PIZZA BOX ACCESSORY

Abstract

A pizza box accessory including a retention member, at least one spacer member extending from the retention member. A stem may extend between the spacer retention member and a tip. The stem may be long enough to cause the tip to extend through an opening defined by a top member of a pizza box. A clip member may extend from the tip and over the stem toward the retention member. The clip member may be configured to retain paper, such as a bill and/or advertisement. In an embodiment, the clip may apply a force to paper disposed between a top surface of the top member of the pizza box to inhibit movement of the paper.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application having Ser. No. 62/347,506 filed on Jun. 8, 2016, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Pizza delivery was first performed in 1889 in Naples, Italy. At that time, metal boxes that form-fit the pizza were used. Since the 1940s, pizza boxes have been formed by cardboard. Pizza delivery has become a big business. Today, millions of pizzas are delivered to taken out every year. The pizza box cardboard construction, however, has not changed much over the years.

While the pizza box is a very efficient way to transport pizza, depending on the construction, especially when multiple pizzas are stacked or when the pizza box bends for larger pizzas, there is the potential for the top of the pizza box to come into contact with the pizza itself, thereby causing the cheese of the pizza to stick to the inside of the top of the pizza box. When delivering pizza, the pizza delivery person typically brings a bill or receipt along with coupons or other marketing materials. Often those materials are taped to the top of the pizza box, but the paper can fall or be ripped off of the top of the box during transport or delivery, especially when pizzas are delivered to multiple locations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A pizza box accessory that provides for multiple functions, including preventing the top of a pizza box from contacting a pizza in the pizza box and securing paper, such as a receipt and marketing materials, on the top of the pizza box, is described herein. The accessory may also be configured to support a marketing device, such as a disk, and/or toy for kids.

One embodiment of a pizza box accessory may include a retention member, at least one spacer member extending from the retention member, a stem that extends between the spacer retention member and a tip. The stem may be long enough to cause the tip to extend through an opening defined by a top member of a pizza box. A clip member may extend from the tip and over the stem toward the retention member, the clip member being configured to apply a force to paper disposed between a top surface of the top member of the pizza box to inhibit movement of the paper.

One embodiment of a method of using a pizza box accessory may include extending a tip of a stem through an opening defined by a top member of a pizza box. A clip connected to the tip may be attached to the top member. The top member of the pizza box may be closed to cause one or more spacer members to contact a pizza in the pizza box. Paper may be retained by the clip. In an embodiment, the paper may be positioned between the clip and a top surface of the top member of the pizza box.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The subject matter that is regarded as the invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1A is an illustration of a typical pizza box inclusive of a top member that defines an opening with a tab extending from the top member above the opening;

FIG. 1B is an illustration of a cutaway of the pizza box of FIG. 1 and accessory;

FIG. 1C is an illustration of the pizza box of FIG. 1 with the top member being in an open position;

FIG. 1D is an illustration of the pizza box of FIG. 1 with the top member in an open position while the pizza box accessory retains paper on an outside of the top member;

FIGS. 2A-2H are schematic diagrams of an illustrative pizza box accessory that is configured to protect a pizza, retain paper on a top side of a pizza box, and provide for marketing and/or toy distribution, if desired;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are illustrations of an object configured as an enclosure configured to enclose a toy; and

FIGS. 4A and 4B are illustrations of an object configured as a toy that provides standoff members as part of the toy.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With regard to FIG. 1A, an illustration of a typical pizza box 100 inclusive of a top member 101 that defines an opening 102 with a tab 104 extending from the top member 101 above the opening 102 is shown. A pizza box accessory 105 is shown with a tip member 106 and a clip member 108 being visible with the top member 101 in a closed position. The clip member 108 is configured to retain paper 110, such as a bill, receipt, marketing material, or otherwise. In an embodiment, the clip may have an upper portion and a lower portion, and be configured to retain paper inserted between the upper and lower portions. In another embodiment, the clip member 108 may be configured with an upper portion and an upper surface of a top member 101 of the pizza box 100 may functionally operate as a lower portion of the clip, thereby enabling paper to be retained between the clip member 108 and the top surface of the top member 101 of the pizza box 100. The pizza box accessory 105 may be formed from a single material or may be formed from multiple elements that are assembled together. The material may be plastic, metal, combination thereof, or any other material or combination of materials.

