Food serving tray with cooling chamber
A food serving tray including a base which includes a substantially flat serving area, wherein the serving area is bounded by a raised perimeter arranged about the serving area, a cooling chamber located directly below the serving area, wherein the cooling chamber is operatively arranged for holding water to be frozen into ice for cooling an item placed on the serving area, a cover operatively arranged to engage over the raised perimeter about the base, and a fill hole for filling the cooling chamber with water.
This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/931,074, filed May 21, 2007.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe invention broadly relates to serving trays, more specifically to serving trays with cooling chambers, and even more particularly to stackable serving trays with cooling chambers.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe food service industry has always concerned itself with getting its customers the highest possible quality food in the most efficient way possible. Restaurants, caterers, grocery stores, and individuals alike often encounter situations where a typical refrigerator or similar refrigeration means is not available, but food is required to be kept cold in order to maintain the food's freshness and quality.
Of particular concern is the case of serving food samples, such as in a grocery store, because the customers sporadically take samples over an extended period of time. Consumers are simply not pleased if the food they receive has become rotten, warm, spoiled, or otherwise aesthetically unattractive. In this scenario, the food samples must be sitting ready for customers, potentially for several hours. One could go back and forth between the sampling station and a refrigerator numerous times during the course of the day to constantly replace the food samples, but this is not a very efficient solution to the problem.
It may also be necessary to prepare the food ahead of time, such as where a large number of people must be served simultaneously. Even if, in such a case, food were prepared ahead of time and kept refrigerated, it then must all be moved onto trays for serving, and the food which is transferred to the trays first will not be as fresh or appetizing as the food which is transferred just prior to delivery. Lastly, as is often the case in catering, food may need to be prepared in one location, and then delivered to a second location which is not in close proximity to the first location.
Thus, there is a need for a serving tray that can efficiently and reliably transport or display prepared food over a long period of time while maintaining the freshness and quality of the food by keeping it sufficiently cooled. There is a further need for a serving tray with the aforementioned properties that is stackable so it is suitable for efficient use in large quantities, as in a commercial or industrial setting.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe current invention broadly comprises a food serving tray including a base which includes a substantially flat serving area, wherein the serving area is bounded by a raised perimeter arranged about the serving area, a cooling chamber located directly below the serving area, wherein the cooling chamber is operatively arranged for holding water to be frozen into ice for cooling an item placed on the serving area, a cover operatively arranged to engage over the raised perimeter about the base, and a fill hole for filling the cooling chamber with water. In a further embodiment, the food serving tray includes a plurality of ribs operatively arranged inside the cooling chamber for evenly distributing the ice throughout said cooling chamber.
In one embodiment the food serving tray includes a substantially S-shaped cross-sectional bend, wherein the bend is operatively arranged to straighten out for accommodating an increase of volume within the cooling chamber as the water expands during freezing. In another embodiment, a bottom of the cooling chamber includes an upwardly sloped section, wherein the upwardly sloped portion is operatively arranged to flex downward for accommodating an increase of volume within the cooling chamber as the water expands during freezing. In yet another embodiment, the food serving tray includes a plurality of feet protruding from the base for supporting the serving tray. In a further embodiment the cover includes a plurality of slots operatively arranged for engaging with the feet, so a first serving tray is stackable with a second serving tray by engaging the cover of the first tray with the feet of the second tray.
In one embodiment, the cover includes a stabilizing means operatively arranged for enabling said tray to be stackable by engaging a bottom of a first tray with the stabilizing means on a cover of a second tray. In another embodiment, the cover is engagable with a bottom of the cooling chamber. In yet another embodiment, the food serving tray further includes a shoulder located about the base for matingly engaging with the cover when the cover is placed on the base. In yet another embodiment, the tray is fabricated from a resilient material for minimizing any permanent deformations in the tray caused by repeated freezing and thawing of the water in the cooling chamber.
The nature and mode of operation of the present invention will now be more fully described in the following detailed description of the invention taken with the accompanying drawing figures, in which:
At the outset, it should be appreciated that like drawing numbers on different drawing views identify identical, or functionally similar, structural elements of the invention. While the present invention is described with respect to what is presently considered to be the preferred aspects, it is to be understood that the invention as claimed is not limited to the disclosed aspects.
Furthermore, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the particular methodology, materials and modifications described and as such may, of course, vary. It is also understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular aspects only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, which is limited only by the appended claims.
Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood to one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Although any methods, devices or materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of the invention, the preferred methods, devices, and materials are now described.
Referring now to the figures,
The serving tray seen in
Base 120 is shown in
As shown in
The portion of top half 120A of base 120 that forms the ceiling of cooling chamber 130 is shown in
It has been found that fill hole 126 should be positioned so as to enable access to cooling chamber 130 at the highest location feasible, so that the cooling chamber can be filled with as much water as possible. That is, there is preferably no air left in the cooling chamber after it has been filled with water. It has been found that completely filling the chamber with water enables the tray to cool food more efficiently because there is more direct contact between the ice and the bottom of the serving area. Also, if the fill hole is plugged after only partially filling the cooling chamber with water, the air remaining in the chamber will be compressed as the water expands during freezing, which could result in damage to the tray.
However, despite the improved cooling performance of the tray, completely filling the tray with water will obviously create a large amount of distortion as ice expands into the walls of the cooling chamber. Thus, serving tray 100 includes several aspects to address the issue of volumetric expansion of water freezing, as can be seen by examining
Likewise, the bottom of the cooling chamber can be seen sloping slightly upwards towards the center of the bottom of the chamber. In a preferred embodiment, as shown in
In the preferred embodiment the serving tray is made primarily from a resilient plastic, such as polypropylene. Polypropylene is preferred because it demonstrates good fatigue strength, has good sanitary properties, and it can easily be made in a variety of shapes and colors, but it should also be appreciated that other materials which exhibit some or all of these attributes could also be used. Fatigue strength is particularly important, because the serving tray is designed to be filled with water, which is then frozen. As is known in the art, water expands during the freezing process, and therefore, the tray will undergo deformation each time the water it holds expands during freezing. It is important for the tray to be able to not only temporarily withstand these repeated freeze-thaw cycles, but also to withstand any permanent warping or deformation.
It should be appreciated that the various aspects and elements included in the first and second embodiments, serving trays 10 and 100, respectively, could be selectively rearranged or combined to create further embodiments of serving trays which are all also within the scope of the present invention.
Thus, it is seen that the objects of the present invention are efficiently obtained, although modifications to the invention should be readily apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art, which modifications are intended to be within the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed. It also is understood that the foregoing description is illustrative of the present invention and should not be considered as limiting. Therefore, other embodiments of the present invention are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Claims
1. A food serving tray comprising:
- a base which includes a substantially flat serving area, wherein said serving area is bounded by a raised perimeter arranged about said serving area;
- a cooling chamber located directly below said serving area, wherein said cooling chamber is operatively arranged for holding water to be frozen into ice for cooling an item placed on said serving area;
- a cover operatively arranged to engage over said raised perimeter about said base; and,
- a fill hole for filling said cooling chamber with water.
2. The food serving tray recited in claim 1 further including a plurality of ribs operatively arranged inside said cooling chamber for evenly distributing said ice throughout said cooling chamber.
3. The food serving tray recited in claim 1 wherein a bottom of said cooling chamber includes a substantially S-shaped cross-sectional bend, wherein said bend is operatively arranged to straighten out for accommodating an increase of volume within said cooling chamber as said water expands during freezing.
4. The food serving tray recited in claim 1 wherein a bottom of said cooling chamber includes an upwardly sloped section, wherein said upwardly sloped section is operatively arranged to flex downward for accommodating an increase of volume within said cooling chamber as said water expands during freezing.
5. The food serving tray recited in claim 1 further comprising a plurality of feet protruding from said base for supporting said serving tray.
6. The food serving tray recited in claim 5 wherein said cover includes a plurality of slots operatively arranged for engaging with said feet, so a first serving tray is stackable with a second serving tray by engaging said cover of said first tray with said feet of said second tray.
7. The food serving tray recited in claim 1 wherein said cover includes a stabilizing means operatively arranged for enabling said tray to be stackable by engaging a bottom of a first tray with said stabilizing means on a cover of a second tray.
8. The food serving tray recited in claim 1 wherein said cover is engagable with a bottom of said cooling chamber for creating an air pocket below said cooling chamber.
9. The food serving tray recited in claim 1 further including a shoulder located about said base for matingly engaging with said cover when said cover is placed on said base.
10. The food serving tray recited in claim 1, wherein said tray is fabricated from a resilient material for minimizing any permanent deformations in said tray caused by repeated freezing and thawing of said water in said cooling chamber.
Type: Application
Filed: May 20, 2008
Publication Date: Nov 27, 2008
Inventors: Ronald J. Godowski (Moscow, PA), Carmen R. Fasula (Amherst, NY)
Application Number: 12/154,110
International Classification: F25D 3/08 (20060101); B65D 6/04 (20060101);