Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02688054 2012-10-03
DEVICES FOR EXTRACTING SEMI-SOLID FOOD MATERIAL
FROM CYLINDRICAL CONTAINERS
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for removing semi-solid
substances such as food material from a cylindrical container, particularly to
a
device for removing frozen juice in cylindrical frozen plug form from a
cylindrical
can.
2. Description of Related Art
The use of sealed cylindrical containers such as cans for the storing of
semi-solid foods and frozen drink concentrates is well known, and is a
mainstay
for the storage and distribution of foods of many types. Where the food to be
stored is semi-solid, as is the case with food products such as heavy creams,
condensed soups, frozen juice concentrates, re-fried beans, pet foods, and the
like, these substances exhibit a consistency that render them difficult to be
extracted from the container thereof, at times even with the use of a kitchen
utensil
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such as a spoon or fork. This reduces in part the convenience factor
associated
with a consumers decision to purchase the containerized food in the first
place. As
such, from the perspective of consumer convenience, a need has long existed in
the art for an improved extractor for the dispensing of semi-solid or soft
foods from
cylindrical containers.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a hand operated device for the convenient
removal of a semi-solid food substance from a cylindrical container and is
particularly, but not exclusively, suited for the removal of frozen juice from
a
cylindrical container. In addition to the efficient removal of the substance
from the
container, the present invention also breaks the substance up into multiple
fragments, which is often beneficial to the subsequent use of the food
substance.
Furthermore, some embodiments of the present invention may also be used to
stir
the substance if necessary.
In some aspects, the present invention provides a hand operated device for
removing semi-solid food from a cylindrical container, the device comprising
an
elongate shaft having an upper end portion and a lower end portion, a handle
connected to the upper end portion of the shaft to enable the implement to
being
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grasped by a hand and rotated about the shaft, and at least one curved blade
member extending radially outward from the lower end portion of the shaft
around
its periphery wherein the at least one curved blade member includes a leading
edge, a trailing edge and a lateral edge, and wherein the leading edge
provides a
sharp cutting edge for cutting into the semi-solid food.
In some embodiments, the device has a plurality of curved blade members
extending radially outward from the lower end portion of the shaft around its
periphery. In some embodiments, the device has two or three curved blade
members extending radially outward from the lower end portion of the shaft
around
its periphery.
In some embodiments, the curved blade members each include a leading
edge, a trailing edge and a lateral edge. In some embodiments, the lateral
edge
may be straight to enable it to scrape against the inside surface of the
cylindrical
container without damaging said inside surface. In some embodiments, the
leading edge may be beveled to provide a sharp radial cutting edge.
In some embodiments, the curved blade members may define a diameter in
the range of about 2.0 to 3.0 inches. In some embodiments, the curved blade
members may have a length along the shaft that is in the range of about 0.5 to
4.0
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inches. In some embodiments, the curved blade members may have a length
along the shaft that is in the range of about 1.0 to 3.0 inches.
In some embodiments, the handle may be generally disk shaped and it may
be oriented to the shaft such that the shaft is perpendicular to the plane of
the
handle. In some embodiments, the handle includes a semi-elliptical top surface
and a plurality of gripping members around a peripheral edge.
In the use of the device in conjunction with frozen juice concentrate
packaged in a cylindrical container, the container of frozen juice may be held
on its
side with the open end positioned above a juice receptacle of the user's
choice for
catching the separated pieces of juice. The device handle may also be held on
its
side and the tips of the three blades are positioned within the container
walls. The
device is then forced into the frozen juice plug and simultaneously rotated in
the
direction indicated by both the handle and the blades. At any time, the device
can
be pulled out of the container to remove the fragments of frozen juice and
allow
them to fall into the receptacle below. This process continues until the
desired
amount of juice has been extracted and separated.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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Fig 1. is a side view of an embodiment of a food extractor in accordance with
the
present invention;
Fig. 2 is a perspective view from the side of the device shown in Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the device shown in Fig. 1;
Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the device shown in Fig. 1;
Fig. 5 is a perspective view from the side of another embodiment of a food
extractor in accordance with the present invention;
Fig. 6 is a side view of the device shown in Fig. 5;
Fig. 7 is another embodiment of a food extractor in accordance with the
present
invention shown in a side view in (a) and in a bottom plan view in (b);
Fig. 8 is another embodiment of a food extractor in accordance with the
present
invention shown in a side view in (a) and in a bottom plan view in (b); and
Fig. 9 is perspective view of the device shown in Fig. 1 in which the lower
end of
the shaft is shown inserted into a cylindrical container.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
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For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the
invention, reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments illustrated
in
the drawings, and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will
nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is
thereby intended. Any alterations and further modifications of the inventive
features illustrated herein, and any additional applications of the principles
of the
invention as illustrated herein, which would occur to one skilled in the
relevant art
and having possession of this disclosure, are to be considered within the
scope of
the invention.
