Patent Application
20080072768
Referring to
A handle portion 19 is provided upwardly extending from at or near the center of the generally bowl-shaped upper portion 12. The handle portion 19 can include a shaft 21 the length of which is sufficient long to allow the user to easily grab. The handle portion 19 can further define an aperture 23 at the upper end of the shaft 21 sized to allow a user to grasp onto the handle portion 19 via the aperture 23. In one embodiment, the shaft is hollow and defines a plurality of apertures 17 to allow steam to flow through the handle portion 19. In one embodiment, the handle portion 19 is made sufficiently flexible so as to fold over when pressed upon with a lid but sufficiently resilient to pop up when taking the lid off the pot.
The generally bowl-shape of the upper portion 12 opens upwardly. The generally bowl-shaped upper portion 12 includes a lip 26. The lip 26 defines a plurality of scallops 28. The scalpels 28 enable the outermost edge the generally bowl-shaped upper portion 12 to engage the inside surface of a pot while retaining the inside edge of the generally bowl-shaped upper portion 12 a distance from the inside surface of the pot to enable steam to pass.
Referring to
The food steamer of the present invention is preferably formed of one piece molded silicon. The use of such materials further results in a non-stick design. In addition, by using flexible materials the food steamer of the present invention conforms to a variety of cookware sizes and will not harm or scratch metal or coated cookware. The silicon design results in a device that is easy to clean and stain resistant. Further, the food steamer of the present invention can be deformed to aid in storage.
The food steamer of the present invention can preferably be made of “high-temperature” silicon which can have heat resistance up to about 650 F/350 C degrees. The present invention can be offered in small, medium, and large sizes to accommodate different sizes of pots. The present invention could also be used for additional applications such as for example draining food that has been cooked in liquid or a cooking insert.
The food steamer 10 is flexible, but is made of sufficiently high durometer silicon to retain its general position with the weight of the food to be steamed present. In one embodiment, the food steamer 10 can be made of silicon having a durometer of around 60 shore to provide suitable rigidity. In additional embodiments, different portions of the food steamer 10 can be made of different thicknesses of material in order to increase or decrease the rigidity of such portions. For example, the scallops 28 on the lip 26 of the generally bowl-shaped upper portion 12 can be made thinner, thereby increasing their flexibility to accommodate different sized pots. In addition, the legs 33 of the stand 31 can be made thicker, thereby increasing the rigidity of the stand. The handle portion can likewise be sized in order to effectuate the appropriate level of rigidity
Thus, a food steamer in accordance with the principles of the present invention is easy to clean, dishwasher safe, difficult to stain, virtually unlimited color offerings with the silicon material, and silicon will not scratch cookware, high-end stoves, etc.
It should be understood that various changes and modifications to the preferred embodiments described herein would be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention and without diminishing its attendant advantages. It is therefore intended that such changes and modifications be covered by the appended claims.
