The subject of this invention is a disposable foldable packaging, made of a flat sheet. In particular, the packaging is intended for storage of small quantities of disposable products. The foldable packaging may be used to store food products, cosmetics, household chemicals or other products, in liquid as well as in solid form, e.g. loose or made of small particles.

There are many various types of packaging in form of containers intended for products storage e.g. foodstuff dedicated for individual households. Such containers enable easy access to commodities in shops, where they can be found in the form that is convenient for purchasers, without the necessity of additional actions, such as weighing.

Such packaging is made, for instance, of multilayer material that may contain paper cardboard, aluminium foil and plastic foil, which form together a sheet of composite material. It can be also a single-layer material, such as cardboard or plastic foil. Within the space of many years, as this type of packaging has been used, the material composition has been altered several times, but the rule of its multilayeredness has remained unchanged. The outer layers of material are made of plastic foil. Such a sheet is bent along the bending lines and next is welded, which forms the finished package.

Certain information on cardboard packaging in the form of a foldable container can be found in the Patent Document US 3366308. The container is made of one sheet of multilayer paper- based material. The finished container has two opposite main walls joined to side walls in such a way that they form the main body of the section that is, in principle, rectangular, and the main walls and side walls run vertically in the container in its basic position. The container has the base perpendicular to the main walls, and, on the side of the main body that is opposite the base, it has the triangular roof.

The main body of the container is made through gluing the sheet of material on its folds, which are to be found on the outer edges of the sheet, after its bending according to the intended bending lines.

In order to achieve that, the sheet of multilayer material is marked with the appropriate sheet bending lines. In this solution of the state of the art there are four vertical bending lines running vertically along the main walls, two main horizontal bending lines running across the main walls and side walls in such a way that they run at the point where the roof of the container begins, and at the point where the base of the container begins. Between the two main horizontal bending lines the sheet of multilayer material is marked with the horizontal base bending line. The sheet, from which the container is formed, is also marked with the horizontal roof bending line, which closes the container from the top, and with the two vertical side-wall bending lines running along the side walls in their axis of symmetry. The vertical side- wall bending lines run along the side walls in their axis of symmetry from the horizontal base bending line to the horizontal roof bending line.

On the diagonal of the rectangles formed by the main vertical bending lines, the main horizontal bending line from the roof of the packaging and the vertical side-wall bending line, there are diagonal roof bending lines, which are inward bending lines of the foldable packaging so that they meet at the top of the roof of the packaging.

The packaging, according to this Patent Document, has diagonal base bending lines running along the diagonal of the rectangles formed by the main vertical bending lines, the main horizontal bending line from the base of the packaging and the axis made by the main vertical side-wall bending line, so that they meet at the main vertical bending line of the packaging from the base, at the mid-point of the base of the packaging and on the main horizontal bending line from the base.

The solution described above, according to U.S. Patent No. 3366308, is opened through rending a piece of the roof so that it makes an opening that allows to empty the container.

As the container has been emptied completely, it is possible to be fold up through its side walls being bent towards the middle of the container, and its base being unfolded only onto one of the side walls along the base bending lines. Until the container has been folded by using force, its section remains unchanged.

As soon as the container has been opened, it becomes unsealed and the air flows inside, which may affect the quality on the contents of the packaging.

Another container, shown in U.S. Patent Application 2010133329 A1 , has a similar design to the container described in U.S. Patent No. 3366308. It is also equipped with the outlet pipe mounted on one of the main walls of the roof and has additional slits in the upper parts of side walls and in the side walls of the roof, to facilitate movement of the side walls of the container when being folded by the user. The container is marked in areas where force need to be applied in order to effectively fold a container after it has been emptied. Emptying the container does not cause it to be folded and does not change its shape. The container can be folded after having been drained and it requires the user to perform additional actions and to dedicate a certain amount of time in order to perform them.

A cardboard packaging in the form of a foldable container is known from the description of WO 2005102848. The container is made of one sheet of multilayer paper-based material. The finished container may have two opposite main walls joined to side walls in such a way that it forms the main body of the section that is, in principle, rectangular, and the main walls and side walls run vertically in the container in its basic position. The container has the base perpendicular to the main walls, and, on the side of the main body that is opposite the base, it has the roof which is triangular in the axial section. The sheet, from which the container is made, according to this application, is marked with the bending lines that are similar to those indicated in the description of the U.S. Pat. No. 3366308; however, the system of bending lines being marked onto the sheet allows the side walls of the packaging to be bent only outwards and that comes after the container has been completely emptied. Folding the emptied container is aimed at reducing its volume for the purposes of storage or transporting the waste that is intended to be recycled.

