HERMETIC PACKAGE FOR LIQUID OR PASTY FOOD PRODUCTS AND METHOD FOR MAKING THE PACKAGE

Abstract

A hermetic package for a food product in liquid or pasty form and consisting of a single sheet folded along longitudinal and transversal lines of weakness to form a container having a triangular prismatic shape, of two triangular opposite parallel front walls, two opposite inclined rectangular lateral walls converging towards a common vertex, and a rectangular base wall from whose larger opposite edges extend the two front walls, whilst from the two smaller opposite edges extend the two lateral walls; first and second sealings create first and second sealing fins and define a cavity, and a single opening for accessing the cavity; the opening is made at the base wall, to allow filling of the cavity, the opening is in turn closed by a third sealing formed by sealing together inner faces of the two front walls in such a way as to create a third base sealing fin.

Claims

1. Hermetic package for a food product in liquid or pasty form consisting of a single sheet having longitudinal and transverse weakening lines, said sheet being folded along said weakening lines to form a container having a triangular prismatic form, comprising: two opposite front walls, parallel to each other and triangular in shape; two opposite rectangular lateral slanting walls converging towards a common vertex; and a substantially rectangular base wall from whose two major opposite edges the two front walls depart, and from whose two minor opposite edges the two lateral walls depart; a first and second sealing formed by joining corresponding internal faces of at least one of said front and/or lateral walls, so as to create a first and a second sealing fin, at least one of said first and second sealing fin being of peelable or tearable type, said first and second sealing defining a cavity delimited by the front walls and by the lateral walls and a single opening to access the cavity; said opening being made in correspondence of the base wall, so as to allow the filling of the cavity with the product poured by dropping it through the opening, wherein the opening is closed by a third sealing formed by welding internal faces of two opposite end tails of the front walls between each other and internal faces of two couple of opposite end tails of the lateral walls between each other, so as to create on the base wall a single third base sealing fin opposite to the common vertex.

2. Package according to claim 1, wherein the first sealing defining the first fin is formed longitudinally on one of the front walls or on one of the lateral walls, and the second sealing defining the second fin is formed transversely along the common vertex formed where the front walls and lateral walls meet each other.

3. Package according to claim 1, wherein the first and second sealing defining the first and second fin respectively are formed longitudinally on each one of the two front walls or on each of the two lateral walls respectively.

4. Package according to claim 1, wherein the third base fin is made centrally and folded over the base wall.

5. Package according to claim 1, wherein the base wall comprises at least one protruding base tab configured to open the package.

6. Package according to the preceding claim 5, wherein said base tab is formed on the third fin.

7. Package according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second sealing fins comprises a protruding lateral tab configured to open the package.

8. Package according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said first, second and third sealing fin is folded on a respective wall.

9. Package according to claim 1, wherein the third sealing which forms the third sealing fin, after it has been folded on the base wall, also forms a pair of flaps bilaterally projecting from the base wall, each flap of said pair of flaps being folded over the respectively nearest lateral wall.

10. Package according to claim 1, wherein the third sealing fin is formed by only two opposed layers of the single sheet and is formed on the base wall in a position such that an empty space without the product is not left in the container proximally to the base wall

11. Package according to claim 1, wherein the third base sealing fin extends perpendicularly to the common vertex.

12. Method for making a hermetic package for a food product comprising the following steps: feeding a continuous film; cutting the continuous film to form a plurality of single sheets and forming longitudinal and transverse weakening lines on each single sheet to define folding lines for forming a container having a triangular prismatic conformation; providing a forming mandrel with a prismatic shape; coupling the single sheet to the forming mandrel; folding the sheet around the forming mandrel by folding it along the weakening lines, so as to create, wrapped around the forming mandrel: two opposing front walls, parallel to each other and triangular in shape; and two opposing rectangular lateral walls, slanted towards a common vertex, sealing, while the sheet is wound on the forming mandrel, with a first and a second sealing to make a container having a single opening accessing a cavity delimited by the two front walls and by the two lateral walls, said first and second sealing being formed by joining corresponding inner faces of at least one among said front and/or lateral walls, so as to create a first and a second sealing fin, at least one among said first and second sealing fin being of peelable or tearable type, subsequently removing the container with said first and second sealing fin from the forming mandrel, so as to make the cavity accessible from said opening; filling the cavity with the product which is poured by dropping it through the access opening, and subsequently closing the container by means of a third final sealing formed by welding internal faces of two opposite end tails of the two front walls between each other and internal faces of two couple of opposite end tails of the lateral walls between each other, so as to create on a base wall a single base sealing third fin on a base wall opposite to the common vertex.

