Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CASE 3754
9~8
DO~BLE L~t; R~CLOSABL~ FQOD P~Ci~G~S
Background of the Invention
Field of the In~entio_
This invention pertaln~ to a ood p~ckage
having a bas~, ~ body membel:, a peelable ~eal for
hermetically sealinq the bas~ to che cover and opposing
snap-locklng me~er~ ~ontained in the b~e and in the
cover for reclosing the packag~ a~ter it ha~ been opened
and for providing an audible snap as the pack~ge i~
reclosed .
Description ~f the Prior Art
Mul iLple-componeJ~t foad p3ckage~s ~ave be~n
described in the past. Por example~ in ~I.S. Pa'can~
No. 3,498,01B7 food pa~kage i8 de~cribed ~herein 'che
food is sealed inside the p~ckage having a body ~ember
and a 'cop memb~r. The food is forDIed under ~cu~m, and
the pacicage i8 hermetically sealed1, ~he~e type~ of
package~ and ~ethod~ for forDIing them are iEur~her
described in t:l.8. Patents No. ~,~11,122s ~O.. ~,577,757;
and ~aO. 4,688,369. Attempts to improve packages of
the~e patents ar~ ~urther described in ~.S. P~tents
No. ~,4980588 ~nd ~ou ~498~5890 ~or $n~tance, ln
Patent No. 4,498,588, ridgea 34 and grooves 36 are
de cribed and illu~tra~e an attempt ~o provide a package
having interlocking engagement features.
These elements, however, have not proven to be
satisfactory in producing a suitable audible ~nap in
reclosing the package. Other means of incorporating
snap ac~ions in~o packages are described in ~.S.
2- 2~3~ 78
Patents No. 3,$72,536 ~d ~o, 3973~,276. ~hus, these
remains in the art a need for a packa~e th~t i~ ea3~ly
openabl~ and al~o reclos~ in a posltiv~ ~anner by
providing an audible ~ou~d signlfy~ng to the conau~r
that the package haR been reclo~ed.
~ith pack~e~ that rely pri~rily on adhe~ive
means for ealing, at t~e~ it is dificult to provide a
peelable ~eal which has a de~ire~ ea~y-op~ning
characteri~tic or to pro~ide that de~irad e~y-ope~i~g
characteristic with very reliable con~i ten~y. A180,
adhesives do not substantlally ~hance the over~ll ;
rigidity of the package. A~cordingly, it would b~
advantageou~ to provide a package that does not rely
substantially exclusively on adhesive to provide a
peelable seal, e~p~cially wben such a p~ckage ~180
exhibits a ¢onvenient-to-u~ and reliable recl4sure
characteristic that incorporates a snap closure souNd.
~r~f Des~ription of the Dr~win~
Figure 1 i~ a perspective view of a preferred
embodiment accord~ng to the invention;
Figure 2 i~ a view of the package o~ Figure l,
showing ~ top pl~n vie~ o~ the body or bubble member of
this package
Figure 3 i~ a top plan view of the base ~e~b~r
of the pack~ge of Figure l; and
Figure 4 i8 ~1 cros~ sectional qiew along ~he
line 4-4 of Figure lo
Summary of the Invent~o~
The invention pertains to a vacuumized~
hermetically sealed package having a moat-like structure
along the peripheral flange thereof and having opposing
lug members. The package includes a bas~ member having
centrally positioned pedestal and a channel surrounding
the pedestal which is def ined by a ~aised 3idewall
-3- 2 ~ 3 ~ 5'7
spa~ed from the ped2~tal. Al~o provld~d i8 a package
body ~e~ber ha~ing a body bubble and a ~h~nnel
surrounding ~he bubble, th~ ch~nnel being defined
between a generally upstandlng ~ide~ll o the bubble
and a r~ised slde~all ~paced fro~ the bubble s~dewall.
The respective sidewalls of the base me~ber and of the
body ~e~ber engage each other in telescoping
arrangement, and the sidewall of the b~se pede~tal
telescopingly engages a portion of the bubble ~idewall~
A peelable sealing mea~ i8 al80 provided for attaching
the base rlng panel to the body ring p~nel, ~he peelable
sealing means being openable with digital pull-apart
force~. Reclosable ~emb~rs are provided on re~pective
mating sidew~lls of the base ~e~b~ and of the body
me~ber. Preferably, the reclos~ble ~embers are
in~erfering project1ons or lugs in th~ ~ide~lls which
en~age each other ~nd which ~an be disengayed by the
applic~tion of dlgital force~ when desired. Pack~ges
having the~e feature~ prov~de ~ base member and a body
member with component~ which engage each other with an
audible clo~ure snapping sound.
Detailed Deacription of the Invention
U.S. Patent~ No. 3~98,018, No. 4,~11,122,
No. 4,577,7S7, and. No. 4,688,369 are herein incorporated
by reference~ The~e p~ten$s de~cribe a method of
for~ing a vacuumi2ed, hermetically sealed package,
characterl~ed by a pr~determined quantity of a product
wh~r~b ca~ be defor~ble and 18 ~rranged in the form of
an uprlght mass on a base panel portion on the pedestal
o~ a ba~e.
Regarding the package shown in Pigure~ 1
through 4, it~ base 12 ha~ a base panel portion 10, a
base peripheral flange 14, a generally upstanding base
sidewall 16, a base ring panel 18 and a generally
upstanding pedestal ~idewall 20 wbich, together with the
_"_ 2~3~5~
panel 10, defin~s the p~deRtal portion o~ the base
meD~ber 12. Another generally up~tanding ba~e s~dewall
40 coop~rate~ ~ith ~he ~idewall 16 ~nd the ring p~nel 18
to define ~ raised wall ~ae~abert wbile another ba~e ring
panel 38 cooperate~ with this sa~e ~ide~all 40 ~nd the
pedestal side~all 2û in order ~o de~ine a . lot Dlember.
The thus def ined raised ldall member ~nd ~lot Dember
def ine a ~oat-like structure that surrounds the pedest~l
portion. ~rhe raised wall ~e~ber ~d the ~lot ~ember of
the base 12 are sized and ~haped to cooperate with
similarly sized and shaped ~e~bers of a pa~kage body 22,
discussed in ~ore de~ail hereinaft~r.
~$th reference to th~ paclcage body 22~ it h~
a body peripheral flange 24, a bc~dy side~all 26 and a
body ring panel 28, a~R brell al8 a bubble sidewall 3û and
a body panel portic~n 32 ~hich for~ ~ bubbl~ port~on of
the body 22. Anot21er body sidewall 44 cooperates w~ th
the side~sall 26 and the ring panel 28 to def ine a 810t
me~er, while another body ring panel 42 coopera~es with
this ~me ~idewall 44 and the bubble ~idewall 30 in
order to define a raised wall men~er. ~hi~ rai~ed wall
meD~ber and 810t Dle~er defins a moa~-like structure
which surrounds the bubble portian ~nd which ma~ingly
and telescop~ngly engage 'che xespective raised ~all
member and slo'c ~e~b~r o the b~se 12 in order to
provlde an oYerall ton~ue-arld-groov~ ~tructure by which
the b~se 12 and the body 22 ~ecurely engage one another.
More specific~lly, the ba~e sidewall 16
eng~ge~ the body sidewall 26 in tele~cop~ ng arrangem~nt,
the base sidewall 40 and body ~idewall 4~ (which can b~
identified as being in the moat reglon) tele3copingly
engage each other, and the base sidewall 20 and body
sidewall 30 (which can be identified as being in the
pedestal region) telescopingly engage each other., A
peelable sealing means 8uitab1e for hermetically vacuum
sealing procedures at~aches tbe base r:lng panel 18 to
-5~ 57
the b~dy ring p~nel 2~. The peel~ble s~allng m~n~,
which can b~ ~n ~dhesive, i8 openable ~ith dlgital
pull-apart ~orGes ~hich are less th~n digi~al pull-~p~rt
force~ that typ~c~lly ~re reguired for knaw~ pack~ges
incorporating such peelable sealing mean~ that is not in
co~bination wlth the other featQre~ of the r~clo~able
sealing as emblies o this in~ention.
Opposing reclosable ~embera are provided on
the base and on the body, th2se reclosable member~ being
interfering projections in aidewall~ thereof. In thi~
embodiment, the opposing int~rf~ring proje~tion~ are
opposing pairs of indents and det~nts on generally
upstanding sid~w~ , one pair being in the ~o~t region
and a pair opposlng sa~e b~ing in $he pedestal region.
