Food container for vehicle cup holders

Abstract

A disposable food container for a vehicle cup is constructed from a single sheet of cardboard, paper or some other foldable material. The container includes a base portion sized to engage the cup holder of a vehicle in a removable fashion and a holder portion connected to the base portion. The holder portion defines a cavity adapted to receive food items.

Description

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/669,755, filed Apr. 8, 2005.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a device for holding french fries or other food items in the cup holder of a car, truck or other vehicle that is preferably made of cardboard or some other paper product.

As is known in the art, cup holders are commonly provided in cars, trucks and other vehicles. While such cup holders are handy for holding beverage containers, they do not easily accommodate containers holding food items such as french fries or the like. As a result, the driver or passenger of the vehicle often must find another way of holding the food container such as between his or her legs, on an armrest or even holding it with one hand. Such practices are awkward and often result in spillage.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,290,063 to Vogt et al., 6,533,233 to Thomas and 6,732,990 to Hudson all show prior art devices constructed from plastic that engage the cup holders of vehicles to hold food items. These devices, however, are constructed of plastic and therefore are rigid. As a result, they do not fold flat and are awkward to store. In addition, they are likely to be too expensive to be disposable.

A need therefore exists for an inexpensive and disposable food container that fits into the cup holder of a vehicle. In addition, it is desirable to provide a cup holder that lays flat when not in use for easy storage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a top plan view of an embodiment of the food container of the present invention unfolded and in a flat configuration;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the food container of FIG. 1 with the base portion folded into a use configuration;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are perspective views of the food container of FIG. 1 completely folded and assembled into the use configuration.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An embodiment of the food container of the present invention is indicated in general at 10 in FIG. 1. The food container of the present invention is preferably constructed from a sheet of cardboard or some other paper product. The dashed lines in the attached figures represent fold lines.

As will be explained below, base front and back panels, 12a and 12b, respectively, and base side panels 14a-14e fold to form the base portion of the container. Holder front and back panels 16a and 16b, respectively, holder side panels 18a-18e and holder bottom panel 22 fold to form the holder portion of the container. Holder bottom panel 22 is provided with tab 24 while holder back panel 16b is provided with slot 25 which is sized to receive tab 24. The number of panels illustrated for the base and holder portions serve as examples only and it is to be understood that an alternative number of panels may be used.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the base portion of the container, indicated in general at 26, is assembled by folding side panels 14a-14e around so that base side panels 14a and 14e overlay one another. The two overlaying panels may then be glued or otherwise secured together. Alternatively, panel 14a could be eliminated and the edge of panel 14b could be secured to the edge of panel 14e using tape, a slot and tab arrangement or other fastening arrangement.

As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the holder portion of the container, indicated in general at 28, is assembled by folding holder bottom panel 22 so that it is generally perpendicular to holder front panel 16a. The holder portion side panels 18a-18e are then folded around so that tab 24 of holder bottom panel 22 engages slot 25 of holder back panel 16b and holder side panel 18a overlays holder back panel 16b. Holder side panel 18a may then be secured to holder back panel 16b by glue or some other fastening arrangement. Alternatively, panel 18a could be eliminated and the edge of side panel 18b could be secured to the edge of back panel 16b using tape, a slot and tab arrangement or other fastening arrangement. In addition, tab 24 of holder bottom panel 22 and slot 25 of holder back panel 16b could be eliminated and holder bottom panel 22 secured to panel 16b using tape or some other fastening arrangement.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the holder side panels 18a-18e, holder front and back panels 16a and 16b and holder bottom panel 22 define a cavity 32 within which food items, such as french fries, candy or the like, may be received and held. The base portion 26 may then be positioned in the cup holder of the vehicle. When the base portion is inserted into the vehicle cup holder, the base front and back panels 12a and 12b likely will bow out slightly as indicated in phantom at 34 in FIG. 4.

While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Claims

1. A disposable food container for a vehicle cup holder comprising:

a. a base portion sized to removably engage the cup holder; and

b. a holder portion connected to the base portion, said holder portion defining a cavity adapted to receive food items.

2. The disposable food container of claim 1 wherein the base and holder portions are constructed from a foldable material.

3. The disposable food container of claim 2 wherein the foldable material is paper.

4. The disposable food container of claim 2 wherein the foldable material is cardboard.

5. The disposable food container of claim 1 wherein the base and cup holder portions are formed from a single sheet of foldable material.

6. The disposable food container of claim 5 wherein the sheet of foldable material is paper.

7. The disposable food container of claim 5 wherein the sheet of foldable material is cardboard.