Patent Grant
7506489
The present invention generally relates to food or beverage containing devices and, more particularly, to the arrangement and manufacture of compartment plates having themes.
Plates having compartments are used for holding food. Often, a main compartment is designed to hold a main dish whereas the other compartment, or wells, are used to hold sides, condiments, or both. Prior art disposable plates have had various designs or patterns printed thereon, but do not integrate the various compartments into the printed design or pattern.
Additionally, prior art designs or patterns printed on disposable plates focused on a small number of designs. The number of designs per collection in the prior art has been less than the total number of plates packaged together for retail sale. Thus, each retail package of plates includes only a complete collection of designs. The prior art does not address the situation where the number of designs per collection exceeds the total number of plates in a retail package and how to widely disseminate all of the designs in the collection in the market place.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, an arrangement of plates for receiving food is disclosed. The arrangement of plates comprises a plurality of nestable plates, wherein the plates within the plurality of nestable plates have an animal theme. Each of the plates having an animal theme include a main compartment depicting a primary attribute of an animal corresponding to the animal theme, and at least two independent wells adjacent to the main compartment. Each of the wells are shaped to depict a secondary attribute of the animal corresponding to the animal theme. The plurality of plates include a first plate depicting a first animal and a second plate depicting a second animal that is different from the first animal. The secondary attribute within the wells of said first plate is a first physical feature of the first animal and the secondary attribute within the wells of the second plate is a second physical feature of the second animal. The first physical feature is different from the second physical feature while the wells of the first and second plates are similarly shaped allowing the plurality of plates to be nestable.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, a method of packaging an arrangement of plates is disclosed. The method of packaging an arrangement of plates comprises providing a plurality of plates that have a depiction associated with a common theme, selecting from the plurality of plates to form a first group of plates and a second group of plates, and packaging the first and second group of plates for commercial distribution. The plurality of plates including a number of different depictions, and the second group of plates containing plates with different depictions than the first group of plates.
According to yet another embodiment of the present invention a case of plate packages is disclosed. The case of plate packages comprises a plurality of plate packages and a covering structure surrounding said plurality of plate packages. Each of the plate package includes a plurality of nestable plates and a transparent wrapping for enveloping the plurality of nestable plates. The plates within the plurality of nestable plates include different depictions associated with a common theme. Each of the plurality of nestable plates include a top plate that is at least partially visualized through said transparent wrapping. The top plates for the plurality of plate packages include plates with different depictions.
The arrangements of plates having themes, the methods for packaging plates having themes, and the cases of plates having themes according to the above-summarized embodiments of the present invention, as well as those set-forth in the following description, have enjoyed wide-spread commercial success in the retail marketplace due to the variety and collectability of the theme plates in a package. In particular, the Assignee of the present invention has experienced substantially commercial success in the last several months selling plates corresponding to an animal theme under its ZOO PALS trademark. Currently, plates being sold under the ZOO PALS trademark include fifty-one different animal depictions corresponding to a common animal theme, and are commercially available in packages of twenty-four (24) plates, wherein each package of twenty-four plates includes approximately eight (8) different animal depictions. The ZOO PALS™ plates include a main compartment depicting a primary attribute of a particular animal corresponding to the animal theme and two independent wells adjacent to the main compartment, each located and shaped to depict a secondary attribute of that particular animal. Cases containing several independently wrapped ZOO PALS™ plate packages have contributed to the commercial success by providing a substantial variety of animals in the plate packages of each case received by a certain retail customer, including the use of different animals on the top plates of the plate packages which can be visually recognized by consumers.
The above summary of the present invention is not intended to represent each embodiment, or every aspect, of the present invention. Additional features and benefits of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description, figures, and claims set forth below.
a is a perspective view of a plate having condiment wells according to one embodiment of the present invention.
b is a top view of the plate having wells of
c is a bottom view of the plate having wells of
d is a right side view of the plate having wells of
e is a left side view of the plate having wells of
f is a back side view of the plate having wells of
g is a front side view of the plate having wells of
h is a sectional view of the plate having wells of
a is a top view of a plate having wells with an alligator depiction thereon according to one embodiment of the present invention.
b is a top view of a plate having wells with a frog depiction thereon according to one embodiment of the present invention.
c is a top view of a plate having wells with a bumblebee depiction thereon according to one embodiment of the present invention.
d is a top view of a plate having wells with a fish depiction thereon according to one embodiment of the present invention.
e is a top view of a plate having wells with a whale depiction thereon according to one embodiment of the present invention.
f is a top view of a plate having wells with a monkey depiction thereon according to one embodiment of the present invention.
g is a top view of a plate having wells with a bunny depiction thereon according to one embodiment of the present invention.
h is a top view of a plate having wells with a turtle depiction thereon according to one embodiment of the present invention.
i is a top view of a plate having wells with a bird depiction thereon according to one embodiment of the present invention.
a-e are perspective views of plates having wells according to alternative embodiments of the present invention.
a-6c are functional diagrams showing a manufacturing and packaging system for manufacturing and packaging compartment plates having a common theme according to one embodiment of the present invention.
While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments will be shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail herein. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
Turning to the drawings, and initially to
The main compartment 102 includes a bottom wall 110 and a side wall 112 that extends around the bottom wall 110 and is generally circular in shape, but it can take on a variety of shapes (e.g., rectangular, hexagonal, square, octagonal, triangular) and sizes according to alternatives of the present invention. As is perhaps seen best in
When the plate 100 is used for containing foods, the main compartment is typically used for holding food such as the main dish and sides and the wells 104, 106 are often used to hold condiments. For example, where the main dish and sides include chicken nuggets and French fried potatoes, the condiment wells 104, 106 may be used to hold barbecue sauce and ketchup. Alternatively, the wells 104, 106 may hold other side dishes such as, for example, potato salad, fruit salad, coleslaw, raisins, cheese cubes, applesauce, or a combination thereof. Of course, there are a myriad of ways in which a user may choose to use the main compartments 100 and the wells 104, 106 beyond the afore-described examples.
