WO2003066450A1 - Laminate packaging for ice cream cones - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to laminate packaging of the type comprising a laminate body which is made from a paper/aluminium complex and which has the same shape and dimensions as the ice cream cone to be disposed therein. An angular notch (18) is provided on the fastening edge (6) of the packaging with a tearing flange (10) disposed immediately thereabove, said flange being directed inwards in relation to the fastening edge (6). The vertex (11) of the angular notch (8) forms a guide that facilitates the tearing of the packaging. Optionally, the laminate body forming the cone (5) can be provided with a circumferential cutting line (15) which is disposed below the pull tab (13), thereby defining a tear line that is used when the packaging is being opened. A second cutting line (18), which extends from the aforementioned circumferential cutting line (15), is disposed parallel and close to the adhesive strip (17). Said second cutting line (18) serves to interrupt any possible separation between the paper and the aluminium while the packaging is being opened.

Description

 LAMINAR WRAPPER CONE TYPE ICE CREAM

D E S C R I P C I Ó N

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is centered on a laminar wrapper of the type normally used to obtain a cone based on a foil-aluminum complex or similar, which acts as a protection means for the waffle cone which in turn contains an ice cream edible

The object of the invention is to reduce the amount of material used in the manufacture of the wrapper, and secondly facilitate the subsequent opening and disposal thereof.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As is known, it constitutes an absolutely generalized technique in the field of ice cream parlors, specifically in the field of ice creams that are supplied to the customer directly packaged from the factory, and more specifically in the field of ice cream type 'cone ¹ ' in which The ice cream dough fills a waffle cone, the use of a wrapper based on a complex foil, initially of triangular configuration, with one of its curved-convex sides, which, closing on itself, configures a cone opened by its base , formally and dimensionally coinciding with the cone of the cookie to which it must receive tightly inside, said laminar body being fixed in a situation of Close by means of an adhesive line located in correspondence with one of its generatrices.

To facilitate the subsequent maneuver of tearing or opening the wrapper, one of the straight edges of the wrapping is provided with an outstanding flange, in functions of a handle for said tearing, which is a problem with a double slope, on the one hand The presence of said flange implies a considerable increase in the amount of material that participates in the wrapping, since in addition to that corresponding to the flange itself, the material located on both sides of it is lost in the die, and on the other hand the tearing of the traction wrapping of said flange is uncontrolled, occurring in many occasions by undesirable areas, which do not correspond to the ideal situation in which said tearing should occur perimeter at a level immediately below said tab, to keep a small envelope cone in the area of ice cream.

On the other hand, and when the aforementioned tab is prominent and physically independent of the base surface of the cone to which it is initially adapted, during normal handling of ice cream, a distancing thereof frequently occurs with respect to the cone itself, which in Sometimes it can cause the breakage of the tab itself or even a slight start in the opening of the container, affecting its tightness.

On the other hand, because the laminar wrapper is closed on itself by a strip of adhesive, located in correspondence with one of the cone generatrices, and due to the stratified character of said sheet wrapping, when the flange is pulled, de-stratification of the sheet often occurs, so that only the tearing of the outer layer, that of aluminum, is produced, keeping the inner layer, the paper layer, associated to the rest of the structure of the cone, so that after a first maneuver in this sense it is necessary to perform a second maneuver to remove the paper layer, in this case already without having the tab to be able to fractionate it.

Also due to the strong fixation that determines the adhesive between the superimposed sectors of the laminar wrapping, when the detachment of the same takes place, it happens abruptly with an uncontrolled tear, which can be directed interchangeably towards the mouth of the wrapper or towards the vertex of the same depending on the angle of inclination with which the tensile stress is applied on the flange, resulting in, in any case, a totally defective and undesirable opening.

Trying to obviate this problem are known laminar wrappers of the type mentioned in which the closure of the laminar body is produced by a continuous strip of adhesive below the flange and a discontinuous strip above it, for example based on an alignment of gluing points, which does not satisfactorily solve the aforementioned situation because the problem of de-stratification continues to be maintained, and also produces a tendency to obliquely tear the sheet towards the apex of the cone.

In addition, this discontinuous closure of the upper area of the wrapper makes the closure thereof not is completely tight, with the consequent risk of infiltration of bacteria, dirt, etc.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The wrapper that the invention proposes has been conceived and structured in order to solve in a fully satisfactory way the problem previously stated, in the aspects mentioned.

L O

To do this, in a more concrete way and according to the invention, the classic protruding flange has been removed in the sheet forming the wrapping body, which has been replaced by a

15 angular groove, which in the first place supposes a substantial saving of material, since the laminated sheet from which it is left to obtain the wrapping can be shorter, specifically to the extent corresponding to the width of the traditional flange and 0 in length coinciding with the generatrix of the cone.

On the other hand, the grip tab for tearing the cone is defined by one of the slopes of the angular groove, specifically the one closest to the mouth of the cone, so that this tab, not being prominent outside, cannot accidentally or unintentionally separating itself from the cone itself, so that the risk that it may fold out, fold over itself or break is absolutely zero, and it is also impossible for an accidental start to occur in the opening of the container that makes lose the latter its perfect tightness.

