Multipack container

Abstract

The present invention relates to container comprising at least two compartments (2a, 2b), each compartment comprising a base (3a, 3b) and one more walls (4a, 4b) extending from the base, wherein the compartments are detachable from each other along a breakline (9) comprising a plurality of recesses (6). The present invention also relates to a method for producing the container.

Claims

1. A container comprising at least two compartments, each compartment comprising a base, one or more walls extending from the base and defining an opening, and a flange surrounding the opening, wherein the compartments are detachable from each other along a breakline comprising one or more recesses, and further wherein the breakline comprises one or more curved portions in a plane substantially parallel to the flanges of the compartments.

2. The container according to claim 1, wherein the breakline comprises a substantially flat surface interrupted by one or more recesses.

3. The container according to claim 2, wherein the surface is substantially parallel to the flanges of the compartments.

4. The container according to claim 1, wherein each recess is in the shape of a half-cylinder or truncated cylinder.

5. The container according to claim 1, wherein a mouth of each recess is substantially square or rectangular.

6. The container according to claim 1, wherein the breakline forms an undulation along the one or more recesses, wherein said undulation can be regular or irregular.

7. The container according to claim 6, wherein the undulation is substantially perpendicular to the flanges of the compartments.

8. The container according to claim 1, wherein the breakline further comprises one or more linear portions; the one or more curved portions and the one or more linear portions each comprise a plurality of recesses; and the one or more recesses in the one or more curved portions are narrower than the one or more recesses in the one or more linear portions.

9. The container according to claim 8, wherein the one or more recesses of the one or more curved portions and the one or more recesses of the one or more linear portions are regular in size, alternating in size, or random in size.

10. The container according to claim 1, wherein the breakline comprises a plurality of perforations.

11. The container according to claim 1, wherein the breakline comprises a plurality of breakable connection points.

12. The container according to claim 1, wherein the container comprises or consists of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and/or polypropylene (PP).

13. The container according to claim 1, further comprising a removable lidding film.

14. The container according to claim 1, further comprising a separate lidding film for each compartment.

15. The container according to claim 1, wherein the lidding film comprises a line of perforations which, before removal, is in line with the breakline of the container.

16. A method for producing the container according to claim 1, comprising the step of forming a breakline comprising one or more recesses.

17. The method according to claim 16, comprising the step of providing a lidding film.

18. The method according to claim 17, comprising the step of forming one or more perforation lines in the lidding film.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the perforation lines are aligned with the breakline of the container.

20. The method according to claim 18, wherein the perforation lines are formed before sealing the lidding film onto the container, after sealing the lidding film onto the container or simultaneously.

21. The method according to claim 16 whereby the films are cut at the time of sealing so that separate lidding film pieces correspond to each compartment.

Description

(1) The invention will be further described with reference to the drawings and figures, in which

(2) FIG. 1 is a schematic representation (top view) of a first container according to the present invention;

(3) FIG. 2 is a schematic representation (side view) of the container of FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 3 is a schematic representation (side view) of the container of FIG. 1;

(5) FIG. 4 is a schematic representation (perspective view) of the container of FIG. 1;

(6) FIG. 5 is a schematic representation (perspective view) of the container of FIG. 1;

(7) FIG. 6 is a schematic representation (top view) of a second container according to the present invention;

(8) FIG. 7 is a schematic representation (perspective view) of the container of FIG. 6;

(9) FIG. 8 is a schematic representation (perspective view) of the container of FIG. 6;

(10) FIG. 9 is a schematic representation of a third container according to the present invention;

(11) FIG. 10 is a schematic representation (perspective view) of the container of FIG. 9;

(12) FIG. 11 is a schematic representation (perspective view) of the container of FIG. 9;

(13) FIG. 12 is a schematic representation of a fourth container according to the present invention;

(14) FIG. 13 is a schematic representation (perspective view) of the container of FIG. 12;

(15) FIG. 14 is a schematic representation (perspective view) of the container of FIG. 12;

(16) FIG. 15 is a schematic representation of a fifth container according to the present invention;

(17) FIG. 16 is a schematic representation (perspective view) of the container of FIG. 15;

(18) FIG. 17 is a schematic representation (perspective view) of the container of FIG. 15;

(19) FIG. 18 is a schematic representation of the cross section of a breakline of a container according to the present invention;

(20) FIGS. 19A to 19F are schematic representations of another container according to the present invention;

(21) FIG. 20 is a schematic representation of a breakline of a container according to the present invention;

(22) FIGS. 21 and 22 are cross-sectional representations of a container according to the present invention, showing the detail of the disposition and sizing of the breaking cross pieces on the breaking line, and a suitable arrangement of recesses in a typical separable container according to the invention.

(23) Referring to FIG. 1-5, there is illustrated a container 1 comprising at least two compartments 2a, 2b, each compartment comprising a base 3a, 3b and one or more walls 4a, 4b extending from the base 3a, 3b, wherein the compartments 2a, 2b are detachable from each other along a breakline 5 comprising a plurality of recesses 6.

(24) Each compartment 2a, 2b comprises a peripheral flange 7a, 7b surrounding the opening of the compartment 2a, 2b. A strip of material 8 extends from the flanges 7a, 7b to form a breakline 5. The breakline 5 is positioned lower (in use) than the flanges 7a, 7b, but a breakline 5 extending in the plane of the flanges 7a, 7b is also to be envisaged.

