Fruit packaging containers
AssigneeOrchard View Farms, Inc.
InventorRyan Durow
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Described herein are sealable, breathable bags for packaging, storing, and transporting fresh fruit in boxes. The bags protects the fruit from outside contaminants while maintaining a modified atmosphere environment around the fruit to preserve the freshness of the fruit. Furthermore, the bags are constructed in such a way that they have a flattened closed configuration and an fully opened configuration that allows them to efficiently fit into a generally cuboid, open-topped packaging box to be filled with fresh fruit and then seal around the fruit in the box, such as by sliding a slider across an upper closure of the bag.
Claims20
A method of packing fresh fruit, comprising:
- positioning a sealable bag in an open-topped box with an upper closure of the bag in an open configuration;
- placing fresh fruit within the bag in the open-topped box;
- closing the bag around the fresh fruit while the bag and fresh fruit are in the box;
- and
- sliding a slider across an upper closure of the bag to seal the upper closure closed with the fresh fruit in the bag and in the box.
A packaging system for packing fresh fruit, the system comprising:
- an open-topped box comprising a rectangular lower panel, first and second rectangular end panels extending upward from opposing ends of the lower panel, and first and second rectangular side panels extending upward from opposing sides of the lower panel and extending between the two end panels;
- and
- a sealable bag positioned in the box, the bag comprising a front outer panel, a front inner panel, a rear inner panel, and a rear outer panel formed from a folded sheet of polymeric material;
- wherein the bag has a flattened, closed configuration when not in the box, wherein:
- the front outer panel transitions to the front inner panel along a first lower fold, the front inner panel transitions to the rear inner panel along an intermediate fold at upper ends of the front and rear inner panels, and the rear inner panel transitions to the rear outer panel along a second lower fold, such that the folded sheet forms a generally “W” shaped cross-sectional profile;
- the front outer panel, the front inner panel, the rear inner panel, the rear outer panel, the first and second lower folds, and the intermediate fold extend laterally along a length of the bag between a first sealed side of the bag and an opposing second sealed side of the bag;
- the first sealed side of the bag includes a first lower sealed side and a first upper sealed side, and the second sealed side of the bag includes a second lower sealed side and a second lower sealed side,
- the first lower sealed side comprises a joining of first lateral edges of the front outer panel, the front inner panel, the rear inner panel, and the rear outer panel below the intermediate fold, and the second lower sealed side comprises a joining of opposing second lateral edges of the front outer panel, the front inner panel, the rear inner panel, and the rear outer panel below the intermediate fold;
- the first upper sealed side comprises a joining of the first lateral edges of the front outer panel and the rear outer panel above the intermediate fold, and the second upper sealed side comprises a joining of the second lateral edges of the front outer panel and the rear outer panel above the intermediate fold;
- and
- the front outer panel and the rear outer panel form an upper opening between the first upper sealed side and the second upper sealed side, and the front outer panel and the rear outer panel include an upper closure adjacent the upper opening, the upper closure including a slider configured to selectively seal closed the upper opening with fresh fruit packaged within the bag such that a modified atmosphere environment is created around the fresh fruit within the sealed bag;
- and
- wherein the bag has a fully open configuration when the bag is positioned in the open-topped box, such that the bag overlies an upper surface of the lower panel and inner surfaces of the first and second end panels and the first and second side panels of the box, and the upper opening of the bag is spread apart with upper edges of the front and rear outer panels being positioned adjacent to or folded over upper edges of the first and second side panels and the first and second end panels of the box, such that fresh fruit can be packed inside the bag within the box.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.