Abstract:
A roaster including an open-top receptacle having a bottom wall and a peripheral side wall extending from a side of the bottom wall. The bottom wall defines a plurality of elongated parallel ribs projecting outwardly from the side of the bottom wall, where at least one of the ribs includes a plurality of spaced-apart sections.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    Several different types of containers are used to cook food. Some pans, such as sauce pans, are used to cook food on a stove. Other types of pans and containers are used to cook food in ovens. These pans or containers come in all different sizes to accommodate different sizes of foods. Containers used to cook foods in ovens are made of a durable material which can withstand the elevated temperatures in ovens. One container used to cook foods in ovens is a roaster. A roaster is a container or dish used to bake, roast or heat food in an oven. A food item, such as a whole chicken or turkey, is placed in the roaster and then set in the oven. Typically to prevent food from sticking to the bottom of the roaster and to lift food in and out of the roaster, a metal rack is placed on the bottom of the roaster underneath the food. The metal rack separates the bottom of the food from the roaster bottom and thereby prevents the food from sticking to the bottom of the roaster. Such metal racks are separate components which must be purchased separately from the roaster. A user must therefore purchase both the roaster and the rack which can be expensive. 
         [0002]    Most roasters are relatively heavy because they are made of a durable material such as a heavy metal or coated metal. Furthermore, the weight of the food item being cooked in the roaster adds to the overall weight of the roaster, which makes inserting the roaster into or removing the roaster from an oven difficult and cumbersome. 
         [0003]    Additionally, the inside surfaces of a roaster tends to be coated with grease or oil that comes from the food being cooked in the roaster. Typically, the grease and oil become cooked onto these surfaces, which makes cleaning the roaster difficult and time consuming. 
         [0004]    Disposable aluminum roasters are available and eliminate the difficult cleaning process associated with the conventional metal roasters. The disposable roasters are very lightweight and provide easy cleanup. However, the aluminum roasters are flimsy and difficult to carry when food is in these roasters. Additionally, the disposable roasters are meant for one-time use and are discarded afterwards. Therefore, new disposable roasters must be purchased prior to each use. This can be expensive over time and burdensome to those persons who use roasters frequently. 
         [0005]    Accordingly, there is a need for an improved roaster which overcomes the above problems. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    One embodiment of a roaster of the present invention provides an open-top receptacle including a bottom wall and a peripheral side wall extending from a side of the bottom wall. The bottom wall defines a plurality of elongated parallel ribs projecting outwardly from the side of the bottom wall, where least one of the ribs includes a plurality of spaced-apart sections. 
         [0007]    In an embodiment, the roaster includes a flange transverse to and extending outwardly from the peripheral side wall. 
         [0008]    In an embodiment, the flange defines opposing gripping surfaces. 
         [0009]    In an embodiment, the flange includes a first surface and second surface that oppose each other. The first surface includes at least one dimple and the second surface includes at least one depression. 
         [0010]    In an embodiment, at least a portion of the side wall slopes outwardly from the bottom wall. 
         [0011]    In an embodiment, a plurality of the ribs include a plurality of spaced-apart sections where the sections define at least two parallel channels. 
         [0012]    In an embodiment, the receptacle is made of a metal at least partially coated by a porcelain material. 
         [0013]    In an embodiment, the metal includes steel. 
         [0014]    In an embodiment, the sections are different sizes. 
         [0015]    Another embodiment provides a roaster including a generally planar bottom wall. The bottom wall defines a plurality of elongated parallel ribs projecting outwardly from a side of the bottom wall, where at least one of the ribs includes a plurality of spaced-apart sections. The roaster also includes a side wall extending outwardly from the side of the bottom wall, where the side wall includes a flange extending from the side wall. The flange forms at least two handles. 
         [0016]    In an embodiment, one of the handles includes a dimple and the other of the handles includes a recess. 
         [0017]    In an embodiment, a plurality of the ribs include a plurality of spaced-apart sections, where the sections define at least two parallel channels. 
         [0018]    In an embodiment, the receptacle is made of a metal at least partially coated by a porcelain material. 
         [0019]    In an embodiment, the metal includes steel. 
