ES2963263T3 - A sealed container containing a pourable food product, and a packaging sheet material to produce a sealed container containing a pourable food product - Google Patents

Abstract

A sealed package (1, 1', 1'', 1''') containing a pourable food product is disclosed, comprising a bottom portion (3), an upper portion (4) and a main portion (5) interposed between the bottom portion (3) and the upper portion (4) and including a plurality of side wall portions (6); the main portion (5) is divided from the bottom portion (3) and said upper portion (4) respectively by a lower peripheral contour (8) and an upper peripheral contour (9, 9'') extending transversely with respect to a longitudinal length direction (A); each of the lower peripheral contour (8) and the upper peripheral contour (9, 9'') has a dashed line shape and is formed by a plurality of contour edges (8a, 8b, 8c; 9a, 9b, 9c; 9a'', 9b'', 9c'') joined together; the lower portion (3) comprises a quadrilateral lower panel (10) delimited by the lower peripheral contour (8) and extending orthogonal to the longitudinal direction (A); the upper portion (4) comprises a quadrilateral upper panel (14, 14'') delimited by the upper peripheral contour (9, 9'') and extending transversely to the longitudinal direction (A); the area of the lower panel (10) is different from the area of an upper quadrilateral (Q) obtained by projecting, along the longitudinal direction (A), the upper panel (14, 14'') onto a reference plane (P) parallel to the lower panel (10), crossing the package (1, 1', 1'', 1''') and containing at least one (9a, 9a'') of the contour edges (8a, 8b, 8c; 9a, 9b, 9c; 9a'', 9b'', 9c'') of the upper peripheral contour (9, 9''). (Automatic translation with Google Translate, without legal value)

Description

DESCRIPTION

A sealed container containing a pourable food product, and a packaging sheet material to produce a sealed container containing a pourable food product

The present invention relates to a sealed container containing a pourable food product.

The present invention also relates to a packaging sheet material for producing a sealed container containing a pourable food product.

As is commonly known, many pourable food products, such as fruit juice, UHT (ultra high temperature treated) milk, wine, tomato sauce, etc., are sold in containers made with a sterilized packaging material.

A common example is the parallelepiped-shaped packaging for liquid or pourable food products known as Tetra Brik Aseptic (registered trademark), which is made by folding, sealing and cutting a ribbon of laminated packaging material. In particular, the packaging material has a multi-layer structure comprising a base layer, for example, paper, covered on both sides with layers of heat-sealed plastic material, for example, polyethylene. In the case of aseptic packaging for long-term storage products, such as UHT milk, the packaging material also comprises a layer of oxygen barrier material, for example an aluminum foil, which overlays a layer of plastic material. heat-sealed, and in turn it is covered with another layer of heat-sealed plastic material that forms the interior face of the container that, finally, comes into contact with the food product.

Packaging of this type is normally produced on fully automatic packaging machines, where a continuous tube is formed from belt-fed packaging material; the ribbon of packaging material is sterilized in the packaging machine, for example by applying a chemical sterilizing agent, such as a hydrogen peroxide solution, which, after completion of sterilization, is removed from the surfaces of the packaging material, for example, by evaporation by heating; The tape thus sterilized is then kept in a sterile closed environment, and folded and sealed longitudinally to form a tube, which is fed vertically.

To complete the forming operations, the tube is filled with the sterilized or sterile processed food product, and sealed and subsequently cut along equally spaced cross sections; In this way, pillow-type packages are obtained, which are then mechanically folded to form respective finished containers in a final folding machine.

To allow folding of the tape packaging material during forming and during final folding, fold lines, i.e. weakened lines, are formed on the packaging material at the production plant using folding tools. In practice, fold lines define fold lines along which pillow packages are folded into the desired final configuration.

Alternatively, the packaging material can be cut into blanks, which are formed into packages on forming spindles, and the resulting packages are then filled with the food product and sealed. An example of this type of packaging is the so-called "gable-lid" packaging known under the trade name Tetra Rex (registered trademark).

In order to open the containers described above, they are normally provided with a removable portion, which is partially separated by an opening device from the rest of the packaging material to release a pouring opening through which to pour the product.

The removable portion is formed on the packaging material before the packaging material is folded and sealed to form the finished container.

The removable portion normally comprises a so-called "pre-laminated" hole, that is, a circular hole formed solely through the base layer of the packaging material and which is covered, when the material is laminated, with the layers of heat-sealable plastic material and of barrier material, which adhere to each other in the hole.

Each package of the above type, whether cut from a tube of packaging material or formed on a forming spindle, is obtained from a basic unit of packaging material on which fold lines have been provided.

In other words, the aforementioned basic unit represents the exact length of packaging material used to produce a single container.

In the case of containers manufactured from a tube of packaging material, the original tape includes a plurality of basic units joined together; In the case of containers manufactured on forming spindles, the basic unit is defined by the rough cutting of the tape before beginning the forming and sealing operations.

The basic unit typically has a rectangular or square configuration with two boundary edges, parallel to a longitudinal direction, and two other boundary edges parallel to a transverse direction, orthogonal to the longitudinal direction.

Once the basic unit is folded and sealed to form the respective finished container, the longitudinal direction becomes the direction along which the total height of the container itself is defined; The longitudinal direction also represents the main direction of extension of the tape from which the basic unit is obtained.

