Golden Valley Microwave Foods, Inc.

The Pillsbury Company

Golden Valley Foods Inc.

David W Andreas

David H Cox

James D Watkins

Lawrence C Brandberg

Carolyn M Niemand

Richard D Stevens

Helen R Norris

A food heating package for elongated products such as french fries and fish sticks which includes partitions formed from microwave energy absorbing material adapted to crisp, toast or brown the surfaces of the foods sticks. The partitions preferably enclose the food sticks on at least three sides and can be made by forming folds in a sheet of vapor-deposited semiconductive metallic coating applied to a plastic film, e.g. polyester, backing.

Microwave receptive heating sheets and packages containing them

A coated sheet material is provided for wrapping, packaging or shipping food articles that are to be heated in a microwave oven. The sheet is formed from a paper or paperboard backing which is thermally and dimensionally stable when exposed to microwave energy. On at least one side is provided a smooth calendered surface or the sheet material is treated by processing as with a filler coating to fill the voids between the paper fibers and to thereby present a smooth surface. A microwave interactive layer is applied to the smoothed surface from a fluid or vapor state. The interactive coating can comprise carbon, a semiconductive metal coating or other microwave interactive material.

Coated microwave heating sheet

A food heating and serving package for elongated food products such as french fries and fish sticks is described which includes partitions formed from microwave energy absorbing material positioned in parallel relationship to define a honeycomb-like array of cells, each adapted to receive one of the food sticks and to crisp, toast or brown the surface of the food sticks. The partitions preferably enclose and heat the food sticks on at least three sides. A pair of opposed retaining tabs lock the susceptor in place within the package with a wedging action. The package includes a removable upper portion connected to a bottom portion with a severable panel. When the bottom portion is removed the food sticks slide out of the cells within which they are held in place within the top portion of the package. The back panel of the package has an upwardly extending portion which serves as a carrying handle to facilitate safe removal from the oven after heating.

Microwave heating and serving package

A coating sheet material is provided for wrapping, packaging or shipping food articles that are to be heated in a microwave oven. The sheet is formed from a paper or paperboard backing which is thermally and dimensionally stable when exposed to microwave energy. On at least one surface is provided a smooth supercalendared surface or the sheet is treated by processing as with a filler coating to fill the voids between the paper fibers and to thereby present a smooth surface. A microwave interactive layer is applied to the smoothed surface from a fluid or vapor state. The interactive coating can comprise carbon, a semiconductive metal coating or other microwave interactive material.

Coated microwave heating sheet for packaging

A food heating package for elongated products such as french fries and fish sticks which includes partitions formed from microwave energy absorbing material adapted to crisp, toast or brown the surfaces of the food sticks. The partitions preferably enclose the food sticks on at least three sides and can be made by forming folds in a sheet of vapor-deposited semiconductive metallic coating applied to a plastic film, e.g. polyester, backing.

The invention provides a flexible packaging sheet including one or more supporting sheets and a base sheet to which is applied a microwave interactive material in the form of a coating or film. The microwave interactive material can comprise any of several elemental metals or oxides such as iron oxide or tin oxide or a thin semiconductive metallic film applied by vacuum electrodeposition. The supporting sheets comprise non-thermoplastic fibrous sheet material such as paper. The base sheet can comprise a plastic resinous material such as polyester.

Flexible packaging sheets and packages formed therefrom

A flexible sheet structure is described which comprises a base sheet having a microwave coupling layer, e.g. electrodeposited aluminum as an island covering a selected area of the sheet. The uncoated portions will not be heated and will not be damaged by microwave energy. The selectively located microwave coupling covered area transfers absorbed heat to a product by thermal conduction. In one form of the invention a flexible fibrous backing sheet such as paper is bonded to the base sheet to provide dimensional stability and prevent warping, shriveling, melting or other damage during microwave heating.

Flexible packaging sheets

A microwave reflective energy concentrating stand is provided which consists of a horizontally disposed article supporting surface and a microwave reflector such as a sheet of metal foil spaced about 1/4 of a wave length of the supplied microwave energy below the supporting surface. The stand can be formed from flexible packaging materials such as paperboard panels. The reflector is isolated electrically from the paperboard.

Microwave heating stand with electrically isolated reflector

A paper bag is described comprising a pair of face panels, one of which may be narrower than the other, joined by centrally extending gussets. The bottom and top of the bag are sealed, the bottom with a permanent seal and the top with a rupturable seal formed from thermoplastic adhesive so that the top can open to form a vent when products, e.g., foods, are heated within the bag in a microwave oven. The strong bottom seal may consist of diagonal seals that extend diagonally from the center of the bag toward the side edge. One or more temporary transverse seals can be provided near the center of the bag.

Cooking bag with diagonal gusset seals

A microwave reflective energy concentrating spacer is provided which consists of a horizontally disposed article supporting surface and a microwave reflector such as a sheet of metal foil spaced about 1/4 of a wave length of the supplied microwave energy below the supporting surface. The spacer can be formed from flexible packaging materials such as paperboard panels to which the aluminum foil is bonded to form the reflective surface.

Microwave reflective energy concentrating spacer

A vertical form, fill and seal packaging machine is described for forming a flat strip of packaging material into a tube and for filling the tube with solid and liquid products which mix in situ within the bags thus formed. Folding blades form gussets in the tube between parallel spaced apart front and rear tube forming surfaces. Sealing jaws seal the filled bags transversely, along the top and bottom edges. Additional pair of jaws seal the gusset material to the side panels at the bottom of the bag causing the gussets in that area to conform to a flat bottom portion of the bag. Additional jaws seal the walls of the bag together to provide a locating seal to keep the product in about the center of the bag and preventing it from falling to the bottom of the bag.

Machine for forming, filling and sealing bags

A combined popping and shipping package for popcorn is described. The package is composed of a dual compartmented container, one compartment being relatively small and containing the charge of popcorn and fat ready to be popped. The larger compartment which is expansible communicates with the small compartment and is adapted to hold the popped kernels.

Combined popping and shipping package for popcorn

Stacked pancakes or other farinaceous griddle food is described. Between adjacent pancakes is a layer of sugar syrup in a plastic but non-fluid condition and preferably whipped to provide a foam structure. The stack is packaged within a container such as a six sided box having an odor and flavor blocking exterior overwrap. A syrup barrier is provided on the inside of the box to prevent the syrup from soaking into the box.

Precooked farinaceous foods adapted for microwave heating and a syrup

A package of popcorn which is ready for popping in a microwave oven of from about 600 to 1,400 watts capacity is composed of a flexible and expandable package e.g. a gussetted bag formed from paper. The package is sealed to permit internal pressure to develop to expand the bag so that the corn has sufficient space for the increased volume assumed after popping. The charge of popcorn in the bag is uniformly mixed with about 1 to 5 parts by weight of a shortening for each 8 parts by weight of corn. The shortening comprises an edible solid or liquid fat and the package contains salt for flavoring.

Growing community of inventors

Minneapolis, MN, United States of America

David W Andreas