NZ312159A

NZ312159A - Two compartment pot, in particular for packaging foods

Info

Publication number: NZ312159A
Application number: NZ312159A
Authority: NZ
Inventors: Claude Benoit-Gonin; Philippe Bardet; Jean-Marie Linard; Madgeleine Corre
Original assignee: Yoplait Sa
Priority date: 1995-06-20
Filing date: 1996-06-19
Publication date: 1998-11-25
Also published as: AU701984B2; AU6362996A; JPH11507900A; FR2735754A1; KR19990028252A; EP0833786A1; FR2735754B1; WO1997000820A1

Description

<div class="application article clearfix" id="description"> New Zealand No. International No. 312159 PCT/FR96/00950 TO BE ENTERED AFTER ACCEPTANCE AND PUBLICATION Priority dates: 20.06.1995; Complete Specification Filed: 19.06.1996 Classification:(6) B65D69/00; B65D81/32 Publication date: 25 November 1998 Journal No.: 1434 NEW ZEALAND PATENTS ACT 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION Title of Invention: POT, IN PARTICULAR FOR PACKAGING FOODS Name, address and nationality of applicant(s) as in international application form: YOPLAIT S.A., 3, Rue de I'Anthemis, 60200 Compiegne, France f 25 35 1 312 1 4 Sf;? 1SS net Lifc r l ■ 1V; vj r^RiV 'o.: r7oE" Oh Im.Z. Receivrd POT, PARTICULARLY FOR PACKAGING FOOD PRODUCTS The subject of the present invention is a pot, particularly for packaging food products. This pot may, for example, be produced from synthetic material and be intended to contain food products, such as 5 yoghurt, a cream-based dessert, etc. To enhance the sale of products and, in particular, of products intended to be consumed by young children, it is known to associate, with the products, an advertising accessory, also known as a surprise. This surprise may be housed in a sachet which is fastened to the outside of the 10 pot. However, in such a case, the surprise risks being stolen when the products are presented for sale. Another solution consists in placing the surprise actually inside the compartment containing the food product. Although this is possible in the case of pulverulent products, such as chocolate powders, despite the 15 fact that this does not fully satisfy hygiene criteria since the child has to put its hand inside the pot in order to recover the surprise, which is more or less embedded in the product, such a solution cannot be envisaged when the product is presented in liquid or pasty form. The object of the invention is to provide a pot in which the 20 surprise may be packaged separately from the product it is intended to contain and cannot be accessible from outside the pot, or to at least provide the public with a useful choice. To this end, the pot it relates to, of the type including a tubular wall equipped with a transverse partition delimiting a principal compartment for packaging the product and forming the bottom of the pot, it being possible for this compartment to be closed, after filling and in a manner known per se, by a cover and/or an inner capsule, is characterized in that it comprises a second compartment located on the pot-bottom side and intended to be closed by a cover fastened on the tubular wall of the pot, the transverse partition being deformable in the direction of the axis of the pot, and a member for transmitting the deformation pressure being provided between the intermediate wall and the cover of the second compartment. In practice, the principal compartment of the pot is open before being emptied of the product it contains. When the principal compartment is empty and the transverse partition is accessible, it is possible to exert a pressure on this partition in the direction of the second compartment. This 30 f I I.MU-Ut-UIU^L .-'.ilJI'Uriir o. Oh N.Z. 1 <l St? 1238 RF-CenTD V2 pressure is transmitted to the cover of the second compartment, which is released from the tubular wall of the pot. The cover of the second compartment being thus removed, it is possible to gain access to the second compartment which contains an object, such as a surprise, s Advantageously, the cover is fastened to the tubular wall of the pot by means of reversible snap- fitting. According to one embodiment of this pot, the cover comprises a bottom from which an annular skirt extends with a diameter equal to the internal diameter of the pot and intended to be engaged in the latter, the 10 skirt and the wall of the pot having, on their opposing faces, protuberances and/or complementary annular ribs so that the cover can be snap-fitted onto the pot. The cover of the second compartment being fixed inside the tubular wall of the pot, this cover cannot be removed by means of an 15 action exerted from outside the pot. Advantageously, the annular skirt is discontinuous and has the form of a plurality of tabs obtained by means of axial slots or cut-outs opening out in the free edge of the skirt. This structure enhances the deformation capacity of the skirt when fitting the cover or removing it. 20 According to one possibility, the cover of the second compartment is fastened irreversibly on the tubular wall of the pot and the cover has a central part connected to the peripheral part made integral with the tubular wall by means of small bridges which can be ruptured. According to one embodiment of this pot, the transverse 25 partition comprises a central part connected to an annular part integral with the tubular wall by means of a deformabie zone, the central part being located, when no stress is exerted on it, on the principal compartment side with respect to the annular part. To take off the cover, it is expedient to exert pressure on the 30 central part of the transverse partition to bring this substantially into the plane of the annular part integral with the peripheral wall, or even of the second-compartment side. According to one embodiment of this pot, the deformabie zone consists, in the case of a pot made from synthetic material, of a thinned 35 zone of material. The central part of the intermediate wall may be parallel to the t •MTcLiiiCTlXI. ,-„ijr&1TY a.T.oE1 Or N.Z. ,12 1 h sri? 'o RECEIVED cover of the second compartment or form an angle with the plane containing this cover when no stress is exerted on it. According to one embodiment, the member for transmitting pressure between the transverse partition and the cover of the second 5 compartment consists of a rigid capsule whose two opposite faces bear, respectively, against the intermediate wall and against the cover of the second compartment. In this case, it is the capsule, produced, for example, from rigid synthetic material, which contains the surprise. 