Packaging container for a food product

Abstract

The invention relates to a packaging container (10) for a foodstuff, comprising a vessel (11) and a lid (12), wherein the vessel (11) and the lid (12) are made of the same base plastic, can be connected to one another in a material-locking manner after the vessel (11) has been filled with the foodstuff, and can be releasably connected to one another in a form-fitting and / or force-locking manner after the vessel has been opened for the first time.

Description

The invention relates to a packaging container according to the preamble of claim 1.Generally, packaging containers for foods are known from the prior art, having a container manufactured from a first plastic, which container is connected to an aluminum foil in a materially integral manner after the container has been filled with a food. After the aluminum foil has been opened, however, the latter can only close the vessel insufficiently, as long as the aluminum foil still remains partially connected to the vessel and the pull-off tab is bent around the edge of the vessel. In order to be able to close the packaging container after the aluminum foil has been completely released from the vessel, a resealable additional cover made of a second plastic, generally a polystyrene, can be provided, which is releasably pressed onto the vessel opening. The vessel, the aluminum foil and the additional cover are made of different materials. In addition, the vessel may be provided with a paper banderole for inscription and decoration. This results in a high outlay in the recycling process in order to separate the different materials from one another in a plurality of process stages.The object of the invention is to propose a packaging container of the type mentioned at the beginning, with which a recycling process is significantly simplified.The invention achieves the stated object according to the characterizing part of claim 1. the use of the same base plastic for the vessel and the lid perceptibly reduces the recycling outlay. This relates both to the individual recycling steps and to the energy to be used for the recycling process. The vessel and the lid may preferably be made of a polypropylene as a base plastic. Due to the material-bonded connection between the vessel and the lid, an aluminum foil can be omitted in the future in order to tightly close the vessel after filling. Because the manufacturing process of aluminum is very energy intensive, the dispensing with aluminum foil has a particularly lasting effect on the environment. The positive and / or force-fit releasable connection of the container to the lid permits a sufficiently tight re-sealability of the packaging container after the first opening. As a result, the contents of the packaging container can be stored for longer than before after the first opening.The vessel can preferably be cup-shaped or trough-shaped.A joining layer can be integrated in the vessel and / or in the lid and / or a joining means (40, 41) can be applied to a joining surface (13, 14) of the vessel (11) and / or of the lid (12), so that the vessel (11) and the lid (12) can be connected to one another in a materially integral manner after filling with the foodstuff. The joining layer and / or the joining means ensures that the packaging container is reliably sealed tightly after the container has been filled with the foodstuff for transport along the supply chain to the end user.Expediently, the joining layer is provided in a contact region between vessel and lid.An identical or different joining means can be applied to the joining surface of the vessel and / or of the lid.To increase the handling comfort, the material-bonded connection can be cut open by an opening force acting on the lid when the packaging container is opened for the first time. The required opening force can be applied manually.To improve the resealableness of the packaging container, the container and / or the lid can be dimensionally stable.The vessel and the lid can be welded to the joining layer integrated in the vessel and / or and or in the lid and / or to the joining means. Ultrasonic welding in particular has proven to be particularly effective in practice for this purpose.Expediently, the joining layer and / or the joining means has a lower melting temperature than the vessel wall or the lid wall. For this purpose, additives in the form of heat stabilizers can be added to the base material of the vessel and of the lid, whereby the dimensional stability of the vessel and of the lid during the welding process is ensured. Consequently, the melting temperature of the vessel and the lid is higher than that of the joining agent.The joining means can be a plastic film. The plastic film enables the packaging container to be reliably sealed tightly in a short time.With regard to an additional simplification and an increase in efficiency of the recycling process, the joining means can also be produced from the same base plastic as the vessel and the lid. Different additives can be added to the base plastic of the joining agent, vessel and lid, whereby different materials with different properties are produced.Alternatively, the vessel and the lid can be bonded to the joining means. In this way, the packaging container can also be reliably sealed in a sealed manner in a short time.In a further alternative, a first joining means can be applied to the container and a second joining means can be applied to the lid, each of which comprises at least one starting material for a chemical reaction, so that after the joining of the vessel to the lid a chemical reaction can be initiated between the two joining means. The chemical reaction can be initiated, for example, by means of a UV light, a supply of oxygen, photocatalytically or by means of further catalysts.In a simple embodiment, the first joining surface can be a circumferential edge on the vessel and the second joining surface can be a circumferential edge on the lid.The vessel and the lid may be made of a material having a greater strength and / or hardness and / or rigidity than the joining means. The material may be the base plastic, which is prepared with at least one additive to realize a greater strength and / or hardness and / or rigidity. This ensures that when the packaging container is opened for the first time, the cohesive connection between the container and the lid is broken and the container and the lid are not damaged, but are still functionally suitable. For this purpose, it is of course also possible to equip the joining means with appropriate additives in order to reduce its strength and / or its hardness and / or its rigidity with respect to the material of the vessel and of the lid.In order that the packaging container can be repeatedly sufficiently tightly sealed after the first opening, the container can be reclosable with the lid in a positive and / or non-positive manner. In order that the lid is not damaged or destroyed when the packaging container is opened for the first time and is subsequently resealable, it can have dimensional stability in contrast to an aluminum foil known from the prior art.For the resealableness of the packaging container, a first contact region can be provided on the inner wall side in the region of an opening of the container and a second contact region corresponding thereto can be provided on an outer wall of the lid. In the contact areas, the vessel and the lid can abut each other. If the container and the lid have a conical undercut in their contact areas, wherein the opening of the container tapers conically towards the opening edge, then the lid can be pressed positively into the opening after the packaging container has been opened for the first time. Consequently, the packaging container can be reclosable in a form-fit and force-fit manner.As already mentioned, the base plastic of the vessel and the lid can be treated with at least one additive in order to provide the vessel and the lid with further properties. In addition to the properties already mentioned, additives can also be provided in order to better protect the food from environmental influences or to improve the outer surface of the vessel and of the lid. For this purpose, for example, a chalk content can be added to the base plastic in order to produce a highly attractive surface haptic. Furthermore, additives for decorative packaging of the vessel can also be used.Alternatively, a functional layer can be applied to the vessel and / or the lid. To reduce the recycling outlay, the functional layer can be produced from the same base plastic as the vessel and / or the lid, preferably from polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The functional layer can be, for example, a decorative film, decorative imprint, label. The functional layer for reducing the oxygen and / or UV transmission can also be.The contents of the packaging container can be, for example, a liquid, pasty or solid filling material, wherein the solid filling material can be one piece, multi-piece, granular or powdery.An exemplary embodiment of a packaging container according to the invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the attached drawings.In detail, the following show: FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a closed packaging container; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the packaging container from FIG. 1 with a lid lifted from a container; FIG. 3 shows a first detailed sectional view of the closed packaging container in a joining region; FIG. 4 shows a second sectional view of the closed packaging container with a joining means in the joining region.FIGS. 1 and 2 show a packaging container 10 with a container 11 and a lid 12 for a food item not shown in detail here. The vessel 11 and the lid 12 are made of the same base plastic, preferably of a polypropylene, and can be connected in a materially bonded manner after the packaging container 10 has been filled with the foodstuff.For the cohesive connection of the vessel 11 to the lid 12, a joining means 40 is applied to a joining surface 13 and a joining means 41 is applied to a joining surface 14 (see FIGS. 2 and 4 ). The joining surfaces 13 and 14 are designed as circumferential edges of the vessel 11 and of the lid 12.The joining means 40 and 41 can be a plastic film, which is preferably produced from the same base plastic as the vessel 11 and the lid 12.When the vessel 11 and the lid 12 are bonded, the joining means 40 and 41 may be an adhesive.The joining means 40 and 41 can also be formed as two layers, each of which has at least one starting material for a chemical reaction. Thus, after the joining of the vessel 11 and the lid 12, a chemical reaction can be initiated between the two joining means 40 and 41.During a joining process, the joining means 40 connects to the vessel 11 on the one hand and the joining means 41 connects to the cover 12 and the joining means 40 and 41 connect to one another in the region of a joining means boundary 42 on the other hand.To open the packaging container 10 which is closed by material bonding, the lid 12 can be pulled off the vessel 11 at a tab 15. In this case, the joining means 40 and 41 are destroyed, whereas the vessel 11 and the lid 12 remain undamaged and intact.The vessel 11 has a contact region 30 in the region of an opening 20 and the lid 12 has a contact region 31. The contact region 30 corresponds to a circumferential edge on the inner wall side. The contact region 31 is a narrow circumferential outer wall of the cover 12 (see FIGS. 2 and 3 ). The vessel 11 and the lid 12 have a conical undercut with a conicity α in the contact areas 30 and 31. Thus, the opening 20 tapers conically to the opening edge, wherein the cover 12 pressed into the opening 20 fits with its contact region 31 against the contact region 30 of the opening. Consequently, a form fit is created between the container 11 and the lid 12 when the lid 12 is pressed into the opening 20 of the container 11 in order to close the packaging container 10. By pressing the lid 12 into the opening 20 of the container 11 and pulling the lid 12 out of the opening 20, the packaging container 10 can be re-locked in a positive and non-positive manner.Moreover, the vessel 11 is provided on its outer surface with a functional layer 43 and the cover 12 is provided on its outer surface with a functional layer 44. The function layers 43 and 44 may perform different functions. They can, for example, protect the food from environmental influences, render the surface of the packaging container 10 more expensive, serve decorative purposes and the like. The functional layers 43 and 44 can be realized with a film. In order to reduce the recycling effort, the functional layers 43 and 44 can be made of the same base plastic as the vessel 11 and the lid 12.The cover 12 has a circumferential groove 21, in which a second specimen of the cover 12 can engage with its contact region 31, so that a plurality of specimens of the cover 12 can be stacked one inside the other in a space-saving manner.LIST OF REFERENCE CHARACTERS10 Packaging container 11 Vessel 12 Lid 13 Joining surface 14 Joining surface 20 Opening 21 Groove 30 Contact region 31 Contact region 40 Joining means 41 Joining means 42 Joining means boundary 43 Functional layer 44 Functional layer α Conicity