A packaging made from a sheet of cardboard, and intended for middle- and high-volumed solid articles is known from U.S. Pat. No 4094458. The packaging has two pairs of opposite walls and one of the pairs is marked with bending lines that run along the vertical axis of the packaging and allow folding up the container through bending down the walls towards the inside of the container. The packaging has the closing top and the closing bottom, which are flat. When the container is unfolded, it has a shape of a cuboid. In order to store the container, its side walls are folded inwards after its top and bottom have been opened.

A packaging for liquid articles is known from the Patent Document PL 198329. The packaging contains a foldable sachet with at least two flexible parts that are mutually connected on the edges of the inward area, which remains non-connected, and that are separated from each other in the part of the rim in the edge area, which makes an opening leading to the inward area limited by flexible parts in their inward area. The packaging is equipped with the dosing device, which has the empty base tightly attached to the flexible parts along the opening; it has the lip sticking out from the base and finished with the tip with the exhaust outlet, and it also has the outlet duct stretching from the inward area of the packaging, through the base and the lip, to the exhaust outlet. The empty base has two opposite walls that include part of the outlet duct having been formed by them; the walls end at the proper edge ends, at which they meet and where each wall outlines the outward surface part tightly attached to one of the flexible parts along the sachet opening. Across the outlet duct, the packaging has the resilient valve that is fastened tightly and has the self-sealing gap, which opens in response to the pressure increased in comparison with the outer pressure, and can be found on the side of the valve that faces inwards so that it allows the flow.

A packaging for liquid articles, which, in section, has oval shape similar to the shape of a bottle with discharge neck and has the check valve in the discharge neck, is known from the Patent Document US 6578740. The packaging keeps the position upright and secures the inside of the packaging against the air flow. As the packaging is made of plastic, it also, to some degree, secures the contents against damages in case of a fall.

The Patent Document P.405225, which makes the closest state of the art for the present application, delineates the rectangular-based foldable packaging made from one sheet of material that is bent and joint at several points through folds placed on at least three edges of the sheet of material. The foldable packaging has two main walls and two side walls joined to the main walls in such a way that they form the main body of the foldable packaging that is, in principle, rectangular in section and matches the shape of the base. The main walls and the side walls are joined to the bottom that constitutes the base, as well as with the upper part that constitutes the roof, which is triangular in axial section through the side walls. The sheet of material is a flat template, with its height running along the main walls and its width running across the main walls, and has the following:

- four main vertical bending lines, which run vertically along the main walls and the side walls of the foldable packaging;

- two main horizontal bending lines, which run across the main walls and the side walls in such a way that the first main horizontal bending line runs through the point where the roof of the foldable packaging begins and the second main horizontal bending line runs through the point where the base of the foldable packaging begins;

- the horizontal base bending line passing between the main horizontal bending lines from the longitudinal axis of the first side wall to the longitudinal axis of the second side wall;

- the horizontal roof bending line closing the roof from the top of the foldable packaging;

- two vertical side-wall bending lines running vertically along the axis of symmetry of the side walls from the horizontal base bending line to the horizontal roof bending line;

- diagonal roof bending lines, which are the foldable bending lines of the packaging inward and run along the diagonal of the rectangles formed by the main vertical bending lines, the main horizontal bending line from the roof of the foldable packaging, the horizontal roof bending line and the vertical side-wall bending lines in such a way that they meet at the top of the roof of the foldable packaging;

- diagonal base bending lines running along the diagonal of the rectangles formed by the main vertical bending lines, the main horizontal bending line from the base of the foldable packaging, the straight line, on which the horizontal base bending line is situated, the line going through the centre of the bottom and the axis made by the vertical side-wall bending lines, in such a way that they meet at the intersection of the main vertical bending lines of the foldable packaging and the main horizontal bending line from the base, and on the axes made by the vertical side-wall bending lines.

The foldable packaging is characterized by the fact that the vertical side-wall bending lines run throughout the whole height of the sheet of the foldable packaging, and the horizontal base bending line run throughout the whole width of the sheet of the foldable packaging, and the sheet of material has the bottom bending line, which is the inward bending line of the foldable packaging, made at the junction of the fold from the base of the foldable packaging and the extensions of the main walls and the side walls.

The types of packaging already known either do not solve the problem of food wastage or do not provide good conditions for recycling of used packaging. They are intended mostly for storing larger quantities of product. In case a small portion is needed for a single use, the container after the opening is unsealed, and even if it has a closure, such as a capped valve, the rest of the product left in the container will deteriorate if it is not used up in a short time.

Those problems have been solved by the present foldable packaging, according to the invention.

The foldable packaging, according to the invention, is made from a sheet of material bent and joint at least by the lower fold, the side fold and the upper fold, which are placed on at least three edges of the sheet. The foldable packaging has two main walls and two side walls - and both the main walls and the side walls are joined to the bottom, and the sheet of material is a flat template, with its height running along the main walls and its width running across the main walls, and has the following:

- four main vertical bending lines, which run vertically along the main walls and the side walls of the foldable packaging;

- the main horizontal bending line, which runs perpendicularly to the main vertical bending lines at the place where the bottom of the foldable packaging begins; - two vertical side-wall bending lines, which run vertically along the axis of symmetry of the side walls and which extend below the main horizontal bending line, into the transversal bottom bending line;

- the horizontal lower-fold bending line, which lies below the main horizontal bending line;

- the horizontal upper-fold bending line, which lies at the junction of the upper fold with the upper edges of the main walls and the upper edges of the side walls;

- diagonal bottom bending lines, which lie on the flat template below the side walls, between the main horizontal bending line and the horizontal lower-fold bending line, and which begin at the edge-ends of the lower side walls, and converge at a right angle on the transversal bottom bending line.

The distinctive features of the foldable packaging are as follows:

- the main walls converge at the top the foldable packaging and, on the upper fold, meet the upper edges of the side walls, which are curved on the vertical side-wall bending lines;

- the side walls have diagonal side-wall bending lines, which make - on the flat template - isosceles right triangles with the base lying on the main horizontal bending line and the apices lying on the vertical side-wall bending lines;

- the side-wall bending lines in their upper part are inward bending lines of the foldable packaging, and - in the section between the diagonal side-wall bending lines and the main horizontal bending line - are outward bending lines of the foldable packaging 1.

It is favourable when the width of the side walls is smaller than the width of the main walls.

It is favourable when the upper fold of the foldable packaging is permanently bound to form a bond.

It is also favourable if the surface of the bond has the shape of an inverted U.

It is also favourable when there is weakened line on the fused fold of the foldable packaging.

It is also favourable if the foldable packaging has slits on the side edges of the fused fold.

It is also favourable when the foldable packaging is provided with the outlet spigot.

It is also favourable when the outlet spigot is embedded between layers of the upper fold being tucked and when it is bound to the bond of the upper fold.

It is also favourable when the outlet spigot is mounted on one of the main walls. It is also favourable when the outlet spigot is supplied with the cap.

The subject of the invention has been illustrated in the execution examples, where

Fig. 1 shows the template of the sheet of material of which the foldable packaging is made;

Fig. 2 shows the foldable packaging in standing position in the perspective view from the side;

Fig. 3 shows the foldable packaging in tilted position in the perspective view from the bottom;

Fig. 4 shows the upper part of the foldable packaging when the bond of the upper fold has the surface in the shape of an inverted U;

Fig. 5 shows the upper part of the foldable packaging after cutting off the upper section of the fused upper fold;

Fig. 6 shows open foldable packaging during emptying;

Fig. 7 shows the foldable packaging completely emptied of content;

Fig. 8 shows the foldable packaging equipped with the outlet spigot embedded between the layers of the upper fold;

Fig. 9 shows the foldable packaging equipped with the outlet spigot embedded in the main wall;

Fig. 10 shows the upper part of the foldable packaging when the bond of the upper fold covers only its upper, and Fig.11 shows the foldable packaging of Fig. 10, open after cutting off the bond.

The foldable packaging 1 is designed to hold, in particular, small quantities needed for a single use, food products (cream, ketchup, mayonnaise, chocolate mass, sugar, coffee), cosmetics (shampoo, conditioner, bath lotion, cream), household chemicals (washing liquid, laundry detergent, stain remover) and others (glue, paint). It can be used for storage of products in liquid and solid state, for example in powder form or in the form of fine elements.

As shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 the foldable packaging 1 has two main walls 21 , 22 and two side walls 31 , 32, wherein the main walls 21 , 22 and side walls 31 , 32 are connected at the nether part with the bottom 7 and at the top are connected to each other.

The foldable packaging 1 is formed of a single sheet being the flat template 11 shown in Fig.1 , on which the bending lines have been marked. In Fig.1 the bending lines inward the foldable packaging 1 are indicated with the dashed line and the bending lines outward the foldable packaging 1 are indicated with the double line. The term 'inwards' the foldable packaging means in this case such bending that in the finished foldable packaging 1 on the bending line results in convex surface relative to the inside of the packaging 1 from the product placed therein. The term Outwards' the foldable packaging 1 means in this case such bending that in the finished foldable packaging 1 on the bending line results in concave surface relative to the inside of the foldable packaging 1 from the product placed therein.

The foldable packaging 1 is formed of one sheet of material which, in this embodiment, is a composite material containing a layer of cardboard and aluminium foil inside, and layers made of plastic outside. It is understood that the foldable packaging 1 , according to the invention, can be made of any material, both single-layer and multi-layer, and the used material may be e.g. only cardboard or cardboard combined with plastic foil. And the choice of material for the flat template 11 , of which the foldable packaging 1 is made, is irrelevant from the point of view of the present invention. It is important, however, that the material of which the flat template 11 used for the foldable packaging 1 is made, shall be able to bend along the intended bending lines, both inward the foldable packaging 1 and outward the foldable packaging 1.

The foldable packaging 1 is formed from the flat template 11 during a process of bending the flat template 11 and its joint, but the process is not the subject of the invention.

As show in Fig. 1 , in this embodiment, the flat template 11 has the height running along the main walls 21 , 22 and the width running across the main walls 21 , 22, and has the lower fold 61 on the lower edge, the side fold 62 on the side edge and the upper fold 63 on the upper edge. The flat template 11 has also:

- four main vertical bending lines 41 , 42, 43, 44, which run vertically along the main walls 21 , 22 and the side walls 31 , 32 of the foldable packaging 1 ;

- the main horizontal bending line 72, which runs perpendicularly to the main vertical bending lines 41 , 42, 43, 44 at the place where the bottom 7 of the foldable packaging 1 begins;

- two vertical side-wall bending lines 51 , 52, which run vertically along the axis of symmetry of the side walls 31 , 32 and which extend below the main horizontal bending line 72, into the transversal bottom bending line 110, 111 ;

- the horizontal lower-fold bending line 71 , which lies below the main horizontal bending line 72; - the horizontal upper-fold bending line 73, which lies at the junction of the upper fold 63 with the upper edges of the main walls 21 , 22 and the upper edges of the side walls 31 ,32;

- diagonal bottom bending lines 91 , 92, 93, 94, which lie on the flat template 11 below the side walls 31, 32, between the main horizontal bending line 72 and the horizontal lower- fold bending line 71 , and which begin at the edge-ends of the lower side walls 31 , 32, and converge at a right angle on the transversal bottom bending line 110, 111.

As shown in Fig. 2, Fig. 3, Fig. 4, fig. 5, Fig. 6, Fig. 7, Fig. 8, Fig. 9 and Fig. 10, the main walls 21 , 22 converge at the top the foldable packaging 1 and, on the upper fold 63, meet the upper edges of the side walls 31 , 32, which are curved on the vertical side-wall bending lines 51 , 52;

As shown in Fig. 1 , the side walls 31 , 32 have diagonal side-wall bending lines 81 , 82, 83, 84, which make - on the flat template 11 - isosceles right triangles with the base lying on the level of the main horizontal bending line 72 and the apices lying on the vertical side-wall bending lines 51 , 52;

As shown in Fig. 1 , Fig. 2, Fig. 3, Fig. 9 and Fig. 11 the side-wall bending lines 51 , 52 in their upper part are inward bending lines of the foldable packaging 1 , and their lower sections 101 , 102 between the diagonal side-wall bending lines 81 , 82, 83, 84 and the main horizontal bending line 72 are outward bending lines of the foldable packaging 1.

The upper fold 63 in the foldable packaging 1 is permanently fused to form the bond S. When the foldable packaging 1 is made of a material comprising plastic on the outer surfaces, the bond S is formed by welding the layers of the upper fold 63. When using a different material to make the foldable packaging 1 , the bond S is formed by laminating the layers of the upper fold 63. The surface of the bond S in the embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 4 has a shape of an inverted letter U. On the fused fold 63 can be found a weakened line P. It can be either an incomplete perforation or a local decrease in thickness of the sheet of the upper fold 63, or linear creasing made by the press. The weakened line P is located below the central part of the bond S and indicates the line along which one should split the fold 63, cutting off the upper section Z of the fused fold 63 in order to form the foldable packaging 1. The weakened line P facilitates opening of the foldable packaging 1 without using tools. Instead of the weakened line P on the upper fold 63, the final foldable packaging 1 can be marked with the line along which the upper section Z of the fused fold 63 should be cut off in order to form the foldable packaging 1 on the ends of the weakened line P, on the side edges of the fused fold 63 - in the example of the embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 4, there are slits W which facilitate cutting or tearing off the upper section Z of the fused fold 63. For instance, Fig. 4 shows slits W in a semicircular shape but other shapes of the slits W, e.g. triangular or semi-elliptical, are also possible.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 4, Fig. 5, Fig. 6 and Fig. 7, the width of the side walls 31 , 32 is smaller than the width of the main walls 21 , 22 and cutting off the upper section Z of the fused fold 63 in the foldable packaging 1 forms the opening M, which is used to expel the contents out of the foldable packaging 1. The width of the opening M depends on the difference in the widths of the side walls 31 , 32 and the main walls 21 , 22. The width of the opening M may have practical significance to the user, for instance, when there is a need for expelling the product out of foldable packaging 1 in the form of a band of uniform width, e.g. chocolate slurry to decorate cake, or mayonnaise or ketchup to prepare exquisite sandwiches.

