Patent Application
20050048173
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to smoking fish. More specifically, the invention is an apparatus combination used to place on and remove fish from a smoking rack.
2. Description of the Related Art
The relevant art of interest describes various methods of smoking fish, but none discloses the present method and apparatus for performing the fish smoking process of the present invention. There is a need for a working platform arm device for removing smoked fish fillets from a rack that would not result in injury to the worker. The related art of interest describes various methods of packaging smoked fish, but none discloses the present device and method of use.
European Patent Application No. EP 0 824 868 A1 published on Feb. 25, 1998, for Henricus A. J. M. Bond describes a method and system for preparing a ready-to-use fish product and the product comprising in the process, the steps of pre-treating the fish, smoking the pre-treated fish, cutting the smoked fish into ready-to-use products such as single-bite servings, freezing and packing the cut fish products. The system comprises a pre-treatment station, a smoking station, a cutting station, a freezing station, and a freezing station arranged in series. The cutting station may comprise a cutting device having one or more movably driven cutting members, e.g., a plurality of parallel rotatable cutting members, between which wiping members may be arranged. The system is distinguishable for requiring five treating stations in sequence, and requiring a cutting device and wiping members.
U.S. patent application Publication Ser. No. 2002/0189603 A1 published on Dec. 19, 2002, for Josephine Hsu describes a barbeque smoking grill having a porous separator for smoking and grilling multiple food items simultaneously with separate lids. The apparatus is distinguishable for requiring a smoking grill but failing to specify any device similar to the present invention for removing the smoked items from the grill.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,148,925 issued on Apr. 10, 1979, to F. Edward Pettinato et al. describes a process for hot smoking fish comprising the conversion of the fish skinto a moisture impervious state under non-cooking conditions, and then cooking the fish in the presence of smoke while maintaining the moisture impervious nature of the fish skin. The method is dissimilar and the cooking utensils are conventional.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,068,314 issued on May 30, 2000, to Gery D. Dorazio et al. describes a wire rack handling tool comprising having a triangular metal blade narrowing to a vertically bent neck having a pair of hooks on a handle. The tool is distinguishable for its different spatula structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,589 issued on Oct. 20, 1998, to Brad Johnston describes a food-handling accessory for a charcoal grill comprising a unique pivoting structure to rotate a tined array about a center axis to allow relatively fragile food items such as fish to be turned over and removed from the grill surface without sticking or breaking apart. Hooks are formed at the ends of the outside tine members. The device is distinguishable for requiring a rotating tine portion with hook members.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,941,584 issued on Oct. 24, 1999, to Mark J. Young et al. describes a roast lifting tool comprising a pair of metal tines spaced apart on a short handle having a T-shaped metal grasping handle at the juncture of the tines and the handle. The tool is distinguishable for lacking the structure of the present invention, and being limited to the tines and handle.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,761,120 issued on Sep. 25, 1973, to Charles E. Binkert describes a food patty-turning device comprising a spatula-like tool having an open flanged frame hinged over a slotted flat blade for grasping a food patty by the action of a bell crank and trigger on a wooden handle having a loop at its end for holding the bell crank in a closed position by engaging the trigger. The device is distinguishable for requiring a flanged open frame to clamp on the slotted flat blade by a bell crank and trigger control.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,029,004 issued on Jun. 14, 1977, to Edward Isenberg describes a meat curing or smoking rack comprising a rectangular vertical rack frame having spring-like brackets for supporting shelves in either a horizontal meat supporting position or a relatively vertical washing and storage position, pans on the frame in underlying positions to the shelves for collecting curing and other solutions which drain from the shelved meat, and pivoting means mounting the pans for movement between a horizontal solution-collecting position and a vertical pan-washing position. The curing racks travel on a rail with journaling wheels to form a trolley. The rack device is distinguishable for requiring multiple shelves on a vertical rack.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP 1-10893 A, published on Apr. 4, 1989, for Kanichi Hayano describes a smoking process of salmon by slicing salmon into three fillets, skinning the fillets, leaving a tail part, and hanging the fillets by piercing wires through the unskinned part. The process is distinguishable by requiring hanging the fillets by their unskinned tail portion.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP 10-192165 A, published on Jul. 28, 1998, for Shoichi Kumakura describes a one-piece tong-shaped stainless steel spatula having a holding function for turning over baked food. The upper spatula's tip has saw-teeth. The device is distinguishable for requiring only a certain structure for the tong.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus, a method of packaging smoked fish using the novel drying rack solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
The method of packaging smoked fish fillets includes the removal of smoked fillets from a novel planar or cambered smoking rack and a removal tool or apparatus. This processing step requires the delicate but efficient task of separating the smoked fillets from the rack without damaging the product. Another problem occurs due to the removal of most if not all of the smoked product from the smoking rack simultaneously without any undue physical effort on the part of the employee. Therefore, this inventive combination apparatus has been devised to eliminate the aforementioned problem with minimum effort and maximum economy. The working platform arm apparatus comprises a rectangular backing surface tray either planar or cambered (upwardly curved) and supported underneath by a wire grid frame that is attached to a horizontal lower arm element having an external curvilinear lower arm cuff or guard. The lower arm element is adjustably hinged at one end to the end of doubled and overlapping upper arm support rods that are attached to another curvilinear external rod support described as an upper arm cuff. The front end of the backing surface tray has attached a knife section board having a specially formed parallel series of thin flat knives having frontal cutting edges. The spacing of the sharp knife edges conform with the parallel spacing of the rack wires to efficiently separate the smoked filets from the rack. Therefore, the operator utilizing the working platform arm device can efficiently and effectively separate and collect the smoked fillets.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a method of packaging smoked fish fillets.
It is another object of the invention to provide an apparatus for smoking fish fillets.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a protective arm apparatus for removing smoked fillets from its rack.
Still another object of the invention is to provide the rack in two configurations as flat and upwardly curved.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.
Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.
The present invention is directed to two embodiments of a smoking rack for fish fillets and a working platform arm device for a worker to wear and use in removing the smoked fillets efficiently in one movement from the smoking rack and transporting elsewhere.
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Thus, an apparatus and method of using the apparatus to more efficiently and effectively handle the packaging of smoked fish fillets has been shown.
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.
