2) United States Patent Dutra (54) COOKIN TENS! FOR GROUND MEAT (71) Applicant: Patricia ©, Dutra, Noples, FL (US) @ Pate Inventor: ©. Dutra, Naples, FL (US) Notice: Subject to any disclaimer, the team ofthis patent is extended of adjusted under 35 USC. 15446) by 0 days Appl. No. 171670672 (22) Filed: Feb. 14, 2022 G1) Inte B26 304 A2IC 15/04 (2006.01) (2006.01), (2006.01), B26 3/04 201301}; A2IC 19/04 (2013.01); 4477 43/288 (2013.01) Fleld of Classification Seareh crc IAAT 4N288; ATI 45/06; AST] 19108; TR26B 00; B6H 3/04, A2IC 1/08 AIC 5100 2; 30/114, 298, 300304, 305, ‘See application file for complete search history. u IsPc 11682; 241/168, 169 USOI1618175B1 (10) Patent No.: (4s) Date of Patent: US 11,618,175 BI Apr. 4, 2023 66) References Cited US. PATENT DOCUMENTS. 3500524 4101967 “Trenor Seisaal A * ‘341997 Teens adr 1702 SaR616 8 ¥1998 Bonn Basses § 7998 Preshan DAN6Os6 S 82001 Pardoe Pisost0 BL 12607 Miler 800759 B2* $2014 Cotter ATH 1702 sua Daiasos § + Gonraler 79s anna 001s044 AL sy A2IC 1508 wind 202010047389 A1* 22020. Schenk basi 308 * cited by examiner Primary Esaminer — Phong 1 Nguyen (74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm — Loot IP Group, PA. ryan L. Loeffler, Esq on ABSTRACT Acooking utensil (1) having a curved wal (S) and an angled ‘wall (6) used to efficiently and thoroughly chop and separate ground meat prior to andlor dusing cooking 1 Claim, 2 Drawing SheetsU.S. Patent Apr. 4, 2023 Sheet 1 of 2 US 11,618,175 B1 FIG. 1 Th *U.S. Patent Apr. 4, 2023 Sheet 2 of 2 US 11,618,175 B1 FIG. 4 tlie. \ i AIG. 5 : | Ca 6 6 4 = FIG. 6 5 et 2 _— 4 f 7 E 3 6 6US 11,618,175 BL 1 COOKING UTENSIL FOR GROUND MEAT FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention generally relates to kitchen utensils and more particularly, to cooking wlensil used to chop and separate ground meat prior to andor during cooking BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Ground meats, sich as hamburger, ground beef, ground poultry, and ground pork are prepared and consumed in @ wide variety of dishes. Ground meat is commonly com pressed during packaging, thereby causing the meat to stick And clump together. Peering or reffigeration also contrib- Utes fo the meat clumping together. Thus, to evenly cook or “brown ground meat, it must fist be separted into smaller pieces. This is offen accomplished using a However, the process is often easier said than done, since ground meat is ‘ypically moist and fatty and therefore very sticky, tending to rejoin even ata cook attempts to separate it with # spoon ‘or spatula which tends to smash and Hatten the geound beet while separating i ‘When ground beef is not properly separated before cook. ing, both the taste and texture ofa dish may’be allected. Ia addition, the ground meat may not eook evenly or all the ‘way though, This can he conceming as most grownd meats need be cooked to a safe intemal temperature throughout 9 avoid food poisoning. Therefore, a need exists for a cooking wens that may be used to elicendy and thoroughly ehop and separate pround meat prior to andlor during cook SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION “The primary object ofthe present invention isto provide ‘cooking utensil that may be used to elieently and thor. ‘vighly chop and separate ground meat prior to and/or during ‘ooking. The present invention achieves the above and other ‘objects by providing a cooking utensil having a plurality of bles arranged in crisscross or grid configuration that are housed within @ tubular wall having a handle extending upward therefrom. The tubular wal is preferably tear drop- shaped! having a e-shaped or curved section and an angled section. The curved section may be used 10 process pround ‘meat in round kitchenware or cookware, such as in 8 bow! fr circular-shaped fying pon. The angled section may be used 10 process ground meat in square kitchenware of ‘cookware having comers, such as a casserole dish or a Square-shaped skillet ‘The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention should become even more readily ‘apparent t those skilled in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description in conjunetion with the drans- ings wherein ther is shown and described illustrative ‘embodiments of the invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the following detsled description, reference will be made tothe attached drawings in which: TIG. 1 isa front view ofa cooking wens for ground meat of the present inveation 0 o 2 FIG, 2 is a rear view of the cooking utensil for ground meat of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a right side view of the cooking utensil for ‘round meat of the present invention: FIG. 4 isa left side view ofthe cooking utensil for ground meat of the present invention; FIG. Sis atop view ofthe cooking utensil for ground mest of the present invention; and FIG. 6is a bottom view of the cooking wtensil for ground meat of the present invention, DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS For purposes of deseribing the prefered embodiment, the terminology used in reference to the numbered accessories in the drawings is as follows |. cooking utensil, generally 2 perimeter wall 3 handle 4 blade a 6 ccurved section of perimeter wall angled section of perimeter wall 7. angle With reference to FIG, 1-4, a cooking utensil 1 of the present invention is illusirvted. The cooking utensil 1 com- prises a verically oriented perimeter wall 2 having an elongated handle 3 extending upward therefrom. The perim- ter wall 2 houses a plurality of verically oriented blades 4 farranged in a crisscross or grid pattern. ‘As illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 4, the perimeter wall 2 comprises @ curved section § and an angled section 6 that om a feardrop style shape. ‘The curved section 3 is substantially C-shaped and may be used to process round ‘meat in round kitchenware or cookware, sch as in a how! or cicular-shaped frying pan. The angled section 6 com- prises a substantially vight angle 7or bend that may be used to process and chop ground meat in square kitchenware or cookware, suchas a casserole dish or @ square-shaped shall Its to be understood that while a prefered embodiment oft incon atc oe Bt te form or arrangement of parts herein described and shown Iwill be apparent to toe sled in the at that various changes may be made without departing fom the scope of the invention and the invention is mot to be ‘considered limited to what is shown and described in the specification and drawings, Having thus described my invention | claim: 1. A cooking uteasil for processing ground meat, said cooking wtensil comprising 4 vertically oriented perimeter wall having an elongated handle extending upward therefrom: ssid perimeter wall housing plurality of vertically ori- ‘ented blades arranged in a grid pattem; ssid perimeter wall having a C-shaped curved section for Processing ground meat in cookware having curved scorers: and sid perimeter wall having an angled section opposite from said curved section for processing groune meat in cookware having angled comers.