WO2001034003A1

WO2001034003A1 - A food holder having a flexible strip

Info

Publication number: WO2001034003A1
Application number: PCT/IL2000/000738
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yossi Ben
Original assignee: Yossi Ben
Priority date: 1999-11-11
Filing date: 2000-11-12
Publication date: 2001-05-17
Also published as: IL132885A0; AU1297301A

Abstract

The invention provides a food-serving holder (10) for a food article (12), comprising front and back walls (14, 16) at least indirectly connected to each other, an open top (18) for receiving therethrough said food article (12), and a bottom surface (20), said holder further comprising a flexible strip (22) having two ends (24, 26) extending towards said open top (18) and an intermediate section (28) proximate to said bottom surface (20), at least one of said ends (24) being anchored to said holder (10) and at least one of said ends (26) being positioned to be at least indirectly manipulated to cause tautening of said strip (22), thereby progressively advancing and elevating a food article (12) placed thereon towards and above said open top (18).

Description

A FOOD HOLDER HAVING A FLEXIBLE STRIP

The present invention relates to a food-serving holder for food products for consumption. More particularly, the invention provides a hygienic holder allowing a consumer to comfortably eat a food product while avoiding hand contact with said food.

In the present specification a food product, item or article means any item such as a hamburger, a slice of water melon, a baked good such as a pita, a bun, or an apple or chocolate pie, or any other fast food item.

The term pita refers to a flat round bread having a hollow center which is filled with fried balls and chopped vegetables usually topped off with a sauce and/or spices, which is prepared and sold by fast food outlets.

Consumers are becoming increasingly conscious of the need to avoid contamination of foods, and are aware that a source of such contamination is the contact of hands with said food. Thorough washing of one's hands before eating is, of course, recommended by health authorities, but this may not always be carried out in practice. To meet these concerns various food holders have been proposed, mainly to meet the needs of fast food vendors, who can present the item being sold to the consumer in a clean and attractive manner. For example, McDonalds and Burger King outlets presently sell hamburgers in a tapered carton holder intended and shaped to be hand held. However, some food items such as a pita are usually offered at fast food outlets together with a small paper bag which the consumer is expected to use to hold the pita during consumption, this being only a partially satisfactory arrangement.

It is therefore one of the objectives of the present invention to provide a holder covering a large portion of the food item and yet allow mouth access to the whole article, thus avoiding the need for hand contact thereof.

Yet a further objective is to provide a holder which will prevent leakage of liquid fillings.

Still a further objective of the present invention is to provide a food holder wherein the food item can readily be advanced any required distance upwards, without incurring substantial manufacturing costs of the food holder thereby. The present invention achieves the above objectives by providing a food-serving holder for a food article, comprising front and back walls at least indirectly connected to each other, an open top for receiving therethrough said food article, and a bottom surface, said holder further comprising a flexible strip having two ends extending towards said open top and an intermediate section proximate to said bottom surface, at least one of said ends being anchored to said holder and at least one of said ends being positioned to be at least indirectly manipulated to cause tautening of said strip, thereby progressively advancing and elevating a food article placed thereon towards and above said open top.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention there is provided a food-serving holder further comprising a pair of spaced-apart side walls interconnecting said front and back walls.

In a most preferred embodiment of the present invention there is provided a food-serving holder wherein the anchored end of the strip is attached proximate to a top of a first side wall and the free end of said strip may be tautened against a surface of the opposite side wall.

In U.S. No. 5,353,956 there is described and claimed a dispenser of chewing gum in stick form designed to hold a standard pack of gum sticks, including the outside wrapper either with the end removed or separate sticks in their individual wrappers, perhaps taken from a larger package. It has an internal, rigid u-shaped sliding ejector, with an attached, thumb-operated actuator protruding through a slot in the side of the dispenser body. In operation of this dispenser, it is held in one hand while the thumb flips open the hinged cap and subsequently moves the actuator and ejector forward, exposing the end of the gum and making it available to grasp with the other hand or by another person. The remaining gum is then retracted by moving the actuator back with the thumb, after which the same thumb may flip the cover closed.

In contradistinction thereto, the present invention provides a holder wherefrom the user may progressively consume the food item while gripping the holder by hand, without hand contact to the food item. The flexible strip of the present invention leaves unrestricted access of the mouth to the contained food item, and is better suited to support and advance soft food items such as hamburgers, hot dogs and aple pies without crushing or major distortion.

Yet further embodiments of the invention will be described hereinafter.

The present invention provides adequate support for the food item as served, with a flexible strip which raises the contents of the holder as far as required, to allow mouth access to that part of the food item initially enclosed in the holder. The food holder described in the present invention has front and back walls which may be utilized to support food items which are "unstable" when not supported. Such substantial walls are possible in the present invention without restricting access of the consumer's mouth to the holder contents, due to the improved internal lift mechanism provided.

It will thus be realized that the novel holder of the present invention serves also to support an "unstable" food item, for example a hamburger containing pickles and liquid condiments. Furthermore, the four walls of the container better protect the food item against external contamination.

The invention will now be described in connection with certain preferred embodiments with reference to the following illustrative figures so that it may be more fully understood.

