ES2824765T3 - Container for food products - Google Patents

Abstract

A container for food products, comprising a thermoformed body (1) with an inverted pyramidal conical configuration and rounded edges, with the particularity that the body (1) of the container comprises an upper outer skirt (3) and outer projections (2) bottoms at the base thereof, where the container also comprises a lid (6) with the same configuration as the contour of the mouth of the container body (1), said lid comprising skirts (8) that can be coupled to the skirt ( 3) of said container body (1), also comprising projections (7) complementary to the projections (2) in the lower part of the container body (1) in order to define stable means for stacking containers, characterized in that the container comprises a folding handle (4) that emerges from the skirt of the mouth, formed as a single piece, with a fold line (5) at its ends that defines the folding means for said handle when it is operative / inactive so that it allows the folding handle (4) to go from a rest position to the operative position without interfering with the lid (6) closed, as well as allowing the lid (6) to be opened comfortably and easily; and wherein said handle (4) comprises a lower longitudinal reinforcement rib (11), said lid comprising skirts (8) that can be coupled to the skirt (3) of said container body (1), and said skirts (8) defining respective arch bridges (10) between them, the lid (6) and the lower part of the container body (1) also comprising ventilation holes (9) that face each other when the containers are stacked; and wherein the means for stacking containers defined between the lid (6) and the bottom of said container bodies (1) have specific dimensions such that, when the containers are stacked, a horizontal space or chamber is defined between the part bottom of the container body (1) positioned above and the container lid (6) positioned below, which allows the air to flow freely.

Description

DESCRIPTION

Container for food products

Object of the invention

The present invention relates to a container for food products and, more specifically, to a small container designed for an edible product such as, for example, cherry tomatoes or any other fruit, vegetable or perishable product that requires a container with ventilation of so that it does not deteriorate quickly, or for any other non-perishable product.

The object of the invention is to provide the market and the general public with a container to market and sell food products kept in perfect condition, and wherein the container comprises a lid and a folding handle to transport it.

Furthermore, it is also the object of the invention that, when the lid is attached to the container, it forms a single article without protruding from the perimeter of the mouth of the container.

Background of the invention

Although there are containers for small perishable products, these containers have the disadvantage that, in some cases, the design of the lid prevents them from having handles or, alternatively, the way in which said handle is designed results in structural complications for the container, which consequently has a negative impact on the cost, and adds complementary components such as handles that increase production costs.

All such known containers are formed by plastic injection molding, which carries a higher manufacturing cost since it requires a greater amount of raw material to create the container.

The present type of container also has problems in keeping the products contained therein cool, due to its poor ventilation.

At the same time, and in relation to the lids of the present type of container, the lids are attached to the outer perimeter of the container mouth, which results in the lid always sticking out of said mouth, so that the space is clearly wasted. when full containers are stored, precisely because the lid protrudes from the container, in addition to having to skillfully handle the lid when it is opened and removed from the container, with the consequent problems that this entails for the user. A container comprising all the technical characteristics of the preamble of claim 1 and appended claim 2 is known from application US2003 / 0232112 A1.

Description of the invention

The described container for food products completely solves the above-mentioned disadvantage thanks to its simple but extremely efficient structure. The invention is defined by a container according to appended claim 1. The invention also is defined by a container according to appended claim 2. A preferred embodiment is defined by dependent claim 3.

For this, the container that is the invention is manufactured by means of thermoforming and comprises a handle that is articulated at its ends by means of respective hinges or folding lines in order to fold or unfold depending on how it is to be used or stored. the container and consequently behaves as a one-piece article with the body of the container itself.

The mouth of the container comprises a skirt to engage and secure the corresponding lid, the lid comprising a depression in most of its surface, that is, it defines an essentially flat base under the perimeter edge of the lid, where four equidistant ribs meet. located, and the bottom of the container comprises ridges complementary to the concentric projections of the lid in order to create a type of tongue and groove connection when stacked, making said stacks extremely stable and defining between the bottoms and the Stacked container lids a horizontal space that allows air flow between them.

The lid is coupled to the mouth of the container by means of four flaps corresponding to its corners, between which grooves are defined in the form of bridges that facilitate, in this way, the coupling of the lid. Similarly, such bridges protect the start of the container handle, and allow it to be used.

Furthermore, both the lid and the bottom or base of the container comprise holes in order to allow air to flow towards the product stored in stacked containers. These holes coincide in order to allow air to flow along the vertical line when the containers are stacked.

The handle design and lid configuration allow the handle to move from a resting position to an operating position without interfering with the lid closed, as well as allowing the lid to be opened conveniently and easily.

