CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001 ] This application claims the priority benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 61/538,375, "Method and Apparatus for Filling Food Pouches", fiied September 23, 2011 , which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. This application also claims the priority benefit of U.S. Non-provisional Patent Application Serial No. 13/622,723, "Method And System For Filling Food

Pouches ^" , fiied September 9, 20 2, which is also hereby expressly incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] This application relates generally to methods and apparatus for filling food containers, and more particularly to methods and apparatus for filing food pouches, for example, baby food pouches.

BACKGROUND

[0003] Collapsible and expandable pouches for containing baby food are known.

SUMMARY

[0004] According to one embodiment, a stand of a system for filling food pouches includes a first side support structure, which includes a lower end portion and an upper end portion. The stand aiso includes a second side support structure that includes a lower end portion and an upper end portion. The stand further includes an upper support structure, which extends between the upper end portion of the first side support structure and the upper end portion of the second side support structure. The upper support structure includes at Ieast one mount receptacle, which defines an aperture configured to receive a spout of a food pouch, to faciiitate suspending a food pouch from the upper support structure.

[0005] According to another embodiment, a system for filling food pouches includes a stand that includes a first side support structure, a second side support structure, and an upper support structure. The first side support structure includes a lower end portion and an upper end portion. The second side support structure includes a lower end portion and an upper end portion. The upper support structure extends between the upper end portion of the first side support structure and the upper end portion of the second side support structure. The system also includes at ieast one funnel configured for selective contacting engagement with the upper support structure of the stand and configured for connection to a food pouch suspended from the stand. Each of the at ieast one funnel defines an interior chamber configured to receive food. The system also includes a piunger configured for selective, sliding engagement with each of the at Ieast one funnel, within the interior chamber defined by each respective funnel, to facilitate forcing food out of the interior chamber into a respective food pouch suspended from the upper support structure of the stand.

[0006] According to another embodiment, a method for filling food pouches is provided. The method uses a system that includes a stand and at ieast one funnel. Each of the at Ieast one funnel defines an interior chamber. The method includes supporting at Ieast one food pouch with the stand of the system and connecting each of the at Ieast one funnel of the system to a respective one of the at least one food pouch. The method further includes filiing at Ieast a portion of the interior chamber defined by each of the at least one funnel with food, and forcing at least a portion of the food out of the interior chamber defined by each of the at least one funnel into a respective one of the at least one food pouch.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] Various embodiments will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims and accompanying drawings wherein:

[0008] FIG, 1 is a front, top perspective view of a system for filling food pouches according to one embodiment, with portions of two food pouches being shown in association with the system;

[0009] FIG. 2 Is a top, rear perspective view of the system of FIG. 1 , with portions of three food pouches being shown in association with the system;

[0010] FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view similar to FIG. 2, but with a tray of the system omitted, with one of a plurality of funnels of the system of FIG. 1 being omitted, and with one of the food pouches being depicted spaced apart from the system of FIG. 1 ^■

[0011] FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a portion of an upper support structure of a stand of the system of FIG. 1 ;

[0012] FiG. 5 is a partially exploded, elevational view depicting a portion of a food pouch, with an associated cap being spaced apart from a spout of the food pouch;

[0013] FIG. 6 is a partially exploded, elevational view depicting a portion of another food pouch, with an associated cap being spaced apart from a spout of the food pouch; and [0014] FIGS. 7A-7E depict a method for filling food pouches according to one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] FIGS. 1-4 illustrate a system 10 for filling food pouches, for example, food pouches 12 shown in FIGS. 1-3. The system 10 can also be used to fill any of a variety of other food pouches, for example food pouch 212 shown in FIG. 5. and food pouch 312 shown sn FIG. 6. The system 10 can include a tray 30 and a stand 40 that can be positioned on top of, and supported by, the fray 30. The stand 40 can be configured to receive and support one or more of any of a variety of food pouches, for example, one or more of the food pouches 12, 212 and 312. Stand 40 is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 to receive and support three (two shown in FIG. ) of the food pouches 12. However, in other embodiments, stands can be provided that can receive and support a single food pouch, two food pouches, or more than three food pouches.

[0016] The system 10 can also include one or more funnels 70, which can be positioned on top of the stand 40 and can be threaded onto respective ones of the food pouches 12. System 10 can also include at least one plunger 80 that can be used in association with the funnels 70, as subsequently described, to force food through the funnels 70 into respective ones of the food pouches 12. The system 10 can also include a plurality of caps 90 (one shown in FIG. 7E), which can be used to close respective ones of the food pouches 12 after at least partially filling the food pouches 12 with food. Sn another embodiment, the tray 30 may be omitted, with stand 40 being placed directly on top of a support surface, such as an upper surface of a countertop or a table. The components of system 10, i.e. tray 30, stand 40, funnel 70, plunger 80 and cap 90 can be packaged as a kit of parts, either with or without one or more food pouches, for example one or more of the food pouches 12, 212 and 312.

[0017] Food pouch 12 can include a bag 14 (FIG. 3} that defines a chamber (not shown), and can at least partially collapse when empty, The bag 14 can expand to a predetermined volume to accommodate food being forced into the chamber defined by the bag 14, The food pouch 2 can also include a spout 16 (FiG. 3), which can define a passage that communicates with the chamber defined by the bag 14. The spout 16 can be attached to bag 14 prior to filling bag 14, and can include an upper threaded portion having external, male threads. The spout 16 can also include one or more mount members that can engage the stand 40 such that food pouch 12 can be supported by, and suspended from, the stand 40. In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the spout 16 can include a pair of axiaiiy spaced flanges 18, which can siidingly engage the base 40 as subsequently described. In one embodiment, the spout 16 may or may not include a check valve to prevent food from entering the food pouch after initially filling the food pouch.

[0018] The tray 30 can include a base 32 (FIG. ), or lower support structure, which can include an upper surface 34 (FIG. 2) and a lower surface (not shown). The tray 30 can also include a flange 36 that can extend around a perimeter of the tray 30. The flange 36 can be integral with base 32 and can extend upwardly above the upper surface 34 of the base 32. Flange 36 can have a variety of configurations. For example, the flange 36 can be contoured to achieve an aesthetically pleasing appearance, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. in one embodiment, the flange 36 can cooperate with one or more other parts of the tray 30 (e.g., base 32) to retain food that might be spitted during the subsequently described filling process.

[0019] As shown in FIGS. 1 -3, the stand 40 can inciude a left side support structure 41 , which can include a lower end portion 42 and an upper end portion 43, and a right side support structure 44, which can include a lower end portion 45 and an upper end portion 46. The stand 40 can also inciude an upper support structure 48 that can extend between, and can be integral with, the upper end portion 43 of the left side support structure 41 and the upper end portion 46 of the right side support structure 44. The stand 40 can also include a front wall 47, which can include a decorative portion (not shown) formed thereon. The front wall 47 can be integral with at least the upper support structure 48. The stand 40 can be substantially open at a rear end, as shown in FIG. 2 and 3, to facilitate slidingly engaging the food pouches 12 with stand 40. The stand 40 can also be substantially open at a front end, as shown in FIG. 1. The stand 40 can also include various reinforcement members, such as ribs 50 (FIG. 2) secured to the left side support structure 41 and similar ribs (not shown) secured to the right side support structure 44. In other embodiments, stands can be provided that do not include ribs.

[0020] The upper support structure 48 can include an upper surface 52, a plurality of mount receptacles 54, and a perimeter 56 (FIGS. 2-4). As shown in FIG. 4 for one of the mount receptacles 54, each mount receptacle 54 can define an aperture 58, which can be configured to receive the spout 16 of a respective one of the food pouches 12 and can extend through the perimeter 56 of the upper support structure 48. In one embodiment, each aperture 58 can be open at a rear end. Each mount receptacle 54 can include a first rail 60, which can be adjacent to one side of the respective aperture 58, and can further include a second rail 62, which can be laterally spaced from the first rail 60 and can be adjacent to an opposite side of the respective aperture 58. The first rail 60 and the second rail 62 can extend in a generally rearward to forward direction and can cooperate to at least partially define the aperture 58. The first rail 60 can include at least one tab 64, or protrusion, which can extend inwardly into the respective aperture 58. Similarly, the second rail 62 can include at least one tab 66, or protrusion, which can extend inwardly into the respective aperture 58. Each of the mount receptacles 54 can also include a recessed surface 68, which can be planar and can be vertically spaced from the upper surface 52 of the upper mount structure 48. Each mount receptacle 54 can also include an upwardly extending wall 69, which can extend in a generally circular arc and can surround the recessed surface 68, and can extend upwardly from the recessed surface 68 to the upper surface 52 of the upper support structure 48.

[0021] Each of the food pouches 12 can slidingiy engage, and can be supported by, the stand 40. The spout 16 of each food pouch 12 can be aligned with a respective aperture 58 and the respective food pouch 12 can be moved forwardiy such that at least one of the flanges 18 of spout 16 can slidingiy engage the first rail 60 and the second rail 62. For example, in one embodiment, each of the first rail 60 and the second rail 62 can be positioned vertically between the two flanges 18, such that an upper one of the flanges 8 can slide along an upper surface of each of the first rail 60 and the second rail 62 as the spout 16 is moved within the aperture 58. The lower one of the flanges 18 can be spaced from and below the first rail 60 and the second rail 62, or alternatively, can slide along a lower surface of each of the first rail 60 and the second rail 62.

Aperture 58, tab 64, tab 66, and spout 16 can be sized such that spout 16 can engage the upper support structure 48 in a snap fit as it slides into a portion of the aperture 58 forward of tabs 64 and 66. !n other embodiments, food pouches can be provided with spouts having different configurations that can engage and be supported by stands having the same or different configurations as stand 40 to achieve a variety of mount or support configurations. The upper support structure 48 can be positioned such that, for each of the food pouches 2, a bottom of bag 14 is suspended above, or alternatively contacts, the tray 30, or any of a variety of suitable support surfaces if tray 30 is not used.

[0022] Each of the components of system 10, i.e., tray 30 {if used), stand 40, funnel 70, plunger 80 and cap 90, can be manufactured from any suitable material. In one embodiment, each of the components can be made of any suitable plastic material, and can be formed using any suitable molding process. In one embodiment, the upper support structure 48 can be integrally formed with the upper end portion 43 of the left side support structure 41 , the upper end portion 46 of the right side support structure 44, and the front wall 47, for ease of manufacturing. In this embodiment, the lower end portion 42 of the left side support structure 41 and the lower end portion 45 of the right side support structure 44 can be formed separately. Alternatively, the stand 40 can be formed as a unitary structure.

{0023] The funnel 70 can define an interior chamber 71 which is suitable for receiving food. The funnel 70 can include a housing 72, which can be generally cylindricaily shaped and can define at least a portion of the interior chamber 71. In other embodiments, funnels can be provided that include housings having other shapes, e.g., frusto-conicai shapes, generally pyramidal shapes, rectangular or square tubular shapes, or any other suitable shape, in such embodiments, plungers can be provided that can have different shapes than the shape of plunger 80, and plungers can be provided that can change shape as they are used to force food downward through an associated housing having a variable cross-section, e.g., a sponge that can change shape to conform to the shape of a variable cross-section housing. The housing 72 can include an inner surface 73. The funnel 70 can further include a neck 74 (FIGS. 7B-7D) that can be integral with the housing 72 and can be tapered inwardly, such that the neck 74 can include a minimum inside diameter which can be smaller than an inside diameter of the housing 72 of funnel 70, which can facilitate forcing food out of the funnel 70. The funnel 70 can also include a connector 76 that can be integral with the neck 74 and can include internal or female threads, which can be configured to threadedly engage the external, or male threads of the spout 16 of food pouch 2. When the connector 76 is threadedly engaged with the spout 16, the chamber defined by the bag 14 of the food pouch 12 can communicate with the interior chamber 71 defined by the funnel 70, via the passage defined by the spout 16. The funnel 70 can also include an upper lip 78 (FIG. 1 ) that can be integral with an upper end of the housing 72 and can be contoured as desired to achieve an aesthetically pleasing appearance and to guide entry of plunger 80 into the interior chamber 71 defined by funnel 70.

[0024] Referring to FIGS. 1 -3, 7C and 7D, the plunger 80 can include a first end member 82, a second end member 84 and a connecting member 86 extending between the first end member 82 and the second end member 84 (FIGS. 7C and 7D). The first end member 82 can be configured to facilitate grasping the plunger 80 by a hand of a user, Sn one embodiment, the first end member 82 can be generally disk-shaped, as shown in FIGS. 1-3, 7C and 7D. However, the first end member 82 can have any of a variety of suitable alternative configurations. The connecting member 86 is shown to include a plurality of circumferentially spaced and contoured ribs 87, but can have any of a variety of suitable alternative configurations. The second end member 84 can also be generally disk-shaped, as shown in FIGS. 7C-7D, and can include an outside diameter that can be substantially the same as, or slightly smaller than, the inside diameter of the housing 72 of funnel 70, such that the second end member 84 can sltdingly engage the inner surface 73 of the housing 72 of funnel 70, or can be radially spaced from the inner surface 73 by a relatively small distance. The configuration of end member 84 can facilitate forcing food downward through the housing 72 into and through the neck 74 of funnel 70 and into the food pouch 12, as a result of pushing downward on the first end member 82, while preventing or at least substantially preventing food from leaking between a radially outer surface of the second end member 84 and the inner surface 73 of the housing 72 of funnel 70.

[0025] FIGS. 7A-7E illustrate a method for filling food pouches according to one embodiment, with the method being illustrated with the system 10 and a single food pouch 12. FIG. 7A illustrates tray 30, food pouch 12 and stand 40 in an exploded view, spaced from one another. The stand 40 can be positioned on top of, and supported by, tray 30 as shown in FIG. 7B, with the tray 30 being positioned on any suitable support surface (not shown), for example, an upper surface of a countertop or a table. In other embodiments, the tray 30 can be omitted, and the stand 40 can be positioned directly on any suitable support surface, for example, an upper surface of a countertop or a table. The food pouch 12 can be slidingly engaged with, and supported by, the stand 40 as shown in F!G. 7B. The funnel 70 can be positioned on top of the stand 40 and threaded onto the food pouch 12, as illustrated generally in FIGS. 7B and 7C. For example, the connector 76 of the funnel 70 can be threaded onto the spout 16 of the food pouch 12, as indicated generally by arrow 75 in FIG. 7B, with the female threads (not shown) of the connector 76 engaging the male threads of the spout 16 of the food pouch 12. When the connector 76 is threaded onto spout 6, the connector 76 can engage, or contact, the recessed surface 68 (not shown in FIGS. 7A-7D) of the respective mount receptacle 54. Various food products, which can have a consistency that permits the food product to be poured from one container into another, can be prepared and/or initially contained within a pitcher, blender, or other suitable container, which can have significantly larger volume than food pouch 12, with a portion of the food then being poured into the funnei 70, as indicated generally by the arrow 77 in FIG. 7C. The food, which can be a wide variety of foods, for example applesauce, pudding, custard, or any other food of the type that is typically available in baby food jars, can at least partially fill the interior chamber 71 of the funnel 70.

[0026] The plunger 80 can then be inserted into the funnel 70 and pushed downwardly, as indicated generally by arrow 85 in F!GS. 7C and 7D, to force the food out of the funnel 70 and into the food pouch 12. After the food pouch 12 has been filled to a desired level, the funnel 70 can be disconnected, or unscrewed, from the spout 16 of food pouch 12, and the food pouch 12 can be removed from the stand 40. Then the cap 90 can be threaded onto the food pouch 12, as shown in FIG. 7E, to close the food pouch 12. in one embodiment, the maie threads of spout 16 and the mating female threads of cap 90 can be configured such that the cap can be tightened or removed in less than one revolution. In other embodiments, one or more revolutions may be required. Also, in other embodiments, caps can be provided for closing food pouch 12, which can have any of a variety of suitable external configurations that can be different than the external configuration of cap 90 shown in FIG. 7E. This process can be repeated with other food pouches, for example food pouches 12, 2 2, 312 or food pouches having any other suitable configuration. Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, food pouches 212 and 312 can include bags 214 and 314, respectively, spouts 216 and 316, respectively, and can be closed by caps 290 and 390, respectively.

[0027] Use of the system 10 to fill food pouches, for example food pouches 12, 212, and 312 with various food products, for example baby food, can result in various advantages. For example, a caretaker such as a parent or guardian, can prepare a food product of his or her choice, such as may be selected for reasons of nutrition, diet, economy and activity, i.e., location where the food is to be consumed, for instance by preparing the food using a blender. A relatively large volume of the food product can be prepared in this manner and a relatively smaller amount of the food product, for example an amount that is suitable for a child's meal or snack, can be dispensed into one of the food pouches 12, 212 and 312. The closed, self-contained food pouches 12, 212, 312 can be conveniently taken on walks, errands, or longer trips, or frozen for use later. When desired, the cap (e.g., 90) can be removed from the food pouch (e.g., 12) and food can be forced out of the food pouch (e.g., 12) by squeezing the respective bag (e.g., 14), for consumption, for example by a child. The use of the stand 40 to support the food pouches 12, 212, 3 2 during filling can simplify this process and can avoid what couid otherwise be an awkward and difficult filling process due to the necessity to hold multiple parts during the filling process. System 10 can include only one, or multiple, funnels (e.g., 70) for use in filling multiple food pouches (e.g., 12, 212, and 312). Also, system 10 can include only one, or multiple, plungers (e.g., 80) for use with multiple funnels (e.g., 70).

[0028] While various embodiments of a stand of a system for filling food pouches, a system for filling food pouches, and a method for filling food pouches, have been illustrated by the foregoing description and have been described in considerable detail, it is not intended to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional modifications will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.