With specific reference now to the figures in detail, it is stressed that the particulars shown are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of the preferred embodiments of the present invention only and are presented in the cause of providing what is believed to be the most useful and readily understood description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the invention. In this regard, no attempt is made to show structural details of the invention in more detail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding of the invention, the description taken with the drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms of the invention may be embodied in practice. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the holder according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the same embodiment showing the food article partially consumed; FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an embodiment wherein the strip spans the side walls of the holder, one of which has an aperture;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an embodiment using the top of a side wall for tensioning the strip;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an embodiment wherein a wide strip spans the major walls of the holder, one of which has an aperture;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an embodiment using the top of a major wall for tensioning the strip;

FIG. 7 is an elevational sectioned view of an embodiment comprising an outer and an inner section, the strip being anchored to the outer section;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an embodiment provided with an upper cover; and

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an embodiment provided with holding means for the flexible strip.

There is seen in FIGS. 1 & 2 a food-serving holder 10 for a food article 12, such as an elongated baked chocolate or apple filled pie.

In the present embodiment front and back walls 14, 16 are curved to interconnect and to form a prismatic enclosure having a cross-section shaped as a double convex lens.

An open top 18 serves for receiving therethrough the food article 12. A bottom surface 20 prevents dripping liquids from leaking and small solid remnants from soiling the table or clothes of the consumer.

A flexible strip 22, suitably made of a coated paper, has two ends 24, 26 extending towards the open top 18. An intermediate section 28 of the strip 22 is shown in FIG. 1 proximate to the holder bottom surface 20. One of the strip ends 24 is anchored to the holder 10 with glue or staples 30. In the present embodiment 10 the flexible strip 22 is anchored to an upper inner portion of front wail 14.

The other strip end 26 is positioned to be to be drawn out of the holder 10 to cause tautening of the strip 22. An aperture 32 is provided in an upper portion of the rear wall 16, to allow the manipulatable strip end 26 to be passed therethrough. As seen in FIG. 2, tautening of the strip 22 progressively advances and elevates the food article 12 being consumed towards and above the open top 18.

Advantageously the holder 10 is disposable and its walls 14, 16, 20 are made of a coated carton. Such holder is well suited for use by fast food vendors.

A durable multi-use holder would be made of a plastic, the strip of a thermoplastic elastomer, and the holder would be suitable for home use or for family picnics.

With regard to the rest of the figures, similar reference numerals have been used to identify similar parts.

FIG. 3 illustrates a food-serving holder 34 further comprising a pair of spaced-apart side walls 36, 38 interconnecting the front 40 and back 42 walls.

The anchored end 44 of the flexible strip 46 is attached proximate to a top of a first side wall 36. The free end 26 of the strip 46 may be tautened against a surface 50 of the opposite side wall 38. In the present embodiment this surface 50 is provided by the bottom of an aperture 52 disposed in an upper portion of opposite side wall 38. The aperture 52 serves to help keep the strip 46 in place before the food article 54 is placed in the holder 34.

Seen in FIG. 4 is a food serving holder 56, similar to the holder 34 shown in FIG. 3.

The surface 58 supporting the free end 60 of the flexible strip 62 is the upper edge of side wall 64. The holder 56 costs slightly less to manufacture, not because of the saved aperture 52 seen in FIG 3 but because of assembly time saved threading the strip 62 therethrough.

The food article 66 shown has been partially consumed and has been raised by the tautened strip 62 to improve mouth access for consumption of its lower portion.

FIG. 5 shows a food-serving holder 68 wherein the anchored end 70 of the flexible strip 72 is attached proximate to the top of a first major wall 74. The free end 76 of the strip 72 may be tautened against a surface 75 of the opposite major wall 77. The surface 75 is the bottom of an aperture 78 provided in an upper portion of the major wall 77. FIG. 6 illustrates a further food serving holder 80 , similar to 68 shown in FIG. 5.

The surface 82 supporting the strip 84 is the upper edge of a major wall 86.

The present embodiment 80 allows the use of a wide flexible strip 84, which is somewhat easier to control without use of an aperture.

Referring now to FIG. 7, there is depicted a food-serving holder 88 comprising two major components 90, 92, movement between which causes manipulation of the flexible strip 94.

An outer upper section 90 is shaped as a short open-ended rectangular tube.

An inner lower section 92 is provided with a bottom surface 96 and sized to be slidable inside the outer section 90, between a lower position AA and a higher position BB.

The flexible strip 94 is anchored to both side walls 98, 100 of the outer upper section 90, yet the strip 94 is engaged by the lower section 92.

When the lower section 92 is in its lower position AA a food article 102 may be loaded into the holder 88 to rest on the intermediate section 104 of the flexible strip 94 proximate to the bottom surface 96.

During consumption of the food article 102 the user pushes up the lower section 92 into its higher position BB, thereby tautening the strip 94 which progressively advances the food article 102 placed thereon towards and above the open top 106 of the holder 88.