10 Advantageously, the second compartment contains a rigid capsule whose bottom forms the cover of the second compartment and the capsule housed in the second compartment is fastened to the tubular wall of the latter by means of reversible snap-fitting. According to a further embodiment of this pot, the member for 15 transmitting pressure between the transverse partition and the cover of the second compartment consists of a finger or the like, oriented axially, integral with the intermediate wall or with the cover and whose other end bears against the cover or the intermediate wall, respectively. In this case, the surprise may be packaged simply in a sachet 20 made from synthetic material, since the packaging of the surprise has no role in the transmission of the force from the intermediate wall towards the cover. In any case, the invention will be readily understood with the aid of the following description, with reference to the appended 25 diagrammatic drawing which, by way of non-limiting examples, shows several embodiments of this pot: Figure 1 is an exploded, perspective view of the various component elements of a first pot; Figure 2 is a view in longitudinal section of this first pot in a 30 position in which its various components are assembled; Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 after the bottom and the capsule associated with it have been taken off; Figures 4 and 5 are two views similar to Figure 2 showing the lower part of two other pots. 35 Figures 1 to 3 show a pot 2, made from synthetic material, including a tubular wall 3 equipped with a transverse partition 4 delimiting, t ;.Tli.ua;ilAL r'nufalTY u.TioE C Oh U2. HSr.?i£33 312 RECEIVRD I on the one hand, a principal compartment 5 intended for packaging a product and, on the other hand, a second compartment 6 intended to receive, for example, a surprise. The intermediate partition 4 comprises an annular part 7 integral with the tubular wall and which is not deformabie 5 or only slightly deformabie. This annular part is connected to a central part 8, which is also only slightly deformabie or non- deformabie, by means of a deformabie zone 9, this deformation being obtained, for example, with the aid of several thin portions of material. In the embodiment shown in Figure 2, it is evident that the central part 8 is located on the side of the 10 principal compartment 5 compared with the annular part 7 when no stress is exerted on it. It should also be noted that this central part 8 is located perpendicularly to the axis of the pot. After filling with the aid of a product not shown in the drawing, the principal compartment 5 may be closed, for example, with the aid of an inner capsule 10 heat-sealed on an annular rim is 12 of the pot. The second compartment 6 is intended to be closed by a cover 13. This cover 13 comprises a bottom 14 with an external diameter corresponding to the internal diameter of the tubular wall 3 at that end which forms the access opening to the compartment 6. This cover is 20 extended by an annular skirt 15 in the form of tabs 16 which are separated from one another by longitudinal slots 17. Ribs 18, oriented in parallel to the bottom 14 of the cover, are provided on the outer face of the tabs 16. For its part, the tubular wall 3 has protuberances or a continuous or discontinuous peripheral bead 19 projecting from its inner 25 face and intended to interact with the ribs 18 of the cover 13 in order to achieve snap-fitting of the latter, as shown in Figure 2. It also emerges from Figure 2 that, as the cover 13 is fixed inside the tubular wall 3 and includes no projecting part allowing it to be grasped, it is impossible to remove it from outside the pot. The compartment 6 which is delimited, on 30 the one hand, by the intermediate partition 4 and, on the other hand, by the cover 13, serves as a housing for a capsule 20, produced from rigid material, for example from synthetic material, the upper and lower walls of which are intended to bear, respectively, against the intermediate partition 4 and against the cover 13. 35 In practice, after the inner capsule 10 closing off the principal compartment 5 has been removed and this compartment has been emptied f 312159 of its contents, it is possible to exert a downward pressure on the central part 8 of the intermediate partition. By virtue of the deformabie zone 9, this pressure is transmitted via the capsule 20 onto the cover 13 which is released from the complementary retention means resulting from the pre-5 sence of the ribs 18 and of the bead 19, as shown in Figure 3, which allows the release of the capsule and the recovery of the object contained therein. Figure 4 shows a variant embodiment of the pot of Figures 1 to 3, in which the same elements are denoted by the same references as 10 previously. In this embodiment, the intermediate partition 4a includes a central part 8a which is no longer parallel to the cover 13 but forms an angle with respect to this cover. The upper wall of the capsule 20 slopes in a corresponding manner. Compared with the previous embodiment, this embodiment has the advantage that the pressure exerted on the capsule 15 20 and hence on the cover 13 is off-centre, which enhances the reverse snap-fitting movement, preventing a uniform distribution of the pressure on the various means of retention by ribs 18 and bead 19.. Figure 5 shows a variant embodiment of Figure 4, in which the same elements are denoted by the same references as previously. In this 20 case, the cover 13 includes a finger 23 moulded in one piece with it, the free upper end of which is located close to the intermediate partition 4a. In this embodiment, the pressure exerted on the intermediate partition 4a is transmitted to the cover 13 by means of the finger 23. It is therefore possible to package an object inside the second compartment 6 without 25 being forced to place this object in a rigid capsule, since the force is not transmitted by the packing of the object but by the finger 23. The object contained in the compartment 6 may, irrespective of its shape, be placed directly in the compartment or simply inside a pouch made from synthetic material. 30 As emerges from the above, the invention provides a major improvement to the state of the art by providing a pot of simple structure intended, in particular, for packaging food products and allowing the storage of an object, such as a surprise, which is not accessible from outside the pot. 35 Needless to say, the invention is not limited just to the embodiments of this pot which have been described hjs^^^\^by^ay^r Of- N.Z. j 14 SL;1 JS38 reoeivfd rjc4*ns»c - _ ' j m w* t-: -rruM. rvnj 6 of examples but encompasses all variants. Therefore, in particular, the pot could be produced not from synthetic material, such as polypropylene, but, for example, from cardboard or, alternatively, the structure of the intermediate partition 4 could be different, the essential feature being that 5 it should be deformabie. '^l.uCTC.U r'liiJPErtJY'yr'r OF N.Z. I 4 SEP E58 __R_ECEiy£p f 3121 </div>

