WO2001014806A1

WO2001014806A1 - Ice tray and ice cubes formed therein

Info

Publication number: WO2001014806A1
Application number: PCT/GB1999/002755
Authority: WO
Inventors: Patrick Terence Stephen Bowens; Stephen Leslie Pollard
Original assignee: Diamondbloom Limited
Priority date: 1999-08-19
Filing date: 1999-08-19
Publication date: 2001-03-01

Abstract

A mould (71) for producing an individual serving of ice comprises a cavity (73) and a liquid-tight seal (74). Spring or mineral water is filled into the cavity (73) and sealed therein, and the mould is then placed in a freezer. The ice thus formed is thereby kept free from contamination until immediately prior to use, when the seal (74) is ruptured and the serving of ice is ejected into a beverage. A weakened portion (45) can make the seal easier to break, and tapered flanks (47) opposite the weakened portion allow the user to squeeze the ice out. Alternatively a breakable cover or peelable foil seal can be used.

Description

ICE TRAYANDICE CUBES FORMED THEREIN

The present invention relates to sealed containers for the production of ice, and in particular to disposable containers in which an individual serving of ice may be formed.

Traditionally, ice cubes are made in open ice trays comprising a number of wells. Water is poured into the wells and the ice tray is then placed into a freezer. When the water has frozen, individual ice cubes may be removed from the wells . One or more ice cubes may either served directly in a drink, in which case the ice tray and the remaining ice cubes are returned to the freezer, or the ice tray may be completely emptied and the ice cubes temporarily stored in an ice bucket until later required. This method of ice cube production has significant drawbacks, especially when used in public catering establishments. Firstly, because the ice trays are re-used and the ice cubes are handled prior to serving, there is a high potential for bacterial and other toxic contamination to be introduced to the ice cubes, particularly in a bar-top environment. Studies have shown, for example, that there is a high incidence of urine contamination in self-service snacks on the bar counters of licensed premises. It is a commonly-held misconception that freezing serves to kill harmful bacteria, but this is not the case, since the bacteria are merely prevented from multiplying quickly at low temperatures . Furthermore, freezing will have no effect on most chemical toxins. A second disadvantage is that the ice produced in this way is generally made by freezing tap water, which often contains unpalatable chemical additives such as chlorides and fluorides. Upon melting, ice cubes made out of tap water can impart an unpleasant taste to drinks which are prized for their distinctive flavours, such as fine malt whiskies and the like. In hard-water areas, tap water also contains varying degrees of lime, which can result in clouding and discolouration of delicately coloured drinks. Furthermore, in some parts of the world, tap water may be unsafe for consumption because of ineffective sanitation, and contaminated ice cubes are a common source of gastric poisoning.

It is known from US 5,393,032 to provide a disposable ice tray having a body comprising a plurality of individual cavities filled with water, which may be "pure" spring water, and a laminated cover which provides a liquid-tight seal over each individual cavity. The tray may then be placed in a freezer so as to form a plurality of individually sealed ice cubes. It is stated that a primary object of the disposable ice tray is to enable an individual ice cube, once formed, to be ejected from its cavity while prohibiting the ejection of ice cubes from the other cavities. Accordingly, it is apparent that this ice tray is not intended to provide an individual serving of ice, but rather seeks to provide a plurality of servings, and is designed to be returned to the freezer after the ejection of each serving. Moreover it may be doubted that the operation of ejecting only one serving is an easy one .

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mould for an individual serving of ice, the mould defining a cavity and including a seal means for sealing the cavity, wherein the seal means is easily rupturable or openable by hand to allow the entire contents of the mould to be emptied into a single drinks container without touching the ice. In another aspect there is provided a mould for an individual serving of ice, the mould comprising a body including a cavity and a cover which may form a liquid-tight but breakable seal over the cavity.

The mould may be made from any suitable food-grade material, including thermoplastics, acrylics, rubber and the like, and is preferably transparent. Where a cover is provided it may also be made of thermoplastics and the like, and/or may include a layer of metal foil. The material of the body of the mould is advantageously capable of being vacuum- formed. The cover, which is generally flexible, but could instead be more or less rigid and breakable, may be sealed to the body (after the cavity has been filled with liquid) by using heat welding or adhesive. Furthermore, it is desirable for the materials used to be able to withstand freezing without undue deformation or damage to the integrity of the seal. The cover is hermetically sealed over the cavity so as to contain the liquid securely and hygienically. When ice is required, the mould is placed in a freezer so as to freeze the liquid into an individual serving of ice, and this is then removed from the mould by peeling the cover away from the body of the mould and ejecting the serving of ice.