The basic unit usually includes at least two transverse fold lines that extend transversely to the longitudinal direction and divide the basic unit itself into:

- a lower region containing a lower fold pattern and configured to form a lower portion of the finished container;

- an upper region that contains a top fold pattern and is configured to form an upper portion of the finished container; and

- an intermediate region contained between the transverse fold lines, interposed between the lower region and the upper region and generally having a plurality of longitudinal fold lines designed to form side edges of a plurality of side walls of the finished container.

The transverse fold lines are also configured to define a lower peripheral contour and an upper peripheral contour of the finished container, which have infinite configurations and which respectively divide the lower portion and the upper portion with respect to the main portion.

The bottom portion of the finished container typically includes a flat, horizontal bottom panel that defines the supporting surface of the container itself.

The upper portion of the finished container may include a flat and horizontal top panel, parallel to the bottom panel; Alternatively, it is very convenient to use sloping top panels in combination with opening devices because they are wider than the corresponding flat top panels of parallelepiped or prismatic containers and therefore allow the application of larger opening devices, e.g. e.g., provided with screw caps or similar.

As is known, after production the containers are transported to the points of sale by placing them on transport pallets, which have predetermined sizes. Therefore, in the field of packaging there is an important need to optimize the filling of transport pallets with finished containers while maintaining a pleasing appearance of such containers.

EP2650222 addresses the problem of providing a packaging container with a new triangular cross section, and a production method for said container. The packaging container is obtained by the following actions: molding and forming a tube by vertical sealing of a packaging material in the form of a tape; filling the inside of the tube-shaped packaging material; seal horizontally in the transverse direction of the tube-shaped packaging material; forming a pillow-shaped container body; cutting individual pillow-shaped container bodies; give a final shape by folding along folds to form a top wall, a side wall and a bottom wall, and attach formed flaps and flaps to said walls. The upper wall and the lower wall have a triangular shape and a rectangular triangular shape, respectively; the cross section in the transverse direction of a main body of packaging container, formed by four ridges connecting the triangulation points of the upper wall and the four corner points of the lower wall, is trapezoidal, and a corner point of the horizontal top wall protrudes towards the front side wall.

Document WO2017/001162 discloses a spout element for packaging, in particular for composite packaging for liquid food products, said container having a gable-shaped polyhedral region and folded packaging shell flaps, and the spout element having a body main, a polyhedral flange that serves to connect to a packaging casing and whose connecting surfaces converge at meeting points of surfaces; composite containers for liquid foods, with a polyhedral gable-shaped area and folded packaging shell flaps, in which packaging the packaging shell is correspondingly connected to the spigot; and composite containers for liquid food products having said spout element. To keep the packaging intact and therefore watertight during the connection process between the spigot element and the packaging casing, and during the folding of the packaging casing flaps, formation is provided in the area of the points of Meeting of receiving area surfaces for the packaging carcass flap folding line.

Document EP2392517 describes a sealed container for pourable food products, comprising a quadrangular bottom panel with a first leading edge and a second trailing edge, opposite each other; a quadrangular top panel that is opposite to the bottom panel and comprising a third leading edge and a fourth trailing edge; a front panel extending between the first and third edges; and a rear panel extending between the second and fourth edges; the distance between the first and third edges is less than the distance between the second and fourth edges; the top panel is angled with respect to a first plane defined by the first and second edges; the first and third edges define a second theoretical reference plane; the front panel comprises a fifth and sixth edges, which are opposite each other and extend between the first and second edges; at least one of the fifth and sixth front edges extends at least partially on the opposite side of a theoretical second plane with respect to the rear panel; The front panel comprises at least a first region extending on the opposite side of a theoretical second plane with respect to the rear panel.

Therefore, an objective of the present invention is to provide a sealed container containing a pourable food product, which allows the aforementioned need to be met in a simple and low-cost manner. This objective is achieved by a sealed container according to claim 1.

This objective is also achieved by a packaging sheet material to produce a sealed container containing a pourable food product, according to claim 13.

Four preferred non-limiting embodiments of the present invention will be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a sealed container in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a smaller scale front view of the container of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a smaller scale side view of the container of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a smaller scale bottom view of the container of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is the projection, along a vertical direction, of a top panel of the container of Figure 3 onto a horizontal plane containing an upper front edge of the top panel itself;

Figure 6 is a front view of a basic unit of a packaging sheet material according to the present invention, from which the container of Figures 1 to 5 is obtained;

Figure 7 is a perspective view of a sealed container according to a different embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 8 is a front view of a basic unit of a sheet packaging material according to the present invention, from which the container of Figure 7 is obtained;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a sealed container according to another embodiment of the present invention; Figure 10 is a front view of a basic unit of a sheet packaging material according to the present invention, from which the container of Figure 9 is obtained;

Figure 11 is a perspective view of a sealed container according to a further embodiment of the present invention; and

Figure 12 is a front view of a basic unit of a sheet packaging material according to the present invention, from which the container of Figure 11 is obtained.

In Figures 1 to 5 the number 1 indicates, as a whole, a sealed container in accordance with the present invention, which contains a pourable food product and is obtained from a sheet packaging material 2 as shown in Figure 6 .

The container 1 comprises a lower portion 3, an upper portion 4 and a main portion 5 interposed between the lower portion 3 and the upper portion 4 and including a plurality of side wall portions 6, each delimited by two edge zones 7 opposite sides.

The main portion 5 is divided with respect to the lower portion 3 by a lower peripheral contour 8 having an endless configuration, defined by a broken line. In a completely analogous manner, the main portion 5 is divided with respect to the upper portion 4 by an upper peripheral contour 9, also having an infinite configuration defined by a broken line.

