IES86515Y1 - Sales container - Google Patents

Description

Sales container The present invention relates to a sales container consisting of a sales package and a filling of potatoes or onions.

When sold in small amounts of between 1 kg and 5 kg, potatoes and onions are typically sold packed in net bags. As an alternative to net bags, plastic bags or paper bags having air holes are also sometimes used.

However, the hitherto used packages have disadvantages in terms of protection of the potatoes or onions, transportation and product presentation.

Therefore, the object of the invention is to provide an improved sales container consisting of a sales package and a filling of potatoes and/or onions.

In accordance with the invention, this object is achieved by a sales container as claimed in claim 1.

The sales container in accordance with the invention consists of a sales package and a filling of potatoes or onions, wherein the sales package is designed as a folding box.

The use of such a folding box has many advantages over a classic net bag: — protection of the potatoes/onions against mechanical damage ~ light protection - evaporation protection - temperature protection in the event of fluctuations in temperature, in particular during transportation - no soiling of the surrounding area compared to the conventional net bags - easy to stack, transportation advantages - large space on the walls of the sales package for advertising or for information - cleaning of the filling product in processing can be omitted - easier removal of the potatoes or onions - recyclability of the folding box In an advantageous manner, the sales package is designed as a closed folding box, i.e. the inner space of the folding box is defined on all sides by walls of the folding box.

The folding box in accordance with the invention can be produced e. g. fiom card and/or cardboard. In a particularly preferred manner, the folding box is manufactured from corrugated cardboard. This material provides the folding box with a high level of stability and protects the potatoes or onions in an optimum fashion.

In a preferred exemplified embodiment, the folding box comprises a chute which can be folded out. Consequently, the sales package can be used at the same time as a storage box, from which the potatoes or onions can be easily removed from the open chute.

In an advantageous manner, the chute comprises a front, which can be folded out, and lateral tabs which are pushed into the interior of the folding box as the chute is being folded in. When the chute is being opened, the potatoes or onions thus slide into the region of the chute, but are prevented from falling out by a front and the lateral tabs.

The potatoes or onions can thus be easily removed from the opening region of the chute.

The chute is advantageously arranged on the folding box such that it can only be folded out up to an angle specified by the construction.

In an advantageous manner, the tabs comprise a protrusion which, as the chute is being folded out, comes into contact with a wall region of the folding box and prevents the chute fiom being folded out further.

The lateral tabs can have, in particular, a divided circle-shaped upper cut line, at the end of which a protrusion is arranged. With the divided circle-shaped cut edge, the tabs can move forwards underneath a wall portion, whereas the protrusion serves as a 886515‘ stop and secures the chute in a maximum folded out position. However, instead of a divided circle-shaped cut line, any other shapes are also feasible.

In an advantageous manner, the chute comprises in accordance with the invention a partial region of a wall portion of the folding box. The chute thus advantageously does not form an entire wall of the folding box but only a part of this wall. In particular, the chute can form a lower partial region of a front side of the folding box.

When potatoes or onions are being removed, further potatoes or onions subsequently slide from the upper closed partial region of the folding box into the region of the chute.

In accordance with the invention, it can also be provided that in its closed position the chute engages with an upper edge portion of its front side slightly under another wall portion of the folding box. As a result, the chute is initially secured in its closed position, wherein a certain amount of force is required to open the chute for the first time.

Furthermore, in the closed state the chute can be covered by a detachable wall region which serves as a freshness seal. After detaching the detachable wall region the underlying chute can then be accessed and opened.

Furthermore, the folding box in accordance with the invention can comprise a reclosable wall region. This allows the folding box to be easily refilled and the folding box can thus also be used at the same time as a more permanent storage package. In an advantageous manner, the reclosable wall region comprises a lateral fastening tab which can be inserted into a slot in order to close the folding box. The reclosable wall region can also be used for filling the folding box for the first time.

In one preferred embodiment, the reclosable wall region is arranged above the chute.

In particular, the reclosable wall region can be an upper partial region of a front side of the folding box.

In accordance with the invention, it can also be provided that the folding box comprises a front side having a perforation, wherein the perforation divides the front side into two regions. This permits a functional separation of the two regions of the front side. In an advantageous manner, the front side is connected to a sidewall by means of a fold.

In an advantageous manner, the perforation extends from a connection line with the sidewall to the opposite free edge of the front side. In particular, the perforation can thus separate the front side into an upper and a lower region.

In a preferred embodiment, the first region of the front side is connected to a sidewall of the folding box by means of a fold, whereas the second region is connected to the sidewall by means of a perforation.

In particular, the first region can be used as a reclosable folding portion. As an alternative or in addition, the second region can form a detachable wall region which is used as a freshness seal.

Furthermore, in an advantageous manner the perforation line between the first and the second wall region of the front side in a partial region is designed as a cut line, wherein the partial region is advantageously used as an opening tab. The partial region of the perforation which is designed as a cut line can be used in particular as an opening tab for removing the detachable wall region.

After detaching the detachable wall region, the region of the opening tab is advantageously also used as an engagement opening which allows engagement behind the chute. This engagement from behind allows the chute to be easily folded out.

Preferably, the folding box in accordance with the invention comprises ventilation openings which are used to ensure optimum exchange of air and moisture.

In an advantageous manner, the ventilation openings are designed as apertures in one or several of the wall regions of the folding box. The openings can pass through all of the material layers possibly at the location where the wall regions of the folding box are formed by two or more layers of material folded one on top of the other. In an advantageous manner, the punched holes are used for looking inside the box to inspect the products therein.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, the apertures are in the shape of potatoes or onions. The shape of the apertures thus indicates the contents to be found in the folding boxes.

The folding boxes preferably have printing on one or several of their outer sides. In a particularly preferred manner, at least the front side has printing thereon.

The sales container in accordance with the invention is preferably filled with potatoes or onions which do not have any further packaging.

Furthermore, in accordance with the invention, unwashed potatoes can also be used, as the closed package prevents any dirt from trickling out.

In a preferred manner, the sales containers in accordance with the invention have a filling weight between 0.5 kilogram and 10 kilogram, in particular a filling weight between one kilogram and five kilogram.

In the case of embodiments in which the folding box contains potatoes, in particular the following filling weights can be used: 1.5 kilogram, 2.5 kilogram, 3.5 kilogram, 5 kilogram.

In the case of embodiments in which the folding box is filled with onions, in particular the following filling weights can be used: 1 kilogram, 2 kilogram, 3 kilogram, 5 kilogram.

However, different weight categories are naturally also possible.

In a particularly preferred manner, the folding box in accordance with the invention is cuboidal. The folding box can have, in particular, four sidewalls having upper and lower tabs, wherein the lower tabs form the base when folded together and the upper tabs advantageously form a chute and/or a front side.

In an advantageous manner, the tab arranged on the lower side surface forms a chute which can be folded out. Furthermore, the front side is advantageously formed by a tab which is arranged on one of the two lateral side surfaces which adjoin the underside. In an advantageous manner, the front side can be secured by a fastening tab on the opposite side in order to close the folding box. In an advantageous manner, the front side covers the entire front surface of the folding box and has a detachable region which covers the chute.

The tab which is arranged on the opposite lateral side surface advantageously leaves open the region of the chute and, in the folded—together state, comes to lie under the front side. In the region of the fold of this tab, an incision can be provided, into which a fastening tab of the front side can be inserted.

In an advantageous manner, the chute is designed in such a manner that it is arranged with its upper edge portion slightly under the lower edge of the non-detachable wall region of the front side, and as a result it is initially secured on the front side even after the detachable wall region has been removed.

In accordance with the invention, the walls of the cuboidal folding box can have e. g. a width and length between 8 cm and 80 cm.

In a particularly preferred manner, the height of the front side is between 15 cm and 50 cm, the width is between 10 cm and 40 cm and the depth of the folding box is between 10 cm and 30 cm.

In addition to an individual sales container, the present invention also comprises a set consisting of a plurality of sales containers, as illustrated in more detail above.

The sales containers in accordance with the invention can be stacked in a particularly convenient manner through the use of a folding box as a sales package. In a particularly preferred manner, the set comprises a pallet, on which a plurality of sales containers are stacked. For transportation purposes, the sales containers can be secured to one another and/or to the pallet e.g. by having a plastic film wrapped around them.

The present invention also comprises a sales package for a sales container, as described above. In particular, the sales package is a folding box. In a preferred manner, the folding box is designed in the manner already presented above.

The present invention also comprises a material blank for a sales package in accordance with the invention, as presented in greater detail above. In particular, it is a blank consisting of corrugated cardboard.

In an advantageous manner, the material blank is formed in such a way that, after some partial regions have been adhered together or stapled together, the material blank can be folded together so as to produce a folding box in accordance with the invention.

