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US 7,731,997 B2Granted
Container for food products
AssigneeKraft Foods Global Brands LLC
InventorsCarolina Castellanos, Daniel Eugene Doucette
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
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AssigneeKraft Foods Global Brands LLC
InventorsCarolina Castellanos, Daniel Eugene Doucette
Estimating the term…
Various packages for food products are provided herein. In one embodiment, a food package has a rectangular substantially planar rigid bottom wall; two slanted side/side walls extending angularly upwardly from the bottom wall, each forming an angle of from about 55 to about 75 degrees from vertical axes extending orthogonally from a plane formed by the bottom wall; and a rectangular opening opposite the bottom wall, the opening larger in area than the rectangular rigid bottom wall. A top side wall and a bottom side wall extend upwardly from the bottom wall; and a flexible film extends over the opening and seals the opening. The side walls are configured to engage and hold the food product, each side wall being angularly ramped and extending downward and inward toward the bottom wall, and having at least one wall which extends downwardly from the angularly upward extending side wall.
A package for containing a sliced food product, the package comprising:
The package of claim wherein the first ramp section and the second ramp section each extend downward and inward toward the bottom wall substantially uniformly at the first oblique angle and the second oblique angle.
A package for containing a sliced food product, the package comprising:
A package for containing a sliced food product, the package comprising:
A package for containing a sliced food product, the package comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
Drawings are temporarily unavailable. Open the PDF at USPTO
From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.
Provided by the cover itself: the cover having a cap-like or plug-like shape
Rigid or semi-rigid containers having bodies formed in one piece, e.g. by casting metallic material, by moulding plastics, by blowing vitreous…:…
Containers with a closure presenting stacking elements: the closure presenting projecting peripheral elements receiving or surrounding the bottom…
Secured by snapping over beads or projections: only on the inside, or a part turned to the inside, of the mouth
Term ended 5 Oct 2022 (estimated)
The present invention relates generally to food packaging, and more specifically to food packages for containing pre-sliced food products.
Many food products are often pre-sliced and packaged for sale to consumers. For example, thinly sliced food products, such as luncheon meats, are often pre-sliced and packaged in an ordered stack wherein only the first or top slice is viewed from the package exterior. In one known example, the pre-sliced stack is vacuum-sealed within a flexible bag or pouch that is either labeled or is contained within a labeled rigid container, such as a cardboard container. It is also known that such flexible packages may be made reclosable once unsealed by the consumer, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,582,853 issued Dec. 10, 1996, entitled MULTI-SEAL RECLOSABLE FLEXIBLE PACKAGE FOR DISPLAYING THINLY SLICED FOOD PRODUCTS. In another example, the ordered stack is held within a rigid package formed to conform to the dimensions of the sliced and ordered stack and a lid covering the package, such as a plastic package of bologna having a cylindrical rigid base conforming to the ordered stack and a lid that covers the base.
Alternatively, thinly sliced food products are packaged such that the slices are randomly arranged or jumbled within the package. The jumbled slices, rather than lying flat on each other in an orderly stack form, lie ruffled such that there are bends and curves in the meat slices with space or air gaps present in between some of the adjacent slices. This gives the sliced food product a “freshly-sliced deli” appearance or a “fluffed” look. Many consumers prefer the fluffed look since it resembles the look of food products that are freshly sliced at the deli in comparison to the pressed meat look of traditional ordered stack packaging where the slices lie flush engagement with adjacent upper and lower slices. Such fluffed food products are typically sealed in a random arrangement within a flexible bag or pouch. Typically, the packages for containing such food products do not conform to the shape of the individual slices, as in many ordered stack packages, since the food product is not intended to look as though it has been stacked.
The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following more particular description thereof, presented in conjunction with the following drawings wherein:
FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a food package in accordance with the present invention showing the package in its horizontal orientation;
FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the food package of FIG. 1A shown in a vertical standup orientation for displaying the food product, for example, on a display shelf;
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding components throughout the several views of the drawings.
The following description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of describing the general principles of the invention. The scope of the invention should be determined with reference to the claims.
Embodiments of the present invention advantageously addresses the needs above as well as other needs by providing a food package for containing a sliced food product and that better retains a freshly-sliced or fluffed look in the food product. Preferably, the present package includes a stand-up feature that allows the fluffed sliced food product to be better displayed to the consumer than if it were lying flat on its bottom wall of its base member. In addition, the preferred package herein has a rigid-rigid construction so that additional support sleeves or the like into which the flexible packages are deposited are not needed for display purposes.