NL1020926C1 - Packaging for foodstuffs, e.g. potatoes, comprises receptacle, and flat displaceable part with bending stiffness and rectangular shape corresponding with the shape of remaining part of the receptacle bottom, body, or lid - Google Patents

Abstract

Packaging for foodstuffs comprises an integral receptacle with a mouth opening and a bottom with an upright body; and a flat displaceable part with a bending stiffness and a rectangular shape corresponding with the shape of remaining part of the receptacle bottom, the body, or lid. The surface area of the displaceable part is at least 50% of the total surface area of the bottom, the body, or lid. Packaging for foodstuffs to be offered for sale comprises an integral receptacle with, on its top side, a mouth opening and, on its underside, a bottom (15) with an upright body and with at least one flat body part, where the mouth opening is bounded by a mouth rim which lies in a flat plane and which, after filling of the receptacle with foodstuffs and optionally a chosen gas or gas mixture, can co-act in hermetically sealing manner with a lid, e.g. a foil connected by sealing to the mouth rim; and a flat displaceable part which forms part of the bottom, the body part, or the lid and acts as displacer; and optionally a filling with a gas serving as protective atmosphere, e.g. a mixture or carbon dioxide and nitrogen, or carbon dioxide and oxygen. The displaceable part is connected to the remaining peripheral part of respectively the bottom, the body part, or the lid by an at least one-dimensionally elastically deformable coupling edge. The displaceable part has a rectangular shape corresponding with the shape of the remaining part of the bottom, the body, or the lid. The surface area of the displaceable part is at least 50% of the total surface area of the bottom, the body, or the lid. The displaceable part has bending stiffness. An elastically deformable zone is situated in each of the four corner zones of the coupling edge and over the whole periphery of the displaceable part. The displaceable part is movable between a first position displaced to the outside and a second position displaced to the inside.

Description

Packaging for foodstuffs, provided with a movable bottom, body or lid part

The invention relates to a package for food to be offered for sale, comprising: an integral cup-shaped holder with a mouth opening on its upper side and a bottom with an upright body adjoining it on its lower side; which mouth opening is delimited by a mouth rim which lies substantially in a flat surface and which, after filling the container with food and optionally a selected gas or gas mixture, can hermetically seal with a lid, for instance a foil connected to the mouth rim by sealing; a part which forms part of the bottom, the hull or the cover, acts as a displacer, is generally flat displaceable and is connected by a coupling edge lying in a flat surface to the remaining peripheral part of the bottom, the hull or the cover, respectively; and a filling with a gas serving as a protective atmosphere, for example a mixture of CO2 and N2 or CO2 and O2.

Such a holder is known from US-A-3 426 939. The holder known from this American patent specification comprises a round central bottom part which is connected to the rest of the bottom via a coupling edge with a generally frusto-conical shape. The bottom can have a round, oval or generally rectangular shape.

The drawback of the known holder is that the displacement of the said bottom part has only a relatively small influence on the effective volume of the holder. As an application example, reference is made to *. or of 2 bringing food into a container in a heated state and then closing the container. The container with its contents then cools, creating an underpressure in the container. The consequence of this is that after some time, depending on the type of package, the ambient air, in particular the oxygen present therein, has the opportunity to penetrate the foodstuff. This shortens the possible storage time, i.e. the time from the production phase 10 to the moment of consuming the food.

Moreover, in the prior art, the container and the lid must be able to withstand the pressure difference between the pressure of the outside air and the considerably lower pressure in the filled container.

In view of the above, it is inter alia an object of the invention to provide a food packaging, which is designed in such a way that relatively small mechanical requirements are imposed on both the container and the lid that can be filled after filling. are used for hermetically closing the container.

A further object of the invention is to provide a package that is designed in such a way that the storage time, even without the use of any preservatives, can be substantially extended. Use can be made of a protective atmosphere, for example nitrogen gas, carbon dioxide gas or other gases or gas mixtures.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a package that is compartmentalised, for example for offering ready-made meals for sale, consisting of different components. With the documented state of the art, US-A-3 426 939, with such a package it is generally not possible to obtain any substantial displacement, as a result of which the effect to be achieved is negligible. This is due to the fact that the bottom is subdivided into individual bottom parts added to each compartment 3, each of which has only a limited surface. A substantial part of this already limited surface area is occupied by the coupling edge which connects each displaceably concerned bottom part 5 with the peripheral edge, i.e. the remaining part of the relevant bottom part.

