WO2009090141A1

WO2009090141A1 - Container for food, particularly for eggs and the like

Info

Publication number: WO2009090141A1
Application number: PCT/EP2009/050198
Authority: WO
Inventors: Paolo Ciraudo
Original assignee: Paolo Ciraudo
Priority date: 2008-01-15
Filing date: 2009-01-09
Publication date: 2009-07-23
Also published as: ITAR20080003A1

Abstract

A container (1) for food, particularly for eggs and the like, comprising a base body (2) on which there is a lower impression (3) for containing the product, the container (1) having two or more lids (4) connected to the base body (2) and means (5, 6) for locking the lids (4) to the base body (2).

Description

CONTAINER FOR FOOD, PARTICULARLY FOR EGGS AND THE LIKE

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a container for food, particularly for eggs and the like. Background Art

A very large number of variations of containers for food, particularly for eggs, is currently in use.

Indeed because the product contained therein is predominantly intended for eating and to maintain the freshness and quality of the food, the most recent hygienic and sanitary standards prescribe that containers of this type can be sealed.

Further, to protect the consumer from the risk of buying a product that is of unsatisfactory quality or is otherwise not intact, it is increasingly often required to make these containers by using an optically transparent material.

Containers for food, particularly for eggs and the like, often made of plastics or other synthetic and optically transparent material, with a substantially symmetrical structure and comprising a base and a lid that are mutually connected, are known. If the product is designed to contain eggs, the base is configured as egg-shaped trays, which surround the lower half of the inserted egg; the base further usually has reinforcement ribs in order to protect the eggs. The other half of the egg is instead surrounded by impressions formed on the internal part of an upper lid, which can be coupled to the base and is locked onto such base, by means of a per se known button-like insert formed on the edges and/or on the central part of the container.

Containers of this type, in order to be labeled and sealed, require a casing that is glued onto the enclosure.

However, this casing does not allow consumers to verify the integrity, freshness and quality of the products that are inside the container, preventing complete viewing of the contents.

Therefore, in order to verify the food inside the container, consumers are forced to open the enclosure by sliding off the casing, if it is not glued, and thus risk compromising the hygienic-sanitary guarantees. When vice versa the user is forced to break this seal to verify the contents, the entire package of course can no longer be sold.

There are also containers that are similar to the ones described above and have, on the outer part of the enclosure, at least one flat portion for labeling, or there are other known types of container that comprise a vessel, often made of plastics or other synthetic and optically transparent material, which optionally has different impressions depending on the content, with a flat upper covering that is connected to the vessel and closes onto such vessel by means of interlocking contoured portions, presser means and the like. These last two types of container, if they are shaped so as to have a flat part also on a lateral surface, allow labeling and sealing in a single step.

However, in this case also, viewing of the contents inside the vessel on the part of the consumer who is interested in the freshness and integrity of the food is limited or in any case not complete, forcing the consumer to open the package, entailing the problems described above. Disclosure of the Invention

The aim of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks of known types of container for food, particularly for eggs and the like, by providing a container that allows sealing simultaneously with the labeling step and at the same time allows the consumer to check the freshness, integrity and quality of the food contained inside, without having to open the package to inspect the products contained therein.

Within this aim, an object of the invention is to provide a container for food that ensures safe sealing and clear and effective labeling. Another object of the invention is to provide a container for food that is simple to provide and can be manufactured industrially by means of the thermoforming technique, which is currently the most widely used one.

Another object of the invention is to provide a container that can be also producible by using biodegradable material, such as for example corn starch, so as to allow its marketing even in countries in which environmental standards are more restrictive.

This aim and these and other objects, which will become better apparent hereinafter, are achieved by a container for food, particularly for eggs and the like, according to the invention, which comprises a base vessel and at least one contoured element formed in said base vessel, characterized in that it comprises at least two lids, which are connected to said base vessel, and means for locking said at least two lids to said contoured element.

Brief description of the drawings Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of the container for food, particularly for eggs and the like, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure l is a perspective view of a container for food, particularly for eggs and the like, according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a side view of the container, with the lids in the process of closing;

Figure 3 is a side view of the container with the lids in the open position;

Figure 4 is a top view of the container in the closed position and labeled;

Figure 5 is a side view of the container, with the lids in the closed position and labeled. Ways of carrying out the Invention

With reference to the figures, a container for food, particularly for eggs and the like, according to the invention, generally designated by the reference numeral 1, comprises a base body 2, in which there is at least one lower impression 3.

In the embodiment described here, the container for eggs has six lower impressions shaped like egg trays.

A fundamental characteristic of the invention is that it has at least two lids 4, which are connected to the base body 2 and can be closed onto the lower impression 3 by way of locking means.