In the case where the width of the side walls 31 , 32 and the main walls 21 , 22 are identical, the opening M disappears, as shown in Fig. 10 and Fig. 11. In the embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 10 and Fig. 11 , the bond S of the foldable packaging 1 is located only in the upper section Z of the fused fold 63 and has a rectangular shape. Cutting off the upper section Z of the fused fold 63 along the weakened line P placed below the bond S, causes the foldable packaging 1 to open at the entire width of the intersection of the foldable packaging 1 , as shown in Fig. 11. The foldable packaging 1 , in this embodiment, can be used to store small food products: peanuts, dragees, candies, chocolates and the like.

The foldable packaging 1 can be equipped with the outlet spigot K. This is particularly important when the foldable packaging 1 is intended for the storage of larger quantities in excess of the amount needed for their single use. As shown in the embodiment in Fig. 8, the outlet spigot K can be embedded between the layers of the upper fold 63. It is fused to the bond S of the upper fold 63. In another embodiment, shown in Fig. 9, the outlet spigot K is mounted on the main wall 22. It is obvious that the outlet spigot K can be embedded anywhere in the foldable packaging 1 , for example on one of the side walls 31 or 32. The outlet pipe K is provided with the cap N, which is used to reclose the foldable packaging 1 after it has been opened or partially emptied.

Fig. 6 shows the change in the shape of the foldable packaging 1 during its emptying. The user wanting to empty the foldable packaging 1 after it has been opened, that is, after cutting or tearing off the upper section Z of the fused fold 63, squeezes the foldable packaging 1 in a natural way by pressing the main walls 21 and 22.

The system of bending lines in the foldable packaging 1 is configured in such a way that under compression by the user, the main walls 21 and 22 approach each other, the vertical side-wall bending lines 51 and 52 and diagonal side-wall bending lines 81 , 82, 83 and 84 move inward the foldable packaging 1 , which causes folding of the side walls 31 and 32, and the bottom 7 is folded in the middle along the segment of the lower-fold bending line 71 and both halves of the bottom 7 begin to approach each other. The foldable packaging 1 becomes flatter. The segment of the lower-fold bending line 71 in the middle part of the bottom 7, where the bottom 7 folds, is well illustrated in Fig. 3.

Further emptying the foldable package 1 of its content causes it to become completely flat, as shown in Fig. 7, and it remains in this form after having been completely emptied. The upper parts of the side-wall bending lines 51 , 52 become perpendicular to the lower segments 101 , 102 of these lines.

Folding the foldable packaging 1 takes place automatically as a result of its emptying. The completely flat form of the emptied foldable packaging 1 has the smallest possible volume and reaching that state does not require the user to take any additional actions, which is of great ecological significance. It reduces the problems associated with the disposal or transfer of emptied items of the foldable packaging 1 for recycling.

Another important feature of the foldable packaging 1 solution, according to the invention, is using it in order to store single-use amounts of products. This allows the user to always enjoy the fresh product, which is important especially for storage of food products, because immediately after opening the foldable packaging 1 , the entire content of the foldable packaging 1 is consumed.

Additionally, using the foldable packaging 1 for storing food products in amounts for single- serving, prevents food from being wasted.

Foldable containers 1 with a single-use amount of cosmetic products or household chemicals are useful when travelling, as they help to reduce the weight of luggage, while ensuring the needs of the traveler are satisfied. In addition, the width of the opening M in this embodiment of the foldable packaging 1 , according to the invention, is practical for the user. It is very convenient to use. The user may, for example, dispense amount of flow of product outside the foldable packaging 1. When there is a need for expelling the product outside the foldable packaging 1 in the form of a band of uniform width, e.g. chocolate slurry for decorating cake, or mayonnaise or ketchup to prepare exquisite sandwich, or cream to decorate prepared desserts, this can be done directly from the foldable packaging 1 and by means of the foldable packaging 1. In this case, the folding pack 1 is replaced by a dispensing device used in the kitchen for decorating dishes.