Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D75/00—Packages comprising articles or materials partially or wholly enclosed in strips, sheets, blanks, tubes, or webs of flexible sheet material, e.g. in folded wrappers
  • B65D75/52—Details
  • B65D75/58—Opening or contents-removing devices added or incorporated during package manufacture
  • B65D75/5861—Spouts
  • B65D75/5872—Non-integral spouts
  • B65D75/5883—Non-integral spouts connected to the package at the sealed junction of two package walls
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A21—BAKING; EDIBLE DOUGHS
  • A21C—MACHINES OR EQUIPMENT FOR MAKING OR PROCESSING DOUGHS; HANDLING BAKED ARTICLES MADE FROM DOUGH
  • A21C15/00—Apparatus for handling baked articles
  • A21C15/002—Apparatus for spreading granular material on, or sweeping or coating the surface of baked articles
  • A21C15/005—Apparatus for spreading granular material on, or sweeping or coating the surface of baked articles of which at least the dispensing part is hand-held, e.g. comprising a flexible container, pouch or gun-like applicator
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
  • A23G—COCOA; COCOA PRODUCTS, e.g. CHOCOLATE; SUBSTITUTES FOR COCOA OR COCOA PRODUCTS; CONFECTIONERY; CHEWING GUM; ICE-CREAM; PREPARATION THEREOF
  • A23G3/00—Sweetmeats; Confectionery; Marzipan; Coated or filled products
  • A23G3/0002—Processes of manufacture not relating to composition and compounding ingredients
  • A23G3/0097—Decorating sweetmeats or confectionery
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
  • A23G—COCOA; COCOA PRODUCTS, e.g. CHOCOLATE; SUBSTITUTES FOR COCOA OR COCOA PRODUCTS; CONFECTIONERY; CHEWING GUM; ICE-CREAM; PREPARATION THEREOF
  • A23G3/00—Sweetmeats; Confectionery; Marzipan; Coated or filled products
  • A23G3/02—Apparatus specially adapted for manufacture or treatment of sweetmeats or confectionery; Accessories therefor
  • A23G3/28—Apparatus for decorating sweetmeats or confectionery

Definitions

• This invention relates to devices commonly referred to as piping bags, pastry bags or icing bags.
• Such bags are generally filled with a thick, flowable material such as icing, pureed fruit or vegetable, or mayonnaise, which is expressed from the bag through a nozzle, usually to achieve a decorative effect.
• the invention more particularly relates to disposable piping bags and nozzles therefor.
• Refillable piping bags of the prior art typically include a pouch having an open upper end defining a fill opening, and an open lower end of smaller transverse cross sectional dimension than that of the upper end, defining an outlet end.
• the pouch wall is constructed from a durable, impervious fabric that is permanently bonded to a nozzle base at the outlet end, to which base must be selectively connected a nozzle tip of desired cross-sectional shape to provide a pre-determined decorative effect. Improvements relating to such bags are described in the following patent documents:
• kits are usually contaminated with pathogens even after cleansing in a manner to which they would be commonly subject in a domestic or small scale commercial facility. It is known to provide disposable piping bags in the form of kits. As will be subsequently described in greater detail, one such kit includes a pouch constructed from plastic film having a flat, triangular shape when empty, and which is accordingly similar to that of the reusable fabric bags mentioned above. These disposable bags require a nozzle, which is provided as part of the kit, to be inserted through the fill opening of the bag, and wedged tightly into the pouch adjacent to the dispensing opening. While disposable bags formed from this kit are generally suited for small-scale domestic use, they are inappropriate for large-scale commercial use or for distribution in a filled condition. Moreover, they do not permit the nozzle shape to be changed
• a difficulty associated with this kit is that of retaining the nozzle in its wedged, sealed position within the pouch, due to a reactive force exerted by the pouch upon the conically inclined surface of the nozzle.
• a further dislodging force may often arise due to inadvertence; typically, when filling the bag, the nozzle may contact a support surface such as a kitchen counter-top, whereby the nozzle is pushed towards the interior of the bag.
• These problems are likely to be even more acute where the bags are intended for commercial or professional use, as they will generally be larger and heavier.
• the pouches are intended to be disposable following their use, it may be preferred that the nozzles be re-used, in which case stainless steel may be a preferred material of construction. The coefficient of friction between this material and most plastic materials of likely interest for forming a disposable pouch is relatively low, and it has not been practical heretofore to provide disposable piping bags with stainless steel nozzles.
