GB2529803A

GB2529803A - Ice cream dispenser

Info

Publication number: GB2529803A
Application number: GB1414601.3A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Wayne Ronald Pillips
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2014-08-18
Filing date: 2014-08-18
Publication date: 2016-03-09
Also published as: GB201414601D0

Abstract

A dispenser, possibly for semi-frozen food such as ice cream has a tubular barrel 1 and a plunger (3c, Fig 5) mounted at a concaved end 1e opposite an outlet 1d and where the plunger moves by a ratchet mechanism (3) towards the outlet 1d and/or where the wall of the barrel collapses, possibly in concertina (fig 2), towards outlet 1d. Barrel 1 collapses in an axial direction by concertina and comprises weakened annular zones 1a that flex laterally inwards.

Description

Ice cream Dispenser

Field of the Invention

The present invention concerns in a primary aspect improvements in and relating to dispensers for dispensing of ice-cream or other frozen desserts or other foodstuffs, whether manual or automated. In another aspect the appliance may have more diverse uses for dispensing fluid materials by extrusion such as for dispensing caulking! sealant glues! niastics, pastes and a wide range of other fluid substances for industry, trade or domestic use.

Background of the Invention

The traditional ice-cream dispenser is normally either a pumped automated system with supply tubes and flow control valves and tap for dispensing relatively fluid soft ice-creams, eg of the Mr Whippy' TM type or else, for the as more solid ice-creams, just a simple manually operated hand-held scoop akin to a spoon with an elongate handle and a deep concave hemi-spherical recess in the scooping head. The manual scoop may further include a finger-operated lever to assist in ejecting the scooped ball of ice-cream from the recess of the scoop. Between these two systems, one automated and best suited for retail premises and vans for automated delivery for mass consumption and the other manual and better suited for home use or in retail situations where speed and convenience are not paramount, there are few serious alternatives. There is in particular, poor provision of means for convenient and rapid delivery of quality ice-creams or means for convenient and rapid manual delivery of ice-creams.

One system that does seek to improve on the conventional dispensers is known as the One Shot dispenser and uses single serving short tubs with a diaphragm base that involutes under depression by a driven plunger in order to dispense the contents from the tub. This allows for fast dispensing of a single portion of soft liquid ice cream through a slitted seal as a swirl into a glass serving bowl and avoids the costly, time-consuming cleaning of apparatus needed with conventional soft ice cream dispensers. However the system does not suit dispensing multiple servings efficiently and is not capacious yet optimally compact versatile and effective.

It is a general object of a primary aspect of the present invention to provide an ice dream dispenser that mitigates against the afore-mentioned short-comings of S existing dispensers, providing a compact but capacious device with greater ease and versatility of use whether for domestic or retail dispensing of ice-cream.

In a further aspect of the present invention the invention seeks to provide an improved collapsible tube, tub or cartridge that better ensures full emptying of the tube, tub or cartridge when pressed and which is more space-efficient that most existing collapsible tubes, tubs or dispenser cartridges.

Summary of the Invention

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a dispenser of ice cream or other frozen or semi4rozen foodstuffs (eg fruit sorbet or frozen yoghurt) which comprises a tubular barrel that holds the frozen or semi-frozen foodstuff in use and with an outlet at one end and a plunger that is mounted at a rear end of the barrel to slidingly move toward the direction of the outlet end of the barrel to press the content of the barrel toward and extrude it out of a dispensing outlet to be dispensed and wherein the plunger is operated to move toward the outlet end of the tubular barrel by a ratchet mechanism and! or the tubular wall of the tubular barrel is adapted to collapse towards the outlet end of the barrel.

Particularly preferably the tubular wall collapses in a concertina manner.

By the use of a ratchet-operated plunger the ice cream dispenser is able to apply substantial pressure and reliably dispense ice cream or other frozen or semi-frozen foodstuff that can be substantially more viscous than most soft ice creams and to dispense it fully and, if desired, selectively in stages to suit dispensing of multiple fixed size portions that may be held in the barrel.

Preferably the ratchet mechanism has an operating trigger or lever that is adapted to be repeatedly manually pressed to cause the ratchet mechanism to operate to displace the plunger in stages towards the outlet end of the barrel. The plunger is particularly preferably external to the barrel and does not enter the barrel at all in use but presses against a rear wall of the barrel. The barrel is particularly preferably a capsule that holds ice cream or other frozen or semi-frozen foodstuff therewithin, having a seal and! or cap covering the outlet end, the capsule being substantially sealed prior to use and only opened at the outlet end. The capsule preferably holds the equivalent of one or preferably several portions of ice cream or other frozen or semi-frozen foodstuff. In the former case the operator can dispense the full portion by emptying the barrel. In the latter case the operator of the dispenser can dispense an individual portion by moving the plunger a fixed distance along the length of the barrel before moving the plunger further to dispense the next portion.