Disposed at one end of the circular main compartment 112 are two generally lobular-shaped wells 104, 106. The condiment wells are disposed in close proximity relative to one another in the illustrated embodiments—the midpoints of the two wells 104, 106 are located around the periphery of the main compartment 102 such that an angle between the midpoints of the wells measured from a midpoint of the main compartment is less than about 90°. The condiment wells 104, 106 can, however, be disposed in a variety of positions in an alternative embodiment of the present invention as is later discussed in connection with
Referring to
The dimensions of the various components of the plate 100 will now be described according to one embodiment of the present invention. The bottom wall 110 is generally circular in shape and has a diameter D1 of approximately 5 ⅞ inch according to one embodiment of the present invention. In the illustrated embodiment, the end of the side wall 112 intersecting the bottom wall 110 and the side wall 112 of the main compartment intersect, forming a rounded edge 114 have a radius of curvature R1 of approximately ⅜ inch. The side wall 112 upwardly and outwardly extends from the bottom wall 110 at an angle of approximately 26° relative to the vertical. The side wall 112 curves outward away from the main compartment 102 until it is horizontal, forming a flange 120 around the main compartment 102. The rounded transition 122 between the flange 120 and the side wall 112 has a radius of curvature R2 of about ⅛ inch. The diameter D2 of the main compartment 102 between rounded transitions 122 on opposite sides of the main compartment 102 is about 6 ⅝ inches. The flange 120 has a width W1 of about 7/16 inch, which results in an overall diameter D3 of the main compartment 102 with flanges of approximately 7 15/32 inches. The height H of the plate, measured from the bottom wall 110 to the flange 120, is approximately ⅝ inch.
Referring to
Addressing now the condiment wells 104, 106, each compartment has a length L3 of approximately 2 27/32 inch and a width W2 of about 1 ¾ inch. The embodiment of a plate having the dimensions as described results in a main compartment having a volume of approximately 10 fluid ounces and condiment wells 104, 106 having a capacity of about 1 fluid ounce each.
Turning now to
The animal depiction on each plate comprises a primary attribute that is depicted in the plate's main compartment 210 and two secondary attributes that are depicted in the wells 212. For example, referring to the plate 201 of
According to various embodiments of the present invention, the wells 104, 106 of the plate 100 are positioned relative to the main compartment 100 to match the depiction on the plates. In the embodiments described above wherein the depiction on the plates is an animal depiction, the wells 104, 106 are positioned relative to the main compartment 102 so as to depict the secondary attribute at a position relative to the primary attribute as those features are commonly seen in the particular animal. Referring to plate 207 of
The animal depictions discussed above represent only a few of the many animal depictions that can be disposed in the main compartment 102 and the wells 104,106 of the plate 100 in various embodiments of the present invention. Other animal depictions include dog, elephant, goldfish, harp seal, koala, lion, mouse, owl, pig, parrot, sheep, owl, tiger, duck, cow, dinosaur, fox, hippo, ladybug, lizard, octopus, panda, bear, rhino, snail, cardinal, eagle, leopard, otter, penguin, raccoon, seagull, walrus, and zebra depictions. Further, each of the above discussed depictions can be used in connection with various colors to create additional themes. For example, with the fish depiction of plate 204, the fish is colored blue to create a blue fish depiction and is colored green to create a green fish depiction. In another example, the normally white or black stripes of a zebra are colored a variety of different colors for a plurality of zebra depictions.
The plates can take on other, non-animal themes according to various alternative embodiments of the present invention, such as sports themes, celebrity themes, etc. In sports themed plates, the main compartment may depict various sporting goods, such as a football or basketball, and the wells may depict some other aspect of the sporting good, such as exaggerated laces for a football or one of the panels being kicked off of the soccer ball. Other sports themes include the logos of various sports leagues, team players, team logos, team mascots, team jerseys, etc. In celebrity themed plates, the main compartment may depict a caricature of a celebrity and the wells may depict a feature of that celebrity, such as big ears or eyes.
Turning now to
Referring to
Referring to
Additional perforations 510 are optionally disposed in the flanges 512 surrounding the main compartment 502 on opposite sides of the main compartment 502. Apertures formed by removal of the sections of the flange 512 circumnavigated by the perforations 510 receive ends of pieces of string for securing the plate 500 (being used as a mask) to a child's face. Alternatively, rubber bands or elastic strips can be used to hold the plate 500 on a child's head. Alternatively still, the plate 500 is fastened to stick such as a dowel rod or flat stick, which can be grasp by a hand and held up to a child's face.
As discussed above, the shape of the plate and location of the wells can take on a variety of forms according to alternative embodiments of the present invention. The shape of the plate and location of the wells can vary for different themes to be depicted on the plates in various alternative embodiments of the present invention. In addition to the alternative themes for depiction on plates mentioned above, the following are additional themes that may be depicted on plates having wells in alternative embodiments of the present invention.
According to various alternative embodiments of the present invention, the following themes are depicted on plates having wells similar to the plate 100 of
In other alternative embodiments of the present invention, the compartment plates take the form of a main compartment that is generally circular in shape and a single triangular-shaped well. An example of themes that are depicted on a plate having such features include various witch faces wherein the circular main compartment depicts a witch's face and the triangular-shaped well depicts the witch's hat. Other themes that can be depicted on this plate include various clown themes, various ice cream cone themes, and various birthday themes which may include animal or human faces depicted in the main compartment and birthday hats depicted in the triangular-shaped well.