Finally, the container has a pyramidal light conical configuration, with clearly rounded edges, and an almost circular contour that is optimal for holding perishable products such as tomatoes and others.

It should also be noted that the lid is symmetrical in relation to the two diametrical axes, which allows it to be attached to the container in any position.

According to one embodiment, the lid comprises an outer skirt that ends with a narrow perimeter flange, which is practically a mesh, so that said skirt is provided, in turn, with a perimeter rib designed to fit into a slot designed for said purpose. in the inner contour of the mouth of the container itself and, consequently, to close or couple the lid to the container so that the rib of the skirt of the lid fits into the groove of the mouth of the container and engages and holds both elements together , with the particularity that the outer perimeter wing of the skirt of the lid ends up resting on the flat upper edge of the hard mouth of the container, and couples them together without the lid protruding from the contour of the container and keeping it flush.

Another feature of the present cap is that its side surface comprises one, two or four accessories with grooved surfaces designed to assist the user's fingertips in grasping and pulling the cap when removing it from the container itself.

In this way, when the lid is attached to the container and closes it completely, it forms a single piece or unit where the lid is flush with the upper edge of the container mouth, does not protrude from it, and makes the entire container and the lid attached to it looks like one piece.

Description of the drawings

In order to complete the invention described below and to provide a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, according to a preferred embodiment thereof, the present description is accompanied by a set of drawings in which the figures described below have been depicted, for the sake of illustration purely and should not be construed as restrictive:

Figures 1a and 1b show respective perspective views of a container for perishable food products designed according to the object of the present invention without the corresponding lid, and with the handle both in the operative and resting position.

Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the inner side of the lid of the container of Figure 1.

Figure 3 shows the same container as Figure 1 but with the lid mounted and attached to the container.

Figure 4 shows a top plan view of the container represented in the previous figure.

Figure 5 shows a detailed container cross-section of the area where the lid engages the main body of the container.

Figure 6 shows a top plan view of one embodiment of the container lid. Figure 7 shows a cross-sectional view according to section A-A of the cover represented in the previous figure.

Figure 8 shows a representation based on a general top perspective of the lid shown in the previous figures.

Figure 9 shows a detail of the coupling between the lid of the invention and the mouth of the container, closing the container completely, the mouth of said container including additional features to those shown in Figures 1 to 5 in order to coincide with the present alternative embodiment of the cap.

Preferred embodiment of the invention

As shown in the drawings above, the container for perishable food products that is the object of the invention is composed of a body (1) created by means of thermoforming, with an inverted pyramidal conical configuration, and very rounded edges.

Said body (1) has projections (2) at the base and an outer skirt (3) at its mouth, and also includes a handle (4), the ends of which have fold lines (5) that define hinges to fold said handle (4) in relation to the skirt (3) from which it emerges, made as a single piece, which allows said handle (4) to be in an inactive or resting position as shown in Figure 4, or in an operative position as shown in Figures 1 and 3. Said handle does not represent an obstacle when it is in the inactive position.

The handle (4) comprises a lower longitudinal reinforcing rib (11).

The body (1) is complemented with a closing cover (6) that comprises a depression in most of the surface of said cover (6), with four concentric projections (7) in said depression located at equidistant angles, which are complementary to the projections (2) in the lower part of the container so that when two containers are stacked, said projections (2) on the base engage the projections (7) of the lid and, therefore, provide stability to the whole. .

It has also been considered that the cover (6) also comprises skirts (8) that have the same width as the projections (7), whose skirts (8) emerge from the lower edge of said cover (6) and define between them a series of arch bridges (10), the skirts (8) defining means to be fixed to the inner edge of the skirt (3) corresponding to the body (1) of the container, so that the lid (6) is perfectly assembled and coupled to said container and, consequently, the handle (4) is allowed to fold and unfold without interfering with the lid thanks to the bridges between the skirt (8). The lid and the body are partially closed together along the perimeter, that is, not around the entire perimeter of the skirt (3) of the body (1).

Finally, both the lower part and the base of the body (1) and the lid (6) comprise holes (9) located in identical positions so that they face each other when the containers are stacked, which allows optimal ventilation of the product. stored in the container.

The present configuration of the bottom of the container defines a type of cross piece that determines a receding plane in relation to the legs or ribs for stacking the containers and consequently creates a space between the stacks in order to allow the Air flows into the container not only from under the container or lid but also horizontally between the space defined between the lid and the bottom of the stacked containers.

According to an embodiment of the cover (6 ') shown in Figures 6 to 9, said cover comprises an outer skirt (12) finished with a flat outer flange (13), with the particularity that the skirt (12) comprises a rib (14), naturally on the perimeter.

