EP1157942A1 - Packaging for cooking food, having a pressure control system - Google Patents
Packaging for cooking food, having a pressure control system Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP1157942A1 EP1157942A1 EP00110826A EP00110826A EP1157942A1 EP 1157942 A1 EP1157942 A1 EP 1157942A1 EP 00110826 A EP00110826 A EP 00110826A EP 00110826 A EP00110826 A EP 00110826A EP 1157942 A1 EP1157942 A1 EP 1157942A1
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- container body
- container
- pressure control
- control valve
- food
- 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.)
- Withdrawn
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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
- B65D81/3461—Flexible containers, e.g. bags, pouches, envelopes
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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
- B65D77/22—Details
- B65D77/225—Pressure relief-valves incorporated in a container wall, e.g. valves comprising at least one elastic element
-
- 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
- B65D81/32—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 two or more different materials which must be maintained separate prior to use in admixture
- B65D81/3261—Flexible containers having several compartments
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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
- 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
- B65D81/3415—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 in hot water, e.g. boil pouches
-
- 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
Definitions
- the present invention relates, in general, to food packaging and cooking containers having pressure control valves and, more particularly, to a food packaging and cooking container designed to allow a user to easily and simply cook packaged food without breaking the seal of the packaging container or moving the food from the packaging container into another cooking container, the packaging and cooking container being thus used for cooking packaged food while maintaining its food packaging function.
- packaged food has to be removed from a packaging container or a wrapper prior to cooking the food.
- the empty packaging container or the wrapper is, thereafter, discarded as waste.
- Such raw foods have to be appropriately cut and trimmed by a user prior to cooking, thus being somewhat inconvenient 10 busy users. Therefore, a variety of instant foods, specially processed for quick preparation, have been proposed and used.
- the food is removed from a wrapper or a packaging container prior to being heated and cooked using boiled water or using a heating apparatus, such as a microwave oven. In such a case, the empty wrapper or empty packaging container is discarded as waste.
- the object of conventional wrappers or packaging containers for raw or instant foods is merely 10 package feeds.
- frozen instant foods have to be thawed prior to cooking.
- the foods may be deteriorated in taste.
- Another problem of such conventional instant foods resides in that they typically include antiseptic substances ill-affecting human health.
- some instant favorite foods such as instant tea or coffee
- Another problem of such conventional instant favorite foods resides in that they fail to give desired taste to users.
- an object of the present invention is to provide a food packaging and cooking container, which is designed to be used for cooking food as it still contains the food in its packaged state, thus being convenient to users.
- Another object of the present inventon is to provide a food packaging and cooking container, which is designed to be used for cooking food using a heating apparatus, such as a microwave oven, as the container still contains the food in its packaged state, and to allow the food to be heated and cooked using boiled water while maintaining desired good taste.
- a heating apparatus such as a microwave oven
- the present invention provides a food packaging and cooking container, comprising an external container body having a hole on its upper sheet, and a pressure control valve attached to the upper sheet of the external container body and used for normally covering the hole of the external container body and selectively opening the hole when the interior pressure of the external container body is increased up to a predetermined reference level.
- an internal conrainer body in addition to desired food may be received within the external container body.
- the internal container body has the same construction as that of the external container body and is provided with a pressure control valve, and receives seasoned liquid therein. Therefore, the container of this invention allows a user to easily and simply cook packaged food without breaking the seal of the container or moving the food from the container into another cooking container. This container thus allows the user to cook food without using a separate cooking container and is convenient to the user while cooking.
- the container of this invention is preferably used for packaging and cooking a variety of foods, for example, raw foods, such as fish and meat, frozen foods, vegetables, noodles, and instant foods.
- the food packaging and cooking container of this invention accomplishes the safe transportation of foods, maintenance of food freshness, a good appearance of packaged foods and a desired sales promotion of foods.
- This container is effectively used for cooking food while the food is still in a packaged state, during a cooking process.
- the container with packaged food When the container with packaged food is heated, moisture of the food is vaporized to increase the interior pressure of the container due to a steam pressure, thus allowing the container to expand.
- the steam pressure acts on the pressure control valve of the container and finally opens the valve when the pressure is increased up to a predetermined reference level.
- the valve When the valve is opened as described above, the interior pressure of the container is reduced to allow the valve to be brought into close contact with the container and to close the hole of the container.
- the pressure control valve thus appropriately controls the interior pressure of the container.
- it is possible to control a desired interior pressure of the container by controlling the adhesive force of the pressure control valve and/or the diameter of the hole formed on the container.
- the pressure control valve comprises a flexible sheet, with an adhesive layer being formed on one surface of the flexible sheet.
- the pressure control valve is attached to the top surface of the container using the adhesive layer.
- the pressure control valve is provided with an adhesive-free area at a position corresponding to the hole of the container.
- the adhesive-free area of the pressure control valve preferably has an isosceles triangular profile, with each of the bottom apexes of the isosceles adhesive-free area having an angle of not higher than 60°.
- the profile of the adhesive-free area is not limited to the above-mentioned isosceles triangular profile.
- the seasoned liquid When a food packaging and cooking container, which packages food in addition to an interior container body receiving seasoned liquid, is heated, the seasoned liquid is boiled to increase the interior pressure of the internal container body and to open the pressure control valve of the internal container body. In such a case, the seasoned liquid flows from the internal container body into the interior of the external container body and heats the food within the external container body.
- the food, packaged in the container of this invention is thus easily, quickly and appropriately cooked.
- the internal container body receives water in place of the seasoned liquid.
- a plurality of ice pieces and frozen food may be packaged in the container.
- the ice pieces When such a container is heated, the ice pieces are primarily melted into water and are secondarily boiled to become vapor, increasing the interior pressure of the container.
- the pressure control valve appropriately controls the increased interior pressure of the container, and so it is possible to cook the frozen food at appropriate pressure and temperature.
- the container receives pure ice pieces.
- the ice pieces become soup or broth when they are heated and melted.
- both anti-freezing seasoned liquid packaged in an internal container body and a plurality of ice pieces in addition to desired food may be received within the container.
- the anti-freezing seasoned liquid is boiled and increases the interior pressure of the internal container body, thus finally opening the pressure control valve of the internal container body.
- the seasoned liquid flows from the internal container body into the interior of the external container body, while the ice pieces are melted into water prior to being mixed with the seasoned liquid into desired soup or broth.
- the soup or broth is boiled to cooK the food through a stewing process.
- Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a food packaging and cooking container in accordance with the primary embodiment of the present invention.
- the reference numeral 10 denotes the container.
- the food packaging and cooking container 10 comprises an external container body 11 and a pressure control valve 24 having a sheet shape.
- the reference numeral 12 denotes food received within the external container body 11.
- Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the edge of the container of Fig. 1.
- the external container body 11 comprises an upper sheet 18 and a lower sheet 20.
- the upper sheet 18 consists of one internal sheet, or one polyethylene sheet 14, layered with one external sheet, or one polypropylene sheet 16.
- the lower sheet 20 is made of one polypropylene sheet 16.
- the above external container body 11 is provided with a hole 22 at its upper sheet 18.
- a pressure control valve 24 is attached 10 the top surface of the upper sheet 18 using an adhesive so as to normally close the hole 22 of the sheet 18.
- Figs. 3 and 4 are views, showing a food packaging and cooking container 10 in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention.
- the container 10 according to this second embodiment comprises an external container body 11, which is composed of an upper sheet 18 and a lower sheet 20.
