EP0677454A1

EP0677454A1 - Multi-compartment tray for foods

Info

Publication number: EP0677454A1
Application number: EP95302371A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Valerie Aranka Sooky; Jeffrey Allen Loth; Edmund Aloysious Weaver, Jr.
Original assignee: Kraft Foods Inc
Current assignee: Mondelez International Inc
Priority date: 1994-04-13
Filing date: 1995-04-10
Publication date: 1995-10-18

Abstract

Packaging including an indentationally compartmentalized tray (10) having at least two compartments (12,14) for food products, wherein one of the food products is sealed in a plastic cup (30) disposed within one of the compartments (12). In the preferred embodiment, one of the food products (38) is a spreadable food product, such as a cheese product or peanut butter, and the other (36) a bread product, such as crackers or breadsticks. Also disclosed is a method for packaging such food products. In the preferred method, the spreadable food product (38) is sealed inside the cup (30) by a peelable plastic membrane (22), and the cup (30) is subsequently inserted and welded inside one of the compartments (12) of the tray (10). After dispensing the bread product (36) into the other compartment (14) of the tray (10), a plastic membrane (32) is used to peelably seal the tray (10), contemporaneously bonding to the cup-sealing membrane (22). The bonding permits the consumer to remove the bonded membranes (22,32) together, opening both food compartments (12,14) with a single manual peeling operation.

Description

Background of the Invention

This invention relates generally to disposable food packaging, and more particularly to a formed plastic container having more than one compartment.
Disposable food packaging which allows consumers to transport, open and eat a food product at any desired location and then readily dispose of the food packaging has become more popular in recent years. Such packaging must be easy to open and must be capable of economical manufacture for mass production.
A known package which has been widely used for consumer sale of two-item snacks such as cheese and crackers comprises a two-compartment tray for storing a cheese product or other soft or spreadable product in one compartment, and crackers, breadsticks or the like in the other compartment. Typically, the tray is formed, filled and sealed in an in-line process wherein the tray is formed by a thermoforming or vacuum forming operation. The two products are placed in their respective compartments and a thin film of flexible plastic material is peelably sealed over the top of the tray to hermetically seal the product. A flat spreading implement may also be included inside.
There is a continuing need for improved quality, manufacturing flexibility, and cost-efficiency in connection with packaging of the type generally described above.

Summary of the Invention

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a package comprising an indentationally compartmentalized tray having at least two compartments formed therein, for containing at least two different food products, wherein one of the food products is sealed in a plastic cup disposed within a first one of the compartments in the tray, and the other food product is disposed in a second compartment in the tray. The invention further comprises a method for forming, filling and sealing the package wherein the plastic cup may be formed, filled and sealed at a location and time remote from the location and time of its insertion into a compartment of the tray. The plastic cup is peelably sealed by a first thin film or membrane of flexible plastic, and the tray is also preferably peelably sealed by a second thin film or membrane of flexible plastic extending across at least the second compartment.
In the preferred embodiment, the second plastic film extends across both compartments, co-bonding with the film over the cup. This permits both compartments to be opened by a single manual peeling operation.
In the preferred embodiment, the food products are, respectively, a spreadable first product such as a cheese spread or peanut butter contained in the first compartment, and a bread product such as bread sticks, crackers, or the like contained in the second compartment.
In the past, two-product packaging of the type described above has required that the two products be kept on-hand in bulk at the location where the package is formed, filled and sealed, and that the bulk products be dispensed and sealed nearly simultaneously into the packaging. The method of the invention permits the tray to be formed, filled and sealed at a time and location remote from when the cup was formed, filled and sealed. This permits savings through greater plant specification in that the plant in which the filling and sealing of the first compartment takes place need not have the capability of handling bulk quantities of the second product, and the plant in which filling and sealing of the second compartment takes place need not have the capability of handling bulk quantities of the first product. The method also increases manufacturing flexibility, since a variety of products could be filled into cups at alternate locations and still be assembled at a central location without the need for additional filling or production equipment at the assembly location. The method may enable more rapid filling of orders since the rate of production may be increased by maintaining an inventory of pre-filled cups on hand.

