EP1202656B1

EP1202656B1 - Food tray for the personalised delivery of meals, suitable for allowing taking the meals in situ

Info

Publication number: EP1202656B1
Application number: EP00906264A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Danilo Rusconi
Original assignee: Cridan Di Danilo Rusconi
Current assignee: Cridan Di Danilo Rusconi
Priority date: 1999-07-15
Filing date: 2000-02-02
Publication date: 2003-04-16
Anticipated expiration: 2020-02-02
Also published as: ITTO990133U1; DE60002212D1; ES2192518T3; EP1202656A1; ATE237267T1; CA2376092A1; DE60002212T2; WO2001005284A1; AU2800900A

Abstract

A tray for conveying foods for the personalised delivery of meals to bedridden patients, having on its surface four food containing hollows (3, 5, 7 and 9), intended for containing the first course, the second course, the side course and the fruit, and, laterally of said hollows, on the one side, two other hollows (19, 21) for receiving a bottle in horizontal position and in upright position, respectively, and, on the other side, three further hollows (23, 25, 27) for containing the cutlery, the bread and a glass in upright position, respectively.

Description

The present invention concerns a food tray for the personalised delivery of meals, more particularly to bedridden patients or the like, suitable for allowing the patients to take the meals in situ.

Due to the more and more stringent requirements of hygiene and cleanliness, there is a steadily increasing need of having the possibility of delivering the food forming the meal of a patient, for instance a bedridden patient, in the best possible conditions, and at the same time of allowing the same patient to take his/her meal easily and in rational manner by taking the different courses from the tray without further complications.

GB-A-1 196 357 discloses a thermally insulated tray for food or other substances.

The tray according to GB-A-1 196 357 is adapted for stacking in multiples. The tray has upper and lower surfaces, said upper surface being formed to define a plurality of dished receptacles for the reception of food and said lower surface being formed to define a plurality of inverted dished portions that correspond to the dished receptacle of the upper surface of a lower tray when the trays are stacked, so as to cover and insulate the food contained therein.

Although the trays disclosed in the above mentioned GB-A-1 196 357 can provide a thermally insulation of the food when they are stacked, no insulation is provided during the delivery of the single tray to the patient.

The aim of the present invention is to remedy the usual. known drawbacks which often occur in such situations, when conventional trays are used, such as for instance foods becoming cool, need for a single dish containing both the second course and the side course, lack of room for the drinks and the glasses, and so on.

The essential features of the invention will become apparent from the appended claims.

The tray of the invention will now be described in detail with particular reference to the accompanying drawings, given by way of non-limiting example, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a food-carrying tray according to the invention;
Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in Fig. 1;
Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in Fig. 1;
Fig. 5 is a view similar to fig. 4 and showing the covers arranged to cover the tray hollows.

As clearly shown in the drawings, tray 1 according to the invention, of "Euronorm" size, is made of an isothermal material, generally thin but having ribs in correspondence with the different hollows it is provided with, in order to make it sufficiently rigid but light at the same time.

A number of hollows, all substantially of rectangular shape, are provided on the tray surface, namely hollow 3, intended for containing the first course, a second hollow 5, intended for containing the second course, a third hollow 7, intended for containing the side course of the second course, and a fourth hollow 9, of smaller size, intended for containing the fruit.

Respective disposable or pottery small dishes (not shown) are applied in said four hollows, such dishes having of course sizes suitable for said hollows.

Each said hollow is provided with a suitable cover 11, 13, 15 and 17, the covers being internally concave and having a size allowing them to cover the hollows.

The Figure shows only two covers; one of the other two covers has the same length and width and the other has the same width but different length so that, in the elevation side view, they are shown in the same manner.

Two further hollows are provided laterally of hollows 5 and 7: one of said further hollows, 19., defines a cylindrical seat for receiving a bottle of a drink, e. g. wine or water, when not in use, in horizontal position, and the other one, 21, defines a circular seat, arranged to receive said bottle in upright position.

Three further hollows are provided laterally of

hollows

3 and 9, namely: hollow 23, of substantially rectangular contour and cross sectional shape, arranged to contain the cutlery; hollow 25, it too of substantially rectangular contour and cross sectional shape but wider than hollow 23, arranged to contain the bread, and a third hollow 27, defining a circular seat, arranged to receive a glass in upright position.

Tray 1, as said before, has ribs 31 in the areas separating the different hollows from one another. Said ribs 31 end in a step 33 for receiving the covers on the individual hollows.

Claims

A food tray for the personalised delivery of meals, the tray being made of plastic material substantially thin but having suitable ribs (31) in order to make it sufficiently rigid but light at the same time, whereby the tray surface presents four food containing hollows (3, 5, 7, 9) all of substantially rectangular shape, which are intended for containing the first course, the second course, the side course and the fruit, respectively, an internally concave cover (11, 13, 15, 17) of corresponding shape being provided for each one of said four food containing hollows (3, 5, 7, 9), and, laterally of said four food containing hollows (3, 5, 7, 9), two other hollows (19, 21), the first of said other hollows (19) defining a cylindrical seat arranged for receiving a bottle when not in use in horizontal position and the second of said other hollows (21) defining a circular seat arranged to receive said bottle in upright position, and three further hollows (23, 25, 27), the first of said further hollows (23) being of substantially rectangular contour and cross sectional shape, arranged to contain the cutlery, the second of said further hollows (25) being also of substantially rectangular contour and cross sectional shape, arranged to contain the bread, and the third of said further hollows (27) defining a circular seat, arranged to receive a glass in upright position.
A tray according to claim 1, characterised in that said four food containing hollows (3, 5, 7, 9) contain therein as many disposable or pottery dishes, of corresponding shape, for actually bearing said foods.
A tray according to claims 1 and 2, characterised in that said two other hollows (19, 21) and said three further hollows (23, 25, 27) are disposed respectively on one side and on the other side of said four food containing hollows (3, 5, 7, 9).
A tray according to claims 1 and 2, characterised in that the second of said three further hollows (25) is wider than the first of said three further hollows (23).
A tray according to claims 1 and 2, characterised in that each said rib (31) in the areas separating the different hollows from one another has a step (33) for receiving the covers (11, 13, 15, 17) on said individual hollows.
A tray according to the preceding claims, characterised in that it is made in "Euronorm" size and the hollows (3, 5, 7, 9) bearing disposable or pottery dishes are made in "Gastronorm" size.