Container for packaging bivalve shellfish

Abstract

Disclosed is a stackable packaging container (1) for bivalve shellfish (10) comprising a plate (2) surrounded by a peripheral wall (3) protruding above a top surface of the plate, for which a lower face (21) of the plate is provided with one or more means (6) for bearing on one or more rows of the shellfish of a lower packaging container according to the invention, so as to keep the shells of the shellfish of the lower packaging container closed and for which the peripheral wall of the container comprises a profile (71, 72) that nests with an upper / lower packaging container according to the invention.

Description

Technical field

[0001] The invention relates to the field of packaging for bivalve shellfish and in particular packaging for oysters. Prior art

[0002] It is known from document FR2 686 068 to produce a packaging for the conditioning of shellfish such as oysters which comprises a lower support such as a hollow tray and a lid provided with wedging zones facing the tray. Document FR 2 666 075 shows a receptacle comprising two substantially parallelepipedal elements, adaptable to one another and forming a box and a lid, the internal face of the opposite walls of the two elements having elastically deformable members, capable of supporting and / or holding the oysters in place inside the receptacle. Technical problem

[0003] Such a known solution requires positioning the shells precisely on the tray or choosing their size so that they are located under the cushioning areas. In addition, such packaging is not suitable for stacking. Statement of the invention

[0004] In view of the prior art, the present application proposes packaging suitable for stacking and reducing the constraints of positioning bivalve shellfish.

[0005] To do this, the present invention provides a stackable package as disclosed in claim 1.

[0006] The peripheral wall may comprise an upper embedding profile and a lower embedding profile produced by adding a reinforcing strip to at least one external face of an internal wall of said peripheral wall, said reinforcing strip being offset relative to said internal wall to protrude from a first edge of said internal wall and be set back from a second edge of said internal wall so as to allow the packaging to be stacked with an upper packaging and / or a lower packaging.

[0007] The packaging tray can be round, oval, rectangular or prismatic.

[0008] Said one or more support means may be produced in the form of a continuous spring tab, discontinuous spring tabs or in the form of ribs, pins or crenellations.

[0009] Said support means can be aligned according to a positioning pattern of said shells flat on the tray so as to press on each of the shells of said shells of a lower package.

[0010] A lower part of said peripheral wall may protrude below said support means to provide a face for laying the flat packaging and a housing for receiving an upper wall of a tray of a lower packaging.

[0011] Alternatively, said peripheral wall may comprise an upper housing for receiving a tray of an upper packaging.

[0012] An upper face of the tray may include ribs for positioning said shells in rows.

[0013] The upper face of the tray can be positioned relative to an upper edge of the peripheral wall of the packaging at a depth suitable for having the top of the shells of said shellfish of a given size flush with the upper face of the packaging.

[0014] The packaging may be completed by a cover so as to keep closed the shells of the shellfish placed in the upper packaging of a stack of said packaging, said packaging of the stack being able to then be strapped.

[0015] The invention and the variants thereof can generally make it possible to provide stackable shellfish packaging provided with means for closing the lower packaging shells when the packaging is stacked, said packaging being able, once separated, to serve as a tray for presenting the shellfish.

[0016] Such a solution makes it possible to solve the problems posed by known solutions and, depending on the surface area of ​​the trays, which can for example be adapted to the packaging of 6, 12, 24 shellfish, to allow the packaging, transport and sale of shellfish in packaging directly usable as a presentation tray in quantities adapted to the wishes of the consumer. Brief description of the drawings

[0017] Other characteristics, details and advantages of the invention will appear on reading the detailed description below, and on analyzing the attached drawings, in which: [ Fig. 1 ] shows a perspective sectional view of a tray according to one embodiment of the invention; [ Fig. 2A ] shows a sectional view of the plateau of the figure 1 ; [ Fig. 2B ] shows a sectional view of another embodiment of the tray of the invention; [ Fig. 3A ] shows a sectional detail of stacking trays of the Figure 2A ; [ Fig. 3B ] shows a sectional detail of stacking trays of the Figure 2B ; [ Fig. 4A ] shows a first example of embodiment of the support means of the invention; [ Fig. 4B ] shows a second example of embodiment of the support means of the invention; [ Fig. 4C ] shows a third example of embodiment of the support means of the invention. Description of the embodiments

[0018] The drawings and the description below contain, for the most part, elements of a certain character. They may therefore not only serve to better understand the present invention, but also contribute to its definition, if necessary.

[0019] According to the invention shown in the figure 1, a packaging 1 for bivalve shellfish comprises a tray 2 surrounded by a peripheral wall 3 protruding above an upper face of the tray. Such a tray shown in sectional perspective can be rectangular as in the figure but also round, oval, rectangular or prismatic.

[0020] According to a first aspect, a lower face 21 of the tray is provided with one or more support means 6 on one or more rows of said shells of a lower packaging of the invention.

[0021] THE Figures 3A And 3B show in two embodiment configurations which will be detailed later such a support whose purpose is to keep closed the shells of shellfish 10 of a packaging of the lower description.

[0022] Back to the figure 1, according to another aspect, the peripheral wall of the packaging comprises a fitting profile 71, 72 with an upper and / or lower packaging package of the invention. The peripheral wall 3 comprises an upper fitting profile 71 and a lower fitting profile 72 of opposite direction, one 71 protruding towards the outside of the wall and the other 72 towards the inside of the wall.

[0023] The embedding profiles are produced by adding a reinforcing strip 5 on at least one external face of an internal wall 4 of said peripheral wall 3.

