U.S. patent application number 14/154444 was filed with the patent office on 2014-08-07 for insert for a food holding tray.
This patent application is currently assigned to Prince Castle, LLC.. The applicant listed for this patent is Prince Castle, LLC.. Invention is credited to Mary Morgan, Loren Veltrop.
Application Number | 20140216979 14/154444 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 51258400 |
Filed Date | 2014-08-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140216979 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Veltrop; Loren ; et
al. |
August 7, 2014 |
Insert for a Food Holding Tray
Abstract
A removable insert for a food holding tray provides one or more
compartments such that the compartments can become encapsulated
environments, extending the time that a pre-cooked food item
remains palatable to most people.
Inventors: |
Veltrop; Loren; (Chicago,
IL) ; Morgan; Mary; (New York, NY) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Prince Castle, LLC. |
Carol Stream |
IL |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Prince Castle, LLC.
Carol Stream
IL
|
Family ID: |
51258400 |
Appl. No.: |
14/154444 |
Filed: |
January 14, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61753044 |
Jan 16, 2013 |
|
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|
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/561 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47J 39/006
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
206/561 |
International
Class: |
B65D 25/04 20060101
B65D025/04; B65D 1/36 20060101 B65D001/36 |
Claims
1. A removable insert for a food holding tray, the food holding
tray having an open top, an inside width between two opposing
sides, an inside length between two opposing ends, and an inside
depth between the open top and a bottom, the food holding tray
being is sized, shaped and arranged to hold a number of pre-cooked
food items, the insert comprising: first and second opposing sides;
first and second opposing ends configured to hold the opposing
sides in a first fixed, spaced-apart relationship to each other; a
surface extending between the first and second opposing sides; a
food product holding compartment formed into the insert surface,
between the opposing sides and between the opposing ends, the
holding compartment comprising a depression formed into the surface
of the insert, the depression having a predetermined depth and
shape, the predetermined depth corresponding a thickness of a food
item to be held in the holding compartment, the predetermined shape
corresponding to a shape of the food item to be held in the holding
compartment; wherein the insert is configured such that when placed
into the food holding tray, the insert reduces the number of
pre-cooked food items that can be held in the food holding tray, to
a fixed and smaller number of pre-cooked food items.
2. The removable insert of claim 1, wherein the first and second
sides of the insert each have a top and a bottom and a nominal
height, substantially equal to a vertical separation distance
between the top and bottom of the first and second sides, the
nominal height being less than or equal to the inside depth of the
food holding tray, wherein the surface of the insert is
substantially planar and located substantially between the tops of
the first and second sides, the food holding compartment formed
into the insert surface having an open top and a closed bottom, the
nominal height of the first and second sides being substantially
equal to the inside depth of the food holding tray.
3. The removable insert of claim 1, wherein the first and second
opposing sides are spaced apart from each other by a distance less
than the inside width of the food holding tray.
4. The removable insert of claim 2, wherein the first and second
opposing ends are spaced apart from each other by a distance less
than the inside length of the food holding tray.
5. This removable insert of claim 2, further comprising a sleeve
comprising first and second substantially upright sides and a
horizontally-oriented cover supported by the first and second
upright sides, the sleeve being configured to receive the food
holding tray with the insert therein and to provide a cover to the
food holding compartment in the insert.
6. The removable insert of claim 5, wherein the sleeve is
configured to provide a space between the cover and the top surface
of the insert that is less than about one-quarter of an inch.
Description
[0001] The content of the Applicant's co-pending patent application
Ser. No. 13/326,667 filed on Dec. 15, 2011, titled, "Apparatus for
Preserving Cooked Food Palatability," is incorporated herein by
reference in its entirety. The content of the Applicant's
co-pending patent application Ser. No. 13/326,607 filed Dec. 15,
2011, titled, "Method of Extending the Time During Which Pre-Cooked
Foods Are Kept Palatable," is also incorporated herein by reference
in its entirety.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Many fast-food restaurants prepare food items before they
are actually ordered and keep them warm until they are ordered by a
customer. A pre-cooked, i.e. a pre-prepared, food product can thus
be sold and served to the customer in significantly less time than
it takes to prepare each food item after it is ordered.
[0003] A problem with pre-cooked foods is that they lose their
taste or palatability over time. While taste or palatability is
subjective, empirical data shows that most people will dislike the
taste of a hamburger after it has been "held" or kept in a warming
tray for more than about 15 minutes. Fast-food restaurant operators
therefore keep pre-cooked foods warm and ready to serve for only a
relatively short period of time, typically fifteen to twenty
minutes. When that time has elapsed, the pre-cooked food product is
disposed of. Extending the holding time of a pre-cooked food
product is therefore contrary to the common and accepted practice
of fast-food restaurant operators.
[0004] Many prior art fast-food restaurants store pre-cooked foods
that include hamburger patties in relatively large, open-top trays,
which can hold numerous patties. An apparatus that makes or enables
prior art trays extend cooked food product palatability would be an
improvement over the prior art.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0005] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional prior art
food holding tray 12 that is provided with a fitted, removable
insert;
[0006] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the insert 10 shown in FIG.
1, removed from the food holding tray 12 shown in FIG. 1;
[0007] FIG. 3 is a cross section of the prior art food holding tray
shown in FIG. 1, and holding the insert; and
[0008] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a sleeve configured to
receive a prior art food holding tray having an insert, such as the
one shown in FIG. 2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0009] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional prior art
food holding tray 12, provided with a fitted, removable insert 10.
The insert 10 effectively acts to fill and thereby reduce the open
interior volume of the tray. It thus reduces the volume of air in
the tray that can shorten pre-cooked food product palatability.
Stated another way, when a large, open-volume, open-top prior art
food holding tray 12 is provided with an insert 10, and a
pre-cooked food product is held in a compartment in the insert
instead of in the open tray, the insert 10 enables the food holding
tray 12 and insert 10 combination to provide an "encapsulated
environment" for the pre-cooked food product by reducing most of
the air that would otherwise surround a pre-cooked food item.
[0010] An "encapsulated environment" is defined in the applicant's
co-pending patent application Ser. No. 13/326,607, filed Dec. 15,
2011 and entitled "Method of Extending the Time During Which
Pre-Cooked Foods Are Kept Palatable," the entire contents of which
are incorporated here and by reference. An encapsulated environment
is also defined in the applicant's co-pending patent application
Ser. No. 13/326,667 filed Dec. 15, 2011 and entitled "Apparatus for
Preserving Cooked Food Palatability," the contents of which are
also incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
[0011] The food holding tray 12 has a substantially
rectangular-shaped open top 14 through which the insert 10 can be
placed into the food holding tray 12. The tray 12 also has an
inside width 16, which is the distance between two, elongated,
parallel and opposing sides 18 and 20. An inside length 22 for the
tray 12 is considered to be the distance between two opposing ends
24 and 26 of the food holding tray. The ends 24, 26 hold the tray
sides 18, 20 in a fixed, spaced-apart relationship to each other.
In addition to having an open top 14, an inside width 16, and an
inside length 22 the food holding tray 12 has an inside depth 28,
which is considered to be the distance between the open top 14 and
a bottom 32 of the food holding tray 12.
[0012] Prior art food holding trays 12 are sized, shaped and
arranged to hold numerous pre-cooked food items, typically
pre-cooked hamburger patties, in an environment that does not
restrict air flow, even when the trays are placed in a food holding
cabinet. A well-known problem with storing a pre-cooked food item
in an open tray 12 is that the pre-cooked food item loses its
palatability relatively quickly. When pre-cooked food item demand
is high, as happens during certain times of a day, pre-cooked foods
are kept in large trays for relatively short periods of time. On
other hand, when demand is low, it is not possible for a prior art
tray to provide a substantially closed compartment for individual
patties. The insert 10 thus makes it possible for a prior art food
holding tray 12 to be "re-purposed" to provide one or more
encapsulated environments when pre-cooked food product demand is
low.
[0013] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of an
insert 10 and which is sized, shaped and arranged to fig inside a
prior art food holding tray 12. The insert 10 has two elongated,
parallel and opposing sides 34 and 36 which are held in a
spaced-apart relationship by two opposing ends 38 and 40.
[0014] The insert 10 can be seen in FIG. 2 to be substantially
rectangular. It has a width dimension 42 substantially less than
its length dimension 44. The sides 34 and 36 each have a top edge,
or surface, 46 as well as an opposing bottom edge or surface 48.
The distance between the top 46 and bottom 48 of a side 36, 34
defines a wall height 50 for the sides 34, 36.
[0015] Four disc-shaped depressions 52, 54, 56 and 58 are formed
into a substantially planar top surface 60. Different numbers of
depressions can be formed depending on the width of the insert 10
as well as its length.
[0016] The disc-shaped depressions 52, 54, 56, 58 are considered
herein to be food holding compartments. Since their shape
corresponds to the shape of a hamburger patty, which is known in
advance, the shape of the depressions is considered herein to also
be known in advance and therefore predetermined.
[0017] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the food holding tray 12
shown in FIG. 1 with the insert 10 in place inside the food holding
tray 12. In a first embodiment, the upright sides 34, 36 of the
insert 10 have a nominal vertical height 50 equal to or slightly
less than the inside depth of the food holding tray 12. In a second
embodiment, the upright sides 34, 36 of the insert 10 have a
nominal vertical height 50 equal to or slightly greater than the
inside depth of the food holding tray 12.
[0018] FIG. 3 appears to show the openings of the food holding
compartments 52, 54, 56 and 58 at the same level or just slightly
below the top 14 of the tray in order to facilitate covering the
compartments so they become encapsulated environments. In a first
embodiment, i.e., with upright sides 34 equal to or less than the
inside tray depth, more space between the openings of the
depressions and a covering plane, such as a shelf of a holding
cabinet, provides an increased space through which air can flow. In
the second embodiment, a smaller space between the openings of the
depressions and a covering plane will reduce the space through
which air can flow. In both embodiments, the nominal height 50 of
the sides of the insert 10 is considered to be equal to or
substantially equal to the vertical separation distance between the
top and bottom of the sides 34, 36.
[0019] As stated above, the insert 10 is sized, shaped and arranged
to fit within a prior art food holding tray 12, which is itself
sized, shaped and arranged to store numerous pre-cooked food items,
typically hamburger patties. The dimensions of the tray 12 and the
dimensions of the insert 10 are selected such that when the tray 12
with the insert 10 is placed into a heated shelf of a food holding
cabinet, the food holding compartments 52, 54, 56 and 58 in the
insert are covered by a shelf of the food holding cabinet,
converting the open compartments into encapsulated
environments.
[0020] In an alternate embodiment, a tray 12 with an insert 10 can
be placed into a sleeve 70, which is sized, shaped and arranged
such that when the prior art food holding tray 12 provided with an
insert 10 is placed within the sleeve 70, the combination provides
encapsulated environments embodied as the compartments covered by
the sleeve. Stated another way, the sleeve 70 acts as a cover to
the open compartments 52, 54, 56 and 58 when they are placed into
the sleeve 70.
[0021] As best seen in FIG. 4, a sleeve 70 has two opposing
vertical sidewalls 72 and 74, which have a height 76 substantially
equal to the height 28 of the food holding tray 12. An opening 78
into the interior volume provided by the sleeve's sidewalls 72, 74
enables the food holding tray 12 and the insert 10 to be slid into
and out of the sleeve 70. The sleeve 70 can be configured to be
latched into or clipped into a shelf of a prior art food holding
cabinet. The sleeve 70 can also be used with the tray 12/insert 10,
without a food holding cabinet, i.e. the sleeve 70 can be placed on
a surface outside of a food holding cabinet such as a table top or
counter.
[0022] In the alternate embodiment, the height 28 of the tray 12 is
just less than the height 76 of the sleeve. The space between the
cover provided by the top surface 80 of the sleeve 70 and the top
surface 50 of the insert 10 is preferably zero but less than about
one-quarter of an inch. The top surface 80 of the sleeve thus
provides a cover for the compartments 52, 54, 56 and 58 formed into
the insert 10.
[0023] The foregoing description is for purposes of illustration
only. The true scope of the invention is set forth in the following
claims.
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