DISH AND DUAL-USE BASE ASSEMBLY

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] The present non-provisional utility application is based on provisional application U.S. Serial No. 63,745,774, entitled “Ceramic Tableware With Dual-Use Silicone Base and Lid “, filed January 15, 2025, which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates to a dish and a base assembly, and more particularly to a base configured to carry a dish above a surface, in which the base is configured to connect to the surface, as well as being configured alternatively as a cover for the dish.

BACKGROUND

[0003] Dishes, such as ceramic tableware is valued for its durability, heat retention and non-reactive surface, making it a popular choice for both home and commercial use. However, ceramic items can be fragile when dropped, especially in the hands of young children, leading to concerns over safety and practicality for everyday child use.

[0004] Children’s tableware is typically made from plastic, silicone, or stainless steel. While these materials are lightweight and shatter-resistant, they present several drawbacks. Plastic and silicone dishes are prone to staining from food dyes, tend to retain odors from detergents and oils, and may raise long-term safety concerns due to microplastics and/or chemical leaching. Stainless steel, though more durable, cannot be used in microwaves, which is often inconvenient for reheating.

[0005] Additionally, most child-friendly tableware is visually and functionally different from adult dinnerware, potentially creating a separation in mealtime experience. Using ceramic dishes that resemble those used by adults can foster independence and positive eating habits in children, while also aligning with parental preferences for aesthetics and material safety.

[0006] Some ceramic bowls and plates for children are designed with partial silicone guards or side bumpers, but these often fail to protect the bottom of the dish and do not improve functionality beyond basic shock absorption. Moreover, silicone lids used in food storage containers are not typically compatible with ceramic plates or bowls, nor are they designed to serve as a suction base during use.

[0007] There is a need for a flexible silicone cover that fits securely under a ceramic dish to provide suction and stability during use, and also inverts to function as a lid for the same dish. Such a ceramic dish may be shaped as a plate or bowl, with optional configurations such as dividers or taller sidewalls. The natural weight of the ceramic would enhance suction, preventing tipping or throwing, while the combined design offers a microwave-safe, easy-to-clean, and child-appropriate solution that balances form and function.

SUMMARY

[0008] The present embodiment of the invention incudes a dish and dual-use base. The dish of the assembly includes a support structure having an outer perimeter and a sidewall positioned around the outer perimeter. The support structure and the sidewall define an inner surface that forms an open basin in the dish. The dish also includes an outer surface and a lower surface. The base of the assembly includes a base portion having an outer perimeter which extends beyond the outer perimeter of the dish. The base includes a base sidewall extending upward near a portion of the outer perimeter. The base portion and the base sidewall defines an inner surface that forms an open cavity in the base portion. The inner surface of the base is configured to hold at least a portion of the outer surface and the lower surface of the dish. The base sidewall is positioned to extend over at least a portion of the outer surface of the sidewall of the dish. The lower surface of the base includes a convex portion that extends substantially over the lower surface of the base. The base and dish are configured to fit together. The upper surface of the base and the inner surface and open cavity thereof are formed to hold at least the lower surface of the dish and at least a portion of the sidewall of the dish. When the dish is positioned in the cavity of the base, and the base is position on a selected surface, downward pressure causes the convex portion of the base to form a releasable suction connection between the base and the selected surface. When the base is disconnected from the dish, the base is also configured to be inverted and positioned over the open basin in the dish.

[0009] In one aspect of the one embodiment, at least a portion of each sidewall of the dish and the base are substantially vertical. The sidewalls of the dish and the base are substantially parallel relative to each other.

[0010] In another aspect of the one embodiment, the dish includes a lower sidewall, and the dish also includes an additional lower sidewall.

[0011] In yet another aspect of the one embodiment, the dish includes a greater weight than the base. The support structure of the dish includes the greater weight. The dish is formed at least partially from ceramic.

[0012] In still a further aspect of the one embodiment, the base is formed at least partially from silicone.

[0013] In yet a further aspect of the one embodiment, when the dish is positioned within the cavity of the base, the base sidewall extends at least partially over the outer surface of the sidewall of the dish.

[0014] In another aspect of the one embodiment, the base sidewall is positioned against the dish sidewall when the base holds the dish in the cavity of the base and when the base is inverted to cover the open basin of the dish.

[0015] In yet another aspect of the one embodiment, the convex portion of the base portion collapses downward against the selected surface when a user puts downward pressure on the dish or the base, or when the weight of the dish causes the space between the convex portion of the lower surface of the base and the selected surface to be substantially eliminated. When the convex portion is substantially collapsed, the convex portion and lower surface of the base is substantially parallel to the connecting surface.

