Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CASE 3732
RE~CLOSA13LE FOOD PACRAGING I~ING SNAP CLOSURE:
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Th~ pre~ent invention gener~lly relat~ to
food packaging contalners and method o~ formlng the
container~ including locking member~ for ~nap lwkirlg
togeth~r a ba~e member th~reof and a bod~ member
~hereof O Plore par~icularly~ the 3nap lock~ ng m~mber
: ~ incIude at le~ one mating 3nap closure a~e~bly ha~ing
:~` a pro~ ec~ion on one of the con~iner memb0r~ which
ent~r~ into and ~n~ppingly engage an under31zed openinq
~: 10 ~ n the other ~mber o~ the packaging container. Th~
projec~ion may be ~ub~ected to crimping a~ter it h~
been thermoformed into the packag~ m~ber,. An audible
~nap ~ound~ when the food packag1ng cont~ner i8 clo~ed
by presaing the package base ~eniber and body metober
~: 15 together. ~he proj~etion ln~ the undersi$e~ opening are
;, formed in the re~pective peripheral flanges of the ba~e
. membe~ and ~od~ meinb0r and a~ a location that i8 sp~ced
outwardly feo~ a p~elable herm~tic ~e~l of th~ ood
packaging contain~r.
~ood pack~51ing cont~iners o the ~yp~ that
lnclude a semi~rig1d and~or th~moformed base m~mber and
a body memb~r havlnq a bubbl~ portion for d~ining
cavity that eneloses ~ ~ood produat are w~ll k~own.
~ackaglng aontalner~ o~ thl~ type h~lv~ long been u~ed
~or merch~ndis1ng paakaged foodl3 suGh a~ sliced luncheon
mea~s, chee~ and the like. In the~e t~p~ o~
p~ckaging cont~lner~, th~ food product i8 heeD~etically
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condition~ in a manner well known in the art. At time~,
mechanical pressure may be used in order to generally
~hape or form ~he food to the package cavity.
desired ob~ective of many of ~hese type~ o
packaging containers is to provide a food pack~ging
container that i~ resealable~ at least to the extent
that the base and body Qr bubble portion will be readily
reclosed af~er the hermetic seal has been broken and the
package has been openedt typic211y to remove a portion
lû of the food product within the cavity. Atl:empt~ in thi~
regard have included the use of pressure sensitive
adhesives whi ::h remain tacky through a number of
opening~ and closing~,
At times, con~umers desire a re-securement
arrangement tha~ is more readily detectable and more
positive acting~, Prlor attempts to meet this de~ire
have included variou~ interengaging profiles wherein a
component of the base portion generally lockingly
engage~ another component of the body or bubble port~on
. 20 of the food packaging container. These attempt~ have
`~, met with a varied degree oiE ~uccess. One diff lculty
;~ with s~me of the~e structure~ i~ the problem of knowing
when proper alignment of the interengaging prof iles haa
been achieved ~o that the interlock~ ng engageme~t for
which the pac:kage i~ deslgned will be achieved without
requirirlg a great deal of care and atten~ion on the part
of the con~umer. q!hi8 can be particularly important for
con~u~er~ who either do not pos~e~s the keell eyesiqht
that might be needed to check th~t interlocking pro~iles
., 30 have been fully engaged. Thl8 can al~o be important in
that a typieal con~umer would like to be as~ured that
the proper degree of interengage~ent ha3 been achieved
by proceeding with what miqht amount to only casual
re~ealing action~ rather than the need to proceed with a
studied and careful procedure.
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OnP ~uch approach that can be u~ed in
infor~ing the con~umer that the designed extent of
reclosure has been accomplished i~ to provide an audible
snapping sound which informs the consumer that the
5 package has been reclo~ed. ~or merchandlsing food
packaginq containers i~ is e3sen ial that any ~uch
reclosure means may readily be combined with packaging
wherein the packaged food~ are formed to the package
: with vacuum and often also with mechanical pres3ure.
