Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Processes – Packaging or treatment of packaged product
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-15
2002-03-12
Cano, Milton I. (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Processes
Packaging or treatment of packaged product
C426S565000, C426S524000, C053S281000, C062S060000, C062S063000, C062S374000, C141S002000, C141S009000, C141S104000, C141S100000, C141S083000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06355290
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This application relates to a process for manufacturing and packaging ice cream and to an improved ice cream package for use in this process.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Ice cream is a product enjoyed by many consumers. It is purchased by consumers in the ready to eat form as ice cream cones and ice cream sundaes at restaurants and specialty stores. It is also purchased by consumers in multiple serving containers. These multiple serving containers come in several sizes and shapes. Two common multiple serving containers are half gallon boxes (sometimes referred to as “bricks”) and half gallon round tubs (sometimes referred to as “rounds”). Bricks and tubs or rounds are made from paper, cardboard, plastic, and composites of these materials, such as plastic coated paper. This invention is specifically directed to multiple serving containers for ice cream to be sold to consumers and it will be described with reference primarily to the half gallon size although it is applicable to other multiple serving consumer packages such as pint, quart, five quart, and three gallon size. Standard half gallon bricks are five inches by seven inches by three and one-half inches deep.
Ice cream containers perform several functions. Some of these functions are performed at different times in the life of the container and described below sequentially with reference to the ice cream manufacturing and distribution process.
Conventionally, ice cream is manufactured by mixing liquid ingredients in a mixing tank and feeding the mixed ingredients into a cooling unit where the mixed ingredients are reduced in temperature to about 20° F. The mixed ingredients become significantly more viscous but will still flow. If the flavor being manufactured includes solid items, these solid items, such as cookie parts, are mixed into the flowing material at this point. This chilled and fully mixed material is fed to a package filling machine which feeds the material into the ice cream package. The ice cream package is closed and shrink wrapped to other packages for more convenient handling. The packaged ice cream is then placed in a hardening area for several hours where its temperature is reduced to zero or below for hardening. The packaged, finished ice cream is ready to be stored or shipped. The packages perform several functions in this process.
The package carries information about the product it contains. The ice cream package is preprinted. It contains product ingredient information, the flavor, the size, the brand name and graphics intended to persuade purchasers to buy this particular container of ice cream. Packaging is specific to each flavor of ice cream. Packaging is also specific to different customers. Thus, a particular supermarket chain will have a requirement for one package bearing its store brand name while a different market chain will offer a similar or identical product in a different package. Packages generally take about ten to twelve weeks to create, order and print. Thus, producing product for each chain requires careful planning and much lead time.
The package also performs the function of receiving the ice cream as it is measured and divided into a consumer product. The package acts as a receptacle in the metering process.
The package acts as a container for the ice cream in processing, that is, in hardening of the ice cream into a finished ice cream product. The package has an impact on the hardening process.
The inventory of finished ice cream products is kept at low temperature, around −10° F. to −20° F. The finished inventory is usually very large as a finished inventory of each flavor desired by each customer in each package type required by the customer is often kept on hand. Keeping up such a large inventory is expensive. While conventional wisdom requires a large inventory to meet customer needs, it does not improve the product. Ice cream does not improve with age.
When a retailer requires delivery, the flavors required in the packages required are selected from finished inventory, assembled on pallets and shipped. The packaged ice cream is received at supermarkets and the like where it is placed in freezer display cases. The freezer display cases are conventional and are either upright type cases or open chest type freezers. Upright cases in which the packages are displayed on shelves in the freezer extending from just above the floor to above eye height are popular. Alternatively, the ice cream is kept in open chest type freezers in which the ice cream is stacked within a freezer compartment from just above floor level to about waist level. In the freezer, the ice cream package performs the function of displaying required product information including size, flavor, brand name, and the like. The package also carries a graphical display, such as a picture of the product, designed to please the consumer. The shape, size and overall appearance of the package has an impact on the consumer and helps the consumer to reach a conclusion on the perceived desirability of the product and whether to purchase it or not. Thus, the package performs an important marketing function. Typically, a retailer can achieve a “pack out” (a freezer loading) of about 120 units with round tub packages. A retailer can obtain a pack out of about 240 units with brick packages.
After purchase, the ice cream is transported by the consumer to the home and stored in the freezer compartment of a refrigerator. The package often resides in the consumer's freezer compartment for at least several days as a half gallon of ice cream contains several servings. Each serving of ice cream is removed from the container and the container is placed back in the freezer to store the remaining portions for later consumption.
The above described process starts with liquid ingredients or raw materials, solid raw materials and packages. Most of the liquid raw materials are common to all flavors and brands of ice cream which an ice cream manufacturer is selling. Therefore, the liquid ingredients inventory can be reasonably managed. The packages, however, are a different question. Packaging is expensive. Half gallon cardboard packaging printed and delivered to the ice cream plant costs about 12¢ to 15¢ per unit when purchased in the millions. Round packages cost 28¢ to 30¢ per unit when purchased in the millions. The manufacturer must have packaging for each brand and flavor his or her other customers' desire. He or she must purchase packages in large quantities to obtain the best price. If a particular retailer carries three quality levels of ice cream, each with ten brands, 30 different packages for each size desired are required. The cost of holding inventory of so many different packages is high.
If a manufacturer is making a particular flavor on a day, it may wish to use ice cream packages for multiple customers demanding their own packages. This requires changeovers resulting in wasted product and/or wasted time while the package feeds to the packaging line are changed.
Conventional packaging lines are package specific. Thus one packaging line will fill half gallon cardboard containers only. A separate packaging line has to be set up if the manufacturer is also producing ice cream for packaging in half gallon plastic tubs. Plastic tubs must also be kept on hand in large quantities for each brand and flavor produced. This is because, like the cardboard bricks, the tubs have product information, trademarks and the like printed directly on the tubs. The tubs are also expensive, about 28¢ to 30¢ cents per unit for printed tubs delivered to the ice cream factory in large quantity.
Hardening of the ice cream in the conventional process takes several hours and is capital intensive. One method of hardening the packaged ice cream is called a roller bed process. The ice cream packages are placed on a roller type conveyor in a very cold room where cold air is circulated by blowers. The ice cream containers are held in this very cold room for 10-12 hours where hardenin
Panasewicz Dale A.
Soehnlen Daniel P.
Soehnlen Gregory M.
Cano Milton I.
Creative Edge Design Group Ltd.
Madsen Robert
Vickers Daniels & Young
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