Abstract:
An ink-based image is releasably printed onto a substrate for transferring to the skin. Flavoring is incorporated with the ink-based image, yielding a selected scent and taste. Unlike generally known candy flavored appliques, the flavored ink tattoo has a long shelf life, achieves an intense flavor, and has a wide range of taste selections.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    The present application hereby claims the benefit of the provisional patent application of the same title, Ser. No. 60/333,455, filed on Nov. 27, 2001. 
     
    
     
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    The present invention relates to temporary tattoos, and in particular edible temporary tattoos with flavoring.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    Temporary tattoos have been utilized for many years as decorative appliques to the skin. Suitable technologies for the manufacture of such decal tattoos exist in many variations, which can be seen, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,074,721 issued to Moore, 4,522,864 issued to Humason and others. The aforementioned patents provide detailed technical variations that provide for simplicity and quality in the manufacturing of temporary tattoos. Traditional temporary tattoos are intended to be used as a temporary visual aesthetic adornment. Temporary tattoos have also added the use of scent as shown, for example, by U.S. Pat. No. 5,817,385 issued to Stanislav, which discloses the use of a scented tattoo for the purpose of perfume sampling. Temporary tattoos have also been used for medicinal purposes.  
           [0004]    Flavored tattoos have been developed, but use a starch-based product (e.g., sugar) as a transferring agent, which leaves a sticky residue. Further, the previous flavored temporary tattoos with the transferring agent of candy materials decompose rapidly, making the shelf life of the product limited. Moreover, the range of flavors appropriate for incorporation into such a starchy, candy-like transferring agent are limited, relegating such products to niche, novelty markets.  
           [0005]    Consequently, a significant need exists for a temporary tattoo that creates a wide range of images and has an improved approach to incorporating flavoring.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    The present invention addresses these and other problems in the prior art by providing temporary, ink-based tattoo that includes an associated flavoring. Thereby, temporary tattoo may take advantage of the wide range of colors achievable by one or more layers of ink. Moreover, since the flavoring is associated with the ink, there is no need for a candy-like transfer layer (e.g., sucrose, fructose, chocolate, etc.) to carry the flavor. Thereby, shelf-life limitations of such transfer layers are also avoided. Moreover, the range of flavors that may be selected is greatly expanded beyond those suitable for incorporation into a candy-like transfer layer.  
           [0007]    In one aspect of the invention, an a temporary edible flavored tattoo comprising a release substrate onto which a desired image is applied with a non-toxic edible ink, wherein the temporary tattoo is associated with a flavoring by being infused prior to being applied to the substrate. For instance, the flavoring may be comprised of at least one, or all three of a sweetener, flavoring, or citric acid.  
           [0008]    In another aspect of the invention, a temporary edible tattoo has a layer of edible ink and/or varnish on the substrate dusted with a flavoring in the form of a powder, with the combination thereafter dried. The powder may contain at least one, or all three of a sweetener, flavoring, and a carrier. The powered form of flavoring yields an intense burst of flavor yet still retains the advantages of being associated with the edible ink.  
           [0009]    The aforementioned aspects of the invention allowed a flavored tattoo to be used in new applications. For example, in the sales promotion industry, taste testing of food products is traditional, which generally requires a trained representative to be present for the distribution and sampling of promotional food items. Because the promotional representative is required to prepare and distribute the promotional samples, the number of potential customers who may benefit to the taste testing is quite limited to a limited number of locations and to a limited number of product selections.  
           [0010]    It will be appreciated that the high fidelity of imaging and intense flavor of the present invention allow for conveying the look and taste of a wide variety of food products such as for comparison or taste sampling. For instance, the sampling of various breakfast cereals, flavored drinks, or confections could, with the present invention, be handled through a packet of temporary tattoos. Moreover, with its resilient nature and long shelf-life, such packets may be incorporated with other products or direct mailings without risk of degradation to the flavoring.  
