Patent Grant
7480999
1. Field of the Invention
The claimed invention generally relates to an assembly for sectioning a food preparation. More specifically, the claimed invention relates to a blade assembly for enabling users thereof to section and display food preparations as form-prepared in food preparation containers and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is common practice to bake food items such as brownies, cakes, and cookies as one continuous sheet in food preparation containers of standard sizes such as 9 inches by 13 inches and 8 inches by 8 inches, or any number or circular food preparation containers having variously sized diameters. The baked or otherwise prepared food item is then commonly sliced into a plurality of smaller food items such as bars, squares, or wedge-shaped pieces for removal from the baking pan or food preparation container. The task of slicing the food preparation into bars, squares, or wedge-shaped pieces is commonly performed by using a knife or other similar instrument having a single cutting blade that is customarily used to make several individual longitudinal and lateral sectioning cuts defining the sides of each of the bars, squares, or wedge-shaped pieces.
The task of slicing the food preparation into a number of smaller food sections with a single bladed knife requires overcoming several challenges in order to achieve a desirable end result. One of the challenges that must be overcome is ensuring that the sectioning cuts are made straight. Freehandedly cutting a straight line in a sheet of brownies, for example, using a single bladed knife without reference to a straight edge such as the upright side of the food preparation container is often difficult to accomplish. Another challenge that must be overcome is ensuring that the sectioning cuts are made completely through the food item. If close attention is not paid to the depth of the cut made by the knife, the individual bars, squares, or wedge-shaped pieces will often not be completely separated. An even further challenge that must be overcome is ensuring that the food sections are sized appropriately. It is commonly desired to evenly section the food item so that all of the food sections are of the same size. However, it is difficult to achieve substantially equally sized and shaped food sections when freehandedly cutting the food preparation with a single blade knife.
There are several different types of cutting apparatuses in the prior art that use multiple cutting blades to cut food items into smaller sections. Some of these prior art devices are disclosed here in the form of previously issued United States Patents. However, these previously issued United States Patents do not disclose or teach a device that addresses the previously mentioned problems concerning cutting a sheet of brownies or similar type food item into a plurality of smaller portions within a food preparation container having upright sides.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,175,512 ('512 Patent), which issued to Flemal, discloses a Scraper. The '512 Patent teaches a scraper comprising a plurality of assembling bars, a plurality of scraping blades arranged transversely of and interlocked with the assembling bars, a plate provided with depending flanges adapted to interlock with certain of the assembling bars, a hand grasp operatively connected to the plate, and clamping members coacting with the plate and certain of the assembling bars for maintaining the plate in applied position.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,754,541 ('541 Patent), which issued to Benoit, discloses an Egg Case Filler. The '541 Patent teaches a filler structure having cross walls. One of the cross walls is edge-notched to interlock with the other wall, which other wall comprises a D-slot through which the first wall is extended. The edges defining the D-slot present a bowed portion, the ends of which are shouldered and extended past a connecting straight portion to accommodate the notched wall when bowed without catching upon the notches in the edges thereof and to support the notched wall when straightened between the straight and shouldered portions which lie upon opposite sides of the wall.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,118,211 ('211 Patent), which issued to Lutz, discloses a Liquid Congealing Apparatus. The '211 Patent teaches a removable grid for dividing an ice tray into a plurality of cells for forming ice cubes comprising a single strip of flexible metal bent to form a plurality of vertical transverse walls of double thicknesses of metal, a plurality of vertical longitudinal walls formed of a single thickness of metal connecting adjacent thicknesses of the transverse walls, and a plurality of vertical longitudinal wall members extending between the transverse walls and each comprising two thicknesses of metal bent from the transverse walls and folded adjacent a contiguous transverse wall.