More ~pe~ifically, one pair i~ thin protru~ion or rai~ed
detent 34 in the pede~tal ~idewall 20 and indent 36 in
the bubble sidew~ll 30. Its oppo~ing pair i~ protruRion
or r~ised detent ~6 and indent 4a in th2 resp~ctive mo~t
area sidewall~. ~ach rai3ed de ent snap~ within its
corresponding indent in order to in~ure a po~itive
securement together of the ba e 12 and the bubble 22.
~ o fill the package, the body ~e~ber 22 i8
placed in an invert~d position, and a sufflcient
quantity of product i~ placed in ~aid body ~ember to
substanti~lly fill t~e body me~ber when ~he package i6
completed. The base 12 i8 positioned on the mouth of
the body me~ber 22 80 that the produ~t panel dispo~e~ in
a telescopic way into the body me~ber and engage~ the
- ~ product to provide ~ pede~tal therefor. ~h2 fl2nge
margins of the ba~e 12 overlie the correspond~ng margins
of the body member 22. IMechanical pre~sure i~ applled
inwardly on the outEide surface of the rai~d panel
por tion . The area def ined by the bot~om edges of the
body side walls is sufficient to force the product into
35 close contact with the interior surfaces of base and
-6~ Z~3~7~3
body ~neDIbe rs, ~h ich may ~hen desi red 3hape th~ product
to more closely confor~ to the shape of th~ interlor
surface and ~o sub~ lly completely ill the sp~ce
~etween the pack~ge ~nd produc~ ~hile ~a~uu~izing the
a~sembly and the ~ealing of the package by her~tic
means.
According to present invent~on, reclosable
packages are attained by thermoforming one or more
continuou~ rings in the package ba~e and body 80 ~ to
form the ~oat-like structure or tongu* andgroove
arrangement as shown ~n the drawings~ ~he ba~e ring or
moat wall i8 hi~h enough (1/16 ln~h or ~ore) to allow
cr imping o form the oppo~ing indent~ and detents before
or after filling and sQaling of the packag@. ~ one or
lS two step thermoforming and/or cri~plng o~ the rlng
cause~ an audible ~n~p when the bubble and ba~ are
pressed together.
Reclo~ability ~nd the ~bility to have the
package stay closed are achieved a~ low ~o~t by
providing ~everal points of ~riction interaction inside
or outside the ~ealed area of the package~ An audible
snap 80und 1~ al~o enhanced by means of ~ visible
pede~t~l ring which contributes to the perception of
f reshness pre~erva~ion once ~he pack~ge iæ opened .
A preerred mean~ to ~chie~e a po~itive
reclo~c~ble pac3tage i8 to produce ~atching ~ertic~l
lndented groove~. For e~amplet each r,~atching body
groove ring 42 and base groove ring 38 function l~ke a
tonque-and-groove lid/container package, and ~ 3nap
sound is also produced when the part8 ~re pre~3ed
together du~ to their coDIbination wi1~h the ~at~hed pairs
of oppo~ing indents and the rai~ed detents 36, 34 ~nd
48, 46 on the respective oppo3ing sidewalls. The
vertical grooved indentation ring preferably is formed
directly adjacent to the pedestal sidewall 20 and the
corre~ponding location of the bubble sideYall 30. 'rhe
9~'7~
groove preferably i~ lf8 inch ~lde or ~lder by 1/8 inch
deep on the base, ~tith the correspondlng ai~n~ion~ of
the groo~e on the body belng ~lightly le~.
