Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Processes – Treatment or preparation of farinaceous dough – batter – or...
Reexamination Certificate
2002-11-22
2004-06-22
Yeung, George C. (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Processes
Treatment or preparation of farinaceous dough, batter, or...
C249S163000, C426S515000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06753030
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a container for shaping and molding materials. More particularly, the present invention relates to a pan designed to create various shapes or molds of a particular material.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Cooking pans have been designed to mold cooking edibles into conventional shapes, such as square, rectangle and circle designs. Molded material, even when in conventional shapes is often difficult to remove. Some pans have been improved to include removable walls to assist removal of a baked product. Acknowledging the fact that molding baking materials was very time consuming, some companies reverted to using baking pans with removable walls. A baking pan assembly is illustrated by U.S. Pat. No. 4,644,858 (1987, Liotto et al.). The baking pan is designed to have removable sides and bottom. The circular half sections are pinned or clamped together at the ends holding a circular base that fits in an annular groove. After the food product is baked, the half sections are detached from the base to expose the product. Another pan with removable sections is illustrated with a multiple-purpose cake pan by U.S. Pat. No. 5,537,917 (1996, Schiffer et al.). The cake pan has a removable insert that slides out from the outer rim of the cake pan. A tube cake insert molds the inner hole of a tube cake. Unfortunately, these pans may only be used for circular shapes. The baking pans do not address baking multiple pieces or even unconventional shapes.
Some pans have been improved to include removable walls to vary the width of the pan. A multi-purpose baking pan with hinged end sections and cover is illustrated by U.S. Pat. No. 5,779,080 (1998, Corse). The pan has a rectangular bottom with two linear sidewalls on opposite edges along the long sides of the rectangular bottom. Two end members are at the short sides of the rectangular bottom having rod-like hinge pins. The pan is also illustrated having a rectangular pan and a divider for varying the size of the two areas. The pan is only good for varying the portions of the two rectangular sections. The pan does not address unconventional shapes or molding more than two sections.
Other pans have been improved to include surface contours to mold distinctive shapes in one or more of the pan walls. A method of making controlled heating baking pan is illustrated by U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,706 (1992, Howe). The pan may be made to have distinctive surface contours pressed or formed on the wall portions for molding designs in the materials.
Repetition in molding or forming multiple pieces is labor intensive and cost consuming. To mold or shape materials, the material must be cut into the desired shape before or after cooking or setting the materials. For example, a baker uses cookie cutters to cut dough before baking the cookies or cuts a triangular slice of circular pizza pie after baking a circle shape. Forming the material to the desired shape takes skill and time, whereas cutting the material creates undesired waste. Some companies have manufactured multiple molding units to save time. A baking pan having multiple baking units is illustrated by U.S. Pat. No. 4,941,585 (1990, Hare et al.). The problem with the prior art multiple unit baking pans is that the material must be measured out and poured into each mold separately. This process is slow and labor intensive. Additionally, the manual method of measuring out the material seldom provides uniform pieces. Furthermore, these multiple unit baking pans have the same repeating shape and the pan must be inverted to remove the material from the pan.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus that is capable of molding and forming multiple, uniform or variable pieces within one assembly. It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus that enables the removal of the finished goods without inverting the apparatus, which may cause damage to the goods. It is still another object of the present invention to provide a device that allows high packing density of odd shapes. It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a device that is fully capable of being broken down to improve the effectiveness of cleaning and to reduce storage space. It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus that is capable of being used in a conventional or microwave oven. It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus that is capable of producing goods with uniform shapes and thickness. It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus that is capable of inserting a stick or handle to the material being molded or baked prior to baking/molding.
The present invention achieves these and other objectives by providing a device that is capable of shaping and molding material. The present invention is an apparatus for shaping and molding material comprising two sidewalls, two end walls, a bottom plate and one or more partitions. The inside surface of the two sidewalls has one or more grooves or slots spaced along the inside surface at predetermined intervals. One of the side walls, i.e. the first sidewall, has one or more surface portions on its inside surface and the inside surface of the other side wall, i.e. the second sidewall, has at least one more surface portion than the inside surface of the first side wall. For example, if first sidewall has two surface portions, then second sidewall has at least three surface portions. The sidewalls also have a bottom ledge or shelf extending out from the inside surface. Additionally, the sidewalls have one or more apertures or holes positioned adjacent to the grooves or slots that extend through the given side wall where the aperture(s) or hole(s) is located. For example, a hole may be placed between two adjacent grooves or between a groove and the end wall.
The end walls are removably attached between the ends of the sidewalls. The connection between a side wall and end wall may be attached using a pinned connection, a latch, band, tongue and groove, etc. The bottom plate has a side edge that conforms to the inside surface of the sidewalls. For example, if the inside surface of the sidewalls had multiple arc shapes, then the bottom plate would conform to those arc shapes. One or more partitions are used to divide the material in the pan into smaller shapes. A given partition is sized to slide into the grooves or slots between the two sidewalls. The partition may be single piece for sliding into two opposed grooves or the partition may be a single, continuous piece formed to slide into a multiple of opposed grooves so that only one partition is used to make a plurality of product pieces. If more than one partition is used, two partitions may be inserted into one groove creating a triangular effect between the sidewalls. The partitions may be single-walled or double-walled. The double-walled design may help distribute heat to the material in the pan that requires cooking such as a cake. The double-walled design is also helpful when cooling the material in the pan when chilling is required such as when making flavored gelatin or molding ice cream and the like.
The bottom plate may be flat, indented to form a “character face” or other design, or have inverted domes that align with the partitions and grooves to create a one-half cone shape. The present invention may also include a bottom support. The bottom support prevents the bottom plate from dropping when disassembling the pan.
The sidewalls may have multiple embodiments. For instance, one embodiment may have a sidewall with an array of notches spaced at predetermined intervals with a top plate that has an array of matching protrusions spaced at the same predetermined intervals as the notches. Mating of the notches and protrusions of the sidewall and the top plate forms the apertures previously mentioned. This arrangement allows removal of the finished unit on a stick by first removing the top
Deleault, Esq. Robert R.
Mesmer & Deleault, PLLC
Yeung George C.
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