The pre~ent 1nvention respond~ ~o a need in
the art for food packaging containers which are easily
openable and easily reclo~able ln a po~itive manner to
the extent ~hat the consumer i~ provided with an audible
sound signifying that the package ha~ been reelo~ed in
order to provide a~ least a perception of freshne~!3
preserva~ion. In addi~ion, the reclo~lng i~ ea~ily
accomplished without requlring clo~e visual ~udy or
careful at~en~lon by the consum~r. Thi3 packaging ~hu~
~: provides the con~umer with a clear signal tha~ reclo~ure
ha~ been accompllshed to en~ure ~hat the caYi~y w~ll not
be lnadvertently opened and to prov~de a non-hermetic
barrier for retarding deterioration of ~he fovd product
withln the cavity.
In 8~m~ary, the food packaging container
according to ~he pre~ent lnvention include~ a b~e and a
body which together define a bubble enclGsure that
provides a cavity wlthin which the food product i~
tightly enclosed~ The food i8 hermetically ~eale~
: within the cavity by ~uitable peelabl~ ~eallng meansa
Peripheral fl,ange~ of the ba~e and body are positioned
outside of the cavity and peelable ~ealing mean~, and
locking mean8 or snap locking the peripheral flanges
together are ~o~med therewithln. The locklng means
~¦ lnclude3 at lea~t on~ clo~ure a~sembly o~ a projection
3S and an under8ized opening pos~tioned one on the base ~nd
the other on the body. -The projectlon and opening are
in regi~try wlth each other when the base and body are
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herme~ically ~ealed to each other. ~fter ~he package
haY been opened, this reg1~ry i8 easily re-establi~hed,
at which ~ime the projection enters into the under~ized
opening~ and an audible snap will sownd when rein~ertion
has been accompli~hed. Preferably~ the projection i8
: thermoformed into the package base or body, and it is of
an ad2quate si2e to allow crimping thereo~ either before
or after filling and sealing of the food packaging
container. Post-thermoforming crimping of the
projection cau~es or at leas~ greatly enhances the
audible snapping sound which i~ experienced when the
base and body are pre~sed ~ogether~
:It is accordingly a general object of the
pre~ent invention to provid~ an improved food packaging
container and method of forming ~a~e.
Another objec~ of thi~ in~en~ion i3 to provide
an improved food packaging container and method of
forming ~ame, which container incorporate~ at least one
flange area snap clo~ure a~embly that effects an
audible snap when the food packaging container is
:'reclo3ed~
~`' Ano~her object of the pre~ent invention is to
,1 provide an improved ood packaging container and method
of making same which provide a po itive and clear signal
to the con~um~r that th~ packag~ has been reclosed~
Another object of ~hi~ invention i3 to prQvide
an i~proved food packaglng container and method of
making same, which cont~in~r can be readlly realosecl
without requiring a great deal of tlme~ ~kill or
attention on ,~he part of the consumer, whlch can be
~urther facilitated by a binge a~se~bly7
,Another ob~ect of the pre~ent invention i~ to
:1provide an improv2d food pack~ging container and m~thod
:~ of making ~ame, which incorporate~ reclosure memb~rs
35 th~t do . not ~ub~tantially incr~ase the cost 0~ the
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contain~r and that are readlly vi~ible from ~he front of
the container~
These and other object , feature~ and
advantages of the present invention w~ll be clearly
understood ~hrough a consid~ra~ion of the following
detailed description.
Brief De~cription of th~ Drawin~s
In the course of thi~ description, reference
will be made to the attached drawing~, wherein:
Figure 1 i~ an exploded per~pec~ive view of a
preferred food packaging container according to the
present inv~ntion;
Figure 2 i~ an exploded cro~s-sectional view
: 15 along the line 2-2 of Figur~ 1~
Figure 3 i~ a plan view o t~ b~se memb~r of
the food packaging contaln~r shown in Figure 1~
Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view of an
-: alternat~ve embodimen~ of a food packaging container
according to the pre~ent inventiont
~ igure 5 is a plan cro~s-sectional view of the
locking mean~, as a3sembled, of the embodiment
illu~trat~d ~n ~gure 47
~, Figure ~ i~ a perspectlve view of another
embodim~nt according to the pre~en~ ln~entionJ and
-~ Figures 7a, 7b, 7c and 7d are plan views of
`~. other ~lternative embod~ments o locklng ~ea~s for .
lncorporation into food packaging contalner~ according
to the present inventionO
. 30
De~cri~lon o~ the Par~icular Embodiments
The ~ood packaging conta1ner~ generally
;` designated as 11, which is shown in Figure~ 1, 2 and 3
include~ a ba~e member, gener~lly de3ignated a~ 1~, and
a body mamber, generally de ign~ed a~ 13. Body member
13 includes a bubble portlon 14, and food product such
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as a s~ack of luncheon meat or cheese 81ice5 or ~he like
~not shown), i~ tightly enclosed by and between ~he
bubble portion 14 and a panel portion 15 of the base
member 12. In th~s illustrated embodiment, the panel
portion 15 take~ the form of a pedestal which generally
ne~ts within the mouth openlng of the bubbl~ portion 14.
