IES960130A2

IES960130A2 - A preserving device

Info

Publication number: IES960130A2
Authority: IE
Inventors: John Conran
Original assignee: John Conran
Priority date: 1996-02-13
Filing date: 1996-02-13
Publication date: 1996-09-04
Also published as: CA2197483A1; IES69368B2; DE29702539U1; GB2310191A; GB9702869D0

Abstract

The invention relates to a storage and preserving arrangement for an at least partially packaged soft-solid foodstuff, comprising an enclosure for accommodating the at least partially packaged soft-solid foodstuff. The enclosure has a single opening for introduction of the at least partially packaged soft-solid foodstuff, and is dimensioned so that wall portions of the enclosure provide a substantially airtight seal around the at least partially packaged soft-solid foodstuff by engaging at least portions of the packaging of the at least partially packaged soft-solid foodstuff between the wall portions of the enclosure and the soft-solid foodstuff within the packaging <Fig.2>.

Description

The present invention relates to the storage and preservation of foodstuffs, in particular soft-solid foods and more especially cheeses. The invention is especially directed to arrangements and devices for such preservation and storage. More particularly the invention relates to devices for preserving soft-solid foods such as cheeses without need for removing them from their original packaging.

Background of the Invention Many devices for preserving foods are known. In particular in relation to cheeses, it is known to provide a container for storing cheeses once the original packaging of the cheese has been opened. Usually the device comprises a base or container having a lid. The cheese is taken from its original packaging and placed in the base or container, whereupon the lid is replaced. Alternatively, the original packaging is left in place and the opened package placed in the container. The container preserves the cheese.

Such containers however contain some excess space in order to accommodate the cheese. This space is taken up with air and the quality of the cheese within such a container may the presence of this ai l; i <; .’L B SECTION 28 AND RULE 23 m r JNL No..../.......OF - 2 960130 This deterioration is exacerbated by repeated opening and closing of the container when the cheese is being used at different times.

It is also known to provide smaller portions of cheese which are individually wrapped. When the outer packaging or wrapping is opened, then the individual enclosure preserves each portion of cheese.

In many cases cheese is sold in relatively large rectangular blocks. Usually this cheese is vacuum packed in a plastics packaging. When it is desired to use the cheese, the plastics packaging is cut or torn open and the cheese or a portion of the cheese is removed. In many cases not all the cheese will be used. The packaging is not resealable and therefore air is free to enter the packaging. This causes the cheese to dry out and become hard. Some people tend to roll up the free end, if any, of the packaging in order to try prevent air entering the packaging. In other cases a container such as the one described above is used. The cheese is placed in the storage container either with or without its packaging.

Object of the Invention It is an object of the present invention to provide a device for preserving cheese which is simple in construction, easy to use and provides an alternative to using a container such as the one described above for storing cheese.

Summary of the Invention According to the invention, there is provide a storage and preserving arrangement for an at least partially packaged soft-solid foodstuff, comprising an enclosure for accommodating said at least partially packaged soft-solid foodstuff, said enclosure having a single opening for introduction of said at least partially packaged soft-solid foodstuff, and being dimensioned so that wall portions of the enclosure provide a substantially airtight seal around said at least partially packaged soft-solid foodstuff by engagement of at least portions of the packaging of said at least partially packaged soft-solid foodstuff - 3 ί 96013 0 between said wall portions of the enclosure and the soft-solid foodstuff within said packaging.

Said enclosure suitably tapers convergingly from said single opening so that said engagement of portions of the packaging is effected by insertion of said at least partially packaged soft-solid foodstuff into the enclosure from said single opening. In this manner, a block of cheese which has been partially unwrapped may be pushed into the enclosure with the open end of the wrapping leading, so that this leading end is effectively resealed by the walls of the enclosure engaging the wrapping tightly against the cheese, the other or outer end of the block of cheese remaining fully enclosed within the original wrapping. This urging of the wrapping against the cheese by virtue of the narrowing or tapered shape of the enclosure achieves a highly effective resealing of the cheese packaging. The narrowing or converging cross-sectional profile of the storage and preserving arrangement ensures that the required sealing engagement takes place substantially independently of the precise dimensions of the packaged foodstuff, within a predetermined range of such dimensions.

Suitably, the storage and preserving arrangement is also provided with a guide portion, to extend divergingly outwardly from said single opening to facilitate introduction into the enclosure of said at least partially packaged soft-solid foodstuff. In the arrangement of the invention, said enclosure is preferably dimensioned to accommodate a particular nominal size of block of cheese in accordance with standards generally applicable in the industry, the tapered or convergent enclosure structure then enabling sealing accommodation of individual blocks of the nominal size, within a range of tolerance extending about the prescribed nominal size.

The invention also extends to an arrangement substantially as described herein with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings. - 4 '·®01Τ0 Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view of the device of the invention.

