IES20000670A2 - A packaging method and apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A method and apparatus for packaging a food item in-line are provided. A food item(10) is wrapped and sealed in an advancing web of material and then the individual packages are seperated from the web by cutting the web between adjacent wrapped items. The web is cut close to the sealed item at one end and at a distance for the sealed item as the other end to provide and unsecured extension tube(15) extending away from the seal(11b). This extension tube(15) provides a user with and easy purchase so that the tube can be readily opened out to provide access to the seal(11b) to facilitate opening the package. Optionally, the tube may be flattened and perforated at the lateral edges to give a two-ply opening, the plies of which can be seperated and pealed apart breaking the perforated edges to give access to the food item.

Description

A PACKAGING METHOD AND APPARATUS A method and apparatus for packaging a food item in-line are provided. A food item (10) is wrapped and sealed in an advancing web of material and then the individual packages are separated from the web by cutting the web between adjacent wrapped items. The web is cut close to the sealed item at one end and at a distance from the sealed item as the other end to provide an unsecured extension tube (15) extending away from the seal (lib). This extension tube (15) provides a user with an easy purchase so that the tube can be readily opened out to provide access to the seal (lib) to facilitate opening the package. Optionally, the tube may be flattened and perforated at the lateral edges to give a two-ply opening, the plies of which can be separated and pealed apart breaking the perforated edges to give access to the food item.

P8768 ΙΕΟ Ο Ο 6 7 Ο The present invention relates to a packaging method and apparatus, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for packaging edible foodstuffs.

Traditionally, the marketing of food items for sale was focussed on the production of distinctive and aesthetically pleasing packaging. More recently, however, consumer choice has been more heavily influenced by the appearance of the item itself, rather than the packaging. Customers wish to inspect the product before purchase to ensure that it is fresh and to make a judgement on quality. To facilitate consumer inspection, many producers now package food items such as cheese, meat and fish in transparent plastics materials. In addition to allowing visual inspection, the materials used must be robust enough to protect the product during packaging, transportation and handling.

A number of packaging solutions are known. For example, food items can be deposited at a preset distances along a continuous, moving plastics web, which is folded over the items at a wrapping station. To minimise packaging usage, the distance between individual food items is kept to a minimum. As the web is advanced through the production process, individual packages are separated from the web at stations which seal and cut the web at appropriate intervals. Typically, the seals between adjacent packages are only about 3mm apart, thus leaving a tail of only about 1.5mm on each package when the two are separated.

Food packaged in this way, while being easy to inspect, ship and handle, presents the customer with a problem in that it is often difficult to open. The seal created by heated platens, while sealing in the food to ensure freshness and preventing contamination, is not easily broken. While this is a positive benefit during distribution and stocking, it is inconvenient for end users of the packaged product.

There is therefore a need for a packaging method and apparatus, which will overcome these problems.

OPEN TO Ρύ tAF; Z ?.<ΤΓ:€Έ0Ν UNDER SECTION 23 AND RULE 23 JNL No. OF -2Accordingly, the present invention provides a method of wrapping a food item comprising the steps of: locating a food item on a continuous web; wrapping the food item in the continuous web to define a food item leading edge and a food item trailing edge; sealing the web adjacent the leading edge and adjacent the trailing edge with sealing means; and separating the sealed food item from the web with cutting means spaced apart from either the leading edge or the trailing edge to define an opening extension tube extending outwardly from either the leading or trailing edge.

A food item wrapped in accordance with the invention has the principal advantage of being easier to open than previously known solutions. A consumer can either insert a finger into the tube to force the walls apart to break the seal or simply pull the sidewalls apart. This has the advantage of providing a seal which can easily be opened and optionally resealed.

Preferably, the cutting means is integrally formed with the sealing means.

In one arrangement, the sealing means is provided by spaced apart platen pairs disposed above and below the web. By spacing the platen pairs at a distance from one another, the sealing operations can be performed automatically to define the tube and separate the food item from the web simultaneously.

