US2844247A - Nest of disposable ash trays - Google Patents

Description

July 22, 1958 Filed Oct. 7, 1955 w. E. JONES NEST 0F DISPOSABLE ASH TRAYS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I IN V EN TOR.

WALLACE E. JONES wmww v WW ATTORNEYS July 22, 1958 w. E. ,JONES 2,844,247

NEST OF DISPOSABLE ASH TRAYS Filed Oct. 7, 1955 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

WALLACE E. JONES Fl G. 8 74 4 @fi m. QMW

ATTORNEYS NEST F" DISPOSABLE ASH TRAYS WallaceE. J ones,.Rocky River, Ohio Application October 7, 1955', Serial No.539,1 4=

3o Claims. (Cl. 20656) This invention relates to disposable tray forms, and more particularly to a nest of disposable ash trays made up of a continuous strip of series connected tray forms.

It isan object of this invention to provide a tray nest in the for-m of'a continuous-strip of'series connected tray for-ms adapted" to be super-folded within one another and readily divisible from the tray nest into individual trays.

- [tis another object of this invention to provide a continuous strip of-series connected tray forms arranged into a nest and having sli't's' longitudinally spaced on each tray form to allow-* the individual tray forms to be readily detached from the continuous strip.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a nest oft disposable trays in the formof a continuous strip of series connected individual trayforms. constructed of a thin flexible foil, crushable and preferably having a high heat resistance. 7

It is a further object of this invention toprovide a It is still a further object of this invention to provide a nest of disposable ash trays wherein the individual ash tray forms are provided with slits in the leading edges of the tray forms to allow them to be detached wherein the slits are arranged in a pattern whereby upon detaching an individual tray from the nest, the topmost tray is provided with an upstanding portion cut out from the detached tray, allowing it to be readily grasped for detachment from the tray'nest.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a nest of disposable ash trays embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of the ash tray nest shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an expanded view of a pair of adjacent connected ash tray forms detached from an ash tray nest United States. Patent 0 Fig. 6 is an elevational view of the ash tray form I slit 15 to define a separation area. '156 are-arranged inthis pattern to provide continuous portions 183 and 19 between the slits 14' and 15' and the 'slitsl i'and 16 respectively, whereby'th'e tray forms 11 and are int'erconnectedi It should be noted that these 2,844,247. PatentedJuly 22', 1958 The present invention is embodied in a disposable ash tray nest 10 made upof a continuous strip of individual ashtray forms 1'1, 11", etc. arranged to be superfolded within each other; The ash trayforms 11 and 11' are further arranged so as to; be readily detached from-the continuous formswithfia minimum of tensile force.

The individual ash tray forms 11 are constructed in this instance in a substantially-squaresymmetrical pattern having a conventional ashttray configuration. The article receiving surface 1-2of the ash tray forms 11 is arranged in the same square geometric pattern as the ash tray forms 11 and is so defined by providing upwardly inclined surfaces extending from the perimeter of the receiving surface I-2to the outer edges of the square tray form. Each of the corners of the ash tray' forms 11 are arranged to provide an article receiving and retaining hollbw 1-3 for holdingcigarettes, cigars or the like. The hollows are formed in the square areas provided by the folding of the inclined surfaces along the perimeter of the surface 12 and the resulting intersection of these fold's. The resulting" square pattern is then folded as shown to provid'e' the hollow 13L 7 The individual tray forms 11 are divisible from one another through the provision ofslits 14', 15 and 16' adjacent the leading edge of eachof the individual tray forms H The slits 14' and 16- extend angularly from the cotnersdefined by a fold 1 7- and the adjacent corner of the squares defining the hollows 13 towards the arcuate The slits 1 4, 15 and portions: 18 and I9 provide theonly connection between thetray forms 11 and 11. The fold 17 defines the adjacent edges of the tray forms 11 and 11' as they appear on the continuous forms and which fold allows the tray forms 11 and 11 to be superfolded. The fold 17 extends between the pair of squares defining the hollows 13 or alternatively from the outer edges of the slits 14 and 16.

