High-temperature barrier package

Abstract

A package includes a container and a lid. The package is configured to endure exposure to high sterilization temperatures.

1 . A retortable package comprising
 a container including a receptacle formed to include a product-storage region and a brim coupled to the receptacle and formed to include a brim aperture opening into the product-storage region formed in the receptacle and   a lid including a brim seal, a sheet-support ring adhered to the brim seal and coupled to the brim to position a ring aperture formed in the sheet-support ring to open into the product-storage region and to trap the brim seal between the brim and the sheet-support ring to establish an endless sealed connection between the brim of the receptacle and the sheet-support ring of the lid, and a removable closure including a peelable membrane sheet coupled temporarily to a topside portion of the sheet-support ring to close the ring aperture and cooperate with the sheet-support ring and the brim seal to provide means for retaining product stored in the product-storage region in a sealed chamber during exposure of the container and lid to high package-sterilization and cooking temperatures until the peelable membrane sheet is separated from the topside portion of the sheet-support ring to open the ring aperture so that product can be discharged from the product-storage region in sequence through the brim aperture and the ring aperture.   
     
     
         2 . The retortable package of  claim 1 , wherein the sheet-support ring includes an inwardly extending endless inner rim coupled to the outer wall of the sheet-support ring and arranged to lie above and in axially spaced-apart relation to an upwardly facing first endless seal-receiving surface of the brim, the outer wall of the sheet-support ring is arranged to extend around and lie in radially spaced-apart relation to an outwardly facing second endless seal-receiving surface of the brim located between the outwardly opening undercut channel and the upwardly facing first endless seal-receiving surface, the brim seal includes a top seal wall trapped between a downwardly facing surface of the inwardly extending endless inner rim of the sheet-support ring and the upwardly facing first endless seal-receiving surface of the brim, and the brim seal also includes an outer side seal wall coupled to an outer perimeter edge of the top seal wall and trapped between a portion of the outer wall of the sheet-support ring and the outwardly facing second endless seal-receiving surface of the brim. 
     
     
         3 . The retortable package of  claim 2 , wherein a portion of the inwardly extending endless inner rim of the sheet-support ring is arranged to mate with and lie between the peelable membrane sheet and the top seal wall. 
     
     
         4 . The retortable package of  claim 2 , wherein the downwardly facing surface of the inwardly extending endless inner rim of the sheet-support ring is arranged to extend in a substantially horizontal direction and the portion of the outer wall of the sheet-support ring that mates with the outer side seal wall of the brim seal is arranged to extend in a substantially vertical direction to lie in orthogonal relation to the downwardly facing surface of the inwardly extending endless inner rim of the sheet-support ring. 
     
     
         5 . The retortable package of  claim 2 , wherein the sheet-support ring is made of an elastic plastics material and the outwardly facing second endless seal-receiving surface of the brim is sloped to provide means for engaging a lid-retention lug included in the sheet-support ring during downward movement of the lid in a downward direction toward mating engagement with the brim to cause elastic flexure of the outer wall of the sheet-support ring so that a lid-retention lug snaps into the outwardly opening undercut space formed in the brim to place an upwardly facing anchor face of the lid-retention lug in confronting relation with the downwardly facing surface of the brim and mating relation with a free end of the outer side seal wall of the brim seal once the lid is moved far enough in the downward direction to trap the brim seal between the brim and the sheet-support ring. 
     
     
         6 . The retortable package of  claim 5 , wherein the sheet-support ring further includes an inner wall coupled to the inwardly extending endless inner rim of the sheet-support ring and surrounded by the outer wall to define an annular seal-receiving channel therebetween, the brim seal is located in the annular seal-receiving channel, and the brim seal further includes an inner side seal wall coupled to an inner perimeter edge of the top seal wall and trapped between the inner wall of the sheet-support ring and the brim of the container. 
     
     
         7 . The retortable package of  claim 6 , wherein each of the inner and outer walls of the sheet-support ring has an annular shape and the inner and outer walls are arranged to lie in concentric relation to one another. 
     
     
         8 . The retortable package of  claim 6 , wherein a free end of the outer side seal wall is trapped between the brim of the container and a lid-retention lug included in the sheet-support ring when the sheet-support ring of the lid is retained in the stationary, mounted position on the brim of the container. 
     
     
         9 . The retortable package of  claim 2 , wherein the brim further includes an upwardly facing first endless seal-receiving surface facing away from the downwardly facing surface of the brim and engaging the top seal wall of the brim seal and an outwardly facing second endless seal-receiving surface arranged to interconnect outermost edges of the upwardly facing first endless seal-receiving surface and the downwardly facing surface and sloped to diverge in a downward direction from a narrow width at the upwardly facing first endless seal-receiving surface to a relatively wider width at the downwardly facing surface and to engage the outer side seal wall of the brim seal. 
     
     
         10 . The retortable package of  claim 9 , wherein the outwardly facing second endless seal-receiving surface has a convex cross-sectional shape. 
     
     
         11 . The retortable package of  claim 9 , wherein the sheet-support ring is made of an elastic plastics material and the outwardly facing second endless seal-receiving surface of the brim is sloped to provide means for engaging a lid-retention lug included in the sheet-support ring during downward movement of the lid in a downward direction toward mating engagement with the brim to cause elastic flexure of the outer wall of the sheet-support ring so that the lid-retention lug snaps into the outwardly opening undercut space formed in the brim to place an upwardly facing anchor face of the lid-retention lug in confronting relation with the downwardly facing surface of the brim and mating relation with a free end of the outer side seal wall of the brim seal once the lid is moved far enough in the downward direction to trap the brim seal between the brim and the sheet-support ring. 
     
     
         12 . The retortable package of  claim 1 , wherein the receptacle and brim cooperate to form a monolithic component made of a plastics material, the sheet-support ring is made of a plastics material, and the brim seal is coupled to an underside of the sheet-support ring and arranged to mate with the brim when the sheet-support ring is coupled to the brim. 
     
     
         13 . The retortable package of  claim 12 , wherein the brim includes a downwardly facing surface and is formed to include an outwardly opening undercut space below the downwardly facing surface and the sheet-support ring includes an outer wall arranged to surround the brim and at least one lid-retention lug coupled to the outer wall and arranged to extend inwardly into the outwardly opening undercut space to confront the downwardly facing surface of the brim to provide means for retaining the sheet-support ring in a stationary, mounted position on the brim to cause the brim seal to establish the endless sealed connection between the brim and the sheet-support ring. 
     
     
         14 . The retortable package of  claim 13 , wherein each lid-retention lug includes an inclined cam ramp configured to provide means for riding on an outer edge of the brim during downward movement of the lid in a downward direction toward the container during a lid-mounting process and elastic properties of the plastics material used to form the outer wall of the sheet-support ring allows elastic flexure of a lower portion of the outer wall carrying the at least one lid-retention lug so that each lid-retention lug snaps into the outwardly opening undercut space formed in the brim to place an upwardly facing anchor face of each lid-retention lug in confronting relation with an underside of the brim once the lid is moved far enough in the downward direction to trap the brim seal between the brim and the sheet-support ring. 
     
     
         15 . The retortable package of  claim 13 , wherein the sheet-support ring further includes inner rim means coupled to the downwardly facing surface of the inwardly extending endless inner rim of the sheet-support ring to lie in spaced-apart relation to the at least one lid-retention lug to locate the brim seal therebetween for engaging an inner edge of the brim during downward movement of the lid in a downward direction toward mating engagement with the brim so that the lid is located in a centered position relative to the container to cause the at least one lid-retention lug to extend into the outwardly opening undercut space formed in the brim and establish the endless sealed connection between the brim and the sheet-support ring. 
     
     
         16 . The retortable package of  claim 15 , wherein the inner rim means includes a series of inner rim segments arranged to lie in spaced-apart relation to one another on the downwardly facing surface of the inwardly extending endless rim of the sheet-support ring and each inner rim segment includes a curved outwardly facing locator-cam surface facing toward the inner edge of the brim. 
     
     
         17 . The retortable package of  claim 16 , wherein the inner rim means is located between the brim seal and the brim aperture and in spaced-apart relation to an inner perimeter edge of the inwardly extending endless inner rim defining the brim aperture. 
     
     
         18 . The retortable package of  claim 1 , wherein the brim includes a downwardly facing surface and is formed to include an outwardly opening undercut space below the downwardly facing surface and the sheet-support ring includes an outer wall arranged to surround the brim and at least one lid-retention lug coupled to the outer wall and arranged to extend inwardly into the outwardly opening undercut space to engage the downwardly facing surface of the brim to provide means for retaining the sheet-support ring in a stationary, mounted position on the brim to cause the brim seal to establish the endless sealed connection between the brim and the sheet-support ring, the sheet-support ring includes an inwardly extending endless inner rim coupled to the outer wall of the sheet-support ring and arranged to lie above and in axially spaced-apart relation to an upwardly facing first endless seal-receiving surface of the brim, the outer wall of the sheet-support ring is arranged to extend around and lie in radially spaced-apart relation to an outwardly facing second endless seal-receiving surface of the brim located between the outwardly opening undercut channel and the upwardly facing first endless seal-receiving surface, the brim seal includes a top seal wall trapped between a downwardly facing surface of the inwardly extending endless inner rim of the sheet-support ring and the upwardly facing first endless seal-receiving surface of the brim, and the brim seal also includes an outer side seal wall coupled to a perimeter edge of the top seal wall and trapped between a portion of the outer wall of the sheet-support ring and the outwardly facing second endless seal-receiving surface of the brim. 
     
