WO1999011541A1

WO1999011541A1 - Disposable container, in particular a one-dose container for food

Info

Publication number: WO1999011541A1
Application number: PCT/EP1998/004327
Authority: WO
Inventors: Adelaide Giustolisi; Luca De Nardo
Original assignee: Adelaide Giustolisi; Luca De Nardo
Priority date: 1997-09-02
Filing date: 1998-06-08
Publication date: 1999-03-11
Also published as: AU8860998A; ITMI971998A1

Abstract

A disposable container, in particular a one-dose container for food, of the type being made of an at least partially flexible material, comprising a base wall (1) from which at least one lateral wall (2) departs, the upper free edge (2A) of said lateral wall being sealed in an airtight manner once the container is filled; the lateral wall (2) is shaped in such a manner that it is possible to increase the volume of the container once it is opened and that it is possible to transform it into a substantially bowl-shaped element, so that it is possible to eat directly from said bowl-shaped element.

Description

DISPOSABLE CONTAINER, IN PARTICULAR A ONE-DOSE CONTAINER FOR FOOD

This invention relates to a disposable container according to the precharacterising portion of the main claim.

Containers of the above mentioned type are well known. If they contain pet food, usually to empty them it is necessary to use a spoon for transferring the food into a cup or a bowl wherein the pet eats. Afterwards, when the pet has eaten, it is necessary to clean the bowl and the spoon in order to have them ready for the next meal. These operations are rather long, unpleasant, complicated and time- consuming. When travelling with a pet, moreover, it is almost always impossible to perform them.

An object of the present invention is to provide a disposable container, in particular a one-dose container for pet food, which, once it is opened, may be immediately used for eating the food contained in the container itself, and does not need any tool for emptying it and any further container or bowl for transferring the food which must be eaten.

A further object is to provide a container which may be easily and simply manufactured.

These and further objects which will be evident to an expert in the art are attained by a container in accordance with the characterising portion of the main claim.

The present invention will be more apparent from the accompanying drawings, which are provided by way of non-limiting example and on which: Figures 1A-D are, respectively, a schematic bottom, front, top, and side view of a first container according to the invention when it is closed.

Figure 2 is a schematic top view of a punched sheet for making said first container. Figures 3A-C are three schematic prospective views of the first container at three different production stages.

Figures 4A-B are two prospective views of the first container at two different opening stages.

Figure 5A is a schematic top view of a punched sheet for making a second container.

Figures 5B-C are, respectively, schematic views of the second container in an intermediate production stage and when it is closed.

Figure 6A is a schematic top view of a punched sheet for making a third container. Figure 6B-C are, respectively, schematic views of the third container at an intermediate production stage and when it is closed

When closed the first container of this invention presents a base wall 1 which in the example is slightly concave and has a substantially rectangular shape; from this base there departs, in one piece with the base, a lateral wall 2 comprising, at its free upper edge 2A, an air tight sealing 3, preferably thermowelded.

The lateral wall is divided in four portions 4A-D having an irregular pentagon shape; these portions are separated one from the other by two facing pairs of "bellows"-shaped parts 5A-D, or, in other words, parts which are folded one over the other.

The container is advantageously obtained by punching a sheet of a substantially flexible material, such as, for example, a known multy-layer material for packaging food stuffs. Figure 2 shows a punched sheet, identified by reference 11 , which may be used for providing a container according to the invention. In order to limit the material wasted when producing the container the shape of this punched sheet is an elongated octagon.

In punched sheet 11 there are provided: eight folding lines 12A-H which cross the punched sheet from one end to the other and permit to bellows fold the four lateral parts 5A-D of the container, and a central folding line 14 having an irregular octagonal shape which limits the base wall 1 of the container.