The lower portion 3 includes a flat and horizontal lower panel 10 that has a quadrilateral profile, that is, rectangular or square (rectangular is shown in the example), and defines the support surface of the container itself.

The lower panel 10 is delimited by the lower peripheral contour 8 which is in turn formed by four segments or contour edges, that is, a lower front edge 8a, a lower rear edge 8b parallel to the lower front edge 8a and two side edges bottoms 8c, orthogonal to the lower front edge 8a and to the lower rear edge 8b.

Due to the rectangular profile of the bottom panel 10, the bottom front edge 8a and the bottom rear edge 8b have the same length; The same applies to the lower side edges 8c, which also have the same length.

The container 1 extends vertically along a longitudinal direction A, which is orthogonal to the bottom panel 10 and along which the total height of the container 1 itself is defined. The longitudinal direction A is also orthogonal to the lower front edge 8a , to the lower rear edge 8b and to the lower side edges 8c of the lower peripheral contour 8.

It should be noted that, in the present description and in the claims, the expression "total height" means the height of the container when the latter has a constant height or the maximum height of the container when the latter has a variable height.

The lower portion 3 further includes two lower side flaps 11 that have substantially triangular configurations and are folded in a known manner over the lower panel 10 (Figure 4).

The upper portion 4 includes a flat and inclined upper panel 14 having a quadrilateral profile, that is, square or rectangular, and having a configuration inclined forward with respect to the longitudinal direction A.

In the example shown in Figures 1 and 3, the top panel 14 is a rectangle approximating a square.

The upper panel 14 is delimited by the upper peripheral contour 9 which is in turn formed by four segments or contour edges, that is, an upper front edge 9a parallel to the lower front edge 8a and the lower rear edge 8b, a rear edge upper 9b, parallel to the upper front edge 9a and arranged higher than the upper front edge 9a itself, and two upper side edges 9c, orthogonal to the upper front edge 9a and the upper rear edge 9b and inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction A.

As a consequence, the upper peripheral contour 9 extends transversely with respect to the longitudinal direction A.

Due to the rectangular profile of the top panel 14, the top front edge 9a and the top rear edge 9b have the same length; The same applies to the upper side edges 9c, which also have the same length.

The upper portion 4 further includes two upper side flaps 15 that have substantially triangular configurations and are folded in a known manner over two opposite side wall portions 6 of the main portion 5.

As seen in Figures 1 to 3 and 5, the upper portion 4 is also provided with an opening device 16 of plastic material placed on and around a removable portion 17 (Figure 6) of the packaging material 2. The opening device 16 is applied to the top panel 14 by conventional attachment systems, such as adhesives, or by microflame, electric current induction, ultrasound, laser, injection molding or other heat sealing techniques.

In the example shown in Figures 1 and 5, the main portion 5 of the container 1 includes four side wall portions 6 with different profiles and sizes; Advantageously, the side edge zones 7 that delimit the side wall portions 6 have rounded configurations.

In particular, a first side wall portion 6, designed to define a front face of the container 1, has a substantially rectangular configuration delimited, at the bottom and top, by the straight lower front edge 8a and the upper front edge 9a, and , on opposite sides, by respective rounded and convex lateral edge areas 7.

A second side wall portion 6, designed to define a rear face of the container 1, also has a substantially rectangular configuration and is delimited, at the bottom and top, by the straight lower rear edge 8b and the upper rear edge 9b, and , on opposite sides, by respective rounded and convex lateral edge areas 7; This second side wall portion 6 is oriented towards the side wall portion 6 designed to define the front face of the container 1 and has a height, parallel to the longitudinal direction A, greater than the height of this last side wall portion 6. .

Each of the other two side wall portions 6 has a profile that substantially resembles a rectangular trapezoid, delimited:

- at the bottom, by a respective horizontal lower lateral edge 8c;

- at the top, by a respective inclined upper lateral edge 9c; and

- on opposite sides, by respective rounded and convex lateral edge areas 7.

The two side wall portions 6 having trapezoidal profiles receive respective upper side flaps 15 on their outer surfaces.

According to an important aspect of the present invention, the area of the lower panel 10 is different from the area of an upper quadrilateral Q (Figure 5) which is obtained by projecting, along the longitudinal direction A, the upper panel 14 on a reference plane P (Figure 3) parallel to the lower panel 10, which crosses the container 1 and contains the upper front edge 9a of the upper peripheral contour 9.

In particular, the area of the lower panel 10 is less than the area of the upper quadrilateral Q.

According to another possible variant not shown, the area of the lower panel 10 may be larger than the area of the upper quadrilateral Q.

Analogously to the top panel 14, the top quadrilateral Q is a square or a rectangle, with the examples showing a rectangle approximating a square.

With particular reference to Figure 5, the upper quadrilateral Q includes an upper front segment Q1, corresponding to the lower front edge 8a, an upper rear segment Q2, corresponding to the lower rear edge 8b, and two upper side segments Q3, corresponding respectively to the lower lateral edges 8c.

Preferably, the upper side segments Q3 have the same length, which in turn is different from the length of the lower side edges 9c. More specifically, in the example shown, the length of the lower side edges 9c is less than the length of the upper side segments Q3.

Similarly, the upper front segment Q1 and the upper rear segment Q2 have the same length, which in turn is different from the length of the lower front edge 8a and the lower rear edge 8b.

More specifically, in the example shown, the length of the lower front edge 8a and the lower rear edge 8b is greater than the length of the upper front segment Ql and the upper rear segment Q2.

