Patent Application
20220380111
The following includes information that may be useful in understanding the present disclosure. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art nor material to the presently described or claimed inventions, nor that any publication or document that is specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
The present invention relates generally to the field of strainers of existing art and more specifically relates to food strainer devices.
Prepared rotisserie goods such as chickens that are sold in grocery stores nationwide are typically packaged in plastic containers. With these traditional plastic containers, the chickens sit in their own grease and liquids, and often do so for long periods of time until someone purchases it. As the food sits in the container, the accumulation of pooled liquid, whether grease, oil, sauces, or water moisture, causes the food to lose freshness and become less edible. In some cases, the food can become spoiled and unappetizing in a short period of time. A suitable solution is desired.
U.S. Pat. No. 10,327,390 to Barbara Hanshew relates to a food storage system. The described food storage system includes a food storage system for enhancing freshness of a perishable food item which includes a bowl that is positioned on a support surface. A plate is provided and the plate is selectively positioned in the bowl. The plate is perforated to pass air between the plate and the bowl. A food item is selectively positioned on the plate thereby facilitating the food item to be kept dry. In this way the plate inhibits the food item from rotting and the plate enhances freshness of the food item.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known food strainer device art, the present disclosure provides a novel rotisserie strainer device. The general purpose of the present disclosure, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a rotisserie strainer device for containers that host cooked rotisserie goods, such as chicken and turkey, which enhance flavor, texture and enjoyability of said rotisserie goods.
A rotisserie strainer device is disclosed herein. The rotisserie strainer device includes a platform sized and configured to be positionable (or positioned) in a bottom-portion of a host rotisserie-goods-container and thereby elevate a rotisserie-food-item from an interior base section of the rotisserie-goods-container. The platform comprises a planar section having a plurality of apertures allowing liquid to pass therethrough, a center support, a first-foot, and a second-foot. The platform is provided for elevating the rotisserie-food-item from the interior base section of the host rotisserie-goods-container in order to prevent contact between the rotisserie-food-item and the liquid collected in the bottom-portion of the host rotisserie-goods-container.
A method of using the rotisserie strainer device is also disclosed herein. The method includes the following steps: step one, providing a platform sized and configured to be positionable in a bottom-portion of a host rotisserie-goods-container and able to elevate a rotisserie-food-item from an interior base section of the rotisserie-goods-container; step two, inserting the platform in the host rotisserie-goods-container; step three, placing a rotisserie-food-item on the platform; and step four, optionally removing the platform from the host rotisserie-goods-container.
For purposes of summarizing the invention, certain aspects, advantages, and novel features of the invention have been described herein. It is to be understood that not necessarily all such advantages may be achieved in accordance with any one particular embodiment of the invention. Thus, the invention may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other advantages as may be taught or suggested herein. The features of the invention which are believed to be novel are particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings and detailed description.
The figures which accompany the written portion of this specification illustrate embodiments and methods of use for the present disclosure, a rotisserie strainer device, constructed and operative according to the teachings of the present disclosure.
The various embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings, wherein like designations denote like elements.
As discussed above, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a food strainer device and more particularly to a rotisserie strainer device as used to improve the storage of rotisserie-food-items.
Generally, the rotisserie strainer device includes a platform that may be inserted in a host rotisserie-goods-container for supporting a rotisserie-food-item, such as a chicken in an elevated position within the rotisserie-goods-container. The platform features a plurality of apertures allowing liquid to pass therethrough. Grease, fat liquid and/or particulate fall through the plurality of apertures to a bottom of the rotisserie-goods-container instead of remaining in contact with the rotisserie-food-item. The platform further includes strategically-placed creases that form support walls to ensure the platform is rigid and durable under pressure of hosting a cooked rotisserie-food-item such as a chicken or turkey. The rotisserie strainer device allows a popular prepared food item to be packaged and served in a cleaner, taste-preserving, and healthier way.
In one embodiment, using high-density polyethylene (HDPE) of a one-millimeter (1 mm) depth, the rotisserie strainer device is formed in a similar size and shape to a rotisserie-goods-container used for hosting single units of prepared rotisserie chickens and the like. A platform portion of the rotisserie strainer device includes circular apertures of an approximate two-millimeter (2 mm) diameter. A horizontal center of the rotisserie strainer device features a stabilizing crease and the outer edge projects perpendicularly to form a secure footing.
The rotisserie strainer device can be made in various sizes and shapes that correspond with a rotisserie-goods-container. A various number of apertures of various sizes can be featured on the platform of the rotisserie strainer device. The rotisserie strainer device can be made in variations in which the platform is a permanently-affixed feature of its hosting container. The rotisserie strainer device can be made of various materials of adequate durability and weight tolerance, such as but not limited high-density polyethylene (HDPE), high-impact polystyrene (HIPS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The rotisserie strainer device can be made in variations that use corrugated plastic.
A method of use may be as follows: the rotisserie strainer device may be applied directly into a rotisserie-goods-container before insertion of a rotisserie-food-item. A cooked, rotisserie-food-item may then be placed upon the rotisserie strainer device and any grease and fat may drain from the rotisserie-food-item through apertures of the platform. The grease and fat will remain on an interior base section of the rotisserie-goods-container and will not make any further contact with, or be reabsorbed by, the hosted rotisserie-food-item. Users may then enjoy all parts of the rotisserie-food-item such as a chicken without it being saturated with unwanted grease and fat.
Referring now more specifically to the drawings by numerals of reference, there is shown in
As shown in the figures, the platform 110 includes the planar section 112 having a crease at a horizontal center forming a first-support-wall 118 and a second-support-wall 120 together forming the center support 116. The planar section 112 further comprises a first-creased-edge 122 and a second-creased-edge 128 opposing the first-creased-edge 122. The first-foot 124 extends perpendicularly from the first-creased-edge 122 and the second-foot 126 extends perpendicularly from the second-creased-edge 128. The first-foot 124 and the second-foot 126 each comprise an L-shaped profile. The platform 110 forms a cavity between a top surface 108 of the platform 110 and the interior base section of the rotisserie-goods-container 15 for collection of the liquid. The rotisserie strainer device 100 may be made to rest at various heights above the interior base section of the rotisserie-goods-container 15.
According to one embodiment, the rotisserie strainer device 100 may be arranged as a kit 105, as shown in
It should be noted that step four 804 is an optional step and may not be implemented in all cases. Optional steps of method of use 800 are illustrated using dotted lines in
The embodiments of the invention described herein are exemplary and numerous modifications, variations and rearrangements can be readily envisioned to achieve substantially equivalent results, all of which are intended to be embraced within the spirit and scope of the invention. Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientist, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application.