[0024] The reinforcing strip is offset relative to said internal wall to protrude from a first edge of said internal wall and be set back from a second edge of said internal wall so as to allow the packaging to be stacked with an upper packaging and / or a lower packaging.

[0025] According to the Figure 2A, the reinforcing strip 5a is offset upwards, the peripheral wall then comprising an upper housing 32 for receiving a tray 2b of an upper packaging as shown in Figure 3A representing the embedding of the upper plate 2b in the housing formed by the upper part of the strapping 5a and the support of the tab 6b on the shell 10a positioned on the lower plate 2a.

[0026] This embodiment provides good support for the packages when stacked and does not require very fine calibration of the shells, the height of the wall being such that it protrudes above the shells.

[0027] According to the Figure 2B , the reinforcing strip 5b is offset downwards, said peripheral wall protruding under said support means 6 to produce a face for laying the flat packaging and a housing for receiving an upper wall 33 of a tray of a lower packaging.

[0028] This embodiment is found in Figure 3B and in this case it is possible to choose the heights of the walls 4 and 5b to be able to position the upper face 22 of the tray is positioned at a depth h relative to an upper edge 33 of the peripheral wall of the packaging such that the depth h is adapted to have the top of the shells of said shellfish of a given size flush with the upper face of the packaging while maintaining a space above this packaging to maintain elastic support of the tabs 6 of the upper packaging on the shellfish of the lower packaging.

[0029] Back to the figure 1, the support means 6a, 6b, 6c are aligned according to a pattern for positioning said shells flat on the tray so as to press on each of the shells of said shells of a lower package. In this example where the tray is rectangular, ribs 8 form rows for arranging the shells and the support means are made in the form of a continuous tab parallel to the ribs. Other patterns can however be chosen for the ribs depending on the shape of the tray.

[0030] Different configurations are possible for the support means and the Figure 4A represents support means 6b produced by cutting / folding a tab 61 made of material suitable for producing spring strips which will be fixed under the plate, the Figure 4b represents a means of support common to several shells made from a folded tab 62 which will also be fixed under the plate for example by gluing and the Figure 4Crepresents support means in the form of bosses 6c formed directly in the bottom of the tray.

[0031] The packaging can be completed with a cover 40 shown in Figure 2B so as to keep closed the shells of the shellfish arranged in the upper packaging of a stack of said packaging, said packaging of the stack being able to then be strapped. The stack of packaging can also be surrounded by a film which, in particular in the configuration of the Figure 2B will press the shells of the top packaging of the stack.

Claims

1. Packaging container (1) for bivalve shellfish (10) stackable once filled, including a tray (2) surrounded by a peripheral wall (3) extending beyond an upper face of the tray, characterised in that a lower face (21) of the tray is provided with one or more support means (6), configured to bear against one or more rows of said shellfish of an identical lower packaging container and keep the shells of said shellfish of said lower packaging container closed, and for which the peripheral wall of said stackable packaging includes an upper encasing profile (71) extending towards the exterior of the peripheral wall (3) and a complementary lower encasing profile (72), formed by the addition of a reinforcing strip (5) on at least one external face of an internal wall (4) of said peripheral wall (3), the upper encasing profile (71) being able to nest with the lower encasing profile (72) of an identical upper packaging container.

2. Packaging container for bivalve shellfish according to claim 1, for which said reinforcing strip is offset relative to said inner wall so as to extend beyond a first edge of said inner wall and be recessed from a second edge of said inner wall so as to allow the stacking of the packaging with an upper package and / or a lower package.

3. Packaging container for bivalve shellfish according to claim 1 or 2, for which the packaging tray is round, oval, rectangular or prismatic.

4. Packaging container for bivalve shellfish according to any one of the preceding claims, for which said one or more support means (6) are in the form of a continuous spring tongue (6a), discontinuous spring tongues (6b) or in the form of ribs, pins or slots (6c).

5. Packaging container for bivalve shellfish according to any one of the preceding claims, for which said support means (6a, 6b, 6c) are aligned according to a positioning pattern of said shellfish flat on the tray so as to bear against each of the shells of said shellfish of a lower packaging.

6. Packaging container for bivalve shellfish according to any one of the preceding claims for which a lower part (31, 31a, 31b) of said peripheral wall extends below said support means (6) to provide a flat laying surface of the packaging and a housing for receiving an upper wall (33) of a tray of a lower packaging.

7. Packaging container for bivalve shellfish according to any one of claims 1 to 5 for which said peripheral wall includes an upper housing (32) for receiving a tray (2b) of an upper packaging.

8. Packaging container for bivalve shellfish according to any one of the preceding claims for which an upper face (22) of the tray (2) includes ribs (8) for positioning said shellfish in rows.

9. Packaging container for bivalve shellfish according to any one of the preceding claims for which the upper face (22) of the tray is positioned relative to an upper edge (33) of the peripheral wall of the packaging at a defined depth (h) which is suitable for the height of the shells of the shellfish of a given size to be flush with the upper face of the packaging.

10. Stack of packaging containers for bivalve shellfish stackable once filled including at least one upper packaging and one lower packaging according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterised in that each of the support means (6) of an upper packaging container bears on one or more rows of shellfish of an identical filled lower packaging container and keeps the shells of said shellfish of said lower packaging container closed, and in that the encasing profiles (71, 72) of the upper packaging containers are configured to fit into the encasing profiles of the filled lower packaging containers and achieve the stacking of said packages.

11. Stack of stackable packaging containers for bivalve shellfish according to claim 10, characterized in that it includes a lid (40) so as to keep the shells of the shellfish arranged in an upper stackable packaging of said stack closed, said packaging of the stack then being able to be encircled.

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