Cross-Reference to Related Application

[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority to US provisional application no. 63/081,518, filed September 22, 2020, which application is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Technical Field

[0002] The instant disclosure relates to edible sleeves for drink vessels, including sleeves comprising stacked strips of dough, and methods of making such edible sleeves.

Background

[0003] Beverages such as beer and soft drinks are often served in glass or plastic vessels or containers. Such vessels typically have a cylindrical shape with vertical sidewalls or a frustoconical shape with angled sidewalls. Certain beverages may be served with edible accoutrements, or a consumer may order food in conjunction with the beverage.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0004] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of embodiments of the disclosure:

[0005] FIG. l is a front perspective view of an example embodiment of an edible drinking vessel sleeve disposed on an example drinking vessel.

[0006] FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of an example embodiment of an edible drinking vessel sleeve disposed on an example drinking vessel.

[0007] FIG. 3 is a bottom view of an example embodiment of an edible drinking vessel sleeve.

[0008] FIG. 4 is a side view of an example embodiment of an edible drinking vessel sleeve.

[0009] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of several embodiments of edible drinking vessel sleeves. [0010] FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating an example method of making an edible sleeve for a beverage vessel.

[0011] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a stage of making an edible sleeve for a beverage vessel.

[0012] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a stage of making an edible sleeve for a beverage vessel.

[0013] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a stage of making an edible sleeve for a beverage vessel.

[0014] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a stage of making an edible sleeve for a beverage vessel.

Detailed Description

[0015] Referring to the drawings, wherein like numerals refer to the same or similar features in the various views, FIGS. 1-5 are various views of various example edible sleeves 10 (FIG. 1), 12 (FIG. 2), 14 (FIG. 3), 16 (FIG. 4), 18, 20, 22, 24, 26 (each in FIG. 5) for beverage vessels. Further description herein will be with respect to the sleeve 10, but such description should be understood to apply equally to each other sleeve 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26 unless noted otherwise. The sleeve 10 of FIG. 1 is disposed on a first drinking vessel or beverage container 28, and the sleeve 12 of FIG. 2 is disposed on a second drinking vessel or beverage container 30. As will be described herein, a sleeve 10 may be configured in size, shape, and dimensions to accommodate a specific drinking vessel or beverage container type. [0016] The sleeve 10 may include a layer 32 of a plurality of abutting strips 34 (some, but not all, of which are indicated in FIG. 1) configured to contact the beverage container and extend around a circumference of the beverage container 28. In some embodiments, the strips 34 and layer 32 may comprise baked dough or another appropriate substance. The strips 34 collectively define a sleeve body. The sleeve body may include three or more strips 34, in some embodiments. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the sleeve may include five strips. As illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 8, the sleeve may include seven strips.

[0017] The strips 34 may encircle a common central vertical axis A (shown in FIG. 1), which may also be the central axis of the beverage container 28 with which the sleeve is intended to be used. In some embodiments, the strips 34 may be helically-wound, whereby a single piece of dough may define two or more vertically-adjacent strips 34. For example, in some embodiments, the sleeve 10 may be defined by a single continuous spiral of dough. Additionally or alternatively, one or more strips 34 may be wound with no pitch, whereby each circumferential strip 34 is a separate piece of dough from the vertically-adjacent strips 34.

[0018] In some embodiments, each strip 34 may have substantially the same vertical width (width W in FIG. 1) as each other strip 34. In other embodiments, different strips 34 may have different vertical widths from each other. In some embodiments, each strip 34 may be have substantially the same thickness as each other strip 34. In other embodiments, different strips 34 may have different thicknesses from each other.

[0019] One or more strips 34 (e.g., all strips 34) may be relatively thicker in their vertical center than at their vertical edges. As a result, the strips of the sleeve may collectively define an outer surface that includes a plurality of circumferentially-parallel, relatively thicker “hill” or ridge portions 36 separated by a plurality of circumferentially-parallel, relatively thinner “valley” or recess portions 38 (both labelled in FIG. 1). Accordingly, an outer surface 40 of the sleeve 10 may have an undulating contour having alternating circumferential ridges and circumferential recesses, in some embodiments.

[0020] The sleeve 10 may further include an inner surface 42 (designated in FIG. 3) collectively defined by the strips 34. The inner surface may be substantially smooth and flat, in some embodiments.

[0021] The sleeve 10 may define a sidewall 44 (also designated in FIG. 3) between the outer and inner surfaces 40, 42 having a thickness T between the inner surface 42 and outer surface 40. The sidewall 44 may extend from a top 46 of the sleeve 10 to a bottom 48 of the sleeve 10 and may define an upper opening 50, a lower opening 52, and a hollow interior 54 extending from the upper opening 50 to the lower opening 52. The sleeve 10 may have a substantially parallel sidewall 44 (/.< ., in which a portion of the sidewall 44 on one lateral side of the sleeve 10 is parallel with the portion of the sidewall on the opposite side) so as to define a cylinder, in some embodiments. In other embodiments, the sleeve 10 may have an angled sidewall so as to define a frustoconical shape with an upper opening 50 having a larger diameter than the lower opening 52. Accordingly, the body of the sleeve 10 may be cylindrical or frustoconical, in embodiments.

