PACKAGE AND METHOD FOR PACKAGING FRUIT

Abstract: A package for fruit and vegetables comprises a monodirectional basket-like container (1; 10) housing a single row of products (2) that are protruding from it, and a net or plastic film (5; 5a; 13) tensioned on the products and urging them against the container (1; 10) to immobilize said products (2).

Description: "PACKAGE AND METHOD FOR PACKAGING FRUIT" Technical field The present invention relates to a package and a method for packaging of fruit, vegetables and the like. In greater detail, the present invention relates to a package and a method for packaging of fruit products, i.e. fruit and vegetables such as apples, peaches, pears, persimmon, tomatoes and similar medium- to large-sized products which are likely to deteriorate in transport. Background of the invention Many kinds of packages and containers for fruit and vegetables are known, varying according to the type of product. These containers are generally used to present a standard number of products to the consumer at sales points in large-scale distribution. Small baskets are usually used for small products, such as cherries and other berry-type fruit, which are loose in the container; small baskets wrapped in heat-shrunk or stretch-film to prevent loss of fruit in transport and handling, are known. These have some disadvantages, in as much as they give satisfactory results only with small fruit, the fruit must not project above the baskets (which are placed with others on a flat tray to be stacked on a pallet for transport) , only the uppermost layer of fruit is visible and the fruit is subject to damage in transport and handling. There are also baskets known for small- to medium-sized products (e.g. kiwis) that are loosely housed in the baskets and therein retained by nets. These packages have the same disadvantages as those mentioned above, i.e. the fruit is damaged in transport, the fruit in the centre of the container can not be seen by the consumer, medium- sized or large fruit cannot be packed even by hand for reasons of geometry. Moreover, they are not suited to automatic packing of delicate fruit like apples or tomatoes. Another known package, used above all for apples, pears and peaches, comprises an expanded polystyrene tray with separate places for four or more pieces of fruit covered by a transparent plastic film. This container allows the fruit to be seen clearly but has the following disadvantages: it must be packed by hand, it is expensive and it cannot be stacked automatically on the pallet for transport. Disclosure of the invention It is an aim of the present invention to overcome the aforementioned problems by means of a package for fruit which allows the delicate operations of packing the fruit, placing the containers on trays and stacking the trays on a pallet to be carried out automatically. It is another aim of the invention to provide a fruit product package which prevents the product from being damaged in transport and handling, which allows sufficient product visibility and which is inexpensive. These aims are achieved by the present invention, which relates to a package for fruit products characterized by comprising at least one container in which two or more individual pieces of fruit are aligned in one row, and a means of retaining and immobilizing the said products in the said container. The invention further relates to a method for the packaging of fruit products, comprising the step of selecting the fruit and placing it in a container, characterized by aligning two or more products in one row in a container and by applying to the said products and container a layer of material in tension to retain and immobilize the said products in position. The said material is preferably tensioned in both longitudinal and lateral directions so as to conform to the products and "hug" them and to thus guarantee their perfect immobility. Finally, the invention also relates to a single-row container for the above mentioned fruit products packages . According to a preferred aspect of the invention, the container is lower than the products, which project from it and bear against the retaining material. According to another aspect of the invention, the material retaining and immobilizing the products is a tubular net, either extruded or woven, with sufficient elasticity to be tensioned. According to a further aspect of the invention, the products are spaced from each other in the container. According to a still further aspect of the invention, the container end sides are provided with a means to permit an increase or a reduction of the container width according to the fruit therein housed. This means preferably is a cut-off or_missing portion that also allows end products to slightly protrude from the container, if necessary. The invention has a number of advantages over the present state of the art: due to the combination of the container and the retaining material, the packaging can be carried out automatically by dedicated machines, e.g. those fitted with suction pads or similar handlers, at high speed also. The placement of the packages on trays and their stacking on pallets, or the stacking of the containers - rotated onto their sides - directly on pallets can also be carried out in anautomatic way. A further advantage is that, since the products are immobilized in the containers, they cannot be damaged in - .3 the transport or handling of the containers. Another advantage is that using the net as a material to retain and immobilize the products, there is no need to rotate the products to have the stalks toward the bottom of the container. Further advantages are sufficient product visibility, good aesthetic appearance and the fact that the container side walls are flexible enough to adapt to the fruit shapes. Best mode of carrying out the invention The invention will now be described with reference to the attached drawings which are illustrative but not limiting, and in which: - fig.l is . a partially sectioned prospective view of a container according to the present invention; - fig.2 is similar to fig.l, with fruit products in position in the