The barrel is preferably a substantially circular cylindrical tube and is particularly preferably collapsible in an axial direction of the barrel towards the outlet and especially preferably has a tubular wall! sidewall (cylindrical wall, when the tube is a cylinder) that collapses in a concertina manner. Preferably the barrel collapses in a concertina manner by virtue of alternating annular zones of relative weakness and relative strength therealong whereby the weaker annular zones flex laterally inwardly (radially inwardly where the barrel is a circular cylindrical tube) allowing the barrel to collapse. This configuration allows the barrel to dispense considerably larger volumes of ice cream or other frozen food-stuffs than is practical with a prior art collapsible diaphragm approach. The barrel is preferably moulded of a plastics material such as polyethylene and the annular zones of relative strength are preferably thickened plastics regions and which may be annular ribs around the barrel at intervals along its length. Particularly preferably the sidewall that collapses in a concertina manner has lines of weakness, within the weakened zones, that extend in the axial direction of the barrel! substantially orthogonal to the strengthening annular zones or ribs. Preferably the rear wall of the barrel is concave, recessed into the barrel to facilitate collapsing. The barrel is preferably an elongate tube that is longer than it is wide. In some embodiments the tubular barrel may be a squat tub and! or has walls that bow outwards.

The plunger may be motor-powered and may be automated following actuation by a switch. In a preferred embodiment the dispenser is hand-held and may be entirely manually operated, suitably by repeated operation of the ratchet mechanism trigger! moving lever. Preferably the ratchet mechanism is substantially that of a caulking gun, having a cam plate that is tilted by a trigger and pushed forward along a shaft of the plunger against the return force of a spring and advancing the cam plate and plunger. Suitably a rear cam plate! locking cam prevents the advanced plunger from retracting unless or until the rear cam plate! locking cam is moved to an inactive position.

Preferably the dispenser has a tubular outer casing within which the elongate tubular barrel is de-mountably mounted as a cartridge in use. The casing suitably has a solid tubular outer wall to protect the cartridge and which is particularly useful where the lateral outer wall of the tubular barrel of the cartridge is not wholly rigid but adapted to collapse. The cartridge is held in use steady in the frame defined by the casing while the plunger advances forwards in the casing driving the plunger forwards towards the outlet end of the tubular barrel and thereby compressing the tubular barrel and driving its contents out through the dispensing outlet.

The dispensing outlet may be covered by a cap or a seal, preferably a cap, that has a shaped configuration of opening, eg an array of slits such as in a star-shape, to extrude the foodstuff in a shaped form. The cap particularly preferably is adapted to de-mountably mount to the tubular barrel at a neck of the barrel or a neck of the tubular outer casing around the outlet. The neck preferably is substantially circular cylindrical and has a screw thread to threadedly engage with a complementary thread on the cap. The cap if it has a shaped opening therein may have a hinged lid to selectively cover the shaped opening. The tubular barrel's outlet may be covered by a seal membrane that is removable at the time of use and preferably is adapted to be removed just prior to installing a cap over the outlet. De-mountable caps with different shaped openings provide the operator with opportunity to choose amongst a range of inter-changeable different extrusion shapes and forms if desired. The end of the barrel proximate the outlet is preferably of increased diameter! width. The screw caps are preferably provided with laterally! radially projecting wings or knurling to facilitate screwing on or off and a securing tether may be provided to keep the cap close to the dispenser.

S

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a collapsible tube having a tubular wall wherein the tubular wall is adapted to collapse in an axial direction and having a sidewall (cylindrical wall, when the tube is a cylinder) that collapses in a concertina manner by virtue of alternating annular zones of weakness and relative strength therealong whereby the weaker annular zones flex laterally inwardly (radially inwardly where the barrel is a circular cylindrical tube) allowing the tube to collapse.

The tube may be formed as an elongate tube or a squat tube! tub or be bowed laterally outwardly as a jar and preferably is a capsule or vessel that has an opening at one end and a rear wall! bottom wall at the other end. It is preferably moulded of a plastics material such as polyethylene and the annular zones of relative strength are preferably thickened plastics regions and which may be annular ribs around the barrel at intervals along its length. Particularly preferably the tubular wall that collapses in a concertina manner has lines of weakness, within the weaker zones that extend in the axial direction of the barrel! substantially orthogonal to the annular zones! ribs of relative strength. These preferably extend from at or near the annular zones! ribs of relative strength and preferably not for the full span of the weaker zone between the strengthening annular zones or ribs.

In most preferred embodiments the strengthening annular zones comprise ribs! annular protrusions that protrude laterally (radially) outwardly of the tubular wall.