- the upper sheet 18 consists of one internal sheet, or one polyethylene sheet 14', layered with one external sheet, or one polypropylene sheet 16'.
- the lower sheet 20 is seamed to the upper sheet 18 at edges thereof.
- the above external container body 11 has a hole 22 at its upper sheet 18.
- a pressure control valve 24 is attached to the top surface of the upper sheet 18 using an adhesive so as to normally close the hole 22 of the sheet 18 in the same manner as that described for the primary embodiment.
- Figs. 5 and 6 show the construction of the hole 22 and the pressure contro valve 24 in detail.
- the pressure control valve 24 comprises a circular flexible sheet 26, with an adhesive layer 28 being formed on one surface of the sheet 26.
- the pressure control valve 24 is attached to the top surface of the external container body 11 using the adhesive layer 28 at a predetermined attachment area, shown by the shaded portion of Fig. 6.
- the above pressure control valve 24 is provided with an adhesive-free area 30 at its central portion.
- the adhesive-free area 30 of the valve 24 preferably has a noncircular profile, but it should be understood that the profile of the area 30 may have a circular profile.
- the above adhesive-free area 30 may preferably have an isosceles triangular profile as shown in Fig. 6. It is also preferable to make the size of the adhesive-free area 30 larger than that of the hole 22, thus completely covering the hole 22. Therefore, food 12 is not brought into contact with the adhesive layer 28 of the pressure control valve 24, but only comes into contact with the adhesive-free area 30, and so it is possible to prevent an undesirable contamination of food by the adhesive layer 28.
- Figs. 7a to 7c are views, showing the container 10 of Fig. 1 after the container is initially heated within a heating apparatus, such as a microwave oven, for a predetermined period of time.
- a heating apparatus such as a microwave oven
- the moisture of food 12 is vaporized to become steam, thus increasing the interior pressure of the external container body 11 as shown in Figs. 8a to 8c.
- the steam circulates within the container body 11 and is partially liquidized prior to being collected on the bottom of the container body 11.
- the pressure control valve 24 starts to be separated from the upper sheet 18 of the container body 11 at a time the pressure within the container body 11 is increased up to a level, at which the adhesive layer 28 of the pressure control valve 24 does not effectively endure the pressure.
- the separation of the pressure control valve 24 from the container body 11 is more effectively generated at the isosceles sides 34 of the triangular adhesive-free area 30 than the bottom side 32 of that area 30.
- Figs. 9a to 9c are views, showing the external container body 11 of Fig. 1 when the container body 11 is further heated from the state of Figs. 8a to 8c.
- Figs. 10a to 10c are views, showing the container body 11 of Fig. 1 when the pressure control valve 24 is opened after the container body 11 is further heated from the state of Figs. 9a to 9c.
- the pressure control valve 11 As the pressure control valve 11 is opened, the interior pressure of the container body 11 is reduced.
- the pressure control valve 24 in the above state is partially attached to the upper sheet 18 of the container body 11 at apexes thereof, and so the valve 24 may be brought into close contact with the upper sheet 18 of the container body 11 when the interior pressure of the body 11 is reduced down to a predetermined reference level.
- the profile of the pressure control valve 24 is not limited to a circular profile 24a, but may have a rectangular profile 24b, a triangular profile 24c, an elliptical profile 24d, a slot profile 24e, a polygonal profile 24f or the like as shown in Figs. 11a to 11f without affecting the functioning of this invention.
- the pressure control valve 24 is attached to the upper sheet 18 of the external container body 11 using an adhesive, and so it is preferable to allow the valve 24 to have a smoothly rounded profile capable of effectively preventing an undesirable stress concentration on the external container body 11.
- Figs. 12a to 12c are sectional views, showing a part of an external container body 11 of a food packaging and cooking container provided with a pressure control valve in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.
- the pressure control valve 124 according to this embodiment comprises a flexible sheet 126, with both an adhesive layer 128 being formed on one surface of the sheet 126 and a noncircular sheet 130 being attached to the central portion of the adhesive layer 128.
- the noncircular sheet 130 it is preferable to allow the noncircular sheet 130 to have an isosceles triangular profile.
- the size of the above noncircular sheet 130 is larger than that of the hole 22, thus completely covering the hole 22 of the external container body 11.
- the pressure control valve 124 is attached to the external surface of the upper sheet 18 of the external container body 11, with the noncircular sheet 130 covering the hole 22 of the upper sheet 18.
- Figs. 13a to 13c are sectional views, showing a part of an external container body 11 of a food packaging and cooking container provided with a pressure control valve 224 in accordance with a further embodiment of this invention.
- the pressure control valve 224 according to this embodiment comprises a flexible sheet 226, with both an adhesive layer 228 being formed on one surface of the sheet 226 and a seal piece 230 being exteriorly attached to the upper sheet 18 of the external container body 11 at the central portion around the hole 22.
- the separation of the pressure control valve 224 from the external container body 11 due to a pressure is generated in a direction parallel to the seal piece 230.
- the adhesive layer 228 is gradually separated from the upper sheet 18 of the container body 11 in a longitudinal, or a leftward direction in the drawings.
- the pressure control valve 224 is not attached to the upper sheet 18 of the container body 11 again, but continuously maintains an open state of the hole 22 of the upper sheet 18.
- Figs. 14a to 14c are sectional views, showing a part of an external container body 11 of a food packaging and cooking container provided with a pressure control valve 324 in accordance with still another embodiment of the present invention.
- the pressure control valve 324 according to this embodiment comprises a flexible sheet 326, with both an adhesive layer 328 being formed on one surface of the sheet 326 and an adhesive-free area 330 being diametrically formed on the surface of the sheet 326.
- the above adhesive-free area 330 forms a channel allowing the interior of the external container body 11 to communicate with the atmosphere.
- the external container body 11 may have two holes, of which one is covered with one pressure control valve 324 attached to the outside surface of the container body 11, and the other is covered with another pressure control valve 324 attached to the inside surface of the container body 11. In such a case, it is possible to form an effective suction and exhaust structure for the external container body 11.
- Figs. 15 to 20 are sectional views, showing foods 12 packaged in food packaging and cooking containers in accordance with different embodiments of this invention.
- the container 10 of this invention is freely used for packaging and cooking a variety of foods, such as fish, meat, frozen foods and specially processed instant foods.
- Fig. 15 shows the container 10 used for packaging and cooking corn.
- the container 10 of Figs. 4 and 5 is used, with the pressure control valve 24 of Figs. 5 and 6 being attached to the upper sheet 18 of the external container body 11.
- the containers and pressure control valves remain the same as those of the embodiment of Fig. 15, but only the food item is changed, replacing corn with a variety of food items.
- a nonwoven fabric 113 is received within the container 10 along with the food 12 so as to control moisture inside the external container body 11.
- Fig. 16 shows the container 10 used when raw noodles are packaged and cooked.
- a small-sized interior container body 11a having the same construction as that of the external container body 11 and receiving seasoned soup or broth, is received within the external container body 11 along with the food 12, or the raw noodles.
- the pressure control valve 24 of the internal container body 11a is directed in a way opposite to that of the external container body 11.
- the container 10 is heated, the seasoned soup or broth within the interior container body 11a is heated and partially vaporized, thus increasing the interior pressure of the container body 11a and opening the valve 24 of the body 11a.
- the seasoned soup or broth thus flows from the internal container body 11a into the interior of the external container body 11.
