Golden Valley Microwave Foods, Inc.

Golden Valley Foods Inc.

James D Watkins

David W Andreas

David H Cox

Charles H Turpin

Denise Ellen Hanson

Lawrence C Brandberg

Jeffrey T Watkins

The invention provides a package for popping popcorn in a microwave oven including an open-topped wide mouth container in the form of a tub or bowl formed from self-supporting, i.e. stiff, microwave transparent sheet material such as stiff paper or paperboard with a flexible and expandable cover. A layer of microwave interactive susceptor material is distributed across the bottom wall of the tub to assist in popping the popcorn. Unpopped popcorn within the tub is packaged in a sealed inner compartment or container within the tub. During cooking, the flexible cover expands upwardly as the kernels pop so as to accommodate their expansion.

Microwave corn popping package having flexible and expandable cover

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 package for popping popcorn in a microwave oven includes an open-topped container in the form of a tub formed from self-supporting microwave transparent sheet material such as stiff paper or paperboard. The tube includes an upstanding side wall terminating at the top in a free edge which defines an upper wide mouth. The side wall has a lower edge which rests on the floor of the microwave oven during cooking. The tube also includes a flat bottom wall which is connected to the side wall at an elevation spaced upwardly from its bottom edge to define an air compartment within the package between the botom wall of the package and the oven floor. A layer of microwave interactive susceptor material is connected to the bottom wall and is distributed across the bottom wall so that substantially the entire susceptor has a constant gap from the bottom wall of the oven. The lower edge of the side wall of the tub is uninterrupted to make possible a sealing engagement with the floor of the microwave oven so that the air in the compartment becomes heated during cooking. A layer of unpopped popcorn rests on the bottom wall in heat conductive relationship with the susceptor. A flexible cover formed from microwave transparent sheet material is sealed to the edge of the mouth of the tub. The cover expands upwardly as the kernels of popcorn pop to accommodate their expansion.

Microwave corn popping 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

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 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 method is described of filling and sealing a popcorn package. A flexible bag is provided which may be formed from flexible sheet material such as paper having longitudinally extending gussets in which the infolded portions of the gussets approach each other closely to divide the bag into a pair of collateral tubes communicating together along a central line. The bag is held in an upright position with one of the tubes in a collapsed state while the other is expanded. The expanded tube has a smaller cross-section than the other tube. A charge of fat and corn is introduced into the tube of smaller cross-section through its open top. Preferably, a means is provided for collapsing the tube of smaller cross-section transversely at a point below the center of the bag but above the bottom end of the bag to maintain the charge at the center of the bag and in the smaller tube. The bag is then sealed. During popping in a microwave oven, microwave energy is absorbed efficiently to achieve a popped volume about 10% to 15% greater than an equivalent package with tubes of equal cross-section. The popcorn passes during heating from the smaller tube to the larger tube as the bag expands during the popping operation.

Method for increasing the volumetric yield of microwave cooked popcorn

A charge of popcorn and fat is placed in a flexible shipping container composed of a flexible bag having longitudinally extending centrally projecting side gussets. The charge is placed between the gussets and one side panel of the bag. Another aspect of the invention is a special package of collateral tubular configuration comprising first and second longitudinally extending tubular portions. One of the tubular portions is larger in cross-section than the other and a charge of popcorn and fat is positioned within the small tubular portion of the package.

Package for increasing the volumetric yield of microwave cooked popcorn

According to the present invention, the package including a centrally-cored, dish-like container of food having a cover sealed across its mouth is provided in a carton, e.g. made of paper, which encloses a larger space than that occupied by the container of food. The cover of the container of food has regions which may be easily fork-pierced and the carton has apertures overlying these fork-pierceable regions of the container cover. Accordingly, the food may be warmed from a chilled or frozen state by fork-piercing the container cover through the carton apertures for permitting the escape of steam that will be generated in the food during the heating process, and then placing the package, still in its carton, in the microwave oven. As heating proceeds, steam escapes from the food through the pierced holes in the cover and then from the carton through the apertures which overlie the pierced holes. For further permitting the escape of steam from the carton, one or more additional vent openings, not aligned with fork-pierceable regions in the container cover are provided through the carton wall. The bottom of the carton, at a site in line with the container core, may be provided with a further opening through which the person who is warming the food may insert a finger for manually testing whether the food seems to be sufficiently heated.

Food heating container

The invention concerns a disposable microwave food shipping and heating container and a method of preparing food for microwave heating. The container includes a generally bowl shaped-or dish-shaped bottom portion to hold the food product. It has a bottom wall that is transparent to microwave energy and an upwardly extending side wall. The upper edge of the side wall defines an opening for filling the container with food and for removing food when it is to be served. A cover formed from sheet material extends across the opening of the container to seal the opening. Within the container is a low loss core formed from microwave transparent packaging material. The core extends vertically between the top and the bottom of the container to provide a tubular microwave influx passage through the food within the container. To prepare the package, a food product is placed in the disposable shipping container but the interior of the core is maintained free from food. The container and food product are then chilled. Chilling usually solidifies the food to a pedetermined shape. A tubular passage extends through the food around each core. The food product is then distributed in the package and subjected to microwave heating within the package whereby microwave energy will readily pass into the package through the core to facilitate heating of the food especially that portion surrounding the core throughout the heating cycle.

Microwave food heating container

The invention concerns a disposable microwave food shipping and heating container and a method of preparing food for microwave heating. The container includes a generally bowl-shaped or dish-shaped bottom portion to hold the food product. It has a bottom wall that is transparent to microwave energy and an upwardly extending side wall. The upper edge of the side wall defines an opening for filling the container with food and for removing food when it is to be served. A cover formed from sheet material extends across the opening of the container to seal the opening. Within the container is a low loss core formed from microwave transparent packaging material. The core extends vertically between the top and the bottom of the container to provide a tubular microwave influx passage through the food within the container. To prepare the package, a food product is placed in the disposable shipping container but the interior of the core is maintained free from food. The container and food product are then chilled. Chilling usually solidifies the food to a predetermined shape. A tubular passage extends through the food around each core. The food product is then distributed in the package and subjected to microwave heating within the package whereby microwave energy will readily pass into the package through the core to facilitate heating of the food especially that portion surrounding the core throughout the heating cycle.

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Prior Lake, MN, United States of America

James D Watkins