         [0020]    In an embodiment, the sections include different lengths. 
         [0021]    Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed disclosure, taken in conjunction with the accompanying sheets of drawings, wherein like numerals refer to like parts, elements, components, steps and processes. 
     
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         [0022]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of one embodiment of a roaster of the present invention. 
           [0023]      FIG. 2  is a top view of the roaster of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0024]      FIG. 3  is an end view of the roaster of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0025]      FIG. 4  is a side view of the roaster of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0026]      FIG. 5  is a cross-section view taken substantially along line  5 - 5  shown in  FIG. 2 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0027]    The present invention is directed generally to a roaster, and more specifically, to a reusable oval oven roaster which is nestable and which does not require a separate oven rack. 
         [0028]    Referring to  FIGS. 1-5 , the roaster  100  includes an open-top receptacle or container  102  which has a generally oval shape. The receptacle  102  includes a bottom wall, bottom side or bottom surface  104  and a peripheral side wall  106  which extends from the bottom wall  104 . Both the bottom wall  104  and the side wall  106  are oval shaped. It should be appreciated that the open-top receptacle  102  and more specifically the bottom wall  104  and the side wall  106  may be oval-shaped, square-shaped, rectangular-shaped or any suitable shape. It should also be appreciated that the open-top receptacle may be any suitable size to accommodate different sized foods or different amounts of food. 
         [0029]    As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the peripheral side wall  106  extends outwardly from the bottom wall  104 . In other words, the side wall  106  is sloped or angled away from the outer edge of the bottom wall  104 . It should be appreciated that the side wall  106  may angle inwardly, outwardly or have any suitable configuration. The side wall  106  includes a beveled or rounded portion  107  which is integrally formed with the bottom wall  104 . It should be appreciated that the bottom wall  104  and the side wall  106  may be integrally formed, connected together or joined or made in any suitable manner. 
         [0030]    In the illustrated embodiment, a flange  108  is generally transverse to and extends outwardly from the side wall  106 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , the flange  108  extends from the topmost or upper edge of the side wall. It should be appreciated that the flange  106  may extend from any suitable part or location of the side wall. In an embodiment, the flange  108  extends about the periphery of the side wall  106 . The flange  108  includes opposing wider or larger portions  110  and opposing narrow or smaller portions  111 , where the wider portions  110  extend outwardly from the side wall  106  a further distance at the opposing ends of the roaster. The wider portions  110  form gripping surfaces or handles  113  for a user. The handles  113  are integrally formed with the receptacle  102  to enable a user to easily grip and lift and/or move the roaster to and from an oven or to and from another surface or area. 
         [0031]    Each of the gripping surfaces or handles  113  include a dimple  112  or a recess  114 . In the illustrated embodiment, both the dimple  112  and the recess  114  have generally circular shapes. It should be appreciated that the dimple and/or the recess may any suitable size or shape. The dimple  112  extends or protrudes upwardly from a surface of the flange  108  and therefore has a convex surface as shown in  FIG. 5 . 
         [0032]    The recess  114  is similar to the dimple  112  except that it extends or protrudes downwardly underneath surface of the flange  108  and has a concave surface. As shown in  FIG. 5 , the roaster  100  includes a dimple  112  on one of the handles  110  and a recess  114  at the opposing handle. The opposing dimple and recess enhance the nesting of one roaster into another roaster. For example, when a first roaster is nested in a second roaster, the dimple  112  on the first roaster is aligned and is seated on the dimple  112  of the second roaster, which is positioned adjacent to it. Similarly, the recess  114  on the first roaster is seated on the recess  114  of the adjacent second roaster. Engagement between the corresponding dimples and recesses helps to temporarily secure the roasters together and minimize the roaster from sliding with respect to each other when they are stacked or nested within each other and stored. 
         [0033]    The dimple  112  and recess  114  also are used to secure a roaster in position on top of another roaster when a first roaster is used as a lid or cover for another roaster. In this situation, the roaster being used as the lid or cover is flipped over so that the inside surfaces of the bottom walls of the roasters are facing each other. The top roaster or lid is then positioned so that the dimple  112  of the roaster acting as the lid becomes seated in the recess  114  of the bottom roaster. Similarly, the recess  114  of the top roaster or lid contacts or is seated onto the corresponding dimple on the bottom roaster. Using a second roaster as a cover enables a user to cook foods in different ways and also enables the roaster combination to be tipped at angles up to 30° to 40° for removing or draining excess water, oils, greases, or other substances. 
         [0034]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  5 , a plurality of elongated ribs  116  and  118  are formed on the bottom wall  104 . In an embodiment, the ribs  116  and  118  are integrally formed with the bottom wall  104  and extend upwardly from the same side or surface of the bottom wall from which the side wall  106  extends. As shown in  FIG. 2 , the ribs or protrusions  116  and  118  have different sizes and shapes. In the illustrated embodiment, each of the ribs  116  and  118  is a generally elongated, oval-shaped protrusion. In an embodiment, a plurality of ribs  116  and  118  are formed in the bottom wall  104  where at least one of the ribs  116  is longer than at least one of the ribs  118 . In another embodiment, a plurality of the ribs  116  are longer than a plurality of the ribs  118 . In a further embodiment, all of the ribs  116  are longer than the ribs  118 . 
         [0035]    In the illustrated embodiment, a plurality of the longer ribs  116  are positioned in the middle or center of the bottom wall  104 . It should be appreciated that one, a plurality or all of the elongated ribs  116  may be positioned in the middle or on any suitable location on the bottom wall  104 . At least one and preferably a plurality of the small ribs  118  are positioned at opposing ends of the longer ribs  116 , as shown in  FIG. 2 . The ribs  116  and  118  are spaced apart or have interruptions that form channels or pathways  120 . The channels or pathways  120  enable a cooking string to be positioned and maintained in place in the channels so that when cooking is done a food item, such as a chicken or turkey, can be easily lifted out of the roaster using the string. It should be appreciated that the ribs  116  and  118  may have any suitable size or shape. 
         [0036]    Because the ribs  116  and  118  are integrally formed with the bottom  104 , there is no need for a separate wire rack or oven rack to be placed in the roaster. The ribs also eliminate the cumbersome process of positioning or adjusting the position of an oven rack such as in conventional roasters. A user simply sets a food item, such a chicken or turkey on the ribs  116  and  118  and then puts the roaster  100  in an oven, on a grill or the like. 
         [0037]    The ribs  116  and  118  minimize the frictional engagement between nested roasters to aid in separating the nested roasters. Specifically, the bottom surface of the bottom wall  104  of one roaster sits on top of the raised or protruding ribs  116  and  118  of an adjacent nested roaster. The ribs  116  and  118  therefore help to prevent one roaster from frictionally engaging an adjacent roaster so that it is less difficult to separate the roasters. Additionally, the flanges  108  of corresponding nested roasters also helps to prevent the roasters from frictionally engaging each other as the flange of one roaster sits on the flange of an adjacent nested roaster. 
         [0038]    The roaster  100  can be used to cook or bake a variety of foods. One advantage of the roaster  100  is that the integrally formed ribs on the bottom surface of the roaster eliminates the need for a separate wire rack or oven rack to be placed in the roaster and also provides stable surfaces for the food item to rest on. The raised or protruding ribs  116  and  118  also raise the food item, such as a chicken or turkey, above the bottom wall  104  so that there is less contact between the juices, greases or oils that drain from the food item and collect in the bottom and sides of the roaster. 
         [0039]    In the above embodiments, the open-top receptacle  102  is made of a suitable metal, such as stainless steel, and is coated by porcelain. It should be appreciated that the open-top receptacle  102  may be made of any suitable material or materials. It should also be appreciated that the open-top receptacle may be coated by any suitable material or combination of materials. The porcelain coating on the underlying metal surface provides a non-skid, non-stick surface which is smooth and relatively easy to clean. 
         [0040]    While the present invention is described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it should be appreciated that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, and is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the claims. Modifications and variations in the present invention may be made without departing from the novel aspects of the invention as defined in the claims, and this application is limited only by the scope of the claims.