Thermally Conductive Flaps for Cold-Poured Food Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for sealing packaged food products poured cold result in extended sealing durations, impractical collar formation, and organoleptic quality deterioration, making it difficult to maintain industrial production rhythms and aesthetic appeal.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a thermally insulating lid with thermally conductive flaps that are heat-sealed on the outer face, using a hot sealing iron to activate a thermo-adhesive material, allowing for rapid sealing without heating the food product and eliminating the collar, by employing a thermally conductive metal flap with a high heat transfer coefficient and a thermally insulating plastic lid with a low heat transfer coefficient.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a hot sealing iron is used to heat-seal flaps on cold-poured food product, then sealing can be achieved, but sealing duration is extended and food product is heated
Solution Approach 1:
The lid is designed with differentiated thermal properties: the main body is thermally insulating to protect the food product, while the flaps are thermally conductive to enable efficient heat transfer from the sealing iron. This local quality differentiation allows rapid sealing of flaps without heating the food product.
Solution Approach 2:
The thermally conductive flaps act as intermediaries between the hot sealing iron and the thermally insulating lid body. They conduct heat from the sealing iron to activate the thermo-adhesive material on the lid flaps, while the insulating lid body prevents heat from reaching the food product.
2Productivity
If hot pouring method is used for sealing, then sealing duration is reduced and production rhythm is maintained, but peripheral collar is formed and aesthetic appeal is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The cup is designed with differentiated thermal properties: the main body is thermally insulating to prevent collar formation, while the flaps are thermally conductive to enable efficient heat transfer during sealing. This allows rapid sealing without heating the food product, eliminating the peripheral collar.
3Ease of manufacture
If simple flexible material packaging is used for cold-poured food product, then packaging simplicity is maintained, but sealing is not achieved and shelf life is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The packaging uses a composite structure combining thermally insulating material for the lid body with thermally conductive material for the flaps. This composite design enables effective sealing through heat-activated adhesive while maintaining the simplicity of the overall packaging structure.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method reduces sealing duration, prevents food product heating, and maintains industrial production rhythms while eliminating the formation of a peripheral collar, thus enhancing the shelf life and quality of cold-poured food products.
Implementation Method 1
the flaps being made up primarily, and preferably more than 70%, of metal, in particular aluminum... the flaps have a thermal conductivity greater than or equal to 200 W·m−1·K−1
Implementation Method 2
the lid is made up primarily, and preferably more than 90%, of plastic, in particular expanded plastic... the lid has a thermal conductivity less than or equal to 0.5 W·m−1·K−1
Implementation Method 3
activating a heat-sealing varnish with which the flaps are coated... activating at least one thermo-adhesive material provided at the interface between the flaps and the lid using heat contributed to the thermo-adhesive material by the or each sealing iron
Data Source
AI summary
This method for producing a packaged food product portion includes the following steps: providing a cup defining an inner area for receiving the food product; cold pouring, at a temperature below 50° C., the food product into the receiving area of the cup; covering the food product using a thermally insulating lid arranged such that thermally conducting flaps of the cup extend toward the outside of the lid after the covering step; folding the flaps on an outer face of the lid opposite the receiving area; and heat-sealing the flaps on the outer face.