The packaging material 2 from which the container 1 is manufactured is shown in Figure 6, and has a known multi-layer structure (not shown) comprising a base layer, for example of paper, to provide rigidity, and a series of lamination layers covering both sides of the base layer.

Preferably, the lamination layers comprise a layer of oxygen barrier material, e.g. e.g., a sheet of aluminum, and several layers of heat-sealable plastic material covering both sides of the base layer and both sides of the layer of oxygen barrier material. In other words, starting from the side that will finally form the interior of the container 1, the packaging material 2 comprises a layer of heat-sealable plastic material, a layer of oxygen barrier material, another layer of heat-sealable plastic material, the base layer , and one or more additional layers of heat-sealable plastic material.

The letter M in Figure 6 indicates a basic unit of packaging material 2, by which the container 1 can be produced, and which can be a previously cut blank, or a portion of a ribbon of packaging material comprising a sequence of basic units M.

In the first case, the basic unit M is bent on a known forming screw (not shown), filled with the food product and sealed at the top portion to form the final package.

In the second case, which is described herein with reference to Figures 1 to 12, the packaging material tape 2, comprising a succession of basic units M, is:

- folds into a cylinder and seals longitudinally to form a vertical tube;

- continuously filled with the food product; and

- seals transversely and is cut to form basic units M, which are then folded to form respective containers 1.

Once these operations are completed, container 1 has:

- a lower transverse sealing band 18 (Figure 5) that crosses the lower panel 10 along a central line thereof and extends parallel to the lower front edge 8a and the lower rear edge 8b;

- an upper transverse sealing band 19 (Figures 1 to 4) crossing the upper panel 14 parallel to, and between, the upper front edge 9a and the upper rear edge 9b; and

- a longitudinal sealing strip 20 extending perpendicularly between the lower transverse sealing strip 18 and the upper transverse sealing strip 19 along respective portions of the lower panel 10 and the upper panel 14, and along the portion 6 side wall that defines the rear face of container 1.

More specifically, once the container 1 is completely sealed and formed, the bottom panel 10 is traversed by a lower transverse sealing tape 18 and by an end portion 20a of the longitudinal sealing strip 20 extending perpendicularly from the tape. 18 lower transverse sealing.

In a completely analogous manner, once the container 1 is completely sealed and formed, the top panel 14 is traversed by an upper transverse sealing band 19 and by an end portion 20b of the longitudinal sealing band 20 extending perpendicularly from the transverse sealing band 19 upper and opposite the end portion 20a; In more detail, the upper transverse sealing strip 19 divides the top panel 14 into two zones 14a, 14b and the end portion 20b of the longitudinal sealing strip 20 extends over one (14b) of such zones 14a, 14b of a intermediate portion of the upper transverse sealing band 19. During the forming operations to obtain container 1, the upper transverse sealing band 19 is folded over the area 14b and the end portion 20b of the longitudinal sealing band 20; In this way, zone 14a has a larger area than zone 14b and is therefore more suitable for receiving the removable portion 17 and the opening device 16.

In the example shown in Figure 6, the removable portion 17 has a circular profile and is designed to, during use, be at least partially detached from the rest of the packaging material by the opening device 16 to release a pouring opening through from which the product is poured.

The removable portion 17 is formed on the packaging material 2 before the packaging material 2 itself is folded and sealed to form the finished container.

In the present case, the removable portion 17 comprises a so-called "pre-laminated" hole, that is, a circular hole formed only through the base layer of the packaging material 2 and which is covered, when the packaging material 2 itself is laminated. , with the layers of heat-sealed plastic material and oxygen barrier material, which adhere to each other in the hole.

With particular reference to Figure 6, the basic unit M of the packaging material 2 has a rectangular configuration and is delimited by:

- two lateral boundary edges 22 parallel to a longitudinal direction, which coincides with the longitudinal direction A in a vertical condition of the basic unit M;

- a lower boundary edge 23 parallel to a transverse direction B, orthogonal to the longitudinal direction A; and - an upper boundary edge 24 parallel to the transverse direction B and the lower boundary edge 23.

The basic unit M of packaging material 2 comprises a series of fold lines defining respective folding lines, along which the packaging material 2 is folded to form the finished container 1. More specifically, the basic unit M comprises two transverse fold lines 25, 26 extending transversely with respect to the longitudinal direction A and dividing the basic unit M itself into:

- a lower region 27 containing a lower fold pattern 28 and configured to form the lower portion 3 of the container 1;

- an upper region 29 containing an upper fold pattern 30 and configured to form the upper portion 4 of the container 1; and

- an intermediate region 31 contained between the transverse fold lines 25, 26, interposed between the lower region 27 and the upper region 29 and designed to form the side wall portions 6 of the container 1.

The transverse fold line 25 extends parallel to the lower boundary edge 23 and the upper boundary edge 24, and is arranged closer to the lower boundary edge 23 than the transverse fold line 26. The transverse fold line 25 is configured to define the lower peripheral contour 8 of the container 1.

In particular, transverse fold line 25 includes:

- a lower central portion 25a configured to define the lower front edge 8a of the container 1;

- two lower end portions 25b arranged on opposite sides of the lower central portion 25a, located adjacent to the respective lateral boundary edges 22 and configured to define the lower rear edge 8b of the container 1; and

- two lower side portions 25c, extending adjacent to opposite sides of the lower central portion 25a, connecting the central portion 25a itself to the respective end portions 25b and designed to define the respective lower side edges 8c of the container 1.

