Patent Application
20070063069
The present invention relates generally to the dispensing of viscous food products and, more particularly, to the use of a rotatable discharge assistant operative to dispense, from a container such as a squeeze bottle, a viscous food product along an arcuate path.
Squeeze bottles for storing and dispensing viscous, flowable food products such as syrups, jellies, and condiments are well known. Generally, such bottles include a container made of a plastic or other easily deformable material and define an interior cavity for receiving and storing the food product. The container may further define a neck portion disposed at one end of the container that is attached to a dispensing closure assembly. A typical dispensing closure assembly includes a cap that is threadedly connected to the neck of the container at one end, and has a single outlet tip that faces outwardly from the container at the other end. During use, the container is inverted and squeezed to dispense the viscous food product from the tip orifice onto a target food item as a directed stream.
Conventional dispensing closures define an orifice having a circular cross section sized to provide the user with flexibility to apply a desired amount of product to the target food item. A softer squeezing of the container will yield a lower mass flow rate out of the tip. Accordingly, in order to accommodate those who wish to apply only a small amount of condiment to the food product, the tips are generally designed with a small cross section. Those who desire an additional amount of condiment can squeeze harder and, typically, make several passes at the food product. This can be a time consuming and often messy procedure. Further, one squeeze may not provide a sufficient amount of pressure to dispense condiment over the length of time necessary to conduct several passes, thereby necessitating multiple squeezes and a resulting non-uniform volume of dispensed condiment across the food product.
There is a need for a discharge assistant usable in combination with a conventional container that enables one to apply a sufficient and consistent amount of an edible viscous food product, such as a condiment, to a target food item.
The aforementioned need is addressed, and an advance is made in the art, by a dispensing system configured to dispense a viscous, flowable food product such, for example, as a condiment. The dispensing system comprises an axially extending container that defines an opening and an interior chamber for receiving and storing the food product. A discharge assembly is coupled to the container, the discharge assembly being dimensioned and arranged to spin, relative to the container, as it receives the viscous food product from the interior chamber. The spinning motion of the discharge assembly, accompanied by a linear movement of the container itself relative to a target food item, allows the user to cleanly and evenly distribute the flowable food material onto the target item in an attractive, helical (or more broadly speaking, curvilinear) deposit pattern.
An illustrative embodiment of the discharge assembly includes a first section defining an interior cavity, the first section also defining both an inlet opening dimensioned and arranged to establish fluid communication between the interior cavity and the interior chamber, and an outlet opening dimensioned and arranged to allow food product flowing under pressure to exit the interior cavity as a stream as said first section spins.
A typical configuration for a dispensing system constructed in accordance with the present invention employs a squeeze bottle as the container, wherein squeezing the deformable sidewall of the container causes the food material to flow from the interior chamber into the interior cavity of the discharge assembly. In accordance with an especially preferred embodiment of the invention, the same squeezing force which causes the edible material to flow is also used to produce rotary motion of the discharge assembly. To this end, the discharge assembly may include a plurality of vanes disposed within the interior cavity, the vanes being dimensioned and arranged to convert energy imparted by flowing food product impinging thereon into forces driving rotary motion of the discharge assembly.
The discharge assembly may be further configured with a pivotably movable nozzle member having a distal section defining a nozzle orifice and having a substantially spherical proximal section retained in fluid communication with the outlet opening, whereby a user can control at least one of a diameter and a pitch of said helical deposit pattern by selecting an appropriate angular position of the nozzle member. The location of the nozzle member may be offset relative to a central axis of rotation of the discharge assembly. Alternatively, the nozzle member may be positioned coaxially with the central axis of rotation, the latter configuration having the advantage of permitting the user to select between an angled orientation suited for producing helical deposit patterns on a target food item and a non-pivoted orientation which enables the consumer to direct the flow along a rectilinear deposit path.
