Package

Abstract

A package to facilitate the use of squeeze bottles and other dispensers, particularly in the food service industry. The invention is directed to, in particular, a combined bottle pouch and food product, which includes a pouch having a peelable primary seal area and lines of weakness for ready opening of the pouch. The lines of weakness, or other area(s) of weakness, can be formed in a flap or membrane, which together with the area of weakness forms a secondary seal for the pouch. The flap or membrane is preferably sealed to the walls of the pouch. Preferably, the combined pouch and food product also includes a bottle closure. The product of the invention facilitates the use of squeeze bottles for products such as mayonnaise and other dressings in food service by permitting sale of a combined bottle pouch and food product to the busy eating establishment. The eating establishment can simply insert the pouch into the squeeze bottle or other dispenser, open the primary seal on the pouch, and fasten a bottle closure onto the squeeze bottle. The squeeze bottle is then ready to dispense the product.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Dressings such as mayonnaise and salad dressings are frequently used in salads or sandwiches. In some cases, casual eating establishments employ squeeze bottles to dispense the dressings. While squeeze bottles are a convenient and effective means for dispensing the product, filling and maintaining the squeeze bottles is relatively labor intensive. For instance, when most of the contents have been dispensed, it is generally necessary for an employee manually to scoop replacement product out of a large container and funnel it into the squeeze bottle. Also, it is desirable that squeeze bottles are periodically cleaned, for sanitary reasons.

Liners have previously been disclosed for use with squeeze bottles. For instance, PBM Plastics has disclosed various applications for its melt phase system and billet technology. Among the applications are baby bottles, test tubes and consumer squeeze bottle liners. In particular, at its website, a consumer squeeze bottle liner and a squeeze bottle having a dispensing and a one way valve to admit air are disclosed.

Package Design Magazine discloses on its website, www.packagedesignmag.com/awards/FDA.shtml accessed on Dec. 13, 2006, the Glenkos performance beverage stand-up pouch, which includes a valve/fitment combination.

Jongen et al. United States Patent Application Publication No. US 20060065132 discloses a combined bottle liner and food product, which includes a liner pouch, a liner peripheral sealing area and a food product contained within the liner pouch. Preferably, the combined bottle liner and food product also includes a bottle and a bottle closure which includes a sealing surface which, when upon fastening of the closure, applies pressure to the sealing surface of the bottle liner. The product of the invention facilitates the use of squeeze bottles for products such as mayonnaise and other dressings in food service by permitting sale of a combined bottle liner and food product to the busy eating establishment. The eating establishment can simply insert the liner into the squeeze bottle or other dispenser and remove a liner closure. The bottle closure is placed on the squeeze bottle and the squeeze bottle is then ready to dispense the product.

Various other combinations of external and internal containers are disclosed in the literature.

Battegazzore EP 510 388 relates to a dispenser of viscous products such as toothpaste cosmetic creams, food juices and the like in which an container is squeezed to deliver a product and then released. The product is contained within an inner bag. The bags may be replaced as refills. A one way valve and a vent are provided.

Shibata, EP 1 078 861 discloses a bag with a penetrable portion which can be pierced with tubular suction means. The bag is inserted into a plastic container.

Smith et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,108,007 is directed to a squeezable dispenser having a flexible outer container closed by a top having an opening therein and an inner collapsible flexible fluid containing bladder. A one way flow valve is mounted in the top normally closing off the opening. A vent in the top provides fluid communication between the interior of the container and the exterior thereof.

Wagner et al. EP 473 994 is directed to a package with an essentially dimensionally rigid but elastically deformable external container, within which is an easily deformable internal container. The package includes an extraction valve and a ventilation valve.

Evezich EP 352 348 discloses an apparatus for dispensing fluid materials in a readily deformable inner container which is located within a resilient outer container. A nozzle has a one-way check valve permitting ejection of the contents from the inner container. The resilient outer container has a second one-way valve to admit air from the exterior of the device to the space between the inner and outer containers.

Schwartzman U.S. Pat. No. 3,592,365 is directed to a squeezable container having a bottom secured with a check valve adapted to open when the pressure in the container is less than atmospheric. An inflatable bag is disposed in the container and held in place by a cover detachably secured thereto. The cover has a dispensing opening with a valve.