     
         19 . The retortable package of  claim 18 , wherein a portion of the inwardly extending endless inner rim of the sheet-support ring is arranged to mate with and lie between the peelable membrane sheet and the top seal wall. 
     
     
         20 . The retortable package of  claim 18 , wherein the downwardly facing surface of the inwardly extending endless inner rim of the sheet-support ring is arranged to extend in a substantially horizontal direction and the portion of the outer wall of the sheet-support ring that mates with the outer side seal wall of the brim seal is arranged to extend in a substantially vertical direction to lie in orthogonal relation to the downwardly facing surface of the inwardly extending endless inner rim of the sheet-support ring. 
     
     
         21 . The retortable package of  claim 18 , wherein the sheet-support ring is made of an elastic plastics material and the outwardly facing second endless seal-receiving surface of the brim is sloped to provide means for engaging a lid-retention lug included in the sheet-support ring during downward movement of the lid in a downward direction toward mating engagement with the brim to cause elastic flexure of the outer wall of the sheet-support ring so that a lid-retention lug snaps into the outwardly opening undercut space formed in the brim to place an upwardly facing anchor face of the lid-retention lug in confronting relation with the downwardly facing surface of the brim and mating relation with a free end of the outer side seal wall of the brim seal once the lid is moved far enough in the downward direction to trap the brim seal between the brim and the sheet-support ring. 
     
     
         22 . A retortable package comprising
 a container and   a lid mounted on the container to close a brim aperture opening into an interior region of the container, wherein the lid includes a removable closure including a membrane sheet and a pull tab coupled to the membrane sheet, a sheet-support ring configured to mount permanently on a brim of the container when the lid is mounted on the container, and a brim seal coupled to an underside of the sheet-support ring to move therewith and trapped between the sheet-support ring and the brim when the lid is mounted on the container, and wherein the membrane sheet is coupled temporarily to a topside portion of the sheet-support ring for removal therefrom to expose a ring aperture formed in the sheet-support ring and aligned with the brim aperture to open into the interior region of the container.   
     
     
         23 . The retortable package of  claim 22 , wherein each of the container, the sheet-support ring, and the removable closure is made of a plastics material and cooperate to provide means for retaining product stored in the interior region of the container in a sealed chamber during exposure of the container and lid to high package-sterilization and cooking temperatures until the peelable membrane sheet is separated from the topside portion of the sheet-support ring to open the ring aperture so that product can be discharged from the product-storage region in sequence through the brim aperture and the ring aperture. 
     
     
         24 . The retortable package of  claim 23 , wherein the brim includes a downwardly facing surface and is formed to include an outwardly opening undercut space below the downwardly facing surface and the sheet-support ring includes an outer wall arranged to surround the brim and at least one lid-retention lug coupled to the outer wall and arranged to extend inwardly into the outwardly opening undercut space to engage the downwardly facing surface of the brim to provide means for retaining the sheet-support ring in a stationary, mounted position on the brim to cause the brim seal to establish the endless sealed connection between the brim and the sheet-support ring. 
     
     
         25 . The retortable package of  claim 22 , wherein the brim includes a downwardly facing surface and is formed to include an outwardly opening undercut space below the downwardly facing surface and the sheet-support ring includes an outer wall arranged to surround the brim and at least one lid-retention lug coupled to the outer wall and arranged to extend inwardly into the outwardly opening undercut space to engage the downwardly facing surface of the brim to provide means for retaining the sheet-support ring in a stationary, mounted position on the brim to cause the brim seal to establish the endless sealed connection between the brim and the sheet-support ring. 
     
     
         26 . The retortable package of  claim 25 , wherein the sheet-support ring includes an inwardly extending endless inner rim coupled to the outer wall of the sheet-support ring and arranged to lie above and in axially spaced-apart relation to an upwardly facing first endless seal-receiving surface of the brim, the outer wall of the sheet-support ring is arranged to extend around and lie in radially spaced-apart relation to an outwardly facing second endless seal-receiving surface of the brim located between the outwardly opening undercut channel and the upwardly facing first endless seal-receiving surface, the brim seal includes a top seal wall trapped between a downwardly facing surface of the inwardly extending endless inner rim of the sheet-support ring and the upwardly facing first endless seal-receiving surface of the brim, and the brim seal also includes an outer side seal wall coupled to a perimeter edge of the top seal wall and trapped between a portion of the outer wall of the sheet-support ring and the outwardly facing second endless seal-receiving surface of the brim.