(25) In this embodiment, the strip 8 is made of the same material as the remainder of the container 1, but preferably the thickness of the strip 8 is greater than that of the remainder of the container. During the thermoforming process, the sheet is shaped into the overall design of the container, but the strip 8 retains the thickness of the original sheet. This feature is particularly advantageous in that it provides support to the breakline, so that when the packaging is folded about the breakline, pressure is applied to and focused on the connection points which break. Thus, a clean, reproducible breakline is achieved.

(26) The strip 8 is a substantially flat surface parallel to the flanges 7a, 7b and/or the base 3a, 3b of the compartments 2a, 2b and is interrupted by a plurality of recesses 6 formed therein. In this embodiment, each recess 6 is in the shape of a half-cylinder. The cross-section of the recesses 6 in a vertical plane approximately perpendicular to the strip 8 is a half circle. However, other shapes are envisaged, such as curves, squares and angular shapes.

(27) The recesses 6 can have substantially the same depth so as to obtain a substantially even spread of the tension applied to the breakline 5, or they can have a variety of depths, which are arranged progressively, randomly, or in an alternating fashion. In this embodiment, each recess 6 have a substantially square or rectangular mouth (when viewed from above), the sides of which are defined by the strip 8 and the flanges 7a, 7b.

(28) The strip 8 is divided into two parts by a line of weakness 9 along which the two parts of the strip 8, and therefore the compartments 2a, 2b, can be separated. This line comprises perforations 10 and connection points 11.

(29) In the horizontal plane, the strip 8 is not always straight, but instead comprises one or more curves. When the design requirements of a particular application permit it, his curved contour can further improve the integrity and rigidity of the container 1, in particular when the compartments 2a, 2b are moved relative to each other by flexing the ends of the twin pack in a vertical plane. The width of the recesses 6 can be defined as the dimension substantially parallel to the breakline 5. As one example, the width of the recesses 6 varies depending on the horizontal curvature of the breakline 5, such that the more the breakline 5 is curved the wider the recesses 6; and the straighter the breakline 5 and the narrower the recesses. Additionally or alternatively, the more the breakline 5 is curved, the smaller the number of recesses 6; and the straighter the breakline 5, the greater the number of recesses 6. It is also possible to vary the form of the recesses progressively or randomly or in an alternating fashion in order to obtain the optimum functionality through storage, handling, sealing and use.

(30) The container 1 comprises ribs 12 in the base 3a, 3b and/or the walls 4a, 4b of the compartments 2a,2b to strengthen the compartments 2a, 2b. The container 1 comprises one or more denest recesses 13 for example at the corner of the container 1 to facilitate the separation of nested containers 1. With reference to FIG. 9-17, the container may also comprise recesses 14 in the base 2a,2b to collect juices from poultry, meat and/or fish products.

(31) A container 1 according to the present invention can be produced by thermoforming. The container 1 comprises a monolayer of polyethylene terephalate (PET) or a multilayer comprising PET and a sealing layer such as polyethylene or polypropylene. The strip 8 is preferably made of the same material, with an equal or greater thickness.

(32) The breakline 5 can be formed using cutting tools, such as a cutting blade comprising a plurality of dents to create the perforations 10 and the breakable connection points 11. The dents may be formed by means of a fine file. However, techniques involving wire erosion or laser cutting have been found to result in more accurate dent depths and widths.

(33) The strip 8 of container 1 may be supported by an anvil during the cutting process such that the blade cuts through the material of the tray as it comes down against the anvil and in an alternative process, the anvil may be provided with a plurality of grooves or dents in order to form the connecting points that run across the breakline 5. It has been found that this process reduces the sharpness of the broken connection points 11 after detachments, thereby making the product safer for the end user.

(34) When the container 1 is made of a PET monolayer, then a layer of adhesive can optionally be applied onto the flange 7a, 7b to seal a lidding film (not shown) thereon. Since each compartment comprises its own peripheral flange, each compartment comprises its own lidding film so that they are individually hermetically sealed.

(35) The lidding film can be separated into separate pieces for each compartment at the time of sealing or it can comprise a perforated line along which the film can be divided into separate lids for each compartment 2a, 2b. The overall shape of the lidding film is substantially the same as the shape of the container 1. The line of perforation divides the lidding film into separate films of substantially the same shape as each compartment (2a, 2b).

(36) In use, the container 1 can be lifted for example by grabbing one compartment 2a. Tension and compression will be applied onto the breakline 5 due to the weight of the other compartment(s). This tension and compression is spread along the breakline 5 owing to the presence of the recesses 6 or vertical undulations in the breakline 5 so that the unsupported compartment(s) 2b, 2c does not become accidentally detached from the supported compartment 2a. The integrity of the container 1 is further improved by the horizontal curvature in the breakline 5.

(37) The compartments 2a, 2b can be separated by pulling them apart and breaking the connection points 11. This can be easily achieved as the number of perforations 10 can be increased and/or the number of connection points 11 decreased because of the enhanced stability of the container 1.

(38) Thus, from the above description, it can be seen that the present invention provides a multipack container with improved strength and integrity, whilst maintaining the detachability of the compartments from each other. The multipack container according to the present invention can be handled with minimal risk of the compartments becoming accidentally detached from each other.