same cover which can be adapted to several bases including cells of optimal shape for different sizes of eggs. The automatic cover fitting machine is therefore not modified and only a height adjustment

is necessary.

Claims (11)

  1. Composite packaging for eggs, fruit or similar fragile objects of the type comprising a base (1) of papier mache or similar opaque material provided with at least two rows of cells for eggs separated by a row of protuberances and a cover ( 2) in transparent thermoformed plastic material which can be fixed on the base and closed by snap-fastening, characterized in that the cover (2) is independent of the base (1) and is detachably fixed on the base by two sets of bosses (28) projecting inwards, respectively disposed on two opposite lateral faces (26,27) of the cover (2) and cooperating with corresponding recesses (19) formed on two lateral tabs (11,12) articulated on two edges opposites of   the base (1) and forming an integral part thereof.   2. Composite packaging according to claim 1, characterized in that the cover (2) has for each boss (28) a recess (29) formed in part of the height of the corresponding side face of the cover, the recess (29 ) being delimited by a stacking abutment surface (30) capable of cooperating with a projecting boss (28) of another cover during the storage of a stack of overlapping covers. 3. Composite packaging according to   claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the   cover (2) has on each opposite face two bosses (28) in the vicinity of the ends of said faces. 4. Composite packaging according to claim 3, characterized in that an additional boss is placed in the vicinity of one of the two aforementioned bosses. 5. Composite packaging according to any one   of the preceding claims, characterized in that   that the base (1) comprises protrusions (17) projecting in the vicinity of its opposite edges, the height of these protrusions (17) being such that they serve as a stop for the recesses (19) formed on the tongues (11,12 ) in order to limit the folding of said tabs inward.   6. Composite packaging according to claim, characterized in that the outer marginal portions (21) of the tongues (11,12) are folded inwards to facilitate the fitting of the cover (2).   7. Composite packaging according to any one   of the preceding claims, characterized in that   that the base (1) comprises two longitudinal stop projections (22) arranged in alignment with the row of protuberances (5) to cooperate with the cover (2) in order to prevent its longitudinal displacement. 8. Composite packaging according to claim 7, characterized in that the longitudinal stop projections (22) have an inclined surface of inclination greater than that of the faces   corresponding (31) of the cover (2).   9. Composite packaging according to any one   of the preceding claims, characterized in that   that the cover (2) comprises an axial rib (24) directed inwards and capable of coming into contact with flat top surfaces (6) of the protrusions (5) of the base (1).   10. Composite packaging according to any one   of the preceding claims, characterized in that   that the top of the protrusions (5) of the base (1)   extends beyond the peripheral edge (7) of the base.   11. Composite packaging according to any one   of the preceding claims, characterized in that   that a label (32) is fixed inside the cover partly on its upper face (25) and partly on a side wall, in an area devoid of bosses.