Abstract:
Baking pans for use in food preparation comprise a top baking pan and a bottom baking pan each having complimentary cups formed therein, the complimentary cups defining cavities into which food preparation is placed and baked, chilled, solidified, etc. The cups of the top baking pan may be provided with apertures which allow gas to enter or leave the cavities.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/449,355, filed Mar. 4, 2011. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    This invention relates to pans used for shaping consumable food goods during their production. For example, the pans described herein may be configured to shape baked goods as they are baked or shape confectionary goods as they solidify from a pourable state. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Pans are a staple of any modern kitchen and are commonly used for baking, roasting, candy making, etc. While the traditional baking sheet, a flat, rectangular pan, is perhaps the most common pan used in the kitchen, more decorative pans have been proposed which are intended to impart a particular shape to the food being prepared therein. Examples of common decorative pans include bundt pans, Jello molds, cupcake pans and even ice cube trays. 
         [0004]    However, such conventional decorative pans customarily have one open side into which the unformed food preparation is poured or placed. Thus, the side of the finished food item corresponding to the open side of the decorative pan is not contacted by the decorative pan during baking or solidification and is left relatively flat and plain. In order to obtain a finished good with no unshaped sides, therefore, it has traditionally been necessary to join two or more finished shaped goods together to reach the desired finished shape. 
         [0005]    While molds used in other applications (such as thermoplastic injection molding, as one example) have been used to shape all finished surfaces of an item, particular obstacles exist in the food preparation context which prohibit the easy adaptation of such molds to the kitchen. For example, as a batter is baked in an oven, chemical and thermal processes within the batter typically cause it to rise, or expand in volume. Gasses or steam may be given off during this process. Similarly, when liquid confectionary preparations are solidified (for example, by a chilling step), the volume of such preparations may expand or contract by a substantial amount. 
         [0006]    Such aspects have, until now, deterred the further development of baking pans. While some effort has been directed at elaborate food shaping machinery in the industrial food preparation industry, there exists an unmet demand for pans which are configured to shape all or substantially all finished surfaces of a consumable good and which are not so complex or expensive so as to prohibit their use in the home kitchen. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    The present disclosure provides a baking pan assembly comprising a top pan, a bottom pan, and optional clips for holding the pans together. Each of the pans has cups therein. Food product is placed in the bottom pan cups for baking. When the top pan is placed over the bottom pan, a cavity is formed between the top cups and bottom cups. During baking, for example, the food product may rise to create a finished product that substantially conforms to the shape of the cavity. The top cups can have an aperture therein, to, for example, allow steam to escape during baking, allow the addition of additives, and/or prevent issues related to volume changes. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]    The above mentioned and other aspects, features and advantages can be more readily understood from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: 
           [0009]      FIG. 1  shows a first perspective view of a baking pan according to one embodiment of the present invention with the top and bottom pans separated; 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  shows a second perspective view of the baking pan assembly of  FIG. 1  with the top and bottom pans assembled; 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  shows a top view of a lower pan of a baking pan assembly according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  shows a side view of the lower pan of  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  shows a cross-sectional view of the lower pan of  FIG. 4 , along line A-A; 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  shows a top view of a top pan of the baking pan assembly of  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0015]      FIG. 7  shows a side view of the top pan of  FIG. 6 ; 
           [0016]      FIG. 8  shows a cross-sectional view of the top pan of  FIG. 7 , along line B-B; 
           [0017]      FIG. 9  shows sample food products that can be made with the baking pan assemblies according to embodiments of the present invention; 
           [0018]      FIG. 10  shows an example of a cross-sectional partial view of the baking pan assembly of  FIG. 2 , along line C-C; 
           [0019]      FIG. 11  shows another example of a cross-sectional partial view of a baking pan assembly according to one embodiment of the present invention similar to the view shown in  FIG. 10 ; 
           [0020]      FIG. 12  shows an example of a cross-sectional partial view of a baking pan assembly according to one embodiment of the present invention similar to the view along line D-D in  FIG. 2 ; and 
           [0021]      FIG. 13  shows another example of a cross-sectional partial view of a baking pan assembly according to one embodiment of the present invention similar to the view shown in  FIG. 10 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0022]    Referring to the drawings, baking pan assembly  10  is shown. Assembly  10  has top pan  20 , bottom pan  30 , and optional clips  40 . Top pan  20  has a plurality of top cups  25 , and bottom pan  30  has a plurality of bottom cups  35 . Top cups  25  generally correspond in location to bottom cups  35 , so that a cavity is formed between them when the top and bottom pans  20  and  30  are assembled. In the shown embodiment, top cups  25  and bottom cups  35  are spherical, but the present disclosure contemplates other shapes, such as but not limited to, oval, elliptical, square, rectangular, or other polygonal shapes. Top cups  25  can either have the same or different shapes as bottom cups  35 . In one embodiment, top cups  25  and/or bottom cups  35  can be about one inch deep. 