• disposable piping bags In order to be economically viable, disposable piping bags should be inexpensive to produce and distribute, and they should not significantly increase the cost of production of the various types of substances that may be sealed and distributed in the bags.
• a disposable piping bag comprises a pouch with an expressible, viscous medium sealed therein.
• the pouch is constructed from a thin, flexible material, with plastic film being particularly suited and preferred, so as to collapse on the expression of the medium from the pouch.
• the pouch has a neck portion adjacent one axial end thereof having conically reducing transverse cross-sections.
• the piping bag further comprises nozzle means including a funnel-like base that comprises conically inclined wall portions connected in flow relationship with a spout portion.
• the nozzle base is disposed at least in part within the pouch with neck portions thereof in gripping, relationship with the conically inclined wall portions of the nozzle base so as to create a seal therewith.
• the nozzle means further comprises a nozzle cap disposed outside of the pouch, and the nozzle base and the nozzle cap will suitably include complementary coupling means for selectively coupling the nozzle cap to said nozzle base, with portions of the pouch trapped therebetween, thereby serving to prevent the accidental dislodgement of the nozzle base from its gripped condition within the pouch.
• security seal means will be provided to close the outlet of the spout portion to prevent tampering of the medium contained in the pouch.
• the conically inclined portions of the nozzle base are generally smooth walled on their outwardly facing surface, so as to provide a good area of sealing contact between the nozzle base and the pouch. Over a period of time, it is found that the sealing contact between the pouch and the nozzle base is reduced, due at least in part to reactive forces generated by the pouch that tend to urge the base from its sealing contact with the walls of the pouch. This problem may be particularly acute when the medium contained within the pouch has a high fat or oil content, such as mayonnaise or whipped butter, for example. Accordingly, the conically inclined wall portions of the nozzle base portion are suitably and preferably provided with surface dislocations thereon which function to counteract these reactive forces.
• the dislocations are raised on the conical walls of the nozzle base, although they may also comprise or include surface indentations, particularly where the pouch is shrunk into the nozzle base, or where one or more constrictive elements are used to clamp the pouch wall to the nozzle base.
• the dislocations extend arcuately across the surface of the conical walls.
• the surface dislocations comprise several annular bands raised on the surface of the base portion, but it will be understood that the number and type of dislocations may vary widely and that they may be selected in accordance with different factors such as the conical angle of the base portion of the nozzles, and the materials of construction of the nozzle and the pouch. It will also be understood that the nozzle cap, where it serves to trap portions of the pouch, will also act in addition to the surface deformations to resist the reactive, dislodging force generated on the nozzle base by the pouch walls.
• the piping bag may comprise a selection of the nozzle caps, and include, for example a cap which may be used to close the outlet opening of the nozzle base when the bag is stored for a period of time, and one or more elongated caps with a bore therethrough to thereby form nozzle tips of different cross-sections to provide different artistic effects when extruding piping material from the bag.
• the gripping action of the pouch on the nozzle base may be such that the cap is not necessary, even where the nozzle base is made from a material with a low coefficient of friction such as stainless steel, and accordingly, the kit may be provided without the cap, if desired.
• the outlet end of the pouch may suitably terminate in a nipple, which will preferably be sealed and which must be severed by a user prior to extruding material from the bag.
• a nipple which will preferably be sealed and which must be severed by a user prior to extruding material from the bag.
• This feature is of advantage to the domestic user, as it permits the pouch to be filled by the user without material dripping out through the outlet opening. It is also of advantage to the commercial user who intends to distribute the piping bags complete with a filling medium, as it permits the filled bags to be hermetically sealed and sterilized, thereby increasing the shelf-life of the product.
• piping bags sealed in this manner do not require the addition of any anti-tamper security means at the outlet end thereof, thereby avoiding the concomitant costs associated therewith.
• the nozzle cap will serve to physically protect the nipple until such time as it is desired to use the piping bag, in addition to its other function or functions once the
• the preferred means for coupling the nozzle cap to the nozzle base comprises thread means, suitably with male threads disposed on the spout portion of the nozzle base and female threads disposed on the cap, although other coupling means including snap couplings, for example, may be employed.
• the pouches at least of the piping bags are intended to be disposable, it is necessary that they be of relatively low cost.
• One of the preferred features of a piping bag intended to be filled by the user is a resealable closure for the filling end of the bag, preferably of the push together zip type.
