CONTENANT NOTAMMENT POUR CONFISERIES OU ALIMENTS

CONTAINER PARTICULARLY FOR CONFECTIONERY OR FOOD PRODUCTS

Abrégé anglais

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A container particularly usable for the temporary
storage of confectionery or food products which can be
easily consumed by their purchasers. The container comprises
a tray which can be stacked prior to the step in which it is
filled with the confectionery or food products and has, at
its upper perimetric edge, at least one seat for an item of
cutlery. The item of cutlery can be accessed by the user
when the product is consumed; its administration and its
practicality in use are therefore facilitated.

Revendications

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY
OR PRIVILEGES IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. Container, particularly for confectionery or food
products, comprising a stackable tray having, at an upper
perimetric edge thereof, at least one seat which can be re-
closed by a lid and accommodates an item of cutlery.
2. Container according to claim 1, comprising a tray
made of plastics and essentially frustrum-shaped, with an
upper perimetric edge at which an opening is formed for
access to said confectionery or food product, said trays
being provided with side walls having such an inclination
as to allow the stacking of a plurality of trays.
3. Container according to claim 1, wherein one or more
pairs of seats are defined along at least one diagonal axis
at said upper perimetric edge, the tip and the opposite end
of an item of cutlery, such as for example a small spoon,
being arrangeable at said seats.
4. Container according to claim 1, wherein one or more
seats are defined at said upper perimetric edge along at
least one longitudinal or transverse axis, the tip or the
opposite end of an item of cutlery, such as for example a
small spoon, being arrangeable at said seats.
5. Container according to claim 3, wherein said one or
more pairs of seats are defined with such a depth as to
allow to contain said item of cutlery below the plane of
arrangement of said upper perimetric edge, so as to allow to
apply on said edge a sealing lid which can be removed by the
user.
6. Container according to claim 3, wherein said one or
more pairs of seats are defined at adapted wings protruding

slightly beyond said side walls of said tray.
7. Container according to claim 3, wherein adapted
means suitable to facilitate the stacking of said trays are
present below at least one of said pairs of seats and at
least one of the remaining corners of said tray, said means
being constituted by adapted teeth in which the end directed
toward the bottom of said trays interacts either with said
upper perimetric edge of the underlying tray or with the
bottom of one of said pairs of seats.
8. Container according to claim 7, wherein the depth of
said teeth is such as to allow the stacking of said trays
without causing the mutual contact of said bottoms and of
said side walls.
9. Container according to claim 1, wherein said item of
cutlery is associated inside or outside said tray.
10. Container according to claim 1, wherein said item
of cutlery is arranged within an adapted seat formed at the
bottom or at the later surface of said tray.
11. Container according to claim 1, wherein said item
of cutlery is associated at the bottom or at the lateral
surface of said tray.

