WO2012041937A1

WO2012041937A1 - Folding aid for cornets

Info

Publication number: WO2012041937A1
Application number: PCT/EP2011/066940
Authority: WO
Inventors: Matthias SCHRÄGLE; Thomas Klaus
Original assignee: Huhtamaki Ronsberg Zn Der Huhtamaki Deutschland Gmbh & Co. Kg
Priority date: 2010-09-29
Filing date: 2011-09-28
Publication date: 2012-04-05
Also published as: DE102010041663A8; DE102010041663A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a packaging (10), in particular for food, preferably for ice cream, comprising a packaging shell (12) that is substantially made of film material and that extends along a packaging axis (L) and surrounds said packaging axis, wherein the film material is folded at at least one axial longitudinal end of the packaging shell (12) along a circumferential folding line (F) about the packaging axis (L) and over said folding line (F) in order to form a packaging edge (R), wherein the film material has a smaller material thickness at least in some sections in a folding strip area containing the folding line (F) than in material areas adjacent to the folding strip area in directions orthogonal to the extension direction of the folding line (F) and to the thickness direction of the film material.

Description

Folding aid for pastry bags

description

The present invention relates to a package, in particular for foodstuffs, preferably for ice cream, comprising a packaging jacket substantially formed of film material which extends along and surrounds a packaging axis, the film material being disposed along at least one longitudinal axial end of the packaging jacket along a wrapping axis Folding line is folded to form a wrapping edge around the fold line.

Such packaging is widely used today. They are used, for example, for packaging ice cream produced on an industrial scale, which often comprises a cone-shaped waffle, on or / and in which the actual ice cream is arranged. In order to form a commercially available topping bag packaging for such ice cream, a packaging blank is cut out of a foil material, which has essentially the shape of a circle segment. Subsequently, the two rectilinear legs of this circle segment are connected to each other, so that a packaging jacket is formed, which has substantially the shape of a cone with an upper, circular opening. Through this opening, the ice cream to be packaged, ie the ice cream with the associated waffle, introduced from above into the packaging shell, so that the ice cream is completely covered by this. In order to close the opening present on the packaging casing and thus to produce the finished packaging, a substantially circular piece of cardboard or the like is placed as a lid element on the ice cream in the opening. Subsequently, the film material is folded over at the upper axial longitudinal end of the packaging jacket along a fold line circulating around the packaging axis around this fold line. The folded sheet material is then on the Cover element and thus prevents this can fall off the remaining packaging.

A challenge in the production of such packages is usually that the film material, which is mostly predominantly made of paper, cardboard or the like, has certain elastic properties which cause, when the film material is folded over the fold line, restoring forces arise after an end of effect of the force applied to the folding force, the folded-over film material, at least partially, spring back again. Thus, it is difficult to make a secure connection between the lid member and the rest of the package. In order to reduce this effect, the film material, at least in the folding area, in conventional packaging is usually provided with a thin metal layer, in particular aluminum layer, which markedly reduces the elastic properties of the substantially consisting of paper, cardboard or the like sheet material.

However, a disadvantage of the solution known from the prior art is that additional costs are incurred in the application of the thin metal layer to the film material. In addition, packaging produced in this way is less easily disposed of in an environmentally sound manner than packaging that has less or no metal.

It is therefore an object of the present invention, the above-mentioned packaging in such a way that even without a metal layer, a satisfactory folding around the fold line can be generated.

To achieve this object, the present invention proposes a package of the type mentioned, in which the film material at least partially in a folding strip region containing the fold line has a smaller material thickness than in material areas which the Faltstreifenbereich in to the extension direction of the fold line and adjacent to the thickness direction of the sheet material orthogonal directions.

By at least partially reducing the material thickness of the film material in the fold strip area along the fold line, the elastic restoring forces occurring when the film material folds around the fold line can be significantly reduced, without requiring the provision of an additional metal layer on the film material. Preferably, the film material is weakened only locally along the fold line, whereas material regions on both sides orthogonal to the extension direction of the fold line have a greater material thickness. However, it is not absolutely necessary, although usually preferred, that the film material is weakened along the entire fold line. Rather, it is also conceivable in principle that weakened and unattenuated sections along the extension direction of the fold line are arranged alternately.

