Patent Publication Number: US-2022225636-A1

Title: Fitting for extrusion of frozen food product

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/871,315, filed on Jul. 8, 2019, the entirety of which is fully incorporated by reference herein. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     This disclosure is directed to a fitting for extruding ice cream, frozen yogurt or other frozen food products from a machine. It is known to extrude ice cream into desired cross-sectional shapes. The disclosed fitting herein improves upon known extrusion techniques. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY 
     A first representative embodiment of the disclosure is provided. The embodiment includes a fitting for a machine to dispense frozen food product. The fitting includes a body with an open end at a first end of the body and a partially closed second end of the body opposite the first side of the body, the partially closed second end comprising a plurality of holes that extend therethrough, the body comprises an outer surface and an inner surface, wherein the body and the second end define an inner volume within the body. The inner surface includes a cylindrical portion and an arcuate portion, the arcuate portion disposed proximate to the open end and the cylindrical portion disposed between the arcuate portion and the partially closed end, wherein an inner diameter along the arcuate portion is smaller than an inner diameter along the cylindrical portion. 
     Advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description of the preferred embodiments of the disclosure that have been shown and described by way of illustration. As will be realized, the disclosed subject matter is capable of other and different embodiments, and its details are capable of modification in various respects. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a fitting to dispense frozen food product installed upon a draw valve of a conventional soft-serve ice cream machine; 
         FIG. 1A  is a cross-sectional view of  FIG. 1  depicting the fitting installed upon the draw valve; 
         FIG. 1B  is a view of detail A of  FIG. 1A , depicting an arcuate portion of the body of the fitting of  FIG. 1A  disposed within a recess in the draw valve; 
         FIG. 2  is a bottom view of a fitting suitable to be disposed upon a draw valve of a conventional soft-serve ice cream machine; 
         FIG. 3  is a top perspective view of the fitting of  FIG. 2  with the disk removed; 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of the fitting of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4 a    is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the fitting of  FIG. 2  slid upwardly along the outer surface of a draw valve of a conventional soft-serve ice cream machine, in an embodiment where the outer surface of the draw valve is cylindrical; 
         FIG. 5  is a top view of a disk for insertion into the fitting of  FIG. 2 , the disk being configured to extrude multiple parallel cylindrical streams of soft-serve ice cream; 
         FIG. 6  is a top view of another disk for insertion into the fitting of  FIG. 2 , the disk being configured to extrude multiple parallel rectangular steams of soft-serve ice cream; 
         FIG. 7  is a top view of yet another disk for insertion into the fitting of  FIG. 2 , the disk being configured to extrude multiple parallel rectangular streams of soft-serve ice cream; 
         FIG. 8  is a top view of another embodiment of a fitting suitable to be disposed upon a draw valve of a conventional soft-serve ice cream machine with a hole pattern that this the same as the disk depicted in  FIG. 6 ; 
         FIG. 9  is a bottom perspective view of the fitting of  FIG. 8 ; 
         FIG. 10  is a bottom perspective view of another fitting suitable to be disposed upon a draw valve of a conventional soft-serve ice cream machine with a hole pattern that is the same as the disk depicted in  FIG. 7 ; 
         FIG. 11  is a bottom perspective view of yet another fitting suitable to be disposed upon a draw valve of a conventional soft-serve ice cream machine with a hole pattern that is the same as the disk depicted in  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIG. 12  is another cross-sectional view of  FIG. 1  depicting the fitting of  FIG. 8  disposed upon the draw valve; 
         FIG. 12A  is a detail view of detail B of  FIG. 12 , depicting an arcuate portion of the body of the fitting of  FIG. 12  disposed within a recess in the draw valve; 
         FIG. 13  is a perspective view of an ice cream machine, with a hose attached to the draw valve and the fitting of  FIG. 1A  attached to the end of the hose, with a plurality of parallel flows of ice cream depicted schematically being disposed into a bowl disposed therebelow. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS AND THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Turning now to  FIGS. 1-13  fittings  20  and  120  that are suitable for connection to a draw valve  202  of a conventional ice cream machine  200 , or to another machine that produces a continuous volume of food product are provided. While the disclosed fittings can be used with a plurality of different types of machines, the fittings are depicted and described herein with respect to a machine that produces soft-serve ice cream, frozen yogurt, or the like (described herein globally as soft-serve ice cream for the sake of brevity although this term as used below encompasses other types of food products as well). One of ordinary skill in the art with a thorough review and understanding of this specification will readily comprehend how fittings that are suitable for other continuously extruded food products would be constructed without undue experimentation. For the sake of brevity, this specification and figures will be described with respect to a soft-serve ice cream machine. The fittings  20 / 120 , which are described in detail below, are adapted, when installed upon a soft serve ice cream machine to cause extrusion of a plurality of parallel steams of soft serve ice cream that are shaped like different types of pasta, such as spaghetti, linguini, or fettuccini (as schematically depicted in the embodiment of  FIG. 13 , which includes the fitting  20  attached to the end of a hose  310 , although the parallel flows of ice cream from the fitting  20  connected directly to the draw valve would be similar). The extruded soft serve ice cream may be presented by the user on a bowl or on a plate to a customer at the point of sale and marketed as ice cream pasta or the like. 