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,000,845 ('845 Patent), which issued to Zeller, discloses a Partition Assembly and Partition Strips Therefor. The '845 Patent teaches a partition assembly having interlocking longitudinal and transverse partition strips to form compartments or cells for the reception of bottles, cans or other containers. The strips have sections that form the walls of the cells and are defined by spaced slots in each strip extending from one edge and a substantial depth into the strip and relatively shallow notches in the opposite edge of the strip in alignment with said slots. A set of sections, including the section at one end of each strip, has tabular projections near one edge extending into the slots in one direction, and a section at the opposite end of the strip has a tabular projection extending into a slot but in the opposite direction, the slots of the longitudinal strips interfitting with the slots of the transverse strips with the tabs of one interlocking in notches of the other forming a partition assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,648,300 ('300 Patent), which issued to Hassenfelt, discloses a Biscuit Cutting Apparatus. The '300 Patent teaches a square frame surrounding and extending upwardly from a planar cutting surface to define a dough compartment. A plurality of vertical slots in each side wall extends from the top edge thereof down to the cutting surface to provide a guide for a cutting blade inserted therein. The slots are arranged in such a pattern that three, four, or six equal width slices may be formed in each direction depending on the slots selected for use. The cutter blade is accurately shaped along the bottom from end to end to ensure good contact with the cutting surface. An enlarged end portion at each end of the cutting blade prevents inadvertent dislodgement of the cutting blade during usage. A flour trough is provided on one side wall to facilitate the maintenance of a floured cutting blade during usage.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,074,777 ('777 Patent), which issued to Gamer, discloses an Apparatus for Making a Split Pie. The '777 Patent teaches a pie dividing assembly adapted to be inserted into a conventional circular pie pan once it is covered with a bottom sheet or layer of pie dough for separating the pie into a plurality of separate and distinct pie sections, preferably two, each adapted to receive a different and distinct pie filling therein before an optional top layer or cover of pie dough is placed thereover and the pie baked. Normally, after the pie is at least partially baked, approximately ⅔ baked, to where the pie filling has set, the pie divider is removed and the pie allowed to bake until done at which time the fully baked single unitary pie will have a plurality of sections each having a different and distinct pie filling therein. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the pie divider separates the pie into two equally dimensioned halves but embodiments are provided for separating the pie into three, four, six, eight, etc. dimensionally equal or unequal sections, as desired. The invention also contemplates a split-filling pie made as a product by process, and a method of making a split-filling pie. Another embodiment is provided for dividing a pizza into a plurality of different and distinct slices before the topping or combination of toppings is added.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,623 ('623 Patent), which issued to Cole, discloses a Knife Assembly for Cutting a Food Product. The '623 Patent teaches a knife blade and knife blade assembly for cutting food products into sticks or slices without causing surface cracking. The knife blade has a cutting portion defining a cutting edge and is mounted in the knife assembly such that a tension force is exerted on the knife blade in the plane of the cutting edge. The cutting edge of the knife blade is not sharp, but is generally flat and extends between parallel sides of the knife blade. The individual knife blades are formed of stainless steel and are electro-polished to remove any surface defects or sharp edges which may produce stress concentrations. This enables a significant tension force to be applied to the knife blade without diminishing its useful life. The electro-polishing process may also round off the comers of the juncture between the flat cutting edge and the parallel knife blade sides.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,579,582 ('582 Patent), which issued to Carlson, discloses a Puzzle Cookie Cutter. The '582 Paten teaches a puzzle cookie cutter comprising a cutting die holder and at least one cutting die removably securable in the holder. The die or dies provide for the cutting of cookie dough, batter, or the like into several separate, irregularly shaped and sized interfitting pieces, which pieces may be reassembled as a puzzle after baking to provide entertainment for the consumer of the cookie. The dies may be provided in virtually any regular or irregular geometric shape, animal or other caricature or representation, and/or any alphanumeric character, as desired. The die or dies may also provide for the spaced apart separation of the cut dough or batter, to allow for expansion or flow of the batter or dough during the baking process, in order that the baked pieces will have a close fit with one another without interference. The cut pieces may be baked adjacent one another on a sheet or pan and decorated after the baking process as desired, then separated randomly to provide a challenge akin to that of the assembly of a relatively simple jigsaw or picture puzzle, in addition to the enjoyment of eating the baked cookie pieces.