EP0534977A1 - Recipient pour griller le mais dans un four a micro-ondes - Google Patents

Recipient pour griller le mais dans un four a micro-ondes

Info

Publication number
EP0534977A1
EP0534977A1 EP91905993A EP91905993A EP0534977A1 EP 0534977 A1 EP0534977 A1 EP 0534977A1 EP 91905993 A EP91905993 A EP 91905993A EP 91905993 A EP91905993 A EP 91905993A EP 0534977 A1 EP0534977 A1 EP 0534977A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
internal compartment
dish
package
package according
microwave
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.)
Granted
Application number
EP91905993A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP0534977A4 (fr
EP0534977B1 (fr
Inventor
James D. Watkins
Lawrence C. Brandberg
Jeffrey T. Watkins
Denise E. Hanson
Charles H. Turpin
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Golden Valley Microwave Foods Inc
Original Assignee
Golden Valley Microwave Foods Inc
Priority date (The priority date 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 date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from US07/497,190 external-priority patent/US5008024A/en
Application filed by Golden Valley Microwave Foods Inc filed Critical Golden Valley Microwave Foods Inc
Publication of EP0534977A1 publication Critical patent/EP0534977A1/fr
Publication of EP0534977A4 publication Critical patent/EP0534977A4/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0534977B1 publication Critical patent/EP0534977B1/fr
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • 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
    • B65D81/00—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents
    • B65D81/34—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents for packaging foodstuffs or other articles intended to be cooked or heated within the package
    • B65D81/3446—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents for packaging foodstuffs or other articles intended to be cooked or heated within the package specially adapted to be heated by microwaves
    • B65D81/3453—Rigid containers, e.g. trays, bottles, boxes, cups
    • 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
    • B65D2205/00—Venting means
    • 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
    • B65D2581/00—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents
    • B65D2581/34—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents for packaging foodstuffs or other articles intended to be cooked or heated within
    • B65D2581/3401—Cooking or heating method specially adapted to the contents of the package
    • B65D2581/3402—Cooking or heating method specially adapted to the contents of the package characterised by the type of product to be heated or cooked
    • B65D2581/3421—Cooking pop-corn
    • 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
    • B65D2581/00—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents
    • B65D2581/34—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents for packaging foodstuffs or other articles intended to be cooked or heated within
    • B65D2581/3437—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents for packaging foodstuffs or other articles intended to be cooked or heated within specially adapted to be heated by microwaves
    • B65D2581/3463—Means for applying microwave reactive material to the package
    • B65D2581/3466—Microwave reactive material applied by vacuum, sputter or vapor deposition
    • 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
    • B65D2581/00—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents
    • B65D2581/34—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents for packaging foodstuffs or other articles intended to be cooked or heated within
    • B65D2581/3437—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents for packaging foodstuffs or other articles intended to be cooked or heated within specially adapted to be heated by microwaves
    • B65D2581/3471—Microwave reactive substances present in the packaging material
    • B65D2581/3472—Aluminium or compounds thereof
    • 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
    • B65D2581/00—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents
    • B65D2581/34—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents for packaging foodstuffs or other articles intended to be cooked or heated within
    • B65D2581/3437—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents for packaging foodstuffs or other articles intended to be cooked or heated within specially adapted to be heated by microwaves
    • B65D2581/3486—Dielectric characteristics of microwave reactive packaging
    • B65D2581/3494—Microwave susceptor

Definitions

  • the invention relates to microwave packaging and especially to a package suited for popping popcorn in a microwave oven.
  • U.S. patents 4,861,958 and 4,678,882 describe a popcorn popping container in the form of a paperboard cup with a microwave lossy element added to the bottom of the cup either as a separate disc or as a laminate and with a lid having apertures for releasing moisture produced during popping. While the lossy element is intended to assist in popping the corn, neither the volume of popped corn produced nor the percentage of unpopped kernels have been as good as desired. Users are particularly disturbed when a substantial number of unpopped kernels or "old maids" remain after the popping process. It is therefore one object of the invention to make an improvement in the volume of popped corn and unpopped kernels produced in a package having the general form described in the aforesaid patents.
  • Patent 4,586,649 describes a popping package in which the bottom of the package slopes centrally toward a central panel of small size.
  • the carton resembles two truncated pyramids which are joined base-to-base and supported on a separate stand in the form of a collapsible tube.
  • the sloping lower portion of the carton causes the corn to bunch together in a clump.
  • the supporting stand must be manipulated by hand. This requires extra attention by the user and in the present state of development of the art is considered to be unsatisfactory because of the extra time, care and attention needed in setting up the package for popping.
  • many users have trouble following directions. Popping will be less satisfactory because the package also contains no susceptor.
  • the distance between the package and the floor of the oven varies from one point to another because the bottom part of the package is sloped. It is also known to provide a foil pan with an expandable cover for popping popcorn on a stove top.
  • a further object is to provide a popping package of the type described having a microwave -interactive susceptor material distributed in heat conductive relationship with the popcorn and to find a way to strategically locate the entire susceptor in relationship to the supporting surface of the oven.
  • Another object is to provide a spacing or gap between the susceptor and the oven floor that is related to the electrical characteristics of the oven for maximum energy transfer to the susceptor. It is also an object to find a way to provide a reliable hermetic seal for the corn to promote good popping of the corn as well as to vent steam without allowing moisture to enter the food through the vent holes.
  • FIGURES Figure 1 is a perspective view of the invention partly broken away;
  • Figure 2 is a partial vertical sectional view of a portion of the side and bottom wall of the package;
  • Figure 3 is a central vertical sectional view of the package of Figure 1;
  • Figure 4 is a partial vertical sectional view of the center portion of the package on a greatly enlarged scale
  • Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view of another form of the invention.
  • Figure 6 is a partial vertical sectional view of another form of the invention.
  • the invention provides a package for popping popcorn in a microwave oven.
  • One major component is an open- topped wide mouth container in the form of a tub or bowl which is formed from self-supporting, preferably stiff microwave transparent sheet material such as paper or paperboard.
  • the tub includes an upstanding side wall terminating at the top in a free edge which defines an upper wide mouth.
  • the side walls of the tub slope outwardly to permit stacking of a plurality of such packages within one another during shipment and storage.
  • the side walls have a lower edge which rests on the floor of the microwave oven during cooking.
  • the tub also includes a flat bottom wall. Above the bottom wall is a first compartment containing unpopped popcorn and optionally a quantity of vegetable oil or shortening.
  • the bottom wall is connected to the side wall at a point spaced upwardly from its bottom edge so as to define a second compartment within the package providing an air space between the bottom wall of the package and the oven floor that has a substantially uniform height throughout.
  • a layer of microwave interactive susceptor material is connected to the bottom wall and is distributed across the bottom wall so that the entire susceptor has a constant gap from the bottom wall of the oven to assist in popping the popcorn. The uniform height of the air gap between the susceptor and the oven floor facilitates the efficient transfer of microwave energy via the susceptor to the corn for enhancing popping of the corn.
  • the lower edge of the side wall of the tub is uninterrupted to make possible a sealing engagement with the floor of the microwave oven so that the air in the compartment is held below the package.
