Flexible disposable material for forming a food container for microwave cooking
First Claim
1. A packaging material for forming a flexible, disposable food container adapted to contain and maintain food in a fresh and sanitary condition, to ship the food from a factory to a warehouse to a store to a home, to display the food to the consumer in the store in a presentable fashion, to heat and brown the food when exposed to microwave energy in a microwave oven, and to serve the food to the consumer after removal from the microwave oven, the packaging material comprising:
- a first layer of material;
a layer of microwave interactive material formed as patches on the first layer of material;
a layer of structural stock material laminated to the first layer of material so as to sandwich the patches of microwave interactive material between the first layer of material and the layer of structural stock material; and
sealant disposed on portions of the first layer of material in registry with the patches of microwave interactive material, the sealant being located to seal ends of the packaging material to form the container and to prevent the heat of the microwave interactive material from disrupting the seal during cooking in the microwave oven.
14 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A packaging material and a method of forming the packaging material into a flexible, disposable food container adapted to contain and maintain food in a fresh and sanitary condition, and to ship, display, heat and brown, and serve the food is disclosed. The method includes forming patches of microwave interactive material on a web of plastic and laminating the web of plastic to one side of a web of structural stock material to form a composite web; the microwave interactive material is sandwiched between the web of plastic and the web of structural stock material. Sealant is applied to portions of the plastic layer in registry with the patches of microwave interactive material to seal ends of the composite web. Printed graphics are applied to portions of the structural stock material layer in registry with the patches of microwave interactive material and the sealant. The formed container is sufficiently flexible to contain food having curved and irregular surfaces and to maximize contact of the food with the portion of the container housing the microwave interactive material. The container is sealed so that portions of the composite web extend as fins beyond the sealed ends of the food-containing portion of the container. The container also is capable of receiving food before the food is frozen to prevent portions or parts of the food from falling out of their proper place in the food packaging process.
304 Citations
40 Claims
-
1. A packaging material for forming a flexible, disposable food container adapted to contain and maintain food in a fresh and sanitary condition, to ship the food from a factory to a warehouse to a store to a home, to display the food to the consumer in the store in a presentable fashion, to heat and brown the food when exposed to microwave energy in a microwave oven, and to serve the food to the consumer after removal from the microwave oven, the packaging material comprising:
-
a first layer of material; a layer of microwave interactive material formed as patches on the first layer of material; a layer of structural stock material laminated to the first layer of material so as to sandwich the patches of microwave interactive material between the first layer of material and the layer of structural stock material; and sealant disposed on portions of the first layer of material in registry with the patches of microwave interactive material, the sealant being located to seal ends of the packaging material to form the container and to prevent the heat of the microwave interactive material from disrupting the seal during cooking in the microwave oven. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 39)
-
-
13. A method of forming a flexible, disposable food container adapted to contain and maintain food in a fresh and sanitary condition, to ship the food from a factory to a warehouse to a store to a home, to display the food to the consumer in the store in a presentable fashion, to heat and brown the food when exposed to microwave energy in a microwave oven, and to serve the food to the consumer after removal from the microwave oven, the method of forming the flexible, disposable food container comprising the steps of:
-
forming patches of microwave interactive material on a web of material; laminating the web of material to one side of a web of structural stock material to form a composite web having a material layer and a structural stock material layer so that the microwave interactive material is sandwiched between the web of material and the web of structural stock material; applying sealant to portions of the material layer in registry with the patches of microwave interactive material to seal ends of the composite web to form the container and to prevent the heat of the microwave interactive material from disrupting the seal during cooking in the microwave oven; and rewinding the composite web onto a roll preparatory to forming the composite web into a container and inserting food therein. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 40)
-
-
20. A method of forming a flexible, disposable food container adapted to contain and maintain food in a fresh and sanitary condition, to ship the food from a factory to a warehouse to a store to a home, to display the food to the consumer in the store in a presentable fashion, to heat and brown the food when exposed to microwave energy in a microwave oven and to serve the food to the consumer after removal from the microwave oven, the method of forming the flexible, disposable food container comprising the steps of:
-
forming patches of microwave interactive material on a web of plastic; laminating the web of plastic to one side of a web of structural stock material to form a composite web having a plastic layer and a structural stock material layer so that the microwave interactive material is sandwiched between the web of plastic and the web of structural stock material; applying sealant to portions of the plastic layer in registry with the patches of microwave interactive material to seal ends of the composite web to form the container and to prevent the heat of the microwave interactive material from disrupting the seal during cooking in the microwave oven; applying printed graphics to portions of the structural stock material layer in registry with the patches of microwave interactive material and the sealant to provide a visually appealing package by properly centering the graphics without impairing the effectiveness of the microwave interactive material, without applying the graphics in difficult-to-read portions of the package, and without using a repeated, random pattern; rewinding the composite web onto a roll preparatory to forming the composite web into a container; forming the composite web into a container shape and sealing appropriate ends of the container to maintain the container shape; inserting the food into the container; sealing the container around the food; and cutting off the container from the composite web; wherein the container is sufficiently flexible to contain food having curved and irregular surfaces and to maximize contact of the food with the portion of the container housing the microwave interactive material; wherein the container is sealed so that portions of the composite web extend as finds beyond the sealed ends of the food-containing portion of the container to enable the container to be opened without destroying the container, to allow the container to be used for cooking and to permit browning while inhibiting steaming of the food, and wherein the fins are usable as handles for the opened container; and wherein the container is capable of receiving food before the food is frozen to prevent portions or parts of the food from falling out of their proper place in the food packaging process. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
-
Specification