Patents Represented by Attorney Thomas V. Sullivan
  • Patent number: 4430353
    Abstract: A method of lessening the off-flavor notes of low-grade roasted coffee is disclosed. Low-grade green coffee is contacted with a fatty material, preferably a triglyceride, for a period of time between about 15 min. and 60 min. The low-grade green coffee is subsequently separated from the fatty material. Any residual fatty material may be removed by rinsing the low-grade green coffee with acetone. The coffee is then roasted, providing a low-grade roasted coffee having lessened off-flavor notes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 1982
    Date of Patent: February 7, 1984
    Assignee: General Foods Corporation
    Inventor: Slawko Yadlowsky
  • Patent number: 4428970
    Abstract: A process for producing a freeze-dried coffee with a multi-colored appearance resembling that of roast and ground coffee involves freezing a layer of coffee extract by a method which provides a dark-colored freeze-dried coffee, adding a thin layer of liquid to the frozen extract and rapidly freezing the combined layers. The frozen coffee material is subsequently freeze-dried, producing the multi-colored coffee with an appearance resembling that of roast and ground coffee.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 1982
    Date of Patent: January 31, 1984
    Assignee: General Foods Corporation
    Inventor: Raymond J. Laudano
  • Patent number: 4403727
    Abstract: An open top, multi-compartmented display carton for the displaying and dispensing of upstanding pouches, envelopes or packets, and which includes a mechanically locking bottom wall structure, an apertured or windowed front wall, a back wall, two end walls and at least one partition extending between the front and back walls, with the entire carton structure being folded and glued from a single fiberboard blank. The bottom wall structure of the display carton includes four flaps which are hinged to the lower edges of four adjacent walls of the carton, and wherein at least three of the bottom flaps include tab structure adapted to interengage upon the flaps being superimposed when the carton is in a set-up or assembled condition, and wherein the tabs will form a mechanical locking structured assisted for retention in its locked condition by the weight of the packets located in the carton compartments.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 1982
    Date of Patent: September 13, 1983
    Assignee: General Foods Corporation
    Inventors: Harold R. Grieve, Thomas S. Andersen
  • Patent number: 4397873
    Abstract: A dark-colored freeze dried coffee is produced by using a multi-step process to freeze the coffee extract. The coffee extract is chilled to a temperature at which an ice slush forms. The slushed extract is heated in order to melt some of the slush and subsequently re-chilled. This procedure may be repeated one or more times prior to chilling the extract below its eutectic point and freeze drying the frozen extract.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 1982
    Date of Patent: August 9, 1983
    Assignee: General Foods Corporation
    Inventor: Stephen F. Hudak
  • Patent number: 4390551
    Abstract: An arrangement for allowing comestible products to be conveniently heated in a disposable pouch. A kitchen utensil is constructed with a top rim shaped to support the disposable pouch containing a packaged comestible. The disposable pouch has an outer periphery at least as large as that defined by the top rim of the utensil such that the pouch is supported by the top rim of the utensil while it is being heated therein. In a first embodiment, an electrical heating element is provided as an integral part of the base of the utensil, while in a second embodiment a cover for the utensil also has an electrical heating element constructed as an integral part thereof. In several embodiments, the pouch has one or more electrical contacts to complete circuits to the heating elements such that the latter cannot be activated until a pouch is properly placed on the utensil.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 1981
    Date of Patent: June 28, 1983
    Assignee: General Foods Corporation
    Inventors: John S. Swartley, Suren Der Avedisian
  • Patent number: 4374063
    Abstract: A process of preparing an essentially pyrogen-free gelatin solution from cattle hides and/or tanner's stock is described. The essentially pyrogen-free gelatin solution and the use of the pyrogen-free gelatin solution for various pharmaceutical, surgical and medical uses are also described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 1981
    Date of Patent: February 15, 1983
    Assignee: General Foods Corporation
    Inventors: George A. Consolazio, Gury Pano
  • Patent number: 4359072
    Abstract: Associated with a horizontal pouch making machine for packaging a free flowing granular product between webs of flexible packaging material is a product lay down mechanism operable for receiving measured amounts of the product and depositing it in precisely defined areas of one of the webs being processed and in a flattened configuration such as to minimize the amount of packaging material required to contain said product. A product shaping member contacting the web surface during a dwell in the web feed cycle is formed with apertures which in combination with the web define cavities or molds which shape each deposit of product delivered thereto into the desired configuration having uniform height over substantially the entire surface area of the web portion upon which it is laid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 1980
    Date of Patent: November 16, 1982
