US2770514A

US2770514A - Lunch tray holder

Info

Publication number: US2770514A
Application number: US471826A
Authority: US
Inventors: Idso Ingham
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1954-11-29
Filing date: 1954-11-29
Publication date: 1956-11-13
Anticipated expiration: 1973-11-13

Description

l3, 1956 IDSO' 7 LUNCH TRAY HOLDER Filed Nov. 29, 1954 VIII/III M F/ G. 4.

l N VENTOR I N G H A M I D S O ATTORNEY United States Patent LUNCH TRAY HOLDER Ingharn Idso, Fargo, N. Dak. Application November 29, 1954, Serial No. 471,826

Claims. (Cl. 311-23) This invention relates to lunch trays and more particularly to trays combined with holders adapted to straddle a persons legs and be secured thereby.

It is an object of my invention to provide a simple and economical structure for holding a tray securely on a persons lap with a minimum of effort.

It is a further object of my invention to provide an extremely simple bracket arrangement to be used in conjunction with a tray.

It is an additional object of my invention to provide an arrangement of a tray and means for holding it on a persons lap in such a manner that the tray may be set at a particular angle with respect to the horizon to prevent tilting, depending upon the length of the'users legs.

in general my invention contemplates a structure comprising a tray and a bracket having a pair of relatively slidable parts which can be set to grip the outer edges of the tray by meansrof upwardly extending flanges. Further, the parts of the bracket are formed to extend downwardly in a curved fashion so as to comfortably engage the outer surfaces of a persons legs. The user may, by exerting a divergent pressure on his legs, cause the bracket elements to grip the tray very forcibly so as to minimize any possible danger of slippage of thetray.

My invention will now be described in detail in conjunction with the appended drawing in which:

Fig. l is a perspective showing the combination of a tray and the tray holder;

Fig. 2 is a section through 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the tray; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section showing the traygripping flange of one of the holder elements.

With reference to the drawing, my invention comprises a tray 10 having opposite and

parallel edges

12 and 14 formed as cars so as to serve conveniently for handling the tray, in a conventional manner, and being provided with the

respective notches

16 and 18 which are off-set as shown in Fig. 3 for a purpose to be hereinafter described. The tray is shown as transparent in order to clearly reveal structural details of the holder as by looking therethrough in Fig. 1.

The holder for the tray comprises a pair of relatively

slidable elements

22 and 24 having edge to edge contiguous slidability as will be apparent from Fig. 1. These bracket elements each carries a metallic strap which slidably encompasses the other bracket element. For example, the element 22 carries the strap 26 riveted thereto, as by the rivet 28, while the element 24 carries strap 30 riveted thereto as by a rivet 32.

Each holder element has an upwardly turned tray engaging flange. Thus, element 22 has the flange 36 while element 24 has the flange 38. These flanges are adapted to grip the tray 10 and may be provided with notches as shown in detail in Fig. 4 viz., a pair of horizontal notches 42 and a pair of slanted notches 44. The notches l6 and 18 can be gripped within a pair of corresponding notches, for example, 42 or 44, at each end of the tray 10, and thus the plane of the tray will be either parallel 2,770,514 Patented Nov. 13, 1956 ice or predeterminedly slanted with respect to the plane of the holder elements which are presumed to lie flat across the users legs. It should now be apparent that the offset of the

notches

16 and 18 in the tray 10 is required for purposes of registering with the notches in the

flange members

36 and 38, since these flange members are obviously offset with respect to each. other due to the width of the holder elements.

Each holder element has a downwardly bent flange for gripping the exterior surfaces of the users legs. For example, the element 22 has the flange 48 while the element 24 has the flange 50. The flanges are curved as shown in Fig. 2 so as to comfortably adapt themselves around the fleshy part of the users legs; also, the flanges are provided with ribs such as the rib 52 for rigidity.

The

elements

22 and 24 may he slid with respect to each other so as to either grip the edges of a tray, or to release the edges. Further, it will be apparent that when the tray is astraddle the legs of a user the gripping force of the flanges 36 and 38may be increased and made very secure by mere divergent leg pressure against the

flanges

50 and 52. Normally, inherent friction of the slidable elements with each other is sufficient to maintain a grip on the tray without conscious effort on the part of the user.

The holder and tray is an entirely practical and usable combination with or without the notch engagement and the invention is in no way limited to theme of the notch coaction. However, the notch arrangement can perform the useful function particularly shown in Fig. 4

wherein it may be seen that the tray It) (in phantom) can be set at a slant. While in Fig. 4 the tray 10 is shown as having an upward tilt, it will readily be understood that should my invention be used by a person having short legs or by a child sitting in a chair of normal height, the tray 10 will assume a more nearly horizontal and safer position than would otherwise be the case. For persons of normal leg length the tray can either be set below the slanting notches so that the

notches

16 and 18 will merely straddle the outer edges of the

flanges

38 and 36, respectively, or the tray can be assembled to the bracket so as to have notch engagement inthe notches 42. However, in such instances the tray might tend to tilt downwardly when on the lap of a person having short legs and accordingly the slanted, adjusted position as shown in Fig. 4 would be more desirable since such adjustment would have the tendency to bring the tray 10 to approximately level position.

