HK1181369B - Package for a beverage preparation - Google Patents

Description

Packaging for beverage formulations

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a package for a beverage formulation comprising: a water-permeable filter bag for solid raw materials for beverages, which is enclosed in an openable protective package enclosing the bag and having a front wall and a rear wall joined together at their two vertical edges, wherein the protective package can be opened by forming an opening between the front wall and the rear wall.

Background

The above mentioned packages comprise a solid raw material for preparing the beverage by brewing or extraction in a water permeable bag (filter bag) which is enclosed in a packaging material which closes the bag and forms a single protective package for the filter bag. Such protective packaging can be enclosed in a larger box-like sales package. The most common example of such a package is the package of a tea beverage prepared by brewing or extraction, i.e. the package of a tea bag. A conventional rectangular flat protective package to which the string of the tea bag is also secured is disclosed, for example, in us patent 3,175,911.

For bags made using a suitable filter material, they are placed in a cup, hot water is poured into the cup or the cup already contains hot water, after which the bag is soaked in water until the beverage ingredients dissolve from the raw materials contained in the filter bag to have the desired concentration in the water in the cup.

The problem with such packaging arises from the following realities: upon soaking, the raw material inside the filter bag becomes wet and expands. When the bag is removed from the cup, it can soil the place. If it is desired to discharge the remaining liquid into the cup by squeezing the bag, it is difficult to do so without soiling the hands, if tools are not used. Even if the bag is made drier by squeezing, there will always be some liquid left in the bag which leaks from the bag onto the surface on which the bag is placed. The bag cannot be easily inserted back into its packaging because it expands as water is absorbed into the raw material for the beverage.

Various patent documents disclose solutions to overcome these problems. A very common solution to overcome this problem is to make the packaging of the bag "bottom openable" in such a way that the bag can be lowered into the cup by the string with which it is held and lifted back into the packaging, which can be used to squeeze the bag without soiling one's fingers and to hold the bag. However, it is difficult to pull the inflated bag into the package if the package is of a size that closely conforms to the size of the dry bag. Moreover, if the package is placed in a horizontal position, liquid will still flow out of the bottom of the package.

Document FR-2854881 a1 discloses a flat-bottomed protective package for tea bags, made of a material similar to liquid packaging cardboard, which is folded to form a package having the general shape of a parallelepiped, so that its upper part tapers in a wedge-like manner to form a straight edge similar to the closed mouth of the bag. In this position, the package can be opened by tearing the edges apart. The string of the tea bag passes through the hole in the flat bottom. When the package is opened, it is turned with the bottom up, wherein the bag can be lowered into the cup and lifted into a pouch with a string, and if desired, the beverage can be drained from the bag by squeezing it with the aid of the package. The used tea bag can be held in the same package, which is supported upright by its flat bottom. Although the packaging is made of a liquid-tight material, the bottom through-hole for the string poses problems, since some beverage can still leak through the through-hole, especially if the bag is not squeezed dry enough. Also, the through-hole for the cord is difficult to implement in manufacturing in view of mass production. Protective packaging similar to that used for ready-to-drink beverages takes up more space and requires a large amount of packaging material. The package may also be so bulky that it is not easy to squeeze the bag with the package.

Us patent 2,334,156 discloses a space-saving protective package for tea bags which, when filled, is flat but unfoldable into a box-like package having a flat bottom and being open at the top. This may be performed by multiple folds in the packaging material. The steeped tea bag can be inserted back into the open package but due to the volume of the package it is more difficult to squeeze it drier by means of the package. Due to the forming method, the package requires a large amount of packaging material.

Disclosure of Invention

The object of the present invention is to eliminate said drawbacks and to provide an easy-to-use package which does not take up much space in, for example, larger sales packages and which does not require a large amount of packaging material or a complicated manufacturing method, but with which the tea bag can be used in a neat manner.

To achieve this object, the package according to the invention is primarily characterized in that the front wall and the rear wall both end at their respective supporting edges at the bottom, and that said supporting edges can be brought apart to form a bottom structure to keep the bag upright, and that the packaging material, at least between the supporting edges, forms a completely water-tight bottom.

By pressing the vertical edges of e.g. the packages closer to each other, the supporting edges of the bottom can be brought apart in a direction perpendicular to said pressing direction to form an approximately oval bottom structure which supports the protective package in an upright position. In a corresponding manner by squeezing the side edges, the opening at the top of the package may be expanded so that the steeped tea bag can be easily inserted therein. The protective package stands well, is supported by the bottom of the support edge extension, and liquid dripping from the wet material of the filter bag cannot leak anywhere.