In an alternative embodiment, the cover may include at least one line of weakness so as to allow the cover to crack when the serving of ice is pushed through from the other side of the mould and/or when the mould is deformed in a predetermined manner. In such embodiments, the cover may be semi-rigid and may be formed integrally with the body of the mould. The mould can be in one piece, for instance hinged in two halves initially, then folded together, partially sealed and filled through a hole which is then sealed.

It is envisaged that moulds according to the present invention will be manufactured and filled under hygienic conditions prior to sale. After delivery to the user, whether this be a catering establishment or an individual, the pre-filled moulds need only be placed in a freezer in order to generate ice which is substantially free from contamination.

Advantageously, the mould is disposable and may be discarded or recycled after having been used to form and dispense an individual serving of ice.

In some embodiments, the cavity can be partitioned by way of a number of reentrant portions of the body so as to define a plurality of chambers, the re-entrant portions extending from the base of the cavity almost, but not fully, to the mouth of the cavity. In this way, it is possible to produce a single serving of ice in the form of a number of blocks joined together by a basal web. Advantageously, the chambers, and hence the blocks, may be wedge-shaped or generally prismatic in shape. This allows the blocks of ice to be easily separated by squeezing the sides of the mould so as to break the interconnecting web portions of ice, thereby dispensing the serving of ice into a beverage in the form of a plurality of blocks. In other embodiments, the cavity is partitioned into a plurality of chambers, the partitions extending from the base of the cavity to the mouth of the cavity. The partitions are preferably formed as re-entrant portions of the body of the mould. Preferably, the number of chambers is at least ten, perhaps twenty, or even fifty. In this way, a single serving of ice in the form of a relatively large number of separate, small blocks may be produced. The chambers, and hence the blocks, may typically have a maximum dimension of 3cm or less, giving at least four individual blocks, the maximum being about sixty. The total volume is less than about 100cm , preferably less than 50cm³, so as to fit into a drinks glass. Because of the increased ratio of surface area to volume in comparison to traditional ice cubes, a serving of ice in this form can help to chill a beverage in a shorter time. The blocks may take the form of small shards, gems or the like.

Alternatively, the cavity is not partitioned, but is shaped so as to produce a serving of ice in the form of a elongate block sized and shaped so as to be insertable into the neck of an open beverage bottle. In one embodiment, the cavity is tapered such that it forms a serving of ice which may be wedged into the neck of the bottle or aperture in a standard ring-pull can. The cavity may additionally have an anticlastic shape. The elongate block of ice which initially lodges in the neck may as it melts pass into the body of the bottle.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mould as hereinbefore described, wherein the cavity is dimensioned so as to form a serving of ice having the dimensions, with reference to Figures 21 to 24, of: 25mm __ a > 5mm, 40mm ≥ b > 5mm, 25mm __ c > 5mm and 120mm > d ≥ 20mm. According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a serving of ice having the dimensions, with reference to Figures 21 to 24, of: 25mm > a > 5mm, 40mm > b > 5mm, 25mm > c > 5mm and 120mm > d __ 20mm. These dimensions are chosen so as to produce an individual serving of ice which may be placed in the neck of a bottle or the mouth of a can.

As stated above, the liquid to be frozen in the mould of the present invention will generally be water. Advantageously, the water used may be spring or mineral water rather than tap water. This means that unpleasant-tasting chemical additives such as chlorine present in the tap water usually used to produce ice cubes do not impair the flavour of the beverage being chilled, and also that it is possible to ensure that the water is substantially free from potentially harmful contaminants.

It is also possible to incorporate flavourings, such as fruit or vegetable flavourings, in the water used to fill the mould. These flavourings are released into a beverage as the serving of ice melts therein.

