Patent Application
20050139090
The present invention relates to sealable containers and, more particularly to an apparatus for venting a sealed container, such as a container for heated food products that require venting during cooking or warming.
Many products, especially food products in particular, are provided in sealed containers to prevent spoilage or contamination. In addition, it is common for manufacturers to sell food products frozen or refrigerated within microwavable or oven-safe containers, such that the food may be heated in the container just prior to being eaten. These refrigerated or frozen food products are especially desirable to consumers because they have a reduced potential for spoilage and may be quickly prepared.
Such heatable containers for frozen or refrigerated food products are sealed after filling in order to prevent contamination during shipping and handling. When food is heated, water is generally emitted in the form of steam. This steam builds within food containers and can help to rapidly thaw and cook the packaged food. If the package does not allow for at least some escape of steam during cooking, a high steam pressure can build up within the container. Such pressures can explode the container. As a result, partial venting of heated food product containers is often recommended.
One example of a partially vented food product container is provided by conventional frozen dinners. These dinners are produced and sold within containers comprised of a thin polymer film sealed over a microwavable or oven-safe bowl or tray. Prior to heating, consumers are instructed to place small cuts in the polymer film or to peel back a corner of the film, to moderately vent the steam and prevent potentially dangerous high steam pressures. Although vented by the small cuts or peeled-back portion, the polymer film retains some steam within the container to more rapidly cook the dinner.
As conventional “frozen dinner” type designs are used more frequently, it has become evident such designs inherently include a number of drawbacks. For example, they are costly to produce and fail to adequately harness steam during the initial cooking cycles, thereby requiring an extended cooking time and potentially resulting in a partially cooked food product. Further, should a consumer provide less than adequately sized cuts in the polymer film prior to cooking, steam may not be properly vented. As a result, steam remaining in the container may overcook the food product and/or cause the food product to become soggy, which in many cases is undesirable. To alleviate the above problems and produce crisp food products, it is desirable to release the steam once its initial thawing and cooking effects have been realized.
It is further desirable to package foods within tubular paperboard containers that may optionally include laminates such as kraft or recycled paper, foil and/or polymer plys, and exterior label layers. Such tubular containers provide a cost effective, re-closable, and easily storable alternative to the relatively expensive, polymer based, frozen-dinner type bowls discussed above.
Accordingly, it is desirable to produce an improved tubular food product container that is readily closable so as to preserve the food from spoilage and encourage accelerated cooking. It is further desirable, however, for the container to readily vent steam following initial cooking cycles, thereby providing a crispier, more desirable food product.
The above needs are addressed and other advantages are achieved by the present invention, which provides a food container that can allow some steam produced during initial heating or cooking to accumulate within the container so as to rapidly thaw and heat or cook the food; however, the container also advantageously vents the steam in order to provide a crispier, more desirable food product. A “venting” container according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a tubular body having an open end and a cap engaging the open end. The cap comprises upper and lower ends, which define an intermediate region therebetween. The tubular body and cap are at least partially sealed together by interference between opposing radially extending protrusions disposed on both the tubular body and the cap. Frictional forces between the body and cap protrusions are opposed and eventually overcome when sufficient steam pressure builds up within the container, whereby the cap is driven from a closed to a vented position.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the venting container includes a tubular body having a radially projecting bead circumscribing the open end of the tubular body. Further, the cap includes an outwardly extending lip disposed around at least a portion of the upper end of the cap, an upper protrusion disposed around at least a portion of the intermediate region of the cap, and a retaining protrusion disposed around at least a portion of the lower end of the cap. According to this embodiment, the cap is “press fit” into the open end of the tubular body until the cap reaches a closed position, wherein the outwardly extending lip seats against the open end of the tubular body, the upper protrusion of the cap contacts the lower surface of the radially projecting bead, and the retaining protrusion of the cap is positioned below the radially projecting bead.
During heating, steam pressure is generated within the venting container. Upon reaching a certain pressure, the steam drives the cap from the closed position to a vented position wherein the upper protrusion is driven over the radially projecting bead of the tubular body, thereby creating a passage therebetween and venting the container. As the cap translates upwardly to the vented position the retaining protrusions contact the radially projecting bead of the tubular body and thereby prevent full cap removal.
