Susceptor with apertured support

Abstract

A construct for heating, browning, and/or crisping a food item in a microwave oven includes a microwave energy interactive element at least partially joined to a dimensionally-stable support and at least one an aperture extending through the microwave energy interactive element and support. The aperture has an elongated shape with a widened central portion that facilitates manufacture of the construct.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The description refers to the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views, and in which:

FIG. 1A is a schematic plan view of an exemplary microwave energy interactive construct according to various aspects of the present invention;

FIG. 1B is a schematic cross-sectional view of the construct of FIG. 1A, taken along a line 1B-1B;

FIG. 2A is a schematic plan view of another exemplary microwave energy interactive construct according to various aspects of the present invention; and

FIG. 2B is a schematic cross-sectional view of the construct of FIG. 2A, taken along a line 2B-2B.

Claims

1. A construct for heating, browning, and/or crisping a food item in a microwave oven, comprising: a microwave energy interactive element at least partially joined to a dimensionally-stable support; andan aperture extending through the microwave energy interactive element and support, the aperture having an elongated shape with a widened central portion.

2. The construct of claim 1, wherein the aperture generally resembles an elongated diamond shape with rounded ends.

3. The construct of claim 1, wherein the aperture generally resembles an obround shape with a rounded central portion.

4. The construct of claim 1, wherein the aperture includes a length, a center width substantially centrally disposed along the length, and an end width,the length is from about 20 to about 70 mm,the center width is from about 5 to about 20 mm, andthe end width is from about 2 to about 8 mm.

5. The construct of claim 1, wherein the microwave energy interactive element comprises a layer of microwave energy interactive material.

6. The construct of claim 1, wherein the microwave energy interactive element comprises a susceptor.

7. The construct of claim 1, wherein the microwave energy interactive element comprises a microwave energy interactive material, anda polymer film overlies the microwave energy interactive material.

8. The construct of claim 1, wherein the support comprises a single faced corrugated material.

9. The construct of claim 1, wherein the support comprises a double faced corrugated material.

10. The construct of claim 1, wherein the aperture is a first aperture of a plurality of apertures, andat least two of the plurality of apertures have substantially the same shape and dimensions.

11. The construct of claim 1, wherein the aperture is a first aperture of a plurality of apertures, andat least two of the plurality of apertures differ in shape, dimensions, or any combination.

12. The construct of claim 1 having a longitudinal centerline extending in a longitudinal direction and a transverse centerline extending in a transverse direction, wherein the aperture is a first aperture of a plurality of apertures, andthe apertures are arranged in a substantially symmetrical configuration with respect to at least one of the longitudinal centerline and transverse centerline.

13. A method of making the construct of claim 1, comprising: joining the microwave energy interactive element to the dimensionally-stable support;cutting the microwave energy interactive element and support to define the aperture and a removable chad; andremoving the chad from the construct with a stripping pin.

14. A microwave energy interactive construct comprising: a susceptor film overlying and at least partially joined to a corrugated support; anda plurality of elongated apertures extending through the susceptor film and corrugated support, wherein each aperture has a widened portion substantially centered along a length of the aperture.

15. The construct of claim 14, wherein each aperture generally resembles an elongated diamond shape with rounded ends,each aperture includes an end width,the length of each aperture is from about 20 to about 70 mm,the widened portion of each aperture is from about 5 to about 20 mm in width, andthe end width of each aperture is from about 2 to about 8 mm.

16. The construct of claim 14, wherein each aperture generally resembles an obround shape with a rounded central portion,each aperture includes an end width,the length of each aperture is from about 20 to about 70 mm,the widened portion of each aperture is from about 5 to about 20 mm in width, andthe end width of each aperture is from about 2 to about 8 mm.

17. A method of making the construct of claim 14, comprising: joining the susceptor film to the corrugated support;cutting the susceptor film and corrugated support to define each of the plurality of apertures and a plurality of removable chads; andremoving the chads from the construct with a stripping pin.

18. A construct for heating, browning, and/or crisping a food item in a microwave oven, comprising: a microwave energy interactive material supported on a polymer film;a corrugated support joined to the microwave energy interactive material, the corrugated support including a plurality of flutes extending in a first direction; anda plurality of apertures extending through the microwave energy interactive material, polymer film, and corrugated support,wherein each aperture has a length, a center width, and an end width,the length of each aperture is from about 20 to about 70 mm,the length of at least one of the apertures extends substantially in the first direction,the center width of each aperture is from about 5 to about 20 mm in width, andthe end width of each aperture is from about 2 to about 8 mm.

19. The construct of claim 18, wherein at least one aperture has a length of from about 45 to about 65 mm, at least one aperture has a length of from about 30 to about 55 mm, and at least one aperture has a length of from about 20 to about 40 mm.

20. A method of making the construct of claim 18, comprising: cutting the microwave energy interactive material, polymer film, and corrugated support to define each of the plurality of apertures and a plurality of removable chads; andremoving the chads with a plurality of stripping pins to form the construct.