HK1001284B - A food product package - Google Patents

Description

Food package

The invention relates to a food package comprising two half shells, each having an opening in face-to-face relationship and at least one receptacle for receiving an accessory, such as a toy.

Packages of this type are known from patent IT-U-163428.

In packages of the above type, the two half-shells are generally made of chocolate, while the receptacle is a box or magazine, generally made of plastic material, which, in the mated position, is located in the cavity defined by the two half-shells.

Inside the box or magazine, toys may be arranged, such as small toys which may be assembled from pieces, jewelry. In this case, the term "accessory" as used in the present description and/or in the following claims should be given a broader interpretation in order to include any purpose of "surprise" which makes it useful in connection with food products, such as sweets and/or accessories, which may be so-called "sprayers" for spraying a creamer onto a bread slice.

The basic object of the invention is to make the process of manufacturing such packages easier.

Secondly, the object of the invention is also to provide a method which makes it easier to manufacture a package of the above-described type, in particular with regard to the characteristics of the edible part of the package.

In addition, the object of the invention also extends to the toy features of the package as described above.

According to the invention, these objects are achieved by a food package having the special features set forth in the claims below.

The invention will now be described by way of non-limiting examples with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a food package according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG. 1, illustrating a first possible embodiment according to the present invention;

fig. 3 is an exploded view of a first possible embodiment according to the invention; and

fig. 4 is an exploded view of another possible embodiment according to the invention.

The reference numeral 1 denotes in its entirety a package for food products, which is particularly useful for confectionery products. This description of what may be used is not to be construed as limiting the invention.

In particular, the term "package" as used herein refers to an assembly comprising edible and non-edible parts joined together to form a defined and independent product.

In the embodiment shown in the figures, the package 1 is shaped like an egg having an egg-size dimension, wherein the two half-shells (in the embodiment described the half-egg-shape) can be distinguished and described with reference to the reference numerals 2 and 3, respectively.

In the embodiment described here, the two half-shells have almost the same dimensions and are joined together face to face by the same oval opening.

The invention may take on different shapes, for example, the half shells may be spherical, polyhedral, etc. and/or the half shells may have different sizes and shapes.

For example, to maintain the overall oval shape, the half shells 2 and 3 may be formed in such a way that once they are joined together, one half shell forms the bottom or trailing end and the other half shell forms the top or leading end of the oval shape. It is not considered here which of the two half shells (i.e. the tail or head end) constitutes and/or comprises the edible part of the package.

The overall profile of the assembled package (as shown in fig. 1) remains substantially the same, and the embodiments shown in fig. 2 to 4 can generally be distinguished according to the characteristics of the first half-shell 2, which constitutes and/or includes the edible portion of the package.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 2, the half-shell 2 substantially comprises a laminar shell-shaped body 4 comprising a filling such as hazelnut butter 5, which is closed to form an enclosure by a barrier 6 formed by a sheet of material, through which an opening is made. The outer edge of the partition 6 matches the shape of the open interior of the casing 4 and thus ensures a seal so that the cream filler 5 does not overflow.

The resulting assembly, which can be obtained using known techniques and which need not be described here since this is not relevant for understanding the invention, is then coated ("enrobed") with a layer of cream 4a, for example chocolate-flavoured cream.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 3, the reference 7 designates a shell-shaped body formed of chocolate or the like and coated with a creamer filling 8 (similar to the creamer filling in the embodiment shown in fig. 2). At this point, the opening of the shell-shaped body 7 covering the cream filler 8 is closed by a lid-like partition 9 having an oval edge. In this case too, the barrier 9 is formed by chocolate or the like, placed in the open portion of the shell-shaped body 7 and welded thereto (using known techniques) so that the filling 8 does not spill over.

In another embodiment shown in fig. 4, the housing half 2 comprises a shell-shaped body 14 formed of a non-edible material (or non-food product, these two terms being synonymous herein) such as an injection molded plastic material adapted to contact a food product. The shell-shaped body 14 contains a creamer filler 15 (similar to the fillers 5 and 8 in the embodiment shown in figures 2 and 3) and also holds the filler with a barrier similar or identical to the barriers 6 and 8. The opening of the shell 14 is also closed in a cap-like manner by a diaphragm or closure 16, wherein the opening of the half shell 2 has an outwardly projecting flange 14a and the oval diaphragm is formed from a plastic material. In this case, the membrane 16 has a shallow cup-shaped bottom, along the edge of which is provided a flange 16a, having the same oval shape as the flange 14a of the shell-shaped body 14 and which can be mutually coupled (for example by welding) so as to enclose the creamer filler 15 inside the half-shell 2.