In one arrangement, the opening extension flap is a two-ply flap having an upper ply and a lower ply. Thus, by the relatively simple expedient of separating the plies and pulling the plies apart a consumer is provided with sufficient leverage to break the seal providing access to the food item. -3One of the platen pairs may incorporate cutting means. Alternatively, cutting means may be provided intermediate the platen pairs. The cutting means may be a knife with a single cutting blade. It may alternatively be formed of two knives justaposed side by side so closely that their blades together form one cutting edge. This latter arrangement has the advantage that each lateral edge of the or each blade can be bent at an angle to the plane of the blade, enabling a notch to be created at either side of the cut web. The provision of a notch in the opening edge of the tube facilitates opening still further as there is a tendency for the straight edges between the notches to curl away from one another, facilitating a person in opening the package.

Optionally the method includes the further step of perforating the opening extension tube using one or more perforation platens disposed about the tube.

Preferably, perforation is provided by a pair of spaced apart platens disposed along a longitudinal axis of the tube such that in operation the tube is flattened and formed as a two-ply sheet.

The invention also provides a package made by the process described and an apparatus for operating the process.

The invention will hereinafter be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings which show, by way of example, one embodiment of a packaging method and apparatus according to the invention and in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a prior art packaging system; Fig. 2 is a schematic view similar to that shown in Fig. 1 of a packaging method and apparatus in accordance with the invention; Fig. 3 is a side view of a wrapped food item formed in accordance with the invention in a sealed state; -4Fig. 4 is a side view of the wrapped food item of Fig. 3 in an opening state; Fig. 4a is an end view of the item of Fig. 4 in the direction of the arrows IV - IV; Fig. 5 is a side view of the item shown in Figs 3,4 and 4a in an open state; Fig. 5a is an end view of the item of Fig. 5, similar to the view shown in Fig. 4a in the direction of the arrows V - V; Fig. 6 is a top view of an alternative wrapped food item formed in accordance with the invention; and Fig. 6a is a side view of the alternative embodiment of the food item of Fig. 6.

Referring to the drawings, and initially to Fig. 1, there follows a brief description of a prior art packaging solution indicated generally by the reference numeral 1, which will facilitate understanding of the present invention. Food items 2 are placed on a continuous web, which in turn is moved in the direction of the arrow A. As the items 2 progress through the production process they are wrapped in the web so that a bridge 4 separates individual items. In order not to unnecessarily obscure the present invention, specific wrapping and sealing details have been omitted, as it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that a number of seals, welds and wrapping configurations may be used. As the bridge 4 enters a cutting station indicated generally by the reference numeral 5, upper heated platens 6a, 6b descend onto the bridge 4 in the direction of the arrow B. At the same time lower heated platens 7a, 7b rise in the direction of the arrow C to engage with the upper platens 6 trapping the bridge 4 therebetween. The interaction of the platens 6a, 7a and 6b, 7b seal food items 2 on either side of the cutting station 5 with the distance between the seals being about 3mm. A blade may be used to cut the sealed bridge either at this point or at another workstation. After this process, each food item has a small remaining bridge tab 8 of about 1.5mm on both leading and trailing edges. This and other prior art solutions ensure that individual food items are hygienically wrapped but as mentioned above, problems frequently occur when a consumer wishes to open the item. Previously known solutions ?E 0 θ 0 6 7 ο -5attempt to reduce waste in the web by reducing both the distance between individual food items 2 and the distance between the platens 6a and 6b. It is an important feature of the current invention that this distance is not minimised but deliberately and advantageously increased to overcome the technical problem of opening a sealed food item.

Referring now to Figs. 2 and 3 there is illustrated a method and apparatus in accordance with the invention, the apparatus being indicated generally by the reference numeral 100. As described above, food items 10 are deposited onto a plastics web and wrapped. To aid clarity, specific wrapping methods and exhaustive discussions of, for example, a fin seal creation process have been omitted, as these do not form part of the current invention. It will be noted that the distance between individual food items is substantially increased over known solutions and this will be described in more detail below.

The food item 10 is wrapped in the web using a fin seal and proceeds through the apparatus in the direction of the arrow A until a leading edge 10a approaches a sealing and cutting station indicated generally by the reference numeral 50. The use of a fin seal ensures that the web between food items is effectively a tube. An upper sealing platen 11 descends in the direction of the arrow B and a lower sealing platen 11 a rises in the direction of the arrow C to trap the tubular web between wrapped items. The platens 11 and 1 la compress the web to create a seal lib (Fig. 3). When the seal 1 lb has been created, the item 10 is advanced in the direction of the arrow A until a leading edge of a following item (not shown) is in position for sealing by the platens 11 and 11a. In this position, the item 10 has a trailing edge 1 Ob now located for contact and sealing by an upper sealing and cutting platen 12 and a lower sealing and cutting platen 12a. The platens 12 and 12a operate in the same manner as that described in relation to the platens 11 and 1 la to create a seal 12b and in addition cut the web close to the left of the platens 12 and 12a to define an opening extension tube 15 on the now packaged, sealed and separated food item 10.

By separating the platens and the food items as described above, each item is more readily opened by a consumer. This is achieved by the relatively simple expedient of opening the tube 15 at an end away from the food item as shown in an opening state illustrated in Figs. 4 and 4a. In this state, the seal 1 lb is intact. The consumer can either insert a finger into -6the tube 15 to break the seal 1 lb or use the leverage provided by the tube sidewall to break the seal. With the seal 1 lb broken, access is provided to the food item 10 through the tube 15 as illustrated in Figs. 5 and 5a. It will be understood that the nature of the seal may be altered to facilitate this process. The seal may be deliberately weakened to facilitate opening. Additionally, it is envisioned that this seal may be formed as a resealable seal.

Referring now Figs. 6 and 6a there is illustrated an alternative embodiment of a wrapped food item formed in accordance with the invention and indicated generally by the reference numeral 600. Parts described with reference to Figs. 2 to 5b are identified by the same numerals generally. In this embodiment, perforating platens (not shown) are provided. These perforating platens are arranged at right angles to those described above and lie on either side of the tube 15. The operation of these platens produces perforation marks 15c, which flattens the tube 15 and create instead an upper ply 15a and a lower ply 15b. A consumer gains access to the food item by simply pulling the plies 15a and 15b apart as illustrated in Fig. 6a. The separated plies provide the consumer with the necessary leverage to break the seal lib thereby providing access to the contents.

It will be understood that the cutting operation may alternatively be performed upstream of the leading edge as the seal is formed thereby defining the opening extension flap on the trailing edge of the food item.

It will also be understood that the platens may incorporate extension tabs for roughening a surface on the opening extension flap to provide a finger grip. Alternatively, or additionally, the material about the fin seal may provide a finger grip.

The wrapping may be made by arranging the food item between two web sheets, which are then sealed along their longitudinal edges to form the tube. In such case, the package will be opened by separating the two webs from one another by pulling them apart at the opening extension flap.

To ensure that the knife cuts clearly and evenly between adjacent seals to separate the packages, means may be provided for supporting the web at the cut point. This may be «= 0 0 0 6 7 0 -7done by tensioning the web using grippers located to flank the area to be cut and to hold the web between them taut. Alternatively, the cutting station may include a support strut operable to support the film during the knife stroke. This strut will advantageously be comprised of a material which does not conduct heat, or indeed may even be cooled by suitable means. This is to ensure that there is no heating affect caused by the strut which might act to seal the film to itself at the cutting station.

In a preferred arrangement, the knife is arranged to cut a notch at either side of the leading edge of the flattened tube. This effectively provides a short area adjacent the tube mouth which has two plies and these will tend to curl apart making it easier for the end user to open the package. The knife may be a single knife with a single cutting blade, the lateral edges of which are angled out of the plane of the blade to form the notch in the web, or may comprise a double bladed knife with the blades lying so close together so that the two blades effectively act together as a single blade, hut with their lateral edges angled away from one another so as to notch the web’s two lateral edges on each side of the knife blade.

The length of the opening tube extension may be in the range of 10 to 35 mm.

In a preferred arrangement, the opening tube will be between 18 to 30mm long to facilitate opening, whereas the tail between the seal and the free end of the package on the opposite side of the package will be less than 3mm.

