Patent Application
20080118611
The present invention relates to a pocket-size packet of confectionery products.
A stick pack of confectionery products typical of the prior art, for example containing sweets, candy, caramels, etc., will generally contain a plurality of single confectionery pieces placed one on top of another so as to form a single stack. The stack is enveloped in a pliable wrapper, consisting usually in one or more layers of food-safe sheet material.
Removing at least a part of the wrapper initially, a consumer can free the topmost confectionery piece of the stack, whereupon more of the wrapper can be discarded progressively to release further pieces.
The prior art also embraces stick packs with a tear-off seal ribbon passing transversely around the wrapper in a complete loop, which must be removed in order to release the contents of the pack.
In particular, the tear-off ribbon is located near to one end of the wrapper. Removing the ribbon, the wrapper is divided into a first part containing the confectionery products, and a second part that will be discarded. The contents of the pack are thus released and the consumer can take out one or more of the pieces.
In reality, the confectionery products contained in such a pack are not usually consumed all at once, and when one or more pieces have been separated from the rest, the wrapper will be folded partly over the open end to prevent the remaining pieces from dropping out accidentally.
Stick packs of confectionery products identifiable with the prior art present the drawback of being unable to guarantee an acceptable level of hygiene in respect of the products they contain.
In effect, stick packs are carried typically in the pocket of a garment, or in a handbag or the like, so as to be handy at any given moment.
It can easily happen, in this situation, that a stick pack of prior art type will break or reopen accidentally and cause the contents to scatter, with the result that the single pieces of confectionery become contaminated and consequently are no longer fit for consumption.
When kept in a pocket, bag or pouch, moreover, a stick pack of prior art type that has been opened, with the wrapper then folded down in part to retain the remainder of the contents, will almost inevitably reopen of its own accord.
Accordingly, the principal object of the present invention is to provide a pocket-size packet of confectionery products unaffected by the drawbacks mentioned above.
One object of the present invention, in particular, is to provide a packet that will ensure a good standard of hygiene in respect of the products it contains.
A further object of the invention is to set forth a pocket-size packet of confectionery products that will not reopen accidentally and cause the contents to scatter, even when a part of the selfsame contents may already have been removed from the packet.
The aforestated objects are substantially realized, according to the invention, in a pocket-size packet of confectionery products as characterized in one or more of the claims appended.
The invention will now be described in detail, by way of example, with the aid of the accompanying drawings, in which.
With reference to the figures of the accompanying drawings, numeral 1 denotes a pocket-size packet of confectionery products, in its entirety, embodied according to the present invention.
The packet 1 is designed to contain a plurality of confectionery products 2, appearing as single pieces of identical shape and size placed one on top of another to form a stack 3 (see
In the examples of the accompanying drawings, the confectionery products are illustrated as caramels 5, albeit no limitation in scope is thus implied. More exactly, and as illustrated in
To advantage, the containing body 4 is rigid and holds its shape even when empty, so that the pressure exerted by a consumer when handling the packet can be absorbed to reasonably good effect, and without the packet itself undergoing plastic deformation.
In particular, the rigid containing body 4 appears as a right prism presenting a lateral surface 6 that surrounds the stack 3 of confectionery products 2 and is joined to a base 7 at the bottom end. The packet 1 presents an opening 8 at one end of the containing body 4, and more exactly at the end opposite from the bottom end base 7, affording access to the inside of the body 4 and therefore to its contents. The bottom end base 7 and the opening 8 are substantially identical in shape and size to a cross section taken through the stack 3 of products 2 on a plane normal to the aforementioned predominating axis X.
Advantageously, the packet 1 comprises a closure element consisting in a lid 9 attached hingedly to the containing body 4 and rotatable thus between a position in which the packet 1 is open and a position in which the packet 1 is closed. The lid 9 is hinged to the containing body 4 at a point coinciding with the opening 8, and held in the closed position by retaining means denoted 10.
In the examples of
In a first embodiment of the packet, illustrated in
More exactly, the panel 11 is hinged to the body 4 by way of the rear wall 6b. The tongue 12 in turn is hinged to the panel 11 along the side farthest from the rear wall 6b and, with the lid 9 in the closed position, offered to the inside face of the front wall 6a, so that the lid 9 is retained in this same position by the containing body 4.
Gripping the lid 9 and tilting it away from the opening 8, the tongue 12 separates from the body 4 and the packet 1 is laid open. The packet 1 is closed by effecting the same step in reverse.
To ensure a more effective closure of the packet 1, in other words to retain the caramels more securely within the containing body 4, the body itself affords two flaps 13 and 14 hingedly attached to the flank walls 6c and 6d on either side of the opening 8. When closing the packet 1, before lowering the lid 9, the two flaps 13 and 14 are folded inwards across the opening 8 and into partial overlapping contact one with another, so as to supplement the action of the lid 9 in retaining the contents.
In a second embodiment, illustrated in
To maximize the retaining action by which the lid 9 is held to the frame 15, the frame is anchored internally of the containing body 4 to the inside face of the lateral wall 6, and presents at least one tongue 16 associated with the portion projecting beyond the opening 8. The tongue 16 is elastically deformable and bent double toward the body 4 in such a way as to engage an undercut 17 afforded by an inside portion of the box-like lid 9, when the lid is closed, and retain it thus in the closed position.
More exactly, the box-like lid 9 comprises a front wall 9a, a rear wall 9b, two flank walls 9c and 9d and a top 9e. The lid 9 is hinged by way of the rear wall 9b to the rear wall 6b of the containing body 4.
The undercut 17 is created internally of the lid 9, extending along the inside face of the front wall 9a near to the free edge.
In use, the tongue 16 is released from its position of engagement with the undercut 17 when the lid 9 is rotated toward the open position, by reason of the fact that the tongue 16 is elastically deformable, as aforementioned, and will follow the opening movement of the lid 9 only through a distance sufficient to cause its separation from the undercut 17.
When this occurs, the tongue 16 springs back to its original position, bent toward the containing body 4, in readiness to re-engage the lid 9.
In the example of
In the example of
A further embodiment, illustrated in
In the example of
Referring to the example of
In the preferred embodiments illustrated, the containing body 4 and the lid 9, and the frame 15 when included, are fashioned from a paper material procured in the form of diecut blanks, which can be one or more in number and either flat or prefolded and glued (not illustrated).
The objects stated at the outset are achieved by the present invention.
Being rigid, in effect, the containing body will not break or tear accidentally, even when kept in the pocket of a garment, so that there is no risk of the confectionery products spilling or scattering and being rendered unfit for consumption.
Furthermore, the lid allows an opened packet to be closed again stably, thereby ensuring the hygienic integrity of the confectionery products as mentioned previously.
In a further embodiment of the present invention, not illustrated, the lid could be connected to the containing body by a portion of material such as can be broken apart at the moment when the packet is first opened, and thus serve as a seal guaranteeing the integrity of the packet.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| BO2005A000018 | Jan 2005 | IT | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/IB06/00039 | 1/12/2006 | WO | 00 | 7/13/2007 |
