WO2000030954A1 - Double packaging for dry food product and a liquid or pasty food product - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention concerns a packaging comprising a sealed bowl (1) containing the liquid or pasty food product (6) and an annular sleever ring (2)-containing the dry food product (7) packed in a bag, the sealed bowl (1) being sealingly or substantially sealingly nested in the base (21) of the ring (2).

Description

 DOUBLE PACKAGING FOR DRY FOOD AND LIQUID OR PASTY FOOD

The present invention relates to double packaging for food products. More specifically, the subject of the invention is a packaging suitable for receiving two foods, one liquid or pasty, the other dry, which are separated from each other within the packaging, but are intended to be mixed. later for consumption.

The device according to the invention is intended in particular for packaging a dose of so-called "ready to eat" cereals, for example corn flakes, puffed rice and / or muesli, and a dose of milk, both doses constituting, after they have been mixed by the consumer, an individual portion of snack of the appetite suppressant type, or forming part of the composition of this snack. Such an application, of course, is not limiting.

Usually, each of these two types of product is usually packaged in a separate container, which poses problems of space, storage, and convenience of preparation for consumption. Another drawback of the known devices is that it is not practical to take with you an individual portion comprising the two appropriate doses of food; it is necessary to prepare them beforehand to package them, with adequate volumes, in separate containers.

The invention aims to solve these difficulties by proposing a single packaging, in which the desired doses of each constituent of the mixture are contained, ready to be mixed in the optimum proportion.

By way of example, this is practical in particular for children, for example schoolchildren, who can have an appetite suppressant that is easy to prepare when the time comes, in a small footprint, which they can take with them if necessary. school or traveling.

The above-mentioned objective is achieved, in accordance with the invention, thanks to the fact that the double packaging comprises, on the one hand, a sealed bowl containing the liquid or pasty food and, on the other hand, an annular sleeve - or collar- containing the bagged dry food, and in that the bowl sealed is fitted tightly or substantially tightly in the base of the collar.

Furthermore, according to a certain number of additional, non-limiting characteristics of the invention: - the base of the collar is inserted by elastic snap-fastening in a peripheral groove formed in the upper part of the bowl;

- The base of the flange consists of a wall element which is hung inwards relative to the rest of the wall, and slightly deformable towards the outside during the latching; - The bowl has a rim, on which is fixed the periphery of the cover, and which bears against the recess zone connecting the base to the rest of the wall;

- This rim has a frangible projecting gripping tab, intended to facilitate the removal of the cover; - The packaging includes a cover or a lid for closing the collar;

- The bowl and the collar are made of plastic, for example polypropylene;

- the collar also contains a small spoon, the bagged dry food and the spoon resting on the lid of the bowl;

- the bagged dry food is a dose of "ready to use" cereals, while the liquid food is a dose of milk, these two doses being determined to constitute, after mixing, an individual portion of food, ready to eat in any circumstance. Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear from the description and the appended drawings which present, by way of simple non-limiting example, a preferred embodiment. In the drawings:

- Figure 1 is a sectional view of the bowl and the collar intended to constitute the double packaging which is the subject of the invention, before their mutual assembly, the cutting plane being a median vertical plane;

- Figures 2, 2A and 2B are detailed views intended to explain the assembly by elastic snap-fastening, of the bowl in the base of the collar;

- Figure 3 is a sectional view, in a vertical median plane, which shows the packaging and its contents; - Figure 4 is a partial top view of the sealed bowl, at the tear-off tab provided to facilitate the removal of the cover which covers the bowl;

- Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view of Figure 4, on which the cutting plane is referenced V-V;

- Figures 5A and 5B are views similar to Figure 5, which respectively show the folding of the tear-off tab after assembly of the bowl with the flange, and the operation of removing the cover.

In the figures, the bowl and the collar are designated by the references 1 and 2 respectively.

These are, for example, two plastic parts of the type usually used for packaging food products, such as polypropylene in particular, of relatively thin wall thickness, injection molded or thermoformed. The bowl 1 and the collar 2 for example, seen from above, a circular contour; one could however give them a different outline, such as for example oval, square, or rectangular with rounded angles.

In the example illustrated, the bowl 1 has a generally circular shape, its bottom (horizontal) being referenced 10 and its side wall 11. The wall 1 1 can be cylindrical or generally conical, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the angle at the top of the cone being directed downward.

