CN110113967B

CN110113967B - Closable cooking bag

Info

Publication number: CN110113967B
Application number: CN201780068260.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: A·理查德
Original assignee: Cookina Holdings Inc
Current assignee: Cookina Holdings Inc
Priority date: 2016-09-06
Filing date: 2017-03-08
Publication date: 2021-07-09
Anticipated expiration: 2037-03-08
Also published as: AU2017325124A1; CN110113967A; CN207886117U; CA2941179A1; WO2018045452A1

Abstract

A closable cooking bag includes a heat resistant bag body to which a flap is attached. The flap can be tucked into an opening that allows access to the interior of the bag. To close the pouch, the flap is tucked into the interior of the pouch, and a hook portion forming part of the flap is inserted through a slit in the pouch body. Once through the slit, the hook portion retains at least a portion of the flap in the slit when the bag is closed, and generally provides sufficient retention force to keep the bag closed if the bag is inverted when used for cooking. The bag may be made from a single sheet of material.

Description

Closable cooking bag

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a closable cooking bag.

Background

Well-being focused cooking is becoming increasingly popular. One way in which consumers perform health-conscious cooking is to reduce the amount of fat used during cooking. The use of a non-stick cooking surface and cooking with steam are two ways in which the consumer can reduce the amount of grease and oil used during cooking.

Disclosure of Invention

According to a first aspect, a closable cooking bag is provided. The cooking bag includes a heat-resistant bag body including an opening and a slit, and a flap attached to the bag body and capable of being inserted into the opening to close the bag. The flap includes a hook portion that can be inserted through the slit, and the hook portion is shaped to: at least a portion of the flap is retained in the slit when the flap passes through the slit and the hook portion is outside of the pouch.

The pouch body and the flap may be made of the same material.

The pouch body and the flap may comprise polytetrafluoroethylene and not perfluorooctanoic acid.

The hook portion may be elastically deformable.

The hook portion may be planar.

The hook portion may include a trapezoid, and the trapezoid may have a rounded vertex. The trapezoidal portion may be an isosceles trapezoidal portion.

The longer base of the trapezoidal portion may be closer to the opening than the shorter base of the trapezoidal portion when the bag is opened. The longer base of the trapezoidal portion may be longer than the slit. The shorter base of the trapezoidal portion may be shorter than the slit.

When the pouch is closed, the portion of the opening not covered by the flap may include a steam vent that allows steam to escape the interior of the pouch.

According to another aspect, there is provided a closable cooking bag comprising a heat resistant bag body and a flap, wherein the bag body is made of a material comprising polytetrafluoroethylene, the heat resistant bag body comprises a slit in a face of the bag body and an opening along one side of the bag body; the flap is attached to the bag body and can be tucked into the opening to close the bag. The flap may include an elastically deformable hook portion that can be inserted through the slit from the interior of the bag, and the hook portion includes an isosceles trapezoid portion having a longer base closer to where the flap is attached to the bag body than a shorter base of the trapezoid portion. The longer base of the trapezoidal portion may be longer than the slit, and the shorter base of the trapezoidal portion may be shorter than the slit.

According to another aspect, there is provided a method of using the closable cooking bag of any of the preceding aspects and suitable combinations thereof. The method comprises the following steps: inserting the flap into the pouch through the opening; and inserting the hook portion through the slit from the interior of the bag.

Inserting the hook through the slit may include grasping the hook through the slit and then pulling the hook through the slit.

The method may further comprise: placing food into the bag prior to inserting the flap into the bag; cooking the food after inserting the hook through the slit and while the food is in the bag; and inverting the bag while the food is cooking, wherein the bag remains closed during inversion.

According to another aspect, there is provided a method for manufacturing a closable cooking bag of any of the preceding aspects and suitable combinations thereof. The method comprises the following steps: cutting a strip of material from a single sheet of material that outlines the front side of the bag body, the back side of the bag body, the flap, and the slit; folding the strip of material such that the front and rear sides are opposite each other; and sealing a portion of the outer peripheries of the front and rear sides to each other. The unsealed portion of the periphery can be covered by a flap and includes an opening of the pouch.

The step of sealing said portion of the periphery may comprise heat fusing said portion of the periphery together.

