Patent Application
20150203271
The present invention generally relates to containers for storing and displaying foods and other products that bear liquids that are likely to be exuded from the products. More specifically, the container includes a tray with an absorbent material in the bottom of the tray, produce in the tray, and a peelable film that extends over the upper rim of the tray for closing the produce in the tray.
Excess moisture within food storage containers can cause premature spoilage of food products which are stored in the container because the moisture provides a favorable environment for the growth and reproduction of microorganisms. Excess moisture in a food storage container also can lead to leakage of fluids from the storage container which can cause contamination of other foods and items about the container.
Attempts at controlling excess moisture in food storage containers, such as trays (rigid and flexible) and bags, have met with some success. These prior art devices include: (1) pre-formed trays or bags configured for the insertion of absorbent material such as absorbent pads or absorbent sheets with the food products resting on the absorbent material; (2) trays with built-in reservoirs arranged to trap excess moisture exuded from the products, with some of the trays including a porous cover over the reservoirs that allows fluids to drain from the product through the cover into the reservoir but which retards the fluids from reemerging past the cover following shaking or movement of the tray; and (3) trays or packs made from multiple layers of material with one layer being liquid impervious, and a second layer being liquid pervious to allow fluids to enter, and an absorbent media sandwiched between the two layers to absorb and retain the entering fluids.
Many of the food storage containers described above are sized to contain produce for at least two servings, primarily because of the demand for this size, but also because of the cost of marketing smaller sized products. But there is an increasing demand for smaller portions of foods from the food markets, particularly for products that exude liquids, such as fruits that are cut to remove the peeling or other exterior surface and to expose the interior of the food, so that the purchaser can inspect the product before purchasing the product, and so the purchaser does not have to remove the peeling, etc. from the edible portions of the food product.
Also, there is an increasing demand for “snack” foods in smaller servings in transparent containers so that the food is visually exposed and displayed and the person that is to eat the food can inspect the food before eating. In many situations the person will eat the food directly from the container, so the retention of the liquid exuded from the food in the container becomes even more important, to avoid spilling the liquid. Also, with the recent focus on obesity there is a need for single servings of fruit and vegetable.
Therefore, there exists a need for devices and methods that address these and other shortcomings of the prior art.
Briefly described the present invention concerns a container for liquid exuding produce that includes a tray with a bottom panel for resting on a horizontal surface and a raised perimeter rim oriented parallel to the bottom panel and surrounding the bottom panel, a side wall extending upwardly from the raised perimeter rim, a plurality of parallel grooves extending continuously down through the side wall and the raised perimeter rim and in communication with the bottom panel, with the grooves facing inwardly of the tray and forming drains for liquids in tray to pass the liquids from the side wall to the bottom panel of said tray.
An absorbent material may be positioned on the bottom panel of the tray for absorbing liquids moved downwardly by gravity through the grooves to the bottom panel.
The absorbent material may be a pad with opposed surfaces, with one surface of the pad being absorbent material facing the bottom panel and an opposed upper surface being a liquid impervious surface facing away from the bottom panel, with the pad forming a false bottom over the bottom panel.
The container may include liquid exuding produce in the tray that rests on the absorbent material, and a peel able impervious lidding film may be mounted to the rim of the tray to close the tray about the produce.
The produce may be, for example, sliced fruits or vegetables or other products that exude liquid, and the tray and/or the sheet may be transparent to display the produce and the liquid collected in the absorbent material in the tray.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference numbers designate like parts throughout the several views,
As shown in
The side wall structure 19 of the four sides of the tray each includes a raised perimeter rim 21 that is joined by step 23 to bottom panel 20 and the raised perimeter rim is displaced upwardly from the level of the bottom panel and is, in this embodiment, parallel to the bottom panel. A sloped perimeter wall 22 is joined to the outer edge of the raised perimeter rim 21 and larger sloped side wall 24 extends upwardly from the upper edge of the sloped perimeter wall 22 and joins the upper rim 25. Upper rim 25 extends horizontally about the tray and is flat for engagement by the peelable film 16.
