Patent Document

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
     This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/941,137, filed May 31, 2007, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD  
     This technology relates to a cage or container that can be inserted into poultry or other meat cavity. 
     BACKGROUND  
     Stuffing a turkey is often a messy ordeal at holiday time. Traditionally, a preparer takes the stuffing or filling and inserts it manually into the inner cavity of a turkey using a spoon and presses the stuffing into the cavity of the turkey until it appears to be full. During the cooking process, stuffing often falls out of the cavity into the cooking pan. Stuffing is also difficult to remove from the cavity and is often removed one spoonful at a time, making the process tedious and imprecise. 
     SUMMARY  
     In accordance with the teachings described herein, a stuffing cage is disclosed. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES  
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an example assembled stuffing cage; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the example stuffing cage of  FIG. 1  in an open position, showing the inner orifice of the cage; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the example stuffing cage of  FIG. 1  in an open position, showing the outer side of the cage; 
         FIG. 4  is a close-up perspective view of the latching mechanism for latching the cage in a closed position. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of an alternative example assembled stuffing cage showing a different type of exterior cage configuration; 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic side view of the example assembled stuffing cage of  FIG. 1  with a first hinge configuration; 
         FIG. 7  is a schematic side view of the example assembled stuffing cage of  FIG. 1  with a second hinge configuration; 
         FIG. 8  is a schematic side view of the example assembled stuffing cage of  FIG. 1  with a first latching configuration; 
         FIG. 9  is a schematic side view of the example assembled stuffing cage of  FIG. 4  with a second latching configuration; 
         FIG. 10  is a schematic end view of the example stuffing cage of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 11  is a schematic top view of the example assembled stuffing cage of  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 12  is a schematic top view of another alternative example stuffing cage, showing a more rounded design with a square handle. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
     An example stuffing cage  10  for use in stuffing poultry or other meat cavities is depicted in  FIG. 1-12 . The stuffing cage has a first half  12 , a second half  14 , a handle  16 , a tip  18  and a rear  20 . The first half and the second half  12 ,  14  are cage-like and designed to hold a filling material inside an inner orifice  22  of the cage  10 . The example cage  10  shown in  FIGS. 1-11  has a bullet shape, with a cylindrical body and a pointed tip  18  and a flattened rear end  20 . A rounded handle  16  is coupled to the second half  14  of the rear end  20 . The handle  16  is used to pull the stuffing cage  10  from a cavity when the filling material has been cooked. An alternative shape is shown in  FIG. 12  for a stuffing cage  10  that has a more oval shape, egg-like shape. This example also has a flattened rear end  20  and a rounded tip  18 , but the body of the cage tapers from wider toward the rear  20  to narrower at the tip  18 . A square handle  16  is coupled to the cage  10  in this example. 
     In both examples, the first half  12  of the stuffing cage  10  is coupled to the second half  14  to surround the inner orifice  22  via a hinging mechanism  24 . While any type of hinging mechanism  24  may be used, hook hinges  26 , as shown best in  FIG. 6 , are an easy, useful hinge for this purpose since metal associated with one half of the cage loops or hooks around the other half of the cage  10  to couple the first and second halves  12 ,  14  together. The hooks  26  may be welded to the cage  10  of one of the halves  12 ,  14 , may extend from parts of the cage  10 , or may be otherwise coupled to the cage  10 . 
     A second type of hinge mechanism is shown best in  FIG. 7  in the form of a two part hinge  28  with a connecting pin  30 . One part of the hinge  28   a  is connected to the first half  12  and the second part of the hinge  28   b  is connected to the second half  14 . The first part of the hinge  28   a  has a center tubular portion  32  and the second part  28   b  has two center tubular portions  34  that, when assembled, form a channel for receiving the connecting pin  30 . The connecting pin  30  creates a pivot line  36  about which the first and second halves  12 ,  14  pivot relative to one another. The first and second parts of the hinge  28   a ,  28   b  may be coupled to the cage  10  by welding or otherwise, as known by those of skill in the art. Other types of hinge mechanisms may alternatively be utilized. 
