INFUSION PACKAGES AND METHOD OF MAKING INFUSION PACKAGES

SACHETS POUR INFUSION ET PROCEDES DE FABRICATION CORRESPONDANTS

English Abstract

A method of manufacturing an infusion package (10) comprising a porous-walled
container (12) for an infusible substance and a support for the container by
means of which the container can be mounted on a rim of a drinking vessel. The
method comprises (i) making cuts in at least one web of a semi-rigid material
in a direction transverse to the web length to define a plurality of support
members (14), each cut defining a first end (16) of one support member and a
second end (20) of an adjacent support member such that the first end includes
a projection (18) and the second end includes a recess (22) the cutting of
which recess produces the projection; (ii) bringing two such support members
into opposed relationship with the first end of one of the support members
disposed opposite the second end of the other of the support members; (iii)
positioning an end region of the container between the opposed support
members; and (iv) securing that end region to the support members.

French Abstract

Cette invention a trait à un procédé de fabrication de sachet pour infusion (10) comportant un contenant à paroi poreuse (12) pour substance pouvant être infusée ainsi qu'un support pour le contenant permettant de monter celui-ci sur le rebord d'un récipient à boire. Le procédé consiste, (i), à faire des découpes dans au moins une bande d'un matériau semi-rigide et ce, transversalement à la longueur de la bande afin de définir plusieurs éléments de support (14), chaque découpe définissant une première extrémité (16) d'un élément de support et une seconde extrémité (20) d'un élément de support adjacent, de sorte que la première extrémité comporte un saillant (18) et que la seconde extrémité comporte un évidement (22). Le découpage de cet évidement permet d'obtenir le saillant. Le procédé consiste ensuite, (ii), à placer ces deux éléments de support à l'opposé de la première extrémité de l'un des éléments de support lui-même placé à l'opposé de l'autre, (iii), à positionner une extrémité du contenant entre les éléments opposés et, (iv), à fixer cette extrémité aux éléments de support.

Claims

8
Claims:
1. A method of manufacturing an infusion package comprising a
porous-walled container for an infusible substance and a support for said
container by means of which the container can be mounted on a rim of a
drinking vessel, said method comprising (i) making cuts in at least one web of
a semi-rigid material in a direction transverse to the web length to define a
plurality of support members, each said cut defining a first end of one said
support member and a second end of an adjacent said support member such
that said first end includes a projection and said second end includes a
recess
the cutting of which recess produces said projection; (ii) bringing two said
support members into opposed relationship with the first end of one said
support member disposed opposite the second end of the other said member;
(iii) positioning an end region of a said container between said opposed
support
members: and (iv) securing said end region to said opposed support members.
2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said projections correspond in
shape to said recesses.
3. A method as claimed in claim 1 or 2, comprising providing each
said support member with a zone of weakness intermediate said first and
second ends.
4. A method as claimed in claim 3, wherein said zone of weakness is
provided by a score-line extending parallel to said ends.
5. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein
said container is a bag having an opening at one end and said opening is
defined by said end region.

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6. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, comprising
making said cuts in two said webs. wherein said one support member is
defined by making said cuts in a first of said two webs and said other support
member is defined by making cuts in a second of said two webs.
7. A method as claimed in claim 6, wherein said webs move in a
common direction and said cuts in said first web are arranged such that said
projections project in said common direction and said cuts in said second web
are arranged such that said projections project in a direction opposite said
first
direction.
8. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, said support
members are integral, said cuts being made in a single web which is folded so
as to provide a fold that extends along a longitudinal axis thereof to bring
said
integral support members into said opposed relationship.
9. A method as claimed in claim 8, comprising providing perforations
in the region of said fold.
10. An infusion package comprising a semi-porous container for an
infusible material and a support for said container, said support being
secured
to an end of said container so as to be pivotable between first, use,
positions
wherein the support projects generally upwardly of said container and second,
non-use, positions in which the support is disposed alongside said container.
11. An infusion package comprising a porous walled container for an
infusible substance and a support by which said container can be mounted on a
rim of a drinking vessel, said support comprising two oppositely disposed
members to which said container is attached such that, in use, it is suspended
therefrom and each having a projection at one end thereof and a

