Patent Application
20210086956
The present invention relates to thermoformed packaging and, more particularly, to thermoformed packaging assemblies.
Typical thermoformed packages provide a single internal space for containing the article(s) to be packages. Although suitable for a large majority of applications, there are situations where it is desirable to package articles together while maintaining isolation between them. These applications are becoming more commonplace, particularly in the context of food packaging, where it is often desirable to sell two food items together, but to enclose them in separate spaces because packaging them together might have an undesirable effect on flavor, texture or present other issues. For example, it is often desirable to sell salad kits that include different ingredients that are best packaged separately. This may include a portion of salad and a portion of croutons, which are best kept separate until the consumer combines them near the time of consumption. Similarly, yogurt is now often sold with additives, such as granola, that are best when kept separate from the yogurt until just before consumption.
For these types of applications, a variety of attempts has been made to produce cost-effective packaging solutions. Some conventional packaging assemblies use a number of bags to separately package different products. For example, some salad kits include lettuce packaged in a one plastic bag and croutons packaged in a second plastic bag. The crouton and salad bags may then be packaged in a third plastic bag, or the crouton bag may be placed inside the salad bag before the salad bag is sealed. While bags can be used, they suffer from a number of disadvantages. For example, they are flimsy and do little or nothing to protect the contents from being crushed or otherwise damaged. It is also difficult to get bags to sit upright and to consume food directly from bags. Because of these and other shortcomings of plastic bags, it is often preferable to use thermoformed packaging instead of bags. A number of attempts have been made to provide packaging assemblies that involves the combination of two separate thermoformed containers with each container providing a separate article-receiving space. These attempts generally include the design and manufacture of thermoformed containers specifically designed for combination into a single packaging assembly. For example, at least one conventional yogurt and granola packaging assembly includes a large thermoformed yogurt cup and a smaller thermoformed granola cup that is fitted down inside the yogurt cup. In this packaging assembly, the yogurt cup is designed with enough extra space to accommodate the granola cup. Another conventional yogurt packaging assembly includes a specially-designed granola container that is configured to snap onto the top of the yogurt container. The granola container includes an extended flange that is custom designed to mate with the top of the yogurt container. The granola cup is designed specifically for use in combination with the yogurt cup, and is not likely to have other uses over which to spread the cost of design and the expense of application specific tooling and fixture.
Although providing some advantages, both of these packaging assemblies involve the custom design of thermoformed containers, which increases design and development cost and requires new thermoform tooling (e.g. molds) for each new custom container. Additionally, the first packaging assembly requires the larger yogurt cup to be larger than would otherwise be necessary, which results in excessive use of plastic.
In view of the foregoing, there is need for an improved thermoformed packaging assembly that allows products to be sold in combination, but packaged in isolation from one another.
The present invention provides a packaging assembly having a pair of generally conventional thermoformed containers joined in face-to-face relation by a removable thermoformed snap ring. The thermoformed containers each include a container body with an open mouth, and a peripheral lip extending outwardly about the open mouth. The containers are positioned in opposed relationship with their peripheral lips extending generally adjacent to one another. The snap ring is a generally peripheral body having an internal opening capable of being fitted over the body of at least one of the two containers and a containment flange configured to entrap the adjacent lips of the two containers. In use, the snap ring can be selectively fitted simultaneously over a pair of adjacent container lips to join the containers, for example, to allow two separately packaged products to be sold in combination, and can be easily removed to allow the containers to be separated by the consumer.
In one embodiment, the containment flange has a compound shape with a first portion defining an inwardly facing containment channel adapted to closely receive the two container lips and a second portion in the form of a skirt forming a lead-in flange extending around the periphery of the snap ring. The lead-in flange may extend at an angle to facilitate entry into of the container lips into the containment channel. The bottom wall of the containment channel may be discontinuous being cooperatively formed by the upper surface of a plurality of skirt ribs spaced uniformly around the skirt. The number, size, shape and configuration of the skirt ribs may be selected to control the force required to install and remove the lips from the containment channel.
In one embodiment, the snap ring also includes a support rib extending around the peripheral body. The support rib may be defined by contours formed in the peripheral body disposed inwardly from the channel. The support rib may extend from the peripheral body in a direction opposite the outer flange.
In one embodiment, the peripheral body may include an inwardly extending inner flange. In some applications, the thermoformed containers may include a container lip that terminates in a peripheral offset. With snap rings intended for use with containers of this type, the inner flange may be offset from the top wall of the channel a distance approximately equal to the peripheral offset in the container lip. The offset inner flanges supplements the containment channel helping to provide snug engagement between the snap ring and the container lips.
