Adjustable Food Shield Brackets for Buffet Code Compliance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing food shields do not adequately meet health code requirements for buffets, lack sufficient adjustability, and fail to enhance the aesthetic presentation of food, particularly in self-serviced settings.
Innovation Solution
An adjustable food shield system featuring semi-transparent or transparent shield panels with adjustable bracket assemblies that allow for both positional and angular adjustments, coupled with removable side panels and multi-component collar clamps for secure attachment to various post configurations, enhancing both functionality and aesthetics.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If fixed food shields are used, then health code requirements are met, but adaptability to different buffet configurations is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The food shield system employs adjustable bracket assemblies with movable components that allow the shield panels to be positioned at various heights and angles. The brackets include sliding mechanisms and adjustable fasteners that enable dynamic reconfiguration of the shield to meet different health code requirements and buffet layouts while maintaining secure attachment.
Solution Approach 2:
The food shield is divided into multiple separate panels that can be independently adjusted and configured. Each panel can be positioned and angled separately using individual bracket assemblies, allowing flexible adaptation to different spatial requirements while each panel independently maintains its protective function for health code compliance.
2Adaptability or versatility
If adjustable bracket assemblies are added, then adaptability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bracket assemblies are designed as universal components that perform multiple functions: attachment to support structures, positioning of shield panels, and angular adjustment. Each bracket assembly can accommodate different panel sizes and configurations, reducing the need for multiple specialized components and simplifying the overall system despite its adjustability capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The bracket assemblies feature nested components where adjustment mechanisms are integrated within the bracket structure itself. The sliding elements, fasteners, and positioning mechanisms are contained within the bracket housing, creating a compact multi-functional unit that reduces the number of separate parts while maintaining full adjustability functionality.
3Shape
If semi-transparent panels are used, then aesthetic value is improved, but food protection effectiveness may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The shield panels are designed with semi-transparent properties that provide aesthetic value while maintaining sufficient opacity to block bodily fluids and bacteria. The material selection and thickness are optimized to achieve the right balance: transparent enough for visual appeal and monitoring of food items, but opaque enough to provide effective contamination protection as required by health codes.
Data Source
AI summary
A food shield has shield panels that are location adjustable and angularly adjustable in respect of support structures (posts) that are coupled to a mounting surface, such as a surface of a buffet table or cart. For location adjustment of a shield panel along length of a post, a bracket assembly includes outer and inner collar portions, a grip element positioned between the outer and inner collar portions, and a tightening element that tightens the connection of the assembled collar against support posts. For angular adjustment, each bracket assembly includes an indexing base, a rotatable arm assembly with an indexing hub, and a removable or retractable coupling element. Side panels are mounted to the same posts as the shield panels with removable clamps that engage exterior surfaces of the posts. The removable clamps have multiple parts that are variously inverted for joining the clamps to posts at different orientations.