PACKAGE FOR FOOD PRODUCTS

Abstract

Described herein is a package containing foodstuff products, in particular confectionery products, which have brittle edges or ends (4′), of the type comprising: a container (2) constituted by at least one folded rigid or semirigid sheet, and having a bottom and side walls that surround said bottom; anda plurality of said products (4) contained in said container.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a package containing foodstuff products that have brittle edges or ends, in particular confectionery products.

KNOWN ART

With particular reference to the products designed prevalently to be consumed as snacks, these are usually packaged individually in wrappers, for example wrappers of a flowpack type, and arranged in several units in containers to be sold in lots.

For storing and transport of the containers in question, these are in turn arranged in packaging so that they can be moved throughout the distribution chain as far as the final sales points. The distribution stage evidently constitutes a very delicate stage above all for the brittle products of interest herein, and so far this problem has been tackled focusing attention above all on the packaging.

To complete the picture at least for the aspects of interest here, it is moreover to be noted, in relation to the package referred to at the start, that one of the types of container that are most widespread in this field is certainly represented by cardboard packages constituted by one or more folded rigid or semirigid sheets. Today the types of snacks present on the market are, however, increasingly numerous and there is hence the need to provide new packages that are able to meet the various requirements in terms of format, modes of opening, protection of the products, etc., imposed by the new types of product.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

In the above context, the object of the present invention is to provide a container that will be able to keep the products intact, with particular reference to those products that have particularly brittle edges or ends, such as products constituted by shells or halfshells made of chocolate, wafers, etc.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object referred to above is achieved via a package having the characteristics specified in claim 1. The present invention moreover regards a container according to claim 7, and a sheet according to claim 10.

The claims form an integral part of the technical teaching provided herein in relation to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SOME EMBODIMENTS

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge clearly from the ensuing description with reference to the annexed drawings, which are provided purely by way of non-limiting example and in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of one embodiment of the package described herein;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the package of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a schematic view, in partial cross section, of various examples of embodiment of the bottom of the container of the package illustrated in FIG. 1.

In the ensuing description, various specific details are illustrated aimed at enabling an in-depth understanding of the embodiments. The embodiments may be provided without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, or materials, etc. In other cases, known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail so that various aspects of the embodiment will not be obscured.

The references used herein are only provided for convenience and hence do not define the sphere of protection or the scope of the embodiments.

The package described herein constitutes a packaging set for foodstuff products that has been specifically designed for use in packaging of so-called snacks.

In general, the package described herein—designated in the figures as a whole by the reference number 10—comprises a container 2 constituted by a folded rigid or semirigid sheet, for example made of paper or cardboard, and a plurality of products 4 arranged in one or more rows inside the container. Preferably, the individual products are contained inside wrappers 6 so that, once the container has been opened, the consumer can consume the individual products at different times and in particular can carry them around with him either individually or in subsets, to consume them during the day.

It should be noted that the wrapper of the individual product only constitutes a protective membrane that separates the product from the external environment, but does not provide, instead, any protection of a mechanical type. The wrapper in question may, of course, be of any known type commonly used in the field of packaging of foodstuff products. Preferably, there is in any case envisaged use of hermetic wrappers of a flowpack type owing to the simplicity of their production process and to the good protection that they guarantee for the product. According to the type of product, it is possible to envisage also use of non-hermetic wrappers.

As mentioned above, the package described herein has been devised above all for those products having particularly brittle edges or ends, which are hence more likely to break during handling and transport of the package. The products in question are, for example, represented by the products constituted by a shell or halfshell made of non-elastic rigid material, such as wafer, chocolate, etc.

In the package described herein, the bottom of the container has one or more channels 20, each defined by at least one inclined wall 22 provided on the bottom of the container, and the inclined wall in question is configured for supporting the products in a region thereof close to the edges or ends indicated above, but in such a way that these edges or ends are housed inside the channel without being in contact with any wall or other part of the bottom.

