Temporary Barriers for Creating Food-Isolation Zones on a Platter Holding Multiple Differing Foods, And Related Methods

FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to the field of comestibles. In particular, the present disclosure is directed to temporary barriers for creating food-isolation zones on a platter holding multiple differing foods, and related methods.

BACKGROUND

Meals typically include several differing foods presented on a common platter, such as a service, or meal, plate, and frequently one or more of the foods is complemented with a liquid, such as syrup, gravy, or sauce, or has a runny liquid naturally accompanying it, such as water from incompletely drained broccoli or the dressing of a coleslaw salad, among many others. Often a person eating a multi-food meal served on a single plate prefers that any liquid associated with one of the foods does not mix with another food that is also on the plate. For example, for a meal plate containing both eggs and pancakes with syrup, the person eating the meal may not want the pancake syrup to contact the eggs. However, it can be challenging to prevent such mixing. For example, some people move a food item desired to not be contacted by the liquid as far up on the lip of the plate toward the plate rim as possible, while others tilt the plate so that the liquid moves away from the food item desired to not be contacted. These and other contact-avoiding tactics are awkward, and even when using such tactics, the undesired contact can still occur to at least some extent.

SUMMARY

In one implementation, the present disclosure is directed to a temporary barrier for creating food-isolation regions on a platter. The temporary barrier includes a body that is elongate along a longitudinal axis and is flexible in at least one direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, wherein the body is designed and configured to, when the temporary barrier is engaged with the platter, block flow of an edible liquid through the temporary barrier; and has a platter-engaging face designed and configured to form a liquid-tight seal with the platter when the platter-engaging face is engaged with the platter.

In another implementation, the present disclosure is directed to a method, which includes providing the temporary barrier describe above; and providing instructions that instruct a user to apply the temporary barrier to a platter so as to create food-isolation zones on the platter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For the purpose of illustration, the accompanying drawings show aspects of one or more embodiments made in accordance with the present disclosure. However, it should be understood that the scope of this disclosure is/are not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown in the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a meal plate having a temporary barrier of the present disclosure deployed thereon to create two food-isolation zones on the meal plate;

FIG. 2A is a plan view of a food platter having three food-isolation zones thereon that are created using two temporary barriers or a single temporary barrier, each made in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view as taken along line 2B-2B of FIG. 2A, showing the temporary barrier extending from the well of the platter up the sloped lip of the platter;

FIGS. 3A through 3D are a sequence of cross-sectional views illustrating deployment and use of a temporary barrier of the present disclosure that includes a concave structure on its platter-engaging face for creating a suction seal between the temporary barrier and a surface of a food platter;

FIGS. 4A through 4D are transverse cross-sectional views of differing temporary barriers made in accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a high-level block diagram illustrating the providing of one or more temporary barriers of the present disclosure and instructions for using the temporary barrier(s) to create food-isolation zones on a food platter; and

FIGS. 6A through 6C illustrate differing ways of providing multiple ways of providing temporary barriers made in accordance with the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description and in the appended claims, the terms “upper” and “lower”, and any like positional terms, as well as “horizontal” and “vertical”, and any like directional terms, applied to elements or features depicted in the figures, refer only to positions and directions relative to the relevant figures(s) and not to positions and directions relative to any other frame of reference. Similarly, terms such as “first” and “second” used with descriptors of like elements of disclosed and claimed embodiments do not denote any particular order, preference, etc., of the elements, but rather are used only for convenience to identify that there are multiple instances of such elements.

Throughout the present disclosure and the appended claims, the term “about”, when used with a corresponding numeric value, refers to ±20% of the numeric value, typically ±10% of the numeric value, often ±5% of the numeric value, and more often ±2% of the numeric value. In some embodiments, the term “about” can mean the numeric value itself.

