U.S. patent application number 10/358349 was filed with the patent office on 2003-07-03 for pasta machine.
Invention is credited to Ancona, Bruce, Dumery, Sofia E., Henry, Louis F., Treacy, Lyndon, Varakian, Robert A..
Application Number | 20030124213 10/358349 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 26979494 |
Filed Date | 2003-07-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030124213 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Ancona, Bruce ; et
al. |
July 3, 2003 |
Pasta machine
Abstract
A pasta machine includes a housing with a removable container
for holding a liquid such as water, and the housing includes a
heater for heating the liquid to a boiling state. An enclosed
colander having a cover and holding a food product such as pasta is
disposed on the container and includes arms to allow it to rotate
through the boiling water. The housing of the pasta machine
includes a suitable control mechanism that controls rotation of the
colander through the boiling water to cook the food product within
the colander. The number of rotations and intervals between
rotation are a function of the type and amount of pasta within the
colander.
Inventors: |
Ancona, Bruce; (New York,
NY) ; Varakian, Robert A.; (Edgewater, NJ) ;
Henry, Louis F.; (New York, NY) ; Dumery, Sofia
E.; (Brooklyn, NY) ; Treacy, Lyndon;
(Brooklyn, NY) |
Correspondence
Address: |
SONNENSCHEIN NATH & ROSENTHAL
P.O. BOX 061080
WACKER DRIVE STATION
CHICAGO
IL
60606-1080
US
|
Family ID: |
26979494 |
Appl. No.: |
10/358349 |
Filed: |
February 5, 2003 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10358349 |
Feb 5, 2003 |
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|
09994295 |
Nov 26, 2001 |
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6523457 |
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60314685 |
Aug 24, 2001 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
425/208 ; 99/330;
99/403; 99/409 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47J 2027/006 20130101;
A47J 27/10 20130101; A47J 37/047 20130101; A47J 27/18 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
425/208 ; 99/403;
99/409; 99/330 |
International
Class: |
A47J 037/12; A21C
001/00 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A pasta machine, comprising: a housing having a container for
holding a liquid; said housing including a heater for heating the
liquid within the container; and an enclosed colander adapted to
hold a food product and having a cover to allow placement of the
food product within the colander; the colander being disposed on
the container and rotatable through the liquid within the
container; the housing including a mechanism for controlling the
rotation of the colander through the liquid when heated by the
heater so as to cook the food product within the colander.
2. The pasta machine of claim 1, wherein the heater heats the
liquid within the container to a boil; the pasta machine further
comprising a lid disposed on top of the housing to fully contain
the colander, the lid including an opening to allow steam produced
by boiling liquid to escape.
3. The pasta machine of claim 1, wherein the colander includes a
flat bottom surface, two side surfaces and a curved top surface,
the curved top surface having a plurality of apertures; the
colander further including two arms extending from the respective
side surfaces near a center of the flat bottom surface along a
single axis; and the colander being adapted to rotate about the
single axis so that at least a substantial portion of the colander
is capable of being submerged within the liquid during use of the
pasta machine.
4. The pasta machine of claim 1, wherein the container is removable
from the housing; and the housing includes a well adapted to
receive the container.
5. The pasta machine of claim 1, wherein the housing includes a
control device for controlling the rotation of the colander through
the liquid when heated in accordance with a type of food product
disposed within the colander.
6. The pasta machine of claim 5, wherein the control device is
adapted to receive a user supplied identification of the food
product within the colander, and the control device controls the
heater to boil the liquid within the container and controls the
rotation of the colander through the boiling liquid a predetermined
number of times in accordance with the supplied identification of
the food product.
7. The pasta machine of claim 6, wherein the control device further
controls the rotation of the colander to stop after the
predetermined number of times of rotation of the colander has
occurred and to control the colander to rotate to a position where
none of the food product in the colander is submerged in the liquid
disposed in the container.
8. The pasta machine of claim 1, wherein the housing is adapted to
control the heater to heat the liquid in the container, to control
the rotation of the colander to cause the colander to be at least
substantially submerged in the liquid a predetermined number of
times, and then to rotate the colander back to an initial
position.
9. The pasta machine of claim 8, wherein during control of the
rotation of the colander, the housing for each time of rotation is
adapted to rotate the colander in a first direction to cause the
food product within the colander to be at least substantially
submerged in the liquid, to continue to rotate the colander in the
first direction to cause at least a portion of the food product to
emerge from the liquid, to rotate the colander in a second
direction opposite the first direction to cause the food product to
again be at least substantially submerged in the liquid, and to
continue to rotate the colander in the second direction to cause at
least a portion of the food product to emerge from the liquid.
