Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D81/00—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents
  • B65D81/32—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents for packaging two or more different materials which must be maintained separate prior to use in admixture
  • B65D81/3294—Thermoformed trays or the like with a plurality of recesses for different materials located in different recesses
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D85/00—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials
  • B65D85/70—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials for materials not otherwise provided for
  • B65D85/72—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials for materials not otherwise provided for for edible or potable liquids, semiliquids, or plastic or pasty materials
  • B65D85/76—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials for materials not otherwise provided for for edible or potable liquids, semiliquids, or plastic or pasty materials for cheese

Definitions

• the invention concerns a container for a pasty product, for example a food product such as a cream, an ice-cream or cheese, or a flowable product.
• Containers are known, shaped in the form of a tub, comprising a first rigid and concave wall, such as to define a cavity suitable for containing a predefined quantity of product, and a second flat wall made of a material in film.
• the second wall is welded in a peelable manner to the first wall, so as to allow a user to open the tub by grasping and pulling a tab of which the second wall is provided with.
• the above-mentioned containers are used, for example, as single- dose containers for semi-solid food products such as cheeses or creams .
• Containers are also known, shaped in the form of a double tub, comprising a first rigid wall in which a pair of adjacent concave portions are made, defining corresponding cavities.
• a second flat wall, made of a material in film, is welded in a peelable manner to the first wall.
• a user can remove the second peelable wall, thus opening the two tubs, and rotate the first tub (along a provided intended folding line) in relation to the second tub, so as to tip the contents of the first tub into the contents of the second tub.
• packaging units suitable for containing products comprising two components to be mixed such as yogurt and cereals .
• a drawback of the above-mentioned double tub containers lies in the fact that the latter are substantially larger and bulky in comparison with the containers having a single tub. In fact, it is possible to rotate the two tubs in relation to one another only once the second wall has been removed, i.e. only at the time of use. Consequently, when the double tub containers are transported and/or stored, the dimensions or shape of the double tub containers cannot be reduced or modified by rotating the two tubs in relation to one another .
• An object of the invention is to improve the containers for pasty or flowable products.
• Another object is to improve the containers for pasty or flowable food products .
• a further object is to provide a container for pasty or flowable products which can be used efficiently as a packing unit both for products with a single component and for products with two components.
• Another further object is to provide a container for products with two components the shape and dimensions of which can be modified easily and rapidly, so as to facilitate transportation and/or storage thereof.
• a container comprising first containing means and second containing means, mutually associated near intended folding means and comprising mutual hooking means, said mutual hooking means being such as to keep said first containing means and said second containing means adjacent to one another.
• a container which can be used as a packaging unit both for products with two components and for products consisting of a single component, and which can be made significantly less bulky during transportation and/or storage by modifying the shape and dimensions thereof in a substantially easy and rapid manner .
• the intended folding means it is possible to fold the container by rotating the first containing means, defining a first tub, towards the second containing means, defining a second tub, until a flat wall of the first containing means and a corresponding flat wall of the second containing means are juxtaposed to one another.
• This makes it possible to significantly reduce the dimensions and the space requirement of the container when preferably required, i.e. during transportation and/or storage.
• the hooking means comprising first hooking means and second hooking means which can be engaged with one another, make it possible to easily keep the container folded before use.
• a user can rotate the first containing means with respect to second containing means so as to move the flat wall of the first containing means away from the flat wall of the second containing means. The user can then remove the flat wall from the first containing means and/or from the second containing means, so as to open the latter and use the product contained therein.
• Figure 1 is a front view showing a container comprising a pair of containing elements associated with one another and provided with hooking elements;
• Figure 2 is a view like that of Figure 2, showing the pair of containing elements in a further configuration;
• Figure 3 is rear view of one of the two containing elements of Figure 1, shown after being partially opened;
• Figure 4 is a profile view, showing the pair of containing elements of Figure 2;
• Figure 5 is a view like that of Figure 4, showing the pair of containing elements in a further configuration.
• Figures 1 to 3 show a container 1 suitable for containing a product 30, for example a pasty food product, and comprising a first containing element 2 and a second containing element 3, which are associated with one another by means of two bridge elements 4.
• Both the first containing element 2 and the second containing element 3 comprise a first wall 7 made of a thermoformable material, and a second peelable wall 8.
• the latter is made of a material in film, of known type and comprising aluminium, and is associated with the first wall
• the first wall 7 and/or the second wall 8 are made at least partially of a transparent material, so as to enable the product 30 contained in the first containing element 2 and in the second containing element 3 to be visualized.
• the first wall 7 comprises a containing portion 9, which is substantially hemisphere-shaped and is associated with a surrounding flat portion 10.