13. Method according to claim 12, wherein the sealing step comprises the following sub steps: the first sealing defining the first fin has been made longitudinally either on one of the front walls or on one of the lateral walls of the container; and the second sealing defining the second fin has been made transversely along the common vertex formed where the front and lateral walls meets all each other.

14. Method according to claim 12, wherein the sealing step comprises the following sub steps: the first sealing defining the first fin has been made longitudinally on one of the front walls or one of the lateral walls of the container, and the second sealing defining the second fin has been made longitudinally on the remaining front wall or on the remaining lateral wall with respect to the first sealing.

15. Method according to claim 12, wherein the third base sealing fin is made centrally and folded over the base wall.

16. Method according to claim 12, wherein at least one of said first, second and third sealing fin is folded and stably associated on a corresponding respective wall of the container.

17. Method according to claim 12, wherein the third base sealing fin is made by joining only two opposed layers of the single sheet and is formed on the base wall in a position such that an empty space without the product is not left in the container proximally to the base wall.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0019] The features of the package will become more apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred, non-limiting embodiment of it, illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0020] FIGS. 1A to 1F illustrate the formation of a first hermetic package which can be opened with a prismatic shape, in particular with a triangular cross section, for liquid or pasty food products according to the invention and with perspective views;

[0021] FIGS. 2A to 2F illustrate the formation of a second type of hermetic package which can be opened with a prismatic shape, in particular with a triangular cross section, for liquid or pasty food products according to the invention and with perspective views;

[0022] FIGS. 3A to 3F illustrate the formation of a third type of hermetic package which can be opened with a prismatic shape, in particular with a triangular cross section, for liquid or pasty food products according to the invention and with perspective views;

[0023] FIGS. 4A to 4G illustrate the formation of a fourth type of hermetic package which can be opened with a prismatic shape, in particular with a triangular cross section, for liquid or pasty food products according to the invention and with perspective views;

[0024] FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate a schematic succession of a method for making hermetic packages containing liquid or pasty food products obtained on a forming spindle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0025] With reference to the accompanying drawings, in particular FIGS. 1 to 4, the hermetic package according to the invention, labelled C, is used to contain portions of liquid or pasty food products, such as, for example, processed cheese, butter, chocolate, jams, etc.

[0026] In particular, the package C according to the invention has a triangular prismatic shape.

[0027] As illustrated, the package C for a food product in liquid or pasty form consists of a single sheet 1 having longitudinal and transversal lines of weakness.

[0028] The sheet 1 is folded along the lines of weakness to form the container C having a triangular prismatic shape.

[0029] The package C comprises two opposite front walls 1A, 1B, parallel to each other and triangular in shape.

[0030] The package C also comprises two opposing rectangular lateral walls 1C, 1D slanted towards a common vertex V.

[0031] The package C also comprises a substantially rectangular base wall 1E from whose major opposite edges the two front walls 1A, 1B depart, and from whose two minor opposite edges the two lateral walls 1C, 1D depart.

[0032] For this reason, the longitudinal lines are the lines along the edges between the front walls 1A, 1B and the lateral walls 1C, 1D, whilst the transversal lines are to be considered along the edges between the base wall 1E and the remaining front and lateral walls, as well as the line along the vertex V.

[0033] Again as illustrated, the container C is sealed firstly with a first and a second sealing configured to make a container C having a single opening 10 giving access to a cavity delimited by the front walls 1A, 1B and by the lateral walls 1C and 1D.

[0034] The first and second sealing are formed by joining corresponding inner faces of at least one between the front walls 1A, 1B and/or lateral walls 1C, 1D, in such a way as to create a first P1 and a second P2 sealing fin.

[0035] At least one between the first P1 and second P2 sealing fins are of the peelable or tearable type.

[0036] The inner face means the side of the sheet 1 which will come into contact with the product, whilst the opposite side is the outer face.

[0037] The access opening 10 is made at the base wall 1E, so as to allow the filling of the cavity with the product poured by falling through the access opening 10.

