Sweets have long been used as a gift to be presented to family and friends on various occasions or out of courtesy. Manufacturers and distributors of sweets have developed several types of unique packaging for more distinguished purposes.

The use of colourfully illustrated, attractive boxes is just one alternative, with the disadvantage that being to simple they do not contribute to the aesthetic value of the product.

Another disadvantage is that, although the boxes may be if a fairy big size, they contain a relatively small amount of sweets.

The utility model application registered under the number HU 1 065 refers to a bunch of artificial and natural flowers, with sweets inserted among them. The advantage of this solution is that it is unique and suitable for being presented as a gift. On the other hand it is too big, difficult to carry without getting damaged and store for a longer period.

With the solution according to the invention our aim was to develop a sweets product that is smaller, easier to make and carry without the danger of getting damaged, but which, due to its unusual packaging, can replace and represent some flowers given as a gift.

The recognition that led to the solution according to the invention was that if the packaging of the sweets consists of two, specially shaped and connected parts, that makes it very attractive, in spite of its small size, then the problem can be solved.

In accordance with the set aim the sweets product in unique packaging, which consists of a piece of sweets (eg. filled chocolate) suitable for human consumption and a protective cover, which, at least partly, covers the outer surface of the piece of sweets. This protective cover has an upper member, which at least partly follows the upper part of the outside surface of the piece of sweets and a lower member, which at least partly follows the lower part of the outer surface of the piece of sweets. At least one of them has an edge, slightly farther from the outer surface of the piece of sweets, which can be used for the purpose of carrying information and/or shaping. The edge is at least 3 mm wide, and the distance between the edge and outer surface of the piece of sweets-measured beginning at the bottom line-is varying.

Another descriptor of the invention is that both the upper and the lower member have an edge, with the upper edge being wider than the lower one, and the stripe exceeding the width of the lower edge folded back under the edge of the lower member, thus holding the two parts together to form a single protective cover.

Another form of the sweets product is that both the upper and the lower member have an edge and the lower edge is wider than the upper one, and the stripe exceeding the width of the upper edge is folded back under the edge of the upper member, thus holding together the two parts to form a single protective cover.

It can also be useful if both upper member and the lower member have an edge and these edges are connected by being pressed or by the use of a layer of adhesive.

Another form of the invention is when the upper member and the lower member both have an edge, which are divided into sections by cuttings. The sections of the edge of the upper member are inserted between the cuttings of the edge of the lower member, whereas the sections of the edge of the lower member are inserted between the cuttings of the edge of the upper member, thus connecting the upper member and the lower member by a shaping closure.

It can be advantageous if the angle of the outer surface of the piece of sweets and the covering surface of the edge is 0-120° measured at the bottom line.

It is also advantageous if the visible surface of the upper member and/or the lower member is, at least partly, covered by an uneven coat of paint.

Another form of the sweets product is when the edge is a petal-shaped ring running around the upper part of the outer surface of the piece of sweets.

Another form is when the part of the outer surface of the piece of sweets next to the upper member has a pattern hollowed into and/or sticking out of the outer surface.

With another form of the sweets product the material of the upper member and the lower member is flexible metal foil (e. g. aluminium foil).

Another variety of the product is when the upper member is flexible foil and the lower part is a pre-shaped plastic form with a receiving nest surrounded by the edge. The lower part of the piece of sweets placed into the receiving nest of the lower member.

Another variety is when the lower member is flexible foil, whereas the upper member is a pre-shaped plastic form with a connecting cap surrounded by an edge. The connecting cap of the upper member is pulled over, at least partly, the upper part of the piece of sweets.

Another possible variety is if an auxiliary edge carrying information and/or giving shape is inserted between the upper and lower member with the auxiliary edge connected to the upper member and/or the lower member.

The advantage of the sweets product is that due to its peculiar packaging it can take the shape of various flowers, which makes it suitable for a gift as a single piece or a combination of several pieces.

Another advantage is that the piece of sweets can take various shapes depending on the shaping of the protective cover. With a unique protective cover the product is easy to make, can be stored until the expiratory date of the sweets product, which was not possible when it was combined into a bunch with natural flowers.