Overview

In some aspects, the present disclosure is directed to temporary barriers for applying to a food platter to create food-isolation zones on the platter by preventing liquid or flowable food in one of the food-isolation zones from entering another food-isolation zone. For convenience, throughout this disclosure and the appended claims, the term “liquid” and like terms, when used in connection with describing functionality of a temporary barrier, includes not only liquids/fluids of various types such as syrups, sauces, gravies, melted butter, water from incompletely drained food items, runny salad dressings, runny toppings, and steak and hamburger juices, among others, but also flowable foods, such as runny grits and runny egg yolks, among others. With these examples and after reading this disclosure in its entirety, those skilled in the art will readily recognize other liquids, fluids, and flowable foods for which one or more temporary barriers of the present disclosure can be used.

Effectively, a temporary barrier of the present disclosure acts as a dam of sorts that prevents flow of the liquid therethrough and thereunder for at least a certain minimum amount of time, such as 10 minutes or more. This damming action keeps the foods in the differing food-isolation zones from being contacted by any liquid from another food-isolation zone for at least the minimum amount of time. The food platter may be any type of food platter capable of holding multiple foods, including, but not limited to, service, or “meal”, plates, bread and butter plates, salad bowls, and soup bowls each for individual eaters, as well as serving plates and serving bowls, among others, for serving multiple eaters regardless of the material(s) from which each is made and regardless of any designated type (e.g., a baking sheet may be used as an ad hoc serving platter). As examples of materials of constructure, a food platter may be comprised of a ceramic (e.g., porcelain, enamel-coated fired clay, etc.), plastic, paper, polymer coated paper, bamboo, etc. Fundamentally, there is no limitation on the type, construction, and configuration of a food platter in the context of the present disclosure other than it can cooperate with one or more temporary barriers of the present disclosure to provide the desired damming functionality.

A temporary barrier of the present disclosure is composed of an elongate body having a length along a longitudinal axis that is multiple times the maximum dimension of the body as viewed in a transverse cross-section at any point along the length of the body. Depending on the configuration of the body, the shape of the transverse cross-section may be, for example, rectangular, triangular, circular, oval, hexagonal, etc., and so the maximum transverse cross-sectional dimension may be, for example, a height, a width, a diagonal, or a diameter, among others. In some embodiments, the length of the body is at least about 10 times the maximum transverse cross-sectional dimension of the body, at least about 15 times the maximum transverse cross-sectional dimension of the body, or at least about 20 times the maximum transverse cross-sectional dimension of the body, among others. In some embodiments, the transverse cross-sectional shape of the body is constant throughout the length of the body. In some embodiments, the maximum transverse cross-sectional dimension is about 0.65 inch (1.65 cm). In some embodiments in which the temporary barrier has a rectangular transverse cross-sectional shape having a height and a width when applied to a platter, the height may be about 0.5 inch (1.27 cm) or less and the width may be about 0.4 inch (1.02 cm) or less.

In some embodiments, the body is designed and configured to be flexible in at least a direction parallel to a food platter on which it is deployed so as to allow a user to customize the shape that the temporary barrier makes on the platter along the length of the temporary barrier. For example, a user may desire that the temporary barrier form an S-shape on the platter, form a V-shape on the platter, form a semicircle on the platter, or form a straight line on the platter, among other shapes. As used herein and in the appended claims, the term “flexible” and like terms in any indicated direction means that the body will, when cantilevered from a support, bend in the indicated direction(s) solely under the self-weight of the cantilevered portion. In some embodiments, such bending will occur when the length of the cantilevered portion is about 4 inches (10.16 cm), about 2 inches (5.08 cm), or about 1 inch (2.54 cm), among others. In some embodiments, the term “flexible” and like terms include the ability of the body to be curved, in the indicated direction(s), to a radius of no more than about 1 inch (2.54 cm) or about 0.5 inch (1.27 cm), without rupturing and, in some embodiments, while remaining elastic throughout the curve. In some embodiments, a temporary barrier of the present disclosure is flexible in two or more directions transverse to the longitudinal axis of the body, including in all directions 360° around the longitudinal axis. In some embodiments, the temporary barrier is relatively inflexible in the indicated direction(s) and capable of being curved by a user to a radius of no less than about 1 inch (2.54 cm), no less than about 2 inches (5.08 cm), or no less than about 3 inches (7.62 cm), among others, without the body rupturing.