Preferably each strengthening annular zone comprises a pair of closely adjacent parallel ribs! annular protrusions. These preferably are formed as a pair of back-to back annular ribs separated by a narrow gap of un-strengthened! weaker tubular wall with each rib having a rear wall that is substantially plane perpendicular to the tubular wall of the cartridge and has a sloping wall that slopes from a radially outermost apex and so that the rib is broadest at its base. When the cartridge is compressed the back-to-back rib pairs press together to act as a buttress to ensure that the weaker zone to fold radially inwardly for concertina collapse.

The collapsible tube may serve as a cartridge for dispensing frozen or semi-frozen foodstuffs held therewithin or for dispensing other fluid media held therewithin or may be used for a diverse range of other purposes.

From the above it will be appreciated that the present invention has numerous considerable benefits over the various known prior art devices.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be more particularly described, solely by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a view of the tubular barrel! cylindrical cartridge of the preferred embodiment of dispenser shown in its initial extended state and containing ice cream to be dispensed prior to being placed in the dispenser casing; Figure 2 is a view of the tubular barrel! cylindrical cartridge in its collapsed state after it has been placed in the casing and the ice cream has been dispensed; Figure 3 is a detail view of the tubular wall of the tubular barrel! cylindrical cartridge showing annular zones of strengthening and intermediate zones of weakening to aid concertina collapse; Figure 4 is a further detail long sectional view of the tubular wall showing a preferred variant of the annular zones of strengthening having double ribs that are separated by a very small gap; Figure 5 is a view of the casing to receive the tubular barrel! cylindrical cartridge for dispensing the contents from the cartridge, the casing incorporating the ratchet mechanism Figure 6 is a view of the casing upper end and showing the cap of the casing from below and further showing the retaining tether that mounts to the neck of the casing and tethers the cap; Figure 7 is a view of a variant of the barrel! cylindrical cartridge and which is of widened diameter at end of the cartridge just before the neck of the cartridge opening to provide enhanced capacity, better accommodate the concertina collapsed tube and ensure full dispensing -the right hand side of the figure shows the barrel in a state of nascent collapse; Figure 8 is a view of a cap of the cartridge and which has a star-formation of slits to shape the ice cream as it is extruded, the cap being designed to be screwed to the threaded neck of the cartridge; and Figures 9A to 9C are respectively detail views of the strengthened zone of the tubular wall in the Figure 4 section for three variants of the form of the strengthened zone.

Description of the Preferred Embodiment

The illustrated embodiment of ice cream dispenser comprises a tubular barrel 1 (Figure 1) that serves as an initially sealed cartridge of food grade plastics, suitably of polyethylene, holding a volume of ice cream here suitable for several servings. The cartridge is adapted to be combined with a casing 2 having a ratchet mechanism 3 (see Figure 5) for dispensing the ice cream by extrusion. The cartridge tubular barrel us adapted to collapse lengthwise in order to extrude the ice cream out through a front opening.

The tubular barrel 1 of the cartridge may be of a substantially uniform diameter of, for example, approximately 3 inches for most of its length as shown in Figure 1 or the tubular barrel 1 may be progressively broadened in diameter at its front end, as per the variant shown in the Figure 7, to aid in full collapsing of the cartridge and substantially complete expulsion of the ice cream. The tubular wall of the barrel 1 of the cartridge is enabled to collapse in the longitudinal direction of the cartridge in the manner of a concertina by virtue of its design having alternating weak thinner annular zones lb between thicker! ribbed, strengthened annular zones la, alternating along its length. The thicker! ribbed, strengthened annular zones la are each advantageously configured as illustrated in Figure 4, having a pair of back-to back annular ribs la, la' separated by a narrow gap with. Each rib la, la has a rear wall that is substantially plane perpendicular to the tubular wall of the cartridge and has a sloping wall that slopes from a radially outermost apex

S

and so that the rib is broadest at its base. In profile the back-to-back ribs la. la together define an approximately frusto-conical form whereby they act as buttresses. When the cartridge is compressed by the plunger 3c of the casing/gun 2 the back-to-back walls press together against each other and direct the weaker zone lb to fold radially inwardly, not outwardly, for concertina collapse.

Furthermore, as can be seen in Figure 3, the weaker zone lb may be further adapted to collapse efficiently by incorporating an array of longitudinally directed lines of weakness lc, eg grooves or score lines, extending substantially orthogonally from at or near the strengthening ribs 1 a, 1 a'.

