WO1992010413A1

WO1992010413A1 - Food packaging

Info

Publication number: WO1992010413A1
Application number: PCT/DK1991/000270
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hans Faltum; Michael Faltum
Original assignee: Miomik Aps
Priority date: 1990-12-11
Filing date: 1991-09-13
Publication date: 1992-06-25
Also published as: DK294090D0; AU8730391A; DK294090A

Abstract

A food container (1) for sliced food items (7) comprises a bottom foil (2), on which the food items are placed, and wherein there is provided at least one hole for placement of at least one cup (4) with at least one additional food item. The opening is provided outside of the area, in which the food item (7) is placed. The container is closed by a joint cover foil (6) and is divided into at least two separate areas (12, 13) by means of welded seams (11) between the bottom foil and the cover foil.

Description

FOOD PACKAGING

The present invention relates to a food container as de¬ fined in the introductory part of claim 1.

Containers of this description are used as sales con¬ tainers for food items, such as ready-made dishes, sandwich fillings comprising several different ingredients con¬ stituting together a complete sandwich filling for one or more sandwiches. As an example the container may enclose slices of roastbeef with garnish in the form of a serving of deep-fried onions and a serving of remoulade so that with the contep"__ of t e cor?i?!!.er

?_^ιr,_!^w_c *_? ^with s filling of roast beef, deep-fried onions and remoulade can be produced.

It is known within the art to pack food items of the above or similar description using a sales tray or a board, which is deformed, e.g. by deep-drawing or the like, to the effect that the tray or the board will comprise more than one area, some of which are of cup-like shape, and wherein all of the areas are closed off by a joint cover foil, which is welded or glued onto the top side of the tray or the board.

A sales container of this description with integrated cups have several drawbacks. The container is suitable only for certain food items corresponding to the design of the container, and as a result it is necessary to manufacture containers with a varying number of integrated cups for different types of foods. A second and more important drawback is that the process of filling the food items into the- containers becomes more complicated since several dif¬ ferent types of food items must be transferred to the con- tainer simultaneously. In the example explained above slices of meat, pastelike remoulade and scatterable deep-

D fried onions are filled into the container simultaneously or in immediate succession. As a result there is a risk that the food items might escape from the area, for which they were intended, or the items may move, before the tray or the board has reached the cover foil machine.

When the container is opened and the individual food items taken out, there is also a risk that the individual food ingredients get mixed before this is desirable, e.g. in connection with removal of the cover foil.

The food container of the invention, and with the features as defined in the characterizing part of claim 1, is highly advantageous in that the additional food items, which are usually garnishes for what could be called the main food item, are poured into the cups in a separate process before the cups are placed in the container, which will simplify packaging of the entire food unit considerab¬ ly, irrespectively of whether the cups are inserted mech- anically or in a combined mechanical and manual process. It is not necessary either that the different garnishes etc. are poured into the cups at the same time as the sliced food items are placed on the bottom foil. It is furthermore possible to use different packaging materials, a cup may e.g. be made of lightproof plastic, which will provide better protection, e.g. against discoloring. The food item in a cup may also be preserved, e.g. heat-treated, separ¬ ately and thus individually.

In addition, when the food items are to be served, the use of the container of the invention is advantageous as com¬ pared to the known containers. The food items in the se¬ parate cups may remain in the cups until the food items are to be served. The cups may e.g. be used directly for serv- ing. By designing the food container of the invention as de¬ fined in the characterizing part of claim 2, the cup/the cups can be placed uniformly and "pressed home" in the hole of the bottom foil to the effect that the cup/the cups stand out from the underside hereof. As a result the top side of the container is essentially flat. The opening of a cup is at level with the bottom foil, and a reliable seal can always be achieved upon application of the cover foil. Also if more than one cup are to be placed in a hole.

By designing the food container of the invention as defined in the characterizing part of claim 3 it is possible by means of suitable standarized cup sizes in relation to the size of the hole to use one hole for a varying number of cups, and as a result high flexibility is achieved in re¬ lation to the number of possible food garnishes as well as the use of the container for packaging of different food items.

Furthermore, by designing the food container of the inven¬ tion as described in the characterizing part of claim 4 it is possible to produce portions of the overall contents of the container beforehand or to purchase them from other suppliers. It is thus possible to maintain a rational pro- duction of packed food items since a free selection between open and closed cups is provided.

By designing the food container of the invention as defined in the characterizing part of claim 5 the different food items are separated from one another. In many cases it is sufficient to seal the area containing the sliced food items hermetically. This area may e.g. be evacuated or filled with gas, e.g. C0₂. The area of the container, wherein the cups with the additional food items are placed, does not necessarily have to be hermetically sealed, espe¬ cially if the cup or the cups themselves are closed off by a separate, individual cover foil.

The invention is further described in detail with referen¬ ce to the drawing, wherein

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the food container in a first embodiment;

Fig. 2 is a section II-II of the container shown in fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a perspective drawing of the food container in a second embodiment.

In figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing the reference numeral 1 illustrates a complete food container in a first embodiment of the invention, comprising a supporting bottom foil 2 of PVC or other plastic or surface treated carton acceptable for packaging of food, which is completely covered on one side of the cover foil 6, likewise made of plastic, pre¬ ferably clear, transparent plastic and of a type also which is acceptable for packaging of food.

A hole 3 is formed in the bot-tom foil 2, said hole being preferably square as shown, however, it may also be round. A cup 4 with garnish 8 is inserted into the hole. The cup is made of plastic and the top is closed off by means of a cover foil 9, which is secured to the edge of the cup, said edge having a circumferential, outwardly directed collar 5. The cover foil 9 is secured to the cup 4 in a known manner, e.g. by ther o welding, adhesive or the like. The cup 4 is preferably of such size as to allow sliding passage through the hole 3, however because of the collar 5 it cannot pass the hole. Thus, the cup will rest against the edge of the hole 3 by means of the circumferential collar 5 of the cup. An additional food item 7, e.g. meat, fish or other sliced food items, is placed on the bottom foil.

With the cup 4 and the food items 7 correctly in place on the bottom foil 2, the bottom foil is covered in a known manner by means of a commonly known cover foil 6, which is welded or glued to the bottom foil by means of welded seams 11 and/or by heat treatment.

The bottom foil 2 may be provided with an area 10 for printed information regarding the contents of the con¬ tainer, the price of the product, ingredients, advertising, directions for use, etc.

The area between the bottom foil 2 and the cover foil 6 is divided into at least two separate areas by means of weld¬ ed seams 11 or welded foil. The area 13 enclosing the food item 7 will usually be hermetically sealed from the sur¬ roundings and may be evacuated or filled with protective gas. The area 12 enclosing the cup 4 will usually not be hermetically sealed, because it is unnecessary and because there is an opening from the underside along the periphery of the cup.

Fig. 3 illustrates a food container in a second embodiment of the invention, wherein two cups 4 are placed in the hole. It should be noted that the same reference numbers are used for the same parts as in figs. 1 and 2. It will be seen that it is not necessary to separate the information area 10 from the area housing the food item 7, and a welded seam may thus be unnecessary.

In the examples shown in the drawing the cup or the cups 4 are closed off by means of a separate cover foil. Depending upon the types of food items or garnishes the container should hold, a number of food items will not require the cover foil 9 for the cup or the cups. Instead the circum¬ ferential collar 5 of the open cup or cups and the cover foil 6 are welded together directly so that in that case the cover foil 6 closes off the cups.

In the application it is explained as an example that the container of the invention is suitable for packaging of roast beef with garnish in the form of deep-fried onions and remoulade. It will be apparent for a person skilled in the art that the container of the invention is suitable for numerous other food items or food garnishes, and that a varying number of cups can be applied, depending on their size and on the size of the hole 2 ,and possibly the number of holes. It should also be noted that the arrangement shown of the cup or the cups 4 and food items 7 as well as the optional information area 10 is only one example of how the individual items in the container can be arranged.

In the application the foil 2 is referred to as bottom foil, and the foil 6 is referred to as cover foil. It will be obvious that it is within the scope of the invention to reverse these concepts to the effect that the hole for the cup/the cups are provided in the cover foil, if desired. In addition, the invention can be exerted without substantial modifications with a stiff or a soft bottom foil as well as with a stiff or soft cover foil, all depending upon the types of foods to be packaged, and of course also depending upon the type or the types of packaging machines at dis¬ posal.

The drawing illustrates that the bottom foil 2 and the cover foil 6 are welded together by means of welded seams 11. This is only one example of how the connection joint may be accomplished. In a second embodiment a cover foil is applied, which adheres to the bottom foil everywhere and which is placed and secured in a well-known manner by the application of vaccum and heat.

Claims

P A T E N T C L A I M S

1. Food container (1) for food items (7) in slices or simi¬ lar form, e.g. ready-made dishes or sandwich filling in slices, comprising a bottom foil (2), on which the food items are placed and on which there is also provided space for additional food items, all of the items being covered by a joint cover foil (6), characterized in that at least one through-opening (3) has been provided in the bottom foil (2) for placement of at least one cup (4) containing at least one additional food item (8), said opening having been provided outside of the area, in which the food item (7) is placed.

2. The food container of claim 1, characterized in that the edge/edges of the cup/the cups (4) has/have an outwards directed, circumferential collar (5).

3. The food container of claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the bottom foil (2) is a stiff plastic foil, wherein there is punched a square hole (3), and in that the cup/the cups (4) are also square.

4. The food container of any of the claims 1-3, characte- rized in that the cup/the cups (4) are closed individually by a separate cover foil (9), which is glued onto or welded hermetically to the edge of the cup.

5. The food container of any of the claims 1-4, characte- rized in that the container is divided into at least two separate areas (12, 13) by means of welded seams (11), ad¬ hesive or the like between the bottom foil (2) and the cover foil (6).