Another advantage is that due to novel way of packaging the product easy to carry, store and handle without danger of getting damaged or destroyed.

It is also advantageous that it is very economical to produce the packaging materials and the protective cover and the process of packaging does not need any special skills.

In the followings we describe the invention referring to figures.

Fig. 1: a sketch of a possible variety of the product partly in section Fig. 2: another variety of the product in side view Fig. 3: another variety of the product in side view partly in section Fig. 4: another variety of the product in side view Fig. 5: another variety of the product in half view in half section Fig. 6: another variety of the product in side view partly in section Fig. 7: a sketch of a different variety of the product in half view in half section In Fig. 1. we can see a sweets product 1, in which the piece of sweets 30 is a brandy cherry and the protective cover 10 has the shape of a rose petal. The protective cover 10 is made up by the upper member 11 and the lower member 12.

The upper member 11 covers the upper part 32 of the outer surface 31 of the piece of sweets 30 whereas lower member 12 the lower part 33 of the outer surface 31 of the piece of sweet 30. With this variety the upper member 11 has an edge 20 and the lower member 12 has an edge 20a. The piece of sweets 30 is wholly surrounded by the edge 20 and the edge 20a and the edge 20 is made of the material of the upper member 11 while the edge 20a is made of material of the lower member 12. With this variety the upper member 11 and lower member 12 of the protective cover 10 are similarly made of flexible foil, widely used coloured foil in our case.

On the visible part of the upper member 11 there is an uneven coat of paint 40 which graphically represents the inside petals of a rose.

Next to the surface of the upper member 11 covered by uneven coat of paint 40 on the upper part 32 of the outer surface 31 of the piece of sweets 30 there is a pattern 34 which consist of elements hollowing into and sticking out of the outer surface 31. The purpose of this is to make the flower motif, a rose in our case, even more plastically formed by the upper part 11 of the protective cover 10 of the piece of sweets 30.

Fig. 1. shows that the edge 20 of the upper member 11 continues in a connective stripe, which exceeds the edge 20a of the lower member 12, which is folded under it. The covering surface 21 is made up by the edge 20 and edge 20a together and it is folded back into the direction of the piece of sweets 30 along the bottom line 22a between the lower member 12 and the edge 20a and the bottom line 22 situated at the meeting point of the upper member 11 and the edge 20. The"a"angle between the bent covering surface 21 and the piece of sweets 30 is between 15°-70°. This angle can be very different depending on the type and petal structure of the flower, 0°-80° in case of a tulip and 0°-120° in a case of a daisy. The distance between the covering surface 21 and the outer surface 31 of the piece of sweets 30 varies after forming the covering surface 21 but getting farther from the bottom line 22 it increases monotonously.

The uneven coat of paint 40 can be applied to whole visible surface of the protective cover 10.

Fig. 2. has a similar protective cover 10. The only difference is that here the edge 20a of the lower member 12 has a connecting stripe 23a while the edge 20 of the upper member 11 does not. As a result of this the width"sl"of the edge 20 is less than the joint width "s2"of the edge 20a and the connecting stripe 23 a as it can be seen on the right.

On the left of the Fig. 2. it shows that the connecting stripe 23a belonging to the lower member 12 is folded back to the edge 20 of the upper member 11 and the upper member 11 and the lower member 12 is united into a one-piece protective cover 10 which completely surrounds the piece of sweets 30. It can also be seen that the angle of the edge 20 and the piece of sweets 30 is"aD"and that the distance"t"between the edge 20 and the piece of sweets 30 increases monotonously getting farther from the bottom line 22.

When the product is made either according to Fig. 1 or 2 the upper member 11 and the lower member 12 making up protective cover 10 are placed one after the other onto the outer surface 31 of the piece of sweets 30. After putting on the upper member 11 and the lower member 12 the edges 20 and 20a are pressed together and the connecting stripes 23 and 23a are folded back so that the edge 20 of the upper member 11 and the edge 20a of the lower member 12 will meet. Finally the cover surface 21 made up by edges 20 and 20a are bent by hand or with the help of shaping tools as seen in the figure. Thus the bottom line 22 of the edge 20 and the bottom line 22a of the edge 20a appear and the product gets its shape.