According to another embodiment, the cap includes a plurality of vent channels positioned generally between the upper protrusion and the retaining protrusion and which may extend partially into one or both protrusions so as to facilitate proper venting when the container is in the vented position. Alternatively, in another embodiment, a plurality of ribs may be provided to ensure proper venting. Steam may thus escape, in the vented position, via passages formed between the plurality of ribs.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the cap may form a receptacle that is “press fit” over the open end of the tubular body. In this embodiment, the upper and retaining protrusions are formed at a radially inwardly facing surface of the cap and the tubular container body is circumscribed by a radially projecting bead that is outwardly directed so as to seat against the upper protrusion and retaining protrusion of the cap, when in the closed and vented positions respectively. In this embodiment, as with those described above, a plurality of vent channels or ribs may be provided on the cap for venting the container in the vented position.
According to other embodiments, the tubular body and/or cap may be comprised of paperboard for cost effective and environmental friendly consumer use. Alternatively, the tubular body and/or cap may be comprised of plastic to provide a relatively durable and reusable venting container. Regardless of material, the venting container may have various cross section shapes, including circular, cylindrical, oval, square, rectangular and the like.
In yet another embodiment, the upper protrusion of the cap may be radially deformable to facilitate longitudinal translation of the cap from closed to vented positions. According to another embodiment, the radially projecting bead of the tubular body may be radially deformable to facilitate longitudinal translation, or a pop over motion of the upper protrusion of the cap, as it is driven from closed to vented positions.
Having thus described the invention in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:
The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all embodiments of the invention are shown. Indeed, these inventions may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.
Referring to
The venting container 10 according to the present invention is preferably designed to provide a substantially sealed enclosure when products are initially packaged therein. Accordingly, the open end 22 of the tubular body 20 is adapted to provide a receptacle for receiving the cap 40 in a friction-fit manner so that the cap substantially seals the container, as shown in
As noted, the venting container 10 according to the present invention is configured to have both “closed” and “vented” positions. A “closed” position according to one embodiment is depicted in
Depending upon the application, the structural composition of the tubular body 20 and the cap 40 may vary. For example, a tubular body 20 in accordance with the present invention may be comprised of paperboard, plastic, metals, or any combination of these and other similar materials. Additionally, the cap 40 may be similarly comprised. The shape of the venting container 10 may also vary. Although depicted as cylindrical, a venting container 10 according to the present invention may have any cross-section commonly known to one of ordinary skill in the art. For example, venting containers 10 having square, triangular, circle, rectangular, or other similar cross-sections may readily be produced.
As the pressure within the venting container 10 is increased, for example, when heating a steam-producing food product such as biscuits, an upwardly directed steam force is exerted on the lower surface of the cap 40. Eventually, the steam pressure builds to a level at which the cap 40 is driven upwardly by the applied steam force. According to one embodiment, the radially projecting bead 25 is deformable such that as the cap 40 is driven upwardly, the upper protrusion 44 deforms the radially projecting bead 25 outwardly and the upper protrusion 44 thus can clear the bead and allow the cap to move to the “vented” position illustrated in
Upon reaching the vented position, the steam or other vapor produced during heating of the enclosed product is allowed to escape the container. Advantageously, by venting the container in this manner, food products may be rapidly prepared having a crispier crust or other similar characteristics that are desirable to consumers. As illustrated in
In yet another embodiment of the present invention, as illustrated by
Other embodiments of the present invention may be provided without altering the inventive concepts disclosed herein. For example, in one embodiment, the retaining protrusion 46 of the cap 40 may be structured as a barb. Further, in another embodiment, the radially projecting bead 25 of the tubular body 20 may be simply formed by inwardly rolling an upper edge surface (not shown) of the open end 22 of the tube body 20. Finally, although the cap 40 is shown in
Many modifications and other embodiments in the invention set forth herein will come to mind to one of ordinary skill in the art to which these inventions pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the inventions are not to be limited by the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.