• the second wall 8 is flat and has an outline coinciding with a peripheral edge 6 of the first wall 7.
• the containing portion 9 projects from the flat portion 10 in a substantially central position and defines a cavity 11 ( Figure 3) , which faces the second wall
• the cavity 11 is closed by the second wall 8.
• the containing portion 9 has a regular, or irregular, polyhedral shape.
• the peripheral edge 6 is approximately circular, except where the peripheral edge 6 defines a rectilinear portion 5, a tab 14, a first hooking element 12 (in the first containing element 2) and a second hooking element 13 (in second containing element 3) .
• the rectilinear portions 5 are present in the peripheral edge 6 both of the first containing element 2 and the second containing element 3, are arranged so as to be reciprocally adjacent and parallel and are interconnected by the above- mentioned bridge elements 4.
• the latter consist of small portions made of the same material forming the first wall 7 and are sufficiently flexible to act as hinges, thereby making it possible for a user to rotate the first containing element 2 in relation to the second containing element 3 , or vice versa, around a longitudinal axis X passing through an intended folding line 15.
• the latter is defined on the whole by the adjacent rectilinear portions 5 of the peripheral edge 6 of the first containing element 2 and the second containing element 3.
• more than two bridge elements 4 are provided. In another embodiment that is not shown, a single bridge element 4 is provided.
• a tab 14 is obtained, which is substantially" quadrilateral-shaped and has the same shape in the first containing element 2 and in the second containing element 3.
• the tab portion 14 can be grasped by the user and thus acts as a grip for the container 1.
• a first hooking element 12 (in the first containing element 2) and a second hooking element 13 (in the second containing element 3) are obtained in an end of the flat portion 10 opposite the tab 14.
• the first hooking element 12 comprises a connecting portion 12a, which is approximately trapezium-shaped, and a hooking portion 12b, which is arc-shaped and has a convexity facing the opposite direction with respect to the containing portion 9.
• the hooking portion 12b comprises a pair of end portions 12c, 12d, opposite to one another and substantially convex.
• the second hooking element 13 comprises a further connecting portion 13a, which is approximately quadrilateral-shaped, and a further hooking portion 13b, which is arc-shaped and has a convexity facing the containing portion 9.
• the further hooking portion 13b comprises a pair of further end portions 13c, 13d, opposite each other and substantially convex.
• the length of the further connecting portion 13a is significantly less than the length of the connecting portion 12a, when the container 1 is in the closed configuration B the pair of end portions 12c, 12d of the first hooking element 12 and the pair of further end portions 13c, 13d of the second hooking element 13 overlap one another only partly. It is therefore possible to bend the further hooking portion 13b, which is substantially flexible, in such a way that the pair of further end portions 13c, 13d goes beyond the pair of end portions 12c, 12d and remains blocked between the latter and the connecting portion 12a ( Figure 2) .
• the first hooking element 12 engages the second hooking element 13 in such as to keep the second wall 8 of the first containing element 2 and the second wall 8 of the second containing element 3 juxtaposed with one another.
• the container 1 can thus be maintained in the closed configuration B until, to take and use the product 30, a user bends the further hooking portion 13b (or the hooking portion 12b) in such a way as to free the pair of further end portions 13c, 13d and disengage the second hooking element 3 from the first hooking element 2.
• the user can thus move the first containing element 2 away from the second containing element 3 by rotating the first containing element 2 in the direction Fl and/or move the second containing element 3 away from the first containing element 2 by rotating the second containing element 3 in the direction F2, so as to allow the container 1 to pass from the closed configuration B to the open configuration A.
• the user can use the product 30 contained in the cavities 11 of the latter. Alternately, the user can decide to open, for example, only the first containing element 2 to take the product 30 contained therein, and to use afterwards the remaining product 30 contained in the second containing element 3.
• the user can separate the first containing element 2 from the second containing element 3 , by rotating the latter clockwise (or anti-clockwise) in relation to the first containing element 2 to break the two bridge elements 4.
• the user can open the first containing element 2 and take the product contained in the cavity 11 of the latter.
• the container 1 can also be used for containing a further product (that is not shown) comprising two components to be mixed before use, of which, for example, one is pasty and the other is flowable (for example, a material in granules) .
• the user can remove the second wall 8 from the first containing element 2 and from the second containing element 3.
• the user can thus rotate the containing element which contains the flowable component, for example the second containing element 3, in the direction Fl towards the other containing element, i.e. the first containing element 2, to tip the flowable component into the cavity 11 of the latter.
• the container 1 disclosed above is therefore significantly versatile, since it can be used as a packaging unit both for products comprising a single component and for products comprising two components which are distinct and intended to be kept separate until use.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Packages (AREA)
• Cartons (AREA)
• Glass Compositions (AREA)

Priority Applications (2)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=38829595

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (5)

Family Cites Families (3)

• 2006
  • 2006-08-04 IT IT000254A patent/ITMO20060254A1/it unknown
• 2007
  • 2007-08-02 AT AT07789595T patent/ATE517821T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2007-08-02 ES ES07789595T patent/ES2372532T3/es active Active
  • 2007-08-02 EP EP07789595A patent/EP2064130B1/de not_active Not-in-force
  • 2007-08-02 WO PCT/IB2007/002213 patent/WO2008015548A2/en not_active Ceased

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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