Although the packaging according to the invention may, in principle, for example be of cylindrical design, it is most preferred, in particular for packaging the above-described ice cream with conical waffle, when the packaging casing tapers from a first axial longitudinal end to a second axial longitudinal end opposite the first axial longitudinal end. If this taper occurs conically, then the packaging can be optimally adapted to the shape of the above-described cone-shaped waffle ice cream. In particular, it is advantageous for the packaging of such cone-shaped waffle ice cream when the packaging casing has substantially the shape of a tip cone, preferably a conical one, the second longitudinal end being substantially pointed.

As already described, it is advantageous for cost and environmental reasons, and it is now also possible with the present invention for the film material to be free of metal layers at least in the fold strip area, but preferably completely. While it can be thought that the thickest layer, ie, the substrate layer, of the film material is a plastic layer, it is advantageous in terms of disposal of the package after use if the film material, as the thickest layer, comprises a paper layer, which if desired, printed. If the film material is formed essentially exclusively from the paper layer and, if appropriate, from a suitably environmentally compatible ink layer, the packaging can even be easily composted without polluting the environment, for example by liberated metal ions. This is particularly advantageous because packaging containing food to be consumed by hand is unfortunately often disposed of in the countryside rather than in garbage cans in everyday life. However, depending on the application, it may sometimes be useful to provide other paper non-paper layers in the film material of the package, such as an EVOH barrier layer that prevents a packaged food from oxidizing and thereby spoils quickly.

In order to securely connect a cover element or / and a bottom element to the remaining packaging, which is formed from the film material, it is proposed that the folded-over film material be applied to a cover element and / or a bottom element of the packaging. This is, as described above, in principle already known from the prior art. It should be noted at this point, however, that ice cream is sometimes offered for sale without a waffle in a so-called "sundae", which may additionally or alternatively to a lid member having a bottom element.

It is preferred for reasons of a restoring force-free folding behavior when the film material in Faltstreifenbereich has substantially the same degree of compression, as the film material in the material areas which the Faltstreifenbereich in the to Extension direction of the fold line are adjacent orthogonal directions.

Although basically embossing the film in the Faltstreifen area to achieve the locally reduced material thickness can not be excluded, but can be increased undesirably by embossing the degree of compression of the material and thus the restoring forces occurring. Preference is therefore given to achieving a locally reduced material thickness by material removal and / or by partial interruption of the material context, such as through a cut.

The present invention further relates to a packaging blank for producing the above-described packaging according to the invention, wherein the flat reference state packaging blank is formed substantially of film material and comprises at least one fold line whose dimension is substantially smaller in each direction orthogonal to its direction than in the direction wherein the sheet material has a smaller material thickness at least in sections in a fold strip area containing the fold line than in material areas which are adjacent to the fold strip area in directions orthogonal to the extension direction of the fold lines and to the thickness direction of the foil material. It should be noted here that in the flat reference state of the packaging blank, the Faltstreifenbereich has a width orthogonal to the extending direction of the fold line, which corresponds substantially to the width of the material weakening orthogonal to the direction of the fold line in the plane of extension of the packaging blank.

In order to be able to produce from the packaging blank a cone-shaped or truncated-cone-shaped packaging with a possibly circular, smooth packaging edge, it is proposed that in the reference state the fold line be curved and preferably continuous, for example along a circular segment path. Furthermore, it is proposed that in the reference state, when a section is viewed in a sectional plane orthogonal to the fold line, the film material in the fold strip region has a substantially rectangular or substantially V-shaped or substantially circular-arc-shaped surface contour. The shape of the surface contour can be selected, for example, depending on the film material or film materials used, and / or depending on the available tools for introducing the material weakening. In principle, it is of course also possible to weaken the film material not only one-sided, but from both sides. However, this is usually not necessary and usually not preferred due to the greater expense of producing the film package.

According to a further aspect, the present invention also relates to a method for producing the above-described inventive packaging or the packaging blank according to the invention described above, wherein the film material is laser-scored in the fold strip area along the fold line. The use of a laser for local reduction of the material thickness of the film material has several advantages. Firstly, if the material is evaporated by the laser, unlike a mechanical, machining surface treatment of the film material, no chips to be disposed of separately, which could possibly contaminate the packaging contents. On the other hand, laser lines which are not straight lines, along which the film material is to be weakened, can be continuously introduced into the film material in a simple manner. Furthermore, unlike mechanical tools which can be brought into engagement with the film material, no wear occurs on the laser. By the laser, the film material along the fold line is simply heated on its surface and thereby gently evaporated.

The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the following embodiments. It shows: 1 shows a first embodiment of the package according to the invention in the form of a cone-shaped tip bag,

2 shows a second embodiment of the packaging according to the invention in the form of a frustoconical sundae,

3 is a partial sectional view of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1,

Fig. 4 shows a packaging blank according to the invention for producing a package according to FIG. 1 and

Fig. 5a-5c greatly enlarged partial sectional views of three different

Modifications of the surface contour in the region of the fold line of the packaging blank shown in Fig. 4.

In Fig. 1, a package according to the invention in the form of a conical topping bag for packaging food, especially ice cream with an associated ice cream wafer, generally designated 10. The packaging 10 comprises a packaging material 12 formed from film material, which extends along and surrounds a packaging axis L. The packaging 10 is preferably rotationally symmetrical with respect to the packaging axis L.

While the package 10 is substantially tapered at its lower second longitudinal end, at its upper longitudinal first end opposite the second longitudinal end, it comprises a substantially annular packaging edge R. The packaging edge R is formed by longitudinally extending part of the film material of the packaging jacket 12 folded around the packaging axis L folding line F, so folded back on itself. Further, the package 10 includes a lid member 14 having the opening at the first, upper longitudinal end of Packaging 10 closes. The cover element 14 is a substantially circular cardboard disc.

As can be seen in particular in Fig. 3, which shows an enlarged partial sectional view of the packaging shown in Fig. 1, lies inside, d. H. to the packaging axis L out, folded film material of the packaging jacket 12 on the lid member 14 at. Thus, it is prevented that the lid member 14, at least without further external force, can be detached from the packaging jacket 12, thereby ensuring that the package does not open unintentionally.

4 shows a packaging blank 10 'according to the invention, which serves to produce the package 10 shown in FIG. 1 in the form of a tip bag. The packaging blank 10 'according to FIG. 4 is in a flat reference state, in which the film material 12', from which the packaging casing 12 is formed, extends substantially only in one plane, namely the drawing plane of FIG. 4. The packaging blank 10 'has in its reference state substantially the shape of a circle segment. In order to be able to connect the two rectilinear legs of the circular segment to one another, it may be advantageous to provide a connecting projection 16 'shown only in dashed lines in FIG. 4 on at least one of the two rectilinear legs. Further, on the packaging blank 10 ', the fold line F can be seen, around which the film material 12' is folded over to form the packaging edge R, to produce the package 10.

FIGS. 5a to 5c show, in high magnification, various modifications of the surface contour of the film material 12 'in a sectional plane orthogonal to the fold line F, the course of which is shown in FIG. 4 and denoted by VV. As can be seen in these figures, the thickness D of the film material 12 'in a fold line F containing fold strip area T is significantly reduced, namely in the examples shown about half. To produce this material reduction is the film material 12 'irradiated with intense laser light, which heats the surface of the film material 12' at the irradiated point such that the film material 12 'locally evaporated there. During the irradiation process, the laser is continuously guided over the surface of the packaging blank 10 'along the circular fold line F shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 5 a to 5 c, depending on the type and setting of the laser in the fold strip region T, the foil material 12 'can have a substantially rectangular or substantially V-shaped or substantially circular-arc-shaped surface contour. In this case, the film material 12 'after irradiation in the Faltstreifenbereich T has a smaller material thickness than in material areas which are adjacent to the Faltstreifenbereich T in the extension direction of the fold line F orthogonal, lying in the plane of extent of the film material 12' directions. As a result of this material reduction, it is possible to fold over the film material 12 'along the fold line, substantially without the folded-over film material springing back due to elastic restoring forces. Instead, as can be seen in Figure 3, the sheet material 12 'remains substantially in the 180 ° folded position, even if it comprises predominantly or completely paper.

