Patent Publication Number: US-11638497-B2

Title: Modular beverage serving tray

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application claims the benefit of United States Provisional Patent Application No. 62/882,332, filed Aug. 2, 2019, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to beverage trays. Particularly, a modular beverage serving tray having a top surface and a bottom surface, coupled by a curved plane member. 
     In a restaurant setting, particularly a bar or brewery setting, a patron may order a sampling of various beverages, also known as a ‘flight.’ A flight typically consists of anywhere from three drink samplings to twelve samplings, depending on the volume of each and the variety of beverages available to the establishment. Each sampling is served in an individual glass. Traditionally, the flight is served in a tray that accommodates all included samplings at once. 
     Such trays are traditionally made of wood or metal and are constructed in such a way that the tray is sturdy enough to bear the weight of the entire flight. However, current trays known in the art typically cannot be stacked or stored in an efficient way, due to solid tray bodies, heavy metal-wire-frame bodies, or other features that make the trays non-compact and unwieldy. 
     Additionally, the unwieldy nature of current trays reduces efficiency in preparing the flight for serving to a patron. Where space is limited in a restaurant, bar, or brewery setting, the sample glasses must be stored separately from the serving trays, usually with each sample glass being filled and then loaded into the serving tray. This limits the ability and speed with which a person may prepare and deliver a flight, and further limits the number of flights that may be prepared at a given time. 
     Further, known beverage trays traditionally have a set number of slots in which samples may be placed and served. An establishment is then either limited by the number of samples that may be served in a given tray, or they must serve any excess samples on a separate tray, again increasing the burden of preparing and serving the flight. 
     The present invention attempts to remedy the shortcomings of known beverage serving trays by providing a modular. The present invention also attempts to remedy shortcomings of beverage trays known in the art by further providing a modular tray capable of being stacked and stored in a compact space while also having the requisite stability to support numerous beverages within it. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a beverage serving tray capable of being stacked with other beverage serving trays and configured to engage other beverage trays in a modular fashion to increase overall beverage capacity of the beverage tray. In one embodiment of the invention, the beverage tray comprises a main body having a top member and a bottom member, the top member and bottom member joined by at least one joining member. The joining member further comprises a curved structure having a radius. 
     The top member of the beverage tray further comprises a plurality of openings disposed therethrough, the plurality of openings configured to accept beverages. Further, a radius of each of the plurality of openings may be configured such that a beverage inserted through one of the plurality of openings is supported by a rim of the opening as well as the bottom member. 
     In another embodiment of the invention, the beverage tray may be configured to couple at least one additional beverage tray, such that at least one of the plurality of openings of one beverage tray is concentric with at least one of the plurality of openings of the at least one additional beverage tray. By coupling at least one additional beverage tray, a capacity of beverages that the beverage tray is capable of holding is increased. In other embodiments, additional beverage trays may be coupled together to further increase carrying capacity of the overall beverage tray. In some embodiments, the beverage tray is coupled to an additional beverage tray by way of insertion of a beverage into two concentric openings in two beverage trays. In some embodiments, each of the plurality of openings is configured to accept vessels of various sizes containing foods or food-related items, such as soups, sauces, dips, and condiments. 
     The methods, systems, and apparatuses are set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or can be learned by practice of the methods, apparatuses, or can be learned by practice of the methods, apparatuses, and systems. The advantages of the methods, apparatuses, and systems will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the methods, apparatuses, and systems, as claimed. More details concerning these embodiments, and others, are further described in the following figures and detailed description set forth herein below. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    illustrates a perspective view of the beverage serving tray. 
         FIG.  2 A  illustrates a profile view of the beverage serving tray. 
         FIG.  2 B  illustrates a profile view of the beverage serving tray. 
         FIG.  3 A  illustrates a profile view of two coupled beverage serving trays. 
         FIG.  3 B  illustrates a profile view of three coupled beverage serving trays. 
         FIG.  4 A  illustrates a profile view of two coupled beverage serving trays. 
         FIG.  4 B  illustrates a profile view of two coupled beverage serving trays. 
         FIG.  5    illustrates a profile view of a stack of beverage serving trays for storage. 