hi~h mor~ p~rticul~r r~ference to the pair~ of
opposing lndentY ~nd raised de~ents, the package its~lf
is thereby provlded with opposlng lug for~tionsO One
of the lug formations is in 'che p~estal reglon of the
package, as exempllfied by rai~ed detent 34 and it~
mating indent 36. Oppo~ing lug for~tion i8 provided in
the ~noat region, as e~e~pllf~ed by raised detent ~6 and
its mating indent ~8. Both the lug ~tructc~re in the
pedestal region and the lug struc'cure ~n the ~oat region
are posi1:ioned belod the base ring panel 18 ana the body
r ing panel 28 and ~ithin the groove ~re~ ad~acent to the
pedestal and/or bubble. ~ith ~his ~tructure, this
groove ~lthin the package body 22 i8 under coQpr~ssion
when the body and b~se are assembled. The cGlDpre~sive
forces are applied p~rticularly at 'che interivr ~urface~
of the opposing indent~ 36 and 480 Correspond~ngly, the
ba~e in tbe area of the lug formation~ i8 under tension
when the pack~ge i6 a~selubledO Forces tr~nE~itted
generally at the opposing raised detent~ 3~, 46 exert a
spre~di~lg ~orce on the groove def ined by the ~idewall~
2û and 40 of the base 12. Thu~, the ~rea of the lug0 in
th~ bubble i~ unde~ co~pres~ion ~hile the ~rea i~ the
lug~ o the base i8 under tension~ ~hic~ cau~es the
lugs or ~ndent/r~i~d p~ir~ to fit Yecurely wlthin e~ch
other in order to ~nhance holding together of the
as~e~bled pack~ge.
When tbe p~kage ~ opened, the lug~ in the
moat region, namely dete~t 4S and indent ~8, will be
disengaged from e~ch o~her before ~he oppo~ing
detent/indent are di~engaged from each other. This
stepwise disengagement allows for ea~ier package opening
because both di~engage~ents do not have to occur at the
same time, ~hich would require a greater opening orce.
X~3~S~713
-B-
Further~ore, bec~us~ of ~he co~npre~ion/~cen~ion ~8p~2ct8
of ~his package, ~he 81ze and depth of the iAden~E~ and
raised deten~s ~an be le~B 'than wh8t would s~ther~is~ b~
needed Jco achieve the 8~ locking str~ngth ~8 i~
achieYed by ths structure ~coording to thi~ invention.
These ~dvant&ges in openlng and lock~ng of the
f inished pac~age al o translate to advant~ges ~n moldlng
and ormation of the pack~ge components. When the
bubble or the ba~e i8 being 3tripped ro~ lt~ for~ing
mold, mold stripping will be facilitated because the
moat region inden'c or detent i~ removed from the die
f irut, followed by the intent or detent in the pede~tal
reqiona ~g~n, Ichis one-at-a-t~De or two-stage ~olà
Btripping procedure means l:h~t les~ force i6 needsd to
re~o~e the package component fro~ the Dlold or di~. With
the ability to utillze detent/indent sizeu ~nd depth
that are les~ ~han would be other~i~e r~aui red to
achieve a de~ired locking str~ngth, the~e small~r
indent~/detents will be ea~ier to for~ and will
~0 facilita~e ~hermofor~ing of ~he package.
The6~ var~ous attributeP of a particular
structure ~ccordlng to thi~ in~ention cala be further
~acilitate~ by specific a8pect8 of the ring-alld-groove
~tructure as ~hown in Figure 4. The ba~e riny panel 18
~5 cian include round~d corner~ as Rho~n, to ~hereby provide
additional clearance during a~embly and di~a~sembly of
the package comporlent~. Also, th~ gener~lly upstanding
sid~wall~ 20 ;~nd 30 can e~hibit the inclined
conf igurætion illustrated in the dra~ing~ . The angle of
thes~ 6idew~ 2û, 3û with respec'c to the ring panel~
38 i~ illu~tr~ted as being slightly greater thAn 90
degrees, but far ~hor~ of 180 degrees, thereby
facilitating ~liding assembly and disa sembly of the
base and body.
Adhering the two package parts together
preferably occurs between ring panels. Sealing ~ay
~3~ 8
g
occur by u~ing adhe~l~re, by using ~ultll~yered o~ygen
barrier heat ~eal~le filloa, or by uslng ~n ~dh~3iYe
ga~ket. The ~e~ling eo~poneDt ~uch a~ ~n adhe~l~e ~ay
be appl~ed to the top ffl the ba~e ring p~n~l 18, to the
S under~urface o~ ~he body ring pan~l 28, to lthe top of
the base ring panel 38, or to the under~ur1~ce of the
body ring panel 42 (Pigure 4~. ~ven though tbe seal
thus produced is readily peelable by d~git~l forces, the
grooved channel aspect of the lnventlon en~ s the
id~a that the package i8 resealed once it i~ opened.
