US1587280A - Package, wrapper therefor, and method of opening the same - Google Patents

Description

June 1 1926. 1,587,280

J L. BURKE PACKAGE, WRAPPER THEREFOR, METHOD OF OPENING THE SAME Filed August 4, 1921 Patented June 1, 1926.

' UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE.

JAMES L. BURKE, OF WEEHAWKEN, NEW JERSEY. I

. PACKAGE, WRAPPER 'rnnnnron, AND mnrnon or OPENING ran sun.

Application filed August 4, 1921 Serial No. 489,615.

My present invention relates primarily to wrapped packages and more particularly to methods and means for opening the same.

As conducive to a clear appreciation of the main purpose of the invention, it may be noted that in the dispensin of ingredients of food, such as yeast ca es, bouillon cubes and the like, the process of removing the wrapper, particularly where the food is adhesive in character is ordinarily a laborious and unsanitary one. Even when the utmost care is exercised and considerable time consumed, it is practically impossible to remove the closely-adhering tin-foil covering from the usual rectangular starchyeast cakes without scraping the cake with the index finger nail. These objections are particularly pronounced at busy soda fountains where these products are served in great quantities. It is not reassuring to Watch a soda-dispenser remove the wrapper from a cake of yeast. He digs freely into the cake tosave time, with fin ers that are greasy with cream, sticky wit sirup and dirty from the mop rags that he handles continually. Even this unsanitary opening process is not sufiiciently speedy to meet the demands of rush hours, so that it has been customary in some confectionery stores to previously unwrap the east in quantities and leave it lie about wit out the protection of the foil. Sincethe yeast deteriorates and spoils when thus exposed and tends to collect germs, this practice is particularly objectionable.

It is an object of my invention to provide a method for removing the wrapper from yeastcakes, bouillon cubes and other articles, which can be executed with utmost expedition and Withoutcontact of the hands or fingers with the contained article. Another object is to provide a package construction which lends itself readily to the execution of the above method.

Another objectis to rovide apackage of the above character w ich involves only a small modification of the common vpackage in. use.

A feature of the invention is the opening of a package of the'general type having a wrapper including flaps overlapping parts that are integral extensions of other flaps, by the simple process of spreading such other flaps apart, thereby automatically unfolding portions, preferably tabs on such flaps, so

that by the simple process of gripping said tabs and drawing them apart, the wrapper as a whole will flatten out in an instant away from the enclosed article without contact by the fingers. a

In the preferred application of the method to small food packs such as yeast cakes, bouillon cubes and the like, the two tabs are gripped, the one at the right between the thumb and a finger of the right hand and the one at the leftbetween the thumb and a finger of the left hand, and the package is raised upturned and held over .a glass or other container. A finger of each hand is now moved into contact with the bottom of the package and the gripped tabs; are drawn apart about the contacted area at the-bottom as a fulcrum, thereby causing the entire wrapper to unfold from the contained article which will drop away from the wrapper into the glass or other container.

In the accompanying drawings in which is shown one or more of various possible constructional embodiments for carrying out my method,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred form of pack, I v

Fig; 2 is a perspective top view illustrating the method of opening the same,

ig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 of a modified form of the. invention, 3

Fig. 4 is a viewof the modification shown in Fig. 3 reversed, i 1

Fig. 5 is a side view of another modification, e

Fig.6 is a side view of the modification of Fig. 5,.illustrating the method of opening the same, and; 7

Figs. 7, 8 and 9 are plans of different embodiments of openiii -tab constructions, Fig. g showing the em odiment employed in fieferring now to Fig. 1, I have shown a food pack which may be the ordinary starch and yeast cake, enclosed in the usual rectangular tin-foil wrapper having a bottom covering part 1, side covering parts 2,

top flaps 3 over-lapping the upper surface of the cake, the extending portions of the bottom",- sideand top covering elements be- 4., pastedover the top flaps 3. According to a preferred embodiment, of my invention,

shown in Fig. 1, the label is formed with a dividing line 7' preferably registering with the edgefof the top' flap 3 to serve as a line of separation for the label. Preferably also,

the label is provided with integral extensions 8 and 9 to constitute linger grips.

QThe packageis opened by the simple processof gripping the tab 8 at the right between the thumb and index finger of the right hand, gripping tab 9 at the left between the thumb and index finger of the left hand, raising the package and holding it over a glass or other container. Thereupon the botg tom 1 of the package is engaged by the midvdlefingers of the two hands, the package is upturnedand the tabs 8 and 9 are drawn apart about the point of engagement of the middle fingers as a fulcrum. As a consequence, the label will separate along dividing line 7, the side-covering parts of the Wrapper will be moved substantially into alignment with the bottom and end folds 4 will thereby spread open, so that the cake 10 will be freed from the wrapper and will drop into the glass or other container. This operation, which is somewhat analogous to the opening of an egg, is not only substan-" tially instantaneous, taking but a fraction of a second, but avoids the possibility of contact of the enclosed article with .the fingers.

Although theniethod can be executed by holding the package with its bottom in upright position. as indicated in Fig. 2, the

package may be completely inverted, if desired, although the latter proceeding involves twisting of the wrists through a needless'ly great angle. Obviously, the tabs could be gripped between the thumb and middle finger and the index finger used to contact the bottom of the pack.

