Patent Application
20110147442
This invention relates to packages for food products, and in particular to packages for cereal.
Cereal is most often packaged in a bag inside a rectangular paperboard folded carton or box with reclosable flaps on the top to provide access to the contents. An internal liner or bag is provided to protect the contents and preserve freshness. The carton, which protects that product from being crushed, is convenient to store on a shelf and provides substantial display surfaces for product information and advertising. However, these packages suffer from a number of inconveniences. First, it can be difficult to initially open the internal liner or bag. Second, once opened it is difficult to reclose the package. The internal liner or bag is simply “rolled up” and readily unrolls, and the flaps on the box top often come undone.
If the bag is not properly closed it may not be obvious. Thus, the product can become stale, and there is a risk of spillage if the package is knocked over or tilted. Third, it can be difficult to accurately pour the product from the container without spillage. The fact that children with developing motor skills are often involved with pouring cereal increases the chance that cereal will be spilled and liners not properly closed. In addition, the many competing brands on store shelves typically use cartons of the same shape; it is difficult to make any brand stand out from the rest given the similarity of carton shapes.
To address the inconvenience issues, several types of packages were designed to preserve freshness and reduce the risk of spillage. U.S. Pat. No. 7,097,092 to Marrale (2006) discloses a reclosable bag within a box with perforated corners that enable the corner of the box to be removed in order to access the bag. Permanently ripping off a portion of a cereal box to access the bag is cumbersome and is unlikely to gain favor from a consumer population that is not accustomed to damaging new food packages. Furthermore, like the traditional bag, it may not be obvious that the reclosable bag is not firmly closed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,318,626 to St. Pierre and Thiemann (2001) discloses a type of reclosable top that includes flaps of the outer carton attached to the inner liner. This container, however, requires three flaps to be opened to pour and closed to preserve freshness. The unique nature of the opening increases the likelihood that it will not be closed properly to preserve freshness. Furthermore, many consumers will not notice the nature of the package since its shape is not unique.
The pour spout described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,981,430 to Keim (1976) does not provide for a method of sealing off the carton liner, it simply seals the carton. Likewise, the U.S. patent application publication 2006/0054675 provided to Bennett (2006) provides for a pouring spout but not a method for sealing the liner, and the need for applying a certain amount of hand pressure to properly operate the spout makes it difficult for children to use.
Aspects of the invention are embodied in a packages and methods in which a plurality of walls connect a top portion and a bottom portion defining an interior space capable of holding dry goods. The top portion has an opening so that dry goods contained within the interior space can be dispensed. A lid is coupled to the opening by a hinged portion that forms a substantially airtight seal of the interior space when closed. The top portion is formed to provide space for the lid to be positioned on the opening to facilitate stacking of the food product package. The food product package preferably has a liner within the interior space. The liner said liner forming a seal with said lid.
Certain specific details are set forth in the following description and figures to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments of the inventions. Certain well-known details often associated with packaging are not described in the following disclosure for the sake of clarity. Furthermore, those of ordinary skill in the relevant art will understand that they can practice other embodiments of the disclosed subject matter without one or more of the details described below. While methods are described with reference to steps and sequences in the following disclosure, the description as such is for providing a clear implementation of embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, and the steps and sequences of steps should not be taken as required to practice the invention.
With the embodiment of package 10 illustrated in
Two embodiments of the shape of the flip top cap 28 and the cap base 30 are shown in
One embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the exploded view of the flip top cap 28 in
The cap flange 36 may be designed to attach to the liner 34 and chamfered panel 22 in any one of a number of ways. For instance, with reference to
The flip cap may be designed in any one of a number of ways. For instance, cap base 30 and flip top 28 are shown in
Carton 50 and liner 34 may be made of any suitable materials. For example, the carton may be made from a natural carton board provided with an embossed finish. This carton offers a unique look, feel and shape given the chamfered panel.
Many types of food products can be held in package 10. As indicated above, package 10 is very well suited for use with cereal products, but other products such as pretzel nuggets, nuts, candies, pasta and certain fruits and vegetables could be held and sold in containers embodying the present invention.
While it is apparent that the invention herein disclosed is well calculated to fulfill the objectives stated above, it will be appreciated that numerous modifications and embodiments may be devised by those skilled in the art, and it is intended that the appended claims cover all such modifications and embodiments as fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention.