• the pouch has a triangular shape when flat, the length of the fill opening for a given bag volume tends to be rather high, and given the relatively high cost of zip-type resealable closures, this would be a burdensome factor.
• a still further cost factor associated with resealable triangular pouches is in the material wastage in manufacture.
• a film pouch will be manufactured from two overlaying bands of film that are fused together to define the margins of the pouch. Where a resealable zip type closure is required, this will normally be molded along one lateral margin of the sheets only. Accordingly, approximately one half of the sheet material will be wasted when the pouches are formed in this manner. Yet another disadvantage associated with the triangular pouches is in the difficulty in assessing the amount of material within the pouch, as this will vary in a non-linear manner with the height of the material in the pouch.
• pouches for use with piping bag assemblies have an elongated, pentagonal form.
• Pouches of this form offer improvements over the triangular form pouches in each of the above areas, and are also advantageous for the user in facilitating the expression of medium from the bag, particularly where the bags are relatively large.
• This type of bag has a still further advantage in that it is readily manufactured and distributed in a web, to facilitate its handling by an industrial user in automated fill equipment.
• the invention also contemplates piping bag kits comprising nozzle means and pouches as described above in connection with the first aspect of the invention.
• FIG. 1 shows in elevation an exploded fragmentary view of a prior art disposable piping bag arrangement
• Fig. 2 shows in elevation a filled piping bag in accordance with the invention, broken to indicate indefinite length and cut away to reveal detail;
• Fig. 3 shows in longitudinal cross-section the first part of a nozzle means as used in the arrangement of Fig. 2;
• Fig. 4 shows in longitudinal cross-section a second part of a nozzle means which may be coupled to the first part as an alternative to the second part shown in Fig 2;
• Fig. 5 shows in elevation a film pouch of a type used in the assembly of Fig. 2;
• Fig. 6 shows a film web in which pouches such as that seen in Fig. 5 are formed
• Fig. 7 shows a cross-section on line 7-7 of Fig. 6; and Fig. 8 is similar to Fig. 3, but shows the addition of a security seal thereto.
• Assembly A includes a plastic film pouch P which comprises a pair of overlying film sheets FI, F2 joined together along convergent sides SI S2 to form a nipple at end E. Only the lower portion of pouch P is illustrated, but it is to be understood that sides SI, S2 are continuously divergent from end E to the upper edge of pouch P, the pouch having a triangular form as is common with fabric pastry bags of the prior art.
• Assembly A further comprises a nozzle N including a stepped, frusto-conical base portion B and unitarily formed therewith, a tip portion T.
• a user Prior to the assembly of pouch P and nozzle N, a user is instructed to sever end E along line X-X so as to provide an opening through which the tip portion T of nozzle N will project when the nozzle is passed through the pouch from the upper end. Tip portion T is then pulled from below the pouch, so as to engage base portion B in wedged, sealed relationship with the walls of the pouch. Over a period of time, the reactive force generated by pouch P on nozzle base B will tend to urge the nozzle base out of its sealing relationship with the pouch, and leakage of medium contained within the pouch will occur. This problem is particularly acute when the medium has significant oil or fat component, such as mayonnaise or whipped butter.
• Figs. 2 and 3 illustrate the improved piping bag assembly of the invention, which is identified therein generally by the numeral 10.
• Assembly 10 comprises a pouch 12, and a nozzle means comprising a first part 20, best seen in Fig. 3.
• First part 20 is broadly funnel shaped and includes a base portion 21 which is upwardly outwardly divergent in a frusto-conical form, and which connects in flow relationship with a right circular tubular spout 22 with an outlet 22a, and a transitional downwardly, inwardly, inclined shoulder 23 therebetween.
• Base portion 21 is circumscribed with a plurality of ribs 24 raised thereon in parallel, axially spaced apart relationship, which ribs serve to strengthen the wall, and which also have an additional purpose that will be subsequently referred to.
• Tubular spout 22 has a male thread 25 raised thereon.
• the nozzle of assembly 10 includes at least one second part 30 which may suitably be in the form of a closed cap, as seen in Fig. 2, which cap has a female thread 31 formed therein to be connectable with male thread 25.
• Pouch 12 in its unfilled condition comprises a pair of flat film walls 40a, 40b, sealed together along laterally extending edges 41. Edges 41 are suitably parallel over the upper, major portion of pouch 12, and then converge to terminate in a nipple 42, in effect having an elongated pentagonal shape.