  • the air in the air gap becomes heated above the temperature of the air in the oven which surrounds the package. This assists in the transfer of microwave energy to the susceptor.
  • the unpopped popcorn contained in the upper compartment is in heat conductive relationship with the susceptor.
  • a flexible cover is sealed to the top of the tub and expands upwardly as the kernels pop.
  • the susceptor can comprise any of a variety of microwave interactive materials such as a thin layer of metal, e.g. vapor deposited metal, metal oxide, carbon and the like known to the art.
  • the susceptor can be applied directly to the bottom wall of the tub or can be supported upon a sheet of paper or plastic which is subsequently bonded to the bottom wall of the tub.
  • One potentially suitable susceptor is a thin layer of plastic or paper having on it a dried layer of a liquid microwave interactive coating containing a microwave interactive component, e.g. carbon particles bonded together with a film former or matrix and microwave transparent electrically nonconductive attenuator particles.
  • the susceptor layer can also be composed of a self-supporting coating adhered to the bottom wall and containing microwave interactive particles supported within a cured binder or matrix which holds the particles together and also bonds the susceptor coating to the surface of the bottom wall.
  • a self-supporting coating adhered to the bottom wall and containing microwave interactive particles supported within a cured binder or matrix which holds the particles together and also bonds the susceptor coating to the surface of the bottom wall. Examples of such coatings are described in patents 4,267,420 and 4,190,757 and USA patent application serial numbers 456,159 filed 12/22/89 or 261,380 filed 10/24/88.
  • the food is held in a sealed compartment, e.g. a hermetically sealed compartment, and vent means are provided in a second compartment separated from the sealed compartment by a releasable seal.
  • a sealed compartment e.g. a hermetically sealed compartment
  • vent means are provided in a second compartment separated from the sealed compartment by a releasable seal.
  • the food is held in a rimmed dish or tray at the bottom of the tub or forming the bottom wall thereof.
  • the cover is a flexible plastic film releasably sealed to the rim of the dish. During heating the seal is released, allowing the flexible cover to expand upwardly.
  • a circular lid can be sealed to the dish beneath the cover.
  • the package 10 comprises a bowl or tub-shaped container having an upstanding side wall 12 and a horizontal bottom wall 16 both of which can be formed from a stiff or semi-flexible material such as paper or paperboard.
  • the side wall 12 is in this case circular, but other shapes are possible.
  • the top edge of the tub is turned outwardly at 14 to define a reinforcing lip formi g a circular wide mouth at the top of the side wall 12.
  • the bottom wall 16 which is also circular is spaced upwardly from the oven floor 18 by a distance 20.
  • the bottom wall 16 is thus bonded to the side wall 12 at a point above its lower edge 21.
  • the bottom wall 16 can be made of stiff or flexible material such as paperboard or paper.
  • the cover 12' consists of a circular sheet of flexible microwave transparent material ( Figure 3) having a portion 26 at the edge which is bonded by means of a suitable adhesive to the rim 14.
  • the cover 12' has a peripheral portion 28 which conforms to the inner surface of the side wall 12 and a central portion 30 which rests against the upper surface of the charge of unpopped popcorn and shortening 24. During popping, the cover 12' expands upwardly as the kernels pop until it reaches a position approximately at the elevation of the upper edge of the rim 14 or slightly above it.
  • the size of the tub and the charge of popcorn 24 are proportioned so that the popped corn will approximately fill or slightly exceed the volume of the tub.
  • To serve the popcorn all that is necessary is to remove the cover 12' by separating it from the upper rim 14 of the side wall 12.
  • the tub then functions as a serving dish or bowl from which the popcorn can be eaten directly. Since the side wall 12 of the tub is sloped out ⁇ wardly, several of such packages can be stacked within one another during shipment and storage.
  • a suitable microwave interactive susceptor 22 is bonded to the bottom wall 16 of the tub and distributed across the center portion but not the edge portion that is folded downwardly and bonded to the lower part of side wall 12. It will be seen that both the bottom wall 16 and the susceptor 22 are positioned horizontally during use and are parallel to the floor of the oven 18. It will also be seen that the spacing between the bottom wall 16 and the bottom edge 21 of the side wall 12 defines a second compartment within the package below the bottom wall 16 to provide an air space between the bottom wall 16 of the package and the oven floor 18. This air space has a substantially uniform height throughout. As a result, the microwave interactive susceptor 22 connected to the bottom wall is positioned such that substantially the entire susceptor 22 has a constant gap G from the floor 18 of the microwave oven.
