EP0117673B1

EP0117673B1 - A food package with reclosable snap lock

Info

Publication number: EP0117673B1
Application number: EP84300865A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Robert Louis Goller
Original assignee: Oscar Mayer Foods Corp
Current assignee: Oscar Mayer Foods Corp
Priority date: 1983-02-14
Filing date: 1984-02-10
Publication date: 1988-05-11
Also published as: JPS59209563A; EP0117673A3; CA1248050A; ATE34147T1; DE3471074D1; ES285934Y; ES285934U; EP0117673A2

Abstract

This invention pertains to a food package having a base and a transparent cover cooperating with the base to form a cavity. Separating the base from the cover provides an opening for inserting and removing foodstuff from the cavity. A sealing means is provided for hermetically sealing the cavity and a reclosable means encompassing the hermetical sealing is provided for snap locking at least 35% of the opening between the base and the transparent cover.

Description

Field of the invention

This invention pertains to a food package having a base and a transparent cover. The food package has a sealing means for hermetically sealing the base to the transparent cover and a reclosable means encompassing the sealing means for snap locking at least 35% of the opening between the base and the transparent cover.

Prior art

Food packages are employed for packing a variety of foodstuffs such as cheese, meat and the like. The food package in order to be desirable must serve a multitude of functions. One function is to have a transparent package so that the foodstuff is readily apparent and visible to the consumer who can select the most desirable and pleasing foodstuff to him. The package must also protect the foodstuff contained therein. This protection encompasses a suitably durable package to withstand the minor jostling of food products as they are distributed and the food package must be hermetically sealed so that contamination of the food product is decreased and air and water are prevented from contacting the foodstuff while it is stored thus preserving the foodstuff.
It is also desirable once the food package has been opened by breaking the hermetic seal that the package has the capability of being reclosed in the event the consumer desires to only use a portion of the foodstuff contained therein and desires to store the remaining foodstuff. US 3,904,074 discloses a container for wet wipers comprising a base member defining a cavity, a cover member cooperating with the base member so that separating the base member from the cover member provides an opening for installing and removing wet wipers from the cavity, sealing means for sealing the cavity and reclosable means for encompassing the sealing means and snap locking the periphery of said opening, said reclosable means comprising cooperating walls extending downwardly from the periphery of the cover member and the mouth of the base member respectively, said sealing means being a moisture-impervious sheet of, for example, aluminum foil, plastic materials, or laminates of paper, aluminum and plastic materials.

Summary of the invention

According to the present invention there is provided a food package comprising a food package comprising a base member having a cavity for holding foodstuff; a transparent cover member cooperating with the base member to form a cavity closure so that separating the base member from the cover member provides an opening for installing and removing foodstuff from the cavity; sealing means for sealing the cavity and reclosable means for encompassing the sealing means and snap locking at least 35% of the periphery of said opening, said reclosable means comprising cooperating walls extending downwardly from the periphery of said cover member and the mouth of said base member respectively, the mutually adjacent surfaces of said walls being slanted inwardly at a common angle of 86° with respect to the plane of the cover member, said sealing means comprising a thin polymeric film hermetically sealed to the mouth of the base member, the hermetic seal being visible through said transparent cover member.
Preferably the polymeric film is sealed to a pedestal which surrounds the mouth of the base member and is itself surrounded by said walls.

Brief descriptions of the drawings

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a food package according to the present invention,
Figure 2 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a food package according to the present invention,
Figure 3 is a perspective view of a known food package,
Figure 4 is a part sectional view of reclosable means illustrating cover engagable means,
Figure 5 is a perspective view of a base for a food package according to the present invention,
Figure 6 is a top view of the food package of Figure 5, and
Figure 7 is a side view of a food package according to the present invention.

