Package for food such as vegetables, legumes and the like

Abstract

 A package for food, such as vegetables, legumes and the like, comprising a tray (1) of plastic material with a top opening (5a) delimited by an edge (4a) along which an external rib (6) projecting upwards extends, and a cover (7) of the same material, articulated along a portion of said edge (4) and suitable for closing on said opening (5a) for shutting it completely, the cover (7) comprising means of engagement with the rib (6) of the tray (1), the package being characterised in that said engagement means of the cover (7) comprise an external step (8) delimiting a central concavity (9) on the inner face of the cover, and suitable for engaging with the outer profile of the rib (6) of the tray (7), the package further providing a sealing film (11) welded on the rib so as to shut the opening (5a) completely.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to the food processing field, in particular the sale of food such as typically, pre-cooked vegetables and legumes.

[0002] Such commercial sector has become increasingly widespread in recent years, especially as far as supermarkets and superstores are concerned, satisfying the need of having a ready-to-eat food product, thus avoiding the problems and the waste of time when products like spinaches, chards, legumes in general have to be cooked, an operation which may be very burdensome and in conflict with the hectic pace of modern life. Fresh, ready-to-eat products have then gained a preference over frozen food, for their better capability of preserving their nutritional and organoleptic properties.

[0003] The food at issue is provided in the fresh food counter, packaged into trays of transparent plastic material, typically PET. The trays are generally provided with an articulated cover, which closes simply snap-wise (or at most with the aid of a few welding points) on the top edge of the tray. To this end, the above edge forms an external rib onto which a groove is engaged which is correspondingly obtained in the cover. However, this type of closure is inadequate due to the lack of a hermetic seal, which causes lack of hygiene, possibility of tampering with the contents, and liquid leaks in the case of wet food (that is, in most cases).

[0004] The arrangement of a sealing film on the opening is impossible due to the interference with the cover engagement system (rib and groove). In this regard, one solution is to eliminate the cover, but in this way the package looks aesthetically poor, giving the impression of a lower quality product, and moreover the directly exposed film, without a somewhat stiffer protection, may easily be subject to piercing, either intentional or unintentional.

[0005] The present invention solves this problem providing a new package configuration of the type mentioned above, which jointly meets, with unprecedented effectiveness, all the safety, hygiene and aesthetic requirements currently not met by known packages.

[0006] According to the present invention, in fact, it is provided a package for food in general, comprising a tray of plastic material with a top opening delimited by an edge along which an external rib projecting upwards extends, and a cover of the same material articulated along a portion of said edge and suitable for closing on said opening for shutting it completely, said cover comprising engagement means with said rib of said tray, the package being characterised in that said engagement means of said cover comprise an external step delimiting a central concavity on the inner face of the cover and suitable for engaging with the outer profile of said rib of said tray, the package further providing a sealing film welded on said rib so as to shut said opening completely.

[0007] The invention shall now be described in more detail with the following description of an embodiment thereof, made by way of a non-limiting example, with reference to the annexed drawings, wherein:

• figure 1 shows a perspective view of a package according to the invention, with the articulated cover in the proximity of the closed position;
• figure 2 shows a side view of the package of figure 1; and
• figure 3 shows a perspective view, with a viewpoint moved and slightly higher compared to figure 1, with the articulated cover away from the closed position.

[0008] With reference to the above figures, the package according to the invention comprises in a traditional manner a tray with substantially quadrilateral top plan profile, globally indicated with reference numeral 1, consisting of a bottom 2 and of four slightly oblique sides 3. Sides 3 terminate above with an edge folded outwards to form a lip 4, developing around an opening 5a which allows access to the inside space of the tray, indicated with reference numeral 5. Tray 1, made by the usual moulding techniques of a semi-rigid food-grade plastic material, for example transparent PET, may equally conventionally exhibit non-slip ribs or streaks 12 on sides 3 and on bottom 2 to facilitate handling.

[0009] Lip 4 defines, by folding as well, a rib 6 projecting upwards, in turn developing externally around opening 5a, and rather defining the lying plane of the opening itself with the top portion. Moreover, a cover 7, suitable for closing on tray 1 to shut opening 5a completely, is foldingly articulated to lip 4, along one of sides 3. To this end, cover 7, generally flat and of the same material as tray 1, has the same top plan profile of the tray and is clearly attached thereto along the articulation fold, indicated with reference numeral 7a.

[0010] According to the invention, cover 7 defines, again by folding and in the proximity of the external edge, a step 8 that on the inside face 7b (that is, that intended for facing the inside of the package in closed position) delimits a central concavity 9. Step 8 in the practice is positioned and sized so as to engage with the outside profile of rib 6 of tray 1 in the closed position, a position in which the external edge of the cover beyond step 8, shaped as a lip 10, abuts on - and overlaps - the corresponding edge 4a of lip 4 of the tray. Always in such position, concavity 9 on the inside face 7b of cover 7 houses the rib 6, whose height (that is, the extent of its projection upward from the plane of lip 4) corresponds to the depth of the concavity.

[0011] Thanks to concavity 9, when closed onto the tray 1, cover 7 does not interfere with the lying plane of opening 5a, allowing the arrangement of a sealing film 11, partly shown in the figures, welded by the prior art techniques on the top portion of rib 6 so as to fully shut the opening itself.

[0012] The food inside the tray is thus protected by the sealing film 11, which prevents any tampering or leak of the material, as well as by the semi-rigid cover 7 which stops in closed position thanks to a sizing with slight interference, or to a complementary shaping between rib 6 and step 8, so as to form a steady coupling, substantially of the snap-wise type. An adhesive coupon may optionally be used, optionally to be used for affixing information and/or instructions about the product and the origin thereof.

[0013] No welding points are required between cover and tray as the actual physical barrier that shuts the tray opening is represented by the sealing film 11. On the other hand, cover 7 provides an essential completion to the package safety, besides the aesthetics thereof, protecting the film integrity from accidental or intentional actions that could cause its piercing.

[0014] It is therefore clear from the above that a fully effective result, capable of solving all the safety, hygiene and aesthetics problems of the prior art, is provided through a simple solution from the production point of view. Besides the categories of food mentioned above (cooked legumes and vegetables), the package according to the invention may advantageously be used for any gastronomy product (for example olives or other products in oil, salami and cold pork meats, cheese, etc.), sauces, delicatessen products, fruits and vegetables of any kind.

[0015] Clearly, the top plan profile of the tray and consequently, of the cover, may vary with respect to the example shown. The materials may be varied as well, within the solutions already in use for this type of packages.

[0016] The present invention has been here described with reference to a preferred embodiment. It is clear however that the invention is not limited to this embodiment, which may undergo variants and/or modifications without for this reason departing from the scope of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. Package for food in general, comprising a tray (1) of plastic material with a top opening (5a) delimited by an upper external edge (4a) along which an external rib (6) projecting upwards extends, and a cover (7) of the same material articulated along a portion of said edge (4) and suitable for closing on said opening (5a) for shutting it completely, said cover (7) comprising engagement means with said rib (6) of said tray (1), the package being characterised in that said engagement means of said cover (7) comprise an external step (8) delimiting a central concavity (9) on the inner face of the cover and suitable for engaging with the outer profile of said rib (6) of said tray (1), the package further providing a sealing film (11) welded on said rib (6) so as to shut said opening (5a) completely.

2. Package according to claim 1, wherein said sealing film (5a) is welded on the top portion of said rib (6).

3. Package according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said rib (6) is defined and rises by folding from an externally folded lip (4) along said upper external edge (4a) of the tray.

4. Package according to claim 3, wherein said cover (7), outside said step (8), defines an external lip (10) adapted to abut on, and overlap, said lip (4) of said tray (1).

5. Package according to any of the previous claims, wherein said step (8) engages with said rib (6) thanks to a sizing with slight interference, or to a complementary shaping, so as to form a steady coupling, substantially of the snap-wise type.

6. Package according to any of the previous claims, wherein the height of said step (8), and thus the depth of said concavity (9), are substantially corresponding to the height of said rib (6) of said tray (1).

7. Package according to any of the previous claims, wherein said tray (1) has a substantially quadrilateral top plan profile, said cover (7) being foldingly articulated along one side (3) of said tray (1).

Drawing