AU728130B2 - Method and apparatus for injecting condiments into a food item - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Applicant: ROBERT COLEFAX Invention Title: Method and Apparatus for Injecting Condiments into a Food Item The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: Our Ref: P31878:PAP 2 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR INJECTING CONDIMENTS INTO A FOOD

ITEM

The invention relates to an apparatus and a method for injecting a condiment into an edible item, and in particular cooked pastry products such as single serve pies, typically at the point of sale. The invention enables a wide range of condiments to be readily injected into the food item and so finds use in fast food outlets.

Background of the Invention Known methods of adding condiments to cooked pastry products such as pies involve pouring, shaking or hand pumping the condiment from a container onto the top surface of the pie immediately prior to it being packaged for sale.

This results in the condiment being transferred to the 15 packaging which is undesirable. The condiment also tends to run as it thins when warmed up by the heat of the pie leading to the condiment pooling in the bottom of the package or ready transfer of the condiment to the consumer's face, hands or clothing.

It is also known to pump condiment into a pie after simply inserting the outlet nozzle of a container of condiment into the filling of the pie. This, however, leads to uneven distribution of the condiment in the filling and more particularly results in the condiment pooling at the location where it was injected into the filling.

Accordingly, the non-uniform distribution of the condiment within the pie means that it will be absent from some bites and excessive in others.

Manufacturers of pies have in the past introduced variety into their range of products at the bakery by, for example, combining vegetables or mushrooms with meat based pies. The variety of products demanded by the public requires that the baker maintain a substantial inventory of ingredients to meet such demand. It also requires the baker to prepare the pie additives which consumes valuable time.

The need to provide a range of products also P31878/4.8.98 11 J 1 3 presents distribution and materials handling problems.

Summary of the Invention It is an aim of the invention to ameliorate one or more problems of the prior art.

In a first aspect of the invention there is provided apparatus for injecting condiment into a food item consisting of an edible casing containing an edible filling, comprising: an injection member having an end region for insertion into the casing; and dispensing means for dispensing the condiment from the injection member; wherein a plurality of outlets are defined around an outer periphery of the injection member, the outlets being orientated such that the condiment is directed across the food item transversely with respect to a longitudinal axis of the injection member when the end region of the injection S"member is inserted into the food item and the condiment is pumped from the outlets by the dispensing means.

In a second aspect of the invention there is provided a method for injecting condiment into a food item consisting of an edible casing containing an edible filling, comprising: inserting an end region of an injection member into the edible casing; and pumping the condiment from outlets defined around an outer periphery of the injection member into the food item; wherein the outlets are orientated such that the condiment is directed across the food item substantially transversely with respect to a longitudinal axis of the injection member.

The dispensing means may be mechanically or electrically operated.

P31878/4.8.98 4 Generally, the condiment is injected into the food item substantially perpendicularly with respect to the longitudinal axis of the injection member.

Typically, the condiment will be injected into a space between the edible filling and an inside surface of the casing. Accordingly, apparatus embodied by the invention may be provided with an adjustable penetration distance control means adapted to limit the distance the injection member penetrates the casing to thereby ensure the injection of the condiment into the food item in such a manner.

By injecting the condiment into the food item as described above pooling of the condiment is able to be reduced and a more even distribution of the condiment within the food item obtained.

15 The invention is particularly suited for injecting sauces, mustards or similar condiments into the food item.

However, condiments such as vegetable additives like mash potato or peas, whether pureed or in a partially pureed form, may also be used. The dimension of the outlets defined around the outer periphery of the injection member will depend on the type of condiment to be injected and more particularly, the viscosity of the condiment and whether it ~contains particulates or lumps. In addition, in this specification and claims, the expression "condiment" is intended to encompass sweet additives such as cream or liquid or semi-liquid chocolate and the like, which may be added to, for example, a dessert or sweet food item.

The condiment may be injected into the food item while the item is packaged for sale such as in a paper or plastic bag or in a cellular plastic or cardboard box. This is particularly advantageous when the food item is to be eaten directly from the package at sporting events or other outdoor functions. By being able to inject the condiment directly into the food item the possibility of the condiment transferring to the hands or clothing of the P31878/4.8.98 5 consumer is also reduced. Moreover, by being able to readily add condiments to the food item there is a reduced need for the manufacturer or baker of the food item to provide as greater a range of products.

