GB2400539A - Dish for use by a child - Google Patents

Abstract

A dish having a food receptacle portion A and a secondary compartment B, the secondary compartment B being situated, in use, below the food receptacle portion A and being bounded by the base of the dish, wall surfaces extending from the base and a removable cover 4, the cover being configured to substantially completely enclose the secondary compartment B whilst simultaneously providing a base for the main food receptacle portion B. In use a treat is provided in the secondary compartment B and a nutritious meal in the food receptacle portion A whereby a child is motivated to eat the nutritious meal in order to gain access to the treat enclosed in the secondary compartment B. The cover 4 engages on an upstanding rim 10 around the secondary compartment B via a sealing gasket 6 and can be removed by pulling its finger grip 4a.

Description

DISH FOR USE BY A CHILD

The present invention relates to dishes, in particular to dishes used for serving food to children.

It is well known that children can be fussy about the food they eat.

Parents and corers often have difficulty motivating a child to finish a meal served to the child. The present invention aims to address this problem.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a dish having a food receptacle portion and a secondary compartment, the secondary compartment being situated, in use, below the food receptacle portion and being bounded by the base of the dish, wall surfaces extending from the base and a removable cover, the cover being configured to substantially completely enclose the secondary compartment whilst simultaneously providing a base for the main food receptacle portion. À

À - .. À.

In use, the secondary compartment is provided with a treat of À.

: .. interest to the child. The treat is inserted in the secondary compartment and the cover put in place to close the compartment. A meal for the child is then added to the food receptacle portion. The child is motivated to eat the meal so that he may gain access to the treat which he knows to be A. À À hidden in the secondary compartment.

Desirably, one or more protrusions may extend from the inner surfaces of the walls of the dish to provide a support onto which the cover may be mounted or secured. The protrusions may be in the form of a rim or flange which, when the dish is in use, extends substantially vertically upwardly. The cover may include a peripheral groove configured to fit over the flange so as to secure the cover and enclose the secondary compartment.

The dish may include a sealing means for providing a liquid tight seal around the cover to prevent liquids contained in the food receptacle portion from finding their way into the secondary compartment. For example, such a seal may comprise a gasket configured to fit snugly between a rim or flange on the inner wall of the dish and a corresponding groove on the underside of the cover.

The dish may be any convenient shape, but desirably has a substantially round edge. In some embodiments, the dish may comprise a substantially dome shaped food receptacle portion having a substantially cylindrical shaped secondary compartment extending from the peak of the dome. In such embodiments, the cover is substantially circular having a diameter slightly larger than that of the cylindrical shaped secondary compartment.

The dish (optionally including the cover) may conveniently be moulded from plastics materials. Suitable plastics materials include but À Hi. are not strictly limited to PVC, polethylenes and polypropylenes. Desirably sea.

the plastics are thermosetting so as to insure against deformation of the : dish when used to hold hot food or liquids. The dish is desirably À. manufactured to be microwave and dishwasher safe. a À

The underside of the base of the dish (when the dish is in use), À...e r À may optionally be provided with a non-slip surface. Optionally, the non slip surface may include a suction device for securing the dish in position on a surface such as a table or high chair tray.

The cover optionally includes means for easily removing the cover from the secondary compartment. Such means may include a ring pull, or raised lip portion into which a finger can be fitted in order to peel back or lever the cover from the top of the secondary compartment.

The dish is optionally brightly coloured and may be printed with images which stimulate a child's imagination. Images may, for example, include favourite characters from children's television programmed.

The dish may optionally be provided with a second cover for enclosing the food receptacle portion.

For the purposes of exemplification, an embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the following Figures in which; Figure 1 shows a vertical cross sectional view of a dish made in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 shows, in closer detail, a finger grip feature of the cover of the embodiment of Figure 1. Àe À. À * À

e@ As can be seen from Figure 1, an embodiment of the dish of the À-.c invention includes an upper, food receptacle portion A and a lower, :.: .. secondary compartment B. The food receptacle portion A is defined by a À. curved wall surface 1. The curved wall surface is provided with a lip 2 to allow the dish to be easily held and to catch any small overspills of food or * liquid contained in the food receptacle portion B of the dish. À.e.

Extending from the curved wall 1 at an opposite edge to that carrying the lip 2, is a cavity wall comprising outer and inner circular walls 3a, 3b respectively. The inner walls extend upwardly from a base 8. The inner circular wall 3b and base 8 together form a substantially cylindrical cavity enclosing a space 5 into which a child's treat may be provided.

