Flexible bowl

Abstract

A flexible bowl having a base, circumferential wall, and a contoured rim forming an open end and interior surface of the bowl. The bowl is constructed out of silicone or another like material. The circumferential walls are flexible to allow opposing sides to be bent towards each other forming a spout-like channel to allow food to be efficiently removed. The contours on the rim cause the spout to have an oblong end making it more effective in removing food. The base is thick to provide stability. The thickness of the base relative to the weight and dimensions of the wall allows the bowl to be as stable as a traditional bowl. The circumferential wall has a lower, middle, and upper region. The lower region and the rim may be thicker than the middle and upper regions. The bowl is dishwasher-safe, microwave-safe, and oven-proof.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The invention pertains to the fields of food preparation and cookware.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Bowls are traditionally used to contain solid and liquid food or ingredients in furtherance of eating or preparing a meal. Bowls are typically concave shaped and are constructed of a generally rigid and inflexible material in order to provide stability. A funnel or spout is often required to effectively remove ingredients from a traditional shaped bowl because the wide circumference of the outer rim is an ineffective surface for pouring the ingredients in a controlled manner.[0003]Prior art bowls have been developed with flexible walls in order to allow a funnel or spout to be formed on the rim for more efficiently pouring the contents. For instance, the Norpro Flexible Pinch Bowl is a small silicone bowl approximately 2.5″ by 1.5″. The sides of the Norpro Flexible Pinch bowl are intended to be “pinched” towards each other in order to form a funnel. Howe...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009]The foregoing objects are met by the present invention directed to a flexible bowl. The bowl has a base, circumferential wall and contoured rim on the top portion of the circumferential wall forming an open end and an interior surface for holding food. The bowl is constructed of silicone or another like material which allows the bowl to be generally flexible, microwave safe and dishwasher safe. The circumferential wall of the bowl is thin to allow opposing sides to be bent towards each other. When the sides of the wall of the bowl are squeezed together, the upper lip forms a spout-like channel to allow the contents of the bowl to be easily and efficiently removed. The contours in the rim provide the spout with an oblong end making it more effective in pouring the ingredients from the bowl. When the force is removed, the sides of the wall return to their original shape.

[0010]The base of the bowl is thick so that it provides stability for the bowls. The thickness of the base relative to the weight and dimensions of the circumferential wall makes the bowl as stable as a traditional bowl. It is preferred that the rim of the bowl is constructed of a thicker material so that so that the structure of the spout is maintained while the user squeezes opposing sides of the wall.

[0011]The interior of the bowl has a smooth surface to minimize the risk of food residue remaining in the bowl and to make the bowl easy to manually clean. The bowl may have markings to allow the bowl to serve as a measuring cup. The bowl may also have a lid matching the shape of the contoured circumferential wall to cover the open end of the bowl.

Problems solved by technology

A funnel or spout is often required to effectively remove ingredients from a traditional shaped bowl because the wide circumference of the outer rim is an ineffective surface for pouring the ingredients in a controlled manner.

However, the funnel on these prior art bowls are not efficient at effectively pouring the contents.

Additionally, these prior art bowls are small and intended to hold only a small volume of ingredients.

These bowls may be too unstable to effectively contain heavier foods if the bowls were bigger.

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