The pouch body may be polygonal, and the opening may extend along one edge of the pouch body. For example, the bag body may be rectangular and the opening may comprise one of the shorter edges of the bag body.

This summary does not necessarily describe the full scope of all aspects. Other aspects, features and advantages will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the following description of the specific embodiments.

Drawings

In the drawings which illustrate one or more exemplary embodiments:

fig. 1A and 1B are front perspective views of a closable cooking bag according to a first embodiment, when open and when closed, respectively.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a first embodiment of a cut sheet of non-stick material used to make a cooking bag.

Fig. 3A and 3B are front and rear views, respectively, of the first embodiment of the cooking bag when opened.

Fig. 4 is a front view of the first embodiment of the cooking bag when closed.

Fig. 5A and 5B are cross-sectional views of the first embodiment of the cooking bag taken along line 5A-5A in fig. 3A and along line 5B-5B in fig. 4, respectively.

Fig. 6 is a top view of the first embodiment of the cooking bag when closed.

Fig. 7 is a method for manufacturing a closable cooking bag according to another embodiment.

Fig. 8 is a method for using a closable cooking bag according to another embodiment.

Detailed Description

Embodiments described herein relate to a closable cooking bag that may be used to at least partially cook food contained within the bag using steam during cooking. In certain embodiments, the bag is made using a non-stick material, which facilitates use on cooking surfaces such as stainless steel and cast iron. The pouch includes a flap that can be folded or bent to close the pouch and a hook that can be inserted through a slit in the pouch body to secure the flap in place when the pouch is closed. To close the bag, the flap is tucked into the interior of the bag and the hook is inserted through the slit. The hook portion is shaped; at least a portion of the flap is retained in the slit when the flap passes through the slit and the hook portion is outside the pouch. Thus, the bag can be used to turn the food during cooking without accidentally opening the bag, which would release heat, thereby extending the cooking time and possibly causing food spillage. As used in this disclosure, "cooking" refers to a variety of cooking modes, such as grilling using a grill or cooking using an appliance such as an oven, microwave, cooktop, and sandwich.

In the drawings, a closable cooking bag 100 according to a first embodiment is shown. More specifically, fig. 1A and 1B are front perspective views of bag 100 when open and when closed, respectively; fig. 3A and 3B are front and rear views, respectively, of the bag 100 when opened; FIG. 4 is a front view of the bag 100 when closed; FIGS. 5A and 5B are cross-sectional views of bag 100 taken along line 5A-5A in FIG. 3A and along line 5B-5B in FIG. 4, respectively; and figure 6 is a top view of the bag 100 when closed.

The bag 100 includes a bag body 102, the bag body 102 including a front side and a back side. As described in more detail below with respect to fig. 2, the front and back sides are sealed to each other along the periphery of the left, bottom, and right edges of the bag 100 using a hot melt connection. The bag 100 includes an opening 114 that allows access to the interior of the bag 100 along the top edge of the front side and a slit 110 located on the front side of the bag 100. The flap 106 extends upward from the rear side of the bag 100 and includes a hook portion 108 at the end of the flap 106. In the first embodiment of the bag 100, the hook portion 108 comprises a trapezoidal portion having rounded vertices and having a longer base 122 and a shorter base 124, wherein the longer base 122 is closer to the opening 114 than the shorter base 124. The portion of the flap 106 immediately adjacent the hook portion 108 and below the hook portion 108 is shorter than the longer bottom portion 122. In the illustrated embodiment, the longer base 122 is longer than the slot 110, the shorter base 124 is shorter than the slot 110, and the trapezoidal portions are isosceles trapezoidal portions. Thus, the hook portion 108 is shaped: when the flap 106 passes through the slit 110 and the hook portion 108 is outside the bag 100, at least a portion of the flap 106 is held in the slit 110.

The bag 100 illustrated as the first embodiment is shown slightly inflated when opened. This may occur, for example, when air is blown into the bag 100 through the opening 114. As discussed in further detail below with respect to fig. 2, the manufactured bag 100 allows the front and back sides to lie flush against each other.