In Fig. 3 and 4 we can see two other varieties of the product. In Fig. 3 the protective cover 10 is different from the one in Fig. 1. Although the upper member 11 is packaging foil which is covered by an uneven coat of paint 40, the upper member 11 covers the whole outer surface 31 of the piece of sweets 30. The lower member 12 is rigid thin plastic sheet which is impossible to shape and has been formed by vacuum. The lower member 12 has a receiving nest 13 and the edge 20a runs around the outer surface 31 of the piece of sweets 30 forming the petals of a tulip. The lower part 33 of the piece of sweets 30 is placed into the receiving nest 13 of the lower member 12 of the protective cover 10.

In Fig. 4 wee can see a variety where the lower member 12 of the protective cover 10 made of packaging foil while the upper member 11 is made of plastic. In the upper member 11 there is a connecting cap 14, which fits the size and shape of the upper part 32 of the piece of sweets 30. The upper member 11 is shaped and its connecting cap 14 is pulled over the piece of sweets 30 covered completely by the lower member 12.

In the products shown in Fig. 3 and 4 the upper member 11 and the lower member 12 together make up the protective cover 10 covering the piece of sweets 30. The only difference is that the upper member 11 and lower member 12 are easier to separate.

The lower member 12 of the protective cover 10 can have a stalk (not shown in the figures) with the help of which several pieces of sweets 30 covered by protective cover 10 can be combined into a bunch. It is also possible to have several lower members 12 as one unit to which several pieces of sweets 30 can be attached. Although there can be several varieties the protective cover 10 covering the piece of sweets 30 always consists of two parts, the upper member 11 and the lower member 12 which make up the intended complete shape of the protecting cover 10 together.

The piece of sweets 30 is ideally a brandy cherry or a similar body of rotation or sphere like the usual shape of filled chocolate. This shape makes it easier to produce this sweets product.

In Fig. 5 the protective cover 10 covering the piece of sweets 30 also consists of the upper member 11 and the connecting edge 20 and the lower member 12 and the connecting edge 20a. In this variety the edges 20 and 20a are fixed together by a layer of adhesive 60, which makes it possible for the shaping edge 20 and the edge 20a to make up two separate patterns. In Fig. 6 the edge 20 of the upper member 11 has cuttings 24 by which the edge 20 is cut into pieces 25. The edge 20a connected to lower member 12 also has pieces 25a which are separated by the cuttings 24a. The size and shape of the cuttings 24 fits the size of the pieces 25a while the cuttings 24a fit the geometrical size of pieces 25.

The connection of the edges 20 and 20a is carried out by inserting the pieces 25 of the edge 20 into the cuttings 24a of the edge 20a while the pieces 25a of the edge 20a are inserted into the cuttings 24 of the edge 20. This way the pieces 25 and 25a get the shape of folded fingers and make up the protective cover 10 protecting and covering the piece of sweets 30 which can make up flowers of different shapes due to shaping edge 20 and the edge 20a.

In Fig. 7 we can see that number of petals can be multiplied if we insert an auxiliary edge 50 between the edge 20 of the upper member 11 and the edge 20a of the lower member 12.

The auxiliary edge 50 can either be attached to the edge 20 of the upper member 11 and the edge 20a of the lower member 12 by pressing or by further layer of adhesive 60. It is possible to have more than one auxiliary edge 50 and the shaping edges 20 described above can also be combined with each other.

List of references 1 sweets product 10 protective cover 11 upper member 12 lower member 13 receiving nest 14 connecting cap 20 edge 21 covering surface 22 bottom line 23 connecting stripe 24 cutting 25 piece 20a edge 22a bottom line 23a connecting stripe 24a cutting 25 a piece 30 piece of sweets 31 outer surface 32 upper part 33 lower part 34 pattern 40 uneven coat of paint 50 auxiliary edge 60 layer of adhesive "t"distance sl width s2 joint width "a"angle