Patent Application
20110191970
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to basting brushes. More particularly, the invention relates to basting brushes having a curved end that tapers upwardly from a central low point laterally to the sides of the brush.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Basting brushes are used to apply sauces and glazes and the like to food surfaces. When dipped into a volume of sauce, the bristles of the brush retain sauce, for example, in the spaces between the bristles. When the bristles contact a food surface, the sauce is transferred onto the surface at the points of contact. Basting has many culinary applications, such as applying sauce to meat while barbequing or roasting meat or vegetables or while applying glaze to pastries before or after baking.
The bristled portion of a basting brush generally has a flat bottom with all the bristles being of equal length. The brush is generally held parallel to a food surface during basting. Thus, sauce is naturally dispersed onto the food surface uniformly across the bottom end of the bristles because each of the bristles, being of the same length, contacts the food surface simultaneously. While such a uniform application of sauce may be desirable in some applications, there are times when a cook may desire to vary the distribution of sauce over a surface, or baste a discreet portion of a surface while leaving an adjacent portion unbasted. Indeed, the ability to properly baste may be important to the success of a cooking procedure.
It is not an easy task to accurately vary the distribution of sauce using a flat-bottomed brush. To do so, a user must vary the angle of the brush relative to the food surface to ensure that only a desired portion of the food surface is basted. Simultaneously, the user must vary the pressure on the brush to control the amount of sauce dispersed onto the food surface from between the bristles.
A prior art basting brush is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/516,903, which illustrates a combination basting brush, spoon, and spatula, where the bristles of the basting brush do not have flat bottoms but are instead curved. While this arrangement may avoid some of the problems associated with basting brushes having flat bottoms, problems still remain. In particular, the bristles are thick and rigid, allowing them to serve the dual roles of basting brush and spatula. This rigidity makes it difficult for the bristles to flex, and for a cook to apply sauce in the precise amount and location desired.
3. Identification of Objects of the Invention
A primary object of the invention is to provide a basting brush that overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art.
Another object of the invention is to provide a basting brush having bristles of different lengths which allows for more precise variation in the application of sauce or glaze to a food surface.
Another object of the invention is to provide a basting brush having a continuous transition from handle to the brush head.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a basting brush having a head made of a material that will absorb impact forces when the brush impacts the side of cookware.
The objects identified above along with other features and advantages of the invention are incorporated in a basting brush having a curved bottom end of bristles that allows for greater control and variation in the application of sauces and condiments to food surfaces. One aspect of the invention provides, for example, bristles having a curved or crowned shape, similar to an artist's Filbert brush. The head of the brush is arranged so that the longest bristles are in the center of the brush, with the bristle length decreasing from the center to both longitudinal sides of the brush. With such a bristle distribution the bottom of the brush is curved, having longest bristles in the center of the bottom distribution of bristles with shorter bristles distributed toward the longitudinal sides. The thickness of the bristle distribution from back to front to is small compared to the width of the brush from longitudinal side to longitudinal side.
Another aspect of the invention includes a continuous transition between the handle and the head of the brush. The shape of the handle corresponds to the shape of the head at the interface therebetween, such that the profile of the combined components is continuous. In addition, the head is made of silicone and is therefore soft enough to absorb impact forces when the brush head strikes a cookware edge. Furthermore, a cylindrical portion of silicone extending from the head into an opening of the end of the handle somewhat softens the blow of the handle end against cookware when banging occurs to remove batter or sauce from the bristles of the brush. Thus, the shock absorbing feature of the silicone head helps prevent damage to enameled or glass cookware.
The invention will be better understood by reference to the detailed description of embodiments which follow and by examining the accompanying drawings, in which:
The head 4 has a top end 6 that receives the handle 18, a bottom end 24 that captures bristles 20, a front side 8, a back side 10 (see
The brush surface from handle 18 to head 4 is continuous. The top end 6 of the head 4 is fabricated of silicone or other soft material thereby creating a strike zone to protect cookware when the user strikes the brush 2 against cookware in order to dislodge sauce and the like in the bristles 20. A portion of the silicone material of the head 4 is inserted into an opening at the end of the handle 18 so as to create a shock absorber effect at the handle end.
As mentioned above, the bottom end 26 of the bristle distribution 20 is curved, having a low point 22 at the center of the brush and tapering upward toward the longitudinal sides 12, 14. The result is a curved or crowned shape, allowing a cook to vary the amount of sauce applied to a food surface by changing the pressure on the head of the brush only. For example, when a cook applies little pressure to the brush, only the bristles at or near the low point 22 of the curved bottom 26 contact the food surface. As a result, the surface area basted is limited to a thin brushstroke and the amount of sauce applied is limited to that associated with those, few bristles. As the user applies more pressure, more bristles come into contact with the food surface, thereby broadening the brush stroke and applying more sauce. In this way, the user can vary the brushstroke and the amount of sauce applied during a basting procedure simply by varying the amount of pressure applied to the brush while basting.
Furthermore, as shown in
It is advantageous to provide tapes to each bristle, such that each bristle is thicker with a larger diameter at the top while gradually decreasing in diameter at the bottom or distal end. Such bristle construction results in a brush that holds sauces longer, because it retains sauce at the top of the bristle, and slowly releases sauces to the smaller diameter bristle toward the distal end.
The top end 6 of the head 4 is manufactured of an impact resistant material, such as silicone, which acts as a strike zone. Thus, when a user strikes the brush 2 against a cookware lip in order to remove sauce from the head 4 and bristles 20 of the brush 2, the impact of the strike will be absorbed by the top 6 of the head 4, thereby protecting the cookware and the brush 2 from damage.
As can be seen in each of
