WO2010005374A1

WO2010005374A1 - Package for storing of and feeding out rigid/stiff elongated articles

Info

Publication number: WO2010005374A1
Application number: PCT/SE2009/050804
Authority: WO
Inventors: Michael Andersson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2008-07-10
Filing date: 2009-06-24
Publication date: 2010-01-14
Anticipated expiration: 2011-01-10
Also published as: SE0801659L; SE0801659A0

Abstract

The invention concerns a package for the storage and dispensing of rigid, principally extended objects, such as, for example, dry pasta such as spaghetti, lasagne sheets and similar. The package comprises a first, principally extended, package part (1), partially surrounding a second, principally extended, package part (2), where the first package part (1) is open along one of its long sides, while the second package part (2) is open at one of its ends (12), and where the first package part (1) is arranged such that it can be rotated relative to the second package part (2) and is provided with a lifting arm (9) that is arranged such that on rotation of the first package part (1) relative to the second package part (2) it displaces contents (16) of the second package part (2) partially out above the open end (12) of this second part.

Description

PACKAGE FOR STORING OF AND FEEDING OUT RIGID/STIFF ELONGATED ARTICLES.

The present invention concerns a package for the storage and dispensing of rigid, principally extended objects, such as, for example, dry pasta such as spaghetti, lasagne sheets and similar.

It is a problem when handling pasta to take out from a pack- age that contains a certain amount of pasta of extended rigid form, such as, for example, dry spaghetti or lasagne sheets, a subfraction of the total amount of pasta in the package without damaging or dropping the amount that is to remain in the package.

The use of storage containers for spaghetti that comprise a double lid that can be rotated is previously known, the double lid comprising an inner lid and an outer lid, which both are provided with openings . The openings can be brought to coincide more or less with each other by turning the outer lid relative to the inner lid, in this way making it possible to regulate the size of the opening, such that a greater or smaller amount of spaghetti can be poured out through the opening. This type of container is suitable only for spa- ghetti, and furthermore, it often leads to the spaghetti in the container being broken when it is to be removed from the container.

The aim of the present invention is to achieve a new type of package for the storage and dispensing of rigid, principally- extended objects, such as, for example, dry pasta such as spaghetti, lasagne sheets and similar. The package is thus not limited to only spaghetti, and furthermore it gives the advantage that a freely chosen amount of the extended rigid products stored in the package may be easily removed from the package, without any risk that they be damaged in association with their removal from the package.

The above-mentioned aim of the invention is achieved with a package that comprises a first, principally extended, package part, partially surrounding a second, principally extended, package part, where the first package part is open along one of its long sides, while the second package part is open at one of its ends, and where the first package part is arranged such that it can be rotated relative to and at the second package part and is provided with a lifting arm that is arranged such that on rotation of the first package part relative to the second package part it displaces contents of the second package part partially out above the open end of this second part.

According to one preferred embodiment of the invention, a retail package with at least one rigid bottom is arranged such that it can be taken up into the second package part by being introduced through its open end.

The invention will now be described in more detail in the form of a non-limiting embodiment, illustrated with the aid of the attached drawings, where Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a package according to the invention in its closed condition, Figure 2 shows a perspective view of a package according to the invention containing spaghetti in its open condition, Figure 3 shows a perspective view of the first package part, Figure 4 shows a perspective view of the second package part, Figure 5 shows a sectional view in perspective through an open package according to the invention that contains spaghetti, and Figure 6 shows an example of a retail package for spaghetti to be used in the package according to the invention.

The package according to the invention as shown in the em- bodiments is extended and it preferably has a rectangular cross-section. The package comprises a first, outer part 1, which principally surrounds a second inner part 2, with the exception of a first long side 3 of the inner part. The non- surrounded first long side 3 of the inner part 2 is prefera- bly a side that has a smaller width than the neighbouring long sides 4. The outer part 1 is provided at both of its wider long sides 5 with indentations 6 at the upper part or the sides, at the free edges, such that it is possible when the package is closed to grip the inner package part 2 at the locations of the indentations 6.

