US20170233164A1

US20170233164A1 - Cooking Bag With Removable Print Web

Info

Publication number: US20170233164A1
Application number: US15/041,621
Authority: US
Inventors: Scott William Huffer
Original assignee: Sonoco Development Inc
Current assignee: Sonoco Development Inc
Priority date: 2016-02-11
Filing date: 2016-02-11
Publication date: 2017-08-17
Also published as: CA2954291A1

Abstract

A cooking bag enclosing a food item to be cooked therein is disclosed. The cooking bag may include a foil pouch having a foil pouch interior surface defining a food pocket therein for receiving and storing the food item and isolating the food item from an ambient atmosphere surrounding the foil pouch. A removable printed film sheet may be affixed to a foil pouch exterior surface by a releasable adhesive. The removable printed film sheet may be separable from the foil pouch exterior surface by peeling the releasable adhesive without breaking the foil pouch and exposing the food pocket and the food item to the ambient atmosphere. The food item may then be cooked in the foil pouch on a grill, in an oven, on a stove or with another appropriate heat source.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to flexible packaging structures and, more particularly, to foil cooking packages having a removable print web with product information printed thereon.

BACKGROUND

To meet the desires of consumers to be able to purchase heat and serve meals that can be prepared more quickly than making meals from scratch while having the flavorful taste of home-cooked meals, food producers look for packaging alternatives that may serve as both the packaging for the food and the vessel in which the food is cooked. One alternative currently used is packaging food in foil cooking bags that can go straight from the refrigerator to the stove, oven or grill without the need to remove the food from the package and transfer the food to another cooking vessel.
Packaging the food in foil cooking bags still carries the requirements for labeling the packaging with producer and product information, preparation instructions, nutrition information, UPC codes, pricing information and the like. For some foods, the labeling may be printed directly onto the outer surface of the foil cooking bag, but printed information on the portions of the foil cooking bag forming the seals can be render illegible when the seals are formed and the foil is deformed. Moreover, printing on foil can limit colors that can be used to provide legible information, and seals of the foil cooking bags can limit the amount of printable space available on the exterior of the foil cooking bag. Where printing on the foil cooking bag is impractical, the foil cooking bag or bags may be repackaged within a box or other container providing sufficient surface area for printing the product information. However, repackaging the foil cooking bag can increase the cost of producing the food product and, ultimately, the price charged to the consumers.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

In one aspect of the present disclosure, a cooking bag enclosing a food item to be cooked therein is disclosed. The cooking bag may include a foil pouch having a foil pouch interior surface defining a food pocket therein for receiving and storing the food item and isolating the food item from an ambient atmosphere surrounding the foil pouch, a releasable adhesive adhered to at least a portion of a foil pouch exterior surface of the foil pouch, and a removable printed film sheet affixed to the foil pouch exterior surface by the releasable adhesive. The removable printed film sheet may be separable from the foil pouch exterior surface by peeling the releasable adhesive without breaking the foil pouch and exposing the food pocket and the food item to the ambient atmosphere.
In another aspect of the present disclosure, a method for producing a cooking bag having a foil pouch with a food item to be cooked therein is disclosed. The food item may be disposed within a food pocket defined by a foil pouch interior surface of the foil pouch, and a removable printed film sheet may be affixed to a foil pouch exterior surface with a releasable adhesive allowing the removable printed film sheet to be peeled from the foil pouch exterior surface after the cooking bag is produced. The method may include laminating a printed film web to a first foil web surface of a foil web with the releasable adhesive to form a composite web, wherein the first foil web surface will form the foil pouch exterior surface, forming the composite web into a tube with the first foil web surface and the printed film web on the outside as the composite web is fed along a forming tube, and applying pressure and heat to portions of the foil web proximate oppositely disposed foil sheet lateral edges of the foil web that are dispose proximate each other when the composite web is formed into the tube to form a longitudinal back seal. The method may further include applying pressure and heat at a first end of the foil pouch proximate a leading edge of the composite web to form a first end edge seal, depositing the food item through a second end of the foil pouch that is opposite the first end, applying pressure and heat at the second end of the foil pouch to form a second end edge seal, and separating the cooking bag from the composite web.
In a further aspect of the present disclosure, a cooking bag enclosing a food item to be cooked therein is disclosed. The cooking bag may include a foil pouch having a foil pouch interior surface defining a food pocket therein for receiving and storing the food item and isolating the food item from an ambient atmosphere surrounding the foil pouch. The foil pouch may include a foil sheet having a quadrilateral shape that is folded and sealed to form a pillow pouch-type package having a longitudinal back seal, a first end edge seal, and a second end edge seal. The cooking bag may further include a releasable adhesive adhered to at least a portion of a foil pouch exterior surface of the foil pouch, and a removable printed film sheet affixed to the foil pouch exterior surface by the releasable adhesive. The removable printed film sheet may include product information for the food item printed on a printed sheet inner surface that faces the foil pouch exterior surface when the removable printed film sheet is affixed thereto. The removable printed film sheet may be a single printed film sheet wrapped around the foil pouch, and a pull tab portion at a corner of the removable printed film sheet may not be coated with the releasable adhesive and may not be adhered to the foil pouch exterior surface so that the removable printed film sheet is separable from the foil pouch exterior surface by grasping the pull tab portion and peeling the releasable adhesive away from the foil pouch exterior surface without breaking the foil pouch and exposing the food pocket and the food item to the ambient atmosphere.
Additional aspects are defined by the claims of this patent.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an isometric front view of a pillow pouch-type cooking bag in accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is an isometric front view of a foil pouch and a printed film sheet of the cooking bag of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an isometric back view of the foil pouch of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an isometric back view of the cooking bag of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken through line 5-5 of FIG. 1 of a food pocket, a first end edge seal and a second end edge seal of the cooking bag of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view taken through line 6A-6A of FIG. 1 of the second end edge seal and a longitudinal back seal of the cooking bag of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view taken through line 6B-6B of FIG. 1 of the first end edge seal and the longitudinal back seal of the cooking bag of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is an isometric back view of the cooking bag of FIG. 1 with the printed film sheet partially peeled from the foil pouch;

