Patent Application
20110226663
A. Field of Invention
This invention pertains to a system or apparatus for holding small fragile baked goods such as cupcakes. The system is particularly useful for transporting the baked goods while protecting them from being shaken or turned over.
B. Description of the Prior Art
Baked goods such as cupcakes and the like typically include two elements: a main body that is usually baked from a composition of flour and other ingredients and a decorative crown. The crown is usually deposited on the main body although it can be added before or even during the baking process. However, the crown is usually more delicate and can be easily distorted if it is touched by a person or material, or if the cupcake falls on its side or upside down. Very often the crown can be made of frosting, whipped topping, soft cream or other similar, often pasty or semi-liquid compositions.
Baked goods of this kind are very popular deserts and, as a result, a large number of them are being produced in bakeries, shipped to retail outlets and then sold to customers who then carry them home. However, because their tops are very fragile, the cupcakes are easily damaged during shipping, thereby losing at least some of their aesthetic appeal. This is an especially acute problem when a customer buys some cupcakes and takes them as a gift to someone else. In this latter situation, presenting cupcakes with damaged crowns can be socially embarrassing. To date, the inventors are not aware of any effective system or apparatus other than the inventive apparatus that can be used to either ship cupcakes using a commercial shipping means or carry a plurality of cupcakes without damaging them.
One device that is presently in use includes three members: a top and a bottom member that are joined to form a cavity for the cup cake. Frequently, the top membrane is nothing more than a sheet of stretched cellophane. A spacing member, such as a toothpick or a spike, is inserted into each of the baked goods to insure that the top member does not come into contact with the crown. Hence the baked goods are damaged even before they leave the bakery. Moreover, vibrations may cause the spikes or toothpicks to move sideways, thereby further damaging the crown.
A system or apparatus for storing and shipping baked goods such as cupcakes, muffin tops and the like is provided. The baked good includes a bottom, a decorative part made of a relatively soft material such as frosting, and an intermediate part. Two shells are provided which have respective wells and domes. When the shells are mated, the shells and domes are aligned to form cavities receiving the baked goods. At least one of the shells is formed with a baked good engaging member that forms a press nip for the intermediate part of the baked good. In this manner, once the shells are mated, the baked goods within the cavities are locked in position and secured so that they do not move with respect to the mated shells. The domes are shaped and sized to insure that their internal walls never touch the decorative part. As a result, the baked goods can be safely stored and transported without damaging their decorative parts. The shells are shaped to provide a seal for the cavities to insure that the baked goods stay fresh.
A system constructed in accordance with this invention includes two shells 10 and 40 shown in
In between these zones there are pluralities of domes 16 that are generally hemispherical. Preferably, the domes 16 are arranged in a rectangular or a square array. In the figures the domes are arranged in a 5×5 array. Laterally and longitudinally adjacent domes are joined by passageways 18. A portion of the wall around each dome between the passageways 18 is shaped to form a plurality of semicircular depressions defining nubs 20 extending downwardly. The bottom-most part of each nub is disposed above the plane of zones 12, 14. Preferably each dome 16 is formed with four nubs 20 disposed radially outwardly of the hemispherical main body of the dome.
Disposed peripherally around shell 12 is an L-shaped lip 22 having a vertical section 22A and a horizontal section 22B extending outwardly from the bottom edge of section 22A. Along at least one of the edges of the shell, lip section 22B is formed with a horizontal tab 24.
Finally, some of the central zones 16 are formed with a hollow projection 26 oriented either upwardly or downwardly of zones 16.
Referring now to
Disposed between these zones 42, 44, there is a plurality of wells 46. Like domes 16, wells 46 are preferably arranged in a two dimensional array. The array of wells must have the same dimensions and spacing as the array of domes. Laterally and longitudinally adjacent wells are joined by channels 48. Each well may have a bottom floor 50 that may be flat or may be formed with a decorative depression 51. Wells 46 may be hemispherical, frustoconical, cylindrical or utilize other similar shapes. Preferably the top-most diameter of the wells is smaller than the diameter of the domes 16.