    Assignee: General Foods Corporation
    Inventors: Robert F. Bardsley, William M. Marks
  • Patent number: 4355571
    Abstract: Particulate material to be aromatized is fed to the circumferentially grooved surface of a rotating wheel which carries said material from the in-feed to the discharge stage of its rotation during which travel the material is injected with a predetermined quantity of an aroma-enriched carrier liquid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 1980
    Date of Patent: October 26, 1982
    Assignee: General Foods Corporation
    Inventors: Oscar W. Stoeckli, David J. Berry
  • Patent number: 4354815
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for the automatic, rapid and continuous preparation of generally friable or fragile ready-to-eat food product bacon analog strips of predetermined configuration, simulating natural, cooked bacon, wherein a slab or bulk material of the food product is sliced by a cutting device into individual strips basically having the dimensions of sliced natural bacon strips, and conducted by means of a first endless conveyor arrangement from the cutting device towards a cooking installation. Ahead of the cooking installation, a second endless conveyor mounts a series of strip-engaging members adapted to sequentially contact the sliced strips and to conduct the strips from the first endless conveyor arrangement onto and along guide rod members which extend into and through the cooking installation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 1979
    Date of Patent: October 19, 1982
    Assignee: General Foods Corporation
    Inventors: Robert F. Bardsley, Jonas Bortkevicius, Charles D. Schoonmaker
  • Patent number: 4351374
    Abstract: A horizontal filler comprising a rotating turret supporting open-top containers and mounting a turntable for receiving a falling stream of particulate material is provided with tiltable trays on said turntable disposed to collect individual divided amounts of material from said stream for discharge gradually and individually into respective ones of said containers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 1980
    Date of Patent: September 28, 1982
    Assignee: General Foods Corporation
    Inventor: C. G. Peter Oldershaw
  • Patent number: 4349573
    Abstract: A low density roast and ground coffee product which yields 20% more brewed coffee than and of equal quality to conventional roast and ground coffee product. Modifications to conventional roasting and grinding operations result in a faster roasting operation and a finer grind which together with a higher percentage of intermediate quality coffee and a darker roast high quality coffee results in the low density coffee product.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 1980
    Date of Patent: September 14, 1982
    Assignee: General Foods Corporation
    Inventors: Arthur Stefanucci, Michael G. Protomastro
  • Patent number: 4348424
    Abstract: The invention provides a sprayable plant care composition which, in its preferred aspects, comprises a continuous aqueous phase comprising gelatin hydrolysate, urea, dissolved phosphorus and potassium salts, and an amount of preservative effective to prevent microbial growth in the composition; a dispersed phase comprising orange peel wax and glycerol as a diluent for the wax; and an emulsifier comprising polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monostearate in an amount effective to provide a stable emulsion and provide a cleansing action when the composition is applied to the foliage of a plant. When applied as a spray to plant leaf surfaces, the composition produces an attractive shine and an appealing aroma, provides plant nutrients absorbable by the leaf, and serves as an effective rinse to cleanse the leaf.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 1981
    Date of Patent: September 7, 1982
    Assignee: General Foods Corporation
    Inventors: George A. Consolazio, James A. Sheppard, Benjamin E. Laramee
  • Patent number: 4345393
    Abstract: A laminated container structure in which a peelable coupon or the like forms an integral portion of the outer ply of the container wall and is defined by a perforated tear outline. In one embodiment, a release agent is coated on the back of the coupon area to prevent adherence of the coupon to the adhesive joining together the outer and inner plies of the container. In another embodiment, the inner ply is formed of cylinderboard adhesively fastened to the outer ply, the perforate coupon tear outline extending through the outer ply, adhesive and outermost layer of the inner ply so that peeling of the coupon will not remove the inner layers of the inner ply and thus not destroy the integrity of the container.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 1980
    Date of Patent: August 24, 1982
    Assignee: General Foods Corporation
    Inventors: Charles E. Price, George C. Ray, III, Harold R. Grieve, Robert G. Tomich
  • Patent number: 4342787
    Abstract: A dessert preparation which comprises a dessert base powder and a food material such as pieces of a starch-based material, which food material has a texture different to that of the dessert base powder and has thereon a coating which renders the food material substantially nonabsorptive of moisture. The preferred coating is chocolate, particularly couverture chocolate.The dessert preparation is suitable for making, using milk and/or water, a dessert product having contrasting textures which remain stable to the taste for a period of several hours.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 1980
    Date of Patent: August 3, 1982
    Assignee: General Foods France S.A.