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,597,113 ('113 Patent), which issued to Bradford, discloses a Recyclable Container Partition. The '113 Paten teaches a collapsible partition assembly comprising a set of parallel longitudinal dividers and a set of parallel transverse dividers intersecting at a plurality of intersections. Each of the longitudinal dividers has a series of evenly spaced slots which extend downwardly from a top edge of the longitudinal divider to approximately the middle of the longitudinal divider. Each transverse divider has a series of evenly spaced slots, each slot extending upwardly from a bottom edge of the transverse divider to approximately the middle of the transverse divider. The slots of the longitudinal and transverse dividers engage with one another at the intersections. Dividers are secured to each other at each intersection by a securement bead which extends from a point proximate the top edge of the intersection to proximate the bottom edge of the intersection. The intersecting dividers create four angles. The securement bead runs along one angle and permits the partition assembly to be collapsed and recycled.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,470 ('470 Patent), which issued to Anderson, discloses an Impact Actuated Baker Grid Device. The '470 Patent teaches an impact actuated bakery grid device for producing uniform portions of baked goods wherein the grid device includes a force generating unit operatively associated with a handle assembly member which is connected at widely spaced locations on a grid member for forcibly ejecting the portions of baked goods from within the confines of a plurality of compartments within the grid member.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,276,918 ('918 Patent), which issued to Slaughter et al., discloses a Dough Cutting Apparatus. The '918 Patent teaches a dough cutting apparatus comprising a plurality of spaced apart blades the lower edges of which are uniformly curved from one end of said blades to the other and a plurality of intersecting spaced apart blades the lower edges of which are straight. The blades cooperate to form multiple uniformly sized cavities therebetween. A handle assembly is attached to the blades for engagement by the user of the apparatus for rocking the apparatus along the lower edges of the curved blades to separate a layer of dough into separate multiple dough products.
These previously issued United States Patents do not disclose or teach a food-cutting or sectioning device that is used to section a food item or preparation within a food preparation container into a plurality of uniformly sized and shaped smaller portions. Therefore, there is a need for a device that can uniformly and simultaneously section a food item or preparation within a container such as a food preparation container for displaying the food preparation in smaller portions. There is a further need for a device of this type that is easily stored during periods of time when the device is not in use. Therefore, there is a need for a blade assembly which is expandable for sectioning and displaying a food preparation in smaller food sections, and which assembly is collapsible into a folded form for ease of storage.
To provide an answer for these needs, as well as other that will become apparent after reading this specification and viewing the appended drawings, the claimed invention provides a blade assembly usable in combination with a food preparation container to section and display a container-borne, form-prepared food preparation into a plurality of smaller food portions. It is an object of the claimed invention to provide a blade assembly capable of making straight sectioning cuts. It is a further object of the claimed invention to provide a blade assembly capable of making sectioning cuts of uniform depth. It is an even further object of the claimed invention to provide a blade assembly capable of sectioning an entire food item within a baking pan into a plurality of uniformly shaped smaller sections. Still further, it is an object of the claimed invention to provide a blade assembly having a plurality of opposingly oriented blades that are collapsible into a compact configuration for storage.
To achieve these and other readily apparent objectives, the invention summarily comprises a foldable blade assembly for sectioning an entire food item, such as brownies, cakes, pies, cookies, lasagna, pizza, gelatin, etc. within a food preparation container or baking pan into a plurality of equally sized smaller sections. The blade assembly of the present invention generally comprises a plurality of radiating cutting blades, including at least one laterally orientable cutting blade and at least one longitudinally orientable cutting blade, a central hinge structure connecting the cutting blades, and a removable handle assembly structure.
The radiating cutting blades are sized and shaped to section an entire food item diameter within a food preparation container or baking pan into a plurality of sectioned smaller portions. The cutting blades may optionally comprise angled end portions, which portions are angled to compensate for the angularity of upright walls of certain food preparation containers when the blade assembly is pressed into a food item within the food preparation container. Each of the cutting blades are hingedly attached to the central hinge structure thereby providing pivotal freedom of movement between the cutting blades.