     A first embodiment of a fitting  20  is best shown in  FIGS. 1A-7 . The fitting  20  includes a body  22  that extends between an open end  24  and a partially closed second end  26 , that is opposite from the first end  24 . The body  22  and the partially closed second end collectively define an inner volume  25 . The body of the fitting  20  may be positioned upon the end of the draw valve  202  ( FIGS. 1A and 1B  and  FIG. 4 a    in an alternate embodiment) such that soft serve ice cream that exits the draw valve  202  enters into the inner volume  25  and is pushed through a plurality of apertures  27  through the partially closed end  26 . Soft serve ice cream leaving the draw valve  10  leaves at an elevated pressure (above atmospheric pressure) and the backpressure of the flowing soft serve ice cream urges the soft serve ice cream to flow through the inner volume  25  and to be extruded through the plurality of apertures  27 . 
     The partially closed end  26  of the fitting  20  includes an aperture  26   a  that has a smaller diameter than an inner diameter of the cylindrical portion  34  of the side wall  22  of the body. The intersection between the cylindrical portion  34  and the wall that defines the aperture  26  establishes a ledge  28 , which is best shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . In some embodiments where the body  22  is cylindrical the cylindrical portion  34  and the aperture  26   a  include the same centerline, and the inner edge of the ledge  28  is similarly circular with the same centerline/center point. 
     In some embodiments, the inner surface of the side wall  22  includes a cylindrical portion  34  and an arcuate portion  32 . The arcuate portion  32  may be disposed proximate to the open end  24  and the cylindrical portion  34  may be disposed between the arcuate portion  32  and the partially closed end  26 . In some embodiments, the ledge  28  extends radially inwardly from the inner surface of the cylindrical portion  34 . With reference to  FIG. 4 , the inner diameter of the cylindrical portion  34  is depicted as distance D 3 . The ledge  28  is provided to receive a disk  40 , discussed below, thereon. 
     The arcuate portion  32  may include an inner diameter that with an inner diameter that changes along its length, such as to form an arcuate cross-sectional profile as best shown in  FIGS. 1B and 4 . The arcuate portion  32  includes an inner diameter that is depicted as D 1  in  FIG. 4 , and in some embodiments a continuous or discontinuous range of inner diameters from the smallest inner diameter D 1  through a range that meets with the inner diameter D 3  of the cylindrical portion  34  and the inner diameter at the open end  24  of the body  22 . In some embodiments, the smallest inner diameter D 1 , which may be at the central portion of the arcuate portion may be smaller than an outer diameter of the disk (D 2 ,  FIG. 4 ) such that the disk  40  does not fall out of the fitting  20  when the fitting  20  in an orientation with the open end  24  facing downwardly. 
     In some embodiments, the body  22  may be formed from an elastomeric material, such as rubber or soft flexible plastics such as polyethylene or polypropylene to allow the body  22  to be temporarily (elastically) deformed by the user. Specifically, opposite sides of the body  22  may be squeezed toward each other (with elastic deformation, and not plastic deformation), which urges the sides that are approximately ninety degrees away from the positions that are being squeezed together to move apart from each other, which increases the inner distance between those points on the arcuate portion  32  to a distance that is greater than the diameter of the disk  40 . Alternatively, the user may pull opposite sides away from each other to increase the inner distance between those points being pulled. This allows the user to remove the disk  40  from the inner volume  25  or insert different disk into the inner volume  25 . Because the body  22  is manipulated with only elastic deformation, when the body  22  is released, the body  22  returns to the generally cylindrical configuration, with the inner diameter D 1  at the arcuate portion  32  again less than the outer diameter of the disk  40 . 
