Abstract:
A cookware surface comprises a corrugated surface. The corrugated surface is formed of a plurality of raised portions and a plurality of lower areas. The lower areas have a non-stick surface formed thereon, and the raised portions have a hard anodized finish formed thereon. The raised portions aid in preventing cooking utensils from rubbing off the non-stick surface of the lower areas. A method of forming a surface for cookware is disclosed comprising forging a predetermined pattern of corrugations on a surface of the cookware, applying a non-stick coating to the surface of the cookware, and removing the non-stick coating from the raised portions.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    The disclosure herein relates to the field of scratch resistant non-stick cookware surfaces and prolonging the life of non-stick cookware surfaces. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    A cookware surface is typically coated with a non-stick coating on its upper surface to prevent foodstuffs from sticking on the surface. However, the use of cooking utensils often scrape or rub off the coating, thereby exposing the base layer or body of the cookware. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY 
       [0003]    In one exemplary embodiment disclosed herein, a cookware surface comprises a corrugated surface. The corrugated surface is formed of a plurality of raised portions and a plurality of lower areas. The lower areas have a non-stick surface formed thereon, and the raised portions have an anodized finish formed thereon. The raised portions are formed flat, and the lower areas are also formed flat. The lower areas form a larger percentage surface area on the cookware surface than that of the raised portions. In particular, the raised portions comprise less than 20% of cookware surface of the area having the corrugated portion, and the lower areas form the remaining portion of the corrugated surface. The raised portions aid in preventing cooking utensils from rubbing off the non-stick surface of the lower areas. The raised portions provide adequate spacing such that the cooking utensils are prevented from contacting the lower areas having the non-stick surface. The tops of the plurality of raised portions are formed free from non-stick material and can be formed with an anodized finish to prevent the cooking utensils from scratching and exposing the base metal of the cookware. 
         [0004]    In another exemplary embodiment, a method of forming a surface for cookware is disclosed comprising forging a predetermined pattern of corrugations on a surface of the cookware, applying a non-stick coating to the surface of the cookware, and removing the non-stick coating from the raised portions. The non-stick coating is removed from the raised portions by grinding the surface of the cookware. The surface of the raised portions is anodized to form an anodized finish on the raised portions. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0005]    The present disclosure is illustrated by way of example and not limited in the accompanying figures: 
           [0006]      FIG. 1   a  shows a partial top view of an exemplary embodiment; 
           [0007]      FIG. 1   b  shows a cross-sectional partial side view of the exemplary embodiment in  FIG. 1   a;    
           [0008]      FIG. 1   c  shows a magnified view of the exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 1   a;    
           [0009]      FIG. 1   d  shows a surface pattern in accordance with the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1   a;    
           [0010]      FIG. 2  shows another exemplary surface pattern that can be applied to a cookware surface; 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  shows another exemplary surface pattern that can be applied to a cookware surface; 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  shows another exemplary surface pattern that can be applied to a cookware surface; 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  shows another exemplary surface pattern that can be applied to a cookware surface; 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  shows another exemplary surface pattern that can be applied to a cookware surface; 
           [0015]      FIG. 7  shows another exemplary surface pattern that can be applied to a cookware surface; 
           [0016]      FIG. 8  shows another exemplary surface pattern that can be applied to a cookware surface; 
           [0017]      FIG. 9  shows another exemplary surface pattern that can be applied to a cookware surface; 
           [0018]      FIG. 10  shows another exemplary surface pattern that can be applied to a cookware surface; 
           [0019]      FIG. 11  shows another exemplary surface pattern that can be applied to a cookware surface; 
           [0020]      FIG. 12  shows another exemplary surface pattern that can be applied to a cookware surface; 
           [0021]      FIG. 13  shows another exemplary surface pattern that can be applied to a cookware surface; 
           [0022]      FIG. 14  shows another exemplary surface pattern that can be applied to a cookware surface; and 
           [0023]      FIG. 15  shows another exemplary surface pattern that can be applied to a cookware surface. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0024]      FIGS. 1   a  and  1   b  depict a partial view of a piece of cookware  100  having a surface  102  on the upper surface of the cookware  100 . The surface  102  is corrugated with a plurality of raised portions  106 . As depicted in  FIGS. 1   a,    1   c,  and  1   d,  the plurality of raised portions  106  can, for example, form a plurality of hexagons or a honeycomb-like structure. The lower areas  104  formed in between the raised portions  106  can form flat surfaces between the raised portions  106 . The raised portions  106  and the lower surface areas  104  make up the upper surface  102  of the cookware  100 . The raised portions  106  can occupy a smaller surface area when compared with the lower areas  104 . The raised portions  106  form peaks, and the lower areas  104  form valleys. The plurality of raised portions  106  can be formed with a hard anodized finish on the uppermost surfaces, and the lower areas  104  can have a non-stick coating for preventing foodstuffs from sticking to the lower areas  104 . 
         [0025]    In one embodiment, the raised portions  106  can be formed flat on their uppermost top surface, and the lower areas  104  can also be formed with a flat surface. The raised portions  106  can be formed as a thin strip of material and can be formed with straight sides to form edges at a right angle. The peaks of the raised portions  106 , however, can be formed both flat, sharp, or of combinations thereof. If the peaks are formed too sharp, however, the more likely the utensil will touch the lower areas  102  forming the non-stick surface during use meaning that the non-stick coating could be scratched and subsequently removed from the lower areas  104 . 
         [0026]    The anodized peaks or corrugated portions  106  will come in contact with cooking utensils first and provide for resistance against rubbing of utensils such that the non-stick material is maintained on the lower areas  104  of the surface  102 . The lower areas  104  coated with non-stick coating provides for resistance to the foodstuffs sticking to the surface  102 . 
         [0027]    The raised portions  106  can be formed at an optimum height to provide the best non-stick properties of the cookware  100  and to prevent scratching to the cookware  100 . For example, if the raised portions  106  are formed too short, the cooking utensil may still scratch the non-stick coating  104 . However, if the raised portions  106  are formed too high, the cookware  100  may lose its non-stick performance because the food will only be able to rest and stick to the peaks of the raised portions  106 . 
         [0028]    Likewise, the spacing between the raised portions  106  can be formed at an optimum spacing to provide the best non-stick properties of the cookware and to prevent scratching of the lower surface areas  104 . For example, because the spacing forming the lower areas  104  between the raised portions  106  is the only area which has non-stick coating on it, the larger the area  104 , the less likely food will stick to the cookware surface  102 . However, if the lower areas  104  make up too much of the surface area of the cookware surface  102 , the cooking utensil may scratch the non-stick coating on the lower areas  104  during use and remove the nonstick coating from the lower areas  104 . 
         [0029]    The width, height, and percentage of the coverage on the cookware of the raised portions  106  can be defined based on the desired use of the particular cookware. In one exemplary embodiment, the width of the raised portions  106  is about less than 1 mm, the height of the raised portions is about less than 0.8 mm. In one exemplary embodiment the percentage area of the raised portions with an anodized finish covering the bottom corrugated surface of cookware is about less than 20%. 
         [0030]    [ 30 ] The non-stick portion of the pan can be formed by the following steps. First, the raised portions  106  can be formed by forging or pressing a particular pattern on an upper surface  102  of the cookware  100 . A non-stick coating can then be applied to the upper surface  102  of the cookware  100 . The non-stick coating can then be removed from the raised portions  106  by way of surface grinding the upper surface  102  of the cookware  100 . The grinding process of the raised portions  106  results in the peaks of the raised portions  106  to be formed flat. The cookware  100  raised portions  106  are then anodized to form a hard anodized finish on the raised portions  106 . 
         [0031]    As discussed above, during the manufacturing process the non-stick coating is intentionally removed from the peaks of raised portions  106 . The raised portions  106  are then anodized, which provides increased scratch resistance on the upper surface  102  of the cookware  100 . The lower areas  104  will remain coated with non-stick coating even during use since the raised portions  106  will help prevent the lower areas  104  from being scratched by a cooking utensil. This helps maintain the non-stick coating on the lower areas  104  to increase the life of the nonstick surface and reduce the likelihood that food becomes exposed to the base metal of the cookware  100 . 
         [0032]    The raised portions  106  can be formed of various configurations and patterns as shown in  FIGS. 1   a - 15 . The specific patterns formed by the raised portions  106  can vary for aesthetical purposes. The patterns of the raised portions  106  can be in many shapes, as long as the total area of the anodized portions are maintained in relation to the total surface area to provide the required non-stick performance while increasing the cookware&#39;s durability against scratches. 
         [0033]    In another example, shown in  FIG. 2 , the raised portions  206  are formed in a diamond shaped configuration on the upper surface of a particular piece of cookware. Similar to the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1   a - 1   d,  the raised portions  206  can have a hard anodized finish and the lower areas  204  of cookware have a non-stick coating. 
         [0034]    In another example, shown in  FIG. 3 , the raised portions  306  are formed in triangle shaped configurations on the upper surface of a particular piece of cookware. Similar to the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1   a - 1   d,  the raised portions  306  can have a hard anodized finish and a non-stick coating can be applied to the lower areas  304  of cookware. 
         [0035]      FIG. 4  depicts forming the raised portions  406  to form diamonds and rhombus shaped configurations on the upper surface of the cookware. Similar to the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1   a - 1   d,  a hard anodized finish can be applied the raised portions  406 , and a non-stick coating can be applied to the lower areas  404  formed inside the raised portions  406 . 
         [0036]      FIG. 5  depicts forming the raised portions  506  to form fan shaped configurations on the upper surface of the cookware. The fan shaped configurations can be formed facing inward toward each other such that each vertex is positioned in close proximity to each other. This results in a cross-like shape is formed in between each cluster of four fan shapes. Similar to the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1   a - 1   d,  a hard anodized finish can be applied to the raised portions  506 , and a non-stick coating can be applied to the lower areas  504  formed inside and outside of the raised portions  506 . 
         [0037]      FIG. 6  depicts another embodiment of an exemplary cookware surface. In this embodiment the raised portions  606  form cross-like shapes having rounded portions and pointed ends on the upper surface of the cookware. The cross-like shapes can be formed such that the pointed ends intersect the pointed ends on the adjacent cross-shapes. Similar to the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1   a - 1   d,  the raised portions  606  can have a hard anodized finish, and a non-stick coating can be applied to the lower areas  604  of the cookware surface formed inside and outside of the cross-shapes. 
         [0038]      FIG. 7  depicts another embodiment of an exemplary cookware surface. In this embodiment, the raised portions  706  form slanted rectangles on the upper surface of the cookware. The rectangles can be formed such that L-shapes are formed on the surface of the pan. Similar to the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1   a - 1   d,  the raised portions  706  can have a hard anodized finish applied to their surfaces, and a non-stick coating can be applied to the lower areas  704  of the cookware surface formed inside of the rectangles. 
         [0039]      FIG. 8  depicts another exemplary embodiment of a cookware surface. In this embodiment, the raised portions  806  form equilateral triangles on the upper surface of the cookware. The triangles can be formed such that the sides of each triangle are shared with three adjacent triangles. Similar to the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1   a - 1   d,  the raised portions  806  can have a hard anodized finish applied to their surfaces, and a non-stick coating can be applied to the lower areas  804  of the cookware surface formed inside of the triangles. 
         [0040]      FIG. 9  depicts another exemplary embodiment of a cookware surface. In this embodiment, the raised portions  906  form stars on the upper surface of a pan. The stars can be spaced equidistant from one another. Similar to the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1   a - 1   d,  the raised portions  906  can have a hard anodized finish applied to their surfaces, and a non-stick coating can be applied to the lower areas  904  of the cookware formed inside and outside of the star shapes. 
         [0041]      FIG. 10  depicts another exemplary embodiment of a cookware surface. In this embodiment, the raised portions  1006  form a web shape on the upper surface of the cookware. The web shape, formed by the raised portions  1006 , can be formed with ten seams  1007 , which are also formed as raised portions. Similar to the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1   a - 1   d,  the raised portions  1006  and seams  1007  can have a hard anodized finish applied to their surfaces, and a non-stick coating can be applied to the lower areas  1004  of the pan formed in the areas in between the raised portions  1006 ,  1007  forming the web shape. 
         [0042]      FIG. 11  depicts another exemplary embodiment of a cookware surface. In this embodiment, the raised portions  1106  form three pointed star-like shapes. Similar to the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1   a - 1   d,  the raised portions  1106  can have a hard anodized finish applied to their surfaces, and a non-stick coating can be applied to the lower areas  1104  of the cookware surface formed in the areas in between the raised portions  1106  forming the three pointed star-like shapes. 
         [0043]      FIG. 12  depicts another exemplary embodiment of a cookware surface. In this embodiment, the raised portions  1206  can form shapes that are formed like the letter “G” or the number “6.” Similar to the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1   a - 1   d,  the raised portions  1206  can have a hard anodized finish applied to their surfaces, and a non-stick coating can be applied to the lower areas  1204  of the cookware formed inside and outside of the areas between the raised portions  1206  forming the shapes. 
         [0044]      FIG. 13  depicts another exemplary embodiment of a cookware surface. In this embodiment, the raised portions  1306  can form concentric circles on the cookware surface. Similar to the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1   a - 1   d,  the raised portions  1306  can have a hard anodized finish applied to their surfaces, and a non-stick coating can be applied to the lower areas  1304  of the cookware surface formed between the concentric circles located on the cookware surface. 
         [0045]      FIG. 14  depicts another exemplary embodiment of a cookware surface. In this embodiment, the raised portions  1406  can form a spiral shape on the cookware surface. Similar to the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1   a - 1   d,  the raised portions  1406  can have a hard anodized finish applied to their surfaces, and a non-stick coating can be applied to the lower areas  1404  of the cookware surface formed between the concentric circles located on the cookware surface. 
         [0046]      FIG. 15  depicts another exemplary embodiment of a cookware surface. In this embodiment, the raised portions  1506  can form parallel lines on the cookware surface. Similar to the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1   a - 1   d,  the raised portions  1506  can have a hard anodized finish applied to their surfaces, and a non-stick coating can be applied to the lower areas  1504  of the cookware surface formed between the concentric circles located on the cookware surface. 
         [0047]    The surfaces described herein can be applied to all kinds of cookware, for example, frying pans, sauce pans, bake pans, grill pans, stock pots, etc. that require better protection against scratches of cooking utensils while maintaining non-stick performance. 
         [0048]    Aspects of the invention have been described in terms of illustrative embodiments thereof. Numerous other embodiments, modifications and variations within the scope and spirit of the disclosed invention will occur to persons of ordinary skill in the art from a review of this entire disclosure. For example, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the steps illustrated in the illustrative figures may be performed in other than the recited order, and that one or more steps illustrated may be optional in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.