container; - fig.3 is a side view of a complete package according to the invention; - fig.4 is an enlargement of a partially sectioned view of a detail of the layout of the retaining material in relation to the product; - fig.5 is partially sectioned side view of a pallet loaded with the containers according to the present invention; - fig. 6 is a top view of another container according to the invention; - figures 7 and 8 are side views of fig. 6 container, housing fruit products; and - figure 9 and 10 are side views of a completed package. Fig.l shows a container l for the invention package, in which the fruit products are housed. Th ' is container is somewhat similar to a basket, in that it is provided with lateral walls 4, a base 4b and transversal walls 4a, and is open on the top. According to the invention, container 1 is a mono-directionaal or one-row container, i.e. it contains a single line of fruit or vegetables 2, aligned as shown in figures 2-4 and 8-10. The container 1 may be produced in any suitable material, according to the appropriate technology, but is generally plastic, preferably transparent, or paper (light cardboard) or an expanded plastic material. The base and walls of the container may have reinforcing ribs 3 and may have projecting elements 3a to keep the products spaced. Holes 16 (fig. 6) are preferably provided on the container base. The walls of the container are flared to give a trapezoidal cross section (open trapezium) so that empty containers they can be nested and piled up. Further, due to this shape, the container 1 can be used for products of varying size. If the fruit or vegetables have been previously selected to be all the same size, large products will bear against the walls and base of the container, deforming the walls; smaller products will touch - but not deform - the walls and base. To this end, the material of the container is flexible enough to be deformed when necessary. At least two types of container are provided, large and small, or three, large, small and medium, depending on the products to be packed. The products can be spaced and separated in the container, to avoid frictional damage to each other in transport; in any case, the products being immobilized and held in place by the retaining material, no or very reduced frictional damage occurs even if the products contact each other. In fig. 6 and 7 it is shown another embodiment of the invention container. The side walls 14 of the container 10 are concave along their whole length to better adhere to the fruit surface. The two end walls 9 are provided with a means to make easier the above cited deformation of the container and to allow the container width to change according to the product size. Namely, end sides 9 are provided with a gap or missing portion 15, roughly shaped as a "U" and extending nearly to the bottom of container 10. The remaining area of sides 9 is such as to prevent products 2 falling out of the container. This missing portion has two main purposes. First, it is used to help the container to better adhere to the products : if products 2 are larger than the container width, lateral walls 14 will bend outside,- if products 2 are smaller than the container width, walls 14 will be pressed inside when the retaining element is applied to the container. In both cases, the missing portion 9 will make easier the deformation of the container. Secondly, products located at the end sides will be able to partially project from gap 15, as shown in figures 7- 10. In fact, if the length of the aligned fruit products 2 within the container is greater than the container length, the end products will project from gap 15 at end sides 9. If, on the. contrary, the length of aligned products is less than the container length, lateral walls 14 will be bended inside and adhered to the products by the retaining element. Thus, a great flexibility in the number or size of fruit products can be achieved and in all cases the products will be immobilized by the package. The size of the container and product are matched so that products 2 project from the container opening (figs. 2, 4 and 8-10) and can bear against the means of retention and immobilization. The percentage of the product which projects is generally between 8% and 50%, and preferably between 10% and 40%, of the height of the product, where by height of product is intended the maximum height of the product in the container above the base of the said container. In each container there are at least two products and preferably three or more, depending on their size. As can be seen from the figures, the usual but not limiting number of fruit is four or five. The means of retention and immobilization 5 with respect to the container comprises a layer of material such as a net, a plastic film or a paper-based layer. This layer of material is preferably at least in part transparent, to allow the consumer to examine the product. By the term "at least in part transparent" is intended a material such as a net 5_a (shown in fig.3, where, for the sake of clarity, only some of the mesh is drawn) . In this case the transparent part is the part between the mesh i.e. the holes in the mesh. Preferred plastic or plastic-like films are provided with a plurality of micro-holes or are gas permeable. Heat- shrinking material may also be used. Preferably, an extruded or woven tubular net is used, which is partially elastic, in order to facilitate the tightening around the products and the container as shown in fig.3, where the longitudinal tension is assured by the metal clip 6 placed at the two ends of the same net. The clip can be also used to hold a tag with price, product weight and other data. Alternatively, a similar tag or label can be applied on the walls of the container. The lateral tension is assured by the size of tubular net used and by it beeing at least partially elastic, which leads it to "hug" the upper profile of the product in the container, pressing the former into the latter and the container walls onto the product surface. If a welded net is used, the relevant longitudinal seam is located at the bottom of the package, where a cavity 11 