PACKAGED FOOD PRODUCT

PRODUIT ALIMENTAIRE CONDITIONNE

English Abstract

The present invention relates to a packaged food product (1) comprising a soluble product (1), a package (2) with a cup (3) having cup inner walls (4) defining an internal volume of the cup, a cup bottom (5), a cup opening (6), characterized in that said cup (3) further comprises an opercule (7) that is at least partially detachably sealed to the surface of the inner walls (4) of the cup (3) by sealing means, so that a predetermined portion of the internal volume of the cup is closed, said product (1) being packed in said closed cup portion.

French Abstract

La présente invention concerne un produit alimentaire conditionné (1) comportant un produit soluble (1), un emballage (2) comprenant un gobelet (3) ayant des parois intérieures (4) de gobelet définissant un volume interne du gobelet, un fond (5) de gobelet, une ouverture (6) de gobelet, caractérisé en ce que ledit gobelet (3) comporte par ailleurs un opercule (7) qui est au moins partiellement fixé de manière détachable sur la surface des parois intérieures (4) du gobelet (3) par des moyens de fixation, de manière à fermer une partie prédéterminée du volume interne du gobelet, ledit produit (1) étant conditionné dans ladite partie fermée du gobelet.

Claims

CLAIMS
1. A packaged food product (1) comprising a soluble product (1), a
package (2) with a cup (3) having cup inner walls (4) defining an internal
volume of the
cup, a cup bottom (5), a cup opening (6), characterized in that said cup (3)
further
comprises an opercule (7) that is at least partially detachably sealed to the
surface of
the inner walls (4) of the cup (3) by sealing means, so that a predetermined
portion of
the internal volume of the cup is closed, said product (1) being packed in
said closed
cup portion.
2. A packaged food product (1) according to claim 1, wherein said sealing
means comprise a thermoplastic layer located at the bottom surface of the
opercule
and a layer of a sealingly or adhesively compatible thermoplastic material
located at
the surface of the inner wall of the main cup, both layers being
ultrasonically sealed at
the interface between said opercule and said wall.
3. A packaged food product (1) according to claim 1, wherein said sealing
means comprise a thermoplastic layer located at the bottom surface of the
opercule (7)
and a layer of a sealingly or adhesively compatible thermoplastic material
located at
the surface of the inner wall of the main cup, both layers being thermally
sealed at the
interface between said opercule and said wall.
4. A packaged food product (1) according to claims 2 or 3, wherein said
thermoplastic layers are made out of polyethylene.
5. A packaged food product (1) according to any of the preceding claims,
wherein said internal walls (4) of the cup (3) define a curved surface in the
radial
direction.
6. A packaged food product (1) according to any of the preceding claims,
wherein said at least partially detachable opercule (7) is a substantially
horizontal
aluminium foil, comprising an integral pulling tab that extends from the level
of said
opercule, up to the top edges of the cup.

6
7. A packaged food product (1) according to any of the preceding claims,
wherein said product (1) is an instant soluble coffee product.

Description

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PACKAGED FOOD PRODUCT
Fabien (NMN) MINFRAY
The present invention relates to a cup for beverages, and more particularly
to a so-called "opercule cup".
By "opercule cup" it is meant a container with a closed compartment
containing a food product, for example soluble coffee in the form of a powder.
More
precisely, opercule cups commonly known, typically comprise a cup made out of
carboard material or similar. An insert having the shape of a second cup and
containing
the food product is usually disposed inside the cup, and attached to the
bottom of the
latter. The insert can have anyshape or size, but its volume usually does not
exceed
one third of the internal volume of the cup. The insert - which can be made of
any type
of material but is generally made out of an injection molded thermoplastic
material like
polystyrene or polyethylene - has an opening which is closed by a removable
closure.
In the generally known executions of opercule cups, the insert is closed by a
peelable
removable foil made for instance out of aluminium. For practical reasons, the
foil
sometimes comprises an extension which defines a tab, said tab being
accessible from
the top edges of the cup. As is understood, the insert is located at the
bottom inner
portion of the cup with its opening turned towards the opening of the cup.
Using such opercule cups is fairly simple and very practical, avoiding
messiness. They are particularly used in public transport like for example in
air
transport catering. For using the cup, like for example a cup as above
described, the
consumer has to peel off the opercule foil, eventually using a pulling tab if
one is
provided. Once the foil has been disposed of, the contents of the cup insert,
eg. soluble