In some embodiments, the body is made of an edible, food-grade material so as to make the temporary barrier a comestible. In some embodiments, the food-grade material is a gelatin-based material. In some embodiments, the food-grade material is a flour-based material, such as wheat-flour based or rice-flour based, among others. In some embodiments, the edible barrier may be flavored to complement (including matching, augmenting, and/or accentuating) a flavor of a food with which the edible barrier is designed to be deployed. For example, if the flavor of the food is a savory flavor, the edible barrier may be provided with a complementary savory flavor. As another example, if the flavor of the food is a sweet flavor, the edible barrier may be provided with a complementary sweet flavor. In these examples, it is noted that the term “food” includes any type of food, any component of the food, and any topping (e.g., syrup, sauce, gravy, etc.) added to another food.

In some embodiments, the edible material has sufficient nutritional value that it can be a nutritional part of the meal being eaten. In some embodiments, including any of the embodiments described above, the edible material of the body may be fortified with one or more vitamins and/or one or more minerals so as to make the temporary barrier a dietary supplement. In an example of the temporary barrier being gelatin-based and flavored, the body may be made from gelatin powder, an optional sweetener, water, and flavoring. In a particular nonlimiting example, the body may be made from about 14.4 grams of gelatin powder, about 2 tablespoons of clover honey, about 250 milliliters of water, and about 2 tablespoons of powdered natural strawberry flavoring. This recipe may be used, for example, to make a temporary barrier for blocking syrup used on a stack of pancakes, French toast, and/or waffles on one side of the temporary barrier from contacting eggs, sausage, bacon, and/or ham on the other side of the temporary barrier. In some embodiments, the body may be made of a non-edible food-grade material, such as a food-grade silicone rubber, among others.

As mentioned above, a function of a temporary barrier of the present disclosure is to provide a dam of sorts that prevents a liquid in a first food-isolation zone on one side of the temporary barrier from entering a second food-isolation zone on the opposite side of the temporary barrier. To provide this damming function, the temporary barrier needs to 1) be impermeable to the liquid and 2) form a liquid seal with the platter so as to prevent liquid from running under the temporary barrier from one of its lateral sides to the other.

Regarding impermeability, the “impermeability” of a temporary barrier of the present disclosure may be characterized as both the ability of the temporary barrier to prevent flow via natural interstitial passageways, if any, within the body and the ability of the temporary barrier to resist dissolving or otherwise breaking down when contacted by the liquid at issue, at least when the liquid is at a serving/eating temperature, with the latter being the more likely reason that a temporary barrier of the present disclosure may lose its impermeability. For the sake of the present disclosure and the claims appended hereto, the term “impermeable” and like terms when used to characterize a barrier of the present disclosure, means that the barrier remains impermeable for at least about 10 minutes, or about 15 minutes, or about 20 minutes, or about 30 minutes, or more, when in contact with the liquid at issue while the liquid at issue is at a design serving/eating temperature. In one example, a gelatin-based temporary barrier made using the precise recipe above did not dissolve substantially and remained impermeable for about 45 minutes while in contact with maple syrup that had an initial temperature of 175° F. (˜79.4° C.) at the beginning of the test and that cooled naturally.

Regarding forming a liquid seal with a platter so that a temporary barrier of the present disclosure prevents passage of a liquid between the temporary barrier and the platter, the liquid seal can be effected in one or more ways. For example, the body of the temporary barrier may be provided with one or more seal-enhancing structures, such as a concave platter-engaging face that, in conjunction with the body being made of a relatively soft material, such as a gelatin-based material, a high-gluten flour-based material, or a soft silicone rubber, allows the concave platter-engaging face to provide a suction-based holding force between the body and the platter. Several examples of temporary barriers of the present disclosure that include at least one concave face are illustrated in FIGS. 3A through 4D and are described below.

In one example, the concave structure can be formed during the process of forming a temporary barrier of the present disclosure by relying on the surface tension properties of the material that makes up the body of the temporary barrier. In this example, the precise recipe described above was used to make a precursor liquid, which was then added to an elongate mold having the desired width of the temporary barrier being made. The surface tension of the precursor liquid causes menisci to form at the interfaces between the free surface of the liquid and the lateral mold walls. Once the gelatin in the precursor liquid sets and the body is removed from the mold, the menisci along opposite edges of the body effectively formed a concave structure on the face of the body that was originally the free surface of the precursor liquid in the mold. This face may then be designated and used as the platter-engaging face of the temporary barrier.

A concave structure on a temporary barrier of the present disclosure can be formed a different way. For example, in a molded-body embodiment a mold may be provided with one or more convex walls that form(s) one or more convex structures in the body. As another example, a convex structure on a body of a temporary barrier of the present disclosure may be formed by removing material from an initially larger body. For example, each concave structure may be cut out using a curved cutting blade. In another example that may be particularly applicable to a flour-based material, each concave structure may be formed by pressing a curved body into an initially flat face of an unset material. Other possibilities exist.

In addition to or in lieu of providing one or more seal-enhancing structures, such as the concave structure described above, the material properties of the platter-engaging face may effectuate the liquid seal or, when one or more seal-enhancing structures are provided, may contribute to effectuating the seal. For example, the material composing the body of the temporary barrier may have sufficient smoothness, tackiness, and/or softness to effect a complete liquid seal with a receiving surface of a platter on which the temporary barrier is deployed. Those skilled in the art will readily understand the level(s) of smoothness, tackiness, and/or softness needed to effect a suitable liquid seal for the relevant material(s) and surface profile(s) of the platter surfaces with which a temporary barrier of the present disclosure is designed to be used. In one example, where tackiness of the material is utilized, the minimum tackiness may be considered to be the tackiness at which the temporary barrier will first adhere to each of the one or more target platter surfaces without disengaging from such target platter surface(s) when the corresponding platter surface is inverted. In other words, the minimum tackiness is the tackiness at which the temporary barrier can just remain adhered to a target surface under the influence of its own weight when the target surface is above the temporary barrier.

In some embodiments, a temporary barrier of the present disclosure may be provided with a removable protective film that is separable from the temporary barrier before a user applies the temporary barrier to a platter for use. The protective film may be provided to a platter-engaging surface of the temporary barrier, for example, to protect the platter-engaging surface from contamination and/or to maintain the tackiness of the platter-engaging surface between the time of manufacture and the time of deployment. For example, any unprotected surface may lose tackiness over time, but a protected surface may maintain that tackiness over that time. The protective film may be any suitable film, such as a cellophane film, and may be in any suitable form, such as a strip that has a width that is largely the same as the width of the corresponding platter-engaging face and has a length that is largely equal to the length of the temporary barrier. In another example, a continuous piece of film may be engaged with a plurality of temporary barriers arranged in a side-by-side fashion with one another.

In some aspects, the present disclosure is directed to methods of providing one or more temporary barriers made in accordance with the present disclosure and instructing users on their use. In some embodiments, a temporary barrier may be individually wrapped to maintain freshness and, if applicable, to maintain tackiness. Such individually wrapped temporary barriers may be sold singly or in sets. If sold in sets, each set may contain a single flavor or multiple flavors and/or may be fortified or unfortified. In some embodiments, a set of temporary barriers may be provided in blister-type packaging, with each temporary barrier located in its own compartment of the blister-type packaging. In such embodiments, all of the temporary barriers may be identical to one another or may vary in flavor and/or fortification. In some embodiments, each of some or all of the temporary barriers in a set may be provided in a length that requires at least some users to cut them to a desired shorter length. In some embodiments, the temporary barrier may be provided in a coil or roll form, sometimes in long lengths so that a user needs to cut each temporary barrier to a desired length. The foregoing are but a few of the ways that temporary barriers of the present disclosure can be provided to users, and those skilled in the art will readily appreciate the variety of ways in which temporary barriers can be provided.

Suitable instructions for using each of one or more temporary barriers made in accordance with the present disclosure may include instructions for engaging the temporary barrier with a platter so as to effect a liquid-tight seal between the temporary barrier and the platter. When the temporary barrier includes a concave structure intended for creating a suction, the instructions may include a direction for the user to first engage the temporary barrier with the upper surface of a platter and then pushing downward on the temporary barrier at one or more points along its length to effectuate the suction. The instructions may also include instructions for ensuring that the temporary barrier is made long enough that it extends at least partway up the sloped surfaces of the lip of the platter so as to ensure that the temporary barrier is effective at preventing liquid from flowing around the temporary barrier. In some embodiments, the instructions may include directions for cutting the temporary barrier to a desired length. In some embodiments, the instructions may include directions for selecting the flavor of the temporary barrier as a function of the flavor of one or more foods with which a user will use the temporary barrier. In embodiments in which the temporary barrier is a comestible, the instructions may include instructions for eating the temporary barrier. In embodiments in which the temporary barrier is fortified, the instructions may include instructions on how much of the temporary barrier to eat to get a certain amount of the fortification. In some embodiments, the instructions may include any two or more of the foregoing instructions, in some cases, among others.

Any instruction and/or direction may be provided in graphical form, verbal form, video form, oral form, or any suitable combination thereof. In some embodiments, the instructions may accompany an individual temporary barrier, a set of temporary barriers, a roll of a temporary barrier, or a coil of a temporary barrier. In some embodiments, packaging and/or an insert to packaging may include one or more indicia (e.g., a QR code, URL, etc.) for directing a user to an online source of the instructions, such as a seller's webpage or a YouTube video, among others. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate the myriad of ways that instructions can be provided for using temporary barriers of the present disclosure or any component(s) thereof.

The foregoing and other aspects of the present disclosure are described below in connection with a set of examples. It is to be understood that the below examples are merely illustrative and not to be considered limiting the breadth of the actual innovation. In this connection, where certain features, aspects, materials, etc., are specifically described in the following examples, it is noted that any of those features, aspects, materials, etc., may be substituted with a like or similar feature, aspect, materials, etc., mentioned above.

EXAMPLES

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows an example temporary barrier 100 made in accordance with the present disclosure engaged with a meal plate 104 holding the food items of scrambled eggs 108, pancakes 112, and syrup 116 for the pancakes. In this example, the eater (not shown) does not want the syrup 116 from contacting the scrambled eggs 108, and so, has applied the temporary barrier 100 to the meal plate 104 before adding the syrup 116 to the pancakes 112. Applying the temporary barrier 100 to the meal plate 104 creates two food-isolation zones on the meal plate, here, a first food-isolation zone 120(1) that contains the scrambled eggs 108 and a second food-isolation zone 120(2) that contains the pancakes 112 and the syrup 116.

As can be readily seen in FIG. 1, the temporary barrier 100 effectively acts as a dam to prevent the syrup 116 in the second food-isolation zone 120(2) from entering into the first food-isolation zone 120(1), thus isolating the eggs 108 from the syrup 116. In this example, the meal plate 104 includes a well 104W and a lip 104L having upwardly sloped surfaces 104S, and the temporary barrier 100 is located so that portions of it engage the sloped surfaces. As can be appreciated in this example, by extending the temporary barrier 100 onto the sloped surfaces 104S of the lip 104L from the well 104W, the temporary barrier prevents the syrup 116 from flowing around either end 100E(1), 100E(2) of the temporary barrier. In this example, the temporary barrier 100 may be gelatin-based and/or have a sweet flavor (e.g., made in accordance with the example recipe described in the previous subsection) so as to complement the sweet flavor of the syrup 116 and/or the flavor of the pancakes 112. In other embodiments, the temporary barrier 100 may be made of another material, such as a flour-based material or a polymer elastomer, among others. Also in this example, the temporary barrier 100 includes a concave structure 100C on its underside (relative to FIG. 1), which provides the platter-engaging face 100F of the temporary barrier. As discussed in the subsection above, the concave structure 100C allows the temporary barrier 100 to provide a suction seal with the meal plate 104.

FIG. 2A illustrates two example temporary barriers 200(1) and 200(2) being used to create three food-isolation zones 204(1) through 204(3) on a meal plate 208, for example for containing at least four different foods, including at least one liquid or flowable food. In this example, each of the temporary barriers 200(1) and 200(2) may be made of any suitable material and, if meant to be a comestible, may have a flavor. For example, the two temporary barriers 200(1) and 200(2) may be of differing flavors, such as a sweet flavor and a savory flavor, two different sweet flavors, or two different savory flavors. Each temporary barrier 200(1) and 200(2) has a corresponding longitudinal axis 200LA(1) and 200LA(2) and may have any suitable transverse cross-sectional shape, such as any of the transverse cross-sectional shapes mentioned in the subsection above or described below in connection with FIGS. 3A through 4D. It is noted that the same three food-isolation zones 204(1) through 204(3) can be created using a single temporary barrier 200 that is effectively bent back on itself at the optional bend 220B. FIGS. 2A and 2B also show that each of the temporary barriers 200(1) and 200(2) or optional single temporary barrier 200 is present both in the well 208W and on the up-sloped lip 208L of the meal plate 208 that surrounds the well.

FIGS. 3A through 3D illustrate the engagement and use of an example temporary barrier 300 having a concave structure 300C on its platter-engaging face 300F that will provide a suction seal 304 (FIG. 3C) between the temporary barrier and a platter 308 to which the temporary barrier will be applied. In FIG. 3A, the temporary barrier 300 is shown in close proximity to a surface 308S of the platter 308 to which the temporary barrier will be applied. FIG. 3B shows the temporary barrier 300 and the platter 308 with the temporary barrier just touching the surface 308S of the platter 308 so as to define an arched air chamber 312. FIG. 3C shows the temporary barrier 300 and the platter 308 during the process of effectuating the suction seal 304, with the arrow 316 representing a force that effectuates the suction seal 304 by causing the temporary barrier to deform so as to collapse the air chamber 312 and thereby force the air within the air chamber out from between the temporary barrier and the surface 308S of the platter, as illustrated by arrows 320. This action creates a suction force 324 (FIG. 3D) that inhibits the elastic properties of the temporary barrier 300 from causing the temporary barrier to restore the air chamber 312. In some embodiments, the force 316 may be only the self-weight of the temporary barrier 300, depending on the material properties of the temporary barrier. In some embodiments, the force 316 may include an externally applied force, such as a force applied to the temporary barrier 300 by a user.

As discussed in the previous subsection, the platter-engaging face 300F of the temporary barrier 300 may have a tackiness that contributes to the liquid seal between the temporary barrier and the surface 308S of the platter 308. FIG. 3D shows the temporary barrier 300 defining first and second food-isolation zones 328(1) and 328(2) on opposite sides of the temporary barrier. In this example, the temporary barrier is preventing a first liquid 332 in the first food-isolation zone 328(1) from entering the second food-isolation zone 328(2). Optionally and depending on the foods (only liquids shown) on the platter 308, the temporary barrier 300 may also prevent a second liquid 336 in the second food-isolation zone 328(2) from entering the first food-isolation zone 328(1).

FIGS. 4A through 4D illustrate some example transverse cross-sectional shapes that temporary barriers of the present disclosure may have. FIG. 4A shows a temporary barrier 400 that is generally square in cross-sectional shape and has four identical faces 400F(1) through 400F(4) that each include a corresponding convex structure 400C(1) through 400C(4). Each convex structure 400C(1) through 400C(4) can be used to effectuate a suction seal, for example, as discussed above in connection with FIGS. 3A through 3D and the suction seal 304 described there. As those skilled in the art will readily appreciate, the symmetry of the temporary barrier 400 of FIG. 4A makes applying the temporary barrier to a platter (not shown) essentially foolproof, as any of the four faces 400F(1) through 400F(4) can be used to create the liquid seal between the temporary barrier and a platter.

FIG. 4B shows a temporary barrier 410 that has a rectangular cross-sectional shape that has a height, H, that is greater than its width, W. In this example, the temporary barrier 410 does not include any concave structures but rather relies on the tackiness of its platter-engaging face 410F to effectuate a liquid seal between the temporary barrier and a surface of a platter (not shown). In this example, the platter-engaging face 410F is protected by a removable protective film 414 that a user removes before applying the temporary barrier to the surface of the platter. FIG. 4C shows a temporary barrier 420 that has a circular cross-sectional shape. Like the temporary barrier 410 of FIG. 4B, the temporary barrier 420 of FIG. 4C relies on its tackiness to effectuate a liquid seal between itself and a surface of a platter (not shown). FIG. 4D shows a temporary barrier 430 that is generally rectangular in shape similar to the temporary barrier 410 of FIG. 4B. However, the temporary barrier 430 of FIG. 4D includes two concave structures 430C(1) and 430C(2) on opposite ends of the temporary barrier. In this example, each concave structure 430C(1), 430C(2) has two concave regions 434(1) +434(2) and 438(1) +438(2), respectively, that each function similar to the concave structure 300C of the temporary barrier 300 of FIGS. 3A through 3D to effectuate corresponding suction seals (not shown) when the temporary barrier 430 is engaged with a surface of a platter (not shown). As should be evident from reading this entire disclosure, the example temporary barriers 400, 410, 420, and 430 of FIGS. 4A through 4D are illustrative and nonlimiting.

Referring now to FIG. 5, block 500 represents one or more temporary barriers in any suitable form, such as discrete-structure form (see, e.g., set 600 of FIG. 6A), coil form (see, e.g., coil 610 of FIG. 6B), and/or roll form (see, e.g., roll 620 of FIG. 6C), among others. Each of the temporary barriers of block 500 may be any temporary barrier described herein, and, where a plurality of temporary barriers are provided, the plurality of temporary barriers may be provided as a set, such as in one or more packages as discussed above in the previous subsection. Block 504 represents instructions for using the temporary barrier(s) of block 500. Example instructions that can be provided at block 504 are described above in the previous subsection.

FIG. 6A shows a set 600 composed of a plurality of temporary barriers 604(1) through 604 (N), wherein Nis any desired integer. Each of the temporary barriers 604(1) through 604 (N) may be any temporary barrier made in accordance with the present disclosure. As mentioned above, a temporary barrier may need to be cut to a desired use length. In FIG. 6A, the uppermost temporary barrier 604(1) is cut to a use length, L₁, with the remnant 604R being either discarded or eaten without being used as a temporary barrier.

FIG. 6B shows a coil 610 of a temporary barrier 614. In this example, the length of the temporary barrier 614 in the original coil 610 is long enough to be cut into multiple temporary barriers, such as temporary barrier 614(1). Here, the cut line 618 in the paid-out section 614S of the temporary barrier 614 from the coil 610 defines the use length, L₂, of temporary barrier 614(1). FIG. 6C shows a roll 620 of a temporary barrier 624. In this example, the length of the temporary barrier 624 in the original roll 620 is long enough to be cut into multiple temporary barriers, such as temporary barrier 624(1). Here, the cut line 628 in the paid-out section 624S of the temporary barrier 624 from the roll 620 defines the use length, L₃, of temporary barrier 624(1).

Various modifications and additions can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention. Features of each of the various embodiments described above may be combined with features of other described embodiments as appropriate in order to provide a multiplicity of feature combinations in associated new embodiments. Furthermore, while the foregoing describes a number of separate embodiments, what has been described herein is merely illustrative of the application of the principles of the present invention. Additionally, although particular methods herein may be illustrated and/or described as being performed in a specific order, the ordering is highly variable within ordinary skill to achieve aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, this description is meant to be taken only by way of example, and not to otherwise limit the scope of this invention.

Exemplary embodiments have been disclosed above and illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, omissions and additions may be made to that which is specifically disclosed herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Temporary Barriers for Creating Food-Isolation Zones on a Platter Holding Multiple Differing Foods, And Related Methods

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