  • the lower edge 21 of the side wall 12 is uninter ⁇ rupted to provide a sealing engagement with the floor of the microwave oven.
  • air in the lower compartment is held within the confines of the side wall 12 and below the bottom wall 16. Air in the lower compartment will become heated during cooking above the temperature of the air in the oven.
  • the gap G is of constant height their will be provided beneath the susceptor 22 a heated layer of air that serves as a dielectric layer having a constant height (gap G) throughout the entire susceptor 22.
  • the dielectric constant of a substance will affect the microwave energy distribution through it.
  • the air in the gap G becomes heated its dielectric constant will change primarily as a result of the expansion due to heating and the resulting reduction in the moisture content of the heated air. It is believed that the uniformity of the heated air layer in the gap G acting with the reduction in the dielectric constant of the air as it becomes heated helps to assure maximum microwave energy transfer to the susceptor 22.
  • microwave energy is reflected from surfaces, it has been found that energy peaks or nodes can occur at predetermined distances from a surface, as for example a predetermined distance from an oven wall that is partially or completely reflective of microwave energy.
  • bottom wall 16 and susceptor 22 are placed at a strategic distance above the bottom edge 21 of the side wall 12 which is related to the electrical characteristics of the microwave energy.
  • the gap G is about one-eighth wavelength of the microwave energy supplied to the oven so that when the oven has a wavelength of 12 cm (which is typical of almost all ovens) , the gap G is about 1.0 cm to 1.5 cm and preferably about 1.25 cm.
  • substantially the entire susceptor 22 has a constant gap G between itself and the floor of the oven 18, namely, about one-eighth of the wavelength of the microwave energy supplied to the oven.
  • Example 1 The Invention This example demonstrates the results achieved with the invention as shown in the figures.
  • the bottom wall 16 was placed about 7/16 inches (1.25 cm) above the lower edge 21 of the side wall 12 to provide a gap G between the susceptor 22 and the floor of the oven 18 of 1.25 cm.
  • the oven had a wavelength of 12 cm.
  • Table 1 The results obtained in all examples are shown in Table 1 below.
  • a package was prepared the same as in Example 1 except that the portion of the side wall 12 extending below the bottom wall 16 was removed so that the bottom wall and susceptor rested against the floor of the oven.
  • Comparative Example 3 A tub was prepared as in Example 1 except that portions of the side wall 12 below the bottom wall 16 were cut away and removed to leave four spaced apart remnants of the side wall which served as legs to hold the susceptor 22 the same distance from the oven floor as in Example 1 but allowed air to circulate freely beneath the susceptor.
  • Comparative Example 4 A sample was prepared as in Example 1 except that no susceptor was provided. The results are shown in the following table.
  • the volume of popped corn that resulted from the invention was 2100 ml, or 150 ml greater than examples 3 and 4 and 200 ml greater than Example 2. This improvement provides the consumer with a substantially greater volume of popped corn. Even more importantly, the invention results in only 1.9% unpopped kernels. By comparison, Examples 2, 3 and 4 result in a much greater percentage of unpopped kernels, namely
  • Example 3 the number of kernels that remained unpopped in Example 3 is about 370% greater than the invention, and Example 4 is about 450% greater than the invention.
  • the air in the lower compartment beneath the susceptor in Example 1 reached a temperature of 198.4°C after being heated for 2 minutes, 35 seconds.
  • the air in the compartment reached a temperature of 128.7°C.
  • the air in the oven outside the package was raised from a temperature of about 20°C before cooking to about 49.5°C.
  • This shows that the air in the compartment beneath the susceptor is about 195°C hotter than the air in the oven and about 70°C hotter than achieved with a similar package having no susceptor.
  • This provides a change in the dielectric constant of the air through a gap of uniform height G between the susceptor and the oven floor which assists in the efficient transfer of microwave energy to the susceptor and to the popcorn.
  • the package does not have to be manipulated in any way prior to popping. It also provides a package from which the popcorn can be easily consumed directly, i.e. without the necessity of transferring it to another container. In addition, the popping performance as measured by the volume of popped kernels and the reduction in the number of unpopped kernels is substantially improved.
