FOOD METER

DOSEUR D'ALIMENTS

English Abstract

ABSTRACT
A food meter comprising a base and four upstanding
walls defining three spaces for the metering of spaghetti-like
food. The spaces are generally in the form of troughs and are of
graduated width for the selective metering of the food. A hole
is made in the base for hanging the instrument if so desired.

Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A food meter molded as a one0piece body from synthetic
resin and comprising a base and at least four upstanding, spaced,
substantially parallel walls of substantially equal height defining three
compartments, said base and said walls being generally rectangular
in the horizontal and vertical planes respectively, said compartments
being fully open at the top and at both ends, said walls having top edges
lying in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of said base, the
surfaces of each compartment as defined by said base and two associated
walls being continuous, smooth and free of any protrusion including the
edges of said base and walls, said walls being progressively spaced apart
two by two and defining compartments of progressive widths, the two wider
compartments being two and three times, respectively, the width of the
narrowest compartment, whereby uncooked rigid spaghetti-like pasta or
similar rod-like rigid food may be inserted in anyone compartment
longitudinally of the latter with the end portions of the rod-like
food protruding from the open ends of the compartment, the rod-like food
being in contact with the entire surfaces of said compartment, the latter
measuring a precise quantity of such rod-like food when the latter fills
the compartment and is flush with the top edges of the two walls of anyone
compartment.

Description

This invention relates to a food meter particularly
for msasuring the proper amount of spaghetti-like food prior to cooking~
TherB i9 a need to provide a simple, easy to use, in-
expensive-to-manu~acture and an easily-cleanable and storabls kitchen
instrument for the metering or measurement of spaghetti or similar
fibrous or filamentous food. Such food has swelling properties 90 that,
when cooked, it occupias mora volume than when uncooked. Therefore, it
i8 difficult to measure a precise amount even when tha correct proportion
of swelling is known.
Accordingly, it is an object of th0 present invantion to
provide a food meter which is-simple, easy to use, non-costly to
produce and easily cleanable and storable.
It is a further object of the presant invention to provide
a ~ood mster wherein it i8 insured that the proper amount of spaghetti
will be metered. -~
These and othsr objects o~ the pre~snt invention are
accomplished in accordance with a pre~erred~embodiment of the present
invention by the provision o~ a body formed by a base with upstanding
parallel walls~ The walls are progrsssively spaced apart to define
compartments of diPferent sizes~ Praf0rably9 a hole is provided in case
the instrument is to be hung. -~
The above will be better understood by reference to the
following detailed description and also to ths preferred embodiment
itsel~, illustrated by way of the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the m0ter;
Figurs 2 i8 a top view showing the spaghetti like food
in dashed outline;
Figure 3 is a crosR-sectional view taken along line 3-3
of Figure 2; and
' ', :'
-: .
~ - 2 - ~
'; , . .
-' - ' ; , ' : ;. . . ': : ',

6~
Figure ~ is a side view.
The instrument oP the invention is preferably molded as a
one piece body ~rom a synthetic resin and includes a base 1 and integral~
upstanding~space~ substantially parallel walls 2~ 3~ 4 and 5~ The
walls and ths base ars generally rectangular in configuration having
the appearance of a thr~e~dimensional comb. Walls 2~ 3~ 4 and 5 ars
progressively spacsd apart tw~-by-two to dafina compartmsnts 6~ 7 and
B of progressivs width which ars used ~or receiving various amounts
o~ food. As is readily apparent,the three compartments can contain
three diffsrent volumss of uncooksd spaghetti A7 noodles or like food
when sach compartment~ as the case may be~is fillsd to the same level
flush with the top edges of the walls.
Ths two wider compartments prefsrably havs widths whi~h
ars two and three times~ respectivsly the width of the narrowest -
compartmentO `:
Thus ths instrument can msasurs ssrvings for one, two or
thre0 parsonsc The thres compartments may also be usad for persons
of varying appstites, it is to be notad~
.
A hols Y is provided in case tha instrumant is to ba
hung~ as for example on a kitchan wall,
'~'`'; '
,.
.. ~ ` ''
,'
,
-- 3
: