FOAMING APPARATUS AND METHOD OF USE

Abstract

The present invention relates to a foaming apparatus wherein the apparatus includes an enclosure with a first and second cavity located therein wherein the enclosure includes at least one zone of constriction defined by internal surface(s) of the enclosure located between the first cavity and the second cavity in the enclosure, wherein the at least one zone of constriction allows the only transfer of a material between the first cavity and second cavity. The present invention also relates to a method of using a foaming apparatus to foam a material such as an egg white based liquid.

Claims

1.-16. (canceled)

17. A foaming apparatus comprising an enclosure including a first and second cavity located therein, wherein said enclosure includes at least one zone of constriction defined by internal surface(s) of said enclosure located between said first cavity and said second cavity in said enclosure, wherein said at least one zone of constriction allows the only transfer of a material to be foamed between said first cavity and said second cavity, and wherein said zone of constriction is configured to foam said material as said material is transferred through said zone of constriction in a back and forth fashion between said first cavity and said second cavity.

18. The foaming apparatus of claim 17, wherein walls of said enclosure are made substantially of a pliable material.

19. The foaming apparatus of claim 17, wherein said first cavity and said second cavity have approximately the same internal volume.

20. The foaming apparatus of claim 17, wherein said first cavity is configured to include an external outlet.

21. The foaming apparatus of claim 17, wherein said zone of constriction is configured as at least one channel that forms between opposing portions of internal walls that are connected along a mid-portion of said enclosure to separate said first cavity from said second cavity.

22. The foaming apparatus of claim 21, wherein said zone of constriction includes multiple channels.

23. The foaming apparatus of claim 17, wherein said zone of constriction is configured by a clamp that is applied outside of said apparatus that effectively draws opposing internal walls of said apparatus almost together along a mid-part of said enclosure, thus forming said first cavity and said second cavity on opposing sides of said clamp.

24. The foaming apparatus of claim 17, wherein said material is chosen from the group consisting of an egg white liquid and egg white based composition.

25. A method of foaming a material in a foaming apparatus, including the steps of: applying a force to an external portion on an enclosure to cause material transfer under pressure through a zone of constriction; and foaming the material.

26. The method of claim 25, further including prior said applying step, the step of incorporating an amount of gas into a first cavity.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein said applying step is further defined as applying the force for 15 to 20 seconds.

28. The method of claim 25, wherein said applying step further includes the step of applying a back-and-forth force on an external portion of the first and second cavities sufficient to cause transfer of the material back and forth between the first and second cavities through the zone of constriction.

29. The method of claim 25, further including the step of a user accessing the foamed material for consumption.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein said user accessing step is further defined as the user forcing the foam to reside in the first cavity, then opening up the external outlet and allowing the foamed material to be forced out.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Further aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description which is given by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0027] FIG. 1 is a representation of the apparatus according to a first embodiment (front view);

[0028] FIG. 2 is a representation of the apparatus according to a first embodiment (side view);

[0029] FIG. 3 is a representation of the apparatus according to a further embodiment (front view);

[0030] FIG. 4 is a representation of the apparatus according to a further embodiment (side view); and

[0031] FIG. 5 is a representation of the apparatus according to a further embodiment (cross-sectional view cutaway just above the clamp).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0032] The invention provides a new mechanism and apparatus, generally shown at 1 in the Figures, to quickly and easily foam a material such as egg white liquid (EWL) without the need for whipping, gas sparging, or shaking which are the conventional ways of producing egg white foam. The concept relies on high shear and high pressure of the material through the region of constriction, most often in a back-and-forth manner between the two cavities as will be described further. It has been found that the apparatus works surprisingly well to very quickly foam egg whites within about 15 seconds. This is a significant improvement over the device as described in JP 3761093 which teaches someone to use the device for at least one minute to achieve desirable foaming. Further, the region of constriction may be easily manufactured, and advantageously does not require implanting components into the enclosure, such as is required in JP 3761093 (a nylon mesh structure, which does not form a zone of constriction in the enclosed cavity, and/or does not function through high pressure/high shear).

[0033] Apparatus

[0034] Throughout the specification the term enclosure 2 should be taken as meaning any container, apparatus, bag, canister or so forth that is configured to retain an amount of a foamable material such as an egg white liquid based composition. The enclosure 2 should be understood to optionally have a means to incorporate a material to be foamed, and which may also serve as a means to dispense the foamed material from the apparatus 1 when required. For instance an external outlet with a removable lid may allow this functionality.