The first embodiment of bag 100 is made using a non-stick and heat resistant material. With respect to the first embodiment, "heat resistant" means that the bag 100 can be heated to about 550 ° f (288 ℃) without burning, melting, or evaporating. However, in various embodiments (not shown), the bag 100 may be made of a heat resistant material that burns, melts, or evaporates at various temperatures. One exemplary type of material that may be used to make bag 100 is that used to make a bag made of Quebbeculosa, Canada

Non-stick and reusable grill plate material sold by companies. Another exemplary type of material is a composite material made from

Parchminium sold by the company^TMA reusable display and cooking plate.

As described above, the pouch 100 shown in fig. 1A, 3B, and 5A is open. To close the bag 100 so that it is as shown in fig. 4, 5B, and 6, the consumer picks up the flap 106, plugs the flap 106 into the interior of the bag 100 via the opening 114, and then inserts the hook portion 108 out through the slot 110. Fig. 5A specifically shows a cross-sectional view of the bag 100 when it is open, and fig. 5B shows a similar cross-sectional view of the bag 100 when it is closed. Fig. 6 shows a top view of the bag 100 when closed, highlighting the fact that the hook-shaped portion 108 protrudes through the slit 110 to the front side of the bag 100.

The hook portion 108 is shaped: when the flap 106 is withdrawn from the bag 100, the hook portion 108 catches on the front side of the bag 100, thereby preventing movement and helping to hold the flap 106 in place and keep the bag 100 closed. In the first embodiment, the hook portion 108 includes a trapezoidal portion having a shorter base 124 and a longer base 122, wherein the shorter base 124 is shorter than the length of the slot 110 and the longer base 122 is longer than the length of the slot 110. The fact that the shorter bottom 124 is shorter than the slit 110 when the bag 100 is closed helps the consumer to initially insert the hook portion 108 through the slit 110. The fact that the longer bottom 122 is longer than the slit 110 once the hook-shaped portion 108 has been inserted completely through the slit 110 means that when the hook-shaped portion 108 is removed, the trapezoidal portion will catch on the front side of the bag 100, preventing this removal. The material used to make the first embodiment of the bag 100 is elastically deformable such that with sufficient force, one or both of the trapezoidal portion and the slit 110 deform as a result of the trapezoidal portion being pressed against the front side of the bag 100 or manual operation from the consumer, or both. This deformation allows the hook portion 108 to be pulled back into the interior of the bag 100 and the bag 100 to be opened. Once the force causing the deformation is removed, one or both of the hook portion 108 and the slit 110 return to substantially their original shape, allowing the bag 100 to be subsequently closed again.

Although the hook portion 108 is trapezoidal in the first embodiment, the hook portion 108 may be differently shaped in different embodiments (not shown). For example, the hook portion 108 may be triangular, square, or arcuate. Additionally, while the hook portion 108 is planar in the first embodiment, the hook portion 108 may be non-planar in different embodiments. For example, the hook portion 108 may be spherical or semi-spherical and have a substantial thickness that helps hold the flap 106 in place.

It may be beneficial to insert the hook portion 108 from the interior of the bag 100 through the slit 110 when cooking occurs for at least two reasons. First, the hook portion 108 may be cleaner to place on the exterior of the bag 100 than the hook portion 108 is placed within the bag 100 and in direct contact with the food. This may be useful in view of the consumer's possibility of grasping the hook portion 108 by hand to pull it through the slit 110 when opening and closing the bag 100. Second, steam generated during cooking does not surround the hook portion 108, and if the hook portion 108 is inside the bag 100, steam generated during cooking will surround the hook portion 108, which also facilitates the consumer's hand grasping the hook portion 108. Through experiments, it has been found that when used, all of them are

Non-stick barbecue grill plates or Parchminium sold by the company^TMWhen the display and cooking sheet is manufactured, the hook-shaped portion 108 provides sufficient holding force during cooking to allow the consumer to flip the bag 100 when the bag 100 is closed and containing food items, without accidentally opening the bag 100, while also allowing the consumer to open and close the bag 100 in a straightforward manner.

Referring now to fig. 2, a strip of material 202 from which the bag 100 is made is shown. The strip of material 202 of fig. 2 is constructed of a single type of material and is cut from a larger sheet of the material (not shown). As described aboveThe strip of material 202 may comprise

Non-stick barbecue grill plates or Parchminium sold by the company^TMA display and cooking plate; alternatively, the strip of material 202 may comprise

Different types of non-stick sheets sold by companies. More generally, the strip of material 202 can comprise any suitable heat resistant sheet material comprising a fluoropolymer that covers and encapsulates the fabric web, resulting in a resilient and flexible sheet material. In certain embodiments, the fluoropolymer may comprise Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), and in a subset of those embodiments perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is also excluded.

Fig. 7 depicts a method 700 for making the bag 100, according to another embodiment. The manufacturer begins performing the method 700 at block 702 and proceeds to block 704 where the manufacturer cuts the strip of material 202 from a single sheet of material. As shown in fig. 2, the strip of material 202 is cut so as to outline the front and back sides of the bag body 102, the slit 110, and the flap 106 (including the hook portion 108). The manufacturer proceeds to block 706 where he or she folds the strip of material 202 along the line 112 such that the front and back sides are opposite each other. At block 708, the manufacturer seals a portion of the outer perimeter of the front and back sides to each other, wherein the unsealed portion of the outer perimeter may be covered by the flap 106 and include the opening 114. In the first embodiment of bag 100, the manufacturer thermally fuses the left, bottom, and right edges of bag body 102 to form sealed outer perimeter 120. After sealing, the method 700 ends at block 712.

In the first embodiment of the bag 100, the lower left and right corners 104 of the sealed perimeter 120 are triangular to facilitate cleaning of the interior of the bag 100 and to increase the area of the sealed perimeter 120 to also increase the integrity of the bag 100. In various embodiments (not shown), the corners 104 may be shaped differently than described. For example, the corners 104 may be vertical (i.e., portions of the sealed perimeter 120 extending along the left and right edges of the bag 100 may perpendicularly intersect portions of the sealed perimeter 120 extending along the bottom edge of the bag 100), or the corners 104 may be filled, but not triangular (e.g., the corners 104 may be rounded). In various embodiments (not shown), the outer perimeter 120 may be sealed using various techniques, such as ultrasonic welding or heat resistant adhesives.

Although in the first embodiment of the bag 100 the bag body 102 is rectangular and the opening 114 comprises one of the shorter edges of the body 102, in a different embodiment (not shown) the bag body 102 may be formed in a different shape. For example, in certain embodiments, the bag body 102 may be polygonal, and the opening 114 may be along one edge of the polygonal bag body 102, while the remaining edge includes the sealed periphery 120.

Referring now to fig. 8, a method 800 of using the bag 100 is shown, according to another embodiment. The consumer begins performing method 800 at block 802 and proceeds to block 804, where the consumer places food into the bag via opening 114 when bag 100 is opened. The consumer proceeds to block 806 where he or she plugs the flap 106 into the bag 100 through the opening 114 and then, at block 808, he or she inserts the hook portion 108 from the interior of the bag 100 through the slit 110. This ensures that the bag 100 is closed, as described above. The consumer may insert the hook portion 108 through the slit 110 by grasping the hook portion 108 from outside the bag 100 through the slit 110 and then pulling the hook portion 108 through the slit. The consumer then proceeds to block 810 where he or she cooks the food, for example, on a barbecue grill, and flips the bag 100 as the food is cooked. Additionally or alternatively, the consumer may use a microwave oven or toaster to cook the food item, and similarly flip the bag 100 during cooking (and while pausing the microwave oven, if a microwave oven is used). The bag 100 remains closed due to the combination of the slit 110, flap 106 and hook 108. The method 800 ends at block 812.

When closed, the portion of the opening 114 not covered by the flap 106 acts as a vapor vent allowing vapor to escape from the bag 100, thereby preventing swelling and potential bursting of the bag 100. Any steam escapes at a rate slow enough that the steam helps to cook the food in bag 100 before escaping.

Directional terms such as "top," "bottom," "upward," "downward," "vertical," and "lateral" as used in this disclosure are used merely to provide relative reference, and are not intended to impose any limitation on how any items are positioned or installed in an assembly or relative to the environment during use. Unless stated otherwise, the term "coupled" and its variants, such as "coupled" and "coupled," as used in this disclosure are intended to include both indirect and direct connections. For example, if a first item is coupled to a second item, the coupling may be through a direct connection or through an indirect connection via another item. In addition, as used in this disclosure, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

The word "about" used in this specification in conjunction with a number means within 10% of the number.

Fig. 7 and 8 are flowcharts of example methods. Some of the blocks shown in the flow diagrams may be performed in an order different than described. Additionally, it is to be understood that not all of the blocks described in the flowcharts need to be performed, that additional blocks may be added, and that some of the illustrated blocks may be replaced with other blocks.

It is contemplated that any portion of any aspect or embodiment discussed in this specification can be used or combined with any portion of any aspect or embodiment discussed in this specification.

While specific embodiments have been described above, it should be understood that other embodiments are possible and are intended to be included herein. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and adaptations to the foregoing embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A closable cooking bag, the bag comprising:

(a) a heat resistant pouch body comprising an opening and a slit; and

(b) a flap attached to the bag body and tuckable into the opening to close the bag, wherein the flap includes a hook portion that is insertable through the slit and shaped to: retaining at least a portion of the flap in the slit when the flap passes through the slit and the hook portion is outside of the bag body;

wherein the flap comprises a flap portion connecting the pouch body to the hook portion;

the flap portion includes a pair of angled linear edges, an

The hook portion includes a pair of lower edges, each lower edge parallel to the slit, each lower edge forming a notch with a respective one of the pair of angled linear edges.

2. The bag of claim 1, wherein the bag body and the flap are made of the same material.

3. The bag of claim 1 or 2, wherein the bag body and the bag cover comprise polytetrafluoroethylene and do not comprise perfluorooctanoic acid.

4. The bag of claim 1, wherein the hook portion is elastically deformable.

5. The bag of claim 1, wherein the hook portion is planar.

6. The bag of claim 4 or 5, wherein the hook portion comprises a trapezoid.

7. The bag of claim 6, wherein the trapezoid is an isosceles trapezoid.

8. The bag of claim 6, wherein a longer base of the trapezoidal portion is closer to the opening than a shorter base of the trapezoidal portion when the bag is opened.

9. The bag of claim 8, wherein the longer bottom edge of the trapezoidal portion is longer than the slit.

10. The bag of claim 8, wherein the shorter bottom edge of the trapezoidal portion is shorter than the slit.

11. The pouch of any of claims 1, 2, 4, 5, and 7-10, wherein a portion of the opening not covered by the flap comprises a vapor vent that allows vapor to escape the interior of the pouch when the pouch is closed.

12. The bag of claim 1, wherein the bag body includes a first side and a second side, one of the first side and the second side having a top edge, the length of the opening being less than the length of the top edge.

13. The bag of claim 1, wherein the flap portion further comprises another pair of linear edges extending perpendicular to the bag body away from the bag body and connecting the bag body to the pair of angled linear edges.

14. The bag of claim 1, wherein the heat resistant bag body further comprises at least one heat fused sealed edge defining the opening.

15. The bag of claim 14, wherein the heat resistant bag body further comprises left, right, bottom heat seal edges defining the opening.

16. A closable cooking bag, the bag comprising:

(a) a heat-resistant bag body made using a material comprising polytetrafluoroethylene, wherein the heat-resistant bag body comprises a slit in a face of the bag body and an opening along one side of the bag body; and

(b) a flap attached to the bag main body and capable of being tucked into the opening to close the bag, wherein the flap includes an elastically deformable hook portion that is insertable through the slit from the inside of the bag, and the hook portion includes an isosceles trapezoid portion whose longer base is closer to a position where the flap is attached to the bag main body than its shorter base, wherein the longer base of the trapezoid portion is longer than the slit and the shorter base of the trapezoid portion is shorter than the slit;

the flap portion includes a pair of angled linear edges, an

17. A closable cooking bag, the bag comprising:

(a) a heat resistant bag body comprising at least one sealed edge defining an opening in the bag body, wherein the at least one sealed edge is sealed by ultrasonic welding or a heat resistant adhesive, the bag body further comprising a slit; and

the flap portion includes a pair of angled linear edges, an