FR2695300A1 - Method and devices for manufacturing and distributing balls of a substance such as ice cream. - Google Patents

Abstract

A method and means of implementing said method are described for producing a sphere of a paste-like substance such as icecream. The method involves taking the substance (1) in a cylindrical tube (2) with semispherical end (3) and nipping the tube at a distance d &cir& - from its end substantially equal to its diameter to form a ball (6) of the substance, simultaneously expelling the ball (6) against the nipped portion, which can expand under the thrust of the expelled ball (6) and reclose the semi-spherical end (3) for the next cycle. Application in preparing balls of icecream or water ice in particular.

Description

 The present invention is in the field of the conformation of substances, in particular food substances with a pasty consistency such as ice creams, and it relates to a general process and specific processes, for forming spheres, or balls, of such substances, as well as means of implementing these methods.

 As an example of the abovementioned substances, take ice cream, commonly known as ice cream, which it is well known to conform into balls; the molding process is thus known by means of a small instrument in the form of a hemispherical spoon with the aid of which the mass of ice is scraped off; we know that it is necessary to heat the spoon beforehand in hot water, so that the ice does not adhere to the spoon; also, hygiene requires washing the spoon between each molding; finally this sequence of operations requires service time.

 The object of the invention is to provide the means of obtaining scoops of ice cream under perfectly hygienic conditions and in the minimum time, while also offering good handling and storage conditions.

In its greatest generality, the method of the invention consists in throttling the casing to conform the sphere or ball to the highly thixotropic substance it contains, and in expelling the ball from the casing, whether this expulsion is immediately following the strangulation operation, or, on the contrary, that it be deferred. Consequently, the process thus defined can be presented under various variants of implementation depending on whether the casing will be considered as a lost product, or on the contrary as a component of the means of implementation
In a first group of variants, the casing which may be a thin polyethylene membrane or the like is considered to be lost: casing and substance constitute the consumable product although they are subsequently separated, the cut part of the casing constituting waste.

 The method, according to a first, preferred form, belonging to the first group of variants defined above, the hose being a thin and flexible membrane intended to be "lost", is characterized in its generality in that it consists, the substance being disposed in a cylindrical hose with a hemispherical end, to "throttle", or even diaphragm, the hose at a distance d from its said end, d being substantially equal to the diameter of the hose, in order to thus form at said end ball of substance, and simultaneously expelling said ball against the constriction which widens at the same time as the expulsion of the ball takes place.

 Preferably the operation of expelling the ball is followed by slicing, in the vicinity of the throttle, of the part of the hose, called residual, out of which the ball has been expelled, the strangulation forming a new end hemispherical for a subsequent cycle of operations.

 In this case, and preferably again, each hose constituting with the substance it contains a "cartridge" closed at its two ends, a plurality of cartridges is arranged in a row in a store, preferably refrigerated, to successively replace the cartridges which were consumed by expulsion of successive balls and slices.

 Another variant of implementation of the first group, in which the product is in a chain of balls, will be briefly described below.

 In a second group of variants, the hose takes the form of a flexible sleeve forming an integral part of the dispensing device.

 According to a variant of this second group, the sleeve is for example made of a rubberized canvas of silicone, of good endurance. The substance, stored in a refrigerated container, is induced to progress in the sleeve, under the effect of pressure for example, towards the hemispherical end of the sleeve which functions in the manner of a sphincter while the sleeve is strangled by a diaphragm at a distance d from said end; advantageously the expulsion of the ball is assisted by an expulsion member.

The present invention will be better understood, and details will become apparent from the description which will be made of various variants and preferred means of implementation, in relation to the figures of the appended plates in which
FIG. 1 schematically illustrates the general process and its variants, and
FIG. 2 schematically illustrates in perspective, a device for implementing a preferred variant,
- Fig.3 to ll illustrate in sectional view the successive stages of forming a ball with the device of the previous figure, and
- Fig.12 illustrates schematically in top view, the successive steps of replacing a cartridge.

 In fig. 1 a substance 1 having the thixotropic pasty consistency, that is to say relatively solid but deformable and not susceptible to spontaneous flow, is placed in a flexible tube, or hose, 2, or even in a sleeve , the 3 S end of which is hemispherical and liable to open under the effect of a certain pressure of the substance; the edges of this opening are shown in 4. A diaphragm 5 through which the hose 2 passes is disposed in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the hose at a distance d from the end of the latter, substantially equal to the diameter or the width of the hose.

