US3387978A - Infusion package - Google Patents

Description

June 1l, 1968 c. J. MAJOR 3,387,978

INFUsIoN PACKAGE Filed Oct. 22, 1964 III' INVENTOR E BY HUUR/V35.

United States Patent O Fice 3,387,978 INFUSION PACKAGE Colette I. Major, New York, NX., assignor t= Emery Major, New York, NY. Filed ct. 22, 1964, Ser. No. 405,701 l Claim. (Cl. 9977.1)

ABSTRACT 0F THE DISCLSURE A package for tea, colfee or other substances comprising a rectangular shaped flexible porous bag containing a beverage infusion commodity, a sheet of water-resistant cardboard material placed around the bag, one end of the sheet being attached to the bag, the bag adapted to be folded down a median line, the sheet adapted to be folded along -the same line whereby upon squeezing the sheet, the excess liquid contents of the bag will be discharged.

This invention relates generally to a package for tea, coffee or other substances to facilitate handling and infusion thereof.

In the ordinary tea bag, the tea is contained in a bag or envelope which is connected by a string to a bag or label. The bag and string are used to manipulate the bag, to immerse it in a cup or pot of hot water or other infusion liquid, and especially to withdraw it therefrom when the brew has reached the desired strength. Such bags, with their attached strings, present an awkward problem in packing, for the strings tend to become entangled and the user has difficulty separating one bag from a 4group in the package. In use, especially at the dining table, when the bag is Withdrawn from the liquid in a cup, the user is presented with a troublesome problem of what to do with the wet and dripping bag. Usually the bag is put in a saucer with the result that liquid drains from it to the bottom of the saucer and wets the bottom of the cup, and when the user lifts the cup to drink from it, the cup drips.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a tea bag or the like that may be used in the same general way as prior tea bags, in combination with a backing sheet directly hinged to it to provide a unitary package, in the form of a folder or book.

Another object of the invention is to provide a unitary package of this kind which may be manipulated with one hand to immerse the bag in a cup or pot of liquid and to Withdraw the bag therefrom, and so related that a simple swinging movement of the bag `as the unit is withdrawn will cause the wet bag and sheet to fold and the bag to nest in the folded sheet so that the wet bag may be squeezed to drain its surplus contents into the cup.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a package wherein the cover or backing sheet shall be of such size, shape and material as to be capable of receiving printing impressions and serving as a label for the package.

A specific object of the invention is to provide a rec-v tangular shaped tea bag with a crease line down the center thereof in combination with a similar shaped back sheet having a crease line down the center thereof so that upon withdrawal from the cup by a single operation the tea bag will be nested inside the backing sheet.

For further comprehension of the invention and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference will be had to the following description and accompanying drawings and to the appended claim in which the various novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

3,332,973 Patented .lune Il, 1958 In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tea bag embodying one form of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a similar view showing the tea bag in open condition.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken on the plane of the line 3 3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 4 4 of FIG. 2 on an enlarged scale.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the tea bag in operative position immersed in liquid in a cup, the bag being shown removed from the cup and swung into nested position in the backing sheet in dash lines.

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view, parts being broken away, showing the tea bag after removal from the liquid in a cup being squeezed of its contents into the cup.

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of a tea bag embodying a modified form of the invention shown in open condition, and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a tea bag embodying still another modified form of the invention shown in partly open condition.

Referring in detail to the drawings, in PIG. l a package embodying one form of the invention is illustrated and designated generally at 19. The package includes a container or bag 12. for the infusion material, such as tea 14. The bag is thin, approximately flat and rectangular in shape and is formed of known tough, highly porous paper which is also used for many other purposes, for example as a lter. The bag is composed of two plies or sheets 16 and 18 of paper attached to each other along the side and end margins thereof by heat and pressure sealing as indicated at 20 and attached to each other down the center thereof as shown in FIG. 2 by heat and pressure sealing as indicated at 22 thereby dividing the bag into two sections 24 and 25 and forming a crease line 28 longitudinally of the bag.

In accordance with the invention, the bag 12 is hingedly connected at one end to a rectangular backing or cover sheet 26 and is closely spaced inwardly from one end of the sheet by heat and pressure sealing along a line 28, the projecting portion of the backing `sheet end being notched at its center as indicated at 30 and the end portions on both sides of said notch being turned over the bag as indicated at 32, 32. The sheet 26 is slightly longer than the bag 12. A crease line 34 is formed in the sheet down the center thereof from the notch to the other end of the sheet, in line with the crease line 28 in the bag 12. The sheet 26 may be molded of paper, cardboard or plastic stock. The stock may be water resistant or may be given a water resistant coating. It may be made of water-absorbent stock. Both the bag 12 and sheet 26 should be made of taste-free material to avoid contaminating the taste of the infusion material.

