CONTAINER, INTERMEDIATE PRODUCT, DENESTER AND A MANUFACTURING METHOD

Abstract

The present invention relates to a container, an intermediate product for forming a container, a denester and method of manufacturing. The container and the inter-mediate product for forming the container comprise a first main part defining a top part or a bottom part of the container, and a number of side wall elements defining side surfaces of the top part or said bottom part. At least one of the side wall elements comprises a denester being made from material of the at least one side wall element, where the material is cut from the at least one wall element and bent into the interior of the container.

Claims

1. Container for storing products such as foods, said container comprising a part defining a top part or a bottom part of said container, and a number of first side wall elements defining side surfaces of said top part or said bottom part, wherein at least one of said side wall elements comprises a denester being made from material of said at least one side wall element, said material being cut from said at least one side wall element and bent into the interior of said container, wherein said denester forms a hinge element ex-tending from said side wall element, said hinge element having an axis of rotation being substantially perpendicular to a junction between said main surface and said wall element and extending from the region of said junction, such that said hinge element, when being bent into said interior of said container, extends away from said side wall element and along said main surface and has a plane being substantially perpendicular to said main surface.

2. The container according to claim 1, wherein said material comprises two cuts defining two side edges of said denester, said hinge extending between said side edges.

3. The container according to claim 2, wherein one of said cuts is positioned substantially in said junction between said main surface and said wall element.

4. The container according to claim 2, wherein said side edges are longitudinal side edges of said denester and said hinge forms a transverse edge of said denester.

5. The container according to claim 1, wherein said at least one side wall element comprises a side wall main part and a connection flap connecting said at least one side wall element to an adjacent side wall element, said connection flap comprising said denester.

6. The container according to claim 5, wherein said at least one side wall element comprises a junction between said connection flap and said side wall main part, said junction forming a corner of said container, and said denester extending across said junction.

7. The container according to claim 1, wherein said container is an egg carton having a top part and a bottom part, where said denester is arranged in said top part and/or said bottom part.

8. An intermediate product comprising a piece of material for being further processed into a container for packing objects such as foods, said intermediate product comprising a part for defining a top part or a bottom part of said container, and a number of side wall elements for defining side surfaces of said top part or said bottom part, wherein said intermediate product further comprises a number of denester elements arranged as cutouts from said piece of material, and arranged to bend from said piece of material when processing said intermediate product into said container, wherein said denester forms a hinge element extending from said side wall element, said hinge element having an axis of rotation being substantially perpendicular to a junction between said main surface and said wall element and extending from the region of said junction, such that said denester, when being bent into said interior of said container, extends away from said side wall element and along said main surface and has a plane being substantially perpendicular to said main surface.

9. The intermediate product according to claim 8, wherein said material comprises two cuts defining two side edges of said flap, said hinge extending between said side edges.

10. The intermediate product according to claim 9, wherein one of said cuts is positioned substantially in said junction between said bottom part and said side wall element.

11. The intermediate product according to claim 8, wherein said at least one side wall element comprises a side wall main part and a connection flap for connecting said at least one side wall element to an adjacent side wall element, said connection flap comprising said denester.

12. The intermediate product according to claim 11, wherein said at least one side wall element comprises a junction between said connection flap and said side wall main part, said junction being arranged to form a corner of said container, and said denester extending across said junction.

13. The intermediate product according to claim 8, wherein said container is an egg carton having a top part and a bottom part, where said denester is arranged in said top part and/or said bottom part

14. A denester for a container and an intermediate product according to claim 1, said denester being made from the material of said at least one side wall element, which is cut and bent.

15. The denester according to claim 14, said denester, before being folded, being made from at least two separate cuts.

16. A method for manufacturing an intermediate product and/or a container, comprising: providing a piece of cardboard, arranging an intermediate product by providing a main surface and a number of side wall elements, arranging at least one cut, hereby forming a denester element suitable to be bent out from the piece of material, and/or forming said container by bending said side wall elements in relation to said main surface, interconnecting at least two neighboring side wall elements, hereby forming a container, and bending said denester element into an interior of said container.

Description

[0062] FIG. 1A is an upper perspective view of an egg package.

[0063] FIG. 1B is a lower perspective view of the upper part of an egg package.

[0064] FIG. 2 is a top view of an intermediate product.

[0065] FIG. 3A is an upper perspective view of an egg package.

[0066] FIG. 3B is a lower perspective view of the upper part of an egg package.

[0067] FIG. 4 is a top view of an intermediate product.

[0068] The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown. The invention may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. Like elements will thus not be described in detail with respect to the description of each figure.

[0069] FIG. 1A is an upper perspective view of an egg package. The figure shows a container 10, illustrated as an egg package comprising a top part, which comprises a main surface 14, a number of side wall elements 16-16, and a bottom part 28. The top part is hingedly connected to the bottom part 28 at the rear side wall element 16, the top part comprises openings 24, and the bottom part comprises lugs, for releasably interconnecting the two parts. Two of the side wall elements 16, 16 comprise a denester 12, which is defined by a part of the side wall elements 16, 16 which has been cut during a previous processing step, and bent inwards. The two denesters 12 are arranged on opposite side wall elements 16-16 and towards the front of the container 10, but the top part may in an alternative embodiment comprise a denester on all of the side wall elements 16-16, and each side wall element 16-16 may comprise one or more denesters arranged along the length of the side wall elements 16-16.

[0070] The part of the container having the denesters is preferably manufactured from cardboard, but may be manufactured from a different material, such as moulded pulp or plastic.

[0071] FIG. 1B is a lower perspective view of the upper part of an egg package. FIG. 1B shows the same container 10 as illustrated in FIG. 1A, but the bottom part has been removed for illustrative purposes. The figure shows the two side wall elements 16, 16 being connected to each other via a connection flap 20 arranged in the side wall element 16 and attached to the neighbouring side wall element 16 by e.g. a suitable glue. Only one connection flap is shown, i.e. the connection between the two side wall elements 16, 16, but the side wall element 16 comprises a connection flap 20 for connection with the side wall element 16, and the side wall element 16 comprises two connection flaps at either end for connection with the side wall elements 16, 16. It is to be understood that the connection flaps 20 may be arranged differently, as long at the side wall elements are interconnected.

[0072] In an alternative embodiment, the container may be manufactured by a piece of moulded plastic, and the denesters are cut in one or more of the side walls of the container. In this alternative embodiment, no connection flaps are needed, but the flaps made of cut material from the side wall elements are bent inwards into the interior of the container as described earlier.

[0073] As can be seen, the denester 12 in the embodiment of FIG. 1B is arranged on the side wall element 16 on a part not connected to the connection flap 20 for easy manufacturing.

[0074] The denesters 12 are, as shown in the figure, arranged in the region of the junction between the main surface 14 and the side wall elements 16,16, in order for the main surface 14 to provide support for the denester 12. When a second container (or further numbers of containers) is being stacked on top of the first container 10, the denester is being supported by the main surface.

[0075] It is to be understood that the denester may be arranged in different sizes according to the desired need. Containers may thus comprise more or less than the two denester shown.

[0076] FIG. 2 is a top view of an intermediate product 10. The figure shows the intermediate product 10 being arranged as a substantially flat piece, preferably a piece of cardboard, and suitable to be folded into the top part of the container 10 in FIGS. 1A and 1B. The intermediate product 10 comprises a main surface 14 and four side wall elements 16-16 arranged to be folded and formed to a container 10. Two of the side wall elements 16, 16 comprise a side wall main part having a connection flap 20 at opposite ends for connection with the neighbouring side wall elements 16, 16, and each connection flap 20 comprises a connection area 30 suitable for interconnection with the neighbouring side wall element 16, 16. The connection area 30 may be arranged with a suitable glue, double-sided tape, or any suitable means for interconnection.

[0077] The intermediate product 10 is shown with a number of fold lines 28 in order to allow the side wall elements 16-16 to be easily folded into the container. The folding lines may be weakenings arranged as score lines or embossings, etc. In a different embodiment, which is not shown, the intermediate product 10 is arranged without the fold lines 28. In this case, the manufacturing equipment performs the folding of the side wall elements 16-16 without the need of fold lines 28.