- the seasoned soup or broth of the internal container body 11a is completely emptied and flows into the interior of the external container body 11.
- the seasoned soup or broth is boiled within the external container body 11 and heats the raw noodles 12 within the container body 11.
- the pressure control valve 24 of the external container body 11 controls the interior pressure of the container body 11.
- the container 10 is opened to move the cooked noodles 12 from the container 10 into a separate bowl. It is preferable to receive some shallots and/or specially processed pork in the external container body 11 along with the noodles 12 since they improve the taste of the noodles 12.
- the food packaging and cooking container 10 of this invention is effectively used for easily and quickly cooking food 12 without forcing a user to open the container 10 or move the food 12 from the container 10 into a separate container.
- the container 10 is thus very convenient to users, especially busy users.
- Fig. 17 shows the container 10 used when fish is packaged and cooked.
- a small-sized interior container body 11a having the same construction as that of the external container body 11 and receiving liquid spices and condiments, is received within the external container body 11 along with food 12, or fish.
- the pressure control valve 24 of the internal container body 11a is directed in a way opposite to that of the external container body 11.
- the cooking process of this container 10 remains the same as that described for Fig. 16 and further explanation is thus not deemed necessary.
- Fig. 18 shows the container 10 used when bread dough 12 is packaged and cooked through a steaming process.
- both a plurality of ice pieces 206 and a nonwoven fabric 208 in addition to the bread dough 12 are received within the external container body 11.
- the ice pieces 206 are primarily melted into water and are secondarily boiled to become vapor, thus steaming the bread dough 12.
- the pressure control valve 24 is opened to control the interior pressure of the container 10.
- Fig. 19 shows the container 10 used when frozen fish 12 is packaged and cooked.
- a plurality of seasoned ice pieces 212 in addition to the frozen fish 12 are received within the external container body 11.
- the seasoned ice pieces 212 are packaged within a nonwoven fabric bag 213.
- the ice pieces 212 are primarily melted into water and are secondarily boiled to cook the frozen fish 12.
- the pressure control valve 24 is opened to control the interior pressure of the container 10.
- Fig. 20 shows the container 10 used when beef is packaged and cooked through a stewing process.
- both anti-freezing liquid spices and condiments 216 and a plurality of ice pieces 218 in addition to beef 12 are received within the external container body 11.
- the spices and condiments 216 are received within a small-sized internal container body 11a, which has the same construction as that of the external container body 11.
- the anti-freezing spices and condiments flow from the internal container body 11a into the interior of the external container body 11, while the ice pieces 212 are melted into water prior to being mixed with the spices and condiments 216 into soup or broth.
- the soup or broth is boiled to cook the beef 12 through a stewing process.
- the pressure control valve 24 is opened to control the interior pressure of the container 10.
- the food packaging and cooking container of this invention is used for packaging and cooking a variety of foods.
- the food packaging and cooking containers of this invention may be preferably used at home, in an office, on trains, airplanes, ships and in restaurants.
- Figs. 21 and 22 are views, showing the construction and operational effect of a food packaging and cooking container according to another embodiment of the present invention.
- the container 10 of this embodiment has a second hole 22 on the lower sheet 20 of the external container body 11, with a second pressure control valve 24 being attached to the hole 22 of the lower sheet 20.
- a small-sized internal container body 11a which has the same construction as that of the external container body 11 and receives desired liquid, such as water, therein, is received within the external container body 11.
- This container 10 is preferably used for instant favorite foods 12, such as tea or coffee. In the case of such instant favorite foods 12, it is desirable to package the foods 12 within a filter bag 3.
- the container 10 When it is desired to cook the food 12 packaged within the container 10 of Figs. 21 and 22, the container 10 is laid on the top edge of a cup or of a bowl, with the second pressure control valve 24 of the lower sheet 20 being directed downward.
- the container 10, laid on the cup or the bowl, is received within a heating apparatus, such as a microwave oven, so as to be heated by the apparatus.
- a heating apparatus such as a microwave oven
- the inferior pressure of the internal container body 11a When the inferior pressure of the internal container body 11a is increased up to a predetermined reference level, the exterior surface of the upper sheet of the internal container body 11a comes into contact with the interior surface of the upper sheet 18 of the external container body 11, thus closing the pressure control valve 24 formed on the sheet 18.
- the valve 24 of the internal container body 11a When the internal container body. 11a further expands due to the increased pressure, the valve 24 of the internal container body 11a is opened, and so the heated liquid flows from the internal container body 11a into the interior of the external container body 11. Due to the heated liquid discharged from the internal container body 11a, a steam pressure acts within the external container body 11. The heated liquid is forced downward by the steam pressure and passes through the filter bag 3 receiving the instant favorite food 12.
- the steam pressure also acts on the second pressure control valve 24 provided on the lower sheet 20 of the external container body 11, thus opening the valve 24. Therefore, hot tea or hot coffee is received into the cup or the bowl under the container 10 through the open valve 24 of the lower sheet 20 of the external container body 11.
- the empty internal container body 11a somewhat shrinks, but is brought into contact with the inside surface of the upper sheet 18 of the external container body 11, with a gap being formed between the internal container body 11a and the pressure control valve 24 formed on the upper Sheep 18 of the external container body 11. Steam is thus discharged from the external container body 11 into the atmosphere through the gap and the pressure control valve 24 of the upper sheet 18 of the external container body 11.
- the interior pressure of the external container body 11 is thus appropriately controlled, and so it is possible to prevent an unexpected bursting of the external container body 11 during a cooking process.
- the appropriately controlled interior pressure of the external container body 11 allows the hot tea or coffee to be more smoothly discharged from the container 10 into the cup or the bowl positioned under the container 10.
- Fig. 23 is a sectional view, showing an operational effect of a food packaging and cooking container in accordance with still another embodiment of the present invention.
- the container 10 of this embodiment is more preferably used for steaming food or for cooking food with soup or broth.
- a net member 13 divides the interior of the external container body 11 into two parts, or upper and lower parts.
- a small-sized interior container body 11a having the same construction as that of the external container body 11 and receiving soup or broth, is received within the upper part of the external container body 11, while food 12 is received within the lower part of the container body 11.
- the container 10 When it is desired to cook the food 12 packaged within the above container 10, the container 10 is received in a heating apparatus, such as a microwave oven, with the pressure control valve 24 of the external container body 11 being directed downward.
- a heating apparatus such as a microwave oven
- the liquid packaged within the internal container body 11a is boiled to generate steam and to increase the interior pressure of the internal container body 11a, thus allowing the internal container body 11a to expand.
- the interior pressure of the internal container body 11a is increased up to a first predetermined reference level, the exterior surface of the upper sheet of the internal container body 11a comes into contact with the pressure control valve 24 provided on the upper sheet 18 of the external container body 11, thus closing the pressure control valve 24 of the external container body 11.
- the steam pressure of the internal container body 11a is further increased up to a second predetermined reference level.
- the pressure control valve 24 of the internal container body 11a is opened, and so the heated liquid flows from the internal container body 11a into the interior of the external container body 11. Due to the heated liquid discharged from the internal container body 11a, steam pressure acts within the external container body 11. The heated liquid is forced downward by the steam pressure and passes through the net member 13 so as to be collected in the lower part of the external container body 11 and to cook the food 12 within the lower part of the container body 11.
- the empty internal container body 11a shrinks to form a gap between the pressure control valve 24 of the external container body 11 and the upper sheet of the internal container body 11a.