The package 10 normally is in folded condition as shown in FIG. 1 so that the bag 12 is folded along the crease line 28 and the cover or backing sheet is folded along the crease line 34, the bag being nested inside the sheet, the notch 30 permitting this operation. A plurality of unit packages 10 may be stacked in a market-size package in a regular and orderly arrangement. There will be no strings to get tangled and the individual unit package will be readily separate and removable from the package.

In FIG. 5, the use of the package 19 is illustrated. For immersing the bag in a cup 35 of liquid, the package is opened and the sheet 26 is grasped at its bottom edge as viewed in FIG. 2 between the thumb and finger of the user, and the bag 12 by a pivotal movement is swung into a dependent position hanging free. With the bag in this position, the bag can readily be lowered into the cup and the sheet is then positioned over the rim of the cup and over the outside of the cup in balanced condition. The package is thus hooked over the edge of the cup as is shown in FIG. 5 with the bag 12 inside the cup and the cover sheet 26 outside of the cup. When the infusion has reached the desired strength, the package is again grasped by the sheet 26 and lifted clear of the cup and the sheet swung to an upright position whereby the bag 12 will fall and swing against the sheet 26 into folded nested condition. The opposed side portions of the sheet 26 are then squeezed together about the tea bag 12 pressing the surplus liquid therefrom.

After pressing the surplus liquid from the tea bag 12 into the water in the cup 35, the package is then ready to be deposited upon a table or other place. The enclosing portions of the sheet 26 serve to support the wet tea bag 12 therebetween and to prevent staining or marking the table. Thus, a suitable receptacle for the used tea bag is provided by the cover sheet 26. The entire operational use of the package 10 is performed without the user once coming into physical contact with the tea bag 12, making for a pleasurable use of a difcult and often messy product.

In the modified form of package 10' shown in FIG. 7, a rectangular shaped tea bag 12 is shown attached at one end by adhesive 38 to one side 40 of the center crease line 28 of the backing or cover sheet 26. The other side 42 of the backing or cover sheet 26 is formed with teeth 44- along its long free edge to facilitate manipulating the sheetn The inner surface of the side 42 of the sheet bears advertising indicia 46.

The package 10' may be used similarly to package 10 to brew the infusion in the cup.

FIG. 8 illustrates another modiiied form of package 10 which simulates a match book wherein the bag 12 is normally disposed between two leaves 48 and 50 and secured at one end by heat and pressure sealing as indicated at 52 across the top of the leaf 48, leaving a flange 54 overlapping the top of the bag. The package 10" is used similarly to packages 10 and 10.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise constructions herein disclosed and that various changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the invention as de ned in the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

1. A beverage infusion package, comprising a pair of rectangular-shaped sections of a porous bag containing a beverage infusion commodity, each of the sections having a straight end edge, a rectangular cardboard sheet of water resistant material, said cardboard sheet being slightly larger in dimensions than the dimensions of the bag receiving said bag in juxtaposition and having a pair of straight end edges at one end of the cardboard, one cardboard end edge connecting one straight end edge of each commodity section, the cardboard sheet being initially shaped as an arcuate book configuration conforming when open substantially to the arcuate configuration of the rim of a coffee cup to be supported thereon said ilat end edges of said bag sections being attached to the end edges of the sheet by a line of heat and pressure forming a hinge in the shape of an arcuate configuration line thereat, the remainder of the bag being unattached, said bag having a longitudinal median line free of the commodity for folding the bag longitudinally, said sheet having a longitudinal line in line with the median line in the bag, for folding said sheet longitudinally over the bag in juxtaposition thereto, on Iboth sides thereof after infusion to be held by one hand and due to the arcuate configuration said package can be folded with said one hand, without touching the bag for squeezing the excess liquid from said bag.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,885,076 10/1932 Bustamante 20G- 0.5 X 2,101,225 12/1937 Rambold 206-46 2,192,605 3/ 1940 Satisberg 99--77.l 2,614,934 10/ 1952 Trotman 99--77.1 2,698,082 12/ 1954 Maloney 99-77.l X 2,728,670 12/ 1955 Young et al. 99-77.1 2,728,672 12/ 1955 Young et al. 99--77.l 2,887,037 5/1959 Setecka 99-77.l X

RAYMOND N. JONES, Primary Examiner.

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