US20060151339A1 - Food package - Google Patents
Food package Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20060151339A1 US20060151339A1 US11/277,454 US27745406A US2006151339A1 US 20060151339 A1 US20060151339 A1 US 20060151339A1 US 27745406 A US27745406 A US 27745406A US 2006151339 A1 US2006151339 A1 US 2006151339A1
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- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- food
- compartment
- package
- holding portion
- base member
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
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Classifications
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
- B65D77/00—Packages formed by enclosing articles or materials in preformed containers, e.g. boxes, cartons, sacks or bags
- B65D77/10—Container closures formed after filling
- B65D77/20—Container closures formed after filling by applying separate lids or covers, i.e. flexible membrane or foil-like covers
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
- B65D1/00—Containers having bodies formed in one piece, e.g. by casting metallic material, by moulding plastics, by blowing vitreous material, by throwing ceramic material, by moulding pulped fibrous material, by deep-drawing operations performed on sheet material
- B65D1/34—Trays or like shallow containers
- B65D1/36—Trays or like shallow containers with moulded compartments or partitions
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
- B65D2201/00—Means or constructions for testing or controlling the contents
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
- B65D2207/00—Standing packages
Definitions
- the present invention relates to food packaging and, more particularly, to food packages having a compartmentalized base with ready-to-eat food items retained therein by a thin film attached to the base and over the compartments.
- kits of several food products or items have become increasingly popular, particularly for children such as the Lunchables® product line offered by the Assignee herein.
- These packages include the components for an essentially complete snack or meal in one convenient container.
- a kit may include a serving of cookies in a main compartment, and have frosting and/or other candy toppings in other smaller compartments of the package. In this way, when the package is opened, a user can pull out the cookies and apply the frosting and toppings as desired thereto.
- pizza packages where the pizza crust is in one compartment and toppings including sauce and the like are in the other compartments.
- the illustrated package herein contains cones, filling and toppings, each in separate compartments.
- kits In providing packaging for such kits, several considerations must be addressed. Because the food items in the kit generally are of a ready-made variety that typically requires little or no preparation by the consumer, the kits are desirable for consumption away from home. For example, parents can send children to school with these package for lunch to provide the parents with the convenience of prepackaged lunches that the children can easily assemble, if needed at lunchtime in school cafeterias. This usage requires that the kits be contained in compact, well-sealed containers that can be easily packed away and/or carried by children. Where the food item in the main compartment is to be combined with food filling or topping-type items in the other compartments, one problem is the requirement that the child remove the food item from the main compartment for ease in the application of the added food items thereto. Because children are typically of limited coordination, generally they undesirably will have to set this item down somewhere such as on a potentially dirty table at school to apply the added food items using one hand to hold the base and the other to remove and apply the added food items.
- the packaging base or tray When a thin film is used to seal the packaging base or tray, it is also used to provide a surface for both advertising and printing required information regarding the contents of the package. Further, the printed film desirably provides a view to the contents of the compartments via clear portions on the film that are substantially devoid of printed material. As is apparent, when the package size is reduced, the space for providing the printed advertising and content information competes with the space required to provide a good size for the windows for viewing the compartment contents.
- the food package and in particular the thin film seal thereof, be easy to open.
- One problem that has been identified is with packages having a compartment that contains loose food items such as candy pieces, e.g. sprinkles and M&Ms.
- the base of the package tends to flex. Accordingly, once the pulling force is removed on the seal, the base rebounds providing a spring-like action which tends to eject or propel the loose-fitting candy pieces out from their compartment spilling them onto surrounding areas.
- the packages are shrink-wrapped together for being displayed in an on-end vertical display orientation.
- the packages are generally stacked one on top of the other for shrink-wrapping the two together.
- the ability of the packages of the type considered herein to be consistently stacked in proper alignment for shrink-wrapping is important from a production standpoint.
- the bases of the packages typically include stacking lugs so that the bases can be stacked during production and separated or denested one from another without significant sticking or hangup problems. These stacking lugs take up space on the base, along with the compartments themselves and the upper seal area to which the thin film seal is adhered. Accordingly, the placement of the lugs competes with space for other features provided on the base tray of the package.
- a food package that includes a holding portion which allows a user such as children to place a food item carried by the package in a stationary position therein so that other filling and/or topping food-type items can be applied thereto.
- the present food package provides a staging area that a child can use instead of placing the filling/topping receiver food item on a support surface for this purpose.
- the holding portion has a conical configuration to act as a cone holder for cones carried in the package. This allows a user to remove one of the cones from a compartment and place it in a stationary vertical orientation in the cone holder for filling it with food products, viz.
- the package base member can also be combined with the held food item.
- the child can place the partially eaten cone into the cone holder as a convenient resting location so that any product filling and toppings thereon protruding from the cone are kept off of any support surface onto which the cone might otherwise be placed.
- the holding portion will have a matching configuration to that of the portion of the food item to be placed therein so that it is stable when held thereby.
- the material of the base member not be thinned to the point where its ability to act as a moisture barrier becomes compromised.
- the plastic material of the base member needs to be of sufficient thickness to provide a good moisture barrier for the food products retained in the compartments of the package, particularly where such products include sugar or wafer cones that are highly susceptible to damage via access of moisture thereto.
- the generally conical configuration of the holding portion has a tripod configuration which includes three projecting legs that can engage against the tip end of the cone when placed therein.
- the base members are typically stacked during production thereof. Accordingly, the base members are provided with stacking lugs so as to keep adjacent bottom walls of respective stacked base members spaced from each other for ease in denesting the stacked base members from one another.
- the cone holders in the stacking lug areas include a flat, horizontal platform surface that can create hangup points for of the food products as they are inserted into the compartments during production, the combination of the holding portion drawn down from the horizontal platform surfaces keeps these hangup locations to a minimum. In other words, the holding portion need not be drawn down from a platform surface distinct from that of a lug so as to keep these horizontal surface hang-up locations to a minimum.
- the base member advantageously provides a ramp surface to the compartment of the base member, and in particular, where the base member includes several compartments including a main compartment for the filling/topping receiving food item, e.g. cones, the ramp surface or surfaces are preferably provided leading to the main compartment.
- the cones will not get hung up such as they would on a horizontally oriented surface as discussed above, and instead will be directed or led into the main compartment along the downward incline of the ramp surface.
- the ramp surface extends from the horizontally oriented, upper seal surface that extends around the perimeter of the base member and between the compartments to which the thin film seal member is adhered, and to the side wall portions of the main compartment which extend generally vertically downward therefrom.
- the preferred packages herein are adapted to be displayed in an on-end or vertical orientation thereof, such as with two packages shrink-wrapped together.
- the thin film seal serves as the front display of the package and is printed with advertising and content information.
- the main compartment is preferably disposed toward the bottom end of the base member with the base member vertically oriented, and because of the requirement of providing printed information along the bottom of the seal member, the viewing window provided through the seal member into the main compartment may not provide a good or optimum view of its contents.
- the preferred base member includes a spacer wall associated with the main compartment which keeps the food items in the main compartment aligned with the viewing window with the package in its vertical display orientation.
- the spacer wall extends obliquely between the upper seal surface and the main compartment side wall adjacent the bottom end of the base member so that this side wall does not depend directly from the seal surface.
- the oblique spacer wall lifts the food items or cones in the main compartment into alignment for proper viewing through the main compartment window of the seal member.
- the spacer wall thus maximizes the surface area on the seal member for receiving printed matter between the main compartment view window and the end of the base.
- a back card is attached to the base member so that its bottom edge is generally aligned with the corresponding edge of the base member.
- the back card also serves as a location for printing nutritional and ingredient information for the package contents.
- the back cards have an elongate form and extend across the full length of both the main compartment at the bottom of the package and the two upper compartments toward the top of the package containing the filling and topping food products herein. Because these fillings have a generally low melt temperature, the back card extending over the back of these compartments for the full length thereof provides a heat shield thereto such as when the packages are traveling through the shrink-wrap tunnel.
- the bottom walls of the compartments are flat and coplanar so as to allow the back card to be adhered to both the main compartment as well as the smaller compartments.
- the card member acts as a stiffener for the base member to resist flexing thereof as can be caused by peeling of the seal film therefrom. Accordingly, the present package assembly is better able to avoid having its contents be ejected therefrom when the pull force on the seal member is released and the flexed base member rebounds back to its original undeformed configuration.
