Field of application of the invention

The present invention is used for the preparation of food as an alternative to existing whisks.

The whisk is constructed such that the whisk contains a scraper part having another geometrical configuration than the remaining wires. Hereby, apart from whisking, stirring or admixing foodstuffs, it is also possible to use the whisk for scraping the comer at the bottom of the saucepan and the inner sides of the saucepan, the invention enabling that it is easier to reach into the borders of the saucepan and entrain all the matter as the whisk with scraper part will operate in the same manner as a dough scraper.

State of the art

Definition: A whisk is a kitchen utensil which is used for mixing ingredients or for aerating a mixture.

When for instance a roux or a sauce is to be prepared, an "ordinary whisk" is usually used to combine the ingredients, such as flour. During such process it is necessary to use more than an "ordinary whisk" as an "ordinary whisk" is not suitable for entraining all the matter, such as the substance sitting at the bottom/border of the saucepan and on the inner sides of the saucepan. If the matter sitting at the borders of the bottom of the saucepan is not stirred, it burns and hence gives off an aftertaste to the roux or the sauce; if the matter sitting on the insides of the saucepan is not scraped of, it does not turn into a homogeneous substance. That renders the subsequent cleaning of the saucepan difficult, if burning occurs. To prevent the food from burning at the bottom of the saucepan, a dough scraper is used. It simultaneously ensures that it is possible to stir the food sticking to the inner sides of the saucepan to a homogeneous substance. An "ordinary whisk" is not suitable for functioning in the same manner as a dough scraper. Hereby two utensils are being used for making eg a roux or a sauce which also contributes to the generation of more dirty dishes which is not very convenient.

Prior art that has been invented so far:

US 2008/0034981 A1 describes a whisk combined with a spatula. The spatula part is arranged along the bottom and extends halfway up the sides of the outermost wire element. The spatula part being constructed as set forth above, the whisking effect is reduced since the spatula part (in particular if it is made of a soft, flexible material) will hinder the whisking effect, as the whisk will then operate as if it is were desired to whisk with a spatula, which does not work. Moreover, the spatula part also entails that the wires, which are resilient, will be raised/lifted from the bottom of the receptacle and hence from the material to be whisked which means that the whisking time is increased. The wires including the spatula part not assembling at the extremity of the whisk, the spatula part will bend relatively more than if the wires had assembled at the extremity of the whisk. This also means that the scraping effect is reduced.

US 2008/0068921 A1 also describes a whisk and other utensils combining an edge surrounding the utensils. The edge which is made of a soft material protects Teflon surfaces. Like in US 2008/0034981 A1 , the edge is constructed such that the edge extends a distance up the sides of the outermost wire. This imparts to the whisk the same limitations and options as were the case with US 2008/0034981 A1.

Various configurations of whisks exist, some of which are eg rounded at the corners meaning that the whisk is capable of reaching the corners of the saucepan to prevent the sauce from burning. However, the whisk is not suitable for entraining all the matter, eg the matter sitting on the inner sides of the saucepan. Besides, the whisk (prior art) does not serve as a dough scraper like the invention.

Now, it has surprisingly been found that it is possible to construct a kitchen utensil where both functions of whisk and dough scraper integrated in the same unit can be used optimally at the same time by a whisk being constructed such that at least one wire is replaced by a scraper part which has another geometrical configuration than the other wires that extend from the handle to the extremity of the whisk where the wires assemble. By a particularly suitable configuration, the scraper part is configured such as to be wider and/or thicker at the extremity of the whisk.

According to the prior art, the wires are lifted from the material due to the expanse of the scraper part. The wires assembling, according to the present invention, at the extremity of the whisk, it becomes possible to wipe clean the corner at the bottom of eg a saucepan and the inner sides of the saucepan since, by this construction, the invention is less resilient as the remaining wires may serve as reinforcement of the dough scrapers compared to the situation where the scraper part and the wires were, as is the case with the prior art, not assembling at the extremity of the whisk.