- the present invention provides a food packaging and cooking container with a pressure control valve.
- the container of this invention packages food and is also used for cooking the food.
- the container thus improves the market competitiveness of foods and effectively maintains the food freshness for a desired lengthy period of time.
- the container of this invention is designed to be used for cooking food as it still contains the food in its packaged state, and so it is possible to easily quickly cook food without using a separate container, thus being very convenient to users.
- the container of this invention is also provided with a pressure control valve that is designed to appropriately control the interior pressure of the container while cooking. It is thus possible to easily and quickly cook food packaged by the container while maintaining desired good taste expected from a typical cooking of raw food using a typical cooking container.
- the container of this invention is effectively used for packaging and cooking raw food, and so it is possible to prevent breakage of nourishment of food and to maintain good taste of food while cooking.
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
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- Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Food Science & Technology (AREA)
- Package Specialized In Special Use (AREA)
Abstract
A food packaging and cooking container with a pressure control valve
(24) is disclosed. The container of this invention is designed to allow
a user to easily and simply cook packaged food without breaking the seal
of the packaging container or moving the food from the packaging
container into another cooking container. The pressure control valve is
attached to the upper sheet of the container body at a position around a
hole (22), thus normally closing the hole and selectively opening the
hole when an interior pressure of the container body is increased up to
a predetermined reference level while cooking, thus appropriately
controlling the interior pressure of the external container body. This
pressure control valve consists of a flexible sheet (26) with an
adhesive layer (28) formed on one surface of the flexible sheet. The
flexible sheet of the pressure control valve is attached to the upper
sheet (18) of the external container body at the adhesive layer. An
adhesive-free area (30) is remained at the central portion of the
surface of the flexible sheet having the adhesive layer so as to
normally cover the hole of the upper sheet of the container body.
Description
- The present invention relates, in general, to food packaging and cooking containers having pressure control valves and, more particularly, to a food packaging and cooking container designed to allow a user to easily and simply cook packaged food without breaking the seal of the packaging container or moving the food from the packaging container into another cooking container, the packaging and cooking container being thus used for cooking packaged food while maintaining its food packaging function.
- While packaging foods, it is necessary to consider the safe transportation of foods, maintenance of food freshness, a good appearance of packaged foods and a desired sales promotion of foods.
- When it is desired to cook packaged raw foods, such as fish and meat, in the prior art, packaged food has to be removed from a packaging container or a wrapper prior to cooking the food. The empty packaging container or the wrapper is, thereafter, discarded as waste. Such raw foods have to be appropriately cut and trimmed by a user prior to cooking, thus being somewhat inconvenient 10 busy users. Therefore, a variety of instant foods, specially processed for quick preparation, have been proposed and used. When it is desired to eat such instant food, the food is removed from a wrapper or a packaging container prior to being heated and cooked using boiled water or using a heating apparatus, such as a microwave oven. In such a case, the empty wrapper or empty packaging container is discarded as waste. That is, the object of conventional wrappers or packaging containers for raw or instant foods is merely 10 package feeds. On the other hand, frozen instant foods have to be thawed prior to cooking. However, when such frozen instant foods are not appropriately processed, the foods may be deteriorated in taste. Another problem of such conventional instant foods resides in that they typically include antiseptic substances ill-affecting human health. In the case of some instant favorite foods, such as instant tea or coffee, it is necessary to prepare hot water prior to eating or drinking them, thus being somewhat inconvenient to users. Another problem of such conventional instant favorite foods resides in that they fail to give desired taste to users.
- In an effort to overcome the above-mentioned problems, a variety of food packaging and cooking containers, designed to allow users to cook packaged foods without breaking the seal of the packaging containers or moving the foods from the packaging containers into separate cooking containers. However, such conventional food packaging and cooking containers are hard containers, typically made of Styrofoam or other plastic materials and limitedly used for cooking solid foods. Since the conventional food packaging and cooking containers, made of Styrofoam or plastic materials, are difficult to crush, they undesirably increase the volume of garbage.
- Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mine the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a food packaging and cooking container, which is designed to be used for cooking food as it still contains the food in its packaged state, thus being convenient to users.
- Another object of the present inventon is to provide a food packaging and cooking container, which is designed to be used for cooking food using a heating apparatus, such as a microwave oven, as the container still contains the food in its packaged state, and to allow the food to be heated and cooked using boiled water while maintaining desired good taste.
- In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides a food packaging and cooking container, comprising an external container body having a hole on its upper sheet, and a pressure control valve attached to the upper sheet of the external container body and used for normally covering the hole of the external container body and selectively opening the hole when the interior pressure of the external container body is increased up to a predetermined reference level.
- In the food packaging and cooking container, an internal conrainer body in addition to desired food may be received within the external container body. The internal container body has the same construction as that of the external container body and is provided with a pressure control valve, and receives seasoned liquid therein. Therefore, the container of this invention allows a user to easily and simply cook packaged food without breaking the seal of the container or moving the food from the container into another cooking container. This container thus allows the user to cook food without using a separate cooking container and is convenient to the user while cooking.
- The container of this invention is preferably used for packaging and cooking a variety of foods, for example, raw foods, such as fish and meat, frozen foods, vegetables, noodles, and instant foods.
- The food packaging and cooking container of this invention accomplishes the safe transportation of foods, maintenance of food freshness, a good appearance of packaged foods and a desired sales promotion of foods. This container is effectively used for cooking food while the food is still in a packaged state, during a cooking process.
- When the container with packaged food is heated, moisture of the food is vaporized to increase the interior pressure of the container due to a steam pressure, thus allowing the container to expand. The steam pressure acts on the pressure control valve of the container and finally opens the valve when the pressure is increased up to a predetermined reference level. When the valve is opened as described above, the interior pressure of the container is reduced to allow the valve to be brought into close contact with the container and to close the hole of the container. The pressure control valve thus appropriately controls the interior pressure of the container. In the present invention, it is possible to control a desired interior pressure of the container by controlling the adhesive force of the pressure control valve and/or the diameter of the hole formed on the container.
- The pressure control valve comprises a flexible sheet, with an adhesive layer being formed on one surface of the flexible sheet. The pressure control valve is attached to the top surface of the container using the adhesive layer. In addition, the pressure control valve is provided with an adhesive-free area at a position corresponding to the hole of the container. In the present invention, the adhesive-free area of the pressure control valve preferably has an isosceles triangular profile, with each of the bottom apexes of the isosceles adhesive-free area having an angle of not higher than 60°. However, the profile of the adhesive-free area is not limited to the above-mentioned isosceles triangular profile. When the container with such a pressure control valve having an isosceles triangular adhesive-free area is heated, the container expands due to the pressure and the pressure control valve is separated from the container. In such a case, the separation of the pressure control valve from the container is generated along the opposite isosceles sides of the triangular adhesive-free area in a direction from the two bottom apexes to the top apex. Therefore, the pressure control valve is partially separated from the container at the isosceles sides of the adhesive-free area, but is still attached to the container at the bottom side of the adhesive-free area. When the pressure control valve of the container is opened as described above, the interior of the container communicates with the atmosphere. The interior pressure of the container is thus reduced to a predetermined level, and so the valve is attached to the container again so as to close the hole of the container. It is thus possible to maintain a desired interior pressure of the container while cooking.