In addition, the constituent vertex of the bottom of the said groove acts as a guide that ensures that the Tearing of the container, during its opening, occurs in the area provided for that purpose, at least in its initial phase.

Other characteristics of the cone-type ice cream laminar wrapping lie in establishing a special opening arrangement in the wrapping, based on providing the inner and paper layer with a circumferential or perimeter cut, at medium level in height, specifically in correspondence with the line Theoretical fragmentation of the laminar wrapper, for the removal of the upper part thereof, circumferential cutting line from which another cut line emerges towards the mouth of the wrapper, on one of the generatrices, located immediately inside the strip of adhesive a through which the laminar body from which it starts to obtain the wrapper, closes on itself to configure the cone.

This circumferential cutting line can be replaced by other types, which can be irregularly shaped or spirally shaped, making capricious openings.

In this way, when pulling on the flange in handle functions, obviously located above the circumferential cutting line, the tearing is forced to follow said circumferential cutting line, that is to say being produced by the ideal theoretical line, and In addition, in the event that the cone closure adhesive caused a de-stratified effect in the upper half of the cone, this effect can only occur in a narrow marginal strip, the one defined by the cutting line in a generatrix direction, since at to reach said cutting line the de-stratification is interrupted and from it the inner sheet of paper remains inescapably attached to the outer sheet and of aluminum, accompanying the latter in its tear with respect to the bottom of the cone.

It is achieved in this way that after the opening of the wrapper a small lower cone is defined with it, which remains associated with the ice cream, of perfectly predefined dimensions and with a perfect finish, and that a wide upper strip is eliminated, of access to the Waffle cone, in a safe, fast and simple maneuver.

The cuts in the inner layer or paper can be made by mechanical means, with the collaboration of blades, by laser or by any other means deemed appropriate.

Finally say that the material of the laminar body can be a complex of aluminum foil or other materials, such as combinations of materials or monomaterials such as paper, plastics or others.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To complement the description that is being made and in order to help a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, according to a preferred example of practical implementation thereof, a set of drawings is attached as an integral part of said description. In an illustrative and non-limiting manner, the following has been represented:

Figure 1 shows a schematic representation in side elevation of a laminar wrapper for ice cream, cone type, conventional.

Figure 2.- Shows, according to a representation like that of the previous figure, an ice cream wrapper of similar characteristics but made in accordance with the object of the invention.

Figure 3.- Shows a partial detail in perspective and considerably enlarged of the laminar body that participates in the wrapping of the previous figure.

Figure 4. - Shows a plan development of a laminar wrapper for ice cream cone type provided with the special opening arrangement that is part of the object of the invention.

Figure 5.- Shows an enlarged and sectional detail of the laminar wrapper of the previous figure, at the level of one of the cut lines that partially affect said wrapper.

Figure 6.- It shows a side elevation view of the same laminar envelope of the previous figure, after adopting its definitive conical configuration, in which the cuts in which the opening arrangement materializes have been represented, although in An exterior view is not visible because it is located on the inner face of the wrapper, for a better understanding of the invention.

Figure 7.- Shows, finally, a representation similar to that of the previous figure, in partial opening phase. PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

In view of the figures outlined, it can be seen how the wrapping that is recommended, like any conventional wrapping, is constituted by a laminated body (1), laminated, based on an inner layer of paper (2), an outer layer of aluminum (3) and an intermediate layer of glue (4), which relates and supports them, a body that with a circular triangle-shaped contour is capable of configuring a conical body (5), opened by its base, formally and dimensionally suitable for tightly receive inside the classic waffle cone that contains the ice cream, and whose closing edge (6) conventionally has a flap (7), projected outward, as a handle.

Well, the wrapping of the invention, maintaining the aforementioned base structure, replaces said classic flap (7) with an internal groove (8), of angular configuration, whose edges (9-9 ') can be curved-convex, such as in the example of practical embodiment of Figures 1 to 3, but they could be equally rectilinear, so that the upper edge (9) in turn constitutes the edge of a marginal area (10) in functions of a flanged flange, for grip and torn from wrapping.

Optionally there may be two slits (8), to establish between them a more clearly defined flange, although preferably there will be a slit

(8) unique, so that the vertex (11) of the same acts as a tear guideline that facilitates a correct opening of the wrapper when it is drawn from the marginal area or flange (10). As can be deduced from the above, it can be seen from the observation of figures 1 to 3 and, as previously noted, this special structuring for obtaining the flange (10) not only means substantial material savings, but also which also ensures a perfect adaptation of the flange to the cone itself and an immobilization of the same over time, while the manual grip on it is not specifically carried out to carry out the opening maneuver, which prevents accidental deterioration in said tab, as well as the risk that in the normal manipulations of the container, prior to the consumption of its contents, a loss of sealing may occur accidentally that puts the frozen product in communication with the outside.

