Patent Application
20090260690
The present invention relates generally to packaged bottled beverages, and, more particularly, to such packaged bottled beverages having closures which contain compartments therein with additives for release into the bottles upon latter opening of the bottles by consumers and methods and apparatuses for same.
Consumers have become increasingly particular with respect to the freshness of food and beverage products. As a result, food and beverage manufacturers have developed packaging which provides such freshness by allowing consumers to mix additional ingredients immediately prior to consumption. For example, yogurt containers are provided with lids having sealed compartments for storing additives such as granola, dried fruit, sugared confections and the like. The consumer opens the sealed compartment and mixes the additives with the yogurt immediately prior to consuming.
Beverage manufacturers are desirous of providing the same experience for consumers with respect to incorporating additives, such as flavors, vitamins, natural ingredients and the like, to base components of beverages immediately prior to consumption. Numerous closures for packaged bottled beverages have been developed which contain a compartment for storing additives. These ingredient release closures have various mechanisms to release the additives. For example, some ingredient release closures contain a frangible seal which may be broken, such as by puncturing, cutting or tearing, to release the ingredient. The frangible seal is typically designed to be broken before the closure is detached from the container, thus allowing the additive stored within the ingredient release closure to combine with the base component of the beverage with minimal spillage of the additive onto a nearby surface or the consumer. Other ingredient release closures utilize plunger type mechanisms which seal an opening between the body of the container and the compartment containing the additive. Upon moving the plunger, the additive is released into the base component of the beverage.
Regardless of the mechanism for releasing the additive into the container, the additive must be sufficiently and quickly eliminated from the ingredient release closure to insure a quality product for the consumer. Sufficient elimination depends in part on construction of the ingredient release closure. The ingredient release closure should be designed to have minimum obstructions between the opening of the compartment and the body of the container, allowing for open flow of the additive from the ingredient release closure into the container. The viscosity of the additive also plays a role in elimination because of its effect on the flow of the additive. Higher viscosity additives, such as those with a syrupy consistency, may have a slower flow rate as compared to lower viscosity additives, such as those with a watery consistency. Problems in managing the flow rate are complicated if the ingredient release closure has an obstructive configuration.
Thus, there exists a need in the art to develop a solution for improving the flow rate of additives such that, when released from an ingredient release closure, such additives may be sufficiently and quickly eliminated so as to immediately mix with the base components in containers.
Briefly described, in a preferred embodiment, the present invention overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages and meets the recognized need by providing a packaged bottled beverage with superior additive delivery having a base component of the beverage in a container under vacuum and separate from an additive in a sealed compartment of an ingredient release closure. Upon opening of the sealed compartment, suction is created forcing the additive to quickly and thoroughly exit the ingredient release closure, a region of higher pressure, and flow into the base component in the container, a region of lower pressure.
Accordingly, one feature and advantage of the present invention is its ability to provide a method of improving the delivery of an additive contained within a sealed compartment of an ingredient release closure into a base component of a beverage contained within a vessel of a container by applying compression to the outer surface of the vessel during the capping process to create a vacuum in the container.
Another feature and advantage of the present invention is its ability to provide a container closing apparatus in a filling plant that efficiently applies compression to a container during capping, thus creating vacuum within the sealed container.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art after reading the following Detailed Description and Claims in light of the accompanying drawing Figures.
Accordingly, the present invention will be understood best through consideration of, and with reference to, the following drawing Figures, viewed in conjunction with the Detailed Description referring thereto, in which like reference numbers throughout the various Figures designate like structure, and in which:
It is to be noted that the drawings presented are intended solely for the purpose of illustration and that they are, therefore, neither desired nor intended to limit the invention to any or all of the exact details of construction shown, except insofar as they may be deemed essential to the claimed invention.
In describing preferred embodiments of the present invention illustrated in
The present invention addresses the performance of packaged bottled beverages that have the additional feature of ingredient release closures containing additives providing consumers with freshly mixed beverages immediately prior to consumption. To insure quality performance of such packaged bottled beverages, the delivery outcome should result in sufficient and quick elimination of the additive from ingredient release closures. Regardless of the structure of ingredient release closures, this outcome may be achieved by providing in one preferred embodiment of the invention a packaged bottled beverage comprising: (a) a beverage comprising a base component and an additive; (b) a container comprising an opening for receiving an ingredient release closure and a vessel containing the base component; (c) the ingredient release closure comprising a sealed compartment containing the additive, a release mechanism for dispensing the additive and attaching means for attachment to the opening of the container; and (d) the attaching means of the closure attached to the opening of the container to form a packaged bottled beverage; wherein the base component is contained under vacuum in the container. In operation, the vacuum in the container creates a pressure differential between the base component and the additive in the ingredient release closure. Upon releasing the additive from the ingredient release closure using the release mechanism and prior to opening the packaged bottle beverage for drinking, the vacuum sufficiently and quickly pulls or draws the additive out of the ingredient release closure to provide a freshly mixed beverage with no spilling or leaking of the base component or additive. A pressure differential between a region of relatively higher pressure, i.e. the additive in the ingredient release closure, and a region of relatively lower pressure, i.e. the base component under vacuum in the container, enables a suction force between the ingredient release closure and the container to pull or draw the additive from the ingredient release closure into the base component in the container. Further, the additive preferably efficiently discharges from the ingredient release closure whereby minimal residual additive remains in the ingredient release closure.