[0035] Preferably, the apparatus 1, and more specifically the walls of enclosure 2, are made substantially of a pliable material. A soft plastic walled container is considered to be very applicable to the present invention, although other materials may be used.

[0036] For example, a pliable material such as soft plastic more easily allows a user to apply a force to difference areas of the apparatus 1 to result in the necessary mechanical forces needed to result in foam being produced in the apparatus 1.

[0037] Throughout the specification the term first cavity 8 and second cavity 9 should be taken as meaning areas within the enclosure 2 that are separated from one another by the zone of constriction(s) 6.

[0038] Preferably, the internal volume of the first cavity 8 and second cavity 9 are approximately the same.

[0039] This may allow increased amount of material to transfer back and forth effectively between the first cavity 8 and second cavity 9 when under appropriate forces applied to the apparatus 1.

[0040] Preferably, the first cavity 8 is configured to include an external outlet 3.

[0041] In the foaming process, a gas substance may be included in the apparatus 1 prior to foaming a material. Therefore, it is foreseen that in one embodiment, the external outlet 3 can provide the user to manually blow air into the first cavity 8, expanding it, then re-sealing the external outlet 3 prior to carrying out the described method herein to foam the material using the apparatus 1.

[0042] The external outlet 3 may also act as a path for the material to initially be introduced during manufacturing, and/or may also act as an outlet to dispense the foam for or prior to consumption.

[0043] Alternatively, a gas may already be in the apparatus 1, or may be generated in a gas release system just prior to use. There are well known methods and devices available to generate gas.

[0044] In some situations, the material to be foamed may also include an amount of additives such as fruit pieces that may not be sufficiently small to pass through the zone of constriction(s). In such circumstances, the additives may reside in the first cavity 8 such that when the material has been foamed, it may be mixed within the material before being dispensed from the external outlet 3.

[0045] Zone of Constriction

[0046] Throughout the specification, the term zone of constriction 6 should be taken as meaning a region, path(s), aperture(s), gateway(s), valve(s) or similar within the internal walls of the enclosure 2 that restricts the flow of a material between the first cavity 8 and second cavity 9.

[0047] There are a wide number of embodiments in which this invention may be achieved without departing from the scope thereof.

[0048] In one aspect, the zone of constriction 6 is configured as at least one channel 7 that forms between opposing portions of the internal walls that are connected along a mid-portion of the enclosure 2 to separate the first cavity 8 from the second cavity 9.

[0049] For instance the integral connections on the opposing internal walls along the mid-portion may be provided by heat sealing the apparatus 1 during manufacture.

[0050] Preferably, the zone of constriction 6 includes multiple channels 7.

[0051] Preliminary trials show that a plurality of channels 7 arranged in a linear fashion along the mid-portion of the enclosure 2 worked well to enable formation of the foamed material, in use. However, it should be appreciated that depending on the material to be foamed, the number and configuration of the channels 7 may vary. For instance, the zone of constriction 6 may be defined simply by having a single channel 7 that may work well for certain materials to be foamed.

[0052] It should be appreciated that the particular configuration of the channels 7 that are formed may vary depending on the material to be foamed.

[0053] With egg white liquid, the channels 7 may be approximately between 1-10 mm in width, which in preliminary experiments were shown to effectively and quickly foam the egg white liquid. Again, the width of the channels 7 may be adapted to accommodate differences in the material to be foamed. Preliminary experiments showed adequate egg white foam is produced in 10-15 seconds.

[0054] This embodiment is particularly commercially viable because there are no internal or external components required, and the zone of constriction 6 is inherently built into the opposing enclosure 2 walls of the apparatus 1. This avoids issues seen in JP 3761093. Furthermore, the resulting rib like structure surprisingly formed adds a significant element of eye appeal to the apparatus 1 especially when the foaming process is initiated (beyond the functional advantages it provides), and may be very useful for marketing purposes, especially for athletes and/or bodybuilders.

[0055] In another embodiment, the zone of constriction 6 is provided by a clamp 10 that is applied outside of the apparatus 1 that effectively draws the opposing internal walls of apparatus 1 almost together along a mid-part of the enclosure 2, thus forming the first cavity 8 and second cavity 9 on either side of the clamp 10.

[0056] As one example, the clamp 10 may be of a linear configuration that forms a linear zone of constriction 6 inside the enclosure 2. An advantage of a clamp 10 is that it may be configured to be removable and may be used multiple times on different apparatuses 1. The clamp 10 may also function effectively as a holding means such that the user may hold onto the apparatus 1 after foaming the material, to provide easier consumption on the go.

[0057] Therefore, one will appreciate that in one aspect of the invention, the invention may be a clamp 10 configured to be attached on to an apparatus 1 as described in various embodiments throughout this specification. The clamp 10 configuration would need to be sufficient to form a zone of constriction 6 on an apparatus 1 as described herein.

[0058] In another embodiment, the inventor envisions a concept of vending/foaming machine that has a jaw portion that clamps across a mid-section of an apparatus 1 holding a material to be foamed, to form the zone of constriction 6 as herein described. Similarly, the machine may be configured to then provide the mechanical pumping motion to force the material back and forth between a first and second cavity defined within the apparatus 1, following the jaw's clamping. The vending machine may then release the jaw portion, and the apparatus 1 containing the foamed material may then be dispensed to the user for consumption.

[0059] Material to be Foamed

[0060] Throughout the specification the term material should be taken generally as any substance that is in liquid or semi-liquid form that has functionality and use in a foamed state. In most instances, the invention is most applicable to food or drink, but the invention may be used for a wide number of non-food based materials with commercially relevant uses.

[0061] Preferably, the material is an egg white liquid or egg white based composition.

[0062] The egg white liquid (EWL) may be reconstituted from egg white powder (EWP). Additionally, the egg white based composition may include a number of other additives.

[0063] To provide context, the inventor has been involved in research of egg white based compositions for a number of years, and has developed a novel composition which retains excellent foam stability and foamability characteristics, and offers many advantages over conventional egg white foaming methods and compositions. Yet, a problem which was identified during this R&D process was that the gas sparging method is not particularly practical for on the go applications, particularly due to the manufacturing costs associated with the pressurized canister requirements for gas sparging. The present invention avoids the need to gas sparging methods, which in some circumstances may be impractical or cost-prohibitive for certain types of food products.

[0064] The inventor also notes that once the material has been foamed, the apparatus 1 may also be conveniently used to subsequently heat or cook the foamed material. Particularly with egg white compositions that have been foamed, the ability to subsequently cook the foamed egg white in the apparatus opens up additional commercial opportunities for on-the-go or at home food products. For instance, after the egg white material has been foamed in the apparatus 1, the user may cut off at top section of the apparatus 1, then inserted into a microwave to cook the material.

[0065] It should be appreciated that other materials besides egg white may be foamed using the same inventive concept described in the present invention.

[0066] Method of Use

[0067] The present invention provides for a method of foaming a material in the foaming apparatus 1 by applying a force to an external portion on an enclosure 2 to cause material transfer under pressure through a zone of constriction 6, and foaming the material.

[0068] Preferably, the method includes incorporating an amount of gas into the first cavity 8 prior to starting the foaming method.

[0069] This may be useful to avoid long-term storage of the gas in the apparatus 1, which may otherwise cause deterioration of the food product. This is especially true for egg whites, where atmospheric air may cause loss of shelf life.

[0070] Preferably, the method includes applying the force for 15 to 20 seconds.

[0071] Preferably, the method includes applying a back and forth force on an external portion of the first cavity 8 and second cavity 9 sufficient to cause transfer of the material back and forth between the first cavity 8 and second cavity 9 through the zone of constriction 6.

[0072] Preferably, after the applying step, the user accesses the foamed material for consumption.

[0073] The access of the foamed material may be achieved in a number of ways, depending on the embodiment of the invention.

[0074] For instance, in the embodiment referred to in Example 1, the user may force the foam to reside in the first cavity 8, then open up the external outlet 3 to allow the foamed material to be forced out. For example the user may roll the apparatus 1 to force the material through the external outlet 3, and not back through the zone of constriction 6.