- In Figs. Sand 4: I have shown a modified form of the inventionin which the label (3 is not changed in any particular from common practice, but is pasted on the continuous or bottom faceiinstead of on the top or.twoflap 'face of the package. Upon the top of the package,(see Fig. 3) I secure by appropriate adhesive a rectangular sheet 12 projecting-at its ends 13 and 14 beyond the package and having a dividing line 15 with connecting bridges-16 at the dividing line of the, 'flaps. The operation of opening the package, willbeobvious, is identical with that shown in Fig. 3, the extensions 13 and 14 serving as the finger-grip or tab portions and the tension upon such extensions In the process of opening the pack serving to sever the bridges 16.

Obviously, the gripping tabs can be formed in numerous possible manners, a few of which are suggested in Figs. 7, S and 9. In Fig. 7 small separate tabs 17 are secured by adhesive 18 near the edges of the wrapped package. These tabs may be secured near the edges of the ordinary label sheet in- .or projecting fold to serve as a finger-grip.

In Figs. v5 and 6 is shown an alternative manner of carrying out the invention. In Fig. 5 the label or other covering sheet 6 that over-laps the top flaps 3 of the ordinary pack is'secured by adhesive 21 to the lower of said flaps, and overlaps the upper of said flaps, the latter, however, being preferably not secured by adhesive either to its companion flap or to the covering sheet or label. The process of opening this wrapper consists in gripping the end 22 of the sheet 6, which preferably extends slightly beyond the edge of the package, and drawing the same away from the pack until the edge 23 of upper flap 3 is exposed, there.- upon grasping said edge and drawing the I two grasped portions away from each other as suggested'in Fig. 6, while the pack itself rests upon the table or other supporting means. As a result of drawing these members apart, the free ends will be brought into contact with the table element or support, the end folds thus .obviously spreading apart or opening and the contents will be released or freed without touching by the fingers or hand. The hand can then, of course, be placed under the wrapper and the wrapper inverted over a glass to allow the contents to drop thereinto.

Although I prefer the specific embodi ment shown in the drawings in which the packages are provided .with the ordinary obliquely folded ends, it will be apparent that the invention is applicable to packages folded in substantially any of the conventional manners. The invention is broadly applicable to any packagein which, in the closed wrapper, extensions or projections of one pair of flaps are overlapped by other flaps, so that upon'drawing apart of such not be destroyed, unless, of course, the overlapped flaps are secured together by adhesive of greater tensile strength than that of the wrapper sheet itself.

Although the method has been described and has 1ts preferred application to food. packages and more particularly to food of adhesive character that should not be handled in removing the wrapper, the invention apart from this sanitary feature has the advantage of permitting a speedy,

almost instantaneous opening of a package and is, therefore, useful in any relation in which such speed isrequired or desired.

It will thus be seen that there is herein described a method and a device in which the several features of this invention are embodied, and which method and device attain the various objects ofthe invention and are well suited to meet the requirements of practical use. a I

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of .this invention could be made without'departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense;

I claim v 1, A wrapped package having a first pair of flaps and other-flaps overlapping parts integral with said first pair of flaps, said first pair having grip-portions for convenience in opening the package.

2. A package having a wrapper provided with end flaps and portions intermediate the ends having extensions in superposed relation with respect to said end flaps, and a pair of grip-elements on said interme diatefiaps for the purpose of opening the wrapper by a single manipulation.

3. A wrapper provided with side covering portions, top fla'ps,- integral extensions on said side covering portions and said top flaps, and end flaps, said integral portions and said end flaps being In superposed relation, and grip-elements rigid 'with the flag and said sheet.

wrapper and at portions of the wrapper continuous with the innermost of the end covering parts.

- 4. A box-shaped wrapped package havof the contained article and flaps covering the top, extensions integral with the sides, the bottom and the top flaps and in overlapping relation to form the end'coverings, and gripping tabs connected to the top flaps for convenience in opening the package.

-5. A package of the type involving an article, 'a generally rectangular wrapper enclosing the same, said wrapper having portions covering the article intermediate its ends, including a, bottom covering elementand top covering flaps, and overlapping ex.- tensions to provide end coverings; the combination therewith of tabs at the top flaps of the package for convenience in opening.

6. The combination set forth in claim 5 in which the tabs are pieces pasted or secured to said top flaps.

7. A package of adhesive =food of the type including an enclosing. wrapper covering the bottom and having flaps overlapping the top and extensions folded against the ends and adhering thereto, and a sheet pasted over the top flaps, said sheet having a line of separation near the junction of the top flaps and having integral grip portions at its sides. Y

8. A wrapped'flat package of the type comprising a bottom covering element, top covering flaps and end coveringmeans overlapping extensions on said flaps; having in combination therewith an'open1ng grip comprising a sheet secured to the top of said mg a wrapper with parts covering the sides package, said sheet having a dividing line adjacent the junction of said flaps and pro-- the. upper of said top flaps, said upper flap being unsecured with. respect to said lower gned at New York, in the count New York and State of New York, this 2d day of August, A. 1921.,

JAMES L. BURKE.

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