The outer part 1 of the package is shown in Figure 3. The drawing makes it clear that the two wider long sides 5 are united at the top with a top part 7, which is intended to close the upper end of the inner part 2 when the package is closed in its entirety. The outer part has also a narrower fully covering long side 8, which unites the two wider long sides 5 with each other, while the second narrower long side of the outer package part 1 is fully open. The outer package part 1 has at its bottom a bottom part 9, which acts as a lifting arm as will be described in more detail below, and which, therefore, does not cover either the complete length or the complete width of the bottom. It is preferable that the bottom part 9 be designed such that it is united only with one of the wider long sides 5, and not united with the narrower long side 8, leaving a small distance between it and this long side. The inner package part 2, shown in Figure 4, comprises as has been mentioned above a first long side 3 that unites two wider long sides 4 with each other, and it demonstrates also a second narrower long side 10, opposite to the first long side 3, and which also unites the wider long sides 4. The inner part 2 comprises also a bottom part 11, while the inner part at its upper end 12 is, in contrast, fully open. As Figure 4 makes clear, one of the wider long sides is provided with an indentation 13 towards the second narrower long side 10 adjacent to the bottom part 11, and the indentation 13 is provided with a stop shoulder 13a, as will be described in more detail below.

The outer package part 1 is mounted such that its wider long sides 5 surround the wider long sides 4 of the inner package part 2, and is connected rotatable to the inner part 2, such that the outer part 1 can be rotated around an axis adjacent to the lower part of the second narrower long side 10 of the inner part. The ability of the outer part 1 to be rotated can be achieved by having it threaded onto the inner part with its bottom part 9 protruding into the inner space of the inner part 2 through the indentation 13 at one of its wider long sides 4, and through the small separation that the bottom part 9 of the outer part 1 has with the narrower long side 8 such that it forms, together with the corner between the second narrower long side 10 of the inner part 2 and the bottom part 11, a pivot joint for the outer part 1. The indentation 13 in one of the wider long sides 4 of the inner part has a form that corresponds to the pivot motion for the far end of the bottom part 9 of the outer part, when the outer part is rotated relative to the inner part, and the stop shoulder 13a thus constitutes a limitation for the extent to which the outer part 1 can be rotated relative to the inner part 2, as is shown in Figure 2. The inner package 2 is designed such that it can receive extended rigid material such as, for example, dry spaghetti or lasagne sheets, and when the package is closed the mate- rial is surrounded by the inner package 2 and by the top part 7 of the outer package part 1 that covers the opening in the upper end 12 of the inner part. When, however, the package is opened by the outer part 1 being rotated relative to the inner part 2, it is intended that the material be displaced up above the edge of the upper open side of the inner part 2, and thus become accessible and able to be gripped. In order for this to be possible, the material must rest on a bottom 14 that can be displaced within the inner part 2. This displacement of the bottom on which the material is resting, and which achieves the lift of the material above the edge of the package part 2, is achieved by the bottom part 9 of the outer part 1, which when the outer part 1 is rotated relative to the inner part 2 presses at its end against the lower side of the bottom 14 and thus lifts it, as is shown in Figure 5.

The bottom 14 may be a separate loose bottom that is inserted into the inner part 2, or it may be the bottom part of an inner container that is placed into, without being attached to, the inner part, and that can be displaced within the inner part. It is, however, preferred that the bottom 14 be the lower bottom wall of a retail package 15, as shown in Figure β, in which the material, such as the dry pasta such as spaghetti or lasagne sheets, is sold. It is not necessary that the retail package 15 be rigid in its entirety - it is sufficient that it has a rigid bottom. It is, however, appropriate that the retail package 15 be a box, such as, for example, a carton, with an external dimension that is somewhat less than the internal dimension of the inner part 2 of the package. It is appropriate that such a retail package be provided with a tear instruction at a certain distance from one end, such that one end part of the retail package can be removed before it is placed inside of the inner part 2 of the package according to the invention, and such that the con- tents 16 are exposed above the edge of the retail package 15, making them in this way available for gripping when the retail package has been inserted into a package according to the invention and when this has been opened.

