Mold With Easy-To-Grip Removable Containers And Stand For Same

Abstract

A mold intended for preparation of food includes a stand having a receiving structure, enhancers, and at least one through-opening having an edge, and at least one removable container of height h intended configured for introducing into the opening. The container comprising includes a bottom wall and a side wall extending from the bottom wall, the side wall and the bottom wall forming a cavity for holding food. The side wall of each container has an upper gripping zone that is unable to pass through the opening. The mold also includes an annular line of cooperation where the container cooperates with the edge of the opening to support the container on the edge and a lower stability zone that is able to pass through the opening.

Claims

1. A mold for preparation of food, in particular pastries, comprising: a stand including a tray, enhancers and at least one through-opening having an edge; at least one removable container of height h intended to be introduced into the through-opening, the container comprising a bottom wall and a side wall extending from the bottom wall, the side wall and the bottom wall forming a cavity for holding food; the side wall of each container has an upper gripping zone that is unable to pass through the through-opening and has a height h1, an annular line of cooperation wherein the container cooperates with the edge of the through-opening to support the container on the edge, and a lower stability zone that is able to pass through the through-opening and has a height h2; wherein the height h1 is at least 25% of the height h of the container and does not exceed 45% of the height h of the container; the annular line of cooperation defines the joint between the upper and lower zones; and the area of the through-opening is equal to the area of the container cross section of the container at the annular line of cooperation.

2. The mold according to claim 1, wherein the center of gravity of the container is situated above the annular line of cooperation when the side wall cooperates with the edge of the through-opening of the stand.

3. The mold according to claim 1, wherein the lower stability zone extends below the edge of the through-opening.

4. The mold according to claim 1, wherein an upper stability zone of extends above the edge of the through-opening.

5. The mold according to claim 1, wherein the enhancers have a height h3, wherein the height h3 is greater than the height h2.

6. The mold according to claim 1, further comprising a reservation zone of height h4, extending from a plane defined by lowermost surfaces of the legs to the bottom wall of the containers.

7. The mold according to claim 1, in wherein each container has a tapering cross-section, between a minimum and a maximum, covering a variable area along a longitudinal axis of the container, such that each container has a substantially frustoconical or truncated pyramid geometry.

8. The mold according to claim 7, wherein the minimum cross section of the container has an area that is smaller than the area of the through-opening.

9. The mold according to claim 6, wherein the maximum cross section of the container has an area that is greater than the area of the through-opening.

10. The mold according to claim 1, wherein the height h of the container is equal to the sum of the heights h1+h2.

11. The mold according to claim 1, wherein the height h2 is greater than 15 mm, preferably greater than 20 mm.

12. The mold according to claim 1, wherein each container comprises a locking system with the receiving structure.

13. The mold according to claim 1, wherein the stand and each containers are made of steel.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0054] The following is a description of specific embodiments of the present invention, provided by way of non-limiting example. It will assist in better understanding the purposes, aspects and advantages of this invention, with reference to the appended drawings in which:

[0055] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a mold according to a first exemplary embodiment of the invention.

[0056] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a mold stand according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

[0057] FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a container of the mold in FIG. 1 according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

[0058] FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a container of the mold in FIG. 1 according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

[0059] FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a container of the mold in FIG. 1 according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

[0060] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a mold according to a second exemplary embodiment of the invention.

[0061] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a mold according to a third exemplary embodiment of the invention.

[0062] FIG. 8 is a partial perspective view of a mold according to a fourth exemplary embodiment of the invention.

[0063] FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a mold according to a fifth exemplary embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0064] With reference to FIGS. 1 to 7, a mold 1 is proposed for the preparation of food, in particular pastries, essentially comprising a stand 2 and at least one container 7.

[0065] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a mold 1 according to the invention. It involves a pastry mold 1, particularly for muffins. The mold 1 has a stand 2 with a receiving structure 3, which is a receiving tray 3. The tray 3 has two enhancers 4 that are feet formed from a metal wire, supporting the weight of the tray 3. The enhancers are arranged laterally on each side of the stand 2. The tray 3 has six containers 7 that are substantially conical in shape. The tray 3 has nine openings 5, which according to the mold 1 in FIG. 1 are identical and circular in shape. These openings 5 are through-openings and pass through the surface of the tray 3. The openings 5 have an edge 6 and a through area equal to the area of the cross-section of the container 7 at an annular cooperation line 12 (visible in FIG. 3).

[0066] Six containers 7 are inserted into six of the nine through-openings 5 and their progress through the opening was stopped by the edge 6, when the containers 7 came into contact with the edge 6. This is a particularly advantageous technical arrangement, which allows the tray 3 to retain the containers 7.

[0067] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a variant of the stand 2 for another type of mold 1. Here the stand 2 has a receiving tray 3. The tray 3 has two enhancers 4 that are feet formed from a metal wire, supporting the weight of the tray. The enhancers are arranged laterally on each side of the stand 2. The tray 3 has three through-openings 5 substantially parallelepiped in shape, which according to the mold in FIG. 2 are identical.

[0068] FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a container 7 of height h used in the mold 1 in FIG. 1. This container 7 has a gripping zone 11 and a lower stability zone 13. At about ⅓ of the height of the container, starting from its top edge, the container has an annular line of cooperation 12. The gripping zone 11, of height h1, is advantageously situated above the annular line 12. The lower stability zone 13, of height h2, is advantageously situated below the annular line 12.

[0069] The container 7 also has a side wall 9 and a bottom wall 8 forming a cavity 10. The container 7 has a height h1 of about 1.3 cm representing about 30% of the total height h of about 4 cm of the container 7. The annular cooperation line 12 defines the joint between the upper zone 11 and the lower zone 13.

[0070] FIG. 4 illustrates the container 7 of the mold in FIG. 1 according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention cooperating with the tray 3 of the mold 1. The container 7 is retained and held by the edge 6 of the tray 3 at its annular line 12. The bottom wall 8 and the side wall 9 extend below the annular line 12. The center of gravity of the container is situated above the annular line of cooperation 12 when the side wall cooperates with the edge of the opening of the stand.

[0071] FIG. 5 illustrates the container 7 of the mold 1 in FIG. 1 according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention with its unmolding angle α. The container 7 has an unmolding angle α of 10°.

[0072] FIG. 6 illustrates a second exemplary embodiment of a mold 1 according to the invention. The tray 3 has nine containers 7 with a substantially truncated pyramid shape. The tray 3 has nine openings 5, which according to the mold 1 in FIG. 1 are identical and rectangular in shape.

[0073] FIG. 7 illustrates a third exemplary embodiment of a mold 1 according to the invention. The tray 3 has six containers 7 of different shapes, either substantially truncated pyramid-shaped or substantially frustoconical. The containers 7 have a substantially rectangular section.

[0074] The tray 3 has three openings 5, which according to the mold 1 in FIG. 7 are identical and substantially rectangular in shape.

[0075] FIG. 8 illustrates in part a fourth exemplary embodiment of a mold 1 according to the invention. The receiving stand is a tray 3 comprising L-shaped enhancers 4 with feet 14. The feet 14 are in contact with the worktop or the baking sheet and thus improve the stability of the mold when it is placed on a surface.

[0076] FIG. 9 illustrates in part a fifth exemplary embodiment of a mold 1 according to the invention. The receiving stand is a tray 3 comprising L-shaped enhancers 4 with feet 14. The feet 14 are arranged in a plane parallel to the plane of the tray 3. The enhancers 14 [sic: 4] have a height h3, which is greater than the height h2, h2 representing approximately ⅓ of h3. The receiving structure 3 of the mold 1 comprises an air circulation corridor 15 arranged under the receiving structure 3. The mold 1 has a reservation zone 16 of height h4 that extends from the surface of the worktop to the bottom wall 8. The height h3 corresponds to the sum of heights h2 and h4. This reservation zone 16 allows for the circulation of an air blade in the corridor 15, enabling the hot air to circulate better between the containers 7 and to provide slow, even baking without creating a local hot spot by contact with the bottom wall 8, which would cause burned spots due to excessive heating.

[0077] When in use, a user can, for example, grasp the containers 7 to pour a food preparation into them. The user will grasp each container 7 by its gripping zone 11 or by the side wall 9 and fill the cavity 10 with the food preparation. Then the user will place the filled containers in any opening 5 of the tray 3, approximately following the direction of a longitudinal axis (A). The container 7 then comes into contact with the edge 6 of the openings 5 and when the annular line 12 comes into contact with the edge 6, said line cooperates with the edge 6 and stops the longitudinal movement of the container 7. The user can then release the container 7 and repeat this operation for each container in order to fill all the openings 5 of the mold 1. Once placed in the openings 5 of the stand 2, the containers 7 are no longer in contact with the worktop but are supported by the stand 2 via the annular line of cooperation 12 cooperating with the edge 6. Thus, the containers 7 are raised or elevated and their bottom wall 8 is kept free, without contact with any element once the container 7 is installed on the stand 2 of the mold 1. Thus, the bottom wall 8 never touches any element of the oven or of the worktop or of the stand 2.

[0078] Depending on the recipe followed, the user can heat the mold 1 or chill it. The specific characteristics of the connection between the container 7 and the openings 5 make it possible to guarantee the stability of the mold 1, stand and container assembly, under conditions of expansion (baking) or contraction (cooling) of the mold 1. When the baking or chilling is done, the user can disassemble the containers 7 from the stand 2 by easily grasping them by their gripping zone, pulling upwards in the direction of the longitudinal axis (A). The containers are thus removed from the stand 2. The user can then unmold the dish (for example, the cake) with no risk of damaging it.

[0079] Although the invention has been described in relation to particular exemplary embodiments and applications, it is obviously in no way limited thereto.

[0080] Modifications can still be made, specifically regarding the arrangement and constitution of the various elements or by substituting equivalent techniques, without departing from the field of protection of the invention.