           [0011]    These and other objects and advantages of the present invention shall be made apparent from the accompanying drawings and the description thereof. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES  
       [0012]    The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention, and, together with the general description of the invention given above, and the detailed description of the embodiments given below, serve to explain the principles of the present invention.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 1 depicts a temporary tattoo where a transparent flavored coating is applied.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 2 depicts a temporary tattoo wherein the non-toxic edible ink has been modified to include a flavoring.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 3 depicts a temporary tattoo wherein a flavoring layer is disposed between an applied image and an edible adhesive layer.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a temporary tattoo.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a temporary tattoo utilizing a silkscreen printing process to apply the desired image.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 6 depicts a temporary tattoo where the edible adhesive layer has been modified to include flavoring and the image of the tattoo has been graphically modified with microscopic holes which increases the porous quality of the ink layer and assures even distribution of flavoring.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 7 depicts a method of manufacturing a temporary tattoo.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 8 depicts possible customization of a method of manufacturing within each stage of printing to create a temporary tattoo.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 9 depicts an illustrative method of manufacturing a four-colored flavored temporary edible tattoo. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0022]    One embodiment of the temporary edible favored tattoo of the present invention is depicted in FIG. 1. The temporary tattoo comprises a release substrate  10  onto which a desired image  11  is applied. The release substrate can be any flexible material known in the art to which an image can be appropriately applied utilizing a non-toxic edible ink. A preferred release substrate material is paper. A desired image is applied to the release substrate utilizing any method of ink application known in the art. The image can be comprised of one image, or a plurality of images. The image can be anything desired by the wearer and is generally in conformance with the type of images found in tattoos, for example, letters, words, or illustrations. An image, for example can be printed onto the release substrate  10 , or can be applied using a silk screen printing method. Alternatively, the image can be applied utilizing an offset printer. In one embodiment, an edible adhesive layer  12  is disposed on the surface of the temporary tattoo. A flavored coating layer  13  is further applied to the tattoo.  
         [0023]    Another embodiment of the present invention is depicted in FIG. 2. In this embodiment, an image  111  is applied to the release substrate  110  with modified non-toxic edible ink  113 . An edible adhesive layer  112  is disposed on top of the ink layer  113 . The edible adhesive  112  can be selected from any of those known in the art that are safe for human consumption.  
         [0024]    The non-toxic edible ink  113  ink can be modified to contain a flavoring, or combinations of flavorings. Any non-toxic edible ink known in the art can be used. The ink is selected based on the required thickness, the number of ink layers being applied or any other desired qualities for the ink application. Also, any flavoring known in the art can be used. The flavoring or combinations of flavorings are selected based on the desired flavors, the type of ink used, and the release substrate material used. The modified non-toxic edible ink  113  can also be combined with pigments, flavoring components (for example, salt, citric acid, fruit flavorings, bitters or sweeteners, and carriers. Any pigment known in the art can be used. The pigment should be selected considering the type of ink used and the desired color. The sweetener, if used, may be either natural or synthetic, such as for example, sucrose, fructose, saccharin, aspartame, ACE-K, and others, as well as mixtures of those sweeteners. The sweetener should be selected based on the sweetener reaction and compatibility when mixed with individual flavorings. The carrier is selected based on the required characteristics of the ink, or other additives used. Examples of possible carriers are alcohol, water, and soy, among others known in the art.  
         [0025]    A temporary tattoo as shown in FIG. 3 comprises a release substrate  210  onto which an image  211  is applied with a non-toxic edible ink. A flavored coating layer  213  is disposed between an image  211  and an edible adhesive layer  212 . The flavored coating layer  213  can be applied by any method known in the art, but preferably by spot printing. Any flavoring or combinations of flavoring known in the art may be added to the flavored coating layer  213 .  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 4 depicts a cross-sectional view of a temporary tattoo. The temporary tattoo  301  comprises a release substrate  310  onto which layers of non-toxic edible ink  311  are applied. The non-toxic edible ink layers  311  may also contain a sweetener  313 . A varnish coating  312  is further applied to the temporary edible tattoo by any method known in the art. The varnish coating  312  comprises a release agent and either one or a combination of sweetener and flavoring. If a combination of sweetener and flavoring is used, the combination is modified to optimize each flavor. The release agent in the varnish coating  312  can be selected from those known in the art.  
         [0027]    A temporary tattoo made by silkscreen printing is generally depicted by FIG. 5. The temporary flavored edible tattoo  401  is comprised of a release substrate  410  onto which layers  411  of ink, sweetener and varnish, or combinations thereof are applied. A starch adhesive layer  412  is disposed on top of the layers  411  of ink, sweetener, and varnish. The starch adhesive layer can be applied by any method known in the art.  