The transverse fold line 26 is arranged closer to the upper boundary edge 24 than the transverse fold line 25, and is configured to define the upper peripheral contour 9 of the container 1. In particular, the transverse fold line 26 is in the shape of a line broken with:

- an upper central portion 26a, parallel to the transverse direction B and configured to define the upper front edge 9a of the container 1;

- two upper end portions 26b parallel to the transverse direction B, arranged closer to the upper boundary edge 24 than the upper central portion 26a and configured to define the rear upper edge 9b of the container 1; and

- two inclined upper side portions 26c, having inclined configurations with respect to the longitudinal direction A and the transverse direction B, and each of which connects the upper central portion 26a with the respective upper end portions 26b.

As seen in Figure 6, the upper lateral portions 26c converge towards the upper central portion 26a.

The basic unit M includes two additional transverse fold lines 32, 33 that extend parallel to direction B and are close to the lower boundary edge 23 and the upper boundary edge 24, respectively; The transverse fold lines 32, 33 delimit with the lower boundary edge 23 and the upper boundary edge 24, respectively, a lower transverse sealing area 34 and an upper transverse sealing area 35 configured to define the lower transverse sealing band 18 and the upper transverse sealing band 19 of container 1.

The bottom fold pattern 28 is designed to produce the bottom panel 10 and the bottom side flaps 11 of the container 1. In particular, the bottom fold pattern 28 includes, in a known manner, four longitudinal fold lines 36a, 36b parallel to the longitudinal direction A and extending between transverse fold lines 25 and 32.

The longitudinal fold lines 36b are the innermost, while the longitudinal fold lines 36a are located near the opposite lateral boundary edges 22; The area between the longitudinal fold lines 36b, as well as the areas delimited by the longitudinal fold lines 36a with the respective lateral boundary edges 22, are configured to define the bottom panel 10 of the container 1.

In each of the areas delimited between the longitudinal fold lines 36a and 36b, the lower fold pattern 28 further includes two additional fold lines 37, 38 inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction A and the transverse direction B.

In particular, the additional fold lines 37, 38 of each pair have a common end located at the transverse fold line 32 and opposite ends located at the intersection points between the transverse fold line 25 and the lines 36a and 36b. longitudinal folds, respectively. In this way, each pair of additional fold lines 37, 38 delimits a triangle 39 with the transverse fold line segment 25 included between the additional fold lines 37, 38 themselves.

Each area between the longitudinal fold lines 36a and 36b is configured to define a respective lower side flap 11 of the container 1.

The top fold pattern 30 is designed to produce the top panel 14 and the top side flaps 15 of the container 1. In particular, the top fold pattern 30 includes four longitudinal fold lines 40a, 40b parallel to the longitudinal direction A and which They extend between transverse fold lines 26 and 33.

The longitudinal fold lines 40b are the innermost, while the longitudinal fold lines 40a are located near the opposite lateral boundary edges 22; The area between the longitudinal fold lines 40b, as well as the areas delimited by the longitudinal fold lines 40a with the respective lateral boundary edges 22, are configured to define the top panel 14 of the container 1. The removable portion 17 is formed in the area of the upper region 29 included between the longitudinal fold lines 40b.

In each of the areas delimited between the longitudinal fold lines 40a and 40b, the upper fold pattern 30 further includes two additional fold lines 41,42 inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction A and the transverse direction B.

In particular, the additional fold lines 41, 42 of each pair have a common end located on the transverse fold line 33 and opposite ends located at, or adjacent to, the opposite ends of the respective inclined upper lateral portion 26c of transverse fold line 26.

In this way, each pair of additional fold lines 41,42 delimits a triangle 43 with the respective upper lateral portion 26c of the transverse fold line 26.

Each area between the longitudinal fold lines 40a and 40b is configured to define a respective upper side flap 15 of the container 1.

According to an important aspect of the present invention, the length of the upper central portion 26a of the transverse fold line 26 is different from the length of the lower central portion 25a of the transverse fold line 25; Furthermore, the length of each of the lower lateral portions 25c of the transverse fold line 25 is also different from the length of the projection R, parallel to the longitudinal direction A, of each of the upper lateral portions 26c of the transverse fold line 26 on a reference line S parallel to the transverse fold line 25 and containing the upper central portion 26a.

In particular, the length of the upper central portion 26a is less than the length of the lower central portion 25a; differently, the length of each projection R is greater than the length of the corresponding lower lateral portion 25c.

As seen in Figure 6, the length of the lower central portion 25a corresponds to the length of the transverse fold line segment 32 included between the longitudinal fold lines 36b; In a completely analogous manner, the length of the upper central portion 26a corresponds to the length of the transverse fold line segment 33 included between the longitudinal fold lines 40b.

The same applies to the lower side portions 25c, whose lengths correspond to the lengths of the respective transverse fold line segments 32 comprised between each pair of longitudinal fold lines 36a and 36b. Similarly, the lengths of the projections R correspond to the lengths of the respective transverse fold line segments 33 comprised between each pair of longitudinal fold lines 40a and 40b.

It is important to note that the length of the upper front segment Q1 and the upper rear segment Q2 of the upper quadrilateral Q corresponds to the length of the upper central portion 26a; Similarly, the length of the upper lateral segments Q3 of the upper quadrilateral Q corresponds to the length of the projections R.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 6, the intermediate region 31 includes a central transverse band 44 that has a uniform structure, that is, without any folding or weakening, and which crosses the areas of the intermediate region 31 itself designed to form the respective side edge zones 7 of the side wall portions 6 of the container 1.