The base component of the beverage may be water, tea, juice, energy drink or the like. The additive may be one or more flavors, vitamins, energy enhancements, natural ingredients or the like and may be in liquid or powdered form. The container may be metal, glass, plastic or the like. Preferably, the container is made from a flexible plastic such as polyethylene terephthalate, commonly referred to as PET. The ingredient release closure may be of any construction having a sealed compartment for containing the additive and a release mechanism such as a plunger, a frangible seal, or the like, Further, the ingredient release closure may be a sports type closure. The attaching means may be a crimped seal, a threaded seal or the like which provides a sufficient seal to prevent ingress of external gases; thereby, undesirably reducing the vacuum in the container. The vacuum may be formed by applying compression to an outer surface of the vessel, by a vacuum pump, by a vacuum chamber, or the like.
With reference to
In use, the consumer activates ingredient release closure 12 by pulling up spout 20 to engage release mechanism 16 and transfer the additive into the base component of the beverage. With other ingredient release closures available in the art, consumers may activate the release mechanism by twisting, applying pressure, or the like depending on the mechanical function of the release mechanism.
In one example, a 0.5 liter lightweight container 11, which is made from 15 to 20 grams of PET, has a pre-vacuum diameter in label panel area 17 along line 2-2 of 6.35 centimeters. Under vacuum, the diameter is reduced to between 5.84 to 4.57 centimeters depending on the viscosity of the additive in ingredient release closure 12. Using a correlation in percentages, the diameter of vessel 13 in packaged bottled beverage 10 is 95% to 65%, preferably 92% to 72%, of the original size diameter of vessel 13 prior to attaching ingredient release closure 12 to container 11. For a 0.7 liter container with circular diameter of 6.92 centimeters, the diameter of packaged bottled beverage 10 would be preferably set to between 6.35 to 4.82 centimeters. When using a 0.5 liter container 11 made from 20-25 grams of PET, the wall thickness of the vessel 13 is greater. As such, the cross-sectional shape of the vessel 13 may be oval rather than square. The resulting cross-sectional shape of vessel 13 depends upon the amount of compression applied during the capping process as further discussed below. For container 11 made of flexible plastic, the vacuum is preferably created by application of compression to the outer surface of vessel 13, which effectively reduces the diameter of vessel 13. Alternatively, the vacuum is created utilizing a vacuum pump or vacuum chamber, which is effective for flexible and rigid containers alike.
In another preferred embodiment, a method for improving delivery of an additive contained within a sealed compartment of an ingredient release closure into a base component of a beverage contained within a vessel of a packaged bottled beverage comprises the steps of providing a container, a closure and a vacuum means. The container comprises (i) an opening for receiving a closure and (ii) a vessel containing a base component of a beverage. The closure comprises (i) a sealed compartment containing an additive, (ii) a release mechanism for dispensing the additive, and (iii) attaching means for attachment to the opening of the container. Preferably, in one simultaneous operation, the closure is attached to the opening of the container and a vacuum is created with the vacuum means to form a packaged bottled beverage with a container under vacuum. Preferably the container is a flexible container and the vacuum means is provided by applying compression to an outer surface of the vessel of the container. The compression is preferably applied to the outer surface of the vessel by an adjustable rail having a decreasing arc from a point of initial contact with the container to a point of final contact with the container. Other structures, such as plungers, projectors, opposing plates, rollers or the like, may be used to apply to the outer surface of the vessel. Alternatively, the vacuum means is provided by a vacuum pump or vacuum chamber.
With reference to
Capper star 41 is a rotatable star wheel mechanism having a plurality of capper pockets 48 adapted to receive containers 11 fed in an assembly line fashion thereto. Overlying capper star 41 is capper mechanism 42, such as a turret capper head, which rotates in synchronism with wheel 49 of capper star 41. Capper mechanism 42 has a plurality of capper heads 50, designed to apply ingredient release closures 12 to threaded neck 18 of containers 11 as shown in
In the operation of container closing apparatus 40, filled containers 11 are rotated in a first direction by transfer star 44 to inlet 45 on capper star 41, which rotates in a direction opposite the direction of rotation of transfer star 44. Ingredient release closures 12 are supplied to filled containers 11 preferably through a supply channel (not shown) of capper mechanism 42, but may also already be placed on threaded necks 18 prior to entering capper mechanism 42. Capper mechanism 42 has rotation means to attach ingredient release closures 12 to filled containers 11. Sealed containers 11a with tightened ingredient release closures 12 thereon are rotated out of capper star 41 at outlet 47 to discharge star 46 rotating in the same direction as transfer star 44 and from thence to a conveyor leading to further processing or handling equipment.
Upon entering container closing apparatus 40, container 11 is received by capping star 41 in specially contoured capper pocket 48, which is preferably semi-circular in shape and of a diameter similar to that of the diameter of container 11 which it engages. Best seen with reference to
Adjustable rail 60, as shown in
With reference to
Having thus described exemplary embodiments of the present invention, it should be noted by those skilled in the art that the within disclosures are exemplary only and that various other alternatives, adaptations, and modifications may be made within the scope and spirit of the present invention. Accordingly, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments as illustrated herein.
