Patent Application
20230329465
The present invention relates generally to the field of a temperature sensing device and methods. More specifically, the present invention relates to a novel glass shell containing thermotropic liquid crystals that can be strategically placed onto kitchenware or utensils. The crystals absorb the heat from a food item placed on kitchenware or utensils and exhibit a color for visually indicating temperature range of the food item. The glass shell can be positioned or secured onto plates, bowls, cups, mugs, forks, spoons, knives, and more for preventing individuals from consuming food at undesirable temperatures or accidentally touching or consuming items that are too hot. Accordingly, the present disclosure makes specific reference thereto. Nonetheless, it is to be appreciated that aspects of the present invention are also equally applicable to other like applications, devices, and methods of manufacture.
By way of background, individuals while eating food and drinking beverages are unaware of the actual temperature range of the food and beverage until a bite or a sip is taken by them. While having a first bite, individuals find out that food may be too hot, too cold, or not done at all. The first bite may make their experience unpleasant. When the food is too hot, serious burn injuries and harm can occur. In fact, any type of hot food or liquid has the potential to irritate the lining of the mouth, throat, and esophagus. Eating or drinking something that is too hot can cause a thermal injury in the lining of the mouth, throat, or esophagus and can lead to chronic inflammation and the formation of cancer cells. Acute esophagus thermal injury (ETI) is considered a reversible esophagus injury as a result of ingestion of hot foods and hot beverage, leading to dysphagia, odynophagia, and retrosternal burning sensation.
When the food is too cold, it can cause a sensation in the teeth of a user and can also cause a sore throat. Cold items that are not warmed or not finished thoroughly offer the inconvenience and unpleasant experience of needing to be reheated or recooked. This can also lead to customer dissatisfaction and loss of reputation when experienced commercially. Chefs and other individuals working in kitchens may touch food items that are too hot causing them burn injuries. Individuals desire a device and a method to improve their mealtime experience by consuming food and beverages at safe or optimum temperature while allowing restaurants to improve customer satisfaction and safe handling of hot food items.
Therefore, there exists a long-felt need in the art for utensils and dishware for storing and consuming food at safe and desirable temperatures. There is also a long-felt need in the art for dishware that allows individuals to detect if a food item is too hot or too cold before consumption. Additionally, there is a long-felt need in the art for a device that prevents serious burn injuries and harm that can occur to a consuming user in the event the food item is too hot. Moreover, there is a long-felt need in the art for a liquid crystal glass product that can be attached to existing dishware and utensils for preventing individuals from consuming food at undesirable temperatures or accidentally touching items that are too hot. Further, there is a long-felt need in the art for a temperature indicating shell that can be attached to existing kitchenware and utensils for improving mealtime experience of individuals. Finally, there is a long-felt need in the art for a simple device that can be used by chefs, operators, and individuals with kitchenware, dishware, and utensils for safely holding and consuming hot and cold food items.
The subject matter disclosed and claimed herein, in one embodiment thereof, comprises a flexible and anti-microbial glass shell containing thermotropic liquid crystals configured to change colors when the kitchenware or utensils are exposed to temperatures of different foods. The glass shell is integrally or detachably attached to the kitchenware or utensils. More specifically, the glass shell comprising a plurality of temperature sensitive thermotropic liquid crystals that possess a phase with crystal and liquid properties within a temperature range from about -30° C. (-22° F.) to about 115° C. (248° F.). Within five (5) seconds of exposure to temperature of food items, the liquid crystals are configured to change color for visually indicating temperature range of the food item and thereby preventing a user from touching or consuming too hot or too cold food items.
In this manner, the thermotropic glass shell of the present invention accomplishes all of the forgoing objectives and provides users with a thermotropic liquid crystal glass in a variety of user creative shapes and designs to attach to kitchenware, dishware, and utensils for allowing users to identify the temperature of food due to the change in color of crystals. The glass shell prevents individuals from consuming food at undesirable temperatures or accidentally touching or consuming items that are too hot. Further, the glass shell improves mealtime experience and ensures individuals can accurately handle and consume food at a safe and desired temperature.
The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosed innovation. This summary is not an extensive overview, and it is not intended to identify key/critical elements or to delineate the scope thereof. Its sole purpose is to present some general concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
The subject matter disclosed and claimed herein, in one embodiment thereof, comprises a glass shell containing thermotropic liquid crystals. The glass shell is designed to be strategically placed onto kitchenware or utensils and configured to change colors when the kitchenware or utensils are exposed to temperatures of different foods. More specifically, the glass shell comprising a plurality of thermotropic liquid crystals, the liquid crystals include anisotropic liquids possessing a phase with crystal and liquid properties within temperature range from about -30° C. (-22° F.) to about 115° C. (239° F.), wherein the liquid crystals are configured to change color upon detecting temperature of a food item for visually indicating temperature range of the food item and thereby preventing a user from touching or consuming too hot or too cold food item.
In a further embodiment of the present invention, a utensil with an integrated thermotropic glass shell is disclosed. The glass shell can be integrated to the utensil during manufacturing of the utensil. The glass shell is flexible and conforms to the shape of the utensil. The glass shell includes a plurality of thermotropic liquid crystals configured to change color when the utensil is exposed to the temperature of a food item placed thereon, such that the food item touches the glass shell. The glass crystals exhibit a violet blue color for indicating hot food and exhibit black color for indicating cold food.
In a further embodiment of the present invention, a method for indicating temperature of a food item to a user is described. The method includes the steps of providing a glass shell including thermotropic liquid crystals; detachably attaching the glass shell on a kitchenware; placing a food item on the kitchenware; changing color of the thermotropic liquid crystals when the kitchenware is exposed to temperature range of the food item, wherein, the color exhibited by the thermotropic liquid crystals can be one of violet blue, blue, green, yellow/amber, brown, gray, and black for indicating a particular temperature range of the food item.
In a further embodiment of the present invention, the glass shell is dishwasher safe and reusable.
In a further embodiment of the present invention, glass shell including the crystals exhibit black color in the temperature range from about -30° C. to about 5° C., grey color in the temperature range from about 6° C. to about 15° C., brown color in the temperature range from about 16° C. to about 30° C., amber color in the temperature range from about 31° C. to about 45° C., green color in the temperature range from about 46° C. to about 79° C., blue color in the temperature range from about 80° C. to about 100° C., and violet blue color in the temperature range from about 101° C. to about 115° C.
Numerous benefits and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which it pertains upon reading and understanding of the following detailed specification.
To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, certain illustrative aspects of the disclosed innovation are described herein in connection with the following description and the annexed drawings. These aspects are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles disclosed herein can be employed and are intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents. Other advantages and novel features will become apparent from the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the drawings.
The description refers to provided drawings in which similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the different views, and in which:
The innovation is now described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding thereof. It may be evident, however, that the innovation can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to facilitate a description thereof. Various embodiments are discussed hereinafter. It should be noted that the figures are described only to facilitate the description of the embodiments. They are not intended as an exhaustive description of the invention and do not limit the scope of the invention. Additionally, an illustrated embodiment need not have all the aspects or advantages shown. Thus, in other embodiments, any of the features described herein from different embodiments may be combined.
As noted above, there is a long-felt need in the art for utensils and dishware for storing and consuming food at safe and desirable temperatures. There is also a long-felt need in the art for dishware that allows individuals to detect if a food item is too hot or too cold before consumption. Additionally, there is a long-felt need in the art for a device that prevents serious burn injuries and harm that can occur to a consuming user in the event the food item is too hot. Moreover, there is a long-felt need in the art for a liquid crystal glass product that can be attached to existing dishware and utensils for preventing individuals from consuming food at undesirable temperatures or accidentally touching items that are too hot. Further, there is a long-felt need in the art for a temperature indicating shell that can be attached to existing kitchenware and utensils for improving mealtime experience of individuals. Finally, there is a long-felt need in the art for a simple device that can be used by chefs, operators, and individuals with kitchenware, dishware, and utensils for safely holding and consuming hot and cold food items.
The present invention, in one exemplary embodiment, is a method for indicating temperature of a food item to a user. The method includes the steps of providing a glass shell including thermotropic liquid crystals, detachably attaching the glass shell on a kitchenware, placing a food item on the kitchenware, changing color of the thermotropic liquid crystals when the kitchenware is exposed to the temperature range of the food item, wherein, the color exhibited by the thermotropic liquid crystals can be one of violet blue, blue, green, yellow/amber, brown, gray, and black for indicating a particular temperature range of the food item.
