ITMI20110026A1 - MATERIAL CONTAINER IN SHEET, PARTICULARLY FOR FOOD PRODUCTS - Google Patents

Description

DESCRIPTION

Attached to a patent application for an INDUSTRIAL INVENTION PATENT entitled:

â € œSHEET MATERIAL CONTAINER, ESPECIALLY FOR FOOD PRODUCTSâ €

The present description relates to a container made of sheet material

particularly suitable for containing food products.

In particular, the invention refers to a container made of paper material

made in single sheet suitable for containing sweets, pastries or the like

commonly referred to as â € œpirottinoâ € by operators in the sector.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As is known, they have been on the market for several decades and are widely used small containers in paper material defined starting from a single flat sheet by means of drawing operations.

In particular, these containers have a generally circular base wall from which a suitably pleated side wall emerges to take into account the excess of material as a result of the deformation outside the plane of the sheet from which the container is obtained.

In particular, this side wall emerges from the base wall in an inclined manner with respect to the vertical to define a container with an inverted truncated cone section where the upper opening is greater on the surface than the base.

The containers in paper material are made in this shape in order to be suitably stacked for the purpose of the logistic management of the product itself.

In this regard, the angle of inclination with respect to the vertical is on average in a range between about 10 and 20 degrees.

During use, this type of container in a stacked configuration is then loaded onto suitable destacking machines designed to remove one container at a time from the stack and to subsequently position them in correspondence with further stations of the machine where further operations are carried out, such as positioning on the inside the cavity of the container of a food product and the relative packaging of the product itself.

Today these containers perform very well the tasks to which they are dedicated, guaranteeing ease of transport, good separability through automatic machines and an extremely low cost linked to an extremely simple production procedure that provides a male and female mold substantially counter-shaped to the final shape of the product to be Although for uses and markets other than those highlighted above, the containers referred to in patent FR 2767513 fall within the type of products described above, at least from a geometric point of view.

In addition to the aforementioned frusto-conical configuration, cups with different section in a vertical plane have also been proposed, for example in accordance with the patent EP 1253090 of the same applicant.

This patent proposes certain innovative shapes in which the side wall has areas curved towards the center of the cavity defined by the base and the side wall of the container so as to obtain particular shapes of the cup, suitable, for example, to contain the food product more.

Patent WO 2010/092538 illustrates further embodiments and an innovative method for obtaining them.

The products marketed and / or proposed briefly mentioned above, while satisfying the needs of the market very well, have not proved to be exempt from certain drawbacks.

In particular, containers intended for baking and leavening of pastry products that have an inclined side wall interfere with the leavening of the product as they allow the food product itself to be able to increase in size not only along a vertical direction, but also horizontally in the areas. proximity to the side wall.

The above is seen by operators as a drawback both for the uneven leavening and for the final appearance of the product which may not be the optimal one.

In addition to the above, the need to make flared containers to subsequently stack them means that between one container and the next in the stack, but above all between the first containers present at one end and the last ones present at the opposite end there are small differences in terms of base diameter. These differences appear necessary and evident to allow optimal stackability of the containers and also derive from a partial further deformation caused by the stacking operations.

Although these differences in diameter are substantially imperceptible for a common user, to the eye of the operator, in the positioning of the cup in a baking pan or in a package, these slight differences in diameter become more visible and also involve certain problems centering during the filling phases with the food product and / or transport of the package.

SUMMARY

The object of the present invention is substantially to solve one or more of the drawbacks highlighted above by the known art.

A first objective of some of the embodiments shown is to provide a process for obtaining containers in paper material which allow an optimal vertical leavening of the product.

A further object according to an embodiment described below is to obtain containers which are geometrically and dimensionally extremely similar, if not identical, to each other.

A further auxiliary objective is to make available a process and a relative container that allows in the storage and logistics phases to maintain the optimal stackability characteristics and therefore the smallest possible footprint while achieving the optimal objectives in the phases of use of the product. leavening and geometric precision mentioned above. Finally, a general purpose of the forms that will be presented is to contain production and logistics costs to values that are comparable, if not identical, to those of the products currently on the market. These and other objects which will become clearer in the course of the following description are substantially achieved by one or more of the attached claims, possibly in combination with each other.