The tubular cartridge 1 has its front end opening covered by a screw-threaded cap 6 (see Figure 8). The cap 6 has an internal thread that co-operatively engages with a corresponding external thread on the neck ld surrounding the front opening of the tubular cartridge 1. A foil membrane is suitably adhered over the rim of the front opening of the tubular cartridge 1 to keep the contents hermetically sealed while the cartridge is being stored in a freezer. This membrane is removed just prior to use of the cartridge 1. The cap 6 illustrated in Figure 8 has a hinged lid 6c that may be lifted and tilted out of the way to expose a slitted opening 6a with a star-shaped array of slits within the cap 6 that serves as a former through which ice cream is extruded splaying the slits and pushing through them to shape the extruded ice cream to give it a star-shaped profile.

Turning to the casing 2 with the ratchet mechanism 3 shown in Figure 5, this is similar to a caulking gun. The casing 2 here is different from standard caulking guns in that it comprises a solid walled tubular casing body 2a of food grade plastics and has a broad circular opening at its front end into which the tubular barrel cartridge 1 is slid. The outer rim 2c of the broad circular opening of the tubular casing body 2a has a screw thread to co-operatively engage with a corresponding screw thread 4a of a broad screw cap 4 for the casing 2. The screw cap 4 has radial lugs 4b to facilitate grip for screwing the cap 4 on and off and has a large central aperture 4c therethrough. The screw threaded neck 1 d with front end opening of the tubular barrel 1 of the cartridge sits concentrically within the large central aperture 4c. The front end of the tubular barrel/ cartridge when inserted into the casing 2 buts up against the inner face of the cap 4 screwed to the rim 2c of the front opening of the casing 2.

The ratchet mechanism of the casing 2 is similar to that of a caulking gun, having a cam plate that is tilted by a trigger 3a and pushed forward along a shaft 3b of a plunger 3c against the return force of a spring to advance the cam plate and plunger 3c to move towards the front end of the casing 2. A rear cam plate! locking cam prevents the advanced plunger from retracting unless or until the rear cam plate! locking cam is moved to an inactive position by a release lever 3d.

To use the dispenser the operator begins by assembling the cartridge 1 into the casing 2. The operator takes an ice-cream-filled cartridge 1, removes the cap 6 and sealing membrane covering its front opening, replaces the cap 6 on the cartridge, removes the cap 4 from the casing 2 and inserts the cartridge 1 into the front end opening of the casing 2 The operator then replaces the casing's cap 4 onto the casing 2 such that the cap 6 of the cartridge 1 projects through the large central opening of the casing 2 cap 4. The operator then flips open the lid of the cartridge's cap 6 and the dispenser is ready for use. To use the dispenser the operator simply pulls on the trigger a requisite number of times to ratchet the plunger 3c forwards driving it into the concave recess le at the rear of the cartridge 1 and collapsing the tubular barrel! cartridge 1 towards the front of the casing 2 until either a full serving has been delivered (fixed number of ratchet advances) or the cartridge is fully emptied by being driven fully to the front end of the casing 2.

The appliance is preferably portable! handheld. The outer casing with ratchet mechanism may be manually, mechanically and! or electro-mechanically operated and in the latter case may be mains powered or battery operated or powered by solar cells or other energy source. In the latter case an electric motor may in one embodiment be operated by a switch to reciprocate the ratchet mechanism to drive the plunger. In some embodiments and primarily in motorised embodiments the appliance may lack a ratchet mechanism but still have a casing with a cartridge! tubular barrel therein that is collapsed in a concertina manner by a plunger that advances towards the front end of the casing compressing the tubular barrel.

The appliance of the present invention is primarily a dispenser for dispensing of ice-cream or other frozen desserts or other foodstuffs, whether manual or automated. However, the unique concertina-collapsing tube! tub has more diverse uses where its abilities for more reliably and fully dispensing fluids by extrusion can be appreciated. Such uses may, for example, include use for dispensing sealant glues! mastics and a wide range of other substances for industry, trade or domestic use. The tube uses less material to make and it collapses and reduces in size as it is used (unlike a conventional cartridge for a mastic gun), to take up less space and thereby free space in the user's toolbox, cupboard, fridge freezer or other storage place for the appliance. The tube may be elongate or be broader than long and thus substantially tub-shaped in form or may be a jar or pot or other vessel shape.

The strengthened zone of the tubular wall 1 can have hollow ribs 1 a. 1 a' where the tubular wall is everted! extended radially outwardly to form the strengthenings! ribs la,la' (see Figure 9A), cellular! box-section ribs la, la' where the ribs are external to the tubular wall (Figure 9B) or ribs la, la of solid plastic (Figure GC) that may be thickenings of the tubular wall. The ribs suitably are formed of the same material as the tubular wall and formed in the same mould but could be formed of different material or applied separately. In the embodiment of Figure 7 the ribs are shown as hollow ribs, like in Figure 9A, but are of singular rib-form rather than of twin back-to back ribs.