COOKING UTENSIL

Abstract: A frame assembly (10) for a cooking utensil having an upper square wire frame (11) and a lower square wire frame (13) aligned with the upper frame (11) and connected thereto at the corresponding corners. The lower frame (13) is substantially parallel to the upper frame (11) but has smaller dimensions such that the respective sides (14) thereof are offset inwardly from the corresponding sides (12) of the upper frame. A cooking utensil is formed by placing the frame assembly (10) diagonally on a square sheet of metal foil (21) and folding the corners of the foil (21) inwardly to project between the upper and lower frames at the respective corresponding sides. The frame assembly is then turned upright and the foil pressed downwardly to form the utensil.

Description: / , "COOKING UTENSIL" THIS INTENTION relates to an improved cooking utensil and in particular to a frame assembly which may be combined with a sheet of metal foil to provide a lightweight cooking utensil. It.is often necessary when holidaying, travel¬ ling or camping to pack and carry cooking utensils. Conventional cooking utensils, however, are usually cumbersome to pack due to their bulky shape, are of a relatively heavy weight and may rattle when in transit. Furthermore, if conventional utensils are to be well cleaned, a supply of hot water and a large washing-up dish are normally required. Hot water in many situations however, is limited in its availability and a large washing-up dish is usually inconvenient to carry. Also, if water is heated up for washing-up purposes, energy is wasted whilst if cold water is used, standards of hygiene suffer. A further disadvantage of conventional utensils is that because of their overall shape, they do-not suit angularly shaped portable stoves with pull-up wind deflectors. Furthermore at least two different types of utensils, such as a ' pot and a frypan, are usually required to be carried for most situations. The present invention aims to overcome the above disadvantages by providing a cooking utensil which is lightweight, which occupies little space, which is inexpensive and which is convenient, versatile and efficient in use. -Furthermore, the cooking utensil of the present invention allows adequate hygiene safeguards to be attained. Other objects and advantages of the invention will become ' apparent from the ollowing description. • -7ith the foregoing and other objects in view, this invention resides broadly in a frame assembly for a cooking utensil of the type formed of a sheet of metal foil supported by said frame assembly, comprising a first upper perimeter frame having a plurality of sides formed by respective perimeter frame portions, a lower perimeter frame having substantially the same shape as said upper frame and being formed by a corresponding number of perimeter frame portions, said lower frame being aligned with said upper frame and connected thereto and wherein the perimeter portions of said lower frame are disposed substantially parallel to and offset inwardly from the corresponding perimeter portions of said upper frame. In order that the invention may be more readil understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which, illustrat a preferred embodiment of the invention and wherein:- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the frame assembly for a cooking utensil according to the present invention; Figs. 2 to 7 are respective views illustrating the manner in which a cooking utensil is formed from the frame assembly and a sheet of metal foil material. Fig. 8 is a split sectional view of the utensil along line A-A of Fig. 7. Seferring to Fig. 1 there is illustrated a preferred embodiment of a frame assembly 10 for a cooking utensil according to the present invention including a first upper substantially square perimeter frame 11 having four perimeter frame members 12 and a second lower substantially square perimeter frame 13 having a similar number of frame members 14* aligned with but disposed beneath the upper frame and in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of the upper frame. The e-jεternal dimensions of the lower perimeter frame 3 are slightly less than the dimensions of the upper frame 11 such that the respective perimeter frame member 1 thereof are parallel to but offset inwardly from the corresponding perimeter frame members 12 of the upper frame, as is clearly illustrated in Fig. 8 and the purpose of which will hereinafter become apparent. The lower frame 13 is connected to the upper frame 11 by means of lugs 15 disposed at the four corners of the frame assembly and extending between the upper and lower frames to be welded or similarly connected thereto. In an alternative arrangement, each lug 15 may " be eliminated and the connection formed by a portion of the upper or lower frame which has been bent out of the plane of the respective frame at each corner thereof to extend towards the other frame and be attached thereto. The frame assembly 10 may be provided with a fixed handle but preferably an engagement member 16 is fixed to the lower frame 13 centrally of one side frame member 14 thereof and is adapted to co-operate with a removable handle 17. For this purpose, the engagement member may be formed from a length of strip steel which extends outwardly from the lower frame 13 and which is deformed at its free end to form a substant- ially V or TJ-shaped groove 18. The handle 17 in this embodiment is of generally elongated U-shaped form and includes a pair of transverse elements 19 and 20 extending between the opposite sides of the handle at the open end of the U. The handle 17 is engaged with the bracket 16 by placing the transverse element 19 into the groove 18 and pivoting the handle 17 downwardly until the element 20 comes in contact with the engagement member 16 rearwardly of the groove 18. In such a configuration, the frame assembly 10 may be fully supported in a horizontal attitude by grasping the handle 17. When a cooking utensil is required to be formed using the frame assembly 10, a substantially square piece of preferably heavy duty domestic metal foil material 21 such as aluminium is detached or torn from a readily available roll of foil and placed on a flat surface and the frame assembly 10 is placed on the foil material 21 in a diagonal disposition in the manner shown in Fig. 3 . with the upper frame 11 in contact with the foil. The four corners of the foil are then folded inwardly and placed between the respective parallel side frame members 12 and 1 . 4 of the upper and lower frame commencing at the handle side in the manner illustrated in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5. Desirably a square sheet of relatively heavy gauge aluminium foil 22 is also engaged with the frame assembly 10 diagonally and slightly off centre on top of the folded foil as shown in Fig. 5 - This sheet of foil 22 acts as a flame shield to distribute the heat over the surface of the utensil when a point temperature source is being employed such as in an open fire or gas flame. The foil heat shield 22 however, may be eliminate where the utensil is to be used on a flat hot plate. The frame assembly 10 may then be turned over and the utensil is formed by pressing down on the foil at the points marked X in Fig. 6 and flattening out the floor of the utensil to provide a dished container having four internal corners at the points marked 0. The handle 17 may then be attached to form the completed cooking utensi as shown in Fig. 7» The depth of the utensil may be simply varied by varying the extent to which the corners of the foil 21 project inwardly towards the centre of the utensil. For example, if greater depth is required to form for example a pot, the corners of the foil are folded such as to extend to a lesser extent towards the centre of the frame assembly. As previously stated, the side frame members 14 of the lower frame 13 are offset inwardly with respect to the side frame members 12 of the upper frame 1 as is clearly illustrated in Fig. 8. The utensil frame shape and characteristics are such that friction between the folded corners of the foil and the foil base caused by the offset between the upper and lower frames together with the distributed load qualities of the design hold the body and contents of the utensil firm and in position Any force downwards on the floor of the utensil is then c 7 -:?ι strongly resisted by the frictional engagement. After cooking has been completed, the soiled inner layer of aluminium foil 21 may be easily dispensed with, thus eliminating the need for separate cleansing materials. The upper and lower frames are preferably constructed of stiff wire bent to the required shape. In one embodiment, the wire of the lower frame is of larger diameter than that in the upper frame, however, both frames may also be constructed of wire having the same gauge. The handle 17 is also preferably constructed of stiff wire and the engagement with the lower frame 13 is such that little heat is transmitted to the hand of the user. Of course, many other different configur¬ ations of handle may be employed. The utensil may also be constructed other than in square shape provided that the side frame members are of equal length. For example, the frame assembly may be of equilateral triangular form in which case the foil used would be of equilateral triangular shape. ■ Thus, the present invention provides a light¬ weight and easily transportable frame assembly which ' when combined with a sheet of commonly available metal foil, allows an inexpensive, efficient and versatile cooking utensil to be constructed.