10. The pasta machine of claim 8, wherein the housing is adapted to
re-heat the food product within the colander after passage of a
predetermined amount of time after rotation of the colander back to
the initial position and if the food product is not removed from
the colander.
11. The pasta machine of claim 10, wherein the housing is adapted
to re-heat the food product by rotating the colander to submerge
the food product within the colander in the heated liquid once
every pre-set number of minutes.
12. The pasta machine of claim 11, wherein the pre-set number of
minutes is a function of the type of food product in the
colander.
13. A method of cooking a food product, comprising the steps of:
filling an enclosed colander with a predetermined amount of food
product; placing the colander on a container holding a liquid;
heating the liquid to a boiling state; rotating the colander a
predetermined number of times through the boiling liquid in the
container until the food product within the colander is cooked.
14. The method of claim 13, further comprising the steps of placing
a lid having an opening above the container to fully contain the
colander; and allowing steam produced by the boiling liquid to
escape through the opening in the lid.
15. The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of
providing the enclosed colander with a flat bottom surface, two
side surfaces and a curved top surface having a plurality of
apertures; and wherein the step of rotating the colander is carried
out by pivoting the colander about an axis extending along a center
of the flat bottom surface of the colander.
16. The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of
identifying the food product within the colander; and wherein the
step of rotating the colander is carried out by rotating the
colander through the boiling liquid a number of times in accordance
with the identified food product.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of rotating the
colander is carried out by rotating the colander through the
boiling liquid a number of times in accordance with the identified
food product and the predetermined amount of the food product.
18. The method of claim 13, further comprising the steps of
discontinuing rotation of the colander and moving the colander to
an initial position above the boiling liquid when the food product
is cooked.
19. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of rotating the
colander a predetermined number of times through the boiling liquid
includes the steps of, for each time of rotation through the
boiling liquid, rotating the colander in a first direction to cause
the food product to be at least substantially submerged in the
liquid, continuing rotation of the colander in the first direction
to cause at least a portion of the food product to emerge from the
liquid, rotating the colander in a second direction opposite the
first direction to cause the food product to again be at least
substantially submerged in the liquid, and continuing rotation of
the colander in the second direction to cause at least a portion of
the food product to emerge from the liquid.
20. The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of
re-heating the food product within the colander if the food product
is not removed from the colander within a predetermined amount of
time after the food product is cooked.
21. The method of claim 20, wherein the step of re-heating the food
product is carried out by rotating the colander to submerge the
food product in the liquid once every pre-set number of
minutes.
22. The method of claim 20, further comprising the step of
identifying the amount and type of food product within the
colander; and wherein the step of re-heating the food product is
carried out by reducing heat to the liquid to provide heated,
non-boiling liquid; and rotating the colander to submerge the food
product in the heated liquid once every pre-set number of minutes
in accordance with the identified amount and type of the food
product within the colander.
Description
RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Application Serial No. 60/314,685, filed Aug. 24, 2001. The
disclosure of U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 60/314,685 is
incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates generally to kitchen
appliances and, more particularly, to an easy to use, quick and
efficient pasta machine. The present invention relates also to such
a machine for use as a deep fryer, steamer or crock-pot.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Traditionally, cooking pasta involves boiling of water in a
large pot, adding the pasta to the boiling water, and then removing
the pasta once cooked. Once removed from the boiling water, the
now-cooked pasta quickly becomes cold. Various ways of keeping the
pasta hot includes keeping the pasta in the hot water until served
or placing the hot pasta in a sealed dish or container.
[0004] Although cooking pasta in the aforementioned manner, as well
as the results thereof, is acceptable to many individuals, both the
process of cooking pasta and the manner of keeping cooked pasta hot
are ripe for improvement.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
[0005] It is therefore an object of the present invention to
provide a pasta machine that cooks pasta in a convenient and easy
manner.
[0006] It is another object of the present invention to provide a
pasta machine that keeps cooked pasta hot also in a convenient and
easy manner.
[0007] It is a further object of the present invention to provide a
machine that cooks and keeps hot other types of food.
