US2502920A

US2502920A - Margarine packaging

Info

Publication number: US2502920A
Application number: US667145A
Authority: US
Inventors: Leo C Brown
Original assignee: Swift and Co Inc
Current assignee: JBS USA LLC
Priority date: 1946-05-03
Filing date: 1946-05-03
Publication date: 1950-04-04
Anticipated expiration: 1967-04-04

Description

April 1950 L. 6. BROWN 2,502,920

MARGARINE PACKAGING Filed May 3, 1946 INVENTOR.

Patented Apr. 4, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MARGABINE PACKAGING Leo C. Brown, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Swift &

Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application May 3, 1946,'Serial No. 667,145

14 Claims. 1

This invention relates to the packaging of materials with which modifying agents are to be subsequently admixed and the invention is also concerned with the manner in which such mate rials and modifying agents are associated prior to their admixture.

Representative of the materials and modifying agents generally referred to are, for example, butter substitutes such as margarine, sold, for the most part in uncolored, one-pound packages and the accompanying coloring which is intended to be mixed with the margarine. Heretofore, it has been the practice to separately package the coloring employed in small envelopes, capsules and the like, although in some instances it has been proposed to utilize the same wrapper for both the butter substitute and the coloring. In the latter instances, however, prior practice has been followed in the respect that the butter substitute and coloring are isolated from one another despite the use of the same wrapper. Packaging of butter substitutes and the'coloring employed in connection with such substitutes in accordance with prior practice, therefore, has the objection that, apart from the material required for this purpose, additional and special operations are required for handling and packaging the coloring and for assembling the pack= aged coloring in the packages containing the butter substitute. Also, further handling operations are involved in separately removing the butter substitute and coloring from their respec tive packages incident to the operations in which the two are mixed.

One object of the present invention, therefore, is. to overcome the above objections, this object contemplating packaging of the material in which the modifying agent is to be incorporated and of the modifying agent in such a manner as to avoid the necessity of a separate container for the latter or of wrapping the former in any special manner to accommodate the modifying agent.

A further object is to reduce to a minimum the time and effort involved in obtaining a thorough admixture of the material and. the modifying agent, this object being attained by the elimination of the objections above noted in the manner described and the packaging of the material and the modifying agent therefor in such a manner that the desired admixture of the two may be readily efiected by kneading them in the wrapper in which they are packaged.

A still further object is a novel package containing the material and the modifying agent to be subsequently admixed with the material and also a novel method of obtaining a thorough admixture of the material and modifying agent when it is desired that until the material is to be used it retain, at least to outward appearances, all of its natural characteristics such as coloring, for example, the package, having the advantage, in addition to those noted, that the material and modifying agent may be readily associated in the manner contemplated with facility and in a highly economical manner.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, whereinz Figure 1 is a perspective view of a package embodying the features of the invention;

Figure 2 is a perspective view illustrating, more or less diagrammatically, one way in which the modifying agent may be introduced into the material with which it is to be subsequently admixed; and

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the material in the wrapper which is applied after the modifying agent is introduced into the material and in which the material and modifying. agent may be kneaded to effect the desired admixture of the two.

In carrying out the invention, assuming by way of example that margarine is the material to be modified and the usual coloring for such a butter substitute to be the modifying agent, the margarine may be formed in conventional manner into the conventional one-pound prints such as indicated at H] (Figure 2) and the coloring thereafter may be injected into the latter with the aid of a syringe ii. In this manner the coloring for an entire print may be concentrated in one, or more if desired, local areas wholly within the print and so spaced from the sides of the latter as to be entirely invisible insofar as outward appearances are concerned. In this connection it will be understood, of course, that when the coloring is injected into the print of margarine in the manner described, the passage formed by the needle of the syringe is closed in any suitable manner after the needle is withdrawn so that any escape of the coloring to the surface of the print will be effectively prevented.

As noted, the coloring which is employed may be introduced into the print at several points, if desired, such procedure having the advantage that subsequent admixing of the coloring with the margarine will be facilitated. In connection with the foregoing it will be understood, of course, that injection of the coloring into pre-formed prints in the manner described is intended merely by way of example as it will be appreciated that the coloring could be introduced into the margarine in various other ways either before or after its molding into prints. In any event, it is essential only that the coloring be incorporated in the margarine in such a manner that it is located wholly within the print so that to outward appearances the margarine will be of its natural color.

Preferably each print of margarine into which coloring is introduced in the manner described is enclosed in an air-tight pliable wrapper i2. The latter is preferably heat-sealed and of a thermoplastic material such as "P1iofllm or any other material of a like nature which is highly flexible, water and vapor proof and of high tensile strength. The wrapped print may be enclosed in a conventional waxed cardboard carton such as indicated at l3.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that, as sold, the margarine will exhibit its natural color and that it will in no way be modified by the coloring which is wholly concealed within the print. When it is desired to mix the coloring with the margarine, the print in its wrapper is withdrawn from the carton and is permitted to soften somewhat. Thereafter the print may be readily kneaded or worked in the wrapper to effect a thorough mixing of the coloring and margarine. If the wrapper is transparent or translucent, as it preferably is, the state of the margarine can be continuously observed and the kneading or working operation terminated when the coloring has been dispersed throughout the margarine in the manner desired.

After the mixing operation, the print may be remolded as nearly as possible and then chilled so that it will be restored to its normal state, the

wrapper being first removed when the margarine is to be used.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the margarine itself forms a container for the coloring until the actual mixing operation and that the use of the margarine for this purpose is accomplished without coloring of the exposed or surface areas. This has the advantage that separate packaging of the coloring and the various handling operations required when this is done are eliminated. Packaging of the margarine and 4 bag may be used, such as paper or parchment, which may or may not be removed from the product when it is desired to mix the color with the margarine or other material as in a separate container.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the invention, as hereinbefore set forth, may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and therefore only such limitations should be imposed as are indicated in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. The method of packa ing prints of margarine and coloring therefor which includes indecting the coloring into the interior of the prints in a concentrated state and in direct contact with the margarine but in such spatial relation to the exposed surfaces of the prints as to be substantially wholly concealed, and enclosing the prints into which the coloring has been injected in pliable containers in which the coloring and margarine may be intimately admixed by a kneading operation.

2. The method of incorporating coloring into margarine, which coloring is to be subsequently dispersed throughout the margarine, which method involves injecting the coloring into the interior of the prints of the margarine in a concentrated state and in direct contact with the margarine but in such spatial relation to the exposed surfaces of the prints as to be substantially wholly concealed.

3. A print of margarine having a quantity of coloring material incorporated in the interior thereof in direct contact with the margarine and in such spatial relation to the exposed surfaces of the print as to be substantially wholly concoloring in the manner described has the further advantage that it greatly facilitates the actual mixing operation and enables such operation to be carried out entirely without the aid of various utensils heretofore considered necessary.

Although margarine and coloring therefor have been referred to specifically, it will be appreciated that various other materials and modifyin agents for such materials may be aswciated, packaged and mixed as contemplated by the invention.

While the invention has been described in connection with the handling of margarine in print form, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in application to margarine or margarine in the form of prints, as also other plastic materials desired to be colored, such as butter, cheese foods, cream products, shortenlngs, etc., regardless of form, may be treated'in a similar manner. Also it is not essential to use any particular type of bag so long as the bag is capable of kneading. Thus many types of transparent or semi-transparent bag materials, such as cellophane, cellulose and polymerized rubber or rubber hydrochloride products may be used. The bag need not necessarily be heat sealed. Moreover, other types of wrappers than a kneadabie 1s cealed, said coloring material being in a sumciently concentrated state to color the whole print of the margarine when the print is worked.

4. A food package including a body of plastic food material having a quantity of coloring agent incorporated under the surface thereof in direct contact with the material under the surface and in such spatial relation to the exposed surface of the body as to be substantially concealed by the uncolored material in said exposed surfaces, said coloring agent being present in sufficient quantity to impart color to the entire body when said body is worked.