A peelable seal 16 i~ provicled, ~ypically in
close proximity to the bubble portion 14, and this
peelable seal 16 can be of a generally known
con.~truction and/or charac~er so that a vacuum seal
condi~ion i maintained within the food packag~ng
container 11 untll opening thereof i~ effec~ed~
Typically~ the peelable seal 16 will be generally along
: or ~paced clo~ely from the inside perimeter of a
peripheral flange 17 o~ ~he base member 12 and a
per~pheral flange 18 of the ~ody member 13.
; ~t least one -~nap clo~ure assembly ~two ~nap
closure a~semblies being ~i~ible in Figure 1) i8
provided in the peripheral flange~ 17 and 18~ In each
~` 20 case, ~he projection of each sn~p closure assembly i~
formed in the base member 127 or the body m~mber 13 and
~, the other under~i2ed opening is formed in the other
member. One illu~trated snap closure assembly includes
ba~e m~mber pro~ection 21 and an under~ized opening 22
in the body member~ The o~her lllustrated ~nap clo~ure
a~embly con~i~ts of ba~e m~mber pro~ctlon 23 and body ~,
m~mber under~iz~d opening 24. In thi3 illu~tr~ted
embodiment, the base member projections 21t 23 are
insertion pro~ections, and the body member und~rslzled
openings 22, 24 are receptor openings that are generally
, hollow and closely receive the in3ert~0n projectlons
:, which are generally protruding above the ~urface of the
base member.
Openings 22, 24 are undersized in that each
ha~ an opening peripheral size and/or shape 80 a~ to
ef~ect an in~er~erence fit when the ba3e member
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projec~ion enters the opening. The entry and/or sea~ing
of the projection into tbe opening is accompanied by an
audible snap as projection is thus force fitted into the
opening. For example, when the perimeter of the opening
has the same shape as a cross-section through an
engagement portion of the projection, the opening
perimeter will be less than the outer perimetar of the
projection cro~s-section, r~sulting in an audible snap.
In those cases where at least an engagement portion of
the projection ha~ a cro~-sectional shape diffe2ent
from the shape of the opening perimeterr at least a part
-~ of the opening will be in interfering engagement wi~h
~- the projection whereby the interfering portion~ will
s$gnal an audible snap when the packa~e l~ closed~
~hlchever undersizlng approach i~ utillzed, the e~tent
~ of under~izing mu~t be adequate to achieve th~ needed
:~ force fit, bu~ it should not be so great as to cause the
openlng or the projection ~o di~tort or tear.
The base member 12 and the body m~mber 13 are
formed o~ a semi-rigid, pre-formed pla~ic material, and
the projection~ 21 and 23 are thermoformed therewlthin
and at a location at lea~t 1/8 inch away from ~he cavity
:: area and outside o~ the peelable seal 16. Each
project~on has a height ~h~ch ~5 adequate ~typically
1/16 inch or mor~ typically on the order of
appro~imately 1/8 inch or more) in order to allow or
- crimplng of the pro~ctlon ~ither beore or after
filling and seallng o~ the ~ood packaging ~ontalner 11.
It is preferred that the crimping action be
po~t-thermof~rming and be~ore or after the b~se ~e~ber
12 and body member 13 are pres~d together. The
pvst-thermoforming crimping of the projections can
enhance the audible ~ap which ~ounds when the body and
ba~e are pre~sed together~ The opening~ can be easily
~:; 35 made aPter thermo~orming, for e~ample during ~ panel
cut-out or trimmLng step~
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The projection and opening of thi~ e~bodiment
exhibit a general bowtie shape and provide a relatively
large engagement int~rface and a shape that ~acilitates
crimping the projection, when desired. It can be
5 e~pecially convenient to crimp neck portion 25 of a
projectlon in order to provide especially ~uitable snap
locking means having a reliable audible snap.
