Patent Application
20160100711
1. Field of the Technology
The disclosure relates to the field of food preparation items, specifically a device for draining liquid from an elongated food item.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Americans as a whole consume an inordinate sum of hot dogs, sausages, and other grilled or cooked items during a variety of events for a variety of reasons. Recently however, many individuals have become concerned with reducing the amount of calories they consume and maintaining a healthy diet. Traditionally however many types of hot dogs or sausages have a high fat content which make them prohibitive to many individuals, particularly those in poor health or who have medical conditions such as hypertension or issues with obesity.
Several devices and methods have been developed over the years which attempt to reduce the fat content in a given food item and yet maintain a simple ease of use for the consumer. Most notably, many of these devices have been in the form of a number of different grills or barbeques with a clam shell configuration which simply presses the liquid fat out of a food item and then directs the lit away from the food item and into a separate collection pan. Other devices such as skewers, rotisserie spits, and the like have been used which rotate the food item as it cooks, letting the liquid fat drip and fall away.
A special problem arises however when the consumer attempts to cook an elongated food item such as a hot dog or sausage. Hot dogs and sausages by their inherent nature comprise a portion of meat which is encapsulated within a natural casing, meaning that as the hot dog or sausage is being cooked, any fat which is liquefied tends to stay within the hot dog or sausage itself and does not seep or exit the surface of the item until it is consumed by the consumer. Elongated food items may be cooked in a grill press, however it order for the grill to effectively remove the fat contained within the elongated food item, the grill must pierce the casing of the food item which is a purpose that the grill is ill suited for and which may jeopardize the structural integrity of the food item and render it unusable or unappetizing. A consumer may also simply use paper towels or other similar means to squeeze the food item and thus remove any liquefied fat that way. However this method can prove cumbersome and messy, especially when the elongated food item is still hot to the touch.
What is needed therefore is an apparatus and method which allows a consumer to remove the liquefied fat from within an elongated food item such as a hot dog or a sausage without burning their hand or destroying the general shape of the food item.
The invention includes a device for removing liquid from a food item. The device includes a first half coupled to a second half which by a hinge. The inner surfaces of the first half and second half include a number of protrusions thereon and the first half and second half each have a substantially concave shape so that a cylinder is formed when the first half and second half are brought together in a closed position.
In one embodiment, the device has a proximal end with an aperture defined therein and a distal end with a tapered nozzle tip.
In another embodiment, the plurality of protrusions of the device each have a scalloped indentation and a sharpened tip.
In another embodiment, the device has a tab disposed on its first half and a groove disposed on its second half. The tab is configured to fit within the groove when the first and second halves are brought together to form a cylinder about the food item.
In yet another embodiment, the plurality of protrusions disposed on the inner surfaces of the first half and second half are configured in a matching staggered pattern for a food item comprising a substantially elongated shape.
In one particular embodiment, the first half and the second half are comprised of a resilient, flexible plastic. The plurality of protrusions are in turn comprised of a differing plastic that is more rigid than the plastic comprising the first half and second half.
The invention also includes a method for removing the liquid from a food item. The method includes inserting the food item into a device comprising a first half and a second half, closing the device by rotating the first half of the device with regard to the second half of the device, squeezing the first half and second half of the device, draining liquid contained within the food item from the device, and removing the food item from the food device.
In one embodiment, the method step of closing the device by rotating the first half of the device with regard to the second half of the device comprises rotating the first half or the second half about a hinge.
In an alternative embodiment, the method step of closing the device by rotating the first half of the device with regard to the second half of the device include bringing a tab disposed on the first half in close proximity to a groove disposed on the second half and then inserting the tab into the groove. More particularly, inserting the tab into the groove comprises inserting the tab into the groove all along a combined longitudinal length of the first and second halves.
In one embodiment, the method step of squeezing the first half and second half of the device comprises pressing the first and second halves of the device towards each other and then driving a plurality of protrusions disposed on each of the inner surfaces of the first and second halves into the food item. Draining the liquid contained within the food item from the device is then accomplished by directing the liquid down a scalloped indentation defined within each of the plurality of protrusions.
In a separate embodiment, the method step of draining the liquid contained within the food item from the device comprises maintaining the device in a substantially vertical position such that liquid removed from the food item exits or drips from the device via a nozzle tip disposed in a distal end of the device.
In yet another embodiment, the method step of squeezing the first half and second half of the device comprises maintaining a constant air pressure between the inside and the outside of the device via an aperture defined in a proximal end of the device.
In another embodiment, the method step of removing the food item from the device includes releasing a tab disposed on the first half that has been temporarily coupled to a groove disposed on the second half, rotating the first half about a hinge with respect to the second half, and then picking up the food item from the first or second half of the device. More particularly, rotating the first half about a hinge with respect to the second half further includes removing a plurality of protrusions located on the first half or second half from the food item.