- the back card member did not extend for the full length of the upper compartments and was not adhered thereto thus not providing the stiffening effect of the present elongate card member adhered to both the upper and lower compartments along the length of the base member.
- the card member extends further up along the base member, and preferably past the bottom walls of the upper compartments, the card also allows the packages to be stacked more readily one on top of the other in proper alignment for being shrink-wrapped together. Normally, the stacking machine will advance one package over another for sliding over the top of the lower package. With the extra length of the back card member, it acts as a slide or sled for the upper package as it engages the seal member of the lower package to allow it to slide smoothly thereon into proper aligned position for being shrink-wrapped thereto.
- FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a food package in accordance with the present invention showing the package in its vertical, display orientation with three food item containing compartments in a base member and a thin film seal member retaining the food items therein and having windows for viewing the items;
- FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the food package of FIG. 1A shown in its horizontal orientation
- FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the food package of FIGS. 1A and 1B showing the seal member and a back card member with the base member therebetween and including a pair of spaced adhesive strips;
- FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the base member showing the cone holders and stacking lugs positioned about the compartments of the base member;
- FIG. 4 is a plan view of the base member showing a tripod configuration of the cone holders oppositely disposed adjacent a main compartment that carries cones therein;
- FIG. 5 is an elevational view of the base member taken along line 5 - 5 of FIG. 4 showing one of the cone holders adjacent the main compartment, and the back card member attached to the bottoms of both the main compartment and one of the smaller compartments;
- FIG. 6 is an end-elevational view taken along line 6 - 6 of FIG. 4 showing the other cone holder adjacent the base member main compartment;
- FIG. 7 is a bottom plan view of the base member showing the flat bottom walls of the base member compartments
- FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 8 - 8 of FIG. 4 showing ramp surfaces leading to the main compartment and tapered walls of one of the smaller compartments;
- FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 9 - 9 of FIG. 4 showing one of the tripod cone holders including one of the projecting legs thereof and tapered walls of the other smaller compartment;
- FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 10 - 10 of FIG. 4 showing one of the ramp surfaces leading to the main compartment;
- FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 11 - 11 of FIG. 4 showing slightly tapered side walls of the smaller compartments of the base member;
- FIG. 12A is a cross-sectional view of one of the cone holders having a tip-end portion of a cone seated therein;
- FIG. 12B is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 12A albeit showing a section view of the cone having a filling placed therein;
- FIG. 12C is a plan view taken along line 12 C- 12 C of FIG. 12A to show the three-point engagement of the cone tip-end portion by the three tripod legs of the cone holder;
- FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 13 - 13 of FIG. 4 showing one of the projecting cone holder legs;
- FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 14 - 14 of FIG. 4 showing a stacking lug between the main compartment and an upper seal surface of the base member;
- FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 15 - 15 of FIG. 4 showing two base members stacked via the stacking lug formed adjacent one of the smaller compartments;
- FIG. 16 is a side-elevational view of the base member similar to FIG. 5 showing the seal member attached on the upper seal surface;
- FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a pair of food packages shown shrink-wrapped together in their vertical display orientation
- FIG. 18 is a perspective view of the food package showing the thin film seal member being peeled off therefrom with the loose food item pieces in one of the compartments staying therein;
- FIG. 19 is a view of a prior art food package showing the seal member being peeled and the loose pieces of food items in one of the compartments being propelled therefrom due to flexing of the base member during opening of the package.
- the present invention is generally directed to food packages 10 in which there is a molded tray or base member 12 having a plurality of compartments, herein 14 , 16 and 18 , formed therein as by thermoforming for receipt of ready-to-eat food items such as cones 20 , cone filling 22 , and toppings 24 , respectively, as shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B and 3 .
- the preferred food package 10 includes a thin film or seal member 26 as well as a back card member 28 .
- the seal member 26 is attached to the base member 12 so as to retain the food items 20 - 24 in their respective compartments 14 - 18 prior to opening of the package 10 .
- the package 10 can take on other configurations from those illustrated and described herein.
- the food items need not necessarily be ready-to-eat products
- the base 12 need not have multiple compartments, nor need it include a back card member 28 as shown herein.
- the packages 10 are provided with a holding portion 30 that allows a user to remove one of the food items, and in particular the item 20 in the compartment 14 , for being placed in a generally stationary position therein.
- the holding portion 30 is a cone holder for individual cones 20 carried in the large, main compartment 14 of the base member 12 , although it will be recognized that the food holder 30 can be readily adapted for other food items such as pizza crusts, for instance.
- the cone holder 30 allows the cones that are normally disposed in a sideways orientation in the compartment 14 to be placed in the cone holder 30 in a vertical orientation.
- the cone holder 30 to place the filled cone 20 therein during consumption thereof. This is of particular value for children who often take some time to eat and who would normally place the filled cone on a support surface such as a table or the like when it is not being eaten. By having the cone holder 30 , the child can place the filled partially-eaten cone 20 into the holder 30 thus avoiding the problem of having the filling 22 projecting out from the partially-eaten cone engage against a table or the like on which it otherwise may be rested.
- the orientation of the package surfaces and components will normally be referenced to the FIG. 1B horizontal position of the package 10 .
- the seal member 42 described hereinafter is facing upward as the package 10 is conveyed during production.
- the package 10 is rotated ninety degrees to stand on end or edge for display purposes as shown in FIG. 1A , such orientation generally will be identified as reference for the description of the package surfaces or walls and its components or contents.
- the holding portion 30 preferably has a predetermined configuration that substantially matches the portion of the food item 20 that is placed therein.
- the cone holder 30 for the cone 20 thus has a generally conical configuration so that tip end portion 32 of the cone 20 seats snugly therein and is supported against shifting so as to remain stationary such as during filling of the cone 20 . Since only a single food item is received in the holder 30 and in a substantially stationary position therein, it can be significantly smaller than the compartment 14 in which the item is normally carried. In this regard, the cone holder 30 does not depend or extend downwardly from the top of the package for as great a distance as the compartments 14 - 18 , e.g. 0.624 inch versus 1.095 inches.
- this conical configuration for the cone holder 30 can preferably include a tripod configuration with the cone holder 30 including three depending legs 34 that project inwardly from conical surface 36 of the holder 30 .
- the conical surface 36 is inclined at a greater angle from vertical axis 37 than the incline on the inner surfaces 34 a of the legs 34 .
- the three legs 30 provide three points or areas of contact about the tip end portion 32 of the cone 20 to stabilize it against shifting when held in the cone holder 30 , as can be seen in FIG. 12C .
- the bottom 32 a of the cone tip end portion 32 will engage in an arcuate or semi-spherical bottom portion 38 of the holder 30 to provide the cone 20 with a fourth point or area of contact along the tip end portion 32 thereof.
- the cone holder bottom portion 38 is raised from the bottom of the compartments 14 - 18 , as can be seen in FIG. 5 .
- the preferred tripod cone holder 30 will engage the cone tip end portion 32 along the inclined outer conical surface 32 b thereof via the inclined surfaces 34 a of the projecting legs 34 and at the bottom end 32 a thereof with the arcuate bottom portion 38 of the holder 30 a .
- the cone 20 is held securely in a stationary vertical position when placed in the cone holder 30 .
- the angle from the vertical axis 37 of conical surface 36 can be approximately forty-five degrees, while the angle from the axis 37 of leg surfaces 34 a can be approximately twelve and a half degrees.
- the preferred molding process for the base member 12 is thermoforming where plastic sheet stock material is formed into configuration for the base member 12 as shown in the figures including the depending compartments 14 - 18 , and the pair of cone holders 30 oppositely disposed relative to the main compartment 14 .
- the compartments 14 - 18 and the cone holders 30 are drawn down from the plastic sheet stock for the material for the base member 12 .
- One advantage of the tripod conical configuration for the cone holder 30 is that a greater amount of starting material can be utilized for being drawn down into the tripod configuration of the cone holder 30 for forming the projecting legs 34 about the conical surface 36 .
- the conical surface 36 match the taper of the cone surface 32 b which, although also contemplated by the present invention, is not as preferred as the tripod configuration because the amount of starting material for forming such a conical surface would be several orders less than that for the tripod conical configuration disclosed herein. Since there is a greater amount of starting material, there is less likelihood that there will be thin spots or areas created in the cone holder 30 during the drawdown process where moisture can permeate from external of the base member 12 into the main compartment 14 potentially damaging the cones 20 carried therein.