In the upper part of the wall 11 is formed a peripheral groove 13, which is delimited downwards by a lug, or spoiler 12, and upwards by a horizontal rim 3. The opening of the bowl has been designated by the reference 14 .

The rim 3 has, in a zone of the circumference of the bowl, a projecting tab 30, the function of which will be explained later, with particular reference to FIGS. 4 to 5B.

The collar 2 is a sleeve or ferrule, either cylindrical or slightly conical, the conicity in this case advantageously corresponding to that of the wall 1 1 of the bowl.

The sleeve 2 opens both downwards and upwards, its lower opening being referenced 23 and its upper opening 24.

The lower zone of the wall 20, or base, referenced 21, is hooked inwards relative to the rest 20 of the wall, the connection being made by a horizontal hook zone 22. In the upper part of the wall 20, there is a similar setback, consisting of a section of wall 40 but this time facing outwards, connected to the part 20 by a horizontal setback area 41.

In addition, the collar has a horizontal rim 4, similar to the rim 3 of the bowl.

The wall 11 of the bowl has a slightly smaller diameter than that of the part 20, which allows engagement and nesting from top to bottom of the bowl in the collar, as will be explained now.

The outside diameter of the wall at the level of the groove 13 (in the upper part of the bowl) corresponds to the inside diameter of the wall of the base 21 of the collar 2; similarly, the height of the groove 13 corresponds to that of the base 21.

The establishment, by elastic snap-fastening - or clipping - of the bowl inside the collar will now be explained with reference to FIGS. 2, 2A and 2B. This assembly is done by pressing the bowl from top to bottom in the collar.

At the beginning of the sinking, the wall 1 1 of the bowl enters the opening 23 of the base 21 and pushes the base portion slightly outwards. The sinking continues, the lug, or spoiler 12 arrives facing the wall part 21 and spaced outward; this slight and transient deformation of the base 21 is possible due to the elasticity of the plastic which constitutes the collar.

The spoiler 12 has a triangular shape, playing the role of stop notch, the hypotenuse is inclined downward and towards the center, forming a ramp capable of gradually pushing back and smoothly against the wall element 21 towards the outside.

Once this spoiler 12 has passed the lower edge of the base 21, it recovers, owing to its elasticity, its initial configuration, and engages inside the groove 13.

The dimensions of the groove 13 and of the base 21 are determined in such a way that this engagement takes place with a certain tightening, the two wall elements being applied firmly against each other, which ensures a good seal against it. level. The assembly is then removable, the base 21 of the flange 2 being trapped in the groove 13, and retained therein between the lug 12 and the flange 3 (see Figure 2B).

As shown in FIG. 3, the bowl 1 is intended to receive the liquid food, such as milk, referenced 6.

This is retained in the bowl, and protected from the outside environment by means of a shutter 5.

It is a sealing film of known type, which may also be made of polypropylene, the periphery of which is sealed on the rim 3 of the bowl, for example by heat welding.

The milk in the bowl, preferably, has a long shelf life.

Inside the flange 2 is housed the dry food, referenced 7.

These are ready-to-use cereals, which are contained in a sachet 70, for example in the form of a plastic bag. Advantageously, a small spoon is also placed inside the collar 2.

The food bag and the spoon rest on the lid 5.

The upper opening 24 of the collar is closed by a cover 9. It may be a plastic cover, for example made of polypropylene, having a peripheral interlocking profile, which makes it possible to fix it in a removable manner, by simple pressure on the upper part of the collar 2.

Alternatively, it may be a sealing film similar to the cover 5 of the bowl; in this case the cover can be fixed by its periphery on the horizontal area 4 mentioned above.

As seen in Figures 4 and 5, the annular area 3 which receives the edge of the cover 5 extends radially, in a region of its periphery, a tongue, or tab, 30. This tongue is an integral part of the rest bowl; however, it is connected to the rim 3 by means of a weakening zone of lesser thickness, resulting from a groove 31 formed in its lower face.

This connection constitutes a frangible, easily breakable zone.

The cover 5 also covers the tongue 30. When assembling the bowl in the base of the collar, the tongue 30 is folded inwards and upwards by the wall 20 of the collar, as can be understood by simply observing FIG. 5A.

