Edible temporary tattoos

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.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to temporary tattoos, and in particular edible temporary tattoos with flavoring.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Temporary tattoos have been utilized for many years as decorative Appliqués 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. No. 6,074,721 issued to Moore, U.S. Pat. No. 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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention shall be made apparent from the accompanying drawings and the description thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

One embodiment of the temporary edible favored tattoo of the present invention is depicted inFIG. 1. The temporary tattoo comprises a release substrate10onto which a desired image11is 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 substrate10, 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 layer12is disposed on the surface of the temporary tattoo. A flavored coating layer13is further applied to the tattoo.

Another embodiment of the present invention is depicted inFIG. 2. In this embodiment, an image111is applied to the release substrate110with modified non-toxic edible ink113. An edible adhesive layer112is disposed on top of the ink layer113. The edible adhesive112can be selected from any of those known in the art that are safe for human consumption.

The non-toxic edible ink113ink 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 ink113can 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.

A temporary tattoo as shown inFIG. 3comprises a release substrate210onto which an image211is applied with a non-toxic edible ink. A flavored coating layer213is disposed between an image211and an edible adhesive layer212. The flavored coating layer213can 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 layer213.

FIG. 4depicts a cross-sectional view of a temporary tattoo. The temporary tattoo301comprises a release substrate310onto which layers of non-toxic edible ink311are applied. The non-toxic edible ink layers311may also contain a sweetener313. A varnish coating312is further applied to the temporary edible tattoo by any method known in the art. The varnish coating312comprises 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 coating312can be selected from those known in the art.

A temporary tattoo made by silkscreen printing is generally depicted byFIG. 5. The temporary flavored edible tattoo401is comprised of a release substrate410onto which layers411of ink, sweetener and varnish, or combinations thereof are applied. A starch adhesive layer412is disposed on top of the layers411of ink, sweetener, and varnish. The starch adhesive layer can be applied by any method known in the art.

InFIG. 6, the temporary tattoo501has been modified to be comprised of a release substrate510onto which at least one image is applied using non-toxic edible ink. In this embodiment of the invention, the ink is modified to include cavities512. 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 layer513. The adhesive layer513can be applied by any method known in the art.

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 & A flavors, silicon dioxide, citric acid, sodium sacchrin, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, deionized water, isopropyl alcohol, FD&C Yellow 5, FD&C blue 1, FD&C Red 3, and FD&C Red 40.

FIG. 7generally depicts one preferred method of manufacturing the present invention. An image is applied by any method known in the art to a substrate602using non-toxic edible ink via a printing station603. Previous to the application of the image to the substrate602, the ink can be combined with pigments, carriers, sweetener, and/or flavorings. Once the image is applied, the ink is then dried using a dryer604. 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 substrate602travels 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 dryer604where 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.

Once the ink layer is dried, the substrate602is re-introduced to the printing station603where 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 dryer604. 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.

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.

FIG. 8depicts 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.

FIG. 9depicts an illustrative method of manufacturing a four color flavored temporary tattoo of the present invention. A first layer of ink710is applied to the substrate711and then dried using a dryer712. Once the ink is dry, a second layer of ink713is added to the substrate. After the drying process by a210dryer712, a varnish coating with sweetener714is applied and subsequently dried. On top of the second layer of ink715, a varnish coating716without sweetener is added and then dried. A final layer of ink717with sweetener added is applied to the top of the previous varnish coating716. The final ink layer717is dried using a dryer712and immediately packaged in order to prevent product evaporation or disintegration.

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.