         FIG.  6 A  illustrates a profile view of stacked beverage serving trays prior to serving. 
         FIG.  6 B  illustrates a profile view of stacked beverage serving trays prior to serving. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is described in reference to the accompanying drawings and following embodiments that are presented for the purpose of illustration and should not be construed to limit the scope of the invention thereto. 
     The present invention relates to beverage serving trays. Particularly, a beverage serving tray capable of being stacked with other beverage serving trays and configured to engage other beverage serving trays in a modular fashion to increase overall beverage capacity of the beverage tray. 
       FIG.  1    illustrates a perspective view of a serving tray  100 , including a first opening  105 , a second opening  110 , a third opening  115 , a top member  120 , a joining member  125 , and a bottom member  130 . In one embodiment of the invention, the serving tray  100  comprises a main body having a top member  120  and a bottom member  130  and at least one joining member  125 , wherein the top member  120  and bottom member  130  are joined by the at least one joining member  125 . The at least one joining member  125  may further comprises a curved structure having a set radius. 
     The top member  120  of the beverage serving tray  100  further comprises one or more beverage openings disposed therethrough, the plurality of beverage openings configured to accept beverages. In one embodiment, shown in  FIG.  2 A , the top member  120  includes three beverage openings: a first opening  105 , a second opening  110 , and a third opening  115 . In an alternate embodiment, the top member  120  may include more than three beverage openings. Further, a radius of each of the plurality of beverage openings may be configured such that a beverage inserted through one of the plurality of beverage openings is supported by a rim of that beverage opening as well as the bottom member  130 . Additionally, each of the plurality of beverage openings may have a radius such that various different shapes of beverage vessels may be inserted therethrough. Each of the plurality of beverage openings may further comprise differing radii to accommodate differing sizes of beverage vessels at once. 
     The top member  120  and bottom member  130  of the beverage serving tray may be made of a rigid or semi-rigid material, such as metal, configured to provide structural stability and support beverages inserted into it. The joining member  125  may comprise a semi-rigid material, having some structural elasticity. In one embodiment, the top member  120 , bottom member  130 , and joining member  125  may further comprise metal having a composition with structural elasticity. The structural elasticity of the top member  120 , bottom member  130 , and joining member  125  is configured such that the serving tray  100  includes a structurally stable body while also allowing for cushioning of the held beverages, as well as allowing stacking of multiple beverage serving trays, as shown in  FIG.  5   . 
       FIG.  2 B  illustrates another embodiment of the invention. The joining member  125  secures the top member  120  and the bottom member  130  at a distance appropriate for securing the desired beverage vessel within. In one embodiment, the joining member  125  is curved, forming a half-circle with a radius appropriate for the desired distance between the top member  125  and bottom member  130 . In another embodiment, the joining member  125  may intersect perpendicularly with the top member  120  and bottom member  130 . In yet another embodiment, the flexibility of the joining member  125  allows the top member  120  and bottom member  130  to widen the gap between the members slightly to accommodate multiple beverage serving trays stacked within the gap, as shown in  FIG.  5   . 
     In some embodiments, the top member  120 , the bottom member  130 , and the joining member  125  of the beverage serving tray may further comprise a plastic composition, reinforced paper composite, or another biodegradable and/or disposable material having the requisite structural stability and elasticity. The top member  120 , the bottom member  130 , and the joining member  125  may each also comprise the same material or different materials. 
     In another embodiment of the invention, the beverage serving tray may be configured to couple at least one additional beverage serving tray, such that at least one of the plurality of beverage openings of one beverage serving tray is concentric with at least one of the plurality of beverage openings of the additional beverage tray. By coupling at least one additional beverage serving tray, the number of beverage vessels that the beverage tray is capable of holding is increased. In other embodiments, additional beverage serving trays may be coupled to one another, further increasing carrying capacity of the overall beverage serving tray. In some embodiments, the beverage tray is coupled to an additional beverage serving tray by inserting a beverage vessel  630  into two concentric beverage openings in two beverage serving trays. 
       FIG.  3 A  illustrates an embodiment of the invention comprising two coupled serving trays, including two serving trays each having a first top member  310  and a second top member  320 . One beverage serving tray having three beverage openings may be coupled to another beverage serving tray having three openings, by lining up one beverage opening of a first top member  310  with a beverage opening of a second top member  320 , such that the beverage openings are concentric. A beverage vessel  630  may then be inserted through the concentrically aligned beverage openings, thereby linking and coupling the two beverage serving trays together to form a beverage serving tray with five beverage openings, thereby increasing the capacity of the tray. 
       FIG.  3 B  illustrates an embodiment of the invention comprising three coupled serving trays, including each of the three serving trays having a first top member  310 , a second top member  320 , and a third top member  330 . A beverage opening of the first top member  310  is lined up with a beverage opening of the second top member  320 , such that the beverage openings are concentric. A beverage opening of the third top member  330  is further lined up with a beverage opening of the second top member  320 , such that the beverage openings are concentric. A beverage vessel  630  is then inserted through each of the concentrically aligned beverage openings, thereby linking and coupling the three beverage serving trays together to form a beverage serving tray with seven beverage openings, thereby increasing the capacity of the tray. 
       FIG.  4 A  illustrates an alternate embodiment of the invention comprising two coupled serving trays, including a first top member  310  and a second top member  320 . A beverage serving tray with four beverage openings is formed by aligning two beverage openings of the first tray with two beverage openings of the second tray, such that each pair of beverage openings are concentric. A beverage vessel  630  may be inserted through each of the concentric beverage openings, thereby coupling the two beverage serving trays together. 
       FIG.  4 B  illustrates an alternate embodiment of the invention comprising two coupled serving trays, each serving tray including a first top member  310  and a second top member  320 . A beverage serving tray with five beverage openings is formed by aligning one beverage opening of the first top member  310  with one beverage opening of the second top member  320 , such that the beverage openings are concentric. A beverage vessel  630  may be inserted through the concentric beverage openings, thereby coupling the two serving trays together. 
     The beverage serving tray may further be configured to engage and stack with other beverage serving trays.  FIG.  5    illustrates a side view of a stack of beverage serving trays. Each serving tray  100  may be stacked by aligning the joining member of multiple beverage serving trays, each beverage serving tray being cradled inside the other and resting against the joining member  125  of another beverage serving tray. 
     Further, the beverage serving tray may be loaded with beverage vessels, either filled or empty, and then stacked on top of other loaded beverage serving trays, such that the beverage serving trays may be filled with beverage vessels in advance of being ordered by a patron, thereby saving time for a person preparing and serving the beverages within the beverage serving tray. The beverage serving tray may also be loaded with non-beverage vessels, including but not limited to bowls, ramekins, and sauce dishes; allowing the beverage serving tray to assist in holding and serving food or food-related items, such as soups, sauces, dips, and condiments. 
     In another embodiment of the invention, as shown in  FIG.  6 A , beverage serving trays may be horizontally stacked, comprising at least a first serving tray  610  and a second serving tray  620 . The first serving tray  610  includes at least one beverage vessel  630 . The beverage serving trays may be stacked in such a fashion in both a horizontal direction, wherein the top and bottom members of the first serving tray  610  and the second serving tray  620  are relatively parallel with a ground surface. The bottom member of the second serving tray  620  rests on the top of the beverage vessel  630 . 
       FIG.  6 B  illustrates another embodiment of the invention comprising vertically stacked beverage serving trays, including at least a first serving tray  610  and a second serving tray  620 . The first serving tray  610  includes at least one beverage vessel  630 . The bottom member of the second serving tray  620  may rest on the top of the beverage vessel  630 . In one embodiment, the top and bottom members of the first serving tray  610  may be positioned relatively perpendicular with a ground surface. In another embodiment, the top member and bottom members of the first serving tray  610  may be at an angle less than 90° with a ground surface. 
     Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand and appreciate that the foregoing description of the invention has been made with reference to certain exemplary embodiments of the invention, which describe a modular beverage serving tray capable of coupling other beverage serving trays to increase overall capacity and also to efficiently stack with one another. Those of skill in the art will understand that obvious variations in system configuration, protocols, parameters or properties may be made without departing from the scope of the invention which is intended to be limited only by the claims appended hereto.