Patent Application
20220073250
The invention relates to a container for receiving animal feed, particularly wet feed, with a base surface and a lateral surface protruding from the circumference of the base surface such that animal feed can be received in the receptacle space formed by the base surface and the lateral surface and emptied through an opening formed by the lateral surface circumference facing away from the base surface. The invention furthermore relates to canned animal feed, to a method for producing a container for receiving animal feed, particularly wet feed, and to a method for filling a container for receiving animal feed, particularly wet feed.
It is known to package animal feed, particularly cat food and especially wet food, in cans or aluminum bowls, e.g. in the form of one packaging unit per portion.
It is furthermore known to provide a ventilation via the lid for cans in general, but not for cans of animal feed.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,439,724 A discloses a lid for closing a container, wherein the lid is held on the container by a vacuum produced in the container. The lid has a pressure relief bore that is sealed with an adhesive.
Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 3,462,037 discloses a lid for a container, in which a vacuum should be maintained, wherein said lid has a wall that consists of a first material and is provided with a plurality of openings that are arranged in the form of a cluster, as well as a sealing element of a second material that lies above one side of the wall in the region of the cluster of openings and comprises a plurality of sections, which respectively are tightly accommodated in one of the openings, wherein one of the materials can be elastically deformed, and wherein each desired section of the sealing element can be removed from the associated opening by exerting the required pull-back force upon the sealing element in order to achieve a pressure compensation between the container and the surrounding atmosphere.
FR 2 639 002 A1 discloses a method for producing a moulded container by means of a thermoforming. In this case, a cover is applied on an upper side of a chimney, wherein the removal of the cover allows an admission of air.
DE 201 17 501 U discloses a portion container for dumpable products such as pudding or the like in the form of a cup. This container has a base, in which a ventilation opening is formed, wherein said ventilation opening can be sealed and opened from outside. In the transport state, the ventilation opening is closed by means of a removable sealing label.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,154,345 A discloses a thermoplastic container with a ventilation structure in order to improve the removal of foods from the container. In this case, a deep-drawn projection is provided and can be punctured with a fingernail or a fork in order to realize a ventilation in the base area of the container. However, animal feed cans according to the prior art respectively do not make it possible to remove the entire content in an essentially remnant-free manner without the assistance of tools or without soiling, e.g., the hands or to fill the animal feed in such a way that this would be possible. The animal feed particularly does not maintain its shape during the removal.
Furthermore, currently popular production methods for animal feed do not make it possible to remove an animal feed paste with a second component in the form of a coating from a corresponding can, particularly not in such a way that a visually appealing product is obtained. The use of cans according to the prior art is under certain circumstances unhygienic because it is necessary to contact the animal feed. However, known positive properties of the wet feed in conventional cans, particularly a high acceptance by the animal, a non-refrigerated shelf life over preferably at least two years, as well as stackability and robustness of the packaging, particularly should be preserved, but it should still be possible to easily open the packaging and to respectively realize large-scale production and filling or a series production.
The present invention aims to eliminate or reduce at least one of the aforementioned deficiencies of the prior art.
This objective is attained with a container of the initially described type, wherein the base surface is operatively connected to an opening element for opening a hole in the base surface. The above-defined objective is furthermore attained with canned animal feed, wherein the animal feed is received in the receptacle space of a container of the type described herein (a canned food product may also be used instead of the canned animal feed and a food product may be used instead of the animal feed); with a method for producing a container of the type described herein, wherein the method comprises the following steps: preferably applying an inner coating onto the side of the lateral surface and the base surface facing the receptacle space and operatively connecting the base surface to an opening element for opening a hole in the base surface; and with a method for filling a container of the type described herein with animal feed, particularly wet feed, wherein a separating agent is applied onto the side of the lateral surface and the base surface facing the receptacle space in the form of an aerosol, wherein the separating agent preferably comprises a mixture of between 0.1 and 10 mass percent xanthan and between 90 and 99.9 mass percent oil, particularly of between 0.5 and 3 mass percent xanthan and between 97 and 99.5 mass percent oil, especially of essentially 1 mass percent xanthan and 99 mass percent oil, and wherein the animal feed is subsequently filled into the receptacle space or a first component of the animal feed is initially filled into the receptacle space and a second component of the animal feed is subsequently filled into the receptacle space. The term mass percent refers in this context to mass percent in the dry mass, i.e. after the removal of the water content.
The arrangement of an opening element, which is operatively connected to the base surface in order to open a hole in the base surface, or a method for producing a corresponding container respectively makes it possible to place the container or the canned animal feed on a surface with the base surface pointing upward. Subsequently, a hole in the base surface can be opened with the opening element. Consequently, the animal feed can slide out of the container (almost) in its entirety and without significantly changing its shape because air can flow into the receptacle space above the animal feed through the hole. Furthermore, the animal feed therefore can also be held in the receptacle space until the hole is opened if the emptying opening points downward. The preferred application of an inner coating onto the side of the lateral surface and the base surface facing the receptacle space makes it possible to positively influence and adjust the adhesion of the animal feed to the respective surfaces in such a way that the animal feed can easily slide out. The inner coating is advantageously applied in two steps: the primer is initially applied and a non-stick coating is subsequently applied thereon. The separating agent, which preferably is suitable for consumption (by the respective animal), may likewise serve for positively influencing the adhesion.
In a preferred embodiment of the container, the base surface has a hole, wherein the hole is closed with the removable opening element. The opening element therefore particularly represents a removable seal of the hole.
The opening element should be able to withstand the high sterilization temperatures, to which such a container is usually subjected after it has been filled (and optionally closed), and furthermore remain tight over the storage period, particularly if it serves for closing the hole in the base surface like a seal. Elastic and viscoelastic materials therefore are particularly suitable materials for the opening element. It is particularly preferred that the opening element consists of a polymer or a plastisol, e.g. of materials containing PVC or materials containing plastisols or silicone, or combinations thereof. It would also be conceivable that the opening element is made of a different material (e.g. aluminum, plastic and/or plastic composite, etc.).
Furthermore, the hole to be opened and/or already existing in the base surface should on the one hand be as large as possible in order to achieve the greatest air flow possible, but should on the other hand be as small as possible so as to not reduce the safety of the seal and the stability of the container. It should furthermore be possible to withstand pressure fluctuations occurring during the autoclaving process. It is preferred that the hole is essentially circular. An advantageous hole diameter or an advantageous average extent of the hole parallel to the surface in the upright position of the container lies between 0.5 and 10 mm, preferably between 1.5 and 4 mm, particularly between 2 mm and 3 mm, especially at essentially 2.5 mm. With respect to a surface in the upright position of the container, it is advantageous if the hole diameter or an average extent of the hole parallel to the surface in the upright position of the container corresponds to between 1 and 10 percent, particularly to between 3 and 6 percent, of the average extent of the base surface parallel to the surface.
The container stands on the base surface in the upright position; the lateral surface essentially points upward. The container is usually filled in this upright position. During the storage of the container, the base surface usually points upward; i.e. the container stands, for example, on the circumference that defines the emptying opening.
It would alternatively also be possible, for example, to provide a pre-stamped section or a partially punched-out section in the base surface, wherein the opening element serves for removing a correspondingly delimited section of the base surface from the base surface in order to form the hole. In this case, the opening element particularly may be a spur or a lifting tab or lifting projection, by means of which the delimited/pre-stamped section can be respectively removed from or pressed out of the base surface. It would furthermore be conceivable to use an opening element in the form of a flap, by means of which the delimited/pre-stamped section of the base surface can be respectively pulled or torn out of this base surface.
It is preferred that the lateral surface has a cross section that increases in the emptying direction of the container. Consequently, the animal feed immediately separates from the wall during dumping and can better maintain its shape as a whole.
The emptying direction is the direction that extends normal to the base surface (or normal to the surface in the upright position of the container if the base surface is not essentially plane) and from the base surface toward the opening, which is formed by a lateral surface circumference facing away from the base surface and through which the animal feed can be emptied.
In a preferred embodiment, the lateral surface and the base surface essentially have the shape of the lateral surface and the top surface of a truncated cone. The truncated cone preferably is a straight truncated cone, the top surface and base surface of which extend parallel to one another and the height of which extends normal to the top surface. The container preferably has the shape of a conventional can for wet cat food.
In order to ensure that an animal feed can separate from the container as easily as possible, without remnants and essentially as a whole, it is advantageous if the base surface and/or the lateral surface have an inner coating on the side facing the receptacle space, wherein said inner coating preferably comprises a primer and/or a non-stick coating, wherein the primer preferably comprises a polyester resin, particularly a modified and/or aluminum-pigmented polyester resin, and/or has a surface density between 9 g/m2 and 10 g/m2, and wherein the non-stick coating preferably comprises a polyester, a phenolic resin and/or a polyester-phenolic resin and/or has a surface density between 7 g/m2 and 9 g/m2. It is particularly advantageous if the inner surface of the container is as smooth as possible, e.g. microscopically smooth. The inner coating preferably serves for also preventing the animal feed from adhering to the container at sterilization temperatures in excess of 110° C. In order to significantly enhance a potential effect of the inner coating, it is furthermore advantageous to dust the container with different oils and separating agents such as oil and xanthan prior to its filling.