Further characteristics and advantages will become clearer from the detailed description of an embodiment in accordance with what has been described of a method for making containers in sheet material and the relative container thus made.

The detailed description will be made with reference to the following figures, provided for illustrative purposes only, and therefore not limitative, in which:

Figure 1 illustrates a container in paper material in accordance with the state of the art;

Figure 2 illustrates a container made of paper material in accordance with an embodiment described below;

Figure 3 illustrates a container made of paper material in accordance with a further embodiment described below;

- Figure 4 illustrates the container of Figure 3 in a top view;

Figure 5 illustrates a container made of paper material in accordance with a third embodiment described below;

Figure 6 illustrates a further alternative embodiment of the container of Figure 2;

- The sequence of figures 7A - 7D illustrates in schematic view the various production steps of the container in accordance with the previous illustrations from 2 to 6;

- Figure 8 illustrates a variant embodiment of the equipment of Figure 7 for making a container according to what has been described; And

- Figure 8 illustrates a further variant embodiment of the equipment of Figure 7 for making a container according to what has been described.

With reference to the aforementioned figures, 1 indicates as a whole a container made of sheet material, in particular of paper material, suitable for containing products such as food products, sweets, pastries, or the like.

In particular, the present invention relates to containers made of sheet material, in particular paper, made by deformation operations (in particular subsequent as better explained below) starting from a single substantially flat sheet of paper material. These containers generally have a base 3 and a side wall 4 emerging away from the base to define a containment cavity 5, for example for the food product,

The base wall 3 is generally substantially flat and circular and the side wall 4 is made integrally with the base wall 3.

Furthermore, in a section along a horizontal plane substantially parallel to the plane of the base 3, the side wall 4 has a corrugated profile 18 with a closed path, generally circular (see Figure 4). In particular, the sinusoidal section profile 18 is linked to the presence of excess material that is created during the folding phase from the sheet starting from the flat situation towards the three-dimensional configuration; this excess of material is distributed thanks to the generation of an appropriate pleating which generates respective loops 16 and protrusions 15 with respect to an average circumference.

In general, the description below will refer to containers of medium and / or small dimensions (although not limiting), in which the base diameter ranges from a few centimeters to about 20 centimeters at the most. It should also be noted that the containers described herein are made of food-grade paper, that is, suitable for contact with food products without contaminating or disintegrating them.

In particular, the present invention relates to a particular method for making containers in sheet material, in detail paper, of the type highlighted above.

The method first of all provides for a first step of manufacturing by deformation of a container 2â € ™ (intermediate) having a first configuration; the container 2â € ™ is made from a substantially flat sheet material, typically paper.

This intermediate container 2â € ™ illustrated in figures 2, 3 and 6 in broken lines is also shown in figures 7A and 7B and is in general completely identical to the one known today in accordance with the state of the art (fig. 1) .

The intermediate container 2â € ™ includes a base 3â € ™, a side wall 4â € ™ emerging away from the base, which in cooperation with each other define a containment cavity 5â € ™ open at the top to allow insertion and / or access to base 3â € ™.

In particular, in section according to a plane orthogonal to a plane containing the base 3 ', the side wall 4' has a profile at least partially inclined with respect to the normal base 3 '.

In general, we will talk about a plane containing the base 3â € ™ below, suggesting that this base is in most cases flat, although we do not want to exclude the possibility of creating slightly curved base walls (for example concave or convex) without departing from the inventive concept of the present invention.

In general, the container 2â € ™ which presents the first configuration will have in section according to the plane orthogonal to the base 3 â € ™ an inverted truncated cone profile with an inclination angle aâ € ™ of the side wall 4â € ™ with respect to the normal base 3â € ™ higher than 5 degrees (see figure 10).

As mentioned, this intermediate container 2â € ™ will be substantially similar, if not identical, to the containers illustrated in Figure 1 of the state of the art.

It should be noted that an inclination angle aâ € ™ of the side wall 4â € ™ greater than 5 degrees is necessary in order to be able to suitably make this container by drawing.

In fact, in the absence of a sufficient angle between the base 3â € ™ and the side wall 4â € ™ it is substantially impossible to apply the necessary pressures through the male and female molds during the drawing phase necessary to form this intermediate container 2â € ™ by deformation.

In general, a plurality of such intermediate containers 2â € ™ are made having the first configuration which are, as is commonly done today, stacked to define stacks of a plurality of containers of the type illustrated in Figure 7a.

It should also be noted that the containers are necessarily truncated cone in order to allow stackability and easy management of transport and storage with a minimum occupation of volumes. In general, and as better clarified below, the present manufacturing process comprises a step temporally subsequent (and separate) to the realization by drawing of the intermediate container 2â € ™ for further deformation of a portion of the side wall 4â € ™ to bring at least in part said portion of the side wall 4â € ™ in the middle plane containing the base 3â € ™ so as to define a final container 2 having a second configuration different from the first configuration.

In other words, the procedure involves the execution of two distinct phases of deformation of the single sheet material to bring it into a first configuration (container 2â € ™ - figure 1 or figures 2, 3 and 6, dotted line) and then a second and distinct deformation step which is subsequently carried out in which this intermediate configuration is modified.

Observing in particular the sequence of steps of figures 7a-7d it can be seen that once a plurality of said intermediate containers 2 have been made, they are stacked together; one proceeds in the phase of further processing (for example in the phase of industrial use of the individual containers in paper material) to remove a predetermined number of containers 2â € ™ and in particular an end container of the stack 100 of containers which is subsequently placed in correspondence to a reference plane where it is locked in position; in particular, the base 3â € ™ of the intermediate container 2â € ™ which is in the first configuration is blocked by using gripping means 10.

The example of figures 7a to 7d illustrates the use of two opposing bodies 6, 7 which, during the setting phase, abut one another with the base 3 'interposed between them ( condition of figures 7b - 7d).

Subsequently, a mold equipped with a male portion 11 is moved which approaches from the outside of the cavity 5â € ™ towards the inside of the same, moving towards the base 3â € ™ (fig 7B).

A lower surface 12 of the male portion 11 has a larger footprint than the footprint of the base 3â € ™ and acts by pressure on the lower portion of the side wall 4â € ™ to crush it and bring it to the middle plane containing the base 3â € ™ (see Figure 7c).

In this way the container 2 'is further deformed, bringing it from the first configuration to assume the second final configuration illustrated in continuous line in different embodiments possible in figures 2, 3, 5 and 6 subsequently detailed. Note that the shape of the male portion 11 of the mold may be one or more of those shown in figures 7b (circular external profile), 8 (solid profile with sliding guide on one of the opposing locking bodies) or in figure 9 (portion full, for example truncated cone), provided that in its motion and in its interaction with the container 2â € ™ in the first configuration it interacts with the side wall 4â € ™ of the same to modify its geometric configuration, and in particular to bring this portion from a condition in which it is moving away from the base 3â € ™ to a condition in which, vice versa, it results to lie substantially in the same plane of the same.

Obviously, other and different configurations of the male portion 11 of the mold can be adopted equivalently and involve the technical effect described above.

Also with reference to the gripping means 10 whose specific shape is illustrated in figures 7b-7d, other alternatives may be provided such as, for example, that of figure 9 in which the container 2â € ™ in accordance with the first configuration and before of the subsequent deformation to bring it into the second configuration is held in position by means of a device 17 which acts by means of vacuum.

Obviously, other and equivalent systems can also be used.

Although not necessarily, this method is applied in particular to containers which in the first intermediate configuration 2â € ™ have a profile according to a vertical truncated cone plane and which also have a circular base 3â € ™, a side wall 4â € Pleated emergence with section of the type illustrated in figure 4 and an upper opening delimited by a profile also with an overall circular sinusoidal trend.

In general, therefore, the container 2â € ™ in the first configuration will have an axis of symmetry 13 which will generally be a cylindrical axis of symmetry and the male portion 11 will have a respective axis of symmetry 14, also in this case an axis of cylindrical symmetry.

The relative movement between the male portion 11 and the base 3â € ™ occurs in particular along one of the symmetry axes 13, 14 and in general during the relative movement phase itself two axes will coincide (fig. 7B). It should be noted in particular that the lower surface 12 of the male portion will have a circular external development in such a way that, following the subsequent deformation, the container in the second configuration will once again have a circular base 3.

In other words, the portion of the side wall 4â € ™ carried in the middle plane containing the base 3â € ™ assumes in the container 2 in accordance with the second configuration the shape of a circular crown 19, positioned with respect to the base 3â € ™ of the container 2 in the first configuration.

In particular, this circular crown 19 is clearly illustrated in Figure 4 which highlights a view from the other or, equivalently, a section of the container 2 of Figure 3.

In particular, the light irregular hatches shown in the circular ring 19 in figure 4 correspond to the plurality of radial folds that have been flattened following the crushing step carried out in correspondence with the step in figure 7c, i.e. the crushing step through the male portion 11 of the mold.

In other words, this crown 19 of the final container 2 in the second configuration, although substantially a flat portion, will show small irregularities linked to the deformation assumed by the sheet material when it was in the first configuration, folds that generally have a radial and which are unfolded, but do not disappear, in the final configuration of container 2.

Observing in particular the effects that the subsequent deformation step entails, it is noted in the first place a reduction in height h of the container 2 having the second configuration with respect to the previous height hâ € ™ of the container 2â € ™ having the first configuration.

This appears obvious in the light of the fact that a lower portion 20â € ™ of the side wall is squeezed into a flat configuration and therefore the height of the container (defined by the remaining portion of the vertical part) decreases.

It should be noted, however, that the subsequent deformation step also involves a modification of the average inclination a of the side wall 4 of the container 2 having the second configuration with respect to the average inclination aâ € ™ of the side wall 4â € ™ of the container 2 in the first configuration (fig. 10). In particular, this variation is due to the recovery of the paper material and can assume different values depending on the dimensions of the circular crown 19 (in particular its maximum external radius B, Bâ € ™, Bâ €) that is defined.

In fact, by crushing only a small part of the lower portion 20â € ™ of the side wall 4â € ™ a container of the type illustrated in figure 2 is obtained in which the inclination of the side wall 4 with respect to the normal at the base 3 decreases approaching the normal itself.

In other words, once defined an angle aâ € ™ of inclination of the side wall 4 with respect to the normal to the base 3â € ™ which will, as explained, be greater than 5 °, the subsequent deformation phase involves a reduction of this inclination of the side wall 4 of the container 2 having the second configuration and in particular an angle a of the side wall 4 and in a lower value than the angle aâ € ™ of the side wall 4 "of the container 2" of the first configuration.

This angle with respect to the vertical reference may go from the value above 5 ° of the first configuration to a value below 5 ° (for example figure 2) up to a value approximately close to 0 ° (configuration in figure 3) or even below 0 ° (configuration of figure 6).

An angle equal to 0 ° that of the normal to the base wall 3 was considered; angle that increases clockwise and becomes negative vice versa proceeding counterclockwise.

This variation of the angle of inclination up to negative values will be determined by the radial dimensions of the annulus 19.

The larger the diameter (B <Bâ € ™ <Bâ €) of the base 3â € ™ of the container 2 in the second configuration, the smaller the angle a defined will be.

In other words, the substantially circular base 3 will have a smaller diameter than the substantially circular base 3 of the container in the second configuration.

The latter will have a diameter generally greater than at least 5% compared to the diameter of the base 3â € ™ of the container 2â € ™ of the first configuration.

Finally, it should be noted that the final container 2 of Figure 5 has a reinforcement 10 defined by a drawing of the base 3 in correspondence with its external perimeter.

This reinforcement 10 will emerge slightly downwards with respect to the plane containing the base 3.

Wanting to further detail and clarify the changes between the first and second configuration, note in figure 10 how the intermediate container 2â € ™ in the first configuration has a base edge 8â € ™ (generally circular) defined by the meeting of a external portion 9 'of the base 3' and a lower portion 20 'of the lateral base 4'.

Following the deformation phase of the lower portion 20â € ™ of the side wall 4â € ™, the container 2 of the second final configuration will also have a base edge 8 however defined by the meeting of a lower portion 20 and by the wall lateral 4 and an external portion 9 of the base 3.

This last external portion 9 will be constituted by the previous lower portion 20â € ™ of the side wall 4â € ™ of the container 2â € ™ referred to in the first configuration.

In other words, what was the base edge 8â € ™ will correspond (in the final container 2) to a flattened fold that defines the internal diameter A of the circular crown 19 (see figure 4), while the new edge 8 will be defined in correspondence with the line from which the side wall 4 emerges (external diameter B).

The process described above and the container thus obtained achieve various advantages.

In the first place, it is possible to operate with the common machines currently known to make containers with a truncated cone shape, to insert them and to be able to transport and manage them efficiently.

However, with a simple subsequent deformation phase, which can be carried out directly during the use of the individual containers, it is possible to modify the shape of the truncated cone container bringing it to assume, for example, a substantially cylindrical shape in which in particular the diameter of the base 3 â € ™ can be precisely controlled by being defined, or rather redefined, for all containers, by the external diameter of the male portion 11 of the mold.

In this way, once deformed subsequently to assume the second configuration, all the containers will assume the same configuration, and in particular the same base diameter will be guaranteed.

The above entails considerable advantages in terms of automated management of the containers and their internal positioning of trays, for example for cooking or for packaging the finished food product.

Furthermore, it is possible to bring the configuration of the side wall from inclined to substantially vertical in such a way as to provide containers in paper material with a corrugated side wall having a cylindrical shape.

The above improves the performance of the container itself during cooking of a food product and in particular during leavening of the same which is precisely addressed in a uniform manner in all points of the container.

Finally, the process for obtaining cylindrical containers with a controlled shape appears to be extremely efficient and the costs extremely low such as not to significantly affect the production processes while allowing the problems previously highlighted to be solved.

Claims (13)

CLAIMS 1. Process for making a container in sheet material, in particular paper, comprising the following steps: - preparing an intermediate container (2â € ™) having a first configuration, in particular making it by deformation starting from a substantially flat sheet material, said container (2â € ™) comprising a base (3â € ™) and a side wall ( 4â € ™) emerging away from said base, the base (3â € ™) and the side wall (4â € ™) cooperatively defining a containment cavity (5â € ™), in section according to a plane orthogonal to a middle plane containing the base (3 '), the side wall (4') presenting a profile at least partially inclined with respect to the normal base (3 '), characterized by the fact that it also includes a subsequent phase of deformation of a portion (20 ') of the side wall (4') to bring at least part of said portion (20 ') of the side wall (4') of the middle plane containing the base (3â € ™) and define a final container (2) having a second configuration different from the first configuration. 2. Process according to the preceding claim, in which the subsequent deformation step involves a reduction in height (h) of the container (2) having the second configuration with respect to the height (hâ € ™) of the container (2â € ™) having the first configuration. 3. Process according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the subsequent deformation step involves a modification of the average inclination of a side wall (4) of the container (2) having the second configuration with respect to the average inclination of the side wall (4â € ™) of the container (2â € ™) having the first configuration. 4. Process according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said container (2â € ™) having the first configuration has in section according to a plane orthogonal to the base (3â € ™) an inverted truncated cone profile with angle (aâ € ™ ) inclination of the side wall (4â € ™) with respect to the normal base (3â € ™) greater than 5 degrees, the subsequent deformation phase involving a reduction in the inclination of the side wall (4) of the container (2) having the second configuration, in particular an angle (a) of the side wall (4) being in value less than the angle (aâ € ™) of the side wall (4â € ™) of the container (2â € ™) in the first configuration, example about zero or less than 0 degrees. 5. Process according to any one of the preceding claims, in which said container (2â € ™) in the first configuration has a base edge (8â € ™) defined by the meeting between an external portion (9â € ™) of the base (3â € ™) and from a lower portion (10â € ™) of the side wall (4â € ™), following the deformation phase of a portion of the side wall (4â € ™), the container (2) in the second configuration presenting imo base edge (8) defined by the meeting of a lower portion (20) of the side wall (4) and by an external portion (9) of the base (3), said external portion (9) being constituted by said lower portion (20â € ™) of the side wall (4â € ™) of the container (2â € ™) in the first configuration. 6. Process according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the container (2â € ™) having the first configuration has a substantially circular base, the container (2) having the second configuration presenting a substantially circular base (3), having a diameter greater than the diameter of the base (3â € ™) of the container (2â € ™) in the first configuration, in particular the diameter being greater than at least 5%. 7. Process according to any one of the preceding claims, in which, in section according to a horizontal plane substantially parallel to the middle plane containing the base, a profile of the side wall (4â € ™) of the container (2â € ™) in the first configuration and a profile of the side wall (4) of the container (2) in the second configuration have a substantially sinusoidal course, in particular defining a closed circular profile. 8. Process according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said container (2â € ™) according to the configuration has a base (3) of a side wall made in a single piece, in particular said container (2â € ™) according to with the first configuration, being made starting from a single sheet. 9. Process according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the subsequent deformation step comprises the following sub-steps: blocking the base (3â € ™) of the container (2â € ™) having the first configuration with gripping means (10), in particular by means of a first and a second body (6, 7) opposed and abutting one to the other, the base (3 ') being interposed between said bodies (6,7); relatively move a male portion (11) of a mold inside the cavity (5â € ™) towards the base (3â € ™) of the container (3â € ™) in the first configuration, a lower surface (12) of the male portion (11) having a footprint in plan greater than the footprint of the base (3â € ™) and acting by pressure on said portion of the side wall (4â € ™) to crush it and bring it to the middle plane containing the base (3â € ™) and define the final container (2) having the second configuration, in particular the lower surface (12) of the male portion having a circular development. 10. Process according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said intermediate container (2â € ™) in the first configuration has an axis of symmetry (13), in particular of cylindrical symmetry, in particular the male portion (11) presenting a respective axis symmetry (14), in particular cylindrical symmetry, the relative movement between the male portion (11) and the base (3â € ™) occurring in particular along one of the symmetry axes (13, 14), in greater detail the axes symmetry (13, 14) of the male portion (12) of the container (2â € ™) coinciding with the relative handling phase. 11. Process according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the portion of the side wall (4â € ™) given in the middle plane containing the base (3â € ™) assumes in the final container (2) in accordance with the second configuration the shape of a circular crown (19) positioned around the base (3â € ™) of the container (2â € ™) of the first configuration. 12. Container in sheet material, in particular paper, comprising a base (3) and a side wall (4) emerging away from said base, the base (3) and the side wall (4) defining a containment cavity ( 5), in section along a horizontal plane, substantially parallel to the plane containing the base, or a profile of the side wall (4) of the container (2) has a substantially sinusoidal trend, the container being defined in a single sheet and the base ( 3) and the side wall made in a single piece, characterized by the fact that said side wall (4) presents in section according to a plane orthogonal to the plane containing the base (3) a straight profile substantially orthogonal to the plane containing the base, to define a container with side wall (4) pleated of substantially cylindrical shape, in particular the deviation of the profile with respect to the normal and to the base being comprised between and - 5 degrees. Container according to claim 12, wherein the base (3) comprises a circular crown (15) having a plurality of flattened radial folds, said circular crown (15) ending in correspondence with the side wall (4).