In connection with the above, the package according to the invention is characterized in that the displaceable part has a substantially rectangular shape corresponding to the shape of said remaining part of the bottom, the body or the lid; there is an elastically deformable zone in each of the four corner zones of the coupling edge and over the entire circumference of the movable part; All this such that the movable part is movable between an outwardly moved first position and a inwardly moved second position.

A substantial advantage of the package according to the invention resides in that a considerably larger part of the bottom, the hull and / or the lid effectively participates in the volume change to be realized.

Because a longer storage period can be realized with the invention, the invention also provides the possibility of an increased commercial potential. For example, in connection with transport of the packages with the invention, a larger delivery radius can be realized, which can substantially increase the market potential according to the invention.

The invention lends itself to being used with a displacer in the bottom, an upright wall part that forms part of the hull and the cover. For example, with a relatively flat, shallow package with a number of compartments, such as with ready-made meals, the lid is in particular the appropriate place to receive the displacer according to the invention.

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A specific embodiment of the package according to the invention is characterized in that the movable part is in the bottom and that in the first position the holder can rest on the movable part of the bottom and in the second position can rest on the bottom edge .

An important special embodiment of the package according to the invention is characterized in that the deformable zone consists of at least two hinge lines at least in the aforementioned corner zones. The hinge lines may extend mutually parallel, but may also have a relationship other than mutually parallel. It is essential that the displaceable bottom part is relatively easy to move between the two stable positions, with particular attention to be paid to the relevant formability in the corners. Use can for instance be made of a configuration in which two hinge lines extending at an angle from each of the four corners extend in the direction of a hinge line connecting the coupling edge to the movable bottom part. Other configurations are also eligible.

In yet another embodiment, the package has the special feature that the deformable zone comprises a rolling zone.

When the movable bottom part changes from one extreme position to the other extreme position under the influence of a pressure difference inside and outside the hermetically sealed container, the weakest point, in particular one of the four corner zones, will move inwards first, which is then followed by the other three corner zones, until the entire bottom part has moved to the next position.

A specific embodiment of the package according to the invention is characterized in that the hinge lines are ridges that diverge from the local main surface of the container. These grooves can be single or multiple, such that the coupling edge is hingedly connected to the movable bottom part and to the peripheral part of the bottom.

The package is preferably designed such that the container consists of plastic. Other materials are also eligible, for example tin.

A specific embodiment has the feature that the container is manufactured by thermoforming or vacuum forming, for example from a laminate.

Such an embodiment is relatively inexpensive and allows manufacture with relatively small wall thicknesses. However, the nature of these techniques is such that the wall thickness cannot be completely controllable and can be the same everywhere.

Insofar as a controllable wall thickness is desired, a variant can have the special feature that the holder is manufactured by injection molding.

As an example of foodstuff for filling the packages according to the invention, potatoes are potatoes, in particular peeled potatoes. Potatoes have the property of absorbing gas. A protective atmosphere is introduced into the container during the filling process, for example consisting of a mixture of carbon dioxide and nitrogen. As a result of the said absorption, a vacuum is gradually created after the hermetically closing of the container. In this example, the movable bottom part substantially compensates for the occurring pressure difference by moving from its outwardly displaced position to its inwardly displaced position.

The container according to the invention thus substantially retains its nominal shape under the given diverse circumstances and the film in the case of a film cover is only mechanically loaded to a negligible extent. In the first situation the package rests on the central bottom part and in the second situation the container rests on the bottom peripheral edge.

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A specific embodiment has the special feature that both the first position and the second position of the movable part are stable and thus the configuration has a bistable character. In this embodiment, the movable part can be clicked to be moved from one position to the other.

A specific embodiment of the package according to the invention has the special feature that the package is intended for potatoes or products based on it, that the gas mixture consists of CO 2 and N 2 and that the ratio between these gas components is 70/30, preferably 80/20 and even more preferably is 90/10.

When a ratio of 70/30 is used, more gas is present in the package according to the invention than the package according to the state of the art. When using a different gas composition, such as 80/20, there is not only physically more gas available in the package, but there is also physically more CO 2 present that can provide the preservative effect. The prediction that a ratio of the order of 90/10 would give a further improvement in the shelf life has also been proven experimentally.