US Patent Publication No. 2003/0155376 is directed to a fluid dispenser including a dispensing member including a neck and a least one deformable actuating wall. The packaging is connected to the dispensing member at a fixing apparatus.

Behar et al. FR 2 821 766 is directed to a dispenser for a fluid which is typically a cosmetic product. The dispenser includes a rigid head with a channel, valve and outlet, a pouch and an outer compressible bulb with an air inlet valve. When the bulb is squeezed in the hand, the pouch is compressed and product is expelled. When released, the bulb resumes its original shape by drawing in air through the valve.

Mack et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,529,213 discloses a dispensing container produced from a collapsible inner container surrounded by a resilient outer container. A dispensing check valve is provided in a cap assembly to allow material to be dispensed without air being drawn into the container.

Kock et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,377,875 discloses a replaceable inner receptacle for use in an outer squeeze bottle having a large finish. The inner receptacle includes a single integral piece flexible bag which is adapted to contain a fluid product. A fitment portion of the inner receptacle has a flange which is adapted to attach to the finish of the outer bottle and which may contain a vent hole. The vent hole may also be located elsewhere. A peelable film tear tab provides a means for initially sealing the fluid passage of the filled inner receptacle to prevent fluid from exiting the inner receptacle during shipping and handling. The peelable tear tab is releasably sealed to a flat annular upwardly facing surface of a flared portion of a cylindrical wall portion surrounding the fluid passage. In an alternative configuration, the film may be permanently sealed to the flat annular surface of the flared portion and punctured for use.

Kock et al. disclose a closure which includes a dispensing orifice and a product valve. A raised grip portion assists in securing the closure to the external squeeze bottle. Tightening of the closure seals the flange to the finish of the external squeeze bottle and also seals a depending annular wall on the closure to the cylindrical wall of the inner receptacle. Also, as the annular depending wall is inserted into the fluid passage it could be adapted to puncture any permanently sealed film utilized to seal the fluid passage.

Haviv et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,300 is directed to a closed system for dispensing fluid, where the fluid is maintained free of any contamination. The importance of maintaining the sterility of certain fluids such as drugs, pharmaceuticals, liquid foodstuffs, beverages and the like is mentioned in the background section in connection with U.S. Pat. No. 5,846,810 which is cited as disclosing the ReSeal valve which may be used by Haviv et al. Haviv et al.'s fluid dispensing unit includes a hollow support with a reservoir or container located within the support. The reservoir is in the form of a flexible bag. The container includes a one-way valve for dispensing fluid.

Van Coney EP 305 003 is directed to a resilient squeeze bottle package for dispensing viscous products such as toothpaste. The viscous product is contained in a thin, flexible bag which is suspended inside a resilient squeeze bottle.

Other packages in the literature, which may include collapsible internal bags, include Loeffler U.S. Pat. No. 4,102,476, Bouet FR 2 081 244, Eluere FR 2 094 286, Krishna et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,271,534, Kersten et al. EP 576 916, Yamawaki et al. EP 548 840, Piarrat EP 494 132, FR 2 655 315, and Seidler WO 93/14021. Evezich, U.S. Pat. No. 5,312,018, Evezich, U.S. Pat. No. 4,760,937, Schroeder, U.S. Pat. No. 6,651,845, Hennessey et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,789,704, CA 1332591, Evezich, U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,416, Evezich, U.S. Pat. No. 4,469,250, Gay III, et al., U.S. Patent Publication No. 2005/0029285, Boll et al. GB 2 253 387, DE 19 737 175, Workum EP 1 090 169, and Meshberg U.S. Pat. No. 5,273,191.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a package to facilitate the use of squeeze bottles and other dispensers, particularly in the food service industry. The invention is directed to, in particular, a combined bottle pouch and food product, which has a peelable primary seal area and a secondary membrane with lines of weakness for ready opening of the pouch when pouch flaps are pulled over the side of the bottle or during dispensing when pressure is applied to an external container, e.g., a squeeze bottle. The flap or membrane is preferably sealed to the inner walls of the pouch.

The product of the invention facilitates the use of squeeze bottles for products such as mayonnaise and other dressings in food service by permitting sale of a filled pouch to the busy eating establishment. The eating establishment can simply insert the pouch into the squeeze bottle or other dispenser, unpeel the primary seal, and fold down the primary seal area. A bottle closure is placed on the squeeze bottle and the squeeze bottle is then ready to dispense the product through one or more areas of weakness in the pouch, which open upon pulling the pouch flaps over the sides or upon application of pressure to the squeeze bottle or other dispenser. The invention is particularly useful in food service in the dispensing of dressings and condiments.

