WO2005082741A1

WO2005082741A1 - Packaging, particularly for foodstuffs

Info

Publication number: WO2005082741A1
Application number: PCT/GB2005/000690
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hazel Flores
Original assignee: UDOBO Ltd
Current assignee: UDOBO Ltd
Priority date: 2004-02-24
Filing date: 2005-02-24
Publication date: 2005-09-09
Anticipated expiration: 2006-08-24
Also published as: GB0404023D0

Abstract

Foodstuffs packages are disclosed which consist of at least two sachets (1, 2) hinged one to another. One of the sachets at least may be opened along one side (4) and deformed to form an upwardly open container with the product exposed. Product from the other sachet can then be combined with the product in the so formed upwardly open container. By arranging that the two sachets are hinged one to another along a hinge line which runs generally perpendicular to the side of the sachet which forms the base of the upwardly open container, the two sachets (1, 2) may be folded about the hinge line to lie adjacent one another and the sachet can be displayed, e.g., on a supermarket shelf in a very stable fashion. At least one of the sachets may have a handle (13, 14) formed integrally with it and the sachets may be temporarily held together e.g. by a blob of adhesive (12) on their outer walls, further to enhance the stability of the folded package.

Description

PACKAGING. PARTICULARLY FOR FOODSTUFFS

This invention relates to the packaging of foodstuffs, but, in practice, for any products which can be packaged in a simple sachet or pouch construction. Package constructions are known in which one part of the package constitutes a sealed sachet which, on opening, can be deformed to constitute an upwardly open cup or bowl having a base adapted to hold the bowl and its contents stably resting on a horizontal surface. Food packages of this general type are disclosed in United States Patent Specification 6254907, and in some of the prior art acknowledged in that specification.

In particular, the US patent specification 6254907 discloses a package construction consisting of a food container sachet which can be opened out to form a bowiin which the food is present and, above the sachet, further sachets containing other foodstuffs.

In one example, located above a main breakfast-cereal-containing sachet are two sealed sachets, one containing sugar and the other containing powdered milk. The user tears the top of the main sachet enabling it to be opened out, then tears open the sugar and powdered milk containing sachet, and deposits the sugar and powered milk over the cereal, whereafter adding water provides a sweetened bowl of breakfast cereal with milk. Foodstuff packages of this general nature are designed to be sold in a variety of food outlets including supermarkets and convenience stores. In such outlets, it is convenient to arrange packaged foods of this type on horizontal shelves from which they may be picked by the intending purchaser. In order to do that, the package itself needs a relatively flat base and a certain amount of stability. While stability may be ensured by making the base sufficiently large, that in turn militates against efficient use of space i.e. not as many packages can be arranged on the same area of shelf as would be the case if the "footprint" of each package were relatively smaller. A further problem, however, arises in those cases where the main sachet is extended upwardly to form one or more further sachets containing further foodstuffs: because these tend to raise the centre of gravity of the overall package and, more particularly since the further sachets tend to hinge about the relatively horizontal tear line on top of the main sachet, they add to the instability of the package.

Presentationally, the main sachet is often overprinted or labelled and the image or writing on it needs to be the "right way up" when the sachet has been opened out to form a bowl.

According to the present invention there is provided a packaged product consisting of a first sealed sachet containing a first product component and which is so constructed that on opening the first sachet at one side thereof it may be deformed to constitute an upwardly open container for the component when resting on a base lying opposite the open side of the first sachet, and wherein at least one second product component containing sachet is arranged adjacent the first sachet and connected thereto by a hinge line which is generally perpendicular to the side of the sachet which forms the base of the upwardly open container.

By configuring the two product-containing sachets in this way, a considerably more stable package arrangement is produced. This is the case even when the main sachet is relatively thin because the_. base of the first sachet which forms the base of the upwardly open cup or bowl when the main sachet is open has, lying adjacent to it, the base of the second sachet (s). Stability may be further enhanced by temporarily bonding a wall of the first sachet to a wall of the second sachet(s) so providing a compact, usually generally rectangular, structure which can be easily packed and stacked and which, in particular, can stand upright on a display shelf in a stable fashion, and where printing - e.g. words to denote the contents of the package, is the "right way up" and horizontal.

