A container for a roll of sheet-form material

Abstract

 The container (10) for a roll (12) of sheet-form material comprises a base wall (14), a side wall (16) and a cover (18) which can be released from the side wall (16) in order to permit the removal, from the container (10), of the free edge extending in the axial direction of the roll (12) of sheet-form material and the rotation and unwinding of the roll (12) as a result of traction exerted on the said free edge.
The container (10) has on each portion of side wall (16) that is to face an end surface of the roll (12) at least one respective tongue (26) which can be bent into the internal cavity (15) of the roll (12) and retain the roll (12).
Each retaining tongue (26) is preferably associated with holding means (32) which can maintain it in the bent position.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a container for a roll of sheet-form material, in particular films of plastics, aluminium, paper or any material which can be rolled up on itself.

[0002] In more detail, the container comprises a base wall, a side wall and a cover which can be released from the side wall in order to permit the removal, from the container, of the free edge extending in the axial direction of the roll of sheet-form material and the rotation and unwinding of the roll as a result of traction exerted on the said free edge.

[0003] Generally, such containers have a parallelepipedal shape and their cover is secured to the body of the container by a perforated strip extending parallel to the axis of the roll.

[0004] When the roll is first used, the perforated strip is opened, making it possible to lift the cover by rotating it with respect to its axially extending portion remaining connected to the body of the container.

[0005] The user can thus grip the free edge of the roll and, by exerting traction, can cause it to be unwound by a desired length through the passage created by lifting the cover in correspondence of its edge that has been freed from engagement with the perforated strip. Finally, by means of a serrated blade secured to the outside of the side wall of the container or by means of other cutting means, it is possible to cut the portion of roll that has been unwound from that remaining inside the container.

[0006] However, in the course of the unwinding operation it is possible, especially when using rolls of sticky plastics material, that the traction exerted will cause the roll to be lifted instead of rotated, the roll in its turn thus tending to lift the cover and to come completely out of the container, preventing the correct performance of the operations of unwinding and cutting the sheet-form material.

[0007] In order to prevent this, it has been proposed to secure to the internal faces of the container wall that are turned towards the end surfaces of the roll respective retaining members having cavities in which can be inserted the free ends of a tubular core, around the central portion of which the roll is wound. The engagement existing between the ends of the core and the cavities of the retaining elements is such that it allows the whole made up of the core and the roll to rotate and, at the same time, prevents them from coming out of the container.

[0008] This solution is, however, structurally and economically difficult since it involves the presence in the container of additional components, such as the retaining members, and the necessity of effecting industrially the later operation of inserting the ends of the core into the cavities of the retaining elements.

[0009] In order to avoid the above-mentioned disadvantages, the subject-matter of the present invention is a container of the type which is indicated in the introduction to the present description and which is characterised in that it has on each portion of side wall that is to face an end surface of the roll at least one respective tongue which retains the roll and can be bent into the internal cavity of the roll.

[0010] When the roll contained in the container of the invention is first used, the user pushes towards the inside of the latter the tongues which, once they have penetrated into the internal cavity of the roll, act as supports for the rotation of the latter and, at the same time, as retaining members which prevent the entire roll from coming out of the container.

[0011] This is advantageously achieved without having to complicate the industrial-scale operation of inserting the roll into the container, which operation is entirely analogous to that carried out with conventional containers which do not have means for retaining the roll.

[0012] The container of the invention also has the further advantage that it can be used both for rolls of sheet-form material wound onto a core and for rolls without a core.

[0013] According to a preferred embodiment of the container of the invention, each retaining tongue is associated with holding means which can maintain it in the bent position.

[0014] Other advantages and characteristics of the present invention will become clear from the following detailed description which is given with reference to the appended drawings which are provided purely by way of non-limiting example and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the container according to the invention in the closed configuration;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the container according to the invention in the open configuration;

Figure 3 is a sectional view along the line III-III of Figure 1; and

Figure 4 is a sectional view along the line IV-IV of Figure 2.

[0015] Figure 1 shows a container 10 produced from cardboard for a roll 12 of sheet-form material, in particular a plastics, aluminium or paper film which can be used, for example, for the preservation or cooking of food. The roll 12 is wound around a tubular core 13 which defines a cavity 15 at its interior (Figure 3).

[0016] The container 10 is shaped in the form of a parallelepiped and comprises a base wall 14, a side wall 16 and a cover 18.

[0017] The cover 18 is secured to the side wall 16 in the area of its portion 36 and in the area of a perforated strip 20, both of which extend parallel to the axis of the roll 12.