The handle assembly is shaped for applying manual force perpendicular to the cutting blades during use. The handle assembly has blade-receiving structure for receiving the upper edges of the cutting blades. The handle assembly may thus be removably connected to the blades so that the blade assembly may be more easily folded into a closed position to reduce space required storage space of the blade assembly. The handle assembly has a push button that can be manually depressed to release the handle assembly from the cutting blades.
Other features of our invention will become more evident from a consideration of the following brief description of patent drawings:
a) is a fragmentary side view depiction of a food bottom and food wall of a first food preparation.
a) is a fragmentary side view depiction of a container bottom and container wall of a first food preparation container.
a) is a fragmentary side view depiction of a food bottom and food wall of a second food preparation.
a) is a fragmentary side view depiction of a container bottom and container wall of a second food preparation container.
Referring now to the drawings, the preferred embodiment of the present invention generally concerns a food-presentation system for sectioning and displaying a container-prepared food preparation in(to) a plurality of food sections. The container-prepared food preparation 10 is generally depicted and referenced in
It may be understood from an inspection of
The food preparation 10 is essentially a (container) form-prepared food item and thus may be described as form-prepared in the food preparation container 12. The food preparation 10 thereby preferably comprises a substantially planar food bottom 53 as depicted and referenced in
It should be readily understood that the food wall 52 preferably extends upwardly or upwardly and outwardly from the food bottom 52 at a food angle of inclination 17, the food angle of inclination 17 preferably being equal in magnitude to the container angle of inclination 16 as generally and comparatively depicted in
The blade assembly 13 preferably comprises a substantially planar, laterally orientable cutting blade 50 as illustrated and referenced in
In addition to the lateral and longitudinal cutting blades 50 and 60, blade assembly 13 preferably comprises a number of other cutting blades 55, all of which are laterally or longitudinally orientable, and all of which may be pivotally varied about a common central hinge structure so that the blades radiate uniformly therefrom as generally depicted in
It is contemplated that a piano type hinge connection 19 as referenced in
Further, the cutting blades 50, 55, and 60 each preferably comprise a blade depth greater in magnitude than the maximal bulk thickness for exposing a superior blade junction 56 in superior adjacency to the food-surface 51, which blade junction 56 is generally referenced in
Since a primary purpose of the present invention is to cleanly section and neatly display sectioned food preparations, unsightly smashed regions at blade junctions are not preferred. To remedy the defect, it has been found that pointed structure 41 functions to provide a cleaner sectioning function which results in a neater food preparation display as diagrammatically depicted (for comparative purposes) in
The force-imparting handle assembly 80 of the present invention may be manually (i.e. via the user's hand) removable, as may be achieved by certain push-button structure 23 or certain handle assembly-release means that can be depressed to release the handle assembly 80 from the cutting blades 50, 55, and 60, which push-button structure 23 is illustrated and referenced in
It is contemplated, in any event, that the force-imparting handle assembly 80 or is removable from blades 50, 55, and 60 for the purpose of minimizing storage bulk of the blade assembly 13. The force-imparting handle assembly 80 preferably comprises a blade-engaging end 28 as depicted and referenced in
The blade-receiving notches or grooves 31 preferably comprise a groove width, the groove widths being sized and shaped for selectively receiving paired, stackable cutting blades 33, which blades 33 are depicted and referenced in
The hand grip portion or hand-engaging end 29 together with the rigid handle structure 30 enable a user to manually impart vertically directed forces to the blade assembly 13. Thereby, the food preparation 10 may be effectively sectioned into a plurality of food sections 11 via the downwardly directed cutting blades 50, 55, and 60. The downwardly directed cutting blades 50, 55, and 60 prevent adjacent food sections from contacting one another as generally depicted in
In terms of displaying the container-prepared food preparation 10, it is contemplated that the food presentation system of the present invention may well function to display the otherwise sectioned food preparation 10 to potential consumers. In this regard, the reader is directed to
Further, it is contemplated that the food preparation 10 and the blade assembly 13 are preferably cooperably removable from the food preparation container 12, or alternatively, that the food preparation container 12 is removable from the food preparation 10 and the blade assembly 13 as generally depicted in
