Multi-layer food tray and method of use
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing food preparation trays require multiple clean surfaces and dishes during multi-stage food preparation, leading to inefficiency, waste, and mess as users must clean or dispose of trays between stages.
Innovation Solution
A multi-layer food tray with removable liners that allow for preparation, cooking, resting, serving, and storage in the same tray, reducing the need for multiple trays and minimizing waste and mess by using distinct identifiers on the liners to facilitate easy removal and reuse.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple trays are used for different food preparation stages, then food safety and cleanliness are improved, but device complexity and waste increase
Solution Approach 1:
The food preparation system is segmented into multiple disposable liners (first liner for raw food, second liner for cooked food) that can be independently removed and disposed of, while reusing the same underlying tray. This segmentation allows maintaining food safety through separate contamination zones while reducing the total number of trays needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The contaminable surfaces (liners) are extracted as separate removable components from the tray structure. The first liner contacts raw food and is removed after preparation, while the second liner is placed underneath to receive cooked food. This extraction allows the tray itself to be reused without cross-contamination.
2Reliability
If multiple trays are used for different food preparation stages, then food safety is improved, but loss of substance increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses inexpensive disposable liners made of materials like parchment paper, aluminum foil, or plastic that can be easily discarded after single use. These liners are designed to be cheap enough that disposal is more economical than cleaning and sanitizing multiple trays, while maintaining food safety through single-use contamination barriers.
Solution Approach 2:
The first liner is discarded after contact with raw food, but the tray is recovered and reused with a second liner for cooked food. This discarding and recovering process eliminates the need to dispose of entire trays while maintaining food safety, reducing overall material waste.
3Reliability
If multiple trays are used for different food preparation stages, then cleanliness is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the functions of multiple trays into a single tray structure by using removable liners. The tray body remains stationary and is reused, while liners are added, removed, and replaced as needed. This merging simplifies handling by eliminating the need to physically move and manage multiple separate trays during the cooking process.
Data Source
AI summary
A food tray having a bottom wall and a sidewall extending from the base, wherein the base and the sidewall form a food storage area. The food tray further includes a first liner overlaying at least a portion of the food storage area and a second liner disposed between the first liner and at least a portion of the bottom wall, the second liner covering at least a portion of the food storage area. The first liner includes a tab with an identifier thereon and the second liner includes a tab with an identifier thereon different from the identifier of the first liner.