Abstract:
A method for assembling a bakeware having a metal frame and at least one flexible member is provided. The method includes forming a first hole in a metal sheet, forming a sidewall extending from the first hole, the sidewall having a lower lip, bending the sidewall and lower lip partially towards the metal sheet, placing a flexible member in the first hole, and pressing the sidewall and lower lip towards the metal sheet to secure the flexible member to the metal sheet. A bakeware including a metal frame and at least one flexible member is also provided.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO A RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/905,803, filed Mar. 9, 2007, which is herein incorporated by reference in the entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention is directed generally to bakeware, and, more particularly, to bakeware having a flexible member and method of manufacturing the same. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    Conventional bakeware is typically formed of metal sheets that have been formed to define one or more cavities for receiving various ingredients for cooking. The one or more cavities may be integrally formed in the bakeware or they may be provided by attaching additional members. For example, a conventional muffin pan includes a metal frame and a plurality of metal cups attached to the metal frame using various welding techniques. 
         [0006]    One drawback to bakeware made of metal sheets, it is often difficult to remove the product from the bakeware after cooking is complete. Recently, there have been attempts to make the receiving cavities out of flexible members, however, there have been no reliable means for attaching these flexible members to the metal frames. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    In order to overcome one or more problems of the related art, and according to principles of this invention, a method for manufacturing bakeware having a flexible member is provided. The method includes forming a first hole in a metal sheet, forming a sidewall extending from the first hole, the sidewall having a lower lip, bending the sidewall and lower lip partially towards the metal sheet, placing a flexible member in the first hole, and pressing the sidewall and lower lip towards the metal sheet to secure the flexible member to the metal sheet. 
         [0008]    In another aspect, forming the sidewall includes drawing down the sidewall from the first hole, and in the process of drawing down the sidewall the lower lip is formed. 
         [0009]    In a further aspect, the flexible member may include a flexible rim, and the pressing the sidewall and lower lip presses the lower lip against the rim. 
         [0010]    In another aspect, forming the first hole in the metal sheet may include punching the first hole in the metal sheet. Punching the first hole may include punching at least one additional hole. Placing the flexible member in the first hole may include placing an additional flexible member in the at least one additional hole. 
         [0011]    In still another aspect, the flexible member may have one of a circular, rectangular, or square cross-section. 
         [0012]    In yet another aspect, the method may further include forming a second hole having a shape different from the first hole, and securing a gripping member in the second hole. 
         [0013]    According to principles of the present invention, a bakeware is also provided. The bakeware includes a metal frame having at least one hole formed therein, the metal frame including a sidewall drawn down from the at least one hole and having a lower lip extending towards the center of the at least one hole, and at least one flexible member, the flexible member being located in the at least one hole, the flexible member including a rim received by the lip, wherein the rim is held between the lower lip and the sidewall. 
         [0014]    In another aspect, the at least one hole may include a plurality of holes, the at least one flexible member may include a plurality of flexible members, and each of the flexible members is located in a corresponding one of the plurality of holes. 
         [0015]    In yet another aspect, the flexible member may have one of a circular, rectangular, or square cross-section. 
         [0016]    In still another aspect, the bakeware may further include a gripping member located in the metal frame. 
         [0017]    In a different aspect, the flexible member may be formed of a silicone material 
         [0018]    In another aspect, the bakeware may be one of a muffin pan, a bread pan, and a cake pan. 
         [0019]    Further scope of applicability of the present application will become more apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the detailed description. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0020]    The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings and photographs which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention and wherein: 
           [0021]      FIG. 1  is a bakeware according to a first exemplary embodiment of the invention; 
           [0022]      FIG. 2  is a bakeware according to a second exemplary embodiment of the invention; 
           [0023]      FIG. 3  is a bakeware according to a third exemplary embodiment of the invention; 
           [0024]      FIG. 4  is a bakeware according to a fourth exemplary embodiment of the invention; 
           [0025]      FIG. 5  is a bakeware according to a fifth exemplary embodiment of the invention; 
           [0026]      FIG. 6  is a flow diagram showing the steps of manufacturing the bakeware of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0027]      FIGS. 7A and 7B  show the flexible cup and gripping member, respectively, before being attached to form the bakeware of  FIG. 1 ; and 
           [0028]      FIGS. 8A-8L  show the assembly of the bakeware through the various steps of manufacturing of  FIG. 6 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0029]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , a first exemplary bakeware  100  is in the form of a muffin pan that includes a metal frame  110  and a plurality of flexible members or cups  120  attached to the metal frame  110 . Each of the flexible cups  120  is preferably formed of a flexible material that has a melting point greater than typical baking temperatures. For example, the flexible material may be a silicone material or compound. 
         [0030]    While each of the flexible cups  120  has a circular cross-section, flexible cups having other cross-sections, such as, square or rectangular, may also be provided. The bakeware may also include handle portions  130  with gripping members  140 . The gripping members  140  may be formed of the same material as the flexible cups  120  or from different materials, so long as they too have a melting point greater than typical baking temperatures. It is also understood that bakeware  100  can be formed without handle portions  130  and/or gripping portions  140 , if so desired. 
         [0031]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , a second exemplary bakeware  200  is in the form of a cake pan that includes a metal frame  210  and a large flexible member  220  attached to the metal frame  210 . The bakeware may also include handle portions  230  with gripping members  240 . 
         [0032]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , a third exemplary silicone/metal bakeware  300  is in the form of a bread pan that includes a metal frame  310  and a plurality of flexible cups  320  attached to the metal frame  310 . The bakeware  300  may also include handle portions  330  with gripping members  340 . 
         [0033]    As shown in  FIG. 4 , a fourth exemplary bakeware  400  is in the form of a large bread pan that includes a metal frame  410  and a single rectangular flexible cup  420  attached to the metal frame  410 . In this exemplary embodiment, the bottom surface  425  of the flexible cup  420  includes a plurality of undulations. The bakeware  400  may also include handle portions  430  with gripping members  440 . 
         [0034]    As shown in  FIG. 5 , a fifth exemplary bakeware  500  is in the form of a muffing pan similar to muffin pan  100  above. The bakeware  500  includes a metal frame  510  and a plurality of flexible cups  520  attached to the metal frame  510 . The bakeware  500  may also include handle portions  530  with gripping members  540 . 
         [0035]    As clear from comparing  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 1 , the number of flexible cups of the bakeware depends on the size of the metal frame and the size of the flexible cups. In addition, the flexible cups may be formed with a matte finish, a smooth finish, or a combination finish. Depending on the finish selected, one or more cooking properties can be controlled, such as evenness of cooking and ease of release from the bakeware. Furthermore, the flexible cups may be black, grey, white, or other suitable colors depending on the desired cooking properties. 
         [0036]    Each of the flexible cup(s) described above are attached to the corresponding metal frame using similar techniques.  FIG. 6  shows a flow chart of an exemplary method of manufacturing the bakeware  100 . This method can be used to produce each of the exemplary bakewares above. 
         [0037]    As shown in  FIG. 6 , there are three components to the bakeware  100 . The first component is the frame or pan body  110 . The second component is/are the flexible member(s)  120 , in this case, a plurality of flexible cups, which is shown in  FIG. 7A . The third component is/are the gripping member(s)  140 . The flexible member  120  and gripping member  140  are formed by injection molding using conventional techniques. 
         [0038]    As shown in  FIG. 7A , the flexible member  120  includes a flexible body  122  and a flexible rim  124 . The flexible rim  124  extends downward from the top of the flexible member a predetermined distance for reasons that will be described below. The gripping member  140  includes a top portion  142  and a lower portion  144  separated by a groove  146 . Having described the flexible member  120  and gripping member  140 , the formation of the frame  110  and assembly of the bakeware will be described with reference to FIGS.  6  and  8 A- 8 N. 