Packages in accordance with the present invention may be produced in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, but the invention is particularly apt for application in the area of pre- packaged "snack meals", particularly those which require little or no preparation. In particular, the sachet material may be non-adversely affected by hot water or microwave radiation so that the contents of the sachet(s) may be heated by placing it or them in hot water or a microwave oven. In the case of microwave oven usage, this is usually following detaching the second sachet(s) from the first and opening the first sachet on the side opposite the side which forms its base. When heating using hot water, the sachet would be unopened.

A further feature which may be incorporated into the packages of the present invention is a laterally extending handle which enables the or each sachet to be used as a cup. This is of particular value when the contents are foodstuff designed to be heated prior to consumption, as it enables the sachet(s) to be held safely by the handle(s) without discomfort to or burning of the fingers of the user. Handles may easily be incorporated either side of one or more of the sachets, or on both sides thereof.

In such heated food application, if desired, the sachet(s) may have multiple skin walls, with a view to increasing the thermal insulation provided by the sachet(s), or for example the or one of the sachet(s) may be packaged in an outer casing which can be adapted to form a thermally insulating casing around the or one of the sachet(s) after they have been separated and, if desired, opened. For example, the outer casing may be of card or thin corrugated card or corrugated or blown plastics stock. This is particularly useful when the producer desires the package to be very decorated as it is easier to print on to such materials than on to plastics packaging films.

In order to assist the opening of the sachet(s), the walls of the sachet(s) may be provided with a printed line to indicate where it may safely be cut, e.g using a knife or scissors, or with a line of weakness or tear strip enabling it to be opened without using any separate tool to do so.

While for many applications the package will consist of just two sachets, it is possible to have three sachets, or even more. When folded to form a compact unit for sale, the three or more sachets may be folded in zig-zag or spiral fashion.

If desired, more than just the first sachet may be capable, following opening at one side, of being folded out to form an upwardly open container resting on a base lying opposite the opened side.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment of a packaged food product in accordance with the present invention. This is shown by way of illustration in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a package containing foodstuff in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the package of Figure 1 opened out; Figure 3 is a diagrammatic view of the package of Figure 1 in use, and

Figures 4 and 5 are diagrammatic crosssections through portions of the package of Figure 3, along the lines 4-4 and 5-5 respectively.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a multi-pack package consisting of a main stand-up sachet and two adjacent sachets.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of a package containing foodstuffs in accordance with the present invention, where both sachets are stand-up pouches.

Figure 8 is a diagrammatic view of the package of Figure 7 in use. Figure 9 is a perspective view of an alternative package similar to that of Figure 7, but with handles on both sides of each sachet.

Figure 10 is a diagrammatic view of the package of Figure 9 in use, and

Figure 11 is a diagrammatic cross-section along the lines 11 -11 in Figure 10.

Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference numbers are used to denote the same component throughout, a food containing package consists of a main sachet 1 connected to a second sachet 2 via a flexible material, for example plastics film, from which the sachets 1 and 2 are made. The connecting web has two oppositely directed notches 3 extending from its lower and upper edges which can assist in tearing the two sachets apart while retaining the integrity of both.

As shown in Figure 2, the main sachet 1 has a cutting line 4 indicated thereon so that the user knows how to open the main sachet 1 to expose of its contents. This can be done with a pair of scissors or a knife blade or of course if desired line 4 may be constituted by a line of weakness or even by a tear strip incorporated into the sachet 1.

Once main sachet 1 has been detached from subsidiary sachet 2 and cut along line 4 or opened in another fashion, then sachet 1 may be opened out as shown in the left hand side of Figure 3 to form an open top container which stands stably on a horizontal surface. As can be seen in particular in Figure 4, the upwardly open container for foodstuff 7 has two generally part cylindrical walls 10, 11 which are seamed at their base to a flexible floor portion 9.