[0078] Two of the side wall elements 16, 16 comprise a cut 12, which is preferably arranged during the same processing step as the intermediate product 10 being stamped out of a larger piece of cardboard. The cuts 12 are shown arranged as substantially U-shaped cuts, such that the denesters 12 are not completely cut out of the side wall element material, but has a non-cut part, which acts as a hinge. The denesters 12 may be arranged differently than from a substantially U-shaped cut, such as a substantially square-shaped cut, etc., as long as the denester is not completely cut out of the side wall element material and can be folded into the interior of the container 10.

[0079] The denester may comprise a sectioned cut, such that the denester, besides the non-cut part which acts as a hinge, comprises another part of non-cut material, which serves to keep the denester 12 from being unintentionally folded out of the intermediate product 10 before the intended processing step. In FIG. 2, the second non-cut part of material is arranged on the opposite side of the denester 12 than the non-cut material serving as the hinge. The denester 12 may be arranged from a number of sectioned cuts 12 to provide the desired structural strength to the denester before the intended processing step of folding the container 10.

[0080] One of the cuts 12 is shown arranged in the junction between the main surface 14 and the side wall elements 16,16, which arranges the denester adjacent and as close as possible to the main surface, such that the denester is supported by the main surface.

[0081] In an alternative embodiment (not shown), the denesters 12 are arranged only on the connection flap 20, whereby when the intermediate product 10 is folded into the container 10, part of the connection flaps 20 is on the outside covered by the interconnected neighbouring side wall element, whereby the denesters 12 are not visible from the outside of the container.

[0082] FIG. 3A is an upper perspective view of an egg package according to another embodiment of the denester 12. The construction of the container is, beside the construction of the denester 12, similar to the embodiment of FIGS. 1A and 1B.

[0083] It is further to be understood, that the denesters 12 disclosed in the different embodiments may be used in other containers than egg packages, such as containers for fruits, vegetables, or non-food products, where a stacking and easy separation of the containers before packing are needed.

[0084] The denester 12 shown in FIG. 3A is, compared to the denester in FIGS. 1A and 1B, arranged at a corner part of the container, i.e. at the junction of two neighbouring side wall elements in the finished folded state.

[0085] FIG. 3A shows two denesters arranged at two corner parts of the container 10, but may comprise a denester at any one of the corners, or all of them.

[0086] FIG. 3B is a lower perspective view of the upper part of an egg package. FIG. 3B shows the denester 12 being arranged from the material of the side wall element 16, more specifically from the material of the main part of the side wall element 16 and the material from the connection flap 20. The denester 12 is in this embodiment arranged as a corner denester 12 made from cut material which at opposite ends is connected to the container side wall elements at both sides of the corner junction. As the side wall elements 16, 16 not comprising the denester cuts are folded over the connection flaps 20, each denester is only visible from one side.

[0087] FIG. 4 is a top view of an intermediate product 10. The figure shows the intermediate product 10 being arranged as a substantially flat piece, preferably a piece of cardboard, and suitable to be folded into the top part of the container 10 in FIGS. 3A and 3B.

[0088] The substantially flat piece of material is similar to the one shown in FIG. 2, but comprises the denesters 12 illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B.

[0089] Each denester 12 shown is arranged from two cuts 12, one cut 12 extending substantially coaxially with the junction between the main surface 14 and the side wall element 16, and the other cut 12 being arranged as a V-shaped cut 12 extending on the side wall main part and the connection flap across the fold line 28 between the side wall main part and the connection flap.

[0090] The shape of the V-shaped cut is arranged in relation to the intended angle between the main surface 14 and the side wall element 16, where in the shown embodiment the angle is intended to be oblique. In an embodiment where the angle is intended to be approximal 90 degrees, the V-shaped cut is instead substantially straight.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

[0091] 10 Container [0092] 10 Intermediate product [0093] 12 Denester [0094] 12 Cut [0095] 14 Main surface [0096] 16-16 Side wall elements [0097] 20 Connection flap [0098] 22 Locking element [0099] 24 Opening [0100] 28 Fold line [0101] 30 Connection area