25 For example: 70/30 THT 7 days 80/20 THT 9 days 90/10 THT 12 days 30

The trays currently available on the market are unable to resist the underpressure that occurs in the packaging. The structure according to the invention is capable of this. Another composition of the protective atmosphere is a mixture of CO2 and O2 used in the meat industry. A usual ratio between these gas components is 50/50. The 7 dose of oxygen is used here to prevent the meat from discoloring. It is known that the addition of extra CO2 extends the shelf life. However, it is conceivable that this will be at the expense of the discoloration. Following the reasoning given above with regard to CO 2 and N 2, it could be assumed that in the package according to the invention there is more CO 2 present for preservation without changing the gas composition. If this extra CO2 is absorbed, then there will remain relatively more O2 to prevent discolouration. This means that the gas composition can be adjusted in the sense of an increase in the relative amount of CO2, without fear of discoloration.

In connection with the foregoing, the invention also provides a package which is characterized in that the package is intended for meat or products based on it, that the gas mixture consists of CO 2 and O 2 and that the ratio between these components is chosen to achieve an optimum with regard to discoloration of the packaged food and the shelf life.

When using a displacement part in the bottom, an additional advantage arises when applying the invention. Meat packaging often uses an absorbent cloth to collect meat juices. With the package according to the invention of the type described, this is not necessary, because in the "moat" around, i.e. the peripheral part of the bottom, the escaped meat juice can collect. Optionally, an annular absorption cloth can be placed therein.

As already discussed above, the invention pays particular attention to fresh products such as potatoes and meat. This should also include fish. With such packages there is generally a case with only one compartment. Another type of product, namely the 1 £ 9 ready-to-eat meals, involves several compartments in one bin. The displaceable part which acts as a displacer can in principle be present the bottom, the body, that is to say a wall part forming part thereof, the cover or in combinations thereof. The available space and the ability to achieve a desired volume change are decisive.

The invention will now be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings. Herein: FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-section through a holder according to the invention;

FIG. 2 the holder of FIG. 1 while sucking down the soil and filling it with food;

FIG. 3 the filled and closed container; FIG. 4 the holder after a while;

FIG. 5, 6, 7 and 8 in the respective phases (a), (b) and (c) feeding, filling with cold or heated food and sealing a container according to four different methods according to the invention, FIG. 9a is a top view of a holder according to the invention;

FIG. 9b is a perspective view of the holder, from which view it appears that the holder according to FIG. 9 is in a state in which the movable bottom part is in its upper stable position;

FIG. 9c partly a side view, partly a cross-section of the holder;

FIG. 9d the detail IV of FIG. 9c and FIG. 9e another side view of the holder;

FIG. 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d with Figs. 9a, 9b, 9c, 9d, 9e corresponding views of the holder in the situation in which the displaced bottom part is in its lower stable position, and wherein FIG. 10 corresponds to the detail X from FIG. 10c;

FIG. 11a a corner part of an alternative holder with a roller edge;

FIG. 11b shows a cross section through the holder in 9 in FIG. 11a, wherein the movable bottom part is in its lower position; and

FIG. 11c a with FIG. 11b corresponding cross-section in the situation in which the movable bottom part is in its upper position.

FIG. 1 shows a holder 1 with four upright walls 2 and a bottom, consisting of a flat bottom part 3, a flat central part 4 and a coupling edge part 5 connecting the parts 3 and 4. FIG. 1 shows the base 3,4,5 in its basic form, in which it is formed, for example, by an injection molding machine.

FIG. 2 shows the situation in which the holder 1 is placed on the mouth 6 of a suction line 7, the suction device (not shown) is connected thereto, as is symbolically indicated by arrow 8, and thereby the central bottom part 4 is moved downwards, with temporary deformation of the coupling edge 5, which is therefore shown in FIG. 2 is indicated by 5 '. In this state of increased volume of the container, hot food is introduced into the container 1 (not shown) and a lid 9 is fitted sealingly to the mouth edge 10, for example by sealing. Subsequently, the excitation of the suction device is canceled and the bottom takes on a shape which is determined by its mechanical properties and the pressure difference between the environment and the space in the closed container.

FIG. 3 shows this state of rest of the filled container. It will be clear that the flat central part 4 is suitable for allowing the holder 1 to be stably supported by a substrate.

