Food-protective apparatus for use in cooking and food-serving environments

Abstract

Related embodiments of self-supporting permanently-formed, or foldable and quick-setup, food-protective apparatus are disclosed, each for safely storing and protecting, serving and / or transporting food-products in or to one or more, food-preparation or food-serving settings. The apparatus include one or more openable and closeable openings or apertures each having a positionable door or covering that can quickly and easily be moved to an opened or closed position. The apparatus may optionally incorporate see-through ventilative screened or meshed material and may be made of a rigid or flexible insulative material. The Enclosure embodiments also include stackable and / or side-by-side quick alignment elements, optional one or more trays or shelves having one or more receptacles for retaining a heating or chilling material, or having receptacles for one or more garnishes, herbs, spices, enclosures having various shapes, and the option to make a barbeque with one or more integrally-incorporated food-protective enclosures.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]Portions of the subject matter of this non-provisional application rely on provisional application 60 / 964,034 filed on Aug. 9, 2007.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention pertains to the field of food-related accessories or aids employable during the preparation, cooking and serving of food items in outdoor (or indoor) environments. More particularly, the invention pertains to a food-protective apparatus or enclosure, which is employable before, during and after one or more food items storable within and protected by the device have been prepared and / or cooked for consumption by others, for example, at a barbeque, picnic or cookout.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Many people who have prepared and / or partaken of a meal outdoors have experienced the annoyance of flying or crawling insects contaminating, or other airborne matter or debris falling or blowing into their food as it is being prepared or into food that has already been...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0016]The food-protective apparatus preferably also includes one or more sides incorporating, or integrally formed with, a meshed, screened, perforated or apertured material, having a multitude of apertures or numerous openings, wherein the size of the openings are of a size small enough to prevent the passage of small flying or crawling insects. Alternatively, the one or more sides of the food-protective apparatus can be made with any one or more of the aforementioned material(s). For example, one or more sides of the apparatus can be comprised of a transparent (or translucent) material, which facilitates an easy viewing of any protected contents within the apparatus. In which case, the apparatus preferably includes one or more vents to limit steam or condensation from obscuring a view of the apparatus-protected contents through the transparent material.

[0018]Optionally, the present food-protective apparatus can be made having no bottom (or a removable / re-attachable bottom), so as to be placed over one or more food-items e.g., on a table-top in a screen-cover like manner, albeit with any of the aforementioned positionable members located on as little as one side of the apparatus, to facilitate a reduced exposure of the food or apparatus-protected items to only the side of the apparatus from which the member is positioned, in contrast to a 360 degree exposure of a lifted conventional screen-cover.

[0020]In another embodiment of the food-protective apparatus one or more shelves may incorporate, or be adjoined with, one or more of the aforementioned heating or cooling elements or components. For example, a shelf (such as a lower shelf) can be equipped with or incorporate a receptacle or storage container in which one or more refrigerated or frozen substances can be contained, such that food placed proximate to the cold material will be chilled, serving to facilitate a preserving of food or uncooked food in outdoor temperatures. Such a container can also incorporate a volume for containing both the one or more refrigerated or frozen substances and one or more food items and can optionally include a removable lid or seal which can be opened to provide access to the chilled food as needed.

[0023]A plurality of the food-protective apparatus can be aligned side-by-side and / or made stackable on top of one another so that the apparatus can easily and quickly be arranged in a series, an array or a matrix, for example, for use in a buffet line, at a banquet, at a catered meal, a concession (or other food distributing area), or at a special event or occasion. Such a series, array or matrix can be arranged in any one or more of the following ways: in a food preparation area (professional or novice); on a food transporting or catering vehicle; located at, or delivered to, a food-serving location (indoors or outdoors). When a number of the apparatus are employed, preferably each of the apparatus includes a label pocket or label area which is in plain sight to facilitate users quickly obtaining one or more types of food they desire. Thus any one or more in a variety of food items can quickly be filled, organized, stored, labeled, heated or cooled as needed, transported, and quickly and easily be setup at a desired location.

[0025]Related embodiments of self-supporting permanently-formed, or foldable and quick-setup, food-protective apparatus are also disclosed in detail in the following section. The embodiments provide for safely storing and protecting, serving and / or transporting food-products in or to one or more, food-preparation or food-serving settings. The apparatus include one or more openable and closeable openings or apertures each having a positionable door or covering that can quickly and easily be moved to and retained in an opened or closed position. The apparatus may optionally incorporate see-through ventilative screened or meshed material which may be made of a rigid or flexible insulative material. The enclosure embodiments also include stackable and / or side-by-side quick alignment elements, optional one or more trays or shelves having one or more receptacles for retaining a non-ambient temperature, heating or chilling material, or trays having receptacles for one or more garnishes, herbs, spices, and the like, as well as raw or cooked food-product. The enclosures can also be made having various shapes, including the option to make a barbeque with one or more integrally-incorporated food-protective enclosures, and to make the combination barbeque and one or more food-protective enclosures out of the same or similar material.

Problems solved by technology

Many people who have prepared and / or partaken of a meal outdoors have experienced the annoyance of flying or crawling insects contaminating, or other airborne matter or debris falling or blowing into their food as it is being prepared or into food that has already been prepared before it is served to others.

Insects flying around, landing on or flying into one's food is not only unsightly, it can also be quite unsanitary or in some cases can even be a cause of illnesses or disease.

However, this approach has been less than ideal in that such covers tend to expose the food from all sides once the cover is lifted.

Another area of concern in outdoor food preparation and food-cooking environments is the contamination of food due to the food not having been kept fresh during the food preparation process.

For example, chicken is a very popular type of food to prepare in outdoor cooking environments, nonetheless, chicken is quite prone to contamination from bacteria after only a short exposure to air temperatures typical of those environments.

However, the aforementioned conventional approaches do not provide for the incorporation of one or more apparatus to assist in sufficiently cooling food while it is waiting to be cooked outdoors.

Similarly, the aforementioned screen-covers do not provide for an incorporation of one or more heating apparatus to assist in keeping food warm that has already been cooked.

Consequently, such food often not only becomes cooler faster than is desired, it also becomes susceptible to contamination due to a cooling off too soon.

Additionally, the aforementioned screen-covers typically have not been easily cleanable, whereas in one or more of the embodiments of the present apparatus, it can be easily and thoroughly washed, or readily disassembled for easy washing (optionally including being made of dishwasher safe or tolerant material).

The status quo approaches have not provided food-protective enclosures having self-aligning elements which facilitate quick alignment when being placed adjacent, side-by-side and / or when stacked, for example, for use in a buffet line, at a banquet, a catered meal, a concession (or other food distributing area), a special event or occasion, and so on.

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