     The inner diameter of the arcuate portion  32  of the body  22  may less than the outer diameter of the end of the draw valve  202 . Because the material that forms the body  22  is elastic, as the body  22  approaches the end of the draw valve  202  (with the fitting moved in the direction R of  FIG. 4 a   ) and the draw valve  202  is just inserted within the inner volume  25 , the outer surface of the draw valve  202  contacts the beginning of the arcuate portion  32 . As the fitting is urged upwardly in the direction R with respect to the draw valve  202 , normally by the user pulling upward on the handle  39  or handles  39  that extend radially from the body  22 , the arcuate portion  32  slides upwardly along the outer surface of the draw valve  202  while expanding the inner diameter of the body until the distance D 1  (the inner diameter of the smallest diameter portion of the arcuate portion  32 , as depicted in  FIG. 4 ) equals the outer diameter of the draw valve  202 , as shown in  FIG. 4 a   . The expanded body applies a large compression force upon the draw valve  202  (due to the elastic deformation of the body  22 ), which creates a large frictional force between the inner surface of the body  22  and the outer surface of the draw valve. The frictional force, which resists relative sliding motion between the body  22  and the draw valve  202  is greater than the force F 1  applied to the disk  40  as soft serve ice cream flows into the internal volume  25  of the body and pushes against the surface of the disk  40  without holes ( 44 ,  45 , or  46 ). The force F 1  is equal to the pressure of the soft serve ice cream within the body multiplied by the area of solid portions of the disk  40  (i.e. the surface of the disk  40  without holes ( 44 ,  45 , or  46 )). Due to this arrangement, and specifically the large frictional force opposing sliding motion between the body  22  and the draw valve  202 , the fitting stays in place upon the draw valve  202  as soft serve ice cream flows through the fitting  10 , with a portion of the pressure of the soft serve ice cream imparted upon the disk  40 , and some soft serve ice cream being extruded through the plurality of apertures  27  in the disk, as discussed below. In some embodiments as shown in  FIGS. 1A and 1B and 12 and 12A , the draw valve  202  may include a recessed portion  204 . The recessed portion  204  may extend around the entire circumference of the outer surface of the draw valve  202  and may provide a void that is adapted to receive the arcuate portion  32  of the fitting when positioned in registry with the recessed portion  204 . As can be understood, the engagement between the arcuate portion  32  and the recessed portion  204  increases the resistance to the fitting sliding along the draw valve due to the force F 1  of the ice cream onto the disk  40 , and also allows the body  22  of the fitting to compress toward the draw valve for further contact between the internal walls of the body  22  and the draw valve, as depicted in  FIG. 1B  to increase the frictional force therebetween. 
     The disk  40  may include a plurality of apertures  27  to allow, when installed, soft serve ice cream to be extruded therethrough. The apertures  27  may be sized, shaped, and positioned, such that a plurality of parallel streams of soft serve ice cream may simultaneously be extruded therethrough. In some embodiments, the disk  40  may have a plurality of round apertures  44  that are sized with an diameter to cause the extruded soft serve ice cream to resemble spaghetti noodles, with the plurality of “noodles” being simultaneously extruded when falling onto a bowl or plate disposed below the fitting  10  to resemble spaghetti on the plate. In other embodiments, an alternate disk may include a plurality of rectangular holes ( 45 ,  FIG. 6 ;  46 ,  FIG. 7 ) that are sized and positioned to cause the soft serve ice cream being extruded through the disk to have generally rectangular shape that resembles linguini or fettuccini pasta. The term “generally” is defined herein to include exactly rectangular as well as shapes that include a longer dimension in cross-section and an opposed shorter dimension in cross-section, often with rounded edges between the “sides” that form the longer and shorter dimensions. Accordingly, cross-sections that are not geometrically rectangular but include opposed longer sides and opposed shorter sides are generally rectangular. Further cross-sections that include two opposite sides that are connected with curved ends are also generally rectangular. Additionally cross-sections that have opposed longer sides that are not exactly planar are also generally rectangular. In some embodiments, the plurality of holes may be geometrically rectangular, but produce an extruded generally rectangular stream of soft serve ice cream downstream of the geometrically rectangular hole due to the nature of soft serve ice cream or other similar food products. 
