Pastry Bag Having Discharge Valve
A pastry bag package comprises a dispensing tip assembly including a self-sealing dispensing valve having resiliently deflectable valve flaps that open when pressure is applied to allow product to pass through a valve orifice and close when pressure is removed to cleanly cut off a dispensed ribbon of topping, icing, or other fluid product. One or more of the valve flaps may be provided with a respective protrusion on a front side of the valve flap facing the direction of applied pressure, wherein the protrusion extends into the flow path of fluid product passing through the valve orifice to form a decorative longitudinal ridge along a dispensed ribbon of product.
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The invention relates to the field of culinary tools, and more particularly to pastry bags having a dispensing tip through which toppings, icings, fillings, or other fluid products are discharged from the pastry bag during food preparation.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONToppings, icings, fillings, and like fluid products are packaged in generally conical pastry bags for application to pastry or other food items through a dispensing tip extending through a bottom tip portion of the pastry bag. As a user applies pressure to the pastry bag and its contents, the fluid product in the pastry bag is forced out through the dispensing tip to form a dispensed ribbon. Decorator dispensing tips having a serrated edge about a discharge orifice of the dispensing tip are well known for providing longitudinal ridges along a dispensed ribbon of product.
A recognized problem with dispensing tips of the prior art is that when the user removes pressure to stop flow, the dispensing tip does not provide a clean cut off of the ribbon. This makes it more difficult for the user to achieve desired decorative results, and the dispensed ribbon may look messy near one end. Moreover, if the dispensing tip is held in close proximity to the item being decorated, the dispensing tip becomes messy as topping or icing dries on the tip, and this affects subsequent dispensing operations.
Self-sealing valves are known in connection with dispensing food products and other fluids. Such dispensing valves have a plurality of resiliently deflectable valve flaps that deflect under applied pressure to open a valve orifice of the valve and permit fluid product to pass therethrough. For example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,213,236; 5,339,995; 5,377,877; 5,409,144; and 5,439,143. These valves permit product to be discharged by application of pressure and provide a clean cut off when pressure is removed, but they do not impart a decorative appearance to a discharged ribbon of product.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIt is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a pastry bag package having a discharge valve in the dispensing tip which cleanly cuts off of a dispensed ribbon of topping when the dispensing tip is held away from the item being decorated.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a pastry bag package having a discharge valve in the dispensing tip which achieves the aforementioned object while also providing decorative ridges along a dispensed ribbon of topping.
In furtherance of these and other objects, a dispensing package for fluid products generally comprises a tapered bag for receiving fluid product, the bag having a wide end and a narrow end; and a dispensing tip assembly extending through the narrow end of the bag, the dispensing tip assembly including a dispensing tip having a discharge passage through which fluid product is discharged from the bag, and a dispensing valve arranged to control flow of fluid product through the discharge passage. The dispensing valve includes a plurality of valve flaps and a valve orifice covered by the plurality of valve flaps when the dispensing valve is closed. The plurality of valve flaps resiliently deflect in response to a predetermined discharge pressure to open the dispensing valve to permit fluid product to pass through the valve orifice, and then return to cover the valve orifice upon removal of the predetermined discharge pressure. Accordingly, a sharp, clean cut off of the dispensed ribbon from the dispensing tip is achieved. In addition, the product remaining in the bag is sealed off from the outside environment and protected from contamination.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, at least one of the plurality of valve flaps includes a protrusion on a front side of the valve flap that faces the direction of applied pressure, and the protrusion extends into a flow path of fluid product passing through the valve orifice when the dispensing valve is opened. As a result, each protrusion contacts the flowing product to form a decorative longitudinal ridge along a dispensed ribbon of product. The dispensing valve may be removably secured within the dispensing tip to facilitate cleaning and allow exchange with another dispensing valve having a different configuration providing different decorative characteristics. The dispensing valve may also be permanently secured within the dispensing tip, and the dispensing tip may be disposable with the bag or threadably exchangeable with other dispensing tips having differently configured dispensing valves.
The invention also extends to a dispensing valve having protrusions as described above, apart from any packaging in which it may be incorporated.