FIG. 8 is the cross-sectional view of FIG. 5 with the printed film sheet peeled from the foil pouch;

FIG. 9 is an isometric front view of a four-side-seal-type cooking bag in accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a front view of a composite web formed from a printed film web and a foil web in accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a back view of the composite web of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a front view of an alternative embodiment of a composite web in accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram of a composite web fabrication routine in accordance with the present disclosure; and

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram of a cooking bag fabrication routine in accordance with the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A cooking bag in accordance with the present disclosure may include one or more foil sheets folded and sealed to form a foil pouch, and one or more removable printed film sheets adhered to a foil pouch exterior surface on one or both faces of the foil pouch. The foil pouch may define a food pocket having a food item disposed therein that will be cooked in the foil pouch on a stove, in an oven or on a grill over an open fire. Each removable printed film sheet may be attached to a foil pouch exterior surface of the foil pouch with a releasable adhesive that will allow the printed film sheet or sheets to be peeled off of the foil pouch exterior surface prior to cooking the food so that the printed film sheets are not exposed to the heat source. The product information for the food item may be printed on the printed film sheets to make the cooking bag more attractive to consumers than printing the information directly on the foil pouch.
FIGS. 1-8 illustrate one exemplary embodiment of a cooking bag 10 enclosing a food item 12 that is to be cooked therein, with a front face of the completely fabricated cooking bag 10 being shown in FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 2, the cooking bag 10 may include a foil pouch 14 formed from a foil sheet 16, and a removable printed film sheet 18 that is shown separated from the foil pouch 14. During the fabrication process, the printed film sheet 18 may be affixed to a foil pouch exterior surface 20 of the foil pouch 14 by a releasable adhesive such as those describe further hereinafter. In the present embodiment, the foil sheet 16 forming the foil pouch 14 may have a quadrilateral shape, and the foil sheet 16 may have been a portion of the foil web or a composite web formed from a printed film web and a foil web during a process for manufacturing the cooking bag 10 such as that discussed further below.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the foil sheet 16 may be folded and sealed to form a pillow pouch-type package having a first end edge seal 22 across a first foil sheet end 24, a second end edge seal 26 across a second foil sheet end 28 opposite the first foil sheet end 24, and a longitudinal back seal 30 (FIG. 3) extending longitudinally down a center of a back face of the foil pouch 14. Depending on the nature of the food item 12 and the effect of the cooking heat on an adhesive used in the end edge seals 22, 26, it may be necessary or desirable to fold over and crimp portions of the first end edge seal 22 and the second end edge seal 26 to prevent opening of the foil pouch 14 when cooking the food item 12. The longitudinal back seal 30 may be a lap seal formed by having a first foil sheet lateral edge 32 and a second foil sheet lateral edge 34 of the foil sheet 16 overlapping one another so that none of the foil material stands out from the back face of the foil pouch 14. Alternatively, the longitudinal back seal 30 may be a fin seal where the portions of a foil pouch interior surface 36 (FIGS. 1 and 2) proximate the foil sheet lateral edges 32, 34 are bonded together. The fin seal may be folded over in one direction if desired to lay against the back face of the foil pouch 14, or may be left extending outwardly from the back face of the foil pouch 14 in the form of a pinch seal.
The foil sheet 16 may be standard aluminum foil as is commonly known in the flexible packaging and food preparation arts. The foil sheet 16 may have sufficient strength to allow the bond of the releasable adhesive to release the printed film sheet 18 when a peel force is applied without having the foil pouch 14 rupture and expose the food item 12 to the ambient atmosphere surrounding the foil pouch 14. At the same time, the strength of the foil sheet 16 may allow the consumer to readily penetrate the foil pouch exterior surface 20 with a fork or knife for removal of the food item 12 from the foil pouch 14. In various embodiments, the foil sheet 16 may have a foil sheet thickness within a range of 0.5 mils-5.0 mils depending on the requirements for the particular food item 12 stored therein.
Returning to FIG. 2, in the illustrated embodiment, the removable printed film sheet 18 may be a single sheet of clear polyester (PET) film that may be wrapped around the foil pouch 14 and adhered thereto by a releasable adhesive. The printed film sheet 18 may have a quadrilateral shape corresponding to the shape of the foil sheet 16, and the printed film sheet 18 may have been a portion of the printed film web or a composite web formed from a printed film web and a foil web. The printed film sheet 18 may have a first printed sheet end 40, a second printed sheet end 42, a first printed sheet lateral edge 44 and a second printed sheet lateral edge 46 that generally correspond to and align with the first foil sheet end 24, the second foil sheet end 28, the first foil sheet lateral edge 32 and the second foil sheet lateral edge 34, respectively, when the printed film sheet 18 is affixed to the foil sheet 16. In some embodiments, the printed film sheet 18 may have the same dimensions as the foil sheet 16 so that the printed sheet ends 40, 42 and the printed sheet lateral edges 44, 46 extend to and align with the corresponding foil sheet ends 24, 28 and foil sheet lateral edges 32, 34. In alternative embodiments, such as embodiments where the printed film sheet 18 does not extend into the end edge seals 22, 26 and the longitudinal back seal 30, the printed film sheet 18 may be smaller than the foil sheet 16, and the printed sheet ends 40, 42 and the printed sheet lateral edges 44, 46 may be disposed inwardly from the corresponding foil sheet ends 24, 28 and foil sheet lateral edges 32, 34.
Because the printed film sheet 18 is clear, product information such as a product name 50, a product weight 52, product nutritional information 54, a UPC bar code 56 for the product, and other product and packaging information may be printed on a side of the printed film sheet 18 that will face the foil pouch exterior surface 20 when the printed film sheet 18 is affixed to the foil pouch 14. If a colored or opaque PET film is used, the product information 50, 52, 54, 56 may be printed on a side of the printed film sheet 18 that will face away from the foil pouch exterior surface 20 so the printed information is visible to the consumer. As with the foil sheet 16, the printed film sheet 18 may have sufficient strength to allow the bond of the releasable adhesive to release the printed film sheet 18 when the peel force is applied without the printed film sheet 18 tearing or deforming under the force. In various embodiments, the printed film sheet 18 may have a film sheet thickness within a range of 10 μm-30 μm.
FIGS. 1 and 4 illustrate the front face (FIG. 1) and the back face (FIG. 4) of the completely fabricated cooking bag 10 as described above and with the longitudinal back seal 30 being a lap seal. The cross-sectional view of FIG. 5 is taken through the end edge seals 22, 26 at a point remote from the longitudinal back seal 30. The cross-sectional view illustrates the foil pouch interior surface 36 defining a food pocket 60 within the foil pouch 14 for receiving and storing the food item 12. The end edge seals 22, 26 and the longitudinal back seal 30 seal the food item 12 in the food pocket 60 and isolate the food item 12 from the ambient atmosphere surrounding the foil pouch 14. For the sake of illustration and clarity, the thicknesses of the foil sheet 16, the printed film sheet 18 and the associated adhesives are not drawn to scale relative to the overall size of the cooking bag 10 in the various cross-sectional figures presented herein.