In any case, the barrier and the arrangement of the membrane for separating the edible portion from the attachment 10 do not take into account how the membrane or barrier is made, as long as the edible portion is contained, even if the edible portion is, or becomes, fluid (e.g., melts due to heat conduction).

It will be appreciated that the embodiment shown in figure 2, as well as the embodiments shown in figures 3 and 4, is determined by way of example only. For the purpose of forming a half-shell with an edible portion of package 1 (which, as in the embodiment shown in figures 2 and 3, may itself comprise an edible portion), the possible embodiments are in fact non-limiting: the nut candy structure with the ointment or cream filling, as mentioned by way of example, may include dry fruit, liquid or candy cores, and the like.

In all the embodiments shown in figures 2 to 4, the half-shell 3 is designed with a receptacle containing an accessory 10, which comprises one or more toys such as small toys, or "jets" (reference should be made to the meaning given in the introduction of the present description in relation to the term "accessory"). Fig. 4 shows how a further "injector" (reference 17) located in the half-shell 3 is formed by a part which can be integrally formed with the membrane 16 or connected to the membrane 16, for example by thermoforming. The part of the membrane 16 forming the ejector 17 can be removed from the membrane by tearing one or more projections associated with the membrane 16. When the eductor is the part associated with the diaphragm 16, this part is generally located on the side of the diaphragm opposite the food 15. The half-shells 3 here are generally constituted by a shell-shaped body 11 made of a non-edible substance, for example a half-shell made of injection-moulded plastics material. In the embodiment shown in fig. 2 and 3, the opening in the half shell 11 is closed by a barrier 12 to prevent accidental escape of the toy 10. This barrier acts on the opening of the half-shell 11, which may be an aluminium foil or other sheet material commonly used in the food industry for sealing products. It can be easily torn or removed by the user, for example by pulling on the tab 13, completely or partially opening the opening of the half-shell 11 to obtain the toy and removing it from the package 1. The embodiment shown in figure 4 shows how the spacers 12 are replaced by spacers 16. By connecting its peripheral edge 16a to the peripheral edge 14a of the shell-shaped body 14 of the half-shell 2 and to the peripheral projection 11a of the shell-shaped body 11, which can be obtained by heat-welding as used in the above-mentioned pre-treatment of the package, the barrier 16 can in fact act as a closure for the two half-shells.

The sealing system of the package shown in figure 4 is obtained by means of flanges 11a, 14a, 16a around the edges of the mating zone, which can be formed in such a way as to allow the half-shells 3 containing the toy to be opened and then the half-shells 2 containing the food to be opened. This is done by the positioning of the tongue 19a on half-shell 2 and the tongue 19b on septum or membrane 16, in which case the two tongues 19a, 19b are misaligned with tongue 20 on the other half-shell.

At this point, the person wishing to open the package grasps the tabs 19a, 19b in one hand, the tab 20 in one hand and then opens both hands. Half-shell 3 is separated from half-shell 2, half-shell 2 being closed by a septum or membrane 16. Half-shell 2 can then be opened by tearing tabs 19a and 19b respectively.

The system of mutual coupling of the half-shells 2, 3 and the intermediate layer 16 can be different but must have an easy opening feature. In the embodiment only, the compartment 16 can be welded relatively loosely to the half-shell 2 containing the food or connected in a relatively loose manner to the half-shell 3 containing the toy 10. Another example would be a relatively loose connection of the compartment 16 to the inside of the half-shell 2 containing the food, while the two half-shells 2, 3 are connected together in a relatively loose welded manner.

Naturally, the principle of the invention remaining the same, the details of construction and the embodiments may vary widely with respect to what is illustrated and described, without thereby departing from the scope of the present invention. This refers in particular to a number of constructional details of the half shells 2 and 3 of the different possible embodiments shown in fig. 2 to 4; these details may be varied freely and may be changed between different embodiments. In particular, although in the two embodiments shown in figures 2 and 3 the openings of the half-shells 2 and 3 are closed (half-shell 2 being closed by the compartments 6 and 9 made of edible substance and half-shell 3 being closed by the compartment 121 made of sheet material), this embodiment is preferred, but not essential. In fact, it is not necessary to close the opening for a simple, hollow, unfilled half-shell 2 made of edible substance.

