Confection

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a confection with improved amusement value. [Solution] A confection 1 includes: a body portion 10; a character portion 20 formed in the body portion 10; and a background portion formed in the body portion 10 around the character portion 20. The character portion 20 is composed of a plurality of part portions. In the body portion 10, one of a first type groove 41 and a second type groove 42 is formed between the part portions, the first type groove 41 and the second type groove 42 having different widths. A groove 40 has portions where the groove 40 has different widths so that the degree of difficulty in breaking can be increased.

Description

Confectionery

[0001] The present invention relates to confectionery.

[0002] Conventionally, as confectionery, for example, in Patent Document 1, there is disclosed a configuration of "pouring molten chocolate into a mold, solidifying and forming a chocolate confectionery having a peripheral shape following the inside of the mold, a three-dimensional shape / patterned surface along the bottom surface of the mold, and a required thickness, and dividing the chocolate confectionery into a required number of pieces by cut lines provided crossing in the vertical and horizontal directions at required intervals, characterized as puzzle chocolate".

[0003] Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 63-61289

[0004] In Patent Document 1, there is disclosed chocolate in a chocolate confectionery that is made into a puzzle by providing cut lines. However, this confectionery only has ways of playing such as cutting a predetermined pattern with cut lines and assembling it into the original pattern, without any change in taste, and has few types of ways of playing and thus has problems in its interestingness.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a confectionery with improved interestingness.

[0006] A confectionery according to one aspect of the present invention is a confectionery comprising a main body part, a character part formed on the main body part, and a background part formed on the main body part around the character part, the character part being composed of a plurality of part parts, and the main body part having either a first type of groove or a second type of groove with different widths formed between the part parts.

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a confectionery with improved interestingness.

[0008] It is a plan view of a confectionery according to one aspect of the present invention. It is a perspective view of the confectionery shown in FIG. 1. It is a cross-sectional view of a portion along the line A - A in FIG. 1. It is a plan view showing an aspect when successful in dividing and extracting the character part of the confectionery. It is a plan view when further dividing the character part shown in FIG. 4. It is a plan view showing a state when the extraction of the character part fails. It is a cross-sectional view explaining the dividing method in the failed state shown in FIG. 6.

[0009] Hereinafter, a confectionery according to one aspect of the present invention will be described with reference to the figures. Figure 1 is a plan view of confectionery 1. Figure 2 is a perspective view of confectionery 1. The confectionery 1 shown in Figures 1 and 2 is made of chocolate as the confectionery material, and for example, it is a rectangular chocolate confectionery with four sides: left, right, top, and bottom. A character part 20 is formed approximately in the center of the rectangular confectionery 1 in plan view. A first background part 31 and a second background part 32 are provided around the character part 20 as background parts.

[0010] In this embodiment, the first background section 31 and the second background section 32 have different colors from the character section 20, for example, and are arranged to decorate the central character section 20. The background section is divided into the first background section 31 and the second background section 32 by their protruding height and color. The first background section 31 has, for example, a flat section 31a on which no pattern is formed, and a patterned section 31b on which a polygon (including a hexagon) is formed by a third type of groove 43. The first background section 31 surrounds almost the entire circumference of the character section 20 and is configured to be the thinnest (see Figure 3). On the other hand, the second background section 32 is located below the character section 20 and has a configuration in which character information is written in a text information section 32a.

[0011] In this embodiment, the character part 20 is composed of multiple parts (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28), and its color scheme is also composed of multiple colors. For example, the head and the area around the head are composed of the first part 21, the second part 22, the third part 23, and the fourth part 24, and the chest and shoulders are composed of the fifth part 25, the sixth part 26, the seventh part 27, and the eighth part 28.

[0012] In this embodiment, the character portion 20 has a first type of groove 41 formed between it and the surrounding background portions 31 and 32 as part of its outline. Furthermore, a first type of groove 41 and a second type of groove 42 are provided between each part portion to separate them. As will be described later, these first type of groove 41 and second type of groove 42 have a depth such that the confectionery 1 also bites into the main body portion 10 from the surface side 1f.

[0013] The groove 40 comprises a first type of groove 41 that separates parts with approximately the same width, a second type of groove 42 formed with a wider width than the first type of groove 41, and a third type of groove 43 configured to have the smallest depth and width. In cases where the type of the first type of groove 41, the second type of groove 42, and the third type of groove 43 is not specified, the grooves are collectively referred to as groove 40.

[0014] The second type of groove 42 is formed, for example, as a single region in the central part of the character part 20. This second type of groove 42 is formed between four parts, for example, the third part part 23, the fourth part part 24, the sixth part part 26, and the seventh part part 27, and is connected to four first type of grooves 41, as shown in the figure. Thus, the grooves 40 separating the parts are mostly formed as first type grooves 41, with only one second type of groove 42 formed.

[0015] Furthermore, since the first type of groove 41 is configured to mimic the outer edge between two parts, it includes curved and straight sections, and each section has a different length. As a result, the first type of groove 41 is formed to include sections where the groove width is always constant and sections where the width changes, for example, depending on the shape between adjacent parts.

[0016] In the first background section 31 shown in Figures 1 and 2, for example, it is composed of a brownish color (regular chocolate flavor), and the second background section 32 is composed of a whiteish color (white chocolate flavor). On the other hand, in the character section 20, the first part section 21 (including a part of the whiteish color), the second part section 22, the third part section 23, and the fourth part section 24 are composed of a pinkish color (strawberry flavor), the fifth part section 25, the sixth part section 26, and the seventh part section 27 are beige (caramel flavor), and the eighth part section 28 is composed of a whiteish color (white chocolate flavor). Thus, in this embodiment, other colors such as blueberry and grape flavor are also provided, resulting in a total of four to five different colors, and the flavors and aromas are also divided into four to five types for each color.

[0017] Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the portion along line A-A in Figure 1. As shown in Figure 3, each colored portion of the confectionery 1 is formed as a layer of a predetermined thickness, with each color having its own layer. For example, the main body portion 10 has a multi-colored pattern on its front surface 10f, but the back surface 10r is composed of only one color. For example, the character portion 20, the first background portion 31, and the second background portion 32 including the text information portion 32a are laminated on the front surface 10f side of the main body portion 10 as other materials (materials with different colors and flavors).

[0018] As shown in Figure 3, the first type of groove 41 and the second type of groove 42 are configured to have the same depth, and their groove depth reaches the main body portion 10. In other words, the bottoms of both grooves 41 and 42 are located deeper than the surface of the first background portion 31.

[0019] The character information section 32a is formed as a recess on the surface of the second background section 32 on the left side of the figure. The second background section is configured such that its formed height (thickness t3) is the same as the height (thickness t2) of the character section 20. Furthermore, the thicknesses (t1, t2) of the second background section 32 and the character section 20 are smaller than the thickness (t1) of the main body section 10. The character information section 32a has characters formed on it that emphasize and characterize the character, such as the character's name. In this embodiment, the character information section 32a is formed as a recess, but it may also be convex.

[0020] As shown in Figure 3, the main body 10 is made of chocolate containing puffs 60. Here, the first background 31 is made of the same color material as the main body 10. In this case, the flat portion 31a without a design in the first background 31 may be formed at the same time as the main body 10, or it may be formed thinly on top of the main body 10. For example, when forming the main body 10, the puffs 60 are solidified so that they are mostly included on the underside (bottom side) of the main body 10, and the bottom surface of the back side 10r (bottom side in the figure) of the main body 10 has a slightly uneven shape. However, on the front side 10f (top side in the figure) of the main body 10, the unevenness caused by the puffs 60 is hardly formed during the solidification process of the chocolate material, and a nearly flat surface made of chocolate is formed. The character part 20 is made without puffs 60.

[0021] For the pattern portion 31b of the first background portion 31, after forming the main body portion 10 containing the puff 60, a thin layer of chocolate material without the puff 60 is formed on top of it. The pattern portion 31b of the first background portion 31 is made to be slightly higher (thicker) than the flat portion 31a, and the pattern portion is made up of a third type of groove 43. As shown in the figure, both the width and depth of this third type of groove 43 are smaller than those of the second type of groove 42, and it is provided around the character portion 20. Furthermore, the third type of groove 43 is connected to the second type of groove 42 (see Figure 1).

[0022] Thus, the character section 20, the text information section 32a, the first background section 31, and the second background section 32 are made of chocolate without puffs, while the main body section 10 is made of chocolate containing puffs 60. As a result, the confectionery 1 not only has different flavors depending on the part, but the texture also differs greatly depending on the part eaten, as the proportion of puffs 60 relative to the total amount of chocolate varies.

[0023] Figure 4 is a plan view showing the state when the character portion 20 of the confectionery 1 has been successfully separated. The separated state shown in Figure 4 is an example of a successful separation of the character portion 20. In this case, the first background portion 31 is successfully separated at the location of the first type of groove 41 between the character portion 20 and the first background portion 31, that is, at the outer circumference portion that constitutes the outline of the character portion 20. When separation is successful in this way, the confectionery 1 can be broken with both hands, but it can also be done by, for example, applying force by bringing the tip of an eating utensil such as a spoon or fork into contact with the first type of groove 41.

[0024] In the division operation of the confectionery 1, the first type of groove 41 is configured to have a large depth, which greatly contributes to determining the shape of the character part 20. Furthermore, since the third type of groove 43 is provided in the first background part 31, it makes it easier to start dividing the first background part 31 in the initial stages of division. When dividing the first background part 31, a number of background division lines 54 are formed along the third type of groove 43. For example, the background division lines 54 are formed to divide the first background part 31 into small sections and divide it so as to connect to the first type of groove 41 on the outer circumference of the character part 20.

[0025] Furthermore, when eating the broken candy 1, for example, if the first background part 31 and the second background part 32 are eaten first, the individual flavors and aromas of each candy can be enjoyed. On the other hand, when eating the character part 20 without dividing it with the first type of groove 41, the individual flavors or mixed flavors and aromas can be enjoyed depending on the part being eaten.

[0026] Figure 5 is a plan view of the character portion 20 shown in Figure 4 when it is further divided. When eating the broken candy 1, for example, as shown in Figure 5, the character portion 20 can be divided into upper and lower sections approximately in the center, and then further divided into individual parts for eating. In this case, it is easy to first divide the character vertically using the second type of groove 42 in the central region of the character, and then to separate each part along the second type of groove 41 between each part. In other words, the character portion 20 can be divided starting from the second type of groove 42, which is configured to be the easiest to break.

[0027] When consuming confectionery 1, in the state shown in Figure 5, one can enjoy a blend of multiple different flavors in the upper and lower parts of the character section 20 (character head and character shoulders). On the other hand, when the confectionery is separated into individual parts, it is possible to enjoy the individual flavors and aromas of each part.

[0028] Figure 6 is a plan view showing the state when the character part 20 division fails. Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the division method when the failure state shown in Figure 6 occurs.

[0029] The divided state shown in Figure 6 is what happens when the division operation is performed using both hands. For example, this is an example of when the initial division is started in order to separate the second background part 32 and the first background part 31. In this case, the confectionery 1 is divided into three parts, for example, by a first dividing line 51 extending to the left from the second type of groove 42 in the central area of ​​the character part 20, a second dividing line 52 extending to the right from the second type of groove 42, and a third dividing line 53 extending downward to the left from the second type of groove 42, resulting in the character part 20 being broken.

[0030] In this splitting operation, as shown in Figure 7, for example, the fingers of the left hand 61 grasp the front and back of the second background part 32, and the fingers of the right hand 62 grasp the front and back of the character part 20, and attempt to separate the second background part 32 along the first type groove 41 formed on the outer circumference of the second background part 32. In this splitting operation, when force (F1 on the left hand side and force F2 on the right hand side) is applied to split the confectionery 1 in the thickness direction at the gripping position of both hands 61 and 62, stress concentrates in the second type groove 42, which is formed as the thinnest region. As a result, cracking begins from the second type groove 42. The crack then spreads along a part of the first type groove 41 that is connected to the second type groove 42.

[0031] As shown in Figures 6 and 7, if the character part 20 is not properly separated and breaks in various places, the broken pieces of candy will contain a mixture of the character part 20, the second background part 32, and the first background part 31. As a result, the taste, aroma, and texture of the candy pieces will vary from piece to piece, allowing for enjoyment of these differences, and the resulting variations in taste, aroma, and texture can be enjoyed even if the separation and cutting of the character part 20 is unsuccessful.

[0032] As described above, in this embodiment of the confectionery 1, the character portion 20 formed on the main body portion 10 of the confectionery 1 has its outline portion composed of grooves 40, making it possible to separate the confectionery 1 into a character shape. Furthermore, since the character portion 20 is composed of multiple parts via grooves 40, it is possible to make it difficult to cut out the character shape. In addition, the grooves 40 have portions with different widths (first type groove 41, second type groove 42), which makes it more difficult to separate the confectionery.

[0033] In the present embodiment of the confectionery 1, the depths of the first type of groove 41 and the second type of groove 42 are set to be the same, which facilitates the formation of the grooves and improves the moldability of the confectionery 1, which is fluid during molding, such as chocolate.

[0034] In the present embodiment of the confectionery 1, even though the grooves 40 appear to be the same width at first glance, they include parts with slightly different widths and parts with only the same width, and furthermore, they include straight parts and curved parts, which subtly differs the amount of force required when breaking them, increasing the difficulty of breaking them along the grooves 40.

[0035] Furthermore, in the confectionery 1 of this embodiment, the second type of groove 42 is provided as a wide groove in the central part of the character part 20 between the parts, making it easy to break the character part 20 and making it difficult to cut out the character part 20.

[0036] In the confectionery 1 of this embodiment, the character part 20 is composed of a plurality of spaced-apart parts 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, and 27, so that the character can be disassembled into its individual parts, and different flavors can be enjoyed by changing the color and taste of each part.

[0037] Furthermore, since the character part 20 is composed of multiple parts and multiple colors, it not only enhances the appearance but also adds variation to the taste, allowing the character part 20 to be emphasized and presented through its flavor.

[0038] In the confectionery 1 of this embodiment, the second type of groove 42 is connected to the first type of groove 41, so that the force applied when breaking the part of the first type of groove 41 is transmitted to the second type of groove 42, which may cause the second type of groove 42 to break, making it difficult to identify the character shape.

[0039] In the confectionery 1 of this embodiment, the third type of groove 43 provided in the first background part 31 surrounding the character part 20 is connected to the first type of groove 41, which makes it easier to cut the character part 20 from the main body part 10.

[0040] Furthermore, in this embodiment of confectionery 1, the color scheme of the character part 20, the first background part 31, and the second background part 32 is changed, and the thickness is also changed, allowing consumers to enjoy the color and how to break the confectionery 1.

[0041] In the confectionery 1 of this aspect, a second background portion 32 including a character information portion 32a having a greater thickness and a different color than the first background portion 31 of the thin portion enables emphasis and decorative effects of the character.

[0042] In the confectionery 1 of this aspect, since the main body portion 10 includes the main body portion 10 containing the puff 60, the texture can be enjoyed in combination with the taste. Further, by including the puff 60, not only does it create a change in texture, but even if the main body portion 10 is thick, it is relatively easy to divide.

[0043] In the confectionery 1 of this aspect, since the first type of groove 41 surrounding the character portion 20 is formed, it is easy to determine the contour shape of the character portion 20. On the other hand, since the character portion 20 is divided into a plurality of part portions by the first type of groove 41, when determining the shape of the character portion 20, it also has a side surface that is likely to crack in the groove portion, and a sense of accomplishment when the character portion 20 is neatly cut out can be produced. In particular, since the second type of groove 42 that is likely to crack is provided in the central portion of the character portion 20, it makes it more difficult to determine the character portion 20.

[0044] Further, since the second type of groove 42 that is likely to crack is provided in the central portion of the character portion 20, when the determination of the character portion 20 is successful, when further dividing the character portion 20 into part portions, the second type of groove 42 is used to facilitate the division of the part portions.

[0045] As described above, one aspect of the present invention has been explained, but the present invention can be appropriately modified within the scope of its technical idea. For example, in the described aspect, the depths of the first type of groove 41 and the second type of groove 42 are configured to be the same, but it is not limited to this, and a configuration having different depths may also be used.

[0046] Also, in the above aspect, the confectionery is made mainly of chocolate, but it is not limited to such a configuration. For example, there is no particular limitation as long as it is a material that hardens to some extent, such as cookies.

[0047] As described above, the following matters are described in this specification.

[0048] (1) A confectionery, comprising: a main body portion; a character portion formed on the main body portion; and a background portion formed on the main body portion around the character portion, wherein the character portion is composed of a plurality of part portions, and in the main body portion, either a first type of groove or a second type of groove having different widths is formed between the part portions.

[0049] (2) The confectionery according to (1), wherein the part portions are formed on the main body portion in a spaced-apart state from each other.

[0050] (3) The confectionery according to (1) or (2), wherein the first type of groove and the second type of groove are formed around the part portions.

[0051] (4) The confectionery according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the first type of groove is formed between two of the part portions, and the second type of groove is formed between three or more of the part portions.

[0052] (5) The confectionery according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein the width of the first type of groove is configured to be narrower than the width of the second type of groove.

[0053] (6) The confectionery according to any one of (1) to (5), wherein the number of the first type of grooves is configured to be larger than the number of the second type of grooves.

[0054] (7) The confectionery according to any one of (1) to (6), wherein the depth of the first type of groove is configured to be the same as the depth of the second type of groove.

[0055] (8) The confectionery according to any one of (1) to (7), wherein the second type of groove is formed by connecting with the first type of groove.

[0056] (9) The confectionery according to any one of (1) to (8), wherein the first type of groove includes grooves formed with only the same width and grooves formed with different widths.

[0057] (10) A confectionery described in any one of (1) to (9), wherein the groove of the first type above includes grooves of different lengths.

[0058] (11) A confectionery described in any one of (1) to (10), wherein the groove of the first type above includes a straight groove and a curved groove.

[0059] (12) A confectionery according to any one of (1) to (11), wherein the second type of groove is formed in the central part of the character portion.

[0060] (13) A confectionery according to any one of (1) to (12), wherein the main body portion includes a third type of groove around the character portion, and the third type of groove is formed in connection with the first type of groove.

[0061] (14) A confectionery as described in (13), wherein the third type of groove is formed so as not to be directly connected to the second type of groove.

[0062] (15) A confectionery according to (13) or (14), wherein the third type of groove is provided in the area surrounding the character part.

[0063] (16) A confectionery according to any one of (13) to (15), wherein the grooves of the first to third types described above are formed to contribute to the division of the main body.

[0064] (17) A confectionery according to any one of (13) to (16), wherein the first type of groove is formed to contribute more to the division of the main body than the third type of groove.

[0065] (18) A confectionery described in any one of (1) to (17), wherein the character part is constructed to be thinner than the main body part.

[0066] (19) A confectionery described in any one of (1) to (18), wherein the main body portion includes puffs, and the character portion does not include puffs.

[0067] (20) A confectionery described in any one of (1) to (19), wherein the main body is made of a single color and the character part is made of multiple colors.

[0068] (21) A confectionery according to any one of (1) to (20), wherein the background portion includes an area having textual information, and the character portion does not include textual information.

[0069] (22) A confectionery according to any one of (1) to (21), wherein the background portion includes a first background portion having a first thickness and a second background portion having a second thickness different from the first thickness, and the first background portion is configured to be larger in size than the second background portion.

[0070] 1 Confectionery 10 Main body 20 Character parts 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 Parts 31 First background part (background part) 32 Second background part (background part) 32a Text information part 40 Groove 41 First type groove (groove) 42 Second type groove (groove) 43 Third type groove (groove) 60 Puff

Claims

1. A confectionery comprising: a main body; a character part formed on the main body; and a background part formed on the main body surrounding the character part, wherein the character part is composed of a plurality of parts, and the main body has either a first type of groove or a second type of groove with different widths formed between the parts.

2. The confectionery according to claim 1, wherein the parts are formed on the main body in a manner that is spaced apart from each other.

3. The confectionery according to claim 2, wherein the first type of groove and the second type of groove are formed around the part portion.

4. A confectionery according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first type of groove is formed between two of the parts, and the second type of groove is formed between three or more of the parts.

5. A confectionery according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the width of the first type of groove is narrower than the width of the second type of groove.

6. A confectionery according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the number of grooves of the first type is greater than the number of grooves of the second type.

7. A confectionery according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first type of groove is configured to have the same depth as the second type of groove.

8. A confectionery according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the second type of groove is formed in connection with the first type of groove.

9. A confectionery according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first type of groove includes a groove formed with only the same width and a groove formed with different widths.

10. A confectionery according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first type of groove includes grooves of different lengths.

11. A confectionery according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first type of groove includes a straight groove and a curved groove.

12. A confectionery according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the second type of groove is formed in the central part of the character portion.

13. A confectionery according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the main body portion includes a third type of groove around the character portion, and the third type of groove is formed in connection with the first type of groove.

14. A confectionery according to claim 13, wherein the third type of groove is formed so as not to be directly connected to the second type of groove.

15. The confectionery according to claim 13, wherein the third type of groove is provided in the region surrounding the character portion.

16. A confectionery according to claim 13, wherein the first to third types of grooves are formed to contribute to the division of the main body.

17. The confectionery according to claim 13, wherein the first type of groove is formed such that it contributes more to the division of the main body than the third type of groove.

18. A confectionery according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the character portion is configured to be thinner than the thickness of the main body portion.

19. A confectionery according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the main body portion includes puffs, and the character portion does not include puffs.

20. A confectionery according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the main body is made of a single color and the character part is made of multiple colors.

21. A confectionery according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the background portion includes an area having text information, and the character portion is configured not to include text information.

22. A confectionery according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the background portion includes a first background portion having a first thickness and a second background portion having a second thickness different from the first thickness, and the first background portion is configured to be larger in size than the second background portion.

Images