A baking tray includes an outer shell and a bottom plate positioned within the outer shell for supporting a food item. The bottom plate is removable from the outer shell to separate the food item from the outer shell. The baking tray also includes a divider assembly positionable within the outer shell adjacent to the bottom plate. The divider assembly is configured to divide the food item supported on the bottom plate into a plurality of pieces.
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8. A baking assembly comprising:
an outer shell defining an opening;
a bottom plate positioned within the outer shell and overlying the opening for supporting a food item, the bottom plate being removable from the outer shell to separate the food item from the outer shell; and
a wire stand positionable beneath the bottom plate, the stand including a first portion sized to fit within the opening to support the bottom plate apart from the outer shell.
17. A baking assembly comprising:
an outer shell defining an opening;
a bottom plate positioned within the outer shell and overlying the opening for supporting a food item, the bottom plate being removable from the outer shell to separate the food item from the outer shell; and
a stand positionable beneath the bottom plate, the stand including a first portion having a periphery sized to fit within the opening to support the bottom plate apart from the outer shell, and a second portion positioned lower than the first portion relative to a support surface such that ventilation is provided from below the second portion up to and within the periphery of the first portion via an open space in the stand.
1. A baking tray comprising:
an outer shell;
a bottom plate positioned within the outer shell for supporting a food item, the bottom plate being removable from the outer shell to separate the food item from the outer shell;
a divider assembly positionable within the outer shell adjacent to the bottom plate, the divider assembly configured to divide the food item supported on the bottom plate into a plurality of pieces; and
a stand positionable beneath the bottom plate and including a first portion having a periphery sized to fit within and extend through an opening in the outer shell to support the bottom plate apart from the outer shell, and a second portion positioned lower than the first portion relative to a support surface such that ventilation is provided below the first portion and within the periphery via an open space in the stand.
2. The baking tray of
3. The baking tray of
4. The baking tray of
5. The baking tray of
6. The baking tray of
9. The baking assembly of
10. The baking assembly of
11. The baking assembly of
12. The baking assembly of
13. The baking assembly of
14. The baking assembly of
15. The baking assembly of
18. The baking assembly of
19. The baking assembly of
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The present invention relates to baking trays.
Food items such as, for example, brownies, cakes, pies, desert bars, and bread loaves, are commonly baked in baking trays of various shapes, sizes, and depths. After baking, the food items are typically cut into a plurality of pieces or sections by hand with a knife. However, because the food items are cut by hand, the pieces may be unevenly shaped and sized. Furthermore, once the food items are cut, it is often difficult to remove the pieces, especially the first piece, from the baking trays.
In one embodiment, a baking tray includes an outer shell and a bottom plate positioned within the outer shell for supporting a food item. The bottom plate is removable from the outer shell to separate the food item from the outer shell. The baking tray also includes a divider assembly positionable within the outer shell adjacent to the bottom plate. The divider assembly is configured to divide the food item supported on the bottom plate into a plurality of pieces as the food item is baked.
In another embodiment, a baking assembly includes an outer shell defining an opening and a bottom plate positioned within the outer shell over the opening for supporting a food item. The bottom plate is removable from the outer shell to separate the food item from the outer shell. The baking assembly also includes a stand positionable beneath the bottom plate. The stand includes a first portion sized to fit within the outer shell's opening to support the bottom plate apart from the outer shell.
In yet another embodiment, a method of baking a food item in a baking tray includes placing an uncooked food item such as batter or dough in the baking tray, positioning a divider assembly within an outer shell of the baking tray adjacent to a bottom plate to divide the uncooked food item into a plurality of segments, baking the uncooked food item in the baking tray to create a cooked food item, and removing the bottom plate from the outer shell to separate the segmented cooked food item from the outer shell.
Other aspects of the invention will become apparent by consideration of the detailed description and accompanying drawings.
Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
The baking tray 10 includes an outer shell 14, a bottom plate 18 removably positioned within the outer shell 14, and a divider assembly 22 positioned within the outer shell 14 and engaging the bottom plate 18. In the illustrated embodiment, the baking tray 10 is composed of stainless steel and coated with a non-stick material such that the baking tray 10 is durable and suitable for use at high baking temperatures, yet also easy to clean. In other embodiments, the baking tray 10 may be composed of other materials suitable for baking.
The outer shell 14, or sidewall, includes an upper flange 26 extending outwardly from the shell 14 and a lower lip 30 extending inwardly from the shell 14. The flange 26 facilitates gripping and holding the baking tray 10, while the lip 30 removably supports the bottom plate 18. In some embodiments, the flange 26 may define enlarged handle portions to further facilitate handling of the baking tray 10. As shown in
The bottom plate 18 is a generally flat sheet that is shaped and sized to fit within the outer shell 14. When the bottom plate 18 is positioned within the outer shell 14, the bottom plate 18 covers the opening 34 such that the outer shell 14 and the bottom plate 18 resemble a standard baking tray for baking a food item. As shown in
The illustrated divider assembly 22 includes two elongated dividers 42 extending along a length of the bottom plate 18 and five shorter dividers 46 extending across a width of the bottom plate 18 to divide a food item supported by the baking tray 10 into eighteen pieces or sections. In the illustrated embodiment, the elongated dividers 42 and the shorter dividers 46 are generally perpendicular to one another to divide the food item into generally rectangularly-shaped pieces. In other embodiments, the dividers 42, 46 may be oriented in other positions relative to one another to divide the food item into pieces having different shapes. Additionally or alternatively, the divider assembly 22 may include fewer or more elongated dividers 42 and/or shorter dividers 46 to divide the food item into different numbers and/or different sizes of pieces or sections. As shown in
The divider assembly 22 also includes two handles 58 extending upwardly and outwardly from the dividers 42, 46. The handles 58 facilitate gripping of the divider assembly 22 such that a user may insert and remove the divider assembly 22 into and from the outer shell 14 without having to grasp the dividers 42, 46. In the illustrated embodiment, the handles 58 are formed from a single rod 62 that is bent into a continuous loop to define the two handles 58. The rod 62 is coupled to the dividers 42, 46 by, for example, welding, brazing, or the like. In other embodiments, other suitable handles may be coupled to the dividers 42, 46 to facilitate gripping of the divider assembly 22.
As shown in
After the uncooked food item is positioned on the baking tray 10 and separated by the divider assembly 22, the baking tray 10 is placed in an oven to cook or bake the uncooked food item. After the food item is done baking and has sufficiently cooled, a user grabs the handles 58 of the divider assembly 22 to lift the divider assembly 22 away from the bottom plate 18 and the outer shell 14, leaving a cooked food item that is separated into a plurality of pieces within the baking tray 10. In some embodiments, the bottom edge 66 of each divider 42, 46 may be sharpened to facilitate dividing the uncooked food item into the plurality of pieces or to cut the food item into the plurality of pieces after baking.
As shown in
Once the bottom plate 18 is lifted and supported apart from the outer shell 14 of the baking tray 10, the food item may be easily accessed and served by a user. The outer shell 14 is positioned out of the way of the food item such that the user can scoop or remove the food item from the bottom plate 18 without interference from the outer shell 14. In addition, since the divider assembly 22 divides the food item before baking, the user generally does not need to cut the food item into individual pieces or sections by hand.
The illustrated baking tray 110 is a generally square baking tray including an outer shell 114 that is deeper relative to the outer shell 14 shown in
Similar to the baking tray 10 of
The divider assembly 122 also includes two handles 158 coupled to the dividers 142, 146. Similar to the handles shown in
Similar to the stand of
The illustrated baking tray 210 is a generally round baking tray suitable for supporting, for example, round cakes during baking. In some embodiments, an outer shell 214 of the baking tray 210 may be sloped inwardly from an upper flange 226 to a lower lip 230 such that the round baking tray 210 is suitable for supporting pies.
In the illustrated embodiment, the baking tray 210 includes a divider assembly 222 having four dividers 242 extending radially across diameters of the baking tray 210. The dividers 242 are generally equally spaced about the baking tray 210 such that the divider assembly 222 divides a food item supported by the baking tray 210 into eight generally wedge-shaped pieces of similar size. In other embodiments, the divider assembly 222 may include fewer or more dividers 242 to divide the food item into fewer or more pieces.
Similar to the stands of
The illustrated baking tray 310 is a loaf pan including a relatively deep outer shell 314. The baking tray 310 is used to support, for example, bread or meat loaves during baking.
In the illustrated embodiment, the loaf pan 310 includes a divider assembly 322 having eight dividers 342 arranged substantially in parallel to divide a loaf into nine slices. In other embodiments, the divider assembly 322 may include fewer or more dividers 342 to divide the loaf into fewer or more slices.
Similar to the stands 38, 138, 238 of
Various features and advantages of the invention are set forth in the following claims.
Henry, Lou, Nicholson, Scott, Long, Lori A.
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May 30 2008 | ANCONA, BRUCE | XTRAORDINARY HOME PRODUCTS, LLC | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 029401 | /0204 | |
Jul 22 2009 | XTRAORDINARY HOME PRODUCTS, LLC | Focus Products Group, LLC | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 029445 | /0506 | |
Aug 29 2011 | FPG, LLC | (assignment on the face of the patent) | / | |||
Jul 20 2012 | Focus Products Group, LLC | FPG, LLC | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 028802 | /0142 | |
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Nov 19 2012 | NICHOLSON, SCOTT | Focus Products Group International, LLC | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 029401 | /0255 | |
Nov 27 2012 | LONG, LORI A | Focus Products Group International, LLC | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 029401 | /0255 | |
Dec 24 2014 | Focus Products Group International, LLC | SJC DLF II-H, LLC, AS AGENT | PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT | 034747 | /0027 | |
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Jul 13 2017 | SJC DLF II-H, LLC, AS AGENT | Focus Products Group International, LLC | RELEASE BY SECURED PARTY SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 043239 | /0271 | |
Mar 02 2018 | LIFETIME BRANDS, INC | JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N A , AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT | SECURITY INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 045498 | /0001 |
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