Beverage Glass/Food Sampling Transport and Stabilizing System
A serving tray for stably holding wine glasses and food items simultaneously while suspended by a use or set on a horizontal surface. The tray includes a slot for supporting the stem of a wine glass and a corresponding channel on the underside of the tray for accepting the base of the wine glass in the event that the tray is set down. The underside of the tray may also include a number of supports that assist in spacing the tray apart from a horizontal surface and encouraging the base of the wince glass to remain in the channel formed in the underside of the tray. As a result, when the tray is set down, the wine glasses will not become unstable and the tray will remain balanced.
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The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/914,922, filed on Apr. 30, 2007.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a food and beverage support racks and, more particularly, to a system for supporting stemmed glasses and food pairings.
2. Description of the Related Art
Attendees at wine and food tasting events, including educational classes, frequency need to balance one or more stemmed wine glasses along with samples or small portions of food items. The only conventional systems for handling such items, apart from balancing a wine glass in one hand and food in the other, consist of food trays having a slot for accepting and retaining the stem of a wine glass. When such trays are set down, however, the wine glasses often become unstable.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIt is therefore a principal object and advantage of the present invention to provide a system for supporting food items and stemmed glassware that is more stable.
It is another object and advantage of the present invention to provide a system for supporting foot items and stemmed glassware that can stabilize multiple stemmed glasses.
In accordance with the foregoing objects and advantages, the present invention provides a plant tray having a first predetermine region for supporting food items and a second predetermined region for supporting stemmed glassware. The first predetermined region may comprise any known structures for supporting food items, such as divided compartments or even apertures for accepting small cups and the like. The second predetermined region comprises a narrow slot formed in the perimeter of the tray for accepting the stem of the glassware that communicates with a larger diameter hole into which a portion of the bowl of a glass may rest. The underside surface of the tray further includes a channel of sufficient depth to accept the base of the stemmed glassware when the tray is set down on a horizontal surface, such as a table. The underside of the tray may further include a plurality of longitudinal spacers to space the tray apart from any surface onto which it is placed.
The present invention will be more fully understood and appreciated by reading the following Detailed Description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout, there is seen in
Referring to
Referring to
Claims
1. A tray for supporting food items and glassware, comprising:
- a body having a peripheral edge;
- a slot formed in said peripheral edge;
- a hole formed through said body and including a first portion having a first diameter and a second portion having a second diameter that is greater than said first diameter; and
- wherein said hole is positioned in communication with said slot.
2. The tray of claim 1, further comprising at least one support on said body configured to space said tray apart from a surface on which said tray is placed.
3. The tray of claim 2, wherein said second portion of said slot is dimensioned to accept the stem of a wine glass.
4. The tray of claim 3, wherein said first portion of said hole is dimensioned to accept the bowl of a wine glass.
5. The tray of claim 4, wherein the said second portion of said hole is dimensioned to accept the base of a wine glass.
6. The tray of claim 1, wherein said slot includes a first section having a first width and a second section having a second width that is greater than said first width.
7. The tray of claim 6, wherein the second width of said second section of said slot is substantially equal to said second diameter of said second portion of said hole.
8. A tray for supporting food items and glassware, comprising:
- a body having a peripheral edge;
- a plurality of slots formed in said peripheral edge;
- a plurality of holes formed through said body, each of which includes a first portion having a first diameter and a second portion having a second diameter that is greater than said first diameter; and
- wherein each of said plurality of holes is in communication with one of said plurality of slots.
9. The tray of claim 8, further comprising a plurality of supports on said body configured to space said tray apart from a surface on which said tray is placed.
10. The tray of claim 9, wherein said body includes an upper surface and a lower surface.
11. The tray of claim 10, wherein said supports on positioned on said lower surface of said tray and said body includes a second plurality of holes formed therethrough.
12. The tray of claim 11, wherein said first plurality of holes are dimensioned to receive wine glasses and said second plurality of holes are dimensioned to receive beer glasses.
13. The tray of claim 12, further comprising a third set of holes formed through said body positioned proximately to said peripheral edge.
14. The tray of claim 13, wherein said third set of holes are dimensioned to accept the thumbs of a user.
15. The tray of claim 14, wherein the upper surface of said body includes partitions.
16. The tray of claim 15, wherein the lower surface of said body includes a non-slip surface.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 30, 2008
Publication Date: Oct 30, 2008
Applicant: SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY (Syracuse, NY)
Inventor: Norman A. Faiola (Ithaca, NY)
Application Number: 12/112,458
International Classification: B65D 6/04 (20060101);