Title of Invention	A STEAM COOKER
Abstract	This invention provides a signaling device indicating the stage of cooking for steam cookers such as the 'puttu' cooker and the 'idli' cooker that have a steaming chamber placed over a steam generating chamber. The invention provides a whistle on the lid of the steaming chamber of this type of cookers.

Full Text

This invention relates to steam cookers particularly the type of steam cookers comprising a steaming chamber placed over a steam-generating chamber. The invention finds its main application in the above type of steam cookers for the steam cooking of "puttu" and "idli" (South Indian dishes) and other grain powder based foods. More particularly this invention relates to a signaling device for indicating the stage of cooking in these cookers. In conventional "puttu" cookers the onset of the issue of steam at the lid of the cooker has to be watched for frequently and the housewife cannot fully engage herself in other work in the kitchen during the cooking of the "puttu". Milk cookers, rice and "idli" cookers fitted with whistling devices are well known and the "puttu" cooker has been sold in the shops for decades along with these known cookers. Also in the kitchen the "puttu" cooker and the milk cooker (with whistle) are being used side by side on the same stove. But still the possibility of using the whistle on the "puttu" cooker has not been obvious to any one possibly because in the "puttu" cooker two containers are involved - the lower container for generating the steam and the upper container for holding the "puttu". Also the issue of steam at the lid in most available "puttu1 cookers is weak due to leakages at the joints and the possibility of producing a loud whistling sound by providing air tight joints has escaped the attention of the operators of these utensils. "Idli" cookers comprising a vessel fitted with a lid provided with a whistle are already known. The water for boiling is taken in the vessel and the recessed plates or trays holding the "idlis" are placed in the same vessel containing the water to be boiled. This causes a lot of problems particularly for repeated cooking as the water may come in contact with the "idlis" when the hot vessel is being removed from the stove and when the lid is opened, and the chances of scalding from these cookers are also high. The same argument holds good for similar cooking utensils for cooking other foods. Therefore a steaming chamber placed over a steam-generating chamber (e.g. the readily available pressure cooker) is ideal for repeated steam cooking of foods. For these safe cooking utensils also signaling devices indicating the completion of cooking are not available. The importance of a signaling device for steam cooking of foods need not be over emphasized. It enables the housewife to engage herself in other work in the kitchen (or outside) during the cooking with steam. Also the indication of the completion of steam cooking makes h possible to reload the steam cooker in time in order to save both time and fuel. The object of this invention is to propose a simple, efficient, and economical signaling device for those cookers having a steaming chamber that is placed over a steam-generating chamber, said signaling device indicating the stage of cooking of the food and preferably indicating the near completion of steam cooking. Accordingly this invention provides an improved steam cooker comprising a hollow body open at its upper and lower ends, the lower end of said hollow body capable of being fitted on to the mouth of a container (for holding the water to be boiled), a lid for closing the upper mouth of said hollow body, and a whisde provided along with the cooker, the body of said whistle enclosing a blind or open cavity communicating with the mouth of the whistle through a narrow orifice and with the exterior through another opening situated on the wall of the whistle body close to the said narrow orifice, and means provided for fitting the said whistle on the said lid with the mouth of the whistle opening to the interior of the said hollow body in the fitted position of the cooker. The preferred embodiment of the whistle according to the invention has a whistle tongue housed within the whistle body, the narrow orifice being bounded between the tongue of the whistle and the said whistle body. An important embodiment of the steam cooker according to the invention has a hollow body that is vessel shaped and at least one plate with recessed portion(s) or a tray, or a plurality of mutually spaced plates are provided along with the cooker for holding the food to be steam cooked with means provided for supporting said platefs) or tray(s) in the horizontal plane within the said hollow body. This embodiment of the steam cooker is commonly used as an "idli" cooker in south India and the batter of the "idli" is taken in the recessed plates. Other steam-cooked foods can also be prepared in this cooker. The pasty foods can be kept also on the plates. Handles are usually provided on these plates or trays for operating them. In a preferred embodiment of this type of cookers the said plates or trays are supported on steps provided on the sidewall of said vessel shaped hollow body. This model stabilizes them better than a central mounting. Another embodiment of the cooker according to the invention for cooking the South Indian dish "puttu" has the hollow body of the cooker in the form of an elongated tubular body for holding the grain powder of the "puttu", said tubular body being provided with a neck or step towards its base for supporting a plate in the horizontal plane within the said hollow body. The elongated tubular body may also be provided with a detachable base below its neck. The lower container for holding the water to be boiled may be a pressure cooker (which is often already available in the home) and the lower mouth of said hollow body is capable of being fitted on to the open narrow valve port (without the valve weight) of the pressure cooker. Preferably a holed connector is provided on the base of said hollow body, said holed connector capable of being fitted over the open narrow valve port of the pressure cooker. The holed connector is preferably a nozzle dimensioned to be push fitted over the nozzle shaped valve port of the pressure cooker. The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:- Fig. 1: is the sectional elevation of a steam cooker according to the invention; Fig.2: is the sectional elevation of a "puttu* cooker along with the lower container, according to the invention; Figs.3: and 4 are the sectional elevations of two embodiments of the "puttu" cooker according to the invention; Fig.5: is the pictorial view of the whistle to be fitted on the cooker; Fig.6: is the bottom view of the whistle shown in Fig.5; Fig.7: is the sectional elevation of the whistle shown in Figs.5 and 6, When compared to Fig.2, Fig.l is a much-reduced view of the cooker that it represents. As shown in the figures the improved steam cooker according to the invention comprises a hollow body B open at its upper and lower ends, the lower end of said hollow body being dimensioned to be push fitted on to the mouth of a container such as R (for holding the water to be boiled), a lid L for closing the upper mouth of said hollow body, and a whistle W provided along with the cooker. Means are provided for fitting the said whistle on the said lid L with the mouth M of the whistle opening to the interior of the said hollow body in the fitted position of the cooker. The nut T when tightened on to the threaded lower end of the whistle fixes the whistle to the lid L. The whistle W comprises a whistle tongue S housed within a whistle body, said whistle body enclosing a blind or open cavity C communicating with the mouth M of the whistle through a narrow orifice O situated by the side of said whistle tongue and with the exterior through another opening P situated on the wall of the whistle body close to the said narrow orifice O. E is the detachable base of the tubular body B of the cooker shown in Fig.4. The lower container for holding the water to be boiled is a pressure cooker for the cookers shown in Figs.l, 3 and 4 and the hollow body B of these cookers is provided with a nozzle N at its base for fitting over the open narrow valve port (without the valve weight) of a pressure cooker. This valve port in the most popular pressure cookers is again nozzle shaped and the wider nozzle at the base of the said hollow body is fitted over the nozzle shaped valve port of the pressure cooker. In the cooker shown in Fig,3, the disc D rests on a step provided by the nozzle N. In the cooker shown in Fig.2, the lower container R is an ordinary vessel. Trays or discs such as D provided with perforations F serve to hold the food material to be cooked. The discs D are usually provided with handles such as Q that enable easy removal and fitting. The cooker shown in Fig.l is used for cooking "idlis" and other grain powder based foods. The batter of the "idli" is taken in the recessed portions A of the disc D and the dough of other foods on the plain disc D or on a tray kept within the hollow body B. The cookers shown in Figs.2 to 4 are usually used as "puttu" cookers and the grain powder is taken in the elongated tubular hollow body B above the disc D. Water is taken in the lower container and the container placed on a heat source. The hollow tubular body is loaded with the food material (e.g. the batter of the "idli" or the grain powder for the "puttu") to be cooked and the lid applied. The hollow body is then placed on the lower container with their mouths in apposition. The steam produced passes into the hollow body and cooks the food. When sufficient steam gushes through the whistle a whistling sound is produced. A loud whistling sound can be produced by providing airtight joints for the appliance. Providing a gasket between the two members comprising the joint can ensure airtight joints for the appliance. The whistle signals the near completion of steam cooking of the food. Additional steaming may be done by continuing the cooking for some more time with the whistle still blowing. The hollow body is tiien taken out after reducing the flame of the stove. The cooked food items are taken out and the process repeated. claim: 1. An improved steam cooker comprising a hollow body open at its upper and lower ends, the lower end of said hollow body capable of being fitted on to the mouth of a container (for holding the water to be boiled), a lid for closing the upper mouth of said hollow body, and a whistle provided along with the cooker, the body of said whistle enclosing a blind or open cavity communicating with the mouth of the whistle through a narrow orifice and with the exterior through another opening situated on the wall of the whistle body close to the said narrow orifice, and means provided for fitting the said whistle on the said lid with the mouth of the whistle opening to the interior of the said hollow body in the fitted position of the cooker. 2. The cooker as claimed in claim 1, wherein a whistle tongue is housed within the said whistle body, said narrow orifice being bounded between the tongue of the whistle and the said whistle body. 3. The cooker as claimed in claims 1 to 2, wherein said hollow body is vessel shaped and at least one plate with recessed portion(s) or a tray, or a plurality of mutually spaced plates are provided along with the cooker for holding the food to be steam cooked and means provided for supporting said plate(s) or tray(s) in the horizontal plane within the said hollow body. 4. The cooker as claimed in claim 3, wherein said plates or trays are supported on steps provided on the sidewall of said vessel shaped hollow body. 5. The cooker as claimed in claims 1 to 2, wherein said hollow body is the elongated tubular body of a "puttu" cooker, said tubular body is provided with a neck or step towards its base for supporting a plate in the horizontal plane within the said hollow body. 6. The cooker as claimed in claim 5, wherein said elongated tubular body has a detachable base, the lower end of said elongated tubular body below the said neck or step capable of being push fitted on to the said detachable base. 7. The cooker as claimed in claims 1 to 6, wherein said lower container for holding the water to be boiled is a pressure cooker and the lower mouth of said hollow body is capable of being fitted on to the open narrow valve port of the pressure cooker. 8. The cooker as claimed in claim 7, wherein a holed connector is provided on the base of said hollow body, said holed connector capable of being fitted over the open narrow valve port of the pressure cooker. 9. The cooker as claimed in claim 8, wherein said holed connector is a nozzle capable of being push fitted over the nozzle shaped valve port of a pressure cooker. 10. The cooker as claimed in claims 1 to 9, wherein said lower container for holding the water to be boiled is provided along with the cooker. 11. An improved steam cooker substantially as herein described with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawings.

Documents:

0466-mas-1999 abstract-duplicate.pdf

0466-mas-1999 abstract.pdf

0466-mas-1999 claims-duplicate.pdf

0466-mas-1999 claims.pdf

0466-mas-1999 correspondence-others.pdf

0466-mas-1999 correspondence-po.pdf

0466-mas-1999 description (complete)-duplicate.pdf

0466-mas-1999 description (complete).pdf

0466-mas-1999 drawings-duplicate.pdf

0466-mas-1999 form-1.pdf

0466-mas-1999 form-13.pdf