The object of this invention is to provide one single whisk which, by combining an additional function into the same whisk, solves a number of problems during everyday cooking and makes it more convenient to make eg a roux or a sauce. By the present invention one needs only one single tool to make eg a roux or a sauce.

The novel technical means The whisk is made with a scraper part having a geometrical configuration which differs from that of the remaining wires, extending from the handle to the extremity of the whisk where the wires assemble. The invention being constructed as set forth above, it is possible, apart from whisking, stirring or admixing foodstuffs, to also use the whisk (the invention) to wipe clean the border at the bottom of the saucepan and the inner sides of the saucepan to prevent burning at the bottom of the saucepan, and to ensure that all the matter is combined to form a homogenous substance, as the scraper part is able to reach well into the borders of the saucepan and will serve in the same manner as a dough scraper.

The scraper part may be configured such that it is wider, thicker and/or longer than the remaining wires, or such that it is wider and/or thicker at the extremity of the whisk.

The scraper part may have various configurations. The scraper part may be curved, angled, oval, elliptic, rounded, triangular, quadrangular, 5-20-edged and may have geometrical shapes such as a rhomboid, a rectangle or a parallelogram. The scraper part is hereby constructed in such a manner that it is adapted to the concave sides of the receptacle to the effect that the scraper part is able to wipe clean both the corner/border, the bottom, and the inner sides of a saucepan.

The scraper part may be constructed such that the scraper part extends from the basic shape of the whisk (which is the shape formed by the other wires) or such that the scraper part enters into the basic shape of the whisk.

The scraper part may be 14 - 20 times or 14 - 50 times wider and/or thicker than the other wires.

The other wires may also have various configurations; the wires may be curved, angled, oval, elliptic, rounded, triangular, quadrangular, 5-20-edged and may have geometrical shapes such as a rhomboid, a rectangle or a parallelogram.

The scraper part may be constructed in such a way that it can be clicked onto/mounted on and subsequently dismounted from one of the wires. Moreover, the scraper part may be constructed in such a way that it can be folded and unfolded (manually).

The whisk can be constructed in such a way that 2 - 5 or 2 - 10 of the wires have a geometrical configuration which is different from the remaining wires.

The wires may be straight, twined, curved, rounded at the corners; and the wires may be made with a helix to thereby increase its diameter/spatial capacity. Moreover, the wires may have different sizes, widths and thicknesses and have different lengths.

The whisk may be constructed in such a manner that the whisk has several different basic shapes: a wide, relatively drop-shaped whisk (balloon whisk) where the wires are adapted to the concave sides of the receptacle, and a relatively rounded whisk (ball whisk), a rather elongate and narrower shape of the whisk (French whisk) which has a cylindrical profile, and a flat pan whisk which has a flatter, repeated pattern.

The whip may contain 4 - 50, 8 - 70, 4 - 100, or 2 - 200 wires.

The whisk may have varying sizes, eg from 5 - 100 cm or from 5 - 150 cm.

The whisk may contain a ball/sphere with and without holes and retained by the wires. The ball/sphere entails that whisking of eg cream into whipped cream is faster as the ball/sphere supplies more air to the system. The handle and the wires may be constructed in such a manner that they are both straight/plane (horizontal/vertical) and curved.

A recess or a cut-out may be provided in the handle all the way around the handle or in some places/sections of the handle. The recess means that it is possible to hang the whisk on the rim of the saucepan or receptacle. Sometimes a whisk is used which is shorter than the diameter of the saucepan and that means that the whisk falls into the saucepan when not in use. This will not happen if the handle is provided with a recess/a cut-out.

Moreover, the top of the handle may be constructed such that it is wider at the top of the handle than at the bottom (where the wires start). This will provide a kind of "stopper" function preventing the whisk from falling into the saucepan/receptacle when not in use by hinging onto the rim of the saucepan/receptacle.

Moreover the handle may comprise an integrated magnet by which it is possible to hang the whisk on the rim of the saucepan (if it is a metal saucepan) thereby preventing the whisk from falling into the saucepan when the whisk is not in use.

On the handle, a hook or lug may be provided by which it is possible to suspend the whisk.

The whisk may be made of silicon, nylon, plastics, wood, metal, glass, copper, silver, gold or acrylic. Moreover, the whisk may be made of a combination of said materials.

The scraper part may be made of the same material as the other wires, and it may be made of a softer, more flexible material entailing that the scraper part is capable of more easily reaching into the borders/corners, eg the corner/border at the bottom of a saucepan/receptacle. Moreover, the scraper part may be made of a firmer/harder material compared to the other wires.

If the wires are made of eg silicon, nylon or wood, it means that ia the bottom of the saucepan or the frying pan is not scratched and hence ruined in case of eg a Tefal coating.

The whisk may be made with a thermometer thereby enabling monitoring of the temperature.

The whisk may be made ia by use of direct moulding or injection moulding.

The technical effect

By constructing a whisk where a scraper portion has a geometrical configuration different from that of the remaining wires, extending from the handle to the extremity of the whisk where the wires assemble, it becomes possible to wipe clean the border at the bottom of the saucepan and the inner sides of the saucepan more efficiently than an "ordinary whisk", the whisk also functioning like a dough scraper.

The scraper part is constructed such that it will not spray in all directions when the whisk is used.

Depending on the width or thickness of the scraper part, the whisk will be more suitable for viscous liquids, such as eg a roux or a sauce.

The invention is convenient as it is a "dual function component" rendering it easier to make eg a roux or a sauce. Hereby one does not have to use both an "ordinary whisk" and a dough scraper. Hereby more options are available for using the invention compared to an "ordinary whisk". Moreover the amount of time spent on washing up is reduced since only one tool is used. List of figures

Figure 1 shows the whisk Figure 2 shows the wires Figure 3 shows the extremity of the whisk Figure 4 shows the whisk Figure 5 shows the wires Figure 6 shows various embodiments of the scraper part.

Embodiments

Figure 1 shows the whisk. It will appear that the scraper part (1 ) has another geometrical configuration than the remaining wires (2). The scraper part (1 ) extends longitudinally from the handle (3) to the extremity (4) of the whisk, where the wires (5) assemble. The handle (3) is wider at the top (6) than at the bottom where the wires start (7).

Figure 2 is a close-up of the wires shown at the same angle as in fig. 1 ; the scraper part by (1 ) and the remaining wires by (2).

Figure 3 shows the extremity (4) of the whisk. It will appear that the wires assemble (5) at the extremity (4) of the whisk. It will further appear that the scraper part (1 ) does not continue to the other side of the whisk (8). When the whisk is seen from the extremity, the scraper part (1 ) extends transversally in the longitudinal direction from the circular basic shape of the whisk. The scraper part (1) extends from the basic shape (9) of the whisk which is indicated by the curved, dotted line. It will appear that the scraper part (1 ) is wider and thicker (11 ) than the other wires (3). It will further appear that the other wires (3) are of rounded shape (12).

Figure 4 shows the whisk with the scraper part (1 ) and the remaining wires (2). It will appear that the scraper part (1 ) is first rounded (12) and then becomes wider (10) and thicker (11 ) and are subsequently narrowed at the extremity (4) of the whisk where the wires assemble (5).

Figure 5 shows the scraper part (1 ) and the remaining wires (2). It will appear that the wires assemble at the extremity (4) of the whisk and that the scraper part is wider (10) and thicker (11 ) than the other wires (3).

Figure 6 shows various embodiments of the scraper part (1 ). It will appear that the scraper part (1 ) is curved/angled (13) in various locations/positions/sections on the wire, triangular (14), and quadrangular (15).