Detailed description of the invention

Referring to Figures 1-3 a food package 10 is shown. Food package 10 comprises a base 12 and a transparent cover 14. Base 12 is comprised of a semi-rigid material and may be transparent, semi-transparent or opaque. Base 12 contains a. cavity 16. Separating base 12 from cover 14 provides an opening 18 for inserting and removing foodstuff from cavity 16. Base 12 and transparent cover 14 may be formed in any known manner from semi-rigid material such as plastics. Examples of suitable plastics materials for the cover 14 are a polyvinychloride, cellulose acetate, nylon, polycarbonate, polyester, acrylonitrile copolymers, coextruded plastics, etc. The base 12 can also be formed from these plastics materials as well as high impact polystyrene, high impact polypropylene, or high impact polyethylene. The base 12 may alternatively be formed of aluminum. These plastics materials may be coated with saran or other coating if desired. Copolymers of these various plastics may be used in order to obtain desired properties. The semi-rigid plastics are formed prior to receiving product. The foodstuff packaged in cavity 16 may be small pieces or bits of foodstuff such as bacon bits which suitably would be enclosed in the package or may be slices or chunks of cheese or other meat foodstuff. Base 12 may contain a header 20 which may be employed for imprinting of messages, trade names, distinctive colors and the like. Header 20 may also contain a hanging means such as hole 22.
A sealing means for hermetically sealing foodstuff within the package is employed. As shown in Figure 1, a thin transparent polymeric material film 24 is hermetically sealed to base 12 at pedestal rim 26. The sealing is by conventional means such as adhesives, heat, or radio frequency generation of heat. In another embodiment shown in Figure 2 transparent film 24 is hermetically sealed to a top surface 28 of base without employing a pedestal. A known food package is shown in Figure 3 where the cover 14 is hermetically sealed directly to base 12 at pedestal 26 without using a thin transparent film. In all of the sealing means used with a food package according to the present invention the hermetical seal is readily seen and a broken seal is easily determined. While a broken seal is easily detected the seal can easily be removed by peeling the thin transparent film or lifting the cover as the case may be. Once the cover is lifted and the seal broken the contents are easily removed without contacting residual adhesive if used.
Figure 5 illustrates the food package of Figure 1 in the closed position. Figure 6 is a top view of the closed food package shown in Figure 5 and Figure 7 is a side view of the closed food package also shown in Figure 5.
According to this invention a reclosable means for snap locking at least 35% and preferably 45% of opening between base 12 and cover 14 is employed. The reclosable means encompasses the sealing means. Referring to Figure 4-the reclosable means further comprises a cover engaging means 40 and a base engaging means 42. Cover engaging means 40 and base engaging means 42 are constructed so that the two fit in locking relationship to one another when. base 12 is closed by cover 14. Furthermore, as cover 14 is separated from base 12 to open the package the engaging means are constructed so that one will expand the other as the cover separated providing an unlocking effect of the engaging means permitting the opening of the cover. The cover, as it closes, also causes the engaging means to separate thus allowing the engaging means to re-engage and relock. An embodiment of this is shown in Figure 4 where each engaging means has a slanted wall 46. Suitably the slanted wall is slanted at an angle of about 86°. In addition, at least one of the slanted walls has a slant surface 48 to engage the other slanted wall upon closing and thus causes the expansion of the engaging means permitting locking and unlocking. Preferably slant surface 48 is part of the base engaging means. At least 35% and preferably 45% of the opening 18 between cover 14 and 12 must contain a reclosable means. Suitably at least one engaging means completely encompasses the opening and the other one either completely or partially encompasses the opening. If one engaging means only partially encompasses the opening, preferably it is divided into at least 3 and preferably 9 sections. This provides uniform distribution of a reclosable means.
The package illustrated in the figures is of rectangular shape but other package shapes are contemplated within the scope of this invention such as round oval, square and fanciful package shapes.

Claims

1. A food package comprising a base member (12) having a cavity (16) for holding foodstuff; a transparent cover member (14) cooperating with the base member to form a cavity closure so that separating the base member from the cover member provides an opening (18) for installing and removing foodstuff from the cavity; sealing means (24) for sealing the cavity (16) and reclosable means (40, 42) for encompassing the sealing means and snap locking at least 35% of the periphery of said opening, said reclosable means comprising cooperating walls (46) extending downwardly from the periphery of said cover member and the mouth of said base member respectively, the mutually adjacent surfaces (48) of said walls being slanted inwardly at a common angle of 86° with respect to the plane of the cover member, said sealing means comprising a thin polymeric film (24) hermetically sealed to the mouth of the base member, the hermetic seal being visible through said transparent cover member.

2. A food package according to claim 1, wherein the polymeric film (24) is heat sealed or adhesively sealed to the base member (12) at the mouth thereof.

3. A food package according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the polymeric film (24) is sealed to a pedestal (26) which surrounds the mouth of said base member (12) and is itself surrounded by said walls (46).

4. A food package according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the reclosable means (40, 42) snap locks at least 45% of said periphery.

5. A food package according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the base member (12) is composed of aluminum, polyvinylchloride, cellulose acetate, nylon, polycarbonate, high impact polystyrene, high impact polypropylene, high impact polyethylene, polyester, acrylonitrile copolymers or coextruded plastics, and wherein the cover member (14) is composed of polyvinylchloride, cellulose acetate, nylon polycarbonate, polyester, acrylonitrile copolymers or coextruded plastics.

6. A food package according to claim 5, wherein the base member (12) and/or cover member (14) is composed of plastics material coated with saran.

7. A food package according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the base member (12) further comprises a header (20).

8. A food package according to claim 7, wherein the header (20) includes a hole (22) for hanging the food package.