Pressurized package containing a particulate product employing a product separator to contain the product during opening

A package containing a particulate product under pressure, said package exhibiting the ability to automatically release said pressure upon opening while substantially preventing the escape of said particulate material from said package during the opening process, said package comprising:

• a) a container having a closed top and a closed bottom interconnected to one another by a body portion to define a substantially gas tight interior compartment containing said particulate product under pressure, said top of said container being disposed concave inwardly, said vertical axis of said container running from said top to said bottom, said container further including an inwardly directed bead along substantially the entire perimeter of said body portion, said bead being located at a predetermined distance below said top of said container;
• and
• b) a substantially non-porous product separator disposed within said interior compartment above said bead and adjacent said top of said container, said separator being disposed concave inwardly, said separator having an outermost perimeter adjacent to, but not fully coinciding with the innermost perimeter of said body portion of said package creating a tortuous path around said separator, said separator dividing said interior compartment into a product chamber located below said separator and a product-free chamber located above said separator, said product-free chamber being substantially void of said particulate product, said predetermined distance from said bead to said top of said container being such that any rocking movement of said separator with respect to the vertical axis of said container is substantially prevented to the extent that said particulate material is substantially prevented from migrating around said separator and into said product-free chamber before and during opening, whereby when said top of said container is initially punctured with a can opener the gas in said package escapes through said puncture by going around said bead, through the interface existing between said separator and said body portion of said container and out through the puncture while said particulate product is substantially prevented from escaping from said package during the opening process.

A package containing a particulate product under pressure, said package exhibiting the ability to automatically release said pressure upon opening while substantially preventing the escape of said particulate material from said package during the opening process, said package comprising:

• a) a generally cylindrical tin plated steel stock container having a closed top and a closed bottom interconnected to one another by a body portion to define a substantially gas tight interior compartment containing said particulate product under pressure, said top and bottom of said container being disposed concave inwardly, said vertical axis of said container running from said top to said bottom, said container further including an inwardly directed bead along substantially the entire perimeter of said body portion, said bead being located at a predetermined distance below said top of said container, and
• b) a substantially non-pourous paperboard product separator disposed with said interior compartment above said bead and adjacent said top of said container, said separator being disposed concave inwardly, said separator having an outermost perimeter adjacent to, but not fully coinciding with the innermost perimeter of said body portion of said package creating a tortuous path around said separator, said separator further including a means for removing said separator from said container after opening, said separator dividing said interior compartment into a product chamber located below said separator and a product-free chamber located above said separator, said product-free chamber being substantially void of said particulate product, said predetermined distance from said bead to said top of said container being such that any rocking movement of said separator with respect to the vertical axis of said container is substantially prevented to the extent that said particulate material is substantially prevented from migrating around said separator and into said product-free chamber before and during opening, whereby when said top of said container is initially punctured with a can opener the gas in said package escapes through said puncture by going around said bead, through the interface existing between said separator and said body portion of said container and out through the puncture while said particulate product is substantially prevented from escaping from said package during the opening process.