Brief Description of the Drawings

FIG. 1 is a partially exploded perspective view of a package in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of the tray shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a side view of the tray shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of the tray shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the cup shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a web of film used for covering and sealing the trays in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 7 is a plan view of the package shown in FIG. 1.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment

The invention is preferably embodied in a two-compartment package and in a method of forming, filling and sealing the package. The package includes an indentationally compartmentalized tray 10, having first and second generally rectangular compartments 12 and 14 formed therein. A generally rectangular cup 30 is attached within the smaller compartment 12 and is covered and sealed by a film or membrane 22. The tray 10 is similarly covered and sealed by a film or membrane 32.
The compartmentalized tray 10 may be made of a plastic material such as polyester or PVC. The larger recessed compartment 14 may be filled with a bread product, such as bread sticks or crackers. The bottom surface 40 of the bread product compartment 14 may have a raised, rib-like structure 20 to add rigidity to the bottom surface 40, to inhibit breakage of the bread product 36 and to facilitate manual removal of the bread product 36 from the bread product compartment 14.
The smaller recessed compartment 12 may contain a spreadable product such as a cheese spread or peanut butter. In accordance with the invention, the product contained in the compartment 12, rather than being in direct contact with the inner surface of the compartment 12, is disposed within a generally rectangular cup 30 which is made of a plastic material and which is secured within the compartment 12. The cup 30 is preferably hot-filled for microstability and to enhance freshness, and is covered and sealed along its lip 34 with a cup sealing membrane 22, hermetically sealing the spreadable product 38 in the cup 30. If required for shelf life purposes, the compartments may be gas-flushed. In the preferred embodiment, the membrane 22 is made of polypropylene and polyester for structural stability and tear resistance. The spreadable product cup 30 is secured in place in the compartment 12 by ultrasonic welding 44 of the respective lips 34 and 28 to one another such that the lip 34 becomes flush with, or is slightly above, but not below, the height of the tray lip 28.
The two compartments 12, 14 are generally of the same width and depth, adjacently oriented in the tray 10 with the larger compartment elongated to accommodate a food product such as crackers or breadsticks. The tray 10 has a lip 28 along its periphery and the spreadable product cup 30 has a lip 34 along its periphery which rests on the tray lip 28 when the cup is inserted into the spreadable product compartment 12.
To effectuate hermetic sealing of the bread product 36, a plastic tray-sealing membrane 32 is sealed along the lip 28 of the plastic tray 10. Where the tray-sealing membrane overlies the previously sealed cup-sealing membrane, the heat and pressure causes the membranes to bond. This permits both the bread product compartment 14 and the spreadable product compartment 12 to be opened by a single manual peeling operation, i.e., gripping of a corner or other portion of the tray-sealing membrane 32 and lifting it away from the tray 10.
The tray 10 has one perforated corner 18 which facilitates manually disjoining the corner 18 from the rest of the tray 10, by holding the corner 18 between the thumb and index finger and pulling upward, peeling the heat-sealed membrane 32 from the lip 28 of the tray 10.
The method of filling and sealing the package comprises two separate in-line operations which may be performed at times and locations remote from one another. The first operation comprises forming the cup 30, preferably by vacuum forming or thermoforming, then dispensing the spreadable food product 38 into the cup 30, and heat-sealing the cup-sealing membrane 22 to the lip 34 of the cup 30. The formed, filled and sealed cups may then be transported to a separate facility for incorporation into the tray 10.
In the second in-line operation, the compartmentalized tray 10 is independently vacuum thermoformed. The product-filled cup 30 is then inserted into the recessed spreadable product compartment 12 of the tray 10 and ultrasonically welded to the tray 10. The bread product 36 and a spreading implement 42 are dispensed into the recessed bread product compartment 14. The tray-sealing membrane 32 is placed over the tray and heat-sealed first to the cup film 22 and then to the lip 28, including the area between the compartments 12 and 14.
For economy and efficiency, the packages are preferably formed, filled and sealed in rows, whereby multiple packages in each single row are simultaneously formed, then filled, then sealed. A web 24 of film or membrane material having labels pre-printed thereon, as shown in FIG. 6, is preferably employed for covering and sealing the trays. The web 24 illustrated in FIG. 6 is intended for use in connection with six-across rows of trays. It will be appreciated that rows of greater or smaller numbers of trays may be employed in alternative embodiments.
For economy and efficiency, the packages are preferably formed, filled and sealed in rows. When the trays 10 are formed and filled, they are connected along their longitudinal side edges 46 as well as along their transverse end edges 48. After filling, the sealing membrane is sealed over each row while the packages remain connected. After the packages have been sealed, perforations are then formed through the trays 10 and the membranes 26 between the first and second, between the third and fourth, and between the fifth and sixth trays in the row. Knife cuts are formed to separate the packages between the second and third trays and between the fourth and fifth trays in each row. Each row is then severed from the succeeding row, and the row of six is cut into three pairs of packages, each pair having perforations 16 to facilitate detachment of the two packages in each pair from one another.
The invention eliminates the need for maintaining bulk quantities of two separate products on hand at a single location by enabling the tray to be filled and sealed at a time and location remote from the time and location at which the cup was filled and sealed. This permits savings through greater plant specification. Second, the method may enable more rapid filling of orders since the rate of production may be increased by having pre-filled cups.
The invention is not limited to the preferred embodiment described above and shown in the drawings. Other embodiments might include different arrangements of the compartmentalized tray or alternate food products, for example. The invention is described with greater particularity by the following claims.

