Food injection device

Details Food injection device Food injection device

2001-06-26

2003-06-17

Alexander, Reginald L. (Department: 1761)

Foods and beverages: apparatus

Cooking

With basting or solid applying means

C099S494000, C099S450700, C426S281000, C426S282000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06578470

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present inventions are directed primarily toward food preparation devices and particularly toward devices which inject substances into foods.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is common today for cooks in homes, bakeries and restaurants to use hypodermic type needles to inject marinades, flavorings and other liquid substances into meats and other food products. Such devices are also commonly used to inject more viscous liquids and semi liquids such as jellies, frostings, puddings, into such foods as cakes, cream puffs, eclairs and cupcakes. Typically these devices resemble oversized medical hypodermic syringes which the cook fills through the back of the barrel and hand operates by pushing a plunger. These devices allow flavorings to penetrate inside and throughout the food and provide foods with a moistness, texture, and/or taste they might otherwise lack.
Commercial food injection devices have also been in common use for many years. Like their home and restaurant counterparts, these devices typically use hollow needles inserted into the food to inject liquids and semi liquid substances. Their applications include not only injecting flavorings and food substances such as already mentioned, but also liquid and semi liquid substances to increase food weight, decrease spoilage, and help in processing. Three such commercial food injection devices are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,455,928, Townsend—Means for Injecting Fluids Into Food Products; U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,095, Van Haren—Brine Injection Device; U.S. Pat. No. 5,881,640, Raevsager—Apparatus for Injecting Brine Into Food Products.
All the aforementioned devices are limited to injecting liquids and semi liquids. Solid materials such as dried spices, salt, sugar, sunflower seeds, peanuts, garlic cloves, chunks of pineapple, jellybeans, chunky peanut butter, etc. cannot be injected using any of these devices.
It would be useful to have a mechanism which could inject solid substances such as just mentioned into foods. Such a device also might find wider use in medical and other settings.
As examples, whole peanuts could be injected into sesame rolls, or pineapple chunks injected into hams, or garlic cloves injected into a pot roast, or jellybeans injected into frosted cupcakes, or lemon chunks injected into rotisserie cooked chicken, or walnuts injected into roast beef, or ice cream injected into angel food cake, etc.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Several embodiments of the present inventions are illustrated in the appended figures. In brief, all embodiments comprise four interrelated sections: the injection needle, the solid material mover, the power drive, and the material loading mechanism.
Starting with the injection needle, embodiments as illustrated in
FIGS. 1 through 7
, show two alternative constructions
20
and
22
, both having needles
21
and
23
, ending in penetrating points
24
and
26
, and both having movable port covers, shown respectively as
28
and
30
, to cover respectively injected solid exits
32
and
34
. Penetrating points
24
and
26
allow piercing into the object to be injected. Movable port covers
28
and
30
may serve either and/or both the purpose or purposes of structurally supporting penetrating points
24
and
26
, and/or restraining materials to be injected from leaving the needle until the materials are driven out by the solid material mover.
In the embodiments as illustrated in
FIGS. 1 through 7
, the solid material mover comprises plunger
36
which slides into and out of needle
21
or needle
23
and thus pushes solids out respectively through food injected solid exits
32
or
34
covered by respectively movable port cover
28
and
30
.
In turn, plunger
36
is pushed into needle
21
or
23
by the power drive mechanism comprising pusher plunger
38
which slides inside of barrel
40
driven by manual pressure.
FIG. 8
shows another configuration for the power drive mechanism comprising direct manual pressure on plunger
84
. This eliminates the need for pusher plunger
38
, barrel
40
and needle ring securing nut
54
.
Other configurations for the power drive mechanism might also be employed. As examples, a solenoid drive such as used in electric staple guns, or a powered screw drive mechanism such as used in electric cookie presses, or a ratcheted screw drive mechanism such as used in electric caulking guns, or a flexible shaft drive such as used in orthopedic surgical equipment might also be used to replace the mechanism previously described.
One example of a motor drive is illustrated in FIG.
9
. As already described, this embodiment uses a gear reduced electric motor to drive a plunger which pushes material to be injected out of the injection needle and into the object to be injected.
In the embodiments shown in
FIGS. 1 through 7
, the material loading mechanism comprises placing solids to be injected into needle
21
through opening
42
or into needle
23
through opening
44
. Openings
42
and
44
are opposite respectively penetrating points
24
and
26
on their respective needles
21
and
23
. In the example shown in
FIG. 1
needle
21
or
23
must first be removed from barrel
40
by unscrewing needle ring securing nut
54
before materials may be loaded through openings
42
or
44
. Alternatively, pusher plunger
38
and plunger
36
may be backed out of barrel
40
and materials to be injected may be dropped into the back of barrel
40
where they may drop by gravity into needle
21
or needle
23
. Plunger
36
and pusher plunger
38
would then be reinserted into barrel
40
.
Alternatively, the material loading mechanism may comprise splitting
46
needle
21
or splitting
48
needle
23
and hinging a portion of each needle so that the unhinged portion could dip into and scoop up solids and semi solids to be injected. This dipping and scooping is similar to a spoon scooping up material. After dipping, scooping and filling the needle, the hinged portion of the needle would be swung back into place and secured, as an example, by sliding ring
50
or
52
respectively over needle
21
or
23
, and plunger
36
driven by the power drive mechanism would push the solids or semi solids out respectively through injected solid exits
32
or
34
. Ring
50
or
52
could be held in place on their respective needles
21
and
23
by friction or by a small protrusion sliding over an indented groove to make a snap fit. Such snap fits are well known in the art and thus are not described in detail herein.
To make operation easier of the material loading mechanism just described, hinge
72
might be biased so hinged needle portion
60
naturally springs outward as shown in
FIG. 3
when ring
50
is removed from needle
21
. This would mean needle
21
would be naturally open for scooping when ring
50
was removed. Alternatively, or in conjunction with the above, finger lever
74
attached to hinged needle portion
60
might help with finger pressure to move hinged needle portion
60
to its open position as shown in dotted lines in FIG.
3
.
Operating the embodiment comprises the steps of filling needle
21
or
23
with solids
66
using one of the material loading mechanisms such as just described or an equivalent. Once the embodiment is loaded and any needed reassembly completed, the needle is pierced into the object to be injected, and the power drive mechanism is activated, as an example by manual pressure as described above on intermediate thumb pads
60
and/or on primary thumb pad
58
. This causes solids
66
to be expelled from the embodiment as shown in FIG.
7
.
The embodiment may be constructed at any scale including: small-scales, appropriate for use in orthopedic surgery or other medical procedures such as implanting solid medicines or objects; intermediate scales such as illustrated in the appended figures for use in food preparation; to larger scales appropriate for inserting solid objects underground or other places.
Likewise, many different materials may be appropriate for use in constructing embodiments of the present inventions.

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