- When a food packaging and cooking container, which packages food in addition to an interior container body receiving seasoned liquid, is heated, the seasoned liquid is boiled to increase the interior pressure of the internal container body and to open the pressure control valve of the internal container body. In such a case, the seasoned liquid flows from the internal container body into the interior of the external container body and heats the food within the external container body. The food, packaged in the container of this invention, is thus easily, quickly and appropriately cooked. In the case of foods to be steamed or boiled, the internal container body receives water in place of the seasoned liquid.
- In the present invention, a plurality of ice pieces and frozen food may be packaged in the container. When such a container is heated, the ice pieces are primarily melted into water and are secondarily boiled to become vapor, increasing the interior pressure of the container. In such a case, the pressure control valve appropriately controls the increased interior pressure of the container, and so it is possible to cook the frozen food at appropriate pressure and temperature. In the case of frozen foods to be steamed or boiled, the container receives pure ice pieces. However, when using seasoned ice pieces, the ice pieces become soup or broth when they are heated and melted.
- In an embodiment of this invention, both anti-freezing seasoned liquid packaged in an internal container body and a plurality of ice pieces in addition to desired food may be received within the container. When the container is heated, the anti-freezing seasoned liquid is boiled and increases the interior pressure of the internal container body, thus finally opening the pressure control valve of the internal container body. In such a case, the seasoned liquid flows from the internal container body into the interior of the external container body, while the ice pieces are melted into water prior to being mixed with the seasoned liquid into desired soup or broth. The soup or broth is boiled to cooK the food through a stewing process.
- The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
- Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a food packaging and cooking container in accordance with the primary embodiment of the present invention;
- Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the edge of the container of Fig. 1;
- Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a food packaging and cooking container in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention;
- Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the edge of the container of Fig. 3;
- Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of a pressure control valve included in the container of Fig. 1;
- Fig. 6 is a plan view of a pressure control valve included in the container of Fig. 5;
- Figs. 7a to 7c are views, showing the container of Fig. 1 after the container is initially heated for a predetermined period of time;
- Figs. 8a to 8c are views, showing the container of Fig. 1 when the container is further heated from the state of Figs. 7a to 7c;
- Figs. 9a to 9c are views, showing the container of Fig. 1 when the container is further heated from the state of Figs. 8a to 8c;
- Figs. 10a to 10c are views, showing the container of Fig. 1 when the container is further heated from the state of Figs. 9a to 9c;
- Figs. 11a to 11f are plan views, showing a variety of profiles of pressure control valves in accordance with different embodiments of the present invention;
- Figs. 12a to 12c are sectional views, showing a part of an external container body of a food packaging and cooking container provided with a pressure control valve in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;
- Figs. 13a to 13c are sectional views, showing a part of an external container body of a food packaging and cooking container provided with a pressure control valve in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention;
- Figs. 14a to 14c are sectional views, showing a part of an external container body of a food packaging and cocking container provided with a pressure control valve in accordance with still another embodiment of the present invention;
- Figs. 15 to 20 are sectional views, showing food packaged in food packaging and cooking containers in accordance with different embodiments of the present invention;
- Fig. 21 is a sectional view of a food packaging and cooking container in accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention;
- Fig. 22 is a sectional view, showing an operational effect of the container of Fig. 21; and
- Fig. 23 is a sectional view, showing an operational effect of a food packaging and cooking container in accordance with still another embodiment of the present invention.
-
- Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a food packaging and cooking container in accordance with the primary embodiment of the present invention. In this drawing, the
reference numeral 10 denotes the container. The food packaging andcooking container 10 comprises anexternal container body 11 and apressure control valve 24 having a sheet shape. In the drawing, thereference numeral 12 denotes food received within theexternal container body 11. - Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the edge of the container of Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 2, the
external container body 11 comprises anupper sheet 18 and alower sheet 20. Theupper sheet 18 consists of one internal sheet, or onepolyethylene sheet 14, layered with one external sheet, or onepolypropylene sheet 16. On the other hand, thelower sheet 20 is made of onepolypropylene sheet 16. The aboveexternal container body 11 is provided with ahole 22 at itsupper sheet 18. Apressure control valve 24 is attached 10 the top surface of theupper sheet 18 using an adhesive so as to normally close thehole 22 of thesheet 18. - Figs. 3 and 4 are views, showing a food packaging and
cooking container 10 in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention. Thecontainer 10 according to this second embodiment comprises anexternal container body 11, which is composed of anupper sheet 18 and alower sheet 20. Theupper sheet 18 consists of one internal sheet, or one polyethylene sheet 14', layered with one external sheet, or one polypropylene sheet 16'. In this embodiment, thelower sheet 20 is seamed to theupper sheet 18 at edges thereof. The aboveexternal container body 11 has ahole 22 at itsupper sheet 18. Apressure control valve 24 is attached to the top surface of theupper sheet 18 using an adhesive so as to normally close thehole 22 of thesheet 18 in the same manner as that described for the primary embodiment. - Figs. 5 and 6 show the construction of the
hole 22 and the pressure controvalve 24 in detail. In the present invention, it is preferable to allow thehole 22 to have a circular cross-section, which somewhat resists stress concentration. However, it should be understood that the profile of thehole 22 is not limited to the above-mentioned circular cross-section. Thepressure control valve 24 comprises a circularflexible sheet 26, with anadhesive layer 28 being formed on one surface of thesheet 26. Thepressure control valve 24 is attached to the top surface of theexternal container body 11 using theadhesive layer 28 at a predetermined attachment area, shown by the shaded portion of Fig. 6. In the present invention, it is preferable to use an adhesive maintaining an effective adhesive force at a temperature range of -20°C ~ +140°C since thecontainer 10 has to be frozen at a very low temperature and to be heated at a high temperature. - The above
pressure control valve 24 is provided with an adhesive-free area 30 at its central portion. In the present invention, the adhesive-free area 30 of thevalve 24 preferably has a noncircular profile, but it should be understood that the profile of thearea 30 may have a circular profile. For example, the above adhesive-free area 30 may preferably have an isosceles triangular profile as shown in Fig. 6. It is also preferable to make the size of the adhesive-free area 30 larger than that of thehole 22, thus completely covering thehole 22. Therefore,food 12 is not brought into contact with theadhesive layer 28 of thepressure control valve 24, but only comes into contact with the adhesive-free area 30, and so it is possible to prevent an undesirable contamination of food by theadhesive layer 28. - The operational effect of the food packaging and cooking container of this invention will be described herein below with reference to Figs. 7a to 10c.