Also, the projections of the pac~:~ge ~re
vi81~1e to the con~umer, and they pre8~n~c a plea-~ing
appearance~, To ~chieve easy op~ning, hlg~ D~olecul~r
weight poly~er adhe~ive~ which are peel~ /re~eal~ble
may be used, or easy-pe~ ultilayer rig~d fillas tha~
are heat sealable may b~ u~ed. Accordingly, fe~'cures of
thi~ invention include therDIoforming projectio~as in the
body me~er ~nd ba~e wh~ch are part of the ~ide walls
that friction-flt throu~h a pinchlng action (top to
bottom) with or without a post-ther~oforming gripping
action when 'che base and ~ody memter are pre~ed
together. The po~thermoforDIing gripping ~ct~on would
be accomplished by using a heated device to augment the
depth of the m~tched rings or ring width dot projection~
~o ach~ev~ a greater interferen~e fit. Solid ~tate is
ano~h~er ~e~ o ~chieve augmented depth.
A benefit of the groo~ed seallng coDlponents in
the pre~nt pac3c~ging ~ enhanced wall strength and
rigidlty ~hen coD~p~red with th~'c of siD~ilar pa~kages
3 0 that do not include these 'cype~ of grooved se~l ing
components. Thinner ~heet stock can be u~ed,
particularly for the base component or for the body
component when its bubble is rel~t~ vely shallow. The
thickness of the body member is between appro~imately 8
and 13 1/2 mil., and the thickne 5 of the base i8
between approximately 8 and 10 a~ he body ~ember
-10~
composition ~y be B~re~ 210, a poly¢sterO P~T or PYC.
The base compo~ttion ~ultably i~ ~are~ 210, ~ polye~ter,
PVC; Sarane~ la~inated ~o B~re~ 210, PVC, or
polystyr@ne .
S Pack~ges according to thi~ ~n~ntion ca~ have
generally r~ctangular or ~gu~re ~h~es, 8uc~b æ~ sho~n in
Figures 1 through ~. ~lternativ~ly, they c~n h~ve
generally cir~ular-~haped pedestals and bubbles, or they
can be o~herwise shaped ~8 de~i red .
Whatever adhesive meana or ~nap groo~e ~an
are utilized, the combination of the pr~sent inventlon
provides an advantage of easier pee~ db~lity ~dhen
compared wit~ simil~arly sized packag~ ~rhi~h incorporæte
only an applied peelable adhes~ve for forlolng the
peelabl~ ~eal. Because a subsl:antial proportion of the
seal and reclo~ur~ propertie~ of the p~ck~ge are
prs~vided by non-adhesiYe means, including the body
grooqe compre~sion and ba~e groove ten~ion at the
opposing indent/de. ent p~irs, the aeAl adhe ion streng~h
provided by the present adhesive mean~ need not ~e aa
great as when the adhesive alone provide~ sub~tanti~lly
all of the seal strength. For e~ample~ the pre~ t
adhesive means czln hav~ Ul ~pplication ~idth th~t 1~3
approximately one-half of the ~dhesive width prov~ded ln
prior package~ to k~ep the pack~ge securely sealed
during co~erci~l distribu'cion ~nd h~ndling. Al~o~ by
combinlng the ~dhe~ive rne~s with the tongue-~nd-groove
arrangement, well-defined lo~ations for confining the
location of the adheslve fneans are pro~id~d ~ thin the
groove of the base and/or body. This provides an
especially neat appearance to the adhesive me~ nd
even when the adhesive gasket approach i8 not utilized,
there is les~ of a likelihood that the adhesive will
exhibit stringiness primarily because the adhesive can
be applied more thlnly and with reduced surface ar~a.
2~3957~3 :
I~ ~i ll thu~ ba ~een 'chat the presen~c
invention provid~ new and uaeful packaglns~ baving
tongue-~nd-groove ~ean~, which pack~glng !ha~ ~ nu~ber of
advantages and characteri~tics, lncluding tho~e pointed
out herein and other~ which are inherent in 'che
invention. Preferred embodI~-ints of the invention h~e
been described by way of e3~ampl@, and it i~ anticipa~ced
the modi ications may be made to the de~cribed form
withou'c dep~rting f ro~ the ~pi rit o~ the in~ention or
10 the 8cope of appended claims.