- the base member 12 includes an upper seal surface 40 that extends around the perimeter thereof and between the compartments 14 - 18 , as best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4 .
- a seal member 42 in the form of a thin, flexible film is attached to the upper seal surface 40 so as to cover openings 14 a , 16 a and 18 a to the respective compartments 14 , 16 and 18 for retaining the food items 20 , 22 and 24 , respectively, therein.
- the preferred seal member 42 covers not only the compartments 14 - 18 but also the cone holders 30 .
- the base member 12 includes a plurality of stacking lugs 44 such as depicted in FIGS. 14 and 15 which enable the base members 12 to be stacked with a vertical spacing maintained between the stacked base members 12 for ease of denesting or separating the stacked base members 12 from each other.
- the stacking lugs 44 are formed from upper, outer corners of each of the compartments 14 - 18 adjacent the corresponding corners of the base member 12 extending around the upper seal surface 40 .
- additional intermediate lugs 44 are provided approximately midway along the length of the base member 12 between the corner lugs 44 on each of the sides of the base member 12 .
- the stacking lugs 44 each have a horizontal surface 46 which projects radially outward to an undercut or reverse angle wall portion 48 of the base member 12 that extends generally vertically upward at a slight reverse incline. In this manner, the horizontal lug surfaces 46 extend for sufficient distance so as to engage onto the upper seal surface 40 when the base members 12 are nested or stacked together, as shown in FIG. 15 .
- the stacking lugs 44 maintain a predetermined gap spacing between the bottoms of adjacent depending features of the base members 12 including compartments 14 - 18 and holding portions 30 of stacked base members 12 to keep separation or denesting problems to a minimum.
- the horizontal surfaces 46 of the lugs 44 provide potential hangup points for the food items, and in particular for the cones 20 when being inserted, either automatically or by hand, into the compartments, and in particular, the main compartment 14 therefor.
- the compartments 14 - 18 are each provided with side walls, generally designated 48 , extending thereabout which extend down from the compartment openings 14 a - 18 a to bottom walls 50 , 52 and 54 of the compartments 14 , 16 and 18 , respectively.
- the holding portions 30 are preferable formed in the lug areas, as can be seen in FIG. 7 .
- the holding portions 30 do not create additional hangup locations for the cones 30 during production and do not require significant additional space be provided therefor on the base member 12 .
- the food package 10 is shown in its display position in a vertical orientation.
- the package 10 including the base member 12 thereof as shown herein has a generally rectangular configuration so that in the vertical display orientation it is supported on its bottom end 56 .
- the main compartment 14 is adjacent the bottom end 56 with the compartments 16 and 18 adjacent top end 58 of the package 10 and base member 12 .
- the seal member 26 has windows 60 , 62 and 64 for viewing the contents of the respective compartments 14 , 16 and 18 .
- the main compartment 14 has its sidewall 48 configured to generally follow the configuration of the cones 20 so as to minimize damage thereto during normal distribution and storage.
- the cones 20 are generally nested together with three or four carried in the compartment 14 in their sideways orientation.
- the nested cones 20 are arranged with their tip end portion 32 up with the package 10 in its vertical display orientation.
- the compartment sidewall 48 has opposite sidewall portions 66 and 68 that generally taper upwardly toward each other and meet at corner juncture 70 therebetween.
- the sidewall portion 68 has an oblique wall 68 a and a vertical wall 68 b whereas the sidewall portion 66 generally extends continuously in an oblique manner toward the corner juncture 70 where it meets with vertical wall portion 68 b .
- Stacking lugs 44 and the cone holders 30 are formed adjacent upper ends of the sidewall portions 66 and 68 a .
- the sidewall portion 66 meets short vertical sidewall portion 72 at another corner juncture 74 with the vertical sidewall portion 72 transitioning to lower, oblique sidewall portion 76 .
- the oblique sidewall portions 68 a and 76 generally taper toward each other from the respective vertical sidewall portions 68 b and 72 and are interconnected by a bottom sidewall portion 78 .
- the bottom sidewall portion 78 extends generally parallel to the bottom end 56 of the package base member 12 so that when being advanced as by a pusher device during production, the base member 12 package does not skew on the conveyor line. Accordingly, with the nested cones 20 are placed into the compartment 14 , the tip ends 32 thereof will extend toward the corner juncture 70 while the larger, open mouth ends 80 will be disposed in the compartment area 81 bounded by the sidewall portions 72 - 78 .
- a spacer wall 82 is provided.
- the spacer wall 82 acts to lift the cones 20 as engaged with the bottom sidewall portion 78 so that the view thereof through the window 60 is not significantly obstructed, as shown in FIG. 1A .
- the wall portion 78 has a sizing of approximately three sixteenths of an inch in its widthwise dimension so as to lift the cones 20 vertically by a generally corresponding amount for display through the window 60 .
- the spacer wall 82 is inclined downwardly toward the compartment 14 so as to include a ramp surface 84 thereon that extends obliquely between the seal surface 40 and the upper end of the sidewall portion 78 .
- the seal member 42 is preferably not adhered to the ramp surface 84 .
- the ramp surface 84 acts as a lead-in surface for cones 20 as they are being inserted into the compartment 14 that are not in clearance with the side wall 48 , and in particular the sidewall portion 78 thereof. If the cones 20 engage the ramp surface 84 , rather than get hungup thereon, the cones 20 will be directed into the compartment 14 .
- the back card member 28 is attached thereto so that the bottom edge 90 is generally aligned with the package bottom end 56 . In this manner, when the package 10 is tilted up into its vertical orientation, the end edge 90 and the package end 56 cooperate to provide front and back engagement points on a support surface to keep the package 10 standing.
- the card 28 preferably has a rectangular configuration similar to that of the base member 12 .
- the card 28 has an adhesive strip 92 that adheres it to the outside surface of the main compartment bottom wall 50 , similar to back cards used with prior ready-to-eat food packages.
- the present back card 28 is elongated in the lengthwise direction of the base member 12 so as to extend for the full length of not only the main compartment 14 , but also the smaller compartments 16 and 18 .
- the card 28 has a length extending from the edge 90 to the opposite edge 94 generally only slightly less than the length of the base member between the end edges 56 and 58 thereof.
- the card member 28 can have a length of approximately 5.313 inches, and the base member 12 can have a length of approximately 5.834 inches.
- the contents of these compartments are provided with a heat shield. Because these contents can include low-melt food items such as the sweet paste or frosting-type substance for the filling 22 and chocolate-coated M&Ms for the toppings 24 , it is important that they not be exposed to excessive heat such as can be generated when shrink-wrapping the package 10 .
- an assembly 95 of two packages 10 is preferably provided by shrink-wrapping of the two together for displaying them in their vertical orientation.
- the packages 10 after being stacked and wrapped are conveyed through a shrink-wrapping tunnel to tighten the package shrink-wrapping therabout via heat applied thereto.
- a shrink-wrapping tunnel to tighten the package shrink-wrapping therabout via heat applied thereto.
- the bottom walls 50 - 54 are preferably aligned so as to be coplanar with each other, as shown in FIGS. 5, 8 , 9 and 11 .
- the back card 28 can be provided with an additional adhesive strip 96 that extends for a sufficient lateral extent across the card 28 to span both of the laterally spaced bottom walls 52 and 54 of the smaller package compartments 16 and 18 ( FIG. 7 ) for being adhered thereto.
- the back card member 28 adhered to both the main compartment 14 as well as the smaller compartments 16 and 18 spaced along the length of the base member 12 acts as a stiffener resisting flexing of the package 10 , and the plastic, molded base member 12 in particular.
- the card 28 also assists in keeping the package contents therein during the opening process when a user is peeling off the film seal 42 from the package seal surface 40 , as shown in FIG. 18 .
- prior art packages that are either devoid of a back card as shown in FIG. 19 or which have a back card that only is adhered to the corresponding main compartment, the base member tends to flex during the peeling of the film seal therefrom.
- the user With the user holding the base member, the user applies a pull force onto the end of the seal member which tends to create a pivoting action of the base member generally transverse to its length, as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 19 .