[0008] Various other objects, advantages and features of the
present invention will become readily apparent to those of ordinary
skill in the art, and the novel features will be particularly
pointed out in the appended claims.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] In accordance with the present invention, a pasta machine is
provided with a housing having a container for holding a liquid
such as water, and the housing includes a heater for heating the
liquid preferably to a boiling state. The pasta machine includes an
enclosed colander for holding a food product such as pasta, and the
colander includes a cover to allow placement of the food product
within it. The colander is disposed on the container and is able to
rotate through the boiling liquid. The housing of the pasta machine
includes a suitable control mechanism that controls rotation of the
colander through the boiling liquid to cook the food product within
the colander.
[0010] As an aspect of the present invention, the pasta machine
includes a lid that can be placed on top of the housing to fully
contain the colander, and the lid includes an opening to allow
steam to escape.
[0011] As another aspect of the present invention, the colander
includes a flat bottom surface, two side surfaces and a curved top
surface, and the curved top surface has a plurality of apertures to
allow the water to drain. The colander also has two arms that
extend from its side surfaces at the center of the flat bottom
surface along a single axis, so that the colander is able rotate
about that axis. Thus, the colander is nearly fully submerged
within the water during part of its rotation.
[0012] As a further aspect of the present invention, the container
within the housing is removable.
[0013] As an additional aspect of the present invention, the
control device within the housing controls rotation of the colander
in accordance with the type of food product within the
colander.
[0014] As a feature of this aspect, a user identifies to the pasta
machine the type and amount of food product within the colander,
and the pasta machine controls rotation of the colander in
accordance with the provided information.
[0015] As another feature of the present invention, the colander is
moved back to its initial, raised position after the food product
is cooked.
[0016] As yet another aspect of the present invention, the colander
is rotated through the water by rotating first in one direction,
and then in the opposite direction, where the colander essentially
is rocked back and forth.
[0017] As yet a further aspect of the present invention, the pasta
machine re-heats the food product within the colander if the food
product is not removed from the colander within a predetermined
amount of time after the food product is cooked.
[0018] As a feature of this aspect, the food product is re-heated
by rotating the colander to submerge the food product in heated
water once every pre-set number of minutes.
[0019] As another feature, the pre-set number of minutes is a
function of the type and quantity of the food product in the
colander.
[0020] In accordance with a method of cooking a food product of the
present invention, an enclosed colander is filled with a
predetermined amount of food product, the colander is placed on a
container holding a liquid, the liquid is heated to a boiling
state, and the colander is rotated a predetermined number of times
through the boiling liquid until the food product within the
colander is cooked.
[0021] Various features and aspects of this method correspond to
features and aspects of the pasta machine summarized above.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0022] The following detailed description, given by way of example
and not intended to limit the present invention solely thereto,
will best be appreciated in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings, wherein like reference numerals denote like elements and
parts, in which:
[0023] FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of the pasta machine of
the present invention;
[0024] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the pasta machine shown in
FIG. 1;
[0025] FIG. 3 is a view of an open colander containing pasta;
[0026] FIG. 4 schematically illustrates placement on the colander
within the pasta machine's water container;
[0027] FIG. 5 illustrates placement of the cover on the pasta
machine;
[0028] FIG. 6 illustrates the pasta machine's LDC panel and
display;
[0029] FIGS. 7-11 illustrate the operation of the pasta machine of
the present invention;
[0030] FIG. 12 illustrates pasta within the colander cooked by the
pasta machine of the present invention; and
[0031] FIG. 13 is a flowchart of the display of the LCD display
during the various operations of the pasta machine of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0032] The pasta machine of the present invention cooks pasta
quickly, efficiently, safely and with little human assistance. In
general, the pasta machine simply requires the user to place pasta
within the machine, to turn the machine on, and then return back to
the machine some period of time later (e.g., 20 minutes) to produce
perfectly cooked pasta. In one embodiment, as herein described, the
machine is designed specifically for cooking pasta, but it is
possible for such a device to be used as a deep fryer, steamer or
crock-pot. Moreover, while the first embodiment described below is
concerned with cooking pasta, other types of foods can be cooked by
the machine of the present invention, including potatoes,
vegetables, beans, crab fish, etc.
[0033] Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a schematic
illustration of the pasta machine 10 of the present invention, and
FIG. 2 is an exploded view thereof. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2,
pasta machine 10 (also called pasta cooker) includes a housing 12,
a water container 14, a colander 16, and a clear lid 18. Housing 12
includes a control panel 20, an LCD screen 22, and an electrical
plug 24. Plug 24 provides electrical power to the pasta machine
when plugged into an appropriate electrical receptacle. The
operation of control panel 20 and LCD screen 22 is discussed
further below.