5. A margarine package including a print of margarine having a quantity of coloring material incorporated under the surface of the margarine and in such spatial relation to the exposed surfaces of the print as to be substantially concealed and a pliable container for said print in which the latter may be kneaded to mix the coloring throughout the margarine.

6. A package of margarine including a print of margarine having an aggregate of coloring material incorporated within the print in direct contact with margarine in the interior of the print and in such spatial relation to the exposed surfaces of the print as to be substantially wholly concealed, said coloring material being present in such amount as to color the whole print when the package is worked, and a pliable, heat-sealed, thermoplastic container for said print in which the latter may be kneaded to mixthe coloring throughout the margarine.

7. The method of packaging, a plastic food product containing a coloring material which is tobe subsequently dispersed .throughout the prodnot, which comprises: incorporating under the surface of said product a quantity of said coloring material in sumcient amount to color the entire body of food product, said coloring material being in direct contact with the product but in such spatial relation to the exposed surfaces of the product as to be substantially concealed, and enclosing the product into which the coloring material has been incorporated in a pliable container suitable for kneading the contents of the container to distribute the color material throughout the product.

8. The method of packaging margarine and coloring therefor, which comprises: introducing a quantitiy of the coloring material under the surface of themargarine in direct contact with the margarine under the surface, said coloring material being in such spatial relation to the exposed surfaces of the margarine as to be substantially concealed, and enclosing the margarine into which the coloring has been introduced in a pliable container in which the coloring material and margarine may be intimately admixed by kneading.

9. The method of packaging a print of margarine and coloring material therefor, which comprises: introducing an aggregate of the coloring material into the interior of the print in direct contact with the margarine but in such spatial relation to the exposed surfaces 01' the print as to be substantially wholly concealed, said coloring material being in sufficient amount to color the entire print of margarine, and enclosing the print into which the coloring material has been introduced in a pliable container in which the coloring material and margarine may be intimately mixed by kneading.

10. The method of incorporating coloring material into margarine, which coloring material is to be subsequently uniformly dispersed throughout the margarine, which comprises; introducing an ggregate of the coloring material into the interior of a body of the margarine in direct contact with the margarine and in such spatial relation to the exposed surfaces of the 11. The method of incorporating coloring materiai into a plastic food product, which co1or-= throughout the food product, which comprises:

margarine as to be substantially wholly concealed by the exposed surfaces of margarine containing no coloring material.

introducing a quantity of the coloring material into the interior of a body of the food product in direct contact with the food product and in such spatial relation to the exposed surfaces of the food product as to be substantially wholly concealed by the exposed surfaces.

13. A body of margarine having a quantity of coloring agent incorporated into the interior thereof in direct contact with the margarine and in such spatial relation to the exposed surfaces of the margarine as to be substantially wholly concealed, said coloring agent being adapted to be distributed through the margarine when the margarine is worked.

14. A package of margarine including a body of margarine having a quantity of coloring agent incorporated under the surface of the margarine in direct contact with the margarine under the surface, said coloring agent being in such spatial relation to the exposed surfaces of the margarine as to be substantially concealed, and a pliable container for said body of margarine in which the coloring agent and margarine may be mixed by working.

LEO C. BROWN.

REFERENCES CITED Number Name Date 2,107,851 Boehm Feb. 8, 1938 2,347,640 Peters May 2, 1944

Claims

1. THE METHOD OF PACKAGING PRINTS OF MARGARINE AND COLORING THEREFOR WHICH INCLUDES INJECTING THE COLORING INTO THE INTERIOR OF THE PRINTS IN A CONCENTRATED STATE AND IN DIRECT CONTACT WITH THE MARGARINE BUT IN SUCH SPATIAL RELATION TO THE EXPOSED SURFACES OF THE PRINTS AS TO BE SUBSTANTIALLY WHOLLY CONCEALED, AND ENCLOSING THE PRINTS INTO WHICH THE COLORING HAS BEEN INJECTED IN PLIABLE CONTAINERS IN WHICH THE COLORING AND MARGARINE MAY BE INTIMATELY ADMIXED BY A KNEADING OPERATION.