RS53575B1 - PACKAGING FOR THE FOOD PRODUCT, WHICH IS CHEESE AND THE PROCESS OF ITS PRODUCTION - Google Patents

Abstract

Packaging (1) for a food product (4), such as a single portion of cheese, characterized in that it contains two containers (2 and 3) which are hermetically sealed to each other at the peripheral edges (2a and 3a) which these containers have, so to form a wall (6) of a closed cavity containing said product, said edges extending towards the outside of said vessels via two opening tabs (2b and 3b), which are arranged opposite one another and which can be separated from each other. pulling, to open said package by separating said edges, said package further comprising a holder (5) for gripping said product which is firmly mounted on the inside of said package within said cavity. said holder passing through said cavity wall continuing behind said tabs, which are glued to said holder, said holder having a rigid structure which is firmly attached to said product. wherein the holder is characterized by having an essentially planar geometry, and said tabs are glued to two opposite sides of said holder. The application contains 11 more patent claims.

Description

Description of the invention

The present invention relates to the packaging of individual food products, such as

which is an individual portion of cheese, as well as the procedure for producing such packaging.

It is known to be possible to package individual portions of cheese in packages of the cavity type sealed with a hermetically sealed membrane, containing a portion of cheese securely attached to a solid support (stick). It could be mentioned, for example, the portions of cheese sold by the applicant under the name "Kidiboo". This stick, which allows holding a portion of cheese during consumption after opening the hermetically sealed membrane, is completely closed inside the package.

It is also known to package these portions in packages having two hollow chambers, which are hermetically sealed together via their preferred rims, and which contain such portions of cheese. Reference could be made, for example, to document WOA-00/21855 for a description of such packages. which explains how to use the opening tab firmly attached to the inside of the package wall, as well as the portions sold under the name "Milkana" sold by the applicant, each of which is firmly attached to a stick

for holding which is completely packed inside the package.

Document GB-A-533 502 also describes a package for a food product in accordance with the preamble of patent claim 1, as well as a manufacturing process in accordance with the preamble of patent claim 12.

One object of the present invention is to provide packaging for a food product, such as a single portion of cheese, in accordance with patent claim 1.

For these purposes, the package according to the present invention is such that the holder has a rigid structure that firmly attaches to said product and an essentially planar geometry, where said tabs stick to two sides of said holder, without adverse effects on adhesion or ease of opening ("ease of separation").

It should be borne in mind that this placement of the said holder through the wall of the said cavity enables easy handling of the package before opening for consumption.

It should also be borne in mind that this placement of the holder through the package itself, in combination with the hermetic gluing of the tabs for opening to the holder, enables easy opening of the package by separating these two tabs that can be "unstuck" from each other, conveniently by pulling one of the tabs in the direction opposite to the other tab with one hand, while holding the holder firmly with the other hand.

In addition, it should be borne in mind that this type of holder, which continues behind the mentioned tabs for opening, provides, in the packaging obtained in this way, an element of fun for children, especially due to the fact that the said holder can have different shapes, patterns and/or colors that are complementary to those in the package of the contained portion (the holder can thus have two sides of identical or different appearance).

Said holder has the advantage of having an outer zone that continues behind the opening tabs, with a length greater than or equal to 5 mm, and preferably greater than or equal to 10 mm. so it is possible to capture the specified outer zone.

According to another solution of the present invention, said holder has an inner zone which is firmly attached to said product and which has at least one opening, in order to obtain the greatest possible adhesion of said product to the two sides of said holder, and which preferably has several oval openings extending both lengthwise and transversely to the direction of the holder.

In this way, by filling these openings with the product itself, better adhesion or cohesion of the cheese is obtained, both for the cheese itself and for the holder, which brings an advantage.

It is desirable that said holder has a thickness between 1 mm and 2.5 mm.

It should be borne in mind that this kind of gluing of the said tabs for opening to the said holder enables the product to be stored in conditions of perfect hermetic closure, until opening, as well as to guarantee the integrity of the product to the customer, because any opening of the package via the tabs is irreversible and indicates to the customer that the package has been opened.

