Cooking appliance

Details Cooking appliance Cooking appliance

2001-03-01

2001-09-18

Simone, Timothy F. (Department: 1761)

Foods and beverages: apparatus

Cooking

Automatic control

C099S331000, C099S348000, C366S145000, C366S146000, C366S314000, C366S601000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06289793

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to appliances for preparing foodstuffs, and more particularly to a cooking appliance that significantly facilitates reparation of packaged foods.
2. Description of Related Art
The term “packaged foods” refers to foodstuffs that are packaged dry for unrefrigerated storage and quick, convenient preparation. Products sold under the trademarks Hamburger Helper, Chicken Helper, Tuna Helper, and Rice-A-Roni provide a few examples. The simple convenience of adding water and heating has made such packaged foods popular and frequently used items in many households, and so improvements in their preparation are of interest.
Packaged foods typically include any of various dry combinations of rice, pasta, stuffing, macaroni, chili, vegetables, sliced potatoes, and/or hash browns in a six to eight ounce box or bag along with some seasoning. The cook combines the dry ingredients in a skillet with hot water and any other desired ingredients (e.g., cooked hamburger, chicken, or tuna) and then heats the mixture on the stove top for about 15-20 minutes while stirring the mixture occasionally. That basically completes preparation.
Convenient, yes. But the stirring requirement can be a problem. The cook must remain nearby and focused on cooking. Otherwise the ingredients may clump together and even burn. This observation applies just as well to other stir-while-heating foods.
Many a busy mom or other cook faced with hectic household activities around meal time would prefer to improve this aspect of cooking. Although some existing crock pots include a slow stirring mechanism, they are large and bulky and unsuited for packaged foods. Thus, a need exists for a better easy-stir way of preparing packaged foods and other such stir-while-heating meals.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention addresses the concerns outlined above by providing a cooking appliance that includes (i) a base with a motor, (ii) a pot on the base that is adapted to heat packaged foods electrically while on the base and to be removed from the base and set atop a table as a serving dish, and (iii) a stirring mechanism on the pot that is adapted to stir packaged foods in the pot under power of the motor when the pot is on the base. As a heating element heats ingredients of the pot, the motor rotates the stirring mechanism. After heating, the cook removes the pot from the base and carries it to the dining table for serving.
The stirring mechanism stirs the ingredients unattended. This frees the cook to focus more on other household activities. The pot is removable so that it also serves as a separate serving dish. No need to bring the whole appliance to the dining table. No need to transfer the contents of a skillet to a separate serving dish. A special stirring element, timer, and temperature control augment the foregoing, and components of the cooking appliance quickly disassemble for cleaning and reassemble for the next use.
To paraphrase some of the more precise language appearing in the claims, a cooking appliance constructed according to the invention includes a base and a pot. The base is adapted to rest upon a horizontal countertop surface as a support for other components of the cooking appliance. The base has an electric line adapted to be plugged into a source of household electricity and an electric motor connected to the electric line.
The pot is adapted to be placed removably upon the base for food preparation purposes and to be used apart from the base as a serving dish. An electric heating element is provided for heating the pot when the pot is on the base using electric power from the electric line. A stirring mechanism on the pot is adapted to stir packaged foods within the pot when the pot is on the base using rotational power from the electric motor.
The stirring mechanism of one embodiment includes first and second stirring elements, with at least the first stirring element being adapted to rotate under power of the motor. The first and second stirring elements are so adapted that the first stirring element rotates past the second stirring element in order that the first and second stirring elements can cooperatively break up clumps of food between them. A temperature control, a timer, and a grease collection pan are also included on the base, together with a grease drain in the pot.
Thus, the cooking appliance of this invention significantly facilitates preparation of packaged foods and other stir-while-heating foods. The following illustrative drawings and detailed description make the foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention more apparent.


REFERENCES:
patent: 2905452 (1959-09-01), Appleton
patent: 4417506 (1983-11-01), Herbst et al.
patent: 4693610 (1987-09-01), Weiss
patent: 4779522 (1988-10-01), Wong
patent: 4802407 (1989-02-01), Negri et al.
patent: 5031518 (1991-07-01), Bordes
patent: 5048402 (1991-09-01), Letournel et al.
patent: 5768978 (1998-06-01), Dorner et al.
patent: 6026735 (2000-02-01), Waterworth

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