         [0023]    Top cups  25  can have apertures  27  in a top surface  26 . Apertures  27  can also be located on other areas of cups  25 , such as on the side. Apertures  27  may serve one or more purposes. For example, during baking, apertures  27  may allow steam to escape from cavities formed by top cups  25  and bottom cups  35 , which allows for the food product within the cavities to rise. Apertures  27  may also allow a user to inject food product into the cavities or filling into or on the food product being cooked in the cavities, during, before or after baking. 
         [0024]    In another example, shown in  FIG. 10 , the apertures  27  may be configured to allow a holding stick  50  to be inserted into the cavity before, during or after food preparation  12  in the cavity is baked or solidified. The prepared food good may be removed from the baking pans together with holding stick  50  after lifting the top pan  30  from the bottom pan  20 . In this example, the apertures  27  may be configured to align the holding sticks  50  in an upright position once inserted through the apertures  27 . As shown in  FIG. 11 , apertures  27  may be configured with an extended barrel  52  or other feature to aid in aligning holding sticks  50 . 
         [0025]    In another example, the apertures  27  may be configured to allow inspection of the food preparation in the cavities. During baking, for example, a toothpick or other implement may be inserted through the apertures  27  to test if a batter has been baked to the point at which it no longer adheres to the toothpick upon removing the toothpick from the cavity. 
         [0026]    As yet another example, when making candy or chocolate goods, apertures  27  may allow food preparation to be injected into the cavities and also may prevent an unwanted suction effect within the cavity if the food preparation should shrink in volume during a solidification step such as chilling. 
         [0027]    Top pan  20  and bottom pan  30  can be made from materials suitable for baking, such as but not limited to aluminum, steel, or silicone. Either pan can also be coated with a non-stick coating. 
         [0028]    Once assembled, assembly pan  10  can be held together by clips  40 , which can be made of silicone, or another suitable material that can withstand the heat of baking. Clips  40  are optional. The top and bottom pans  20  and  30  may also be provided with one or more clip retention features configured to aid the clips  40  in holding the baking pans together. For example, as shown in  FIG. 12 , the top and bottom pans  20  and  30  may each be provided with clip ridges  54  which are configured to engage with a complimentary channel  56  in the clips  40 . Of course, many other clip retention feature configurations are possible. 
         [0029]    Top pan  20  can simply rest on top of bottom pan  30 , or the two can be aligned, held or connected together with methods such as a snap fit, pressure fit, tongue and groove, etc. Top pan  20  and bottom pan  30  can have top lip  22  and bottom lip  32  respectively, around outer edges of the pans, to facilitate connection with clip  40 , or the other connection methods discussed. Top pan  20  and bottom pan  30  can also have tapered portions  21  and  31  respectively near the outer edges, which can mate with each other to help assembly  10  stay secure during use. In another example, the top cups  25  and bottom cups  35  may be provided with complimentary features to aid in alignment of the top and bottom trays  20  and  30  to one another. For example, as shown in  FIG. 13 , top cups  25  may be provided with a protruded rim  58  while bottom cups  35  may be provided with a corresponding recessed rim  59  or vice versa. 
         [0030]    To use, the top pan  20  may be placed over bottom pan  30  (as shown in  FIG. 2 ) and batter or other food preparations can be placed in bottom cups  35  and/or top cups  25 , either before or after the top pan  20  is placed over the bottom pan  30 . Optionally, the top and bottom pans  20  and  30  may be held together by clips  40 . When used as a baking pan, the entire baking pan assembly  10  may be placed in a baking apparatus such as an oven once filled and assembled. When used as a candy or chocolate pan, the entire baking pan assembly  10  may be placed in a chilling apparatus such as a refrigerator or freezer once filled and assembled. 
         [0031]      FIG. 9  shows sample food products that can be made with assembly  10 . The food products can be made in a variety of shapes, such as spherical, and can have additives such as fillings, or surface additives such as sprinkles or flaked flavorings. The food products made with assembly  10  are advantageous in that they are easily made into a variety of shapes, but are baked instead of fried. Assembly  10  also provides for easier use, assembly, and cleaning than other devices that fry the food products, and does not require large amounts of cooking oil, which can be wasteful and expensive. 
         [0032]    While the present disclosure has been described with reference to one or more particular embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope thereof. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the disclosure without departing from the scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the disclosure not be limited to the particular embodiment(s) disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this disclosure. In addition, elements and/or features of different illustrative and exemplary embodiments herein may be combined with each other and/or substituted for each other within the scope of this disclosure.