In retrospect the bracket elements may be made identical to each other except in the instance where slanted notches are utilized. For most purposes the notches are not deemed necessary and the tray may simply rest directly on the upper flat surfaces of the holder elements, being frictionally gripped at the

edges

12 and 14 by the

flanges

38 and 36 respectively. However, in the case of invalids and in certain other special applications, the use of notches as described above may be desirable to add an extra measure of security.

Having thus described my invention, I am aware that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit thereof and accordingly I do not seek to be limited to the precise illustrations herein given except as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A tray and a holder therefor, said holder comprising a pair of relatively slidable members positioned below the tray so as to rest across the legs of a user and having upwardly extending flanges for engaging opposite edges of said tray and downwardly extending flanges for engaging the legs of said user.

2. A tray and a holder therefor, said holder comprising a pair of relatively slidable members positioned below the tray so as to rest across the legs of a user and having upwardly extending flanges for engaging opposite edges of said tray and downwardly extending flanges for engaging the legs of said user, a retainer element secured to one of said members and slidably encompassing the other of said elements;

3. A tray and a holder therefor, said holder comprising a pair of relatively slidable members adapted to rest across the legs of a user and having upwardly extending flanges for engaging opposite edges of said tray and downwardly extending flanges for engaging the legs of said user, each of said members having a retainer element secured thereto and slidably encompassing the other of said elements.

4. A tray and a holder therefor, said holder compris ing a pair of relatively slidable members adapted to rest across the legs of a user and having upwardly extending flanges for engaging opposite edges of said tray and downwardly extending flanges for engaging the legs of said user, said members being in edge to edge contiguity and having flat sides for resting on said users legs, including retainer means securing said members together as a unit removable from said tray.

5. A tray and a holder therefor, said holder comprising a pair of relatively slidable members adapted to rest across the legs of a user and having upwardly extending flanges for engaging opposite edges of said tray and downwardly extending flanges for engaging the legs of said user, wherein said members are slidable with respect to each other and with respect to said tray whereby said user may effect outward pressure with his legs against said downwardly extending flanges to cause relative motion of said members for effecting secure gripping of said tray by said upwardly extending flanges.

6. A tray and a holder therefor, said holder comprising a pair of relatively slidable members adapted to rest across the legs of a user and having upwardly extending flanges for engaging opposite edges of said tray and downwardly extending flanges for engaging the legs of said user, means intermediate said tray and said slidable members for holding said tray at a predetermined angle with respect thereto.

7. A tray and a holder therefor, said holder comprising a pair of relatively slidable members positioned below the tray so as to rest across the legs of a user and having upwardly extending flanges for engaging opposite edges of said tray and downwardly extending flanges for engaging the legs of said user, means intermediate said tray and said slidable members for holding said tray at a predetermined angle with respect thereto, said means comprising notches in said tray edges coacting with notches in said upwardly extending flanges.

8. A tray and a holder therefor, said holder comprising a pair of identical members, each having an end bent upwardly for engaging an edge of said tray and an opposite end bent downwardly for engaging the side of a leg of a user, said members being oriented in opposed directions so as to grip parallel edges of said tray and both legs of said user.

9. A tray and a holder therefor, said holder comprising a pair of identical members, each having an end bent upwardly for engaging an edge of said tray and an opposite end bent downwardly for engaging the side of a leg of a user, said members being oriented in opposed directions so as to grip parallel edges of said tray and both legs of said user, including means for retaining said members slidably with respect to each other and with respect to said tray.

10. A tray and a holder therefor, said holder comprising a pair of identical members, each having an end bent upwardly for engaging an edge of said tray and an opposite end bent downwardly for engaging the side of a leg of a user, said members being oriented in opposed directions so as to grip parallel edges of said tray and both legs of said user, including means for retaining said members slidably with respect to each other and with respect to said tray, said means comprising a strap carried by each member and slidably encompassing the other of said members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,008,037 Johnson Nov. 7, 1911 2,255,654 Davis et al Sept. 9, 1941 2,647,716 Hudziak et a1 Aug. 4, 1953 2,663,603 Newman Dec. 22, 1953 2,689,157 Di Censo Sept. 14, 1954- 2,697,018 Georgides Dec. 14, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 731,149 Germany Feb. 2, 1943