INFUSION PACKAGES

Abstract: An infusion package (1) comprises an infusion containing pocket (2) defined between heat sealed together layers of tissue paper (4, 5). An integral, looped, handling member (3) is formed by a cut in the tissue paper around the pocket (2). In use, the handling member may be placed over the handle of a cup for example.

Description: Infusion Packages The present invention relates to infusion packages, for example tea or coffee bags, and in particular but not exclusively to infusion packages which may conveniently be used in making a single cup of beverage. Infusion packages of the so-called "one-cup" variety have a handling member (hereinafter called "a handling member of the kind described") which in normal use hangs over the edge of a cup, mug or tea pot for example and by which the infusion package can be removed from the cup, mug or pot for disposal after infusion is complete. Traditionally the member comprises a tag having a length of string or web attached at one end to the package and having a paper tab attached to the other end for gripping by a user. The tag may be attached to the package in several ways, for example by stapling or by being secured in a seam of the package. The fabrication of a tag and its attachment to the infusion package significantly complicates and slows down the manufacturing process and adds to the cost of the package. In accordance with the invention there is provided an infusion package having a handling member of the kind described formed integrally with the package. By forming the handling member integrally with the package, the need for manufacturing steps to fabricate and attach a separate handling tag to the package is obviated. Furthermore it allows packages to be produced at a high production rate. Preferably the package is of the type comprising opposed sheets of porous tissue material joined to each other to define an infusion containing pocket therebetween, and the handling portion is formed from part of one or both of the sheets. In a particularly preferred arrangement, the sheets are sealed, most preferably heat sealed, to one another around at least part of the periphery of the infusion containing pocket, and the handling member is formed as part of or as an extension of the sealed area. This provides a two-ply handling member which is substantially stronger than a single ply member. The handling member may be integral with the infusion containing pocket of the package at one of its ends only, but, more preferably, it is integral at both its ends so as to form a loop which can in use be looped over the handle of a tea cup, for example, to suspend the package in the cup. To provide a compact arrangement which makes optimum use of tissue material, the handling member preferably extends around at least part of the periphery of the infusion containing pocket of the package, and most preferably around substantially its whole periphery. Thus in an arrangement as described above, where the handling member is integral with the infusion containing pocket of the package at both its ends, the loop may extend around the infusion containing pocket, and can be folded out of this position for use. It will be appreciated that the pocket may be of any desired shape, for example circular. To prevent the handling member becoming detached from the infusion containing pocket of the package in use, the handling member is preferably integral with the pocket of the package over a substantial length of tissue. This length may, for example in the case of a circular infusion containing pocket extend over, for example, approximately 30°-45° (preferably around 30°) of the periphery of the pocket. Preferably the two sheets of the two-ply web are left unsealed to one another at least in the region where the handling member joins the infusion containing pocket. This is found to strengthen the attachment of the handling member to the pocket. The unsealed region may extend across the whole length of tissue connecting the handling member to the pocket, or merely across the ^ end region(s) of such. Other portions of the handling 5 member may also be left unsealed to increase their k strength. For example, narrow portions of the handling member, for example narrow side portions of a looped handling member, may have portions left unsealed. By providing unsealed regions in the handling 10 member where the two layers of tissue material are not sealed together, therefore, a stronger handling member can be produced. Thus the need for heavier weight tissue papers, which may be detrimental to the infusion process, may be avoided. 15 To maintain the handling member in a desired position with respect to the pocket during manufacture and thereafter during packaging and distribution, the handling member may also be attached to the pocket by readily frangible means arranged at one or more discrete 20 points along its length, e.g. by narrow bridges of tissue material which are easily breakable by a user when it is desired to use the package. This also will facilitate a tidy presentation to the user. In the case of a looped handling member as described above a number 25 of, for example two, frangible attachment points may be provided on the periphery of the pocket, possibly symmetrically arranged. Where a looped handling member is provided as described above, the region of the loop remote from the 30 join to the pocket may be stiffened, for example by folding over the edge of the handling member or by adhering a stiffening member thereto. This may be in the form of a tape or label, possibly being printed with advertising material or instructions. Such means may 35 also act to counter balance the package if the package is inserted in, for example, a mug and the loop is not placed over the handle of the mug. Viewed from a further aspect the invention provides an infusion package comprising an infusion containing pocket formed by opposed layers of tissue material which are sealed together at least around part of the periphery of the pocket, the layers of tissue material defining a handling member of the kind described which is integral at one or both ends thereof with the pocket. Preferably a cut extends around a major part of the periphery of the pocket so that the handling portion is looped and integral with the pocket at both of its ends. Preferably the end(s) of the cut defining the handling member terminate in an unsealed region of the web. An infusion package as described above may conveniently be produced by forming a two ply web of porous tissue material having a plurality of discrete infusion containing pockets formed therein, and cutting the packages with their handling members from the web. A particularly suitable method for producing the packages is described in our International Patent Application WO 90/13487, in which method packages are cut from a travelling two ply web by means of co- rotating cutters. The cutting rollers disclosed in that publication may be suitably modified to produce the desired shape of cut for example an outer cut which defines the outer periphery of the package and an inner cut which will define, with the outer cut, the handling member. This method will allow the packages to be produced at the same production rate as standard packages. Viewed from a still further aspect therefore the invention provides a process for manufacturing infusion packages, comprising forming infusion containing pockets in a travelling two layer web of tissue material, the pockets being at least partly defined by sealed together regions of the tissue material, cutting the pockets from the web to provide individual packages, and, substantially simultaneously, cutting the web in such a way as to provide each package with an integral handling portion of the kind described of two ply tissue material. Preferably the cutting is performed by passing the web between co-rotating cutting rollers having recess means to accommodate the pockets of infusion and co¬ operating cutting means. Preferably the cutting means is formed by a ridge or lip raised around a respective recess provided on one of the rollers, which co-operates with an anvil surface formed on the opposed roller. In the production of the preferred arrangement of package described above, the cutting roller may be provided with a first cutting edge which defines the outer periphery of the package and a second cutting edge, spaced inwardly of the first cutting edge for defining therewith the handle portion. Preferably the two-ply web is formed by heat sealing together two sheets of porous tissue material. This is conveniently done using co-rotating heat sealing rollers operating synchronously with the cutting rollers and having co-operating, heated faces which together define a sealed area on the web surrounding the infusion containing pockets. When as described above, it is desirable to leave an area of the web unsealed where the handling member joins the infusion containing pocket, a suitable profile may be provided on the heating rollers, and the rotation of the heating rollers synchronised with that of the cutting such that the handle defining cut performed by the cutting rollers terminates within the unsealed region. The invention also provides, from a yet further aspect a cutting roller for use in a method in accordance with the invention comprising cutting means formed on the surface thereof for forming the outer periphery of an infusion package and substantially simultaneously therewith a handling member of the kind described. Preferably the cutting means comprises a first, outer cutting edge defining the outer periphery of the package and a second cutting edge, spaced inwardly therefrom, for defining said handling member with said first cutting edge. Some preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 shows a first infusion package embodying the invention; Fig. 2 shows the package of Fig. 1 arranged in a cup; Fig. 3 shows schematically a stage in the production of the infusion package of Figures 1 and 2; Fig. 4 shows a second infusion package embodying the invention; Fig. 5 shows, schematically, production of packages as shown in Fig. 4; and Fig. 6 shows Fig. 5 with certain components removed for clarity. Referring to Fig. 1, an infusion package 1, for example a tea bag, has a circular infusion containing pocket 2, and a handling member 3. The package 1 is formed from opposed sheets 4,5 of porous tissue material which are heat sealed together, as will be described below. The handling member 3 is in the form of a two-ply loop of tissue material which extends around the whole periphery of the pocket 2 , and which is attached thereto by a connecting length of tissue 6 at one end of the package. It is also connected to the pocket 2 by two smaller, readily frangible bridges 7 of tissue at the other end of the package. When it is desired to use the package 1, the bridges 7 may easily be broken, and the handling member 3 pulled away from the pocket 2, but still being attached by the connecting length of tissue 6. The pocket 2 may then be placed in a cup 8 with the handling member being hooked over the handle 8 of a cup 9 as shown in Fig. 2 to support the pocket 2 in the cup 8. Boiling water may then be introduced to the cup 8, and once the tea has infused sufficiently, the package 1 may be removed from the cup 8 and disposed of by means of the handling member 3. Referring now to Fig. 3, this shows an intermediate stage in the production of the infusion package 1 described above. The package 1 may conveniently be produced by the method disclosed in WO 90/13487 the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. In this method, a travelling two ply web 10 is formed from respective webs of porous tissue material which are heat sealed to each other by co-rotating heat-sealing rollers to define infusion containing pockets 2 surrounded by heat sealed areas 11. The packages 1 are cut from the web 10 by means of co-rotating cutting rollers having co-operating cutting surfaces to define a desired shape of cut on the web 10. To produce an infusion package as described above, the cutting rollers are adapted so as to produce two cuts around each pocket 2, a first, outer cut 12 which defines the outer peripheral shape of the package, and a second, inner cut 13 which does not extend completely around the infusion containing pocket 2, and defines with the outer cut 12 the shape of the handling member 3. The inner and outer cuts are formed substantially simultaneously. This is the condition shown in Fig. 3 wherein a number of packages 1 have been cut in the web 10, and are being transported to a packing station. It will be apparent that this method of manufacture allows for a production rate the same as that achieved with packages without handling members provided by the method of WO 90/13487. Fig. 4 shows a second infusion package embodying the invention. This package 20 is generally similar to the first embodiment, except that it includes an unsealed region 21 of web i.e. a region in which the sheets of tissue material are not sealed together, which intersects the attachment region 22 between the handling member 25 and the pocket 26. In particular the ends 23 of the cut 24 defining the handling member 25 terminate in the unsealed region. The unsealed region 21 also extends down the sides of the handling member 25. Thus it can be seen that the handle defining cut need not be made in sealed portions of the tissue material. Fig. 5 shows schematically apparatus for producing packages as shown in Fig. 4. A first web 30 having discrete doses of infusion arranged thereon, and a second web 31 are fed between heat sealing rollers 32 to be joined together to form a travelling two-ply web 33 containing discrete infusion containing pockets 34. The rollers 32 are provided with a suitable profile (not shown) to produce the sealed regions 35 on the web 33. However, the rollers 32 are so profiled as to leave an unsealed oval region 36 around respective pairs of pockets 34. The shape of the region 36 is more clearly shown in Fig. 6, which shows the travelling web 33 with items of apparatus removed for clarity. The web 33 then passes between co-rotating cutting rollers 37,38 which cut the package from the web. Roller 38 is a smooth anvil roller, but roller 37 has first and second raised cutting edges 39,40, surrounding respective recesses 41 arranged in pairs equispaced about the periphery of the roller. The rotation of the cutting rollers 37,38 is synchronised with that of the sealing rollers 32 such that the pockets 34 are accommodated within the recesses 41 and the cutting edges 39,40 cut around the pockets 34 to define the outer periphery of the package and the handling member 25. The outer cutting edge 39 forms a cut 42 defining the periphery of the package while the inner edge 40 forms the cut 24 which defines the handling member 25 with the cut 42. It will be seen that the cuts 24,42 are arranged to extend through the unsealed region 36 of the web so that the ends 23 of the cut 24 lie within the unsealed region. This increases the strength of attachment of the handling member 25 to the pocket 26. Furthermore the narrow side portions of the handling member 25 are formed, at least in part, from an unsealed portion of the web to increase their strength. Once the packages have been cut from the web 33 by the rollers 37,38 they are transported by the surrounding web material to a packaging station (not shown) . It will be clear to the skilled person that modifications may be made to the preferred embodiment described without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, while the infusion containing pocket 2 is shown as circular, other shapes can easily be envisaged. Further, the handling member 3 need not be in the form of a loop extending around the pocket 2, although this is a particularly preferred arrangement. Also, while manufacture of the packages of the invention by the method disclosed in WO 90/13487 has been particularly mentioned, it will be apparent that other methods could also be used satisfactorily. Promotional literature or instructions on how to use the package may be printed directly onto the web material or on to an adhesive label stuck thereto, for example in the triangular corner portions 28 of the handle member in the preferred embodiment described above. Furthermore, if required, the edge 29 of the handle member 25 may be folded back on itself, or a tape applied therealong, to stiffen that part of the handling member. This may also act to counter-balance the weight of the infusion package if the handle member is not looped over the handle of a mug, for example.

Claims: Claims 1. An infusion package comprising an infusion containing pocket formed between opposed layers of tissue material which are sealed together at least around part of the periphery of the pocket, the layers of tissue material defining a handling member of the kind described which is integral with the pocket. 2. An infusion package as claimed in claim 1 wherein said handling member is attached to said pocket at one end only. 3. An infusion package as claimed in claim 2 wherein handling portion is looped and integral with the pocket at both of its ends. 4. An infusion package as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3 wherein said handling member is defined by a cut in said layers. 5. An infusion package as claimed in claim 4 wherein the end(s) of the cut defining the handling member terminate in an unsealed region of the tissue material. 6. An infusion package as claimed in claim 5 wherein the unsealed region extends across the whole length of tissue connecting the handling member to the pocket. 7. An infusion package as claimed in any preceding claim wherein said handling member is at least partly formed by two plies of tissue material which are not sealed together. 8. An infusion package as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the handling member is integral with the pocket of the package over a substantial length of tissue. 9. An infusion package as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the handling member is also attached to the pocket by readily frangible means arranged at one or more discrete points along its length. 10. An infusion package as claimed in any of claims 3 to 10 wherein the region of the loop remote from the join to the pocket is stiffened, for example by folding over the edge of the handling member or by adhering a stiffening member thereto. 11. An infusion package comprising two opposed layers of tissue materials heat sealed together to form an infusion containing pocket, the tissue material around said pocket being cut to define a handling member, a portion of which, at least, is formed from two plies of tissue material not sealed together. 12. A method of manufacturing infusion packages, comprising forming infusion containing pockets in a travelling two layer web of tissue material, the pockets being at least partly defined by sealed together regions of the tissue material, cutting the pockets from the web to provide individual packages, and, substantially simultaneously, cutting the web in such a way as to provide each package with an integral handling member of the kind described of two ply tissue material. 13. A method as claimed in claim 12 wherein the cutting is performed by passing the web between co-rotating cutting rollers having recess means to accommodate the pockets of infusion and co-operating cutting means. 14. A method as claimed in claim 13 wherein the cutting means is formed by a ridge or lip raised around a respective recess provided on one of the rollers, which co-operates with an anvil surface formed on the opposed roller. 15. A method as claimed in claim 14 wherein the cutting roller is provided with a first cutting edge which defines the outer periphery of the package and a second cutting edge, spaced inwardly of the first cutting edge for defining therewith the handle portion. 16. A cutting roller comprising cutting means formed on the surface thereof for forming the outer periphery of an infusion package and substantially simultaneously therewith a handling member. 17. A cutting roller as claimed in claim 16 wherein the cutting means comprises a first, outer cutting edge defining the outer periphery of the package and a second cutting edge, spaced inwardly therefrom, for defining said handling member with said first cutting edge.

Inventors: KENNEY ALAN GEORGE, WOOD JOHN DAVID
Applicants: AG PATENTS LTD
Application year: 1993
Main classification: B65D81
IPC codes: B65B29, B65D81, B65D85