[0016] In still another aspect of the one embodiment, the base portion includes a tab which permits a user to lift at least a portion of the base portion to release a seal by the base portion against the selected surface.

[0017] In yet a further aspect of the one embodiment, the dish includes at least one divider wall positioned over a portion of the basin. The at least one divider wall is formed from at least a portion of at least one of the support structure and the sidewall of the dish.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] The structure, operation, and advantages of the present invention will become further apparent upon consideration of the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures. The figures are intended to be schematic, illustrative, and not limiting:

[0019]FIG. 1A is an upper perspective view of the dish of the dish and dual-use base assembly of the present invention;

[0020]FIG. 1B is an upper perspective view of the dual-use base of the dish and dual-use base assembly of the present invention;

[0021]FIG. 1C is an upper perspective view of the dish of FIG. 1A and the dual-use base of FIG. 1B positioned together;

[0022]FIG. 2A is a lower perspective view of the dish of FIG. 1A;

[0023]FIG. 2B is a lower perspective view of the base of FIG. 1B;

[0024]FIG. 2C is a lower perspective view of the dish and dual-use base of FIG. 1C;

[0025]FIG. 3A is an upper perspective view of the inverted dual-use base of FIGS. 1B and 2B;

[0026]FIG. 3B is an upper perspective view of the dish as shown in FIG. 1A;

[0027]FIG. 3C is an upper perspective view of the dish of FIG. 3B with the inverted base of FIG. 3A positioned over the dish of FIG. 3B;

[0028]FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view of the dish of FIG. 1A;

[0029]FIG. 4B is a cross sectional view of the base of FIG. 1B, showing a convex portion;

[0030]FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view of the dish and dual-use base assembly as shown in FIG. 1C, showing the convex portion of the base positioned over a selected surface;

[0031]FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of the dish and dual-use base assembly as shown in FIG. 5A, but showing the base connected to the selected surface;

[0032]FIG. 6A is an upper perspective view of an alternative dish of the dish and dual-use base assembly, but showing dividing walls within the dish;

[0033]FIG. 6B is an upper perspective view of the dual-use base, as shown in FIG. 1B;

[0034]FIG. 6C is an upper perspective view of the alternative dish of FIG. 6A and the dual-use base of FIG. 6B connected together;

[0035]FIG. 7A is a cross-sectional view of the alternative dish of FIG. 6A;

[0036]FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view of the dual-use base of FIG. 6B; and

[0037]FIG. 7C is a cross sectional view of the alternative dish and dual-use base of FIG. 6C.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] One or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below.  In an effort to provide a concise description of these embodiments, all features of an actual implementation may not be described in the specification.  It should be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers’ specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation to another.  Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure.

[0039] When introducing elements of various embodiments of the present disclosure, the articles “a,” “an,” and “the,” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements.  The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements.  The variations of “comprising”, “including” and “having”, such as, but not by way of limitation, “comprise”, “include”, “have” or “has”, are also included in this definition, as are the words “is” and “are”. Any examples of operating parameters and/or environmental conditions are not exclusive of other parameters/conditions of the disclosed embodiments. The terms “substantial” and “substantially” as used herein desirably means plus or minus 10 percent of a stated amount of configuration. More desirably, the terms “substantial” and “substantially as used herein means plus or minus 5 percent of a stated amount of configuration. For example, but not by way of limitation, the term “substantially” vertical means plus or minus 5 percent of vertical.

[0040] The term “dish” as used herein means any plate, saucer, bowl, including serving dishes, having any configuration. In addition, as used herein, “base” means a device for holding at least a portion of a dish which includes a dual use for covering the dish. Such a base desirably includes a means for connecting the base to a surface, such as, by example, but not by way of limitation, via suction between the base and a surface carrying the base.

[0041] In the present embodiment, the dish may desirably be a ceramic dish. The dish may desirably include a flat base and upwardly extending substantially vertical sidewalls. The sidewalls are intentionally designed to be near-vertical rather than sloped, which serves two essential purposes: it helps prevent food spillage when children use utensils to scoop; it ensures dimensional compatibility with the silicone base when used in its inverted lid configuration, because if the sidewalls were significantly sloped, the base, when used as a lid, would not fit securely or uniformly around the rim of the dish. The vertical wall design also enables taller, bowl-style configurations while maintaining a compact footprint.