In accordance with another solution of the present invention, said packages can have a flexible structure that enables separation of said edges and the same geometry, which is, for example, generally discoidal in shape.

It is useful that said containers, which make up the package, can be adapted to remain attached to each other in a part of these edges, located on the opposite side of the part corresponding to said tabs, after opening said package by separating said edges.

According to one preferred solution of the present invention, said containers are formed by extruding two plastic films into a mold, each of which advantageously has an average thickness between 40 µm and 400 µm.

According to one preferred exemplary solution of the present invention, said holder can be based on polypropylene, said containers can consist of multilayer films containing at least three layers, which are respectively based on oriented polyethylene terephthalate, polystyrene and polypropylene.

Optionally, said containers may contain, in addition to the aforementioned parts, an additional layer representing a barrier, for example an oxygen barrier based on an ethylene/vinyl alcohol copolymer and (or) a light barrier.

It should be borne in mind that one and/or the other of the mentioned containers can contain decorations, which brings an advantage, and that with appropriate printing methods, it is suitable for it to be engraving printing, as well as that they can be varnished with varnish that can be matte or glossy, which further improves the appearance of the products and makes them more attractive to children.

The procedure for the production, according to the present invention, of the packaging previously defined contains the following successive steps:

a) formation, by extrusion into a mold, of two plastic films that have complementary cavities, and which will form the said vessels; b) hermetically closing the complementary films created in that way, between which there is, for each pair of containers placed opposite each other, a slot intended for the insertion of said holder and a filling nozzle that enables filling of said cavity; c) heat welding at the contact of the said tabs with the said holder, which is inserted into the said cavity; d) filling, through said neck of each package thus obtained, said product, such as cheese;

e) welding the edges of the specified throat on each package; and

f) cutting the films thus obtained in order to obtain individual packages.

It should also be borne in mind that this production procedure is in accordance with the subject matter

the invention can, which is an advantage, be carried out continuously in an automatic drive, by forming, on opposite sides, a number of pairs of hollow depressions intended to build a large number of pairs of containers that will be welded to each other.

Other features, advantages and details of the subject invention will be clear by consulting the description of several examples of solutions of the subject invention that follows, which is given as an illustration and without limitation, wherein the said description is given with references to the drawings given in the appendix, among which: figure 1 represents a side section of a package according to the subject invention in a closed position;

figure 2 represents the top projection of the package from figure 1;

figure 3 is a partial top view with a perspective showing the insertion of the product holder with which the package will be filled, in the film mold intended to form one of the containers;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the holder, placed on a container obtained from the film of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a view of the position of the opening on the package, in perspective, for the package from Fig. 1 i

2: and

Figure 6 is a top view of a plastic film having multiple cavities designed to provide multiple containers.

Package 1 illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 essentially contains:

two containers 2 and 3, belonging to a type of flexible chambers, which are welded to each other on the peripheral edges 2a and 3a, respectively, so that these two containers together define a closed cavity that will receive an individual portion of cheese 4 (which is only visible in figure 5); and a holder 5 for holding this portion 4 which is firmly attached to it via the inner zone 5a which it contains, and which passes through the wall 6 of this cavity, wherein this holder 5 is formed of a solid round or flat rod which is relatively wide and made of one piece.

In this example solution, vessels 2 and 3 have the same discoidal shape, whose edges 2a and 3a form circular rims. It should be kept in mind, however, that the containers 2 and 3 according to the present invention, as well as their edges 2a and 3a, could have different geometric shapes.

More specifically, the rims 2a and 3a continue towards the outer sides of the containers 2 and 3 by means of two identical opening tabs 2b and 3b, which are placed opposite each other,

and which can be "detached" from each other (i.e. can be separated by pulling) and which are hermetically glued to the two faces of the holder 5, in order to open the package 1 by separating the edges 2a and 3a. As can be seen, particularly in Figure 2, the holder 5 extends beyond the tabs 2b and 3b via an outer tongue-shaped zone 5b, the width of which at the free outer portion is substantially the same as at the portion at each of the opening tabs 2b and 3b.