    Inventors: Paul Rebaudieres, Jean-Michel Azzi
  • Patent number: 4341804
    Abstract: Aqueous extracts of roasted coffee are stripped of aroma, concentrated and thereafter decaffeinated by means of contact with a decaffeinating fluid such as liquid or supercritical carbon dioxide. Aroma loss is minimized by using water to remove caffeine and aroma from the CO.sub.2 stream, recovering aromatics from this caffeine-containing aqueous stream and adding-back these aromatics to the decaffeinated extract. Preferably equipment cost is minimized by use of a single pressure vessel to transfer the caffeine from the extract stream to the CO.sub.2 and from the CO.sub.2 to the water stream.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 1980
    Date of Patent: July 27, 1982
    Assignee: General Foods Corporation
    Inventors: Ravi Prasad, Martin Gottesman, Robert A. Scarella
  • Patent number: 4340249
    Abstract: A jar pick-up assembly having a plurality of pivotal fingers insertable into the mouth of a jar when in a closed retracted condition and expandable within the jar to engage interior jar surfaces is provided with an annular stabilizing member adapted to bear on an exterior surface area of the jar and in cooperation with said fingers to grip the jar in clamp-like fashion as the jar is being lifted and carried from one location to another.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 1980
    Date of Patent: July 20, 1982
    Assignee: General Foods Corporation
    Inventor: Leonard E. Bucklew
  • Patent number: 4324823
    Abstract: A laminated carton comprising a paper board substrate and an outer paper ply including a peelable section in the paper ply defined by a perforated tear outline providing a leading edge, said ply being bonded to the substrate by a water soluble laminant coated with a release agent in a pattern which includes voids in the coating at said leading edge, said voids being shaped to provide variable adhesive bond between said plies as peeling of said section is initiated after application of moisture to the area of said leading edge to dissolve said laminant at said voids.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 1981
    Date of Patent: April 13, 1982
    Assignee: General Foods Corporation
    Inventor: George C. Ray, III
  • Patent number: 4324840
    Abstract: The process disclosed herein decaffeinates an aqueous caffeine solution by contacting it with a solid caffeine adsorbent which is made more selective to caffeine by a thin layer of a water-immiscible, caffeine-specific solvent. The caffeine is selectively extracted from the aqueous solution, leaving the solubles necessary for a good tasting beverage, by the solid adsorbent. Because the solvent is selective, the coated adsorbent likewise shows selectivity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 1980
    Date of Patent: April 13, 1982
    Assignee: General Foods Corporation
    Inventor: Saul N. Katz
  • Patent number: 4313265
    Abstract: A freeze-dried soluble coffee product in the form of particles or granules and having a microporous structure is prepared by prechilling a metal plate in a liquid refrigerant, immersing the plate in aqueous extract of coffee solids, reimmersing the plate in a liquid refrigerant, removing the frozen particles in the form of flakes from the plate, grinding and freeze-drying the flakes to produce frozen extract particles with reduced entrainment losses. The product so prepared has a unique porosity and is capable of sorbing, retaining and releasing volatile aromatic compounds.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 1980
    Date of Patent: February 2, 1982
    Assignee: General Foods Corporation
    Inventor: Daniel E. Dwyer, Jr.
  • Patent number: 4308679
    Abstract: A laminated or multiple-ply container structure comprising an inner wall of a substantially rigid material and an outer wall of a thin, generally pliant material, such as a glossy finished paper, adhesively fastened thereto by a suitable adhesive or glue. Formed in the outer wall of the container, as an integral component thereof, and through the intermediary of a tear outline constituted of perforations extending through at least the outer ply or wall is a section constituting a readily removable or peelable coupon-like panel, with the peeling off of the panel adapted to be effectuated without adversely affecting the integrity of the container structure or necessitating the use of special cutting instruments or tools.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 1980
    Date of Patent: January 5, 1982
    Assignee: General Foods Corporation
    Inventors: George C. Ray, III, Michael J. Otto, Charles E. Price