One web material suitable for use in the present invention is a laminate composed of the following layers: micrometres co-polyester, heat sealable resin 5 micrometres polyethylene terephthate 12 micrometres pressure-sensitive adhesive 23 micrometres polyethylene terephthate.

Other suitable materials will suggest themselves to the skilled person. ΙΕ ο δ o s 7 q -8It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to specific details described herein which are given by way of example only and that various modifications and alterations are possible without departing from the scope of the invention.

MACLACHLAN & DONALDSON, Applicants’ Agents, Merrion Square, DUBLIN 2.

Claims (5)

CLAIMS:

1. A method of wrapping a food item comprising the steps of: locating a food item on a continuous web; wrapping the food item in the continuous web to define a food item leading edge and a food item trailing edge; sealing the web adjacent the leading edge and adjacent the trailing edge with sealing means; and separating the sealed food item from the web with cutting means spaced apart from either the leading edge or the trailing edge to define an opening extension tube extending outwardly from either the leading or trailing edge, the tube having a length sufficient to facilitate a user to find ready purchase to open out the tube to access and break the seal.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, in which the cutting means is integrally formed with the sealing means, optionally in which the sealing means is provided by spaced apart platen pairs disposed above and below the web, optionally in which one of the platen pairs incorporates cutting means, optionally in which cutting means are provided intermediate the platen pairs, optionally in which the cutting means comprises a knife with a single cutting blade, optionally in which the cutting means comprises two knives juxtaposed side by side so closely that their blades together form one cutting edge, with each lateral edge of each blade being bent at an angle to the plane of the blade enabling a notch to be created at either side of the cut web, ΙΕΟ Ο Ο 6 7 Ο optionally in which the opening extension tube is a two-ply flap having an upper ply and a lower ply so that by separating the plies and pulling the plies apart a user may break the seal providing access to the food item, optionally including the further step of perforating the opening extension tube using one or more perforation platens disposed about the tube, optionally in which perforation is provided by a pair of spaced apart platens disposed along a longitudinal axis of the tube such that in operation the tube is flattened and formed as a two-ply sheet, optionally in which the tube has a length in the range of 10mm to 35mm, or substantially in accordance with any of the embodiments herein described with reference to Figures 2 to 5a or Figures 2 to 5a as modified by Figures 6 and 6a of the accompanying drawings.

3. An apparatus for wrapping a food item comprising:means for locating a food item on a continuous web; means for wrapping the food item in the continuous web to define a food item leading edge and a food item trailing edge; sealing means for sealing the web adjacent the leading edge and adjacent the trailing edge; and means for separating the sealed food item from the web with cutting means spaced apart from either the leading edge or the trailing edge to define an opening extension tube extending outwardly from either the leading or trailing edge, the tube having a length sufficient to facilitate a user to find ready purchase to open out the tube to access and break the seal.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 13, in which the cutting means is integrally formed with the sealing means, optionally in which the sealing means is provided by spaced apart platen pairs disposed above and below the web, optionally in which one of the platen pairs incorporates cutting means, optionally in which cutting means are provided intermediate the platen pairs, IF η η η s 7 ο optionally in which the cutting means comprises a knife with a single cutting blade, optionally in which the cutting means comprises two knives juxtaposed side by side so closely that their blades together form one cutting edge, with each lateral edge of each blade being bent at an angle to the plane of the blade enabling a notch to be created at either side of the cut web, optionally including means for forming the opening extension tube as a two-ply flap having an upper ply and a lower ply so that by separating the plies and pulling the plies apart a user may break the seal providing access to the food item, optionally including means for perforating the opening extension tube using one or more perforation platens disposed about the tube, optionally in which perforation is provided by a pair of spaced apart platens disposed along a longitudinal axis of the tube such that in operation the tube is flattened and formed as a two-ply sheet, optionally in which the tube is formed with a length in the range of 10mm to 35mm, or substantially in accordance with any of the embodiments herein described with reference to Figures 2 to 5a or Figures 2 to 5a as modified by Figures 6 and 6a of the accompanying drawings.

5. A package for a food item formed according to the method of any of claims 1 to 4.