In one embodiment, one or both of the containers are closed by a lid and the snap ring is configured to accommodate the lid(s). The container lid may incorporate essentially any lid. For example, the lid may be a lidding film that is affixed to the outer lip covering the mouth. As another example, the lid may be thermoformed lid that is separately manufactured and snap-fitted onto the outer lid to cover the mouth.
In one embodiment, the snap ring is generally circular being configured to selectively join two generally conventional circular containers. In such embodiments, the channel, outer flange and support rib may be generally circular and generally coaxial.
In one embodiment, the two thermoformed containers and their respective outer lips are of substantially the same size, thereby allowing the lips of the two containers to be positioned in a face-to-face coextensive arrangement.
In one embodiment, the two thermoformed containers are circular and having circular outer lips. In this embodiment, the snap ring is circular having internal diameter slightly larger than the external diameter of the container body.
The present invention provides a simple, effective and inexpensive thermoformed snap ring capable of joining a wide range of conventional thermoformed containers without the need to modify or customize the thermoformed containers to interact with the snap ring. When desired, the snap ring can be easily installed manually without the need for specialized equipment. The snap ring can be configured to properly interfit with containers having a wide range of alternative designs, including different container body shapes and different mouth and lip configurations. When included, the lead-in flange facilitates snap fitting of the snap ring onto the container lips. When included, the upright rib provides the snap ring with additional structural integrity. When included, the offset inner flange help to maintain firm engagement between the snap ring and the outer lips.
These and other features of the invention will be more fully understood and appreciated by reference to the description of the embodiments and the drawings.
Before the embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the details of operation or to the details of construction and the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention may be implemented in various other embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out in alternative ways not expressly disclosed herein. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including” and “comprising” and variations thereof is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items and equivalents thereof. Further, enumeration may be used in the description of various embodiments. Unless otherwise expressly stated, the use of enumeration should not be construed as limiting the invention to any specific order or number of components. Nor should the use of enumeration be construed as excluding from the scope of the invention any additional steps or components that might be combined with or into the enumerated steps or components.
A packaging assembly 10 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is shown in
Directional terms, such as “vertical,” “horizontal,” “top,” “bottom,” “upper,” “lower,” “inner,” “inwardly,” “outer” and “outwardly,” are used to assist in describing the invention based on the orientation of the embodiments shown in the illustrations. The use of directional terms should not be interpreted to limit the invention to any specific orientation(s).
As noted above, the present invention provides a package assembly 10 including two container 12a and 12b that are joined in face-to-face relationship by a removable snap-ring 14. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, one container 12a is positioned on the bottom in an upright position and the other container 12b is inverted and positioned atop the bottom container 12a. The snap ring 14 is removably fittable about to the lips 16a-b of the containers 12a-b and secured through a snap fit. In use, the snap ring 14 allows the two containers to be joined together for sale to a consumer and later separated by the consumer to separately gain access to the contents of the two containers. The containers 12a and 12b and the snap ring 14 are thermoformed using conventional thermoformable sheet materials and conventional thermoforming equipment, thereby providing a cost effective packaging assembly that is inexpensive enough to be discarded after use. For example, the containers 12a and 12b and the snap ring 14 can be thermoformed from a relatively rigid material such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE), although different materials may be used for each component 12a, 12b and 14. The use of a rigid material can provide stiffness and structural rigidity to the packaging assembly 10.
In the embodiment of
In the illustrated embodiment, each container 12a-b is closed by a lid 18a-b. It should be noted, however, that lids 18a-b are optional and, in alternative applications, one or both of the containers may be incorporated into the packaging assembly 10 without a lid. When desired, the container may include essentially any type of lid. In the illustrated embodiment, each container 12aa-b is closed by a lid 18a-b formed by a lidding film affixed to the container lip 16a-b. In each of the illustrated containers 12a-b, the lidding film extends over and closes the mouth 24a-b to close the interior space defined by the container body 22a-b. In the illustrated containers 12a-b, the lidding film is affixed to the container lip 16a-b by cement or other adhesive. The type of lid 18a-b may vary from application to application. For example, in other applications, one or both of the lids 18a-b may be a thermoformed lid that is separately manufactured and attached to the container to close the mouth. In some applications, the lid may be snap-fitted into the interior of the mouth, for example, into a shoulder formed in the container body about the mouth. In other application, the lid may be snap-fitted about the exterior of the container lip. In each applications, the snap ring 14 is configured to receive and retain the container lips 16a-b and whatever type of lid 18a-b that might be used to close the container 12a-b.
