CA2039578A1 - Double lug recloseable food packages - Google Patents

Abstract

DOUBLE LUG RECLOSABLE FOOD PACKAGES Abstract of the Disclosure This invention pertains to a reclosable package having a body member, a base member having a pedestal, a hermetic seal between the body member and the base member and snap locking structures in the respective sidewalls of the body member and base member. Opposing pairs of snap locking indents/detents are provided on a sidewall of the base pedestal and on an opposing sidewall of a moat-like portion of a tongue-and-groove structure provided in peripheral portions of the body member and base member.

Description

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.

Claims (6)

1. A food package comprising:
(a) a base member having an upstanding pedestal including a pedestal panel portion and a pedestal sidewall, said base member including a slot portion peripheral of and substantially adjacent to at least a portion of said pedestal sidewall, said base member further including a generally upstanding ring portion substantially adjacent to said slot portion of said base member, whereby said slot portion is generally between said pedestal sidewall and said ring portion;
(b) a body member having an upstanding bubble including a bubble panel portion and a bubble sidewall, said body member including a generally upstanding ring portion and a slot portion so as to provide the body member with structures complementary in shape and size and matingly engageable with said respective slot portion and generally upstanding ring portion of the base member, whereby a general tongue-and-groove assembly structure is provided by said ring portion and slot portion of said base member and body member are in generally telescoping engagement with each other;
(c) sealing means for attaching said base member to said body member with a peelable seal that is hermetic, suitable for vacuum packaging and openable with digital pull-apart forces, said sealing means being within said tongue-and-groove assembly; and (d) means for reclosing the food package by engaging a portion of said base member with a portion of said body member, said reclosing means including opposing pairs of interfering projections, one said pair of interfering projections being in said pedestal sidewall and said bubble sidewall, and an opposing said pair of interfering projections being in base member and body member sidewalls within the tongue-and-groove assembly structure.

2. The food package according to claim 1, wherein said opposing pairs of interfering projections are substantially directly opposite to each other at a height within a moat area of the tongue-and-groove assembly structure.

3. The food package according to claim 1, wherein said interfering projections of the body member are under compression and wherein said interfering projections of the base member are under tension when the base member and body member are assembled together.

4. The food package according to claim 1, wherein said interfering projection pairs are a complementarily shaped indent and a raised detent.

5. The food package according to claim 1, wherein said generally upstanding ring portion of the base member has an upstanding edge which is generally rounded.

6. The food package according to claim 1, wherein said pedestal sidewall is tapered in a direction from said slot portion of the base member to said pedestal panel portion.