Claims

<div class="application article clearfix printTableText" id="claims"> CLAIMS

1. a pot particularly for packaging food products, of the type including a tubular wall equipped with a transverse partition delimiting a principal compartment for packaging the product and 5 forming the bottom of the pot, it being possible for this compartment to be closed, after filling and in a manner known per se, by a cover and/or an inner capsule, vfaich includes a second compartment located on the pot- bottom side and intended to be closed by a cover fastened on the tubular wall of the pot, the transverse partition 10 being deformabie in the direction of the axis of the pot, and a member for transmitting the deformation pressure being provided between the intermediate wall and the cover of the second compartment.

2. A pot according to Claim 1, wherein the cover . is fastened to the tubular wall of the pot by means of a reversible 15 snap-fitting.

3. A pot . according to Claim 2, vdierein the cover includes a bottom from which an annular skirt extends with a diameter equal to the internal diameter of the pot and intended to be engaged in the latter, the skirt and the wall of the pot having, on 20 their opposing faces, protuberances and/or complementary annular ribs so that the cover can be snap-fitted onto the pot.

4. A pot according to Claim 3, wherein the annular skirt is discontinuous and has the form of a plurality of tabs obtained by means of axial slots or cut-outs opening out in the free 25 edge of the skirt.

5. A pot according to Claim 1, herein the cover of the second compartment is fastened irreversibly on the tubular wall of the pot, and in that the cover has a central part connected to the peripheral part made integral with the tubular wall by means of small bridges which 30 can be ruptured.

6. a pot according to any one of Claims 1 to 5, vjherein.- the transverse partition includes a central part connected to an annular part integral with the tubular wall , . by means of a deformabie zone , the central part being located, when no stress is 35 exerted on it, on the principal compartment side with respect to the annular part i'l Ft!. LcC T U A L~rVvj F ' uFiCE~! OF N.z. 1 4 sr.? 1238 RECEIVro 8

7. a pot according to Claim 6, wherein the deformabie zone consists, in the case of a pot made from synthetic material, of a thinned zone of material.

8. a pot according to Claim 6, wherein the central part of the transverse partition "• is parallel to the cover of the second compartment when no stress is exerted on it.

9. a pot according to Claim 6, wherein the central part of the transverse partition forms an angle with the plane containing the cover of the second compartment.

10. a pot according to any one of Claims 1 to 9, wherein the member for transmitting pressure between the transverse partition and the cover of the second compartment consists of a rigid capsule whose two opposite faces bear, respectively, against the intermediate wall and against the cover of the second compartment.

11. a pot according to any one of Claims 1 to 9, wherein the second compartment . contains a rigid capsule whose bottom forms the cover of the second compartment.

12. A pot according to Claim 11, wherein the capsule housed in the second compartment is fastened to the tubular wall of the latter by means of reversible snap-fitting.

13. a pot according to any one of Claims 1 to 9, wherein that the member for transmitting pressure between the transverse partition and the cover of the second compartment consists of a finger or the like, oriented axially, integral with the intermediate wall or with the cover and whose other end bears against the cover or the intermediate wall . , respectively.

14. A pot substantially as herein described with reference to figures 1 to 3 or 4 or 5 of the accompanying drawings. END OF CLAIMS lilTtLLECTUAL PiiUPcrtlVuFFiCE OF N.z. 14 StP (238 RfjCEP/rD </div>