CA2007330A1

CA2007330A1 - Reclosable food package

Info

Publication number: CA2007330A1
Application number: CA002007330A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Gerald Orton Hustad
Original assignee: Oscar Mayer Foods Corp
Current assignee: Mondelez International Inc
Priority date: 1989-02-02
Filing date: 1990-01-08
Publication date: 1990-08-02
Also published as: JPH02233370A; EP0381329A1

Abstract

A RECLOSABLE FOOD PACKAGE

ABSTRACT
This invention pertains to a reclosable package having a body member, a base, a hermetic seal between the body member and base and snap locking projections in the side walls of the body member and base.

LPATCASE:102

Description

Z()07;~30 Case 3691 A RECLOSABLE FOOD PACKAGE

BAC~GROUND OF THE INVENTION

FIEL~ OF THE INVENTION
6 This invention pertains to a food package having a base, a body member, a peelable seal for hermetically 8 sealing the base to the cover and the snap-locking means contained in the base and cover for reclosing the package 10 after it has been opened and providing an audible snap as the package is reclosed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
14 Food packages have been described in the past. For e~ample, in U.S. Patent 3,498,018, a food package is 16 described wherein the food is sealed inside the package having a body and a top member. The food is formed under 18 vacuum and with mechanical pressure, thereby forming the food to the package, and is hermetically sealed. These 20 types of packages and methods for forming are further described in U.S. Patents 4,411,122; 4,577,757; and 22 4,688,369. Attempts to improve these patents are further described in U.S. Patents 4,498,588 and 4,498,589.
24 various improvements are described, for instance in Patent 4,498,588, ridges 34, grooves 36, and fig. 3 are 26 described in an attempt to provide a interlocking engagement. These elements, however, have not proven to 28 be satisfactory in producing a suitable audible snap in ~007;~30 reclosing the package. Other means of incorporating snap 2 actions into packages are described in Patents 3,672,536;

3,734,276. It is submitted that these two patents, 4 however, do not describe packages wherein the packaged foods are formed to the package with vacuum and 6 mechanical pressure. U.S. Patent 2,487,480 is stated to also refer to reclosable packages. Thus, there remains 8 in the art a need for a package that is easily openable and also recloses in a positive manner by providinq an 10 audible sound signifying to the consumer that the package has been reclosed, particularly with packages where the 12 food is pressed to conform to the container.

14 BRI~F DESCRIPTION OF THE ~RAWINGS
Figure 1 is a top view of the body of a package of 16 the instant invention.
Figure 2 is a side view of the body of the package 18 shown in Fig. 1.
Figure 3 is a side view of the base of the package of 20 the instant invention shown in Fig. 1.
Figure 4 is a top view of the body of a package of 22 the instant invention.
Figure 5 is a side view section of the body of the 24 package shown in Fig. 4.
Figure 6 is a side view section of the base of the 26 package shown in Fig. 4.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention pertains to a base having a base peripheral flange, a first base sidewall, a first base 32 ring panel, a second base sidewall and a base panel portion. Also provided is a body member having a body 34 peripheral flange, a first body sidewall, a first body rin~ panel, a second body sidewall and a body panel portion. The first base sidewall engages the first body 2 sidewall in telescoping arrangement and the second base sidewall engages the second body sidewall in telescoping 4 arrangement. A vacuum, hermetical, peelable, sealing ~eans is algo provided for sttaching the first b~se ring 6 panel to said first body ring panel, the peelable sealing means being openable with digital pull-apart forces.
8 A reclosable means is in the first base sidewall and in the first body side wall, wherein the reclosable means 10 comprising interferring projections in the sidewalls.

U.S. Patents 3,498,018; 4,411,122; 4,577,757; and 14 4,688,369 are herein incorporated by reference. These patents describe a method of forming a vacuumized, 16 hermetically-sealed package, characterized by a pre-determined quantity of a product which is deformable 18 and is arranged in a form of an upright mass on a base panel portion (10) of a base (12), as shown in the 20 figure~. The base further has a base peripheral flange (14), a first base sidewall (16), a first base ring panel 22 (18) and a second base sidewall (20). A body member ~22) has a body peripheral flange (24), a first body sidewall 24 (26), a first body ring panel (28), a second body sidewall (30) and a body panel portion (32). The first 26 base sidewall engages the first body sidewall in telescoping arrangement and the second base sidewall 28 engages the second body sidewall in telescoping arrangement. A vacuum, hermetical, peelable, sealing 30 means attaches the first base ring panel to said first body ring panel. The peelable sealing means is openable 32 with digital pull-apart forces. A reclosable means is provided in the first base sidewall and in the first body 34 side wall. The reclosable means comprising interferring projections (34) and (36) in said sidewalls.