With regard to FIG. 1B, an illustration of a cutaway of the pizza box 100 and accessory 105 is shown. An underside stem 112 that includes a pair of teeth 114a and 114b that grip an inside surface of the top member 101 to limit the accessory 105 from withdrawing from the pizza box 100. A retention member 116 that is part of or secured to the stem 112. The retention member 116 may be configured to retain a marketing element, as further described herein, but may alternatively be designed to simply support spacer members, as shown in FIG. 1C.

The retention member 116 may have a circular shape or may have any other shape, and be configured to encircle an object and use friction to retain the object. Alternatively, the retention member 116 may have a feature or shape that mates with a feature or shape of the object. For example, the retention member 116 may have a protrusion (e.g., rib shape centered within an inside surface) and the object may have a socket (e.g., groove), thereby enabling the retention member 116 and the object to be interlocked with one another. Other mechanical mechanisms may be used to retain the object by the retention member 116.

With regard to FIG. 1C, an illustration of the pizza box 100 with the top member 101 being in an open position is shown. The pizza box accessory 105 is shown to extend through the opening 102 and secure onto the tab 104 so that the stem 112 extends along an inside surface of the top member 101. The stem 112 connects or is otherwise part of the retention member 116 that is circular. It should be understood that the retention member 116 may be any geographic shape, such as square, oval shaped, or otherwise. Extending from the retention member 116 are spacer or standoff members 118a-118h (collectively 118) that are meant to maintain a space between a pizza (not shown) place in the box and the top member 101. The spacer members 118 may taper, as shown, and have a length that, when tips press against a pizza, maintain the top member 101 to be parallel with a bottom member 119 of the pizza box 100. It should be understood that one or more spacer members may be utilized to provide for support between the pizza and top member 101. In an embodiment, the standoff members 118 may be part of an object (see below) that the retention member 116 may retain. The retention member 116 may be positioned on an offset plane relative to the stem 112 so that alternative positions of an object may be retained. For example, if the object is a toy robot, a waist or center region of the robot may be retained directly or indirectly by the retention member 116.

An object 120, such as a logo disc, is retained by the retention member 116. The object 120, in this case, is shown to include a logo of a company for marketing or advertising. Rather than simply being a disc shape, the object 120 may alternatively be an enclosure that may be configured to enclose a toy (e.g., character or animal). In another embodiment, object 120 itself is the toy. The shape and size of the object 120, whether configured as a disc or enclosure, may be any shape and size. For example, if a toy is small, then the size of the object 120 (configured as an enclosure) may be 1-inch in diameter. If the toy is a bit larger, then the object 120 (configured as an enclosure) may be 2-inches in diameter. Still yet, the object 120 may be functional, such as a kazoo or harmonica, with which kids or adults may play.

If the object 120 is configured to have standoff members (as opposed to the retention member having standoff members), then the object 120 may have an ornamental shape, such as a spider, dog, cat, character (e.g., TV or movie character), or otherwise. The standoff members may be triangular shaped or have any other geometric (e.g., round, oval, horseshoe, etc.) or non- or less-geometric shape (e.g., legs of a character). If the object 120 is a toy, a carrier that is configured to be secured by the retention member 116 and be removably attached to the toy may be used. The carrier may be plastic or any other material.

With regard to FIG. 1D, an illustration of the pizza box 100 is shown with the top member 101 in an open position. Because of the clip member, the paper 110 is retained against the outside of the top member 101 so as to inhibit movement from a top side of the top member 101.

FIGS. 2A-2G are schematic diagrams of an illustrative pizza box accessory that is configured to protect a pizza, retain paper on a top side of a pizza box, and provide for marketing and/or toy distribution, if desired. FIG. 2A is a top view of the pizza box accessory. FIG. 2B is a side view of the pizza box accessory. FIG. 2C is a bottom view of the pizza box accessory. FIG. 2D is a zoomed-in view of a clip portion of the pizza box accessory. As shown, teeth that “bite” into a pizza box and hold a clip member in place to retain paper on a top side of the pizza box, and a round dome toward a front edge of the clip member to grip or otherwise apply pressure to a menu, coupon, receipt, bill, or otherwise. FIG. 2E is a side view of multiple, in this case ten accessories, pizza box accessories stacked or nested on top of one another to simplify distribution, storage, and use of the pizza box accessories.

