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(11) | EP 0 685 401 A1 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Separable container made from sheet material |
| (57) The container (1) made of sheet material such as card can be torn selectively along
tear lines (10, 10') so as to form one or more portions (S1) which can be removed
selectively from the container (1) which is thus shortened. As well as forming a new
end opening in the container (1), the removal of each portion (S1) also simultaneously
forms a tab (4') which can be turned over to a position (1) in which it closes the
further opening. |
[0001] The present invention relates to box-like containers of sheet material according to the preamble to Claim 1.
[0002] Containers of this type are used widely, for example, in the food industry and, in particular, for the packaging of confectionery products such as pastries, chocolate bars, etc.
[0003] In one of the most typical forms, a container of this type is produced from a profiled, flat, intermediate element of sheet material such as card which is then folded and closed in a generally tube-like configuration. This forms, for example, a generally flat, parallelepipedal box with two larger side faces and two smaller side faces facing one another in pairs and defining two end openings closed by end tabs. Each tab usually comprises a proximal portion which extends from one of the side faces (typically one of the larger side faces) of the box and is intended to cover a respective end opening of the box, as well as a distal portion which can be inserted at least partially inside the wrapper defined by the container when the proximal portion of the tab is folded to the position in which it covers the respective end opening of the container.
[0004] In use, some problems are encountered with containers of the type specified above, when the product in the container is intended to be put back in the container after being only partially eaten.
[0005] To give a practical example, one could consider a container of the type specified above which is intended to contain a bar of chocolate. In this case, it is very probable that the user will not eat the whole bar after taking it out of the container but will leave at least a portion of it and replace it in the container.
[0006] In fact, the user often does not remove the bar from the container completely in order to eat it but simply removes it from the container far enough to expose the part to be eaten, then slides the uneaten portion back into the container.
[0007] Regardless of the specific method of use or consumption, after the product has been used or eaten, the container which was originally formed to hold the whole product is, in the end, too large to accommodate only a portion of the product. This may create difficulties for the user in withdrawing the remaining portion of the product and removing it from the container.
[0008] With reference again to the example mentioned above, if the bar of chocolate has been almost completely eaten, leaving only a small portion still to be eaten, it may be quite difficult to take this small portion out of the container. There is therefore a risk that, in trying to grip the remaining portion of the chocolate bar, in the end, the user will irreparably tear or damage the container.
[0009] Moreover, some additional problems may arise, in that, if only one left-over piece of the product which has been gradually eaten remains inside a container made for housing the complete product, it may "roll about" inside the container, which may also lead to damage to the product if it is a fragile product (for example, a snack-type bakery product).
[0010] The object of the present invention is to provide a container of sheet material of the type specified above in which the aforementioned problems and disadvantages are avoided.
[0011] According to the present invention, this object is achieved by virtue of a box-like container of sheet material having the specific characteristics recited in Claim 1. Advantageous developments of the invention form the subject of dependent Claims 2 to 11.
[0012] The invention will now be described, purely by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the appended drawings, in which:
Figures 1 and 2 are two perspective views of a container according to the invention, from approximately opposite viewpoints, and
Figures 3 to 6 show schematically successive stages of use of a container according to the invention.
[0013] In the drawings, and in Figures 1 and 2, in particular, a box-like container of sheet material such as, in a typical embodiment, thin card, is generally indicated 1.
[0014] In the embodiment illustrated, the container 1 is in the form of a flat, parallelepipedal box in which it is possible to distinguish two larger side faces 2, two smaller side faces 3 and two closure tabs 4 which close the ends of the tubular wrapper defined by the paired side faces 2 and 3 of the container 1.
[0015] The criteria for the production of a container 1 of the type specified above may be considered widely known and in current use in the paper industry. This applies in particular with regard to the specific method of producing the wrapper 1 from an intermediate element constituted by a single piece of sheet material such as card in which the various faces 2, 3, as well as the end tabs 4 are formed by successive punching, cutting and pre-folding operations to form the lines which connect adjacent faces and are intended to define the corners of the container 1. The method of folding the intermediate element along the fold lines, and closing it like a tube, as well as the provision of gluing regions and the subsequent building-up of the container 1 in its final shape are also known in the art.