It will be further seen from an inspection of the noted figures that at least one select food section is removable from the food preparation container 12 for creating a section vacancy 37 as generally depicted in
In this last regard, it is contemplated that the blades 50, 55, and 60 may be preferably constructed from stainless steel or similar other material having a highly reflective, polished surface for effecting a certain degree of ornamentation adjacent the section vacancy. Further, it is contemplated that the cutting blades 50, 55, and 60 may optionally comprise blade apertures 40 as illustrated and referenced in
While the above description contains much specificity, this specificity should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention, but rather as an exemplification of the invention. For example, the invention may be said to essentially disclose a blade assembly for sectioning and displaying a food preparation as prepared in a food preparation container. The blade assembly of the present invention may be said to essentially comprise at least one substantially planar, laterally orientable cutting blade, at least one substantially planar, longitudinally orientable cutting blade, and at least one force-imparting handle assembly as generally depicted in
The cutting blades each function to vertically section a food preparation from its food surface to the food bottom intermediate the bulk food portions. The force-imparting handle assembly comprises a blade-engaging end, a hand-engaging end, and rigid handle assembly structure extending intermediate the blade-engaging end and the hand-engaging end. The blade-engaging end comprises certain blade attachment means and the hand-engaging end may comprise a hand-grip portion. The blade attachment means removably attach the handle assembly to the cutting blades.
The hand grip portion and the rigid handle assembly structure enabling a user to manually impart vertically directed forces to the blade assembly. The food preparation may be thereby sectioned into a plurality of food sections via the downwardly directed cutting blades. The cutting blades further function to corral the resulting food sections, and provide planar barriers between the corralled food sections and matter external to the corralled food sections. Notably, at least one select food section is removable from the food preparation container for creating a section vacancy. In this regard, it is noted that the planar barriers may further function to prevent the container-borne bulk food portions from entering the section vacancy. Further, the ornamental blade surfaces may function to provide at least one ornamentally-bound section vacancy. Thus, it is contemplated that the blade assembly of the present invention enables a food presentation system for sectioning a container-borne food preparation and uniquely displaying a substantial portion thereof.
Further, the foundational elements of the invention may thus be said to teach or disclose a foldable food cutter for sectioning an entire food item within a food preparation container into a plurality of equally sized smaller sections, the cutter comprising at least one laterally orientable cutting blade, at least one longitudinally orientable cutting blade, and at least one (removable) handle assembly. The cutting blades are hingedly connected to provide pivotal freedom of movement between the cutting blades. The handle assembly is shaped for providing manual force perpendicular to the cutting blades during use.
Stated another way, the foldable cutter of the present invention may be said to section an entire food item within a food preparation container into a plurality of equally smaller sections. To achieve this function, the cutter comprises radially arranged cutting blades sized and shaped to fit within a food preparation container having an upright side. The cutting blades may thus section an entire food item within the food preparation container into a plurality of smaller sections. A hinge connection hingedly connects the cutting blades providing means for pivotally changing the relationship between the cutting blades from an expanded radial arrangement to a substantially coplanar arrangement. Further, the handle assembly enables provision of manual force perpendicular to the cutting blades during use.
Accordingly, although the invention has been described by reference to a number of preferred and alternative embodiments, it is not intended that the novel system, device or assembly be limited thereby, but that modifications thereof are intended to be included as falling within the broad scope and spirit of the foregoing disclosure, the following claims and the appended drawings.
This application is a continuation-in-part patent application claiming priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/459,821, filed in the United States Patent and Trademark Office on Jun. 11, 2003 now abandoned.
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|---|---|---|---|
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| 20040020055 | Zuker | Feb 2004 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20060272466 A1 | Dec 2006 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 10459821 | Jun 2003 | US |
| Child | 11502762 | US |
