Apparatus and methods for combining beverage containers and snack food hanging pouches
Apparatus and methods for manufacturing snack food hanging pouches, and for combining beverage containers and snack food hanging pouches, are disclosed. A combined beverage and snack food package according to the invention can include a beverage container and a snack food hanging pouch that is suspended from the protrusion of the beverage container. A snack food hanging pouch according to the invention can include a pouch portion that is adapted to contain a snack food item, and a hanger portion that is attached to the pouch portion, having a hanging hole that is adapted to fit onto the protrusion of a beverage container. The pouch portion can be adapted to contain a loose snack food item or a packaged snack food item.
This application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/151,745, filed May 20, 2002, which is incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates to packaging systems. More particularly, the invention relates to apparatus and methods for manufacturing snack food hanging pouches, and for combining beverage containers and snack food hanging pouches.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONIt is well known that consumers frequently associate certain snack foods and beverages with one another, and that consumers frequently consume snack foods and beverages in combination. For example, consumers might be inclined to eat peanuts when drinking beer, to eat popcorn when drinking soda pop, or to eat trail mix when drinking water.
To capitalize on this, the food and beverage industry has attempted to increase sales of both snack foods and beverages by tying sales of certain beverages to sales of snack food items that are often associated with those beverages. For example, the seller of popcorn might offer the popcorn purchaser a “cents-off” coupon that can be redeemed with the purchase of a bottle of soda pop, or the seller of bottled water might offer a coupon that can be redeemed with the purchase of a bag of trail mix.
Although this approach provides the beverage purchaser with an incentive to purchase the snack food item, or the snack food purchaser with an incentive to purchase the beverage, such an approach requires the purchaser to actually retrieve both the beverage and the snack food. The extra effort required to locate the additional item and then to carry it or place it into the shopping cart is often just enough to discourage the purchaser from making the additional purchase. Even if the beverage and the snack food are placed in reasonable proximity to each other, the consumer can still be dissuaded from buying both the snack food and the beverage by having to pick up and carry more than one item.
It would be advantageous, therefore, to manufacturers, packagers, and merchandisers of snack foods and/or beverages if combined beverage/snack food products were available that entice the consumer to purchase both the snack food and the beverage, without requiring the consumer to select and carry separate items. Thus, there is a need in the art for combined beverage and snack food packages comprising a beverage container and a snack food hanging pouch. There is further a need in the art for apparatus and methods for manufacturing such snack food hanging pouches, as well as apparatus and methods for combining such snack food hanging packages and beverage containers.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe invention satisfies the aforementioned needs in the art by providing apparatus and methods for manufacturing snack food hanging pouches, and for combining beverage containers and snack food hanging pouches.
A combined beverage and snack food package according to the invention can include a beverage container, and a snack food hanging pouch that is suspended from the protrusion of the beverage container. The beverage container can be a bottle, for example, and the protrusion the neck of the bottle. A snack food hanging pouch according to the invention can include a pouch portion that is adapted to contain a snack food item, and a hanger portion that is attached to the pouch portion, having a hanging hole that is adapted to fit onto the protrusion of a beverage container. The pouch portion can be adapted to contain a loose snack food item or a packaged snack food item.
The snack food hanging pouch can include a first seal formed proximate a first end of the pouch portion, and a second seal formed proximate a second end of the pouch portion to contain the snack food item between the first seal and the second seal. A reinforcement seal can be formed around at least a portion of the hanging hole.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGOther features of the invention are further apparent from the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.
The hanger portion 104 of the snack food hanging pouch 100 is attached to the pouch portion 102, and has a hanging hole 112 that is adapted to fit onto a protrusion of a beverage container (not shown in
Preferably, the pouch portion 102 of the snack food hanging pouch 100 is made of a polymeric material, such as plastic, for example. Preferably, the polymeric material is transparent, so that the consumer can see the snack food item 106 contained within the pouch portion 102, though it may be desirable to use colored or printed material to further enhance the marketing appeal of the pouch 100. It should be understood, however, that the pouch portion 102 could be made of paper, cardboard, foil, or any other suitable material.
