U.S. patent application number 10/618310 was filed with the patent office on 2004-01-22 for bakeware with portion measurements.
Invention is credited to Marfino, Barbara A., Marfino, Jennifer E..
Application Number | 20040011690 10/618310 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 30448469 |
Filed Date | 2004-01-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040011690 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Marfino, Jennifer E. ; et
al. |
January 22, 2004 |
Bakeware with portion measurements
Abstract
A baking device is adapted to facilitate slicing of a baked item
into precisely measured portions. The baking device comprises a
conventional baking pan having a horizontal bottom wall and at
least one upright peripheral wall, and measurement indicia.
Measurement indicia are delineated on inner surfaces of the
peripheral wall.
Inventors: |
Marfino, Jennifer E.;
(Arlington, VA) ; Marfino, Barbara A.; (Amherst,
NY) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Richard C. Litman
LITMAN LAW OFFICES, LTD.
P.O. BOX 15035
Arlington
VA
22215
US
|
Family ID: |
30448469 |
Appl. No.: |
10/618310 |
Filed: |
July 14, 2003 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60395319 |
Jul 12, 2002 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
206/459.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A21B 3/13 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
206/459.1 |
International
Class: |
B65D 085/00 |
Claims
I claim:
1. A baking device, comprising: a) a baking pan having a horizontal
bottom wall and an upright peripheral wall disposed about the
bottom wall, the peripheral wall having an inner surface facing
toward the bottom wall; and b) a plurality of equally spaced
measurement indicia disposed on the inner surface of said
peripheral wall to reflect measurements of distance in uniform
increments; whereby said baking pan and said measurement indicia
define an item of bakeware with portion measurements.
2. The baking device of claim 1, wherein said peripheral wall
comprises four upright sidewalls, each said sidewall having a top
flange.
3. The baking device of claim 2, wherein said measurement indicia
are defined by vertical, parallel lines on said sidewalls and said
flanges.
4. The baking device of claim 3, wherein said measurement indicia
reflect {fraction (1/4)} inch increments.
5. The baking device of claim 4, wherein said measurement indicia
on said flanges further include numerical dimension labels.
6. The baking device of claim 1, wherein said baking pan is made
from aluminum.
7. The baking device of claim 1, wherein said baking pan is made
from glass.
8. The baking device of claim 1, wherein said baking pan is made
from ceramics.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Patent Application Serial No. 60/395,319, filed Jul. 12, 2002.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to bakeware, and specifically,
to a baking pan that incorporates measurement indicators.
[0004] 2. Description of Related Art
[0005] Many baking recipes include instructions to cut baked goods
into portions of particular measurements. These measurements are
suggested to help obtain practical serving portions and to ensure
that cutting the baked item yields the number of pieces desired.
However, actually measuring segments of the baked item with a ruler
or other means before cutting is an inconvenient task and is rarely
ever done. As a result, a baked item is rarely cut into uniform
portions of the desired dimensions. Although a wide variety of
baking pans have been developed and built over the years, none
provide a means which would facilitate cutting the baked goods into
precisely measured sizes generally suggested in most baking
recipes.
[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 3,899,962, issued Aug. 19, 1975 to A.
Federico, discloses a baking apparatus comprising a frame and a
removable grid element for disposition in the frame. The grid
element has guiding slots, generally corresponding to cells defined
by the grid, which guide a cutting blade to divide the pastry into
uniform shape and dimensions. Such a device is only useful if one
desires to cut the baked item into pieces that are the same size as
one or more cells on the grid.
[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,707, issued Sep. 17, 1991 to L.
Hallberg, discloses a bread pan having corrugated top, bottom, and
side walls. The walls have a generally accordion like shape, which
facilitate compression of loaves without external stress fractures.
No structures are provided to assist in cutting the bread into
pieces of a specific measurement.
[0008] Other patents disclosing baking pans include U.S. Pat. No.
943,093, issued Dec. 14, 1909 to G. Mueller (baking pan adapted for
baking a twin loaf of bread or cake); U.S. Pat. No. 1,671,450,
issued May 29, 1928 to A. Ross (baking pan with indented side walls
to deflect heat through side walls of pan); U.S. Pat. No.
2,229,934, issued Jan. 28, 1941 to G. Peterson (baking pan with
extensible wall and bottom whereby food molded or cooked therein
may be sliced without removal from container); U.S. Pat. No.
4,052,034, issued Oct. 4, 1977 to J. Marceno (baking pan insert for
inserting filling into cupcake); U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,419, issued
Jun. 5, 1984 to B. Saleeba (baking pan with modular inserts for
forming cake into selected alphanumeric configurations).
[0009] None of the above inventions and patents, taken either
singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention
as claimed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] The present invention relates to a baking device comprising
a conventional baking pan having a horizontal bottom and an upright
peripheral wall, and measurement indicators. The measurement
indicators are impressed on the inner surfaces of the peripheral
wall. The measurement indicators facilitate slicing of the baked
item into precisely measured portions.
[0011] Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to
provide new and improved bakeware which facilitates cutting a baked
item into pieces of a desired size.
[0012] It is another object of the invention to provide bakeware
with measurement indicators which reflect measurements typically
recommended in most baking recipes.
[0013] It is a further object of the invention to provide bakeware
which allows a baked item to be cut in a manner that will yield the
desired number of pieces.
[0014] It is an object of the invention to provide improved
elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes
described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in
accomplishing its intended purposes.
[0015] These and other objects of the present invention will become
readily apparent upon further review of the following specification
and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] The sole FIGURE is an environmental, perspective view of an
item of bakeware with portion measurements according to the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0017] A preferred embodiment of an item of bakeware according to
the present invention is depicted in the sole drawing FIGURE and is
designated generally as 5. The baking device comprises a
conventional baking pan 5 having a horizontal bottom wall 25 and an
upright peripheral wall 20, and measurement indicia 10 disposed
about the periphery of the pan 5. While the baking pan 5 may be of
any suitable shape and size, it is preferably square or rectangular
in shape.
[0018] The peripheral wall 20 is defined by four upright sidewalls
21 disposed about the periphery of the bottom wall 25, each
sidewall having a flange 30 at its top edge. The peripheral wall 20
has an inner surface 22 and an outer surface 23. Measurement
indicia 10 are engraved, stamped, embossed, or otherwise impressed
into or on the inner surface 22 of the peripheral wall 20 as
parallel lines 11 that are equally spaced to reflect measurements
of distance in uniform increments. While only parallel lines 11 are
shown, dots, arrows, and other suitable shapes may be used to
represent the measurement indicia 10. Preferably, the measurement
indicia 10 are provided on both the flanges 30 and sidewalls 21.
Indicia 10 on the flanges 30 may be engraved, stamped, embossed, or
otherwise impressed into or on the flanges 30. Although the
measurement indicia 10 may reflect any suitable unit of measurement
in any suitable increment, preferably {fraction (1/4)} inch
increments are reflected, as is shown. The measurement indicia 10
may consist of lines, dots, hash marks, or other symbol, and may
have associated numeric dimension labels 35 in ascending order.
[0019] The bakeware is preferably made from aluminum, but may also
be made from glass, ceramics, or other materials known in the
cookware art.
[0020] It is to be understood that the present invention is not
limited to the sole embodiment described above, but encompasses any
and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.
* * * * *