A protective and/or adhesive coating preferably is applied onto the hole closed by the opening element on the base surface in the receptacle space. The protective and/or adhesive coating is intended to prevent corrosion in the hole area when corrosive can materials are used. The protective and/or adhesive coating may furthermore serve for improving an adhesion of the opening means on the base surface such that this opening means cannot transfer into or onto the animal feed, e.g. during dumping.
In a preferred embodiment, a section of the base surface has an indentation in the direction of the receptacle space, wherein the indentation contains the hole to be opened, and wherein the opening element preferably lies within the indentation and/or has a smaller extent opposite to the emptying direction than a frontmost point or frontmost lateral surface circumference opposite to the emptying direction. The opening element can thereby be prevented from abrading, e.g. on conveyor belts.
For example, the opening element may be operatively connected to the base surface such that a user merely has to move along the base surface with a finger or a fingernail in order to thereby displace or lift the opening element in such a way that the hole is opened. It would also be possible that the opening element has a flap, wherein the flap preferably lies in the indentation in the base surface. Consequently, a user can pull on the flap in order to open a hole in the base surface with the opening element, which is operatively connected to the base surface. For example, the opening element may also have the shape of a flap.
It is advantageous if the opening element comprises an elastic or viscoelastic material, preferably a polyvinyl chloride plastisol and/or silicone. This is particularly advantageous if the base surface contains the hole that is closed by the opening element in the form of a seal. The production therefore is particularly simple, wherein the opening element preferably is applied onto the punched hole, for example, from the side facing away from the receptacle space and from the side facing the receptacle space.
In an advantageous embodiment, the opening element adheres
It is advantageous to provide a lid for closing the opening formed by a lateral surface circumference facing away from the base surface. In this case, the lid preferably has an edge section (e.g. a lid ring), which is rigidly connected to the lateral surface, and a removable pull-off section, which is detachably connected to the edge section and preferably comprises aluminum and/or tinplate and/or a plastic and/or a plastic composite. The edge section is permanently connected to the lateral surface, e.g. by means of folding or flanging. For example, the removable pull-off section may be glued or sealed on the edge section or even be realized integrally therewith, in which case a partially punched predetermined breaking point is provided. During feeding, the lid is initially removed and the can is positioned with the base surface pointing upward such that the animal feed essentially is pulled out of the container in one piece under the influence of the gravitational force.
The opening resulting after the removal of the pull-off section should be flush with the remaining lateral surface such that the animal feed does not encounter any obstacle during emptying. It is therefore preferred that the edge section is on the side facing the opening aligned with the lateral surface in the emptying direction. This means that the inner wall of the lateral surface, i.e. the wall of the lateral surface that in the filled state of the container comes in contact with the animal feed, is aligned with the edge section. In other words, the edge section does not protrude into the area of the opening formed by the lateral surface circumference if viewed in the emptying direction and therefore does not obstruct a portion of the animal feed during emptying. Consequently, the animal feed essentially can be dumped out of the container as a whole and without changing its shape. If the pull-off section is adhesively connected to the edge section or sealed thereon, for example, a corresponding contact surface of the edge section, on which the pull-off section is glued/sealed, should point away from the opening. If the pull-off section can be removed by means of a partial punching, the partial punching should essentially follow the lateral surface circumference forming the opening and/or lie outside thereof, but not inside the circumference, viewed in the respective emptying direction.
The lateral surface circumferences of animal feed containers, particularly animal feed cans, that form the opening usually have an edge section, a flange, lips or a fold, e.g. in order to increase the stability or to produce a connection with a lid. In the present invention, it is accordingly advantageous if devices of this type do not protrude in the direction of the receptacle space as it is usually the case with conventional cans. In an advantageous embodiment, the lateral surface therefore has a surface that protrudes from its circumference facing the base surface and points away from the opening. Among other things, this surface may on the one hand serve for stabilizing the lateral surface and the container as a whole and on the other hand for closing the container with a lid.
In a preferred embodiment, the base surface and/or the lateral surface comprises a metal such as aluminum, iron, steel or mixtures thereof, particularly a metal sheet, e.g., of the aforementioned basic materials, and/or a plastic and/or a plastic composite.
With respect to the inventive canned animal feed, the accommodation of the animal feed in the receptacle space of a container of the type described herein makes it possible to empty/dump the animal feed out of the container as a whole, in a nearly remnant-free manner and/or without the use of auxiliary means or without soiling the fingers.
