Patent Publication Number: US-2005115962-A1

Title: Insulated wrap for cooking dishes

Description:
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      U.S. Provisional Application for Patent No. 60/525,823, filed Dec. 1, 2003, with title “Insulated Wrap for Cooking Dishes” which is hereby incorporated by reference. Applicant claims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. Par. 119(e)(i). 
    
    
     STATEMENT AS TO RIGHTS TO INVENTIONS MADE UNDER FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND Development  
      Not Applicable  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates generally to the field of warmers for cooking dishes, and more particularly to an insulated wrap that surrounds the top and sides of the conventional cooking dish.  
      2. Brief Description of Prior Art  
      Serving holders are well known in the art, including holders designed to maintain the food contained in the cooking dish warm. Hibbert (U.S. Pat. No. 3,507,312) discloses a fabric dish and pan holder which has an elastic around the top perimeter to snugly fit the serving dish. However, the hot dish of Hibbert is difficult to insert into its holder. The difficulty arises in attempting to maneuver the hot serving dish into the holder that has a tight fitting, elasticized opening. LaBarba (U.S. Pat. No. 3,990,459) also shows an insulated warmer and serving receptacle which does not have the problems of Hibbert, and does not fit snugly around the serving dish. With LaBarba, it is possible that the serving dish might easily slip out of the holder causing food to spill and burns to occur. Harden (U.S. Pat. No. 3,745,290) shows a serving vessel that is made of plastic, glass, and ceramic, not fabric. Thus, it is not foldable, or decorative in the sense of a fabric holder.  
      Therefore, a need continues to exist to provide an insulated device designed to maintain the food contained in the cooking dish warm, that is easily attached to the cooking dish, and in application, allows the user to easily carry the cooking dish without unnecessary concerns of food spills.  
      As will be seen from the subsequent description, the preferred embodiments of the present invention overcome the above problems and difficulties of the prior art.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention is an insulated wrap that primarily surrounds the top and sides of a conventional cooking dish and is designed to maintain the food contained in the cooking dish warm. The insulated wrap of the present invention includes a side panel that wraps around a conventional cooking dish, and a separate top panel for attaching to a lid of the conventional cooking dish. The side panel and the top panel are made of three layers. In particular, an outer layer is preferably made of a vinyl material, an inner layer is preferably made of a noncombustible material, and an inside layer disposed between the outer layer and the inner layer is preferably made of an insulation material. The side panel further includes a pair of side apertures sized and shaped to receive the carrying handles that extend from the side surface of the standard cooking dish. The side panel wraps around the side wall of the cooking dish and encloses the parameter of the cooking dish with the carrying handles of the cooking dish extending through the side apertures. The wrap further includes fastening means that secures the side panel in position around the perimeter of the cooking dish. A top aperture is positioned in the approximate center of the top panel, the top aperture sized to receive the top handle of the lid of the cooking dish. The top handle extends through the top aperture of the top panel and serves to maintain the top panel in position on the lid of the cooking dish. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an insulated wrap for cooking dishes.  
       FIG. 2  is a sectional view of the insulated wrap of  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 3  is a top section view of the top panel of the insulated wrap of  FIG. 1 . 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
      In accordance with the present invention, an insulated wrap for cooking dishes is disclosed. The insulated wrap provides a device that surrounds the top and sides of a conventional cooking dish to keep the food within the cooking dish warm, and to retain the warmth therein. Specifically, it will be noted in the drawings that the insulated wrap relates to a device that wraps around the sides of the cooking dish, and further includes a top panel which positions to the top of the cooking dish in order to insulate the cooking dish and the contents therein. In the broadest context, the insulated wrap consists of components configured and correlated with respect to each other so as to attain the desired objective.  
       FIGS. 1-3  illustrate the preferred embodiment of an insulated wrap  10  made in accordance of the present invention. As shown in the drawings, the insulated wrap  10  includes an elongated side panel  12  that wraps around a conventional cooking dish  100 . The side panel  12  includes fastening means  15  for connecting the ends of the side panel  12  as will be further described. In application, the side panel  12  upwardly extends the peripheral side wall of the cooking dish  100 . The elongated side panel  12  preferably has an approximate rectangular configuration.  
      The insulated wrap  10  further includes a top panel  20  for attaching to a lid  110  of the conventional cooking dish  100 . As will be understood, the side panel  12  and the top panel  20  are separate from one another. As such, the panels  12  and  20  may be used together or distinct from the other.  
      In the preferred embodiment, the side panel  12  and the top panel  20  are made of three layers. In particular, an outer layer designated in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , as numeral  22  is preferably made of a vinyl material, an inner layer designated as numeral  24  is preferably made of a noncombustible material, and an inside layer  26  sandwiched between the outer layer  22  and the inner layer  24  is preferably made of an insulation material. The outer layer  22  may be of a decorative nature to enhance the appearance of the insulated wrap  10 .  
      As is customary with cooking dishes there are a pair of opposed carrying handles  120  to grip the serving dish  100  when transporting the serving dish  100 . The side panel  12  further includes a pair of side apertures  25  sized and shaped to receive the carrying handles  120  that extend from the side of the cooking dish  100 .  
      In application, the side panel  12  is wrapped around the peripheral side wall of the cooking dish  100 . In position, the side panel  12  encloses the parameter of the cooking dish  100 . The purpose of the side apertures  25  are to receive the carrying handles  120  of the cooking dish  100  therethrough so that the side panel  12  is allowed to wrap around the cooking dish  100  snugly, and so that the inner layer  24  of the entire side panel  12  is in contact with the side wall of the cooking dish  100  as shown in  FIG. 1 . The carrying handles  120  each extend through one of the side apertures  25  as shown in  FIG. 1  and further maintains the side panel  12  in place in relation to the peripheral side wall of the serving dish  100 .  
      In the preferred embodiment, the fastening means  15  is formed of a hook-like member and pile-like member adapted to be engaged by and held securely by the hook-like member. The fastening means  15  as described above can be pulled apart, which will separate the hook-like member from the pile-like member. The preferred embodiment uses a fastener sold under the trademark VELCRO. It is envisioned that other relatable fasteners may be used.  
      In order to wrap the side panel  12  around the serving dish  100  as described above, a fastening strip  27  is sewn on the outside surface of a first end  12 A of the side panel  12 . A corresponding fastening strip  29  is attached on the inside surface of a second end  12 B of the side panel  12 . The first end  12 A of the side panel  12  is opposite the second end  12 B. When the first end  12 A of the side panel  12  is positioned around the perimeter of the cooking dish  100  the invention encloses the cooking dish  100  and closes securely around the cooking dish  100 , as the corresponding fastening strips on either end of the side wall  12  are overlapped and pressed together. In position, the inner layer  24  of the side panel  12  is in abutting relationship with the peripheral side wall of the cooking dish  100 .  
      The conventional cooking dish  100  often includes a top handle  111  that upwardly extends from the outer surface of the lid  110  of the cooking dish  100  for removing the lid  110  from the cooking dish  100 . The top panel  20  generally has a configuration similar to the shape of the lid  110 , most often circular. A top aperture  21  is positioned in the approximate center of the top panel  20 . The top aperture  21  is sized and shaped to receive the top handle  111  of the lid  110  of the cooking dish  100 . In application, the top handle  111  extends through the top aperture  21  of the top panel  20  and serves to maintain the top panel  20  in position on the lid  110  of the cooking dish  100 . In position, the inner layer  24  of the top panel  20  is in abutting relationship with the outer surface of the lid  110  of the cooking dish  100 .  
      The use of the insulated wrap  10  as disclosed herein has been described for insulating hot cooking dishes of food. It is also envisioned that the cooking dishes may contain chilled food, thus the insulating factor aids in keeping the food cold, as well as hot.  
      The shape of the cooking dish holder  10  could be in a wide variety of geometric shapes, the significant factor being the shape and dimension of the exterior surface of the cooking dish to be insulated.  
      Although the description above contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention. As such, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the claims.  
      It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the scope of the invention. Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the claims in the formal application and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given.