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| United States Patent | 3,734,276 |
| Bank | May 22, 1973 |
PACKAGE FOR PROVIDING A PACKAGED PRODUCT
Abstract
A package for retailing comestible products comprises a conventional wide-mouth container having a beaded rim fitted and sealed with a loose sheet of heat shrink film. This permits a shopper to feel the consistency of the product in the container before purchase while retaining sanitary conditions. Furthermore, the film can be made air tight if desired and will materially increase the shelf life of perishable products such as cottage cheese. A lid may also be applied to the rim over the film as a further protection against damage to the film from handling and to form with the film a pocket for holding promotional items such as surprises, favors, advertising material, etc. The looseness in the film is achieved by placing a holding form on the film against the rim and along part of the inner wall of the container while the film is being subjected to heat shrink temperatures at the external rim adjacent portion thereof. The film substantially conforms to the internal surface of the lid and forms a gasket between the lid and the container.
| Inventors: | Bank; Herbert M. (Owings Mills, MD) |
| Appl. No.: | 05/089,298 |
| Filed: | November 13, 1970 |
| Current U.S. Class: | 206/232 ; 206/497; 206/525; 206/831; 426/124; 426/128; 426/383 |
| Current International Class: | B65D 43/02 (20060101); B65D 51/18 (20060101); B65D 51/20 (20060101); B65D 77/24 (20060101); B65d 065/18 (); B65d 041/24 (); B65d 041/18 () |
| Field of Search: | 206/46F,DIG.29,45.31,45.33,DIG.22,47R 40/313 220/60,23 229/43,4.5 |
| 3367665 | February 1968 | Gorman |
| 3615707 | October 1971 | Filz |
| 3301464 | January 1967 | Amberg |
| 3085375 | April 1963 | Harrison |
| 3467244 | September 1969 | Mahaffy et al. |
| 1844189 | February 1932 | Stuart |
| 3464832 | September 1969 | Mullinix |
| 3402874 | September 1968 | Sternau |
| 2673806 | March 1954 | Colman |
| 3048316 | August 1962 | Roos et al. |
| 304,099 | Dec., 1932 | IT | |||
| 1,003,169 | Sep., 1965 | GB | |||
What is claimed:
1. A package for comestible products comprising a container having an open mouth defined by a rim, a sheet of transparent plastic film selectively heat shrunk on said rim above the product to form a seal, the portion of the film within the rim being loose and in contact with said product, and a lid covering said sheet of film and frictionally engaged with said film adjacent said rim, whereby said lid may be removed independently of said film without breaking said seal and said comestible products may be viewed and felt through said film.
2. A package as defined in claim 1 in which the rim is beaded.
3. A package as defined in claim 1 in which the film contains advertising indicia.
4. A package as defined by claim 1 and a promotional object in the container between the sheet and the lid.
5. A package as defined by claim 1 said film conforming to the internal surface configuration of said lid, and being in mutual engagement with said lid and that portion of said container engaged by said lid to provide a gasket therebetween.
This invention relates to packaging and it is more particularly concerned with a new container for retailing comestible products such as cottage cheese, cream cheese, oleomargarine, ice cream and the like.
An object of the invention is the provision of a package which insures a sanitary condition of its contents under handling conditions by shoppers in retail stores.
Another object of the invention is the provision of a package which protects the product in the container from contact with shoppers, and yet permits shoppers to view and feel the consistency of the product.
A further object of the invention is the provision of a package of the type mentioned which provides enlarged advertising surfaces.
A still further object of the invention is the provision of a package which includes a pocket for promotional items without interfering in any way with the display or sanitary condition of the product in the package.
A still further object of the invention is the provision of a package for retailing comestible products which will materially increase the shelf life of the packaged products.
A still further object of the invention is the provision of a method of providing a package having the advantages set forth above.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new and novel seal for the mouth of a conventional wide mouth container comprising an inner film sealed to the container bead and conforming to the inside of the conventional container top, thereby providing a gasket between the top and the container.
These and still further objects, advantages and features of the invention will be apparent from the following description considered together with the accompanying drawing. In the drawing:
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an ordinary container of the tub type containing a product to be packaged.
FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing the disposition of a sheet of shrink film at the top of the container in accordance with a step in the method of providing the final package.
FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing the disposition of a holding form against the shrink film and the top of the container.
FIG. 4 is a view of the combination of FIG. 3 disposed in a heat oven to shrink the film.
FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 with the container removed from the oven and disconnected from the mold.
FIG. 6 is a view of the final product, including a conventional lid in addition to the shrink film.
FIG. 7 is a view of the final product of FIG. 6 with a premium or article placed between the top and the conforming shrink film.
FIG. 8 is a top plan view of FIG. 5.
Referring to the drawing with more particularity the illustrated embodiment of the finished product of the present invention, comprises a conventional tub-like container 10 in which has been placed a product 12, such as cottage cheese, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. A sheet of shrink film 14 is loosely placed over the rim 16 of the container, as shown in FIG. 2, and shrunk in place as shown in FIG. 5. A conventional rigid plastic lid 18 is then attached to the rim of the container as shown in FIG. 6. By the relative elasticity of the shrink film 14, a space 20 can be effected between the shrink film and the lid as a pocket for holding various articles, such as promotional items 22, including surprises, favors, advertising literature, etc., by inserting such articles into the container 10 after the film 14 is secured and prior to the placing of the plastic lid 18 onto the container 10, as illustrated in FIG. 7.
To provide the looseness necessary in the shrink film 14, a sheet of the film 14 is placed over the container as shown in FIG. 2 and a holding form 24 is applied to the shrink film, as shown in FIG. 3, which is patterned to fit against the rim of the container 10 and generally conform to the interior walls thereof down to the point at which a conventional seating ledge 26 is formed in the wall of the container 10. The container with the form 24 thus in place is then put in an oven 28 and heat is applied to shrink the outer edges 30 of the film 14 about the lip or bead 16 of the container as shown in FIG. 5. The lid 18 may then be applied to the rim of the container to complete the package as shown in FIG. 6.
By these means on display in a retail store the lid 18 may be removed and the shopper may actually touch the film in contact with the material 12 in the container 10 to feel its consistency without in any way disturbing the sanitary conditions of the product. Moreover, the surface of the shrink film 14 may contain an imprint 32 of advertising matter, as shown in FIG. 8, in addition to advertising matter which may appear on the surface of the lid 18 or on the outer surface of the container 10.
In this way, complete sanitary conditions are maintained without limiting the shopper to less than a complete inspection of the contents of the container. This is possible from the fact that the shrink film 14 is sealed to the rim 16 of the container 10 in such a manner that enough film surface is provided to cause the film 14 to conform to the shape of the inner surface of the plastic lid 18 as well as the internal walls of the container 10 down to the seating shoulder 26 therein. The container 10 and lid 18 may be fabricated from paper, plastic or other desired materials.
When an air tight seal is effected between shrink film 14 and the rim 16 of the container 10, the shelf life of the product 12 is materially increased.
Therefore, the film 14 further acts as a gasket between the lid 18 and container 10, effecting a double sealing of the container 10.
In providing for those packaged products with a substantial gaseous content, the shrink film 14 is selectively provided with pinhole vents 34 in that portion of the film 14 which is adjacent to the sidewalls of the container 10, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 8.
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