U.S. patent number 3,815,736 [Application Number 05/207,398] was granted by the patent office on 1974-06-11 for food plate service cover.
Invention is credited to Mirko S. Sedlak.
United States Patent |
3,815,736 |
Sedlak |
June 11, 1974 |
FOOD PLATE SERVICE COVER
Abstract
A food service cover integrally constructed of a plastic
material and including a top portion having radially extending
stabilizing arms to hold a food plate stacked thereon and a side
wall depending from the peripheral rim of the top portion and
having a bottom peripheral lip carrying a protrusion ring to engage
the outer rim of a food plate such that the food plate service
cover is prevented from sliding on the food plate.
Inventors: |
Sedlak; Mirko S. (Atlanta,
GA) |
Family
ID: |
26801077 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/207,398 |
Filed: |
December 13, 1971 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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103992 |
Jan 5, 1971 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
206/501;
D7/392.1; 206/511; 229/406; 220/23.83 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47G
19/26 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47G
19/00 (20060101); A47G 19/26 (20060101); A47G
19/30 (20060101); A47g 019/02 (); A47g
023/04 () |
Field of
Search: |
;220/97F,94A,9F,97R,23.6,23.83,23.86 ;229/2.5 ;215/10 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Lowrance; George E.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Sherman and Shalloway
Parent Case Text
This application is a continuation-in-part of copending U.S. Pat.
application Ser. No. 103,992 filed Jan. 5, 1971, now abandoned.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A food plate service cover comprising a top portion having a
peripheral rim, a side wall depending from said top portion and
having a bottom peripheral lip, and protrusion means extending
inwardly from said bottom peripheral lip and adapted to engage the
under surface of an outer rim of a food plate service cover being
integrally formed from a rigid plastic material such that said side
wall is deformable to engage and disengage the outer rim of the
food plate whereby engagement of the outer rim of the food plate by
said protrusion means prevents sliding of said food plate service
cover relative to the food plate, said peripheral lip of said side
wall including a first annular contact portion adapted to engage
the upper surface of the outer rim of the food plate and said
protrusion means including a first annular wall extending downardly
from the outer edge of said contact portion and adapted to engage
the side surface of the outer rim of the food plate, said first
contact portion and said first wall defining a first snap ring, a
second annular contact portion extending outwardly from said first
annular wall and said protrusion means including a second annular
wall extending downwardly from the outer edge of said second
contact portion, said second contact portion and said second wall
defining a second snap ring having a diameter greater than the
diameter of said first snap ring, a third annular contact portion
extending outwardly from said second annular wall and said
protrusion means including a third annular wall extending
downwardly from the outer edge of said third contact portion, said
third contact portion and said third wall defining a third snap
ring having a diameter greater than said second snap ring, said top
portion including stabilizing means sloping downwardly from said
peripheral rim toward the center of said top portion to define a
surface for receiving a stacked food plate wherein said stabilizing
means includes a plurality of radially extending arms, each of said
arms having a plurality of radially spaced recesses in the upper
surfaces thereof.
2. The food plate service cover as recited in claim 1 wherein said
plurality of radially extending arms are equally angularly
spaced.
3. The food plate service cover as recited in claim 1 wherein said
plastic material is a thermoplastic polycarbonate resin.
4. A food plate service cover comprising a round top portion having
a peripheral rim, and a side wall depending from said peripheral
rim having a bottom peripheral lip adapted to engage a food plate,
said top portion having stabilizing means disposed thereon having
an upper surface sloping downwardly from said peripheral rim toward
the center of said top portion whereby sliding of a food plate
stacked on said food plate service cover is reduced, said
stabilizing means including a plurality of radially extending arms,
wherein each of said arms has a plurality of radially spaced
recesses in the upper surfaces thereof to receive a depending leg
of the stacked food plate.
5. The food plate service cover as recited in claim 4 wherein said
top portion includes a centrally disposed cylindrical handle and an
annular recess surrounding said handle, said radially extending
arms being disposed between said annular recess and said peripheral
rim.
6. The food plate service cover as recited in claim 4 wherein said
food plate service cover is integrally formed of a thermoplastic
polycarbonate resin.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to food plate service covers and,
more particularly, to such covers which may be inexpensively
produced of a plastic material, which engage a food plate to be
covered in a non-sliding manner and which may have a food plate
stably stacked thereon.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Food plate service covers are normally utilized in food service
establishments in order to maintain food to be served at its proper
temperature and, further, to permit the storage of a great number
of platters prior to serving, such as in warmers. The latter use of
food plate service covers normally requires the stacking of
platters one upon the other to facilitate preparation and
serving.
In the past, food plate service covers have conventionally been
constructed of materials such as steel, fiberglass, or aluminum.
Covers constructed of such materials have the disadvantage of being
relatively heavy and expensive and, further, due to the relatively
rigid nature of the materials, are subject to sliding relative to
the plate. This relative sliding movement is extremely costly, as
will be appreciated, in that when platters are stacked upon each
other, the sliding of one can cause the toppling of the entire
stack.
In the past, attempts have been made to utilize plastic materials
for covers for food containers; however, such attempts have
culminated only in the provision of covers which are essentially of
only two dimensions, with the outer peripheral edge of the cover
engaging an upstanding wall of the container. The application of
such plastic materials to food plate service covers has been
limited basically to applications where heating or cooling liquid
is contained within the cover.
The development of a food plate service cover that is inexpensive
and yet sufficiently sturdy to permit stacking of food plates has
been impeded in that such service covers must be, of necessity,
non-sliding relative to the plate, easy to remove, useful with
plated of varying dimensions, and must provide sufficient heating
and cooling insulation. The problems posed by varying dimensions of
plates is particularly acute in that while a normal food plate
utilized in a food service establishment is round and has a
ten-inch diameter, the diameter often varies slightly and such
variance of diameter has tendency to permit the food plate service
cover to slide relative thereto.
Known covers having a substantial vertical dimension, such as those
for use with cake plates, cannot be utilized as food plate service
covers since they are normally not stackable and, further, since
they are required to provide an airtight seal with the plate
itself, whereas such a seal is not required by food plate service
covers, and, as a matter of fact, is not desirable in that the
service cover must be easily removable when the food is served.
It will be appreciated that while many covers of plastic resilient
materials for food storage have been proposed in the past, such
covers, in order to provide a snap, non-sliding engagement with a
container, normally require special construction of a lip of the
container. Of course, food plate service covers must be utilized
with plates having varying edge configurations; and, therefore, the
design of the service covers must be of a more general and
universal nature. Thus, it can be seen that while a non-sliding fit
is desirable, the construction of the service covers must permit
use with plates of varying dimensions as well as facilitating
removal of the service covers during serving.
A further problem which must be overcome in the provision of an
inexpensive food plate service cover is that the food plate itself
must be generally flat to facilitate access to the food carried
thereon by a customer; and, accordingly, the service cover must be
provided with side walls of substantial vertical dimensions to
accommodate the food without touching the same and without limiting
the normal amount of food to be carried by a plate. Accordingly,
the side walls of the service covers must bear substantial weight
when platters are stacked thereon, but cannot be overly bulky or
rigid.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to construct
a food plate service cover which avoids the above mentioned
disadvantages of conventional food plate service covers.
The present invention is generally characterized in a food plate
service cover including a top portion having a peripheral rim, a
side wall depending from the peripheral rim and having a peripheral
bottom lip, and protrusion means formed in the peripheral bottom
lip and adapted to engage the underside of the outer rim of a food
plate, the food plate service cover being integrally constructed of
a plastic material such that the side wall is deformable to engage
and disengage the outer rim of the food plate whereby engagement of
the outer rim of the food plate by the protrusion means prevents
sliding of the food plate service cover relative to the food
plate.
Another object of the present invention is to form a disposable
food plate service cover integrally of expandable polystyrene
resin.
A further object of the present invention is to form a snap ring on
the peripheral bottom lip of the side wall of a food plate service
cover such that the snap ring is adapted to engage a food plate in
a non-sliding manner.
The present invention has another object in that a food plate
service cover is constructed to permit use with plates having
varying dimensions.
A yet further object of the present invention is to construct a
food plate service cover of a plastic material that can withstand
repeated servings and washings and is sufficiently flexible to
permit deforming of a side wall for snap engagement with a food
plate.
Another object of the present invention is to form a food plate
service cover of a thermoplastic polycarbonate resin.
The present invention has a further object in that the top portion
of a food plate service cover carries a stabilizing surface for
engaging the support on the bottom of a food plate in order to
stabilize a food plate stacked thereon.
Yet another object of the present invention is to utilize radially
extending arms having a plurality of recesses therein on the top
portion of a food plate service cover to stabilize a food plate
stacked thereon.
Some of the advantages of the present invention over the prior art
are that food plate service covers formed of a rigid thermoplastic
resin foam in accordance with the present invention are less
expensive than hand washing of conventional covers and are
therefore economically disposable, the food plate service covers of
the present invention are extremely light in weight thereby
reducing by a great amount the weight of a tray upon which a
plurality of platters are carried, and the food plate service
covers of the present invention prevent sliding and reduce breakage
and replaced food costs.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become
apparent from the following description of the preferred
embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a food plate service cover
constructed in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a side elevation in section of the food plate service
cover of FIG. 1 in engagement with a food plate.
FIG. 3 is a broken side elevation in section of a modification of
the food plate service cover of FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the food
plate service cover in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a side elevation in section of the food plate service
cover of FIG. 4 in engagement with a food plate.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a further embodiment of the food
plate service cover in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a side elevation in section of the food plate service
cover of FIG. 6 with a food plate stacked thereon.
FIG. 8 is a broken section of a modification of the food plate
service cover of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
A food plate service cover constructed in accordance with the
present invention is illustrated in FIG. 1 and includes a top
portion generally indicated at 10 and a side wall 12 depending
therefrom. The food plate service cover is preferably integrally
constructed of a plastic material such as a rigid thermoplastic
resin foam, for example, expandable polystyrene, a thermoplastic
polycarbonate resin or other plastic of similar consistency; and,
as will be appreciated from the following description, the material
utilized to form the food plate service cover must essentially
comply with two basic requirements. That is, the material must be
inexpensive and permit the inexpensive production of food plate
service covers, and the material must be sufficiently resilient to
permit the peripheral lip of the side wall 12 to be deformed to
engage and disengage a food plate. The use of a rigid thermoplastic
foam is preferred for disposable food plate service covers whereas
a rigid thermoplastic polycarbonate resin, such as Lexan produced
by the General Electric Company, is preferred for reuseable food
plate service covers.
Top portion 10 of the food plate service cover includes an outer
annular flat surface 14 and a circular flat surface 16 disposed
concentrically within and aligned with annular surface 14. An
angular wall 18 is disposed between surfaces 14 and 16 and
terminates at a vertically extending wall 20 which extends to the
peripheral edge of surface 16. Annular surface 14 has an outer
peripheral edge 23 from which depends side wall 12 which has a
truncated conical configuration and extends outwardly as well as
downwardly from top portion 10. The bottom lip of side wall 12 is
provided with an external peripheral recess 21 which defines a
protrusion or snap ring 22 extending inwardly from a contact
portion 25 on the inner surface of side wall 12.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, the food plate service cover is mounted
on a plate by slightly deforming side wall 12, as indicated at
dashed lines 24, such that the inner diameter of ring 22 is
expanded sufficiently to permit it to move past the outer rim 26 of
a round food plate 28. It will be appreciated that the upper
portion of protrusion ring 22 engages the under surface of the
outer rim 26 of food plate 28 around the entire circumference
thereof to thereby prevent any sliding of the food plate service
cover relative to the plate. The outer edge of rim 26 of plate 28
engages contact portion 25, and the conical configuration of side
wall 12 prevents vertical movement of the food plate service cover
relative to the plate 28.
The food plate service cover may be easily mounted on plate 28 by
merely positioning the service cover such that ring 22 abuts the
rim 26 of the plate and then forcing the service cover toward the
plate to deform side wall 12, as shown at 24, to permit ring 22 to
be expanded and snap under rim 26 to engage the under surface
thereof. It will be appreciated that when the service cover is
positioned as shown in FIG. 2, it will not slide relative to plate
28 since ring 22 extends entirely around the circumference
thereof.
The design of top portion 10 of the service cover may be varied in
order to accommodate the support legs of food plates for use with
the service covers. That is, surfaces 14 and 16 may be varied in
size to stabilize food plates to be stacked thereon. The design of
the top portion 10, as illustrated in FIG. 10, has several
important advantages, however, in that the deep recess formed by
walls 18 and 20 provides added strength to the service cover to
increase the weight that may be supported thereby, such as by way
of stacked plates, and also permits the cylinder formed by surface
16 and wall 20 to be utilized as a handle or grip to facilitate
handling of the service cover and removal of the service cover from
plate 28. Dependent upon the weight of the plate 28, the service
cover may be removed by either grasping the grip formed by the
recess in top portion 10 and pulling the service cover from the
plate to deform the side wall or the bottom peripheral lip of the
side wall may be deformed by grasping with the fingers and pulling
outwardly to deform the side wall and release the plate from
engagement with the snap ring.
A modification of the food plate service cover of FIG. 1 is
partially illustrated in FIG. 3 with the primary difference between
the embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 3 being that instead of the
circumferential protrusion or snap ring 22 of FIG. 1, a plurality
of semispherical protrusions or buttons 30 are utilized to hold the
food plate service cover in place on the plate 28. The modified
service cover of FIG. 3 may be mounted on a food plate in the same
manner as the service cover of FIG. 1. That is, the side wall 12 is
deformed such as by pressure to permit the protrusions 30 to snap
under the rim of the plate and engage the under surface
thereof.
Another embodiment of a food plate service cover in accordance with
the present invention is illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 and parts in
the embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5 similar to parts in the embodiment
of FIGS. 1 and 2 are given identical reference numbers with 100
added.
The primary differences in the service cover of FIGS. 4 and 5 as
compared with the service cover of FIGS. 1 and 2 are that the top
portion 110 has a different configuration and the protrusion means
carried at the bottom peripheral lip of side wall 112 is provided
with a plurality of snap rings to permit the service cover to be
utilized with food plates having varying diameters.
The top portion 110 includes an outer peripheral ridge 123 and an
annular strengthening rib 32 concentrically disposed within ridge
123 to define an outer support surface 34 therebetween and a
circular surface 36 in the center of top portion 110.
Side wall 112 depends from ridge 123 and has a truncated conical
configuration extending outwardly as well as downwardly from top
portion 110. The bottom peripheral lip of side wall 112 is formed
to provide a plurality of protrusion or snap rings 122 to engage
the outer rim 38 of a plate 40 as will be described hereinafter.
Side wall 112 is offset at 42 to define a horizontal annular
contact portion 44, and portion 44 has an annular wall or riser 46
extending downwardly from the outer edge thereof and preferably at
a slight angle toward the center of the service cover. Contact
portion 44 and wall 46 form a first protrusion or snap ring 48 to
receive the outer rim of a plate.
A protrusion or snap ring 50 having a diameter greater than the
diameter of snap ring 48 is formed at the bottom edge of wall 46 by
an annular contact portion and an inwardly extending wall in the
same manner, and a third protrusion or snap ring 52 having a
diameter greater than the diameter of ring 50 is formed below ring
50 in the same manner. Snap rings 48, 50 and 52 are concentrically
aligned with their outer surfaces forming a step-like
configuration.
In FIG. 5, the service cover is illustrated as being mounted on
plate 40 utilizing snap ring 50, however, it will be appreciated
that if the diameter of plate 40 were slightly less than that
illustrated, snap ring 48 could be utilized in mounting the service
cover on the plate. Similarly, if the diameter of plate 40 were
greater than that illustrated, snap ring 52 could be utilized to
mount the service cover on the plate.
The slightly inward orientation of the wall or riser 46 of each
snap ring 48, 50 and 52 provides resilient snap action required to
securely hold the service cover in position on plate 40. The
configuration of top portion 110 of the service cover provides
strength due to rib 132 and peripheral ridge 123 and the
configuration of support surface 34 defined therebetween is
designed to mate with an annular support leg 54 formed on the
bottom of a food plate 40 to be stacked thereon.
Thus, it will be appreciated that when stacking the food plate 40
on the service cover, leg 54 will be received by support surface 34
to limit shifting of the plate relative to the service cover.
Accordingly, the configuration of top portion 110 stabilizes
stacked food plates as well as strengthening the service cover to
increase the weight that can be supported thereon.
The service cover of FIGS. 4 and 5 may be mounted and removed from
plate 40 in the same manner as previously described with respect to
the service covers of FIGS. 1 and 2 and is similarly integrally
constructed of a plastic material.
A further embodiment of a food plate service cover in accordance
with the present invention is illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, and
parts of the embodiment of FIGS. 6 and 7 similar to parts of the
embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5 are given identical reference numbers
with 100 added while identical parts are given identical reference
numbers and are not described again.
The primary difference in the food plate service cover of FIGS. 6
and 7 as compared with the food plate service cover of FIGS. 4 and
5 is that the top portion 210 is provided with equally spaced,
radially extending arms 56, 58 and 60 in order to stabilize a food
plate 40 stacked thereon.
A cylindrical handle or grip 62 is formed by a horizontal surface
64 and a vertically extending wall 66, similar to the embodiment of
FIGS. 1 and 2, in order to facilitate gripping of the service plate
for removal from a food plate, and an annular channel 68 is formed
around grip 62 in order to strengthen the top. Channel 68
accurately terminates at an annular flat surface 70 which extends
to the periphery of the top portion 210 of the service cover and is
aligned with surface 64. Equally spaced radially extending arms 56,
58 and 60 are carried on surface 70 and extend upwardly therefrom.
The radially extending arms are identical; and, accordingly, only
arm 56 will be described in detail.
Arm 56 is formed with a plurality of arcuate recesses 72 therein
with the longitudinal axis of the recesses 72 being tangentially
disposed realtive to the top portion 210. That is, the longitudinal
axis of the arcuate recesses 72 are disposed transverse to a radius
of the top portion 210. Arm 56 has an inner edge 74 aligned with
the arcuate wall forming the outer boundry of channel 68 and an
outer edge 76 aligned with side wall 112. The height of outer edge
76 is greater than the height of inner edge 74 such that the upper
surface of arm 56, as defined by flat topped ridges 78 between
recesses 72, slopes downwardly toward the center of the top portion
210.
Side wall 112 has a truncated conical configuration and extends
outwardly and downwardly from top portion 210. Similar to the
embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5, the bottom peripheral lip of side wall
112 is formed to provide a plurality of protrusion or snap rings
122 to engage the outer rim of a food plate.
As illustrated in FIG. 7, the side wall 112 may be deformed in
order to engage the outer peripheral edge of a food plate 40 in the
same manner as previously discussed with respect to the embodiment
of FIGS. 4 and 5, and a food plate 40 may be stacked upon the
service cover in a stabilized manner in that the dependeng leg of
the food plate will engage the recesses 72 in radially extending
arms 56, 58 and 60. The scalloped configuration of the recesses 72
in the radially extending arms coupled with the slope of the arms
downwardly towards the center of the service plate permit the food
stacked thereon to be held with minimum sliding.
A modification of the bottom peripheral lip of the embodiments of
FIGS. 4, 5, 6 and 7 is illustrated in FIG. 8 wherein snap rings 80,
82, 84, 86 and 88 are formed by annular contact portions and risers
in the same manner as the snap rings of the embodiment of FIGS. 4
and 5 but with smaller diameters in order to provide more precise
engagement with the outer rim of food plates of varying dimeters.
The outer surface 90 of the bottom peripheral lip has a smooth
truncated conical configuration such that the thickness of the
bottom peripheral lip is increased to provide a corresponding
increase in strength for the food plate service cover. That is, the
increased thickness of the bottom peripheral lip provides
additional stacking capability and resistance to sliding on a food
plate.
From the above it can be seen that the food plate service covers of
the present invention provide a stable and insulative cover for use
by food service establishments to their great benefit in that the
service cover can be inexpensively produced to permit the
establishment to dispose of the service cover after a single use or
can be manufactured of more long lasting materials while retaining
sufficient flexibility to permit non-slipping engagement with a
food plate. Furthermore, the design of the top portions of the
service covers can accommodate a label or other suitable indicia in
the center thereof so as to be prominently displayed, and the
weight of the service covers of the present invention is reduced to
decrease the weight to be carried by service personnel. The use of
a rigid plastic material permits gripping of the outer rim of a
food plate by slight deformation of the side wall of the food plate
service cover, and the use of various diameter snap rings decreases
inventory of food plate service covers since a single food plate
service cover can be utilized with food plates of varying
dimensions. The structure of the top portions of the food plate
service covers increases stacking strength as well as stabilizing
food plates stacked thereon. Of course, the food plate service
covers of the present invention may be provided with other
configurations dependent upon the configuration of food plates to
be covered such as food plates which are oval or slightly out of
round.
Inasmuch as the present invention is subject to many variations,
modifications and changes in detail, it is intended that all matter
described above or shown in the drawings be interpreted as
illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
* * * * *