FIG. 2F is an illustration of a retainable element, such as a logo disc, which may be made of cardboard, plastic, metal (e.g., aluminum), or other material that may be inserted into a retention member of the pizza box accessory. The logo disc may include a logo of an advertising partner. As previously described, the logo disc may alternatively be a toy (e.g., kazoo, harmonica, whistle, etc.) or form a vessel or enclosure that can store a toy for children. The size and shape of the logo disc (or toy or enclosure) may be any size and shape that is able to fit within the pizza box and enables the pizza box accessory to perform the functions described herein. As previously described, rather than using standoff members, the object may be configured to perform the function of the standoff members. As an example, the toy may be a transformer toy that operates as the standoff members in one configuration and is transformable to be a different functional or non-functional device. FIG. 2G is a front view of the pizza box accessory inclusive of the logo disc mounted thereto.

FIG. 2H is a zoomed-in illustration of the retention member of the pizza box accessory to show how the logo disc (or toy or enclosure) is secured thereto without the use of a fastening member or adhesive. It should be understood that a fastening member or adhesive may alternatively or additionally be utilized, but for cost purposes, a compression rib may be utilized to removable secure the logo disc to the pizza box accessory.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are illustrations of an object 300 inclusive of a top portion 302aand a bottom portion 302b configured as an enclosure configured to enclose a toy 304. The top portion 302a has a lip 306a configured to engage a lip 306b that, when engaged, form a container that encapsulates the toy 304. Consistent with previous embodiments, a stem 308 may be attached to a retainer member 310. The object 300 may be configured to be retained by the retainer member 310. The retention member 310 may have standoff members 312a-312n that extend below the bottom portion 302b when the top and bottom portions 302a and 302b are engaged and retained by the retainer member 310.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are illustrations of a pizza box accessory 400 inclusive of an object 402 configured as a toy that provides standoff members 404a and 404b as part of the object 402. A stem 405 may be connected directly or indirectly to the object 402. As shown in FIG. 4B, the object 402 has a ring 406 to which the stem 405 connects. Spokes 408a-408n may connect the object 402 to the ring 406. The ring 406 may be configured to be retained by a retention member (not shown) or itself act as a retention member.

While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed, other aspects and embodiments are contemplated. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.

Claims

1. A pizza box accessory, comprising:

a retention member;

at least one spacer member extending from the retention member;

a stem that extends between the spacer retention member and a tip, the stem being long enough to cause the tip to extend through an opening defined by a top member of a pizza box; and

a clip member extending from the tip and over the stem toward the retention member, the clip member being configured to apply a force to paper to inhibit movement of the paper.

2. The pizza box accessory according to claim 1, further comprising an retainable element inclusive of a surface that is removably secured to the retention member.

3. The pizza box accessory according to claim 2, wherein the retainable element is formed of cardboard.

4. The pizza box accessory according to claim 2, wherein the retainable element is a disc.

5. The pizza box accessory according to claim 2, wherein the retainable element is a toy.

6. The pizza box accessory according to claim 2, wherein the retainable element is configured to enable a sound to be generated when someone blows through an opening defined by the retainable element.

7. The pizza box accessory according to claim 2, wherein the retainable element is an enclosure configured to store an item.

8. The pizza box accessory according to claim 1, wherein said clip member is configured to retain paper disposed between said clip member and a top surface of the top member of the pizza box.

9. A method of using a pizza box accessory, comprising:

extending a tip of a stem through an opening defined by a top member of a pizza box;

attaching a clip connected to the tip to the top member;

closing the top member of the pizza box to cause one or more spacer members to contact a pizza in the pizza box; and

retaining paper by the clip outside of the pizza box.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising retaining an object by a retention member disposed between the stem and the spacer members.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein retaining an object includes retaining a toy.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein retaining the object by the retention member to the stem includes inserting a portion of the object into the retention member to be removably attached thereto.