WO2023146517A1

WO2023146517A1 - Apparatus for food spill prevention

Info

Publication number: WO2023146517A1
Application number: PCT/US2022/013831
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kathryn Boatright
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2022-01-26
Filing date: 2022-01-26
Publication date: 2023-08-03
Anticipated expiration: 2024-07-26

Abstract

An anti-spill aid for use in cooking and serving vessels may be integrated into the vessel or removable and attachable. The anti-spill aid is an improved cooking tool to prevent messy cooking mishaps. Embodiments can include a removable conformed heat-resistant tool or a non-removable extension of a cookware to enable the upper portion of the cookware to have a curved area that is overarching to assist in meal preparations and prevent food from going over the edge. Embodiments may also include a sensor system to enable smart cooking applications.

Description

APPARATUS FOR FOOD SPILL PREVENTION

Inventor: Kathryn Boatright

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] This application relates to a multi-purpose cooking or serving vessel including an apparatus for reducing spillage of food while cooking or serving in the vessel.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Various types of vessels, including cooking and serving vessels are used throughout the kitchen. Generally cooking vessels are used to cook food contents over a heat source. Examples of such vessels can be hying pans, stir fry pans, woks, roasting pans, etc. The cooking vessel sits atop a heat source, e.g., a stove, with a bottom surface near or touching the heat source. The heat is then distributed to other portions of the vessel. Inside the vessel, the heat is the highest at the surface of the vessel most adjacent to the heat source. Thus, food contents that are in contact with the surface are cooked but food content not in contact with the surface may remain largely uncooked. Generally, to remedy this issue, the cook manually moves the uncooked portions of the food contents to be in contact with the vessel surface most adjacent to the heat source. This is commonly referred to as “flipping” the food content. One familiar example of this is flipping an omelet. When cooking an omelet, the bottom portion of the omelet which is in contact with the surface of the cooking vessel is cooked while the top portion of the omelet remains uncooked. To properly prepare the omelet, the cook then must “flip” the omelet so that the top of the omelet comes into contact with the surface of the vessel.

[0003] The process of flipping is required for a variety of dishes such as omelets, pancakes, scrambled eggs, fries, hamburgers, fish or any food item that requires mixing, stirring, flipping, or stir-frying. Further, flipping is not limited to flipping the entire food item; at times the cook may want to flip a portion of the item only. For example, in the omelet example, the cook may only want to flip half of the omelet over.

[0004] The process of flipping is cumbersome. It is common to have food content spill out of the cooking vessel while flipping. The spilled food may come in contact with the heat source resulting in burning of the food content or more serious hazards such as a potential for fire or skin bums. An experienced cook may be able to reduce the amount of spillage of food content but cannot completely prevent it. Beginner cooks tend to struggle with the flipping process.

[0005] The anti-spill aid described herein provides a more efficient way to flip food content without any spillage outside the cooking vessel. For beginners, this anti-spill aid is highly beneficial because it would allow the beginner cook to focus on other aspects of cooking and not worry by spillage or fire risks. For experienced cooks, in addition to eliminating spillage, the anti-spill aid helps in a more efficient and faster flip.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] Various objectives, features, and advantages of the disclosed subject matter can be more fully appreciated with reference to the following detailed description of the disclosed subject matter when considered in connection with the following drawings, in which like reference numerals identify like elements.

[0007] FIG. 1 depicts a prior art pan.

[0008] FIGS. 2 and 2a depict one embodiment of a pan and the anti-spill aid, according to embodiments of the disclosure.

[0009] FIG. 3 depicts one embodiment of the anti-spill aid, according to embodiments of the disclosure.

[00010] FIGS. 4a - 4b illustrate the anti-spill aid of FIG. 3 attached to a pan, according to embodiments of the disclosure. [00011] FIGS. 4c-4f illustrate select connection mechanisms of the anti-spill aid, according to embodiments of the disclosure.

[00012] FIG. 5 depicts another embodiment of the anti-spill aid, according to embodiments of the disclosure.