Brief Description of the Drawings The invention is described in greater detail hereinafter with reference to preferred, non-limiting embodiments illustrated in association with the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a perspective view of apparatus embodied by the invention; Figure 2 is a plan view of the apparatus of figure 1; Figure 3 is cross-sectional view through III-III of figure 2; Figure 4 is a cross-sectional end view of the injection member of the apparatus of figure 1; Figure 5 is cross-sectional view through IV-IV of figure 2; Figure 6 is a further cross-sectional view of apparatus embodied by the invention; and ***Figure 7 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the apparatus of this invention.

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments of the Invention The apparatus 10 shown in figures 1 and 2 includes a container 12 containing sauce 14 together with a hand operated dispensing pump 16 immersed in the sauce and having an outlet 18. The apparatus also comprises a pie section 20 in a form of a box having a lid 22. The lid is able to be opened by rotating it upwardly about hinge 24 using handle 26 as illustrated in figure 6. As best shown in that figure, the lid 22 comprises a top face 28 and a side face 30. The top face 28 carries an injection member 32 having a pointed outlet end 34 and an inlet end 36. The inlet end 36 is connected by a length of flexible tubing 38 to the outlet 18 of pump 16.

P31878/4.8.98 6 The raising of side face 30 of pie section 20 when the lid is rotated about hinge 24 allows a pie to be readily positioned in and withdrawn from the interior of the pie section.

The injection member 32 is attached to lid 22 of pie section 20 in a manner such that the distance the outlet 34 protrudes into the interior of pie section 20 can be varied. More particularly, the injection member 32 is threadably received in a bore defined in lid 22 and may be removed from the lid for the purpose of either cleaning the injector member or replacing it with a differently sized injection member. Varying the distance the outlet end 34 protrudes into pie section 20 is simply a matter of loosening lock nut 40 and rotating the injection member 15 relative to the lid prior to retightening lock nut 40 to thereby fixedly secure the injection member in position.

In order to inject sauce 14 into pie 42, the pie is firstly located within pie section 20 of apparatus 10. The lid 22 is then closed causing the pie casing to be punctured by injection member 32 as shown in figure 3. The downward movement of the lid is limited by stop 43 which also acts to control the distance the injection member protrudes into the pie. As indicated in figure 3, the distance outlet end 34 protrudes into the interior of pie section 20 is selected such that outlets 44 for passage of the sauce are located in the space between the surface of the pie's filling 46 and the casing 48 of the pie. The outlets 44 are located around the outer periphery of injection member 32 as is more clearly shown in figure 4.

Each of the outlets are of the same dimension and the combined surface area of the outlets is less than that of internal bore 49 of injection member 32 so that the sauce is squirted into the pie during the operation of the dispensing pump.

Once the casing 48 of the pie has been punctured by the injection member, pump 16 is actuated by depressing the P31878/4.8.98 -7plunger 50 of dispensing pump 16 to cause a metered quantity of sauce to be injected into the pie. As can be seen in figure 5, the sauce is injected into pie 42 from outlets 44 substantially perpendicularly with respect to the longitudinal axis of injection member 32. Due to the location of the plurality of outlets 44, the sauce is spread substantially evenly over pie filling 46.

While it is preferred that the sauce or is injected into the pie between the filling 46 and casing 48, the same can be injected directly into the filling itself if desired. In this instance, substantial spreading of the sauce can still be achieved due to the force with which it e..

is pumped from outlets 44 by the dispensing pump 16.

e..

Moreover, while the accompanying figures illustrate injection of sauce into an unpackaged pie, it will be appreciated that the pie could be contained in conventionally known packaging. In this instance, a small puncture is formed in the packaging upon closing lid 22 of pie section 20 to effect the insertion of injection member *"20 32 into the pie. The puncture, however, tends to reclose to a substantial extent as the lid 22 is raised preceding removal of the packaged pie from pie section In order to ensure that the correct amount of sauce is pumped into a pie after first setting up or cleaning the apparatus of the invention, air in flexible tubing 38 is first removed by one or more preliminary strokes of plunger of the dispensing pump 16. Generally, the injection member 32 will be located such that the outlets 44 are at the same level as outlet 18 of the dispensing pump to avoid leakage of the sauce from the injection member when apparatus 10 is not in use.