When all or most of the food product has been dispensed, the employee or other user simply removes the closure from the squeeze bottle or other container and removes the pouch. This leaves a clean squeeze bottle ready to receive another pouch filled with the food product. After the pouch is inserted and the primary seal is broken by unpeeling and turned downwardly, the squeeze bottle closure can be replaced on to the squeeze bottle, which is again ready for use.

The primary seal for the pouch may be a simple peelable adhesive comprising extensions of the pouch wall on two sides, to permit the user readily to pull the seal apart. The extensions may be integral with the pouch walls, but need not be. The squeeze bottle preferably includes a one way valve on its closure permitting the product to exit the bottle and a one way valve on the bottle permitting air to be drawn into the squeeze bottle to replace the air which is squeezed out of the bottle during dispensing.

Use of the area of weakness in the secondary seal area, eliminates the need for a step wherein a liner closure is removed prior to fastening the bottle closure. Perhaps more importantly, it minimizes the amount of air to which the food is exposed, thereby enhancing food safety and increasing the period of time during which the food product may be used.

For a more complete description of the above and other features and advantages of the invention, reference should be made to the following description of the preferred embodiment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a pouch in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a combined transparent squeeze bottle and squeeze bottle pouch prior to unsealing the primary seal of the pouch;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a combined transparent squeeze bottle and squeeze bottle pouch during unsealing of the primary seal of the pouch;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a combined transparent squeeze bottle and squeeze bottle pouch after unsealing of the primary seal of the pouch;

FIG. 5 shows the combined transparent squeeze bottle and squeeze bottle pouch of FIG. 4 from the side of the squeeze bottle.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a combined transparent squeeze bottle and squeeze bottle pouch after the closure has been applied to the bottle.

FIG. 7 shows a side elevational view of a bottle liner in accordance with an alternative aspect of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view from above of the bottle and pouch of the invention after the primary seal has been opened.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view from above of the bottle and pouch of the invention after the primary seal has been opened and the primary seal areas have been folded downwardly over the upper side of the bottle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Pouch 10 comprises product receiving pouch 12. Pouch or liner 10 may be made of any material suitable to contain food and to be placed within an outer container.

Pouch 10 comprises front wall 14 and rear wall 16. Each wall may comprise a sheet of extruded film. Front wall 14 and rear wall 16 are heat sealed together along side edges 18 and 26. Bottom end 40 of pouch 10 is open and unsealed to permit filling of the product. Even prior to filling of product, bottom end 40 may include oblique seals 42 and 44, if desired.

At upper end 50, pouch 10 includes closing flap or membrane or sheet 54. Closing flap or membrane 54 includes perforations or other lines of weakness 56 extending transversely of the vertical axis of the pouch. As best seen in FIG. 8, flap or membrane 54 is sealed, e.g. heat sealed, at least along four of its sides, 90, 92, 94, and 96 to the interior walls of the pouch 10. An area 57 on the inside of each of the front and rear walls of the pouch which is not sealed to the opposite pouch wall when the primary seal is in place is available for sealing to the membrane 54. Thus, a large portion of membrane 54 can be sealed to the inside of the pouch front and rear walls, leaving only an unsealed area in the middle which encompasses the lines of weakness. As seen in FIG. 2, above area 57 where the front and rear walls are not directly sealed to each other is a sealed area 60 which forms an extension at the upper end of the front and rear walls wherein the front and rear walls are initially releasably sealed to each other, as with a light adhesive. Membrane 54 may be any suitable shape, especially rectangular or circular, depending on the structure of the pouch which it is to seal.

Pouch 10 will be made of a material suitable for the product which it is to contain. For example, since ketchup typically needs to be in a structure containing a foil barrier layer and which is capable of withstanding the hot fill process, a typical structure is: 48 ga Oriented Polypropylene (OPP)/28.5 ga aluminum foil/EAA sealant. Many other products, mayonnaise, mustard, etc. generally require a barrier film, but not a foil layer. A typical structure for these would be: Biaxially oriented nylon with an Ethylene-vinyl alcohol (EVOH) barrier layer and Linear Low Density Polyethylene (LLDPE) sealant.