Another alternative embodiment includes a generally rectangular three-compartment plate having various state themes, including a state license plate depicted in a main compartment and other state related information (e.g., pictures of the state bird, tree, flower, state capital, state landmarks, etc.) depicted in the wells. Another alternative embodiment includes a generally round plate with scalloped sidewalls and a well in the center with various flower themes depicted on the plate. In another alternative embodiment of the present invention, the body of a butterfly is depicted in a generally oblong central compartment and two wing-shaped compartments depict the butterfly's wings. In yet another alternative embodiment, the compartment plate takes the shape of a traditional tombstone (e.g., rectangular with a semi-circular-shaped end) and has various Halloween related-themes depicted therein. Finally, in still other alternative embodiments of the present invention, compartment plates of most any shape can include “truth or dare question” themes, various cartoon themes, zodiac themes, “spelling bee” themes, or foreign language phrase themes. Additionally, trivia or education trivia questions and answers can be printed on each plate wherein the questions and answers correspond to the particular theme depicted on the plate. For example, on a compartment plate having an alligator depicted therein, messages regarding an alligator's diet, to which regions alligators are indigenous, etc. can be printed on a plate according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention. In still other alternative embodiments, various characters associated with a societal holiday are depicted on plates in holiday themed plates. For example, Mr. and Mrs. Claus are depicted on Christmas themed plates, or Pilgrims and Native Americans are depicted on Thanksgiving themed plates, or various hearts, flowers, cherubs, including Cupid, and Valentine's-day-type messages are depicted on Valentine's Day themed plates. In still other alternative embodiments, various characters or depictions are associated with a seasonal theme such as different colored leafs for autumn, various beach scenes or outdoor themes for summer, snowflake and snowmen themes for winter, flower themes for spring, and so on.
The manufacturing and packaging of the compartment plates, such as the animal-themed compartment plates having animal depictions thereon shown in
It is desirable to have widespread dissemination of different animal depictions in the marketplace. Towards this end, it is preferable for each package to include a variety of different themes. Placing a plurality of different animal plates per package leads to an increased chance of exposure of all the animal depictions to consumers. A competing factor, on the other hand, is that it is difficult and expensive for each package of twenty-four plates to comprise a random sampling of the fifty or more possible animal depictions. Further, various market factors influence the number depictions per package. For example, as mentioned, variety in the marketplace is desirable. However, parents have indicated a preference that the various depictions be repeated twice per package so that children are not competing over a particular animal depiction. There is a balance to be struck between the preference of including a good distribution of plates per package and the cost associated with having no repeat animal plates per package.
Due to various manufacturing and cost constraints, all of the various plates having animal depictions thereon are not necessarily manufactured simultaneously, but can be done by increasing production capacity. Further manufacturing constraints lend to certain theme plates being manufactured together. For example, plates having similar color schemes are printed together on a web of paperboard prior to being formed as plates.
Turning now to
To create the compartment plates having animal designs depicted thereon, a roll of material 602, such as paperboard, is unrolled and a web of paper 604 is fed in the direction of the arrow past a printing system including four printing cylinders 606a, 606b, 606c, and 606d that apply green, pink, yellow, and black, respectively, to the web of paper 604. Each printing cylinder 606 includes a sixteen cell, four by four array, print plate attached to its outer surface. Put another way, each printing cylinder is four cells wide and includes four cells around its circumference. Each cell 608 of the print plate prints one animal depiction on the web of paper 604. The animal depictions do not repeat on a print plate according to one embodiment of the present invention. Because the cells are laid out on the print plate in a 4×4 array, each rotation of the printing cylinder 606 prints a set of sixteen animal depictions.
Referring also to
The web 604 of paperboard having the animal depictions A1-D4 printed thereon is advanced, one row at a time, into the die 620 which includes four tools for forming the plates—one for each lane A-D. The die 620 then stamps or presses the web 604 of paperboard into the three-dimensional plates. Press forming plates from a web of paperboard is known in the art and press forming out of paperboard is described in further detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,129,874 and 5,904,643, each of which is incorporated herein in its entirety. Plates A3-D3 are formed and have just exited the die 620, plates A2-D2 are being formed, and plates A1-D1 are next in line to enter the die 620. After being formed, the plates are maintained in their respective columns A, B, C, and D, also referred to as lanes, as the plates A1-D4 are fed into the stacking mechanism 630.
Referring also to
In other alternative embodiments of the present invention, each of the stacks of plates output by the stacking mechanism 630 consist of only six (6) plates per stack and all the lanes A-D are combined to form a stack of twenty-four (24) plates for packaging. A stack in lane A, for example, would include plates A1, A2, A3, A4, A1, and A2 and the subsequent stack in lane A would include plates A3, A4, A1, A2, A3, and A4. Applicants believe that combining two different lanes of stacks of twelve (12) plates to form stacks of twenty-four (24) plates for packaging achieves the desired distribution of many different animal depictions on the plates in the market place in an efficient manner. Further, as is described below, there are other measures to further ensure that many different plates having different animal depictions are distributed in the market place at a given time.
Each stack of plates is conveyed along its respective lane A-D to a packaging center 640. In the packaging center, stacks of twenty-four (24) plates are automatically (via automated manufacturing machinery) or manually formed and shrink-wrapped with clear plastic, allowing for a visualization of the plates contained therein. Prior to packing with transparent plastic at the packaging centers 640, the operator(s) assembling the packaged stacks 642 output packages of twenty-four plates for each possible combination of the twelve plate stacks from the four lanes A-D—A&B, A&C, A&D, B&C, B&D, C&D—at near uniform levels to the extent possible with a manual operation. The operators also switch-up which lane's plates are at the top of a stack of twenty-four plates for packing. For example, first an operator may combine lanes B and C so that the stack of twelve plates from lane B is at the top of the stack. And the next time the operator combines lanes B and C, the operator places the stack of twelve plates from lane C on top of those from lane B. Put another way, one combination of lanes B and C may have plate B1 at the top plate in the stack of twenty-four plates for packaging and the next combination of these lanes has plate C1 on the top. In other embodiments, the operator of the packaging center intentionally rotates which of the animal depictions in the twelve plate stacks from the four lanes are on top of the stack. Thus, any of the four animal depictions per lane A-D may appear at the top of a stack of twenty-four plates to be packaged lending to the appearance of an increased variety in the marketplace because the packages that are placed on a retailer's shelf have varying a animal depiction at the front of a stack of plates in a package. Alternatively still, which row of on the printing cylinders is printed first can be varied. For example, in one manufacturing run the printing cylinders 606 are initially rotated so that plates A3, A4, A1, and A2 are printed in that order. Alternatively still, because the packages of animal themed plates are disposed in cases such that they are standing upright as shown in
Another factor adding to the overall variety of plates within a package 642 is that plates do become damaged during the manufacturing process. For example, plates are damaged are they are conveyed along lanes A-D, printing errors render plates undesirable, plates are torn or otherwise incorrectly processed by the die, or a combination of these events can occur. When a damaged plate A1-D4 is conveyed to the packaging center 640, the operator discards that plate and inserts an undamaged plate. The animal depiction on the inserted plate does not necessarily correspond to the animal depiction on the discarded, damaged plate or even to any of the plates A1-D4 currently being run on the manufacturing system 600. Rather, the inserted plate can be any one of animal depictions in the theme. From the packaging center, the plates are conveyed along a conveyor 644 to a case assembling center (not shown). While plates are damaged during manufacturing, such occurrences do not happen in regular, predictable intervals that the occurrences can be relied on in and of itself for variety.
In various alternative embodiments of the present invention, a plurality of manufacturing systems 600 (e.g., the three manufacturing lines) run in parallel, each outputting packages of twenty-four plates from their respective packaging centers 640 onto respective conveyors 644 to a common case assembling center. In the illustrated example, each manufacturing systems 600 manufactures sixteen plates having sixteen different animal depictions as described above. In embodiments wherein the total collection of animal depictions comprises forty-five depictions, for example, three different manufacturing system 600 are set-up to output sixteen different plates each in parallel. The extra plate print cell 608 on the print plates of the printing cylinders 606 of each system 600 is either left blank or is used to create duplicate plates of more popular animal depictions. For example, 42 animals are produced once and three animals are produced twice for every one rotation of the cylinders (i.e., three animals depictions are printed twice). Each of the three different manufacturing systems 600 in the present example output six different groupings of packaged plates from their packaging centers—combined stacks from lanes A&B, A&C, A&D, B&C, B&D, C&D for each system 600 as discussed above. Because the six different combinations are different from lane to lane, there are a maximum of eighteen different plate packaging combinations produced when three manufacturing systems 600 are implemented. Again, additional variety is implemented by varying which lane's stacks are stack on top in the packaged stack, by the operator's replacement of damaged plates, by the operators intentional rotation of the top plate of a package, or a combination thereof.
In another embodiment of the present invention, each print plate on the printing cylinders is five cells wide and is four cells around resulting in the printing of twenty different animals per rotation of the printing cylinder in five different lanes and a die that is five tools wide for forming the plates. A single stack of twelve plates output from the stacking mechanism is selected from one of the five lanes A-E and combined with another stack of twelve plates from a different one of the five lanes A-E to form a stack of twenty-four (24) plates for packaging. Thus, there are a maximum of ten (10) different plate combinations per package: combinations of lanes A and B, lanes A and C, lanes A and D, lanes A and E, lanes B and C, lanes B and D, lanes B and E, lanes C and D, lanes C and E, and lanes D and E. One of these-combinations results in a maximum of eight (8) different animal plates per package. In other embodiments wherein the die and printing cylinder are five plates wide, for example, there are a maximum of ten different plate stack combinations possible when combining two lanes. According to one embodiment of the present invention, an operator of the packaging center manually combines the plate stacks 632a-d from each of the lanes A-D to form the stacks of packaged stack 642 of twenty-four plates.
Referring now to
The operator of the case assembling center selects from the eighteen different packages of themed plates to fill the cases 700. Because there are eighteen different packages to put into a case 700, but only ten spaces in each case, cases formed one after one another do not include the same packages of plates. The operator selects a first group of ten packages to fill a first cases and a second group of packages to fill a second case. For example, where the eighteen different packages are conveyed to the case assembly center in serial fashion, a first case may include package combinations one through ten of eighteen and the second case may include package combinations eleven through eighteen of eighteen and then one through two of eighteen. Thus, many of the cases assembled at the case assembling center are unique from one another. The complete collection of all forty-five animal themes, for example, would be represented in every two cases where each of the eighteen different package combinations are conveyed to the case assembling center in serial fashion. And an identical combination of packages in a case would be repeated every ten cases in that situation. However, further contributing to the uniqueness among cases, the plate packages output by the manufacturing systems 600 are not necessarily distributed to the case assembling center in a uniform fashion. Rather, it is more likely in a somewhat manual operation, as has been described, that packages from each of the manufacturing systems 600 are not uniformly conveyed to the case assembling center. Again, additional variety is implemented by varying which lane's stacks are stacked on top in the packaged stack and by the operator's replacement of damaged plates.
In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, plates are manufactured using a plurality of different manufacturing systems 600 that feed plates into a single packaging center. Each stacking mechanism 630 of the plurality of manufacturing systems 600 output four lanes A-D of stacked plates—twelve plates per stack. The stacks of twelve plates are conveyed along the respect plurality of lanes A-D to a packaging center where an operator selects plates from two of the lanes to assembly the stacks of twenty-four plates for packing. If there are three different manufacturing system operating, the operator selects from twelve different lanes.
In yet another embodiment of the present invention, six different manufacturing systems 600 or manufacturing lines are implemented for producing compartment plates having a common theme from three different print plates, wherein each manufacturing system has its own packing center and wherein pairs of manufacturing systems share a case assembling center. The first pair of manufacturing systems may produce plates from a first and second print plate, the second pair of manufacturing system may produce plates from a first and third print plate, and the third pair of manufacturing systems may produce plates from a second and third print plate. Because each pair of manufacturing systems share a case assembling center, each cases includes plates from a maximum of two different print plates. The cases from each of the three case assembling centers are commingled in one or more pallet assembling areas.
The trays 702 of several cases 700 are stackable for display one top of one another and side-by-side. Due to the varied animal depictions appearing at the front of the each of the cases, enhanced customer recognition of the variety of animal depictions within the animal theme is achieved. In other alternative embodiments of the present invention, one or more cases 700 of packaged themed plates are shipped in a “display shipper” that servers as a stand for displaying the plates in a retail location. Cases 700 are stacked side-by-side and upon each other in the display shipper. Additionally, the display shipper may include other similarly themed items such as cups, bowls, utensils, plate-mats, etc. that all bare the common animal theme.
Referring now to
In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, a unique “prize plate” is included with a package of themed plates. The prize plate is manually or automatically inserted within a stack of plates during the assembling of the themed plates in a stack for packaging. A prize plate having a unique depictions corresponding to the theme that is inserted in a limited number of plate packages. For example, keeping with the animal theme, a prize plate may have a black cat design depicted thereon. The prize plate is a promotional tool making the purchaser of a package of theme plates containing the prize plate eligible for a prize. The prize may include coupons for plates, cash, or novelty items such as a toy having an animal theme depicted thereon. Alternatively, the prize plate may have a code disposed thereon that the customer uses to access a website on the Internet that lists prizes that the customer may choose among.
In addition to the embodiments described above or in the accompanying claims, several embodiments of the present invention will now be described.
A1. An arrangement of plates for receiving food, comprising:
a plurality of nestable plates, plates within said plurality of nestable plates having an animal theme, each plate having said animal theme including,
a main compartment depicting a primary attribute of an animal corresponding to said animal theme, and
at least two independent wells adjacent to said main compartment, each of said wells being shaped to depict a secondary attribute of said animal corresponding to said animal theme; and
wherein said plurality of plates include a first plate depicting a first animal and a second plate depicting a second animal that is different from said first animal, said secondary attribute within said wells of said first plate being a first physical feature of said first animal and said secondary attribute within said wells of said second plate being a second physical feature of said second animal, said first physical feature being different from said second physical feature while said wells of said first and second plates are similarly shaped to allow said plurality of plates to be nestable.
A2. The arrangement of alternative embodiment A1, wherein at least a portion of a periphery of said main compartment is generally circular.
A3. The arrangement of alternative embodiment A1, wherein said primary attributes of said first plate and said second plate include facial parts.
A4. The arrangement of alternative embodiment A3, wherein said secondary attribute of said first plate is ears and said secondary attribute of said second plate is feet or claws.
A5. The arrangement of alternative embodiment A3, wherein said secondary attribute of said first plate is fish fins and said secondary attribute of said second plate is eyes.
A6. The arrangement of alternative embodiment A1, wherein said first animal and said second animal are selected from the group consisting of fish, sheep, whales, birds, horses, zebras, frogs, turtles, tigers, cats, and dogs.
A7. The arrangement of alternative embodiment A1, wherein said wells are generally rounded.
A8. The arrangement of alternative embodiment A1, wherein each of said plates within said plurality of plates has depictions associated with said animal theme.
A9. The arrangement of alternative embodiment A1, wherein said wells extend outwardly from a portion of a periphery of said plate that defines said main compartment.
A10. An arrangement of plates for receiving food, comprising:
a plurality of nestable plates, plates within said plurality of nestable plates having an animal theme, each plate having said animal theme including,
a main compartment depicting a primary attribute of an animal, and
at least two independent wells adjacent to said main compartment, each of said wells depicting a secondary attribute of said animal, each of said wells being located relative to said main compartment so as to depict said secondary feature at a position relative to said primary feature that is commonly seen in said animal; and
wherein said plurality of plates include a first plate depicting a first animal and a second plate depicting a second animal that is different from said first animal, said secondary attribute within said wells of said first plate being a first physical feature of said first animal and said secondary attribute within said wells of said second plate being a second physical feature of said second animal, said first physical feature being different from said second physical feature while said wells of said first and second plates are similarly shaped to allow said plurality of plates to be nestable.
A11. The arrangement of alternative embodiment A10, wherein at least a portion of a periphery of said main compartment is generally circular and said wells are located around said periphery such that an angle between midpoints in said wells and a midpoint of said main compartment is less than about 90 degrees.
A12. The arrangement of alternative embodiment A1, wherein said primary attributes of said first plate and said second plate include facial parts.
A13. The arrangement of alternative embodiment A12, wherein said secondary attribute of said first plate is ears and said secondary attribute of said second plate is feet or claws.
A14. The arrangement of alternative embodiment A12, wherein said secondary attribute of said first plate is fins and said secondary attribute of said second plate is eyes.
A15. The arrangement of alternative embodiment A10, wherein said first animal and said second animal are selected from the group consisting of fish, sheep, whales, birds, horses, zebras, frogs, turtles, tigers, cats, and dogs.
A16. The arrangement of alternative embodiment A10, wherein said wells extend outwardly from a portion of a periphery of said plate that defines said main compartment.
A17. The arrangement of alternative embodiment A10, wherein said wells have shapes that approximate shapes associated with said secondary features.
A18. The arrangement of alternative embodiment A10, wherein each of said plates within said plurality of plates has depictions associated with said animal theme.
A19. An arrangement of plates for receiving food, comprising:
a plurality of nestable plates, plates within said plurality of plates having an animal theme, each plate having said animal theme including,
a main compartment depicting a primary attribute of an animal corresponding to said animal theme,
at least two independent wells adjacent to said main compartment, and
a periphery around said wells and said main compartment, said periphery including a primary arcuate segment and two lobular segments, each of said two lobular segments is adjacent to said arcuate segment and extends outward therefrom, each of said two lobular segments of said periphery defining a lobular region depicting a secondary attribute of said animal corresponding to said animal theme, each of said lobular regions being located relative to said main compartment so as to depict said secondary feature at a position relative to said primary feature that is commonly seen in said animal;
wherein said plurality of plates include a first plate depicting a first animal and a second plate depicting a second animal that is different from said first animal, said secondary attribute within said lobular regions of said first plate being a first physical feature of said first animal and said secondary attribute within said lobular regions of said second plate being a second physical feature of said second animal, said first physical feature being different from said second physical feature while said lobular regions of said first and second plates are similarly shaped.
A20. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A19, wherein said wells are located at least partially within said lobular regions.
A21. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A19, wherein said arcuate segment is substantially circular so as to be on a common radius from a central point within said plate.
A22. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A19, wherein said lobular regions are curvilinear.
A23. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A19, wherein midpoints of said lobular regions are located less than about 90 degrees from each other as measured from a central point of said main compartment.
A24. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A19, wherein each of said plates includes a raised rim adjacent to said arcuate segments that defines an inside segment of said lobular regions.
A25. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A24, wherein said wells are located within said lobular regions.
A26. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A25, wherein midpoints of said lobular regions are located less than about 90 degrees from each other as measured from a midpoint of said main compartment.
A27. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A19, wherein said primary attributes of said first plate and said second plate include facial parts.
A28. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A27, wherein said secondary attribute of said first plate is ears and said secondary attribute of said second plate is feet or claws.
A29. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A27, wherein said secondary attribute of said first plate is fins and said secondary attribute of said second plate is eyes.
A30. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A19, wherein said first animal and said second animal are selected from the group consisting of fish, sheep, whales, birds, horses, zebras, frogs, turtles, tigers, cats, and dogs.
A31. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A19, wherein each of said plates within said plurality of plates has depictions associated with said animal theme.
A32. An arrangement of plates for receiving food, comprising:
a plurality of nestable plates, plates within said plurality of plates having an animal theme, each plate having said animal theme including,
at least one compartment depicting a first attribute of an animal corresponding to said animal theme, and
a periphery that surrounds said at least one compartment, said periphery including a primary arcuate segment and at least one lobular segment, said at least one lobular segment is adjacent to said arcuate segment and extends outward therefrom, said at least one lobular segment defining a lobular region depicting a secondary attribute of said animal corresponding to said animal theme, said lobular region being located relative to said main compartment so as to depict said secondary feature at a position relative to said primary feature that is commonly seen in said animal; and
wherein said plurality of plates include a first plate having a first animal theme associated with a first animal and a second plate having a second animal theme associated with a second animal that is different from said first animal theme, said secondary attribute within said lobular region of said first plate being a first physical feature of said first animal and said secondary attribute within said lobular region of said second plate being a second physical feature of said second animal, said first physical feature being different from said second physical feature while said lobular region of said first and second plates are similarly shaped.
A33. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A32, wherein said primary attributes of said first plate and said second plate include facial parts.
A34. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A33, wherein said secondary attribute of said first plate is ears and said secondary attribute of said second plate is feet or claws.
A35. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A33, wherein said secondary attribute of said first plate is fins and said secondary attribute of said second plate is eyes.
A36. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A32, wherein said first animal and said second animal are selected from the group consisting of fish, sheep, whales, birds, horses, zebras, frogs, turtles, tigers, cats, and dogs.
A37. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A32, wherein each of said plates within said plurality of plates has depictions associated with said animal theme.
A38. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A32, wherein said well is located at least partially within said lobular region.
A39. An arrangement of plates for receiving food, comprising:
a plurality of nestable plates, plates within said plurality of nestable plates including different depictions associated with said common theme, each plate including a main compartment having a first portion of said depiction and at least one well adjacent to said main compartment, said well being shaped and located relative to said main compartment to depict a second portion of said depiction; and
a package for containing said plurality of nestable plates of said common theme.
A40. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A39, wherein each of said plates includes a second well to depict a third portion of said depiction.
A41. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A39, wherein each plate in said package has a different depiction.
A42. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A39, wherein said common theme is a commonly known societal holiday.
A43. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A42, wherein said holiday is Thanksgiving.
A44. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A43, wherein said different depictions include pilgrim faces, turkeys, and Indians.
A45. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A42, wherein said holiday is Halloween.
A46. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A45, wherein said different depictions include witches, monsters, and pumpkins.
A47. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A42, wherein said holiday is Christmas.
A48. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A47, wherein said different depictions include Santa Claus, reindeer, and Snowman.
A49. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A39, wherein said common theme is a sports theme.
A50. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A49, wherein said sports theme is a commonly known sports team, said different depictions include players associated with said sports team.
A51. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A49, wherein said sports team is a commonly known sports league, said different depictions including teams within said league.
A52. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A39, wherein said theme is an animal theme, said different depictions including different animals.
A53. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A39, wherein said theme is an insect theme, said different depictions including different insects.
A54. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A39, wherein said theme is a vehicle theme, said different depictions including different vehicles.
A55. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A39, wherein said theme is a bird theme, said different depictions including different birds.
A56. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A39, wherein each of said plates within said plurality of plates has depictions associated with said common theme.
A57. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A39, wherein said plates further include written information associated with said different depictions.
A58. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A39, wherein said plates have a circular periphery.
A59. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A39, wherein said package is transparent for identifying said common theme.
A60. An arrangement of containers, comprising:
a plurality of nestable containers, containers within said plurality of nestable containers including different depictions associated with said common theme, each container including a main compartment having said depiction; and
a package for containing said plurality of nestable containers.
A61. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A60, wherein said plates have a circular periphery.
A62. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A60, wherein said plates further include at least one well.
A63. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A60, wherein each of said plates within said plurality of plates has depictions associated with said common theme.
A64. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A60, wherein said plurality of plates include a greater number of different depictions than a number of repeats of the same depiction.
A65. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A63, wherein said package is transparent for identifying said common theme.
A66. An arrangement of plates for receiving food, comprising:
a plurality of nestable plates, each plate within said plurality of nestable plates including a depiction associated with said common theme and a written message associated with said depiction, said plurality of plates including plates having different depictions; and
a package for containing said plurality of nestable plates.
A67. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A66, wherein said written message provides information about said depiction.
A68. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A66, wherein said written message is trivia.
A69. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A66, wherein said written message includes instructions on playing a game.
A70. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A66, wherein each of said plates within said plurality of plates has depictions and associated written messages that correspond to said common theme.
A71. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A66, wherein said package is transparent for identifying said common theme.
A72. An arrangement of plates for receiving food, comprising:
a plurality of nestable plate, plates within said plurality of nestable plates including different depictions associated with said common theme, each plate including a main compartment having said depiction; and
a package for containing said plurality of nestable plates.
A73. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A72, wherein said plates have a circular periphery.
A74. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A72, wherein said plates further include at least one well.
A75. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A72, wherein each of said plates within said plurality of plates has depictions associated with said common theme.
A76. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A72, wherein said plurality of plates include a greater number of different depictions than a number of repeats of the same depiction.
A77. The arrangement of plates of alternative embodiment A72, wherein said package is transparent for identifying said common theme.
B1. A case of plate packages, comprising;
a plurality of plate packages, each plate package including a plurality of nestable plates and a transparent wrapping for enveloping said plurality of nestable plates, plates within said plurality of nestable plates including different depictions associated with a common theme, each of said plurality of nestable plates including a top plate that is at least partially visualized through said transparent wrapping, said top plates for said plurality of plate packages including plates with different depictions; and
a covering structure surrounding said plurality of plate packages.
B2. The case of alternative embodiment B1, wherein each plate within said plurality of plate packages includes a main compartment having a first portion of said depiction and at least one well adjacent to said main compartment, said well being shaped and located relative to said main compartment to depict a second portion of said depiction.
B3. The case of alternative embodiment B1, wherein said covering structure includes a tray and a cover.
B4. The case of alternative embodiment B3, wherein said tray is configured to maintain said plurality of plate packages in an upright position for retail display.
B5. The case of alternative embodiment B4, wherein said common theme includes an animal theme and said depictions include animal faces, said top depicting animal faces that are held in said upright position by said tray.
B6. The case of alternative embodiment B1, wherein said top plate in each of said plurality of plate packages has a depiction that is different from the depictions on others of said top plates.
B7. The case of alternative embodiment B1, wherein said theme is an animal theme, said different depictions including different animals.
B8. The case of alternative embodiment B1, wherein said theme is an insect theme, said different depictions including different insects.
B9. The case of alternative embodiment B1, wherein said theme is a vehicle theme, said different depictions including different vehicles.
B10. The case of alternative embodiment B1, wherein said theme is a bird theme, said different depictions including different birds.
B11. The case of alternative embodiment B1, wherein each of said plates within said plurality of nestable plates has a depiction associated with said common theme.
B12. A case of plate packages, comprising:
a plurality of plate packages, each plate package including a plurality of nestable plates and a transparent wrapping for enveloping said plurality of nestable plates, each of said plurality of nestable plates including a top plate that is at least partially visualized through said transparent wrapping, said top plates for said plurality of plate packages including plates with different depictions; and
a covering structure surrounding said plurality of plate packages.
B13. The case of alternative embodiment B12, wherein each of said plates within said plurality of nestable plates has a depiction associated with a common theme.
B14. The case of alternative embodiment B12, wherein said covering structure includes a tray and a cover that is removable from said tray.
B15. The case of alternative embodiment B14, wherein said tray is configured to maintain said plurality of plate packages in an upright position for retail display.
B16. The case of alternative embodiment B15, wherein said case contains plates with an animal theme and said depictions include animals, said top plates each depicting an animal that is held in said upright position by said tray.
B17. The case of alternative embodiment B12, wherein said top plate in each of said plurality of plate packages has a depiction that is different from the depictions on others of said top plates.
B18. The case of alternative embodiment B12, wherein depictions correspond to an animal theme.
B19. The case of alternative embodiment B12, wherein each plate has a main compartment depicting a primary attribute of an animal corresponding to said animal theme and at least two independent wells adjacent to said main compartment, each of said wells being shaped to depict a secondary attribute of said animal corresponding to said animal theme.
B20. The case of alternative embodiment B19 wherein the plurality of nestable plates include a first plate depicting a first animal and a second plate depicting a second animal that is different from said first animal, said secondary attribute within said wells of said first plate being a first physical feature of said first animal and said secondary attribute within said wells of said second plate being a second physical feature of said second animal, said first physical feature being different from said second physical feature while said wells of said first and second plates are similarly shaped to allow said plurality of plates to be nestable.
B21. The case of alternative embodiment B20, wherein said primary attributes of said first plate and said second plate include facial parts.
B22. The case of alternative embodiment B20, wherein said secondary attribute of said first plate is ears and said secondary attribute of said second plate is feet or claws.
B23. The case of alternative embodiment B20, wherein said secondary attribute of said first plate is fish fins and said secondary attribute of said second plate is eyes.
B24. The case of alternative embodiment B20, wherein said first animal and said second animal are selected from the group consisting of fish, sheep, whales, birds, horses, zebras, frogs, turtles, tigers, cats, and dogs.
B25. The case of alternative embodiment B19, wherein said wells are rounded.
B26. The case of alternative embodiment B19, wherein said main compartment is generally circular in shape.
B27. The case of alternative embodiment B19, wherein said wells extend outwardly from a portion of a periphery of said plate that defines said main compartment.
B28. An arrangement of cases for shipment to a certain retail destination, comprising:
a plurality of cases, each case including a plurality of plate packages, each plate package being individually purchasable by a retail consumer and including a plurality of nestable plates with at least some of said plurality of nestable plates including depictions associated with a common theme, at least one of said plurality of cases including plates having depictions that are different from plates located within other ones of said plurality of cases; and
a structure for holding said plurality of cases relative to each other during shipping.
B29. The arrangement of cases of alternative embodiment B28, wherein said structure includes a shrink-wrap material.
B30. The arrangement of cases of alternative embodiment B28, wherein said structure includes a pallet on which said plurality of cases are stacked.
B31. The arrangement of cases of alternative embodiment B30, wherein said structure further includes a shrink-wrap material.
B32. The arrangement of cases of alternative embodiment B28, wherein said plurality of nestable plates within said plate packages are produced on at least a first manufacturing line and second manufacturing line, said first manufacturing line producing plates with a first array of depictions and said second manufacturing line producing plates with a second array of depictions that is different from said first array of depictions, said plurality of cases including cases that are comprised of plates from only said first manufacturing line and cases that are comprised of plates from only said second manufacturing line.
B33. The arrangement of cases of alternative embodiment B28, wherein each of said plurality of cases includes plates having depictions associated with said common theme.
B34. The arrangement of cases of alternative embodiment B33, wherein each plate within each of said plurality of plate packages includes depictions associated with said common theme.
B35. A method of developing cases containing similar containers for retail distribution, each case having containers with a variety of different depictions for enhanced consumer reception, comprising:
producing a plurality of containers on at least first and second manufacturing lines, said first manufacturing line including a print cylinder system capable of providing a first array of different depictions for a first set of containers within said plurality of containers, said second manufacturing line including a print cylinder system capable of providing a second array of different depictions for a second set of containers within said plurality of containers, said first array of different depictions including depictions that are different from depictions within said second array of different depictions;
accumulating said plurality of containers from said first manufacturing line in a first common location;
accumulating said plurality of containers from said second manufacturing line in a second common location;
at said first common location, selecting from containers having said first array of different depictions to form a first grouping of containers;
at said second common location, selecting from containers having said second array of different depictions to form a second grouping of containers;
packaging said first grouping of containers;
packaging said second grouping of containers; and
forming a case of packaged containers that includes said first grouping of containers and said second grouping of containers.
B36. The method of alternative embodiment B35, wherein each packaged container includes a top container, a top container in one of said package containers having a different depiction than said top containers in others of said package containers within said case.
B37. A method of alternative embodiment B35, wherein said steps of selecting and packaging are performed multiple times to produce a plurality of said first grouping of containers and a plurality of said second grouping of containers, said step of forming said case including selecting various ones of said plurality of first grouping of containers and various ones of said plurality of second grouping of containers.
B38. The method of alternative embodiment B37, wherein containers within a certain grouping of said plurality of first grouping of containers include different depictions than containers in other groupings of said plurality of first groupings of containers, and containers within a certain grouping of said plurality of second groupings of containers include different depictions than containers in other groupings of said plurality of second groupings of containers.
B39. A method of packaging an arrangement of plates, comprising:
producing a plurality of plates from paperboard material, said paperboard material including a first array of depictions that include different depictions and a second array of depictions that include different depictions, said first array of depictions including depictions that are different from depictions within said second array of different depictions, said first array of depictions and said second array of depictions including depictions that are associated with a common theme;
selecting from plates having depictions from said first array of depictions to form a first group of plates;
selecting from plates having depictions from said second array of depictions to form a second group of plates;
placing a package around said first group of plates; and
placing a package around said second group of plates.
B40. The method of alternative embodiment B39, wherein said first array of depictions is placed on a first web of material, and said second array of depictions is placed on a second web of material.
B41. The method of alternative embodiment B40, wherein said first array of depictions has different color combinations than said second array of depictions.
B42. The method of alternative embodiment B39, wherein said first array of depictions has different color combinations than said second array of depictions.
B43. The method of alternative embodiment B39, wherein some of said depictions in said first and second arrays are identical.
B44. The method of alternative embodiment B39, wherein all depictions in said first and second arrays of depictions are associated with said common theme.
B45. The method of alternative embodiment B39, wherein said steps of selecting include, respectively, selecting a top plate for said first group and selecting a top plate for said second group, said top plate for said first group having a different depiction than said top plate in said second group.
B46. The method of alternative embodiment B39, further including placing said packaged first group and said packaged second group in a common case for commercial distribution.
B47. The method of alternative embodiment B46, wherein said steps of selecting include, respectively, selecting a top plate for said first group and selecting a top plate for said second group, said top plate for said first group having a different depiction than said top plate in said second group.
B48. The method of alternative embodiment B47, wherein said first array of depictions have different color combinations than said second array of depictions.
B49. The method of alternative embodiment B47, wherein said common theme is an animal theme.
B50. The method of alternative embodiment B47, wherein said common theme is a commonly known societal holiday.
B51. The method of alternative embodiment B47, wherein said common theme is vehicles.
B52. The method of alternative embodiment B47, wherein said common theme is a sports theme.
B53. The method of alternative embodiment B47, wherein said plurality of plates include a number “n1” of different depictions, said number “n1” being greater than a number “n2” of plates in said first and second groups.
B54. The method of alternative embodiment B47, wherein each of said first and second groups includes a greater number of plates with different depictions than a number of plates that repeat the same depiction.
B55. The method of alternative embodiment B39, wherein said plurality of plates include a number “n1” of different depictions, said number “n1” being greater than a number “n2” of plates in said first and second groups.
B56. The method of alternative embodiment B39, wherein each of said first and second groups includes a greater number of plates with different depictions than a number of plates that repeat the same depiction.
B57. The method of alternative embodiment B39, wherein said steps of selecting are manual.
B58. The method of alternative embodiment B39, wherein said steps of selecting are automated.
While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that it is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
This application is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/330,651 filed Jan. 11, 2006 now abandoned, which is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/251,745 filed Sep. 19, 2002, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,013,618, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Design patent application Ser. No. 29/141,202 filed May 1, 2001, issued as U.S. Design Pat. No. D468589, entitled “Plate Having Condiment Wells.” This application claims priority to each of the foregoing applications, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
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| Child | 11330651 | US |
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| Child | 10251745 | US |
