Receptacles – Container attachment or adjunct – Container holder
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-03
2001-05-29
Castellano, Stephen (Department: 3727)
Receptacles
Container attachment or adjunct
Container holder
C220S573100, C220S491000, C220S647000, C220S318000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06237803
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Aluminum foil pans are widely used for cooking, baking and roasting since they are very efficient in quickly distributing heat and are also inexpensive, thus making them disposable. A wide variety of shapes and sizes of aluminum foil pans have been developed for use with food items to be cooked or baked or roasted in an oven. Generally, such pans have upper rims which add rigidity and strength to the pans. Also, stamped formations are typically provided in the bottom wall and creases are formed in the sidewall of the pan for additional reinforcement. To provide still further strength and stability, especially when foil pans are used for baking or roasting heavier items, such as turkeys, hams, roasts, etc., holders or racks for supporting disposable aluminum foil pans are now fairly widely used in association with the pans.
Frequently such holders and racks are permanently combined with a pan for one-time use and disposal. Such assemblies are available in the marketplace and typical such assemblies are illustrated inpatents such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,852,760; 4,029,721; and D-333,235. In the latter case the disposable pan is removably secured to the rack. It would be desirable to provide an improved rack and pan assembly which is readily adaptable to marketing and shipping as a combined rack, pan and cover assembly, and which facilitates usage of the rack with both a pan and an overlying cover.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, an assembly comprising a formed wire roasting rack and a pair of formed foil roasting pan/cover members removably secured thereto, is provided. Each roasting pan/cover member has a base, an upstanding sidewall, a rim and a peripheral bead formation surrounding the rim. The roasting rack comprises a first pair of parallel elongated wire form sections terminating in upwardly extending portions providing outwardly extending wire handles, and second elongated wire form section a extending to the first wire section and transverse terminating in an upwardly extending portion at each end, each upwardly extending portion providing bead gripping a formation at the free end thereof, and an actuator for retracting the bead gripping formation. The wire form sections are adapted to support a base in use, the upwardly extending portions are adapted to support and nestingly extending portions are receive the sidewall, and the bead gripping formations are sized and proportioned to grippingly retain a pair of roasting pan/cover member bead formations, all in a nested array, to grippingly retain the pair of roasting pan/cover bead formations when one of the pan/covers is inverted to overlie and cover the other, and to release the pan/cover member bead formations for removal from the rack when an actuator is retracted.
The roasting pan/cover members may be substantially identical. The bead gripping formation desirably comprises an inwardly opening gripper means which preferably comprises a pair of laterally spaced inwardly opening loops.
The actuator is connected to each of the pair of inwardly opening loops.
In preferred form the second wire form member a comprises a pair of elongated parallel wire form sections, each terminating in an upwardly extending portion at each end, each providing a bead gripping formation at the free end thereof, and wherein the bead gripping formations comprises an inwardly opening gripper means.
In one form the pan upstanding sidewall defines outwardly projecting handles formed at each side of the pan/cover the handles being adapted to be positioned between pairs of the upwardly extending wire portions to prevent lateral movement of a pan/cover member relative to the wire roasting rack. Most preferably the handles are positioned between the parallel second wire form sections.
Further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2336699 (1943-12-01), Neth et al.
patent: 3972318 (1976-08-01), Lenoir
patent: 4717038 (1988-01-01), Anders
patent: 4852760 (1989-08-01), Sarnoff et al.
patent: 4969569 (1990-11-01), Anders
patent: 4971216 (1990-11-01), Fortune
patent: 5029721 (1991-07-01), Timpe
patent: 5203254 (1993-04-01), Fletcher
patent: 5339728 (1994-08-01), Marchwiak et al.
patent: 5503062 (1996-04-01), Buff, IV
patent: 5950838 (1999-09-01), Fletcher et al.
patent: 6065629 (2000-05-01), Sarnoff et al.
Fletcher Kraig
Sarnoff Norton
Castellano Stephen
Conte Robert F. I.
Handi-Foil Corporation
Lee Mann Smith McWilliams Sweeney & Ohlson
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