  • the package indicated generally at 40 includes a circular sidewall 12 which tapers outwardly proceeding toward the top edge 41 which defines an upper open wide mouth similar to that already described. It will be noted that the upper edge of the flexible cover 12' is sealed at 43' to the upper edge of the side wall 12 to provide a first seal for the cover 12'.
  • the package 40 also includes a bottom wall 16 having a downwardly turned peripheral collar 20 that is sealed to the lower edge portion 21 of the side wall 12 to define an air chamber of constant height for providing an air gap G between the floor of the oven 18 and the bottom wall 16 of the container.
  • food e.g.
  • a popcorn- containing dish 42 is provided within the package 40 with its lower surface resting on the bottom wall 16.
  • the dish 42 can be composed of any suitable microwave transparent self-supporting material such as paper, paperboard or plastic.
  • the dish 42 comprises a pair of inner and outer paper or paperboard layers 44, 46.
  • the outer paperboard layer 46 in this case comprises a 282 lb. per ream paperboard layer, while the inner paper layer comprises 21 lb. greaseproof paper.
  • an intermediate susceptor layer 48 composed in this case of plastic film, such as a
  • One suitable susceptor comprises a semiconductive aluminum layer applied by vacuum electrodeposition to one surface of a 2 mil polyester film.
  • the layers 44-48 of the dish are bonded together with a suitable adhesive such as a polyvinylacetate emulsion adhesive, e.g. Duracet-12 adhesive by Franklin International, Inc. of Columbus, Ohio.
  • the dish 42 includes a bottom wall 53, an outwardly tapering sidewall 52, and a horizontal circular rim 54.
  • the sidewall 52 being free of susceptor material, e.g. by having the susceptor substance, e.g. metal, removed from susceptor layer 48.
  • the adhesive 56 can be any suitable thermoplastic adhesive which is adapted to soften at elevated temperature.
  • One suitable adhesive is a temperature activated, i.e. hot-melt, adhesive designated Scotch Pack ® #122 by The 3M Company of
  • the second cover seal 56 extends all the way around the circular rim 54 at the mouth or upper edge of the dish 42.
  • the popcorn 50 thus provides a hermetic seal for the food-containing space to reduce moisture transfer to or from the popcorn 50. It has been found that the popcorn 50 will, as a result, keep its good popping qualities after being stored for a substantial period of time.
  • compartment 51 Located in the flexible cover 12' just above the dish 42 is an empty, in this case collapsed, compartment 51 (located between the wall 12 and the cover 12') having a plurality of steam vent openings 60, e.g. l/l6th inch diameter holes. It will be seen that since the steam vent openings 60 are in the compartment 51 above the seal 56, they do not provide a path for moisture to enter or leave the sealed dish 42.
  • the package of Figure 5 To use the package of Figure 5, it is placed in a microwave oven and exposed to microwave energy. This heats the popcorn 50, causing it to pop. Additional heat is provided by the susceptor 48 in the dish 42 to enhance the popping of the corn. The bottom of the dish 42 will typically become heated to between 300°F and 450°F by the susceptor layer 48. In addition, the susceptor material 48 within the rim 54 will heat the releasible adhesive in seal 56, allowing the cover 12' to rise as moisture vapor expands within the package during the heating process.
  • the package of Figure 6 is generally similar to Figure 5 except that the bottom wall 16 has been eliminated by providing a downward cir ⁇ cular collar 64 at the outer edge of the rim 54.
  • the dish in this case is designated 43.
  • a circular lid 66 of any suitable barrier material such as plastic film, e.g. polyvinyladene coated polyester film, is sealed to the rim 54 by means of the releasable seal 56 comprising any suitable thermoplastic adhesive.
  • the lid 66 can be composed of any other suitable plastic material known for its low moisture vapor transmissivity to reduce moisture vapor transmission to or from the popcorn 50.
  • the cover 12' can be composed of a less expensive plastic material which need not have vapor barrier qualities.
  • the flexible cover 12' be bonded, e.g. by means of adhesive 67, to the edge or to other portions of the lid 66.
  • the package of Figure 6 operates in the same manner as that described in Figure 5.
  • the seal 56 will eventually rupture, allowing the cover 12' to rise upwardly due to the expansion of hot air and vapor within the package.
  • steam escapes through the vent openings 60.
  • the popcorn 50 within the dish 43 is hermetically sealed to insure good popping characteristics.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Food Science & Technology (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Package Specialized In Special Use (AREA)
  • Grain Derivatives (AREA)
  • Stored Programmes (AREA)
  • Cookers (AREA)
  • Packages (AREA)