FIG. 4 shows that the outside air pressure according to the arrows 11 can, after a longer period of time, lead to a certain pressure equalization in the container as a result of the gas permeability of the material of the container, as a result of which the central part 4 ultimately regains its original basic shape will take. It is noted that when opening or removing the lid 1 nona 9 8 10 10 the bottom will certainly take this basic form. The invention thus also has the characteristic of a guarantee closure.

FIG. 5, 6, 7 and 8 show under 5 references (a), (b), (c) the respective phases of feeding, filling with potatoes 41 and finally sealing (42) with a sealing foil 43 of a container according to four embodiments according to the invention.

In FIG. 5, a container is supplied with a bottom part 4 extending downwards (Fig. 5a), then filled (Fig. 5b) and finally sealed (Fig. 5).

5c). In the case of hot food, water vapor condensation causes a pressure reduction which the container in the container shown in FIG. 4 shown. In the present case of potatoes, this change in shape takes place because the potatoes absorb carbon dioxide gas in the container. This gas forms or forms part of the protective atmosphere.

In the embodiment according to FIG. 6, prior to filling, a central pressure part 44 is pressed downwards (45) by a mechanical pressure device 44 (Fig. 6a). Subsequently (Fig. 6b) a container 1 is filled and finally (Fig. 6c) the container 1 is sealed.

In the embodiment according to FIG. 7, the holder 1 initially has one with FIG. 1 corresponding shape. Filling takes place in this state (Fig. 7b).

Finally (Fig. 7c), according to Figs. 2 and 3 the central bottom part 4 moves downwards, which can advantageously take place by using a suction device, for example by underpressure (Fig. 2), or a suction cup.

In the embodiment according to FIG. 8, the holder 1 according to FIG. 7a, then either by mechanical or gas pressure or by suction a displacement of the central bottom part 4 takes place downwards, whereafter the thus deformed container 1 is filled with foodstuff (Fig. 7b). In this i 'y i: vi V; In this state, the container is sealed (Fig. 8c).

Which of the four possibilities is used in a certain process depends, among other things, on the foodstuff and the practical possibilities to use a mechanical printing operation or a suction head given a process arrangement.

It is noted that FIG. 5, 6, 7, 8 are very schematic and only symbolically the in (a) and (b) respectively; (c) display the filled condition of the container 10.

Finally, attention is drawn to the fact that it is regarded as being impractical from a process point of view to use a pressure element which must extend through foodstuffs in order to perform a printing operation on the bottom part. To this end, use will preferably be made of external means that leave the food untouched, in particular suction means.

FIG. 9 and 10 show a container 10 and a container 10 in the two described states.

The holder 10 comprises four upright walls 11, 12, 13, 14 (see Fig. 9b), a bottom part 15 that can be moved up and down, a bottom peripheral edge 16 and a coupling edge 17 present between the part 15 and the edge 16. In connection with the coupling edge 17, reference is now made to FIG. 9a, the top view of the holder 10. The movable upper part 15 is bounded by four hinge lines, all of which are conveniently indicated by 18. In the corners there are beveled hinge lines 19, the ends of which are connected to respective hinge lines 20, 21. The hinge lines 19, 20 and 21 together form a triangle. The intersection of the hinge line 20 and 21 comes together in the area of the peripheral edge 16. Thus, a movable bottom part 15 is realized. It is to be understood that the mobility is not such that the bottom part 15 could move up and down in the manner of a piston. Such a variant will be discussed later with reference to Figs. 11. In the present example, with a pressure difference occurring, a local 12 position change can occur in the vicinity of a hinge line 19, namely that zone, where the structure is the weakest. As soon as there the movable upper part 15 moves there from the drawn position, the movement will gradually continue along the hinge lines 18, 19 until the movement shown in FIG. 9 shows the position shown in FIG. 10 has been reached or vice versa.

The hinge lines can be in the form of creases or weakened zones. For example in the case of thermoforming or vacuum forming, creasing is the most practical, while in the case of injection molding it is possible to design the hinge lines as thinner wall zones.

At the top of the holder 10 there is a mouth 18, which is bounded by a mouth edge 119. In particular in Figs. 9b and 9c, this mouth rim is clearly visible. It lies in a flat surface, so that a filled container can easily be closed by a sealing foil, also compare Figs. 5c, 6c, 7c and 8c.