- the pull force When the pull force is released, the package will rebound back to its undeformed configuration creating a spring-like action on any loose items in the package compartments that are now open.
- Such springing action often causes the loose contents to be ejected or propelled out from the package compartment, spilling them onto the surrounding areas external of the package 10 .
- the back card 28 secured along the length of the back of the package 10 to the bottom walls 50 - 54 spaced along the length thereof provides more resistance to pivoting of the base member 12 and thus a lesser chance of having the loose package contents, e.g. toppings 24 , be propelled out therefrom with the release of the pull force on the seal member.
- the packages 10 are stacked for being shrink-wrapped together by sliding of one package 10 over the other with the package end 58 being the leading end as the upper package 10 is slid over the lower package 10 in the lengthwise direction.
- the extension portion 98 of the back card 28 that projects beyond the bottom walls 52 and 54 toward the end edge 94 thereof, the card 28 is better able to slide over the top or upper seal member 26 of the underlying package 10 .
- the longer card 28 acts as a sled for the upper package 10 so that rather than engage the lower package seal member 26 with the compartment bottom walls 52 and 54 adjacent package end 58 , the card extension portion 98 will slide smoothly thereon for stacking of the packages 10 one on top of the other. This smooth sliding action makes it less likely that the stacked packages 10 will be out of alignment for being shrink-wrapped together.
- the back card 28 adhered to all of the package compartments 14 - 18 locks these compartments together.
- the compartments 14 - 18 contain food items that do not have the same weight such as with the light weight cones 20 versus the heavier filling 22 and toppings 24 , the disadvantages that this unbalanced weight distribution presents in handling of the packages 10 during production are minimized since the compartments 14 - 18 are more rigidly tied together by the back card 28 adhered thereto.
- the main compartment sidewall portions 66 , 68 , 72 , 76 and 78 all preferably taper slightly inwardly as they extend down to the compartment bottom wall 50 , as can be seen in FIGS. 8-10 .
- the smaller compartments 52 and 54 are each provided with opposite sidewall portions that taper at a much greater incline than the main compartment sidewall portions so that the contents thereof are pushed up toward the seal member 26 and the windows 62 and 64 formed therein for providing a better view of the food items 22 and 24 .
- the filling compartment 16 is provided with opposite sidewall portions 100 and 102 that have respective short vertical sections 100 a and 102 a depending from upper seal surface 40 .
- interconnecting sidewall portions 104 and 106 extend between the sidewall portions 100 and 102 and are provided with only a slight taper akin to that of the sidewall portions for the main compartment 14 .
- the sidewall portions of the other small compartment 18 containing the toppings 24 are similarly configured in terms of their taper to the sidewall portions 100 - 106 of the compartment 16 with the illustrated compartment 18 being even smaller than the compartment 16 .
- the compartment 18 has oppositely disposed sidewall portions 108 and 110 each including respective short vertical sections 108 a and 110 a depending from upper seal surface 40 with sharply inclined surface sections 108 b and 110 b tapered toward each other to the compartment bottom wall 54 .
- interconnecting side wall portion 112 and 114 extend between the sidewall portions 108 and 110 and are provided with only a slight taper akin to that of main compartment sidewall portions.
- the spacing between the sidewall portions 104 and 106 is approximately twice that of sidewall portions 112 and 114 so that the filling compartment 16 is bigger and twice as wide as the toppings compartment 18 .
Abstract
A food package is provided that includes a compartment in which food items are carried and a holder portion which allows a user to place the food item therein with the food item held in a stationary position. The food holder can serve as a staging area for combining the food item with other food items or can be used as a placement location for a partially eaten food item. In the preferred multicompartment package, an improved back card construction is also disclosed.
Description
- This is a continuation of prior application Ser. No. 10/112,591, filed Mar. 29, 2002, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
- The present invention relates to food packaging and, more particularly, to food packages having a compartmentalized base with ready-to-eat food items retained therein by a thin film attached to the base and over the compartments.
- Single containers or “kits” of several food products or items have become increasingly popular, particularly for children such as the Lunchables® product line offered by the Assignee herein. These packages include the components for an essentially complete snack or meal in one convenient container. For example, a kit may include a serving of cookies in a main compartment, and have frosting and/or other candy toppings in other smaller compartments of the package. In this way, when the package is opened, a user can pull out the cookies and apply the frosting and toppings as desired thereto. Another example is pizza packages where the pizza crust is in one compartment and toppings including sauce and the like are in the other compartments. The illustrated package herein contains cones, filling and toppings, each in separate compartments.
- In providing packaging for such kits, several considerations must be addressed. Because the food items in the kit generally are of a ready-made variety that typically requires little or no preparation by the consumer, the kits are desirable for consumption away from home. For example, parents can send children to school with these package for lunch to provide the parents with the convenience of prepackaged lunches that the children can easily assemble, if needed at lunchtime in school cafeterias. This usage requires that the kits be contained in compact, well-sealed containers that can be easily packed away and/or carried by children. Where the food item in the main compartment is to be combined with food filling or topping-type items in the other compartments, one problem is the requirement that the child remove the food item from the main compartment for ease in the application of the added food items thereto. Because children are typically of limited coordination, generally they undesirably will have to set this item down somewhere such as on a potentially dirty table at school to apply the added food items using one hand to hold the base and the other to remove and apply the added food items.
- Environmental and economic concerns also dictate that there be an attempt to limit the amount of packaging material. When a thin film is used to seal the packaging base or tray, it is also used to provide a surface for both advertising and printing required information regarding the contents of the package. Further, the printed film desirably provides a view to the contents of the compartments via clear portions on the film that are substantially devoid of printed material. As is apparent, when the package size is reduced, the space for providing the printed advertising and content information competes with the space required to provide a good size for the windows for viewing the compartment contents.
- Given that children are often the primary user of these kits, it is desirable that the food package, and in particular the thin film seal thereof, be easy to open. One problem that has been identified is with packages having a compartment that contains loose food items such as candy pieces, e.g. sprinkles and M&Ms. During the peeling of the seal, the base of the package tends to flex. Accordingly, once the pulling force is removed on the seal, the base rebounds providing a spring-like action which tends to eject or propel the loose-fitting candy pieces out from their compartment spilling them onto surrounding areas.
- Normally, two generally rectangularly configured packages are shrink-wrapped together for being displayed in an on-end vertical display orientation. For this purpose, the packages are generally stacked one on top of the other for shrink-wrapping the two together. Accordingly, the ability of the packages of the type considered herein to be consistently stacked in proper alignment for shrink-wrapping is important from a production standpoint. Similarly, the bases of the packages typically include stacking lugs so that the bases can be stacked during production and separated or denested one from another without significant sticking or hangup problems. These stacking lugs take up space on the base, along with the compartments themselves and the upper seal area to which the thin film seal is adhered. Accordingly, the placement of the lugs competes with space for other features provided on the base tray of the package.
- Accordingly, there is a need for a compartmentalized food package for ready-to-eat food items having improved functionality in terms of both its utility to users and from display and production standpoints.
- In accordance with the present invention, a food package is provided that includes a holding portion which allows a user such as children to place a food item carried by the package in a stationary position therein so that other filling and/or topping food-type items can be applied thereto. In this manner, the present food package provides a staging area that a child can use instead of placing the filling/topping receiver food item on a support surface for this purpose. In the preferred form, the holding portion has a conical configuration to act as a cone holder for cones carried in the package. This allows a user to remove one of the cones from a compartment and place it in a stationary vertical orientation in the cone holder for filling it with food products, viz. cream filling and sprinkles or M&Ms, carried in other compartments of the package base member. Alternatively, food items not carried by the package can also be combined with the held food item. Further, when the filled cone is not being eaten such as after several bites have been taken therefrom, the child can place the partially eaten cone into the cone holder as a convenient resting location so that any product filling and toppings thereon protruding from the cone are kept off of any support surface onto which the cone might otherwise be placed. Generally, the holding portion will have a matching configuration to that of the portion of the food item to be placed therein so that it is stable when held thereby.