         [0039]    As shown in  FIG. 8A , the metal frame  110  is formed from a metal sheet  800 . Preferably, the metal sheet  800  is formed of steel. The metal sheet  800  may be cut from a larger metal sheet or formed from metal sheets pre-cut to standard sizes. Next, one or more holes  802  are formed in the metal sheet, such as by cavity punching or other conventional techniques, as shown in  FIG. 8B . Then the metal sheet  800  is draw down from the plurality of holes  802  to provide sidewalls  804  as shown in  FIG. 8C . The ends of the drawn down sidewalls  804  are turned up to form a lower lip  806 , also shown in  FIG. 8C . It is the sidewall  804  and the lower lip  806  that will be used to hold the individual flexible cups  120 , as described in more detail below. 
         [0040]    After the lower lip  806  has been formed, the metal sheet  800  may then be cut to remove any excess metal from the metal sheet  800  to start defining the outer shape of the metal frame  110  via a cut edge  808  as shown in  FIG. 8D . The cut edge  808  is turned downwards as shown in  FIG. 8E  to define a sidewall  810 . The cut edge  808  of the sidewall  810  may then be folded or rolled over to provide a smooth edge  812  as shown in  FIG. 8F . The smooth edge protects a user&#39;s hands from contacting the sharp cut edge  808 . 
         [0041]    As shown in  FIG. 8G , a plurality of holes  814  are formed in the metal sheet  800  using a punch in the area which will form the handle portions  130  of the metal frame  110 . The holes  814  are then drawn down to form sidewalls  816  and then folded or rolled over to provide a smooth edge  818  as shown in  FIGS. 8H and 8I . The smooth edge  818  will be used to secure the gripping members  140  to the metal frame as described below. 
         [0042]    After forming the smooth edge  818 , the sidewall  804  and lower lip  806  are pre-bent a certain amount, as shown in  FIG. 8J , such that when the flexible cup  120  is placed therein, the sidewall  804  and lower lip  806  supports the flexible rim  124  of the flexible cup  120 . After the pre-bending, but prior to placing the flexible cup  120  onto the lower lip  806 , the metal sheet  800  may be treated by phosphating to convert the surface of the metal sheet  800  to iron phosphate, if desired. Next, the flexible cup(s)  120  are placed in the metal sheet  800  and supported by the lower lip  806 . 
         [0043]    Then the sidewall  804  and lower lip  806  are pressed towards the metal sheet  800 . Because of the pre-bend of the sidewall  804  and the lower lip  806 , the sidewall  804  and lower lip curl inwards on themselves and engage the rim  124  of the flexible cup  120  as shown in  FIG. 8K  to secure the flexible cup  120  to the metal sheet  800 . While the rim  124  has been shown with a specific shape in  FIGS. 8J and 8K , it is understood that many different shapes may be provided so long as the rim  124  extends downward from the top of the flexible cup  120 . 
         [0044]    A fill coating may be applied to the sidewall  804  and lower lip  806  to hide any markings made during the pressing on the sidewall  804  and lower lip  806  as shown in  FIG. 8N . Finally, the gripping members  140  are inserted into the holes  814 , such that the smooth edge  818  fits into the groove  146  of the handle to provide the bakeware of  FIG. 1 . 
         [0045]    While the above method of manufacturing bakeware  100  was set out in a specific order, it is understood that order of assembly may be varied so long as the sidewall  804  and lower lip  806  are formed prior to placing the flexible cup  120  into the metal sheet  800 . For example, the fill coating may be applied prior to the sidewall  804  and lower lip  806  is pressed towards the metal sheet  800 . Generally, the coating material should have sufficient flexibility/malleability when it is applied to the metal surface so as to not be damaged by the final pressing of the sidewall  804  and lower lip  806  towards the metal sheet  800  to crimp the flexible cup. It is also understood that the method described above is intended to be exemplary and not limited to just the specific manufacturing steps described above. For example, the holes  802  may be provided by cutting the metal sheet  800  rather than punching. 
         [0046]    The invention thus being described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.