AU2003100725A4 - Method of producing a chocolate product - Google Patents

Description

P/00/012 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION INNOVATION PATENT Invention Title: "METHOD OF PRODUCING A CHOCOLATE PRODUCT" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: TITLE: METHOD OF PRODUCING A CHOCOLATE PRODUCT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention THIS INVENTION relates to a method of producing an improved chocolate product.

In particular, the invention relates to a method of producing a chocolate product having letters or other designs formed thereon of a different coloured chocolate or chocolate-like material than the rest of the chocolate product.

Throughout the specification, the term "chocolate material" is intended to include within its scope chocolate, chocolate-like material and chocolate substitute, eg., carob.

2. Prior Art AU-B-66814/86 (583969) (GARRY JOHN GREEN) discloses a method of forming a chocolate product having a thin raised design thereon of a different colour than the rest of the chocolate product.

While the method disclosed in that specification enables a design formed in chocolate of one colour to be applied to chocolate of a second colour with a high degree of accuracy, the method, in practice, has a number of practical limitations.

In practice, the patterns or designs up to 36 in number) are engraved in a mould plate. Chocolate of a first colour is placed on the mould plate and spread over the plate, eg., with a plastic spatula, to fill the mould cavities and any excess chocolate is wiped off the exposed surface of the mould plate, eg., with tissue paper. A layer of the chocolate of the second colour is spread over the mould plate by hand, eg., using a spatula. The mould plate is shaken to remove any air bubbles; and is placed in a cooler, eg., for 10 minutes. When the chocolate is solid, the chocolate product is stripped from the mould plate and is then cut into squares using a knife guided by a template, which is placed over the exposed surface of the chocolate product bearing the design.

The above method has the following practical problems: a) the actual thickness, and any variation in thickness, of the chocolate product formed from the second coloured chocolate is dependent solely on the operator's skill; b) cutting of the chocolate products from the solid sheet of chocolate is laborious, as the template must be laid on the sheet to enable, eg., the horizontal cuts, to be made and then rotated through degrees to enable the vertical cuts to be made; c) the location of the design on the chocolate products is variable, dependent on the placement of the cutting template on the chocolate sheet; and d) the corners of the chocolate products are likely to crack and break as the products are cut from the sheet.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved method which enables the defects of the above method to be overcome, or at least ameliorated.

It is a preferred object of the present invention to provide a method where the chocolate products can be readily formed into one or more pre-selected shapes.

It is a further preferred object of the present invention to provide a method which is not so dependent on the operator's skills.

Other preferred objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description.

In a first aspect, the present invention resides in a method of forming a chocolate product having a thin raised design thereon of a different colour than the rest of the chocolate product, said method comprising the steps of: engraving a first mould plate, the pattern being a mirrorimage of the desired design on the product; introducing into said engraved pattern sufficient liquid chocolate material of a first colour to at least fill the engraved pattern; removing any excess material of the first colour from the first mould plate; placing a second mould plate on the first mould plate, the second mould plate having a mould cavity of pre-selected shape therein in register with the engraved pattern; introducing liquid chocolate material of a second colour into said mould cavity to cover the chocolate material of the first colour; cooling both chocolate materials in the mould plates to solidify them and bond them together; and removing the resultant chocolate product so formed from the mould plates.

Preferably, a plurality of identical patterns are engraved in a first mould plate by computer assisted engraving.

Preferably, the first mould plate and the second mould plate are formed from resilient plastics material.

Preferably, one of the first and second colours is a white or cream colour, and the other colour is brown.

Preferably, the second mould plate is flexible and is engageable with the first mould plate in a non-slip contact.

Preferably, the mould cavity in the second mould plate has an inclined or bevelled side wall to enable a chocolate product to be easily stripped from the second mould plate.

Preferably, a plurality of engraved patterns 36 in number) are provided in the first mould plate and a respective mould cavity for each engraved pattern is provided in the second mould plate.

In plan view, the mould cavities may be square, rectangular, elliptical, circular, heart-shaped, fan-shaped or any other regular or irregular shape.

In a second aspect, the present invention resides in a chocolate product formed by the method as hereinbefore described.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS To enable the invention to be fully understood, a preferred embodiment will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the computer-assisted lasercut engraving of the first mould plate; FIG. 2 is a sectional side view of the first mould plate taken on line 2-2 on FIG. 1; FIGS. 3 and 4 are respective sectional side views of the first chocolate colour being applied to the first mould plate; FIG. 5 is an isometric view showing the first and second mould plates in an exploded configuration; FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken on line 6-6 on FIG. showing the moulding of a chocolate product in accordance with the present invention; and FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the chocolate product on release from the mould plates.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The first mould plate 10 has a design 11 engraved, eg., by a computer-assisted engraving machine 100, in a regular array in the top surface 12 of the first mould plate 10 (see FIGS. 1 and The first mould plate 10 may be formed from engraving plastic laminate.