- In adding the holding portion and in particular the cone holder to the base portion, one consideration is that the material of the base member not be thinned to the point where its ability to act as a moisture barrier becomes compromised. In other words, the plastic material of the base member needs to be of sufficient thickness to provide a good moisture barrier for the food products retained in the compartments of the package, particularly where such products include sugar or wafer cones that are highly susceptible to damage via access of moisture thereto. Accordingly, in one form, the generally conical configuration of the holding portion has a tripod configuration which includes three projecting legs that can engage against the tip end of the cone when placed therein. By having a tripod configuration, a greater amount of plastic material can be employed in the cone holder area thus minimizing any thinning of a plastic material therein and keeping moisture from permeating into the cone compartment.
- As mentioned, the base members are typically stacked during production thereof. Accordingly, the base members are provided with stacking lugs so as to keep adjacent bottom walls of respective stacked base members spaced from each other for ease in denesting the stacked base members from one another. Given the normal space constraints in the base members in these types of compact food packages generally, one form of the invention provides the cone holders in the stacking lug areas. As the stacking lugs include a flat, horizontal platform surface that can create hangup points for of the food products as they are inserted into the compartments during production, the combination of the holding portion drawn down from the horizontal platform surfaces keeps these hangup locations to a minimum. In other words, the holding portion need not be drawn down from a platform surface distinct from that of a lug so as to keep these horizontal surface hang-up locations to a minimum.
- Additionally, the base member advantageously provides a ramp surface to the compartment of the base member, and in particular, where the base member includes several compartments including a main compartment for the filling/topping receiving food item, e.g. cones, the ramp surface or surfaces are preferably provided leading to the main compartment. In this way, should the cones engage against the ramp surface rather than be cleanly inserted into the main compartment, the cones will not get hung up such as they would on a horizontally oriented surface as discussed above, and instead will be directed or led into the main compartment along the downward incline of the ramp surface. More specifically, the ramp surface extends from the horizontally oriented, upper seal surface that extends around the perimeter of the base member and between the compartments to which the thin film seal member is adhered, and to the side wall portions of the main compartment which extend generally vertically downward therefrom. Thus, if the cones are not oriented inwardly of the side walls in the direction of the compartment space during insertion, rather than engage the horizontal seal surface, they will slide down into the main compartment along the ramp surface, as described above.
- The preferred packages herein are adapted to be displayed in an on-end or vertical orientation thereof, such as with two packages shrink-wrapped together. In this orientation, the thin film seal serves as the front display of the package and is printed with advertising and content information. The main compartment is preferably disposed toward the bottom end of the base member with the base member vertically oriented, and because of the requirement of providing printed information along the bottom of the seal member, the viewing window provided through the seal member into the main compartment may not provide a good or optimum view of its contents. In other words, when the package is displayed in its vertical orientation, the food items in the main compartment shift toward the bottom end of the base member resting on the main compartment side wall adjacent thereto and for the most part out of alignment with the viewing window provided on the seal member for the main compartment. Accordingly, the preferred base member includes a spacer wall associated with the main compartment which keeps the food items in the main compartment aligned with the viewing window with the package in its vertical display orientation.
- More specifically, the spacer wall extends obliquely between the upper seal surface and the main compartment side wall adjacent the bottom end of the base member so that this side wall does not depend directly from the seal surface. In this manner, the oblique spacer wall lifts the food items or cones in the main compartment into alignment for proper viewing through the main compartment window of the seal member. The spacer wall thus maximizes the surface area on the seal member for receiving printed matter between the main compartment view window and the end of the base. An additional advantage as previously discussed is that the obliquely oriented spacer wall serves as a lead-in or ramp surface for cones that are being placed into the main compartment, albeit slightly out of alignment therewith. Rather than getting hung up on the seal surface that would otherwise be in this position immediately about the perimeter of the compartment, the cone will engage on the obliquely inclined ramp surface leading the cone into the main compartment.
- To allow the packages to stand on end, a back card is attached to the base member so that its bottom edge is generally aligned with the corresponding edge of the base member. The back card also serves as a location for printing nutritional and ingredient information for the package contents. In a preferred form of the packages herein, the back cards have an elongate form and extend across the full length of both the main compartment at the bottom of the package and the two upper compartments toward the top of the package containing the filling and topping food products herein. Because these fillings have a generally low melt temperature, the back card extending over the back of these compartments for the full length thereof provides a heat shield thereto such as when the packages are traveling through the shrink-wrap tunnel.
- Preferably, the bottom walls of the compartments are flat and coplanar so as to allow the back card to be adhered to both the main compartment as well as the smaller compartments. So adhered, the card member acts as a stiffener for the base member to resist flexing thereof as can be caused by peeling of the seal film therefrom. Accordingly, the present package assembly is better able to avoid having its contents be ejected therefrom when the pull force on the seal member is released and the flexed base member rebounds back to its original undeformed configuration. In prior packages of this type, the back card member did not extend for the full length of the upper compartments and was not adhered thereto thus not providing the stiffening effect of the present elongate card member adhered to both the upper and lower compartments along the length of the base member.
- Additionally, since the card member extends further up along the base member, and preferably past the bottom walls of the upper compartments, the card also allows the packages to be stacked more readily one on top of the other in proper alignment for being shrink-wrapped together. Normally, the stacking machine will advance one package over another for sliding over the top of the lower package. With the extra length of the back card member, it acts as a slide or sled for the upper package as it engages the seal member of the lower package to allow it to slide smoothly thereon into proper aligned position for being shrink-wrapped thereto.
-
FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a food package in accordance with the present invention showing the package in its vertical, display orientation with three food item containing compartments in a base member and a thin film seal member retaining the food items therein and having windows for viewing the items; -
FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the food package ofFIG. 1A shown in its horizontal orientation; -
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the food package ofFIGS. 1A and 1B showing the seal member and a back card member with the base member therebetween and including a pair of spaced adhesive strips; -
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the base member showing the cone holders and stacking lugs positioned about the compartments of the base member; -
FIG. 4 is a plan view of the base member showing a tripod configuration of the cone holders oppositely disposed adjacent a main compartment that carries cones therein; -
FIG. 5 is an elevational view of the base member taken along line 5-5 ofFIG. 4 showing one of the cone holders adjacent the main compartment, and the back card member attached to the bottoms of both the main compartment and one of the smaller compartments; -
FIG. 6 is an end-elevational view taken along line 6-6 ofFIG. 4 showing the other cone holder adjacent the base member main compartment; -
FIG. 7 is a bottom plan view of the base member showing the flat bottom walls of the base member compartments; -
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 8-8 ofFIG. 4 showing ramp surfaces leading to the main compartment and tapered walls of one of the smaller compartments; -
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 9-9 ofFIG. 4 showing one of the tripod cone holders including one of the projecting legs thereof and tapered walls of the other smaller compartment; -
FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 10-10 ofFIG. 4 showing one of the ramp surfaces leading to the main compartment; -
FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 11-11 ofFIG. 4 showing slightly tapered side walls of the smaller compartments of the base member; -
FIG. 12A is a cross-sectional view of one of the cone holders having a tip-end portion of a cone seated therein; -
FIG. 12B is a cross-sectional view similar toFIG. 12A albeit showing a section view of the cone having a filling placed therein; -
FIG. 12C is a plan view taken alongline 12C-12C ofFIG. 12A to show the three-point engagement of the cone tip-end portion by the three tripod legs of the cone holder; -
FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 13-13 ofFIG. 4 showing one of the projecting cone holder legs; -
FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 14-14 ofFIG. 4 showing a stacking lug between the main compartment and an upper seal surface of the base member; -
FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 15-15 ofFIG. 4 showing two base members stacked via the stacking lug formed adjacent one of the smaller compartments; -
FIG. 16 is a side-elevational view of the base member similar toFIG. 5 showing the seal member attached on the upper seal surface; -
FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a pair of food packages shown shrink-wrapped together in their vertical display orientation; -
FIG. 18 is a perspective view of the food package showing the thin film seal member being peeled off therefrom with the loose food item pieces in one of the compartments staying therein; and -
