Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Inhibiting chemical or physical change of food by contact... – Treating liquid material
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-03
2002-04-02
Paden, Carolyn (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Inhibiting chemical or physical change of food by contact...
Treating liquid material
C426S417000, C426S422000, C426S424000, C426S438000, C210S502100, C210S503000, C210S509000, C210S238000, C210S470000, C210S471000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06365214
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention (Technical Field)
The present invention relates to apparatuses and methods for handling and disposal of oil, including cooking oils and motor oils.
2. Background Art
From heating to lubricating to cooking. Americans use millions of gallons of oil every day. In nearly every use, oil containment is an important consideration because spilt oil can present a hazard. Therefore, new, practical and versatile apparatuses and methods of containment are needed.
A variety of food preparation processes rely on oil as a heat transfer medium. In such processes the volume of cooking oil used varies on a scale ranging from a spoonful to gallons. In general, cooking oil is placed in a cooking appliance, such as, but not limited to, a pan, deep fryer and the like. Of course, the volume of oil used in a food preparation process depends on the amount of food to be prepared and whether the appliance is designed for residential or commercial use. In such uses, the ease of oil containment during and after cooking along with oil cleanup and disposal after use are important factors in determining the overall safety and economics of a food preparation process.
In residential environments, used cooking oil is often collected, stored and disposed of in a container, such as, a coffee can or mayonnaise jar. This common practice requires careful handling of the oil while removing it from the cooking appliance, transferring it to the container, transporting the container, and storing the container until it eventually becomes full and ready for disposal. Each step heightens the potential for a mess, accident and/or hazardous spill. Additionally, the practice of disposing of oil in makeshift containers and placing such containers in household waste acts to shift hazard from the home to the waste carrier. Although chemically different than used motor oil, which is in many states classified as a household hazardous waste, used cooking oil presents many of the same problems. For example, motor oil and cooking oil present the same hazardous conditions in the case of road and/or walkway spills. Methods and apparatuses that contain better motor and/or cooking oil will act to minimize spills.
Regarding disposal of oil, many dumpsites and/or landfills classify free liquids, such as oil, as unacceptable material. Free liquids are prone to migration and once migration begins such liquids can create a hazard by extracting and transporting other previously “fixed” materials. Ultimately, ground and ground water contamination result. As applied to cooking oil, the magnitude of the hazard is realized when one considers that the retail market share of cooking oil purchased for private use exceeds seventy five million (75,000,000) gallons annually in the United States.
Several U.S. Patents disclose articles that use peat for the purpose of absorbing fuel oils, motor oils, hydrocarbons and the like from contaminated ground and water. U.S. Pat. No. 4,519,918, entitled “PROCESS FOR THE ABSORPTION OF ORGANIC LIQUIDS BY USE OF A HYDROPHOBIC FIBROUS MATERIAL,” to Ericsson et al., issued May 28, 1985 discloses treatment of fibrous peat by impregnation with 5% by weight of an acrylate prepolymer followed by heating and subsequent granulation or shredding. This patent then discloses use of this material to remove a surface layer of oil floating on water. U.S. Pat. No. 3,464,920, entitled “METHOD OF REMOVING OIL FROM THE SURFACE OF WATER USING OLEOPHILIC HYDROPHOBIC COMMINUTED ORGANIC MATERIAL,” to Pirson et al., issued Sep. 2, 1969 discloses use of peat treated with organosilanes to absorb mineral, animal and plant oil products contaminating water surfaces. U.S. Pat. No. 5,151,194, entitled “FILTER FOR REMOVING LIQUID HYDROCARBONS FROM WATER AND PROCESS OF REMOVING GASEOUS AND/OR HYDROCARBONS FROM WATER,” to Simpson et al., issued Sep. 29, 1992 discloses a filter for removing hydrocarbon from water wherein the filter medium is fibrous peat dried to a moisture content of less than 5% by weight. U.S. Pat. No. 3,791,990, entitled “OIL ABSORBENT,” to Fischer, issued Feb. 12, 1974 discloses use of peat having a moisture content of less than 10% by weight for removing oil film from water. U.S. Pat. No. 3,591,524, entitled “OIL ABSORBENT,” to Eriksen, issued Jul. 6, 1971 discloses a process for preparing an oil absorbent for absorbing oil in the presence of water that is floatable on water with an emulsion emulsified by ammonia or an amine salt. These patents are directed to chemically and physically treating peat for subsequent separation and absorption of oil from water.
Articles exist for the purpose of collecting and disposing of grease and oil by-products from food oils and such articles are disclosed in the following U.S. Patents: U.S. Pat. No. 5,744,406, entitled “METHOD FOR EASY REMOVAL OF FATS, OILS AND GREASE FROM MIXTURES WITH WATER AND AQUEOUS,” to Novak, issued Apr. 29, 1998; U.S. Pat. No. 5,814,396, entitled “GREASE ABSORBING PAD,” to Weidner, issued Sep. 29, 1998; U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,725, entitled “ARTICLE FOR ABSORBING COOKING GREASE,” to Zafiroglu, issued May 8, 1990; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,950,524, entitled “BACON PAD,” to Hacker, issued Aug. 21, 1990. None of these patents disclose use of peat for absorbing oil.
The articles disclosed in the aforementioned patents all have shortcomings and thus a need continues to exist for a more effective article and/or method that can easily, automatically, effectively, and quickly absorb, immobilize and contain quantities of oil. The need is particularly acute for cooking oils because, in part, they are more likely to enter the environment due to a lesser degree of regulation compared to motor oils. The aim of the present invention is to fill this need for all oils and particularly cooking oils.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Disclosure of the Invention
The present invention comprises an oil absorbent apparatus comprising an outer layer housing an oil absorbent core comprising, for example, decomposed organic matter and/or inorganic matter. According to the apparatus of the present invention, decomposed organic matter includes, but is not limited to, compost and humus. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the oil absorbent core comprises peat, preferably sphagnum peat. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the oil absorbent core comprises an inorganic material, for example, but not limited to, perlite and/or vermiculite. According to the apparatus of the present invention, a core optionally comprises a substantially solid, porous mass of matter; loose particles of matter, optionally in discrete clusters; and/or a plurality of discrete substantially solid, porous masses of matter, for example, but not limited to, pellets. Decomposed organic matter and inorganic matter are commercially available in a variety of forms, such as, but not limited to, the aforementioned masses, clusters and particles.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus comprises at least one inner layer. In a preferred embodiment, at least one inner layer is positioned between a core and an outer layer. In another preferred embodiment, the core comprises a plurality of discrete substantially solid, porous masses and/or a plurality of discrete clusters of loose particles of matter wherein at least one inner layer is positioned between discrete masses and/or discrete clusters. In a preferred embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention, at least one of the at least one inner layer comprises a filter for filtering matter. In a preferred embodiment, the outer layer comprises a filter for filtering matter. Such matter includes, for example, debris, decomposed and/or inorganic matter and the like.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus comprises at least one handle. The at least one handle comprises, preferably, a natural material capable of withstanding temperatures associated with oil used for cooking. In a preferred embodiment of the inventive apparatus, the outer layer comprises a member se
Baker Rod D.
Paden Carolyn
Pangrle Brian J.
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