Food Lid That Stretches Over Lip Of Standard Serving Pan Or Plate

Abstract

A set of reusable, highly stretchable silicone covers is disclosed, where the various sizes and shapes of the covers are designed to cover a variety of common sizes and shapes of ordinary pans, food plates, bowls, platters, trays, or other common food supports used for serving and preparing food. The food supports are separately provided by the user and normally already owned by the user. Each cover has a downward edge (a skirt) that stretches over the edges of the food support for securing the cover to the food support. Tabs extending from the edges of the cover allow the user to stretch the cover over the food support and remove the cover from the food support. The cover is easily stretchable up to 20% larger than its relaxed state so that the top surface of the cover may be 5%-20% smaller than edges of the food support.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to food containers and, in particular, to a stretchable and reusable cover for creating an airtight seal over a food support.

BACKGROUND

In an example of a typical buffet restaurant scenario, the restaurant cooks or prepares the food in a standard glass, metal, ceramic, or plastic pan. The pan, containing the food, is then covered by a stretchable plastic wrap (such as Saran™ wrap) or aluminum foil until needed. Alternatively, the prepared food is transferred to a more attractive serving pan, and the serving pan is covered by a plastic wrap or foil until needed. This is called staging. For some pan materials, the plastic wrap does not stick well to the edges of the pan.

When the food is to be placed in the buffet area for serving, the pan cover is removed and discarded. The customers then may serve themselves from the serving pan. At the end of the day or shift, if there is food remaining in the serving pan, the restaurant covers the serving pan with new plastic wrap or foil and refrigerates it, or the restaurant transfers the food to another container then covers the container with new plastic wrap or foil and refrigerates it. Foil does not create an airtight seal. For the next day or shift, the covering is removed and discarded, and the food is reheated, if necessary, and served again in a serving pan. There may be dozens of serving pans used per meal, using up many square meters of disposable covering.

Similar scenarios occur in other types of commercial food establishments, such as banquet facilities, cruise lines, hotels, etc.

In the home, food is typically kept from spoilage by placing the food in a reusable Tupperware™ container or similar product, then refrigerating it. Such containers are fairly rigid (non-stretchable), and the lid is specially sized for an airtight fit over the container. Using such a container typically requires the user to transfer the food from an ordinary plate or pan to the container. Ultimately, the container needs to be washed. The containers take up substantial space in the kitchen.

Alternatively, it is well known to cover a plate of food with a stretchable plastic wrap. The plastic wrap is not intended or suitable for reuse. Such a plastic wrap clings to itself, making it difficult to deal with, and it is sometimes difficult to make an airtight seal around the plate. The plastic wrap sometimes comes off the plate edges, exposing the food to the ambient air. Foil is also used but does not create an airtight seal.

What is needed is device for creating an airtight seal around food in a standard pan or other food support without the above-described drawbacks of the prior art.

SUMMARY

A set of reusable, highly stretchable silicone covers is disclosed, where the various sizes and shapes of the covers are designed to cover a variety of common sizes and shapes of ordinary pans (glass, metal, ceramic, or plastic), food plates, bowls, platters, trays, or other common food supports used for serving and preparing food. The food supports are separately provided by the user and normally already owned by the user. Each cover has a downward edge (a skirt) that stretches over the edges of the food support for securing the cover to the food support. The food support edges may have a variety of shapes, yet a seal is still created over all such edges. Tabs extending from the edges of the cover allow the user to stretch the cover over the food support and remove the cover from the food support. The cover is easily stretchable up to 20% larger than its relaxed state, then can resume its original relaxed shape.

The covers are supplied in shapes such as circles, squares, and rectangles.

In one example, for a typical buffet serving pan that is 12.5 inches long×10.2 inches wide×2.5 inches deep, a suitable cover selected from the set of covers may be one having dimensions of 10×8 inches. The downward edge of the cover is initially positioned over a portion of the lip of the pan, and the cover is then stretched to fit over the entire opening of the pan. The downward edge of the cover locks over the lip of the pan to create an airtight seal. Since the silicone used for the cover can tolerate temperatures between 0-500° F., the covered serving pan can be refrigerated or placed in an oven for reheating the food. The cover can be reused.

In another example, for an ordinary 10 inch round plate to be covered, the suitable cover selected from the set of covers may be a round cover having a diameter of about 8-9 inches. The downward edge of the cover is stretched to lock over the lip of the plate to create an airtight seal. When the food is retrieved for serving, the cover is removed from the original plate, and the original plate will typically be reused, thus obviating the need to wash an additional Tupperware™ type container and plate.

A raised web-type pattern is formed on the top surface of the cover to give some resistance to bending of the top surface. This added support eases the handling of the cover when sealing a food support.

The covers are provided in a variety of shapes and sizes, which should cover a vast majority of all food supports used in restaurants and the home to prepare and serve food. The covers are very inexpensive to manufacture using a simple molding process.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a top down view of a highly stretchable silicone cover in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of the cover along line 1B-1B in FIG. 1A.

FIG. 2 is a bottom up view of the cover of FIG. 1, showing the tabs connected to the downward edges of the cover.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the cover of FIG. 1A stretched over edges of a square pan.

FIG. 4 is a top down view of a circular cover.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the circular cover of FIG. 4 stretched over a standard 10 inch plate.

FIG. 6 shows how the covers of different sizes may be nested for storage.

Elements that are the same or equivalent are labeled with the same numeral.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A food sealing system is disclosed comprising an assortment of highly stretchable silicone covers of different sizes and shapes to fit over standard sizes of common food supports such as pans, plates, trays, etc. typically used for preparing or serving food.

FIG. 1A illustrates a substantially square cover 10 formed of translucent silicone about 1-3 mm thick. The cover 10 has rounded corners. In one example, the cover 10 is about 7×7 inches to tightly fit over a conventional square pan about 8×8 inches. The cover 10, and any other shape of the cover, will have a top surface 11 that is generally proportional to the shape of the food support but slightly smaller (e.g., 5%-20% smaller). The cover is easily stretchable up to 20% larger than its relaxed state.

The cover 10, in one embodiment, is molded silicone formed of a single piece. The preferred silicone material can tolerate temperatures between 0-500° F., so may be refrigerated or put in the oven.

The cover 10 has a raised web-type pattern 12 on its top surface 11, but not along its periphery. The web-type pattern 12 consists of concentric squares and radial lines, but can have other shapes, including a logo of the manufacturer. This provides some resistance to bending of the cover 10 so it is easier to handle, while not reducing the stretchability of the cover 10. The raised web-type pattern 12 may be 1-3 mm above the remainder of the top surface 11. The bottom surface (FIG. 2) has an inverted web-type pattern 12, since the thickness of the silicone is the same across the entire cover 10.

Tabs 14 extending from the bottom edges of the cover 10 are grabbed by the user to enable the user to easily stretch the cover 10 over the edges of the food support and remove the cover 10 from the food support.

FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of the cover 10 along line 1B-1B in FIG. 1A, showing the downward edges 16 of the cover 10 that go completely around the cover 10. The downward edges 16 may be referred to as a skirt and are formed integral with the top surface 11. In one embodiment, the downward edges 16 of the cover 10 extend about 0.5-1 inch below the top surface 11 of the cover 10 to ensure a strong grip around the food support edges.

In one embodiment, all portions of the cover 10 are the same thickness for equal stretchability. In another embodiment, the edges 16 are thinner than the top surface 11 to increase the stretchability of the edges 16.

FIG. 3 illustrates the cover 10 stretched over the edges of a conventional rectangular (includes square) pan 18 that the user purchased separately, where the pan 18 contains, for example, food that has been prepared in the pan 18 or served in the pan 18. The cover 10 and pan 18 may have any dimensions.

In one example, the pan 18 is 12.5 inches long×10.2 inches wide×2.5 inches deep, and a suitable cover selected from the set of covers may be one having dimensions of about 10×8 inches in its relaxed state. The food would typically not have been transferred to the pan 18 for the purpose of storage, since one advantage of the invention is to provide covers for standard food containers/supports that are already used for the preparation or serving of food. Due to the high stretchability of the cover 10, the cover 10 seals over any type of edge. The cover 10 may even seal over food supports that that have no lip around the edges (i.e., have substantially vertical edges), and the cover 10 stays in place by friction.

FIG. 4 is a top view of a circular cover 22 having tabs 24 connected to a downward edge of the cover 22. The circular cover 22 has all the features of the square shaped cover 10. The web-type pattern 26, for resistance to bending, is formed of concentric raised circles with radial lines interconnecting them. The raised pattern 26 is similar to that shown in FIG. 1B.

FIG. 5 shows the circular cover 22 stretched over the edges of a standard food plate 28 or bowl to create an airtight seal around food on the plate 28 or bowl. In one embodiment, the plate 28 has a diameter of 10 inches, and the top surface of the cover 22, prior to stretching, has a diameter of about 8-9 inches.

For marketing to a consumer for home use, an assortment of the covers would be marketed in a single package to seal a variety of food supports. Such an assortment of covers may include four covers for conventional round dinner plates, and four of more covers of different sizes for conventional food preparation pans, etc. For commercial establishments, the desired sizes of the covers may be specified individually. The stretchability of the covers allows even a square cover to tightly seal over a pan that is slightly rectangular, such as one with an opening around 6×7 inches. Generally, a cover that is about 6×6 inches may adequately cover a pan (either square or rectangular) having sides between 6.1-8 inches (depending on the cover thickness and material) and even greater with increased stretching of the cover. The same ratio applies with all the cover sizes. However, a more desirable range of the pan dimensions is 5%-20% greater than the cover dimensions for the preferred stretchability characteristics of the silicone cover.

Cooking pans typically range in sizes from 6×4 inches to 20.5×12.5 inches. Round plates typically range in diameters between 4-10 inches. Larger size covers have a greater range of stretching, such as up to 4 inches. The covers are nestable (smaller ones fit into the openings of larger ones), so very little storage space is used up by an assortment of covers. FIG. 6 illustrates four nested round covers 30, taking up as much storage space as the largest cover.

The covers may be molded from stretchable materials other than silicone that are also waterproof and air tight. Although it is preferred that the covers be translucent or clear, opaque covers may also be suitable.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from this invention in its broader aspects and, therefore, the appended claims are to encompass within their scope all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

Claims

1. A food sealing system comprising:

a single-piece reusable cover for a sealing a food support, the cover comprising: a top surface and a peripheral sealing portion, the peripheral sealing portion comprising a downward edge extending from the top surface; and at least one grippable tab extending from the downward edge; the cover being stretchable and formed of a material that is waterproof and airtight, the top surface having dimensions that are generally proportional to dimensions of the food support but smaller so that the cover can be stretched over edges of the food support, to seal food on the food support, by pulling on the at least one tab to create an airtight seal around the food support.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising the food support sealed by the cover, the food support configured for use in preparing or serving food.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the food support is a substantially rectangular pan.

4. The system of claim 2 wherein the food support is a plate or bowl.

5. The system of claim 2 wherein the food support is a standard size food support not manufactured for use with the cover.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the top surface of the cover is 5%-20% smaller than outer edges of the food support to be sealed by the cover.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the stretchability of the cover enables the downward edge of the cover to wrap around the edges of the food support to seal a variety of sizes and shapes of food supports.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the cover is formed of silicone.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the cover is substantially rectangular.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the cover is substantially circular.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the cover has raised portions in its top surface that adds resistance to bending of the top surface.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the raised portions comprising a web-type pattern.

13. The system of claim 1 wherein the cover is stretchable up to 20% larger than its relaxed state while resuming its original relaxed state when unstretched.

14. A method of sealing a food support comprising:

providing food in a food support used for preparing or serving food, the food support having edges;

providing a single-piece reusable cover for a sealing the food support, the cover comprising: a top surface and a peripheral sealing portion, the peripheral sealing portion comprising a downward edge extending from the top surface; and at least one grippable tab extending from the downward edge; the cover being stretchable and formed of a material that is waterproof and airtight, the top surface having dimensions that are generally proportional to dimensions of the food support but smaller, wherein the stretchability of the cover enables the cover to seal a variety of sizes and shapes of food supports; and

stretching the cover over the edges of the food support such that the downward edge of the cover wraps around the edges of the food support, to seal food on the food support, by pulling on the at least one tab to create an airtight seal around the food support.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the food support is a substantially rectangular pan.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein the food support is a standard size food support not manufactured for use with the cover.

17. The method of claim 14 wherein the cover is stretchable up to 20% larger than its relaxed state so that the top surface of the cover may be 5%-20% smaller than edges of the food support.

18. The method of claim 14 wherein the cover is formed of silicone.

19. The method of claim 14 wherein the cover is one of substantially rectangular or substantially circular.

20. The method of claim 14 wherein the cover has raised portions in its top surface that adds resistance to bending of the top surface.