     In representative embodiments, a disk  40  may include a plurality of holes, with a first hole  27  disposed at the center of the disk  40 , and the remaining holes  27  disposed around the central hole and spaced radially outward from the first hole. In some embodiments, the radial outward holes are disposed at the same arc lengths from neighboring radial outward holes, as shown with arc lengths Z and Y in  FIG. 5 . In some embodiments, the holes  27  may be round ( 44 ,  FIG. 5 ), while in other embodiments, the holes  27  may be rectangular or generally rectangular ( 45 ,  FIG. 6, 46 ,  FIG. 7 ). In some embodiments depicted in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the longer surface  45   a / 46   a  of the rectangular or generally rectangular hole may be disposed such that a midpoint  45   b / 46   b  of the longer surface is about parallel to a tangent line Q of the disk at a point closest to the midpoint of the longer surface of the rectangular hole. The disk  40  in  FIG. 6  is configured to produce extruded soft serve ice cream that resembles linguini noodles, while the disk  40  in  FIG. 7  is configured to produce extruded soft serve ice cream that resembles fettuccini noodles. The holes  27  in the disk in  FIG. 7  are longer and narrower than the holes  27  in the disk in  FIG. 6 . The term “about” is specifically defined herein (with reference to parallel) to mean geometrically parallel as well as include a range where the tangent line and a line through the longer surface is within 10 degrees of parallel. 
       FIG. 5  depicts a disk  40  with seven holes  44 , while alternatively  4 ,  5 , or  6  holes (or other numbers of holes). Similarly,  FIG. 6  depicts a disk  40  with six holes  45 , while alternatively,  4 ,  5 , or  7  holes may be provided. Similarly,  FIG. 7  depicts a disk  40  with five holes, while alternatively  4 ,  6 , or  7  holes may be provided. 
     Turning now to  FIGS. 8-12   a , another embodiment of a fitting  10  is provided. The fitting  120  is similar to the fitting discussed above in many respects and components that are exactly the same as discussed above will be referenced with the same element numbers and will not be discussed in detail again here for the sake of brevity. Components that have similar construction or purpose will be depicted with a one hundred version of the same element number as the component described above, and the differences will be discussed herein as appropriate for sufficient understanding of this embodiment. 
     The fitting  120  includes a body  120  that extends between an open end  124  and a partially closed end  126 . In some embodiments, the body  122  may include an arcuate portion  132  ( FIGS. 12 and 12   a , and similar to arcuate portion  32  depicted in  FIGS. 1 b   ,  3  and  4  of the above embodiment). In embodiments with arcuate portions, the arcuate portion is provided to allow for the fitting  120  to expand as the fitting  120  is pulled over the draw valve  202 , as depicted in  FIG. 4 a   , above, and with the compressive forces of the body  122  applied to the draw valve  202  a large frictional force is generated that is greater than the force of soft serve ice cream (the same force as depicted as force F 1  in  FIG. 4  of the above embodiment) upon the partially closed end  126  to maintain the fitting  120  upon the draw valve  202  during operation of the soft serve ice cream machine. In embodiments where the draw valve  202  has a recessed portion  204  (discussed above) the arcuate portion  132  fits within the recessed portion  204  when the fitting  120  is properly aligned with the draw valve  202 , as depicted in  FIGS. 12 and 12   a.    
     The fitting  120  may be a unitary piece that is monolithically formed such that the body  122  is formed as a single piece with the partially closed end  126 . As with the above embodiment, the body  122  may be formed from an elastic material to allow the body  122  to expand when pulled upwardly with respect to the draw valve  202  by pulling the handle. 
     The partially closed end  126  may be a planar surface with a plurality of holes ( 144 ,  145 ,  146 ) disposed therethrough, which allow for soft serve ice cream being extruded through the holes to form a plurality of parallel flows of soft serve ice cream that resemble different types of pasta. The holes may be sized  144 ,  145 ,  146  may be sized and shaped, and positioned in the same manner as the different types of holes  27  discussed in the embodiment above, such that the holes  144  are the same as holes  44 , holes  145  are the same as holes  45 , and holes  146  are the same as holes  46 , and the holes may be positioned in the same manner as the holes  44 ,  45 ,  46  are positioned as discussed above. 
