A food tray adapted for holding previously cooked food items is provided. The food tray has one or more sidewall structure openings to allow venting of the interior volume of the tray through the tray sidewall structure openings. The food tray allows food items contained in the volume of the food tr
A food tray adapted for holding previously cooked food items is provided. The food tray has one or more sidewall structure openings to allow venting of the interior volume of the tray through the tray sidewall structure openings. The food tray allows food items contained in the volume of the food tray to be stored over an extended period of time at an elevated temperature without significant deleterious effects to the appearance, taste and texture of the food. The food tray may also include a slide member for adjusting the amount of venting through the sidewall structure openings. Also provided is a method of storing food within a food tray to be contained in a heated compartment.
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1. A tray for holding cooked food portions at an elevated temperature, comprising: a bottom and a sidewall structure defining an interior volume for containing the cooked food portions, the sidewall structure comprising first and second opposed sidewalls and first and second opposed end walls;each o
1. A tray for holding cooked food portions at an elevated temperature, comprising: a bottom and a sidewall structure defining an interior volume for containing the cooked food portions, the sidewall structure comprising first and second opposed sidewalls and first and second opposed end walls;each of the first and second sidewalls having at least one sidewall opening for providing an air passageway therethrough for venting the interior volume of the tray; anda slidable member for adjusting the size of the passageway through at least one of the openings in each of the first and second sidewalls for adjusting the amount of venting of the interior volume of the tray for optimizing the food holding efficiency of the tray, the slidable member mounted for movement along the first and second sidewalls, whereby the movement adjusts the size of the air passageway through the at least one of the sidewall openings in each of the first and second sidewalls, the slidable member having a first end proximate to the first end wall to allow the slidable member to be accessed from adjacent the first end wall to move the slidable member to adjust the size of the passageway through at least one of the openings in each of the first and second sidewalls. 2. The tray of claim 1 wherein: the tray has a substantially open top and closed bottom; andthe sidewall openings have a total cross-sectional area and the tray has a volume, the ratio of the total cross-sectional area of the sidewall openings in square inches to the interior volume of the tray in cubic inches is in the range of from about 1:2100 to about 1:13. 3. The tray of claim 1 further comprising a second end of the slidable member proximate to the second end wall to allow the slidable member to be manually accessed from adjacent each of the first and second end walls to move the slidable member to adjust the size of the passageway through the openings. 4. The tray of claim 1 further comprising: the sidewall structure including first and second at least generally opposed sidewalls each having a plurality of the sidewall openings, and the tray has a generally open top, and the member for adjusting the size of the passageway further comprises indicia for use in indicating whether the member for adjusting is adjusted to a preselected position for holding food that is to be held in the tray. 5. The tray of claim 1 further comprising: the slidable member for reciprocal movement that simultaneously adjusts the size of the passageway through the openings, including openings that are located in both the first and second opposed sidewalls. 6. A tray for holding cooked food portions at an elevated temperature, comprising: a bottom and a sidewall structure defining an interior volume for containing the cooked food portions;the sidewall structure including first and second at least generally opposed sidewalls and first and second at least generally opposed end walls with a plurality of spaced apart sidewall openings being present in each of the first and second sidewalls for providing an air passageway therethrough for venting the interior volume of the tray; anda slide member for adjusting the size of the passageway through the sidewall openings in the sidewall structure for adjusting the amount of venting of the interior volume of the tray for optimizing the food holding efficiency of the tray;a first extent extending longitudinally from the first end wall to provide a first tray handle and a second extent extending longitudinally from the second end wall to provide a second tray handle;the slide member having a first and second handle for reciprocally moving the slide member to a desired position to adjust the size of the passageway of each of the sidewall openings in each of the first and second sidewalls, the slide member having first and second opposite ends, the first slide member handle located at the first end of the slide member and the second slide member handle located at the second end of the slide member, the first slide member handle located proximate the first tray handle and the second slide member handle located proximate the second tray handle so that either of the first and second slide member handles can be grasped to move the slide member to a desired position to adjust the size of the passageway through each of the sidewall openings. 7. The tray of claim 6 wherein the tray having an open top and closed bottom, and closed first and second at least generally opposed end walls and further comprising indicia for indicating the slide member is adjusted to a preselected position for holding food that is to be held in the tray. 8. The tray of claim 7 wherein the indicia comprises a plurality of preselected positions wherein each position indicates that the slide member has been moved to a position to adjust the size of the passageway through the openings for holding a predetermined type and amount of food. 9. A tray for holding cooked food portions at an elevated temperature, comprising: a bottom and a sidewall structure defining an interior volume for containing the cooked food portions;at least one sidewall opening in the sidewall structure of the tray for providing an air passageway therethrough for venting the interior volume of the tray;a slidable member for adjusting the size of the passageway through at least one of the openings in the sidewall structure for adjusting the amount of venting of the interior volume of the tray for optimizing the food holding efficiency of the tray,the tray having a substantially open top and closed bottom; andthe sidewall structure having first and second at least generally opposed sidewalls and first and second at least generally opposed end walls, each of the first and second sidewalls having at least one of said sidewall openings;the slidable member for reciprocal movement that simultaneously adjusts the size of the passageway through the openings, including openings that are located in both the first and second opposed sidewalls; andthe slidable member is slidable back and forth along the first and second opposed sidewalls to adjust the size of the passageway through the openings, and a locking mechanism for selectively locking the slidable member in a plurality of preselected positions for the adjustment of the size of the passageways located in both the first and second opposed sidewalls. 10. A tray for holding cooked food portions at an elevated temperature, comprising: a bottom and a sidewall structure defining an interior volume for containing the cooked food portions;at least one sidewall opening in the sidewall structure of the tray for providing an air passageway therethrough for venting the interior volume of the tray; andmeans for adjusting the size of the passageway through at least one of the openings in the sidewall structure for adjusting the amount of venting of the interior volume of the tray for optimizing the food holding efficiency of the tray, wherein the sidewall structure comprises first and second opposed sidewalls and first and second opposed end walls, each of the first and second sidewalls having at least one of said sidewall openings; and,the means for adjusting comprises a slidable member mounted for movement along the first and second sidewalls, whereby the movement adjusts the size of the air passageway through the sidewall openings, the slidable member having a first end proximate to the first end wall and a second end of the slidable member proximate to the second end wall to allow the slidable member to be manually accessed from adjacent both of the first and second end walls to move the slidable member to adjust the size of the passageway through the openings. 11. A tray for holding cooked food portions at an elevated temperature, comprising: a bottom and a sidewall structure defining an interior volume for containing the cooked food portions;at least one sidewall opening in the sidewall structure of the tray for providing an air passageway therethrough for venting the interior volume of the tray; andmeans for adjusting the size of the passageway through at least one of the openings in the sidewall structure for adjusting the amount of venting of the interior volume of the tray for optimizing the food holding efficiency of the tray, further comprising:the sidewall structure including first and second at least generally opposed sidewalls and first and second at least generally opposed end walls with a plurality of spaced apart sidewall openings being present in each of the first and second sidewalls,a first extent extending longitudinally from the first end wall to provide a first tray handle and a second extent extending longitudinally from the second end wall to provide a second tray handle;the means for adjusting comprising a slide member having a first and second handle for reciprocally moving the slide member back and forth to adjust the size of the passageway through at least one opening in each of the first and second sidewalls, the slide member having first and second opposite ends, the first slide member handle located at the first end of the slide member and the second slide member handle located at the second end of the slide member, the first slide member handle located proximate the first tray handle and the second slide member handle located proximate the second tray handle so that, when manually grasping the tray at the first and second tray handles, the first and second slide member handles can be grasped for the back and forth movement of the slide member for adjusting the size of the passageway through the openings, further comprising the tray having an open top and closed bottom, and closed first and second at least generally opposed end walls; and the adjusting means further comprises indicia for indicating the adjusting means is adjusted to a preselected position for holding food that is to be held in the tray. 12. The tray of claim 11 wherein the indicia comprises a plurality of preselected positions wherein each position indicates that the slide member has been moved to a position to adjust the size of the passageway through the openings for holding a predetermined type and amount of food.
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이 특허에 인용된 특허 (21)
Loren J. Veltrop, Apparatus and method for maintaining cooked food in a ready-to-serve condition using a freestanding cover for food trays.
Oda Yutaka (Kanagawa JPX) Murakami Yasushi (Tokyo JPX), Food service cart with a heating system, and trays and casseroles for such a food service cart.
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