A releasable adhesive 62 may by applied as appropriate to adhere the removable printed film sheet 18 to the foil pouch exterior surface 20 and allow removal of the printed film sheet 18 without rupturing the foil pouch 14. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the releasable adhesive 62 may be flood coated onto a printed sheet inner surface 64 of the printed film sheet 18 that faces the foil pouch exterior surface 20 when the printed film sheet 18 is affixed thereto so that substantially all of the printed sheet inner surface 64 is adhered to the foil pouch exterior surface 20. Alternatively, the releasable adhesive 62 may be pattern coated onto the printed sheet inner surface 64 so that less than 50% of the printed sheet inner surface is adhered to the foil pouch exterior surface 20. For example, the releasable adhesive 62 may be applied to the printed sheet inner surface 64 only proximate the printed sheet ends 40, 42 and printed sheet lateral edges 44, 46 so that an inner portion of the printed film sheet 18 is not affixed to the foil pouch exterior surface 20. Additional alternative pattern coating strategies will be apparent to those skilled in the art and are contemplate by the inventor as having use in cooking bags 10 in accordance with the present disclosure.
The releasable adhesive 62 applied to the printed sheet inner surface 64 may be any appropriate adhesive having a bond strength that will secure the printed film sheet affixed to the foil pouch 14 as it travels through the distribution chain to the consumer and is stored by the consumer until the time that the foil pouch 14 is prepared to be placed on or in the heat source, while not forming a destructive bond so that the printed film sheet can be peeled from the foil pouch 14 without breaking the printed film sheet, or breaking the foil sheet 16 and exposing the food item 12 to the ambient atmosphere. For example, the releasable adhesive 62 may be a pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) formed from appropriate elastomeric compounds such as acrylics, butyl rubber, ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), nitriles, silicone rubber, styrene block copolymers (SBC), vinyl ethers and the like. These types of PSAs will typically result in an adhesive fracture of the bond causing the releasable adhesive 62 to separate from the foil pouch exterior surface 20 that acts as the adherend. In other embodiments, the releasable adhesive 62 may be formed from a regular adhesive infused with a contaminant to form a low bond adhesive allowing the printed film sheet 18 to be peeled off the foil pouch exterior surface 20. For example, a dry bond adhesive may be infused with an inorganic material to achieve a controlled failure mode wherein an adhesive fracture occurs as described above, or a cohesive fracture of the releasable adhesive 62 occurs within the adhesive to release the printed film sheet 18 before the peel force exceeds the strength of the printed film sheet 18 and the foil sheet 16.
A foil adhesive 66 may be applied on the foil pouch interior surface 36 so that the end edge seals 22, 26 and the longitudinal back seal 30 may be formed as the cooking bag 10 is fabricated. The foil adhesive 66 may be a food grade adhesive that will not contaminate the food item 12, and may be a thermoplastic heat activated coating in the form of polyamides, acrylics, urethanes and the like. In some embodiments, the foil adhesive 66 is a heat seal coating that may be applied on a side of the foil sheet 16 that will become the foil pouch interior surface 36. The foil adhesive 66 may be pattern coated on the foil pouch interior surface 36 proximate the foil sheet ends 24, 28 and the first foil sheet lateral edge 32 where pressure and heat will be applied to activate the foil adhesive 66 and form the end edge seals 22, 26 and the longitudinal back seal 30, respectively.
The cross-sectional views of FIGS. 5, 6A and 6B more clearly illustrate the interior of the foil pouch 14 and the layering of the foil pouch 14 and the printed film sheet 18. Generally, the releasable adhesive 62 is deposited between the foil pouch exterior surface 20 and the printed sheet inner surface 64 on the front and back faces when the releasable adhesive 62 is flood coated on the printed sheet inner surface 64. Where the releasable adhesive 62 is pattern coated, the releasable adhesive 62 would not be seen between portions of the foil pouch exterior surface 20 and the printed sheet inner surface 64 depending on the location where the cross-section is taken. The foil adhesive 66 is only disposed between facing portions of the foil sheet 16 at the end edge seals 22, 26, and is substantially not present in the food pocket 60. As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the foil adhesive 66 may be present between the foil sheet 16 and the printed film sheet 18 along the length of the longitudinal back seal 30 when the back seal 30 is a lap seal.
When it is time to cook the food item 12, the printed film sheet 18 may be separated from the foil pouch exterior surface 20 by peeling the releasable adhesive 62 without breaking the foil pouch 14 and exposing the food pocket 60 and the food item 12 to the ambient atmosphere surrounding the cooking bag 10. As shown in FIG. 4, the printed film sheet 18 may have a portion at a corner of the printed film sheet 18 that is not coated with the releasable adhesive 62 and forms a pull tab portion 68 that is not adhered to the foil pouch exterior surface 20. The consumer may be able to grasp the pull tab portion 68 and apply a peel force to overcome the bond of the releasable adhesive 62 and separate the printed film sheet 18 from the foil pouch 14 as shown in FIG. 7. In the cross-sectional view of FIG. 8, the printed film sheet 18 and the releasable adhesive 62 have been peeled from the foil pouch 14. As shown, an adhesive fracture may have occurred whereby the bond between the releasable adhesive 62 and the foil pouch exterior surface 20 have been broken and no residual releasable adhesive 62 remains on the foil pouch exterior surface 20. If a cohesive fracture occurs, or a combination of a cohesive fracture and an adhesive fracture, a residual amount of the releasable adhesive 62 may remain on the foil pouch exterior surface 20.
As mentioned above, the pillow pouch-type cooking bag 10 is an exemplary embodiment, and other types of packages may provide foil pouches that can be filled with a food item and have a releasable printed film sheet affixed thereto with product information for the consumer. For example, FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a cooking bag 80 having a four-side-seal foil pouch 82 formed by a first foil sheet 84 and second foil sheet (back not shown) joined by first end side seal 86, a second end side seal 88, a first lateral side seal 90 and a second lateral side seal 92 formed along a first foil sheet end 94, a second foil sheet end 96 opposite the first foil sheet end 94, a first foil sheet lateral edge 98 and a second foil sheet lateral edge 100 opposite the first foil sheet lateral edge 98, respectively. The foil sheets 84 may have a quadrilateral shape as shown, or may have other geometries (triangular, hexagonal, circular and the like) that may require corresponding numbers of side seals to join the foil sheets 84 and form the foil pouch 82. The side seals 86, 88, 90, 92 may close off a food pocket (not shown) defined by the foil sheets 84 to isolate a food item (not shown) from the ambient atmosphere. A first printed film sheet 102 and a second printed film sheet (back not shown) may be affixed to each of the foil sheets 84 and be printed with the corresponding product information. Pull tab portions 104 (front shown) as discussed above may be provided on the printed film sheets 102 for applying a peel force to separate the printed film sheets 102 from the foil pouch 82.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

