Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Imitated – simulated – ornamental – three-dimensional product...
Reexamination Certificate
1996-09-25
2001-10-16
Corbin, Arthur L. (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Imitated, simulated, ornamental, three-dimensional product...
C426S548000, C426S658000, C446S015000, C516S018000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06303164
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to bubble making solutions for use as a childrens toy and, more particularly, to bubble making solutions formulated with a surfactant having a taste which can be masked by the addition of a sweetening additive so that pleasant tasting bubbles can be formed therewith.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Bubbles of various sizes are blown by small children using an apertured wand structure dipped in a water solution comprising soap or another surfactant. A great variety of bubble solution formulations have been suggested to feature special effects in bubble making. There are solutions for making large bubbles, “long lasting” bubbles, deep colored bubbles, split bubbles, self-healing bubbles, multiple bubbles, vanishing bubbles, flaking bubbles, bursting bubbles, high and/or far-flying bubbles, sinking bubbles etc. In general, many anionic, non-ionic or amphoteric aqueous solutions with low surface tension lend themselves to bubble or foam-making when air or other gases are blown into such solutions.
All bubble solutions intended for use as a child's toy must be non-toxic and non-irritating to skin and eyes before they can be marketed. As any child who has tasted a soap bubble can attest, however, no bubble making solution has been proposed which is palatable to the taste. Conventional bubble making solutions are, in fact, singularly distasteful. As a result, though children may be amused while trying to catch bubbles in their mouths, they soon learn that it is often better to simply watch the bubbles pop.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a bubble making composition which overcomes the disadvantages associated with prior art solutions. Specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide a bubble making solution which is not only palatable to the taste, but also flavored with one or more flavorful ingredients so that children will actually enjoy the effects of catching the bubbles in their mouths.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a bubble making solution which has acceptable bubble formation characteristics when compared to bubble making solutions utilizing conventional surfactants.
The aforementioned objects, as well as others which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the teachings set forth herein, are achieved by an aqueous bubble making composition which comprises a sucrose ester in amount by weight from about 3.3% to about 5.3%, a water soluble polymer in an amount by weight of from about 11.5% to about 14.0%, sucrose in amount by weight of from about 1.8% to about 4.0%, and water in amount by weight of from about 75% to about 83%. Small amounts of additional flavorings may be added to further improve the taste of the obtained solution.
Other features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed solely for the purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention, for which reference should be made to the appended claims.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The bubble making composition of the present solution is an aqueous solution which, unlike prior art solutions, does not rely upon the use of strongly distasteful ethoxylated surfactants. Throughout the specification and claims, all parts and proportions are by weight, unless otherwise stated. In an illustrative form of the present invention, a sucrose ester is utilized as the surfactant. The sucrose ester is a reaction product of sucrose and an unethoxylated fatty acid. The unethoxylated fatty acid may be at least one member selected from the group consisting of stearic/palmitic esters, stearate esters, acetylated stearate esters, monolaurate esters, and stearate/monolaurate esters. Preferably, the unethoxylated fatty acid is stearate/monolaurate acid, whereby the resulting sucrose ester is sucrose cocoate. Although sucrose ester may be present in the solution in an amount from about 3.3% by weight to about 5.3% percent by weight, it is preferred that the sucrose ester is present in the solution in an amount of from 3.5 weight percent to about 4.7 weight percent, based on the weight of the solution. It is most preferred that the sucrose ester is present in the solution in amount of from about 3.9 weight percent to about 4.3 weight percent. The most preferred sucrose ester is sucrose cocoate. Although sucrose cocoate has a slightly bitter taste, when used in moderate amounts, it serves as an excellent surfactant and its taste has been satisfactorily masked by the addition of suitable sweeteners and/or flavorings.
Other surfactants besides sucrose esters may, of course, be utilized without departing from the scope of the present invention. However, for the intended use, such surfactants must be non-toxic and have a flavor which can be adequately masked by sweeteners and flavored additives.
To provide sufficient surface tension to enable bubble formation, the solution of the present invention further includes a water soluble polymer. Water soluble polymers suitable for use in the present invention may be in a dry solid state and are preferably selected from the group consisting of gums, biopolysaccharides, and synthetic water soluble polymers.
Examples of suitable gums are those selected from the group consisting of arabic, trajacanth, karaya, shatti, locust bean, guar, psyllium seed, quince seed, agar, algin, carrageenin, furcellaran, pectin, gelatin, and larch gum.
The biopolymers useful in this invention are biopolymers produced by a process comprising the microbial transformation of a carbohydrate with a microorganism to obtain a polymeric material in respect of composition, properties and structure. Suitable carbohydrates include sugars such as pentoses or hexoses, for example glucose, sucrose, fructose, maltose, lactose, galactose, and starches, for example soluble starch, corn starch and the like. Microorganisms suitable for effecting the microbial transformation of the carbohydrates may be for example, plant pathogenic bacteria such as plant pathogens which produce extrudates on the site of lesions on infected plants. Typical of such microorganisms are the species of the genus Xanthomas. Thus, for example, a heteropolysaccharide biopolymer may be prepared from glucose by the action of
Xanthomas campestris
(XC polymer). Commercially available xanthan gum biopolymers can be obtained from Kelco Div., Merck & Co., Inc. under the trademark of “Kelzan”, General Mills, Inc. under the trademark “Biopolymer XB23”, and from TIC gums. Other species of Xanthomonas bacteria which are useful in preparing the biopolymers include
Xanthomonas phaseoli, Xanthomonas mulvacearn, Xanthomonas carotae, Xanthomonas translucens, Xanthomonas hederae
and
Xanthomonas papavericoli
. Other biopolymers, so-called synthetic gums, which are useful in this invention include: gum dextran synthesized by the action of the bacterium known as genus Leuconostoc Van Tieghement on sucrose, as described by Bailey et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 2,360,237; phosphorylated mannan synthesized by the action of the yeast
Hansenula holstii
NRRL-Y2448 on glucose as disclosed in U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Northern Utilization Research and Development Division, Peoria, Ill., Bulletin CA-N-7, October 1958; gums produced by the action of diphtheriodic bacteria such as Arthrobacter viscous NRRL B-1973 and Arthrobacter viscous NRRL B-1797 as disclosed in Cadmus et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 3,228,855; gum produced by the action of Methylomonas mucosa as described in Finn et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,923,782; gum produced by the action of Erwinia tahitica as disclosed in Kang et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 3,933,788; and gum produced by the action of Azotobacter indicus variety Myxogenes as disclosed in Kang et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 3,960,832.
As used in this application, the term synthe
Cottone Sam
Domsky Irving Isaac
Hussain Hamid
Amron Development, Inc.
Corbin Arthur L.
Dinicola Brian K.
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