 When the diaphragm closes by "strangling" the hose, the substance contained in the cylindrical end takes with the hose the spherical shape, or ball 6, accompanying or causing the opening of the end through which it is gradually expelled, while retaining its spherical shape if the resistance to opening is not too strong, to be finally ejected.

 The type variant la will be described later.

 The type lb variant presents the product in the form of a succession or "chain" of balls such as 7 separated by throttles such as 8; there is shown diagrammatically by 9 a member for ejecting the ball and by 10 a slicing knife after ejection.

 In this variant, the throttling phase being applied to the hose to obtain a plurality of successive balls, this phase being carried out in the "factory", only the phase of expelling the ball and slicing the residual part of the hose is applied to the place of distribution; the rosary is therefore produced in the ice cream manufacturing plant and it is thus delivered to distributors, the dispensing device being limited to separating the balls of substance from the casing.

 In the variant of the second group (diagram lc) the hose is a flexible sleeve 13; the distribution device comprises, as in the preceding cases, a first diaphragm 5 fulfilling the functions described above, but it also includes a second diaphragm 12 with a sphincter function arranged at the end of the sleeve to control its opening or closing. Expulsion means 14 are arranged between the two diaphragms.

 In such a device, the process of forming and distributing the balls is as follows: - the first diaphragm 5 located at the distance d from the end of the sleeve is closed by throttling the sleeve, so as to both prevent the progression of the substance and give the latter upstream and downstream of itself the hemispherical shape, - the second diaphragm 12 with sphincter function opens as the first diaphragm closes, - means of expulsion 14 of the ball are used to expel the ball through the second diaphragm, - the ball having been expelled the second diaphragm is closed and consecutively the first diaphragm opened again to allow the substance, pulsed by pressure, to reach the end now closed by the second diaphragm.

A dispensing device implementing the above technique is supplied in the same way as the ice cream dispensers known as "Italian-style"
The invention also relates to the products used in the devices of the first group of variants. In the first case (la) such a product consists of a plurality of cartridges 15 each consisting of the hose and the solidified substance it contains, each cartridge being closed at each of its ends; in the second case (lb) the product consists of a "string" of balls, each ball 7 being formed from the casing containing the solidified substance, the balls being separated from each other by a constriction 8 of the casing; as has been said above, a particularly advantageous application of the invention lies in the distribution of ice creams for consumption and the said substance is ice cream.

In FIG. 2, a device for implementing the method according to the preferred form of the invention, typically comprises
a store 20, preferably refrigerated, containing a line of cartridges 15 each consisting of a hose containing the solidified substance, the cartridges being arranged vertically,
a diaphragm 21 with open and closed positions, the open position allowing the cartridge to drop, the closed position throttling the latter,
a stop 23 arranged opposite, and in this case below, the diaphragm, to stop the fall and determine the height of the ball,
- A knife 24 for slicing the residual part of the hose after expelling the ball.

 The device advantageously comprises a receptacle 26 for waste to receive the sliced residual part, the said receptacle also supporting the stop and the knife.

 The device also comprises, in the case of a manually operated device design, a lever 27 which can be operated in the vertical plane.

 In Figs. 3 to 11, the lever 27, during its successive movements to bring it into the vertical high position (Fig. 4,5), then back downhill horizontally (Fig. 6,7), then of setting to the low vertical position (fig. 8, 9, 10), then finally of raising horizontally (fig. 12), leads, from an initial position of the receptacle directly above the diaphragm (fi. 3), simultaneously opening the diaphragm (fige4), dropping the cartridge and its coming against the stop (fiv.5), then closing the diaphragm (fig.6) and simultaneously expelling a ball ( fig.7) until the fall (fig.8) of the latter in a cone or cup, at the same time as the return to the rear position of the receptacle, then again the return of the receptacle to an advanced position, with slicing (fig.9) of the residual part 16 of the hose and simultaneously fall (fig.l0) of the latter into the receptacle, finally the return (fig.ll) of the receptacle in the initial position of the fi g.3.

