WO1996007604A1

WO1996007604A1 - Packaging for a comestible product

Info

Publication number: WO1996007604A1
Application number: PCT/AU1995/000594
Authority: WO
Inventors: David M. Abouav
Original assignee: Deeley, Stephanie, Tamsin
Priority date: 1994-09-09
Filing date: 1995-09-11
Publication date: 1996-03-14
Also published as: AUPM801994A0

Abstract

A packaging for a comestible product having two components, one of which is to be heated. The component to be heated is contained in an upper container releasably coupled to a lower container, the lower container being opaque to microwave radiations. The base of the upper container is perforated so that on microwave heating the component in the upper container melts and flows into the lower container at which time the upper container is removed to expose the product in the lower container.

Description

PACKAGING FOR A COMESTIBLE PRODUCT

This invention relates to packaging for a comestible product.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Frozen comestible products are becoming more widely available, these including frozen desserts such as icecream. Icecream is generally available either in large tubs, buckets or cartons from which the content is individually served, or in individual wraps or in individual serve buckets or tubs. The icecream in individual wrapping is often covered with a coating of chocolate or other flavouring, often in an ice or ice confection form.

Where the icecream is served from a large tub or container in a domestic situation, many people prefer some flavouring, topping or sauce to be added and in the domestic situation these are available in the pantry. However a large icecream container once opened often results in the icecream over a period of time losing its soft texture and flavour and becoming dry and hard.

While some icecream is available with a coating such as chocolate, often it is desired that a sauce, such as a hot or room temperature fudge or sauce be added to the icecream, and it is desirable that the two components be available in the one package, both being in the frozen state.

Thus it is a general object of the invention to provide a novel package and method of providing packaging which enables differential heating of the components of the product.

Another object of the invention is to provide packaging of a frozen product such as icecream and fudge or topping, the arrangement being such that on heating of the package the topping or fudge melts onto the icecream which remains frozen.

A further object of the invention is to provide a packaging having two containers, one for each of the components, and after heating the containers are separated to expose the first component with the second component thereon.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a simple releasable coupling means between the two containers. BRIEF STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention there is provided a method of packaging a comestible product comprising placing a first component on the product in a lower container po which includes microwave shielding, placing a second component of the product in upper container portion which is releasably coupled above the lower container porti form a container assembly, the arrangement being such that when the container assembly is subjected to microwave heating, the second component melts and/or becomes flowable so that it flows from the second container portion into the first container portion.

The invention also provides packaging for a comestible product comprising a lower container portion for containing a first component of a product, the lower container including microwave shielding, an upper container portion for containing a second component of the product and releasable coupling means for coupling the upper an lower container portions to form a package assembly, the arrangement being such t when the package assembly is subjected to microwave heating, the second compon is heated and flows into the lower container portion.

Furthermore there is provided according to the invention a method of providing a comestible product comprising placing a first component of the product in a lower container which includes microwave shielding, placing a second component of the product in an upper container, releasably coupling the lower portion of the upper container to upper portion of the lower container to form a container assembly, subjecting the container assembly to microwave heating whereby the second component melts or becomes flowable so that it flows into the first container portion, and separating the upper container from the lower container to expose the product the second component on top of the first component.

Preferably the releasable coupling means may be a commercially available paper zi construction or a clip or other releasable means holding the two containers together.

Also it is preferred that the base of the upper container be impervious to microwaves that the component in the lower container is shielded from microwave heating from above.