Bottom shell 40 further includes a peripheral L-shaped lip 52 including a section 52A extending downwardly and a section 52B extending horizontally. Lip section 52B is formed along one side with a tab 54.
Some of the central zones 44 are formed with vertical projections 56 that extend either upward or downward and match the positions of projections 26.
The two shells are molded, preferably from a clear or translucent material such as polyurethane, polypropylene or other similar materials. The shells can also be made using thermo-forming and their edges may be die cut. Alternatively the shells may be made translucent or opaque and can have one or more colors.
The two shells are sized and shaped so that top shell 10 can be placed over shell 40 and the two shells can be pressed together or mated to form a joined system or apparatus 60, as shown in
Each dome 16 fits over a respective well 46 to form cavities 66 with longitudinal and transversal tunnels 68 formed by passages 18 and troughs 48. The flat zones 12, 14 on the top shell and 42, 44 on the bottom shell are in intimate contact with each other. This overall arrangement maintains the cavities 66 substantially sealed from the ambient atmosphere. The tabs 24, 54 have different sizes and/or are offset from each other so that they can be easily separated, thereby causing the shells 10. 40 to separate from each other. Thus, the system 60 can be opened or closed at will by separating and joining the shells 10, 40.
The system is used as follows. First, a plurality of cupcakes 70 are placed in the wells 46, the top shell is placed on the bottom shell and the two shells are mated or snapped together along the edges and the center so that the lips 22, 52 and the projections 26, 56 are interlocked respectively. The cupcakes 70 may be identical or may have different bodies or decorative crowns.
The top portion 74 is provided or covered with a decorative crown 78. The crown 78 is small enough so that it fits within dome 16 and does not touch the inner walls of the dome 16. The bottom portion 72, top portion 74 and skirt 76 form an integral, substantially homogenous main body of the cup cake 70 that is preferably baked. The crown 78 is made of softer ingredients and is more delicate then the main body. Alternatively, the crown 78 may be made of a soft ingredient 80, such as icing, and a decorative object 82, such a chocolate piece, a nut, or a piece or fruit may be imbedded or inserted into the icing.
The relative sizes of the crown 78 and top portion 74 are not important as long as the crown 78 is disposed above skirt 76.
Importantly, and as best seen in
The cupcakes 70 remain in place and do not move or shift in any direction while they are stored in the system 60. The system 60 can be moved around. Even if a system 60 loaded with cupcakes is accidentally dropped, or turned upside down, the press nip maintains a grip on the skirt of each cup cake 70 and does not permit the same to move. As a result, the crowns 78 of the cupcakes 70 remain intact and are not damaged. Optionally, a paper band (not shown) may be placed around the shells, and/or a piece of adhesive tape may be placed in the lip or on the tabs to keep the shells closed.
Once the system 60 is loaded with cupcakes, one or more such systems are placed into container that may or may not be refrigerated and stored or shipped to a retail outlet. If two or more systems are disposed in a single box, the systems can be stacked on top of each other. At the retail outlet, the customer buys the system 60 and takes it home or to a host, Once the final destination is reached, the top shell can be removed at will and one or more cup cakes can be removed. The trough 48 makes it easier to remove a cupcake by grabbing it by its skirt while leaving the crown 78 intact.
In the above description, a system is described for storing and shipping or transporting cupcakes. However, the system may be used for other kinds of baked goods such as muffin tops, etc. The inventor has found that the system is particularly useful for storing and transporting small cup cakes starting from cupcakes 1 inch in diameter.
Obviously numerous modifications may be made to the invention without departing from its scope as defined in the appended claims. For example, the two shells can be made with a frangible portion or hinge that joins them so that they can be easily opened and closed.
This application claims priority to provisional application Ser. No. 61/314,640 filed Mar. 17, 2010 and incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61314640 | Mar 2010 | US |