With reference to Figures 1 to 4, there is illustrated an embodiment of a
food extractor in accordance with the present invention shown generally by
reference number 10. The extractor 10 comprises an elongate shaft 12 having an
upper end portion and a lower end portion opposite the upper end portion. The
extractor 10 includes a means for rotating the shaft, such as a generally disk
shaped handle 14 connected to the upper end portion in a manner such that the
shaft 12 is perpendicular to the plane of the handle 14. The handle 14 in the
illustrated embodiment includes a semi-elliptical top surface 16 to provide an
ergonomic fit in the palm of a user's hand. The handle 14 includes a plurality
of
grip means such as indentations 18 around the periphery of the edge 20 of the
handle 14 that are adapted to being engaged by the palm-side surface of a
user's
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fingers so as to make it easier for the user to impart a rotational motion to
the
handle 14 and hence the shaft 12.
While this particular handle configuration has been illustrated herein, it
should be noted that other handle configurations that enable a user to hold
the
extractor in operable orientations in one hand and to impart a rotation to the
shaft
are also contemplated as being within the scope of the present invention.
The lower end portion of shaft 12 includes a plurality of curved blade
members 24 extending radially outward from the shaft 12 around its periphery.
The blade members 24 each include a leading edge 26, a trailing edge 28 and a
lateral edge 30. As used herein, the term "curved blade members" (or similar)
shall
mean that the blade members are curved in a manner similar to the blades on a
propeller so that each blade member defines a curved face 34 that may be
described as being helicoid or comprising of helicoid surfaces. The leading
edge
26 may be preferably beveled to provide a sharp radial cutting edge.
Preferably,
the diameter 32 defined by the lateral edge 30 of rotating blade members
closely
conforms to the diameter of the inside of a particular cylindrical container
for
which the extractor 10 is intended. For example, a widely used size of
cylindrical
container or can that is predominant in North America at the present for
canned
foods and frozen juices has an inside diameter of 2 2/3 inches ( 6.8 cm). Many
pet
food cans have an inside radius of 2 5/8 inches (6.7 cm). Hence the diameter
32
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defined by embodiments of extractors 10 that correspond to each of these
commonly used container sizes would be preferably slightly (for example, 0.2
mm
- 10.0 mm) less than the inside diameter of the respective container. And
preferably, the lateral edge 30 of each blade member may be straight and
somewhat blunt to enable it to scrape against the inside surface of the
cylindrical
container without damaging said inside surface. This is particularly
advantageous
when the device is used with cardboard based cylindrical containers which
could
be damaged by pointy or sharp lateral edges, resulting in the cardboard
material
being scraped into the comestible contents.
In embodiments of the extractor 10 for use in extracting frozen juice that is
in a cylindrical frozen plug form in a cylindrical can, the length of the
shaft 12 may
be preferably adapted to enable the extractor 10 to be also used for stirring
the
extracted frozen juice and water mixture in a jug in which the juice is being
reconstituted. For example, juice jugs sold in North America are predominantly
between 4 1/2 inches (11.5 cm) in diameter and 9 inches (23 cm) deep.
Accordingly, an embodiment of the extractor 10 for use therewith may
preferably
have a shaft length of 9 inches (23 cm) or longer to enable a user to use the
extractor 10 for stirring the juice mixture while holding onto the handle 14
without
submerging the handle in the mixture.
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To use the extractor 10 to remove semi-solid food material from a
cylindrical container, such as a can 56 as shown in Figure 9, a user removes
the
lid (not shown) of the container by means of either a can opener or by means
provided on the container itself. Then, while grasping the handle 14 in the
palm of
one hand, the user axially aligns the extractor 10 with the container and
moves the
extractor 10 towards the contents (not shown) of the container so that the
outer
edges 30 of the blade members 24 are received within the inside of the
container
and until the leading edge 26 of the blade members 24 come into contact with
the
contents. Then, while holding the opening of the container over a suitable
vessel
or receptacle for receiving the extracted contents, the user applies pressure
against the handle 14 in direction 58 while simultaneously imparting a
rotation 60
to the extractor 10 in the direction which causes the leading edge 26 of the
blade
members 24 to bite into the contents. The action of the blade members as they
bite into the contents would typically break up the contents, and a reciprocal
movement of the blade members 24 within the container at various intervals
would
typically clear any broken up pieces from the container. If the user desires
to
extract all of the contents, he or she would continue to apply pressure and
rotational motion to the handle 14 (hence the blade members 24) until the
leading
edges 26 reach the bottom of the container. One or more reciprocal movements
of
the device within the container should be sufficient to extract any remaining
contents from the container such that the contents fall into the vessel
beneath the
container opening. Advantageously, in the case of the contents being frozen
juice,
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the extractor 10 also breaks up the frozen juice into frozen juice fragments,
which
more easily dissolve in water than a single plug of frozen juice during the
process
of reconstituting the juice. In addition, in an embodiment having a long shaft
12,
the extractor serves a secondary function of stirring the juice and water
mixture.
In preferred embodiments, the plurality of curved blade members comprises
three curved blades (as shown in Figure 4) as this configuration has been
found to
be quite effective in breaking up the food contents, and having three blade
members makes it easy to locate the blade members within the inside of the
cylindrical container such that the axis of the shaft 12 and the axis of the
container
align.
Referring to Figures 5 to 8, there are shown other embodiments of food
extractors in accordance with the present invention.
In Figures 5 and 6, there is shown a food extractor 38 having a shaft 12'
that is connected to a handle 14 and a plurality of curved blade members 24 as
in
the extractor 10. The difference is that the shaft 12' is shorter than the
shaft 12 so
that it corresponds more closely to the depth of the cylindrical containers
with
which it is intended to be use for extracting the container's contents.
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In Figure 7, there is shown a food extractor 42 having a shaft 12 that is
connected to a handle 14 as in the extractor 10 (as shown in Figure 7a), but
which
has a plurality of curved blade members 24' comprising of two blades (as shown
in
Figure 7b). A two bladed configuration will function to extract food contents
from a
container, but not as well as a three bladed configuration.
In Figure 8, there is shown a food extractor 46 having a shaft 12 that is
connected to a handle 14 as in the extractor 10 (as shown in Figure 8a), but
which
has a plurality of curved blade members 24" comprising of four blades (as
shown
in Figure 8b). A four bladed configuration will extract food contents from a
container and will tend to break the contents up into smaller pieces than a
three
bladed configuration. Depending on the particular intended application, this
may
be advantageous enough to justify the slight increase in cost of manufacture
of a
four bladed device over one with fewer blades.
Of course, it is contemplated that other embodiments of the food extractor
of the present invention may be provided with more than four curved blades,
but
the increased complexity and costs of manufacturing such configurations may
not
be justified, and may even be detrimental to the overall performance or
longevity
of the device. As well, it is contemplated that a device with only one curved
blade
member may also be functional, though not as well as a multi-bladed device.
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In preferred embodiments of the present invention, the length 36 of the
curved blades or blade members along the shaft (12 or 12') is in the range of
about 0.5 to 4.0 inches (1.3 to 10.2 cm), and even more preferably in the
range of
about 1.0 to 3.0 inches (2.5 to 7.6 cm).
While some variants of the present invention have been described and
illustrated, it is contemplated that even further variants are possible and
would
nevertheless fall within the scope of the present invention. For example,
without
limitation, the curved blade members may extend further up the shaft than
illustrated in the embodiments exemplified in Figures 1 to 8. And as stated
above,
other handle configurations are possible.
While the above description and illustrations constitute preferred or
alternate embodiments of the present invention, it will be appreciated that
numerous variations may be made without departing from the scope of the
invention. It is intended that the invention be construed as including all
such
modifications and alterations.
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