The present invention relates to a package for a product in liquid and/or solid form, in particular in powder or granule form, comprising a container, open on at least one side, for a product in liquid and/or solid form which can be mixed with or dissolved in hot water, and a seal for this container.

Such packages are generally known and comprise a seal which must typically be opened manually for releasing the contents. When the contents are intended for being mixed with or dissolved in hot water in some measured amount, which usually also involves stirring, a number of operations are required therefor, which operations are often experienced as laborious. Such situation for instance occurs during the preparation of so-called instant coffee.

It is the object of the invention to limit this drawback to a considerable extent. To that end, in accordance with the invention, the package as described in the preamble is characterized in that the seal releases the product in water having a temperature of between about 30 and 100°C and preferably between 70 and 100°C. The product that can be mixed with or dissolved in hot water can be present in the container both in liquid form and in solid form, in particular in powder or granule form. By introducing the package containing the product into hot water, the package is opened, the product is released and the product can mix with the hot water or dissolve therein.

The package according to the invention can be used for preparing hot beverages, such as coffee, in which case the container can contain a coffee extract as well as coffee in powder form (instant coffee), or milk, which can likewise be present in the container in liquid form as well as in powder form. Of course, combinations of, for instance, a coffee extract with coffee creamer and/or sugar are also possible, or various other substances may be added to the coffee

extract for giving the coffee a special flavor, such as chocolate or liqueurs. An altogether different use is filling the container with bath soap or bath foam; in this case, too, the container can be introduced into the bath filled with hot water, whereupon the seal comes loose and the contents of the container can mix with the bath water.

Although the seal may be formed by a film connected to the container by gluing and/or fusion welding, with the glued and/or fusion-welded connection coming loose in hot water, according to the invention it is preferred that the seal be formed by a shrink film which bursts or tears open in hot water, or clears the open side of the container otherwise, such that the contents of the package are released. All types of known shrink films can be use for this, such as for instance shrink films of polyethene terephthalate (PET), oriented polystyrene (OPS) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

Suitable types of adhesive are: a hot melt adhesive based on, for instance, ethylene vinyl acetate or a dispersion adhesive based on polyvinyl acetate.

The shrink film can be connected to the container by sealing (fusion welding), gluing or shrinking. When both the container and the shrink film are manufactured from plastic, the connection is preferably realized through sealing and/or gluing. If the container is manufactured from glass, earthenware or metal, a glued seal will be eligible. However, in both cases a shrink seal is possible as well; the shrink film can then for instance be provided around an outwardly projecting edge of the container and fixed around that edge through shrinking.

Preferably, the container comprises a circumferential edge forming a joining surface with the shrink film, while the opening of the container is closed off by a gluing or fusion-welding operation such that at least a part of the connection between the shrink film and said edge comes loose in hot water under the influence of the shrinkage force of the shrink film. When in particular a part of the connection

between the shrink film and said edge comes loose, the effect achieved is that the shrink film does not come loose from the container entirely, while the contents of the package can nevertheless mix with the hot water or dissolve therein. This has the advantage that when the empty container is subsequently removed from the hot water, the shrink film does not remain behind in the water.

In another embodiment, the container likewise comprises a circumferential edge forming a joining surface with the shrink film, while the opening of the container is closed by a gluing or fusion-welding operation such that the connection between the shrink film and said edge remains fixed in hot water, but the shrink film bursts or tears open. In the latter case, the glued or fusion-welded connection should be considerably stronger than in the first case.

Although, when an outwardly directed, circumferential edge is present, in particular in the case last-mentioned, the shrink film can be folded around this edge and can have its folded-around part connected, through gluing or sealing, to the edge, i. e. to the side thereof facing away from the opening of the container, in other words to the lower side of the edge, it is preferred that the shrink film be connected to the same side of the edge as the side faced by the opening of the container, i. e. to the upper side of the edge.

In particular when the package with contents serves for preparing hot beverages, such as coffee, it is favorable when the container comprises a handgrip for removing the opened and empty container, together with the shrink film, from the hot water with which the contents of the package have mixed or in which the contents of the package have dissolved.

Although the shape of the container can be chosen at random, it is favorable when the container has the shape of a spoon, in particular when the package with contents serves for preparing hot beverages, such as coffee. The hollow portion of the spoon can then for instance contain the coffee extract and be sealed by the shrink film, while the spoon can

by its handle readily be inserted into a cup of hot water and, after the hollow portion of the spoon has opened and. the coffee extract has mixed with the hot water, readily be removed therefrom again. If the package is for instance used for introducing liquid soap into a hot bath, the shape of the container can be relatively simple, it can for instance have a blocked shape; however, precisely for such application, other shapes may also be possible and attractive from a commercial viewpoint.

When the container has the shape of a spoon, the hollow portion of the spoon will be sealed by a shrink film, the connection of the shrink film to the edge of the hollow portion of the spoon and the part of the spoon handle connecting thereto preferably being such that when the spoon is introduced into hot water, the product in the hollow portion of the spoon is released, while the connection of the shrink film to the part of the spoon handle that connects to the hollow portion of the spoon remains at least partially intact.

The invention will now be specified with reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein: Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a package in the form of a spoon according to the invention; while Fig. 2 is a top plan view of this spoon, with the film used for sealing indicated in broken lines.

The Figures show a package according to the invention in the form of a plastic spoon 1, built up of a hollow portion 2 with an upper edge 3 and a handle 4. The hollow portion 2 is filled with a coffee extract (not shown in the Figures) and sealed with a shrink film 5, indicated in Fig. 2 in broken lines. The shrink film is sealed around the hollow portion 2 on the edge 3 of the hollow portion 2 and on the part 6, connecting thereto, of the handle 4. When the spoon 1 is inserted into a cup of hot water, of preferably between 70 and 100°C, the fusion-welded connection between the shrink film 5 and the upper edge 3 of the spoon 1 comes loose, while

the shrink film largely clears the upper side of the hollow portion 2 under the influence of the shrinkage force, causing the contents of the spoon 1, i. e. the coffee extract, to mix with the hot water in the cup. This mixing can be further improved by making a stirring movement in the cup with the spoon 1. After that, the spoon 1 with the shrink film 5 still connected thereto can be removed from the cup. The shrink film 5 remaining fixed on the part 6 of the handle 1 may be due to the much larger surface area over which the shrink film 5 is sealed to this part 6 in comparison with the narrow upper edge 3 of the spoon 1. However, this would mean that if the spoon 1 remains in the hot water only long enough, there is still a chance that the shrink film 5 comes loose from the spoon 1 entirely and ends up in the coffee, which is experienced as being unpleasant. For that reason, it is better to fasten the shrink film onto the spoon in a different manner. During the sealing of the shrink film 5 onto the part 6, a greater pressure force can be exerted than during the sealing of the shrink film onto the upper edge 3.

Also, the shrink film 5 may be sealed onto the upper edge 3 but glued onto the part 6.

It will be readily understood that the dimensions of the spoon are preferably adjusted to the sectional dimensions of a coffee cup and that the amount of coffee extract and the concentration thereof are preferably adjusted to an average strength of the coffee. Of course, it is possible to vary the contents of the spoon 1 with respect to coffee strength or additions of, for instance, sugar or coffee creamer, and hence to manufacture a diversity of spoons.

In particular for commercial purposes, the shrink film may be provided with a print of ink or like colorants that are water-insoluble also under high temperatures. Also for commercial purposes, the spoon 1 may be manufactured from, for instance, metal bearing the manufacturer's emblem; the shrink film may then be fastened by gluing or shrinking. As the spoon is intended for being handled by the user himself, it is useful from a hygienic viewpoint to provide a secondary package around the spoon.