[00013] FIG. 6 depicts another embodiment of the anti-spill aid, according to embodiments of the disclosure.

[00014] FIGS. 7a-7c depict selected attachments for use with the embodiment of FIG. 6, according to embodiments of the disclosure.

[00015] FIGS. 8a-8b depict the embodiment of FIG. 6 with one type of attachment, according to embodiments of the disclosure.

[00016] FIG. 9 illustrates a sensor system that may be integrated with the anti-spill aid, according to embodiments of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[00017] Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a sufficient understanding of the subject matter present herein. But it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the subject matter may be practiced without these specific details. Moreover, the particular embodiments described herein are provided by way of example and should not be used to limit the scope of the invention to these particular embodiments.

[00018] Described here are embodiments of the anti-spill aid that allows users to prepare or serve food items with minimal or no spillage outside the vessel. One skilled in the art would understand that the anti-spill aid is not limited to use only in the kitchen setting, it may be employed in numerous settings when there is a need to reduce spillage from a vessel. [00019] FIG. 1 shows a typical vessel 100. The vessel 100 in FIG. 1 may be a cooking vessel, such as a pan, but it is understood that an anti-spill feature described below, may be part of or attached to any type of vessel that may contain food items. The vessel 100 has a cooking surface area 101. Vessel 100 also has sidewalls 102 which encircle the cooking surface area 101. Sidewalls 102 help contain the food item within the vessel 100. In certain vessels, sidewalls 102 are approximately perpendicular to the cooking surface area 101. In certain other vessels, such as woks, the sidewalls 102 are an extension of the cooking surface area 101. As depicted in Fig. 1, the sidewalls 102 have a height of h. The height h is uniform in all portions of the sidewalls 102.

[00020] FIG. 2 depicts a cooking vessel 200 with one embodiment of the anti-spill aid 202a and FIG. 2a is a side view of the cooking vessel 200 with the anti-spill aid 202a. As with the typical cooking vessel 100 of FIG. 1, cooking vessel 200 has a cooking surface area 201 and sidewalls 202 which help contain the food item within the cooking surface area 201. However, unlike the typical cooking vessel 100 of FIG. 1 , the sidewalls 202 of cooking vessel 200 includes two sidewall portions 202a and 202b of different heights. Portion 202a has height y and portion 202b has height h similar to the known vessel in FIG. 1. The difference between height y and height h can be a wide range. In certain embodiments, height y is greater than height h. Portion 202a with height y serves as the anti-spill aid portion 202c in this embodiment. In this embodiment as shown in Figures 2 and 2a, the antispill aid portion 202c may be integrated into the vessel and form part of the vessel 200 or the anti-spill aid portion 202c may be removable. Additionally, in this embodiment as shown in

Figure 2a, a top part 204 of anti-spill aid portion 202c has a concave shape curving inwards towards the cooking area 201 to further contain the food item within the interior cooking area 201. The top part 204 of the anti-spill aid portion 202c may start to curve inwards at the bottom of the anti-spill aid portion 202c or at any point of the height y of the anti-spill aid portion 202c.

[00021] In various embodiments, the anti-spill aid may be configured to reduce in size to facilitate storage. For example, the top part 204 or entire anti-spill aid portion 202c may be collapsible into the cooking area 201 for easy storage of the vessel 200 when not in use. One or more sidewall portions 202a, 202b of the anti-spill aid may also retract toward the center of the anti-spill aid and/or may be collapsible into the cooking area 201. The top part 204, sidewall portions 202a, 202b, or other components of the anti-spill aid may collapse into the center of the anti-spill aid and/or cooking area 201 by retracting accordion style. Once the sidewalls portions 202a, 202b and/or top part 204 are retracted the retracted configuration the anti-spill aid may collapse downward into the cooking area 201. The anti-spill aid may also be configured to collapse downward into the cooking area 201 without having one or more components retracted.

