Abstract:
A packaging includes a first sheet ( 1 ), in the form of a receptacle ( 2 ) and a second cover sheet ( 71 ), for covering the food product ( 70 ) and for sealing the receptacle ( 2 ). The first sheet ( 1 ) is made from a plastic material and the first ends ( 53   a   , 53   b ) of tear-off guide elements are spaced laterally with regard to each other and define a pull tab ( 58 ) in a flap ( 21 ). The above is of application for example in the cooking of fondue cheese.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a packaging for the packing of a food product, of the type comprising:
         a first sheet shaped to form a receptacle for receiving the food product and comprising a base of substantially triangular shape bordered by two lateral walls, which meet at a point, and a wall forming a heel portion opposite the point, and   a second sheet for covering the food product and sealing the receptacle,
 
the first sheet comprising a pull tab for inducing tears, and tear guide means in order to allow the packaging to be opened, the guide means extending substantially along the lateral edges of the base into the wall forming the heel portion, first ends of the guide means extending into a flap which prolongs the heel portion and covers the second sheet.
       

     The invention is applicable in particular to the packing of cheese spread. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     In the following, packagings having substantially triangular bases are understood as being packagings whose bases are effectively triangular with straight sides, but also packagings whose bases have a curved side and which therefore have the shape of a sector of a disc. 
     FR-2 597 436 describes a packaging of the type mentioned above for the packing of a cheese spread portion. That packaging is constituted by two aluminium sheets. The guide means are strips provided on the first sheet. The first ends of the tear guide strips overlap to form the gripping tab. 
     EP-803 439 has proposed replacing aluminium by polypropylene in packagings for the packing of cheese spread, in order to facilitate recycling. The packaging described in that document is constituted by three sheets, and opening is effected by tearing the lateral walls and the heel portion of the packaging. 
     Such a method of opening is not entirely satisfactory in so far as only the lateral walls and the heel portion are freed from the cheese spread portion. The consumer therefore has to touch the cheese in order to remove the cover or the base of the packaging before the product can be consumed. 
     The packaging structure and the method of opening described in FR-2 597 436 are more satisfactory for consumers. However, such a structure cannot be used with a material such as polypropylene, which is much stronger than aluminium. 
     Accordingly, the tear propagation as provided in FR-2 597 436 would not be able to occur in a sheet of polypropylene. 
     Furthermore, it is tricky to obtain a perfect overlap of the ends of the strips, as described in FR-2 597 436, and in practice a consumer frequently grasps only one of the strips. The consumer is then unable to open the entire packaging, parts of the cheese spread portion remaining in the packaging and the consumer then having to touch the cheese in order to remove it from the packaging completely. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the invention is to resolve those problems by providing a packaging of the above-mentioned type which, while being more readily recyclable, can be opened in a simple and satisfactory manner in order to give access to the totality of the product packed in the packaging. 
     To that end, the invention relates to a packaging of the above-mentioned type, characterised in that at least the first sheet is made of plastics material, and in that the first ends of the guide means are spaced laterally from one another and delimit between them the pull tab in the flap. 
     According to particular embodiments, the packaging may have one or more of the following features, taken in isolation or in accordance with all the technically possible combinations:
         tear initiating means are provided laterally in an edge of the flap outside the pull tab;   the guide means extend along the lateral edges of the heel portion;   second ends of the guide means extend into a wing portion which prolongs the point and is turned down onto one of the lateral walls;   the pull tab extends substantially over the entire width of the heel portion; and   the guide means comprise strips provided on the first sheet.       

     The invention relates further to a unit comprising a packaging and a food product packed in the packaging, characterised in that the packaging is a packaging as defined above. 
     According to a variant, the food product is cheese spread. 
     The invention relates also to a sheet for the production of a packaging as defined above, characterised in that it comprises:
         a region that is to form a base of substantially triangular shape,   two regions that are to form two lateral walls which meet along a point,   a region that is to form a heel portion opposite the point,   tear guide means, the guide means extending substantially along lateral edges of the region that is to form the base into the region that is to form the heel portion, the guide means comprising first ends which extend into a flap intended to prolong the heel portion,
 
and the first sheet is made of plastics material, and the first ends of the guide means are spaced laterally from one another and delimit between them, in the flap, a pull tab for inducing tears in the packaging.
       

