Patent Application
20180078088
The subject disclosure relates to cooking apparatus, and more particularly to apparatus for baking food.
Conventional baking pans, as well as other baking apparatus, are designed such that uncooked food is placed against a solid surface of the pan which in turn is placed over a burner or inside an oven. When the baking pan heats up, the areas of the food that are in contact with the surface of the pan heat up much more quickly than the areas of the food that are exposed to the air, resulting in uneven cooking. Additionally, uneven cooking may spur a user to flip or turn the food one or more times. Furthermore, portions of the food that are in contact with the pan often stick to the pan. At times this can motivate a user to coat the pan in unhealthy non-stick substances, such as butter, oil, or chemicals.
Trying to avoid these problems by cooking certain types of food directly on a mesh apparatus can be difficult, if not impossible. Cooking on a mesh apparatus can result in grease, sauce, and other substances dripping throughout the oven. These substances can be difficult to clean and they also create a risk of causing damage to the oven, which in turn, creates a safety risk for a user.
In view of the above, a need exists for a single baking apparatus that allows food to be heated uniformly. Further, it is preferable that the baking apparatus can prevent sticking, without the use of non-stick substances. Finally, it is also preferable that the baking apparatus has a means for preventing the spillage of grease, sauce, cheese, and other substances, throughout an oven.
In one embodiment, the subject technology is directed a baking apparatus having a substantially rectangular baking tray having a base. The base has a container wall extending upward from the base and forming an upper lip. The baking apparatus also has a substantially rectangular basket for holding one or more food items, the basket being supported by the baking tray. The basket has a mesh cradle portion which includes cradle members that define a plurality of openings. The cradle portion includes a bottom surface and a cradle wall extending upwards from the bottom surface. An upper periphery extends around the upper end of the cradle wall.
A solid, continuous support rim is coupled to the upper periphery. A first and second handle are joined to the support rim, at points opposite one another along the support rim. A plurality of support members extend downward from the support rim to a point below the bottom surface of the basket. The support members support the basket in a position elevated from the tray such that the bottom surface is above the upper lip.
In some embodiments, the ratio of the length of the basket to the length of the tray is between 0.91 and 0.96. The ratio of the width of the basket to the width of the tray can be between 0.89 and 0.95. In some embodiments, the mesh cradle openings represent at least 55 percent of the total surface area of the mesh cradle portion.
In some embodiments the tray captures discharges from the one or more food items and prevents warping. The combination of the basket and the tray can allow air to circulate substantially freely around the one or more food items.
It should be appreciated that the subject technology can be implemented and utilized in numerous ways, including without limitation as a process, an apparatus, a system, a device, an assembly, and a method for applications now known and later developed. These and other unique features of the system disclosed herein will become more readily apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings.
So that those having ordinary skill in the art to which the disclosed system appertains will more readily understand how to make and use the same, reference may be had to the following drawings.
The subject technology overcomes many of the prior art problems associated with baking apparatus. The advantages, and other features of the technology disclosed herein, will become more readily apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art from the following detailed description of certain preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the drawings which set forth representative embodiments of the present technology. It is understood that references to the figures such as up, down, upward, downward, lower, upper, left, and right are with respect to the figures and not meant in a limiting sense. Rather, all words denoting orientation (i.e. up, down) are merely used to describe the positioning of certain components with respect to that of the other components shown and described herein.
Referring now to
Seated atop of the baking tray 102 is a substantially rectangular basket 104 for holding one or more food items 114. In general, the basket 104 has a smaller length and width than the baking tray 102. Food items 114 might include, for example, bacon, chicken tenders, mozzarella sticks, or any other food item that can be cooked. The basket 104 has a mesh cradle portion 116, formed by a series of cradle support members 118 which also define a plurality of openings 120. The cradle support members 118 are of a size, with respect to the openings 120, that allows them to provide the structural strength to contain a number of food items 114 while still allowing air to flow around the food items 114 and minimizing the surface contact between the cradle members 118 and the food items 114. The mesh cradle portion 116 includes a bottom surface 122 and a cradle wall 124 which extends upwards from the bottom surface 122, forming, at its upper end, an upper periphery (not shown or labeled distinctly). Notably, the upper periphery simply represents the endpoint of the cradle wall 124. For example, at the upper periphery, the cradle members 118 can be tied together, simply severed at a desired location, or otherwise terminate at an upper end to form a periphery around the upper end of the basket 104.
A solid support rim 126 extends around the upper periphery (under the support rim 126), supporting the mesh cradle portion 116 and holding it in a substantially rectangular shape. The support rim 126 also includes handles 128a, 128b, positioned opposite one another along the support rim 126 to facilitate easy gripping of the basket 104. A series of support members 130 extend from the support rim 126. When the basket 104 is placed upon the tray 102, the support members 130 contact the tray 102 at a point below the bottom surface 122. In this way, the support members 130 hold the basket 104 in a position elevated from the tray 102 to increase airflow underneath the bottom surface 122 (as seen best in
All components of the tray 102 and basket 104 can be formed by applying a non-stick coating material to an underlying structural material. The underlying structural material may be, for example, aluminum, stainless steel, or any other material that provides sufficient support for the baking apparatus 100 to retain its form. The non-stick coating material can be formed by applying, for example, a ceramic material or ceramic polish to the structural material. One skilled in the art would recognize that the subject disclosure is not limited the above examples and variety of other materials could be used as a non-stick coating and/or structural material.
Referring now to
Referring now to
Certain proportions between the basket 104 and tray 102 have proven to be effective in promoting the objects of the subject disclosure. A ratio of basket 104 length “a” to tray length “c” of between 0.91 and 0.96 has been found to be effective, while a ratio of basket 104 width “b” to tray 102 width “d” of between 0.89 and 0.95 has been found to be effective. Various effective sizes in accordance with these ratios are shown in Table 1 below. These ratios and sizes are meant merely to be demonstrative of effective proportions and one skilled in the art would recognize that other sizes of basket 104 and tray 102 may be effective for accomplishing the goals of the subject disclosure. For example, the below sizes may be increased or decreased by approximately 5 mm and still be relatively effective.
The proportions between the cradle members 118 and openings of the mesh cradle portion 116 both adequately support any food contained thereon and prevent warping of the baking apparatus 100. This can be accomplished with a mesh cradle portion 116 having an area that is made up of mostly openings 120 with a limited amount of area occupied by cradle members 118. The openings 120 can take up an area of between 55%-95% of the total area of the mesh cradle portion 116. In one embodiment, the openings 120 occupy approximately 76% of the mesh cradle portion 116. This can be accomplished, for example, by utilizing cradle members 118 with a diameter (or width) of approximately 0.76 mm. The mesh cradle portion 116 can have a bottom surface 122 that is, for example, approximately 282.5 mm in length and 199 mm in width, and includes approximately 32 wires running lengthwise and 44 wires running widthwise. This will result in approximately 76% of the mesh cradle portion 116 being openings 120, while cradle members 118 represent approximately 24% of the mesh cradle portion 116.
Referring now to
Referring now to
The baking apparatus 200 includes a tray 202 which has a channel 234 running proximate to the container walls 210, between the container walls 210 and an elevated base surface 208. A ramp 236 connects the channel 234 with an elevated base surface 208 which forms a flat portion of the base 206. When substances drip from the food items 214 onto the tray 202, they can pool in the channel 234 to make for easier cleanup. Further, the support members 230 of the basket 204 are spaced such that they contact the base 206 within the channel portion 234. Alternatively, or additionally, the support members 230 may contact the ramp 236, and the support members 230 may have angled support legs 238 which rest along the ramp 236 to provide additionally stability between the basket 204 and tray 202. Similarly, the support members 230 may rest against the container walls 210 alternative or in addition to resting against any of the other portions of the tray 202 as described above. By positioning the support members 230 and the support legs 238 in the channel 234, along the ramp 236, and/or against the container walls 210, the basket 204 resists sliding with respect to the tray 202 when the baking apparatus 200 is handled.
Referring again to
While food items 114 are baking, the openings 120 in the mesh cradle portion 116 create a limited contact surface between the mesh cradle portion 116 and the food items 114 which reduces sticking. Minimal sticking allows the user to cook the food items 114 without the need to coat the baking apparatus 100 with unhealthy non-stick substances, such as butter, oil, or chemicals. Further, the combination of limited contact and increased air flow around the food items 114 allows the food items 114 to cook thoroughly and evenly without requiring flipping or turning.
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It is envisioned that many modifications to the subject technology are possible. For example, the tray 102 and basket 104 could be used individually to cook food rather than in conjunction with one another. It would be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the pertinent art that the functions of several elements may, in alternative embodiments, be carried out by fewer elements, or a single element. Similarly, in some embodiments, any functional element may perform fewer, or different, operations than those described with respect to the illustrated embodiment. Also, functional elements (e.g., assemblies, coupling parts and the like) shown as distinct for purposes of illustration may be incorporated within other functional elements in a particular implementation. With respect to the claims, any or all of the claims may be rearranged to depend from any or all of the other claims in any arrangement.
While the subject technology has been described with respect to preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that various changes and/or modifications can be made to the subject technology without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
This application is a U.S. Non-provisional patent application which claims priority from U.S. Provisional application for Patent No. 62/398,359 filed Sep. 22, 2016 and which is incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62398359 | Sep 2016 | US |