A plurality of groups of parallel grooves 27 are formed in the side wall structures 19 of the tray 12, extending upwardly through step 23, raised perimeter rim 21, sloped perimeter wall 22, sloped side wall 24, and intersecting upper rim 25. The groups of parallel grooves are illustrated individually as being three grooves 27A, 27B and 27C. The concave surfaces of the grooves 27A-27C face inwardly of the side wall structure and the convex exterior surfaces of the grooves protrude outwardly and form a plurality of groups 28 of parallel ribs 28A, 28B and 28C. The exterior ribs 28 form a strong side wall structure of the container, while the interior grooves 27 form drains for liquids moving under the influence of gravity down into the confines of the tray, toward the bottom panel 20. The bottom panel and the step 23 form a liquid collection space 34. The grooves open through step 23 onto the upwardly facing surface of the bottom panel 20. This forms open drains all the way from the upper rim 25 to the bottom panel 20, where the liquid tends to accumulate in the liquid collection space 34.
As shown in
The impervious upper sheet 30 of liquid absorbent pad 18 is positioned to face upwardly into the upper confines of the container 10 and the food products 14 and 15 that might exude liquid will rest directly on the impervious upper sheet. The impervious upper sheet 30 of the absorbent pad 18 may be formed of PET/polyester with PE layer and shields the food products from contacting the absorbent material in the pad. The porous bottom sheet 31 may be formed of PP/PE fabric and rests on the recessed bottom panel 20 of the tray in the liquid collection space 34.
Other materials may be used for forming the absorbent pad.
Liquids that leak from the food products positioned in the tray tend to move downwardly under the influence of gravity toward absorbent pad 18 and the collection space 34 formed by the bottom panel 20 and the step 23.
In general, most of the liquid exuded from the food products 14 and 15 tends to reach the plurality of groups of parallel grooves 27 that face inwardly of the tray 12, providing channels that communicate around the liquid impervious upper sheet 30, leading the liquid to the liquid collection space 34 where the liquid is permitted to pass through the porous bottom sheet of the liquid absorbent pad 18, reaching the absorbent material 32 in the liquid absorbent pad 18. The absorbent material tends to hold the liquid in position at the bottom panel 20.
The liquid absorbent pad 18 is affixed at its corners to the corners of the raised perimeter rim 21 as shown in
The food products can be formed in one relatively large piece that fits snugly in the tray 12. However, as shown in
The foregoing described container 10 may be in various sizes, but particularly in small sizes such as 3-½ inches across the top of the upper rim 25 and one or two inches deep. The shape of the container may be varied, to be higher, rectangular, or even in circular or oval shapes. Experience shows that the square shaped containers are desirable because of the ability to be efficiently arranged in a refrigerated display case, and also the small size of the containers assures that the weight of the containers stacked next above will not likely crush the food products 14 and 15 in the containers below, and will not tend to overly stretch the peel able film 16. Also, if the foods in the container are the smaller “snack” foods, it is practical to make the container as a “mini container” that holds smaller helpings of the foods for snacks eaten directly from the tray.
The liquid absorbent pad is shaped and dimensioned to be compatible with the shape of the bottom panel 20 so that it tends to “sit” into the space of the bottom panel. The heat sealed hem 35 of the liquid absorbent pad that does not contain the absorbent material is thinner than the central portion of the absorbent pad and tends to overlie the raised perimeter rim that surrounds the bottom panel. This tends to cause the liquid absorbent pad to form a false bottom in the tray that may be bypassed by the liquid headed toward the cavity of the bottom panel where the liquid will be absorbed through the porous bottom sheet 31 into the absorbent material 32. While the absorbent pad is illustrated as being connected only through the hem 25 at the four bottom corners of the tray, other locations of the connector may be used if desirable.
As shown in
Although preferred embodiments of the invention have been disclosed in detail herein, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that variations and modifications of the disclosed embodiments can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.
