Plastic article or earthenware shaping or treating: apparatus – With apparatus assembly or dismantling means or with idle part – Means excavating from bulk with simultaneous shaping
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-16
2002-07-09
Davis, Robert (Department: 1722)
Plastic article or earthenware shaping or treating: apparatus
With apparatus assembly or dismantling means or with idle part
Means excavating from bulk with simultaneous shaping
C425S279000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06416309
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to apparatus and methods for serving a frozen product. More particularly, the present invention relates to a reusable heated ice cream scoop containing a supercoolable salt solution.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Using scoops, spades, and spoons, ice cream is commonly transferred from a storage container to a serving dish or cone. If the ice cream is hard packed, removing a serving of ice cream from the storage container may require application of a significant cutting force. This force may be too great for some individuals to apply, especially when applied repetitively, as is required, for example, of ice cream parlor employees. Furthermore, the ice cream often adheres to the scoop after separation from the storage container, making it difficult to transfer the ice cream to the serving dish or cone.
To reduce the required cutting force, scoops often are warmed prior to use, for example, by being placed in a container of heated water. In use, the scoop then conducts thermal energy to the ice cream with which it comes in contact, thereby softening or slightly melting the ice cream. The force needed to cut through and remove the serving of softened ice cream is thus significantly reduced. Additionally, the ice cream is less likely to adhere to the scoop and is easier to transfer to a serving dish or cone.
Though the foregoing method may be effective, heated water containers often are used to warm several scoops simultaneously, thereby creating unsanitary and aesthetically unattractive conditions. In addition, this previously known method presents a risk of contamination when a scoop transfers unsanitary water to the ice cream within the storage container. Furthermore, the scoop must frequently be returned to the water bath to maintain an elevated temperature, prolonging the time and effort required to prepare an ice cream serving.
Numerous previously known methods and apparatuses have been proposed for serving ice cream that seek to obtain the benefits derived from elevating scoop temperature, without suffering the frequent heating delays and risk of contamination associated with heated water baths. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,837,296 to Virkler describes a hollow scoop with a removable cap that facilitates filling the scoop with warm tap water before use. The device described in that patent may be effective for short-term use; however, the apparatus is expected to be able to sustain an elevated temperature for only relatively short periods of time before the warm water inside the scoop cools, thus requiring repetitive replacement of the water.
Several commercially available products seal a quantity of water or antifreeze within a hollow handled scoop, so that the sealed liquid acts as a heat sink. While the heat sink is supposed to decrease the rate at which the cutting surface of such a scoop drops from room temperature towards the temperature of the ice cream, applicants' tests of such devices have shown these heat sinks provide little additional benefit to the user, as compared to traditional, solid-handle scoops. Typically, the storage container from which the serving of ice cream is removed provides a much larger heat sink than the sealed liquid within the scoop handle, and, consequently, the cutting surfaces of such previously known devices rapidly approach the ice cream temperature. Moreover, even if such devices reduced the cooling rate at the cutting surface, they provide no benefit in decreasing the initial cutting force required.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,809,520 to Wilk describes an ice cream scoop with an interior fluid circulation passage that may be connected to a faucet. Warm water is continuously circulated through the interior of the scoop so that the scoop's cutting surface remains heated. While Wilk may be effective, the device has a limited range since it must remain connected to a warm water source. It is also thermally and ecologically inefficient because the warm water is disposed after it has passed through the interior passage once.
Electrical resistive heating has also been proposed as a means of elevating scoop temperature. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,992,604 to Leddy, U.S. Pat. No. 4,386,900 to Sultan, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,553,921 to Lamphere all describe scoops with heating elements that are connected by power cords to electrical outlets. While electrical outlets are able to deliver ample energy for resistive heating, the utility of such scoops is limited by the length of the attached power cords. Furthermore, such designs pose an inherent risk of electrocution, especially in the fluid environments provided by melted ice cream and during cleaning.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,672 to Halimi attempts to overcome some of the drawbacks of AC voltage heated scoops by using batteries as the source of electrical power. A resistive wire is attached along the cutting edge of the scoop. The scoop is actively heated only along the wire, thereby minimizing the heated volume and reducing the power drain on the batteries. Applicants' thermodynamic modeling of the Halimi device, however, reveals that the remainder of the scoop bowl acts as a heat sink which actually conducts heat away from the cutting surface. Thus, for example, if the scoop bowl is metal, maintaining an adequate elevated temperature at the cutting surface for any significant length of time is expected to require more energy than is typically available from standard batteries. Alternatively, use of a plastic scoop bowl may result in melting of the plastic or thermal and mechanical fatigue problems.
Other heating methods also have been proposed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,131,832 to Budreau uses a butane heating cartridge or a standard lighter as the energy source. Since the fuel must be ignited, a risk of fire or skin burns exists, as well as melting of the ice cream due to overheating. In short, several methods for heating an ice cream scoop have been proposed, but all of these methods suffer from shortcomings that have limited or prevented widespread adoption in the marketplace.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide methods and apparatus for serving frozen products that overcome the disadvantages of previously known devices.
It further would be desirable to provide methods and apparatus for serving frozen products that elevate the temperature of the apparatus with a reusable, temperature controllable, safe, sanitary, inexpensive, effective, ecologically-conscious, and reliable heat source.
It still further would be desirable to provide methods and apparatus for serving frozen products that meet the requirements of both the home and the commercial markets.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide methods and apparatus for serving frozen products that overcome the disadvantages of previously known devices.
It is another object of the present invention to provide methods and apparatus for serving frozen products that elevate the temperature of the apparatus with a reusable, temperature controllable, safe, sanitary, inexpensive, effective, ecologically-conscious and reliable heat source.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide methods and apparatus for serving frozen products that meet the requirements of both the home and commercial markets.
These and other objects of the present invention are accomplished by providing an ice cream scoop or spade heated by an internal reservoir of aqueous, supercoolable salt solution. Activation of the solution produces a highly exothermic reaction, which causes the solution to crystallize and release a significant amount of stored energy as heat. The crystalline salt may be returned to solution by simply raising its temperature above the temperature evolved by activation of the exothermic reaction, generally in a range of about 110-130 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the salt is food grade sodium acetate, which is completely nontoxic. The aqueous, supersaturated sodium ac
Eppinger Steven D.
Keating Daniel J.
Lee Eugene
Meredith Shaun
Michlitsch Kenneth J.
Davis Robert
Heckenberg Donald
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