Insulated serving dish

An insulated serving dish. The insulated serving dish includes a housing having an interior volume and a container disposed within the housing interior volume such that a channel is formed between the housing sidewalls and container sidewalls. The container receives ice therein for maintaining food at a cold temperature during serving. A support tray is removably received by the container volume above the ice stored therein. A plurality of food trays are then supported by the support tray, such that the interior volume of the food tray is positioned within the interior volume of the container. A lid that selectively encloses the container volume has a lower edge that occupies that channel between the container sidewall and housing sidewalls. The lid may be pivotally affixed to the housing and container such that it may be rotated between a closed position and an open position.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to serving dishes. More particularly, the present invention provides an insulated serving dish having a lid removably secured to a container for storing ice and food trays therein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Food is often served from serving dishes at events dinners, parties, receptions, weddings, and the like. Some food needs to be kept at a cold temperature prior to serving. If not kept a low enough temperatures, such foods may become unpalatable. In some cases, the food can become spoiled and cause harm to those that ingest it. While electric coolers may be used to store cold food, electric refrigeration is expensive, and food is not always served near a power source. It is therefore desirable to provide an insulated serving dish that stores ice and food trays for keeping food cold during serving.

Devices have been disclosed in the known art that relate to serving dishes. These include devices that have been patented and published in patent application publications. These devices generally relate to heated serving dishes, such as U.S. Patent Application Publication 2005/0076795, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,045,672, 6,705,210, 5,381,729, and D426,103.

The devices in the known art have several drawbacks. These devices provide means for heating food but fail to provide an insulated container for keeping food at a cold temperature. Further, these devices fail to provide an insulated serving dish having a pivotally affixed lid that can be moved between a closed position and an open position.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of serving dishes now present in the prior art, the present invention provides an insulated serving dish wherein the same can be utilized for providing convenience for the user when storing and serving food at a cold temperature.

The insulated serving dish includes a housing having a plurality of peripheral sidewalls extending vertically therefrom forming an interior volume and a container disposed within the interior volume of the housing, the container including a container base and plurality of container sidewalls extending vertically therefrom forming a container volume. The insulated serving dish further includes a support tray having a plurality of apertures thereon, wherein the support tray is removably received within the container volume, and a food tray including a planar base, a plurality of food tray sidewalls extending therefrom forming a food tray volume, and a flange disposed on an upper edge of the food tray sidewalls, wherein the flange supports the food tray on an upper edge of the container sidewalls such that the food tray volume occupies a portion of the container volume. A channel is formed between the housing peripheral sidewalls and the container sidewalls. The insulated serving dish further includes a lid having opposing semicircular sidewalls and an arcuate upper surface, and an open lower end forming an open half cylinder, wherein a lower edge of the lid selectively occupies the channel formed between the housing peripheral sidewalls and the container sidewalls, wherein the lid is configured to selectively enclose the container volume.

One object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved insulated serving dish that provides additional advantages over serving dishes in the known art.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an insulated serving dish having a pivotally affixed lid that can be rotated between open and closed positions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference is made herein to the attached drawings. Like reference numerals are used throughout the drawings to depict like or similar elements of the insulated serving dish. For the purposes of presenting a brief and clear description of the present invention, the preferred embodiment will be discussed as used for storing and serving food at cold temperatures. The figures are intended for representative purposes only and should not be considered to be limiting in any respect.

Referring now toFIG. 1, there is shown a perspective view of the insulated serving dish with the lid in a closed position. The serving dish11generally comprises a housing12having an underside14and sidewalls13disposed thereon, the sidewalls13extending upward therefrom. The housing11encloses an insulated container that stores ice and food therein. The housing11preferably has a rectangular perimeter; however, other shapes may be contemplated, such as a square or oval shaped perimeter.

In the shown embodiment, the housing12comprises a plurality of legs16disposed on the underside14thereof. The legs16preferably include an upper member17forming an obtuse angle with respect to the underside14of the housing12, a lower member18extending vertically downward from the upper member17, and a foot member19disposed on the lower member18, such that the foot member19is perpendicular to the lower member18. This configuration provides stability to the serving dish11and effectively supports a serving dish11that is filled with both ice and food.

The serving dish11further comprises a lid15that encloses an upper end of the housing12. The lid15comprises a pair of opposing semicircular sidewalls22and an arcuate upper surface23extending therebetween. In the shown embodiment, the lid15further comprises a temperature gauge21thereon, which is configured to measure and display the temperature of the container disposed within the housing12. The lid15further includes a handle20on the upper surface23thereof to assist individuals in opening and closing the lid15. In one embodiment, the lid15is pivotally affixed to the housing12. In an alternative embodiment, the lid15is detached from the housing12and can be lifted upward and removed when an individual accesses the container within the housing12.

Referring now toFIG. 2, there is shown a perspective view of the insulated serving dish with the lid in an open position. The serving dish11further comprises a container30disposed within an interior volume26of the housing12. The housing may additional comprise handles25disposed on opposing sidewalls13to assist in movement of the serving dish11. The container30includes a base35and sidewalls31extending therefrom. The perimeter of the container30is preferably shaped the same as the perimeter of the housing12. A channel29having a constant width is formed between the container sidewalls31and the housing sidewalls13. A lower edge24of the lid15occupies the space within the channel29.

The container base35comprises a plurality of base panels33having downward sloping upper surfaces34. The base panels33slope downward and converge at a drain28disposed toward the center of the container base35. A cap is removably secured to the drain28. When the cap27is removed, excess water from melting ice is permitted to exit the container30through the drain28. In this way, the container30can be refreshed with fresh ice without having to manually remove water therefrom. The container30also includes a fill marker38that notifies individuals the proper amount of ice to place in the container volume32to ensure optimal cooling.

In the illustrated embodiment, the lid15is pivotally affixed to the serving dish11via a pivot point39that extends between the container sidewalls31and the housing sidewalls13. The lid15is configured to rotate between a closed position, as shown inFIG. 1, and an open position, as shown inFIG. 2. In alternate embodiments, the lid15is detached from the serving dish11and can be selectively removed therefrom in order to provide access to the container30.

The base33and sidewalls31of the container30comprise an inner layer36and an outer layer37. The inner layer36is composed of an insulating material and is adapted to maintain a cool temperature within the container30. The outer layer is composed of a waterproof material such as plastic or metal and prevents water from leaking from the container sidewalls31. In this way, all water within the container may only exit via the drain28.

Referring now toFIG. 3, there is shown an exploded view of the insulated serving dish. In the shown embodiment, the lid15is not affixed to the housing12so that it is freely removable from the serving dish11, wherein the lower edge24of the lid15occupies the channel29when placed on the serving dish11. The container is shown storing ice40therein.

A support tray41is placed above the ice40and rests thereon, or alternatively may rest on a flange disposed within the container volume. The support tray41comprises apertures42that allow air cooled by the ice40to contact food stored in the container30. In the illustrated embodiment, the apertures42are disposed on the support tray41such that they are equidistant from one another.

Food trays43are placed above the support tray. Each food tray43comprises a base47and a plurality of sidewalls44defining a food tray volume45for storing food therein. The food trays43further comprise a flange46on an upper end of the sidewalls44. When placed within the container30, the flange46supports the food tray43on an upper edge53of the container30, such that the food tray volume45occupies space within the container volume. This configuration leaves a space between the support tray41and the base47of the food tray43, allowing the cooled air to circulate and cool the food stored within the food tray volume45.

Referring now toFIG. 4, a perspective view of the insulated serving dish in use. The lid15is shown rotated about the pivot point39to an open position, allowing access to the food stored within the container30. The serving dish further comprises utensil trays50for storing serving utensils102therein. The utensil trays include tabs52that rest on the upper edge53of the container30, in the same way that the flange46of the food tray43rests on the upper edge53of the container30. The support tray41may also be utilized to support food101thereon, particularly food101that must be kept closer to the ice within the container30to maintain an especially cool temperature.

In the shown embodiment, the lid15comprises an inner insulating layer49and outer waterproof layer48. In this way, the lid provides additional insulative properties to the serving dish. When the lid15is rotated to a closed position, the food and ice stored within the container30are surrounded by an insulated enclosure, which maintains the cool temperature within the container30. This allows the food101to be kept cool before and during serving.