[0001] The containers generally used are made, in the vaste majority of the cases, totally
or partially with plastic material (always with high percentage of plastics), in two
separate pieces: the body and a separate cover; generally speaking it shows the following
disadvantages:
- The plastic material used is not biodegradable, and constitutes big volumes of material
to be eliminated;
- The plastic is more expensive than paperboard;
- The content identification is generally restricted just to the surface of the cover,
through a label stuck on it;
- Even if stackable one inside the other, the empty plastic container take more warehuose
volume;
- It does not have a tamper-proof or tamper-evident closure inherent to the container
itself;
- The cover is separate from the bottom;
- The plastic items are subject, for fire hazards reasons, to limitations in warehousing,
as the total stock must be subdivided into fractions, eachone of which has to be smaller
than a limit, that is assigned by the controlling authorities;
- For the above reason, the Insurance for fire hazards requires an higher premium.
[0002] The container subject of the present invention is made in paperboard, leaving the
surface devoted to be in contact with the product coated with a very thin water-proof
polythylene layer.
[0003] It is fabricated in one piece (fig. 1) so that, once torn off the seal, the cover
results to be hinged to the body by a long side and consequently it is closable and
openable again (fig. 4).
[0004] The cover front lip shows a small tongue ("12" in fig. 1, 2, 4) that fits into a
slot ("7" in fig. 1, 2, 3, 4) made on the bottom, for a better closure. Our solution
offers the following advantages:
- The paperboard causes smaller scrap volumes;
- The paperboard is 95% biodegradable, being the weight of the plastic film just the
5% of the total weight;
- At even thickness and weight, paperboard is cheaper than plastic;
- The content identification can be printed on all the container surfaces;
- Portions of the cover flaps can be used as token for promotions or special campaignes
("16" in fig. 4);
- The container is supplied in a flat form, to be formed by the product manufacturer,
and takes much less warehuose space than the normal plastic container;
- The stock formed by a number of flat die-cuts, being a solid, highly compact block,
does not allow to the air to penetrate in between the individual blanks: in case of
fire, the combustion becomes then extremely difficult: this exempts from restrictions
to stock volumes;
- For the same reason lower fire insurance is required;
- The cover shows a tear-off seal ("11" in fig. 1, 2, 4) that is a tamper-evident seal
also; the tongues ("13" in fig. 1), once glued, establish the continuity among the
three strips of the seal, that can be then removed in one stroke only;
- The cover shows a tongue ("12" in fig. 1, 3, 4) that, by insertion in a slot ("7"
in fig. 1, 2, 3, 4) made on the front side of the container (opposite to the side
where the lid is hinged), renders the container itself reclosable and re-openable
again;
- The folding system adopted to form the container has been studied in order to do not
have any cut section of the board (possible contamination source) in contact with
the content; in the same time, because of the folding and gluing system adopted to
form and seal the container, its walls result to be made by more paper layers, so
resulting in a more rigid construction, with rounded upper front edge.
1. Leakage-proof container with hinged lid, made form impermeable paper, for ice-cream,
frozen foods and any other product, alimentary or not.
2. Container as per claim 1, made in one pieces only with the lid hinged to the bottom
by a crease in the paperboard. The three cover flaps, glued to the bottom, guarantee
the safety closure.
3. Container as per claim 2, made in one piece only, cut, folded and glued so that the
impermeable side of the board is in contact with the content and no cut section, of
the board, possible source contamination, is in contact with the content.
4. Cover as per claim 2, constituted by a piece of board hinged to the bottom, showing
three side flaps (8 and 9 in fig. 1, 3) that are to be glued to the sides of the bottom
(in fig. 4) and make a tamper-evident seal.
5. Cover as per claim 4, whose three flaps glued to the bottom of the container show
a tear-off opening system (12 in fig. 1, 3, 4), obtained by "half-cuts" made on both
board faces, or by any other system.
6. Cover as per claim 2, 4, 5, joint to the bottom by a crease in the board, that forms
an hinge. In this way the cover, made free on three sides by tearing-off the seal,
remains hinged to the bottom by the fourth side.
7. Cover as per claim 2, 4, 5 and 6, showing on the front side (opposite to the hinge)
a tongue ("12" in fig. 1, 3, 4) that is inserted in a slot ("7" in fig. 1, 2, 3, 4)
made on the front panel of the bottom, to render the container reclosable.
8. Cover as per claim 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, whose flaps, offer the tear-off opening, leave their
ends glued to the bottom ("15" in fig. 4), to be eventually made removable to be used
as token for promotions or special campaignes or collections ("16" in fig. 4).