Claims

A package comprising:
an indentationally compartmentalized tray (10) having a first recessed compartment (12) and a second recessed compartment (14);
a cup (30) attached to said tray (10) in said first recessed compartment (12), said cup (30) being filled with a quantity of a first food product (38);
a first flexible sealing membrane (22) attached to the perimeter of said cup (30), sealing said first food product (38) in said cup (30);
a quantity of a second food product (36) in said second recessed compartment (14) of said tray (10); and
a second flexible sealing membrane (32) peelably attached to the perimeter of said second recessed compartment (14), sealing said second food product (36) in said second recessed compartment (14).
A package in accordance with claim 1 wherein said second flexible sealing membrane (32) is peelably attached to the perimeter of said tray (10), sealing all of said recessed compartments (12,14).
A package according to claim 2, wherein said second flexible sealing membrane (32) adheres to said first flexible sealing membrane (22) such that peelably removing said second membrane (32) will also remove said first membrane (22) from said cup (10).
A package according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said tray (10) has exactly two recessed compartments (12,14).
A package according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein said second flexible sealing membrane (32) is attached by heat-sealing.
A package according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said second flexible sealing membrane (32) is attached to form a hermetic seal.
A package according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein said cup (30) is filled and sealed at a location and time remote from the location and time of its insertion into said first recessed compartment (12).
A package according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein said first food product (38) is a spreadable product and said second food product (36) is a bread product.
A package according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein said cup (30) is ultrasonically welded to said tray (10) in said first recessed compartment (12).
An assembly of packages comprising a first package according to any one of claims 1 to 9 and a second package according to any one of claims 1 to 9 perforatedly attached to said first package.
A method of packaging food products (36,38) comprising the steps of:
placing a quantity of a first food product (38) in a cup (30);
placing a first flexible sealing membrane (22) over said cup (30) and sealing said membrane (22) about the perimeter of said cup (30);
forming an indentationally compartmentalized tray (10) having first and second recessed compartments (12,14);
placing said cup (30) in said first recessed compartment (12) and affixing said cup (30) therein;
placing a quantity of a second food product (36) in said second recessed compartment (14) of said tray (10);
placing a second flexible sealing membrane (32) over said second recessed compartment (14) and sealing said membrane (32) along the perimeter of said second recessed compartment (14).
A method according to claim 11, wherein said second flexible sealing membrane (32) is peelably attached to the perimeter of said tray (10), sealing all of said recessed compartments (12,14).
A method according to claim 11 or claim 12 wherein said second flexible sealing membrane (32) adheres to said first flexible sealing membrane (22) such that peelably removing said second membrane (32) will also remove said first membrane (22) from said cup (30).
A method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein said tray (10) has exactly two recessed compartments (12,14).
A method according to any one of claims 11 to 14, wherein said second flexible sealing membrane (32) is attached by heat-sealing.
A method according to any one of claims 11 to 15, wherein said second flexible sealing membrane (32) is attached to form a hermetic seal.
A method according to any one of claims 11 to 16, wherein said cup (30) is filled and sealed at a location and time remote from the location and time of its insertion into said first recessed compartment (12).
A method according to any one of claims 11 to 17, wherein said first food product (38) is a spreadable product and said second food product (36) is a bread product.
A method according to any one of claims 11 to 18, wherein said cup (30) is ultrasonically welded to said tray (10) to maintain it in said first recessed compartment (12).