It is preferred that the microwave shielding is a mesh, which can be printed on the lo container, preferably on the outer surface thereof. Preferably further, the mesh patt can be printed with a plasticised metal ink or conductive paint, or it maybe printed o inner surface of the container. Alternatively the microwave shielding may be sandwiched between laminated layers of the material forming the lower container.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to more fully describe the invention reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which :-

Figure 1 is a cross-section through an embodiment of the packaging of the invention;

Figure 2 is a cross-section through the upper container;

Figure 3 is a cross-section through the lower container;

Figure 4 is a cross-section through the packaging assembly with the comestible products therein;

Figure 5 shows the assembly after microwave heating;

Figure 6 shows the lower container after removal of the upper container;

Figure 7 is an illustration of the microwave shielding mesh;

Figures 8 and 9 show side views of a modified embodiment of the packaging of the invention ;

Figure 10 is a cross-section of the assembled packaging;

Figure 11 shows in cross-section the wall of a further embodiment of the upper container;

Figures 12 and 13 show in plan and cross-sectional views the base of the upper container;

Figure 14 shows the assembled container while Figure 15 shows the container with the lid fitted;

Figure 16 shows a further form of the lower container;

Figure 17 shows a still further embodiment of the lower container;

Figures 18 and 19 show two forms of assembled containers; and Figure 20 illustrates diagrammatically a form of zipper used for coupling and separating the containers.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT.

The drawings illustrate a container assembly which is particularly constructed for dispensing icecream and hot fudge. It is understood however that the principles of th invention are applicable to packaging and dispensing of other products where differen heating is required, particularly where one of the components is chilled or frozen and other is to be heated on serving.

Figure 1 shows a container assembly 2 of the invention which comprises a lower container 4 and an upper container 6. The lower container 4 is preferably formed as truncated conical cup having a sidewall 8 and a base 10. The cup may be moulded fr a plastics material such as polyester, polypropylene (high density or foamed) or forme from paper, cardboard or the like which has been suitably treated so as to be moistur resistant. The upper container 6 comprises a truncated conical cup which has a side wall 12 and base 14. As best seen in Figure 1 the side walls 8 and 12 form a more or less contiguous surface in the assembly 2. The upper container includes a top 16 whi is fitted to the sidewall 12 or is integrally formed therewith. As seen in Figures 2 and the top lip 18 of the lower container 4 includes a lip formation which is interlockable wi a complementary lip 20 formed on the lower edge of the sidewall 12. The lips 18 and may function as part of a commercially available paper zipper type coupling or clip on coupling. From a functional point of view, the lips 18 and 20 need to hold the assembl 2 together until they are separated by the user after heating has taken place, as will b described hereinafter. Alternatively interlocking projections can be provided on the si walls 8 and 12 adjacent the lips 18 and 20 which in this case provide rigidity and a ne appearance to the containers 4 and 6.

The side wall 8 and base 10 of the lower container 4 are preferably printed with a mes pattern of conductive material such as metallised ink or paint. The function of the pattern is to prevent transmission of microwaves therethrough and, importantly, not to be heated either generally or in a localised area by the microwaves. Figure 7 illustrat a suitable pattern for the conductive paint. The size of the meshes (i.e. those parts which are not painted or printed) are in the range of 0.5mm to 1.5mm preferably 1mm diameter. The pattern is preferably printed onto the external surface of the sidewall 8 and base 10 or alternatively may be formed on the internal surfaces. The ratio of the conductive area to the non-conductive area is preferably in the range from 40% to 60 of the total area. The pattern may comprise part of the decorative or advertising background for the product or alternatively may be overprinted with a finished printing surface. In an alternative arrangement, the mesh or microwave shield may for part of a composite laminated material which is used to form the sidewall 8 and base 10 of the lower container. It has been found that the mesh pattern has the property that it is a microwave shield and, importantly it does not itself become locally heated which can happen with some microwave shielding surfaces. In a further embodiment the lower container 4 may be aluminium foil coated by cardboard, a plastic material or other suitable coating on the foil.

The base 14 of the upper container 6 is preferably also formed as a microwave shield so that in the container assembly 2, the interior of the lower container 4 is substantially completely shielded when the assembly is subjected to microwave heating. In this way the contents of the lower container 4 are not directly heated by the microwaves. In one form of the invention the base of the container 4 may comprise a sheet of material which is essentially the same as that which is used to form the sidewall 8 and base 10 of the lower container, but including a number of perforations or openings therein. Alternatively the base 14 may comprise a metal mesh or network or a perforated foil or a card backed foil with holes therethrough. The important properties of the material for the base 14 is that it does not transmit microwave radiation therethrough, it is not itself heated by microwave radiation, and it permits flow of flowable material therethrough as will be described below.

