Confectionery Product with Frangible Portions and Breakage Initiation Region
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing confectionery products do not provide an optimal sharing experience, as they often require significant force or complex handling to break into segments, lacking a controlled and aesthetically pleasing breaking mechanism.
Innovation Solution
A confectionery product with a breakage initiation region that, when manually compressed, causes controlled breakage of frangible portions into predetermined segments, allowing for a smashing effect with minimal force and increased design freedom in breaking patterns, including varying shapes and compositions to enhance the sharing experience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional confectionery products are used, then they can be broken into segments, but significant force or complex handling is required and the breaking mechanism is uncontrolled and aesthetically displeasing
Solution Approach 1:
The confectionery product is divided into multiple frangible portions that are pre-configured to separate along predetermined breaking features. The body includes predefined separation planes that guide the breaking process, allowing the product to divide into controlled segments rather than random shards.
Solution Approach 2:
The breaking features are pre-formed during manufacturing, creating predetermined weak points and separation planes within the confectionery body. This preliminary structuring ensures that when force is applied, the product breaks along the pre-designed paths rather than requiring complex handling or producing uncontrolled fragmentation.
2Reliability
If conventional confectionery products are broken by hand, then segments can be obtained, but the breaking process lacks consistency and aesthetic appeal
Solution Approach 1:
The product is segmented into frangible portions with predetermined breaking features that ensure consistent separation. The internal structure includes predefined planes of weakness that guide uniform breaking across multiple units, achieving reliability without complex external mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The confectionery body is designed to break itself along predetermined features when subjected to manual force. The breaking mechanism is intrinsic to the product structure rather than requiring external devices or complex systems, achieving consistent results through self-contained design.
3Ease of operation
If the product is designed with frangible portions and predetermined breaking features, then controlled breakage is achieved with minimal force, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The breaking features are created during the molding process itself, incorporating separation planes and frangible portions into the base confectionery material before final shaping. This preliminary structuring allows controlled breakage with minimal force while maintaining manufacturing efficiency through integration rather than assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The confectionery body utilizes material composition variations to create predetermined breaking features. By incorporating frangible portions with different structural properties into the base material, the product achieves controlled breakage characteristics while being formed in a single manufacturing process.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1C
Figure 2A~3B
Figure 4~5B
AI summary
A comestible product (100) comprises a first end (140) and a second end (150), a breakage initiation region (110) spaced from the first end, and a plurality of frangible portions (120) which extend outwardly from the breakage initiation region and which terminate in free ends (130).Said free ends constitute the first end of the product, and a recess (160) is defined between the free ends and the breakage initiation region. When the first end (140) of the product is placed on a surface, a manual force applied to the breakage initiation region (110) towards the first end (140) of the product allows at least a portion of the breakage initiation region to be moved into the recess (160), which causes controlled breakage of the frangible portions (120) from the breakage initiation region (110).