Claims

Packaging container (10) for a food product, having a container (11) and a lid (12), characterized in that the container (11) and the lid (12) are produced from the same base plastic, can be connected to one another in a materially integral manner after the container (11) has been filled with the food product and can be connected to one another in a positively locking and / or non-positively locking manner after the first opening.Packaging container (10) according to claim 1, characterised in that a joining layer is integrated in the container and / or in the lid and / or a joining means (40, 41) is applied to a joining surface (13, 14) of the container (11) and / or of the lid (12), so that the container (11) and the lid (12) can be connected to one another in a materially integral manner after filling with the foodstuff.Packaging container (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cohesive connection can be broken open by an opening force acting on the lid (12) when the packaging container (10) is opened for the first time.Packaging container (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a first contact region (30) is provided on the inner wall side in the region of an opening (20) of the container (11), and a second contact region (31) corresponding thereto is provided on an outer wall of the lid (12).Packaging container (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the container (11) and / or the lid (12) is dimensionally stable.Packaging container (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the vessel (11) and the lid (12) can be welded to the joining layer integrated in the vessel and / or in the lid and / or to the joining means (40, 41).Packaging container (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the joining layer and / or the joining means (40, 41) have a lower melting point than the wall of the vessel (11) and the wall of the lid (12).Packaging container (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the joining means (40, 41) is a plastic film.Packaging container (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the joining means (40, 41) is produced from the same base plastic as the container (11) and the lid (12).Packaging container (10) according to claim 1 or 4, characterised in that the container (11) and the lid (12) can be bonded to the joining means (40, 41).Packaging container (10) according to claim 1 or 4, characterised in that a first joining means (40) is applied to the container (11) and a second joining means (41) is applied to the lid (12), each of which comprises at least one starting material for a chemical reaction, so that after the joining of the container (11) to the lid (12) a chemical reaction can be initiated between the two joining means (40, 41).Packaging container (14) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the first joining surface (13) is a circumferential edge on the container (11) and the second joining surface (14) is a circumferential edge on the lid (12).Packaging container (14) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the vessel (11) and the lid (12) are manufactured from a material which has a greater strength and / or hardness and / or rigidity than the joining means (40, 41).Packaging container (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the base plastic of the container (11) and / or of the lid (12) is processed with at least one additive.Packaging container (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a functional layer (43, 44) can be applied to the vessel (11) and / or the lid (12).

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