A KNIFE FOR CUTTING A BAKED GOOD

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to knives adapted to cut baked goods.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Pre-made baked goods are a common feature in many outings. Often, they are included in picnics, barbecues, camping trips, and the like. They are also commonly sent as treats to campers and soldiers.

Typically, when a pre-made baked good is included as part of the provisions of an outing, several additional items are brought along to assist in serving it. For example, a knife to cut slices, a serving utensil to distribute cut slices, and disposable napkins for clean-up may be brought along. When such supplies are not brought, or when a pre-made pastry is sent to someone in an encampment, such supplies are not readily available, so improvisation is necessary.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is one object of the present invention to provide a cake which is furnished with at least one of various accessories which may typically be needed. It is a further object that these accessories may be provided without requiring a substantially larger package than a cake without the accessories would. According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cake with a knife. The cake has a shape lending itself to being cut into regularly shaped slices. Each slice is cut along a cutting face of the cake. The knife

comprises a cutting area formed so as to cover at least a majority of the cutting face after the cutting to retain the freshness of the cake.

It is noted that hereafter in the specification and claims, the term ''cake' ^' ' may refer to any baked item having a shape as described, including pies, strudels, other pastiy items, or breads.

The cake may be a rectangular loaf cake having a maximum cross sectional area normal to its length. The cutting area of the knife is formed in accordance with the maximum cross sectional area (i.e., it is formed such that it substantially, or at least partially, cover the cutting face after the cutting). The cake may be substantially round. The knife has a length equal to at least half of the diameter of the cake. It may further comprise two knife sections hingedly articulated along edges thereof which are parallel to the direction of cutting. The knife sections may be slideably displaceable along the edges.

Alternatively, the knife may have a length which is substantially equal to the diameter of the cake.

The cake may be formed substantially as a ring and have an outer edge and an inner edge. The knife has a length equal to the distance between the diameters and perpendicular to them. The cake may further comprise a second knife. The cake may be disposed within a pan which comprises a rim disposed along at least an outer edge thereof. The knife comprises a rim-gripping portion. The rim-gripping portion may allow sliding displacement of the knife along the rim.

It will be appreciated that hereafter in the specification and claims, the term "pan" may refer to any receptacle which holds the cake. It may be of any material, such as metal or cardboard, and may or may not be the pan in which the cake was baked.

The knife may comprise a lifting portion. The knife further comprises a cutting edge which may be serrated or smooth.

The knife may comprise a first knife portion, a second knife portion, and a bridging portion therebetween. The knife portions are similarly formed and disposed parallel to cutting faces of the slice such that said knife portions are in registration with cutting faces of the slice during cutting. The bridging portion may be size-adjustable, in order to allow cutting of different sized slices.

The cake may further comprise a slice-removal apparatus. The slice- removal apparatus may comprise two planar sections substantially parallel to each other and having a gap therebetween. The planar sections are springably articulated to one another. The slice-removal apparatus may alternatively comprise a planar section adapted to support the slice from below.

The cake may be provided with a plurality of disposable napkins. The cake may be disposed within a pan having a main compartment, holding the cake, and an auxiliary compartment, holding the napkins.

The knife may knife further comprise extensions adapted to cover portions of the top, and optionally at least one side, of the cake when the cutting area of the knife contacts the cutting face of the cake.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cake in a pan. The pan comprises a main compartment and an auxiliary compartment. The main compartment comprises the cake, and the auxiliary compartment holds a plurality of disposable napkins.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cake with a slice-removal apparatus. The slice-removal apparatus may comprise two planar sections substantially parallel to each other and having a gap therebetween. The planar sections are springably articulated to one another. Alternatively, the slice-removal apparatus may comprise a planar section adapted to support the slice from below.

According to a still further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a knife as described above.

According to any of the above aspects, the cake may be sealingly enclosed within a Avrapper.

According to a still further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cake being sealing enclosed within a wrapper and provided with a knife.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order to understand the invention and to see how it may be carried out in practice, embodiments will now be described, by way of non-limiting examples only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a cake with a knife according to the present invention; Fig. 2 A is a perspective view of the cake illustrated in Fig. 1, with a section taken along line IV-IV in Fig. 2B;

Fig. 2B is a side sectional view of the cake illustrated in Fig. 2A, taken along line H-II;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a round cake; Fig. 4A illustrates a knife according to another embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 4B illustrates the knife shown in Fig. 4A in use with the cake shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 illustrates the knife as seen in Fig. 4B after a cut has been made; Fig. 6 illustrates a cake and a knife according to a further embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 7 is a side sectional view of a knife in a pan, according to a still further embodiment of the present invention;

Figs. 8A through 9 illustrate still further embodiments of a knife according to the present invention;

Fig. 10 illustrates one embodiment of a slice-removal apparatus according to the present invention;

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of a pan according to a still further embodiment of the present invention; and

Figs. 12A through 12C are perspective views of still further embodiments of knives according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

As seen in Fig. I ₅ there is provided a cake 10 furnished with a knife 12. The shape of the cake 10 is that of a rectangular loaf cake. Slices 14 are typically cut from a cutting face 16 of the cake 10 to constitute individual servings. The knife 12 comprises a cutting area 18 and a cutting edge 20. Depending on the intended use, the cutting edge 20 may be serrated or smooth. The cutting area 18 knife 12 is sized such that after the slice 14 has been cut thereby, the knife substantially covers the cutting face 16 of the cake 10. The length of the knife 12 (i.e., along that dimension which is perpendicular to the direction of cutting) may be substantially equal to the width of the slice 14. This allows for the knife 12 to cover the cutting face 16 of the cake 10 after the cutting, allowing freshness to be preserved, at least in the area of the cutting face 16.

As seen in Figs. 2A and 2B, the cake 10 may be sold in a pan 22, being snuggly contained therein. The knife 12 may be formed so as to fit in the pan 22 so that it occupies a cross-sectional area thereof perpendicular to a longitudinal axis 24 of the cake.

As illustrated in Fig. 3, the cake 10 may be round. A slice 14 from such a cake is typically cut as a wedge, as illustrated. Fig. 4A illustrates a knife 12 according to the present invention which may be used to cut slices 14 from this shaped cake. It comprises two knife sections 26 articulated to each other about side edges. The side edges are those which are parallel to the direction of cutting. Each knife section 26 may have a length equal to approximately half of the diameter of the cake 10. The two knife sections 26 are articulated to each other about a hinge 28, which may be a pin. This allows for the knife sections 26 to be positioned so that they each cover one of the two cutting edges 16 of the cake, no matter how many slices have been removed (see Fig. 5). This further allows for the slice 14 to be lifted by disposing the slice between the knife sections 26 and

applying a slight pressure thereto so that it is retained between the knife sections even when lifted.

As illustrated in Fig. 4B ₅ the knife sections may be slideably displaceable along the hinge 28. This allows for one of the knife sections 26 to remain in place which the other one is lifted for the cutting.

According to another embodiment, the knife 12 has a length equal to the diameter of the cake. This permits fully cutting the cake quickly. This is be useful, inter alia, when it is known in advance that the entire cake will be consumed in one sitting, thereby obviating the need to preserve freshness. Fig. 6 illustrates a cake 10 formed in the shape of a ring. The cake comprises an inner edge 30 and an outer edge 32. The knife 12 furnished with such a cake has a length L _k which is substantially equal to the perpendicular distance L _c between the inner edge 30 and the outer edge 32. In such a case, two such knives may be supplied, in order to cover both cutting faces after the first slice is cut.

According to one modification, illustrated in Fig. 7, the pan 22 comprises a rim 34. The knife 12 comprises hook-like extensions 36 adapted to grip the rim 34. This permits the knife 12 to be more securely held in the pan 22 once a slice has been cut. This provides a tighter contact between the cutting area 18 of the knife and the cutting face 16 of the cake, which results in an improved preservation of freshness. The hook-like extensions 36 may be formed so as to allow sliding of the knife 12 along the rim 34. It will be appreciated that although the cake 10 illustrated in Fig. 7 is of a rectangular loaf shape, this feature may be used for a knife 12 adapted to be used with any shape of cake, provided that the pan 22 comprises a rim 34.

According to another modification, the knife 12 may comprise a lifting portion which is different from the cutting area 18. The lifting portion may be realized by extending the knife so that it is bigger than the cutting face 16 of the cake 10. Alternatively, a handle 38, as illustrated in Figs. 8A and 8B, may be

provided. According to any option, the lifting portion may be disposed on the top or side of the knife 12.

As illustrated in Fig. 9, the knife 12 may comprise a first knife portion 40a, a second knife portion 4Ob ₅ and a bridging portion 42 therebetween. The knife portions 40a, 40b may each be formed as a knife. Using such a knife 12, a slice 14 may be cut from the middle of the cake 10. The knife 12 may further be used to remove the slice. The bridging section 42 may be adjustable, to allow for various sized slices 14 to be cut. Although the knife 12 illustrated in Fig. 9 is adapted to be used with a cake having a rectangular loaf shape, similar knives may be provided for any shape of cake 10.

As illustrated in Fig. 10, there may further be provided a slice-removal apparatus 44. According to one embodiment, the slice-removal apparatus 44 comprises two planar sections 46. The planar surfaces 46 are substantially parallel to each other with a gap 48 therebetween, and are springably articulated to one another. This allows a user to remove a slice 14 of the cake 10 after it is cut without touching the cake and without substantially affecting the remainder of the cake 10.

As illustrated in Fig. 11, there is provided a cake 10 (not shown) with a pan 22. The pan comprises a main compartment 50 and at least one auxiliary compartment 52. The main compartment 50 holds the cake 10. One of the auxiliary compartments 52 may hold a plurality of disposable napkins, and one may hold the slice-removal apparatus 44 (not shown).

According to a further embodiment of the present invention, illustrated in Fig. 12A, the knife 12 comprises extensions 54. The extensions 54 project perpendicularly from the cutting area 18 of the knife. There may be extensions projecting from top and side edges of the knife 12. This arrangement facilitates the knife 12 in keeping its position in contact with the cutting face 16 of the cake 10, which results in an improved preservation of freshness. As illustrated in Figs. 12B and 12C, the extensions 54 may project only partially from the top edge of the knife 12. This may be useful, for example, when the shape of the cake is not

appropriate for extensions which project fully downwardly to the bottom of the knife, e.g., if the cake is asymmetrical or irregularly shaped. In addition, it will be noticed that the handle 38 according to the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 12B is formed by bending the top edge of the knife 12 upwardly, while the handle according to the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 12C is formed on the top edge of the knife.

Those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains will readily appreciate that numerous changes, variations and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention mutatis mutandis.