Description

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The present invention relates to a container
particularly usable for confectionery or food products.
Many kinds of food products are currently commercially
available which are usually stored in plastic containers and
can be consumed after removing an adapted removable lid.
The use of plastic containers, used for example for
yogurts, allows both preservation of the organoleptic
characteristics of the product and ease in transport, since
the container can withstand slight impacts.
lo A drawback observed in these known types of containers
resides in the fact that before the step in which they are
filled with the product they occupy hardly negligible
spaces, thus increasing storage costs for manufacturers.
Secondly, said known products can be consumed only once the
1~ purchaser has returned home, since a small spoon is required
to pick up the product.
A principal object of the present invention is
therefore to solve the described technical problems,
eliminating the drawbacks observed in known types and thus
obtaining a container for confectionery or food products
which has optimum storage characteristics prior to the
filling step and allows the purchaser to consume the product
when desired.
Another important object is to provide a container
which is reliable and safe in use in compliance with
hygienic rules.
Another object is to provide a container having low
manufacturing costs and which can be obtained with
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conventional known machines.
With these and other objects in view, there is
provided, according to the present invention, a container,
particularly for confectionery or food products, comprising
a stackable tray having, at its upper perimetric edge, at
least one seat which can be re-closed by a lid and
accommodates an item of cutlery.
Further characteristics and advantages of the present
invention will become apparent from the following detailed
lo des~ription of a particular but not exclusive embodiment
thereof, illustrated only by way of non-limitative example
in the accompanying drawings, wherein:
figure 1 is a top view of the container with the lid
applied thereto;
figure 2 i8 a sectional view, taken along the plane II-
II of f igure 1, in which the item of cutlery and the lid
have been omitted f or the sake of clarity;
f igure 3 is a sectional view, taken along the plane
III-III, of a plurality of mutually stacked containers, in
which the item of cutlery and the lid have been omitted f or
the sake of clarity;
figure 4 is a sectional view, taken along the plane IV-
IV, illustrating a plurality of stacked containers;
f igure 5 is a sectional view, taken along the plane V-V
of figure 1;
f igure 6 is a top view of the container with the item
of cutlery applied thereto.
With reference to the above figures, the reference
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n~eral 1 generally designates the container, which
comprises a tray 2, preferably made of plastics, which is
ess;entially frustrum-shaped ~ith an upper perimetric edge 3
at which there is an opening 4 for access to the
collfectionery or food product 5. The inclination of the side
wa:Lls 6 of the tray 2 i5 such as to allow to stack them,
together with other factors highlighted hereinafter.
A pair of seats 7a and 7b is in fact defined at the
upper perimetric edge 3 of the tray 2, along at least one
o diagonal axis; the tip 8 and the opposite end 9 of an item
of cutlery, such as for example a small spoon 10, can be
rested and supported at said seats.
Advantageously, said pair of seats 7a and 7b is formed
at a diagonal of the opening 4, with such a depth as to
allow to contain the spoon 10 below the plane of arrangement
of th~ upper perimetric edge 3, so as to allow to apply
thereon a aeallng lid 11 removable by the user.
In order to make it easier to hold the container 1, the
pair of seats 7a and 7b is furthermore formed at adapted
wings 12a and 12b protruding slightly beyond the side walls
6 of the tray 2.
Below at least one pair of seats 7a and 7b and at least
one of the remaining corners of the tray 2 there are adapted
means suitable to facilitate tray stacking; said means are
constituted by adapted teeth 13, the ends 14 whereof,
directed toward the bottom 15 of the tray 2, interacting
either with the upper perimetric edge 3 of the underlying
tray or with the bottom of one of the pairs of seats 7a and
7b. This allows to easily stack a plurality of trays without
causing contact between their bottoms 15 or their side walls
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6; thus, the volume occupied by the stacked trays is
considerably contained on one hand, since a large number of
tralys can be stacked with optimum stability due to the
presence of the teeth 13.
It has thus been observed that a container has been
provided which advantageously on one hand can be easily
stored by stacking the trays prior to the insertion of the
confectionery or food products and on the other hand allows
the user immediate consumption after purchase of the product
lo contained in the tray, since it is sufficient to remove the
lid, take hold of the spoon and then pick up the product.
The present invention is naturally susceptible to
numerous modifications and variations, all of which are
within the scope of the same inventive concept.
Thus, for example, the pair of seats 7a and 7b may be
formed along a side which is longitudinal or transverse to
the tray 2, and a plurality of pairs of seats may also be
provided for containing a plurality of items of cutlery.
Furthermore, the seat for the item of cutlery may be formed
inside or outside the tray, for example on its bottom; the
item of cutlery may furthermore be associated outside ths
tray.
Naturally, the shape of the pair of seats 7a and 7b may
also be the most appropriate according to the specific shape
of the item of cutlery.
The materials and the dimensions of the individual
components of the container according to the present
invention may also naturally be the most pertinent according
to the specific requirements.
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Dessin représentatif