Figures 2 and 3 show the lower container 4 having therein respective serves of icecream 24 and chocolate fudge 26 or other sauce, topping or flavouring which is to be heated when served. The icecream 24 is dispensed into the lower container 4 in the usual way and then frozen. An air space 25 is left above the icecream 24 in order to accommodate the fudge 26 as will be described hereinafter. The volume of the air space 25 is preferably about 10% to 20% larger by volume than the volume of the serve 26 of the fudge so that the fudge can comfortably fit within the lower container 6 after it has been melted. The fudge can be heated and poured into the upper container 6 with the top 16 removed. In this case a temporary impervious covering would be required below the base 14 and in contact with the base 14 to prevent the fudge passing through the openings or perforations in the base 14 until it is chilled or frozen. Alternatively the fudge could be dispensed at a relatively low temperature so that it is too thick to flow through the openings or holes in the base 14. Alternatively the upper container can be inverted with the top 16 in place so that the fudge can be dispensed into the container through the holes or perforations in the base 14, or alternatively the base 14 is connected to the container after the fudge has been placed in the container.

The fudge 26 in the upper container 6 is then chilled or frozen so that the fudge is substantially solid or non-flowable and the lips 18 and 20 are then interconnected so as to form the assembly 2 with the serves 24 and 26 in their respective containers, as illustrated in Figure 4. The products are sold in the frozen state in the assembly to th consumer. When the consumer wishes to use the product, the assembly is placed in microwave, such as a domestic microwave oven, and microwaved for a period which commensurate with the size of the product. For a single serving type product with th serve of the icecream 24 being about 125g and the serve 26 of the fudge being in th order of 30 ml, about 30 seconds of microwaving at 600 watts would be adequate. When the assembly is subjected to microwave radiation, the serve of fudge is heated the microwave radiation sufficiently to flow through the holes or perforations in the ba 14 and into the space 25 in the lower container 4 above the serve 24 of icecream, as shown in Figure 5. The user can then separate the interlocked lips 18 and 20 so that upper container 6 can be discarded. The bottom container can be directly used as th serving cup for the icecream 24 and the warm fudge, as illustrated in Figure 6.

The fudge 26 is subjected to a predetermined amount of microwave heating so that it will be heated to a temperature at which it melts or becomes sufficiently flowable to fl through the base into the space 25 and on top of the icecream 24. The icecream 24 will, however, remain at approximately its storage temperature which is preferably in range -10°C to -25^OC.

Figures 8 to 10 illustrate a modified form of packaging of the invention. The same reference numerals have been used to denote parts which correspond to those of the previous embodiments.

In this arrangement, the lower part of the sidewall 12 is provided with a projecting rib whereas the upper part of the sidewall 8 is provided with a recess 32 on its inner wall The arrangement is such that by pressing the upper container 6 downwardly into the of the lower container 4, the rib can resiliently engage the recess 32 and form an interlock therewith, as illustrated in Figure 10. This forms a temporary connection between the upper and lower containers 4 and 6. After the consumer has microwave the packaging, the consumer can simply pull the two containers apart so that the upp container 4 is separated from the lower container.

Figures 12 to 15 illustrates a further form of the invention, the upper container having side wall 34. The bottom edge is formed with a hollow protruding bead 36 having an annular internal groove 38, while the top edge is similarly formed with a protruding be 40 with an annular internal groove 42. The base 44 having a plurality of holes therei is clipped or snapped into the annular groove 38 while as shown in Figure 15 the lid 4 is fitted into the annular groove 42 after the fudge or other flavoured component has been dispensed into the container. It will be realised also that the bottom 44 may be of mesh construction instead of a solid plate having holes 46 therethrough.

