Food products serving and preserving device

摘要

A device for serving and preserving food items, the device including an open container for holding the food items having one or more side walls and a floor, wherein when the food items are immersed in fluid, typically a preserving fluid, the device is in a preserving state; a liquid-holding compartment, having a tubular form, for holding the fluid when the device is in a serving state; and a liquid-transfer mechanism for transferring the preserving fluid from the open container into the liquid-holding compartment and back. One or more passageways, interconnecting the open container and the liquid-holding compartment, facilitate the transfer of fluid between the open container and the liquid-holding compartment.

主权项

1. A device for holding, serving and preserving non-liquid food items, the device comprising:
an open container, having one or more side walls and a floor, for holding the food items, wherein the device is adapted to be in an immersed state when the food items are immersed in fluid; a liquid-holding compartment, having a tubular form and a cylindrical configuration, for holding said fluid when the device is in a non-immersed state; and a liquid-transfer mechanism for bidirectionally transferring said fluid between said open container and said liquid-holding compartment, while said non-liquid food items remain in said open container;wherein one or more passageways, interconnecting said open container and said liquid-holding compartment, facilitate said transfer of fluid between said open container and said liquid-holding compartment, in both directions, back and forth, as well as holding said fluid in either said open container or said liquid-holding compartment, wherein said liquid-holding compartment includes an inner wall, an outer wall, a bottom edge disposed adjacent or proximal to said floor of said open container, and a top edge, wherein said one or more passageways are formed at or proximal to said bottom edge, facilitating the transfer of substantially all of said fluid to either said open container or said liquid-holding compartment;wherein said liquid-holding compartment is detachable from said open container, andwherein said liquid-holding compartment is operatively attached to said open container by a lock/unlock mechanism; andwherein said lock/unlock mechanism includes:
one or more dowels, having a width and a height, disposed on the cylindrical external surface of said liquid-holding compartment, at or proximal to said bottom edge; and one or more “L”-shaped grooves formed on the inner walls of a cylindrical cavity, wherein said cylindrical cavity is formed at the bottom of the inner surface of said open container;wherein each of said “L”-shaped grooves includes an axial section, substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of said liquid-holding compartment, and a lateral section, substantially perpendicular to said axial section;wherein the number of said “L”-shaped grooves is at least the number of said one or more dowels;wherein the radial distance between adjacent “L”-shaped grooves match the radial distance between adjacent respective dowels;wherein said axial sections of said “L”-shaped grooves are wider than said width of said respective dowels, thereby facilitating the sliding of said dowels inside said axial section of said respective “L”-shaped grooves; andwherein the height of said lateral section of said “L”-shaped grooves is slightly higher than said height of said respective dowels, thereby facilitating the sliding of said dowels inside said lateral section of said respective “L”-shaped grooves.