Food-protective apparatus for use in cooking and food-serving environments

Abstract

Related embodiments of self-supporting permanently-formed, or foldable and quick-setup, food-protective apparatus are disclosed, each for safely storing and protecting, serving and/or transporting food-products in or to one or more, food-preparation or food-serving settings. The apparatus include one or more openable and closeable openings or apertures each having a positionable door or covering that can quickly and easily be moved to an opened or closed position. The apparatus may optionally incorporate see-through ventilative screened or meshed material and may be made of a rigid or flexible insulative material. The Enclosure embodiments also include stackable and/or side-by-side quick alignment elements, optional one or more trays or shelves having one or more receptacles for retaining a heating or chilling material, or having receptacles for one or more garnishes, herbs, spices, enclosures having various shapes, and the option to make a barbeque with one or more integrally-incorporated food-protective enclosures.

1 . A food-protective enclosure, with one or more quickly openable and closeable enclosure-side openings, for use in food-serving settings, comprising:
 a plurality of adjoining enclosure-sides made of a durable material having sufficient rigidity, when adjoined together, to provide a self-supporting food-protective enclosure having one or more interior volumes for retaining and protecting food-product;   at least one of the sides further comprising a ventilating material having a multiplicity of apertures each sized and shaped, to restrict permeation of airborne or windblown matter, and to inhibit entry of crawling or flying insects;   an enclosure bottom-side adjoined with one or more lower portions of the enclosure to form a substantially contiguous bottom-side of the enclosure to provide a fully-enclosed food-protective enclosure; and   at least one of the enclosure-sides further comprising a door sized and shaped to cover said one or more quickly openable and closeable openings.   
   
   
       2 . The vented food-protective enclosure of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the one or more quickly openable and closeable openings comprises a hinged door positionable between an opened-enclosure and closed-enclosure position. 
   
   
       3 . The vented food-protective enclosure of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the one or more quickly openable and closeable openings comprises a slideable door positionable between an opened-enclosure and closed-enclosure position; and,
 opposite sides of said vented food-protective enclosure being configured to slideably engage opposite side edges of the slideable door.   
   
   
       4 . The vented food-protective enclosure of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the one or more quickly openable and closeable openings comprises a positionable door and means for retaining the door in one or more user-desired opened positions for a user-desired period of time. 
   
   
       5 . The vented food-protective enclosure of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of adjoining enclosure sides has a curved or arced cross-section, and one or more quickly openable and closeable openings of the adjoining enclosure side includes a user-positionable door, wherein, the adjoining enclosure side and the user-positionable door each have a curved or arced cross-section similar to the curved enclosure side. 
   
   
       6 . The vented food-protective enclosure of  claim 1 , wherein said ventilating material is comprised of a screened or meshed material. 
   
   
       7 . The vented food-protective enclosure of  claim 1 , further comprising said enclosure bottom-side having one or more releasably-attachable fasteners for selectively (a.) adjoining the bottom-side with one or more lower portions of the enclosure to provide a fully-enclosed food-protective enclosure or (b.) removing the bottom-side from one or more lower portions of the enclosure to provide a open-bottomed food-protective enclosure which can be placed in, or lifted from, a resting position enveloping and protectively covering one or more food-products on a food-supporting or food-serving surface. 
   
   
       8 . The vented food-protective enclosure of  claim 1 , having one or more enclosure-sides made of one or more materials having insulative properties. 
   
   
       9 . The vented food-protective enclosure of  claim 1 , further comprising one or more of the food-protective enclosures being integrally formed with a barbeque. 
   
   
       10 . The vented food-protective enclosure of  claim 9 , wherein the exterior of the barbeque and the one or more of the food-protective enclosures are made of the same or similar type of material. 
   
   
       11 . The vented food-protective enclosure of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of adjoining enclosure-sides comprise:
 a first plurality of enclosure-sides each adjoined to another side of the enclosure-sides by one or more hinges;   a second plurality of enclosure-sides each adjoined to another side of the enclosure-sides by one or more hinges;   and the vented food-protective enclosure further comprises one or more releasably-attachable fasteners for selectively adjoining the first plurality of enclosure-sides to the second plurality of enclosure-sides; wherein,   in a quick-setup or installation mode of the food-protective enclosure, the hinged first and second plurality of enclosure-sides are each configurable into a multi-sided enclosure-shaped portion which, when combined and fastened to one another by the one or more releasably-attachable fasteners, form a fully-enclosed multi-sided food-protective enclosure having one or more quickly openable and closeable enclosure-side openings; and,   in a foldable mode of the food-protective enclosure, the first plurality of hinged enclosure-sides and the second plurality of hinged enclosure-sides are separately foldable about their respective hinges into a configuration which minimizes the volume of the vented multi-sided food-protective enclosure for economical shipping, easy transporting or convenient storage.   
   
   
       12 . The vented food-protective enclosure of  claim 11 , wherein the configuration which minimizes the volume of the vented multi-sided food-protective enclosure includes (a.) one or more sides of the first plurality of enclosure-sides folded generally adjacent and parallel to at least one side of the same group of sides, and (b.) one or more sides of the second plurality of enclosure-sides folded generally adjacent and parallel to at least one side of the same group of sides. 
   
   
       13 . The vented food-protective enclosure of  claim 11 , wherein one of the plurality of adjoinable enclosure-sides includes a hinged bottom-side retainable by one or more releasably-attachable fasteners, to selectively (a.) adjoin the bottom-side to one or more lower portions of the enclosure to form a fully-enclosed food-protective enclosure, or (b.) adjoin the hinged bottom-side when rotated generally adjacent and parallel to at least one vertically-orientated side of the food-protective enclosure to form an opened-bottom food-protective enclosure, which can be placed in, or lifted from, a resting position enveloping and protectively covering one or more food-products on a food-supporting or food-serving surface. 
   
   
       14 . The vented food-protective enclosure of  claim 13  further comprising a carrying case sized and shaped to securely retain the first and second plurality of enclosure-sides when each are in a folded state for easy transporting and convenient storage. 
   
   
       15 . The vented food-protective enclosure of  claim 1  adapted to slideably receive one or more trays, each of the one or more trays having a receptacle for retaining a non-ambient temperature material. 
   
   
       16 . A quick-setup and foldable vented multi-sided food-protective enclosure for use in food-serving settings, having one or more quickly openable and closeable enclosure-side openings, the enclosure comprising:
 a first foldable plurality of enclosure-sides each adjoined to another enclosure-side by one or more hinges;   a second foldable plurality of enclosure-sides each adjoined to another enclosure-side by one or more hinges;   one or more releasably-attachable fasteners for selectively adjoining the first foldable plurality of enclosure-sides to the second foldable plurality of enclosure-sides;   at least one of the foldable plurality of enclosure-sides having one or more quickly openable and closeable enclosure-side openings; wherein,   in a food-protective enclosure quick-setup or installation mode, the hinged first and second foldable plurality of enclosure-sides are each configurable into a plural-sided enclosure-shaped portion, which, when combined and fastened to one another by the one or more releasably-attachable fasteners form a fully-enclosed multi-sided food-protective enclosure having the one or more quickly openable and closeable enclosure-side openings; and,   in a food-protective enclosure foldable mode, the first plurality of hinged enclosure-sides and the second plurality of hinged enclosure-sides are separately foldable about one or more of their respective hinges into a folded state with sides folded around a hinge being generally adjacent and parallel to one another; whereby, the folded state minimizes the size of the vented multi-sided food-protective enclosure for economical shipping, transporting or convenient storage.   
   
   
       17 . The quick-setup and foldable vented multi-sided food-protective enclosure of  claim 16 , wherein one or more of the hinges are comprised of a flexible material. 
   
   
       18 . The quick-setup and foldable vented multi-sided food-protective enclosure of  claim 16 , wherein one or more opening-covers are comprised of a flexible material. 
   
   
       19 . The vented food-protective enclosure of  claim 16 , wherein one or more enclosure-sides are made of one or more materials having insulative properties. 
   
   
       20 . A vented food-protective enclosure, with one or more quickly openable and closeable enclosure-side openings, for use in food-serving settings, comprising:
 a plurality of adjoinable enclosure-sides made of a durable material having sufficient rigidity, when adjoined together, to provide a self-supporting food-protective enclosure having one or more interior volumes for retaining and protecting food-product;   at least one of the sides further comprising a ventilating material having a multiplicity of apertures each sized and shaped, to (a.) provide viewing, through the ventilating material, of one or more food products when retained within said food-protective enclosure, to (b.) restrict permeation of airborne or windblown matter, and to (c.) inhibit entry of crawling or flying insects;   an enclosure bottom-side adjoinable with one or more lower portions of the enclosure to form a substantially contiguous bottom-side of the enclosure to provide a fully-enclosed food-protective enclosure; and   at least one of the adjoinable enclosure-sides further comprising a door sized and shaped to cover said one or more quickly openable and closeable openings.