     In alternate embodiments, the fitting  20 / 120  may connect to a distal end of a hose (or a tube or the like)  310 , with the opposite end of the hose  310  connecting to the draw valve  202 . In this embodiment, the soft serve ice cream is extruded through the fitting  20 / 120  with multiple parallel flows—as discussed above, and schematically depicted in  FIG. 13 —to allow the user to insert the extruded ice cream into a bowl or a plate or another container that is remote from the machine, which may be more convenient than placing the plate or bowl directly below the draw valve. For example, due to the size of the plate or the bowl the user may not be able to direct parallel flows of extruded soft serve ice cream onto all of the desired usable surfaces of the bowl or plate, while if the hose is used the ice cream may be extruded at a location where the entire desired portion of the bowl or plate can be presented with parallel flows of extruded ice cream. Similarly, with a remote flow of parallel flows of extruded soft serve ice cream, the user may be able extrude the soft serve ice cream in a more creative or in a more visually appealing manner than with directing the parallel flows of extruded soft serve ice cream directly from the draw valve to a bowl or plate positioned directly therebelow. The fitting  20 / 120  may be the same as the fittings discussed above, and may be installed upon the hose in the same manner as discussed above, or alternatively, the fitting may be installed upon the end of the hose in an alternate manner, such as with hose clamps or the like. 
     Those of skill in the art after a thorough review of the subject specification and figures will appreciate that various embodiments with disks  40  ( FIGS. 2-7  or end faces  127  ( FIGS. 8-12   a ) with different and other ornamental appearances will provide similar or identical functions and functional advantages to the function of the disclosed embodiments. The number, relative orientation, and the sizes of the apertures  27 / 127 —both absolute and relative to each other and to the overall device—may be selected for visual appeal of the device and/or of the material extruded therethrough, but other embodiments with a different visual appearance having different sizes and/or proportions will provide the same functionality as the embodiments described here, including with respect to providing different, but still desirable, noodle-like appearance of soft serve ice cream or another extruded material. 
     The disclosed embodiments are reflected by the following numbered paragraphs: 
     Numbered Paragraph 1: A fitting for a machine to dispense frozen food product, comprising: 
     a body with an open end at a first end of the body and a partially closed second end of the body opposite the first side of the body, the partially closed second end comprising a plurality of holes that extend therethrough, the body comprises an outer surface and an inner surface, wherein the body and the second end define an inner volume within the body; 
     the inner surface includes a cylindrical portion and an arcuate portion, the arcuate portion disposed proximate to the open end and the cylindrical portion disposed between the arcuate portion and the partially closed end, wherein an inner diameter along the arcuate portion is smaller than an inner diameter along the cylindrical portion. 
     Numbered Paragraph 2: The fitting of Numbered Paragraph 1, wherein the inner diameter varies along the arcuate portion, wherein a central portion of the arcuate portion has a smallest inner diameter and the inner diameter of the arcuate portion increases on opposite sides of the central portion. 
     Numbered Paragraph 3: The fitting of Numbered Paragraph 1, wherein the body comprises an opening at the second end of the body, wherein a diameter of the opening is less than the inner diameter along the cylindrical portion, wherein a ledge extends between the opening and the inner wall of the cylindrical portion. 
     Numbered Paragraph 4: The fitting of Numbered Paragraph 3, wherein the inner diameter along the arcuate portion is smaller than the diameter of the opening. 
     Numbered Paragraph 5: The fitting of Numbered Paragraph 3, further comprising a disk that when installed rests upon the ledge, wherein the disk establishes the partially closed end and comprises the plurality of holes that extend therethrough. 
     Numbered Paragraph 6: The fitting of Numbered Paragraph 5, wherein the disk has a plurality of round holes, including a first round hole of the plurality of round holes is disposed at a center of the disk and remaining round holes of the plurality of round holes that are disposed at respective positions spaced radially outward from the first round hole, wherein the remaining round holes of the plurality of round holes are disposed at the same arc lengths from neighboring round holes of the remaining round holes of the plurality of round holes. 
