Flexible bags – Compartmented – Including auxiliary compartment
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-11
2001-03-13
Cronin, Stephen K. (Department: 3727)
Flexible bags
Compartmented
Including auxiliary compartment
C383S063000, C383S064000, C383S067000, C383S100000, C210S464000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06200027
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates generally to articles for food preparation and, more particularly, to an article for washing and/or removing excess liquid from the surface of comestibles such as salad greens.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Many comestibles need to be washed prior to serving to remove undesired sand, grit, etc. Typical are salad greens, and the present invention will be described in connection therewith, although it should be understood that it may also be used with a variety of fruits and vegetables, either whole, sliced or diced. Washing of salad greens is usually done by rinsing the greens with running water. After washing, it is usually necessary to remove the excess water remaining on the surface of the greens. The retained water is difficult to remove, being held tenaciously on the surface of the greens. Various means are employed to remove the adhering water, including manually shaking the greens, or placing the greens on absorbent paper or cloth to remove the liquid by capillary action. Both methods of removal have shortcomings; shaking the greens tends to broadcast water in all directions, and absorbing the water is time consuming and requires substantial counter space and a large amount of absorbent paper or cloth.
Another situation in which it is desirable to remove excess liquid from salad greens is after dressing has been added to the greens. Frequently, an amount of dressing is added in excess of that necessary in the finished salad, in order to ensure that the dressing will coat most of the greens. In such instances, it is desirable to remove the excess liquid to avoid oversaturation and unsightliness due to the excess liquid. The same difficulties are encountered in removing the excess liquid as already described.
THE PRIOR ART
To overcome these difficulties, various mechanical devices have been devised to wash and/or remove the excess water. Mechanical devices for this purpose typically include a perforated bowl for receiving the greens, the bowl being rotatably received in an outer stationary bowl. The greens in the inner bowl are rinsed with water, following which the inner bowl is spun to impel the excess water from the greens through the perforations and into the outer bowl. Such mechanical devices are costly, cumbersome to use, take up a large amount of storage space between uses, and require cleaning and drying after each use.
U.S. Letter Pat. No. 4,715,963 discloses a simple and inexpensive means for dewatering salad greens. The article disclosed in that patent is a bag formed of thin walled sheet material having an upper compartment and a lower compartment separated by a seal which extends across most of the bag, but is discontinuous in at least one region so as to provide an opening between the upper compartment and the lower compartment. Washed salad greens are placed in the upper compartment, after which the bag is manually twirled so that, under the influence of centrifugal force, the surface water is impelled from the salad greens against the heat seal line separating the compartments, and thence through the opening or openings into the lower compartment. The water removed from the salad greens is collected in the lower compartment, where it remains until the dewatered salad greens are removed from the upper compartment. The bag is then disposed of, either with the water still in place in the lower compartment or, if desired, the water may first be drained from the lower compartment by cutting open the bag, after which the bag is discarded.
The dewatering method and device of the '963 patent perform commendably, and provide an exceedingly convenient and inexpensive solution to the problem of dewatering salad greens and other comestibles. One disadvantage is that the device is designed for a single use, after which the bag is discarded. Inasmuch as the bag is made of inexpensive plastic film, and produced economically, this is entirely feasible. Nevertheless, it would be desirable to provide a similarly convenient and inexpensive article which would be suitable for multiple use.
Another disadvantage of the '963 method and device is that they are not readily adapted for washing salad greens. The amount of water needed for adequate removal of foreign material is substantial, and ordinarily would exceed the volumetric capacity of the lower compartment.
Another type of bag designed for use in dewatering salad greens in accordance with the method of the 1963 patent is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,380,093. In accordance with the '093 patent, washed salad greens are placed in an upper compartment, and the bag is revolved to drive water into a lower compartment through a plurality of holes. After collecting in the lower compartment, the water may be poured out through a channel extending along the side of the bag from the lower compartment to the top of the bag. The bag is thereafter used for refrigerated storage of the washed salad greens. There is no teaching in the '093 patent that the bag may be reused and, indeed, the patent teaches that the bag is disposable. Moreover, the bag of the '093 patent has dead spots in the lower compartment and in the side channel which are not susceptible to effective sanitization between uses, and which can harbor undesired microorganisms and lead to their proliferation. Neither is the '093 bag adapted for use in washing greens, inasmuch as the lower compartment would quickly fill with wash water.
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a dewatering device for washing and/or removing excess liquid from salad greens and other comestibles which overcomes the described problems. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a bag formed from flexible film which performs as a washing and dewatering device and which is readily reusable. It is a more specific object of the present invention to provide a washing and dewatering bag formed from flexible film which is adapted to be readily sanitized after use. These and other objects will be apparent from the following description and drawing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an improved washing and dewatering device for comestibles, formed from flexible thinwall film, which is capable of substantial reuse. The article may be thoroughly cleansed between uses, with substantially no dead spaces where undesired microorganisms may accumulate. Even so, the dewatering device is relatively inexpensive, and retains all of the other advantages of the dewatering method and device disclosed in the '963 patent.
Briefly, the dewatering bag of the present invention comprises a bag formed of thermoplastic thinwall sheet material divided into a first, upper compartment, and a second, lower compartment. The upper compartment is adapted to receive food items, such as salad greens, and has an open top to enable their insertion. The upper compartment is separated from the lower compartment by a discontinuous weld line, the discontinuity being such as to form at least one throat sized to permit passage of water therethrough, but substantially to prevent passage of the washed salad greens. The lower compartment is designed to function as a temporary storage space for wash water impelled from the salad greens placed in the upper compartment. The bag is used to dewater the greens by grasping the open end of the upper compartment and revolving, spinning or twirling the dewatering bag from the open end. Radial acceleration generated by revolving the bag and its contents results in the imposition of radial forces on water droplets, impelling them from the greens and thence through the throat and into the lower compartment.
An important feature of the present invention is means by which water collected in the lower compartment is selectively releasable therefrom, and by which the lower compartment may be sanitized after use so that the dewatering bag may be reused one or more times. Alternatively, if desired, the dewatering bag is sufficiently inexpensive that it may be discard
Cronin Stephen K.
Fitch Even Tabin & Flannery
Hylton Robin A.
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