         [0028]    In FIG. 6, the temporary tattoo  501  has been modified to be comprised of a release substrate  510  onto which at least one image is applied using non-toxic edible ink. In this embodiment of the invention, the ink is modified to include cavities  512 . The cavities are preferably microscopic. These microscopic cavities increase the porous quality of the ink layer and assure even distribution of flavoring. The temporary tattoo can further contain a flavored edible adhesive layer  513 . The adhesive layer  513  can be applied by any method known in the art.  
         [0029]    The temporary edible flavored tattoo of the present invention can further comprise at least one layer of a flavored powder. The flavored powder is applied to the temporary tattoo by any method known in the art, preferably while the non-toxic edible ink or varnish is still wet. The ink and the powder are then dried together. The flavored powder can further contain at least one of a sweetener, flavoring, and citric acid. The addition of the sweetener, flavoring, and citric acid and the amounts used are selected based on the desired flavor qualities of the resulting flavored tattoo. By way of an illustrative example, the powder may contain a combination of the following ingredients: maltodextrin, gum arabic, N &amp; A flavors, silicon dioxide, citric acid, sodium sacchrin, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, deionized water, isopropyl alcohol, FD&amp;C Yellow 5, FD&amp;C blue 1, FD&amp;C Red 3, and FD&amp;C Red 40.  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 7 generally depicts one preferred method of manufacturing the present invention. An image is applied by any method known in the art to a substrate  602  using non-toxic edible ink via a printing station  603 . Previous to the application of the image to the substrate  602 , the ink can be combined with pigments, carriers, sweetener, and/or flavorings. Once the image is applied, the ink is then dried using a dryer  604 . Any dryer known in the art can be used including a heat or UV dryer. The temperature and length of the drying period can be selected based on the ink or other additives used, the number of ink layers used, or any other constraints known in the art. Alternatively, after the image has been applied, the substrate  602  travels through a dusting station where powdered flavor and/or appropriate sweetener is applied prior to drying. The ink layer and powder are then dried using the dryer  604  where the time, temperature, and type of dryer can be selected based on the ink type, number of ink layers, ink thickness, and the qualities the powder used.  
         [0031]    Once the ink layer is dried, the substrate  602  is re-introduced to the printing station  603  where a varnish layer is applied to the previously printed image and powder layer if present. The varnish layer can be applied using any method known in the art. Once the varnish layer is applied, it is dried using the dryer  604 . Any dryer known in the art can be used including a heat or UV dryer. The temperature and length of the drying period can be selected based on the varnish layer or any additives used, as well as any other constraints known in the art.  
         [0032]    Any number of ink and varnish layers can be applied to the substrate. Further, different pigments and flavors can also be applied to the same substrate in order to achieve the desired image or taste. After the layers are added and dried, the tattoos are immediately packaged to avoid evaporation or product destruction. Any product packaging known in the art can be used.  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 8 depicts the various printing stages that can occur at the printing station. The printing station conducts at least two activities. One activity is illustrated as stage A and includes applying ink to the substrate to apply the image. The ink can include flavoring, sweetener, carriers, or any combinations thereof as required by the application. Another printing station activity relates to applying a varnish coating. The coating can contain varnish or varnish and a sweetener and/or flavoring as required for optimizing the overall flavoring of the temporary tattoo.  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 9 depicts an illustrative method of manufacturing a four color flavored temporary tattoo of the present invention. A first layer of ink  710  is applied to the substrate  711  and then dried using a dryer  712 . Once the ink is dry, a second layer of ink  713  is added to the substrate. After the drying process by a  210  dryer  712 , a varnish coating with sweetener  714  is applied and subsequently dried. On top of the second layer of ink  715 , a varnish coating  716  without sweetener is added and then dried. A final layer of ink  717  with sweetener added is applied to the top of the previous varnish coating  716 . The final ink layer  717  is dried using a dryer  712  and immediately packaged in order to prevent product evaporation or disintegration.  
         [0035]    While the present invention has been illustrated by description of several embodiments and while the illustrative embodiments have been described in considerable detail, it is not the intention of the applicant to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications may readily appear to those skilled in the art.