Abstract

Un bac en papier cartonné largement ouvert au sommet (40) destiné à griller et éclater des grains de maïs dans un four à micro-ondes comprend une paroi latérale verticale (12) qui a un rebord libre (41) au sommet et un rebord inférieur (21) qui repose sur la base du four. Le bac (40) comprend aussi un fond plat (16) relié à la paroi latérale (12) à une hauteur verticalement espacée du rebord inférieur (21) afin de délimiter un compartiment à air entre le fond (16) et la base du four. Une couche sensible aux micro-ondes (48) est reliée au fond du bac (16) pour aider à griller et éclater les grains de maïs. Le rebord inférieur (21) est continu afin de permettre un contact étanche entre celui-ci et la base du four de sorte que l'air dans le compartiment se réchauffe au cours de la cuisson. Une couche de grains non grillés (50) repose sur le fond (16) en relation de thermoconductivité avec la couche sensible aux micro-ondes (48). Un couvercle souple (12') s'emboîtant de manière étanche sur le rebord libre (41) s'élargit vers le haut lorsque les grains (50) sautent afin d'accommoder leur dilatation.
EP91905993A 1990-03-22 1991-02-26 Recipient pour griller le mais dans un four a micro-ondes Expired - Lifetime EP0534977B1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (5)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US497190 1990-03-22
US07/497,190 US5008024A (en) 1990-03-22 1990-03-22 Microwave corn popping package
US07/552,798 US5097107A (en) 1990-03-22 1990-07-13 Microwave corn popping package having flexible and expandable cover
US552798 1990-07-13
PCT/US1991/001337 WO1991015096A1 (fr) 1990-03-22 1991-02-26 Recipient pour griller le mais dans un four a micro-ondes

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0534977A1 true EP0534977A1 (fr) 1993-04-07
EP0534977A4 EP0534977A4 (fr) 1994-04-06
EP0534977B1 EP0534977B1 (fr) 1998-08-05

Family

ID=27052418

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP91905993A Expired - Lifetime EP0534977B1 (fr) 1990-03-22 1991-02-26 Recipient pour griller le mais dans un four a micro-ondes

Country Status (9)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0534977B1 (fr)
JP (1) JP3305712B2 (fr)
AU (1) AU7460091A (fr)
BR (1) BR9106255A (fr)
CA (1) CA2078323C (fr)
DE (1) DE69129940D1 (fr)
ES (1) ES2119775T3 (fr)
HK (1) HK1012829A1 (fr)
WO (1) WO1991015096A1 (fr)

Families Citing this family (11)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB8921754D0 (en) * 1989-09-27 1989-11-08 Waddingtons Cartons Ltd Improvements relating to packaging containers
JP3661157B2 (ja) * 1995-05-15 2005-06-15 ゴールデン バレー マイクロウェーブ フーズ，インコーポレーテッド マイクロウエーブ調理のための内部閉空間構造およびその方法
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Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
HK1012829A1 (en) 1999-08-06
ES2119775T3 (es) 1998-10-16
BR9106255A (pt) 1992-12-01
CA2078323C (fr) 2000-05-02
JP3305712B2 (ja) 2002-07-24
DE69129940D1 (de) 1998-09-10
WO1991015096A1 (fr) 1991-10-03
EP0534977A4 (fr) 1994-04-06
JPH05508370A (ja) 1993-11-25
AU7460091A (en) 1991-10-21
CA2078323A1 (fr) 1991-09-23
EP0534977B1 (fr) 1998-08-05

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