Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
~24~3~8~
Case 3320
DESCRIPTION
DISPENSER PACKAGE FOR
SOFT-FROZEN COMESTIBLES
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a package for
dispensing extrudable comestibles. More particularly,
the present invention relates to hand-held collapsible
packages containing soft-frozen comestibles which
package may be squeezed by the consumer so as to
extrude the soft-frozen contents throllgh an orifice
in the package.
Hand-held dispenser packages which may be
squeezed and collapsed either by means of direct
hand pressure or pressure exerted by means of a
mechanical device such as a wind-up key or roller
are well-known in the art. These packages, such as
toothpaste tubes, are typically made of relatively
expensive materials such as metal foils or heavy
gauge plastics so as to withstand the rather substan-
tial pressures which are exerted on the packageduring the dispensing process. These packages are
costly to produce and would not be suitable for
marketing and dispensing small, for example, single
servings, of extrudable food materials such as
soft-frozen comestibles.
Recently, there have been developed several
versions of frozen dessert products such as ice creams
and ice milks which maintain a soft, extrudable
g.z4~32~3~
consistency during freezer storage in the range of
0 to 15F.
Such products are disclosed in U.S. Patent
Nos. 4,145,454 to Dea et al., 4,224,977 to Kahn et
05 al., 4,400,405 and 4,440,406 to Morley et al. and
4,374,154 to Cole et al. All of these products
which have a moisture content in excess of 30% b~
weight are designed to be consumed directly from the
freezer and provide a soft ice cream eating experience
in the home environment. It would be desirable to
package such products in small volume, disposable
and collapsible packages whereby the consumer could
intermittently squeeze essentially all of the product
from the package, thus providing a hand-held frozen
confection.
Such individual or single service packages
must, of course, be relatively inexpensive to produce,
and the packages must be strong enough to avoid
splitting or tearing during the dispensing or extrud-
ing process. The packages most desirably will alsoprovide a means whereby transfer of heat from the
hand of the consumer to the soft frozen product is
minimized. It has been found that not only is it
desirable to insulate the consumers hand from the
coldness of the soft-frozen comestible in order to
avoid discomfort to the consumer, but it is also
desirable to refrain from elevating the temperature
of the comestible so that the soft frozen (i.e.,
ice cream-like) consistency of the comestible is
retained until it is fully consumed. The disclosed
invention addresses and meets these needs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to this invention a hand-held extruder
package is fabricated, said package being comprised
of a collapsible, cone-shaped body portion which is
~24L3Z8~
-3-
secured to a pre-formed, relatively-rigid, circular
fitment, which fitment contains both an extrusion
orifice through which the package contents are
dispensed and an upstanding rim around its periphery
05 which enables the body portion to be secured to the
fitment. The package is also provided with a closure
means which covers the extrusion orifice so that the
package contents will be protected against contami-
nation. The collapsible cone-shaped body portion is
comprised of inner and outer pre-formed cone-shaped
members which are bonded together, if at all, over
less than 20% of their adjacent surface areas. In
the absence of a positive bond over at least 80% of
the adjacent member surfaces a layer of air is
present in the unbonded areas to function as an
insulative heat barrier between the inner and outer
cone-shaped member.
It will be necessary to secure the fitment to
the cone-shaped body portion of the package in a
manner which will withstand the considerable stresses
to which the package is subjected during the process
of dispensing the soft-frozen comestible through the
extrusion orifice. In order to effect this type of
secure engagement between the fitment and the body
portion it has been found necessary to seat the
fitment within the cone-shaped body portion in such
a manner that the upstanding rim portion of the
fitment is recessed below the upper edge of the body
portion and to thereafter fold the upper edge of the
body portion around the upstanding rim of the fitment.
Various heat seal and/or crimping techniques may be
employed to produce a seal and/or engagement which
will withstand the forces encountered during the
extrusion process.
~aZ43Z81
Desirably the upstanding fitment rim is outwardly
tapered at an angle which essentially matches the
angle of the cone-shaped body portion of the package.
In this manner the fitment may be more readily
05 seated within the body portion. If a heat seal is
to be made between the fitment rim and package body
it will, of course, be necessary for the appropriate
surfaces to be composed of a heat sealable material.
A low-density polyethylene material would be suitable
for this purpose. In a preferred embodiment of the
invention the entire fitment and an inner cone
member are made of a heat sealable plastic material.
When heat sealing is to be utilized it has been
found that the seal should preferably be effected at
the top and/or inner face of the fitment rim rather
than solely at the outer face of the fitment rim.
The comestible material may be supplied to the
body assembly either before or after the fitment is
secured in place. A removable closure, which may be
a snap-on cap, an adhesive sheet or label, or the
like will be used to cover the orifice in the fitment.
If the fitment is secured to -the body assembly
before filling with the comes-tible, the closure will
be put into place after filling. If on the other
hand the body assembly is filled before the ~itment
is secured, the cover may be placed on the fitment
either before or after the fitment is secured to the
body assembly.
The invention will be readily apparent to those
skilled in the art upon a reading of the description
of the preferred embodiments below when taken in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
~24328~
-5-
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the accompanying drawings which are given to
illustrate and exemplify the invention but not to
limit the invention:
05 Fig. 1 is an assembly drawing in perspective of
the packages of this invention showing the separate
elements of the package.
Fig. 2 is a longitudinal central section of an
assembled package such as shown in Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a partial view similar to Fig. 2
showing another embodiment of the package of this
invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to the drawings, Fig. 1 depicts the
four elements which are used to fabricate a dispenser
package ~Eor soft-frozen comestibles in accordance
with the preferred embodiments of this invention.
These elements include an outer cone-shaped member 1,
an inner cone-shaped member 2, an extrusion fitment 3
and a closure 4. The fitment is depicted having a
raised central portion 5 which is in the shape of a
truncated cone and an extrusion orifice or aperture 6
located on the planar face of the raised central
portion 5. The fitment also possesses an upstanding
rim 7 around its outer circumference or periphery.
This upstanding rim 7 serves as a means to secure
the inner and/or outer cones to the fitment. It
would, of course, be possible for the fitment to
possess a flat central portion (not shown) such that
the extrusion orifice would be recessed within the
upstanding rim of the fitment.
Fig. 2 depicts one embodiment of an assembled
cone wherein the outer cone and the inner cone 2 are
essentially coextensive and wherein the top edges of
~2d~32~3~
both cones are folded around the upstanding rim 7.
In this embodiment both the inner cone 2 and the
upstanding rim 7 of the fitment 3 are made of a
heat-sealable material. In this manner a heat seal
05 can be made between the two-heat sealable surfaces.
Desirably the heat seal should be made on at least
at the inner face 8 of the upstanding rim. As shown
in Fig. 2 the inner cone 1 and the outer cone 2 are
bonded together by a circular band of an adhesive 9.
This adhesive which may be of the pressure sensitive
or heat sensitive variety is preferably located, as
shown, in the top one-third segment of the conical
container. The width of the circular band of adhesive
is preferably less than 20% of the length of the
container and preferably less than 10% of this
length. According to an alternative embodiment of
this invention (not shown) the adhesive may be
placed in discrete, speced-apart locations in order
to spot bond the outer and inner cones. An insulating
layer of air 10 is created in the unbonded areas
between the outer cone 1 and inner cone 2`. According
to one specific embodiment the outer cone 1 is
comprised of paper while the inner cone 2 is comprised
of a heat sealable plastic film such as polyethylene.
Fig. 3 depicts an embodiment of the invention
in which the outer cone 1 is fabricated from a paper
sheet 11 which has a heat-sealable layer 12 coated
onto its inner surface. In this embodiment the
inner cone 2 may also be a paper cone. The inner
cone 2 is shorter in length than outer cone 1 and
this inner cone does not extend to become part of
the seal with the upstanding rim 7 of the fitment.
According to a preferred version of this embodiment,
the heat-sealable layer 12 is bonded to the upstand-
ing rim 7 at the inner face 8 of the rim.
328~
Having thus described the invention, what isclaimed is:
05