Referring initially to the drawings,
More specifically, the thermotropic glass shell 100 contains a plurality of thermotropic liquid crystals 102 configured to change color indicating a temperature range. The crystals 102 can coat a transparent glass substrate 104 which can be made of crystal or quartz shell wherein the thermotropic crystals 102 depend upon temperature for changing colors thereof. In fact, temperature is the only fundamental thermodynamic parameter that controls and determines liquid crystalline mesophase order and formation of the thermotropic liquid crystals. Liquid crystals 102 represent a phase between liquid and solid and the molecules in a liquid crystal move independently, as in a liquid, but remain somewhat organized, as in a crystal. In exemplary embodiments, as the temperature of the liquid crystals increase, their color changes from red to orange, to yellow, to green, to blue, and to purple. When liquid crystals 102 are exposed to extremely hot food, their color changes to violet blue and alternatively, when exposed to cold food such as a cold drink or an ice crush, the crystals 102 turn black.
In the hot nematic stage of the crystals 102, they are closest to the liquid phase where the molecules are freely moving around and only partly ordered. In the cold smectic stage, they are closest to a solid phase where the molecules align themselves into tightly wound chiral matrixes.
In use, as the utensil 106 is exposed to temperatures of different foods, the crystals 102 embedded in the shell 100 absorb the temperature and subsequently identify the temperature range of the food. Accordingly, a user knows the temperature range of the food item even before the first bite and thus prevents food burn and associated problems.
In some embodiments, the glass shell 200 may have an adhesive layer for detachably attaching the shell 200 to the fork 204. The glass shell of different embodiments of the present invention is dishwasher safe and reusable and can indicate any temperature of food item which is in contact with the thermotropic glass shell. In different embodiments of the present invention, the glass shell containing thermotropic liquid crystals helps in non-intrusively visualizing instantaneous surface temperature changes of dishware or utensil and has a temperature range from about -30° C. (-22° F.) to about 115° C. (239° F.) with a temperature sensitivity of about 0.1° C.
When the temperature range of the food placed on the glass shell containing thermotropic liquid crystals is between 16° C. and 30° C., then, color exhibited by the glass shell is brown and when the temperature range is between 31° C. and 45° C., then yellow or amber. When the temperature increases, and for preventing a user from burning, green color is exhibited when temperature is in the range of 46° C. to 79° C. and blue color is exhibited when temperature is in the range of 80° C. and 100° C. For indicating temperature above 100° C., violet blue color is exhibited by the glass shell.
It should be noted that any other combination of colors at any temperature range can be exhibited by the glass shell containing the thermotropic liquid crystals of the present invention. The glass shell is food safe and also offers ideal dishware for safely feeding babies and toddlers during mealtime.
The glass shell with thermotropic liquid crystals can be made in any size and shape and can be used both personally and commercially by restaurants for providing safe serving and eating of both hot and cold food items.
Certain terms are used throughout the following description and claims to refer to particular features or components. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, different persons may refer to the same feature or component by different names. This document does not intend to distinguish between components or features that differ in name but not structure or function. As used herein “glass shell”, “thermotropic glass shell”, “shell”, and “glass shell with thermotropic liquid crystals” are interchangeable and refer to the glass shell with thermotropic liquid crystals 100, 200, 500 of the present invention.
Notwithstanding the forgoing, the glass shell with thermotropic liquid crystals 100, 200, 500 of the present invention can be of any suitable size and configuration as is known in the art without affecting the overall concept of the invention, provided that it accomplishes the above-stated objectives. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that glass shell with thermotropic liquid crystals 100, 200, 500 as shown in the FIGS. are for illustrative purposes only, and that many other sizes and shapes of the glass shell with thermotropic liquid crystals 100, 200, 500 are well within the scope of the present disclosure. Although the dimensions of the glass shell with thermotropic liquid crystals 100, 200, 500 are important design parameters for user convenience, the glass shell with thermotropic liquid crystals 100, 200, 500 may be of any size that ensures optimal performance during use and/or that suits the user’s needs and/or preferences.
Various modifications and additions can be made to the exemplary embodiments discussed without departing from the scope of the present invention. While the embodiments described above refer to particular features, the scope of this invention also includes embodiments having different combinations of features and embodiments that do not include all of the described features. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications, and variations as fall within the scope of the claims, together with all equivalents thereof.
What has been described above includes examples of the claimed subject matter. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing the claimed subject matter, but one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that many further combinations and permutations of the claimed subject matter are possible. Accordingly, the claimed subject matter is intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, to the extent that the term “includes” is used in either the detailed description or the claims, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as “comprising” is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim.
The present application claims priority to, and the benefit of, U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/330,950, which was filed on Apr. 14, 2022, and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63330950 | Apr 2022 | US |