When the filter bag is packed into the protective packaging, the packaging takes up no more space than a conventional flat pack of tea bags for transport, storage and sale. A large number of such protective packages may be densely packed in a larger sales package.

Drawings

The invention will be described in more detail hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

figure 1 shows a package in perspective view with the elements separated;

figure 2 shows the package in a closed position, viewed from the front;

figure 3 shows the package in a situation of use, viewed from the front;

figure 4 shows the package in a situation of use, seen from the side; and

fig. 5 illustrates one way of forming the protective packaging of the package.

Detailed Description

Figure 1 shows a package comprising a water-permeable filter bag 1, the water-permeable filter bag 1 being enclosed in an openable protective package 2, the openable protective package 2 enclosing the bag. The filter bag contains a solid beverage preparation, e.g. a powder or granules or various vegetable parts, from which a beverage can be prepared by immersing the bag 1 in water for a suitable time, wherein the ingredients of the beverage dissolve from the filter bag into the water. Tea and various flavoured teas as well as herbal teas are one example, but the invention is not limited to packages containing raw materials for such beverages. The function of the protective wrap 2 is to protect the bag 1 and also to serve as protection for the fragrance if it is completely sealed. Fig. 2 best shows the case where the protective package 2 is rectangular, seen in a direction perpendicular to its plane, wherein it comprises a lower edge, side edges and an upper edge. The protective package 2 has a front wall 2d and a rear wall 2e, the front wall 2d and the rear wall 2e being joined together at their two vertical edges 2f, 2g, which two vertical edges 2f, 2g form said side edges. The protective package 2 can be opened by forming an opening at the upper edge between the front wall 2d and the rear wall 2 e. In fig. 1-4, the openability is implemented with a flap 2c folded from the rear wall onto the front wall, but it is also possible that the front and rear walls are attached to each other at the top to form a tight seal and that an opening for taking out the bag is formed between the front and rear walls by tearing the protective package 2 at a pre-marked location, wherein one of the vertical edges 2f, 2g may be provided with serrations or corresponding points for initiating tearing near the upper edge of the protective package.

Both the front wall 2d and the rear wall 2e terminate at their respective support edges 2a, 2b at the bottom, and said support edges can be separated to form a bottom structure to hold the bag upright. The lower edge of the protective package thus comprises two separate supporting edges 2a, 2b extending in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the package. Between the supporting edges 2a, 2b, the packaging material of the protective package 2 forms a completely liquid-tight bottom. When the protective package is flat, this bottom between the supporting edges forms a fold 2h, which fold 2h extends (upwards) into the interior of the package, as is shown in dashed lines in fig. 2. Each of the support edges 2a, 2b extends as a separate edge from the lower end of the respective vertical edge 2f, 2 g.

Fig. 2 shows the way a conventional rectangular filter bag 1 is placed horizontally into a protective package 2, i.e. with the longer sides extending parallel to the bottom. The bag is also fitted with its edges between the front wall 2d or the rear wall 2e and the fold 2h forming the bottom. Wherein the bag does not require a larger protective packaging around it, but fits inside a smaller protective packaging 2. In one way, the package is a normal rectangular tea package, and the difference is that it is arranged to be opened from the long side. In the use case, one long side thereof serves as a bottom, as shown in fig. 3. Thus, the vertical side edges 2f, 2g of the protective package 2 are the shorter sides and the lower side and bottom are the longer sides. This adds to the stability of the package when it is placed upright in a situation of use.

After opening the protective package 2 and removing the filter bag 1 and soaking in water, the empty protective package can be placed supported on an upright bottom, for example by pressing the package at the side edges, wherein the supporting edges 2a, 2b of the bottom part separate and unfold the fold 2h of the bottom part. The bottom deployment can be assisted by pressing from the inside with a finger. The size of the bag increases due to the expansion of the solid beverage formulation, and the bag can then easily be placed back into the protective package in an upright position (fig. 3), e.g. by hanging onto a string, since the mouth has also been widened during pressing of the package. The pressing is shown by arrow P in fig. 3. The bag remains well upright, supported by the support edges. Also, the weight of the filter bag 1 increases stability. All liquid flows from the filter bag to the bottom of the package and does not leak, which is due to the liquid-tight bottom. If desired, the package may also be used to squeeze the remainder of the liquid from the bag by holding the package upside down and pressing the front wall 2d and the rear wall 2e towards each other. In fig. 3 the package appears narrower than in fig. 2, because in fig. 3 the vertical edges 2f, 2g will be pressed closer to each other widening the mouth and the bottom.

The edges 2a, 2b of the lower edge may be simple folds, outside which the package extends upwards, in the form of a front wall 2d or a rear wall 2e, respectively, and inside, in the form of a bottom fold 2 h. The two folds may be formed by stitching in a narrow horizontal region, as indicated by the diagonal lines in FIG. 2; in other words, the packaging material is sealed together over a short length on both sides of the fold line. This increases the stability of the bottom of the package, as it prevents the bottom fold from "popping out" under the supporting edges 2a, 2 b.

In terms of its dimensions, the package of fig. 2 does not necessarily differ from a normal-sized rectangular package, wherein in a normal situation (in a non-opened protective package 2 holding a filter bag 1) the longer side may be less than 7.5cm and the shorter side may be less than 6.5 cm. Thus, the package of the present invention is suitably shipped and sold as a conventional tea package with respect to its space requirements. These dimensions may also be larger than those given above. But even in other respects the invention is not limited to packages of this shape but also includes square packages, and packages in which the vertical side edges form the longer sides of the rectangle. It is also possible that the package is slightly trapezoidal so that the side edges are oblique. Such packages may also have dimensions of less than 7.5cm and less than 6.5cm, in which case one of the dimensions is the longer of the two parallel sides; and the other is the distance between the parallel edges; in other words, if one of the parallel edges is the bottom edge, said distance is the height of the protective package 2.

The corners of the quadrangular packages mentioned above need not be sharp, but the corners may be slightly rounded or chamfered. Also, the edges need not be perfectly straight, and in particular, the upper edges may have a curved shape. All these shapes can be produced by die-cutting or otherwise separating the blank for the protective package 2 from the packaging material.

The material for the protective packaging of the packaging may be paper, which is coated on the side facing the inside with a water-impermeable coating, wherein the water-impermeability and the thermal stability of the bottom of the packaging material are also provided. The coating may comprise, for example, a barrier plastic. The outside of the packaging material is arranged to be printable, wherein it may have a coating enhancing the printing properties. The packaging material can also be made of a completely water-impermeable material, such as plastic.

Fig. 5 illustrates a method for making a protective package. The protective package 2 may be made from a single elongated blank of packaging material provided with the required cross-fold to form the bottom supporting edges 2a, 2b and the bottom fold between the supporting edges 2a, 2 b. The front wall 2d and the rear wall 2e are formed by the portions of the blank left on both sides of said fold, and the upper end of the front wall is connected by a flap 2c folded onto the same blank if the opening of the package is intended to be closed with a flap. After the blank is folded to form the closed package, its long side edges are sewn together, wherein vertical edges 2f, 2g are formed between the front wall 2d and the rear wall 2 e. At the same time, a fold 2h of the bottom remains between the front and rear walls. If the flap 2c is designed so that its side edges are parallel to the edges of the blank, it may also be sewn at its edges to the front wall, in a manner known from the packaging of conventional tea bags. Alternatively, the front wall and the rear wall are sewn together at their upper edges, wherein the opening between the upper edge and the lower edge is formed by tearing, and for this purpose the protective packaging is provided with indicia indicating the tear point.

The above mentioned process can easily be automated and the filter bag containing the raw material for the beverage can easily be placed into the package at the step of forming the package, by adopting the solutions known for the process of filling tea bags. However, the package according to the invention can also be made in another way, for example, so that the blank elements forming the front and rear walls are connected to each other via a fold line forming one of the vertical edges 2f, 2g and the other of the vertical edges being formed by sewing together the opposite ends of the blank. The folded blank part forming the bottom and possibly the blank part forming the flap are connected to the front wall or the rear wall.

To increase the internal volume of the protective package, both vertical edges 2f, 2g may be formed by folding the outermost edge of one wall around the outermost edge of the opposite wall, wherein the walls are not sewn together at their inner surfaces. In the method of fig. 5, this requires a short edge skirt on both the front wall 2d and the rear wall 2e or on one of the walls 2d, 2e, so that the stitching at both vertical edges can be performed by folding and attaching the edge skirt on the outer surface of the opposite wall. Thus, the inner dimension of the protective package 1 in the horizontal direction becomes the entire width of the front and rear walls, but slightly more packaging material is needed to form the protective package. Separate strips, an "edge tape", can also be used to sew the front and rear walls together at their edges so that the horizontal inner dimension of the protective package becomes the total width of the front and rear walls.

