Patent Application
20240398143
The present disclosure relates to a serving tray and, more specifically, a serving tray with improved stability and ergonomics
Serving trays are difficult to carry as more items are added onto the platform. In most cases, the server places the bottom of the tray platform on their palm. This requires the server to move around with extreme caution and balance to prevent spilling and/or dropping. It generally takes some practice in order to be able to balance multiple items on a tray.
Cramping is another issue with modern serving trays. As the server balances the tray on the palm and/or fingers, the muscles in the wrist, forearm, biceps, triceps, and neck fatigue. Over time, the server may struggle to maintain the tray's balance, which results in soreness and additional fatigue. As the server attempts to compensate for fatigue by spreading the fingers widely on the bottom of the tray, additional strain is placed on the wrist. The overall effect leads to joint instability and overuse. Poor ergonomics are not only unpleasant, but may also result in severe workplace injury.
Finally, as the server approaches the desired table it becomes difficult to place the tray on a flat surface since the server's palm is resting on the bottom of the tray. In order to place the tray on a flat surface, or on a table, the server must slide their hand between the flat surface and the table causing the tray to become unstable, which increases the chance of the tray tipping over, and potentially falling. Thus, the conventional devices may result in injury to the server, loss to the restaurant and inconvenience to the patrons.
In some examples, a serving tray assembly includes a platform, a spacer coupled to the platform, at least one metallic element coupled to the spacer; and a handling subassembly releasably coupleable to the spacer and comprising a pole orthogonal to the platform, a support ring coupled to the pole, and at least one magnetic element coupled to the support ring, the at least one magnetic element being aligned with and magnetically coupleable to the at least one metallic element.
Embodiments of the presently disclosed devices and systems are shown herein with reference to the drawings, wherein:
The embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the appended drawings. It is to be appreciated that these drawings depict only some embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope.
Despite the various improvements that have been made to serving trays and their methods of use, conventional devices suffer from some shortcomings as described above. There therefore is a need for further improvements to the devices, systems, and methods of making and using serving trays. Among other advantages, the present disclosure may address one or more of these needs.
The lower part of serving tray system 100 includes a handling subassembly 100B formed of a vertically-extending pole 110 covered by a cushioned plastic grip 111 (e.g., round, flexible or deformable vinyl grip). Pole 110 may be coupled to a circular support ring 112 and to a magnetic element 113 via a fastener 114. In some examples, support ring 112 is approximately 150 mm in diameter and used to support the loaded weight of the tray. The diameter of the support ring may between 40%-80% of the diameter of platform 102, or between 50% and 60% the diameter of platform 102 (e.g., 55% the diameter of the platform). Magnetic element 113 may be used to releasably couple the handling subassembly 100B with the platform 102. In some examples, magnetic element 113 may include a neodymium magnet or a ceramic magnet, rated at 8 lbs, 10 lbs, 15 lbs., 20 lbs or more in pull force. Magnetic element 113 may be aligned with metallic element 105 so that the two elements are magnetically attracted to couple the handling subassembly with platform 102. Alternatively, metallic element 105 may be replaced with a magnet so that both the upper assembly and the lower assembly have magnets of opposing polarity facing one another.
An optional forearm arc support 115 may be coupled to handling subassembly 100B at fixation end 116, shown here as a circular recess to mate with vertically-extending pole 110. Of course, other variations of coupling fixation end 116 to the vertically-extending pole 110 are possible. Forearm arc support 115 further includes a generally curved track 117 having a concavity that extends from the handling subassembly 100B, the concavity being configured to rest on the user's forearm during use.
In one variation, shown in
Optionally, an arm rest strap 300 may be used that includes an arm band 332 and a cushion 331. Arm rest strap 300 may remain with the user, and may include a VELCRO® strap on arm band 332 so that the user may position it as desired. In some examples, arm rest strap 300 may be positioned on the forearm or may be moved up to the shoulder area for larger trays that are carried on the shoulder. Arm rest strap 300 may have a thick deformable material at cushion 331 on the top where the tray will rest and/or on the bottom at the area that meets the user's body.
In
In
Other variations are possible. For example, the tray may have different shapes (e.g., circular, oval, square, triangular, etc.) and a serving tray system 100 may utilize multiple handling subassemblies at the same time (e.g., two handling subassemblies coupled to the bottom of a tray, which are the same or different than one another). Although the invention herein has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it is to be understood that these embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and applications of the present invention. It is therefore to be understood that numerous modifications may be made to the illustrative embodiments and that other arrangements may be devised without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.
It will be appreciated that the various dependent claims and the features set forth therein can be combined in different ways than presented in the initial claims. It will also be appreciated that the features described in connection with individual embodiments may be shared with others of the described embodiments.
The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Ser. No. 63/505,748, filed on Jun. 2, 2023, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety as if fully set forth herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63505748 | Jun 2023 | US |