    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES 
       The invention will better be understood upon reading the following description, which is given solely by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a plan view, in diagrammatic form, of a first sheet of a packaging according to the invention, before folding, 
         FIGS. 2 and 3  are perspective views, in diagrammatic form, showing two successive steps of the production of the packaging starting from the sheet of  FIG. 1 , 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view, in diagrammatic form, of the finished packaging, 
         FIGS. 5 and 6  are views, in diagrammatic form, showing two successive steps of the opening of the packaging of  FIG. 4 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The sheet  1  shown in  FIG. 1  is a sheet of polypropylene for packing a portion of cheese spread, having a base having the shape of a sector of a disc. 
     In order to form a packaging, and as shown in  FIG. 2 , the sheet  1  is shaped to form a receptacle  2  by folding along the dotted lines shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     The receptacle  2  has a base  3  which has the shape of a sector of a disc delimited by two lateral edges  5  and  7  and an arc-shaped edge  9 . Perpendicularly to the plane of the base  3 , the receptacle  2  has two lateral walls  9  and  11  which extend along the straight edges  5  and  7 , and a curved wall forming a heel portion  13 , which extends along the arc-shaped edge  9 . The lateral walls  9  and  11  meet along a point  15  opposite the heel portion  13 . 
     The lateral walls  9  and  11  and the heel portion  13  are prolonged by flaps  17 ,  19  and  21 , respectively, which are to be turned down along fold lines  23 ,  25  and  27  when the packaging is sealed. 
     Before folding, the sheet  1  further comprises intermediate regions  29 ,  31  and  33  which are disposed, respectively, between the walls  9  and  11  and their flaps  17  and  19 , between the wall  9  and the heel portion  13  and their flaps  17  and  21 , and between the heel portion  13  and the wall  11  and their flaps  21  and  19 . The lateral edges  35  and  37  of the heel portion  13  and of the flap  21  prolong the lateral edges  5  and  7  of the base  3 . The flap  21  has a projecting central point  39  opposite the intermediate region  29 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , two cuts  41  and  43  are made in the sheet  1  between the outside edge  45  of the point  39  and the outside edges  47  and  48  of the remainder of the flap  21 . Fold lines  49  and  50  extend from the cuts  41  and  43  to the points of intersection between the curved fold line  27  and the lateral edges  35  and  37  of the heel portion  13 . Before the sheet  1  is folded, the fold lines  49  and  50  are inclined relative to the lateral edges  35  and  37 . 
     The sheet  1  is also provided, on the side that is to form the inside face of the receptacle  2 , with two tear guide strips  51   a  and  51   b . The two strips  51   a  and  51   b  are substantially symmetrical relative to a median axis A of the sheet  1 . The strips  51   a  and  51   b  have been fused by means of heat both to one another and to the sheet  1 . The strips  51   a  and  51   b  are made of polypropylene, for example. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , each of the strips  51   a ,  51   b  has a first straight end  53   a ,  53   b  which extends from the point  39  into the flap  21  and into the heel portion  13 , as far as the lateral edge  35 ,  37 . The strips  51   a ,  51   b  then extend rectilinearly along the lateral edges  5  and  7  and terminate at second ends  55   a  and  55   b , beyond a point of intersection  57 . The ends  55   a  and  55   b  extend into the lateral walls  9  and  11  and into the intermediate region  29 . 
     The first ends  53   a  and  53   b  are disposed close to the cuts  41  and  43 , respectively, and are spaced laterally from one another. 
     Before the sheet  1  is folded, the ends  53   a  and  53   b  converge towards one another opposite the point of intersection  57  and delimit between them, in the flap  21 , a pull tab  58  which comprises the point  39  and extends substantially over the entire width of the flap  21 . After the first ends  53   a  and  53   b , the two strips  51   a  and  51   b  converge towards one another as far as the point of intersection  57 , before diverging again. 