Preferably, the intermediate region 31 of the basic unit M further comprises a plurality of V-shaped fold lines 45 having respective vertices 46 located at or adjacent to the transverse fold lines 25, 26, and at given points of the same designed to define the opposite ends of the respective side edge zones 7 that delimit the side wall portions 6 of the container 1; each V-shaped fold line 45 extends from and in proximity to the respective transverse fold line 25, 26 to the central transverse band 44 and comprises two legs 47 diverging from the respective vertex 46.

In particular, each V-shaped fold line 45 extends from the respective transverse fold line 25, 26 towards the other transverse fold line 26, 25 and has a size, parallel to the longitudinal direction A, greater than zero. and less than a quarter, preferably less than a tenth, of the total height of the intermediate region 31 measured parallel to the longitudinal direction A itself.

It should be noted that, in the present description and in the claims, the expression "total height of the intermediate region 31" corresponds to the total height of the container.

In practice, each V-shaped fold line 45 extending from the transverse fold line 25 and the corresponding V-shaped fold line 45 extending from the transverse fold line 26 are spaced parallel to the direction longitudinal a.

Preferably, each V-shaped fold line 45 has a size, parallel to the longitudinal direction A, smaller than the maximum height of the lower region 27 or the upper region 29 measured parallel to the longitudinal direction A itself.

More preferably, each leg of the V-shaped fold lines 45 has a length less than the maximum length of the heights of the triangles 39, 43 with reference to their bases on the respective transverse fold lines 25, 26.

In the example shown, each V-shaped fold line 45 has a size, parallel to the longitudinal direction A, substantially equal to one fourteenth of the total height of the intermediate region 31 measured parallel to the longitudinal direction A itself.

As can be seen in Figures 1 to 4, the V-shaped fold lines 45 are the only fold lines present in the intermediate region 31 in the areas designed to define the lateral edge zones 7 between the wall portions 6 side of container 1.

Due to the absence of continuous longitudinal fold lines between the transverse fold lines 25, 26, the resulting container 1 has a round configuration along the side edge zones 7. The V-shaped fold lines 45 perform the function of facilitating the folding of the packaging material 2 at the corners between the side edge areas 7 of the side wall portions 6 and the lower peripheral contour 8 and the peripheral contour upper 9, without affecting the round configuration of the lateral edge areas 7.

In the example shown, the legs 47 of each V-shaped fold line 45 are rectilinear or straight; As a possible alternative not shown, the legs 47 of each V-shaped fold line 45 may also be curved, preferably with their concavities mutually oriented.

Preferably, the legs 47 of each V-shaped fold line 45 delimit an angle between 45° and 90°.

The number 1' in Figure 7 indicates as a whole a different embodiment of a sealed container according to the present invention and which is obtained by a basic unit M' (Figure 8) of sheet packaging material 2. Container 1 ' is similar to container 1, the following description being limited to the differences between them and using the same references, when possible, for identical or corresponding parts; The same applies to the basic units M' and M.

In particular, container 1' differs from container 1 only in that the side edge zones 7 between the side wall portions 6 are defined by respective longitudinal fold lines 50 extending between transverse fold lines 25 and 26. The longitudinal fold lines 50 are slightly inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction A due to the different lengths between the lower central portion 25a and the upper central portions 26a of the transverse fold lines 25, 26, as well as between the lower lateral portions 25c of the transverse fold line 25 and its respective projections R on the reference line S.

In this case, there is no need for V-shaped fold lines, so they are absent.

The number 1'' in Figure 9 as a whole indicates a different embodiment of a sealed container according to the present invention and which is obtained by a basic unit M'' (Figure 10) of sheet packaging material 2. Container 1'' is similar to container 1, the following description being limited to the differences between them and using the same references, when possible, for identical or corresponding parts; The same applies to the basic units M'' and M.

In particular, container 1'' differs from container 1 only in that it has an upper panel 14'' that extends horizontally and parallel with respect to the lower panel 10.

In more detail, the upper panel 14'' is delimited by an upper peripheral contour 9'' (formed by edges 9a'', 9b'', 9c'') parallel to the lower peripheral contour 8 and derived from a transverse fold line 26'' also parallel to transverse fold line 25 and transverse direction B.

In this case, the upper panel 14''' extends entirely on the reference plane P and therefore the projection of the upper panel 14''' on this last plane, that is, the upper quadrilateral Q, coincides with the panel itself. top 14''.

The same applies to the projections R of the upper lateral portions 26c" of the transverse fold line 26" on the reference line S, which coincide with the upper lateral portions 26c" themselves; in fact, in this case, the line Reference S coincides with the 26" top transverse fold line.

The number 1"' in Figure 11 indicates as a whole a different embodiment of a sealed container according to the present invention and which is obtained by a basic unit M''' (Figure 12) of sheet packaging material 2. The container 1'' is similar to container 1'', the following description being limited to the differences between them and using the same references, where possible, for identical or corresponding parts; the same applies to the basic units M''' and; M''.

In particular, container 1''' differs from container 1'' only in that the side edge zones 7 between the side wall portions 6 are defined by respective longitudinal fold lines 50 extending between lines 25 and 26. transverse folds. Even in this case, the longitudinal fold lines 50 are slightly inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction A due to the different lengths between the lower central portion 25a and the upper central portion 26a'' of the fold lines 25, 26''. transverse, as well as between the lower lateral portions 25c and the upper lateral portion 26c''' of the same transverse fold lines 25, 26'''.