Fabrication of the pillow pouch-type cooking bag 10 may entail a multi-step process including forming a composite web from a printed film web and a foil web, and then using the composite web to form a plurality of cooking bags 10. FIG. 10 illustrates one example of a composite web 110 used to produce the cooking bags 10 with the longitudinal back seal 30 being a lap seal and a single printed film sheet 18 being wrapped around the foil pouch 14. The composite web 110 may be formed by laminating a printed film web 112 to a foil web 114. The printed film web 112 may be configured with a continuous series of printed film sheets 18 each having indicia such as the product information 50, 52, 54, 56 discussed above printed on a printed film web inner surface of the printed film web 112 that will form the printed sheet inner surfaces 64 and will be laminated to a first foil web surface 115 of the foil web 114. Dashed lines 116 are added between adjacent to demarcate the concurrent first printed sheet end 40 of one printed film sheet 18 and second printed sheet end 42 of an immediate downstream printed film sheet 18. The dashed lines 116 added in the drawing figures for clarity, and may not necessarily be printed on the printed film web 112 during the fabrication process. However, the dashed lines 116 may be printed, and in some embodiments the dashed lines 116 may represent scoring of the printed film web 112 and/or the foil web 114 to facilitate separation of the cooking bags 10 after fabrication.
The printed film web inner surface of the printed film web 112 may also be coated with the releasable adhesive 62 indicated by the shading on the printed film web 112 in FIG. 10. In the illustrated embodiment, the inner surface of the printed film web 112 is flood coated with the releasable adhesive 62 so that substantially all of the inner surface is covered with the exception of the areas of the printed film web 112 at which the pull tab portions 68 of the printed film sheets 18 are located.
As mentioned above, the composite web 110 will be used to form cooking bags 10 having lap seals 30 on the back face. As shown, the printed sheet lateral edges 44, 46 extend to the corresponding foil sheet lateral edges 32, 34. Consequently, the portions of the printed film sheets 18 proximate the second printed sheet lateral edges 46 will be disposed within the lap seal 30 and adhered to the foil sheet 16 by the foil adhesive 66 and may not readily separate without compromising the foil pouch 14. Non-destructive separation of the printed film sheet 18 from the lap seal 30 and the foil pouch 14 may be facilitated by providing a laser score line 118 parallel to the second printed sheet lateral edge 46 and disposed inwardly far enough so that the laser score line 118 is outside the lap seal 30. The laser score line 118 may be configured to weaken the printed film sheet 18 proximate the lap seal 30 so that the printed film sheet 18 yields at the laser score line 118 before exceeding the strength of the lap seal 30 and the foil sheet 16. In alternative embodiments, the printed film web 112 may be narrower than the foil web 114 so that the second printed sheet lateral edge 46 is disposed inwardly from the second foil sheet lateral edge 34 so that the second printed sheet lateral edge 46 is not part of the lap seal 30.
FIG. 11 shows a second foil web surface 119 on the reverse side of the foil web 114 and the composite web 110, and in particular the side of the foil web 114 opposite the printed film web 112 that will form the foil pouch interior surface 36. As discussed above, the foil adhesive 66 is pattern coated on the foil pouch interior surface 36 to minimize or eliminate contact between the foil adhesive 66 and the food item 12. The foil adhesive 66 is applied along and on both sides of the dashed lines 116 so that the end edge seals 22, 26 can be formed at both foil sheet ends 24, 28 of each foil pouch 14. Additionally, as the first foil sheet lateral edge 32 will overlay the second foil sheet lateral edge 34, the foil adhesive 66 is also applied to the foil web 114 along the first foil sheet lateral edge 32 so that the lap seal 30 may be formed.
FIG. 12 illustrates an alternative embodiment of a composite web 120 wherein the releasable adhesive 62 is pattern coated on the inner surface of the printed film web 112 so that a smaller portion of each printed film sheet 18 is adhered to the foil pouch exterior surface 20. Additionally, the embodiment illustrates that the printed film sheets 18 may be separable into multiple portions that may each be individually peeled form the foil pouch 14. For example, the foil pouch 14 may have a first lateral pouch edge 122 and a second lateral pouch edge 124 opposite the first lateral pouch edge 122 (FIGS. 2 and 3). The printed film web 112 may be laser scored with a first laser score line 126 that will be aligned along the first lateral pouch edge 122 and a second laser score line 128 that will be aligned along the second lateral pouch edge 124. The laser score lines 126, 128 may allow a printed sheet front portion 130 of the printed film sheet 18 to be separated from a first printed sheet back portion 132 and a second printed sheet back portion 134 and peeled from the foil pouch 14 independently from the printed sheet back portions 132, 134.
Each of the printed sheet portions 130, 132, 134 may include a pull tab portion 68 that is not coated with the releasable adhesive 62 and affixed to the foil pouch exterior surface 20 to facilitate separation of the printed sheet portions 130, 132, 134 and independent removal from the foil pouch 14. In the pattern coating on the printed film sheet 18, the releasable adhesive 62 may be applied along the printed sheet lateral edges 44, 46, and on either side of the dashed lines 116 and the laser score lines 126, 128 to secure each of the printed sheet portions 130, 132, 134 to the foil pouch 14 even when they are separated from each other. In this embodiment, the longitudinal back seal 30 of the foil pouch 14 may be a fin seal. Portions of the foil pouch interior surface 36 proximate the foil sheet lateral edges 32, 34 will be facing and sealed to each other so that portions of the printed film sheet 18 are not disposed within the fin seal 30. Consequently, the laser score line 118 discussed above is not necessary in the present embodiment.
In a further alternative embodiment, the printed sheet portions 130, 132, 134 may be provided on three separate printed film webs (not shown) that are laminated to the foil web 114 and placing the printed sheet portions 130, 132, 134 generally in the same locations as shown in FIG. 12. The laser score lines 126, 128 would be replaced by spaces between the printed film webs carrying the front printed sheet portion 130, the first printed sheet back portion 132 and the second printed sheet back portion 134. After the cooking bags 10 are formed, the consumer can remove each printed sheet portion 130, 132, 134 individually without having to tear the printed film sheet 18 along the laser score lines 126, 128 to separate the printed sheet portions 130, 132, 134 from each other.