[0075] In an embodiment shown by Example 2, the clamp 10 may be removed, and converted to a handle. The user may then choose to dispense the material through the external outlet 3, or could alternatively cut off a top portion of the apparatus to provide greater access to the foamed material. In the latter option, the user may dispense the foamed material with a spoon, which the inventor envisages ideally would be provided together with the apparatus 1 at sale, or somehow connected to the apparatus 1.

[0076] Summary of Advantages

[0077] The present invention provides convenient foaming of egg whites quickly and easily without the need for conventional techniques such as whipping, gas sparging and shaking, which are particularly impractical for settings outside of the kitchen, provides a solution to the problem to allow athletes, and other users to quickly and easily make a foamed egg white on the go, avoids the need to drink raw liquid egg whites which has a displeasing mouth feel, look and association with raw eggs, and instead which provides a foamed product with pleasing sensory perception characteristics, avoids the need to mask the liquid egg whites by mixing/blending in a blender which is often what athletes currently do (which is also inconvenient), avoids problems with manufacturing/costs associated with gas sparging methods or alternative foaming methods, provides a solution to the problem that easily allows flavorings/additives to be added to the raw egg white liquid, such that the resulting egg white foams can be made into a variety of products, and/or provides an opportunity to subsequently cook the foamed material in the apparatus suitable for use on a wide number of non-food based materials.

[0078] The invention is further described in detail by reference to the following experimental examples. These examples are provided for the purpose of illustration only, and are not intended to be limiting unless otherwise specified. Thus, the invention should in no way be construed as being limited to the following examples, but rather, should be construed to encompass any and all variations which become evident as a result of the teaching provided herein.

EXAMPLE 1

[0079] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 the apparatus 1 is a pliable plastic container with an enclosure 2. The enclosure 2 includes an external outlet 3 with a cap 4 with a removable lid 5.

[0080] The mid-section of the apparatus 1 includes a zone of constriction 6 configured as multiple channels 7 that form between portions of the opposing internal walls that are connected along a mid-portion of the apparatus 1 to separate a first cavity 8 from the second cavity 9.

[0081] An egg white composition is stored in the second cavity 9. Prior to foaming, a gas is put in the first cavity 8 via the external outlet 3. To foam the egg white composition, the user pumps the apparatus 1 in a back and forth manner by applying, in turn, a pressure to external portions on the first cavity 8 and second cavity 9 sufficient to drive the material back and forth between the first cavity 8 and second cavity 9 through the zone of constriction 6. The high shear and high pressure caused by the zone of constriction 6 helps to form the foam. Whilst the gas significantly aids the foam formation, it is not critical.

EXAMPLE 2

[0082] As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 the zone of constriction is formed by a clamp 10, defining a first cavity 8 above it, and a second cavity 9 below it. The clamp 10 is also configured to have a securing portion 11 and a finger portion 12 portion, so that after the foaming action is completed, the clamp 10 is disengaged via a securing portion 11 reverses upon itself to form a handle (not shown), which the user can grip and insert a finger via finger portion 12.

[0083] FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of the same embodiment showing the clamp 10, and the zone of constriction 6 located in between two portions of the clamp 10. The apparatus 1 is shown below, with the enclosure 2 bulging out below the clamp 10 to form the second cavity 9.

EXAMPLE 3

[0084] Although not shown in any Figures, another example is to foam the material in the apparatus by using a vending machine scenario that is configured to clamp the apparatus along a midsection of the apparatus to form the zone of constriction, and the first and second cavities, temporarily. Once a mechanical force is applied to force the material back and forth through the zone of constriction into each cavity sufficient to foam the material, the clamp is then released, and the apparatus is dispensed for consumption.

[0085] The entire disclosures of all applications, patents and publications cited above and below, if any, are herein incorporated by reference.

[0086] Reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that that prior art forms part of the common general knowledge in the field of endeavor in any country in the world.

[0087] The invention may also be said broadly to consist in the parts, elements and features referred to or indicated in the specification of the application, individually or collectively, in any or all combinations of two or more of said parts, elements or features.

[0088] Where in the foregoing description reference has been made to integers or components having known equivalents thereof, those integers are herein incorporated as if individually set forth.

[0089] It should be noted that various changes and modifications to the presently preferred embodiments described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without diminishing its attendant advantages. It is therefore intended that such changes and modifications be included within the present invention.

[0090] Aspects of the present invention have been described by way of example only and it should be appreciated that modifications and additions may be made thereto without departing from the scope thereof.