Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02235351 1998-04-20
Title: FOOD DISPENSING NOZZLE
Applicant: Bunns (Bermuda) Limited
Inventor: J. R. G. Adams
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a food dispensing nozzle, and in particular, to a
device
for injecting separate serves of any solid) but divisible food. The invention
is particularly
suitable for injecting ice cream, frozen yoghurt, or the like into a soft
baked good, such as a
1 o bun, doughnut, or the like. The resulting product is a soft ice cream or
yoghurt bun which can
be eaten by hand with the same facility as an ice cream cone.
For convenience, the description will refer to a nozzle for injecting ice
cream into
a bun, but it will be understood by those skilled in the art that such
references are only intended
to be illustrative and are not intended to be limiting.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In orderthat the invention may be more clearly understood, the preferred
embodiment thereof will now be described in detail by way of example, with
reference to the
accompanying drawings, in which:
2o Fig. 1 is an elevation view of a preferred embodiment of the invention;
Fig. 2 is an elevation view thereof showing two jaws;
Fig. 3 is an elevation view thereof showing the connection of the jaws to the
coupling;
Fig. 4 is an elevation view thereof showing the jaws in the open position;
Fig. 5 is an elevation view thereof before penetrating the bun;
CA 02235351 1998-04-20
Fig. 6 is an elevation view showing the jaws penetrating the bun;
Fig. 7 is an elevation view showing the jaws completing the penetration of the
bun and dispensing the ice cream; and
Fig. 8 is an elevation view showing the bun withdrawn from the nozzle.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to the drawings, Fig. 1 shows a hollow coupling member 1, which has
an inlet 2, preferably threaded on its inner surface for connection to a
correspondingly threaded
outlet tube 3 of a conventional ice cream dispensing machine 4 (shown in Figs.
5-8). The inner
~o surface of the coupling member has an annular shoulder 5, and an annular
collar 6 is mounted
on the outer surface of the coupling member.
Preferably, two concentric jaws 7 are each pivotably connected to the outlet 8
of
the coupling member 1 in any suitable fashion, such as via pivots 9. The outer
edges 10 of the
jaws are sharpened and preferably serrated. In the closed position, the jaws
define a conical
~5 shape. As shown in Figs. 2-4) the jaws are biased in the closed position by
any suitable biasing
means, such as, for example, a flat spring 11 mounted on the coupling member 1
descending
over the jaws 7.
Fig. 1 shows the connection of the nozzle to the outlet tube 3 of a
conventional
ice cream machine 4 (shown in Fig. 5-8). The coupling member 1 is threaded
onto the outlet
2o tube 3 of the ice cream machine 4 until the annular shoulder 5 abuts
against the end of the
outlet tube, ensuring that the ice cream flowing out of the outlet tube will
flow through the
'7
nozzle.
Figs. 5-8 show the operation of the nozzle according to the present invention
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CA 02235351 1998-04-20
The nozzle, with the jaws 7 in the closed position, is forced to penetrate the
bun 12 until the bun
abuts against the annular collar 6. The ice cream machine 4 then injects a
predetermined
amount of ice cream through the nozzle into the bun. The jaws are forced into
an open position
within the bun 12 by the internal pressure of the flowing ice cream. When the
filling of the bun
s is completed, the bun is pulled down from the nozzle, with the ice cream
remaining within the
bun.
The jaws 7 are preferably manufactured from plastic or from some other
material
with a low coefficient of friction. For the ice cream to remain within the bun
when the bun 12 is
withdrawn from the jaws 7 of the nozzle, the coefficient of friction between
the bun and the ice
cream must be greater than that between the ice cream and the jaws.
It will be appreciated that the above description relates to the preferred
embodiment by way of example only. Many variations on the invention will be
obvious to those
knowledgeable in the field, and such obvious variations are within the scope
of the invention as
described and claimed, whether or not expressly described.
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