Snack food items, such as potato chips, corn chips, and popcorn, for example, are frequently highly sensitive to oxygen and moisture and tend to become stale rapidly if exposed to room air for even a relatively short period of time. Consequently, it is preferred that such snack food items are packaged in bags that are manufactured from a flexible film material having inherent moisture- and oxygen-barrier properties. Examples of suitable materials include waxed paper, metal foil, thermoplastic film, and the like. Such bags can be contained in the pouch portion 102 of the snack food hanging pouch 100. Alternatively or additionally, the snack food hanging pouch 100 (or at least the pouch portion 102) can be made of such a material.
Frequently, snack food packages are constructed from a laminate film having a plurality of layers. While the respective layers may have a variety of properties, at least one layer is typically selected so as to provide each of the needed moisture and oxygen barrier properties. Again, the snack food item can be packaged in a bag made of such a laminate film, and the bags contained in the pouch portion 102 of the snack food hanging pouch. Alternatively or additionally, the snack food hanging pouch 100 (or at least the pouch portion 102) can be made of such a laminate film.
In a preferred embodiment, the hanger portion 104 of the snack food hanging pouch 100 is also made of a polymeric material, such as plastic, for example. As with the pouch portion 102, the hanger portion 104 can be made of a transparent polymeric material, or it can be made of colored or printed material to further enhance the marketing appeal of the pouch 100. Generally, it is preferred that the hanger portion 104 is made of the same material as the pouch portion 102. More preferably, the hanger portion 104 is integrally formed with the pouch portion 102. For example, as described in detail below in connection with
Preferably, the snack food hanging pouch 100 includes a first (or bottom) seal 110 formed proximate a first end (or bottom) 111 of the pouch portion 102. A second (or top) seal 108 can be formed proximate a second end (or top) 109 of the pouch portion 102 to contain the snack food item 106 between the first seal 110 and the second seal 108. The snack food hanging pouch 100 can also include a reinforcement seal 114 formed around at least a portion of the hanging hole 112. The reinforcement seal 114 helps to ensure that the snack food hanging pouch 100 does not break away from the beverage container from which it is suspended. The snack food hanging pouch 100 can also include a closure seal 118 formed proximate at least a portion of a perimeter 116 of the hanger portion 104. The closure seal 118 enhances the appeal of the hanging pouch 100 by sealing the flaps 117 that can be formed when the hanger portion is formed from, for example, a tubular sheet of polymeric material. It is anticipated that such flaps 117 will tend to curl in the absence of a closure seal 118, and thereby adversely affect the marketing appeal of the product.
As shown in
A typical soft drink bottle, as depicted in
It should be understood that the embodiment depicted in
A delivery hopper 19 is located above the former 15. The snack food item, which can be either a loose snack food item or a packaged snack food item, is delivered through an end 19e of the delivery hopper 19 into the tubular pouch material 16.
The tubular pouch material 16, after passing the rollers 17 and 18 enters a pouch forming assembly (see
Other examples of packing machines that can be adapted for use in manufacturing a snack food hanging pouch according to the invention are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,850,780, 4,663,917, 4,128,985, 4,288,965, 4,910,943, 5,125,217, 5,366,130, 5,463,850, 5,537,798, 5,551,206, and 5,622,033. In essence each of these packaging machines receives a strip of plastic film that is pulled passed a former so as to form a tube. The edges of the strip are sealed together, and product is delivered to the interior of the tube through the former. A sealing head engages the tube and forms discrete bags, which are then severed from the remainder of the tube. Typically, closing bars and/or stripping bars can be employed to aid the packaging process.
It should be understood that the rollers 17 and 18 described above are merely one example of how the tubular pouch material can be moved through a packaging machine. The film can be pulled through the packaging machine by a variety of methods. For example, a vacuum could be to the rollers to draw the pouch material into frictional contact with the rollers. The machine can be provided with a pair of co-operating belts, as described in a number of the above patent specifications, to which a vacuum may or may not be delivered. The film is drawn into contact with the driven belts to thereby pull the film through the machine. The belts can be made to pass around rollers that are driven by electric motors that have suitable control characteristics, such as stepping, servo, computer controlled motors, or the like.