Similarly, the presence of seal 12 is also preferred in order to form half-shell 3 as a unit, but is not necessary during the manufacture of the packaging without the risk of toy 10 accidentally escaping. Indeed, as in the embodiment shown in fig. 4, the half-shell 3 may not require an associated seal, only the seal (septum 16) for closing the other half-shell 2 being required to close the opening of the half-shell 3. Conversely, the non-edible seal associated with the half-shell 3 may close the opening of the half-shell 2.

The food in the package may also include products of different compositions, such as dark chocolate in a linear or spiral or droplet configuration with milk chocolate, supported upwardly and bounded by a sheet which serves to contain the underlying food product, giving the consumer a "bread and chocolate" feeling of eating. Preferably, once the package 1 of the embodiment shown in fig. 1 is formed, it may be further covered with a cover or wrapping layer of a sheet material, such as aluminum foil or the like. This can be achieved in the manner customary in the food industry. In contrast, the embodiment shown in fig. 4 (the two half-shells 2 and 3 being delimited externally by shell-shaped bodies made of non-edible substance) has the further advantage that the two shell-shaped bodies 11 and 14 can define the outer surface of the package with their convex surfaces, which are provided with decorative and/or identification information, without further packaging operations.

Claims (26)

1. A food package comprising two half-shells (2, 3) fitted face-to-face with respective openings, and at least one receptacle for containing an accessory (10), characterized in that:

one of the half shells (2) defines an edible portion of the package; and

the other (3) of the two half-shells is formed of non-edible material and defines the receptacle for housing the fitment (10).

2. A package as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that one of said half-shells (2) itself is constituted by a shell-shaped body (4, 7) made of edible material.

3. A package as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that one of said half-shells (2) is made of non-edible material and contains the food product (15).

4. A package according to claim 1, characterized in that said half-shells (2, 3) joined together define a substantially oval product.

5. A package as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said half-shells (2, 3) have approximately the same dimensions.

6. A package according to any of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that at least one of said half shells comprises a shell-like body (11, 14) the opening of which is closed by a seal (12, 16).

7. A package according to claim 6, characterized in that the seal (12, 16) is formed from a sheet material.

8. A package according to claim 7, characterized in that a removal/tearing means (13) is associated with said seal (12).

9. A package according to claim 8, characterized in that said removal/tearing means (13) comprise a tab projecting from the sealing member.

10. A package according to claim 7, characterized in that said seal (16) has a peripheral flange (16a) connected to the flange of the respective shell-shaped body (14).

11. A package as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that one of said half-shells (2) comprises a shell-shaped body (4, 7) made of edible material and the opening of which is closed by a seal (6, 9) of similar edible material.

12. A package according to claim 11, characterized in that said shell-shaped body (4, 7) and said sealing member (6, 9) are formed of the same edible material.

13. A package according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that said shell-shaped bodies (4) of one of said half shells (2) are formed from a sheet material.

14. A package as claimed in claim 13, characterized in that one of said half-shells (2) has a coating (4 a).

15. A package according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that said shell-shaped bodies (4) of one of said half-shells (2) are formed of chocolate material.

16. A package according to any of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that one of said half-shells (2) contains a filling (5, 8).

17. A package according to claim 16, characterized in that said filling (5, 8) is a cream filling.

18. A package according to claim 1, characterized in that said accessory (10) comprises an accessory (17) for spraying a creamer.

19. A package as claimed in claim 18, characterized in that at least one of said half-shells comprises a shell-like body (11, 14) the opening of which is closed by a seal (12, 16), said accessory (17) comprising a part connected to said seal (12, 16) and being selectively removable from said seal.

20. A package as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that the two half-shells (2, 3) have printed material on their outer surface.

21. A package according to claim 6, characterized in that the opening of said at least one half-shell (2) is closed by a seal (12, 16); after the half shells (2, 3) have been separated, the seal can be opened in order to access the edible part.

22. A package according to claim 21, characterized in that said one half-shell (2) and the seal (16) closing the mouth thereof have external mouth-opening tabs (19a, 19b), and in that the other half-shell (3) has corresponding mouth-opening tabs (20) arranged offset with respect to said tabs.

23. A package as claimed in claim 22, characterized in that said external opening tabs (19a, 19b) are sequentially separable in order to remove the seal (16) from said one half-shell (2).

24. A package according to claim 1, wherein said accessory (10) comprises a toy.

25. A package according to claim 7, wherein said sheet material comprises aluminum or plastic.

26. A package according to claim 14, wherein the coating (4a) is formed of chocolate material.