A package for sliced food products and a process for obtaining the package

Abstract

 The package for food products comprises two plastic sheets (3,4) destined to contact opposing surfaces of the food products (2); the sheets (3,4) being welded to one another, the package being made into a roll (11). The plastic sheet (4) which constitutes the external surface of the package when rolled is provided with a covering of two strips of paper (7), which afford between them a rectangular opening so that the food can be inspected when inside the package.

Description

[0001] The prior art describes a package for food products cut into thin slices, for example ham, salami etc., which package is constituted by a rectangular envelope formed by two sheets of alimentary-use plastic material, one superposed on another and welded along the perimeter thereof.

[0002] The external surface of one of the sheets of plastic material is completely covered by a sheet of paper material.

[0003] The presence of this paper sheet lends a degree of rigidity to this type of package.

[0004] However, due to the envelope type packaging, made up of sheets of plastic and paper materials, this kind of package has proved itself to be unsuited to an optimal protection of the product.

[0005] Owing to the manipulation and compression these packages are inevitably subjected to during display at sales outlets, and during transport, there can be a loss of freshness as well as crushing of the package itself, with an ensuing damaging of the food.

[0006] The main aim of the present invention is to obviate the above-described drawbacks by providing a package having the characteristics of one or more of the appended claims. The set aim is achieved by a package having technical characteristics which are included in the accompanying claims, and the advantages of the package will more clearly emerge from the detailed description that follows, made with reference to the accompanying figures of the drawings, included by way of non-limiting example, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention, and in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a package of the invention;

Figures 2 and 3 are schematic perspective views of two successive manufacturing stages of the package of figure 1;

Figure 4 is a schematic perspective view of a second embodiment of the invention;

Figure 5 is an exploded schematic perspective view of lengths of the packaging materials used to make the package of figure 4;

Figure 6 is a schematic perspective view of a third embodiment of the package of the invention;

Figure 7 is an exploded schematic perspective view of lengths of the packaging materials used to make the package of figure 6;

Figure 8 is a schematic perspective view of a unit for realising the packages of the present invention.

[0007] With reference to figure 1, 1 denotes in its entirety a package for food products 2 cut into thin slices, for example ham, salami etc.

[0008] Figure 2 shows that the package 1 is obtained from two rectangular sheets, a first sheet 3 and a second 4, which are identical and are made of transparent and heat-weldable material (polypropylene).

[0009] The first and second sheets 3 and 4, the longitudinal sides of which are indicated by 5 and the transversal sides of which are denoted by 6, are superposed one on another and on the surface of the second sheet 4 opposite the face thereof facing the first sheet 3 two paper strips (see also figure 3) are applied, parallel to the longitudinal sides 5. D denotes the width of the two strips 7 which cover the two lateral portions of the sheet 4 and define between them a central aperture 8 having a width denoted by T.

[0010] Figure 3 in particular illustrates how between the first and second sheets 3 and 4 slices 9 of a product 2 are inserted, preferably in a controlled environment, and by a welding operation of the first and second sheets 3 and 4 along the longitudinal sides 5 and 6 an envelope 10 is produced, closed on a first side by the first sheet 3 of plastic material and closed on a second side by the second sheet 4 of plastic material provided with the paper cover constituted by the two strips.

[0011] The package 1 of figure 1 is obtained from the envelope 10 by wrapping the envelope 10 about an axis A which is transversal to the longitudinal sides 5, in order to realise a roll 11 having a curved external surface which is defined by the second sheet 4 provided with the two sheets.

[0012] The opening 8, at which the slices 9 of the product 2 are only covered by the transparent second sheet 4, then becomes the inspection opening, and develops in a ring around the edge of the roll 11.

[0013] The package of figure 4, denoted by 12, is different from the first package 1 only inasmuch as it is obtained by rolling an envelope 13, illustrated in figure 5 and absolutely equivalent to the other envelope 10, about an axis B which is parallel to the longitudinal sides 5.

[0014] In this case the inspection opening 8 exhibits a width denoted by T1 which is less than the width T of the first package 1. The package of figure 6, denoted by 14, is different to the first package 1 and the second package 12 because the two covering strips 7 of the second sheet 4 are replaced by a paper sheet 15 having at least an inspection opening 16. The openings can be shaped in any way.

[0015] As can be seen in figure 1, the rolls 11 of the package 1, 12 and 14 are closed by means for fixing constituted for example by adhesive labels 17.

[0016] With reference to figure 8, 18 denotes in its entirety a unit for realising, for example, the package 1, and in particular it denotes lengths of plastic destined to form the first sheet 3 and the second sheet 4, partially covered by the strips 7.