Figure 2 is a side view of the device of Figure 1 fitted to a block of cheese.

Figure 3 is a side view of the device of Figure 1 fitted to a block of cheese having different end dimensions to the block of cheese shown in Figure 2.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments With reference to Figure 1, the food-preserving and storage arrangement or device 1 according to the invention has a main body 2 which consists of a top wall 3, a bottom wall 4, two side walls 5,6 and an end wall 7. Device 1 has an open face 8 opposite end wall 7.

Open face 8 is rectangular in shape and its periphery is defined by edges of walls 3,4,5 and 6. As shown in the drawings, device 1 is formed to accommodate a rectangular block of cheese, hence open face 8 is rectangular. If desired however, open face 8 may be substantially square to fit to a square block of cheese.

The shorter side 9 and the longer side 10 of open face 8 are each larger in dimension than the shorter side 11 and longer side 12, respectively, of end wall 7 . The main body 2 of device 1 is thus tapered, top wall 3 and bottom wall 4 converging in the direction of end wall 7. Similarly side walls 5 and 6 are not parallel, but converge towards end wall 7. Hence all four walls 3,4,5,6, of main body 2 converge towards end wall 7, the internal transverse cross-sectional dimensions of main body 2 thus reducing uniformly from open face 8 to end wall 7.

As shown in Figure 1, the opposite walls of body 2 converge at the same rate. In an alternative construction, side walls 5 and 6 may taper inwardly at different rates, as also may top wall 3 and bottom - 5 900130 wall 4. In addition, end wall 7 need not be rectangular in shape and may be curved or rounded. Furthermore, main body 2 need not have a defined end wall 7, but instead side walls 5 and 6 and the top and bottom walls 3 and 4 may simply taper inwardly until they meet, making the main body 2 triangular in side view.

In the preferred embodiment shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3, main body 2 is fitted with a guiding portion 13 for facilitating introduction into the unit of the invention of a food product to be stored and preserved within the unit. Guiding portion 13 is fitted to main body 2 at its open face 8. Guiding portion 13 has an upper wall 14, a lower wall 15, and two side walls 16 and 17.

Upper wall 14 and lower wall 15 are each joined to side walls 16 and 17 by corner portions 18. Corner portions 18 are rounded so as to remove the angular corner which would otherwise be defined where the walls meet. All walls 14,15,16 and 17 and corner portions 18 of guiding portion 13 taper inwardly and converge towards open face 8, in the same manner as described for walls 3,4,5 and 6. The angle of convergence of walls 14,15,16 and 17 is however greater than that of walls 3,4,5 and 6. Thus in effect, the guiding portion forms a funnel having rounded corners on open face 8, as can be seen from Figure 1. The funnel shape of guiding portion 13 allows for easier insertion of objects into the device 1. It will be appreciated however that guiding portion 13 is not essential to the device of the invention.

Figures 2 and 3 show the device of Figure 1 in use.

A block of cheese 19 is introduced or fitted into open face 8 of device 1. Other soft-solid foodstuffs may also be preserved by use of the device of the invention. The term soft-solid foodstuff as used herein refers to a food product which is solid but which may be compressed or deformed by relatively small forces exerted on its surface(s). The block of cheese 19 is provided with a wrapper or seal 20 which may be the original product wrapper. In the cases shown, the wrapper 20 has been opened to remove part of the block of cheese 19. Open ends 21 of wrapper 20 have been pulled out past end 22 of the - 6 >•60130 block of cheese 19. The device 1 is then fitted over the end 22 of the cheese 19 and the cheese 19 is inserted until device 1 is fitted snugly over the block of cheese. Alternatively if the length of the open ends of the wrapper 20 so allows, they may be folded back over the end 22 of the cheese and the block then inserted into device 1. Even if however, the wrapper 20 has no open ends 21 which extend beyond the end of the cheese block 19, this does not affect the way device 1 is used.

For instance, if both the wrapper 20 and cheese 19 are cut at the same length so that no free open ends 21 are present, then the device 1 is simply pushed onto the end 22 of the cheese 19.

Guiding portion 13 allows for ease of insertion of block 19 and wrapper 20. As the block 19 and wrapper 20 are pushed more firmly into device 1, then the tapering of device 1 ensures that wrapper 22 is pressed against cheese block 19 on each of the four sides of the block 19.

The device 1 is suitably fitted so that the block of cheese 19 is slightly compressed and thus holds the wrapper 20 tightly against walls 3,4,5 and 6. This forms a seal whereby no air can enter wrapping 20 and thus the cheese will not dry out.

Main body 2 may be any desired shape provided open face 8 matches and fits to the end 22 of block of cheese 19 as described above, so that the cheese may be pushed into the device to sufficient extent to form the required seal by gripping the package between the device walls and the surfaces of the cheese. For instance main body 2 may be substantially part-spherical or square in shape. The tapering of the interior of main body 2 may alternatively also be 'stepped' rather than uniformly tapered, i.e. narrowed at intervals rather than continually. Guiding portion 13 may also be stepped.

Device 1 may be suitably made from plastics material or other such materials as may be appropriate to the purpose. In particular, it may be moulded in one piece as an integral structure. - 7 960130 The device of the invention is capable of accommodating a diversity of nominal sizes of blocks of cheeses, even if the end dimensions of individual blocks vary somewhat due to variations in the cutting of the blocks of cheeses from the original large main cheese block produced by the maker.

In an alternative embodiment the device 1 is collapsible, i.e. it may be folded flat when not in use. This may be done by providing hinge or fold lines along the entire length of device 1 which allows the device to collapse or fold so that for instance top wall 3 and bottom wall 4 are in contact with each other. Alternatively fold lines could be provided so that side walls 5 and 6 contact each other when the device 1 is in a collapsed position. In the collapsed position device 1 occupies substantially less space and is more easily stored. When required for use device 1 is returned to its working disposition or configuration.

A device of given dimensions may accommodate a number of different size blocks of cheese as the block of cheese may be pushed into the device to varying degrees. At the limit the dimensions of guiding portion 13 may also be suitable for forming a seal as described above, in the case of an oversize block. Preferably however, the cheese block 19 is inserted to the extent that the end 22 of the block of cheese may be in close proximity to or even abut the end wall 7. The cheese block 19 may also be inserted to any intermediate position depending on its exact dimensions. Figures 2 and 3 show the same device fitted to two different blocks of cheese having different end dimensions. The block of cheese 19 shown in Figure 3 fits further into device 1 before the required seal is formed, having smaller end dimensions than that shown in Figure 2.

Device 1 may in particular be provided in various substantially standardized sizes so as to fit to commercially produced cheese block sizes. A number of examples are given below. 980130 Example 1 The dimensions of one device of the invention are as follows: Dimensions of main body 2 : Width of open face 8 : 56 mm Height of open face 8 : 30 mm Length of main body 2 : 60 mm Width of end wall 7 : 54 mm Height of end wall 7 : 28 mm Dimensions of guiding portion 13 : The end of guiding portion 13 attached to open face 8 has exactly the same dimensions as open face 8.

Height of guiding portion 13 at free or open end : 34 mm Width of guiding portion 13 ....... : 60 mm Depth of guiding portion 13 .......... : 10 mm Example 2 The end dimensions of a second exemplary device of the invention are as follows: Dimensions of main body 2 : Width of open face 8 : 70.5 mm Height of open face 8 ; : 41.5 mm Length of main body 2 : : 50 mm Width of end w all 7 : 67.5 mm Height of end wall 7 : 38.5 mm Dimensions of guiding portion 13 : The end of guiding portion 13 attached to open face 8 has exactly the same dimensions as open face 8. r 960130 - 9 Height of guiding portion 13 at free or open end : 45 nrni Width of guiding portion 13 11 ......: 74 mm Depth of guiding portion 13 ........ : 10 mm Experiment 1 The device of Example 2 was fitted to a cheese block of end dimensions 68 mm by 39 mm. The wrapping on the cheese block was opened and a portion of the cheese was removed. The open ends of the plastic wrapping were folded over the open end of the cheese block and the device was fitted to the cheese block as described above.

The cheese fitted with the device was placed in a fridge.

After three weeks this cheese was fresh and unspoiled.

A second cheese block having identical dimensions and being fitted with the same wrapping was opened and a portion of the cheese was removed. This block of cheese was then placed in a fridge without the protection of the device or any container. After 2 to 3 days the cheese in the unprotected wrapper was beginning to deteriorate.

Claims

1. A storage and preserving arrangement for an at least partially packaged soft-solid foodstuff, comprising an enclosure for accommodating said at least partially packaged soft-solid foodstuff, said enclosure having a single opening for introduction of said at least partially packaged soft-solid foodstuff, and being dimensioned so that wall portions of the enclosure provide a substantially airtight seal around said at least partially packaged soft-solid foodstuff by engagement of at least portions of the packaging of said at least partially packaged soft-solid foodstuff between said wall portions of the enclosure and the soft-solid foodstuff within said packaging.

2. An arrangement according to Claim 1, wherein said enclosure tapers convergingly from said single opening so that said engagement of portions of the packaging is effected by insertion of said at least partially packaged soft-solid foodstuff into the enclosure from said single opening.

3. An arrangement according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, comprising a guide portion extending divergingly outwardly from said single opening to facilitate introduction into the enclosure of said at least partially packaged soft-solid foodstuff.

4. An arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein said enclosure is dimensioned to accommodate a block of cheese of predetermined nominal dimensions.

5. An arrangement substantially as described herein with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.