Thanks to the presence of longitudinal fold lines 50, there is no need for V-shaped fold lines, so they are absent.

The advantages of the containers 1, 1', 1'', 1''' and the basic units M, M', M'', M''' of the packaging material 2 according to the present invention will become clear from from the previous description.

In particular, all the packaging solutions 1, 1', 1'', 1''' described have lower portions 3 slightly different from the upper portions 4. In this way, it is possible to optimize the filling of the transport pallets with the finished containers 1, 1 ', 1 '', 1 ''', which present high flexibility in their dimensions without imparting relevant changes in their appearance. For example, a lower portion 3 that is thinner than the upper portion 4 makes it possible to compensate for the bulging effect produced by gravity on the pourable product contained in the container when it is placed in a vertical position, because said product tends to accumulate in the lower portion of the container. own container 1, 1 ', 1 '', 1 ''', 1 ''''.

Clearly, changes can be made to the containers 1, 1', 1'', 1''' and the basic units M, m', M'', M''' of packaging material 2 as described and illustrated in the present document without however departing from the scope of protection as defined in the attached claims.

Claims (20)

1. A sealed container (1, 1', 1", 1"') containing a pourable food product and comprising a lower portion (3), an upper portion (4) and a main portion (5) interposed between said lower portion (3) and said upper portion (4) and including a plurality of side wall portions (6); wherein said main portion (5) is divided with respect to said lower portion (3) and said upper portion (4), respectively, by a lower peripheral contour (8) and an upper peripheral contour (9, 9''), each of them having an endless configuration and extending transversely with respect to a longitudinal direction (A), along which the total height of the container is defined (1, 1 ', 1 '', 1 ''') ; wherein each of said lower peripheral contour (8) and said upper peripheral contour (9, 9'') has a broken line shape and is formed by a plurality of edges (8a, 8b, 8c; 9a, 9b, 9c ; 9a'', 9b'', 9c'') contour joined together; wherein said lower portion (3) comprises a quadrilateral lower panel (10) delimited by said lower peripheral contour (8), formed in turn by a lower front edge (8a), a lower rear edge (8b) parallel to said edge lower front edge (8a) and two lower side edges (8c) of said container (1, 1', 1'', 1''') orthogonal to said lower front edge (8a) and said lower rear edge (8b), extending said quadrilateral lower panel (10) orthogonally to said longitudinal direction (A); and wherein said upper portion (4) comprises a quadrilateral upper panel (14, 14'') delimited by said upper peripheral contour (9, 9''), formed in turn by an upper front edge (9a, 9a'') parallel to said lower front edge (8a) and said lower rear edge (8b), an upper rear edge (9b, 9b'') parallel to said upper front edge (9a, 9a'') and two upper side edges (9c, 9c'') of said container (1, 1', 1", 1"') orthogonal to said upper front edge (9a, 9a'') and said upper rear edge (9b, 9b''), said upper panel extending quadrilateral (14, 14'') transversely to said longitudinal direction (A); characterized in that the area of the lower panel (10) is different from the area of an upper quadrilateral (Q) that is obtained by projecting, along said longitudinal direction (A), said upper panel (14, 14'') onto a reference plane (P) parallel to said lower panel (10), which crosses the container (1, 1', 1'', 1''') and which contains at least one (9a, 9a'') of the edges (9a, 9b, 9c; 9a'', 9b'', 9c'') of the contour of said upper peripheral contour (9, 9''). 2. The container according to claim 1, wherein said reference plane (P) contains at least said upper front edge (9a, 9a'') of the edges (9a, 9b, 9c; 9a'', 9b' ', 9c'') contour of said upper peripheral contour (9, 9''). 3. The container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the area of said lower panel (10) is less than the area of said upper quadrilateral (Q). 4. The container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said upper quadrilateral (Q) includes an upper front segment (Q1), corresponding to said lower front edge (8a), an upper rear segment (Q2), corresponding to said lower rear edge (8b), and two upper lateral segments (Q3), corresponding respectively to said lower lateral edges (8c). 5. The container according to claim 4, wherein said lower side edges (8c) have the same length and said upper side segments (Q3) have the same length; and where the length of said lower lateral edges (8c) is different from the length of said upper lateral segments (Q3). 6. The container according to claim 5, wherein said length of said lower side edges (8c) is less than said length of said upper side segments (Q3). 7. The container according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein said lower front edge (8a) and said lower rear edge (8b) have the same length and said upper front segment (Q1) and said upper rear segment (Q1, Q2) have the same length; and wherein the length of said lower front edge (8a) and said lower rear edge (8b) is different from the length of said upper front segment (Q1) and said upper rear segment (Q2). 8. The container according to claim 7, wherein said length of said lower front edge (8a) and said lower rear edge (8b) is greater than said length of said upper front segment (Q1) and said upper rear segment ( Q2). 9. The container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said upper panel (14) is inclined with respect to said lower panel (10), said reference plane (P) and said longitudinal direction (A). 10. The container according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein said upper panel (14'') is parallel to said lower panel (10) and wherein said upper quadrilateral (Q) coincides with said upper panel ( 14''). 11. The container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein each of said side wall portions (6) is delimited by two rounded and outwardly convex side edge areas (7). 12. The container according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein each of said side wall portions (6) is delimited by two straight side edge areas (7). 