JPS6239480A - Dispenser vessel for soft frozen food - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to extrudable food dispensing containers. More particularly, the present invention relates to a hand-crushable container containing a knot-frozen food product that can be squeezed by the consumer to push the container through an orifice in the knot-frozen food container. Handheld disc/server containers that can be squeezed and crushed either by direct hand pressure or pressure by mechanical devices such as winding keys or rollers are well known in the art. These containers, such as toothpaste tubes, are typically made of relatively expensive materials such as metal foil or heavy plastic to resist the intense pressures exerted on the container during extrusion. These containers are expensive to manufacture and are not suitable for sale or small volume dispensing, such as single servings of extruded food materials such as soft-frozen foods.

Recently, various frozen dessert products have been developed, such as ice cream or iced milk, that maintain a soft extrudable consistency during storage in frozen quantities ranging from 0° to 15F (17,8 to -95C).

These products are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,145,454 by Dea et al., U.S. Pat.
4,400,405 and 4 by y) et al.
．． No. 44Q 406 and Coyle et al. No. 4.374.154. 3
All of these products with a moisture content of 0% or more are either consumed directly from the freezer or are designed to provide the opportunity for knot ice cream to be eaten at home. It would be desirable to package such products in small quantities in disposable, crushable containers, thereby allowing the consumer to intermittently squeeze essentially all of the product out of the container, thus providing a hand-held frozen confection.

Convenient individual or unitary containers that can be made to fit must, of course, be relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and the containers must be sufficiently strong to avoid tearing or tearing during the feeding or extrusion process. There must be. The most preferred containers are also those that provide a means by which heat transfer from the consumer's hands to the soft frozen product is minimized. Not only is it desirable to insulate the consumer's hands from the coldness of the soft frozen food to avoid discomfort to the consumer, but it is also desirable to ensure that the consistency of the soft frozen food (i.e., ice cream-like) is maintained until it is fully consumed. It has been found that it is desirable to suppress the rise in food temperature so that food temperature increases.

The disclosed invention is directed to and satisfies these needs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention, a hand gripped extruded container is assembled, said container comprising a collapsible, conically shaped body portion clamped into a preformed relatively rigid circular fitting; The attachment includes both an extrusion orifice through which the contents of the container are fed and an upright rim about which the body portion can be clamped to the attachment.

The container also includes a closure means covering the extrusion orifice so that the container contents are protected from contamination. The collapsible conical body portion consists of inner and outer preformed conical members that are adhered to each other over no more than twenty coefficients of adjacent surface area. Since at least 80% of the surfaces of the adjacent parts are not completely bonded, a layer of air exists in the non-bonded areas and acts as a thermal insulation barrier between the inside and outside of the conical part.

It is necessary to secure the attachment to the conical body so that the container resists the significant stresses experienced during the process of dispensing the soft-frozen food product through the extrusion orifice. In order to achieve this type of positive engagement between the accessory and the body part, the upright rim part of the accessory is fitted into the conical body part so that a recess is provided at the bottom of the upper edge of the body. It has been found necessary to install the accessory and then fold over the upper edge of the accessory. Various heat sealing and/or crimping techniques can be used to create a seal and/or interlock that resists the forces created during the extrusion process.

The rim of the upright attachment tapers outwardly at an angle that essentially matches the angle of the conical body portion of the container. In this way, accessories can be installed more easily within the main body part. If heat sealing is to be performed between the rim of the accessory and the container body, it is of course necessary that a suitable surface be constructed of heat sealing material. Low density polyethylene material is suitable for this purpose. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, all fittings and the inner cone are made of heat-sealable plastic material. If heat sealing is utilized, the sealing is preferably carried out on the top and/or inside surface of the accessory rim rather than simply on the outside surface of the accessory rim.

The food material is applied to the main assembly either before or after the accessories are secured in place. A removable closure such as a snap-on cap, adhesive sheet or label is used to cover the orifice in the accessory. If the accessory is tightened to the main body assembly before filling with food, the closure will remain in place after filling. If, on the other hand, the body assembly is filled before the accessory is secured, the cover may be placed over the accessory either before or after the accessory is secured to the body assembly.

The present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon understanding the following preferred embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows four elements used to assemble a knot-frozen food dispenser container in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. These elements include an outer conical member 1. Inner conical member 2. A push-out fitting 3 and a closure 4 are included. end? A fitting is shown having a raised central portion 5 in the form of a cut cone and an extrusion orifice or opening 6 arranged on the planar surface of the raised central portion. The accessory also has an upright rim 7 around its outer circumference or periphery. This upright rim 7 serves as a means of clamping the inner and/or outer cone to the accessory. Of course, it is possible for the accessory to have a flat central portion (not shown) such that the extrusion orifice is recessed into the upright rim of the accessory.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the assembled cone in which the outer cone and inner cone 2 are essentially co-extensible and the upper edges of both cones are folded around an upstanding rim 7. In this embodiment, both the inner cone 2 and the upright rim 7 of the attachment 30 are made of heat-sealable material. In this way a heat seal is created between the two heat sealable surfaces. Heat sealing is preferably carried out at least on the inner surface 8 of the upright rim. As shown in Figure 2, the inner cone 1
and outer cone 2 are glued together with an annular band 9 of adhesive. This adhesive, either of the pressure or heat sensitive variety, is placed in the upper portion of the conical container as shown. The width of the annular band of adhesive is preferably 20 times or less of the length of the container, preferably 10% or less of this length. According to an alternative embodiment of the invention (not shown), the adhesive can be placed at discrete, regularly spaced locations to point bond the outer and inner cones. An air insulating layer 10 is generated in the areas of no adhesion between the outer cone and the inner cone. According to one particular embodiment, the outer cone 1 is made of paper, while the inner cone 2 is made of a heat-sealable plastic film, such as polyethylene.

Figure 3 shows that the outer cone 1 is assembled with the paper sheet 11,
This is a heat/leaf layer 12 coated on its inner surface.
1 shows one embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the inner cone 2 can also be a paper cone. The inner cone 2 is shorter in length than the outer cone 1 and does not stretch as it becomes part of the seal by the upright rim 7 of the accessory. According to a preferred variation of this embodiment, the heatsol layer 12 is glued to the upright rim 7 at the inner surface 8 of the rim.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The accompanying drawings are shown to explain and illustrate the invention; Not limited. FIG. 1 is a perspective assembly drawing of a container of the present invention showing the individual elements of the container. FIG. 2 is a central longitudinal cross-sectional view of the assembled container as shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a partial view similar to FIG. 2 showing another embodiment 7 of the container of the present invention. In the drawings, 1... Outer conical member 2... Inner conical member 3... Extrusion accessory 4... Sealing device 5... Raised central portion 6... Extrusion orifice 7...・Upright rim 8・
... Upright rim inner surface 9 ... Adhesive annular band 10 ... Air insulation layer 11 ... Paper sheet 12
...Heat seal layer

Claims (1)

Claims: 1) A container suitable for holding a soft frozen extrudable food product having a moisture content of 30% or more by weight, the container being crushable by manual pressure and thereby contained. The extruded food product may be extruded through an orifice, and the container comprises: (a) a conically shaped outer jacket; (b) a conically shaped inner liner, the liner having an air insulating layer between the liner and the jacket. (c) an annular appendage sized to be received by the jacket and at least partially fitted within the jacket; said accessory having a central opening serving as an extrusion orifice and an upright rim around it; (d) interlocking between said upright rim and said jacket or liner during the extrusion process; the accessory is securing it in place to prevent movement, said engagement being accomplished by folding the upper edge of the jacket or liner over the upright rim of the accessory; and ( Container characterized in that it consists of: e) a movable sealing lid extending across an opening arranged in the accessory. 2) The liner is a plastic film that is essentially co-extensible with the conical jacket such that the accessory fits within both the liner and jacket and the plastic film is heat sealed to the upright rim. A container according to claim 1. 3) A container according to claim 2, wherein a plastic liner is adhered to said paper jacket at one or more selected locations. 4) A container according to claim 3, wherein a plastic liner is adhered to said jacket by means of an adhesive. 5) A plastic liner is glued to the jacket by a circular band of adhesive, said band being placed in the upper third of the container, and said band extending over 20 minutes of the length of the container.
The container according to claim 2, which has a width of % or less. 6) Claim 5 in which the adhesive is a hot-melt adhesive
Containers listed in section. 7) The container according to claim 5, wherein the adhesive is a pressure sensitive adhesive. 8) A container according to claim 1, wherein the plastic fitting has a raised tapered protrusion with a central opening. 9) The container according to claim 8, wherein the tapered projection has a truncated conical shape. 10) The container according to claim 9, wherein the flat surface of the truncated cone has an opening. 11) The container of claim 9, wherein the movable closure is a snap-on plastic cap that fits over the top of said truncated cone. 12) A patent claim in which the conical liner is a paper cone shorter in length than the jacket, the jacket has a plastic heat-sealable coating on its inner surface, and the plastic-coated jacket is heat-sealed to an upright accessory rim. The container according to item 1 in the scope of . 13) A container according to claim 1, wherein the circular fitting comprises a flat central portion surrounded by an upright rim.