[0038] Again as illustrated, the access opening 10 is closed after the filling by a third sealing formed by welding together internal faces of two opposite end tails of the front walls 1A, 1B as well as welding to each other internal faces of two pairs of opposite end tails of the lateral walls 1C, 1D, so as to create on the base wall 1E a single third base sealing fin P3.

[0039] According to this embodiment, the package is obtained with a single sheet and with an extremely simple, but safe sealing and with a high degree of mechanical seal.

[0040] This type of package has a very high constructional versatility confirmed by four versions illustrated, merely by way of example, in FIGS. 1 to 4 which can be obtained with the above-mentioned features.

[0041] In the packages illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the packages are obtained with a single sheet 1 having a fan shape where the base wall 1E is formed in the larger arc whilst the shared vertex V will be formed in the narrower arc.

[0042] According to the packages illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the packages are obtained with a single sheet 1 having a double wing shape joined in a shared central zone; in this case the shared vertex V of the package will be formed in the shared central area, whilst the two free ends once folded relative to the vertex will form the base wall 1E.

[0043] According to the versions of the package illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the first sealing defining the first fin P1 is formed longitudinally and centrally on one of the front walls 1A or 1B starting from the vertex up to the centre of the base wall 1E, or on one of the lateral walls 1C or 1D.

[0044] The second sealing defining the second fin P2 is formed transversely along the common vertex V formed where the lateral walls 1C, 1D meet.

[0045] More specifically, in the package of FIG. 1, the first sealing defining the first fin P1 is formed longitudinally and centrally on the front wall 1A.

[0046] It should be noted that in the package of FIG. 2 the first sealing defining the first fin P1 is formed longitudinally on the lateral wall 1C.

[0047] According to the versions of packages illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the first and the second sealing defining, respectively, the first P1 and the second P2 fin are formed longitudinally and centrally, respectively, on each front wall 1A, 1B or on each lateral wall 1C, 1D.

[0048] More in detail, on the package of FIG. 3 the first and second sealing defining, respectively, the first P1 and the second P2 fin are formed longitudinally and centrally on each of the two front walls 1A and 1B.

[0049] In the package of FIG. 4, the first and second sealing defining, respectively, the first P1 and the second P2 fin are formed longitudinally on each of the two lateral walls 1C, 1D.

[0050] In all the packages illustrated, the third base fin P3 is formed centrally and folded on the base wall 1E.

[0051] The third sealing which forms the third base fin P3, in all the packages, also forms, after folding the third fin P3 on the base wall 1E, a pair of flaps 3 protruding on both sides from the base wall 1E.

[0052] These flaps 3 are preferably folded on the closest lateral walls 1C and 1D.

[0053] Preferably, the base wall 1E comprises a protruding base tab 2 configured to facilitate opening of the package C.

[0054] Preferably, the base tab 2 is made on the third fin P3.

[0055] It should be noted that on the base 1E, that is to say, on the third fin P3, there may be two tabs 2 placed side by side (FIGS. 1 and 3).

[0056] According to a further variant embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, at least one between the first P1 and the second P2 sealing fin may comprise a (further) protruding lateral tab 2configured for opening the package C.

[0057] In FIG. 4, respective tabs 2are formed on both the fins P1 and P2.

[0058] It should be noted that the tab 2, 2 (both base and lateral) is, preferably, but not necessarily, in the form of a flat half-moon.

[0059] These tabs 2, 2 lend themselves to facilitating opening starting from the fins P1 and/or P2 and/or P3, since they define gripping points on the package C.

[0060] As illustrated, at least one between the first P1, the second P2 and the third P3 sealing fin is folded on a respective wall 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E of the container C.

[0061] Preferably, each of the first P1, second P2 and third P3 fins, after its formation, is folded on the corresponding wall 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E in which it is formed.

[0062] According to the embodiments illustrated, the third single base sealing fin P3 extends perpendicularly to the common vertex V.

[0063] It should be noted that the third fin P3 is formed by only two opposed layers of the single sheet 1 and is formed on the base wall 1E in a position such that an empty space without the product is not left in the package close to the base wall 1E.

[0064] According to the invention, all the sealing fins P1, P2 and P3 are made by joining inside-inside, that is to say, joining two inner faces of the sheet, in such a way as to guarantee a perfect seal.