Alqo ~hown in thi~ embodiment in order to
a~sist in ease of package reclosing i~ the inclu~ion of
a hinge assembly, generally de~ignated as 27.
suitable hinge assembly 27 can include a permanent-type
of glue or adhesive or heat seal 28 for ~oining
respective ends of th~ base member 12 and body m~mber 13
:~ which are generally oppo~te rom the snap closure
~ lS a~s~mbly. ~ score line 29 i~ also praferably included
:~ in order to facllitat~ bending of the semi rig~d ba~e
member 12 and/or body member 130
The food packaging contain~r, generally
designated as 31 in Figure 4~ includes ba.~e ~ember 32
and a body member 33 having a bubbl~ p~rtlo~ 34. In
~hi embodiment, base member projec~ion 35 and body
:1 member undersized opening 36 are not en~irely iden~lcal
in ~hape, and at lea~t one engagement portion of the
projection i~ ghtly wider than the openlng ln at
l~as~ on~ locatlon artd~or dimen3ionO ~n the arrange.Tnent
I illu~trated in Flgures 4 and 5~ portion~ o~ the
in~ertion projection 35 are ~llghtly ~ider than the
generally corresponding portion~ of the under~ d
op~ning 36. I~e base member proje~tion 35 enter~ the
undersiæed openlng 36 in the body member 33. Totally
non-impeded entry i~ not pos~ible due to the positioning
o~ protruding wings 37 of the undersi~ed opening 3S,
:;1 while corre~ponding wings are not included in the ba~e
; ~ member projection 35. ~y thi~ arrangement, a pinch$ng
ac~on ~3 achieved ~rom top to bottom of the pro~ections
when the wall 38 slidably engages a protruding wing 37
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whereby the protruding wing 37 and/or wall 38 deform to
provide secure, pinching engag~ment thereb~tween. An
audible ~nap condition can be enhanced by crimping as
described in connection wlth the embodiment of Figures 1
through 3, if desired~
The Figure 6 embodiment illustrates another
genera1 form which can be taken by a :Eood packaging
container; generally designated a~ 41. I~ thi~
embodiment, there i~ les~ of a delineation between a
base member and bubble member~ Thi~ p2ckage provides a
; substantial hinge arrangement by including a hlnge
portion 42 joining body ~embers 43 and 4~ of generally
equal volume. ~nap ~.losure as~emblie~ 45 and 46 ar~
illu~trated. ~g with all Qf the embodiments, the~e snap
clo3ure as~embli~s can includ~ po3t thermofor~ing
crimping o~ tAe projection and/or can ~xhibit a pinching
:~ ac~ion ~tructure. In any event they are cha acterized
:~ by ~ clo~e interferenc~ fit.
In all of the illustrated embodlmen~s, the
insertion projection component of each ~nap closure
~ as~e~bly may be either within the base member or body
:' member, and th~ corresponding receptor under~ized
~:~ opening component thereof will be withl~ the other
member, wheth0r the body member or the base ~ember. A
~5 min~mum o~ one ~uch ~nap closure assembly or a~ many ac
x or more such a33emblie3 may be provided in order to
~:~ achleve the desired reclosable locking actlon.
The pro~ections and under~i~ed opening~ may
take on any number of various ~hape~. ~ypically the3e
3hape~ will re~dily allow for the inter~erence ~it,
and/or crimplng and/or for pinching action as desired.
Figure 7a shows a sn~p closure assembly structure design
modeled after a padlock. Figure 7b give~ a structure on
the order of that shown in the other embodiments, but
al~o re~embling a key providing the general outline of
:~ initials sucb a~ the illustrated ~OM~ Figure 7c
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provides ano~her illu~tration s)f a multi-faceted -qhape
which approximates t:hat of the inltials WOMZ., Figure 7d
illustrates another shape of projection and under~ized
openi ng .