As shown in figures 3A-C, in order to obtain a container, first of all lateral wall 2 has to be folded up in such a way that the bellows parts 5A-D may fold them self in the correct way (figure 3A). Then the more internal sections of the bellow folded parts facing each other (indicated by arrow A) of the bellows folded parts have to be rigidly linked together by a first welding 6 (figure 3B).

At this stage, after having filled the container, the free edges of portions 4A-D of the container are brought into contact and are air-tight sealed (figure 3C).

In order to open the container, it is sufficient to exert a traction force T (figure 4) on the bellows-folded parts 5C,D; in this way the container is opened in correspondence of the superior free edge 2A of portions 4A-D.

At this stage the container considerably increases its volume and transforms itself in a bowl wherein the food is uniformly distributed and from where a pet can easily eat.

The base of the container may advantageously be provided with a conventional biadhesive layer having on its visible face a protective layer which may be removed when the container is used. The adhesive layer permits to fix the container to the floor so that the pet may not inadvertently move the container while eating.

Finally, it should be noted that the aforedescribed embodiment is provided by way of non-limiting example and that several modifications are possible, all failing within the same inventive concept; for example, the form of the container could be different from that aforedescribed: the lateral wall could present only one bellows-folded part; or, in other words, this lateral wall may be folded on its own in such a way that when the container is opened its volume may be increased and its shape may be changed to became as a bowl. In figures 5A-C and 6A-C there are shown two containers partially modified with respect to that described above (in figures 5A-C and 6A-C the elements in common with those described in figures 1-4B are identified with the same references). It is to be noted that, with respect to the first container the second and third are easier to manufacture because they have fewer folding lines and theirs parts 5A-D folded as a bellows have only one fold (i.e. three folding lines and not six as the parts 5A-B of the container represented in figure 3A) Compared to the containers represented in figures 1-4B and 6A-C, the embodiment in figures 5A-C is more stable and permits to stack a plurality of containers either when they are transported or when they are stacked on a shelf.

With respect to the other containers represented in figures 1-4B and 5A-C, it is to be noted that the container represented in figures 6A-C is the one that results in lesser waste of material when it is punched.

Claims

Claims:

1. A disposable container for food, in particular a one-dose container for food, of the type being made of an at least partially flexible material, comprising a base wall (1) from which at least one lateral wall (2) departs, the upper free edge (2A) of said lateral wall being sealed in an airtight manner once the container is filled; characterised in that the lateral wall (2) is shaped in such a manner that it is possible to increase the volume of the container once it is opened and that it is possible to transform it into a substantially bowl-shaped element, so that it is possible to eat directly from said bowl-shaped element.

2. A container as claimed in claim 1 , characterised in that the lateral wall (2) comprises at least a part (5A-D) partially folded like a bellows.

3. A container as claimed in claim 1 , characterised in that it is obtained folding a single sheet (11 ) comprising a plurality of folding lines (12A-H, 14).

4. A container as claimed in claim 3, characterised in that the folding lines (12A-H. 14) extend trough the whole sheet (11).

5. A container as claimed in claim 2, characterised in that the part (5A- D) folded like a bellows presents at least a part (A) where the bellows parts are linked together, in such a way that, when the container is opened, the container can not be completely flattened.

6. A container as claimed in claim 1 , characterised in that it comprises two first parts (5A, 5B) folded as a bellows and located at two longitudinally opposed positions of the container, and two second parts (5D, 5C) located in a central position in respect of said first parts, these second parts being also usable as gripping elements for opening the container.

7. A container as claimed in claim 1 , characterised in that, in correspondence with its base, it comprises means for movably connecting it to a support.

8. A container as claimed in claim 7, characterised in that the connecting means is a layer of glue.

9. A container as claimed in claim 3, characterised in that the single sheet (11) has an elongated octagon shape.

10. A container as claimed in claim 2, characterised in that the part (5A- D) partially folded like a bellows has only one fold.

11. A container as claimed in claim 1 , characterised in that it is shaped in such a manner that permits to stack a plurality of closed containers one over the other.