A variant embodiment is shown in Figures 4 to 7 in which the closing edge (12) has a flap (13) projected outward, although as in the previous case it could be formed by the internal groove

(8).

In any case, the cookie cone (14) shown in Figure 7 may be any height between a partial line of cut (15) and the mouth (16) of the laminar wrap.

Well, according to the opening arrangement of the invention, the inner sheet of paper (2) is affected by the aforementioned cut line (15), preferably circumferential, that is, parallel to the mouth (16) of the envelope laminar, and logically located below the fin (13), so that when the latter is weakened, the weakening of the laminar body (1) generated by that cutting line Circumferential (15) causes the tearing of the envelope to occur precisely along it, that is, in a perfectly controlled manner with the provision provided for that purpose.

In addition, between said circumferential cutting line (15) and the mouth (16) of the laminar wrap, immediately following the classic strip of adhesive (17) with which the laminar body (1) closes on itself to form The conical wrapper establishes a second cut line (18) that exclusively affects, like the previous one, the inner layer of paper (2), as shown in Figure 5, so that in the assumption that when fractioning over the fin (13) and due to the effect of the adhesive (17) there is a de-stratification between the paper (2) and the aluminum (3), this de-stratified effect is interrupted upon reaching said cutting line (18), and from The tear simultaneously and unavoidably affects the two integral layers of the laminar body (1), as shown in Figure 7.

These partial cutting lines (15) and (18) can be carried out by mechanical cutting, through blades, by laser cutting, or by any other means deemed convenient.

In any case it is achieved, as stated above, that the tear of the laminar and conical wrapper (1) for access to the inner and biscuit cone (14), occurs in a perfectly controlled way through the circumferential cutting line (15) provided for that purpose, and without the possibility of de-stratification of the laminar body (1) with paper residues adhered to the cookie cone (14) and / or the conical rest of the envelope laminar (1) which, delimited by the circumferential cutting line (15), must be associated with the cookie cone (14).

Claims

R E I V I N D I C A C I O N E S I ^a .- Laminar wrapping for cone-type ice cream, of the type that materialize, for example, in a laminar body based on a foil-aluminum complex, which configures a conical, hollow body, opened by its formal base and dimensionally suitable for the waffle cone that it must contain inside, characterized in that in substitution of the classic outer extension opening tab of its closing edge, it incorporates a groove (8), of angular configuration, being the upper slope of said slit, closest to the mouth of the wrapper, which defines the tab (10) for tearing the wrap. 2 .- laminar wrapping for cone type ice creams according ^to claim I, wherein the live vertex (11) constituting the bottom of the angular recess (8), determines a tear guide in the opening maneuver of the wrapper. 3 .- laminar wrapping for cone type ice creams according to previous claims, characterized in that optionally incorporates two angular grooves (8), relatively close, including the tab defined functions grip for tearing the wrapping. 4 .- laminar wrapping for cone type ice creams, of those which are materialized, for instance in a laminar body made of a paper-aluminum complex that shapes a conical body, hollow, open at its base, appropriate in form and dimensions to the cookie cone that it must contain inside, in which said laminar body closes on itself to configure the cone by means of a strip of adhesive that extends between the vertex and the open base thereof, defining in the middle area of the closing edge a tab in functions of a handle for the subsequent opening of the wrapper, characterized in that the laminar body (1) incorporates, affecting its internal paper face (2), a continuous or discontinuous cutting line (15), located below the fin (13) in handle functions, so that in the opening maneuver and when said fin is fractionated ( 13) the tearing of the laminar body (1) is inescapably in correspondence with said cutting line (15), preset for this purpose. 5 .- laminar wrapping for cone type ice creams according ^to claim 4, characterized in that the cutting line (15) is circumferential and parallel to the mouth (16). 6 .- laminar wrapping for cone type ice creams according ^to claim 4, characterized in that the cutting line (15) is irregular. 7 ^a. - Laminar wrapping for cone ice cream, according to claim 4 ^a , characterized in that the cutting line (15) is made in a spiral, forming an angle with respect to the mouth (16). 8 .- laminar wrapping for cone type ice creams according to claim 4, characterized in that between said cutting line (15) and the mouth (16) of wrapping a second cutting line (18), as it affects also exclusively to the inner layer and paper (2), parallel and close to the strip of adhesive (17) that closes the laminar body (1) on itself, so that in the face of an alleged de-stratification between the paper and aluminum at the opening of the wrapper, said de-stratification is interrupted upon reaching that second cut line (18). 9 .- laminar wrapping for cone type ice creams according to claim 4 to 8, characterized in that cutting lines (15) and (18) established in the inner layer and paper (2) of the laminar body (1) , are produced by mechanical cutting through blades, dies or by laser cutting. 10 ^a. - Laminar wrapping for cone ice cream, according to claims I ^a and 4 ^a , characterized in that the laminar body (1) is formed by a single material or laminar combinations of two or more materials, such as paper, plastic , treated papers or metals.