- Figs. 7a to 7c are views, showing the
container 10 of Fig. 1 after the container is initially heated within a heating apparatus, such as a microwave oven, for a predetermined period of time. When thecontainer 10 is heated, the moisture offood 12 is vaporized to become steam, thus increasing the interior pressure of theexternal container body 11 as shown in Figs. 8a to 8c. In such a case, the steam circulates within thecontainer body 11 and is partially liquidized prior to being collected on the bottom of thecontainer body 11. When thecontainer 10 is continuously heated, thepressure control valve 24 starts to be separated from theupper sheet 18 of thecontainer body 11 at a time the pressure within thecontainer body 11 is increased up to a level, at which theadhesive layer 28 of thepressure control valve 24 does not effectively endure the pressure. In such a case, the separation of thepressure control valve 24 from thecontainer body 11 is more effectively generated at theisosceles sides 34 of the triangular adhesive-free area 30 than thebottom side 32 of thatarea 30. - Figs. 9a to 9c are views, showing the
external container body 11 of Fig. 1 when thecontainer body 11 is further heated from the state of Figs. 8a to 8c. Figs. 10a to 10c are views, showing thecontainer body 11 of Fig. 1 when thepressure control valve 24 is opened after thecontainer body 11 is further heated from the state of Figs. 9a to 9c. As thepressure control valve 11 is opened, the interior pressure of thecontainer body 11 is reduced. However, thepressure control valve 24 in the above state is partially attached to theupper sheet 18 of thecontainer body 11 at apexes thereof, and so thevalve 24 may be brought into close contact with theupper sheet 18 of thecontainer body 11 when the interior pressure of thebody 11 is reduced down to a predetermined reference level. - In the present invention, the profile of the
pressure control valve 24 is not limited to acircular profile 24a, but may have arectangular profile 24b, atriangular profile 24c, anelliptical profile 24d, aslot profile 24e, a polygonal profile 24f or the like as shown in Figs. 11a to 11f without affecting the functioning of this invention. In addition, thepressure control valve 24 is attached to theupper sheet 18 of theexternal container body 11 using an adhesive, and so it is preferable to allow thevalve 24 to have a smoothly rounded profile capable of effectively preventing an undesirable stress concentration on theexternal container body 11. - Figs. 12a to 12c are sectional views, showing a part of an
external container body 11 of a food packaging and cooking container provided with a pressure control valve in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the drawings, thepressure control valve 124 according to this embodiment comprises aflexible sheet 126, with both anadhesive layer 128 being formed on one surface of thesheet 126 and anoncircular sheet 130 being attached to the central portion of theadhesive layer 128. In the present invention, it is preferable to allow thenoncircular sheet 130 to have an isosceles triangular profile. The size of theabove noncircular sheet 130 is larger than that of thehole 22, thus completely covering thehole 22 of theexternal container body 11. Thepressure control valve 124 is attached to the external surface of theupper sheet 18 of theexternal container body 11, with thenoncircular sheet 130 covering thehole 22 of theupper sheet 18. - Figs. 13a to 13c are sectional views, showing a part of an
external container body 11 of a food packaging and cooking container provided with apressure control valve 224 in accordance with a further embodiment of this invention. As shown in the drawings, thepressure control valve 224 according to this embodiment comprises aflexible sheet 226, with both anadhesive layer 228 being formed on one surface of thesheet 226 and aseal piece 230 being exteriorly attached to theupper sheet 18 of theexternal container body 11 at the central portion around thehole 22. In the present invention, it is preferable to allow theseal piece 230 to be different in its length in directions from thehole 22 to the left and right. In this embodiment, the separation of thepressure control valve 224 from theexternal container body 11 due to a pressure is generated in a direction parallel to theseal piece 230. During such a separation of thevalve 224 from thecontainer body 11, theadhesive layer 228 is gradually separated from theupper sheet 18 of thecontainer body 11 in a longitudinal, or a leftward direction in the drawings. In this embodiment, once theadhesive layer 228 is completely separated from theupper sheet 18, thepressure control valve 224 is not attached to theupper sheet 18 of thecontainer body 11 again, but continuously maintains an open state of thehole 22 of theupper sheet 18. - Figs. 14a to 14c are sectional views, showing a part of an
external container body 11 of a food packaging and cooking container provided with apressure control valve 324 in accordance with still another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the drawings, thepressure control valve 324 according to this embodiment comprises aflexible sheet 326, with both anadhesive layer 328 being formed on one surface of thesheet 326 and an adhesive-free area 330 being diametrically formed on the surface of thesheet 326. The above adhesive-free area 330 forms a channel allowing the interior of theexternal container body 11 to communicate with the atmosphere. In this embodiment, theexternal container body 11 may have two holes, of which one is covered with onepressure control valve 324 attached to the outside surface of thecontainer body 11, and the other is covered with anotherpressure control valve 324 attached to the inside surface of thecontainer body 11. In such a case, it is possible to form an effective suction and exhaust structure for theexternal container body 11. - Figs. 15 to 20 are sectional views, showing
foods 12 packaged in food packaging and cooking containers in accordance with different embodiments of this invention. Thecontainer 10 of this invention is freely used for packaging and cooking a variety of foods, such as fish, meat, frozen foods and specially processed instant foods. - Fig. 15 shows the
container 10 used for packaging and cooking corn. In this embodiment, thecontainer 10 of Figs. 4 and 5 is used, with thepressure control valve 24 of Figs. 5 and 6 being attached to theupper sheet 18 of theexternal container body 11. In the embodiments of Figs. 16 to 20, the containers and pressure control valves remain the same as those of the embodiment of Fig. 15, but only the food item is changed, replacing corn with a variety of food items. In the embodiment of Fig. 15, anonwoven fabric 113 is received within thecontainer 10 along with thefood 12 so as to control moisture inside theexternal container body 11. - Fig. 16 shows the
container 10 used when raw noodles are packaged and cooked. In this embodiment, a small-sizedinterior container body 11a, having the same construction as that of theexternal container body 11 and receiving seasoned soup or broth, is received within theexternal container body 11 along with thefood 12, or the raw noodles. In such a case, thepressure control valve 24 of theinternal container body 11a is directed in a way opposite to that of theexternal container body 11. When thecontainer 10 is heated, the seasoned soup or broth within theinterior container body 11a is heated and partially vaporized, thus increasing the interior pressure of thecontainer body 11a and opening thevalve 24 of thebody 11a. The seasoned soup or broth thus flows from theinternal container body 11a into the interior of theexternal container body 11. Since the interior pressure of theinternal container body 11a is continuously increased, the seasoned soup or broth of theinternal container body 11a is completely emptied and flows into the interior of theexternal container body 11. The seasoned soup or broth is boiled within theexternal container body 11 and heats theraw noodles 12 within thecontainer body 11. In such a case, thepressure control valve 24 of theexternal container body 11 controls the interior pressure of thecontainer body 11. After thecontainer 10 is further heated for a predetermined period of time, thecontainer 10 is opened to move the cookednoodles 12 from thecontainer 10 into a separate bowl. It is preferable to receive some shallots and/or specially processed pork in theexternal container body 11 along with thenoodles 12 since they improve the taste of thenoodles 12. As described above, the food packaging andcooking container 10 of this invention is effectively used for easily and quickly cookingfood 12 without forcing a user to open thecontainer 10 or move thefood 12 from thecontainer 10 into a separate container. Thecontainer 10 is thus very convenient to users, especially busy users. - Fig. 17 shows the
container 10 used when fish is packaged and cooked. In this embodiment, a small-sizedinterior container body 11a, having the same construction as that of theexternal container body 11 and receiving liquid spices and condiments, is received within theexternal container body 11 along withfood 12, or fish. In such a case, thepressure control valve 24 of theinternal container body 11a is directed in a way opposite to that of theexternal container body 11. The cooking process of thiscontainer 10 remains the same as that described for Fig. 16 and further explanation is thus not deemed necessary. - Fig. 18 shows the
container 10 used whenbread dough 12 is packaged and cooked through a steaming process. In this embodiment, both a plurality ofice pieces 206 and anonwoven fabric 208 in addition to thebread dough 12 are received within theexternal container body 11. - When the
container 10 is heated, theice pieces 206 are primarily melted into water and are secondarily boiled to become vapor, thus steaming thebread dough 12. As thecontainer 10 is heated continuously for a predetermined period of time, thepressure control valve 24 is opened to control the interior pressure of thecontainer 10. - Fig. 19 shows the
container 10 used whenfrozen fish 12 is packaged and cooked. In this embodiment, a plurality ofseasoned ice pieces 212 in addition to thefrozen fish 12 are received within theexternal container body 11. Theseasoned ice pieces 212 are packaged within anonwoven fabric bag 213. When thecontainer 10 is heated, theice pieces 212 are primarily melted into water and are secondarily boiled to cook thefrozen fish 12. As thecontainer 10 is heated continuously for a predetermined period of time, thepressure control valve 24 is opened to control the interior pressure of thecontainer 10. - Fig. 20 shows the
container 10 used when beef is packaged and cooked through a stewing process. In this embodiment, both anti-freezing liquid spices andcondiments 216 and a plurality ofice pieces 218 in addition tobeef 12 are received within theexternal container body 11. The spices andcondiments 216 are received within a small-sizedinternal container body 11a, which has the same construction as that of theexternal container body 11. When thecontainer 10 is heated, the anti-freezing spices and condiments flow from theinternal container body 11a into the interior of theexternal container body 11, while theice pieces 212 are melted into water prior to being mixed with the spices andcondiments 216 into soup or broth. The soup or broth is boiled to cook thebeef 12 through a stewing process. As thecontainer 10 is heated continuously for a predetermined period of time, thepressure control valve 24 is opened to control the interior pressure of thecontainer 10. - As described above, the food packaging and cooking container of this invention is used for packaging and cooking a variety of foods. When cooking food packaged within the container of this invention, it is not necessary to break the seal of the container or to remove food from the container into a separate container, but it is possible to easily quickly cook the food by simply heating the container. The food packaging and cooking containers of this invention may be preferably used at home, in an office, on trains, airplanes, ships and in restaurants.