 In fig. 2 and 12, the magazine can contain at least four product cartridges; a pusher 31 permanently solicits the cartridges in the direction of a retractable partition 32, called a "replenishment housing", separating the storage space from the space located above the diaphragm, so as not to hinder the fall of the cartridge in service. When a cartridge has been consumed, a lever 33 allows the casing to be retracted with the installation of a new cartridge; the retraction of the housing also makes it possible to line the magazine from the front face. The sequences of filling and replenishing a cartridge are represented by the six top views of the figure. In an advantageous embodiment, it is the handle 27 for distributing the balls which is used for restocking when it is designed to be maneuvered also in the horizontal plane.

 It will be noted that the invention is not limited to the conformation of substances into spheres, but that it also applies to cushion shapes, or even to tetrahedral shapes.

 Although a particular embodiment of the device for implementing the general method of the invention has been shown, it should be understood that the scope of the latter is not limited to this form, but that it 'extends to any device implementing the process in general, as well as to products suitable for this implementation, provided that they include the above-defined characteristics.

Claims (6)

1.- Process for forming spheres, or balls, of a subs  tance of pasty consistency, such as ice cream,  characterized  in what it consists, the subs  tance being arranged in a cylindrical casing  with a hemispherical end, to "throttle" the hose to  a distance d from its said end, d being sensi  roughly equal to the diameter of the hose, in order to form  so at the said end a ball of substance, and  simultaneously expel said ball against  of the constriction which widens under the thrust of  the ball expelled, and close the hemispherical end  for a following cycle;  2.- Method according to claim 1, characterized  in that, the hose being a  thin and flexible membrane intended to be "lost",  the ball expulsion operation is followed by a  slicing, in the vicinity of the constriction, of the part  the hose from which the ball was thrown,  the constriction forming the new hemis end  spherical for the next cycle of operations;  3.- Method according to claim 2, characterized  in that, each hose is made  killing, with the substance it contains, a cartridge,  a plurality of cartridges are arranged in a line  in a refrigerated store to successively replace  cartridges that have been consumed by evictions  of successive balls and slices 4.- Method according to claim 1 characterized  in that, the hose being a  flexible sleeve forming an integral part of the device  distributor, the process of distributing the balls  includes the following steps:  - the first diaphragm (5) located at the distance d from  the end of the sleeve is closed by throttling the  sleeve, to both prevent progression  of the substance and impart to it upstream  and downstream of itself, the hemispherical form,  - the second diaphragm (12) with sphincter function  opens as the first one closes  diaphragm,  - means for expelling (14) the ball are used  in action to expel the ball through the second  diaphragm, - the ball having been expelled the second  diaphragm is closed and consecutively the first  diaphragm opened again to allow the subs  tance, pulsed by pressure, to reach the end  now closed by the second diaphragm;  5.- Method according to claim 1, characterized  in that the foreshore phase  glement being applied to the hose to obtain a plura  a series of successive balls, this phase being carried out  in the "factory", only the ball expulsion phase  and slicing the residual part of the hose is applied  quée at the place of distribution;  6.- Device for implementing the process according to the reven  dication 2, characterized t  in that it includes  - a store (20) containing  a line of cartridges (15) each consisting of a  hose filled with substance,  - a diaphragm (21) with positions  open and closed the open position letting it fall  the cartridge, the closed position closing the latter  niere,  - a disposable stop (23)  next to the diaphragm,  - a slicing knife (24)  of the residual part of the hose 7.- Device according to claim 6, characterized  in that it further comprises  a waste receptacle (26) for receiving the portion  trench residual, said receptacle also supporting  the stop and the knife;  8.- Product intended for the implementation of the processes and  devices of claims 2 and 6, characterized  in that it consists of a  plurality of cartridges (15) each consisting of  hose containing said solidified substance, each  cartridge being closed at each of its ends; 9.- Product intended for the implementation of the processes and  devices of claims 5 and 6, characterized  in that it consists of a  "rosary"> of balls, each ball (7) being formed  of the casing containing said solidified substance, the  balls being separated from each other by a foreshore  hose regulation (8); 10.- Product intended for the implementation of the processes and  devices of any one of the claims  previous, characterized  in that said substance  is ice cream.