For a better understanding of the present invention, and to show how it may be carried into effect, reference shall now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIGURE 1 shows in outline a first embodiment of the mould of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 shows the mould of Figure 1 from below;

FIGURE 3 shows the mould of Figures 1 and 2 from one side; FIGURE 4 shows the mould of Figures 1, 2 and 3 from another side;

FIGURE 5 shows the mould of Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 with a flexible cover being partially removed;

FIGURE 6 shows a serving of ice produced by the mould of Figures 1 to 5;

FIGURE 7 shows in outline a second embodiment of the mould of the present invention;

FIGURE 8 shows the mould of Figure 7 from below;

FIGURE 9 shows the mould of Figures 7 and 8 from one side;

FIGURE 10 shows the mould of Figures 7, 8 and 9 from another side;

FIGURE 11 shows the mould of Figures 7, 8, 9 and 10 with a flexible cover being partially removed; FIGURE 12 shows a third embodiment of the mould of the present invention;

FIGURE 13 shows the mould of Figure 12 from one side;

FIGURE 14 shows the mould of Figures 12 and 13 from another side;

FIGURE 15 shows three of the moulds of Figures 12, 13 and 14 joined together as a production unit;

FIGURE 16 shows an alternative third embodiment of the mould of the present invention;

FIGURE 17 shows the mould of Figure 16 from one side;

FIGURE 18 shows the mould of Figures 16 and 17 from another side;

FIGURE 19 shows three of the moulds of Figures 16, 17 and 18 joined together as a production unit; FIGURE 20 shows a fourth embodiment of the mould of the present invention, in which the cover is made of a semi-rigid material having at least one line of weakness;

FIGURES 21 and 22 show an individual serving of ice prepared using one of the third embodiments of the present invention;

FIGURES 23 and 24 show an individual serving of ice prepared using the other of the third embodiments of the present invention; FIGURE 25 shows a mould representing a different embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 26 shows views of the mould of Figure 25 before folding into shape;

FIGURE 27 illustrates use of the mould of Figure 25;

FIGURE 28 shows a variant embodiment producing a block of ice thin enough to pass into the neck of a bottle;

FIGURE 29 shows views of a further variant exhibiting multiple identical cavities;

FIGURE 30 shows a further variant in which ice is intended to stay partially in the mould;

FIGURE 31 shows a detail of one possible rupturable closure or seal for the mould; FIGURE 32 shows a different rupturable configuration; and FIGURES 33 and 34 show sections of the seals of Figures 31 and 32.

Figures 1 to 5 show a mould 1 comprising a body 2 having a cavity 3 and a flexible cover 4. The cavity 3 is divided into three chambers 5 by way of re-entrant portions 6 of the body 2. These re-entrant portions 6 extend from the base of the cavity 3 almost, but not fully, to the mouth of the cavity 3. The cavity 3 is filled with water (not shown) and the flexible cover 4 is attached to the body 2 over the mouth of the cavity 3 by way of heat welding or adhesive so as to provide a hermetic but easily breakable seal. The filled mould 1, after delivery to a user, is then placed in a freezer (not shown) so as to freeze the water into an individual serving of ice 7, shown in

Figure 6. The serving of ice 7 comprises three wedge- shaped blocks 8 joined together by a basal web 9. In order to dispense the serving of ice 7, the flexible cover 4 is peeled away from the body 2 as shown in Figure 5, and the sides of the body 2 are pressed together by hand so as to snap the basal web 9 joining the blocks 8 together and to eject the blocks 8 from the cavity 3.

A second embodiment of the invention is shown in Figures 7 to 11. As in the first embodiment, a mould 11 comprises a body 12 having a cavity 13 and a flexible cover 14. The cavity 13 is divided into a relatively large number of chambers 15 by way of reentrant portions 16 of the body 12. As opposed to the reentrant portions 6 of the first embodiment, the reentrant portions 16 extend from the base of the cavity 13 to the mouth of the cavity 13. Use of this second embodiment allows the production of a relatively large number, in this case sixty-six, of separate and relatively small blocks of ice 17. Upon removal of the flexible cover 14, as shown in Figure 11, the relatively small blocks of ice 17 may be cascaded into a beverage (not shown) so as to achieve rapid chilling by virtue of the high ratio of surface area to volume of the blocks 17. Figures 12 to 15 and 16 to 19 show two variations of a third embodiment of the present invention, in which a mould 21, 31 comprising a body 22, 32 has a cavity 23, 33 and a flexible cover 24, 34. The cavity 23, 33 is not partitioned, and has a wedge shape which enables a wedge-shaped serving of ice to be formed.

