HK1195229B - Food carrier - Google Patents

Description

Food carrier

Cross Reference to Related Applications

This application claims priority to united states provisional application number 61/476,637 filed on 18/4/2011, which is incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

The present application relates to systems and methods for transporting food products. More particularly, the present application relates to cake boxes.

Background

Cake decorators often decorate and serve cakes at different locations. Typically, the cake is decorated on a rotating disk. After the cake is decorated, the cake decorator must pick up the cake and place the cake on a serving tray or in a box for storage and/or transport to where the cake is to be served. The use of multiple products in this process often results in damage to the cake.

There is a need for improved techniques, including techniques that address the above-described shortcomings.

Disclosure of Invention

One embodiment of the present invention is directed to a food carrier configured for decorating, holding, presenting and transporting food items in a single device. The food carrier includes a turntable base having a body and a rotating member that rotates relative to the body about a central axis, a serving tray configured to be removably secured to the turntable base, and a lid configured to engage with the rotating base. The turntable base has a plurality of locking mechanisms to secure the rotating member relative to the body. The lid may be locked to the turntable base by at least one locking mechanism.

Additional features, advantages, and embodiments of the disclosure may be set forth upon consideration of the following detailed description, drawings, and claims. Furthermore, it is to be understood that both the foregoing summary of the disclosure and the following detailed description are exemplary and intended to provide further explanation without further limiting the scope of the invention as claimed.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the detailed description serve to explain the principles of the invention. This description does not show structural details in more detail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding of the invention, which may be embodied in different forms.

Fig. 1 is a front view of an exemplary embodiment of a food carrier.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the food carrier of fig. 1 taken through section a-a.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the food carrier of fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a left side view of the food carrier of fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a top view of the food carrier of fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a bottom view of the food carrier of fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is an exploded view of the food carrier of fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is a top view of the rotating mechanism of the turntable of the food carrier of fig. 1.

Fig. 9A is a side view of the latch of the food carrier of fig. 1.

Fig. 9B is a rear view of the latch of fig. 9A.

Fig. 10 is an isometric bottom view of the serving tray of the food carrier of fig. 1.

Fig. 11 is a cross-sectional view of another exemplary embodiment of a food carrier.

Detailed Description

In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. In the drawings, like symbols typically indicate like parts, unless the context indicates otherwise. The exemplary embodiments illustrated in the detailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting. Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made, without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented here. It will be readily understood that the aspects of the present disclosure, as generally described herein, and illustrated in the figures, can be arranged, substituted, combined, and designed in a wide variety of different configurations, all of which are explicitly contemplated and make part of this disclosure.

As shown in fig. 1-10, food carrier 100 includes a lid 1 having a handle 5, a serving tray 2, a body 4 having a rotating member 3, and a latch 9. The term "turntable base 17" will be used to describe the combination of the body 4 and the rotary member 3. The food carrier 100 is versatile, for example, the food carrier 100 can transport any applicable food, preferably cake. In another example, food carrier 100 may also function as a cake decorating station. In yet another example, the food carrier 100 may function as a cake decorating turntable.

The lid 1 of the food carrier 100 may be any color. Furthermore, the cover 1 may be opaque or transparent. The cap 1 may be made of any suitable non-slip material, such as plastic. The non-slip material allows the outer side surface of the cover 1 to be used as a cake decorating stand. In one embodiment, the lid 1 has an arched shape. In alternative embodiments, the lid 1 may have the shape of a cube or a cylinder. The lid 1 may be of any height, preferably 4 inches, to accommodate 4 inches of decorated cake.

The top of the lid 1 is connected to a handle 5. Handle 5 is configured to allow a user to easily carry food carrier 100 from one location to another. The handle 5 may be of any colour. Further, the handle 5 may be opaque or transparent. The handle 5 may be made of any applicable material, such as plastic.

In one embodiment, at the bottom of the lid 1 is a ring 6. The top of the ring 6 is configured to fit within a recessed portion at the bottom of the cover 1. The bottom of the ring 6 is configured to be fixed to a groove in the top of the swivel member 3. The inner diameter of the ring body 6 may be slightly larger than the outer diameter of the base of the tray 2.

The food carrier 100 includes a serving tray 2. The tray 2 is engageable with a turntable base 17. The bottom of the tray 2 comprises a plurality of protrusions 15 (see fig. 10), which protrusions 15 are configured to engage with a plurality of groove portions 16 on the top of the rotary member 3 (see fig. 7). The serving tray 2 is configured to support a cake while decorating the cake on the turntable base 17. The serving tray 2 is removable to allow the cake to be removed from the food carrier 100 and displayed or enjoyed without having to transfer the cake to a separate tray. The tray 2 has a raised edge to allow a user to easily remove the tray 2 from the turntable base 17.

The food carrier 100 further comprises a turntable base 17, which is composed of a body 4 and a rotating member 3. The boss 11 of the rotary member 3 engages with the recess 12 of the body 4 (see fig. 2) to secure the rotary member 3 to the body 4. The rotating member of the turntable base 17 is rotatable relative to the body 4. In one embodiment, as seen in fig. 7-8, the swivel member ring 7 has a plurality of concave grooves 22, the concave grooves 22 being configured to engage with a plurality of balls 8 to form a ball bearing. The swivel member 3 is seated on a ball bearing formed by the swivel member ring 7 and the ball 8 to allow the swivel member 3 to rotate. In one embodiment, when placed on a surface, the body 4 does not rotate relative to the surface, but rather the rotation member 4 can rotate relative to the surface, and thus relative to the user.

The body 4 comprises a locking mechanism comprising a latch 9. The latch 9 may prevent the rotation of the rotation member 3 by engaging with the lid 1. Alternatively, the latch 9 may prevent the rotation of the rotation member 3 by engaging with the rotation member 3 even when the lid 1 is not present. As shown in fig. 9A to 9B, the latch 9 is attached to the body 4 by a mounting pin location 14, which may be mounted to the body 3 of the turntable base 17. The latch 9 has a recessed portion 18, the recessed portion 18 being configured to engage with a portion of the cover 1 that contacts the ring body 6. The groove portion 18 is also configured to engage with the groove portion 19 of the rotary member 3. The cover can thus be used with or without a cover for fixing the tray 2. Rotation is prevented due to friction between the latch 9 and the rotary member 3. The latch 9 may be omni-directional such that the latch 9 may engage with any portion of the lid 1 or the rotary member 3. In other words, the latch 9 does not have to engage with the lid 1 or the rotary member 3 in a specific position in order to prevent rotation. Any number of latches 9 may be used, such as three latches 9 (see fig. 5). The user may wish to prevent the turntable base 17 from rotating, for example, during shipping or while decorating a portion of the cake. The latch 9 may also hold the lid 1 so that a user can carry the container by means of the handle 5.

Referring now to fig. 6, the bottom of the body 4 includes a plurality of ridges 13. Any number of ridges 13 may be used, such as four ridges. These ridges 13 are configured to engage with the handle 5 on the top of the lid 1 so that multiple food carriers 100 can be securely stacked. Optionally, the turntable base 17 (e.g., the rotating member 3 and the body 4) may be placed on top of the lid 1 such that the lid 1 may be used to raise the turntable base 17 for cake decorating or display. The bottom of the body 4 may include a non-slip portion 10. The non-slip portion 10 may be made of any applicable material, such as rubber. The non-slip portion 10 is configured to prevent the food carrier from slipping, for example, when a user is decorating a cake.

The configuration of the food carrier 100 enables a user to decorate, preserve, present, and transport food, preferably cake, in a single device without having to transfer food between multiple devices. In one embodiment, best shown by fig. 11, food carrier 100 includes a storage base 20 engageable with serving tray 2 and with lid 1. The tray 2 may be secured to the storage base 20 via a locking mechanism, such as a latch 9, extending from the storage base 20. The latch 9 may secure the tray 2 directly to the storage base 20. Alternatively, the latch 9 may secure the lid securely against the tray 2, and the tray 2 in turn securely against the storage base 20. A storage cavity 21 is defined within the storage base 20 and is bounded by the tray 2.

With respect to the use of substantially all plural and/or singular terms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and/or application. Various singular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for the sake of clarity.

The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosed implementations to the precise form disclosed, and modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice or disclosed embodiments. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents.

Claims (12)

1. A food carrier comprising:

a turntable base having a body and a rotating member rotatable relative to the body about a central axis;

a tray configured to be removably secured to the turntable base; and

a cover configured to engage the turntable base,

wherein the body of the turntable base includes a rotational locking mechanism engageable with the lid and the rotating member,

wherein rotation of the rotating member relative to the body about the central axis is prevented when the rotational locking mechanism is engaged with the lid or the rotating member, the rotational locking mechanism comprising a plurality of latches.

2. The food carrier of claim 1, wherein a bottom of the turntable base is configured to stack on and engage with a top of the lid to form a plateau.

3. The food carrier of claim 1, wherein a bottom of the turntable base of one food carrier is configured to stack on and engage with a top of the lid of another food carrier.

4. The food carrier of claim 1, wherein the rotational locking mechanism is further engageable with a portion of the base of the lid to prevent the rotating member from rotating about the central axis relative to the body.

5. The food carrier of claim 1, wherein the rotational locking member is configured to engage with the base of the lid at any location along a periphery of the base of the lid.

6. The food carrier of claim 1, wherein the rotational locking mechanism is configured to engage with a top portion of the rotating member at any position along a periphery of the top portion of the rotating member.

7. The food carrier of claim 1, wherein rotation of the rotating member is achieved by a ball bearing.

8. The food carrier of claim 1, wherein the bottom of the serving tray has a plurality of raised portions configured to secure to a plurality of recessed portions on the turntable base.

9. The food carrier of claim 1, wherein the lid has a height of at least 4 inches.

10. The food carrier of claim 1, wherein the lid has an arcuate shape.

11. The food carrier of claim 1, further comprising a handle configured to carry the food carrier, the handle attached to a top of the lid.

12. The food carrier of claim 1, wherein the food carrier is configured for decorating, preserving, presenting, and transporting food.