Food packaging having an integrated spout

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9718593-B2
Application number	US-201414531452-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 3, 2014
Priority date	Nov 3, 2014
Publication date	Aug 1, 2017
Grant date	Aug 1, 2017

Abstract

A food package container may have an integrated spout that can be used to dispense the contents of the container into a consumer's mouth. In some examples, the food package container includes an elongated, flexible-wall container body providing a tubular chamber holding a foodstuff. The container has a spout formed by a narrowing of the container body in a region extending upwardly away from the tubular chamber. For example, spout may be bound on one side by the container body and further bound on an opposite side and on a top edge by a seal joining opposed walls of the container body together. To open the spout, a weakened line may extend laterally across the container body adjacent the top edge of the spout and longitudinally across the container body adjacent the side of the spout bound by the seal.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A food product comprising:
an elongated, flexible-wall container body providing a tubular chamber holding a viscous human-consumable foodstuff and having a spout formed by a narrowing of the elongated, flexible-wall container body in a region extending upwardly away from the tubular chamber,
wherein the spout is bound on one side by a side edge of the elongated, flexible-wall container body that also bounds the tubular chamber, the spout being further bound on an opposite side of the side edge and on a top edge by a seal joining opposed walls of the elongated, flexible-wall container body together, and
wherein the elongated, flexible-wall container body comprises a weakened line extending along two axes, including laterally from the side edge across the elongated, flexible-wall container body adjacent the top edge of the spout, longitudinally across the elongated, flexible-wall container body adjacent the opposite side of the spout from the side edge, and further laterally across the elongated, flexible-wall container body to an opposite side of the elongated, flexible-wall container body.

2. The food product of claim 1 , wherein the elongated, flexible-wall container body comprises a single sheet of material folded over upon itself and joined at a side edge seam such that the elongated, flexible-wall container body is bound on one side by the side edge seam and the opposite side by a folded edge of the single sheet of material.

3. The food product of claim 2 , wherein the side edge of the elongated, flexible-wall container body bounding the spout is the folded edge of the single sheet of material.

4. The food product of claim 3 , wherein the seal further joins a top edge connecting the opposite side of the spout to the side edge seam, the seal joining the top edge connecting the opposite side of the spout to the side edge seam having a sloped edge facing the tubular chamber such that the seal joining the top edge intersects the side edge seam at an angle greater than 90 degrees.

5. The food product of claim 1 , wherein the opposite side of the spout extends laterally away from the side edge of the elongated, flexible-wall container body and downwardly away from the top edge of the spout, thereby expanding a cross-sectional area of the spout as the spout moves downwardly from the top edge.

6. The food product of claim 1 , wherein the opposite side of the spout defines a radius of curvature having a convex curvature facing the tubular chamber such that any hydraulic shock forces are distributed along the convex curvature.

7. The food product of claim 6 , wherein the radius of curvature has a radius ranging from ¾ of an inch (19 millimeters) to 2 inches (51 millimeters).

8. The food product of claim 1 , wherein the tear line comprises a laser cut line cutting at least one but less than all of the layers forming the elongated, flexible-wall container body.

9. The food product of claim 1 , wherein the viscous human-consumable foodstuff comprises yogurt.

10. The food product of claim 1 , wherein the seal comprises a heat seal.

11. A method comprising:
filling an elongated, flexible-wall container with a viscous human-consumable foodstuff through an open end of the elongated, flexible-wall container;
pressing opposed walls of the elongated, flexible-wall container in a region of the open end between sealing jaws, thereby sealing the open end of the elongated, flexible-wall container and forming a spout, the spout being bound on one side by a side edge of the elongated, flexible-wall container and further bound by a seal formed during pressing on an opposite side of the side edge and on a top edge; and
forming a weakened line extending along two axes of the elongated, flexible-wall container, including laterally from the side edge across the elongated, flexible-wall container adjacent the top edge of the spout, longitudinally across the elongated, flexible-wall container adjacent the opposite side of the spout from the side edge, and further laterally across the elongated, flexible-wall container to an opposite side of the elongated, flexible-wall container.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising forming the elongated, flexible-wall container by folding a single sheet of material over upon itself and joining folded halves of the single sheet of material so as to form a side edge seam, the elongated, flexible-wall container being bound on one side by the side edge seam and the opposite side by a folded edge of the single sheet of material.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein pressing opposed walls of the elongated, flexible-wall container in the region of the open end between sealing jaws comprises pressing opposed walls of the elongated, flexible-wall container between sealing jaws such that the side edge of the elongated, flexible-wall container bounding the spout is the folded edge of the single sheet of material.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein pressing opposed walls of the elongated, flexible-wall container in the region of the open end between sealing jaws comprises pressing opposed walls of the elongated, flexible-wall container between sealing jaws to further seal a top edge connecting the opposite side of the spout to the side edge seam, the seal joining the top edge connecting the opposite side of the spout to the side edge seam having a sloped edge such that the seal joining the top edge intersects the side edge seam at an angle greater than 90 degrees.

15. The method of claim 11 , wherein pressing opposed walls of the elongated, flexible-wall container in the region of the open end between sealing jaws comprises pressing opposed walls of the elongated, flexible-wall container between sealing jaws such that the opposite side of the spout extends laterally away from the side edge of the elongated, flexible-wall container and downwardly away from the top edge of the spout, thereby expanding a cross-sectional area of the spout as the spout moves downwardly from the top edge.

16. The method of claim 11 , wherein pressing opposed walls of the elongated, flexible-wall container in the region of the open end between sealing jaws comprises pressing opposed walls of the elongated, flexible-wall container between sealing jaws such that the opposite side of the spout defines a radius of curvature having a convex curvature facing the an interior of the elongated, flexible-wall container such that any hydraulic shock forces are distributed along the convex curvature.

17. The method of claim 11 , wherein the elongated, flexible-wall container is formed of a sheet comprising a plurality of layers, and forming the tear line comprises cutting, with a laser, at least one but less than all of the plurality of layers in the sheet.

18. The method of claim 11 , wherein filling the elongated, flexible-wall container with the viscous human-consumable foodstuff comprises filling the elongated, flexible-wall container with yogurt.

19. The method of claim 11 , wherein pressing the opposed walls of the elongated, flexible-wall container in a region of the open end between sealing jaws comprises pressing the opposed walls between heated sealing jaws so as to form a heat seal.

20. A container for a human-consumable foodstuff comprising:
an elongated container body having a forwardly-facing sidewall and a rearwardly-facing sidewall that, in combination, bound a chamber for containing a human-consumable foodstuff, the forwardly-facing sidewall and the rearwardly-facing sidewall extending from a lower end of the elon

Assignees

• Gen Mills Inc

Inventors

• Gillespie Scott F

Classifications

• B65D75/5805

  for tearing a side strip parallel and next to the edge, e.g. by means of a line of weakness · CPC title

• B65D77/12

  by collapsing and flattening the mouth portion of the container and securing without folding, e.g. by pressure-sensitive adhesive, heat-sealing, welding or applying separate securing members · CPC title

• B65D35/44

  Closures (closure members of interest apart from this application B65D39/00 - B65D55/00; forming bottom closures after filling B65B7/14) · CPC title

• B65B61/18

  for making package-opening or unpacking elements · CPC title

• B65D75/5866

  Integral spouts · CPC title