DE102020007675A1 - Tray for serving meals - Google Patents

Abstract

A tray for serving meals is described, having a base (10) which is divided into a first and a second zone (11, 12), between which a flat central plane (13) is arranged, the base (10) is delimited by a circumferential wall (20) which is raised in relation to this and which is interrupted on opposite sides of the flat central plane (13) by wall openings (21) which are aligned with one another. The invention was based on the object of developing a particularly reliable tray with which an improved hygiene situation is created. The object is achieved according to the invention in that a partition (22) is formed between the flat center plane (13) and the adjacent first and second zones (11, 12).

Description

The invention relates to a tray for serving meals with the features of the preamble of claim 1.

Such trays are pushed into trolleys in large numbers and are used to transport food and drinks and to distribute them after the trays have been pulled out. Meals regularly consist of hot and cold dishes and drinks, which are placed on the tray in different zones. After pushing the ready-loaded tray into a transport trolley designed for this purpose, the zones are spatially separated from each other by a heat-insulating partition so that the hot food or drinks stay hot for as long as possible and the cold food or drinks stay cold for as long as possible. After the food and drinks have been consumed, the dirty dishes can be cleared away with the trays and the trays pushed back into the trolley.

the EP 1 518 487 A1 proposes a tray provided with a peripheral wall defining the base. At about the center of the tray, the peripheral wall is discontinuous on opposite sides to expose a flat median plane extending therebetween. When the tray is pushed into the trolley, its heat-insulating partition wall has an open slot into which the tray is pushed with the interrupted sides of the peripheral wall and the central plane located between them. In practice, however, it has turned out to be disadvantageous that dishes are often accidentally placed on the flat center plane when clearing away or slip onto it while being carried. When pushing the tray into the transport trolley, the misplaced crockery gets in the way and must first be removed from the flat central plane. If the misplaced crockery is not noticed on the flat central plane and the tray is nevertheless pushed into the trolley, the misplaced crockery can tip over and food or drink residues can be emptied onto the tray. Due to the double-interrupted peripheral wall, the food and drink residues are not held back, but run into the transport trolley or onto the clothing of a person standing in front, resulting in hygiene problems and increased cleaning effort.

For this reason, the object of the invention was to develop a tray that is particularly reliable in operation, with which an improved hygiene situation is created.

The object is achieved according to the invention with the features of claim 1. The flat central plane is thus structurally separated from the first and second zones, which are used to set down crockery. If liquid is spilled in the first or second zone, it remains in the respective first or second zone until further notice, since the peripheral wall and the partition wall acting on it prevent it from flowing out, in particular over the flat central plane. Due to the spaced apart partitions, the flat center plane is kept free of crockery, so that it is easier to slide the tray into a trolley. Dishes that slip while carrying the tray are prevented by the partition wall from sliding onto the flat center plane and coming to rest there. In addition, the person clearing away the dishes will hardly be inclined to place dishes in the area of the partitions, since this would make it extremely wobbly with its underside standing on at least one of the partitions.

Preferably, the first and second zones and the flat central plane are aligned with one another in a common plane. As a result, the tablet according to the invention is compatible with standardized trolleys. In addition, the tablet takes up little storage space in the vertical direction and makes it easier to stack.

The partition walls can merge into the peripheral wall at the ends. Consequently, each partition wall is directly connected to the peripheral wall of the associated first or second zone, which on the one hand increases the flexural rigidity of the tray and avoids the drainage of spilled liquid.

An embodiment in which the wall openings are delimited by the partition walls is particularly favorable. In this embodiment, opposite inner sides of the partition walls are aligned with the wall openings and thus enable the tray to be pushed into the transport trolley provided for this purpose in a particularly simple manner.

Advantageously, the partitions are raised relative to a level of the first and second zones and the flat median plane. Consequently, the flat center plane is always located below a vertical level of both partitions.

According to a further expedient embodiment, opposite inner sides of the partitions are widened conically, starting from the flat center plane. The conical shape of the dividers helps to stack several trays on top of each other.

The peripheral wall may be formed with a constant height relative to the first and/or second zone. It makes sense that the partition walls are also designed with a constant height. The respective height of the peripheral wall or the partition walls is understood to mean the vertical height to the base of the tray.

Preferably, the height of the partitions is less than or equal to the height of the peripheral wall. The higher the dividing walls are, the less likely it is that crockery will accidentally be placed entirely or partially on the dividing walls, since this will tilt and wobble even more as the height of the dividing walls increases. The higher the partition walls, the lower the risk of spilled food or drinks running into the flat central plane. In the case of partition walls of the same height as the peripheral wall, they can still be stacked and are compatible with standard transport trolleys.

Conveniently, the tray is made from a glass fiber reinforced plastic.

• 1: eine perspektivische Vorderansicht auf das Tablett gemäß einer ersten Ausführungsform;
• 2: eine Vorderansicht des Tabletts gemäß 1;
• 3: eine perspektivische Seitenansicht auf das Tablett gemäß 1 und 2 und
• 4: eine perspektivische Vorderansicht auf das Tablett gemäß einer zweiten Ausführungsform.

For better understanding, the invention is explained in more detail below with reference to four figures. It show the

• 1 : a perspective front view of the tray according to a first embodiment;
• 2 : according to a front view of the tablet 1 ;
• 3 : according to a perspective side view of the tray 1 and 2 and
• 4 : a perspective front view of the tray according to a second embodiment.

the 1 shows a perspective front view of a tray according to the invention with a base 10 which is designed with two opposite long sides I _max and two opposite short sides I _min in a substantially rectangular basic shape. The base 10 has a first zone 11 and a second zone 12, which can be used for food and drinks to be heated at different temperatures.

In the area of the first zone 11 and the second zone 12, the base 10 is surrounded by a peripheral wall 20, the lower section of which acts on the base 10 and the free end of which projects upwards and/or laterally relative to the base 10. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the peripheral wall 20 protrudes conically outwards on the opposite sides I _max , I _min (see also 2 , 3 ).

Between the first zone 11 and the second zone 12 there is a flat central plane 13 which can be pushed into a slot open on one side of a heat-insulating partition of a transport vehicle, which is not shown here. The flat central plane 13 is aligned in its axial extent parallel to the axis of the short sides I _min of the base 10 . At opposite ends of the flat center plane 13, wall openings 21 are formed in the peripheral wall 20, which facilitate the insertion and removal of the tray in the trolley.

Partition walls 22 run parallel to the axial extension of the flat central plane 13 on both sides, with which the flat central plane 13 is separated from the first zone 11 on the left in the plane of the drawing and the second zone 12 on the right in the plane of the figure, i.e. it is structurally separated. The partition walls 22 and the peripheral wall 20 are both formed from a continuous material with no openings or the like. The partition walls 22 and the peripheral wall 20 particularly preferably form a one-piece, integral structural unit together with the base surface 10 .

How particularly good in the representation of 2 can be seen, mutually facing inner sides 23 of the partitions 22 are conically widened, making it easier to insert the trays into the trolley and also due to the likewise conical shape of the peripheral wall 20 several trays are stackable. Starting from the base area 10, a height hu of the peripheral wall 20 is always greater than a height h _T of the two partition walls 22.

The first zone 11, the second zone 12 and the flat central plane 13 are aligned with one another and all lie in the plane of the base 10.

the 4 12 shows a tray according to a second embodiment, the partitions 22 of which have a height h _T identical to the height hu of the peripheral wall 20. FIG.

Reference List

10

Floor space

11

first zone

12

second zone

13

flat midplane

20

perimeter wall

21

wall breakthrough

22

partition wall

23

Inside partition wall

hU

Height of perimeter wall

hT

Height partition wall

Imax

long page

imine

short page

QUOTES INCLUDED IN DESCRIPTION

This list of the documents cited by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Patent Literature Cited

• EP 1518487 A1 [0003]

Claims (10)

Tray for serving meals, comprising a base (10) divided into a first and a second zone (11, 12) between which a flat median plane (13) is arranged, the base (10) having an opposite raised peripheral wall (20) which is interrupted on opposite sides of the flat central plane (13) by mutually aligned wall openings (21), characterized in that between the flat central plane (13) and the adjacent first and second zone (11, 12 ) each have a partition (22) is formed. tray after claim 1 , characterized in that the first and second zones (11, 12) and the flat central plane (13) are aligned with one another in a common plane. tray after claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that the partitions (22) merge into the peripheral wall (20) at the ends. tray after one of Claims 1 until 3 , characterized in that the wall openings (21) are delimited by the partitions (22). tray after one of Claims 1 until 4 , characterized in that the partitions (22) are raised relative to a level of the first and second zones (11, 12) and the flat median plane (13). tray after one of Claims 1 until 5 , characterized in that opposite inner sides (23) of the partitions (22) starting from the flat central plane (13) are widened conically. tray after one of Claims 1 until 6 , characterized in that the peripheral wall (20) with a constant height (h _U ) is formed. tray after one of Claims 1 until 7 , characterized in that the partition walls (22) are formed with a constant height (h _T ). tray after claim 7 and 8th , characterized in that the height (h _T ) of the partitions (22) is less than the height (h _U ) of the peripheral wall (20). tray after one of Claims 1 until 9 , characterized in that the tray is made of a glass fiber reinforced plastic.

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