The injection member 32 may be provided in a variety of forms depending on the food item with which it is to be used and the type of condiment to be dispensed. Generally, the shape of the outlet end 34 of the injection member is P31878/4.8.98 8 selected to enable penetration of the food item and, if applicable, the packaging in which the food item is contained. The dimensions of outlets 44 will also vary but will be of a cross-sectional size to permit adequate outflow of the selected condiment from the injection member.

In another embodiment of the invention, a dispensing pump in the form of a caulking type gun housing a container filled with the condiment could be utilised. In this instance, an injection member 32 with means for limiting depth of penetration of the injection member may be received on the outlet end of the container in the caulking gun. Here, a sufficient and consistently measurable quantity of condiment can be delivered into the pie with 15 one or more squeezes of the gun's trigger.

Alternatively, a flexible squeeze tube containing condiment and which is provided with an injection member 32 may be used. In this case, the injection member may comprise a sharp pointed extension tube screwed onto the 20 squeeze tube over an outlet through which the condiment passes upon squeezing of the tube. Such an embodiment may also be provided with means for limiting the depth of 0000 000 penetration of the injection member 32 in use. The penetration distance control means may simply comprise a flat plate fixed to the injection member and which makes contact with the outer surface of the pie's casing in use to thereby inhibit further insertion of the injection member into the pie. The position of the flat plate may be able to be varied along the injection member to alter the depth with which the injection member may penetrate the pie, if desired.

Although the present invention has been described hereinbefore with reference to several embodiments, numerous variations and modifications are possible without P31878/4.8.98 9departing from the scope of the invention which is defined in the following claims.

0 0 0 .0 00** P31878/4.8.98

Claims (11)

1. Apparatus for injecting condiment into a food item consisting of an edible casing containing an edible filling, comprising: an injection member having an end region for insertion into the casing; and dispensing means for dispensing the condiment from the injection member; wherein a plurality of outlets are defined around an outer periphery of the injection member, the outlets being orientated such that the condiment is directed across the food item transversely with respect to a longitudinal axis of the injection member when the end region of the injection member is inserted into the food item and the condiment is 15 pumped from the outlets by the dispensing means.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said

5. outlets around the outer periphery of the injection member are each of the same dimension and the combined surface area of the outlets is less than that of the internal bore *"20 of the injection member. 3. The apparatus according to claim 2 or claim 3 wherein the dispensing means is mechanically or S. electrically operated. 4. The apparatus according to claim 3 wherein the dispensing means comprises a piston pump or a flexible squeeze means. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 further comprising an adjustable penetration distance control means adapted to limit the distance the injection member penetrates the casing to thereby ensure the injection of the condiment into the food item is thus limited.

6. A method for injecting condiment into a food item consisting of an edible casing containing an edible filling, comprising: P31878/4.8.98 *444 4.r inserting an end region of an injection member into the edible casing; and pumping the condiment from outlets defined around an outer periphery of the injection member into the food item; wherein the outlets are orientated such that the condiment is directed across the food item transversely with respect to a longitudinal axis of the injection member.

7. The method according to claim 6 wherein the condiment is injected into the food item substantially perpendicularly with respect to the longitudinal axis of the injection member.

8. The method according to claim 6 or claim 7 wherein the condiment is injected into the food item between the filling and casing or is injected directly into the filling.

9. The method according to claim 8 wherein the condiment is injected between the filling and the casing. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 9 wherein the condiment is selected from the group consisting of sauces, mustards or the like or vegetable additives.

11. The method according to claim 10 wherein the vegetable additive is pureed.

12. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 11 wherein the condiment is injected into the food item while the item is contained within a package.

13. Apparatus for injecting condiment into a food item, said apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the figures and the drawings.

14. A method for injecting condiment into a food item, substantially as hereinbefore described. Dated this 4th day of August 1998 ROBERT COLEFAX By his Patent Attorneys GRIFFITH HACK P31878/4.8.98