f ~.()'7~30 Figures 4, 5 and 6 further show a second base ring 2 panel (38) and a third base sidewall (40) connecting the first base ring panel to the second base ring panel; and 4 a second body ring panel (42) and a third body sidewall (44) connecting the first body ring panel to the second 6 body ring panel.
To fill the package, the body member is placed in an 8 inverted position and a sufficient quantity of product is placed in said body member to substantially fill the body 10 member when the package is completed. The base is positioned on the mouth of the body member so that the 12 product panel disposes in a telescopic way into the body member and engages the product. The flange margins of 14 the base overlay the corresponding margins of the body member. Mechanical pressure is applied inwardly on the 16 outside surface of the raised panel portion. The area defined by the bottom edges of the body side walls is 18 sufficient to force the product into close contact with the interior surfaces of the base and body members to 20 shape the product to conform to the shape of the interior surface and to substantially completely fill the space 22 available between the package and product while vacuumizing the assembly and the sealing of the package 24 by hermetic means.
According to the present invention a, recloseable 26 package is attained by thermoforminq a continuous ring (18) and (28)in the package base and body into the base, 28 as shown in Figures 2 and 3. The base ring is high enough (1/16~ or more) to allow crimping before or after 30 filling and sealing of the package. A one or two step thermoforming and/or crimpinq of the ring causes an 32 audible snap when the bubble and base are pressed together.

~()07330 A number of means are possible to achieve the audible 2 snap. These include thermoforming a continuous ring indentation in either the base or the body, which is 4 matched to a corresponding ring or spot projections spaced around the correspondinq base body. ~he ~idth of 6 the base ring ~see Figure 2) is sufficient (1/4-inch preferred) to allow sealing of the base to the body.
8 Adhesive may be applied to the top of the ring, or heat sealable multilayer o~ygen barrier films may be used to 10 achieve the seal.
Recloseability and the ability to stay closed is 12 achieved at low cost by providing several points of friction interaction outside the sealed area of the 14 package. An audible snap sound is also provided by means of a visible pedestal ring which enhances the perception 16 of freshness preservation once the package is opened.
A preferred means to achieve a positive recloseable 18 package is to produce matching vertical indented grooves, as shown in Figures 4, 5 and 6. The matching groove 20 rings on the body (42~ and base (38) function like a tongue-in-groove lid/container package and a snap sound 22 is also produced when the parts are pressed together due to the matched groove rings (46) and (48) or rings and 24 spots on the first sidewalls. The vertical grooved indentation ring preferably is formed directly adjacent 26 to the second sidewalls, although it is possible to form the groove ring anywhere across rings (18) and (28). The 28 qroove preferably is 1/8-inch wide or wider by 1~8-inch deep on the base, with a corresponding slightly less 30 dimension groove on the body. Adhering the two package parts together occurs at rings ~18) and (28) and~or rings 32 (38) and (42) and at least 1~16-inch of continuous seal area around the package is necessary to achieve a 34 peelable seal (1~8-inch or wider seal width is ~007;~30 preferred). Sealing may occur by using adhesive or by 2 using multilayered o~ygen barrier heat sealable films.
The grooved channel further enhances the idea that 4 the package is resealed once it is opened.
This invention can be applied to round, square or 6 other shaped packages. Also, the projections are visible to the consumer and a pleasing appearance is obtained.
8 To achieve an easy opening, high molecular weight polymer adhesives, which are peelable/resealable, may be used or 10 easy-peel, multi-layer rigid films that are heat sealable may be used. Accordingly, features of this invention are 12 thermoforming projections in the body member and base that are part of the side walls that friction-fit through 14 a pinching action ~top to bottom) with or without a post thermoforming gripping action when the base and body 16 member are pressed together. The post thermoforming gripping action would be accomplished by using a heated 18 device to augment the depth of the matched rings or ring width dot projections to achieve more interference fit.
20 Solid state is another means to achieve augmented depth.
In one embodiment of this invention, as shown in the 22 figures, projections which are circular are shown. The thickness of the body member is appro~imately 13 mil. and 24 the thickness of the base is appro~imately 12 mil. The body member composition may be Bare~ 210, PET or PVC.
26 The base composition suitably is Barez 210, PVC, saranex laminated to Barex 210, PVC, or polystyrene.

Claims

1. A food package comprisinq:
a) a base having a base peripheral flange, a first base sidewall, a first base ring panel, a second base sidewall and a base panel portion:
b) a body member having a body peripheral flange, a first body sidewall, a first body ring panel, a second body sidewall and a body panel portion, said first base sidewall engaging said first body sidewall in telescoping arrangement and said second base sidewall engaging said second body sidewall in telescoping arrangement;
c) a vacuum, hermetical, peelable, sealing means attaching said first base ring panel to said first body ring panel, said peelable sealing means being openable with digital pull-apart forces; and d) a reclosable means in said first base sidewall and in said first body side wall, said reclosable means comprising interferring projections in said first sidewalls.

2. A food package, according to Claim 1, further comprising:
a) a second base ring panel and a third base sidewall connecting said first base ring panel to said second base ring panel; and b) a second body ring panel and a third body sidewall connectinq said first body ring panel to said second body ring panel.