Patent Application: Sealed Crustless Sandwich

United States Patent (19) Kretchman et al. (54) SEALED CRUSTLESS SANDWICH [75) Inventors: Len C. Kretchman, Fergus Falls, Mion.; David Geske, Fargo, N. Dak. (73) Assignce: Menusaver, Inc., Orville, Ohio (21] (22) | (51]| (52) Appl. No.: 08/986,581 Filed: Dec. 8, 1997 Int. CI.® U.S. CI. [58] Field of Search A21D 13/00 426/94; 426/274; 426/275; 426/297 426/94, 274, 275, 426/297, 138 [56) 3,083,651 3,690,898 3,767,823| 3,769,035 3,862,344 4,382,768 References Cited U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS 4/1963 Cooper 9/1972 Partyka 10/1973 Wheeler et al. 10/1973 Kleiner et al. 5/1983 Lifshitz et al. 426/275 420/212 426/275 426/244 426/275| [11) Patent Number: 145] Date of Patent: 6,004,596 Dec. 21, 1999 5,853,778 12/1998 Maylield ..... ... 426/89 OTHER PUBLICATIONS "50 Great Sandwiches", Carole Handslip, pp. 81-84,86,95, 1994. Primary Examiner Lien Tran Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Vickers, Daniels & Young (57) ABSTRACT A sealed crustless sandwich for providing a convenient sandwich without an outer crust which can be stored for long periods of time without a central filling from leaking out- wardly. The sandwich includes a lower bread portion, an upper bread portion, an upper filling and a lower filling between the lower and upper bread portions, a center filling scaled between the upper and lower fillings, and a crimped edge along an outer perimeter of the bread portions for sealing the fillings therebetween. The upper and lower fillings are preferably comprised of peanut butter and the center filling is comprised of at least jelly. The center filling is prevented from radiating outwardly into and through the bread portions from the surrounding peanut butter. 10 Claims, 4 Drawing Sheets 6,0 SEALED CRUSTLESS SANDWICH BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to sandwiches and more specifically it relates to a sealed crustless sandwich for providing a convenient sandwich without an outer crust which can be stored for long periods of time without a central filling from leaking outwardly. Many individuals enjoy sandwiches with meat or jelly like fillings between two conventional slices of bread. However, some individuals do not enjoy the outer crust associated with the conventional slices of bread and there- fore take the time to tear away the outer crust from the desired soft inner portions of the bread. This outer crust portion is then thrown away and wasted. There is currently no method or device for baking bread without having an outer crust. Hence, there is a need for a convenient sandwich which does not have an outer crust and which is not prone to waste of the edible outer crist portions. The present invention provides a method of making a sealed crustless sandwich which can be stored for extended periods of time without an inner filling from seeping, into the bread portion. 2. Description of the Prior Art There are numerous sandwich devices. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,690,898 to Partyka; U.S. Design Pat. No. 252,536 to Goglanian; U.S. Desigo Pat. No. 293,040 to Gagliardi; U.S. Design Pat. No. 317,672 to Presl; U.S. Design Pat. No. 318,360 to Sam; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,500,234 to Russo all of which are illustrative of such prior art. While these sandwiches may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they are not as suitable for providing a convenient sandwich without an outer crust which can be stored for long periods of time without a central filling from leaking outwardly. The prior art does not teach a sandwich without an outer crust which scalably retains an inner filling for extended periods of time. In these respects, the sealed crusticss sandwich according to the present invention substantially departs from the con- ventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides a sandwich primarily developed for the purpose of providing a convenient sandwich without an outer crust which can be stored for long periods of time without a central filling from leaking outwardly. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A primary object of the present invention is to provide a sealed crustless sandwich that will overcome the shortcom- ings of the prior art devices. Another object is to provide a sealed crustless sandwich that does not have any crust. An additional object is to provide a scaled crustless sandwich that retains an inner filling from seeping into the bread portion. A further object is to provide a sealed crustless sandwich that can be stored for extended periods of time for use in lunch box type of situations. Another object is to provide a sealed crustless sandwich that reduces the amount of wasted bread because of thrown away crust portions, Another object is to provide a method of producing a sealed crustless sandwich. Further objects of the invention will appear as the descrip- tion proceeds. To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, this invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings, altention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only, and that 5 changes may be made in the specific construction illustrated and described within the scope of the appended claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Various other objects, features and attendant advantages 10 of the present invention will become fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood when considered in con- junction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts 15 throughout the several views, and wherein: FIG. 1 is a side view of cutting cylinder above the upper and lower bread with the fillings in between. FIG. 2 is a side view of the cutting cylinder penetrating and crimping the upper and lower bread with the fillings in 20 between. FIG. 3 is an upper perspective view of the sealed crustless sandwich within an airtight packaging. FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view from FIG. 3 disclosing the 25 peanut butter sealing the jelly in between. FIG. 5 is a lower perspective view of the cutting cylinder. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Turning now descriptively to the drawings, in which similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several view, FIGS. 1 through 5 illustrate a sealed crustless sandwich 10, which gencrally comprises lower bread portion 20, an upper bread portion 22, an upper 35 filling 30b and a lower filing 30a between the lower bread portion 20 and upper bread portion 22, a center filing 32 sealed between the upper filling 30b and the lower filling 30a, and a crimped edge 26 along an outer perimeter of the bread portions 20, 22 for sealing the fillings 30a-b, 32 therebetween. The upper filing 306 and the lower filling 30a are preferably comprised of peanut butter but may consist of any other edible substance such as but not limited to meat, vegetable oil, jelly, cheese, honey, or fruit. The center filling 32 is preferably comprised of jelly but may consist of any 45 other edible substance such as but not limited to meat, vegetable oil, jelly, cheese, honcy, or fruit. The center filling 32 is prevented from leaking outwardly into and through the bread portions 20, 22 from the surrounding upper filling 30b and lower filling 30a. The sealed crustlcss sandwich is so preferably packaged within a resilient packaging 14 to extend its useful life and for providing convenience for the As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 5 of the drawings, a cutting cylinder 40 has a sleeve 42 positioned within. The sleeve 42 ss preferably is sidably positioned within a lumen of the cutting cylinder 40, but may be secured within the cutting cylinder 40. The bottom edge of the sleeve 42 has a notched end 44 with the notches spaced approximatcly every ⅓ inch. The plurality of extensions created from the plurality of notches 60 forms a corresponding plurality of depressions 28 in the crimped edge 26 which represent the pressure points where extensions have projected into the bread portions 20, 22. A cutting edge 48 of the cutting cylinder 40 is utilized to penetrate through the bread portions 20, 22 as shown in FIG. 65 2 of the drawings. The cutting edge 48 may be formed into various shapes to form a unique design for the crustless sandwich 10. The notched edge of the sleeve 42