The serving of ice is designed for insertion into the neck of a beverage bottle (not shown) , which is particularly useful given the current trend for consuming bottled beverages directly from the bottle rather than from a glass. Also the wedge shape assists the user in removing the ice block because once the foil is peeled, as shown in the inset diagram, the wedge surfaces can be squeezed, or the mould twisted, or a combination, to eject the ice without touching it, the packaging acting as a handle.

The moulds 21, 31 may conveniently be manufactured in multiple units 26, 36, as shown in Figures 15 and 19, each individual mould 21, 31 being snapped off the multiple unit 26, 36 prior to serving. The alternate orientation of the individual moulds aids stacking of the units.

Figure 20 shows an embodiment of the present invention in which there is provided a mould 41 having a cavity (not shown) and a semi-rigid cover 42. The semi-rigid cover 42 is hermetically sealed to the body of the mould 41 or formed integrally therewith, and is provided with at least one line of weakness 43, which may be a prescored line or similar. By manually squeezing the exterior of the mould 41 in the directions of the arrows A, or by pushing the ice within the mould 41 through from the back of the mould, the cover 42 may be cracked along the or each line of weakness 43, thereby releasing an individual serving of ice .

Figures 21 to 24 show individual servings of ice 51 and 61 produced by way of the moulds 21, 31 of Figures 12 to 19. The icepick shape 51 in particular demonstrates a can action in removal from the mould. The cavities 23, 33 of the moulds 21, 31 may be sized and shaped so that the dimensions a, b, c and d of the resultant individual servings of ice 51, 61 as shown in Figures 21 to 24 are: 25mm __ a > 5mm 40mm > b > 5mm 25mm > c > 5mm 120mm > d > 20mm

Servings of ice having these dimensions upon delivery are particularly suited for use in the neck of a standard drinks bottle or in the mouth of a drinks can, and allow liquid to be cooled by flowing around the serving of ice upon pouring.

Figures 25 to 34 show somewhat different kinds of embodiment taking the idea of a breakable seal a stage further. Here the seal is made not by fastening a foil cover to a body forming the entire cavity but by sealing together two mould halves or shells so as to define a cavity. Each half is preferably more or less identical, made of the same material and in the same shape. The seal and/or the mould itself is weakened at a predetermined location to allow rupture of the seal so that the ice can be ejected. The mould halves can be made in one piece, pressed out of the plane of a plastics sheet, and pivoting the halves by half a turn about a common hinge line to form the cavity. The two halves can then be glued or welded together. Figures 25 and 26 show one such mould, the body 71 being generally in the shape of an elongate gem having six facets in each half. There is a blunt end with three facets 77a and a sharp end with much shallower facets 77b. At the sharp tip is a weakened portion 75, while the blunt end includes a considerable area of sheet folded together about a hinge line 78 so as to form a gripping surface. The two halves are sealed together around the periphery 74.

Figure 27 shows how the tip can be broken off at the weakened portion 75 represented by a groove or notch, and how pressure can be exerted by squeezing the steep facets or flanks 77a in a wedge fashion to urge the ice "diamond" towards the sharp end, now ruptured, and to force apart the mould halves, breaking the rest of the seal and releasing the ice which drops straight into a drink without being touched.

Figure 28 shows a very similar embodiment, the only significant difference being the long thin shape of the ice block: it has a maximum dimension in two dimensions of about 1 cm, making it suitable for insertion into the neck of a bottle; this embodiment is thus similar in principle to that of Figure 17. Figure 29 shows a multiple-cavity version, each of the cavities or sub-cavities 77a being identical, though arranged alternate ways round in lines, which eases stacking. There can be a weakened portion at the acute end only, or several such. Figure 30 shows a "use-in- pack" version where the break line is much nearer the middle of the block, so that a large portion of the mould is removed and exposes the ice or frozen liquid, the remaining part of the mould acting as a portable holder (e.g. for an ice lolly)

Figures 31 to 34 show details of possible seal and weakening arrangements, applicable mutatis mu tandis to all the preceding embodiments. In Figure 31 the mould halves are not quite identical, but one extends beyond the other to afford a lever 80 to be used in breaking the seal. In Figure 32 only the upper shell has a groove or notch 75. Once this is broken, by bending the mould or simply by squeezing the ice block, the other mould half acts as a wedge to eject the block. To allow for expansion during freezing it is useful for the seal to be flexible. Figure 33 shows a "concertina" -style flexible seal in section, while Figure 34 shows an intrinsically flexible material.