It is advantageous if the animal feed essentially is separated from the lateral surface and the base surface by a separating agent, which is applied onto the side of the lateral surface and the base surface facing the receptacle space in the form of an aerosol, wherein said separating agent preferably comprises a mixture of between 0.1 and 10 mass percent xanthan and between 90 and 99.9 mass percent oil, particularly of between 0.5 and 3 mass percent xanthan and between 97 and 99.5 mass percent oil, especially of essentially 1 mass percent xanthan and 99 mass percent oil. The separating agent particularly reduces the adhesion of the animal feed to the container such that the animal feed separates from the container more easily. It is also possible, in particular, to thereby enhance the effect of an inner coating of the container. The separating agent preferably is applied in the form of a finely atomized aerosol (prior to filling the container) such that it can be prevented from depositing on the animal feed.
It is preferred that the animal feed consists of two components that essentially are spatially separated (not intermixed), wherein the pH value of the two components preferably differs by less than 1, particularly by less than 0.5, and/or the salt content of the two components preferably differs by less than 5 percent, particularly by less than 2.5 percent, of the salt content of the components with the lower salt content and/or the water activity value of the two components preferably differs by less than 0.2, particularly by less than 0.1. The water activity (aw) value is defined as the ratio of the partial steam pressure in the food product (p) to the saturation steam pressure of pure water (p0) at a certain temperature, which in this case amounts to 20° C.: aw=p/p0. An animal feed with particular visual appeal can be achieved and, for example, the acceptance by the animal to be fed can be increased due to the use of two components, wherein one component preferably is arranged in such a way that it essentially covers the second component after the animal feed was dumped out of the container. The similarities with respect to the composition of the components make it possible to prevent intermixing of the two components or a material migration between the two components, particularly during prolonged storage. Furthermore, the consistency of the two components should advantageously be similar such that an animal to be fed with the animal feed is not confused.
The two components preferably are a paste and a sauce. The two components particularly are provided in regions in the receptacle space that are oriented parallel to the base surface/lid surface. It is preferred that the paste is provided in a region closer to the lid and the sauce is provided in a region closer to the base. In this way, the paste initially exits the container during emptying and is then immediately covered with the sauce flowing out of the container. With respect to the total volume of the animal feed, i.e. the total volume of the two components, it is preferred that the one component, particularly the paste, amounts to at least 20 volume percent and/or the other component, particularly the sauce, amounts to at least 20 volume percent.
In the inventive method for producing a container, the lateral surface and the base surface can be produced, e.g., with conventional methods, wherein it is preferred that an inner coating is subsequently applied onto the side of the lateral surface and the base surface facing the receptacle space and the base surface is then operatively connected to the opening element for opening a hole in the base surface.
In an advantageous embodiment of the method, the process of operatively connecting the base surface to the opening element for opening a hole in the base surface comprises the following steps:
With respect to the method for filling a container of the type described herein with animal feed, a particularly sound separation of the animal feed or of both components of the animal feed from the container can be achieved by providing a separating agent.
The invention is described in greater detail below with reference to the figures that show an embodiment and should not be interpreted in a restrictive sense with respect to the scope of protection. In the individual figures:
The emptying direction 11 is indicated with an arrow that is drawn in the form of a partially dashed line. The lateral surface 4 has a cross section that increases in the emptying direction.
An alternative embodiment of the container 1 once again has a base surface 3 and a lateral surface 4 protruding from a circumference of the base surface 3. The base surface 3 and the lateral surface 4 form a receptacle space 5, in which animal feed can be received. Furthermore, a circumference of the lateral surface 4 facing away from the base surface 3 forms an opening 6, through which the animal feed can be emptied from the container 1. An opening element 9 for opening a hole 10 in the base surface 3 is operatively connected to the base surface 3. The container 1 consists of two parts in this embodiment, wherein the first part is formed by the base surface 3 and the lateral surface 4. The second part essentially has the shape of the circumference of the lateral surface 4 facing away from the base surface 3. If the lateral surface 4 essentially has the shape of the lateral surface of a truncated cone, the second part essentially has the shape of a ring with essentially the same diameter as the circumference of the lateral surface 4 facing away from the base surface 3. For example, the second part is connected to the first part by means of flanging, folding, gluing or welding. The second part may have a protruding edge that serves as a contact surface 12 for a pull-off lid 7. The second part may alternatively also be realized in the form of a continuous surface, wherein the circumference of the surface essentially corresponds to the circumference of the lateral surface 4 facing away from the base surface 3. In this case, the surface of the second part may contain a partial milled recess along a loop, wherein the partial surface within the milled recess can be pulled off, e.g. with a sealing ring; the partial surface therefore forms the pull-off lid 7 in this embodiment.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18194772.2 | Sep 2018 | EP | regional |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2019/074813 | 9/17/2019 | WO | 00 |