In this connection, FIG. 2 illustrates how the products 4 rest on the walls 22 at their end regions but without, however, the walls coming into contact with the tips 4′ that constitute the most delicate part of the product. As a whole, the individual product is thus supported, at the bottom, by the inclined wall of the channel, and, at the sides, both by the side walls of the container and by the other adjacent products.

As illustrated in the figures, the products 4 are arranged in a row along the channel, alongside one another, and the number of channels provided on the bottom of the container is only a function of the number of products that the container is designed to house.

Thanks to the characteristics indicated above, it is hence possible to arrange the products 4 inside the container 2 in the most advantageous way from the standpoint of exploitation of space and of accessibility to the products, at the same time safeguarding integrity thereof.

It will be understood in particular that, whatever the impact to which the products contained inside the container may be subjected, their most delicate parts are in any case safeguarded and in all circumstances there is the guarantee that the products reach the individual sales points perfectly intact.

The modalities with which to provide the channel or channels in question may be extremely varied also according to the number of channels that are to be obtained on the bottom. In this connection, FIG. 3 illustrates three different examples of container provided, in order, with one, two, and three channels 20. In the solution with a single channel (image A), the latter is obtained simply as a result of the inclined condition of the bottom with respect to the two opposite side walls of the container, the bottom being in this case identified throughout its extension by the inclined wall 22. In the other two solutions with more than one channel, the bottom is instead folded in bellows fashion so as to define a plurality of inclined walls. In the two-channel solution (image B), each of the channels is defined by an inclined wall and by the corresponding side wall facing it. In the three-channel solution (image C), the external channels are each defined by the corresponding side wall and by the inclined wall facing it, whereas the central channel is defined by the two central inclined walls, diverging upwards.

Preferably, the container 2 is constituted by a single sheet cut and folded. It is in any case clearly possible to provide alternative embodiments in which the container is constituted by a number of assembled sheets, one of which is, for example, purposely provided to constitute just the bottom of the container.

Of course, without prejudice to the principle of the invention, the details of construction and the embodiments may vary, even significantly, with respect to what has been illustrated herein purely by way of non-limiting example, without thereby departing from the scope of the invention, as defined by the annexed claims.

Claims

1. A package containing foodstuff products that have brittle edges or ends, in particular confectionery products, of the type comprising: a container constituted by at least one folded rigid or semirigid sheet and having a bottom and side walls that surround said bottom; anda plurality of said products contained in said container;said package being characterized in that:the bottom of said container has one or more channels, each defined by at least one inclined wall provided in said bottom, wherein said inclined wall is configured to support said products in a region thereof close to said edges or ends, but in such a way that said edges or ends are housed within said channel without coming into contact with any wall or other part of said bottom.

2. The package according to claim 1, wherein said bottom is constituted by a sheet, or portion of sheet, which is folded in bellows fashion and identifies a plurality of inclined walls.

3. The package according to claim 1, wherein said channel is configured for receiving only respective end portions of said products, which have said edges or ends.

4. The package according to claim 1, wherein said bottom has a plurality of said channels, which extend parallel to one another along said bottom.

5. The package according to claim 1, wherein said products are contained in respective wrappers.

6. The package according to claim 1, wherein a row of products is arranged along said channel in a condition where said products are supported by said inclined wall and the respective edges or ends of said products are housed inside said channel without coming into contact with any wall or other part of said bottom.

7. A container for a package according to claim 1, said container being constituted by at least one rigid or semirigid folded sheet, and having a bottom and side walls that surround said bottom, said container being characterized in that said bottom has one or more channels, each defined by at least one inclined wall provided in said bottom, wherein said inclined wall is configured to support the products of said package in a region thereof close to said brittle edges or ends, but in such a way that said edges or ends are housed inside said channel without coming into contact with any wall or other part of said bottom.

8. The container according to claim 7, wherein said bottom is constituted by a sheet, or portion of sheet, which is folded in bellows fashion and identifies a plurality of inclined walls.

9. The container according to claim 7, wherein said bottom has a plurality of said channels, which extend parallel along said bottom.

10. A rigid or semirigid sheet having a perimetral contour and preformed folding lines, which are configured for providing a container according to claim 7.