[00022] The cooking vessel 200 may be made from a metal material such as stainless steel, copper, iron, titanium, aluminum, Teflon and the like. The anti-spill portion 202c of cooking vessel 200 may be formed of the same material as the cooking vessel 200 or of a different suitable metal material.

[00023] In some embodiments, the anti-spill portion 202c may be on a side of the vessel 200 that is not aligned with a handle of the vessel 200 as shown in Figure 2a. However, the anti-spill aid portion 202c may also be located on the other side of the vessel or on both sides of the vessel that are directly or not directly across from the handle. Furthermore, the anti-spill aid portion 202c may be on a side opposite of the handle or even on the sidewall adjacent to the handle.

[00024] With the cooking vessel 200 and the anti-spill aid portion 202c, a user can cause the food item in the cooking area 201 to move towards the anti-spill aid portion 202c by, for example, tilting the vessel or by using a cooking utensil. The anti-spill aid portion

202c would allow the food item to travel up height y some distance and due to its concave shape, anti-spill aid portion 202c would cause the food item to fall back into the vessel 200 resulting in no spillage outside cooking vessel 200.

[00025] FIG. 3 depicts another embodiment of an anti-spill aid 300. In this embodiment, the anti-spill portion 300 may be removably attached to a vessel with different orientations and may be removed for cleaning. Anti-spill aid 300 has lower portion 310 and an upper portion 320. The upper portion 320 and the lower portion 310 may be manufactured as a single piece or as separate parts. The upper portion 320 and/or lower portion 310 of the anti-spill aid 300 may be collapsible, contractable, fold together, or otherwise be configured to reduce in size to save space when storing the anti-spill aid 300. For example, the lower portion 310 may retract into the upper portion 320 or vice versa via an accordion style method.

[00026] Typically, when the anti-spill aid 300 is attached to a vessel, only the lower portion 310 may be in contact with the vessel. Thus, when attached to a cooking vessel, the lower portion 310 would be subjected to high temperatures. Therefore, the lower portion 310 is made of materials suitable for high temperatures such as stainless steel, iron, titanium, or other metallic materials. The lower portion 310 may also be made of a nickel titanium alloy such as Nitinol or any other material that undergoes deformation at one temperature and returns to its original shape, undamaged, when the material is heated above its transformation temperature. However, in certain embodiments, the lower portion 310 is formed of a flexible material.

[00027] In embodiments where the upper portion 320 and the lower portion 310 are not a single piece, the upper portion 320 may be formed of a flexible heat-resistant material (e.g, silicone, conformable molding materials, etc.) that allow a user to safely touch anti-spill aid 300 for adjustment or removal. The upper portion 320 and/or the entire anti-spill aid may also be made of a nickel titanium alloy such as Nitinol or any other material that undergoes deformation at one temperature and returns to its original shape, undamaged, when the material is heated above its transformation temperature.

[00028] The lower portion 310 comprises an opening into which the sidewall or rim of a vessel can be inserted (shown in Figs. 4a and 4b). The opening can be of various dimensions to accommodate different sized vessels. If the lower portion 310 is made from a flexible material, then the lower portion 310 may conform to the shape of the vessel. The upper portion 320 has a concave shape facing inwards towards the vessel. The degree of concavity can be vary depending on preference. In certain embodiments, the anti-spill aid 300 is thicker adjacent to the vessel and thins out farther away from the vessel (e.g., the lower portion 310 may be thicker than the upper portion 320).

[00029] As depicted in FIG. 4a, lower portion 310 comprises connection mechanisms to connect the anti-spill aid 300 to a vessel. The anti-spill aid 300 can be attached by inserting the cooking vessel or serving vessel into a small fitting opening along the lower portion 310 of the anti-spill aid 300. This small opening could be multiple dimensions created to accommodate the thickness of a variety of cookware and kitchenware items. For example, the lower portion 310 may have a valley region into which a top edge of the cooking vessel slides.

