Food cover for providing both a full closed position and a quasi-open, sneeze guard position and including side panels, a segmented hinge and mirror image front and back panels

Abstract

An all-plastic food cover is described that includes mirror image front and back L-shaped panels. The L-shaped panels are cantilevered from a fixed central roof lateral by means of an articulated, segmented hinge. Since the roof lateral is integrally formed between and is a part of the upright side panels (forming an unitary subassembly) and inasmuch as the particular elements of the hinge are individually molded and then pressure mounted together by hand in segments, the invention can be easily assembled, disassembled and reassembled without tools. The hinge is segmented and includes a pair of support members that are each Cee-shaped in cross section. The support members are open along their full elongated length to form coextensive front and back passageways that permit entry of enlarged lips of the L-shaped front and back panels therein. The orientation and design of the support members (they are complementary canted) and the shape of the lips (L-shaped), permit the front and back panels to be separately swingable about collinear axes coextensive of the roof lateral. Yet these panels can also be strongly locked in closed and quasi-open sneeze positions relative to a horizontal base surface, such as a table top. Further rotation of either panel coupled with rectilinear movement away from the supporting horizontal base, allows the user to completely remove such panel from the hinge.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.