FIG. 19 is a view of a prior art food package showing the seal member being peeled and the loose pieces of food items in one of the compartments being propelled therefrom due to flexing of the base member during opening of the package. - The present invention is generally directed to
food packages 10 in which there is a molded tray orbase member 12 having a plurality of compartments, herein 14, 16 and 18, formed therein as by thermoforming for receipt of ready-to-eat food items such ascones 20, cone filling 22, andtoppings 24, respectively, as shown inFIGS. 1A, 1B and 3. Referring toFIG. 2 , it can be seen that the preferredfood package 10 includes a thin film or sealmember 26 as well as aback card member 28. Theseal member 26 is attached to thebase member 12 so as to retain the food items 20-24 in their respective compartments 14-18 prior to opening of thepackage 10. While the construction of the above-describedmulti-compartment food package 10 is the preferred form, it is manifest that thepackage 10 can take on other configurations from those illustrated and described herein. In particular, in various forms, the food items need not necessarily be ready-to-eat products, the base 12 need not have multiple compartments, nor need it include aback card member 28 as shown herein. - With respect to the present invention, the
packages 10 are provided with a holdingportion 30 that allows a user to remove one of the food items, and in particular theitem 20 in thecompartment 14, for being placed in a generally stationary position therein. In the preferred and illustrated form, the holdingportion 30 is a cone holder forindividual cones 20 carried in the large,main compartment 14 of thebase member 12, although it will be recognized that thefood holder 30 can be readily adapted for other food items such as pizza crusts, for instance. Thecone holder 30 allows the cones that are normally disposed in a sideways orientation in thecompartment 14 to be placed in thecone holder 30 in a vertical orientation. This allows a user to fill thecone 20 with fillings, such as the filling 22 provided insmaller compartment 16, as well as to apply thetoppings 24 carried insmall compartment 18 onto the filling 22 in thecone 20. Further, the user can employ thecone holder 30 to place the filledcone 20 therein during consumption thereof. This is of particular value for children who often take some time to eat and who would normally place the filled cone on a support surface such as a table or the like when it is not being eaten. By having thecone holder 30, the child can place the filled partially-eatencone 20 into theholder 30 thus avoiding the problem of having the filling 22 projecting out from the partially-eaten cone engage against a table or the like on which it otherwise may be rested. - Herein, the orientation of the package surfaces and components will normally be referenced to the
FIG. 1B horizontal position of thepackage 10. In this orientation, theseal member 42 described hereinafter is facing upward as thepackage 10 is conveyed during production. When thepackage 10 is rotated ninety degrees to stand on end or edge for display purposes as shown inFIG. 1A , such orientation generally will be identified as reference for the description of the package surfaces or walls and its components or contents. - Returning to the
food holder 30, to keep thefood item 20 held stable in the holdingportion 30, the holdingportion 30 preferably has a predetermined configuration that substantially matches the portion of thefood item 20 that is placed therein. In the illustratedbase member 12, thecone holder 30 for thecone 20 thus has a generally conical configuration so thattip end portion 32 of thecone 20 seats snugly therein and is supported against shifting so as to remain stationary such as during filling of thecone 20. Since only a single food item is received in theholder 30 and in a substantially stationary position therein, it can be significantly smaller than thecompartment 14 in which the item is normally carried. In this regard, thecone holder 30 does not depend or extend downwardly from the top of the package for as great a distance as the compartments 14-18, e.g. 0.624 inch versus 1.095 inches. - As shown, this conical configuration for the
cone holder 30 can preferably include a tripod configuration with thecone holder 30 including three dependinglegs 34 that project inwardly fromconical surface 36 of theholder 30. Referring toFIGS. 12A and 12B , theconical surface 36 is inclined at a greater angle fromvertical axis 37 than the incline on theinner surfaces 34 a of thelegs 34. The threelegs 30 provide three points or areas of contact about thetip end portion 32 of thecone 20 to stabilize it against shifting when held in thecone holder 30, as can be seen inFIG. 12C . In addition, the bottom 32 a of the conetip end portion 32 will engage in an arcuate or semi-sphericalbottom portion 38 of theholder 30 to provide thecone 20 with a fourth point or area of contact along thetip end portion 32 thereof. The coneholder bottom portion 38 is raised from the bottom of the compartments 14-18, as can be seen inFIG. 5 . Accordingly, the preferredtripod cone holder 30 will engage the conetip end portion 32 along the inclined outerconical surface 32 b thereof via theinclined surfaces 34 a of the projectinglegs 34 and at thebottom end 32 a thereof with thearcuate bottom portion 38 of the holder 30 a. In this manner, thecone 20 is held securely in a stationary vertical position when placed in thecone holder 30. By way of example and not limitation, the angle from thevertical axis 37 ofconical surface 36 can be approximately forty-five degrees, while the angle from theaxis 37 of leg surfaces 34 a can be approximately twelve and a half degrees. - The preferred molding process for the
base member 12 is thermoforming where plastic sheet stock material is formed into configuration for thebase member 12 as shown in the figures including the depending compartments 14-18, and the pair ofcone holders 30 oppositely disposed relative to themain compartment 14. The compartments 14-18 and thecone holders 30 are drawn down from the plastic sheet stock for the material for thebase member 12. One advantage of the tripod conical configuration for thecone holder 30 is that a greater amount of starting material can be utilized for being drawn down into the tripod configuration of thecone holder 30 for forming the projectinglegs 34 about theconical surface 36. The alternative would be to have theconical surface 36 match the taper of thecone surface 32 b which, although also contemplated by the present invention, is not as preferred as the tripod configuration because the amount of starting material for forming such a conical surface would be several orders less than that for the tripod conical configuration disclosed herein. Since there is a greater amount of starting material, there is less likelihood that there will be thin spots or areas created in thecone holder 30 during the drawdown process where moisture can permeate from external of thebase member 12 into themain compartment 14 potentially damaging thecones 20 carried therein. - Further, since there is only three points of contact about the
cone surface 32 b provided by the engaginglegs 34 with theconical surface 36 separated into threesurface sections 36 a-36 c that are spaced bygaps 39 from thecone surface 32 b, there is greater tolerances in forming of thecone holder 30 since there is less surface area of engagement with thetip portion 32 of thecone 20. Also, thecones 30 themselves are subject to manufacturing variances, and thetripod legs 34 herein are better able to provide secure support to thecones 20 despite any such variances. - The
base member 12 includes anupper seal surface 40 that extends around the perimeter thereof and between the compartments 14-18, as best seen inFIGS. 3 and 4 . Aseal member 42 in the form of a thin, flexible film is attached to theupper seal surface 40 so as to coveropenings respective compartments food items cone holders 30 that are adjacent themain compartment 14 and oppositely disposed across thecompartment 14 with respect to each other. As the horizontal,upper seal surface 40 extends about the perimeter of thebase tray 12 with the illustratedcone holders 30 spaced inwardly therefrom, thepreferred seal member 42 covers not only the compartments 14-18 but also thecone holders 30. - The
base member 12 includes a plurality of stackinglugs 44 such as depicted inFIGS. 14 and 15 which enable thebase members 12 to be stacked with a vertical spacing maintained between thestacked base members 12 for ease of denesting or separating thestacked base members 12 from each other. As best seen inFIG. 7 , the stackinglugs 44 are formed from upper, outer corners of each of the compartments 14-18 adjacent the corresponding corners of thebase member 12 extending around theupper seal surface 40. Further, additionalintermediate lugs 44 are provided approximately midway along the length of thebase member 12 between the corner lugs 44 on each of the sides of thebase member 12. The stacking lugs 44 each have ahorizontal surface 46 which projects radially outward to an undercut or reverseangle wall portion 48 of thebase member 12 that extends generally vertically upward at a slight reverse incline. In this manner, the horizontal lug surfaces 46 extend for sufficient distance so as to engage onto theupper seal surface 40 when thebase members 12 are nested or stacked together, as shown inFIG. 15 . The stacking lugs 44 maintain a predetermined gap spacing between the bottoms of adjacent depending features of thebase members 12 including compartments 14-18 and holdingportions 30 of stackedbase members 12 to keep separation or denesting problems to a minimum. - The
horizontal surfaces 46 of thelugs 44 provide potential hangup points for the food items, and in particular for thecones 20 when being inserted, either automatically or by hand, into the compartments, and in particular, themain compartment 14 therefor. More specifically, the compartments 14-18 are each provided with side walls, generally designated 48, extending thereabout which extend down from thecompartment openings 14 a-18 a tobottom walls compartments cones 20 are being inserted into themain compartment 14, for example, if they engage against thehorizontal surfaces 46 of thelugs 44 of the fourlugs 44 spaced about themain compartment 14, they may hang up thereon rather than cleanly drop into thecompartment 14 as desired. Accordingly, to minimize such hangup locations about thebase member 12 and to optimize the usage of the space available on thebase member 12, the holdingportions 30 are preferable formed in the lug areas, as can be seen inFIG. 7 . In this manner, by combining the holdingportions 30 with a pair oflugs 44, the holdingportions 30 do not create additional hangup locations for thecones 30 during production and do not require significant additional space be provided therefor on thebase member 12. - Referring to
FIG. 1A , thefood package 10 is shown in its display position in a vertical orientation. Thepackage 10 including thebase member 12 thereof as shown herein has a generally rectangular configuration so that in the vertical display orientation it is supported on itsbottom end 56. In this orientation, themain compartment 14 is adjacent thebottom end 56 with thecompartments top end 58 of thepackage 10 andbase member 12. - The