While the apparatus and method has or will be described for the sake of grammatical fluidity with functional explanations, it is to be expressly understood that the claims, unless expressly formulated under 35 USC 112, are not to be construed as necessarily limited in any way by the construction of “means” or “steps” limitations, but are to be accorded the full scope of the meaning and equivalents of the definition provided by the claims under the judicial doctrine of equivalents, and in the case where the claims are expressly formulated under 35 USC 112 are to be accorded full statutory equivalents under 35 USC 112. The disclosure can be better visualized by turning now to the following drawings wherein like elements are referenced by like numerals.
The disclosure and its various embodiments can now be better understood by turning to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments which are presented as illustrated examples of the embodiments defined in the claims. It is expressly understood that the embodiments as defined by the claims may be broader than the illustrated embodiments described below.
The current apparatus is a device for removing the fat stored within an elongated food item and is generally denoted by reference numeral 10 as seen in
As seen in
The whole of the device 10 is comprised of a resilient plastic or plastic composite that is sufficiently durable to withstand frequent use as detailed below, yet also flexible and malleable enough for nearly any user. In one particular embodiment, the plastic material used to comprise the device is up to 1 mm in thickness.
As best seen in
Turning to
Both the first half 20 and the second half 22 as seen in
To use the device 10, a user first manipulates the device 10 so that the first half 20 and second half 22 are in the open position as seen in
While the disclosure above relates that the elongated food item 36 which is placed within the device 10 is a hot dog, it should be expressly understood that the device 10 may be scaled either up or down in size in order to accommodate differing food items other than what is shown and described above. For example, the device 10 may be fabricated to be proportionately smaller to accommodate smaller food items such as breakfast sausages, and correspondingly, the device 10 may also be fabricated to be proportionally larger as is known in the art to accommodate larger food items such as sausage links or corn on the cob.
Additionally, while the protrusions 26 described above comprise a substantially conical shape with a scalloped indentation, it should be expressly understood that the protrusions may comprise any equivalent functional shape now known or later devised without departing from the original spirit and scope of the invention. For example, the protrusions 26 may also comprise a substantially bladed or sharpened edge shape, or a pyramid or tetrahedronal shape, among others.
The user preferably squeezes the device 10 while it is being held in a substantially vertical orientation, specifically with the distal end 14 pointed downwards. Liquid which has been removed from the food item 36 by the protrusions 26 flows down the inner surface of the first and second halves 20, 22 towards the distal end 14 and then out of the device 10 through the nozzle 18. The user continues to squeeze the device 10 until the user decides to stop or when all the liquid has been removed from the food item 36. The aperture 16 in the proximal end 12 ensures the free flow of air passing to and from the device 10 as it is being squeezed, thus preventing any liquid which has been removed from the food item 36 but has not yet exited the device 10 from being inadvertently sucked back up into the food item 36 when the user releases their grip on the device 10.
When the user has stopped squeezing the device 10, the user may open the device 10 by releasing the tab 28 from the groove 30 as discussed above and rotating the first and second halves 20, 22 about the hinge 24, thus reversing the course of the protrusions 26 and pulling them free from the food item 36. The user is then free to remove the food item 36 from the device 10 and repeat as needed. The device 10 is preferably comprised of washing machine safe plastic or plastic composite for ease of cleaning.
Many alterations and modifications may be made by those having ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments. Therefore, it must be understood that the illustrated embodiment has been set forth only for the purposes of example and that it should not be taken as limiting the embodiments as defined by the following embodiments and its various embodiments.
Therefore, it must be understood that the illustrated embodiment has been set forth only for the purposes of example and that it should not be taken as limiting the embodiments as defined by the following claims. For example, notwithstanding the fact that the elements of a claim are set forth below in a certain combination, it must be expressly understood that the embodiments includes other combinations of fewer, more or different elements, which are disclosed in above even when not initially claimed in such combinations. A teaching that two elements are combined in a claimed combination is further to be understood as also allowing for a claimed combination in which the two elements are not combined with each other, but may be used alone or combined in other combinations. The excision of any disclosed element of the embodiments is explicitly contemplated as within the scope of the embodiments.
The words used in this specification to describe the various embodiments are to be understood not only in the sense of their commonly defined meanings, but to include by special definition in this specification structure, material or acts beyond the scope of the commonly defined meanings. Thus if an element can be understood in the context of this specification as including more than one meaning, then its use in a claim must be understood as being generic to all possible meanings supported by the specification and by the word itself.
The definitions of the words or elements of the following claims are, therefore, defined in this specification to include not only the combination of elements which are literally set forth, but all equivalent structure, material or acts for performing substantially the same function in substantially the same way to obtain substantially the same result. In this sense it is therefore contemplated that an equivalent substitution of two or more elements may be made for any one of the elements in the claims below or that a single element may be substituted for two or more elements in a claim. Although elements may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, it is to be expressly understood that one or more elements from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination and that the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination.
Insubstantial changes from the claimed subject matter as viewed by a person with ordinary skill in the art, now known or later devised, are expressly contemplated as being equivalently within the scope of the claims. Therefore, obvious substitutions now or later known to one with ordinary skill in the art are defined to be within the scope of the defined elements.
The claims are thus to be understood to include what is specifically illustrated and described above, what is conceptionally equivalent, what can be obviously substituted and also what essentially incorporates the essential idea of the embodiments.