is externally provided (fig. 7 and 9) . This cavity is also acting as a "shock absorber" for the products. Fig.4 shows the layout of the means of retention 5 with respect to .the products 2 in container 1 when such means 5, either in the form of a net or transparent plastic film, is tensioned in the way indicated above. In this way the product is perfectly immobilized. The net 5a has the advantage of letting the product breathe and not retaining condensation, which is particularly important in ripening and decay-prevention in the product. The use of the net 5a also removes the necessity of keeping the stalks 7 in a particular position; they can be positioned randomly, even protruding through the said net. Other layer materials can be used as an alternative to the net; plastic film, provided they can be tensioned to completely immobilize the products in the container. Preferred plastic films are those which are perforated, micro-perforated or gas permeable, for reasons discussed above in relation to the advantages of using a net in ripening and decay-control. Figures 9 and 10 show another embodiment of the invention in which the retaining element 13 is provided on the upper portion of the container only. In this case a plurality of ribs 12 are located along the container lateral walls 14 to provide both greater rigidity and fixing points for retaining layer 13. The retaining layer 13 is a net or any of the above mentioned materials and is fixed by glueing or welding (e.g. thermowelding) to ribs 12, that are projecting outside walls 14 so as to avoid any damage to fruit products 2 during welding or glueing steps. The packaging is carried out in the following manner. First of all, the products are brushed and sorted in a manner known to the art. Then, a predetermined number of products is removed and laid out in a line in one mono¬ directional (one-row) container 1, or in a plurality of mono-directional containers. The products may be slightly spaced one from the other. To this purpose ribbing on the base and walls or independent separator elements in paper, cardboard, wood, plastic or rubber material may be provided to separate the products until the later operation of covering them with the layer of stretched retaining material which keeps them immobile in position. The step of applying the tensioned retaining material, net or otherwise, is followed by the palletization of the packages thus obtained. The palletization may be carried out in the traditional way i.e. by placing the containers on trays or in wooden, plastic or cardboard cases and stacking such trays on the pallet or by piling the containers rotated onto their sides directly in the pallets, as is shown in fig. 5.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A package for fruit products characterized by comprising at least one mono-directional container (1; 10) in which two or more products (2) can be housed, said products being aligned in one row, and means (5, 5a, 13) of retention and immobilization of the said products in the said container. 2. A package according to Claim 1, wherein the said container (1; 10) height is lower than that of the said products (2) , and wherein said means (5) of retention and immobilization are comprising at least one layer of a material (5a; 13) tensioned over the container and products . 3. A package according to Claim 2, wherein the projecting portion of said products (2) is between 10% and 40% of the height of said products . 4. A package according to Claims 2 or 3 , wherein said layer of tensioned material (5; 5a; 13) is selected from a tubular net and a perforated and/or gas permeable plastic material . 5. A package according to any previous Claim, wherein said container (10) is provided with means to facilitate deformation of its lateral walls (14) on said products (2) . 6. A package according to claim 5, wherein said deformation means is comprising a missing portion (15) provided on the end sides (9) of said container (10) . 7. A package according to any Claim 2 to 6, wherein said means (5; 5a; 13) of retention and immobilization is tensioned both longitudinally and transversely on the said container (1; 10) to conform at least in part to the shape of the projecting products (2) . 8. A package according to any of the preceding Claims, wherein said container (1; 10) is trapezoidal in section and is provided with internally concave walls (4; 9, 14) and/or external (11) concave base. 9. A package according to any Claim 1 to 8, wherein said container (1, 10) comprises ribbing and/or projecting portions (3, 3a; 12). 10. A package according to any previuos Claim, further comprising means of separating and spacing the said products (2) . 11. - A package according to any previous Claim, wherein said layer of tensioned material (13) is provided on the upper section of said container and is fixed to a plurality of sealing points (12) thereof. 12. A one-row container (1, 10) for a package according to any Claim 1 to 10. 13. A method for the packaging of fruit products, comprising the steps of selecting the product and placing it in a container, characterized by placing two or more products (2) aligned in one row in a container (1; 10) and by placing a layer (5; 5a; 13) of material in tension on said products and container to retain the said products (2) and immobilize them in position. 14. A method according to Claim 13, wherein the said retention and immobilizing material (5; 5a; 13) is selected from a net or a film of plastic material. 15. A method according to Claim 13 or 14, wherein said layer of retention material (5; 5a,- 13) is tensioned at least in the longitudinal and transverse directions of said container (1; 10) to conform to the shape of said products (2) . 16. A method according to any of the Claims 14 to 15, wherein said layer of tensioned material (13) is applied to the upper portion of said package and sealed to a plurality of ribs (12) located externally on the container walls (14) .

Inventors: MORETTI PAOLO, MORETTI, PAOLO
Applicants: FLINPACK S R L, MORETTI PAOLO, FLINPACK S.R.L., MORETTI, PAOLO
Application year: 1996
Main classification: B65D85
IPC codes: B65D85