Claims: CLAIMS & . 1. A frame assembly for a cooking utensil of the type formed of a sheet of metal foil supported by said frame assembly, comprising an upper perimeter frame having a plurality of sides formed by respective perimeter frame portions, a lower perimeter frame having substantially the same shape as said upper frame and being formed by a corresponding number of perimeter frame portions, said lower frame being aligned with said upper frame and connected thereto and wherein the perimet portions of said lower frame are disposed substantially parallel to and of set inwardly from the corresponding perimeter portions of said upper frame. 2. A frame assembly according to Claim 1 wherein said lower frame is connected to said upper frame by a plurality of lugs extending between and fixed to the corresponding corners of said frames. 3- frame assembly according to Claims 1 or 2 and including a bracket member fixed centrally to one said perimeter portion of said lower frame said bracket member being adapted to be engaged with a detachable utensil handle. 4. A frame assembly according to Claim 3 wherein a transversely extending groove is formed in the free end of said bracket member and wherein said handle member is of generally elongated U-shaped form and includes a pair of transversely extending spaced elements spanning the open end thereof one said element being adapted to be engaged with, said groove and the other said element being adapted to be engaged with said bracket member rearwardly of said groove whereby said handle may support said frame assembly. 5- -A- frame assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the upper and lower perimeter frames are formed of stiff wire. 6. A frame assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the upper and lower frames are substantially square in shape. - USE 7. A method of manufacturing a cooking utensil comprising placing a frame assembly of the type defined in any one of Claims 1 to 6 centrally on a sheet of metal foil of substantially the same shape as said upper and lower frames with said upper frame in contact with said sheet and the respective pairs of upper and lower parallel perimeter frame portions being located adjacent the respective corners of said sheet, folding the respective corners of said sheet inwardly and between said respective pairs of perimeter frame portions, turning said frame assembly upright and pressing said sheet of foil downwardly and inwardly of said frame portions whereby to form said utensil. 8. A method according to Claim 7 including the further step of placing a second sheet of metal foil over said folded sheet and with the corners thereof projecting between the respective pairs of parallel frame portions prior to pressing said-foil downwardly to form said utensil. 9• A cooking utensil constructed in accordance with the method defined in Claim 8 or Claim 9. 10. A frame assembly for a cooking utensil substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 8 of the drawings. -^f- E iγ- '

Inventors: WHITE J
Applicants: WHITE J
Application year: 1981
Main classification: A47J27
IPC codes: A47J36