[0016] The foregoing also applies to the two end tabs 4, each of which is actually constituted by first and second portions indicated 5 and 6, respectively, in the drawings.
[0017] In particular, each tab 4 has a proximal portion 5, so to speak, extending from one of the larger faces 2 of the box, from a fold line 5a. The portion 5 can therefore be folded perpendicular to the corresponding larger face 2 of the box, so as to close completely one of the end openings of the tubular wrapper defined by the larger faces 2 and 3. Each tab 4 then comprises a distal portion 6 which extends from the respective proximal portion 5 from a fold line 6a and extends a certain distance inside the container when the proximal portion 5 is closing the respective end opening of the box.
[0018] The product inside the container 1 can be removed from the container by turning one of the tabs 4 over to the open position so as to render one of the end openings of the container 1 accessible. This can easily be achieved by gripping the tab 4 which is to be turned over, preferably with a gripping action exerted on the distal portion 6. This latter operation is usually facilitated by the presence of notches 7 (see Figure 1 in particular) in the corresponding larger face 2 of the wrapper.
[0019] The foregoing is achieved according to criteria widely known in the art which do not therefore need to be described in greater detail herein and, moreover, are not specifically relevant for the purposes of an understanding of the invention.
[0020] The important characteristic of the invention is the provision, within the container 1, of a modular structure which enables its size to be reduced gradually by the removal of one or more portions or pieces of the container in succession, at the same time ensuring that the opening created as a result of the removal of a portion can be closed selectively by tab-like portions substantially comparable to the tabs 4 provided in the original container.
[0021] In the embodiment shown, this object is achieved by the provision of one or more tear lines 10 in the body of the container 1 (see Figures 1 and 2 in particular in this connection). In the embodiment shown in the drawings, two of these lines 10 are provided and are constituted by lines of perforations in the card forming the wrapper 1 which define, within the container 1, two end portions S1 and S2 which can be separated from the rest of the container 1. This is achieved as a result of the pulling or tearing of the sheet material constituting the container along the tear lines 10.
[0022] For example, still with reference to Figures 1 and 2 of the appended drawings, for clarity, it can be noted that the two tear lines 10 divide the container 1 into a central portion and two end portions, in a generally symmetrical arrangement.
[0023] In this connection, it should be noted, however, that neither the number of tear lines, and hence of portions of the container defined thereby, nor the symmetrical characteristics which can be found in the embodiment shown, constitute essential and necessary characteristics of the invention.
[0024] Further tear lines 10' are also provided in association with the tear lines 10 already described and, in the embodiment illustrated herein, are also constituted by lines of perforations of the card constituting the container 1. The lines 10' which, together with the respective lines 10, extend generally circumferentially relative to the container 1, define in the container 1 (and, in the embodiment illustrated herein, within one of the principal faces 2) respective tab portions, generally indicated 4' in the drawings, each of which also comprises a proximal portion 5' and a distal portion 6', defined by respective fold lines 5a', 6a'. This is all in accordance with methods of construction and implementation (even with regard to the formation of the fold lines in the original intermediate card element) wholly identical to those used to form the end tabs 4.
[0025] The method of use of the container according to the invention provides, so to speak, for the gradual reduction of the length of the container in the sequence shown schematically in Figures 3 to 6.
[0026] For example, it may be assumed that the container 1, as shown in Figures 1 and 2 initially contains, for example, a bar of chocolate, the size of which corresponds to the size of the container 1.
[0027] It is assumed that, in order to eat it, the user then opens the container 1 turning one of the tabs 4 outwardly, removes the bar of chocolate (not shown specifically in the drawings) and then eats some of it. This may even be achieved simply by removing the bar a certain distance from the container by sliding it longitudinally relative to the container 1.
[0028] Regardless of the method of consumption, it is assumed that the user has eaten a portion of the chocolate bar equal, for example, to one quarter of the length of the bar, that is, a portion corresponding approximately to the length of the end portion defined by one of the tear lines 10.