[0065] The joining of the portions which form the sealing fins may be obtained by applying glue, either by using hot sealers or by simply pressing in the presence of adhesive material (permanent or peelable type) pre-applied on the sheet, or by ultrasound sealing.

[0066] The invention also relates to a method for making a package C for a food product (see FIGS. 5 and 6).

[0067] The steps of the method illustrated relate to the package illustrated in FIG. 1, but may also be applied, without particular differences, for the other packages C.

[0068] The method comprises the following steps: [0069] feeding a continuous film; [0070] cutting the continuous film to form a plurality of single sheets 1 and forming longitudinal and transverse weakening lines on each single sheet 1 to define folding lines for forming a container C having a triangular prismatic shape; [0071] providing a forming mandrel 4 with a prismatic shape; [0072] coupling the single sheet 1 to the forming mandrel 4; [0073] folding the sheet 1 around the forming mandrel 4 by folding it along the weakening lines, so as to create, wrapped around the forming mandrel 4: [0074] two opposing front walls 1A, 1B, parallel to each other and triangular in shape; and [0075] two opposing rectangular lateral walls 1C, 1D slanted towards a common vertex V, [0076] sealing, while the sheet 1 is wound on the forming mandrel 4, with a first and a second sealing to make a container C having a single opening 10 accessing a cavity delimited by the two front walls 1A, 1B and by the two lateral walls 1C, 1D, [0077] the first and second sealing are formed by joining corresponding inner faces of at least one among the front 1A, 1B and/or lateral 1C, 1D walls, so as to create a first P1 and a second P2 sealing fin, at least one between the first P1 and second P2 sealing fin are of a peelable or tearable type.

[0078] The method then comprises the following steps: [0079] pulling out from the forming mandrel 4 the container C with the first sealing fin P1 and second sealing fin P2 already formed, in such a way as to make the cavity accessible from the access opening 10; [0080] filling the cavity with the product which is poured by dropping it through the access opening 10, and subsequently [0081] closing the container C by means of a third final sealing formed by sealing internal faces at least of the two front walls 1A, 1B in such a way so as to create on a base wall 1E a single base sealing third fin P3 on the base wall 1E opposite and extending perpendicularly to the common vertex V.

[0082] In other words, the package is obtained with a single sheet folded around a mandrel configured to obtain a triangular prismatic shape. This wrapping makes it possible to obtain the closing fins quickly and easily.

[0083] Moreover, by acting in contrast with the forming mandrel it is possible to increase the temperature and the pressure without the risk of damaging the product which will be introduced only subsequently.

[0084] It should also be noted that the various solutions of the final package depend only on the type of initial configuration of the sheet whilst the forming steps are the same in order to have a high level of operating flexibility.

[0085] Preferably, during the step of winding on the forming mandrel 4, the steps of performing the first and second sealing on the sheet 1 comprise the following sub-steps: [0086] the first sealing defining the first fin P1 longitudinally on one of the front walls 1A or 1B (FIG. 5) or on one of the lateral walls 1C or 1D of the package C; and [0087] the second sealing defining the second fin P2 transversely along the common vertex V formed where the front walls 1A, 1B meet the lateral walls 1C, 1D (FIGS. 5 and 6). Corresponding to the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

[0088] Alternatively, during the step of winding on the forming mandrel 4, the steps of performing the first and second sealing on the sheet 1 comprise the following sub-steps: [0089] the first sealing defining the first fin P1 longitudinally on one of the front walls 1A or 1B or on one of the lateral walls 1C or 1D of the package C; and [0090] the second sealing defining the second fin P2 longitudinally on the other front wall 1A or 1B or on the other lateral wall 1C or 1D with respect to the first sealing. Corresponding to the embodiments shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

[0091] It should be noted that after the step of closing the container C in such a way as to create a third base sealing fin P3 there is a step of central folding of the third base fin P3 on the base wall 1E.

[0092] After the step of forming the first P1, second P2 and third P3 sealing fin there is a corresponding step of folding and stably associating on a corresponding wall 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E of the container C wherein each fin P1, P2, P3 is formed.

[0093] As illustrated in FIG. 6, the step of pulling out the container C from the forming spindle 4 occurs by expulsion of the container C from the forming mandrel 4 by sliding the container C on an outer surface of the forming mandrel 4.

[0094] After pulling out the container C from the mandrel 4 it is filled and the base wall 1E is subsequently sealed.