The second sachet 2 contains a separate foodstuff 8 as shown in Figure 5.

The nature of the foodstuffs 6 and 8 may vary widely, but, for example, the specific package illustrated is convenient for the presentation of a quick and easy to prepare and serve snack meal such as baked beans on toast. In such case, the foodstuff 6 in sachet 1 may consist of baked beans, for example as conventionally presented in a tomato sauce base, while foodstuff 8 may be a slice of toasted bread, rusk, biscuit or like product. For such a specific product the preparation is quick and easy - the two sachets are separated, and the main sachet opened and placed in microwave oven. While the contents are being heated by the microwave oven the piece of toast may be extracted from the other sachet, placed on a plate and. the baked beans then poured over it. Of course, if the user wants the toast to be heated as well as the beans, the second sachet 2 may be placed in the microwave oven also. Following extraction of their contents, the sachets may then both be disposed of in convenient fashion .

If the main sachet 1 is to be used as a cup, an integral handle 13 with a finger hole 14 may be provided on the side of the sachet, as shown in ^■ dashed lines in Figure 2. In an alternative, the handle may be part of an insulating holder for the main sachet 1. The finger hole 14 may be designed to receive one finger, as illustrated, or it may be an elongated slot allowing more than one finger to be inserted into the handle to hold the (hot) sachet 1 more safely. In a further variation, such a handle may be provided on two sides of sachet 1 , i.e. with the second handle being located, before the package is separated into two sachets, between the two.

The stability of the packing when arranged as in Figure 1 is enhanced if the sachets are temporarily held together e.g. by a patch of sticky material located at 12. It may be that on opening out the package, i.e. moving from the configuration shown in Figure 1 to that shown in Figure 2, the existing material 12 adheres preferentially to one or other sachet, or it may remain on both as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 6 shows a modified form of package consisting of three linked sachets 1 , 2 and 5, where sachet 1 may contain, for example, pasta or rice, while sachets 2 and 5 may contain alternative sauces, e.g. mild or spicy.

Figures 7 to 10 show a form of package according to the invention in which both sachets may be opened and manipulated to form stand-up open-topped containers. As shown in Figure 7, the package consists of two sachets 1 , 6, each of which may be folded out following opening along line 4, to form a self-standing container, as shown in Figure 8, where the sachets have also been separated from one another by tearing between cutouts 3. Figure 7 shows (in dashed lines) optional handles 13 with finger holes 14.

In the version shown in Figures 9 to 11 , each sachet 1 , 6 has a handle 13 on each side, and both sachets have on both faces an outer insulative card cover 15, to protect the user from burning their fingertips by providing an insulative layer, as well as increasing the rigidity of the sachet(s).

Claims

CLA1MS

1. A packaged product consisting of a first sealed sachet containing a first product component which is so constructed that, on opening the first sachet at one side thereof, it may be deformed to constitute an upwardly open container for the component when resting on a base lying opposite the open side of the first sachet, and wherein at least one second product component containing sachet is arranged adjaoent the first sachet and connected thereto by a hinge line which is generally perpendicular to the side of the sachet which forms the base of the upwardly open container.

2. A packaged product according to Claim 1 wherein one wall of the first sachet is temporarily bonded to one wall of the second sachet(s).

3. A packaged product according to Claim 1 or 2 wherein the sachets are made of material not adversely affected by microwave radiation or hot water.

4. A packaged product according to any one of Claims 1 to 3 wherein at least one of the sachets has at least one laterally extending handle enabling the sachet to be used as a cup.

5. A packaged product according to any one of Claims 1 to 4 wherein at least one of the sachets has an outer thermally insulating casing.

6. A packaged product according to any one of Claims.1 to 5 wherein at least the first sachet has a line of weakness or tear strip enabling it to be opened without the use of a separate opening tool.