Disposable food packaging

Abstract

A disposable food packaging ideal for use in feeding an infant or child, the packaging having rounded corners to permit easy insertion and removal from a crowded, diaper bag, purse, or other crowded carrying environment. Additionally, the packaging is contoured for easy handling and use. Further, the smooth corners minimize the risk of scratching an infant or child when the contents are expressed into mouth of the consumer.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates to food packaging products in general and more particularly disposable baby food packaging materials.BACKGROUND[0002]Commercial disposable food packaging must balance the interests of providing a sanitary environment for a dispensable consumable product while providing the consumer with a portable and manageable packaging. Infant and baby food packing, in particular, must be well-suited for transportation in a crowded diaper bag, purse, or other location where the packaging will be subject to physical forces, including compression, and in turn may crack, fracture, or rupture—resulting in product leakage. Compressible food packages currently in use are often rectangular with sharp corners. Problematically, this poses a safety risk as the sharp corners may scratch a child or infant when the food contained within is squeezed directly into the mouth of the consumer. Additionally, the rectangular shape and sharp corners make produ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The present invention is a disposable food packaging designed for infants and children. It has rounded corners for easy insertion and removal from carrying environments, and smooth corners to minimize scratching. The packaging is portable, safe, and comfortable. It is compressible, resistant to dents and mechanical, biological, chemical, and tampering influences. It does not require a utensil to dispense or consume the product. It is a glassless alternative to prior art baby food jars and glass-based products. The packaging is contoured to fit comfortably in a child or adult's hand. It is smooth-cornered for easy insertion and exit from carrying environments."

Problems solved by technology

Infant and baby food packing, in particular, must be well-suited for transportation in a crowded diaper bag, purse, or other location where the packaging will be subject to physical forces, including compression, and in turn may crack, fracture, or rupture—resulting in product leakage.

Problematically, this poses a safety risk as the sharp corners may scratch a child or infant when the food contained within is squeezed directly into the mouth of the consumer.

Additionally, the rectangular shape and sharp corners make product use awkward and further make the packaging relatively difficult to quickly insert into a crowded purse, diaper bag, backpack, and the like.

Furthermore, the forces incident to placing prior art packaging in a crowded-bag environment may cause product leakage where the prior art packaging is unable to withstand mechanical forces and the packaging ruptures.

Prior art food packaging solutions exist, however, none are particularly well suited to address the present problem.

While Niggemyer is well suited to containing and dispensing confections, the overall design is not well suited for use with baby food and would not be ideal for quick or convenient storage or transportation in a purse or diaper bag.

In particular, the Niggemyer plastic nozzle is likely to become hung-up when inserted into and removed from a crowded bag and is therefore not ideal for this use.

Lastly, Diaz requires cleaning of the spoon between uses.

Accordingly, Diaz does not adequately address the limitations and problems associated with transportation of food products, particularly where sanitation concerns make it desirable to use the product and immediately dispose of the packaging.

While Castner and Read overcome the abovementioned sanitation concerns, they still require the use of a spoon, only allow transportation of a relatively limited amount of product, are relatively expensive to manufacture, and are subject to breakage when placed in a crowded bag.

While Montesissa is an improvement, it is not well suited for the travel environment where baby food is typically kept.

Given the forces encountered in a typical crowded-bag type environment, the central placement of a longitudinal weld is imperfect in that it would lead to rupture, product leakage, or alternatively the need for an excessively large or thick packaging to overcome the inherent structural weakness of a seam in this location.

Further, the edges of Montesissa's product are sharp, which as described above, makes insertion and removal from a bag difficult.

Lastly, the outer perimeter of the packaging is convex and bulges outwardly, making the product more difficult to hold in the hand.

Lastly, Montesissa is not well adapted for use directly from the package (e.g. squeezing product directly into the mouth of the consumer).

Similarly, Voigtman, Sr. et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,373,926 teaches a packaging product designed for solid foods and not suited packaging liquid or semi-liquid food items.

Ohga, et al., is not specifically contoured for easy handling and is substantially rectangular in shape, which is neither the safest nor most comfortable package shape for use with an infant or child, and furthermore is not well suited for easy insertion and removal from a crowded-bag environment.

However, Caudle's zigzag shape and its sharp corners, is less than ideal for easy insertion and removal from a crowded bag environment.

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