The material blank advantageously has four contiguous sidewall regions which are each connected to one another by means of a fold. In an advantageous manner, one of the outer sidewall regions has a tab, by means of which it is connected, in particular adhered or stapled, to the opposite sidewall portion.

In a preferred manner, respective lower and upper tabs are arranged on the sidewalls by means of a fold. The lower tabs can advantageously be folded together to form a base, wherein in an advantageous manner they can be at least partially adhered to one another. The upper tabs advantageously form the chute or the front side, as described in greater detail above.

The present invention will now be illustrated in greater detail once again with reference to an exemplified embodiment and drawings.

In the drawings: Figure 1: shows an exemplified embodiment of an inventive sales container consisting of a folding box and a filling of potatoes or onions in a perspective view, wherein the folding box is completely closed, Figure 2: shows the exemplified embodiment shown in figure 1 in a perspective View with an open chute, Figure 3: shows the exemplified embodiment shown in figure 1 in a frontal view with an open chute, Figure 4: shows the exemplified embodiment shown in figure 1 in a side view with an open chute, Figure 5: shows the exemplified embodiment shown in figure 1 showing the base of the folding box, and Figure 6: shows a material blank for producing a folding box in accordance with the invention.

Figures 1 to 5 illustrate an exemplified embodiment of an inventive sales container consisting of a sales package (1) and a filling of potatoes (2) or onions arranged in the sales package. In accordance with the invention, a folding box is used as the sales package (1).

The front side (3) of the folding box is arranged on one of the two sidewalls of the folding box by means of a fold and hereby forms a folding lid which is closed after filling.

In the exemplified embodiment, the front side is designed to be reclosable, for which reason it has a fastening tab (11) which can be inserted into a slot (9) which is arranged on a corresponding front edge of the opposite sidewall.

The front side is divided by a perforation (6) into an upper and a lower partial region, wherein the lower partial region (S) is detachable and forms a freshness seal. For this purpose, the lower partial region (5) is also connected, in the region of the fold, to the corresponding sidewall by a perforation (8).

The folding box in accordance with the invention also comprises a chute (12) which allows potatoes or onions to be removed conveniently from the folding box. The chute comprises a front (13), which can be folded out, and side tabs (14) which, as the chute ( 12) is being folded out, form the sidewalls of the chute region. The front (12) is connected to a lower sidewall of the folding box by means of a fold, whereas the side tabs (14) are connected to the two lateral edges of the front (12) by means of folds and are pushed into the folding box as the chute (12) is being closed.

In the exemplified embodiment, when the folding box is in the closed state the chute (12) is arranged below the detachable region (5) of the front side (3) and is thus only accessible when this detachable region has been removed.

In order to detach the detachable region, the perforation line (6) has a partial region (7) which is designed as a cut line. This partial region serves as a tab which can be pressed in and allows the detachable region to be removed. The cut line (7) also forms an aperture in the lower edge of the upper region of the front side (3) and hereby permits engagement behind the upper edge of the front (13) of the chute (12).

In its remaining region, the upper edge of the front (13) of the chute (12) is covered slightly by the lower edge of the upper region (4) of the front side (3) and is thus still secured in its closed position even when the detachable region (5) is removed. The chute must therefore be opened by applying a certain amount of force in order to pull the upper edge of the chute out from under the lower edge of the upper region of the front side.

The side tabs (14) of the chute each comprise protrusions (18) which, at a specified opening angle of the chute, come into contact with the overlying wall portion of the folding box and thus prevent the chute from being opened further. The opening angle is preferably between 20 and 70 degrees, more advantageously between 30 and 60 degrees with respect to the front side of the folding box.

The folding box in accordance with the invention can also comprise apertures (10) which are used as ventilation openings. Furthermore, these apertures make it possible to see the potatoes or onions located in the interior of the folding box. In an advantageous manner, the apertures (10) are in the shape of potatoes in the event that the sales containers are being used for potatoes, and said apertures are in the shape of onions in the event that the sales containers are being used for onions.

A corresponding exemplified embodiment having onion—shaped apertures (10) is illustrated in connection with the material blank in figure 6.

In the exemplified embodiment, the folding box in accordance with the invention consists of corrugated cardboard and is cuboidal. In the exemplified embodiment, the height of the front side is greater than the width of the front side, wherein the height and width of the front side are each greater than the height of the sidewalls or the depth of the folding box.