[0034] Housing 12 further includes a body 30 in which various
electrical and heating elements (not shown) are disposed. These
electrical and heating components carry out the below-described
heating of the present invention. The pasta machine's body 30 is
shaped to provide a well 32 into which water container 14 is placed
during operation. The body 30 of the pasta machine's housing
includes an arm recess 34 and a handle recess 36 disposed at one
end, as shown, and also includes a second arm recess and a second
handle recess disposed at the other end of body 30 (not shown in
FIGS. 1 and 2). Each set of arm and handle recesses 34, 36 are
shaped to accommodate respective handles 50 that extend from the
sides of colander 16.
[0035] Water container 14 is used to hold a preset amount (e.g., 5
quarts) of water and is shaped to fit into well 32 of housing 12,
as mentioned above, and includes an edge 40 which supports water
container 14 when placed into well 32. Water container 14 further
includes a pair of openings 42, one on each end, to accommodate the
arm portions 52 of each handle 50 extending from the ends of
colander 16.
[0036] Colander 16 includes a container portion 54 and, as
described below, is used to hold the pasta during cooking. Colander
16 also includes a cover 56 hinged to container portion 54 (or
simply, container 54) via a set of hinges 58 (shown in FIG. 3), and
a latch 60 designed to keep cover 56 in the closed position during
operation (discussed below). Latch 60 is any appropriate device
that may be manually unlocked to allow colander 16 to be opened.
Like a typical colander, the colander's container portion 54
includes many apertures (i.e., holes) 62 to allow water to enter
into and exit from the inner enclosure of colander 16. Similarly,
the colander's cover 56 includes many apertures 64 to also allow
water to enter into and exit from the colander's enclosure. As
illustrated in FIG. 8, the container portion 54 of colander 16
includes a flat bottom surface 66 and, in the preferred embodiment,
surface 66 does not include any apertures. Rather, colander 16
includes holes along its entire curved top surface 68, encompassing
the entire cover 56 and the curved portions of the top surface of
the colander's container portion 54, as best shown in FIGS. 4, 5, 7
and 8. As will be discussed, apertures 62 and 64 on colander 16
allow the boiling water to cook the pasta contained within the
closed colander.
[0037] During operation, colander 16 is disposed above water
container 14 and is supported on the two arm recesses 34 of housing
12. One of the handle arm portions 52 of colander 16 includes a
fixed gear wheel 70 that comes into contact with an opposing drive
wheel (not shown) disposed within arm recess 34 of housing 12.
During operation, the drive wheel disposed within housing 12 is
controlled to rotate gear wheel 70 thus rotating colander 16 about
an axis extending through the colander's two arm portions 52.
[0038] Pasta machine 10 finally includes a clear lid 18 shaped to
fully encompass colander 16 when resting on top of edge 40 of water
container 14, and serves to prevent splashing of water during
operation of the pasta machine. Lid 18 includes a wide opening 72
to enable steam to escape during operation. Although not shown, lid
18 optionally may include a heat resistant handle to allow removal
of the lid without any risk of touching a potentially hot surface
of lid 18 during use. Moreover, handles 50 of colander 16 similarly
are heat resistant to allow lifting of colander 16 from the
remaining components of the pasta machine after use, as further
discussed below.
[0039] The operation of the pasta machine of the present invention
will now be described with reference to FIGS. 3-12 of the drawings.
To utilize the pasta machine, the user first removes water
container 14, colander 16 and lid 18 from the pasta machine housing
12. Water container 14 is filled with a predetermined amount of
water (e.g., 5 quarts) and, in the preferred embodiment, the top
water level is identified within the water container to assist the
user. Water container 14, now filled with water, is placed within
well 32 of the pasta machine housing 12. Alternatively, water
container 14 can be filled with water while disposed within housing
12. One (1) tablespoon of water preferably is added to the
water.
[0040] As shown in FIG. 3, cover 56 of colander 16 is opened and a
predetermined amount of pasta (e.g., 1 pound) is placed within
colander 16. Cover 56 is closed and colander 16 is placed in the
upright position within water container 14 (which is filled with
water and disposed within housing 12), as shown in FIG. 4. As
shown, in the upright position, the flat surface 66 (see FIG. 8) is
disposed on the bottom immediately above the water. The user then
places lid 18 on the assembled components to fully cover colander
16, as shown in FIG. 5.
