Patent Application
20130277392
This relates generally to containers for dispensing food, and more particularly, to a bag con figured to accept food at one end and dispense food at another end.
Often limes people on the go want to bring meals or snacks with them. They may also want to: eat the meals of snacks while on the go, such as while in the car, riding on a train, walking, running or biking. People can buy processed foods to consume available in packaged containers on such occasions. However, the processed foods are often time-undesirable because they arc unhealthy or not what the consumer wants to eat. Further, conventional containers are often times difficult to open or dispense food from while on the go, and bulky to carry around.
What is needed is a product and method for allowing a person to easily store food they have at home in a container and dispense the food in an easy, clean manner.
This relates to a food dispensing bag that can accept food through a first opening and dispense food out of a second opening. The first opening can be unsealed to permit food being loaded into the bag and subsequently sealed for storage of the food in the bag. During the loading of the food into the bag and storage of the food in the bag, the second opening can remain sealed. After the food is placed in the bag, the first opening can be sealed, thereby completely sealing the food in the bag. Once a user desires to dispense the food from the bag, the user can unseal the second opening and squeeze the bag to dispense the food out of the second opening.
In a first aspect, a bag for storing and dispensing a food product is provided. The bag comprises a flexible body forming an interior chamber; a first opening to the interior chamber at a first end of the flexible body; a first seal at the first opening, wherein the first opening is configured to permit a user to load a food product into the interior chamber of the bag through the first opening when the first opening is unsealed and prevent the food product from exiting through the first opening when the first seal is sealed; a second opening to the interior chamber at a second end of the flexible body; and a second seal at the second opening, wherein the second opening is configured to prevent the food product from exiting through the second opening when the second seal is sealed and permit a user to dispense the food product through the second opening when the second seal is unsealed.
In an embodiment of the first aspect or any other embodiment thereof, the bag comprises polyethylene plastic resin.
In an embodiment of the first aspect or any other embodiment thereof, the bag comprises aluminum foil.
In an embodiment of the first aspect or any other embodiment thereof, the first seal comprises a re-sealable fastener.
In an embodiment of the first aspect or any other embodiment thereof, the re-sealable fastener comprises glue that binds interior walls of the bag together when the fastener is pressed together. The re-sealable fastener can be a zip seal or a clip.
In an embodiment of the first aspect or any other embodiment thereof, the second seal comprises a one-time seal, wherein the one-time seal is sealed prior to use. The second seal can comprise a perforated region adjacent to a tear-off tab, or a pull-apart seal having first and second sections that are sealed together prior to use of the bag and are configured to unseal the second opening when a user pulls the first and second portions apart.
In an embodiment of the first aspect or any other embodiment thereof, the second seal comprises a nozzle. The nozzle can be a twist nozzle configured to open the second opening when the twist nozzle is in a first configuration and close the second opening when the twist nozzle is in a second configuration, wherein the twist nozzle is configured to switch between the first configuration and the second configuration by rotation of the nozzle.
In an embodiment of the first aspect or any other embodiment thereof, the bag has a pear-like shape.
In an embodiment of the first aspect or any other embodiment thereof, the bag has a funnel-like shape.
In an embodiment of the first aspect or any other embodiment thereof, the bag has a generally rectangular shape.
In an embodiment of the first aspect or any other embodiment thereof, the bag has a neck region extending from a corner of the bag, the second end located at an end of the neck region.
In the following description of preferred embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which it is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention can be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments can be used and structural changes can be made without departing from the scope of the embodiments of this invention.
This relates to a food dispensing bag that can accept food through a first opening and dispense food out of a second opening. The first opening can be unsealed to permit food being loaded into the bag and subsequently sealed for storage of the food in the bag. During the loading of the food into the bag and storage of the food in the bag, the second opening can remain sealed. Once a user desires to dispense the food from the bag, the user can unseal the second opening and squeeze the bag to dispense the food out of the second opening.
In exemplary uses, the food loaded, stored and dispensed from the bag can be any type of food in a liquid or semi-liquid form, however, the food need not be liquid or semi liquid so long as it is capable of being dispensed from a dispensing opening of the bag. Exemplary foods that can be used include cooked oatmeal, pasta, rice, beans, yogurt, fruit smoothies, berries, soups and the like.
The following is a non-limiting illustration of using of some embodiments in an exemplary environment. A user can prepare a food at home (e.g., oatmeal), load the food into the dispensing bag, seal the dispensing bag and carry the dispensing bag to work, school, or some other outside of the home activity. When the user is ready to consume the food stored in the bag, the user can open the dispensing bag and squeeze the food out of the bag. The user can dispense the food stored in the dispensing bag by placing the second opening in or near the user's mouth and squeezing the bag to cause the food to exit the bag through the second opening and into the user's mouth.
Although embodiments of the invention may be described and illustrated herein in terms of a food dispensing bag, it should be understood that embodiments of this invention are not so limited, but are additionally applicable to other types of containers.
Embodiments of a dispensing bag in accordance with embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to
The bag 100 can have a generally pear-like shape as illustrated in
The first opening 102 can originally be unsealed to allow a user to load food into bag 100 and thereafter sealed. The first opening 102 can then be sealed using a one time or multi-use fastener 106 that permanently or semi-permanently seals the opening 102 so the opening 102 does not leak food stored therein.
In one embodiment, the fastener 106 includes pre-glued portions on interior portions of the bag to permit a user to press the interior portions of the bag 100 together, where the pre-glued portions reside, to cause the first opening 102 to seal.
In one embodiment, fastener 106 includes a flap that includes glue on an interior of the flap. The flap can be folded over the first opening and adhered to an exterior portion of the bag using the glue, resulting in a non-leak seal of the first opening 102.
In one embodiment, the fastener includes a plastic zipper seal, such as the zipper seal commercially available by S.C. Johnson and marketed under the trade name Ziploc®.
In one embodiment, the first opening 102 can be heat sealed using a commercially available heat sealing device.
Further to
The second opening 404 can include a pull-apart opening. The pull-apart opening can be made by heat sealing interior portions of opening 404 together.
Although embodiments of this invention have been fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be noted that various changes and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art. Indeed, it is understood that any of the features described with respect to one of the embodiments can be used in one of the other described embodiments. For example, the zip seals, tear-off seals, clip seals described in one of the embodiments can be used with one of the other embodiments. Such changes and modifications are to be understood as being included within the scope of embodiments of this invention as defined by the appended claims.