Typically, pouch 10 will be filled through open bottom 40 (FIG. 1) after which it will be sealed closed along bottom edge 62. With product 64 contained within the sealed pouch 10, the pouch 10 may be sold, for example, to a casual food preparation and serving establishment. The food establishment can insert pouch 10 into an empty squeeze bottle such as squeeze bottle 20, which is typically made of a resilient plastic material.

Once pouch 10 has been inserted into squeeze bottle 20, or other outer container, the user may peel apart seal area 60 on the front and rear wall thus breaking the primary seal. The extension areas 60 may be folded downwardly around the outside of bottle 20 and can even include indicia 70 describing the contents of the bottle. After areas 60 have been folded downwardly, the FIG. 4 combined pouch and squeeze bottle can then have applied thereto closure 30 which may be sealed using matching threads 26 on the bottle and internal threads (not shown) on the closure. Closure 30 includes dispensing valve 32 for dispensing the product, an outwardly extending surface 100 below the valve and a depending skirt 102 which includes the internal threads (not shown).

When it is desired to dispense product, squeeze bottle 20 is inverted and pressure is manually applied to bottle sidewall(s) 34. Application of pressure causes mayonnaise and/or other food product contained within pouch 10 to emerge through perforations 56. When the dosing of product is completed and the pressure is released, the walls of the squeeze bottle 20 returns to their original shapes, thus pulling outside air in through one way valve 22 to replace the volume of product which has been dispensed. One way valve 22 leads to the chamber located between pouch 10 and squeeze bottle 20. Air drawn into this chamber does not come in contact with the product. The squeeze bottle can be made of HDPE, LDPE, PET, PP or other thermoplastic or other materials. The closure 30 can be made of HDPE, LDPE, PP or other thermoplastic or other materials. The closure 30 can be dual injection molded with a soft rubber material to form the one way dispensing valve 32, or the closure 30 and the one way dispensing valve 32 can be manufactured separately and then manually assembled.

When the product has been fully (or almost fully) dispensed from squeeze bottle 20, closure 30 is unscrewed or otherwise removed from the squeeze bottle, and pouch 10 is readily removed by grasping the edge or edges of surfaces 60 and pulling upwardly. This leaves a squeeze bottle 20 which requires little or no cleaning and which is ready to receive the next pouch filled with product. While the closure 30 is described as having screw threads, other fasteners such as protuberances and detents useful in a snap-closed or other closing arrangement may be employed.

Liner 10′ of FIG. 7 is similar to pouch 10 of FIG. 1 except that additional oblique seals 80 and 82 are present on upper aspects of the pouch to help guide product to the perforation/opening to improve evacuation. Seals 40, 44 and 40′, 44′ of pouches 10, 10′ serve to facilitate insertion of the pouch into the outer bottle 20 by permitting ready folding of the pouch as can be seen, eg. in FIG. 2.

The pouches can be used to contain a wide variety of food products, such as mayonnaise, salad dressings, other dressings, and condiments such as ketchup and mustard. The pouches can also contain savory products which are either shelf stable, retorted or aseptically filed. Finished sauces such as Hollandaise, Demi Glaze or Cheese sauce can be packaged in this pouch as well.

The squeeze bottle may include outer surfaces appropriately contoured or textured to facilitate gripping by the user. Food-containing pouch 10, may be sold as a food service item to food preparation establishments such as fast food and other restaurants, deli's, cafeterias and hospitals, where it can be inserted into a squeeze bottle and easily prepared for use by screwing a closure onto the bottle, the closure ensuring minimal exposure of the product to the atmosphere. The closure can be unscrewed and the pouch readily removed and replaced once the product has been depleted.

It will be appreciated that the pouch and food product of the invention greatly facilitates refilling and cleaning of squeeze bottles and other containers. While the invention has been illustrated using a squeeze bottle as an outer container, it will be apparent that other outer containers may be used within the purview of this invention.