The flexibility of the plastic allows this partial folding, without breaking the frangible zone.

To remove the cover, we start by causing this rupture, by folding the tab 30 further inwards, as symbolized by the arrow f in FIG. 5 A. Next, the tab 30 serving as a gripping, pulling it and the cover up and inward, which has the effect of taking off the cover 5 of the track 3 to which it adhered.

After complete removal of the cover, the bowl 1 is completely open upwards, and the liquid 6 which is contained therein is therefore perfectly accessible.

This packaging is used as follows: - we start by removing the cover 9, or the cover, which covers the flange 2;

- the dry food bag 7 and the spoon 8 are removed from the collar;

- the cover 5 is removed as explained above;

- the bag 70 is opened and the food 7 is poured into the bowl 1, so that it is incorporated into the liquid 6.

- Using the spoon 8, the two foods are mixed and then eaten.

The collar 2 constitutes a sort of enhancement of the bowl, it being understood that the volume occupied by the two foods is greater than the capacity of the single bowl 1.

The ready-to-eat mixture therefore occupies a space corresponding not only inside the bowl 1 but also, in part, to that of the collar 2.

This is not a problem, thanks to the tightness, or, almost tightness, of the snap connection of the base of the collar in the upper part of the bowl.

The bowl 1 and the collar 2 thus constitute a unitary container containing the mixed food which can be consumed.

In practice, the liquid cannot unexpectedly escape from the container through the assembly zone. At the industrial stage, for the packaging of food, it is interesting to insert the bowl already containing the liquid, and sealed, inside the flange, not pour the liquid into the bowl after the bowl / flange assembly has been completed.

This solution makes it possible in particular to sterilize the bowls previously filled with milk in the producing dairy. The final assembly and incorporation of the food is then done in an independent packaging workshop.

This, however, is not mandatory.

As already said, the bowl and the collar do not necessarily have circular contours; different shapes can be provided. It goes without saying, however, that these two elements must be complementary and shaped in order to be able to be assembled properly and in a leaktight manner, or roughly leaktight, to one another.

Connection systems other than the one just described can naturally be envisaged, without going beyond the ambit of the present invention.

The bowl and the collar are not necessarily directly fixed to each other.

The assembly could be obtained by using one or more intermediate connecting elements (a ring for example), to (x) which (s) would be attached to both the base of the collar and the upper part of the bowl.

Finally, it is possible to envisage materials other than plastic to produce one and / or the other of the two elements 1, 2.

As an example of a substitute material, mention may in particular be made of waterproof cardboard, of food quality. The materials used can be opaque, transparent or translucent, and their thickness variable, depending on the food products concerned.

Claims

1. Double packaging for two foods, one liquid or pasty, the other dry, intended to be mixed for consumption, characterized in that it comprises, on the one hand, a sealed bowl (1) containing the liquid or pasty food (6) and, on the other hand, an annular sleeve - or collar (2) - containing the bagged dry food (7), and in that the sealed bowl (1) is fitted in a way watertight or substantially watertight in the base (21) of the collar. 2. Packaging according to claim 1, characterized in that the base (21) of the collar (2) is inserted by elastic snap into a peripheral groove (13) formed in the upper part of the bowl (1). 3. Packaging according to claim 2, characterized in that the base (21) of the flange (2) consists of a wall element hooked inwardly relative to the rest (20) of the wall, and slightly deformable towards outside during the click-in. 4. Packaging according to claim 3, characterized in that the bowl (1) has a rim (3), on which is fixed the periphery of the cover (5), and which abuts against the recess area ( 22) connecting the base (21) to the rest (20) of the wall. 5. Packaging according to claim 4, characterized in that said flange (3) has a gripping tab projecting frangible (30), intended to facilitate the removal of the cover (5). 6. Packaging according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that it comprises a cover (9) or a cover for closing the collar (2). 7. Packaging according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the bowl (1) and the flange (2) are made of plastic, for example polypropylene. 8. Packaging according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the flange (2) also contains a small spoon (8), the bagged dry food (7) and the spoon (8) resting on the lid (5) of the bowl. 9. Packaging according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the bagged dry food (7) is a dose of cereals "ready to eat", while the liquid food (6) is a dose of milk, these two doses being determined to constitute, after mixing, an individual portion of food.