As noted above, the two containers 12a-b are selectively joined by the snap ring 14. The snap ring 14 of the illustrated embodiment is a generally peripheral body configured to entrap the container lips 16a-b. In the illustrated embodiment, the snap ring 14 is generally circular in shape corresponding with the circular shape of the containers 12a-b. In the illustrated embodiment, the snap ring 14 includes an inner flange 62 that defines an internal opening 40 capable of being fitted over the container body 22a-b of at least one of the two containers 12a-b, for example, over the container body 22b of the top container 12b as shown in
In the illustrated embodiment, the snap ring 14 includes a containment flange 20 configured to receive and entrap the lips 16a-b of the two adjacent containers 12a-b. The containment flange 20 of the illustrated embodiment has a compound shape with a first portion 42 defining an inwardly facing containment channel 44 adapted to closely receive the two container lips 16a-b and a second portion 46 in the form of a skirt 48 forming a lead-in flange 50 extending downwardly around the periphery of the snap ring 14. The lead-in flange 50 of the illustrated embodiment extends at an outward angle to define a circular somewhat funnel-like surface having a diameter larger than that of the container lips 16a-b. During use, the lead-in flange 50 helps to shepherd the snap ring 14 into a centered position as it is pushed down over the container lips 16a-b.
In the illustrated embodiment, the bottom wall 52 of the containment channel 44 is discontinuous being cooperatively formed by a plurality of ribs 54 spaced around the skirt 48. The arrangement of spaced ribs 54 has the effect of allowing the bottom wall 52 of the snap ring 14 to resiliently expand as it is forced to pass over the lips 16a-b during installation and removal of the snap ring 14.
The snap ring may include contours and/or other features configured to provide the desired structural support. For example, the snap ring 14 of the illustrated embodiment includes a support rib 60. In this embodiment, the support rib 60 is a continuous circumferential rib that extends around the snap ring 14. As perhaps best shown in
As noted above, the containment channel 44 is configured to receive the lips 16a-b of two stacked containers 12a-b. In this embodiment, the containment channel 44 is somewhat rectangular in cross section defined by a top wall, a bottom wall and an outer wall. The shape of the containment channel 44 may vary from application to application. For example, the containment channel 44 may be semicircular in cross section formed by a single curved wall segment. Referring now to
In use, the snap ring can be selectively fitted simultaneously over a pair of adjacent container lips to join the containers, for example, to allow two separately packaged products to be sold in combination, and can be easily removed to allow the containers to be separated by the consumer. To install the snap ring 14, the second container 12b is inverted and stacked upon the first container 12a. In this application, the two containers are essentially identical and are disposed so that the container lips 16a-b are substantially coextensive. Once stacked, the snap ring 14 is fitted over the body of the second container 16 and pushed down until the lead-in flange 50 engages the container lip 16b of the second container 16b. Physical interaction between the lead-in flange 50 and the container lip 16b helps to center the snap ring 14 over the containers 12a-b and bring them into proper alignment. Further downward force on the snap ring 14 causes the snap ring 14 to pass down over the container lips 16a-b allowing the lips to snap lock into the containment channel 44. This is made possible by resilient deformation of the snap ring 14 and/or the container lips 16a-b. Once installed, the snap ring 14 will firmly hold the containers 12a-b in a stacked assembly until removed.
In the embodiment of
The above description is that of current embodiments of the invention. Various alterations and changes can be made without departing from the spirit and broader aspects of the invention as defined in the appended claims, which are to be interpreted in accordance with the principles of patent law including the doctrine of equivalents. This disclosure is presented for illustrative purposes and should not be interpreted as an exhaustive description of all embodiments of the invention or to limit the scope of the claims to the specific elements illustrated or described in connection with these embodiments. For example, and without limitation, any individual element(s) of the described invention may be replaced by alternative elements that provide substantially similar functionality or otherwise provide adequate operation. This includes, for example, presently known alternative elements, such as those that might be currently known to one skilled in the art, and alternative elements that may be developed in the future, such as those that one skilled in the art might, upon development, recognize as an alternative. Further, the disclosed embodiments include a plurality of features that are described in concert and that might cooperatively provide a collection of benefits. The present invention is not limited to only those embodiments that include all of these features or that provide all of the stated benefits, except to the extent otherwise expressly set forth in the issued claims. Any reference to claim elements in the singular, for example, using the articles “a,” “an,” “the” or “said,” is not to be construed as limiting the element to the singular.