[0029] At this point, after he has put the partially-eaten bar back into the container 1, or possibly after simply sliding it back into the container, the user can tear the wrapper 1 along the tear line 10 facing the end of the container which was previously opened so as to separate the end portion, generally indicated S1 in Figure 3, from the container.
[0030] This tearing operation simultaneously brings about:
- shortening of the container 1, the length of which is thus reduced so as to correspond approximately to that of the uneaten portion of the bar remaining in the container 1, and
- as a result of the tearing along the profiled line 10' associated with the new end opening of the wrapper which is opened as a result of the removal of the portion S1, the formation of a tab 4' which can be used to close the new end opening, in exactly the same way as that used for the original closure of the package.
[0031] In other words, after the portion S1 has been removed and the tab 4' formed as a result of the removal of that portion has been closed, the container has the shape shown in Figure 4. The user now has a container 1 which, whilst being "shorter" than the original, retains the characteristic that it can be closed at the two ends.
[0032] The same sequence to shorten the container can be repeated with the removal of another portion such as the portion indicated S2 in Figure 5. This further shortens the container 1 which assumes the shape shown in Figure 6. In this case also, the removal of the portion S2 brings about, on the one hand, the formation of a new end mouth or opening of the container and, on the other hand, as a result of the tearing along the corresponding shaped line 10', the formation of a new tab 4' which can be used to close the end opening.
[0033] Naturally, the solution described with reference to the appended drawings, which provides for two portions S1 and S2 removable from a central portion of the container constitutes an example of many possible solutions. The freedom of choice is in fact very wide both as regards the number of portions which can be formed (one, two, any desired number) and as regards their arrangement (symmetrical relative to a central portion as in the embodiment illustrated, or asymmetrical, possibly with two or more portions which can be removed in sequence from the same side of an end portion of the container).
1. A box-like container of sheet material, comprising at least one end opening with an
associated end tab (4) which can be folded selectively to a position in which it closes
the end opening, characterized in that:
- the container has at least one tear line (10, 10') along which the container (1) can be torn forming at least one respective portion (S1, S2) which can be removed from the container (1) selectively, forming at least one further end opening, and
- the at least one tear line (10, 10') which forms the further end opening has a profile such as to produce, upon tearing, a further end tab (4') which can be folded into a position in which it closes the further end opening.
2. A container according to Claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of
tear lines (10, 10') so that the container comprises a plurality of portions (S1,
S2) which can be removed from the container (1) selectively.
3. A container according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, characterized in that it is made of sheet
material such as card.
4. A container according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it
is shaped like a parallelepipedal box.
5. A container according to Claim 4, characterized in that the container is shaped like
a flat box.
6. A container according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it
is of a generally tubular shape, and in that the at least one tear line (10, 10')
extends generally circumferentially relative to the tubular wrapper.
7. A container according to Claim 1 or Claim 6, characterized in that the at least one
tear line (10, 10') comprises first and second portions (10, 10'), the first portion
being able to define a first portion of the outline of the further end opening when
the sheet material is torn, the second portion (10') forming the further closure tab
(4') when the sheet material is torn.
8. A container according to Claim 1, characterized in that each of the end tab (4) and
the at least one further end tab (4') comprises a proximal portion (5, 5') which is
connected (5a, 5a') to the body of the container and, by being folded, can close the
opening or the further end opening, respectively, as well as a distal portion (6,
6') which is connected (6a, 6a') to the proximal portion (5, 5') and can extend inside
the container (1) when the proximal portion (5, 5') is turned over to the position
in which it closes the end opening or the further end opening, respectively.
9. A container according to Claim 8, characterized in that the proximal portion (5, 5')
is connected to the body of the container by means of a respective fold line (5a,
5a').
10. A container according to Claim 8 or Claim 9, characterized in that the proximal portion
(5, 5') and the distal portion (6, 6') are connected to one another by a respective
fold line (6a, 6a').
11. A container according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it
is made from a single intermediate element of sheet material.