The nature and mode of operation of the present invention will now be more fully described in the following detailed description of the invention taken with the accompanying drawing figures, in which:
Reference is made initially to
Dispensing tip assembly 18 is shown in greater detail in
Dispensing tip assembly 18 further includes a dispensing valve 30, also shown in
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, at least one of the valve flaps 40 may be provided with a protrusion 44 on a front side of the valve flap against which positive pressure is applied to open the valve. In the embodiment described herein, the front side of each valve flap 40 faces the wide end 14 of bag 12.
The present embodiment also has a respective protrusion 44 on each of the valve flaps 40, however this aspect of the invention does not require a protrusion 44 on every valve flap 40.
The purpose of protrusions 44 will now be described with reference to
A suitable dispensing valve 30 may be made by modifying or customizing a commercially available elastomeric dispensing valve sold by Liquid Molding Systems, Inc. of Midland, Mich., U.S.A. (http://www.siliconelms.com/) under one of the trademarks SUREFLO®, MEDIFLO®, or SIMPLISQUEEZE®. The modification or customization includes the addition of a protrusion 44 on the front face of selected valve flaps 40 to achieve a desired longitudinal ridge configuration in a dispensed ribbon of product. The number of flaps 40 may also be modified to suit particular applications.
In the embodiment described herein, dispensing valve 30 may be removably secured within dispensing tip 20 by seating marginal flange 32 against an annular step surface 28 formed in the inner wall of the dispensing tip, and fitting a retainer ring 48 into an annular groove 29 formed in the inner wall of the dispensing tip near step surface 28 such that retainer ring 48 abuts with marginal flange 32 as shown in
Claims
1. A dispensing package for fluid products comprising:
- a bag for receiving fluid product, the bag having a wide end and a narrow end; and
- a dispensing tip assembly extending through the narrow end of the bag, the dispensing tip assembly including a dispensing tip having a discharge passage through which fluid product is discharged from the bag, and a dispensing valve arranged to control flow of fluid product through the discharge passage, the dispensing valve including a plurality of valve flaps and a valve orifice covered by the plurality of valve flaps when the dispensing valve is closed, the plurality of valve flaps deflecting in response to a predetermined discharge pressure to open the dispensing valve to permit fluid product to pass through the valve orifice, and the plurality of valve flaps returning to cover the valve orifice upon removal of the predetermined discharge pressure.
2. The dispensing package according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of valve flaps includes a protrusion on a side thereof facing the wide end of the bag, and the protrusion extends into a flow path of fluid product passing through the valve orifice when the dispensing valve is opened.
3. The dispensing package according to claim 2, wherein each of the plurality of flaps includes a respective protrusion on a side thereof facing the wide end of the bag, and the protrusions extend into the flow path of fluid product passing through the valve orifice when the dispensing valve is opened.
4. The dispensing package according to claim 1, wherein the dispensing valve is removably secured in the dispensing tip.
5. The dispensing package according to claim 4, wherein the dispensing tip assembly further includes a retainer ring for removably securing the dispensing valve in the dispensing tip.
6. A dispensing valve for controlling flow of fluid product through a passage, the dispensing valve comprising:
- a valve head having a valve orifice therethrough; and
- a plurality of valve flaps covering the valve orifice when the dispensing valve is closed, the plurality of valve flaps deflecting in response to a predetermined positive pressure applied to a front side of the valve flaps to open the dispensing valve and permit fluid product to pass through the valve orifice, and the plurality of valve flaps returning to cover the valve orifice upon removal of the predetermined positive pressure;
- wherein at least one of the plurality of valve flaps includes a protrusion on the front side thereof, and the protrusion extends into a flow path of fluid product passing through the valve orifice when the dispensing valve is opened.
7. The dispensing valve according to claim 6, wherein each of the plurality of flaps includes a respective protrusion on a front side thereof, and the protrusions extend into the flow path of fluid product passing through the valve orifice when the dispensing valve is opened.
8. In a dispensing valve having a plurality of resiliently deflectable valve flaps that deflect under applied pressure to open a valve orifice of the valve, the improvement comprising:
- at least one of the plurality of valve flaps including a protrusion on a side of the valve flap against which pressure is applied.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 21, 2007
Publication Date: May 21, 2009
Applicant: RICH PRODUCTS CORPORATION (Buffalo, NY)
Inventor: James Faller (Williamsville, NY)
Application Number: 11/943,699
International Classification: B65D 30/24 (20060101); B65D 35/38 (20060101);