Furthermore, the lid (6 ') described comprises one or more accessories (15) with grooves (16) in the lateral surfaces thereof, designed for the reasons detailed below.

The designed cover (6 '), therefore, intends to be coupled to the mouth of the container (1') so that, when said coupling takes place, the perimeter rib (14) of the cover is fixed to a slot (17) designed for this purpose on the inside surface of the container mouth (1 '), as shown in Figure 9, with the particularity that the wing (13) of the lid rests on the upper edge (18) of the container (1 '), therefore, the lid is at the same level as the mouth of the container without protruding and forms a single piece or set in which the wing (13) stops and rests against the upper edge (18) of the container (1 ') and the skirt (12) of the lid (6') housed inside the mouth of the container, all of which has been designed so that, in order to remove the lid (6 ') of the container (1 ') when these are attached together, it is only necessary to use your fingers to pull the cover (6') supporting them in the accessories (15), and where the slots (16) are designed so that the fingers do not slide, which allows them to pull and remove the lid (6 ') from the container (1') by means of the elastic deformation of said cap.

Finally, the container (1 ') is designed to store and maintain preferably perishable food products and products and, since these need adequate ventilation, the lid (6') comprises holes (9) in order to help said ventilation.

Claims (3)

1. A container for food products, comprising a thermoformed body (1) with an inverted pyramidal conical configuration and rounded edges, with the particularity that the body (1) of the container comprises an upper outer skirt (3) and projections (2 ) lower exteriors at the base thereof, where the container also comprises a lid (6) with the same configuration as the contour of the mouth of the container body (1), said lid comprising skirts (8) that can be coupled to the skirt (3) of said container body (1), also comprising projections (7) complementary to the projections (2) in the lower part of the container body (1) in order to define stable means for stacking containers, characterized by that the container comprises a folding handle (4) that emerges from the skirt of the mouth, formed as a single piece, with a fold line (5) at its ends that defines the folding means for said handle when it is operative / inact ivo so that it allows the folding handle (4) to go from a rest position to the operative position without interfering with the lid (6) closed, as well as allowing the lid (6) to be opened comfortably and easily; and wherein said handle (4) comprises a lower longitudinal reinforcement rib (11), said lid comprising skirts (8) that can be coupled to the skirt (3) of said container body (1), and said skirts (8) defining respective arch bridges (10) between them, the lid (6) and the lower part of the container body (1) also comprising ventilation holes (9) that face each other when the containers are stacked; and wherein the means for stacking containers defined between the lid (6) and the bottom of said container bodies (1) have specific dimensions such that, when the containers are stacked, a horizontal space or chamber is defined between the part bottom of the container body (1) placed above and the container lid (6) placed below, which allows the air to flow freely. 2. A container for food products applicable to containers for perishable food products such as vegetables, fruits and other products comprising a thermoformed body (1) with an inverted pyramidal conical configuration and rounded edges, with the particularity that the body (1) of the container comprises an upper outer skirt (3) and lower outer projections (2) at the base thereof, wherein the container also comprises a lid (6 ') with the same configuration as the contour of the mouth of the body (1 ') of container, also comprising projections (7) complementary to the projections (2) in the lower part of the container body (1) in order to define stable means for stacking containers, characterized in that the container comprises a handle (4) folding that emerges from the skirt of the mouth, formed as a single piece, with a folding line (5) at its ends that defines the folding means for said handle when it is op operative / idle so that it allows the folding handle (4) to go from a rest position to the operative position without interfering with the lid (6 ') closed, as well as allowing the lid (6') to be opened comfortably and easily ; and wherein said handle (4) comprises a lower longitudinal reinforcing rib (11), the lid (6 ') and the lower part of the container body (1) also comprising ventilation holes (9) facing each other when holes are stacked; and wherein the cover (6 ') has an external skirt (12) finished with a perimeter wing (13), said skirt comprising a rib (14) under the perimeter wing (13), and said rib can fit into a groove ( 17) designed for said purpose on the inner surface of the mouth of the container (1 '), said perimeter flange of the lid resting at the same level as the upper edge of the mouth of the container body (1); and wherein the means for stacking containers defined between the lid (6 ') and the bottom of said container bodies (1) have specific dimensions such that, when the containers are stacked, a horizontal space or chamber is defined between the lower part of the container body (1) positioned above and the container lid (6 ') positioned below, which allows air to flow freely. 3. The container for food products, according to claim 2, characterized in that the lid (6 ') comprises one or more accessories (15) with grooves (16) in the lateral surfaces thereof, which are designed to help the User's fingertips grasp, pull, and remove container lid.