| 1. | A container (10), which can be used in particular for the facilitated slicing of preformed food products (21) , characterized in that it comprises at least an outer shell, suitably shaped for the insertion of the preformed food product (21) , and at least a buffer device (18) , inserted inside the shell, which acts as a support (20) for the bot¬ tom of the preformed food product (21) to be sliced and which can be progressively moved in relation to the pro¬ gressive reduction of the product (21) due to the slicing. |
| 2. | The container (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that it can be used in particular for the slicing of food products, such as raw ham, in order to obtain a prede fined form and allow a regular slice to be obtained from the beginning to the end of the product (21) . |
| 3. | The container (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that said shaped shell is made up of at least two por¬ tions (11, 12) , having a semielliptical shape and slightly curved at the sides, which are longitudinally connected to each other by means of appropriate hinges (14), in corre¬ spondence with one of the greater sides. |
| 4. | The container (10) according to claim 3, characterized in that said shaped portions (11, 12) have, in correspon dence with the side opposite to that where said hinges (14) are assembled, clip closing devices (15) which allow the container (10) to be closed during the slicing operation and to be opened by the introduction and/or removal of said preformed food product (21) to be sliced. |
| 5. | The container (10) according to claim 3, characterized in that at least one (12) of said shaped portions (11, 12) envisages at least one protection bottom (16) , suitable for being coupled with said shaped portions (11, 12) during the closing phase of the container (10) . |
| 6. | The container (10) according to claim 3, characterized in that at least one (12) of said shaped portions (11, 12) of the outer shell has a series of passthrough holes (17) for the insertion of a buffer device (18) , which can also be used as a support of the preformed food product (21) and as a cursor for the progressive moving of said preformed food product (21) in relation to its progressive reduction due to the slicing. |
| 7. | The container (10) according to claim 3, characterized in that at least one (12) of said shaped portions (11, 12) of the outer shell has a series of areas or shaped portions in relief for the insertion of a buffer device (18) , which can also be used as a support for the preformed food prod¬ uct (21) and as a cursor for the progressive moving of said preformed food product (21) in relation to its progressive reduction due to the slicing. |
| 8. | The Container (10) according to claim 6, characterized in that said passthrough holes (17) are arranged in paral¬ lel rows and form a guide for the insertion of respective pegs (19) present in the lower portion of said buffer de vice (18) . |
| 9. | The container (10) according to claim 6, characterized in that said buffer device (18) comprises at least one cy¬ lindrical element (22) , surmounted by a substantially el¬ liptical portion (20) and shaped so as to be able to be contained inside said shaped portions (11, 12) of the outer shell. |
| 10. | A container (10) which can be used for the facilitated slicing of preformed food products (21) , as described and illustrated in the enclosed drawings and for the purposes specified. |
The present invention relates to a container and sup¬ port for food products, which can also be used for the fa- cilitated slicing thereof.
More specifically, the invention relates to a con¬ tainer for food products to be sliced (such as, in this case, raw ham) , preliminarily processed on an industrial scale, by shaping them into predefined forms (substantially rectangular) , to allow the regularity of the slice from the beginning to the end.
It should firstly be noted that, even if in the fol¬ lowing description reference is made, for the sake of sim¬ plicity and type of application, to the specific case of the slicing of raw ham, the protection scope is extended to the use of the container, according to the invention, for the slicing of any other type of food product suitable for being sliced, such as salami, cooked ham, "mortadella" (Bo¬ logna sausage) , etc. In this specific case, seasoned raw ham is a product
which, historically, once it had completed its aging cycle of about 10-14 months, was sold with the bone; the user (the delicatessen seller) then removed the bone and pro¬ ceeded with the subsequent slicing of the product upon the request of the customer.
In the last 15-20 years, seasoned raw ham is boned in¬ dustrially and sold with the rind, without the bone, and formed into a pear-shape to give it its natural ham shape. The changes that have taken place over the last few years, however, such as the custom of using practical and ready fast food, dining out, having components of the fam¬ ily occupied with work, the increase in unmarried people and the conquest of important market shares on the part of supermarkets, hypermarkets and shopping centres in general, all these factors have led to a significant evolution in the presentation of sliced products, in general, and, in particular, raw ham, to the customer.
The first effect was an increase in the sale of pre- sliced food products in self-service areas of various sales points, with sales proposals having various gram-weights and types of packaging capable of satisfying the various demands of the customer.
This activity has been undertaken by industries spe¬ cialized in slicing which have organized themselves using avant-garde machinery and technologies.
Various companies expert in boning processes have also become specialized in the production of particular formats of whole food products, such as, for example, the block- shaped format of seasoned raw ham, boneless, rindless and shaped into a rectangular parallelepiped form ("block of raw ham") to allow the regularity of the slice from the be¬ ginning to the end of the product .
Said product, industrially processed at temperatures of about -10 0 C, is capable of responding without problems to demands relating to industrial slicing.
The conquest of market shares on the part of pre- sliced products (currently about 20% of the total) , has still left ample space for the purchase of sliced products
(salami) and cheeses at the cooled fresh food counters and delicatessens of supermarkets and hypermarkets.
Even if the request for "fresh" products (salami and cheeses) is still high, this market section is currently influenced by the progressive reduction in professionally prepared staff (contrary to the delicatessen sellers and butchers of the past) and by an increase in the waiting times at the counter for the end-consumer.
Even if washed and preformed products ("blocks") are currently capable of responding to new expectations with respect to industrial slicing operations, this is not the case (or it is so with strong limitations) for sales opera-
tions, as, as already mentioned, shopkeepers are not organ¬ ized for treating products at low temperatures (-10 0 C) and this situation causes the loss of compactness of preformed products ("blocks") , which, as they are sliced manually, are heated both by the environment and by physical contact with the operator's hands.
In addition to this, as already specified, there is the poor professionalness of sellers of preformed products, who can have great difficulty during slicing operations, specifically as a result of the reduction in the compact¬ ness of the structure.
An objective of the present invention therefore re¬ lates to a container which can be used for the facilitated slicing of food products which overcomes the drawbacks men- tioned above, i.e. to produce a container and support for food products to be sliced, which allows the operator to use preformed food products (such as salami in general, and, in particular, raw ham) on an industrial scale accord¬ ing to a predefined structure (the case of the "block" shape is typical) , guaranteeing compactness and uniformity of the product from the beginning to the end.
A further objective of the present invention is to provide a container which can be used for the facilitated slicing of food products, which allows the preformed food product to be preserved at the classical temperatures of a
cooled counter (+3/+5°C) , without having to subject it to temperatures (-10 0 C) which can only be reached on an indus¬ trial scale, such as those necessary for the curing of the preformed product . Another objective is to provide a container which can be used for the facilitated slicing of food products, in an extremely easy manner and at relatively limited costs, in virtue of the advantages obtained.
These and other advantages, according to the present invention, are achieved by providing a container and sup¬ port which can be used for the facilitated slicing of food products, according to claim 1, to which reference should be made for the sake of brevity.
Other characteristics and advantages of the container according to the present invention will appear more evident from the following description of an illustrative and non- limiting embodiment, referring to the enclosed schematic drawings, in which:
- figure 1 shows a perspective view of the container which can be used for the slicing of food products, in particular salami, according to the invention, in a closed position;
- figure 2 shows a perspective view of the container which can be used for the slicing of food products, in particular salami, according to the invention, in an open position; - figure 3 is a perspective view of a buffer device, which
can also be used as cursor, for moving the preformed food product inside the container, object of the present inven¬ tion;
- figure 4 is a plan view from below of the buffer device according to figure 3;
- figure 5 is an exploded view which illustrates the inser¬ tion procedure of the buffer device inside the container, according to the invention;
- figure 6 is a perspective view of the container, in an open position, complete with the buffer device positioned inside, according to the present invention;
- figure 7 is a perspective view of the container, in a closed position, containing a preformed food product to be sliced, according to the invention. With reference to the above figures, 10 generically indicates the container, made of an atoxic material (for food) and sized and shaped so as to have a form suitable for the insertion of the preformed food product to be sliced. It should be pointed out, at this point, as already mentioned, that the container 10 can be used for the fa¬ cilitated slicing of preformed food products in general and, in particular, salami, preferably "block"-shaped raw ham, i.e. seasoned raw ham, boneless, rindless and shaped into a rectangular parallelepiped form, so as to allow the
regularity of the cutting of the slice from the beginning to the end of the product.
As clearly shown in figures 1 and 2, the container 10, in a preferred illustrative embodiment, consists of a shaped shell, made up of an upper portion 11 and a lower portion 12.