These locking means consist of at least one male element 5, which is formed on each of the two lids 4 and can be coupled by pressing on a respective female seat 6, which is provided on a coupling region 7 and is formed advantageously in a central portion of the base body 2. The two lids 4 are shaped so as to have a ceiling 8 and four side walls

9. On each one of the two lids 4 there is at least one upper impression 10; in this embodiment, there are six of these upper impressions in all: three for each one of the two lids 4.

Advantageously, the ceiling 8 of both lids 4 has at least one flat outer portion. Further, each one of the ceilings 8 is coplanar with the other ones when the container 1 is closed and therefore it is possible to apply to the outside of the two lids 4 a label 1 1, which also acts as a seal.

Preferably, at least one of the four side walls 9 formed on the two lids 4 has at least one flat outer part. The container 1 is preferably made of optically transparent material and is thermoformed in a single piece of plastics or other synthetic material.

When the user receives the containers for food, which arrive stacked together, he/she deposits the food to be preserved in the egg tray and closes the two lids 4, locking them on the coupling region 7. After this operation, which can also be automated, a labeling machine places the label on the package, and by virtue of the way in which the lids have been provided, the label also acts as a seal. The consumer who wishes to verify the food contained in the vessel, in order to open the container necessarily has to break the label, so that tampering with the enclosure becomes evident.

Further, the label can be reduced to a minimum, occupying only a small part of the lid, so that almost all of the content is visible if the container is made of optically transparent material.

From what has been described above it can thus be seen that the invention achieves the proposed aim and objects, and in particular the fact is stressed that a container for food, particularly for eggs and the like, is provided which allows simultaneous labeling and sealing, allowing the consumer to perform a full visual inspection inside if the container is made of optically transparent material. In particular, allowing access to the base vessel by means of the leaf- like opening of the upper part allows to perform sealing by applying the label, which, if so desired, can be reduced to a minimum.

The reduction of the label to a strip of very small size allows the entire base vessel and the lids, at the sides and in most of the upper part, to be visually inspectable, and therefore it is not necessary to access the interior of the vessel to verify the quality, freshness or integrity of the products contained therein.

The sealing step, which is simultaneous with the labeling step, instead allows to perform labeling in a step that follows the deposition of the food into the container, which is usually subcontracted to external companies, and in particular provides the user with the possibility to perform this operation autonomously when he/she applies the compulsory expiration date of food, saving on costs.

Further, this particular configuration allows to eliminate the lateral edge that in known containers was assigned to the placement of the locking means, reducing the dimensions of the container and also its weight.

In addition to this, due to how the container for eggs according to the invention is shaped, the distance between the base vessel and the lid, i.e., the thickness of the container for eggs, is reduced with respect to traditional containers, because the locking means are no longer located in the edge of the container but at the center, allowing the lids to adhere perfectly to the base body laterally.

Therefore, this entails a series of economic advantages that derive above all from the possibility to pack many more containers in the same space and secondly allows a saving of material which, as mentioned, is often plastics and is not easily biodegradable, thus also improving the environmental impact.

Another advantage of the invention is that the provision of the mold for thermoforming is simpler, since a smaller number of locking means is necessary and the connections between the base vessel and the lids have limited dimensions.

In practice it has been found that the invention thus described allows simultaneous labeling and sealing in a very small space, at the same time allowing a saving of material and occupied space. The invention thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims.

All the details may further be replaced with other technically equivalent elements. In practice, the materials used, as well as the dimensions, may be any according to requirements and to the state of the art.

The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. AR2008A000003 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference. Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly, such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.

Claims

1. A container (1) for food, particularly for eggs and the like, comprising a base body (2) which forms at least one lower impression (3) for containing at least one product, characterized in that it comprises at least two lids (4) which are connected to said base body (2) and means (5, 6) for locking said at least two lids (4) to said base body (2).

2. The container for food according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said base body (2) comprises at least one coupling region (7).

3. The container for food according to the preceding claims, characterized in that said coupling region (7) is formed in a central portion of said base body (2).

4. The container for food according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said locking means (5, 6) comprise at least one male element (5), which is formed on said at least two lids (4) and can be inserted by pressing in a respective female seat (6) formed on said coupling region (7).

5. The container for food according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said at least one lower impression (3) is shaped like an egg holder.

6. The container for food according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises at least one upper impression ( 10) formed on each one of said at least two lids (4).

7. The container for food according to claim 6, characterized in that said at least one upper impression (10) is at least partially shaped like an egg holder.

8. The container for food according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the ceiling (8) of each one of said at least two lids (4) has at least one flat outer portion.

9. The container for food according to claim 8, characterized in that said ceiling (8) of each one of said at least two lids (4) is substantially coplanar with respect to the other said ceiling (8) of the other one of said at least two lids (4) when the container is closed.

10. The container for food according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the side walls (9) of said at least two lids (4) have at least one flat outer part.

1 1. The container for food according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said container is made of optically transparent material.

12. The container for food according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said container is constituted by a single thermoformed piece.