     A latching mechanism  38 , shown best in  FIGS. 1 ,  4 , and  8 - 9  is used to couple the first and second halves  12 ,  14  in a closed position. The latching mechanism  38  may comprise a hook  40  and a loop  42 , shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  4 , and  9 , with the hook  38  being coupled to one half  12  of the cage  10  and the loop  42  being coupled to a second half  14  of the cage  10 . The hook  40  is insertable into the loop  42  to hold the two halves  12 ,  14  together when the first and second halves are closed together. The hook  40  and loop  42  may be coupled to the cage  10  by welding or by other known means. The hook  40  is preferably movable so that it can rotate into and out of the locked position. One technique for coupling the hook  40  to the cage  10 , as shown in  FIG. 4 , is via a loop  44  around the outer rim  46  of the second half  14 . The loop  44  forms a pivot point about which the hook  40  is rotatable. The hook  40  could be welded to the body of the cage  12 , provided that the hook  40  has some flexibility to allow it to move into and out of the loop  42 . The loop  42  may be a separate part that is welded to the cage  12 , or may be formed from one of the existing members of the cage and turned over to form the loop. Other techniques for forming the hook  40  and loop  42  are also anticipated, as known by those of skill in the art. 
     A second type of latching mechanism is shown in  FIG. 8  as comprising a U-shaped hook mechanism  48 . The U-shaped hook  48  is coupled at its base to the second part  14  and has two upwardly and outwardly extending arms  50  that are flexible in order to allow the arms  50  to engage parts of the cage  10  of the first half  12 . When the U-shaped hook  48  is squeezed together, the arms  50  move inwardly and may be positioned under parts of the cage  10 . When the U-shaped hook  48  is released, the arms  50  spring apart and under parts of the cage to hold the two halves  12 ,  14  together. Other types of hinging mechanisms may also be utilized, as known by those of skill in the art. 
     The stuffing cage  10  is designed for use in poultry, such as a turkey, a chicken, or other types of fowl. Because different poultry have different sizes, the cage  10  is adaptable depending upon the size of the bird to be stuffed. Different sizes, other than those shown may be easily adapted. The stuffing cage may also be used to stuff other meat cavities, or other cavities, the invention not being limited to use with fowl. 
     While the stuffing cage  10  is shown as having a first part  12  that is one half of the housing of the cage  10  and a second part  14  that is one half of the housing of the cage  10 , the first and second parts  12 ,  14  do not necessarily have to be one half of the shape of the housing. For example, the first part could comprise a greater circumference of the housing, with the second part serving as a door (not shown). 
       FIGS. 1-4  shown a cage design where the exterior of the cage  10  is created by a plurality of spaced ribs  52 . The ribs  52  extend vertically in half circles and are coupled to longitudinally extending supports  54 .  FIG. 5  shows an alternative embodiment where the housing comprises longitudinally extending supports  54  that are covered with a mesh material in order to form the exterior shape of the housing. The mesh material  56  may be coupled to the supports  54  by welding or by any other known means for coupling mesh to a frame. The mesh material  56  serves to hold the filling material in place and has smaller openings than the examples shown in  FIGS. 1-4 . Any size openings suitable for holding filling material may be used. Other types of mesh and or ribbing may be used to form the interior orifice, the invention not being limited to a particular mesh or spacing size. 
     The material used as part of the cage or mesh that encloses the inner orifice  22  is oven and food safe. It may be non-stick or coated with a material to render it non-stick. It is preferred that the material utilized not rust and have a long life. Stainless steel and chrome are materials that may be utilized with the example stuffing cage, among other types of materials. A mixture of materials may be used, if desired. Metal and non-metal materials may be used, as long as the materials are designed to withstand temperatures encountered during baking. 
     In one example, the housing has a length L ranging from about 2 inches to about 20 inches in length and a greatest circumference ranging from about 2 inches to about 20 inches. The handle has a length ranging from about 1 inch to about 5 inches in length. The housing may have a length ranging from about 7 inches to about 9 inches and a greatest circumference ranging from about 12 inches to about 14 inches. The handle may have a length ranging from about 3 to about 4 inches. In one example, the housing has a length of about 8.5 inches, a greatest circumference of about 12 inches, and a handle length of about 2.5 inches. In another example, the housing has a length of about 7.5 inches, a greatest circumference of about 14 inches and a handle length of about 2.5 inches. 
     While various features of the claimed embodiments are presented above, it should be understood that the features may be used singly or in any combination thereof. Therefore, the claimed embodiments are not to be limited to only the specific embodiments depicted herein. 
     Further, it should be understood that variations and modifications may occur to those skilled in the art to which the claimed examples pertain. The examples described herein are exemplary. The disclosure may enable those skilled in the art to make and use alternative designs having alternative elements that likewise correspond to the elements recited in the claims. The intended scope may thus include other examples that do not differ or that insubstantially differ from the literal language of the claims. The scope of the disclosure is accordingly defined as set forth in the appended claims.

Technology Category: 1