The portions 11 and 12 are semi-elliptically shaped, slightly curved at the sides and can have a series of rein¬ forcing bands or strips 13, in relief, on the outside. The portions 11 and 12 are also longitudinally con¬ nected to each other by . means of suitable hinges 14, in correspondence with one of the greater sides, whereas, in correspondence with the opposite side, clip-closing devices 15 are assembled, which allow the container 10 to be closed during the slicing operation and opened for the introduc¬ tion and/or removal of the preformed product to be sliced.
The lower portion 12 of the shell is also equipped with a protection bottom 16, again made of an atoxic mate¬ rial, for food products, and with a substantially ellipti- cal shape, so as to be perfectly coupled with the end por¬ tion of the upper shell 11.
On the surface of the lower shell 12 there is also a series of pass-through holes 17, arranged in two parallel rows, suitable for forming a sort of guide for the inser- tion of a buffer device 18 (figure 3) , comprising a cylin-
drical element 22 surmounted by a substantially elliptical portion 20, shaped so as to be able to contained inside the shell portions 11, 12.
As better illustrated in figure 4, the buffer device 18 has, in its elliptical portion 20 and below this, two pegs 19, suitable for being inserted in the guide holes 17 of the shell 12.
The particular procedure for inserting the buffer de¬ vice 18 into the shell portion 12 of the container 10 is illustrated in detail in figure 5, which shows the pegs 19 of the portion 20, suitable for being inserted into the holes 17.
In this way, the buffer device 18 actually forms an inner cursor which acts as a support for the bottom of the preformed food product, generically indicated with 21 in figure 7, during the slicing operation of the latter.
The buffer 18 can in fact be moved along the bottom of the shell 12 (by lifting the pegs 19 from a pair of pass- through holes 17 and inserting them in corresponding pairs of holes 17) , with the progressive reduction of the pre¬ formed food product 21 (for example, of the "block" of raw ham) following slicing.
In this respect, figure 6 shows one of the possible positions of the buffer 18 inside the container 10, whereas figure 7 illustrates the slicing procedure of the preformed
food product 21, which must protrude slightly from the el¬ liptical front opening of the container 10 for effecting the slicing operation, once the container 10 has been closed. In alternative embodiments, the pass-through holes 17 can be substituted with portions or areas in relief of the bottom of the shell 12, suitable for maintaining the buffer device 18 in position, which, in this case, does not have pegs 19 in correspondence with the elliptical portion 20. The procedures for the use of the container 10, object of the present invention, are therefore essentially as fol¬ lows.
Once the shell portion 11 has been lifted from the bottom portion 12, the buffer device 18 is placed in the desired position by the insertion of the pegs 19 into a predetermined pair of holes 17 i.e. between prefixed re¬ lieves of the bottom of the shell 12, so that the bottom of the preformed product 21 rests against the surface 20 of the buffer 18 and the part to be sliced protrudes forwards, beyond the front edge of the seat 25 of the container 10.
In this way, after folding the upper portion 11 over the lower portion 12 and blocking the container 10 in a closed position by acting on the closing devices 15, it is possible to slice the preformed product 21 from the part of the seat 25, where it is protruding. With the progressive
reduction in the preformed product 21, as a result of the slicing, it is sufficient to move the buffer device 18 to¬ wards the outer edge of the seat 25, after opening the con¬ tainer 10. When pegs 19 are used, this operation is effected by- lifting the pegs 19 from the holes 17 previously occupied and inserting them in a further pair of holes 17, whereas when shaped relieves are envisaged in the bottom of the shell 12, it is sufficient to move the buffer device 18 in- side the runs defined by the shaped portions in relief.
The insertion of the preformed food product 21 (which can consist, in particular, of a "block" of raw ham) inside the container 10 therefore eliminates the direct contact of the operator with the product to be sliced, thus avoiding an increase in temperature of the product itself and a con¬ sequent loss of compactness of the structure.
Furthermore, the form of the container 10, the same as that of the preformed product 21, allows the compactness of the product to be further maintained, which is necessary for a positive result for the use of this type of preformed food product.
The characteristics of the container which can be used for the facilitated slicing of food products, in particular salami, object of the present invention, are evident from the above description, as are also the advantages.
Finally, numerous variants can obviously be applied to the container in question, all included in the novelty principles inherent in the inventive idea. It is also evi¬ dent that in the practical embodiment of the invention, the materials, forms and dimensions of the details illustrated can vary according to the demands and can be substituted with other equivalent technical alternatives .