[0042]As shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C, in the present embodiment, a dish and base assembly 10 is provided, which includes both a dish 12 and a base 14. The dish 12 desirably includes a support structure 16 which includes an outer perimeter 18. In the present embodiment, but not by way of limitation, the outer perimeter 18 desirably may include a sidewall 20 which may extend around the outer perimeter 18 of the support structure 16 and extend substantially vertically. The support structure 16 and sidewall 20 cooperate to form at least one open basin 22 defined by an inner surface 24 of the support structure 16 on one side of at least the sidewall 20 and an outer surface 25 on an opposite side thereof. The dish 12 also includes a lower surface 26 positioned opposite to the upper surface 24. The support structure 16 in this embodiment is illustrated as a substantially flat, planar surface, but in an alternative, the support structure 16 may be partially or entirely concave and may, for example, have the shape of a bowl (not shown) as well, to accommodate food (not shown) held therein. In addition, much like a regular food plate well known in the art, the dish 12 may be formed with only a short upwardly extending lip of a sidewall (not shown), such as for example only, a plate or a saucer. In a further example, the support structure 16 may be formed without an elongated sidewall (not shown). Such configurations for dishes (such as, for example only, plates, saucers, bowls, serving dishes, and the like) are well known in the art, and all are enabled herein.

[0043]Similarly, as illustrated in FIGS. 1C, the sidewall 20 of the dish 12 may extend above the support structure 16. In the present embodiment, however, one or more lower sidewall(s) 30 desirably extend from the lower surface 26 of the support structure 16 and desirably, but not by way of limitation, within the outer perimeter 18 of the support structure 16, as shown in FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C. Further, one or more additional lower sidewalls 32 may be positioned on the lower surface 26 of the support structure 16 within an outer perimeter 18 of any lower sidewall(s) 30.

[0044]The dish 12 is desirably, but not by way of limitation, constructed at least partially from a ceramic material. More desirably, the dish 12 is constructed completely from a ceramic material. The ceramic material is microwave-safe, dishwasher-safe, and may be weighted (by any means known in the art) to improve both usability and suction strength when used with the base 14. The dish 12, however, may be constructed from any material or combination of materials, such as, for example, only, ceramic, metal, plastic, and the like, and/or any other materials known in the art, so long as the dish 12 and material(s) operate and function as shown and/or described herein.

[0045]The base 14, as illustrated in FIGS. 1B, 1C, 2B, and 2C, is desirably constructed at least partially from a silicone material. More desirably, the base 14 is constructed completely from a silicone material. However, any material(s) known in the art may be used, so long as such materials operate as shown and/or described herein.

[0046]The base 14 may desirably include a flexible base portion 36 which includes an outer perimeter 37 that extends beyond the outer perimeter 18 of the support structure 16. The base portion 36 also includes an upper surface 38 and a lower surface 40. A base sidewall 42 desirably extends upward from the upper surface 38 of the base portion 36 and together with the base portion forms an open cavity 44 defined by an inner surface 46, the base portion 36 also including an opposite outer surface 48. The inner surface 46 of the base sidewall 42 desirably may be configured to extend around and against the outer surface 25 of the sidewall 20 of the dish 16, and the lower surface 26 of the support surface 16 of the dish 12 is desirably held firmly within the inner surface 46 of the base portion 36. In the present embodiment, but not by way of limitation, the base sidewall 42 overlaps at least a portion of the sidewall of the dish 12 to at least partially enclose the sidewall 20 of the dish 12 to hold the dish 12 firmly but releasably within the base 14. Alternatively, the base sidewall 42 may extend to an upper edge 50 of the sidewall 20 of the support structure 16 of the dish 12, and in a further alternative, it may also extend beyond the sidewall 30 of the support structure 16 (not shown).

[0047]As illustrated in FIGS. 4A, 4B, 5A, and 5B, at least a substantial portion of the lower surface 40 of the base portion 36 of the base 14 desirably forms a convex portion 52 which extends across a substantial portion of the base portion 36. The base portion 36, for example, but not by way of limitation, may be positioned spaced-apart from the lower surface 26 of the dish 12 due to the lower sidewall(s) 30 and any additional lower sidewall(s) 32 thereon. The upper surface 40 of the base portion 36, for example only, may also be spaced-apart from the lower surface 26 of the support structure 16 of the dish 12, but the lower sidewall 30 and/or the additional side wall(s) 32 may contact a portion of the upper surface 38 base portion 36, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B. The profile of the base portion 14, with no protruding suction cups or other elements, ensures easy cleaning and broad contact for reliable suction. The weight of the dish (for example, but not by way of limitation, a ceramic dish or weighted ceramic dish) enhances a suction connection, to prevent young children from tipping or lifting the dish 12 during use.