• the upper end 43 of pouch 12, in its flat, unfilled condition is open, to permit the first part 20 of the nozzle means to be inserted into the pouch, and urged towards nipple 42, so causing the pouch to deform at least initially in an elastic manner in which it tightly grips and surrounds first nozzle part 20 in sealing relationship therewith.
• the conical angle of the convergent wall portions of pouch 12 is generally the same as that of base portion 21, so as to enhance the gripping action of the walls of pouch 12 on first nozzle part 20. It will be appreciated that the film wall of pouch 12 will be in greatest tension where it passes over ribs 24, and that when first nozzle portion 20 is properly positioned in pouch 12, there will be little likelihood of leakage occurring between the pouch wall and nozzle part 20.
• cap 30 will be coupled to the first nozzle part, thereby trapping portions of the pouch wall between the cap and the first nozzle part, following which pouch 12 may be filled with a filling medium M and hermetically closed along seal line 36.
• cap 30 does not function at this stage to seal piping bag assembly 10 in any manner, and that the assembly could be distributed with the cap in an uncoupled state.
• the two nozzle parts be coupled together, as the second part serves to protect nipple 42 from mechanical damage. Still further, it serves to prevent the dislodgement of nozzle first part 20 from its sealing engagement with the wall of pouch 12 and its migration into the mass of filling medium M.
• Micronking the pouch 12 onto the first nozzle part 20 may also serve to prevent the dislodgement of the nozzle first part.
• film walls 40a, 40b may be formulated to facilitate for example, thermal shrinkage, as is known in the art. Still other means of shrinkage may be used and may under some circumstances be preferred.
• the user of filled, sealed assembly 10 is instructed to use the assembly by removing cap 30, and, following a visual inspection to determine that nipple 42 has not been tampered with, to sever the nipple marginally below shoulder 23. This will then permit filling medium M to be expressed from pouch 12 through the tubular outlet 22a of the first nozzle part 20.
• assembly 10 might include one or more second nozzle parts, an exemplary alternative such part being seen in Fig. 4 and identified therein by the numeral 30'.
• nozzle second part 30' may conveniently be coupled to first part 20 in an identical manner to that in which cap 30 is coupled, to permit piping of a different cross section to be extruded from assembly 10 through decorative tip 32. Irrespective of the precise nature of nozzle second part 30, it is desirable that when it is secured to the nozzle first part, it will trap a portion of the film wall of pouch 12 between the two nozzle parts, to reduce the possibility of the accidental dislodgement of the first nozzle part 20 as earlier spoken of.
• closed cap 30 may be coupled with first nozzle part 20 to seal the contents of assembly 10 for storage and subsequent reuse if desired.
• Assembly 10 as thus far described, is particularly suited for use in a commercial filling and sealing operation, although it is by no means limited thereto.
• a modified pouch 12a where assembly 10 is intended for sale to an end user in an unfilled condition, a modified pouch 12a, best seen in Figs. 6 and 7 may be provided.
• Pouch 12a has a releasable closure means 50 at the upper end thereof.
• closure 50 comprises a zip fastener of a type commonly used in food storage bags, such as a push together or a slide fastener .
• Pouches 12 and 12a are typically manufactured from a web 60 comprising two continuous, overlaying bands 62a, 62b of food grade plastic film by fusing the film together to form the side margins 41 of the pouches, with each pouch having a side margin in common with an adjacent pouch.
• the pouches 12 or 12a so formed may suitably remain in the web 60 to facilitate the packing and handling of the pouches at a filling station, and thereby reduce handling costs.
• bands 62a, 62b include closure elements 50, these are suitably provided along one longitudinal side of the bands only, to reduce the cost of production of the bands. This leads to some material wastage, as the films portions 45 will be discarded.
• nipple end 42 of pouch 12 serves to enclose spout opening 22a and thereby form a security seal for the contents M contained within piping bag 10, this arrangement may be changed if desired.
• a security seal 121 is provided at the outlet end of spout portion 122.
• pouch 12 may be prepared at the time of its manufacture by severing nipple end 42 along the line Y-Y, which will permit the spout portion 122 of nozzle first part 120 to project through pouch 12 when assembled therewith.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Food Science & Technology (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Polymers & Plastics (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Bag Frames (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Publications (1)

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• 2002
  • 2002-12-05 CA CA002503874A patent/CA2503874A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2002-12-05 EP EP02790663A patent/EP1571916A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2002-12-05 AU AU2002368418A patent/AU2002368418A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2002-12-05 WO PCT/IB2002/005752 patent/WO2004049816A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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