The package according to the invention can be loaded in parallel, one after the other, into a conventional box package in the same way as a conventional tea bag. However, the concept of selling the packages separately is also within the scope of the present invention. For example, in cafes and tea houses, it is possible to sell individual protective packages of the type described above, containing conventional flat tea bags 1 or polyhedral bags (for example tetrahedral, so-called pyramidal bags), which have recently become more common. The protective bag 2 of such a "three-dimensional" bag may also be of the type described above, the only difference being that it is not flat when it is filled and not opened, but it may be used in exactly the same way as for maintaining the vertical position of the bag 1, and by means of it the bag may be squeezed.

The terms "front wall" and "rear wall" are not intended to be limiting and the "front wall" is only a portion having an imprint or trademark. For example, in the protective package of fig. 1, a mark or logo may be provided on the rear wall 2e and the front wall 2d facing the user when the package is opened with the flap 2 c. Also, the possible imprints do not determine which is the lower edge (bottom) or the upper edge. For example, the protective package of fig. 1 can equally be obtained, wherein the imprint on the side of the rear wall 2e can be "inverted". Advantageously, however, the imprint is "do not invert" on the front or rear wall, so that correct use of the package can be easily learned. Instructions for the protective package may be printed onto the package.

Moreover, the invention is not limited in other respects to the embodiments shown in the drawings. The filter bag containing the solid raw material itself for the beverage may also have a shape other than the above-described shape, for example a circular shape. The bag does not necessarily need to be provided with a string, in which case it can be put into the cup by hand and fished out with a spoon and put back into the protective packaging with which the remaining liquid can be squeezed out of the bag into the cup.

Claims (8)

1. A package containing a solid raw material for a beverage, wherein: said raw material being packed in a water-permeable filter bag (1) and said filter bag being packed in an openable protective package (2), said water-permeable filter bag (1) being a closed bag that can be soaked in water, said openable protective package (2) enclosing said filter bag and having a front wall (2d) and a rear wall (2e), said front wall (2d) and rear wall (2e) being joined together at two vertical edges thereof, said vertical edges forming side edges of the package, wherein the package (2) can be opened by forming an opening between the front wall and the rear wall, characterized in that

Both the front wall (2d) and the rear wall (2e) terminate at their respective supporting edges (2a, 2b) at the bottom, the lower edge of the package in the flat closed position of the package being constituted by the separate supporting edges (2a, 2b), the supporting edges (2a, 2b) being able to be separated to form an unfolded bottom structure to keep the package (2) upright supported by the separated supporting edges, a fold (2 h) extending into the package interior being formed at the bottom between the supporting edges (2a, 2b) when the package (2) is in the flat closed position, and the packaging material forming a completely liquid-tight bottom at least between the supporting edges, and the package being completely sealed in the closed position and serving as protection for the aroma, and the front wall and the rear wall being sewn together at their upper edges, and an opening for removing the filter bag is formed between the front and rear walls by tearing the package opening at a pre-marked position near the upper edge of the package, and the filter bag can be put back into the package due to the widening of the opening when the vertical edges are to be pressed closer to each other widening the opening and the bottom;

the separate supporting edges (2a, 2b) comprise folds, wherein the packaging material is sealed together over a short length on both sides of a fold line.

2. The package according to claim 1, wherein the supporting edges (2a, 2b) can be separated by pressing the side edges of the package closer to each other (P).

3. The package according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, when the filter bag (1) is enclosed in the package (2), the horizontal edges of the package (2) are longer than the vertical edges and the filter bag (1) is placed horizontally inside the package (2).

4. The package according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the filter bag (1) is fitted with its edges between the front wall (2d) or the rear wall (2e) and the fold (2 h), the fold (2 h) being provided at the bottom between the support edges (2a, 2b) and extending to the inside of the package.

5. The package of claim 1 or 2, wherein: the package (2) is dimensioned to fit within a rectangle having a long side of less than 7.5cm and a short side of less than 6.5 cm.

6. The package of claim 1 or 2, wherein: the packaging material of the package (2) is coated on the inner side with a water-impermeable coating or is made of a water-impermeable material.

7. The package of claim 5, wherein: the package (2) is quadrilateral fitting within the rectangle.

8. The package of claim 1 or 2, wherein: the package (2) is a rectangular package with a long side less than 7.5cm and a short side less than 6.5 cm.