In FIG. 8 there is seen an embodiment 108 further provided with a cover 110. In other respects the holder 108 is similar to holder 80 seen in FIG. 6. The rear wall 74 hingedly supports the cover 110, which is configured to form a receptacle, so that when open it may be used to receive and retain drippings resulting from consumption of food article 54. Advantageously the holder 108 and cover 110 are formed out of a single sheet of carton, the hinge 112 being a weakening line punched therein.

When closed the cover 110 projects over and substantially closes the open top 18, thus protecting the food item 54 contained in the holder from possible contamination as well as improving the appearance of the holder 108 and providing additional areas 114 for the optional display of advertising text.

FIG. 9 shows an embodiment 116 provided with means to retain the flexible strip 118 at any position selected by the user. In other respects the holder 116 is similar to holder 56 seen in FIG. 4.

The end 120 of the flexible strip 118 positioned to be manipulated to cause tautening thereof is preferably provided with ratchet-like teeth 122 on opposite edges thereof to form a series of trapezoid-like segments 124.

The wall 64 over which the end 120 is draped is provided with a recessed edge section 126 to facilitate engagement of teeth 122 with the edge section 126 when the flexible strip 118 is in contact therewith. Consequently, as shown, only that part of the strip which can contact the edge section 126 need be provided with teeth 122.

When teeth 122 contact the recessed edge 126 the food item 66 is suspended on the flexible strip 118 and remains in a position facilitating consumption. During the course thereof the user may withdraw a further section of the strip 118 to raise food item 66 and to retain the position thereof by use of teeth 122 nearer the attachment point 44 of the flexible strip 118.

Advantageously the strip 118 is further provided with bend lines 128 crossing the strip 118 and positioned to meet the root of the teeth 122, so as to further facilitate engagement of the teeth 122 with the recessed edge 126. A model built from 0.38 mm carton according to the present embodiment successfully resisted a downward force of 14 Newton applied to the flexible strip 118 at the center of the holder 116.

It will be evident to those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the details of the foregoing illustrative embodiments and that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A food-serving holder for a food article, comprising front and back walls at least indirectly connected to each other, an open top for receiving therethrough said food article, and a bottom surface, said holder further comprising a flexible strip having two ends extending towards said open top and an intermediate section proximate to said bottom surface, at least one of said ends being anchored to said holder and at least one of said ends being positioned to be at least indirectly manipulated to cause tautening of said strip, thereby progressively advancing and elevating a food article placed thereon towards and above said open top.

2. A food-serving holder according to claim 1 , wherein said front and back walls are curved to interconnect to form a prismatic enclosure having a cross-section shaped as a convex lens, said flexible strip is anchored to an upper inner portion of one of said walls, an aperture is provided in an upper portion of the opposite wall, and said manipulatable end of said strip is passed therethrough to allow a part of said strip to be drawn out of said holder to cause tautening of the remaining portion of said strip, thereby progressively advancing said food article placed thereon towards and above said open top.

3. A food-serving holder according to claim 1 , further comprising a pair of spaced-apart side walls interconnecting said front and back walls.

4. A food-serving holder according to claim 3, wherein the anchored end of said strip is attached proximate to a top of a first side wall and said free end of said strip may be tautened against a surface of the opposite side wall.

5. A food serving holder according to claim 4, wherein said surface is the bottom of an aperture provided in an upper portion of said opposite side wall.

6. A food serving holder according to claim 4, wherein said surface is the upper edge of said opposite side wall.

7. A food-serving holder according to claim 3, wherein the anchored end of said strip is attached proximate to the top of a first major wall and said free end of said strip may be tautened against a surface of the opposite major wall.

8. A food serving holder according to claim 7, wherein said surface is the bottom of an aperture provided in an upper portion of said opposite major wall.

9. A food serving holder according to claim 7, wherein said surface is the upper edge of said opposite major wall.

10. A food-serving holder according to claim 3, wherein said holder comprises an outer upper section shaped as a short open-ended rectangular tube, and an inner lower section provided with said bottom surface and sized to be slidable inside said outer section between a lower position and a higher position, said strip being anchored to both side walls of said upper section and being engaged by said lower section so that when said lower section is in said lower position said food article may be loaded into said holder to rest on said intermediate section of said strip proximate to said bottom surface, and when said lower section is pushed towards said higher position tautening of said strip progressively advances said food article placed thereon towards and above said open top.

11. A food-serving holder according to claim 1 , wherein said holder is disposable and said walls are made of a coated carton.

12. A food-serving holder according to claim 1 , wherein one of the major walls of said holder hingedly supports a cover, which when closed projects over and substantially closes said open top, and when open may be used to receive and retain drippings resulting from consumption of said food article.

13. A food-serving holder according to claim 1 , wherein the end of said flexible strip positioned to be manipulated to cause tautening thereof is provided with ratchet-like teeth along at least one edge thereof, and the wall over which said end is draped is provided with a recessed edge section to facilitate engagement of said teeth with said edge section when said flexible strip is in contact therewith.

14. A food-serving holder according to claim 13, wherein said flexible strip is provided with ratchet-like teeth on opposite edges thereof to form a series of trapezoid-like segments.

15. A food-serving holder according to claim 13, further provided with bend lines crossing said strip and positioned to meet the root of said teeth.