Patent Application
20060050606
The present invention generally relates to food preparation devices and, more particularly, to an improved whisking apparatus.
Various whisking devices have been used for many years in connection with food products such as sauces, gravies, and the like. Many of these whisks are “wire whisks,” which typically include a number of wires (e.g., elongated wire loops) extending from a handle or other such fixture.
Referring to
In prior art whisks such as these, there is significant difficulty associated with cleaning the wires 104 after use. That is, depending upon the viscosity of the material being whisked, it is common for the material to collect between the wires where they cross, which is typically (but not exclusively) located at the end 106 of wires 104. Even in cases where the wires are displaced axially (
Accordingly, there is a need for whisking devices which overcome these and other limitation of the prior art.
In general, the present invention provides a novel whisking device having independent wire movement accomplished via a non-crossing wire pattern. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the whisk comprises a handle having a first end and a second end, and a plurality of whisk elements coupled to and extending outward from the second end of the handle. The plurality of whisk elements have a first region and a second region, wherein the plurality of whisk elements in the first region form a generally conical shape, and wherein the plurality of whisk elements in the second region are non-crossing and form a generally hemispherical shape. In one embodiment, the non-crossing whisk elements in the second region have a generally hemispherical shape whose terminus comprises a generally circular gap between the whisk elements.
A more complete understanding of the present invention may be derived by referring to the detailed description when considered in connection with the Figures, where like reference numbers refer to similar elements throughout the Figures, and:
The following description is of exemplary embodiments of the invention only, and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the following description is intended to provide a convenient illustration for implementing various embodiments of the invention. As will become apparent, various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described in these embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention.
In general, the present invention provides a novel whisking device having independent wire movement accomplished via a non-crossing wire pattern. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the whisk comprises a handle having a first end and a second end, and a plurality of whisk elements coupled to and extending outward from the second end of the handle. The plurality of whisk elements have a first region and a second region, wherein the plurality of whisk elements in the first region form a generally conical shape, and wherein the plurality of whisk elements in the second region are non-crossing and form a generally hemispherical shape. In one embodiment, the non-crossing whisk elements in the second region have a generally hemispherical shape whose terminus comprises a generally circular gap between the whisk elements.
Referring now to
Each of the whisk elements 206 may be formed as wire loop segments wherein each end of the wire is attached to end 404 of handle 202, and each wire itself is suitably bent or formed (at point 412) to form the perimeter of opening or non-crossing region 208. The present invention is not so limited, however, and any suitable whisk element shapes may be employed.
Furthermore, whisk elements 106 may be configured in any symmetrical or asymmetrical manner. As shown in
Any number of whisk elements may be used. In one embodiment whisk 200 includes between six and ten whisk element, for example, eight whisk elements as shown.
Handle 202 is shown as a user-grippable region for manual whisking. It will be appreciated that the present invention may be used in the context of any whisking device, whether manual, automated, or a combination thereof. Therefore, the exemplary handle shape shown in the drawings is not intended as a limitation. The handle 202 may be configured, for example, to interface with an electric mixer (e.g., as shown in
It will be appreciated that the scale and shapes shown in the drawings are in no way limiting to the range of possible shapes encompassed by this invention. The illustrated embodiment is what is often termed a “balloon whisk,” but any whisking device would profit from the invention.
Nevertheless,
The individual wires 206 may extend from handle 202 at any convenient angle Θ. In the illustrated embodiment, the generally circular gap 208 has a diameter substantially equal to the circular pattern of wire elements as attached to end 203. This particular embodiment is best illustrated in
Wire elements 206 may be formed from any suitable material, including various metals, plastics, ceramics, composites, etc. In a preferred embodiment, elements 206 comprise suitably rigid stainless steel wires. Similarly, handle 202 may be formed from any suitable metal, plastic, ceramic, or composite material. In a preferred embodiment, handle 202 comprises a high-impact plastic.
As shown, the invention provides a whisking element that is easy to clean, as the opening or non-crossing region at the terminus of the whisk does not collect whisking material. That is, no food becomes trapped in the wire mesh, as is typical with prior art whisking devices. This design has the added advantage that there is more surface area at the terminus of the whisk, and the whisk elements themselves are allowed a greater degree of freedom of movement during whisking. This also improves the haptic properties of the whisk, i.e., the tactile response provided to the user during whisking.
Other advantages and structural details of the invention will be apparent from the attached figures, which will be well understood by those skilled in the art. The present invention has been described above with to a particular exemplary embodiment. However, many changes, combinations and modifications may be made to the exemplary embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention.
