This invention relates generally to serving devices and more particularly to a refrigerated serving device.
Maintaining food at the proper temperature when it is being served is very important. Food left at room temperature too long may spoil, resulting in wasted food. In addition, the food may cause illness in people who eat it.
Buffets and picnics are two situations in which it may be difficult to maintain food at the proper temperature. Keeping food hot is easily accomplished using warming trays. The warming trays can either be heated with flame or electricity.
The problem of keeping food properly cooled is not as easily solved. At a buffet, the refrigerated food is frequently placed on a table having ice on it. The food may either be placed directly in the ice, or the food containers may be surrounded by ice. This system has a number of shortcomings. The ice must be replenished when it melts. In addition, the water formed from the melted ice must be removed. Furthermore, if the ice or water spills on the floor, it can create a slipping hazard. Finally, the temperature of the food is not controlled. As the ice melts, the amount of contact between the ice and the food changes. This may allow the temperature of the food to increase to an unsafe level before the ice is replenished. Also, the food may become contaminated from contact with melting ice. The temperature of the food is not monitored to determine whether this is occurring.
Another problem associated with prior devices is the threat of contamination from several sources. The food may become contaminated with contact from melting ice used in some prior devices. The food can also become contaminated by food handlers responsible for replacing the ice. Furthermore, the water used to make the ice may have been contaminated. Also, prior devices are typically open air devices that do not protect the food from airborne pollutants/contaminants. And, even if noncontaminated ice were used, experts predict that the next environmental crisis will be a clean water shortage. The present invention overcomes these problems in that it does not rely upon ice for keeping the food cooled during serving and it incorporates a lid to reduce the chance of airborne contamination/pollution of the food.
Another solution to the problem of keeping food properly cooled during serving is to provide a double serving dish arrangement. The first serving dish is filled with water or another cooling material. The second dish is placed inside the first, and the bowls are placed into a freezer to freeze the water. Once the water is frozen, the food can be placed in the second dish. However when the ice melts, the dish loses its cooling ability, and the food must be placed in another dish.
In picnic situations, the refrigerated food is typically placed in a cooler containing ice. As the ice melts, the water formed can make the food soggy. In addition, once the ice melts, it must be replenished or the temperature of the food will quickly rise.
Standard refrigerators are not readily portable and are not suitable for use as a serving device. Movement of a standard refrigerator causes compressor fluid to move. This is why refrigerator manufacturers suggest letting a refrigerator sit still for several hours once moved, before operating it. In this manner the compressor is not damaged. The present invention, in its preferred embodiment using a screw or scroll compressor, is readily moved from place to place by one individual and does not have to sit for any period of time before being ready to operate.
Therefore, there is a need for a portable refrigerated serving device which does not require the use of ice to maintain the temperature of the food. The portable refrigerated serving device should be available in various sizes for use in the home as well as commercially for buffets, parties, and salad bars, for example.