It should be understood of course that the specific forms of the invention herein illustrated and described are intended to be representative only, as certain changes may be made therein without departing from the clear teaching of the disclosure. Accordingly, reference should be made to the following appended claims in determining the full scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A fillable pouch for a bottle, which pouch comprises:

(a) at least one pouch wall,

(b) a bottom end at the bottom of said at least one wall,

(c) an upper end at the top of said wall,

(d) said upper end including a membrane closing said end,

(e) said membrane including weakened portions to facilitate opening,

(f) said wall or walls including opposed extensions extending above said closure flap,

(g) said extensions being releasably adhered to each other,

(h) said bottom end being open to permit filling of said pouch therethrough.

2. The pouch according to claim 1 wherein said weakened portions is a line of weakness.

3. The pouch according to claim 1 formed from an extruded film.

4. The pouch according to claim 1 wherein said pouch comprises a front wall and an opposed rear wall, said walls being sealed along opposed side edges.

5. The pouch according to claim 4 wherein said closing flap is permanently adhered to said front wall and said rear wall to seal the upper end of said pouch.

6. The pouch according to claim 5 wherein said closing membrane includes a gusset.

7. A pouch for a bottle, which pouch comprises:

(a) at least one pouch wall,

(b) a bottom end at the bottom of said at least one wall,

(c) an upper end at the top of said wall,

(d) said upper end including a membrane closing said end,

(e) said membrane including weakened portions to facilitate opening,

(f) said wall or walls including opposed extensions extending above said closure membrane,

(g) said extensions being releasably adhered to each other,

(h) said bottom end being sealed.

8. The pouch of claim 7 wherein said bottom end is sealed along a bottom edge of said bottom end and said pouch further includes at least one oblique seal extending obliquely from said bottom end to a side of said pouch.

9. The pouch according to claim 7 wherein said weakened portions is a line of weakness.

10. The pouch according to claim 7 formed from an extruded film.

11. The pouch according to claim 7 wherein said pouch comprises a front wall and an opposed rear wall, said walls being sealed along opposed side edges.

12. The pouch according to claim 11 wherein said closing membrane is permanently adhered to said front wall and said rear wall to seal the upper end of said pouch.

13. The pouch according to claim 7 wherein said closing membrane includes a gusset.

14. The pouch of claim 11 wherein said bottom end is sealed along a bottom edge of said bottom end and said pouch further includes at least one oblique seal extending obliquely from said bottom end to one of said sealed sides of said pouch.

15. The pouch according to claim 7 filled with a product within the pouch.

16. The filled pouch according to claim 15 wherein the product is edible.

17. The filled pouch according to claim 16 wherein the edible product is a dressing.

18. The filled pouch according to claim 17 wherein said dressing is a full fat or low fat mayonnaise.

19. The pouch according to claim 7 wherein the pouch is heat sealed on four sides.

20. The pouch according to claim 1 wherein the pouch is self supporting so that it can stand on one end of the pouch.

21. The pouch according to claim 1 wherein said extensions are capable of being bent downwardly in opposite directions along an outer surface of said one or more walls.

22. A combined pouch and bottle comprising:

(a) a pouch having at least one wall,

(b) a bottom end at the bottom of said at least one wall,

(c) an upper end at the top of said wall,

(d) said upper end including a membrane closing said end,

(e) said membrane including weakened portions to facilitate opening,

(f) said wall or walls including opposed extensions extending above said closure membrane,

(g) said extensions being releasably adhered to each other,

(h) said bottom end being sealed,

(i) and an outer bottle at least partly containing said pouch.

23. A combined pouch and bottle comprising:

(a) a pouch having at least one wall,

(b) a bottom end at the bottom of said at least one wall,

(c) an upper end at the top of said wall,

(d) said upper end including a membrane closing said end,

(e) said membrane including weakened portions to facilitate opening,

(f) said wall or walls including opposed extensions extending beyond said closure flap,

(g) said bottom end being sealed,

(h) and an outer bottle at least partly containing the pouch,

(i) said outer bottle comprising a sealed bottom end, at least one side wall, and an open upper end comprising a fastener,

(j) said extensions being disposed downwardly along an outer surface of said at least one outer bottle wall,

(k) a bottle closure, and

(l) said bottle closure being fastened to said bottle at said fastener.

24. The combined pouch and bottle according to claim 23 wherein said bottle fastener is a screw thread which mates with screw threads on an interior depending wall of said closure.

25. The combined liner and bottle accord to claim 23 wherein said closure includes a dispensing opening.

26. The combined liner and bottle according to claim 25 wherein said dispensing opening is a spout.