Figure 16 illustrates a further form of the lower container 4 which has an extending bead 50 with an annular groove 52 at the top edge of the wall 54. The base of the lower container 4 is formed with an annular lip or ledge on which the container 4 rests. Figure 17 shows a further form of lower container 4 where the base 58 is flat.

Figures 18 and 19 illustrate the container assembly with the upper container 6 attached to the lower container 4. The annular bead 36 of the upper container 6 is inserted into the annular groove 52 of the lower container 4. It can be seen that the purchaser, after microwaving the product can easily remove the upper container 6 which can be discarded or recycled. The lower container 4 then becomes the serving dish and after use can be recycled or put to further domestic use in its current form.

Figure 20 illustrates a further method of joining and separating the upper and lower containers 6 and 4. The lower container 4 has a peripheral ledge 60 onto which the base of the upper container 6 sits, the ledge having a peripheral flange 62 overlying the side wall of the upper container 6. To releasably secure the two containers together, there is applied an adhesive tape 64 over the flange and adjacent portion of the side wall of the upper container. The adhesive tape encloses a string 66 with a free end so that by pulling on the string the two containers are separated, either by fracturing and tearing the tape or by removing the adhesive tape from one or both containers.

Thus it can be seen that there is provided by the invention a product which requires differential heating, one component of the product to be heated being in a first container, and the second component which is not to be heated being contained in a container releasably coupled to the first container and which second container is opaque to microwave radiation. The component in the first container on heating flows into the second container at which time the first container is removed from the second container. While various embodiments of the invention have been described, it is to be realised that the invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments described, but may include variations and modifications falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A method of packaging a comestible product comprising placing a first component the product in a lower container portion which includes microwave shielding, placing second component of the product in an upper container portion which is releasably coupled above the lower container portion to form a container assembly, the arrangement being such that when the container assembly is subjected to microwave heating, the second component melts and/or becomes flowable so that it flows from t second container portion into the first container portion.

2. A method of providing a comestible product comprising placing a first component the product in a lower container which includes microwave shielding, placing a secon component of the product in an upper container, releasably coupling the lower portion the upper container to upper portion of the lower container, to form a container assembly, subjecting the container assembly to microwave heating whereby the seco component melts or becomes flowable so that it flows into the first container portion, and separating the upper container form the lower container to expose the product wi the second component on top of the first component.

3. A packaging for a comestible product comprising a lower container portion for containing a first component of a product, the lower container including microwave shielding, an upper container portion for containing a second component of the produ and releasable coupling means for coupling the upper and lower container portions to form a package assembly, the arrangement being such that when the package assembly is subjected to microwave heating, the second component is heated and flo into the lower container portion.

4. A packaging for a comestible product as defined in claim 3 wherein the releasable coupling means comprise a lip on the lower portion of the upper container engageabl with a co-operating lip on the upper portion of the lower container.

5. A packaging for a comestible product as defined in claim 3 wherein the releasable coupling means comprise a peripheral bead on the lower portion of the upper contain engageable in an annular groove on the upper portion of the lower container.

6. A packaging for a comestible product as defined in claim 3 wherein the releasable coupling means comprise a paper zipper formed by an adhesive tape over the junctio of the upper and lower containers, the adhesive tape having a rupturing string with a free end adapted to be pulled to separate the two containers.

7. A packaging for a comestible product as defined in claim 3 wherein the lower container is constructed from paper, cardboard or a suitable plastics material and the microwave shielding comprises a conductive shielding selected from metallised ink or paint on the walls and bottom of the lower container.

8. A packaging for a comestible product as defined in claim 3 wherein lower container is constructed of coated aluminium foil.

9. A packaging for a comestible product as defined in any one of claims 3 to 8 wherein the base of the upper container is provided with a plurality of holes or apertures.

10. A packaging for a comestible product as defined in claim 9 wherein the base of the upper container is microwave opaque

11. A packaging for a comestible product as defined in claim 10 wherein the base of the upper container is selected from metallic mesh, perforated foil, or card backed perforated foil.