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correspondingly shaped recess at an opposite end thereof, and said members
being such that said projections project from opposite ends of said support.
12. A package as claimed in claim 11, wherein said support is attached
to an end of said container so as to be pivotable between first, use,
positions
wherein the support projects generally upwardly of said container and second,
non-use, positions in which the support is disposed alongside said container.
13. A package as claimed in claim 10, 11 or 12, wherein said members
are each provided with a zone of weakness intermediate the respective said
ends.
14. A package as claimed in claim 13, wherein said zone of weakness is
defined by a score-line extending parallel to said ends.
15. A package as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 14, wherein said
container is in the form of a bag having an open end and said bag is attached
to said support at said open end.
16. An infusion package comprising a container for an infusible material
and a support for said container having a projection at each end thereof by
which the support can be seated on a rim of a drinking vessel, said support
being defined by two support members disposed in opposed relationship and
secured to one another at said ends and at least one of said support members
having a zone of weakness whereby said support can be caused to deflect away
from the other said support to provide an opening between said support
members leading to an open end of said container.
17. An infusion package as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 16
hermetically sealed in a package therefor.

Description

CA 02397293 2002-07-12
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INFUSION PACKAGES AND CORRESPONDING MANUFACTURING METHODS
The invention relates to infusion packages and particularly, but not
exclusively, to infusion packages for coffee and to the manufacture of such
packages.
Conventional infusion packages for tea or coffee comprise a porous-
walled container into which has been charged the tea or coffee. In use such
containers are immersed in hot liquid such as water. It is known to suspend an
open container such as a bag in the liquid and this has been achieved using a
hanging string. In other arrangements a filter bag is provided with holding
members which enable the filter by to be supported from the rim of a container
for the hot liquid. One such arrangement is described in EP-A-04631 ~ 1.
These known arrangement can be difficult to use and not straightforward to
manufacture.
The invention provides a method of manufacturing an infusion
package comprising a porous-walled container for an infusible substance and a
support for said container by means of which the container can be mounted on
a rim of a drinking vessel. said method comprising (i) making cuts in at least
one web of a semi-rigid material in a direction transverse to the web length
to
define a plurality of support members, each said cut defining a first end of
one
said support member and a second end of an adjacent said support member
such that said first end includes a projection and said second end includes a
recess the cutting of which recess produces said projection; (ii) bringing two
said support members into opposed relationship with the first end of one said
support member disposed opposite the second end of the other said member;
(iii) positioning an end region of a said container between said opposed
support
members; and (iv) securing said end region to said opposed support members.
The invention also includes an infusion package comprising a semi-
porous container for an infusible material and a support for said container,
said
support being secured to an end of said container so as to be pivotable
between
first, use, positions wherein the support projects generally upwardly of said

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container and second, non-use, positions in which the support is disposed
alongside said container.
The invention also includes an infusion package comprising a porous
walled container for an infusible substance and a support by which said
s container can be mounted on a rim of an drinking vessel, said support
comprising two oppositely disposed members to which said container is
attached such that, in use, it is suspended therefrom and each having a
projection at one end thereof and a correspondingly shaped recess at an
opposite end thereof. and said members being such that said projections
project
IU from opposite ends of said support.
The invention also includes an infusion package comprising a container
for an infusible material and a support for said container having a projection
at
each end thereof by which the support can be seated on a rim of a drinking
vessel, said support being defined by two support members disposed in
15 opposed relationship and secured to one another at said ends and at least
one of
said supports having a zone of weakness whereby said support can be caused
to deflect away from the other said support to provide an opening between said
support members leading to an open end of said container.
In order that the invention may be well understood, some
?0 embodiments thereof, which are given by way of example only, will now be
described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of an infusion package;
Figure ? is an end view of the infusion package;
Figure 3 is a perspective view of a W-section web of heat sealable
25 porous material from which the bag portion of the package is made;
Figure 4 is a schematic plan view of the infusion package in use;
Figure 5 is a cutaway view of a sachet containing the infusion
package of Figure 1;
Figure 6 is a plan view of two webs illustrating a method of making
30 the support members of the infusion package of Figure 1;

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Figure 7 is a perspective view of an alternative support for an
infusion package; and
Figure 8 a plan view of a web illustrating a method of making the
support shown in Figure 7.
Referring to Figures 1 to ~, an infusion package 10 comprises a
container 12 and support for the container. The support comprises two support
members 14 by means of which the container can be mounted on a rim of a
drinking vessel such as a mug or cup 15 as shown in Figure 4
The support elements each consist of a strip of plastics coated board
and are disposed opposite one another. Each support member is notched at one
of its ends 16 to define a projection 18. The projection 18 lies in the plane
of
the support member and projects in the lengthwise direction of the member
perpendicular to the end 16.
At the end 20 of the support members opposite the end 16, there is a
recess 22. The recesses 22 are aligned with and correspond in shape to the
respective projections 18.
As described in more detail hereinbelow, the support members are
sealed to one another and to the container 12. The arrangement of the support
members is such that the end 16 of one member is disposed opposite the end
20 of the other member so that the respective projections project in opposite
directions.
Each support member has a score-line 24 in the inward facing one of
its major surfaces. The score-lines are disposed midway between the ends 16,
20 and extend perpendicular to the lengthwise direction of the member and
parallel to the ends 16, 20.
The container is in the form of an open-ended sack, or bag, 12. The
bag comprises a web of porous heat sealable material, which is folded to
produce a cross-section, which is generally W-shaped as shown in Figure 3.
The long sides 30 of the W are sealed to each other by edge seals 32 (Figure
1) which extend from the upper to the lower end of the bag. The edge seals are

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4
interconnected by transverse seals 34 running along the lower end of the baa.
The lower corners are rounded as shown at 35 in order to minimise drippay~e of
liquid from the bag. The transverse seals run in parallel and are made between
the internal surfaces 36 of the central portion of the W and the opposed
surfaces of the long sides 30. The transverse seals do not seal the external
surfaces 3b of the central portion to one another. This sealing arrangement
provides the bag with an inwardly directed gusset at its lower end, which
increases the volume of the bag. This can be seen in Figure 2 which shows
that the bag is wider at its lower end than at the upper end where it is
joined to
the support members.
The upper, open. end of the bag is sandwiched between the support
members. The external surfaces of the bag at the open end are secured to the
opposed inwardly facing surfaces of the support members 14 in an arrangement
which, as best seen in Figure 4, leaves the bag open at the upper end. The
support members 14 are sealed to one another at their ends 16, 20 by
respective edge seals which extend parallel to the score-lines 24. As shown in
Figure ~, the width w of the edge seals is greater than the depth d of the
recesses 22.
The bag 12 contains an infusible material such as tea or coffee.
When the infusible material is coffee, it is preferable that the package is
supplied in a hermetically sealed sachet 40 as shown in Figure ~. The sachet
may be in the form of a standard pillow pack as illustrated. The infusion
package is packed in the sachet with the support members folded over so that
it
is disposed alongside the upper end of the bag 12. This has the advantages
that the size of sachet required is reduced and the open end of the bag is
effectively closed so that the coffee will not spill out in transit.
In use, the bag is removed from the sachet and the support members
are folded upwardly to bring the infusion package into the condition shown in
Figure 1. A compressive force is applied to the ends of the support member
causing the members to bow outwardly in the region of the score-lines 24. As