FIG. 13 is a flow diagram of a composite web fabrication routine 140 that may be executed to the composite webs 110, 120 illustrated and described above. Equipment and processes for performing the steps of the routine 140 are known to those skilled in the art of manufacturing flexible packaging products, and consequently are not described herein except as necessary for a complete understanding of the composite web fabrication routine 140. The routine 140 may begin a block 142 wherein product information and other labeling for the food item 12, such as the product information 50, 52, 54, 56 discussed above, may be printed on a printed web inner surface of the printed film web 112 that will form the printed sheet inner surface 64 of the printed film sheets 18. The product information may be printed on the printed film web 112 using any appropriate printing technique for applying a printing medium to a film substrate. It is possible for the printing medium to have an effect on the seal strength of the seals 22, 26, 30 of the cooking bag 10, so the printing process may be configured to avoid applying the printing medium in the locations on the printed film web 112 that will be located at the seals 22, 26, 30.
After printing the product information on the printed film web 112 at the block 142, control may pass to a block 144 for application of the releasable adhesive 62 to the printed web inner surface of the printed film web 112. The releasable adhesive 62 may be applied to printed film web 112 as necessary to ensure that the printed film sheet 18 will remain adhered to the foil pouch 14 until removed by the consumer. The releasable adhesive 62 may be applied in a flood coating as show in FIG. 10 where the entire surface of the printed film web 112 is coated except at the pull tab portions 68. Alternatively, the releasable adhesive 62 may be applied in a pattern coating such as that shown for the composite web 120 of FIG. 12 so that only strategic portions of the printed film web 112 are coated, such as portions proximate the printed sheet ends 40, 42 and printed sheet lateral edges 44, 46. After the releasable adhesive 62 is applied at the block 144, control may pass to a block 146 where the releasable adhesive 62 applied to the printed film web 112 is dried, such as by the application of heat to the surface bearing the printing and the releasable adhesive 62.
With the printing and the releasable adhesive 62 applied to the printed film web 112, the printed film web 112 is ready to be combined with the foil web 114. Control may pass to a block 148 where the printed film web 112 is laminated to the foil web 114 to form the composite web 110. The printed web inner surface having the printing and the releasable adhesive 62 disposed thereon may be brought into contact with the surface of the foil web 114 that will form the foil pouch exterior surface 20. In on embodiment, an impression roller and drum may press the printed film web 112 and the foil web 114 together as heat is applied to cause the releasable adhesive 62 to adhere to the foil web 114. The roller and drum may press across the entire width of the printed film web 112 and the foil web 114 when the printed film web 112 has been flood coated. Where only desired locations of the printed film web 112 are to be adhered to the foil web 114, such as when the printed film web 112 is pattern coated, a gravure press may be used to only apply pressure to the desired locations of the printed film web 112.
After the printed film web 112 is laminated to the foil web 114 to form the composite web 110 at the block 148, control may pass to a block 150 where the foil adhesive 66 may be applied to the surface of the foil web 114 that will form the foil pouch interior surface 36 and that is opposite the printed film web 112. As discussed above, it may be desirable to minimize or avoid contact between the foil adhesive 66 and the food item 12 within the food pocket 60. Consequently, the foil adhesive 66 may be applied with a pattern coating onto the surface of the foil web 114 at the areas that will form the longitudinal back seal 30, the first end edge seal 22 and the second end edge seal 26 as shown in FIG. 11. After the foil adhesive 66 is applied to the foil web 114 at the block 150, control may pass to a block 152 where the foil adhesive 66 may be dried using heat or other appropriate techniques. Application of the foil adhesive 66 to the foil web 114 is illustrated in the routine 140 as being performed after the printed film web 112 is laminated to the foil web 114. However, the processing of blocks 150, 152 may be performed before the lamination step of block 148 is performed and before the webs 112, 114 are combined to form the composite web 110.
In applications where the printed film web 112 will be laser scored with the laser score lines 118, 126 and/or 128, control may pass to a block 154 where the laser scoring is performed on the printed film web 112. Where the laser scoring is performed after the printed film web 112 is laminated to the foil web 114, known techniques for scoring only the printed film web 112 without reaching and penetrating the foil web 114 may be performed. Alternatively, the laser scoring process of the block 154 may be performed before the lamination step of the block 148 when the printed film web 112 is still separated from the foil web 114. Of course, the block 154 may be omitted from the routine 140 where no laser scoring of the printed film web 112 is included in the design of the cooking bag 10. Ultimately, after the adhesives 62, 66 are applied, the laser scoring, if any, is performed and the individual webs 112, 114 are laminated into the composite web 110, control may pass to a block 156 where the composite web 110 is rolled up onto a spool (not shown) where the composite web 110 may be stored until being used to form the cooking bags 10.
The composite web 110 fabricated during the routine 140 will be used to form a plurality of cooking bags 10. Various processes may be implemented to convert the composite web 110 into the cooking bags 10. Of particular application base on the configuration of the cooking bags 10 and the food item 12 contained therein are vertical form, fill and seal (VFFS) and horizontal form, fill and seal (HFFS) process and machines. VFFS and HFFS machines will form, fill, close and seal the cooking bags 10 in one continuous or intermittent-motion operation. The composite web 110 may be fed from the spool, folded to the desired pillow pouch shape, and stabilized by heat sealing. The food item 12 may be placed into each foil pouch 14, and the remaining open foil sheet end 24 may be sealed.
FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary cooking bag fabrication routine 160 that may be implemented for the cooking bags in either a VFFS machine or a HFFS machine. The routine 160 may begin at a block 162 where a leading end of the composite web 110 is unrolled from the spool and formed into a tube. In the following discussion, the second foil sheet end 28 and the second printed sheet end 42 travel through the machine ahead of the first foil sheet end 24 and the first printed sheet end 40. However, the same routine 160 may be performed with the first foil sheet end 24 and the first printed sheet end 40 traveling through the machine first. The composite web 110 may be wrapped around a forming tube with the foil pouch interior surface 36 facing the forming tube and the printed film web 112 on the outside of the forming tube. The foil sheet lateral edges 32, 34 and the printed sheet lateral edges 44, 46 being brought into proximity as the composite web 110 is wrapped around the forming tube. The lateral edges 32, 44 may overlap the lateral edges 34, 46 if the longitudinal back seal 30 will be a lap seal, or may have corresponding portions of the foil pouch interior surface 36 facing each other if the seal 30 will be a fin seal.
As the composite web 110 travels along the forming tube, control may pass to a block 164 where the longitudinal back seal 30 is formed for the cooking bag 10. For example, a vertical heat-sealing bar may compress the foil sheet lateral edges 32, 34 between the bar and the forming tube and apply heat to melt the foil adhesive 66 at the first foil sheet lateral edge 32 and form a lap seal. In contrast, a fin seal may be formed by clamping the foil sheet lateral edges 32, 34 with a pair of vertical heat-sealing bars and melting the foil sheet lateral edges 32, 34 together.
Downstream from the vertical heat-sealing bar(s) and an end of the forming tube, control may pass to a block 166 where the second end edge seal 26 of the cooking bag 10 may be formed. A horizontal heat-sealing bar may create the second end edge seal 26 by clamping across the second foil sheet end 28 and applying heat to melt the foil adhesive 66 applied proximate the second foil sheet end 28. At the same time, the horizontal heat-sealing bar may be creating the first end edge seal 22 of the cooking bag 10 that is immediately downstream and shares the dashed line 116, and a cutter may cut along the dashed line 116 to separate the downstream cooking bag 10 from the composite web 110.
With the longitudinal back seal 30 and the second end edge seal 26 formed and the foil pouch 14 partially formed, control may pass to a block 168 where the food pocket 60 may be filled with the food item 12. The precise process for filling the food pocket 60 may be dictated by the nature of the food item 12. For a piece of meat that may be pre-cut to a designated unit weight for the cooking bag 10, the piece may dropped or lowered into the foil pouch 14 through the first foil sheet end 28. Alternatively, a cumulative product weight may be required for food items 12 such as meatballs, chicken wings, chicken nuggets and the like where the weights of multiple pieces will total to the designated unit weight for the cooking bag 10. The food items 12 may be accumulated and pre-measured by an appropriate weighing system and then poured or otherwise deposited into the foil pouch 14, or the sealed second foil sheet end 28 may be lowered onto a precision weighing table and the product to be bagged may be dispensed through the forming tube and into the foil pouch 14 of the cooking bag 10 until the gross weight of the product-filled cooking bag 10 is reached. Additional product measuring and deposited methods may also be used to fill the foil pouch 14.
After the prescribed amount of the food item 12 is deposited into the foil pouch 14, control may pass to a block 170 where the first end edge seal 22 may be formed to completely close the foil pouch 14 and isolate the food item 12 from the ambient atmosphere surrounding the cooking bag 10. The horizontal heat sealing bar used to form the second end edge seal 26 may be clamped across the first foil sheet end 24 and apply heat to melt the foil adhesive 66 applied proximate the first foil sheet end 24. At the same time, the horizontal heat-sealing bar creates the second end edge seal 26 of the cooking bag 10 that is immediately upstream and shares the dashed line 116.
After the first end edge seal 22 is formed or at the same time, control may pass to a block 172 where the completed cooking bag 10 is separated from the upstream cooking bag 10 and the composite web 110. The cutter mentioned above may cut along the dashed line 116 to separate the completed cooking bag 10 from the composite web 110. If further reinforcement of the end edge seals 22, 26 is necessary based on the characteristics of the food item 12 and the foil pouch 14, control may pass to a block 174 where an appropriate mechanism may fold and crimp the end edge seals 22, 26 so that a force greater that the force necessary to break the bond of the foil adhesive 66 at the end edge seals 22, 26, may be necessary to open the ends of the foil pouch 14.
The cooking bags 10, 80 in accordance with the present disclosure provide packaging allowing consumers purchase and prepare heat and serve meals without necessarily having substantial additional packaging bearing product information that may not readily be printed and read when printed directly on foil packaging materials. The printed film sheet 18 affixed to the foil pouch exterior surface 20 may provide substantially all information regarding the food product and its preparation that may have previously been printed on a box or flexible package in which the foil pouch 14 would have been sold. The arrangement of materials in the cooking bags 10, 80 also allows for separation of recyclable materials (foil sheet 16) from potentially non-recyclable materials (printed film sheet 18) for appropriate disposal of each type of material.
While the preceding text sets forth a detailed description of numerous different embodiments, it should be understood that the legal scope of protection is defined by the words of the claims set forth at the end of this patent. The detailed description is to be construed as exemplary only and does not describe every possible embodiment since describing every possible embodiment would be impractical, if not impossible. Numerous alternative embodiments could be implemented, using either current technology or technology developed after the filing date of this patent, which would still fall within the scope of the claims defining the scope of protection.
It should also be understood that, unless a term was expressly defined herein, there is no intent to limit the meaning of that term, either expressly or by implication, beyond its plain or ordinary meaning, and such term should not be interpreted to be limited in scope based on any statement made in any section of this patent (other than the language of the claims). To the extent that any term recited in the claims at the end of this patent is referred to herein in a manner consistent with a single meaning, that is done for sake of clarity only so as to not confuse the reader, and it is not intended that such claim term be limited, by implication or otherwise, to that single meaning.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A cooking bag enclosing a food item to be cooked therein, comprising:

a foil pouch having a foil pouch interior surface defining a food pocket therein for receiving and storing the food item and isolating the food item from an ambient atmosphere surrounding the foil pouch;

a releasable adhesive adhered to at least a portion of a foil pouch exterior surface of the foil pouch; and

a removable printed film sheet affixed to the foil pouch exterior surface by the releasable adhesive, wherein the removable printed film sheet is separable from the foil pouch exterior surface by peeling the releasable adhesive without breaking the foil pouch and exposing the food pocket and the food item to the ambient atmosphere.

2. The cooking bag of claim 1, wherein the foil pouch comprises a foil sheet having a quadrilateral shape that is folded and sealed to form a pillow pouch-type package having a longitudinal back seal, a first end edge seal, and a second end edge seal.

3. The cooking bag of claim 2, wherein the longitudinal back seal is one of a lap seal and a fin seal.

4. The cooking bag of claim 2, wherein portions of the first end edge seal and the second end edge seal are folded over and crimped to reinforce the first end edge seal and the second end edge seal.

5. The cooking bag of claim 1, wherein the foil pouch comprises a first foil sheet and a second foil sheet each having a quadrilateral shape with a first foil sheet end, and a second foil sheet end opposite the first foil sheet end, a first foil sheet lateral edge and a second foil sheet lateral edge opposite the first foil sheet lateral edge, wherein a first end edge seal is formed proximate the first foil sheet ends, a second end edge seal is formed proximate the second foil sheet ends, a first lateral edge seal is formed proximate the first lateral edges and a second lateral edge seal is formed proximate the second lateral edges, with the first lateral edge seal, the second lateral edge seal, the first end edge seal and the second end edge seal isolating the food pocket and the food item from the ambient atmosphere.

6. The cooking bag of claim 1, wherein the releasable adhesive comprises a pressure sensitive adhesive.

7. The cooking bag of claim 1, wherein the releasable adhesive comprises a contaminant infused adhesive containing a contaminating material promoting cohesive fracturing of the contaminant infused adhesive and separation of the removable printed film sheet from foil pouch exterior surface the before breaking of the foil pouch and the removable printed film sheet.