     Numbered Paragraph 7: The fitting of Numbered Paragraph 5, wherein the disk has a plurality of rectangular holes, including a first rectangular hole of the plurality of rectangular holes is disposed at a center of the disk and remaining rectangular holes of the plurality of rectangular holes that are disposed at respective positions spaced radially outward from the first rectangular hole, wherein the remaining rectangular holes of the plurality of rectangular holes are disposed at the same arc lengths from neighboring rectangular holes of the remaining rectangular holes of the plurality of rectangular holes. 
     Numbered Paragraph 8: The fitting of Numbered Paragraph 5, wherein the disk is a plurality of disks that are configured to be individually inserted into the inner volume of the body and rest upon the ledge, wherein an outer diameter of each of the plurality of disks is larger than the inner diameter of the arcuate portion. 
     Numbered Paragraph 9: The fitting of Numbered Paragraph 8, wherein the body is formed from a material that is sufficiently flexible to allow opposing portions of the side walls to be urged away from each other such that the inner diameter of the arcuate portion in the direction that the opposing portions of the side walls that are urged away from each other becomes larger than the outer diameter of the disk, which allows the disk to be positioned within the inner volume or to be removed from the inner volume. 
     Numbered Paragraph 10: The fitting of Numbered Paragraph 8, wherein a first disk of the plurality of disks has a plurality of round holes, including a first round hole of the plurality of round holes is disposed at a center of the disk and remaining round holes of the plurality of round holes that are disposed at respective positions spaced radially outward from the first round hole, wherein the remaining round holes of the plurality of round holes are disposed at the same arc lengths from neighboring round holes of the remaining round holes of the plurality of round holes, 
     and wherein a second disk of the plurality of disks has plurality of rectangular holes, including a first rectangular hole of the plurality of rectangular holes is disposed at a center of the disk and remaining rectangular holes of the plurality of rectangular holes that are disposed at respective positions spaced radially outward from the first rectangular hole, wherein the remaining rectangular holes of the plurality of rectangular holes are disposed at the same arc lengths from neighboring rectangular holes of the remaining rectangular holes of the plurality of rectangular holes. 
     Numbered Paragraph 11: The fitting of Numbered Paragraph 10, further comprising a third disk of the plurality of disks, wherein the third disk of the plurality of disks has a plurality of rectangular holes, wherein the plurality of rectangular holes of the second disk have longer holes than the plurality of holes in the third disk. 
     Numbered Paragraph 12: The fitting of Numbered Paragraph 11, wherein the rectangular holes of the second disk are configured to allow for extrusion of multiple parallel lengths of frozen food product therethrough that are shaped to mimic the size and shape of a fettucine noodle, and wherein the rectangular holes of the third disk are configured to allow for extrusion of multiple parallel lengths of frozen food product therethrough that are shaped to mimic the size and shape of a linguini noodle. 
     Numbered Paragraph 13: The fitting of Numbered Paragraph 1, wherein one or more handles radially extend outward from the body. 
     Numbered Paragraph 14: The fitting of Numbered Paragraph 1, wherein the body is configured to be removably attached to the outlet portion of a draw valve of a conventional soft serve ice cream machine, such that soft serve food product flowing through the draw valve passes through the plurality of holes of the partially closed end to define multiple parallel flows of soft serve ice cream. 
     Numbered Paragraph 15: The fitting of Numbered Paragraph 1, wherein the partially closed end is monolithically formed with the body. 
     Numbered Paragraph 16: The fitting of Numbered Paragraph 14, wherein the draw valve comprises a cylindrical outer surface and a recessed portion that is adapted to receive the arcuate portion therein when the fitting is aligned with the draw valve. 
     Numbered Paragraph 17: The fitting of Numbered Paragraph 1, wherein the fitting is adapted to connect to a first end of a hose, and the second end of the hose is adapted to be attached to an outlet portion of a draw valve of a conventional soft serve ice cream machine, such that the food product flowing through the draw valve passes through the hose and then through the plurality of holes of the partially closed end of the fitting to define multiple parallel flows of soft serve ice cream at a position remote from the draw valve. 
     While the preferred embodiments of the disclosed have been described, it should be understood that the invention is not so limited and modifications may be made without departing from the disclosure. The scope of the disclosure is defined by the appended claims, and all devices that come within the meaning of the claims, either literally or by equivalence, are intended to be embraced therein.