- Figs. 21 and 22 are views, showing the construction and operational effect of a food packaging and cooking container according to another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the drawing, the
container 10 of this embodiment has asecond hole 22 on thelower sheet 20 of theexternal container body 11, with a secondpressure control valve 24 being attached to thehole 22 of thelower sheet 20. In this embodiment, a small-sizedinternal container body 11a, which has the same construction as that of theexternal container body 11 and receives desired liquid, such as water, therein, is received within theexternal container body 11. Thiscontainer 10 is preferably used for instantfavorite foods 12, such as tea or coffee. In the case of such instantfavorite foods 12, it is desirable to package thefoods 12 within afilter bag 3. - When it is desired to cook the
food 12 packaged within thecontainer 10 of Figs. 21 and 22, thecontainer 10 is laid on the top edge of a cup or of a bowl, with the secondpressure control valve 24 of thelower sheet 20 being directed downward. Thecontainer 10, laid on the cup or the bowl, is received within a heating apparatus, such as a microwave oven, so as to be heated by the apparatus. When thecontainer 10 is heated as described above, the liquid packaged within theinternal container body 11a is boiled to generate steam and to increase the interior pressure of thecontainer body 11a, thus allowing theinternal container body 11a to expand. When the inferior pressure of theinternal container body 11a is increased up to a predetermined reference level, the exterior surface of the upper sheet of theinternal container body 11a comes into contact with the interior surface of theupper sheet 18 of theexternal container body 11, thus closing thepressure control valve 24 formed on thesheet 18. When the internal container body. 11a further expands due to the increased pressure, thevalve 24 of theinternal container body 11a is opened, and so the heated liquid flows from theinternal container body 11a into the interior of theexternal container body 11. Due to the heated liquid discharged from theinternal container body 11a, a steam pressure acts within theexternal container body 11. The heated liquid is forced downward by the steam pressure and passes through thefilter bag 3 receiving the instantfavorite food 12. The steam pressure also acts on the secondpressure control valve 24 provided on thelower sheet 20 of theexternal container body 11, thus opening thevalve 24. Therefore, hot tea or hot coffee is received into the cup or the bowl under thecontainer 10 through theopen valve 24 of thelower sheet 20 of theexternal container body 11. In such a case, the emptyinternal container body 11a somewhat shrinks, but is brought into contact with the inside surface of theupper sheet 18 of theexternal container body 11, with a gap being formed between theinternal container body 11a and thepressure control valve 24 formed on theupper Sheep 18 of theexternal container body 11. Steam is thus discharged from theexternal container body 11 into the atmosphere through the gap and thepressure control valve 24 of theupper sheet 18 of theexternal container body 11. The interior pressure of theexternal container body 11 is thus appropriately controlled, and so it is possible to prevent an unexpected bursting of theexternal container body 11 during a cooking process. The appropriately controlled interior pressure of theexternal container body 11 allows the hot tea or coffee to be more smoothly discharged from thecontainer 10 into the cup or the bowl positioned under thecontainer 10. - Fig. 23 is a sectional view, showing an operational effect of a food packaging and cooking container in accordance with still another embodiment of the present invention. The
container 10 of this embodiment is more preferably used for steaming food or for cooking food with soup or broth. In this embodiment, anet member 13 divides the interior of theexternal container body 11 into two parts, or upper and lower parts. A small-sizedinterior container body 11a, having the same construction as that of theexternal container body 11 and receiving soup or broth, is received within the upper part of theexternal container body 11, whilefood 12 is received within the lower part of thecontainer body 11. - When it is desired to cook the
food 12 packaged within theabove container 10, thecontainer 10 is received in a heating apparatus, such as a microwave oven, with thepressure control valve 24 of theexternal container body 11 being directed downward. When thecontainer 10 is heated within the heating apparatus, the liquid packaged within theinternal container body 11a is boiled to generate steam and to increase the interior pressure of theinternal container body 11a, thus allowing theinternal container body 11a to expand. When the interior pressure of theinternal container body 11a is increased up to a first predetermined reference level, the exterior surface of the upper sheet of theinternal container body 11a comes into contact with thepressure control valve 24 provided on theupper sheet 18 of theexternal container body 11, thus closing thepressure control valve 24 of theexternal container body 11. Thereafter, the steam pressure of theinternal container body 11a is further increased up to a second predetermined reference level. In such a case, thepressure control valve 24 of theinternal container body 11a is opened, and so the heated liquid flows from theinternal container body 11a into the interior of theexternal container body 11. Due to the heated liquid discharged from theinternal container body 11a, steam pressure acts within theexternal container body 11. The heated liquid is forced downward by the steam pressure and passes through thenet member 13 so as to be collected in the lower part of theexternal container body 11 and to cook thefood 12 within the lower part of thecontainer body 11. The emptyinternal container body 11a shrinks to form a gap between thepressure control valve 24 of theexternal container body 11 and the upper sheet of theinternal container body 11a. Steam is thus discharged from theexternal container body 11 into the atmosphere through the gap and thepressure control valve 24 of theupper sheet 18 of theexternal container body 11. The interior pressure of theexternal container body 11 is thus appropriately controlled, and so it is possible to prevent an unexpected bursting of theexternal container body 11 during a cooking process. - As described above, the present invention provides a food packaging and cooking container with a pressure control valve. The container of this invention packages food and is also used for cooking the food. The container thus improves the market competitiveness of foods and effectively maintains the food freshness for a desired lengthy period of time. The container of this invention is designed to be used for cooking food as it still contains the food in its packaged state, and so it is possible to easily quickly cook food without using a separate container, thus being very convenient to users. The container of this invention is also provided with a pressure control valve that is designed to appropriately control the interior pressure of the container while cooking. It is thus possible to easily and quickly cook food packaged by the container while maintaining desired good taste expected from a typical cooking of raw food using a typical cooking container. In addition, the container of this invention is effectively used for packaging and cooking raw food, and so it is possible to prevent breakage of nourishment of food and to maintain good taste of food while cooking.
- Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.
Claims (6)
- A food packaging and cooking container, comprising:an external container body consisting of upper and lower sheets integrated into a single body at edges thereof through a seaming process, with a cavity being formed within the external container body and a hole formed on said upper sheet; anda pressure control valve attached to the upper sheet of the external container body at a position around said hole, thus normally closing the hole and selectively opening the hole when an interior pressure of the external container body is increased up to a predetermined reference level while cooking, thus controlling the interior pressure of the external container body, said pressure control valve consisting of a flexible sheet provided with an adhesive layer, said adhesive layer being formed on one surface of said flexible sheet and being used for attaching the flexible sheet of the pressure control valve to the upper sheet of the external container body, with an adhesive-free area being remained at a central portion of the surface of the flexible sheet having the adhesive layer so as to normally cover the hole of the upper sheet of said external container body.
- The food packaging and cocking container according to claim 1, wherein said adhesive-free area of the pressure control valve has an isosceles triangular profile.
- The food packaging and cooking container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an internal container body in addition to desired food is received within said external container body, said internal container body having the same construction as that of the external container body and being provided with a pressure control valve, and receiving seasoned liquid therein.
- The food packaging and cocking container according to claim 3, wherein a second hole is formed on the lower sheet of the external container body, with a second pressure control valve having the same construction as that of the pressure control valve of said upper sheet of the external container body and being attached to the lower sheet of the external container body so as to normally close the second hole and selectively open the second hole when an interior pressure of the external container body is increased up to a predetermined reference level while cooking.
- The food packaging and cooking container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the interior of the external container body is divided into upper and lower parts by a net member, with both an internal container body being received within said upper part and desired food being received within said lower part, said internal container body having the same construction as that of the external container body and being provided with a pressure control valve and receiving seasoned liquid therein.
- The food packaging and cooking container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a plurality of ice pieces in addition to desired frozen food are received within said external container body.
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
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EP00110826A EP1157942A1 (en) | 2000-05-22 | 2000-05-22 | Packaging for cooking food, having a pressure control system |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
EP00110826A EP1157942A1 (en) | 2000-05-22 | 2000-05-22 | Packaging for cooking food, having a pressure control system |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
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EP1157942A1 true EP1157942A1 (en) | 2001-11-28 |
Family
ID=8168793
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP00110826A Withdrawn EP1157942A1 (en) | 2000-05-22 | 2000-05-22 | Packaging for cooking food, having a pressure control system |
Country Status (1)
Country | Link |
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EP (1) | EP1157942A1 (en) |
Cited By (7)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP1422163A1 (en) * | 2002-11-22 | 2004-05-26 | Amcor Flexibles Europe A/S | Food package for heating in an oven |
WO2004106190A1 (en) * | 2003-05-30 | 2004-12-09 | Micvac Ab | Valve |
WO2006092562A1 (en) * | 2005-03-03 | 2006-09-08 | Ffp Packaging Solutions Limited | Self-venting cover for heatable food package |
EP2275252A1 (en) | 2009-07-09 | 2011-01-19 | Masterpack S.p.A. | Fabrication process of flexible adhesive label-valves |
EP2735521A1 (en) * | 2012-11-21 | 2014-05-28 | Mondi Consumer Packaging International AG | Flat film bag for heating food |
WO2015111015A1 (en) | 2014-01-27 | 2015-07-30 | Masterpack S.P.A. | Self-adhesive label valve |
JP2015193419A (en) * | 2014-03-25 | 2015-11-05 | 株式会社フジシール | Steam permeable label for microwave treatment, and package for microwave treatment |
Citations (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US2946502A (en) * | 1954-11-10 | 1960-07-26 | Melvin R Metzger | Valve-equipped containers |
JPH03136614A (en) * | 1989-07-28 | 1991-06-11 | Yoshio Oyama | Food and drink cooking pack using exothermic cooking unit |
JPH06329179A (en) * | 1993-05-21 | 1994-11-29 | Yoshio Oyama | Pressure-regulating valve, automatic cooking package having the valve, and food or beverage packed therein |
US5989608A (en) * | 1998-07-15 | 1999-11-23 | Mizuno; Maki | Food container for cooking with microwave oven |
GB2337978A (en) * | 1997-12-03 | 1999-12-08 | Stephen Roy Brocklesby | Multi-pocketed pouch for a single serving of a meal |
-
2000
- 2000-05-22 EP EP00110826A patent/EP1157942A1/en not_active Withdrawn
Patent Citations (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US2946502A (en) * | 1954-11-10 | 1960-07-26 | Melvin R Metzger | Valve-equipped containers |
JPH03136614A (en) * | 1989-07-28 | 1991-06-11 | Yoshio Oyama | Food and drink cooking pack using exothermic cooking unit |
JPH06329179A (en) * | 1993-05-21 | 1994-11-29 | Yoshio Oyama | Pressure-regulating valve, automatic cooking package having the valve, and food or beverage packed therein |
GB2337978A (en) * | 1997-12-03 | 1999-12-08 | Stephen Roy Brocklesby | Multi-pocketed pouch for a single serving of a meal |
US5989608A (en) * | 1998-07-15 | 1999-11-23 | Mizuno; Maki | Food container for cooking with microwave oven |
Non-Patent Citations (2)
Title |
---|
PATENT ABSTRACTS OF JAPAN vol. 015, no. 345 (C - 0864) 3 September 1991 (1991-09-03) * |
PATENT ABSTRACTS OF JAPAN vol. 1995, no. 02 31 March 1995 (1995-03-31) * |
Cited By (13)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP1422163A1 (en) * | 2002-11-22 | 2004-05-26 | Amcor Flexibles Europe A/S | Food package for heating in an oven |
WO2004048225A1 (en) * | 2002-11-22 | 2004-06-10 | Amcor Flexibles Europe A/S | Food package for heating in an oven |
US8911150B2 (en) | 2003-05-30 | 2014-12-16 | Micvac Ab | Valve |
AU2004242623B2 (en) * | 2003-05-30 | 2007-03-29 | Micvac Ab | Valve |
CN100503392C (en) * | 2003-05-30 | 2009-06-24 | 米克瓦科股份公司 | Valve |
WO2004106190A1 (en) * | 2003-05-30 | 2004-12-09 | Micvac Ab | Valve |
WO2006092562A1 (en) * | 2005-03-03 | 2006-09-08 | Ffp Packaging Solutions Limited | Self-venting cover for heatable food package |
AU2006219770B2 (en) * | 2005-03-03 | 2007-09-20 | Ffp Packaging Solutions Limited | Self-venting cover for heatable food package |
EP2275252A1 (en) | 2009-07-09 | 2011-01-19 | Masterpack S.p.A. | Fabrication process of flexible adhesive label-valves |
EP2735521A1 (en) * | 2012-11-21 | 2014-05-28 | Mondi Consumer Packaging International AG | Flat film bag for heating food |
WO2015111015A1 (en) | 2014-01-27 | 2015-07-30 | Masterpack S.P.A. | Self-adhesive label valve |
US10029840B2 (en) | 2014-01-27 | 2018-07-24 | Masterpack S.P.A. | Self-adhesive label valve |
JP2015193419A (en) * | 2014-03-25 | 2015-11-05 | 株式会社フジシール | Steam permeable label for microwave treatment, and package for microwave treatment |
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