The details of the present invention, both as to its construction and operation can best be understood with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals refer to like parts, and in which:
The accompanying Figures and this description depict and describe embodiments of a discharge assistant adapted for use with a conventional container in accordance with the present invention, and features and components thereof. The present invention also encompasses a method of making and using embodiments of the discharge assistant. As used herein, the phrases or terms “discharge assistant,” “dispensing closure assembly,” “discharge assembly” and the like are intended to encompass a structure or structures configured to dispense an edible, viscous material such, for example, as a condiment like ketchup or mustard, onto a target food item in a manner other than as a continuous rectilinear (“straight-line”) deposit pattern or as a series of brief rectilinear pulses. It is important to note, however, that viscous food product dispensing systems in accordance with the present invention can, if an optional mode of operation is desired, be configured to dispense product in a continuous or broken rectilinear deposit pattern if the consumer so selects. It should also be noted that any references herein to front and back, right and left, top and bottom and upper and lower are intended for convenience of description, not to limit the present invention or its components to any one positional or spacial orientation.
With regard to fastening, mounting, attaching or connecting components of the present invention to form the dispensing system as a whole, unless specifically described otherwise, such are intended to encompass conventional fasteners such as threaded connectors, snap rings, detent arrangements, pins and the like. Components may also be connected by adhesives, glues, welding, ultrasonic welding, and friction fitting or deformation, if appropriate, and appropriate liquid and/or airtight seals or sealing devices may be used. Electronic portions of the device may use conventional, commercially available electronic components, connectors and devices such as suitable wiring, connectors, printed circuit boards, microchips, pressure sensors, liquid level sensors, inputs, outputs and the like. Unless specifically otherwise disclosed or taught, materials for making components of the present invention may be selected from appropriate materials such as metal, metallic alloys, natural and man-made fibers, vinyls, plastics and the like, and appropriate manufacturing or production methods including casting, pressing, extruding, molding and machining may be used.
With regard to the manner in which viscous food material is urged to flow toward a discharge opening, it should be borne in mind that although the various embodiments described herein incorporate a squeeze bottle configuration in which material flows when a deformable sidewall of a flexible container is squeezed, the invention is not limited to such configurations. For example, rigid container in conjunction with a motorized or manual pump mechanism may be used. It suffices to say that the manner in which forces for causing the edible product to be ejected from the container is of no particular consequence to the inventor herein except insofar as manufacturing cost, simplicity and ease of use are always considerations to be borne in mind.
Turning now to
Container 12 can be made of a transparent or translucent plastic such as polypropylene or polyethylene to enable the user to gauge the amount and type of material in the container to determine when the container 12 is to be refilled (or discarded, as the case may be). Alternatively, the plastic may be color coded to identify the type of material. The plastic is also preferably resilient so as to enable the user to squeeze the container 12 and thus provide an internal pressure suitable to force a directed stream of material out of the container and towards a desired food product. As noted previously, it should be understood that other means for urging the food material toward a discharge opening may be employed.
With reference to both
Unlike second section 34, which is adapted to be secured to container 12, first section 32 of discharge assembly 30 is dimensioned and arranged to rotate relative to container 12. Automatic rotation of discharge assembly section 32 to produce a helical deposit effect can be achieved in a variety of ways. By way of illustrative example, an illustrative discharge assembly constructed in accordance with motorized embodiments of the invention may include a motorized drive assembly (not shown) responsive to depression of a trigger or, alternatively, to actuation of an on/off selector switch, and drivingly engageable with appropriate gearing coupled to first section 32
In accordance with an especially preferred embodiment of the present invention, however, the force for spinning section 32 of discharge assembly 30 is provided via the pressurized material traversing flow conduit 48. An exemplary structure adapted to utilize this force is depicted in
With reference to both
In any event, and with particular reference to
With particular reference to
In any event, and with continued reference to
Finally, although the nozzle member 80 depicted in the illustrative embodiment is shown in a position that is offset relative to the axis of rotation of first section 32, it should be emphasized that by placing the nozzle member 80 at the center of rotation would allow a dual mode of dispensing. That is, by aligning the discharge opening 82 so that it is coaxial with the axis or rotation (axis A-A in
From the foregoing, it will be understood that when the user inverts the container 12 containing a flowable liquid material and directs the nozzle 80 at a food product and applies a squeezing pressure to container 12, the material will be forced through outlet channel 82 and dispensed as a spiral or straight line stream.
While the particular food product dispensing system and methods as herein shown and described in detail are fully capable of attaining the above-described objects of the invention, it is to be understood that they are merely illustrative embodiments of the present invention and are thus merely representative of the subject matter which is broadly contemplated by the present invention, that the scope of the present invention fully encompasses other embodiments which may become obvious to those skilled in the are, and that the scope of the present invention is accordingly to be limited by nothing other than the appended claims.