[0041] Upon adding water to water container 14, filling colander 16
with pasta and assembling the components as discussed above, the
pasta machine of the present invention now is ready to begin
operating. Accordingly, the user turns on the pasta machine's power
by depressing the power button on control panel 20, such as shown
on the exemplary control panel 20 shown in FIG. 6. Next, the user
selects the type of pasta (e.g., spaghetti, lasagna, linguini,
etc.) using the appropriate buttons on control panel 20, and
optionally may also select one of the cooking preferences
available, such as regular or al dente in the case of cooking
pasta. Alternatively, the user may set the time of operation of
cooking. The operation of programming a cooking appliance and the
associated electronics and firmware necessary to carry such
operation are well known in the art and thus further description
thereof is not provided except where necessary for an understanding
of the present invention. Thus, the pasta machine of the present
invention may include other types of control interface, including
mechanical knobs or other devices, than those shown and described
herein. An exemplary operation of the cooking machine of the
present invention by a user is further described below with
reference to FIG. 13 of the drawings.
[0042] Upon completion of programming the pasta machine of the
present invention, the amount of time remaining until the pasta is
fully cooked preferably is displayed on LCD display screen 22.
After programming the pasta machine, the heating elements within
housing 12 begin heating the water within water container 14. A
thermostat (not shown) within housing 12 determines when the water
within water container 14 is boiling, at which point, a motor
within housing 12 begins rotating colander 16 via gear wheel 70
attached to the colander (see FIG. 2). Colander 16 is rotated
slowly about the previously mentioned axis extending along arm
portions 52 in the direction A shown in FIG. 7 so that the pasta
within colander 16 begins to submerge into the boiling water.
Colander 16 continues to rotate, as shown in FIG. 8, in the same
direction (direction "B" in FIG. 8) until colander 16 is completely
upside-down, where all of the pasta within the colander is
submerged in the water.
[0043] Once fully submerged, the pasta machine causes colander 16
to rotate back and forth, first rotating in the same direction, "C"
in FIG. 9, to the position shown in FIG. 9, then rotating in the
opposite direction, "D" in FIG. 10, to the position shown in FIG.
10. This cycle then repeats itself. During this process, steam
within the enclosed unit vents through opening 72 in lid 18. As
shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, colander 16 "rocks" back and forth so that
the pasta within the colander is rotated in and out of the water in
repeated cycles until the required (predetermined) amount of
cooking time has elapsed. Upon completion of cooking, colander 16
is controlled to rotate back in direction E shown in FIG. 11 back
to its initial starting position, thus rotating the pasta
completely out of the water, that is, the pasta is fully drained of
water. At this time, LCD display screen 22 alerts the user that the
pasta is fully cooked. Optionally, the pasta machine may provide an
appropriate audible indication that cooking is complete. The user
then removes lid 18 from the unit, lifts colander 16 via handles 50
to remove it from the pasta machine's housing and opens the
colander's cover 56 to reveal fully cooked pasta, as shown in FIG.
12. Then, the now-cooked pasta is removed from colander 16 and
served. The user turns off the pasta machine by depression of the
power button on control panel 20.
[0044] If the user, however, does not remove colander 16 and
likewise does not turn off the pasta machine, the pasta machine
carries out a warming function in accordance with the present
invention. Upon completion of cooking and rotating all of the pasta
out of the water (see FIG. 11), as discussed above, the heating
element within housing 12 is automatically set to a low setting to
keep the water relatively hot. To keep the pasta within colander 16
warm, colander 16 is controlled to rotate the pasta into the water
every several minutes (e.g., 5 minutes), and since the water is
maintained at a relatively hot temperature, the pasta within the
colander is maintained hot for an indefinite amount of time.
Moreover, since the pasta is rotated through the hot water only one
time every several minutes, the pasta does not cook further during
this time. Moreover, based on user programming, and particularly
identifying the type of pasta to be cooked, the warming process of
the present invention optionally may be further enhanced by
pre-setting (not by the user, but during design and construction of
the pasta machine) how often the pasta is rotated through the
water, and, if necessary, the amount of time the pasta is fully
contained within the hot water, depending on the type of pasta. For
example, due to characteristics of certain types of pasta, such
pasta may be cycled through the hot water every 2 minutes, whereas
other types of pasta may be cycled through the hot water only every
7 minutes, and so on.
[0045] Upon completion of cooking and removal of the cooked pasta,
the pasta machine should be unplugged and the water within
container 14 should be removed.
[0046] FIG. 13 shows an exemplary flow chart of programming and
operation of the pasta machine of the present invention. Upon
supplying power to the pasta machine, display 22 provides a
suitable greeting in block 100, and then, in block 102, requests
the user to indicate whether he/she want to program the pasta
machine by identifying the type of pasta to be cooked, or to simply
indicate the amount of cooking time. If the user indicates by pasta
type, then the pasta machine requests the user to identify whether
the pasta is long pasta or pasta shapes in block 104. In block 106,
the particular type of pasta is selected by the user, in block the
user identifies the amount of pasta to be cooked, and in block 110
the user identifies whether the pasta is to be cooked al dente or
regular. Thereafter, operation of the pasta machine begins in block
112 and in block 114 the pasta machine identifies the amount of
time remaining until the pasta is complete, and the current,
particular cycle of operation--such as whether the water is being
boiled or whether the pasta is being cooked (which, as previously
discussed, occurs after the water has boiled). Upon completion of
cooking, the pasta machine informs the user that the pasta is ready
in block 116.
[0047] Returning to block 102, if the user desires to simply enter
the amount of cooking time--in block 120--then the user enters that
amount in block 122. Block 124 is the same as block 114, whereby
the remaining amount of time is displayed along with the current
cycle of operation of the pasta machine. The user is informed of
completion of cooking in block 126.
[0048] In the above-described embodiments, the present invention
has been described as a pasta machine for cooking pasta. Of course,
the design may be modified if necessary to cook other types of
foods. For example, the machine can be designed to be a deep fryer,
a steamer or crock-pot and used to cook different types of foods
including potatoes, vegetables, beans, crab fish, and so on.
Accordingly, container 14 as described above is a water container.
But, in various alternative embodiments of the present invention,
the container may be used to contain other liquids such as oil in
various different applications of the present invention. For
example, as a deep fryer, the container is filled with oil which is
heated by the heating element(s) within housing 12. Accordingly,
the amounts of time particular foods within colander 16 are
submerged within the heated oil may be pre-programmed, as well as
amounts of time and time(s) between cycles of the warming process,
all dependent upon the type of food being cooked/warmed.
[0049] Still further, the pasta machine of the present invention
may be modified to be a steamer, where various dimensions of the
components of the present invention are established so that food
within the colander does not submerge within the boiling water, but
is instead disposed immediately above the boiling water.
[0050] In another embodiment of the present invention, the colander
is comprised of two or more compartments disposed side-by-side,
where each compartment is separately controlled to rotate through
the hot water. In such embodiment, different types of food/pasta
may be cooked simultaneously by appropriately programming the pasta
machine (i.e., identifying the respective types and amounts of
pasta within the different compartments of the colander). In one
example, the colander is divided into a left compartment and a
right compartment, where two different types of pasta may be cooked
within the different compartments. Of course, the two compartments
of the colander may operate as a single compartment if the same
type of pasta is being cooked in both compartments. In such case,
both compartments are controlled to cycle through the hot water at
the same time. If, however, different types of pasta are provided
in the two compartments, then each compartment is separately
controlled to cycle through the water. Also, warming is separately
controlled for compartments containing different types of
pasta.
[0051] In a further embodiment, both the colander and the container
(e.g., water container 14) may each comprise multiple compartments,
where different types of liquids may be provided in the different
compartments of the container. For example, a left container
compartment is filled with water, and a right container compartment
is filled with oil, and thus the food within the left compartment
of the colander is cooked in the boiling water and the food within
the right compartment of the colander is deep fried. Of course,
more than two compartments may be provided, and different types of
cooking may be accommodated by a single device.
[0052] While the present invention has been particularly shown and
described in conjunction with various embodiments thereof, it will
be readily appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that
various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and
scope of the invention. For example, the specific shapes of the
various elements may be modified to be different than that shown in
the drawings. While preferred, the colander may include a
non-curved top surface and/or a curved bottom surface, the water
container may be rounded, and so on.
[0053] Therefore, it is intended that the appended claims be
interpreted as including the embodiments described herein, the
alternatives mentioned above, and all equivalents thereto.
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