[0018] The side wall 16 comprises a pair of larger faces 22 and a pair of smaller faces 24 which respectively face one another.

[0019] Each smaller face 24 has a respective retaining tongue 26 which is connected by a substantially horizontal portion 28 to the remaining portion of the face 24, on which the tongue 26 is positioned in coplanar manner in the configuration illustrated by Figures 1 and 3.

[0020] Respective tabs 30 project from the ends of each larger face 22 of the side wall 16 and are caused to adhere internally to each smaller face 24, and thus the two tabs 30 associated with each end of the container 10 form a laminar structure for reinforcing (Figures 2 and 3) the respective smaller face 24.

[0021] Each tab 30 houses a respective holding tongue 32 which is connected by a substantially vertical portion 34 to the remaining portion of the tab 30. The holding tongues 32 face (in the configuration illustrated by Figures 1 and 3) the retaining tongue 26 associated with the respective smaller face 24 and are coplanar with the remaining portion of the tabs 30.

[0022] In order to use the roll 12 enclosed within the container 10 (Figures 1 and 3), the user has to open the perforated strip 20 in order to enable the cover 18 to rotate about the portion 36 by means of which it is connected to the side wall 16 (Figure 2). Equally, the user has to press the retaining tongues 26 towards the inside of the container (Figures 2 and 4), which retaining tongues bend by rotating about the portion 28 and, at the same time, cause the holding tongues 32 to be bent.

[0023] At the end of the bending operation, the retaining tongues 26 are inside the cavity 15, defined by the core 13, in a substantially horizontal position (Figure 4) which is rotated through approximately 90° with respect to that originally assumed (Figure 3). The holding tongues 32 are also (Figure 4) inside the cavity 15, but in a vertical position, and act as a support for the respective retaining tongue 26, preventing it from returning to the original position.

[0024] The user can then grip the free edge of the roll 12 and, by exerting traction, can cause it to be unwound by a desired length through the passage created by lifting the cover 18 in correspondence of its edge freed from engagement with the perforated strip 20.

[0025] During this unwinding phase, the roll 12 is prevented from coming out of the container 10 by the retaining tongues 26 and the holding tongues 32, which, at the same time, constitute supports about which the core 15 can rotate.

[0026] Finally, by means of a serrated blade (not shown in the drawings) which is secured adjacent to a longitudinal edge of the base wall 14 or by means of other cutting means known per se, it is possible to cut the portion of roll 12 which has been unwound at the outside of the container 10, and then use it.

[0027] Naturally, the principle of the invention remaining the same, the details of construction and forms of embodiment may vary widely with respect to those described and illustrated in the drawings, without thereby departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0028] For example, the container may be produced from any paper, plastics, metallic or composite material having sufficient pliability to permit the bending of the tongues. In addition, the shape and number of these tongues can be as desired, provided they exert a retaining action on the roll once they have been bent into the inside of the container.

Claims

1. A container (10) for a roll (12) of sheet-form material, comprising a base wall (14), a side wall (16) and a cover (18) which can be released from the side wall (16) in order to permit the removal, from the container (10), of the free edge extending in the axial direction of the roll (12) of sheet-form material and the rotation and unwinding of the roll (12) as a result of traction exerted on the said free edge, the container (10) being characterised in that it has on each portion of side wall (16) that is to face an end surface of the roll (12) at least one respective tongue (26) which can be bent into the internal cavity (15) of the roll (12) and retain the roll (12).

2. A container (10) according to Claim 1, characterised in that each retaining tongue (26) is associated with holding means (32) which can maintain it in the bent position.

3. A container (10) according to either of the preceding claims, characterised in that it is shaped in the form of a parallelepiped and that the side wall comprises a pair of larger faces (22) and a pair of smaller faces (24) which respectively face one another, each smaller face (24) having a respective retaining tongue (26) which is connected by a substantially horizontal portion (28) to the remaining portion of the face (24).

4. A container (10) according to Claim 3, characterised in that respective tabs (30) project from the ends of each larger face (22) of the side wall (16) and are arranged to adhere internally to each smaller face (24), and thus the two tabs (30) associated with each end of the container (10) form a laminar structure for reinforcing the respective smaller face (24), there being arranged in each tab a respective holding tongue (32) which is connected by a substantially vertical portion (34) to the remaining portion of the tab (30), the holding tongues (32) facing the retaining tongue (26) associated with the respective smaller face (24) in such a manner that the bending of the retaining tongue (26) causes the bending of the holding tongues (32), which, at the end of the bending operation, support the retaining tongue (26) in a substantially horizontal position.

Drawing