A non-slip annular gasket 7 is secured to free ends of the outer and inner circular walls 3a and 3b to provide the dish with a non-slip surface when it is placed on a smooth surface such as a table or tray. Extending upwardly from an opposing end of the inner wall 3b is a rim or flange 10.

Snugly fitted over the flange 10 is a sealing gasket 6.

A cover 4 is shown as fitted over the sealing gasket 6 by means of a groove 11 provided on the under surface of the cover. The cover is removable by means of finger grip 4a which essentially comprises a raised lip portion positioned at the periphery of the cover 4. the finger grip is shown in more detail in Figure 2.

The curved wall 1 has two parts, un upper part which sits above the line of the cover 4 and a lower part which sits below the line of the cover 4, adjacent the flange 10. The second part provides a shallow annular space 9 into which excess liquid from a meal provided in the food receptacle portion A may be drain.

In use a treat is placed in the space 5 of the secondary container B and the cover 4 placed in position to close the container B. Once in place, À . the cover 4 provides a base for the food receptacle portion A. A meal is . then provided in the food receptacle portion A and served to the child. The À- : .. child is encouraged to eat the meal in order to gain access to the treat : stored in the container B. À À À Figure 2 shows the finger grip 4a in more detail. As can be seen À a.-..

À À from the Figure, the grip has a generally half truncated cone shape. In practice, the radius of curvature of the cone is selected to be sufficiently large to accommodate a human finger. In use, when a person wishes to gain access to contents of the secondary container B. they insert their finger inside the half truncated cone and lever the cover away from the flange 10.

It is to be understood the foregoing is exemplary of just one embodiment of the invention, others of which sill no doubt occur to the skilled addressee without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. In particular, it is to be noted that the shape of the dish can readily be altered without materially affecting the À. ee À À À Àee. me À. 1 À Àe e

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Claims (18)

1. A dish having a food receptacle portion and a secondary compartment, the secondary compartment being situated, in use, below the food receptacle portion and being bounded by the base of the dish, wall surfaces extending from the base and a removable cover, the cover being configured to substantially completely enclose the secondary compartment whilst simultaneously providing a base for the main food receptacle portion.

2. A dish as claimed in claim 1 further comprising one or more protrusions extend from inner surfaces of the walls of the dish to provide a support onto which the cover may be mounted or secured.

3. A dish as claimed in claim 2 wherein the protrusions are in the form :.. . of a rim or flange which, when the dish is in use, extends À . substantially vertically upwardly. .

:

4. A dish as claimed in claim 3 wherein the cover further includes a I peripheral groove configured to fit over the rim or flange so as to secure the cover and enclose the secondary compartment.

À - - À. -e À

5. A dish as claimed in any preceding claim further including sealing means for providing a liquid tight seal around the cover to prevent liquids contained in the food receptacle portion from finding their way into the secondary compartment.

6. A dish as claimed in claim 5 wherein the seal is a gasket configured to fit snugly between a rim or flange on the inner wall of the dish and a corresponding groove on the underside of the cover.

7. A dish as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the dish comprises a substantially dome shaped food receptacle portion having a substantially cylindrical shaped secondary compartment extending from the peak of the dome shaped portion.

8. A dish as claimed in claim 7 wherein the cover is substantially circular and has a diameter slightly larger than that of the cylindrical shaped secondary compartment.

9. A dish as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the dish, optionally including the cover is comprised of a moulded plastics material.

10. A dish as claimed in claim 9 wherein the plastics material is selected from PVC, polethylenes and polypropylenes or any combination thereof. i À

ale.

11. A dish as claimed in any preceding claim configured to be À.e.

microwave and dishwasher safe. Àe À À.

12. A dish as claimed in any preceding claim further comprising on the underside of the base of the dish a non-slip surface. sew.

À

13. A dish as claimed in claim 13 wherein the non-slip surface includes a suction device for securing the dish in position on a planar surface.

14. A dish as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the cover includes means for easily removing the cover from the top of secondary compartment.

15. A dish as claimed in claim 14 wherein the means for easily removing the cover comprises a raised lip portion into which a finger can be fitted in order to peel back or lever the lid from the top of the secondary compartment.

16. A dish as claimed in claim 14 wherein the means for easily removing the cover comprises a ring pull.

17. A dish as claimed in any preceding claim further comprising a second cover for enclosing the food receptacle portion.

18. A dish substantially as described herein and as shown in the accompanying Figures.

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