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J
shown in Figure ~l, the result is that the support members adopt a diamond
configuration allowing the projections 18 to seat on the rim of a drinking
vessel 15. In addition, the bowing of the support members opens the upper
end of the bag and provides an opening through which water can be poured
onto the coffee contained in the bag. It will be appreciated that the
compressibility of the support members provides the additional advantage that
the support can be manipulated to fit drinking vessels of varying diameters.
Manufacture of the support members will now be described with
reference to Figure 6. In a preferred arrangement, the supports are made from
support members taken from two webs ~0, 52.
The support members are produced by making transverse cuts ~4 in
the web at intervals corresponding to the desired length of the support
members. The transverse cuts extend from one side of the web to the other and
each defines the end 16 of one member and the end 20 of the following
member so that the projection 18 of one member is produced by the cut which
also produces the recess of the next member. It will be appreciated that this
arrangement allows the production of the support members without any
material wastage.
The webs ~0, ~? move in the same direction and the cuts ~4 are
arranged such that the projections produced in the web 50 point in the
direction
of movement of the web, whilst the projections produced in the web 52 point
in the direction opposite the direction of movement. To produce a support, a
support member a support member from the web ~0 is brought into opposed
relationship with a support member from the web 52. It will be appreciated
that
by having the projections of the two webs pointing in opposite directions, the
two support members can readily be brought into opposed relationship to
produce a support having its two projections pointing in opposite directions
without any complicated turning movements. It will also be appreciated that
although, the webs are shown moving in an edge-to-edge relationship which
would require rotation of at least one of the support members about its

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longitudinal axis, the webs could be cut whilst running in a face-to-face
relationship so that subsequent to the cutting process, all that would be
required
is to move the opposed faces of the web into contact with one another.
The support members from the two webs may be secured to one
another by heat sealing. Preferably, at least one side of the webs from which
the support members is made is coated with a heat sealable material so that
sealing process simply involves pressing the two members together and
applying heat to obtain a seal. Alternatively, a hot melt adhesive may be
painted onto one or both webs in a suitable pattern to produce the required
1(> arrangement of seals. A further alternative is to apply an adhesive such
as a
food compatible paste to one of the webs.
The cutting process may be partial so that the respective support
members of the two webs are finally separated from one another at an
assembly position downstream of the cutting position.
15 An alternative support for the infusion package and a method of
manufacture therefor will now be described with reference to Figure 7 and 8.
Referring to Figure 7, an alternative support 70 for the infusion
package, comprises integral support members 72. The support members have
projections 74 and recesses 76 corresponding to the projections and recesses
of
20 the support members 72 and are made from a single web 78 (Figure 8) of
plastics coated board folded about its longitudinal axis 80 so as to have a
generally U-shaped cross-section.
As shown in Figure 8 the support members 72 of the support 70 are
produced by making transverse cuts 82 in the web 78 at intervals
25 corresponding to the desired length of the support members. The transverse
cuts extend from one side of the web to the other and each defines the end of
one support 70 and the end of the following support so that the projections
produced at each end of the support are produced by the cuts which also
produce the recesses in the adjacent end of the neighbouring supports.
30 Subsequent to the cutting operation, the support members are brought into
an

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opposed relationship to define the U-section support by folding the web about
its axis 80. The support members can then be secured to one another by
sealing or gluing as described above.
It will be appreciated that the closed top of the support 70 prevents
spillage of the infusible material contained in the bag. The support may
formed with perforations 84 to permit the top to be removed to allow water to
be poured onto the infusible material. Alternatively, in a manufacturing
process
in which the support 70 is secured to the bag before the bag is filled with
the
infusible material, the perforations can be used to permit the top of the
support
to be removed to allow a dose of the infusible material to be dropped into the
bag through the support. It will be appreciated that in such a process, a zone
of
weakness provided by, for example score-lines as shown in Figure l, is
required to permit the support members to bow outwardly in response to
suitable manipulation or the application of a suitable force to produce a
suitable
opening through which the infusible material can pass.
(t will be understood that the support 70 can be pivoted relative to
the bag in the same way as the support of the infusion package 10.

Representative Drawing