With more particular reference to the me~hod
aspects of this invention, ~O 8. Patents ~o. 3, 498, 018,
NoO 4,411~122, No. 4,577,757 and NOD 4~688~369~ WhiCh
are incorporated by reference hereinto, describe methods
of orming a vacuumized~ ~ermatically sealed package
characterized by a predetermined quan~ity o~ product
which i~ deformable and is arranged in the form of an
upright mas~ on a pede~tal having a sidewall and a
peripheral flange for hermetic ~eal ing to a
oorre~ponding peripheral flange of t:he body member. The
food product wlll engage the end panel of the body
`, member bubble9 a~ well a~ lt~ ~idewall. ~he ~idewall o
--~ the base panel pede tal tele~;copes in~o the bottom edge~
of the bubbl e ~i dewal 1.
In a typical method for filling this type of
:~ ~0 package, ~he body member 15 placed in an inver~ed
po~ition, such a~ genera~ly illu~trated in Flgure 1
hereof, and ~uffici~n~ quan~ity of product i3 plac~d
th~reinto o that ~he s::av1ty will be ~ub~tantially
filled when the package is assembled. ~en, the ba~e
25 member i8 posltioned on the mouth oP ~he bubble 50 that
the p~destal tele8c:0pe~ into the bubble and engages the
: ~ 1 product ~. The f t ange margins of the ~a~e member overl ie
the corresponding margin~ of the body ~e~ber.
Plechanical pre~sure can be appl ied inw~rdly and on~o the
30 outside ~urface of the pede~al . The area def ined by
the bottom edge~ of the bubble sidewall can be
su~f iclent to ~orce the product into clo~e conl:act with
interior su~face~ of 'che ba~e and bod~ members to ~hape
the product to conform to the ~hape of the cav~ty and
35 ~ub~tantially comple~ely f ill the ~pace between the
.l cavity and product while vacuumlzing th~ as3e~bly and
while sealing the package in a h~rm~tic mannerO
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The projection or projection~ are formed in
the desired peripheral flange, pre~erably by
thermoforming. While crimping can be accomplished
: before or after filling and sealing of the package, it
is preferred ~o crimp ~efore the base member and body
member are assembled together. An audible snap 1~
enhanced by post-thermoforming crimping o~ neck portions
or the like of the projection or projection~
: When this inven~ion i9 followed, reclosabili~y
and the ability of the package to ~hen ~tay closed i~
achieved at low cost by providing one or more point~ of
frictional interaction ou~s~de of the sealed area of the
~: package. An audible ~nap ~ound is al~o prvvided which
enhance3 the perception of freshnes~ pre~rvation once
the package i~ opened. ~hi~ invention can be applied to
package~ of any of various shape~, including tho~e that
: are generally round and generally ~quare or rectangular,
and the bubble portion~ can take on needed
product-conforming ~hapes. ~l~o, the projection or
pro3ection~ are r2adily v~lble to the con~umer~ even
from the front of the package, and they can pre~ent a
plea~ing appearance. ~o achieve ea~y opaning of the
:~, peelable seal/ high molecular we$ght polymer adhe3ive~
which are peelable and re~alable may be used, or easy
peel mul~i-lay~r rigid films that ~re heat sealable may
be u~ed~
~ With more particular reference to the
: preferred crimpl~g procedure, crimping o~ the projection
or pro;ection~ occurs by applying pressure to one or
both ~ides o~the pro~ection ~or a portion of it ~uch a3
the illu~trated neck) in order to slightly deform it.
Crimping might occur at room temperature, or heat may be
applied to the ~urace of the crimped area and/or
imparted thereto by the crimpin~ device it~elf, in order
to utilize solid state forming techniques in order to
utilize ~olid state forming technlques.
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In a ~yplcal food packaging container, the
thicknes~ of the bubble f ilm i~ about 13 ml . and ~ha
thickne~s of the base film is about 10 ml. ~xemplary
bubble compo~itlons include ~arex 210 or polyethylene
terephthalate. A suita~le ba~e compoRitiorl can be Barex
210, polyvinyl ch~ori de~ or Saranea~ lamlnated to Barex
210 or polyvinyl chloride or poly3tyr~ne.
It will thu~ be ~een that the pre~en~
inYention provide~ new and useful food packaging
con~ainers and me~chod ~or making same, which have a ~.
number o~ advan~cages and characteri~ics, including
those pointe~ out herein and others which are inherent
in the inYentiOn. Preferred embodiments have bee~
described by way of example, and it i~ anticipated ~ha~
.. 15 modifications may ~e made to the described form wi~hout
departing from the spirit of the inventlon or the scope
~, of the appended claims.
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