Tray cover made of natural material and tray thereby covered

Abstract

A cover (8) for trays (1), to be used for packaging products of various types, particularly food products, comprises a net layer (9) made of natural fibres or synthetic fibres of a natural origin or in any case biodegradable and / or compostable fibres. At least one card strip (11) is thermally fixed on the same surface of the net layer, in the region of at least one of the sides thereof. The cover can be thermo-welded to the frame (6) of the edge of a tray which is also biodegradable and / or compostable so as to obtain a packaging which does not make use of plastics materials.

Description

[0001] TRAY COVER MADE OF NATURAL MATERIAL AND TRAY THEREBY COVERED Field of the invention

[0002] The present invention relates to the field of packaging products , particularly in trays and similar containers which are closed by a cover .

[0003] The invention has been developed with particular regard, though not exclusively, to the extemporaneous packaging of products in trays which are made of material which is generally recyclable , such as , for example , cardboard, and which are covered by protection films or nets .

[0004] Technological background

[0005] For packaging loose products , particularly food products , it is common to use trays , in which there is arranged a speci fic quantity of product and which are then closed with a film which is fixed to the edges of the tray . This type of packaging is extremely widespread, for example , in supermarkets and hypermarkets , where the trays are used in great quantities to package fresh products at the present time , such as products available in the delicatessen counters , or to display to the public products in packagings which are already ready, but which are produced locally at the point of sale rather than ones which originate from external producers . Typically, the packaging operators use trays which are made of cardboard or plastics material and which are closed by a film of plastics material which is thermo-welded at the edges of the tray by means of known equipment items , called thermosealers .

[0006] It is known that using plastics materials is subj ect to increasingly stringent regulations which are directed towards limiting or prohibiting the use thereof . Purchasers , particularly of food products , are increasingly sensitive and attentive with respect to the use of natural materials , so much so as to prefer in increasingly great numbers packagings which do not make use of plastics materials . From this perspective , the increasingly urgent requirement by the market for packagings which do not make use of plastics material is evident .

[0007] At present , however, it is undeniable that the convenience and particularly the facility of use of films of plastics material which are used to close trays of products , particularly food products , particularly at the point of sale , make it di f ficult to find a way to replace these films with alternative products . Among other things , the replacement of the transparent plastics films with any other film is slowed down or prevented by the investments which companies have made in order to have thermal sealing machines . Therefore , the transition towards other types of coverings which are not plastics films requires complete compatibility with the existing machinery .

[0008] Statement of invention

[0009] An obj ect of the invention is to provide a cover for trays which complies with the above-indicated requirements and which solves the problems of the prior art . In particular, an obj ect of the invention is to provide a cover for trays which may be readily able to be used at the points of sale , using as far as possible the thermo-welding machinery of the known type already in existence . Another obj ect of the invention is to provide a cover for trays of materials of various types , starting from the most common trays made of cardboard, in order to achieve trays made of natural materials , such as wood fibre and other similar materials . Another obj ect of the invention is to provide a cover for trays which can be supplied in a roll and which can readily be connected to the trays by means of a simple thermo-welding operation . Another obj ect of the invention is to provide a cover for trays which is completely made from natural material and which is therefore biodegradable or in any case not harmful to the environment .

[0010] Another obj ect of the invention is to provide a cover material which is simple to manufacture and which has a long shel f li fe . Another obj ect of the invention is to provide a cover material which can readily be customi zed, for example , by means of printing with writing or logos on the packaging which are evident to a consumer .

[0011] These obj ects and other obj ects which will become evident from the present description are achieved by means of a cover for trays which is made from natural material having the features indicated in the following claims . The invention further relates to a tray which is covered by such a cover material , as set out in the appended claims , and a roll of a covering for trays and a method for packaging a product in a tray, as indicated in the claims .

[0012] Brief description of the drawings

[0013] Additional features and advantages will be appreciated from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment with reference to the appended drawings which are given by way of non-limiting example and in which :

[0014] Figure 1 is a schematic, perspective view of a first embodiment of a tray which is covered by a protection of the net type , incorporating features of the present invention;

[0015] Figure 2 is a schematic, perspective view, similar to Figure 1 , of a second embodiment of a tray which is covered by a protection of the net type and which is further provided with a handle ; and - Figure 3 is a schematic, perspective view of a roll of web of the protection to be cut to si ze for use in the cover of trays , as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 .

[0016] Detailed description

[0017] In the following embodiments , there are described features which allow the invention to be carried out . The features described can be combined with each other in various manners and are not necessarily limited to the precise embodiment to which the drawings and the relevant description refer . In other words , a person skilled in the art in the sector who reads the following description will know how to obtain the information items which are useful for knowing the way to carry out one or more of the features described by combining it with one or more of the other features described without the particular formulation of the description, the paragraphs , phrases or drawings constituting a limitation on the possibility of isolating one or more of the features described and illustrated in order to combine them with one or more of any of the other features described and illustrated . In greater detail , in the present description any combination of any two features expressly described must be understood to be expressly described even i f the features are individually taken from the speci fic context in which they can be beside or combined with other di f ferent features , taking into account the competences and knowledge of a person skilled in the art in the sector who understands the possibility of functionally combining the features without it being necessary to functionally apply other, di f ferent features . Unless otherwise speci fied, each and any element , member, means , system, component , obj ect described and illustrated in the present description must be understood to be individually described and autonomously modi fiable and able to be separated from and / or combined with each and any other element , member, means , system, component , obj ect described and illustrated . The materials , forms and functions described and illustrated do not limit the present invention but are only speci fied in order to enable a person skilled in the art to understand and carry out the invention according to preferred but non-limiting embodiments .

[0018] Now with reference to Figure 1 , there is schematically illustrated a first exemplary embodiment of a tray 1 which is covered by a protection 2 of the net type which incorporates features of the present invention . The tray 1 has a common rectangular formation with rounded corners but may naturally be of any other form known in the field . The tray 1 has a base 3 and four sides 4 which define an opening 5 opposite the base 3 . There develops all around the perimeter of the opening 5 a frame 6 which, in the particular but non-limiting exemplary embodiment of the Figure , proj ects outwards . In any case , the invention also applies to trays without proj ecting edges .

[0019] The tray is typically made of cardboard even i f using other natural or synthetic fibres of a natural origin is not excluded, as well as other biodegradable and / or compostable materials . Examples of materials for manufacturing the tray 1 in addition to the cardboard cited may be sugar cane , cellulose , bioplastics , wood fibre and other materials of the type .

[0020] In order to close the tray 1 , there is used a cover 8 which comprises a net layer 9 with mesh which extends over the whole of the opening 5 and overlaps the frame 6 at all the sides of the tray 1 . Two opposite lateral strips 11 overlap the net layer 9 and are thermo-welded both to the covering layer and to the portion of frame 6 below . The strips 11 are beside each other and are fixed to the tray 1 in the spaces which are defined by the net mesh 10 . The mesh 10 of the net layer 9 are preferably formed by interlacing and / or knotting threads of natural material or material of a natural origin, such as , for example , cotton, linen, viscose , modal , lyocell , etc . The mesh 10 can have various dimensions and forms , for example , rectangular, square , trapezoidal , and have other forms which are generally known in the sector . Preferably, the net layer 9 , similarly to the strips 11 , are impregnated with a thermo-welding substance / paint . In some variants , only the strips 11 are impregnated with a thermo-welding substance / paint . In yet other variants , only the strips 11 and a peripheral zone of the net layer 9 are impregnated with a thermo-welding substance / paint .

[0021] The exemplary embodiment of Figure 2 re-introduces the features from the above-described embodiment with reference to Figure 1 , with the addition of a handle 13 which is also thermo-welded to the net layer 9 and, through the net mesh, to the frame 6 , preferably at two portions of the opposite sides of the tray 1 which are di f ferent from the sides at which the strips 11 are thermo-welded .

[0022] The strips 11 are preferably made of card and are welded beforehand at the production plant to the net layer 9 so as to provide the cover 8 ready for use at the point of sale . The user in fact simply has to use the trays 1 for packaging the desired products and subsequently to cover the tray 1 with a cover 8 , holding the strips 11 at the opposite side of the net with the respect to the frame 6 of the tray 1 . In order to thermo-weld the cover 8 to the frame of the tray 1 , it is possible to use the common thermo-sealing machines in use at various points of sale for products , particularly food products . Preferably, the card strips 11 which can be thermo- welded have a length which is virtually identical to the length of the edges of the tray 1 , to which they are thermowelded, and a width of at least 5 mm, preferably of at least 1 cm, even more preferably of at least 2 cm and much more preferably of 3 cm or even more . Advantageously, there can be printed on the strips 11 writing, logos and symbols , for example , the name of the point of sale or the producer of the packaged products .

[0023] Naturally, it is possible to construct the cover 8 also using only one strip 11 which is bonded to a single edge of the tray 1 . The other features described above remain similar . The welding of the cover to the edges of the tray, even with a single strip 11 , is in any case ensured by the fact that the net layer 9 is also impregnated, as mentioned above , with a thermo-welding substance / paint . In an alternative , there are three strips 11 and they are thermo-welded to three sides of the tray 11 . In another alternative , there are four strips 11 and they are thermo-welded to all four of the sides of the tray 11 .