     In order to obtain the receptacle  2  of  FIG. 2  starting from the sheet  1 , the intermediate regions  31  and  33  connecting the lateral walls  9  and  11  and the heel portion  13  are folded, starting from the base  3 , in their middle, along lines  59  and  61 , which are shown in  FIG. 1 . The triangular wing portions  63  and  65  so formed are folded back onto the lateral walls  9  and  11 , respectively, along the lateral edges  35  and  37  of the heel portion  13 . As regards the intermediate region  29  comprising the end of the strips  51   a  and  51   b , it is likewise folded, in the middle, along a fold line  67  ( FIG. 1 ), and the triangular wing portion  69  so formed is folded back onto the lateral wall  9 . The second ends  55   a  and  55   b  of the strips  51   a  and  51   b  extend into the wing portion  69 . 
     These different folding operations are, for example, carried out while hot, as described in EP-803 439, in order to obtain plastic deformation of the polypropylene of the sheet  1 . This folding while hot can be carried out, for example, in a folding chamber into which the sheet  1  is pushed. It is likewise possible to produce some or all of the fold lines beforehand by mechanical deformation of the sheet  1 , for example by means of a cutting wheel. 
     A given amount of cheese spread is poured, while hot, into the receptacle  2  so obtained, to a height equal to the height of the lateral walls  9  and  11  and of the heel portion  13 , in order to constitute a portion  70 , shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     A second sheet  71 , having dimensions corresponding to those of the base  3 , is placed on the portion  70 . The second sheet  71  forms a sealing cover for the receptacle  2 . It is, for example, also made of polypropylene. Then, as shown in  FIG. 3 , the flap  21  is turned down onto the sheet  71  and sealed thereto on either side of the cuts  41  and  43 , leaving the point  58  free. 
     The flaps  17  and  19  are then turned down and sealed to the second sheet  71 , as shown in  FIG. 4 . 
     In this manner there is obtained a unit  73  comprising a packaging  75 , composed of the sheets  1  and  71 , and the cheese spread portion  70  packed in the packaging  75 . 
     The packaging  75  is opened in the manner shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 . The consumer holds the two lateral walls  9  and  11  with the thumb and index finger of one hand and grasps the pull tab  58  with the other hand. By pulling on the tab  58  in a single movement, tears are initiated in the region of the cuts  41  and  43 . As pulling is continued, the tears propagate along the strips  51   a  and  51   b  which guide them. The consumer can accordingly free the whole of the heel portion  77  from the portion  70 , then the large triangular face  79  ( FIG. 6 ) until the second ends  55   a  and  55   b  of the strips  51   a  and  51   b  cause tearing along the point  15 , thus freeing completely the lateral walls  9  and  11 , which then simply have to be turned down as indicated by the arrows  81  in  FIG. 6 . 
     The packaging  75  can therefore be opened to give access to the totality of the portion  70  without its being necessary to touch the portion  70 . Furthermore, the rigidity of the material used to constitute the sheet  1  allows the strips  51   a  and  51   b  to be spaced from one another, while permitting satisfactory opening. The consumer therefore has the benefit of a large gripping tab  58  and there is no risk, as with the packaging of FR-2 597 436, that he will use only one of the two tear guide strips. 
     Furthermore, the guide path of the tears does not exhibit any pronounced change in direction as in FR-2 597 436. Accordingly, despite the strength of the material used to constitute the sheet  1 , the tears initiated by the cuts  41  and  43  propagate in a satisfactory manner. 
     It will also be noted that the width of the pull tab  58  and the chosen method of opening result in rational opening which can be carried out by virtually all consumers. 
     Furthermore, because the tears are guided by strips  51   a  and  51   b  of small width, the overall cost of the packaging  75  remains low and the packaging has good tightness. 
     It will be noted that the above principles can be used with the sheet  1  and/or the sheet  71  produced of plastics materials other than polypropylene. 
     Moreover, the strips  51   a  and  51   b  can be replaced by guide means of other types. 
     Accordingly, such means may be local weakened areas in the first sheet  1 , obtained, for example, by means of a cutting wheel or a laser beam.