[0017] A paper sheet 20 having a width 4D (i.e. four times the width of each strip 7) unwinds from a roll 21 and is subdivided by a pair of rotary cutters 22 working together with a guide roller 23, into three strips, denoted from left to right by 24, 25 and 26, of relative dimensions D, 2D, D.

[0018] Downstream of another guide roller 27 the two lateral strips 24 and 26 are transversally deviated with respect to axes thereof by dividers of known type, for example constituted by two rollers 28 having inclined axes, in order to distance from one another by a predetermined distance T, which is equal to the width of the inspection opening 8.

[0019] Downstream of an aligning device, represented by a block 29 in the figures, the three strips 24, 25 and 26, now travelling parallel to one another, are applied on a strip 30 of transparent plastic material unwinding from a roll 31; application is done by welding by a pair of welding rollers 32, 33.

[0020] Apart from performing the coupling of the strips 24, 25 and 26 and the plastic strip 30, the welding rollers 32, 33 send on the resulting band 34 to subsequent work stations which include a pair of rotary cutters 35 arranged above and below of the band 34, which cut the band 34 longitudinally into two equal bands 36 and 37, each half the size of the cut band 34.

[0021] The two bands 36 and 37 are then switched towards two known-type winders, denoted by 38 and 39 and are wound onto respective reels 40 and 41.

[0022] The reels 40 and 41 are used in a packaging machine, which uses the lengths defining the sheets 4 complete with the paper strips 7, made by performing a transversal cut across the two bands 36 and 37, for realising the envelopes 10 and thereafter the rolls 11 constituting the packages.

[0023] The envelopes 13 from which the packages 12 are made are obtained using the same operational modalities.

[0024] The type of roll 11 package is stiffer and more resistant than known packages, offering better protection for the sliced product.

Claims

1. A package for sliced food products comprising a first sheet (3) and a second sheet (4) of a plastic material, which first and second sheets (3, 4) are destined to be placed in contact with opposite sides of the food products (2) and welded to one another around a common perimeter thereof, the second sheet (4) being provided with a further covering made of a paper material; the second sheet (4) constituting an external surface of the roll (11).

2. The package of claim 1, characterised in that the covering exhibits an opening (8, 16) for inspection of an inside of the package.

3. The package of claim 2, characterised in that the covering exhibits an inspection opening (16) which is specially shaped, for inspection of the inside of the package.

4. The package of claim 2, characterised in that the covering is constituted by two strips (7) which afford there-between a longitudinal opening (8) for inspection of the inside of the package.

5. The package of claim 4, characterised in that the longitudinal opening (8) develops parallel to an axis of the roll (11).

6. The package of any one of claims from 1 to 6, characterised in that it comprises means for fastening (17) the roll (11).

7. The package of claim 7, characterised in that the means for fastening (17) are constituted by an adhesive strip.

8. A process for realising a package for food products as in any one of the preceding claims 4, 5 and 6, characterised in that it comprises stages of:

supplying, along a predetermined trajectory, a continuous band of plastic material (30), at least a continuous paper band (20) having a transversal width which is smaller than a width of the band of plastic material (30); longitudinally sub-dividing the paper band (20) into at least two continuous strips (24, 26), separating the at least two continuous strips (24, 26) for a predetermined tract of the trajectory, applying the at least two continuous strips (24, 26) to the band of plastic material (30); obtaining, by a transversal cutting operation, lengths (4) of a band produced by applying the at least two continuous strips (24, 26) to the band of plastic material (30), the resulting band exhibiting a covering constituted by the two paper strips (7), positioned parallel to one another.

9. A process for realising a package for food products as in any one of the preceding claims 4, 5 and 6, characterised in that it comprises stages of stages of: supplying, along a predetermined trajectory, a continuous band of plastic material (30), at least a continuous paper band (20) having a transversal width which is smaller than a width of the band of plastic material (30); longitudinally sub-dividing the paper band (20) into at least three continuous strips (24, 25, 26), an intermediate strip (25) of the three continuous strips exhibiting a transversal width which is double a width of another two strips being lateral strips (24, 26) of the three continuous strips (24, 25, 26); separating the at least two lateral strips (24, 26) from the intermediate strip (25) for a predetermined tract of the trajectory; applying the at least three continuous strips (24, 25, 26) to the band of plastic material (30); subdividing the intermediate strip (25) into two strips (25a, 25b) by a transversal cutting operation in order to obtain two bands (36, 37), and thus obtain lengths of the second sheets (4) of plastic material having a covering constituted by the two paper strips (7), positioned parallel to one another; winding the two bands (36, 37) onto reels.

Drawing