2, a second embodiment of a package 20 according to the invention is shown. This differs from the packaging 10 shown in Fig. 1 in that it does not have the shape of a tip bag, but a frustoconical sundae. Thus, in addition to a packaging casing 22 and a cover element 24, the packaging 20 also includes a bottom element (not shown). In the case of the packaging 20, the film material is folded over the fold line F at both longitudinal ends along a fold line F running around the packaging axis L, forming a wrapping edge R. Thus, the bottom member may be connected to the packaging shell 22 in the same manner as the lid member 24. However, for reasons of tightness of the package 20, it may be preferable for the bottom member additionally glued or otherwise connected to the packaging sheath. Incidentally, the packaging 20 is designed in exactly the same way as the packaging 10, to the description of which, in particular also with regard to FIGS. 3 and 5a to 5c, reference is hereby explicitly made.

Claims

claims

Packaging (10; 20), in particular for foodstuffs, preferably for ice cream, comprising a packaging casing (12; 22) formed essentially of film material (12 ') which extends along and surrounds a packaging axis (L), the film material ( 12 ') is folded over the folding line (F) along at least one longitudinal axial end of the packaging jacket (12; 22) along a fold line (F) running around the packaging axis (L) to form a wrapping edge (R);

characterized in that the film material (12 ') at least partially in a fold strip (F) containing Faltstreifenbereich (T) has a smaller material thickness than in material areas which the Faltstreifenbereich (T) in the direction of extension of the fold line (F) and are adjacent to the thickness direction of the sheet material (12 ') orthogonal directions.

Packaging (10; 20) according to claim 1,

characterized in that the packaging casing (12; 22) tapers from a first axial longitudinal end to a second axial longitudinal end opposite the first axial longitudinal end, preferably conically.

Packaging (10) according to claim 2,

characterized in that the packaging casing (12) substantially in the form of a, preferably conical, tip cone, wherein the second longitudinal end is substantially tapered.

Packaging (10; 20) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the film material (12 ') is free of metal layers at least in the fold strip area (T), but preferably completely. Packaging (0; 20) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the film material (12 ') comprises, as the thickest layer, a paper layer which is optionally printed.

Packaging (10; 20) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the folded-over film material (12 ') bears against a cover element (14; 24) and / or a bottom element of the packaging (10; 20).

Packaging (10; 20) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the film material (12 ') in the fold strip area (T) has substantially the same degree of compression as the film material (12') in the areas of the material which corresponds to the fold strip area (T ) are adjacent in the directions orthogonal to the extension direction of the fold line (F).

A packaging blank (10 ') for producing a package (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the flat reference condition packaging blank (10') is substantially formed of sheet material (12 ') and comprises at least one fold line (F) whose dimension in each direction orthogonal to its course direction is substantially smaller than in the direction of travel, characterized in that the film material (12 ') at least partially in a fold line (F) containing Faltstreifenbereich (T) has a smaller material thickness than in material areas which the Faltstreifenbereich ( T) are adjacent to in the extension direction of the fold line (F) and to the thickness direction of the film material (12 ') orthogonal directions.

Packaging blank (10 ') according to claim 8,

characterized in that in the reference state, the fold line (F) curved, and preferably continuously, runs, for example along a circular segment path.

10. packaging blank (10 ') according to claim 8 or 9,

characterized in that in the reference state, when viewing a section in a to the fold line (F) orthogonal sectional plane, the film material (12 ') in the Faltstreifenbereich (T) has a substantially rectangular or substantially V-shaped or substantially circular arc-shaped surface contour ,

11. Method for producing a packaging (10; 20) according to one of Claims 1 to 7 or a packaging blank (10 ') according to one of Claims 8 to 10,

characterized in that the film material (12 ') in the Faltstreifenbereich (T) along the fold line (F) is laser-scored.