[0024] As a result of the fact that the strip 11 , whether there is one or more than one of them, has a speci fic width, the welding of the cover to the edges of the tray is carried out not only along the side of the tray which is arranged parallel with the strip 11 , but also - at least partially - along the two transverse sides which are involved by the strip 11 in the direction of the width thereof . In this sense , the provision of a strip 11 having a discrete width is particularly advantageous , for example , of 2 or 3 cm, which can j ust be thermo-welded to the two transverse edges of the tray at the edge which runs parallel with the strip 11 . In order to provide the covers 8 for the final users , for example , the points of sale for food products which package products in trays , it is advantageous to provide the covers 8 in the form of covering webs 15 , as schematically illustrated by way of example in Figure 3 . The covering web 15 comprises a net web 16 at the sides of which two webs 17 of card or other similar material are thermally fixed . The covering web 15 can be provided for the final users , for example , in the form of a roll 18 . The final users can cut to si ze strips of web 15 from the roll in order to form the cover 8 in which the webs 17 constitute the strips 11 .

[0025] One advantage of the invention described above is that all the packaging, including the tray and the cover 8 , can be processed as biodegradable and / or compostable waste , contributing to substantially reducing the production, use and disposal of plastics films .

[0026] Naturally, the principle of the invention remaining the same , the forms of embodiment and details of construction may be varied widely with respect to those described and illustrated without thereby departing from the scope of the present invention .

Claims

CLAIMS1 . A cover for trays , comprising a net layer made of natural fibres or synthetic fibres of a natural origin or in any case of biodegradable and / or compostable material , there being fixed on the same surface of the net layer, in the region of at least one of the sides thereof , a respective thermo- weldable card strip which is suitable for being thermowelded, during use , to a corresponding edge of a tray .2 . A cover for trays according to claim 1 , comprising two thermo-weldable card strips which are fixed in the region of two opposite sides of the net layer, the two thermo-weldable card strips being suitable for being thermo-welded, during use , to two opposite corresponding edges of the tray .3 . A cover for trays according to claim 1 or claim 2 , wherein the surface of the net layer to which the at least one thermo-weldable card strip is / are fixed is opposite the surface of the net layer which is intended to come into contact , during use , with the edges of the tray .4 . A cover for trays according to any one of the preceding claims , wherein the at least one thermo-weldable card strip has a length identical to the length of the corresponding edge of the tray to which it is intended to be thermo-welded and a width of at least 5 mm, preferably of at least 1 cm, even more preferably of at least 2 cm, much more preferably of at least 3 cm .5 . A tray for packaged products , comprising a cover according to any one of the preceding claims , wherein the at least one thermo-weldable card strip which is fixed to the net layer is thermo-welded to at least one corresponding edge of the trayin such a manner that the net layer retains the packaged product in the tray .6 . A tray according to claim 5 and claim 2 , wherein the two thermo-weldable card strips are thermo-welded to two opposite corresponding edges of the tray .7 . A tray according to claim 5 or claim 6 , comprising a handle which is constructed with a thermo-weldable card web which is fixed to a surface of a corresponding strip of the net structure , the handle being thermo-welded to the tray and / or the cover thereof .8 . A tray according to any one of claims 5 to 7 , wherein the net layer is interposed between the edges of the tray and the at least one card strip which is thermo-welded to the tray through the mesh of the net layer .9 . A roll of a covering for trays , constructed with a cover according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the net layer is an elongate net web, a respective thermo-weldable elongate card web being fixed to at least one of the two longitudinal sides of the net web .10 . A roll of a covering for trays accord to claim 9 and claim 2 , wherein two respective thermo-weldable elongate card webs are fixed to the two sides of the net layer in the form of an elongate net web .11 . A method for packaging a product in a tray, comprising the steps of :- providing a cover according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the at least one thermo-weldable card strip has alength identical to the length of at least one edge of the tray,- positioning the cover on the tray, and- thermo-welding the at least one card strip to the edge of the tray containing the product .12 . A method according to claim 11 and claim 2 , comprising the steps of : providing a cover, in which the two opposite thermo- weldable card strips have a length identical to the length of two opposite edges of the tray,- positioning the cover on the tray, and- thermo-welding the two card strips to the two opposite corresponding edges of the tray containing the product .13 . A method according to claim 11 or claim 12 , wherein the net layer is interposed between the edges of the tray and the at least one thermo-weldable card strip, the thermo-welding of the at least one card strip to the edge of the tray being carried out through the mesh of the net layer .

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