13. A sheet packaging material (M, M', M' ', M''') for producing a sealed container (1, 1', 1'', 1"') containing a pourable food product, having said packaging material (M, M', M'', M''') a rectangular or square configuration with two bordering edges (22) parallel to a longitudinal direction (A) and a lower bordering edge (23) and a bordering edge upper (24) parallel to a transverse direction (B), orthogonal to said longitudinal direction (A); said packaging material (M, M', M'', M''') comprising at least one line (25) of lower transverse fold and an upper transverse fold line (26, 26'') that extend transversely to said longitudinal direction (A) and that divide the packaging material (M, M', M'', M''') in: - a lower region (27) that contains a lower fold pattern (28) and is configured to form a lower portion (3) of said container (1, 1', 1'', 1'''); - an upper region (29) that contains an upper fold pattern (30) and is configured to form an upper portion (4) of said container (1, 1', 1'', 1'''); and - an intermediate region (31) contained between said lower transverse fold line (25) and said upper transverse fold line (26, 26''), interposed between said lower region (27) and said upper region (29) and designed to form a main portion (5) of said container (1, 1', 1'', 1''') having a plurality of side wall portions (6); wherein said lower transverse fold line (25) and said upper transverse fold line (26, 26'') are configured to define a lower peripheral contour (8) and an upper peripheral contour (9, 9'') of said container (1, 1', 1'', 1''') that respectively divide said lower portion (3) and said upper portion (4) with respect to said main portion (5); wherein said lower transverse fold line (25) extends parallel to said transverse direction (B) and includes a lower central portion (25a), designed to define a lower front edge (8a) of said container (1, 1' , 1'', 1'''), two lower end portions (25b) arranged on opposite sides of said lower central portion (25a), located adjacent to the respective lateral boundary edges (22) and configured to define a rear edge bottom (8b) of said container (1, 1', 1'', 1'''), two lower lateral portions (25c), which extend on opposite sides of said lower central portion (25a) to the respective portions ( 25b) end and are designed to define respective lower side edges (8c) of said container (1, 1 ', 1 '', 1 '''); wherein said upper transverse fold line (26, 26'') includes an upper central portion (26a, 26a''), designed to define an upper front edge (9a, 9a'') of said container (1, 1 ', 1'', 1'''), two upper end portions (26b, 26b'') parallel to said transverse direction (B) and configured to define an upper rear edge (9b, 9b'') of said container (1, 1', 1'', 1'''), two upper lateral portions (26c, 26c''), which extend on opposite sides of said upper central portion (26a, 26a'') and are designed to define respective upper lateral edges (9c, 9c'') of said container (1, 1', 1'', 1'''), connecting each upper lateral portion (26c, 26c'') said upper central portion (26a , 26'') with a respective upper end portion (26b, 26b''); wherein said bottom fold pattern (28) is configured to define a quadrilateral bottom panel (10) of said container (1, 1', 1'', 1''') delimited by said lower front edge (8a), said lower rear edge (8b) and said two lower side edges (8c); wherein said lower rear edge (8b) is parallel to said lower front edge (8a) and said two lower side edges (8c) are orthogonal to said lower front edge (8a) and said lower rear edge (8b); wherein said top fold pattern (30) is configured to define a quadrilateral top panel (14, 14'') of said container (1, 1', 1'', 1''') delimited by said top front edge ( 9a, 9a''), said upper rear edge (9b, 9b'') and said two upper lateral edges (9c, 9c''); wherein said upper front edge (9a, 9a'') is parallel to said lower front edge (8a) and said lower rear edge (8b), said upper rear edge (9b, 9b'') is parallel to said upper front edge (9a, 9a'') and said two upper side edges (9c, 9c'') are orthogonal to said upper front edge (9a, 9a'') and said upper rear edge (9b, 9b''); characterized in that the length of said upper central portion (26a, 26a'') of said upper transverse fold line (26, 26'') is different from the length of said lower central portion (25a) of said line (25) lower transverse fold. 14. The packaging material according to claim 13, wherein the length of each of said lower side portions (25c) of said lower transverse fold line (25) is different from the length of the projection (R), parallel to said longitudinal direction (A), of each of said upper lateral portions (26c, 26c'') of said upper transverse fold line (26, 26'') on a reference line (S) parallel to said lower transverse fold line (25) and containing at least said upper central portion (26a, 26a''). 15. The packaging material according to claim 14, wherein said length of each of said lower side portions (25c) is less than said length of the corresponding projection (R). 16. The packaging material according to any one of claims 13 to 15, wherein said length of said lower central portion (25a) of said lower transverse fold line (25) is greater than said length of said upper central portion (26a, 26a'') of said upper transverse fold line (26, 26''). 17. The packaging material according to any one of claims 13 to 16, wherein said upper lateral portions (26c) of said upper transverse fold line (26) are inclined with respect to said longitudinal direction (A) and to said transverse direction (B), and converge towards said upper central portion (26a). 18. The packaging material according to any one of claims 13 to 16, wherein said upper transverse fold line (26'') is parallel to said lower transverse fold line (25) and coincides with said line (S ) reference, and where said projections (R) of said upper lateral portions (26c'') on said reference line (S) coincide with said upper lateral portions (26c''). 19. The packaging material according to any one of claims 13 to 18, and further comprising a plurality of longitudinal fold lines (50) extending between said lower transverse fold line (25) and said line (26). , 26'') of upper transverse fold and is configured to define respective lateral edge areas (7) of the side wall portions (6) of said container (1', 1'''). 20. The packaging material according to claim 19, wherein said longitudinal fold lines (50) are slightly inclined with respect to said longitudinal direction (A).