GB2455080A

GB2455080A - Crockery with removable text-bearing portion

Info

Publication number: GB2455080A
Application number: GB0723160A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Norton
Original assignee: NORTON IMAGINEERING Ltd
Current assignee: NORTON IMAGINEERING Ltd
Priority date: 2007-11-27
Filing date: 2007-11-27
Publication date: 2009-06-03
Also published as: GB0723160D0

Abstract

A plate 10 or bowl has a central area 12 and a surrounding rim 16. A portion 20 of the rim is delineated from the remainder of the rim by a line 22 of weakness that extends as a straight or smoothly curved line between two points on the periphery of the rim. The portion 20 may be printed with promotional material 26, such as a telephone number or internet address. The rim is frangible along the line of weakness so that portion 20 can be removed from the remainder of the rim. The line 22 may be straight if it extends across a corner of a polygonal plate or bowl. The line 22 may comprise perforations or thinning of the material. It may be a disposable plate or bowl of paper or brittle plastics material.

Description

TITLE

Promotional crockery

DESCRIPTION

This invention relates to crockery that can bear promotional material.

It is known to print promotional material on crockery such as disposable plates that might, for example, be used at a business buffet meal or provided with a take-away meal. The promotional material may include contact details, such as a telephone number, internet address or email address so that the reader can follow up. However, this requires the reader to remember the contact details (but their memory may fail them), write the details down (which may be inconvenient), or to take the used plate with them (which may be inconvenient and messy).

The present invention, or at least specific embodiments of it, addresses this problem.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a plate or bowl having a central area and a surrounding rim, a portion of the rim being delineated from the remainder of the rim by a line of weakness that extends as a straight or smoothly curved line between two points on the periphery of the rim, the rim being frangible along the line of weakness so that said portion can be removed from the remainder of the rim. Accordingly, promotional material may be printed on the removable portion, which an interested user can then remove from the remainder of the rim and take away with them, without requiring the user to remember anything, make a note of anything or take the whole plate or bowl away.

The line of weakness may be formed by perforations through the rim, and the material of the rim may be readily tearable along the perforations..

Alternatively, the line of weakness may be formed by thinning of the rim along the line of weakness, and the material of the rim may be brittle so that the it can be snapped apart along the line of weakness.

Especially in the case where the rim is polygonal (for example square or rectangular) in plan view, and the line of weakness may extend across a corner of the rim. In this case, the line of weakness may be straight. Alternatively, the line of weakness may be smoothly curved.

Specific embodiments of the present invention will now be described, purely by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a plate of a first embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a partial sectioned side view of the plate taken along the section line 2-2 in Figure 1; Figure 3 is an isometric view of the plate of Figure 1 with its removable portion detached; Figure 4 is a plan view of a plate of a second embodiment of the invention; Figure 5 is a partial sectioned side view of the plate taken along the section line 5-5 in Figure 4; and Figure 6 is an isometric view of the plate of Figure 4 with one of its removable portions detached.

Referring to Figures 1 and 3, in the first embodiment of the invention, a round, disposable, "paper" plate 10 has, as is conventional, a round, flat, central region 12, an annular, upwardly-sloping region 14 surrounding the central region 12, and a flat, annular rim region 16 surrounding the sloping region 14. The plate 10 as thus far described may be made in a conventional manner.

Unlike a conventional paper plate, the rim region 16 the plate 10 has a removable portion 20 delineated by a line 22 of weakness formed by perforations 24 (Figure 2) through the thickness of the rim region 16. The line 22 of weakness is smoothly curved between two spaced points on the periphery of the plate 10 and extends almost as far as the sloping region 14. The removable portions is printed with promotional material 26, such as a slogan, telephone number and/or internet address. The removable portion may also be differently coloured to the remainder of the plate.

After the plate 10 has been used, the portion 20 may be removed by tearing along the line 22 of weakness and the portion 20 may then be kept for future reference.

Referring to Figures 4 to 6, the plate 10 of the second embodiment of the invention is similar to the plate of Figures 1 to 3 except that: (i) the plate 10 is generally square; (ii) the plate is made from a brittle plastics material; (iii) two straight lines 22 of weakness are provided at two of the corners of the plate 10; (iv) the lines of weakness are provided by a thinning 28 (Figure 5) of the thickness of the rim region 16; and (v) at the ends of the lines 22 of weakness, the corners 30 of the removable portions 20 are rounded so as not to form sharp points when the portion 20 is removed.

It will be appreciated that many modifications may be made to the embodiments of the invention described above. For example, the plates 10 may be of other shapes and have different numbers of removable portions 20. The invention may also be applied to bowls.

It should be noted that the embodiments of the invention have been described above purely by way of example and that many other modifications and developments may be made thereto within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A plate or bowl having a central area and a surrounding rim, a portion of the rim being delineated from the remainder of the rim by a line of weakness that extends as a straight or smoothly curved line between two points on the periphery of the rim, the rim being frangible along the line of weakness so that said portion can be removed from the remainder of the rim.

2. A plate or bowl as claimed in claim I, wherein the line of weakness is formed by perforations through the rim.

3. A plate or bowl as claimed in claim 2, wherein the material of the rim is readily tearable.

4. A plate or bowl as claimed in claim 1, wherein the line of weakness is formed by thinning of the rim along the line of weakness.

5. A plate or bowl as claimed in claim 4, wherein the material of the rim is brittle.

6. A plate of bowl as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the rim is polygonal in plan view, and the line of weakness extends across a corner of the rim.

7. A plate of bowl as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the line of weakness is straight.

8. A plate of bowl as claimed in any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the line of weakness may be smoothly curved.

9. A plate or bowl substantially, as described with reference to the drawings.