seal member 26 haswindows respective compartments bottom area 66 of theseal member 26 extending between thewindow 60 and thepackage end 56 to be available for printing information regarding the contents of thepackage 10 including such things as their description and weight. Accordingly, this predisposes thewindow 60 to a predetermined position spaced from thepackage end 56 sufficient for printing such information. - The
main compartment 14 has itssidewall 48 configured to generally follow the configuration of thecones 20 so as to minimize damage thereto during normal distribution and storage. Referring toFIG. 1A , it can be seen that thecones 20 are generally nested together with three or four carried in thecompartment 14 in their sideways orientation. The nestedcones 20 are arranged with theirtip end portion 32 up with thepackage 10 in its vertical display orientation. As can be seen inFIG. 4 , thecompartment sidewall 48 hasopposite sidewall portions corner juncture 70 therebetween. In the vertical display orientation, thesidewall portion 68 has anoblique wall 68 a and avertical wall 68 b whereas thesidewall portion 66 generally extends continuously in an oblique manner toward thecorner juncture 70 where it meets withvertical wall portion 68 b. Stacking lugs 44 and thecone holders 30 are formed adjacent upper ends of thesidewall portions sidewall portion 66 meets shortvertical sidewall portion 72 at anothercorner juncture 74 with thevertical sidewall portion 72 transitioning to lower,oblique sidewall portion 76. Theoblique sidewall portions vertical sidewall portions bottom sidewall portion 78. - The
bottom sidewall portion 78 extends generally parallel to thebottom end 56 of thepackage base member 12 so that when being advanced as by a pusher device during production, thebase member 12 package does not skew on the conveyor line. Accordingly, with the nestedcones 20 are placed into thecompartment 14, the tip ends 32 thereof will extend toward thecorner juncture 70 while the larger, open mouth ends 80 will be disposed in thecompartment area 81 bounded by the sidewall portions 72-78. - Because of the need to have the
sidewall portion 78 oriented in a generally parallel orientation with the packagebottom end 56, thecones 20 tend to shift or drop down onto thesidewall 78 by gravity when thepackage 10 is pivoted to its display orientation ofFIG. 1A . To keep thecones 20 aligned with theseal member window 60 in its position above thebottom end 56 of thepackage 10, rather than having thesidewall portion 78 depend from theupper seal surface 40 at the packagebottom end 56, aspacer wall 82 is provided. Thespacer wall 82 acts to lift thecones 20 as engaged with thebottom sidewall portion 78 so that the view thereof through thewindow 60 is not significantly obstructed, as shown inFIG. 1A . In the preferred and illustrated form, thewall portion 78 has a sizing of approximately three sixteenths of an inch in its widthwise dimension so as to lift thecones 20 vertically by a generally corresponding amount for display through thewindow 60. - The
spacer wall 82 is inclined downwardly toward thecompartment 14 so as to include aramp surface 84 thereon that extends obliquely between theseal surface 40 and the upper end of thesidewall portion 78. Thus, theseal member 42 is preferably not adhered to theramp surface 84. Further, theramp surface 84 acts as a lead-in surface forcones 20 as they are being inserted into thecompartment 14 that are not in clearance with theside wall 48, and in particular thesidewall portion 78 thereof. If thecones 20 engage theramp surface 84, rather than get hungup thereon, thecones 20 will be directed into thecompartment 14. As best seen inFIGS. 3 and 4 , preferably there areramp surfaces upper seal surface 40 and the maincompartment sidewall portions - To keep the
package 10 standing on end as shown inFIG. 1A for display, theback card member 28 is attached thereto so that thebottom edge 90 is generally aligned with the packagebottom end 56. In this manner, when thepackage 10 is tilted up into its vertical orientation, theend edge 90 and thepackage end 56 cooperate to provide front and back engagement points on a support surface to keep thepackage 10 standing. As can be seen inFIG. 2 , thecard 28 preferably has a rectangular configuration similar to that of thebase member 12. To attach thecard 28 to thebase member 12, thecard 28 has anadhesive strip 92 that adheres it to the outside surface of the maincompartment bottom wall 50, similar to back cards used with prior ready-to-eat food packages. The present backcard 28 is elongated in the lengthwise direction of thebase member 12 so as to extend for the full length of not only themain compartment 14, but also thesmaller compartments card 28 has a length extending from theedge 90 to theopposite edge 94 generally only slightly less than the length of the base member between the end edges 56 and 58 thereof. By way of example and not limitation, thecard member 28 can have a length of approximately 5.313 inches, and thebase member 12 can have a length of approximately 5.834 inches. - By having the
elongate card 28 extend for the full length of thecompartments bottom walls toppings 24, it is important that they not be exposed to excessive heat such as can be generated when shrink-wrapping thepackage 10. In particular and referencingFIG. 17 , it can be seen that anassembly 95 of twopackages 10 is preferably provided by shrink-wrapping of the two together for displaying them in their vertical orientation. For this purpose, thepackages 10 after being stacked and wrapped are conveyed through a shrink-wrapping tunnel to tighten the package shrink-wrapping therabout via heat applied thereto. By having thelonger back card 28 herein that extends for the full length of the compartment bottom walls 50-54, there is less likelihood that excessive heat will be transmitted therethrough to the compartment contents as thecard 28 will insulate the contents acting as a heat barrier therefor. - The bottom walls 50-54 are preferably aligned so as to be coplanar with each other, as shown in
FIGS. 5, 8 , 9 and 11. By having thelonger back card 28 extending for the full length of these walls 50-54 and having the walls 50-54 in coplanar position relative to each other, theback card 28 can be provided with an additionaladhesive strip 96 that extends for a sufficient lateral extent across thecard 28 to span both of the laterally spacedbottom walls FIG. 7 ) for being adhered thereto. - The
back card member 28 adhered to both themain compartment 14 as well as thesmaller compartments base member 12 acts as a stiffener resisting flexing of thepackage 10, and the plastic, moldedbase member 12 in particular. In turn, by providing astiffer package 10, thecard 28 also assists in keeping the package contents therein during the opening process when a user is peeling off thefilm seal 42 from thepackage seal surface 40, as shown inFIG. 18 . In prior art packages that are either devoid of a back card as shown inFIG. 19 or which have a back card that only is adhered to the corresponding main compartment, the base member tends to flex during the peeling of the film seal therefrom. - With the user holding the base member, the user applies a pull force onto the end of the seal member which tends to create a pivoting action of the base member generally transverse to its length, as indicated by the arrows in
FIG. 19 . When the pull force is released, the package will rebound back to its undeformed configuration creating a spring-like action on any loose items in the package compartments that are now open. Such springing action often causes the loose contents to be ejected or propelled out from the package compartment, spilling them onto the surrounding areas external of thepackage 10. By contrast, theback card 28 secured along the length of the back of thepackage 10 to the bottom walls 50-54 spaced along the length thereof, provides more resistance to pivoting of thebase member 12 and thus a lesser chance of having the loose package contents,e.g. toppings 24, be propelled out therefrom with the release of the pull force on the seal member. - Another advantage of the longer back card is that in current production configurations, the
packages 10 are stacked for being shrink-wrapped together by sliding of onepackage 10 over the other with thepackage end 58 being the leading end as theupper package 10 is slid over thelower package 10 in the lengthwise direction. By having theextension portion 98 of theback card 28 that projects beyond thebottom walls end edge 94 thereof, thecard 28 is better able to slide over the top orupper seal member 26 of theunderlying package 10. In this manner, thelonger card 28 acts as a sled for theupper package 10 so that rather than engage the lowerpackage seal member 26 with the compartmentbottom walls adjacent package end 58, thecard extension portion 98 will slide smoothly thereon for stacking of thepackages 10 one on top of the other. This smooth sliding action makes it less likely that thestacked packages 10 will be out of alignment for being shrink-wrapped together. - The
back card 28 adhered to all of the package compartments 14-18 locks these compartments together. Where the compartments 14-18 contain food items that do not have the same weight such as with thelight weight cones 20 versus theheavier filling 22 andtoppings 24, the disadvantages that this unbalanced weight distribution presents in handling of thepackages 10 during production are minimized since the compartments 14-18 are more rigidly tied together by theback card 28 adhered thereto. - Turning to more of the details, the main
compartment sidewall portions compartment bottom wall 50, as can be seen inFIGS. 8-10 . On the other hand, thesmaller compartments seal member 26 and thewindows food items FIGS. 4 and 8 , the fillingcompartment 16 is provided withopposite sidewall portions vertical sections upper seal surface 40. Thesidewall portions inclined sections bottom wall 52, as best seen inFIG. 8 . Referring toFIGS. 4 and 11 , interconnectingsidewall portions sidewall portions main compartment 14. - The sidewall portions of the other
small compartment 18 containing thetoppings 24 are similarly configured in terms of their taper to the sidewall portions 100-106 of thecompartment 16 with the illustratedcompartment 18 being even smaller than thecompartment 16. More specifically and referencingFIGS. 4 and 9 , thecompartment 18 has oppositely disposedsidewall portions vertical sections upper seal surface 40 with sharplyinclined surface sections compartment bottom wall 54. Referring toFIGS. 4 and 11 , interconnectingside wall portion sidewall portions sidewall portions respective compartments small compartments base member 12, the spacing between thesidewall portions sidewall portions filling compartment 16 is bigger and twice as wide as thetoppings compartment 18. - While there have been illustrated and described particular embodiments of the present invention, it will be appreciated that numerous changes and modifications will occur to those skilled in the art, and it is intended in the appended claims to cover all those changes and modifications which fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention.