From the FIG. 9 and 10, in particular the sub-figures c, it should be clear that a substantial volume change can be realized by displacing the bottom part 15. This is a substantial advantage over the above-described prior art.

FIG. 11 shows a detail of a holder 20, the movable bottom part 21 of which connects to the bottom peripheral edge 22 via a rolling edge 23. FIG. 11b and 11c show diagrammatically how the bottom part 21 can be moved between the rollers 21 shown in Figs. 11b and the lower position shown in FIG. 11c.

The roller edge 23 must have a sufficient degree of mobility to enable the movements 35 shown. To this end, the roller edge can be designed as a thinner wall part, be provided with a number of ridges, or can naturally have sufficient mobility via the folding lines 24, 25.

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FIG. 12, 13, 14 and 15 show alternatives of the triangular corner zones 19, 20, 21 according to Figs. 9 and 10.

FIG. 12 shows an embodiment in which additional lines 30 extend between the hinge lines 20 and 21. This further improves local mobility.

FIG. 13 shows an embodiment in which oval hinge lines 31 extend between the intersection point 10 of the hinge lines 18 and 19 and the hinge line 25, which extends between the coupling edge 17 and the bottom peripheral edge 16. The oval figures are arranged in such a pattern that two rows have a main direction parallel to hinge line 18 and two rows 15 corresponding to the direction of hinge line 19.

FIG. 14 shows a variant in which hinge lines, generally indicated by 32, extend in a pattern of triangles.

FIG. 15 finally shows a variant of the embodiment according to FIG. 13 in which use is made of substantially circular hinge lines 33 arranged in the drawn pattern.

All the drawings drawn and described have in common that they enable an easy mobility of the movable bottom part, in particular in the area of the four corner zones.

Attention is drawn to the fact that the drawn and described embodiments only focus on a displaceable part which is displaced in the bottom of the package. It will be clear, however, that this displacement part can be designed in the same manner and then form part of an upright wall part which in turn forms part of the body, as well as of the cover.

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Claims (12)

A package for food to be offered for sale, comprising: an integral cup-shaped container with a mouth opening on its top side and a bottom with a raised upright body adjoining it; which mouth opening is delimited by a mouth rim which lies substantially in a flat surface and which, after filling the container with food and optionally a selected gas or gas mixture, can hermetically seal with a lid, for instance a foil connected to the mouth rim by sealing; a part which forms part of the bottom, the hull or the cover, acts as a displacer, is generally flat displaceable and is connected by a coupling edge lying in a flat surface to the remaining peripheral part of the bottom, the hull or the cover, respectively; and a filling with a gas serving as a protective atmosphere, for example a mixture of CO2 and N2 or CO2 and O2; characterized in that the displaceable part has a substantially rectangular shape corresponding to the shape of said remaining part of the bottom, the body or the lid; there is an elastically deformable zone in each of the four corner zones of the coupling edge and over the entire circumference of the movable part; all this such that the displaceable part is movable between an outwardly moved first position and a inwardly moved second position. «Π 9 Π Ck O1 ft 2. Packaging as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the movable part is in the bottom and that in the first position the holder can rest on the movable part of the bottom and in the second position can rest on the bottom edge. 3. Packaging as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the deformable zone consists of at least two hinge lines at least in the said corner zones. A package according to claim 1, characterized in that the deformable zone comprises a roll zone. 5. Packaging as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that the hinge lines are ridges deviating from the local main surface of the container. 6. Packaging as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that the hinge lines are zones with reduced thicknesses. 7. Packaging as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the holder consists of plastic. A package according to claim 3, characterized in that the container is made by thermoforming or vacuum forming, for example from a laminate. A package according to claim 3, characterized in that the container is made by injection molding. 10. Packaging as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that both the first position and the second position of the movable part are stable and thus the configuration has a bistable character. 11. A package according to claim 1, 1 or 6, characterized in that the package is intended for potatoes or products based thereon, that the gas mixture consists of CO2 and N2 and that the ratio between these gas components is 70/30, preferably 80/20 and even more preferably 90/10. 12. Packaging as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the packaging is intended for meat or products based on it, that the gas mixture consists of CO 2 and O 2 and that the ratio between these components is chosen to achieve an optimum with regard to discoloration of the packaged food and the shelf life. 15 *****. M, -J