[00030] In other embodiments, the anti-spill aid 300 can be connected to the vessel with attachable latches 315 as shown in FIG. 4b. The latches 315 would allow the anti-spill aid 300 to be inserted into corresponding latches of the vessel. Alternatively, the latches 315 of the anti-spill aid 300 may be clamps that grip the sidewalls of the vessel and do not require the vessel to have corresponding latches. The latches may be cam-action clamps, hinged clamps, snaps, buttons, adhesives, and other similar connection mechanisms. In certain embodiments, as depicted in Fig. 4c, latches 315 are stand-alone pieces separate from the lower portion 310 and the vessel. The number of latches can vary depending on vessel size or user preference. In this configuration, the lower portion 310 of the anti-spill aid 300 comprises protrusion and notches corresponding to protrusion and notches of the latches 315. To secure a connection, a protrusion of the lower portion 310 connects with corresponding notches on the latches 315 as depicted in Fig. 4d. The latches 315 are ideally manufactured from Teflon, metal, stainless steel, iron, titanium, aluminum, and any combination of metal and non-metal materials.

[00031] In other embodiments, the anti-spill aid 300 can be connected to the vessel with a hinge-type mechanism 316 as shown in FIGs. 4e and 4f. FIG. 4f depicts the hinge in an open or unlocked position. In the open or unlocked position, the user can easily remove or adjust the anti-spill aid. Once the desired adjustment is made, the user can close or lock the hinge (e.g., by snapping into place) as depicted in FIG. 4e. The hinge -type mechanism 316 may be manufactured from Teflon, flexible metal, stainless steel, iron, titanium, aluminum, and any combination of metal and non-metal materials.

[00032] In other embodiments, the anti-spill aid 300 can be connected to the vessel using a clip that snaps the anti-spill aid 300 into place over an edge of the vessel. For example, the clip on the lower portion 310 of the anti-spill aid 300 may snap into place to secure the anti-spill aid 300 to the perimeter of the vessel. The clip may be formed from Teflon, thermoplastic material, flexible metal, stainless steel, iron, titanium, aluminum, and any combination of metal and non-metal materials.

[00033] The anti-spill aid 300, as depicted in Fig. 3, can also serve as a splatter guard when cooking. The user can position the anti-spill aid 300 to be directly in-between the user and the vessel during cooking, thereby limiting any food spatter on the user. [00034] FIG. 5 depicts another embodiment of an anti-spill aid 500. In this embodiment (or in any of the embodiments described herein), the anti-spill aid 500 includes a plurality of holes 530 in a top portion 520 of the anti-spill aid 500. The plurality of holes 530 can serve as a straining mechanism to strain liquids or small food particles. The plurality of holes 530 can be formed of different shapes (e.g., circular, oval, rectangular, star-shaped, etc.). With the anti-spill aid 500, during the flip process, excess cooking oils and greases can be easily expelled from the cooking surface. In other embodiments, the top portion 520 can be formed to additionally serve as a food shredder, grinder, slicer, dice, steamer, utensil holder, or an area to cool food or it may allow for an attachment of such common kitchen tools. Furthermore, the exterior side (i.e., side facing the user) of top portion 520 of anti-spill aid 500 (or in any of the embodiments described above), may be formed with unique shapes for personalization (e.g., engravings, embossing, stenciling, etc. of names or images). For example, the exterior of the top portion 520 may also be formed to fit on a square, rectangular, circular, or any other shaped pan, pot, bowl, open container or other kitchenware or cookware vessel.

[00035] FIG. 6 depicts another embodiment of an anti-spill aid 600. The anti-spill aid 600 is similar to the anti-spill aid 200 of FIG. 2. Cooking vessel 600 has a cooking surface area 601 and sidewalls 602 which help contain the food item within the cooking surface area 601. The sidewalls 602 of cooking vessel 600 includes two sidewall portions 602a and 602b of different heights. Portion 602a has height y and portion 602b has height h similar to the known vessel in FIG. 1. The difference between height y and height h can be a wide range. In certain embodiments, height y is greater than height h. Portion 602a with height y serves as the anti-spill aid portion 602c in this embodiment. A top part 604 of anti-spill aid portion 602c has a concave shape curving inwards towards the cooking area 601 to further contain the food item within the interior cooking area 601. The top part 604 of the anti-spill aid portion 602c may start to curve inwards at the bottom of the anti-spill aid portion 602c or at any point of the height y of the anti-spill aid portion 602c.

[00036] Additionally, the anti-spill aid 600 has an attachment slot 650. The attachment slot 650 is generally located at the top part 604 of the anti-spill aid portion 602c. The attachment slot is depicted as a rectangular shape in FIG. 6 but it can be a variety of shapes (e.g., circular, triangular, etc.). The attachment slot 650 can be used to attach various inserts that further aid in the cooking process. For example, a detachable wedge including an one or more inserts may slide into the attachment slot 650 In various embodiments, the detachable wedge may include a shredder insert that can be attached to the attachment slot 650. With such a configuration, the user can shred food items directly into the vessel. FIGS. 7a-7c depict examples of types of inserts (shredder, slicer, mincer, respectively) that can be used in the attachment slot. The removable inserts could be any type of device that allows for cutting food (e.g., shred, dice, mince, julienne, slice, cube, brunoise, chiffonade, zest, etc.). FIGS.

8a-8b depict a shredder insert in the attachment slot 650. Other inserts that may be attached to the attachment slot 650 using the detachable wedge include a temperature gauge, pressure gauge, moisture gauge, thermometer, and the like. The detachable wedge may be compatible with many different types of inserts so that each of the inserts described above may be used with the same detachable wedge. In various embodiments, the inserts may slide into a slot in the detachable wedge and/or be stored in a compartmental unit on the anti-spill aid 600 that is adjacent to the attachment slot 650.

[00037] In various embodiments, the anti-spill aid can one or more sensors or other smart technological advancements. For example, a portion of the anti-spill aid 600 may be made from a color changing material that indicates the temperature of the food inside the vessel. The color of the color changing material may correspond to a range of temperatures (e.g., 100 °F - 150 °F, 200 °F - 220 °F, 300 °F - 400 °F, or any other incremental change or range of temperatures) and the portion of the anti-spill aid 600 formed from the color changing material may change to the color that corresponds to the current temperature of the anti-spill aid. The anti-spill aid may also include a built-in thermometer or one or more other integrated sensors. For example, the built-in thermometer may include an infrared thermometer configured to measure the temperature at some position inside the vessel by directing an infrared beam to a pre-determined area within the vessel (e.g., an area located in the middle of the vessel). The sensors may be connected to a control circuit and a processor in order to control one or more other electrical components based on the data measured by the sensor.

[00038] For example, FIG. 9 illustrates an example sensor system that may be integrated into or attached to a portion of the anti-spill aid. As shown, the sensor system may include a printed circuit board (PCB) including various electronics components. In various embodiments, the PCB may include a processor 902 for executing commands and instructions of one or more of the components. Suitable processors 902 for the execution of instructions may include, by way of example, both general and special purpose microcontrollers or microprocessors, and the sole processor or one of multiple processors or cores, of any kind of computer. Generally, a processor 902 may receive instructions and data from a volatile memory 912 or a non-volatile memory 914 or both. Suitable volatile memory 912 may include RAM, high speed memory, double data rate memory, 4R memory, and the like. Suitable non-volatile memory 914 may include embedded MMC or eMMC, solid-state drive or SSD, and the like.

[00039] The processor 902 may be coupled to one or more control circuits to control sensor input devices used to measure one or more properties of the anti-spill aid, vessel, or food items cooking inside the vessel. In various embodiments, the sensor system may measure temperature, pressure, moisture content, or other properties of the anti-spill aid, vessel, or food items cooking inside the vessel using one or more sensors 906. For example, the sensor system may measure temperature using a thermometer, pressure using a pressure sensor (e.g., an inductive pressure sensor, a capacitive pressure sensor, a piezoelectric pressure sensor, and the like), and/or moisture content of the food items or air surrounding the food items using a moisture meter (e.g., a tensiometer moisture sensor, a volumetric moisture sensor, and the like). The sensors 906 are controlled by a sensor control circuit 904 which initiates capture of sensor data based on instructions received from the processor 902. The sensor control circuit 904 may control one or more aspects of the sensors 906, for example, the sample rate of the sensors 906, when the sensors 906 are powered on and off, transmission of sensor data, and the like.

[00040] Sensor data measured by the sensors 906 may be transmitted to the data analysis module 922 for further analysis. In various embodiments, the data analysis module 922 may execute one or more operations to refine sensor data. For example, the data analysis module 922 may time stamp sensor data points, average a series of sensor measurements, convert the sensor data to another form or unit, and/or perform other statistical operations to remove outliers, improve data quality, and/or facilitate analysis of sensor data. The data analysis module 922 may also generate one or more graphs, plots, charts, and/or other data visualizations that may be displayed on a remote device (e.g., a smart phone connected to the sensor system using a mobile app) and/or a display integrated into the anti-spill aid.

[00041] The data analysis model 922 may also determine one or more properties of the food cooked inside the vessel or generate cooking recommendations based on sensor data. For example, the data analysis model 922 may determine when the food is cooked or if the food is overcooked based on the temperature and/or moisture content of the food in the vessel. The data analysis model 922 may also recommend an additional amount cooking time or increasing or decreasing the cooking temperature in order to better control cooking temperature, prevent heat loss, and cook food evenly over a particular period of time (e.g., a pre-determined time or a time determined by the data analysis model 922). Controlling the cooking time and cooking temperature based on the sensor data collected by the sensor system enables the anti-spill aid to prevent overcooking food while also ensuring the food in the vessel is cooked properly, retains all of its nutritional value, and tastes better.

[00042] To control the anti-spill aid, external devices such as a stove, oven, cook top, pressure cooker, vaper cooker, ionic cooker (i.e., a cooking apparatus that cooks food by passing an electric current through the food), or other cooking device based on the sensor data, the processor 902 may interface with a communications module 920 that connects the sensor system to the cooking device, a smartphone, personal computer, or other external device. For example, the communication module 920 can include a wireless communications module for connecting to an external device (e.g., a smart stove or other smart cooking device, a laptop, smartphone, smart home system, or other computer configured to control a smart cooking device) and transmitting the sensor data and/or cooking recommendations, control instructions, or other messages to the external device. In various embodiments, the wireless communications module may include a Wi-Fi chip, an embedded Bluetooth module, and the like. The communications module 920 may transmit data using any known wired or wireless communications protocol, for example, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and the like.

[00043] To control the external device based on the sensor data, the communications module 920 may transmit sensor data measured by the sensors 906 and/or cooking properties of the food in the vessel or cooking recommendations from the data analysis module 922 to the external device. The external device may then adjust one or more cooking settings based on the signals received from the communications module 920. The sensor system may also include a remote device control circuit 908 that is connected to the external device. The remote device control circuit 908 may generate control instructions that modify one or more cooking settings of the external device based on the sensor data and/or signals generated by the data analysis model 922. To facilitate faster communications, the communications module 920 may have multiple pins for connecting multiple parts of the sensor control circuit 904, remote device control circuit 908, and/or the data analysis module 922.

[00044] In various embodiments, the communications module 920 may also connect the anti-spill aid and/or sensor system to a mobile application running on a smartphone or other personal computer. The communications module 920 may receive control commands input into the mobile application that may control one or more aspects of the anti-spill aid, sensor system, or external device. For example, the communications module 920 may enable users to use the mobile application to turn the sensor system and/or anti-spill aid on and off and/or adjust the temperature setting of a stove or other external device cooking food in the vessel.

[00045] A power management integrated circuit (PMIC) 916 may be integrated into the PCB and is responsible for controlling a battery charging circuit to charge a battery 918 or other power source. In various embodiments, the PCB may include built-in LiPoly charger that interfaces with a USB controller to charge the battery 918 by plugging a wall charger into a USB port coupled to the processor 902. The battery 918 supplies electrical energy for running the electrical components of the sensor system.

[00046] It is to be understood that the disclosed subject matter is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangements set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The disclosed subject matter is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other designs, structures, methods, and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the disclosed subject matter. Therefore, the claims should be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the disclosed subject matter.

[00047] As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “includes” and/or “including”, when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, steps, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

[00048] As used herein, the terms “and/or” and “at least one of’ include any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[00049] Although the disclosed subject matter has been described and illustrated in the foregoing exemplary embodiments, it is understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of example, and that numerous changes in the details of implementation of the disclosed subject matter may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosed subject matter.

Claims

1. A vessel, comprising: a flat surface; a sidewall encircling an outer perimeter of the flat surface; the sidewall comprising a first sidewall portion and a second sidewall portion, wherein a height of the first sidewall portion is greater than a height of the second sidewall portion; and the first sidewall portion being removable attached to the vessel and having an upper sidewall portion extending above the height of the second sidewall portion and having a concave shape facing towards the flat surface.

2. The vessel of claim 1, wherein the vessel is a cooking vessel.

3. The vessel of claim 1, wherein the vessel is a serving vessel.

4. The vessel of claim 1, wherein the flat surface is a cooking surface.

5. The vessel of claim 1, wherein the flat surface and the sidewall are integrally formed.

6. The vessel of claim 1, wherein the upper sidewall portion comprises a plurality of holes.

7. The vessel of claim 1, further comprising a sensor system integrated with the vessel, the sensor system including: one or more sensors that measure sensor data associated with at least one property of the vessel; and a data analysis module that determines one or more cooking recommendations based on the sensor data.

8. The vessel of claim 7, wherein the sensor system is connected to an external cooking device, and the sensor system further includes a remote device control circuit that modifies one or more cooking settings of the external cooking device based on the cooking recommendations.

9. An attachable device, comprising: an upper portion and a lower portion connected together and each formed of heat- resistant material; the lower portion comprising a connection mechanism for attaching the attachable device to a rim of a vessel; and the upper portion having a concave shape facing towards a bottom surface of the vessel.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein the upper portion comprises a plurality of holes.

11. The device of claim 9, wherein the device conforms to the shape of the vessel.

12. The device of claim 9, wherein the connection mechanism comprises an opening.

13.. The device of claim 9, wherein the connection mechanism comprises cam-action clamps, hinged clamps, snaps, buttons, adhesives, springs, wing nuts, hooks or other similar connection mechanisms.

14. The device of claim 9, wherein at least one of the upper portion or the lower portion is configured to contract in order to reduce the size of the attachable device.

15. The device of claim 9, wherein the upper portion includes an opening into which a cutting mechanism for a piece of food is placed into the upper portion.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein cutting mechanism comprises a tool to shred, dice, mince, julienne, slice, cube, brunoise, chiffonade, zest, or any combination thereof.

17. A vessel, comprising: a flat surface; a sidewall encircling an outer perimeter of the flat surface; the sidewall comprising a first sidewall portion and a second sidewall portion, wherein a height of the first sidewall portion is greater than a height of the second sidewall portion; the first sidewall portion having an upper sidewall portion extending above the height of the second sidewall portion and having a concave shape facing towards the flat surface; and the upper sidewall portion having an opening into which a cutting mechanism is placed.

Sensor system claim

18. The vessel of claim 17, wherein the first sidewall portion is removable.

19. The vessel of claim 17, wherein the cutting mechanism is inserted into the opening.

20. The vessel of claim 17, wherein the cutting mechanism comprises a tool to shred, dice, mince, julienne, slice, cube, brunoise, chiffonade, zest, or any combination thereof.