The bottom 14 may be provided also with a groove, a notch, or similar, on its lower surface, intended to create a lock together with the outermost end of the bottom part 9 of the outer part 1, such that the outer package part 1 can be held in place in its open position when it has been rotated out in order to make the material in the package available for removal. Such a lock can then be readily overcome in order to close the package by rotating back the outer package part 1 in over the inner package part 2.

The package according to the invention may be manufactured in any suitable rigid material, such as paperboard, sheet metal or plastic. It is appropriate that there be arranged in the material some form of lock arrangement such that the package is normally held closed when it is being handled. Such a lock arrangement may be, for example, formed by an interacting folded tab and a groove. If the package is manufactured from sheet metal or plastic, the lock arrangement may be formed through an embossed protrusion in one part interacting with an indentation in the other part. Such a lock arrangement can in this case be opened by pressing together the inner part 2 somewhat while the package is opened, such that the interacting parts of the lock arrangement are prevented from interacting with each other. It is not necessary that the outer package part 1 be provided with indentations in order to make it possible to grip the inner part; the outer part 2 may be designed such that the wide long sides 5 become narrower towards the bottom of the package, such that it becomes possible in this manner to grip the inner part 2, and in this way possible to rotate the parts relative to each other in order to open the package and lift the contents 16, exposing these above the upper edge of the inner part 2.

It is obvious that a package according to the invention can be used also for other rigid material than dry pasta, without deviating from the innovative concept of the invention. The package does not need to be considerably longer than it is wide; it may have at least one dimension in which it is principally square, but where at least the form of the objects that are taken up in the package has at least one dimension that deviates considerably from the other dimensions. An example of such a package may e.g. be a package that contains CD disks.

A bottom for the support of the material in the inner package part 2, or a separate inner container, is necessary only when the material that it is intended should be present in the package is so thin that it would not otherwise be possible to be displaced in its entirety by the bottom part 9 of the outer part 1. A package with, for example, CD disks would not necessarily require such a bottom or inner container.

Claims

1. A package for the storage and dispensing of rigid principally extended objects, such as, for example, dry pasta such as spaghetti, lasagne sheets and similar, cha ra ct e r i s ed in that the package comprises a first, principally extended, package part (1), partially surrounding a second, principally extended, package part (2), where the first package part (1) is open along one of its long sides, while the second package part (2) is open at one of its ends (12), and where the first package part (1) is arranged such that it can be rotated relative to the second package part (2) and is provided with a lifting arm (9) that is arranged such that on rotation of the first package part (1) relative to the second package part (2) it displaces contents (16) of the second package part (2) partially out above the open end (12) of this second part.

2. The package according to claim 1, cha r acte r i sed in that the lifting arm (9) is constituted by a bottom part of the first package part (1) .

3. The package according to claim 1 or claim 2, cha racteri s ed in that the second package part (2) comprises a stop arrangement (13a) in order to limit the rotation of the first part relative to the second part.

4. The package according to any one of the preceding claims, chara ct e r i s ed in that the second package part (2) is arranged to take up a retail package (15) for the principally extended objects (16) .

5. The package according to any one of claims 1-3, charact e r i s ed in that the second package part (2) comprises an inner container for the principally extended objects (16).

5 6. The package according to any one of claims 1-3, charact e ri s ed in that the second package part (2) comprises a bottom plate that can be displaced within the part, on which plate the principally extended objects (16) rest.

w 7. The package according to any one of the preceding claims, cha ra ct e r i s ed in that the package is manufactured from paperboard, sheet metal or plastic.

8. The package according to any one of the preceding claims, 15 charact e r i s ed in that the first package part (1) and the second package part (2) are provided with interacting locking means in order to hold the package normally closed.

9. The package according to any one of the preceding claims, 0 cha ra ct e r i s ed in that a lock is arranged in order to retain the first package part (1) in its open position for dispensing of objects from the package.