The engraving machine 100 has a laser unit 101, where the pattern cut by the laser beam 102 is controlled by a computer program in a computer 103.

The second mould plate 20 (see FIG. 5) is formed from a sheet of silicone rubber which may be, eg., 2, 3, 4 or 6mm thick the thickness of this sheet will determine the thickness of the chocolate product. A suitable silicone rubber sheet is sold under the trade mark ELASTOSOL RTV by Wacker Chemicals under Product Code No.

M4642. (In an alternative embodiment, the second mould plate formed from polyurethane or other inert plastics material.) A mould cavity 21 extends through the second mould plate and in this embodiment has a substantially elliptical shape with inclined side wall 22. It will be noted that when the second mould plate 20 is placed on the first mould plate 10, the mould cavity 21 is open to the engraved pattern 11.

Suitable spigot/hole combinations 22, 13 may be provided at the corners of the mould plates 10, 20, to ensure accurate register of hte two plates together.

Alternatively, the physical characteristics of the plastics materials of the two mould plates 10, 20 may ensure that the mould plates have a non-slip contact when brought together.

To produce the chocolate product 50, the chocolate of the first colour 30 is spread over the engraved design 11 in the top surface 12 of the first mould plate 10, by, eg., a plastic spatula 60 and is forced into the engraved design 11 (see FIG. 3).

Any excess chocolate is then wiped from the top surface 12 by the spatula 60 (see FIG. 4).

The second mould plate 20 is then brought into register with the first mould plate 10 so that the chocolate of the first colour 30 is exposed to the mould cavity 21 (see FIG. Chocolate of the second colour 40 is then placed in the mould cavity 21 to fill the cavity and the mould plates 10, 20 may be tapped to release any trapped air bubbles.

Mould plates 10, 20 and the chocolate 30, 40 are placed in a cooler, eg., for 10 minutes, until the chocolate 30, 40 is solid. The second mould plate 20 is stripped from the first mould plate 10 and then the chocolate product 50 is released from the mould cavity 21.

By using the method of the present invention, the following advantages are achieved over the method disclosed in AU-B-66814/86: Different shapes of chocolate product 50 are easily produced, and the shapes are readily reproducible; The thickness of the chocolate of the second colour 40 is controlled by the thickness of the second mould plate 20, and the second mould plate 20 can be made from suitable plastic sheets in a range of thicknesses; The edges of the chocolate product 50 are accurately moulded and are less liable to damage; The design of the chocolate of the first colour 30 is more accurately located on the chocolate of a second colour 40 and hte accuracy is more easily produced; As a cutting template is not placed on the top face of the chocolate product 50, there is less likelihood of the design on that face being damaged; The moulded edges on the chocolate product ensure that there is no excess chocolate on the edges to be removed, and the chocolate product 50 can be bagged immediately; The level edges 22 of the mould cavity 21 ensure simple, clean release of the chocolate product from the second mould sheet The resultant chocolate product 50 has an improved aesthetic appearance; A lower skill level is required for the operators to manufacture the chocolates; and Productivity is greatly improved.

Various changes and modifications may be made to the embodiments described and illustrated without departing from the present invention.

Claims (4)

1. A method of forming a chocolate product having a thin raised design thereon of a different colour than the rest of the chocolate product, said method comprising the steps of: engraving a plurality of identical patterns in a first mould plate, formed from engraving plastic laminate by computer assisted engraving, the patterns being mirror-images of the desired design on the product; introducing into said engraved patters sufficient liquid chocolate material of a first colour to at least fill the engraved patterns; removing any excess material of the first colour from the first mould plate; placing a second mould plate, formed from silicon rubber or polyurethane, in non-slip contact, on the first mould plate, the second mould plate having respective mould cavities of pre-selected shape therein in register with each of the engraved patterns; introducing liquid chocolate material of a second colour into the mould cavities to cover the chocolate material of the first colour; cooling both chocolate materials in the mould plates to solidity them and bond them together; and removing the resultant chocolate products so formed from the mould plates.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein: one of the first and second colours is a white or cream colour, and the other colour is brown.

3. A method as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein: each of the mould cavities in the second mould plate has an inclined or bevelled side wall to enable the chocolate product to be easily stripped from the second mould plate.

4. A method as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 3 wherein: in plan view, the mould cavities are square, rectangular, elliptical, circular, heart-shaped, fan-shaped or any other regular or irregular shape. A chocolate product formed by the method as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 4. DATED this twenty-ninth day of August 2003. CHOCOLATE GRAPHICS PTY LTD By its Patent Attorneys FISHER ADAMS KELLY