8. The cooking bag of claim 1, wherein the removable printed film sheet includes product information for the food item printed on a printed sheet inner surface that faces the foil pouch exterior surface when the removable printed film sheet is affixed thereto.

9. The cooking bag of claim 1, wherein the removable printed film sheet comprises a single printed film sheet wrapped around the foil pouch.

10. The cooking bag of claim 9, wherein the foil pouch has a first lateral pouch edge and a second lateral pouch edge opposite the first lateral pouch edge, and wherein the single printed film sheet has a first laser score line aligned along the first lateral pouch edge and a second laser score line aligned along the second lateral pouch edge so that a printed sheet front portion of the single printed film sheet is separable from a printed sheet back portion of the single printed film sheet and separable from the foil pouch exterior surface independently from the printed sheet back portion of the single printed film sheet.

11. The cooking bag of claim 1, wherein the releasable adhesive is flood coated on a printed sheet inner surface of the removable printed film sheet that faces the foil pouch exterior surface when the removable printed film sheet is affixed thereto so that substantially all of the printed sheet inner surface is adhered to the foil pouch exterior surface.

12. The cooking bag of claim 1, wherein the removable printed film sheet comprises a pull tab portion at a corner of the removable printed film sheet that is not coated with the releasable adhesive and is not adhered to the foil pouch exterior surface so that the pull tab portion is graspable and pullable to overcome a bond of the releasable adhesive and separate the removable printed film sheet from the foil pouch.

13. The cooking bag of claim 1, wherein the releasable adhesive is pattern coated on a printed sheet inner surface of the removable printed film sheet that faces the foil pouch exterior surface when the removable printed film sheet is affixed thereto so that less than 50% of the printed sheet inner surface is adhered to the foil pouch exterior surface.

14. A method for producing a cooking bag having a foil pouch with a food item to be cooked therein disposed within a food pocket defined by a foil pouch interior surface of the foil pouch, and a removable printed film sheet affixed to a foil pouch exterior surface with a releasable adhesive allowing the removable printed film sheet to be peeled from the foil pouch exterior surface after the cooking bag is produced, the method comprising:

laminating a printed film web to a first foil web surface of a foil web with the releasable adhesive to form a composite web, wherein the first foil web surface will form the foil pouch exterior surface;

forming the composite web into a tube with the first foil web surface and the printed film web on the outside as the composite web is fed along a forming tube;

applying pressure and heat to portions of the foil web proximate oppositely disposed foil sheet lateral edges of the foil web that are dispose proximate each other when the composite web is formed into the tube to form a longitudinal back seal;

applying pressure and heat at a first end of the foil pouch proximate a leading edge of the composite web to form a first end edge seal;

depositing the food item through a second end of the foil pouch that is opposite the first end;

applying pressure and heat at the second end of the foil pouch to form a second end edge seal; and

separating the cooking bag from the composite web.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein applying pressure and heat to form the longitudinal back seal comprises applying pressure and heat to the portions of the foil web proximate the oppositely disposed lateral edges of the foil web to form one of a lap seal and a fin seal.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein laminating the printed film web to the foil web comprises:

printing product information for the food item on a printed sheet inner surface that will face the foil pouch exterior surface when the composite web is formed;

applying the releasable adhesive to the printed sheet inner surface; and

feeding the printed film web and the foil web together and applying pressure forcing the printed film web and the foil web together and causing the releasable adhesive to adhere the printed film web to the foil web.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the foil pouch interior surface is formed by a second foil web surface, and the method comprises applying a foil adhesive to the second foil web surface at areas that will form the longitudinal back seal, the first end edge seal and the second end edge seal prior to applying pressure and heat to form the longitudinal back seal.

18. The method of claim 14, comprising laser scoring the printed film web to form at least one laser score line that is parallel to lateral edges of the printed film web so that the removable printed film sheet from the printed film web on the cooking bag may be peeled from the foil pouch in multiple printed sheet portions by separating the printed sheet portions at the at least one laser score line.

19. A cooking bag enclosing a food item to be cooked therein, comprising:

a foil pouch having a foil pouch interior surface defining a food pocket therein for receiving and storing the food item and isolating the food item from an ambient atmosphere surrounding the foil pouch, wherein the foil pouch comprises a foil sheet having a quadrilateral shape that is folded and sealed to form a pillow pouch-type package having a longitudinal back seal, a first end edge seal, and a second end edge seal;

a removable printed film sheet affixed to the foil pouch exterior surface by the releasable adhesive, wherein the removable printed film sheet includes product information for the food item printed on a printed sheet inner surface that faces the foil pouch exterior surface when the removable printed film sheet is affixed thereto, wherein the removable printed film sheet is a single printed film sheet wrapped around the foil pouch, wherein a pull tab portion at a corner of the removable printed film sheet is not coated with the releasable adhesive and is not adhered to the foil pouch exterior surface so that the removable printed film sheet is separable from the foil pouch exterior surface by grasping the pull tab portion and peeling the releasable adhesive away from the foil pouch exterior surface without breaking the foil pouch and exposing the food pocket and the food item to the ambient atmosphere.

20. The cooking bag of claim 19, wherein the foil pouch has a first lateral pouch edge and a second lateral pouch edge opposite the first lateral pouch edge, and wherein the single printed film sheet has a first laser score line aligned along the first lateral pouch edge and a second laser score line aligned along the second lateral pouch edge so that a printed sheet front portion of the single printed film sheet is separable from a printed sheet back portion of the single printed film sheet and separable from the foil pouch independently from the printed sheet back portion of the single printed film sheet.