While the embodiments have shown a two-part moulds it would in principle be possible to use a single-part mould filled through an aperture and then sealed by compression around this aperture, though it is less easy to provide an easily and reliably rupturable seal in such a mould. The invention has been described with particular reference to ice, but clearly can be used with any freezable liquid, though preferably an aqueous one .

Claims

CLAI S :

1. A mould for an individual serving of ice, the mould defining a cavity and including a seal means for sealing the cavity, wherein the seal means is easily rupturable or openable by hand to allow the contents of the mould to be emptied into a drinks container.

2. A mould according to claim 1, in which the total volume of the cavity is less than about 100 cm³.

3. A mould according to claim 1 or 2 , in which the seal means includes a weakened portion or lever portion allowing a part of the mould to be snapped off or torn so as to rupture the seal as aforesaid and to allow the contents to escape.

4. A mould according to claim 3 and further exhibiting a wedge part opposite the weakened portion, enabling the user to squeeze the contents towards the weakened portion, opening the mould and ejecting the ice serving.

5. A mould according to claim 3 or 4 and being made substantially in one piece, comprising two similar halves each with a recess, folded so that the recesses form the said cavity.

6. A mould according to any preceding claim and including several such cavities.

7. A mould according to claim 1 and comprising a body including the cavity and a cover for forming the said seal over the cavity.

8. A mould as claimed in claim 7, wherein the cover includes at least one line of weakness which enables the cover to be cracked as the mould is deformed in a predetermined manner so as to release a serving of ice.

9. A mould as claimed in claim 8, wherein the cover is semi-rigid.

10. A mould as claimed in any of claims 7 to 9 , wherein the cavity is partitioned by way of a number of re-entrant portions of the body so as to define a plurality of chambers, the re-entrant portions extending from the base of the cavity almost, but not fully, to the mouth of the cavity.

11. A mould as claimed in any of claims 7 to 9, wherein the cavity is partitioned into a plurality of chambers, the partitions extending from the base of the cavity to the mouth of the cavity.

12. A mould as claimed in claim 11, wherein the partitions are formed as re-entrant portions of the body of the mould.

13. A mould as claimed in claim 11 or 12, wherein the number of chambers is at least three, preferably at least ten.

14. A mould as claimed in any of claims 9 to 13, wherein the maximum dimension of any given chamber is less than about 3cm.

15. A mould as claimed in claim 7, 8 or 9 , wherein the cavity has an elongate shape.

16. A mould as claimed in claim 15, wherein the cavity is tapered.

17. A mould as claimed in claim 15 or 16, wherein the cavity has an anticlastic shape.

18. A mould as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the seal means is closed by way of heat or solvent welding or by an adhesive.

19. A mould as claimed in claim 8 or any claim depended thereon, wherein the cover is formed integrally with the mould.

20. A mould as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the cavity is filled with water.

21. A mould as claimed in claim 20, wherein the cavity is filled with mineral or spring water.

22. A mould as claimed in claim 20 or 21, wherein the water includes flavourings .

23. A mould as claimed in any one of claims 15 to 22, wherein the cavity is dimensioned so as to form a serving of ice having the dimensions a, b, c, and d, with reference to Figures 21 to 24, of: 25mm > a > 5mm, 40mm > b > 5mm,

25mm > c > 5mm and 120mm > d > 20mm.

24. A serving of ice having the dimensions a, b, c, and d, with reference to Figures 21 to 24, of: 25mm > a > 5mm, 40mm > b > 5mm, 25mm > c > 5mm and 120mm > d > 20mm.

25. A mould for an individual serving of ice, the mould defining a cavity and including a seal means for sealing the cavity, wherein the seal means is easily rupturable or openable by hand to allow the contents of the mould to be emptied into a drinks container, and having a shape capable of insertion into the neck of a bottle or the aperture of a ring-pull can.