Patent Abstract:
A combination product/napkin package is provided. The combination package includes a product wrapper and a napkin. The product wrapper comprises a sheet of flexible film that is foldable around the product and has edges sealable around a periphery to enclose and seal the product therein. The napkin is affixed to the wrapper at a position outside the sealed product.

Full Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to product packages such as food packages, and more particularly, to a product package incorporating a napkin as a part thereof. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     For many years, products such as snack foods have been individually packaged by conventional form, fill, and seal packaging machines in the snack food industry. Snack foods are many, and include items such as candy bars, sweet rolls honey buns, doughnuts, etc. Improved packaging technology over the years has ensured both the freshness and purity of food items enclosed therein. For example, human contact/handling of food items has been almost completely eliminated by the automated packaging machinery of recent years. 
     Typically, individually packaged snacks today are packaged in flexible films that are fed from rolls of flexible sheet material to form tubes for receiving individual product servings being delivered at high speeds. The individual servings are then separated by heat-sealing mechanisms that seal the individual packages in the longitudinal and transverse (top and bottom) positions. The individual packages are subsequently packaged in bulk and stored/shipped for subsequent sale and consumption. 
     Individually packaged snack food items are usually consumed by persons who are away from home and on-the-go. As such, these consumers typically do not have napkins or other wiping items available while eating the snack items. Unfortunately, some snack items such as honey buns, cinnamon buns, doughnuts and other pastries have glazing or sticky coatings. As a result, consumers get “sticky” fingers and lack any means to wipe them or wash them. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to a combination product package and napkin for a snack food that satisfies the need for a readily available napkin or towelette for persons consuming snack food items. While this specification describes the invention with respect to food items, it is apparent that it may be applicable to non-food items that may be similarly packaged; but use of the product therein makes the availability of the napkin desirable. 
     Each of the embodiments described herein is formed from a singular sheet of film having a main portion bounded by a seal area or margin which extends along the opposed ends, down one side, and along a path parallel to, but spaced apart from, the other side. In two of the embodiments a flap, having a napkin attached thereto, extends outwardly from at least one of the opposed edges of the sheet. 
     In general, the invention is directed to a combination product package (snack food)/napkin including a product wrapper and a napkin. The product package is a flexible film wrapper around the product in sealing relation thereto. The napkin is affixed or attached in some manner to the outside of the wrapper, yet is covered so that it is protected from external contaminants, etc. Preferably, a tear strip is provided along one edge of the package to facilitate opening. 
     In one embodiment, the wrapper is formed from a sheet of flexible film such as oriented polypropylene, cellophane, or the like. When formed, the package has a front wall, a rear wall, and a width. As is conventional in the packaging arts, a longitudinal seal is formed on the rear wall and extends between the opposed ends of the package. Transverse seals extend are formed at the opposed ends of the package to complete the packaging of the snack item. A flap formed as an extension of the flexible film extends outwardly from the longitudinal seal on the rear wall of the package. In the embodiment described herein, the flap extends lengthwise between the opposed ends of the package and is sealed or otherwise attached at each end by the transverse seals at the opposed ends. Thus, the flap has an inner surface area overlying a portion of the rear wall of the package and a free edge forming a pocket between the flap and the package. A napkin is affixed to at least some portion of the inner surface of the flap so that a consumer can insert his or her fingers between the rear wall and the inner surface of the flap to wipe them clean of residue from the snack. 
     In a second embodiment, the wrapper is similarly formed from a sheet of flexible film, having a front wall, a rear wall, and a width, with similar longitudinal and transverse seals. As is conventional in the packaging arts, a longitudinal seal is formed on the rear wall and extends between the opposed ends of the package. Transverse seals extend are formed at the opposed ends of the package to complete the packaging of the snack item. A pair of overlying flaps extend outwardly from the longitudinal seal and lengthwise between the opposed ends. The opposed flaps that are formed as extensions of the flexible film extend outwardly from the longitudinal seal on the rear wall of the package, having facing inner surfaces and free outer edges. A napkin is affixed to at least some portion of the inner surface of each of the overlying flaps so that a consumer can spread open the opposed flaps and wipe his or her fingers on the exposed napkin. 
     In yet another embodiment, the wrapper is similarly formed of the same flexible sheet material, encapsulating a napkin or towelette that is affixed by bonding or adhesive to either the front or rear wall of the package so that a consumer may easily access the napkin. 
     In still another embodiment of the package, the flexible film sheet is extended lengthwise of the wrapper so that a separate compartment may be formed for containing the napkin apart from the product compartment. 
     These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art after a reading of the following description of the preferred embodiment in combination with the figures. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of one embodiment of the package of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a rear perspective view of the package of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a plan view of the inner surface of the sheet of flexible film suitable for use in forming the package of  FIGS. 1 and 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic cross-sectional view of the package of  FIGS. 1 and 2 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a rear perspective view of a second embodiment of the package of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  is a plan view of the inner surface of the sheet of flexible film suitable for use in forming the package of  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a schematic cross-sectional view of the package of  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 8  is a front perspective view of a third embodiment of the package of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 9  is a front perspective view of a fourth embodiment of the flexible package of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to the Figures in general, and to  FIGS. 1 through 4  in particular, one embodiment of the present invention is directed to combination product/napkin package. The package, shown generally as  100 , comprises a flexible product wrapper  110  and a napkin  150 . Again, it should be understood that while a food package is specifically described herein, other product packages that can be commercialized with a napkin are within the scope of the present invention. 
     The product wrapper  110  is formed from a generally rectangular singular sheet  109  of flexible film having opposed ends  111  that define the length of the package, and opposed sides  113 . The sheet  109  includes a main portion  108  and a marginal area  107  which forms the seals after the package is formed. The package formed therefrom includes a front wall  114 , a rear wall  115 , opposed sides edge  119 , and a width. To seal the product within the package wrapper  110 , a longitudinal seal  116  extends lengthwise between the opposed ends  111  to enclose the film  109  around the product, such as a honey bun or other food item. Transverse seals  117  extend across the width of the package  100  at the opposed ends  111  to completely seal the product within the package  100 . A tear strip  121  is formed by conventional and well known construction along one side to provide easy access to the contents without destroying the seal  116  for reasons to become apparent. 
     In the first embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1 through 4 , the continuous sheet  109  of flexible film is formed from oriented polypropylene, cellophane, polyester, or the like film material. As will be appreciated, the continuous sheet forming the wrapper  110  is cut from a large roll during the actual assembly line packaging process. Such packaging assembly equipment is available from any number of packaging machine manufacturers, such as Tevopharm from Bosch of the Netherlands. Again, the sheet  109  contains a main portion  108  and a marginal area seal area  107  which extends along the opposed ends  111 , down one side  113 , and along a path parallel to, but spaced apart from, the other side  113 , which defines a flap  118  as later described. The manner in which the film wraps around and encloses and seals the food product is conventional and will not be repeated herein. 
     In the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1 through 4 , the sheet  109  of the flexible film  110  further comprises flap  118  that extends outwardly from the longitudinal seal  116  to a free edge  118   a  and lengthwise between the opposed ends  111 . As will be appreciated, the flexible sheet  109  is dimensioned so that the flap  118  is part of the continuous sheet which extends beyond the seal area  108 . The flap  118  is joined or bounded at the opposed ends  111  by the transverse seals  117 . As will also be appreciated, the longitudinal and transverse seals  116 ,  117  formed in marginal areas  130  may be either heat sealed by the conventional packaging machines or may be cold sealed with a suitable adhesive applied to the film, as illustrated in  FIG. 3 . The manner of forming the seals is well known in the art and not critical to the present invention. 
     As best shown in  FIGS. 2 and 4 , a napkin  150  is affixed at the ends thereof to the inwardly facing surface of the flap  118  so that the napkin  150  is not directly exposed to outer contact or contaminants from normal handling of the package  100 . The napkin  150  may be formed of any suitable paper, or fabric, stock suitable for napkins and similar sanitary items. Alternatively, the napkin  150  may be in the form of a towelette, as desired; however, the material of the napkin  150  may be varied depending upon the type of snack item enclosed in the package  100 , etc. Further, while the napkin  150  in the embodiment shown in  FIG. 3  extends the entire length of the flap  118 , and is affixed at the ends only, it may be affixed to some other portion of the inner surface of the flap  118  and is affixed at the ends only. The napkin  150  may be adhesively bonded to the film, or alternatively, the napkin  150  may embody an adhesive within the composition of the napkin  150  that can be sprayed or layered over the film to form the napkin  150 . 
     With the flap  118  and napkin  150  formed as shown in  FIGS. 1 through 4 , and because of the free edge  118   a , the napkin  150  is easily accessible for a consumer of the snack to insert their fingers beneath the flap without having to break any of the seals  116 ,  117  of the package  100 . To facilitate opening of the package  100  itself, a tear strip  121  is preferably formed in the wrapper  110  so that it is conveniently located when the wrapper  110  is folded around the snack. As shown in the Figures, the tear strip  121  formed according to conventional techniques is located adjacent one of the opposed side edges of the folded wrapper  110 . 
     Turning now to  FIGS. 5 through 7 , a second embodiment  200  of the combination package of the present invention is shown. This embodiment of the combination package  200  comprises the same flexible film in a continuous sheet as the first embodiment  100  described above. The sheet  209  includes a main portion  208  and a marginal seal area  207 . The sheet  209  of the flexible film  210  further comprises a pair of flaps  218 ,  219  that extend outwardly from the longitudinal seal  216  to a free edges  218   a ,  219   a  and lengthwise between the opposed ends  211 . As will be appreciated, the flexible sheet  209  is dimensioned so that the flaps  218 ,  219  are part of the continuous sheet which extends beyond the seal area  108 . The package  200  also comprises the same longitudinal  216  and transverse  217  seals as described above to enclose and seal the snack within the wrapper  210 . As best seen in  FIG. 5 , however, a pair of flaps  218 ,  219  extend outwardly from the longitudinal seal  216  when the wrapper  210  is folded around the product. The flaps  218 ,  219  comprise opposite ends of the unfolded wrapper  210 . The flaps  218 ,  219  extend lengthwise between the opposed ends  211  of the package  200 , but are not necessarily joined by the transverse seals  217  at opposed ends  211  of the package  200 . As shown in  FIGS. 5 and 7 , the flaps  218 ,  219  may extend outwardly generally perpendicular to the rear wall  215 , or alternatively be folded downwardly against the rear wall  215 . At least some portion of the inwardly, overlying surfaces of the flaps  218 ,  219   e  each have a napkin  250   a ,  250   b  affixed thereto. As the flaps  218 ,  219  have free ends  218   a ,  219   a , a consumer may readily spread the two flaps  218 ,  219  apart to access a larger napkin surface for wiping of the fingers. Again, a tear strip  221  is located adjacent one of the opposed side edges  219  of the folded wrapper  210  is provided. 
     Turning now to  FIG. 8 , a third embodiment of the combination package  300  is illustrated. The package  300  of flexible film is constructed similar to the embodiments described above with longitudinal  316  and transverse seals  317  which enclose and seal the product within the package  300 . Unlike the previous embodiments, the napkin  350  of this embodiment is encapsulated in a separate packet  360  formed of the same or similar flexible sheet material of which the wrapper  310  is formed. As will be appreciated, there are numerous ways in which a packet  360  may be separately formed with a folded napkin sealed therein. The packet  360  may be heat or cold sealed to either the front wall  314  or rear wall  315 , as desired for the particular product package. Further, as the flexible film is transparent, indicia  355 , such as the product name or price, may be printed or colored on the napkin  350  so that it is outwardly visible to a consumer. In this manner, the napkin  350  serves multiple purposes. Alternatively, in lieu of a separate packet  360  for encapsulating the napkin, a layer of flexible film may be laminated over the top of the napkin  350  that is placed directly adjacent the front wall  314  or rear wall  315  surface. 
     Turning lastly to  FIG. 9 , yet another embodiment of the package  500  of the present invention is shown. This package of flexible film is constructed from a singular sheet of flexible film with the same type of longitudinal seal  516  described above. In this embodiment, however, the sheet may have a greater length that the sheets described above so that a separate compartment  520  may be formed for containing a napkin  550 . As shown in the Figure, transverse seals  517  enclose and seal the product, and a third transverse seal  518  encloses and seals a napkin  550  in a separate compartment. Tear strips  521  and/or  522  may be incorporated into the flexible sheet material to facilitate opening of the product compartment and/or the napkin compartment. 
     It should be recognized that the preferred embodiment described above is exemplary only. Certain modifications and improvements will occur to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the foregoing description. It should be understood that all such modifications and improvements have been deleted herein for the sake of conciseness and readability but are properly within the scope of the following claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 1