In the example from Figure 2, tabs 2b and 3b are extensions of the edges 2a, 3a of the respective containers 2,

3, and it is square in shape.

Containers 2 and 3. glued to each other over the edges 2a and 3a are, moreover, designed so

to build shape 7 in the zone opposite tabs 2b and 3b, during the opening of package 1 (see figure 5).

It is preferable that the containers 2 and 3 are based on a multi-layer film that allows for peeling,

and which is made of plastic with an average thickness between 40 um and 400 um, and which contains three layers that are respectively composed of oriented polyethylene terephthalate (abbreviation "OPET"), polystyrene and polypropylene and, optionally. one additional barrier layer, for example, which represents a barrier to oxygen, made of a copolymer of ethylene and vinyl alcohol (abbreviation

"EVOH").

When it comes to holder 5, it is preferable that its thickness is between 1 mm and 2.5 mm, and it is made of polypropylene, and it is useful for it to be colored polypropylene. The holder 5 also contains no parts that could cut the consumer, and is essentially designed so that on the one hand it is very resistant to breaking and tearing, especially in the outer zone 5b, while on the other hand it provides maximum adhesion for the portion of cheese 4 through its oval cavities or openings 5c, 5d. 5e so that it has an inner zone 5a (see figures 3 and 4).

As shown in the example of the solution from figures 3 and 4, the inner zone 5a of the holder 5 may represent a flat head with two eyes and a mouth, as more or less oval cavities 5c and 5d, and is connected to the rest of the holder 5 via a neck-like part 5e which is also pierced by its width.

Figure 5 illustrates the opening on the package 1, which is created after the mutual separation of the two opening tabs 2b and 3b. For these purposes, the consumer, in a simple way, grasps the outer side 5b of the holder 5 with one hand, between the thumb and the forefinger, pressing the said side of this outer zone 5b and thus the tab 3b which is glued to the outer side of the holder 5 (applying a force directed in the direction of arrow A), then with the other hand he applies a pulling force to the other tab 2b (pulling upwards in the direction of arrow B), which causes it to be pulled like this the tab 2b separates from the tab 3b which is pressed, thereby separating the edges 2a and 3a, except at joint 7.

The consumer then separates the tab 3b from the holder 5 to remove it releasing the portion 4 firmly attached to the holder from the package part 3, in order to consume the portion 4 in a manner similar to the consumption of ice cream on a stick.

In order to produce such a package 1 according to the present invention, the following key steps are essentially performed: a) forming, by extrusion into a mold, two plastic films 8a and 8b having complementary cavities 9 to obtain containers 2 and 3, as shown in Figure 6 (these two films 8a and 8b are separated from each other by a cutting line 8c); b) gluing two complementary films 8a and 8b obtained in this way, between which there is, for each pair of containers 2 and 3 that are placed opposite, a slot (not visible) intended to allow the insertion of the holder 5 and as well as the filling nozzle 10 (see figure 3) intended to allow the filling of these two containers 2 and 3; c) preheating and then heat gluing in contact of the tabs 2b and 3b with the holder 5 inserted between each pair of containers 2 and 3 (this preheating of the holder 5 allows it to be brought to a temperature suitable for gluing the two tabs, 2b and 3b); d) filling, through the filling nozzle 10, each package 1 obtained in this way, with portion 4; e) preheating and then welding the edges of said neck 10 on each package 1; and f) cutting the thus obtained films 8a and 8b to obtain individual packages 1.

The packages 1 obtained in this way were subjected to tests of sealing, ease of separation and vertical compressive strength, which are briefly described in the text that follows: - sealing tests: such packages 1 were immersed in liquid solutions, which showed that the lime obtained between the edges 2a and 3a of these containers 2 and 3 effectively prevented any leakage of cheese and any penetration of the solution between containers 2 and 3;

- "ease of separation" tests: the tension force required to separate the opening tabs

2b and 3b from each other was measured (the force was measured using two clamps attached to these tabs 2b and 3b respectively) which showed that this force is between 6 N and 10 N, which represents a weld between tabs 2b and 3b that is strong enough to ensure a hermetic closure, but not so strong that a child cannot open the package 1 without excessive effort and without damaging the package; - vertical compression force tests: the bases of the parts of package 2 and 3 of package 1 were placed between two moving plates of the apparatus for measuring tension force and compression, which were approached (in the work program for measuring compression) at a constant speed until the breakage of package 1. In this way, the maximum compression force was measured, which showed that this kind of package 1 is strong enough, bearing in mind the expected forces that would act on it, resulting from storage operations and handling.

Claims (12)

1. Packaging (1) for a food product (4), such as a single portion of cheese, characterized by containing two containers (2 and 3) that are hermetically glued to each other on the peripheral edges (2a and 3a) that these containers have, so that a wall (6) of a closed cavity containing said product is formed, wherein said edges continue to the outside of said containers via two opening tabs (2b and 3b). which are placed opposite each other and which can be separated from each other by pulling, in order to open said package by separating said edges, said package further comprising a holder (5) for grasping said product firmly placed on the inside of said package within said cavity, said holder passing through said wall of the cavity continuing behind said tabs, which are glued to said holder, said holder having a rigid structure firmly held to said product, the holder being characterized by to have a substantially planar geometry, and said tabs are glued to two opposite sides of said holder. 2. Package (1) according to patent claim 1, characterized in that said holder (5) has an outer zone (5b) which continues behind said tabs (2b and 3b) with a length greater than or equal to 5 mm, so that said outer zone can be gripped. 3. Packaging (1) according to patent claims 1 or 2, characterized in that said holder (5) has an inner zone (5a) attached to said product (4) which has at least one opening (5c, 5d, 5e) in order to maximize the adhesion of said product to the two sides of said holder. 4. Packaging (1) according to patent claim 3, characterized by the fact that the inner zone (5a) has several openings (5c, 5d, 5e) of elliptical shape that extend both longitudinally and transversely along said holder (5). 5. Packaging (1) according to one of the preceding patent claims, characterized in that said containers (2 and 3) have a flexible structure suitable for enabling separation of said edges (2a and 3a) and the same geometry, which is essentially discoidal in shape. 6. Package (1) according to one of the previous patent claims, characterized by the fact that said containers (2 and 3) are adapted so that they remain attached to each other in the zone (7) of said edges (2a and 3a), which is located opposite the zone corresponding to said tabs (2b and 3b), after opening said package by separating said tabs. 7. Packaging (1) according to one of the previous patent claims, characterized by the fact that said containers (2 and 3) are formed by extrusion into a mold of two plastic films (8a and 8b). 8. Packaging (1) according to claim 7, characterized by said films (8a and 8b). individually, they have an average thickness between 40 um and 400 um. 9. Package (1) according to one of the previous patent claims, characterized by the fact that said holder (5) has a thickness between 1 mm and 2.5 mm. 10. Packaging (1) according to one of the previous patent claims, characterized by the fact that said holder (5) is based on polypropylene. as well as by the fact that said vessels (2 and 3) are composed of a multi-layer film containing at least three layers, which are respectively based on oriented polyethylene terephthalate, polystyrene and polypropylene. 11. Packaging (1) according to one of the previous patent claims, characterized by the fact that said containers (2 and 3) contain, in addition, a barrier layer, for example, which represents an oxygen barrier, based on an ethylene/vinyl alcohol copolymer. 12. The method for the production of packaging (1) from one of the previous patent claims, indicated by the fact that it contains the following successive steps: a) forming, by extrusion into a mold, two plastic films (8a and 8b) that have complementary cavities (9), which will form the mentioned containers (2 and 3); b) hermetically closing the complementary films created in this way, between which there is, for each pair of vessels (2 and 3) placed opposite each other, a slot intended for the insertion of said holder (5) and a filling nozzle (10) that allows filling of said cavity; c) thermal welding at the contact of the mentioned tabs (2b and 3b) of the mentioned holder (5), which is inserted into the mentioned cavity; d) filling, through said neck of each package thus obtained, said product (4), such as cheese; e) welding the edges of the specified throat (10) on each package; and f) cutting the thus obtained films to obtain individual packages.