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coffee is accessible. The consumer then pours a fluid food composition, for
instance
hot water (but can be anything else like cold milk, soft ice cream, or a fluid
dairy
product), which is mixed with the contents of the insert. When the mixed food
product is
ready, for example hot coffee, the cup is used as a normal cup to taste the
product.
As can be seen, such opercule cups provide many advantages for
preparing instant fluid - liquid - food products, especially when few or no
cooking
material is available.
However, the opercule cups known so far are expensive to manufacture,
due to the insert that is produced separately, then assembled to the main cup,
filled,
and finally closed. All these different manufacturing operations, as well as
the different
materials that are used make opercule cups a packaging that is limited to
premium or
super-premium brand products.
Moreover, inserts are manufactures separately and generally in one -
standard - size, which corresponds to a given volume of product to package.
However,
in case the volume of product has to be changed, for example in case a strong
coffee
powder is packed instead of the standard coffee product, a given volume of the
insert is
useless. In such a situation, and in order to optimise the stacking of cups
relatively to
the volume of product that is packed, one has to produce inserts with
different sizes,
and make sure that each insert size is adapted to each different type of
product to
pack. This requires a large stock of different inserts as well as a specific
equipment to
appropriately chose the right insert size depending on the product to be
filled in the
cup. Such a manufacturing process is not flexible at all and is therefore
expensive.
Therefore, a need exists for an opercule cup that would keep the same
advantages as described herein before, especially offering a practical
solution for
preparing ready-to-drink food beverages when few or no cooking material is
provided,
while being structured so that the cost of the opercule cup remains as low as
possible.
The present invention addresses the need set out above with a packaged
food product comprising a soluble product, a package with a cup having cup
inner walls
defining an internal volume of the cup, a cup bottom, a cup opening,
characterized in
that said cup further comprises an opercule that is at least partially
detachably sealed
to the surface of the inner walls of the cup by sealing means, so that a
predetermined
portion of the internal volume of the cup is closed, said product being packed
in said
closed cup portion.
With the present invention, it is very easy to chose the precise location of
the opercule into the cup, so the the closed volume for packing the product is

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appropriately linked to the amount of product to be packed. For instance, if
the amount
of powdered coffee mix packed is 20 g, the opercule will be sealed at a higher
location
in the cup than if only 2 g of powdered coffee has to be packed. Therefore, no
useless
headspace is created in the closed portion of the cup, and stackability of the
cups is
optimised relatively to the cups contents.
In a first embodiment of the invention, the sealing means comprise a
thermoplastic layer located at the bottom surface of the opercule and a layer
of a
sealingly or adhesively compatible thermoplastic material located at the
surface of the
inner wall of the main cup, both layers being ultrasonically sealed at the
interface
between said opercule and said walls.
In a second embodiment of the invention, the sealing means comprise a
thermoplastic layer located at the bottom surface of the opercule and a layer
of a
sealingly or adhesively compatible thermoplastic material located at the
surface of the
inner wall of the main cup, both layers being thermally sealed at the
interface between
said opercule and said walls.
Preferably, the thermoplastic layers are made out of polyethylene.
In one embodiment of the invention, the said internal walls of the cup define
a curved surface in the radial direction.
Advantageously, the said at least partially detachable opercule can be a
substantially horizontal aluminium foil, comprising an integral pulling tab
that extends
from the level of said opercule, up to the top edges of the cup.
In one possible execution of the invention, the packaged product is an
instant soluble coffee product.
Additional features and advantages of the present invention are described
in, and will be apparent from, the description of the presently preferred
embodiments
which are set out below with reference to the drawing in which:
Figure 1 is an schematic profile view of a container assembly according to
the invention.
The present invention concerns a packaged food product comprising a
soluble product 1 disposed in a package 2.
The package 2 comprises a paper cup 3 having cup inner walls 4 defining
an internal volume of the cup, a cup bottom 5, a cup opening 6.

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According to the invention, the cup comprises an opercule 7 that is
detachably sealed to the surface of the inner walls 4 of the cup 3 by sealing
means, as
illustrated in figure 1. The opercule is sealed approximately at one third of
the height of
the cup internal volume as shown in the drawing, and the coffee powder 1 is
packed in
the so-defined closed cup portion.
The sealing means comprise a thermoplastic layer - not shown in the
drawing - located at the bottom surface of the opercule and a layer of a
sealingly or
adhesively compatible thermoplastic material, typically a polyethylene,
located at the
surface of the inner wall of the main cup, both layers being ultrasonically
sealed at the
interface 8 between said opercule 7 and said walls 4.
As can be seen in the figure 1, the said internal walls 4 of the cup define a
curved surface in the radial direction.
The detachable opercule 7 is a substantially horizontal aluminium foil,
comprising an integral pulling tab 9 that extends from the level of said
opercule 7, up to
the top edges 10 of the cup 3.
In the present example of the invention, the packaged product 1 is an
instant soluble coffee product.
The opercule 7 is applied to the inner walls 4 of the cup 3 by using a
punching mechanism - not shown - which deforms a flat foil into a cup-shaped
membrane, the punching tool being conical in shape so as to conform to the
contours
of the inner walls 4 of the cup, so that said punching tool can apply a
sealing pressure
onto the opercule to enable the sealing between said opercule and the surface
of the
inner walls 4, precisely at the interface 8.
It should be understood that various changes and modifications to the
presently preferred embodiments described herein will be apparent to those
skilled in
the art. Such changes and modifications can be made without departing from the
spirit
and scope of the present invention and without diminishing its attendant
advantages. It
is therefore intended that such changes and modifications be covered by the
appended
claims.

Representative Drawing