The packaging machine can be provided with vibration members which engage the sides of the tube and cause the sides of the tube to vibrate transverse of the longitudinal direction of movement of tube to cause the snack food item being packaged to move towards the bottom of the pouch being formed. This is to reduce the volume that the snack food item occupies within the pouch portion of the snack food hanging pouch, and to reduce the possibility that the snack food item will be engaged by the closing bars and/or the sealing heads.
The sequence of operation of the above described assembly 50 is as follows. As the tubular pouch material 16 is driven past the delivery hopper 19, the snack food item 106 is delivered to the interior of the tubular pouch material 16. The heads 54 engage the pouch material 16 to sealingly close the material 16 at one or more locations. For example, as shown in
A first cutter 73 severs the current hanging pouch 100 from the remainder of the tubular pouch material 16. In the embodiment shown in
As shown in
It should be understood that the configuration of sealers and cutters can be varied in any number of ways to manufacture a snack food hanging pouch having any desired shape, and having any desired number or configuration of seals.
At step 410, the tubular sheet is severed, transverse to the longitudinal axis, proximate the first seal, to form a first end of the snack food hanging pouch. At step 412, a hanger portion of the snack food hanging pouch is formed proximate the second seal. The hanger portion is formed such that it includes a hanging hole via which the snack food hanging pouch can be suspended from a protrusion of a beverage container. Thus, a hanger portion of the snack food hanging pouch can be formed, wherein the hanger portion is attached to the pouch portion and has a hanging hole that is adapted to fit onto a protrusion of a beverage container.
At step 504, a beverage container having a protrusion is provided. Beverage containers can be conveyed to the combining location in a line, such as might be found at a bottling plant, or they can be crated and shipped to the combining location.
At step 506, the snack food hanging pouch and the beverage container are combined to form a combined beverage and snack food package according to the invention. Preferably, the snack food hanging pouch is suspended from the protrusion of the beverage container. This can be done at the point of sale (e.g., at the supermarket), or manually at another combining location. For example, the beverage containers can be conveyed to the combining location in a line, and an operator can suspend a hanging pouch from each container as it passes. Alternatively, the process can be automated. That is, machinery can be used to suspend the hanging pouches from the beverage containers.
The combined packages can then be boxed, shipped, and shelved (or otherwise displayed for sale).
Thus, there have been described apparatus and methods for manufacturing snack food hanging pouches, and for combining beverage containers and snack food hanging pouches. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that numerous changes and modifications can be made to the preferred embodiments of the invention, and that such changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is intended, therefore, that the appended claims cover all such equivalent variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.
Claims
1. Apparatus for manufacturing a snack food hanging pouch, the apparatus comprising:
- a delivery hopper that delivers a snack food item into a tubular pouch material; and
- a pouch forming assembly that severs a snack food hanging pouch from the tubular pouch material, wherein the snack food hanging pouch contains the snack food item and has a hanging hole via which the snack food hanging pouch can be suspended from a protrusion of a beverage container.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:
- a former that wraps a sheet of pouch material film about a longitudinal axis to form the tubular pouch material.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pouch forming assembly comprises a pair of opposing sealer/stripper heads that seal and sever the pouch material to form the snack food hanging pouch.
4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein at least one of the sealer/stripper heads includes a first seal former that forms a first seal and a second seal former that forms a second seal such that the snack food item is contained between the first seal and the second seal.
5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein at least one of the sealer/stripper heads includes a first cutter that strips the snack food hanging pouch away from the tubular pouch material.
6. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein at least one of the sealer/stripper heads includes a hole cutter that forms the hanging hole.
7. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein at least one of the sealer/stripper heads includes a hole sealer that forms a reinforcement seal around at least a portion of the hanging hole.
8. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein at least one of the sealer/stripper heads includes a perimeter sealer that forms a closure seal along at least a portion of a perimeter of the hanging pouch.
9. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the snack food hanging pouch includes a hanger portion, and at least one of the sealer/stripper heads includes a perimeter cutter that cuts the tubular pouch material to form a perimeter of the hanger portion.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 3, 2006
Publication Date: Aug 3, 2006
Inventor: Forrest Clay (Worland, WY)
Application Number: 11/397,664
International Classification: B65D 81/28 (20060101);