[0048]The dish 12 may include at least one divider wall(s) 54 positioned to extend across the lower surface 26 of the dish support structure 16 and the sidewall 20. The divider wall 54 may incorporate both a portion of the support structure 16 and the sidewall 20, as illustrated in FIGS. 6A-6C and 7A-7B. Further, additional divider wall (s) 56 may extend from one existing divider wall 54 to a sidewall 20 as well, and incorporate both therein, as illustrated in FIGS. 6A and 7A.

[0049]In a method of one use, the dish and base assembly 10 may desirably be positioned on a connecting surface 58. “Connecting surface”, as used herein, means a clean, flat, smooth, planar surface that is substantially parallel to the dish and base assembly 10 when the dish and base assembly 10 is positioned thereon. It will be appreciated that the terms “connecting surface” and “selected surface” are used as synonyms herein, and therefore their meaning is identical. Desirably, a user positions the dish 12 into the base 14, and the dish and base assembly 10 is desirably positioned on the connecting surface 58, with the lower surface 40 of the base 14 positioned on the connecting surface 58, as shown in FIG. 5A. In this position, an empty space 59 containing only air is formed between the lower surface 40 of the base portion 36 and the connecting surface 58. The user then pushes the dish 12 firmly downward against the base 14 and the connecting surface 58. Alternatively, the weight of the support structure 16 of the dish 12 may push the base 14 downward. Either of these actions desirably forces air in the space 59 between the convex portion 52 and the connecting surface 58 to be pushed outward, away from the lower surface 40 of the base portion 36, as illustrated in FIG. 5B. In this manner, desirably at least a portion of the lower surface 40 of the base portion 36 contacts and connects to the connecting surface 58, due to the known adhesive-like properties of the silicone material. More desirably, a substantial portion of the lower surface 40 of the base portion 36 connects to the connecting surface 58. The connection between the lower surface 40 and the connecting surface 58 is formed by a suction between the lower surface 40 the base 14 and the connecting surface 58. As illustrated in FIG. 5B, the convex portion 52 of the lower surface 40 becomes substantially parallel relative to the connecting surface 58 when connected thereto, and the space 59 is substantially eliminated.

[0050]The base portion 36 desirably may include a tab 60 or similar structure which permits extends from a portion of base portion 36 to permit a user to grasp the tab 60 to release the contact of the lower surface 40 of the base portion 36 from the surface connecting surface 58, so that the dish and base assembly 10 may be easily moved. In the present embodiment, if desired, the dish 12 may be moved without releasing the suction connection between the base 14 and the connecting surface 58.

[0051]As illustrated in FIGS. 3A-3C, the base 14 may also be used as a lid 62. In another method of use, to store food (not shown) within the dish 12 for later consumption, the base 14 may be removed from the dish 12 and inverted. In this method of use, it will be understood that when inverted, the lower surface 40 of the base 14 becomes an upper surface, and the upper surface 38 of the base 14 becomes a lower surface, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3C. The inner surface 46 of the base sidewalls 42 are positioned over an upper edge 64 of the dish 12 and the inner surface 46 of the base sidewall 42 is positioned against the outer surface 25 of the sidewall 20 of the dish 12, such that the open basin 22 of the dish 12 is covered as well. In this manner, the base 14 becomes the lid 62 which provides a cover for food (not shown) left in the dish 12 or, for example, for storage of the food in the dish and dual-use base assembly 10 in a refrigerator. In this embodiment, but not by way of limitation, the substantially vertical sidewall 20 of the dish 12 and the substantially vertical base sidewall 42 cooperate to provide a snug closure over the open basin 22 of the dish 12. As used herein, the terms “snug” of “snugly” means a very close fit against and around another object. Other embodiments of the sidewall 20 of the dish 12 and the base sidewall 42 may be created and used, so long as the dish and base assembly 10 functions as shown and/or described herein.

[0052]This additional function of the base portion 36 when used as a lid 62 allows the user to conveniently re-heat any food stored in the dish 12. The lid 62 is also microwave-safe, it is also safe for reheating the dish and base assembly 10 in a microwave without removing the lid 62. The lid 62 is sized to match the outer perimeter 18 of the dish 12 and does not require additional interlocking features or indentations for alignment, which permits manufacturing simplicity and compatibility across dish sizes.

[0053] The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those of ordinary skill in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to and fall within the scope of this disclosure.

[0054] While only certain features of the disclosure have been illustrated and described herein, many modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the disclosure.

[0055] The techniques presented and claimed herein are referenced and applied to material objects and concrete examples of a practical nature that demonstrably improve the present technical field and, as such, are not abstract, intangible or purely theoretical. Further, if any claims appended to the end of this specification contain one or more elements designated as “means for [perform]ing [a function]…” or “step for [perform]ing [a function]…”, it is intended that such elements are to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f).