[0022] As noted above, in some embodiments, the sleeve 10 may be open at both its bottom and top. In other embodiments, the sleeve 10 may include a lower surface that encloses the bottom of the sleeve 10 and configured to contact the bottom of a drinking container 28, 30 that is placed into the sleeve. The lower surface of the sleeve 10, if provided, may be substantially flat on both its bottom and top surfaces and may have a substantially circular cross-section taken across the axis A.

[0023] In some embodiments, the sleeve 10 may be configured in size and shape for use with standard beverage vessel sizes used in commerce, including eight ounce, ten ounce, twelve ounce, sixteen ounce, and other vessel sizes. Accordingly, the sleeve may be sized and shaped relative to such common beverage vessel sizes and dimensions. For example, the sleeve may have an axial height between about eighty millimeters (80 mm) and about one hundred twenty millimeters (120 mm), a lower opening diameter between about fifty-five millimeters (55 mm) and about sixty-five millimeters (65 mm), an upper opening diameter of between about eighty millimeters (80 mm) and about one hundred ten millimeters (110 mm), and a sidewall angle of between about two degrees and about eight degrees.

[0024] In use, the sleeve 10 may be provided on the exterior of a beverage container 28, 30, with the inner surface 42 of the sleeve 10 in contact with the exterior surface of the beverage vessel 28, 30. The beverage vessel 28, 30 may be made from glass, plastic, or another appropriate material. The beverage vessel 28, 30 may have a sidewall angle (e.g., parallel or angled) that is substantially the same as the sidewall angle of the sleeve 10. The sleeve 10 may extend from a bottom of the vessel to a vertical position just below the rim of the vessel.

[0025] The sleeve 10 may include toppings, in some embodiments, that are baked on to or otherwise disposed on the outer surface. For example, the sleeve 10 may include cheese, sugar, spices, or other toppings appropriate for an edible baked good.

[0026] In some embodiments, the sleeve 10 may have a bottom surface rather than being completely open at the bottom. The bottom surface may be flat to enable the edible drinking vessel sleeve to rest upon a planar surface such as a table and/or to enable a vessel to sit flush with the bottom surface inside the sleeve 10.

[0027] FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating an example method 100 of making an edible sleeve for a beverage vessel. The method 100, or portions thereof, may be applied to make one or more of the sleeves 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26 illustrated herein.

[0028] The method 100 may include a step 102 that includes making dough. The dough may be made by combining eggs, milk, dry yeast, butter, and flour, in some embodiments. In other embodiments, other baking materials may additionally or alternatively be used, including but not limited to shortening, sugar, or salt. In embodiments, one or more flavors may be added to the dough. An appropriate volume of dough may be produced for the size and quantity of edible sleeves desired. In some embodiments, making the dough may include allowing the dough to rest and rise for a desired period of time (e.g., between about a half hour to about two hours).

[0029] The method 100 may further include a step 104 that includes forming flattened strips of dough. Strips of dough may be formed by first flattening dough to a substantially uniform thickness, then cutting the flattened dough. FIG. 7 illustrates an example embodiment of flattened dough 106 cut into strips 108 (some, but not all, of which are designated in FIG. 7). In some embodiments, the dough may be flattened to a thickness of between about 2 millimeters (mm) and about 10 mm. In some embodiments, the dough may be flattened to a thickness of about 5 mm. In some embodiments, the strips 108 of dough may be cut to a consistent width with respect to each other, or to different widths with respect to each other.

[0030] The method 100 may further include a step 110 that includes wrapping one or more flattened strips of dough on a baking mold to form a raw sleeve body. The mold may be frustoconical or conical, in some embodiments, with an angled sidewall. For example, FIG. 8 illustrates an example strip 108 of dough wrapped on a frustoconical mold 112 having an angled sidewall. The mold may have a sidewall angle and diameter that is the same as or similar to a drinking vessel on which a sleeve formed from the baked dough will be intended to be placed for use.

[0031] In some embodiments, step 110 may include wrapping a single strip of dough in a continuous helix on the mold, as illustrated in FIG. 8. The helix may have a winding pitch P (designated in FIG. 8) of between about five degrees degrees and about fifteen degrees degrees, for example. In some embodiments, the dough may be wrapped such that adjacent vertical strips on the mold abut one another but do not substantially overlap, as shown in FIG. 8. In other embodiments, the dough may be wrapped such that adjacent vertical strips overlap one another. In still other embodiments, the dough may be wrapped to include gaps between adjacent vertical strips.

[0032] The method 100 may further include a step 114 that includes applying toppings to the dough. Toppings may be applied after any of steps 102, 104, 110, or even after baking the dough, in various embodiments. Toppings may include cheese, sugar, pepper, garlic flakes, onion flakes, other spices, seeds, and/or any other topping appropriate for an edible baked good. FIG. 9 illustrates an example embodiment of a topping 116 applied to dough that has been wrapped on a mold.

[0033] The method 100 may further include a step 118 that includes baking the sleeveshaped dough, including any toppings that have already been applied to the dough. FIG. 10 illustrates a sleeve-shaped dough 120 being baked in an oven on the mold 112. In some embodiments, step 116 may include baking the dough at between about 350°F and 450°F. In some embodiments, step 116 may include baking the dough at between about 400°F and 425°F. In some embodiments, step 116 may including baking the dough for between about 10 minutes to 15 minutes. After baking the dough, the sleeve may be removed from the mold.

[0034] The method 100 may further include a step 122 that includes allowing the baked sleeve to cool. The baked sleeve may be allowed to cool for an amount of time so as to not cause an appreciable amount of steam inside of a sealed, water-impermeable packaging (e.g., plastic), as such steam may degrade the texture of the sleeve before later user consumption. In other embodiments in which the sleeve is to be served to consumers immediately, rather than packaged, the baked sleeve may be allowed to cool for an amount of time so as to permit safe handling and consumption by the consumer.

[0035] In some embodiments, the method may include freezing the sleeve after baking, to preserve the sleeve for later use. If the sleeve is frozen, the method may further include warming the sleeve after freezing and before use as set forth below.

[0036] The method 100 may further include a step 124 that includes placing a drinking vessel inside the sleeve. As noted herein, the drinking vessel may be plastic, glass, or any other appropriate drinking container material. A beverage may be placed in the vessel, and the beverage may be served with the sleeve on the drinking vessel. The sleeve may then be consumed by peeling off the spiral construction starting at the top of the edible drinking vessel sleeve, tearing off sections or entire layers of the edible drinking vessel sleeve, for example. In addition to providing food along with the beverage, the sleeve may provide thermal insulation for the beverage.

[0037] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, an edible drinking vessel sleeve is provided. The sleeve includes a plurality of strips of dough that collectively define a hollow cylindrical or frustoconical body, the body defining an axis, wherein the strips of dough are wrapped about the axis, the body defining an upper opening and a lower opening, wherein the axis extends through the upper opening and the lower opening.

[0038] In an embodiment of the first aspect, the plurality of strips includes three or more strips.

[0039] In an embodiment of the first aspect, the plurality of strips of dough include a single continuous piece of dough wrapped in a helix. [0040] In an embodiment of the first aspect, the sleeve further includes one or more of cheese, sugar, seeds, or spices on an external surface of the body.

[0041] In an embodiment of the first aspect, the upper opening has a larger diameter than the lower opening.

[0042] In an embodiment of the first aspect, the body has an axial height between eighty millimeters and one hundred twenty millimeters.

[0043] In an embodiment of the first aspect, the lower opening has a diameter between fifty-five millimeters and sixty-five millimeters.

[0044] In an embodiment of the first aspect, the upper opening has a diameter of between about eighty millimeters and one hundred ten millimeters.

[0045] In an embodiment of the first aspect, the body is frustoconical and has a sidewall angle of between two degrees and eight degrees.

[0046] In an embodiment of the first aspect, the body comprises a generally flat inner surface and an outer surface comprising a plurality of circumferential ridges and a plurality of circumferential recesses.

[0047] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided. The method includes forming one or more flattened strips of dough from a supply of dough, wrapping the one or more flattened strips on a mold to form a raw cylindrical or frustoconical sleeve body, and baking the raw sleeve body to form a sleeve.

[0048] In an embodiment of the second aspect, the method further includes placing a drinking vessel inside of the sleeve body. In a further embodiment of the second aspect, the method further includes placing a beverage inside of the drinking vessel.

[0049] In an embodiment of the second aspect, forming the flattened strip of dough comprises forming the strip of dough to have a substantially uniform thickness.

[0050] In an embodiment of the second aspect, wrapping the one or more flattened strips includes wrapping a flattened strip helically.

[0051] In an embodiment of the second aspect, forming the flattened strip of dough includes flattening the strip of dough to a thickness of between two millimeters and ten millimeters.

[0052] In an embodiment of the second aspect, the mold has a diameter of between fifty- five millimeters and one hundred ten millimeters.

[0053] In an embodiment of the second aspect, the method further includes, after baking, removing the sleeve from the mold and allowing the sleeve to cool. [0054] In an embodiment of the second aspect, the method further includes, after baking, removing the sleeve from the mold and freezing the sleeve. In a further embodiment of the second aspect, the method further includes, after freezing, warming the sleeve, placing a drinking vessel inside of the sleeve body, and placing a beverage inside of the drinking vessel.

[0055] While this disclosure has described certain embodiments, it will be understood that they are not intended to limit the disclosure to these embodiments. On the contrary, such embodiments are intended to cover alternatives, modifications and equivalents, which may be included within the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the claims. Furthermore, in the detailed description of the present disclosure, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. However, it will be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that the present disclosure may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well known methods, procedures, and components, have not been described in detail as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the present disclosure.

[0056] While various aspects and implementations have been disclosed herein, other aspects and implementations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and implementations disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope being indicated by the following claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. On the contrary, this disclosure covers all methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture fairly falling within the scope of the appended claims either literally or under the doctrine of equivalents. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular implementations only, and is not intended to be limiting.