The slits 14, 15 and 16 are further arranged in this predetermined pattern whereby upon the detachment of the forms 11 and 11', by connecting the slits 14, 15 and 16, an upstanding portion 20 is provided for the lagging tray form 11 so as to be readily grasped and thereby in turn detached from the tray nest 10. The fold 17 may also be provided with an aperture 21 of a diamond shape or any other suitable geometric pattern, substantially centrally of the fold and divided between the adjacent forms to allow. them to be more readilyfolded and nested within one another.

It has been found that the ash tray nest 10 may be of highly practical value and of simple construction when it is made up from a continuous strip of a thin aluminum foil. However, the ash tray nest 10 may be constructed of any flexible, crushable material that may be compatible with the particular use of the tray forms. When the tray forms are utilized as ash trays, for example, it is desirable that the material be highly resistant to heat so as not to burn readily and a metallic foil satisfies this requirement.

Now referring to the embodiment shown in Figs. 5 through 8, another practical form of the invention will be described. The ash tray forms 23 shown in Figs. 5 through 8 are substantially similar to the previously described embodiment but are arranged to be detached differently. In this embodiment, a plurality of slits 25 and 26 are provided at-the leading edges of each tray form 27 and 27 adjacent the longitudinal edges of the continuous strip. The ash tray forms 27 and 27 are folded within one another at the slits 25 and 26 so that a triangle shown in dotted outline is formed. The slits 25 and 26 project into the thus formed triangle at the vertex thereof and provide areas 28 and 30 whereby the tray forms 27 and 27' are interconnected.

The forms 27 are further arranged and folded so that upon successive detachment of the forms the areas 28 and 36' are substantially bisected. Each of the corners for the tray form 27 are folded downwardly and upon detachment from the nest the adjacent area on the succeeding form 27' is raised so as to provide a projection to allow it to be readily grasped for detachment.

In this particular embodiment the ash tray forms 27 and 27 are in a substantially rectangular pattern and have their connected edges apertured between the slits 25 and 26' as shown in Fig. 7. These apertured edges are further provided with a plurality of article retaining areas 31 and 32. The article receiving surface 33 may also have the same general configuration as the tray form 27 or any other convenient configuration.

In the accompanying drawings and the foregoing detailed description it will now be readily understood that this invention provides a disposable ash tray nest which may be used as a nest and upon filling up the topmost ash tray form, the tray may be readily detached from the nest and crushed around the ashes, cigarette butts and the like retained within the ash tray and the entire package conveniently disposed of. Also, although the invention has been described in conjunction with a disposable ash tray nest it should be readily apparent that the nest 7 tailed extent it will be understood, of course, that the in- 3 vention is not to be regarded as being limited correspondingly in scope but includes all changes and modifications coming within the terms of the claims hereofi.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A nest of disposable tray forms comprising, a continuous strip of foil material having a series of individual tray forms formed therein in side-by-side integrally connected relationship, evenly spaced transverse fold lines formed in said continuous foil strip adjacent the connected boundaries of said series of individual tray forms, each of said individual tray forms comprising a flat central bottom portion with a wall extending from the perimeter thereof for forming a central article receiving and retaining holiow, the central hollows of said individual tray forms alternately opening toward opposite sides of said continuous foil strip, said continuous foil strip being folded in accordion fashion back upon itself along said fold lines with said individual trays in nested relationforms, and the continuous foil strip portion between the set of slits and fold line of each tray form defines a tab which is easily accessible for hand gripping purposes.

3. A nest of disposable tray forms as set forth in claim 1, wherein said tray forms are ash trays, and said wall of each of said tray forms is folded to provide identical V-shaped portions disposed to nest with the identical V-shaped portions of an adjacent tray form.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 403,113 Keller May 14, 1889 7 2,214,525 Murguiondo Sept. 10, 1940 2,705,962 Welke Apr. 12, 1955

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