Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Surface coated – fluid encapsulated – laminated solid... – Having inedible feature
Reexamination Certificate
1997-09-30
2001-07-17
Weinstein, Steven (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Surface coated, fluid encapsulated, laminated solid...
Having inedible feature
C426S091000, C426S107000, C426S110000, C426S113000, C426S127000, C426S115000, C426S134000, C426S234000, C426S394000, C426S407000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06261611
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to hand-held food packages, and more particularly, to a hand-held food package containing a single serving of food that is stored, optionally rethermalized, and served in the package, which is discarded after use.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Americans have become a nation of grazers and snackers. Changes in family structure, including more working mothers, more single-parent households and more single-person households, mean less time to cook and, often, staggered meal times. Eating has evolved into an “anytime, anyplace” activity. Meals are often eaten on the run, and people tend to snack their way through the day. These changing eating patterns have produced a demand for “user-friendly” quick meals consumers can hold in their hands while walking, driving, or even shopping.
Although many social critics believe that the pace of civilization is ever increasing, such convenience foods and the need for them have been around a long time. For example, spectators at sporting events have been eating hot dogs on buns for many years, and a number of portable foods “on a stick” have been developed over the years, including corn dogs, ice cream, frozen fruit juice, frozen alcoholic beverages (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,350,712), friedcake (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,144,356), burritos (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,447,457) and pizza (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,966,781).
A product has been marketed for many years, which comprises ice cream in a tubular cardboard container with a piston underlying it. The ice cream is selectively advanced out of the tube by pushing a stick attached to the bottom of the piston. A similar confession holding device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,962,470.
Despite the advantages provided by such food products, there is still room for improvement with respect to a number of aspects.
Many foods on a stick have the stick penetrating the food as an anchor. It would be preferable to avoid this configuration, as the consumer can be injured by inadvertently biting the stick. Moreover, some of the food adheres to the stick during consumption, thus frustrating particularly hungry consumers.
Furthermore, the length of the stick outside of a food product mounted on or above a stick can raise packaging and transportation costs. The stick increases the effective volume occupied by the product. In addition, care must be taken to avoid damaging the stick, lest the food product be rendered stickless, and thus unmerchantable.
Moreover, portable foods in general, and foods mounted on or above a stick in particular, have not been particularly conducive to a healthy lifestyle. While it might be preferable from a health perspective to sit down to a balanced meal served on a plate, convenience foods need not be nutritionally inferior to conventional foods. Until now, however, most portable foods, including foods mounted on or above a stick, such as cotton candy, lollipops, candy apples, ice cream pops and the like, have been designed as special treats rather than diet staples. Thus, there has been a need for more healthful portable food products, including those mounted on or above a stick.
Foods mounted on or above a stick have mostly been confined to solids for obvious reasons. It would be preferable if foods having significant liquid components, such as sauces, dressings, melted cheese, syrup and/or fruit compotes, could be successfully mounted and served mounted on or above a stick, as well.
Thus, foods such as pasta, pancakes, omelettes, crepes, wantons and blintzes have not been provided on or above a stick in a hand-held food package.
All references cited herein are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention addresses at least the foregoing deficiencies in the art by providing a hand-held food package comprising:
a tubular container which is ovenable and comprises a piston receiving end and a food extruding end;
a food tube contained within said tubular container between said piston receiving end and said food extruding end, said food tube comprising a rolled sheet of food;
an ovenable piston slidably engaged within said tubular container at said piston receiving end below said food tube, wherein said piston is adapted to slide through said container toward said food extruding end to selectively extrude said food tube from said food extruding end of said container; and
a removable cover which seals at least the food extruding end of said container.
The invention further provides a method for providing the aforementioned food product, said method comprising:
providing an ovenable tubular container;
providing a wrappable sheet of food;
wrapping said sheet of food to form a food tube;
inserting said food tube into said tubular container;
slidably engaging an ovenable piston within a bottom portion of said tubular container; and
removably sealing said food tube within said tubular container,
wherein said food tube is above said piston within said tubular container.
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Wiley Encyclopedia of Packaging Technology J. Wiley & Sons pp. 451-464, 497-506, 1986.*
Modern Packaging, p. 146, Nov. 1954.
Breakaway Foods, L.L.C.
Caesar Rivise Bernstein Cohen & Pokotilow Ltd.
Weinstein Steven
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