In order to use the sales container in accordance with the invention as a storage box or as a dispenser for potatoes or onions, the folding box is placed onto its lower lateral surface and the chute adjoining this lateral surface at the top is opened. As a result, the onions or potatoes slide into the chute and can thus be easily removed.

The assembly of a folding box in accordance with the invention will now be explained in greater detail once again with reference to the material blank in figure 6: The folding box comprises four sidewalls (26-29) which are connected to one another on their respective narrow sides by means of folds. The sidewall (29) comprises an outer tab (16), by means of which it is connected, in particular by adhesion, to the sidewall (26) during assembly of the material blank.

The base of the folding box is formed by the lower tabs (22-25), wherein in the exemplified embodiment the tabs (24 and 25) each have folding portions (20, 21 respectively), by means of which they are adhered to the adjacent tabs (22, 23 respectively). After the folded-together material blank is opened up, the tabs (22-24) form the base of the folding box.

The functions in accordance with the invention are now provided by the upper tabs of the sidewalls. The chute (12) is arranged on the sidewall (29) which, in use, forms the lower sidewall. The chute consists of the front portion (13) which is arranged on the sidewall (29) by means of a fold, and of side tabs (14). The upper edge (17) of the front portion (13) merges on both sides in each case into an arcuate region (30) of the side tabs, on the end of which in each case a protrusion (18) is arranged which secures the chute in a maximum folded-out position.

The front side (3) is arranged on the sidewall (26) by means of a fold. The front side is divided by a perforation line (6) into an upper region (4) and a lower region (5), wherein the upper region (4) is firmly connected to the sidewall (26) by means of a fold, whereas the lower region (5) can be separated from the sidewall (26) by means of a perforation line (19) which extends in the fold region.

The upper region (4) comprises a fastening tab (11) which can be inserted into a slot (9) in the fold region of a tab (31) arranged on the opposite sidewall (28).

The folding box is assembled as follows: After opening up and after folding-down the base, the chute (12) is initially folded in with its two side flaps (14). Then, the folding box is filled via the still open region above the chute. Subsequently, the tabs (31 and 32) are folded in and the front side (3) is folded over the side tabs (31 and 32) and the chute (12) and is secured by insertion of the fastening tab (11) into the slot (9).

Opening is then effected by removal of the region (5), which is used as a freshness seal, and by folding out the chute.

Claims (5)

Claims

1. Sales container consisting of a sales package and a filling of potatoes or onions, characterised in that the sales package is designed as a folding box.

2. Sales container as claimed in claim 1, wherein the folding box comprises a chute which can be folded out, wherein the chute preferably comprises a front, which can be folded out, and lateral tabs which are pushed into the interior of the folding box as the chute is being folded in, wherein the tabs advantageously comprise a protrusion which, as the chute is being folded out, comes into Contact with a wall region of the folding box and prevents the chute from being folded out further, and/or wherein the chute preferably comprises a partial region of a wall portion of the folding box, advantageously a lower partial region of a front side of the folding box, and/or wherein the chute engages with an upper edge portion of its front side slightly under another wall portion of the folding box, and/or wherein the chute is preferably covered by a detachable wall region which serves as a freshness seal.

3. Sales container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the folding box comprises a reclosable wall region, wherein the reclosable wall region advantageously comprises a lateral tab which can be inserted into a slot in order to close the folding box, wherein the reclosable wall region is arranged above the chute, and/or wherein the folding box comprises a front side having a perforation which divides the front side into two regions, wherein in an advantageous manner the first region is connected to a sidewall of the folding box by means of a fold and the second region is connected to said sidewall by means of a perforation, wherein in an advantageous manner the perforation line is designed as a out line in a partial region which is used as an opening tab, and/or wherein in an advantageous manner the first region forms a reclosable folding portion and/or wherein the second region forms a detachable wall region which serves as a freshness seal, and/or wherein the folding box comprises ventilation openings which are designed advantageously as apertures in one or several of the wall regions of the folding box, wherein the apertures are advantageously in the shape of potatoes and/or onions, and/or wherein the sales 10 container has a filling weight between 0.5 kg and 10 kg, advantageously between 1 kg and 5 kg, and/or wherein the folding box is cuboidal, wherein the sides of the cuboid advantageously have a length between 8 cm and 80 cm, more advantageously between 10 cm and 50 cm.

4. Sales package for a sales container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims.

5. Material blank for a sales package for a sales container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims.