Tray-pocket shaper combination for making decorative patterns arrangement of items, pocket shapers and methods of using

Abstract

The disclosed invention involves a combination of a tray of various sizes and shapes and having a wall around at least a part of its periphery and one or more removable pocket shapers comprised of separators, grids, etc. for forming pockets on a top surface of the bottom of the tray, the pockets having a bottom area of 3 inches or more, the combination allowing easy, fast preparation of attractive patterns of different edible and/or non-edible items having distinctive boundaries therebetween when the pocket shapers are removed vertically. Also disclosed are methods of forming a multitude of such arrangements using such combinations.

1 . A combination of a tray having a bottom with a top surface, one or more walls around the periphery of the top surface and one or more removable grid segments and/or removable pocket shapers that will sit on the top surface of the tray, the one or more removable grid segments or removable pocket shapers, in cooperation with one or more of the walls, and/or one or more partitions of or on the tray, forming a plurality of pockets that form a decorative pattern above the top surface of the tray with at least two of the pockets each having an area on the top surface of at least 3 square inches. 
     
     
         2 . The combination of  claim 1  wherein the edge is an outer or top edge of the wall. 
     
     
         3 . The combination of  claim 1  wherein the edge is where the wall meets the top surface of the tray. 
     
     
         4 . The combination of  claim 1  wherein the wall makes an angle with the top surface within the range of about 170 to about 30 degrees. 
     
     
         6 . The combination of  claim 1  wherein the shape of the top surface is selected from a group consisting of a square, rectangle, triangle, pentagon, hexagon, septagon, octagon, circle, half-circle, oval, long oval, wide oval, a star, 
     
     
         7 . The combination of  claim 4  wherein the shape of the top surface is selected from a group consisting of a square, rectangle, triangle, pentagon, hexagon, septagon, octagon, nonagon, decagon, circle, half-circle, oval, long oval, wide oval, star, daisy flower blossom, 
     
     
         8 . The combination of  claim 1  wherein the tray has no permanent partitions. 
     
     
         9 . The combination of  claim 6  wherein the tray has no permanent partitions. 
     
     
         10 . The combination of  claim 1  wherein the tray is comprised of one or more of a ceramic material, a plastic material, a reinforced plastic material, a wood material, metal material, a paper material and/or a stone material. 
     
     
         11 . A combination of a tray having a bottom having a top surface, a wall around at least a majority of the periphery of the top surface and one or more removable grid segments and/or removable pocket shapers that alone or in cooperation with the wall, and/or one or more partitions, of or on the tray will sit on the top surface of the tray bottom and within the confines of the wall to form a plurality of pockets in the tray, each pocket having an area of at least 4 square inches, the plurality of pockets forming a decorative pattern, the combination excluding drip catching trays, splash trays, known food molds and oven drip trays. 
     
     
         12 . The combination of  claim 1  wherein the edge is an outer or top edge of the wall. 
     
     
         13 . The combination of  claim 1  wherein the edge is where the wall meets the top surface of the tray. 
     
     
         14 . The combination of  claim 1  wherein the wall makes an angle with the top surface within the range of about 170 to about 30 degrees. 
     
     
         15 . The combination of  claim 1  wherein the tray has no permanent partitions. 
     
     
         16 . The combination of  claim 1  wherein the tray is comprised of one or more of a ceramic material, a plastic material, a reinforced plastic material, a wood material and/or a stone material. 
     
     
         17 . The combination of  claim 1  wherein the top surface and wall of the tray, and the one or more removable members are suitable for contact with foods. 
     
     
         18 . A pocket shaper and/or grid segment comprised of one or more strips of material that when set on a top surface of a tray cooperates with one or more walls of the tray to form a plurality of pockets, each pocket bottom having an area of at least 4 square inches and the plurality of pockets forming a decorative pattern. 
     
     
         19 . The pocket shaper and/or grid segment of  claim 18  wherein the one or more strips of material have a height above the top surface of the tray of at least about 0.25 inch and are comprised of a metal or a metallic alloy or paper or wood or plant material or plastic or combinations thereof. 
     
     
         20 . The pocket shaper of  claim 18  wherein one or more of the pocket shapers and/or grid segments contains a portion that will form a pocket without cooperating with a wall of the tray and one or more other parts that will cooperate with the wall of the tray to form one or more different pockets.