Claims (19)
1. A food package for containing food items and food products, the food package comprising:
a base member having a plurality of distinct compartments in which the food items and food products are received;
a thin film attached to the base member to seal the food item in a first compartment, and to seal at least one food product in a second compartment; and
a holding portion of the base member having a predetermined configuration to receive a food item as removed from the first compartment in a substantially stationary position in the holding portion, wherein the food item received in the holding portion is configured to receive food product removed from one of the compartments.
2. The food package of claim 1 wherein the holding portion includes surfaces forming the predetermined configuration to match that of a portion of the food item received in the stationary position therein.
3. The food package of claim 1 wherein the first compartment is sized to receive a plurality of the food items, and the holding portion is smaller than the first compartment for receiving a single one of the food items therein.
4. The food package of claim 1 wherein the thin film covers both the first compartment and the holding portion with separation of the film from the base member and from over the first compartment and the holding portion allowing the food item to be removed from the first compartment and placed in the holding portion.
5. The food package of claim 1 wherein the first compartment has a predetermined configuration sized to receive the food item in a predetermined sideways orientation thereof, and the holding portion predetermined configuration keeps the food item in a predetermined vertical orientation thereof.
6. The food package of claim 1 wherein the holding portion has a generally conical configuration for receiving a tip end of the food item therein.
7. The food package of claim 1 wherein the holding portion has a tripod configuration including three legs to minimize thinning of material in the holding portion.
8. The food package of claim 1 wherein the first compartment is sized to receive a plurality of the food items therein, and the holding portion comprises a pair of holding portions each sized to receive one of the food items and spaced across the first compartment from each other.
9. The food package of claim 1 wherein the holding portion of the base provides a staging area for receiving the food item of the first compartment in the stationary position therein while at least one of the food products from another compartment is combined with the stationary food item.
10. The food package of claim 9 wherein the base member has a length and at least two of the compartments are spaced from each other along the base member length and have aligned flat bottoms thereof, and
an elongate flat card member adhered to the aligned bottoms of the two spaced compartments to stiffen the base member along the length thereof for keeping the food items and the food products in the compartments during opening of the film.
11. The food package of claim 1 wherein the compartments include a bottom wall and side wall portions upstanding therefrom, the base member includes stacking lugs projecting from the side wall portions, and the holding portion includes surfaces depending from one of the stacking lugs with the lugs keeping adjacent bottom walls and holding portion surfaces in respective stacked package base members spaced from each other for providing ease in separation of the stacked base members.
12. A food package for containing food items and food products, the food package comprising:
a base member having a plurality of compartments opening in a first direction in which the food items and food products may be received;
a holding portion opening in the first direction of the base member having a predetermined configuration to receive in a substantially stationary position a food item as removed from one of the compartments; and
a thin film attached to the base member to seal the food items and food products in the compartments.
13. The food package of claim 12 wherein the holding portion includes surfaces forming the predetermined configuration to correspond to a portion of the food item received in the stationary position therein.
14. The food package of claim 12 wherein a first one of the compartments is sized to receive a plurality of the food items, and the holding portion is smaller than the first compartment for receiving a single one of the food items therein.
15. The food package of claim 12 wherein the thin film covers both a first compartment and the holding portion, and separation of the film from the base member and from over the first compartment allows the food item to be removed from the first compartment and placed in the holding portion.
16. The food package of claim 12 wherein a first compartment has a predetermined configuration sized to receive the food item in a predetermined sideways orientation thereof, and the holding portion predetermined configuration keeps the food item in a predetermined vertical orientation thereof.
17. The food package of claim 12 wherein the holding portion has a generally conical configuration for receiving a tip end of the food item therein.
18. The food package of claim 12 wherein the holding portion has a tripod configuration including three legs to minimize thinning of material in the holding portion.
19. The food package of claim 12 wherein the holding portion of the base provides a staging area for receiving the food item of a first compartment in the stationary position therein while at least one of the food products from another compartment is combined with the stationary food item.
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
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US11/277,454 US20060151339A1 (en) | 2002-03-29 | 2006-03-24 | Food package |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
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US10/112,591 US7041326B2 (en) | 2002-03-29 | 2002-03-29 | Food package |
US11/277,454 US20060151339A1 (en) | 2002-03-29 | 2006-03-24 | Food package |
Related Parent Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
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US10/112,591 Continuation US7041326B2 (en) | 2002-03-29 | 2002-03-29 | Food package |
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US8911807B2 (en) | 2009-11-06 | 2014-12-16 | Kraft Foods Group Brands Llc | Container for sliced and fluffed food products |
USD639186S1 (en) | 2010-09-08 | 2011-06-07 | Conagra Foods Rdm, Inc. | Container with sleeve |
USD638701S1 (en) | 2010-09-08 | 2011-05-31 | Conagra Foods Rdm, Inc. | Container |
USD639656S1 (en) | 2010-09-08 | 2011-06-14 | Con Agra Foods RDM, Inc. | Container lid |
USD669777S1 (en) | 2010-10-19 | 2012-10-30 | Associated Brands, L.P. | Container |
USD680426S1 (en) | 2012-06-12 | 2013-04-23 | Conagra Foods Rdm, Inc. | Container |
US9027825B2 (en) | 2012-06-12 | 2015-05-12 | Conagra Foods Rdm, Inc. | Container assembly and foldable container system |
USD717162S1 (en) | 2012-06-12 | 2014-11-11 | Conagra Foods Rdm, Inc. | Container |
US9676539B2 (en) | 2013-05-24 | 2017-06-13 | Graphic Packaging International, Inc. | Package for combined steam and microwave heating of food |
US10301100B2 (en) | 2013-05-24 | 2019-05-28 | Graphic Packaging International, Llc | Package for combined steam and microwave heating of food |
RU202937U1 (en) * | 2020-09-15 | 2021-03-15 | Общество с ограниченной ответственностью "ПАКГРАД" | MULTI-SECTION PLASTIC CONTAINER |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
US7041326B2 (en) | 2006-05-09 |
CA2423455A1 (en) | 2003-09-29 |
US20030185943A1 (en) | 2003-10-02 |
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Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: KRAFT FOODS GLOBAL BRANDS LLC, ILLINOIS Free format text: MERGER;ASSIGNOR:KRAFT FOODS HOLDINGS, INC.;REEL/FRAME:021949/0256 Effective date: 20080801 |
|
STCB | Information on status: application discontinuation |
Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION |