Modular Meal Tray Layout for Temperature-Zoned Food Distribution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing food distribution trays inefficiently utilize space in commercial kitchen appliances and transport trolleys with climate partitions, as they are not adaptable to varying meal compositions and can only partially accommodate both warm and cold foods.
Innovation Solution
A modular, rectangular, stackable tray system made of plastic with interchangeable porcelain or earthenware components, featuring two spatially separated storage areas that can accommodate multiple configurations of basic components, allowing for optimal space utilization and temperature zoning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional trays with fixed storage areas are used, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the space utilization is insufficient and cannot adapt to varying meal compositions
Solution Approach 1:
The tray is divided into multiple storage areas with different depth characteristics. The tray body includes a first storage area with greater depth and a second storage area with lesser depth, allowing different types of crockery components to be stored in different areas based on their specific requirements. This segmentation enables the tray to adapt to varying meal compositions without requiring a completely different tray design for each meal type.
2Temperature
If the tray is designed to accommodate both warm and cold foods in climate-controlled zones, then temperature zoning is achieved, but the available space on the tray is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The invention utilizes the depth dimension to differentiate storage areas while maintaining optimal surface area utilization. By creating storage areas with different depths (first storage area with greater depth, second storage area with lesser depth) rather than dividing the surface area equally, the tray can accommodate temperature zoning requirements without significantly reducing the available surface area for crockery components.
3Adaptability or versatility
If crockery components are individually selected and combined, then specific meal compositions can be achieved, but the storage area is imperfectly utilized
Solution Approach 1:
Different regions of the tray are designed with different depth characteristics to match the specific requirements of different types of crockery components. The first storage area has greater depth suitable for taller components, while the second storage area has lesser depth suitable for shorter components. This local differentiation of storage area qualities enables efficient space utilization while maintaining the flexibility to accommodate various meal compositions.
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 2A
Figure 2B
AI summary
The device has a rectangular, stackable tray (1) made of plastic, and dinnerware components provided in a tray assembly. The tray has two support surfaces (5, 6) that are spatially separated from each other by a bar (7), and a set of base components (3) are arranged on the support surfaces. Dimensions of the support surfaces are larger maximum around 10 percentage in a transverse direction and a longitudinal direction than a sum of external dimensions of the adjacently arranged base components when the number of the large-sized base components is arranged in the support surfaces.