Abstract:
A pizza box having a plurality of ribs, which are selectively moveable between a first stored position and a second upright position is provided. The ribs are coupled to at least one actuating strip, which enables the ribs to be simultaneously shifted from the first stored position to the second upright position. The ribs and the actuating strip are formed from the same piece of cardboard. The actuating strip may be configured to interlock with the box or with an actuating strip from another plurality of ribs to maintain the ribs in the second upright position.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
         [0001]    N/A  
         STATEMENT REGARDING FEDEDRALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT  
         [0002]    N/A  
         REFERENCE TO A SEQUENCEE LISTING  
         [0003]    N/A  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0004]    The present invention relates generally to cardboard boxes and more particularly to an improvement for pizza (or a similar food item) take-out boxes, which minimizes the surface area of the box that contacts the pizza.  
           [0005]    Pizza take-out boxes are typically formed from a single panel of cardboard, which is folded by pizza restaurant personnel to form a box having lid and tray portions. There are also pizza take-out boxes that are formed from separate tray and cover portions, but they are not as popular. Regardless of how many parts the boxes have, there are certain common goals; to keep the food hot while retaining the desirable characteristics and quality, such as, in the case of pizza, a crispy crust. While this may seem like an easy task, it is not.  
           [0006]    Hot pizza produces stream, which condenses and absorbs into the box. Since the pizza rests on the box, the condensation also absorbs into the crust of the pizza. This absorption results in a loss of both crispness (e.g., the pizza crust will become soggy) and product quality (the crust absorbs the taste of the cardboard with the condensation). While cutting vents or holes into the box releases the steam and lessens this problem it does not entirely eliminate the problem and it also causes another; temperature loss. With vents in the box, the pizza crust remains crispier but the pizza now arrives at its destination cold.  
           [0007]    Conventional pizza boxes have been designed with relatively expensive moisture absorbing materials, variations in the shape of the box and in the number and size of the vents, etc. in an attempt to resolve this issue. Some of the two-piece boxes also employ permanent projections formed in the tray portions in an attempt to raise the crust off of the bottom of the tray. However, these projections are not employed in the one-piece cartons since the permanent projections prevent the boxes from being stacked flat. Other conventional attempts to resolve this issue include relatively expensive metal or plastic trays with permanent projections, etc. There is at least one conventional one-piece pizza box (U.S. Pat. No. 5,052,559), which employs a combination of discrete support strips, which may be individually elevated, and vents which are used to secure the support strips in an elevated position. However, this design requires too many operations to be practical and requires too many vents, which causes the heat loss problem. Each of the conventional pizza box designs are either too expensive, too complicated or address one problem while creating an equally unacceptable problem.  
           [0008]    Another problem faced by a majority of the conventional pizza boxes is that they are difficult to carry from the bottom due to the fact that the bottom of the box gets very hot from the hot pizza resting on the bottom.  
           [0009]    Accordingly there exists a need for an improved pizza take-out box which is relatively inexpensive, maintains a large surface area of the food off of the box, can be stored relatively flat and sets up in relatively few steps.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0010]    It has been discovered that various advantages may be realized by the present pizza box having a pizza support. The invention includes a pizza box, having a top and a bottom. It also includes multiple ribs, secured to the bottom of the box. The ribs are selectively moveable between a first storage position and a second support position. The first storage position is substantially flat relative to the bottom of the box and the second support position is substantially perpendicular relative to the bottom of the box. The invention also includes a connector connected to at least two of the ribs. The connector is configured to simultaneously move the at least two ribs between the first storage position and the second support position.  
           [0011]    In one embodiment, the invention may include a method of supporting a pizza in a pizza box. The method includes connecting multiple ribs to the bottom of the box. At least two of the ribs are connected to a common connector. The method further includes using the connector to simultaneously move the two ribs from a substantially flat position relative to the bottom of the box to a substantially perpendicular position relative to the bottom of the box.  
           [0012]    In another embodiment, the invention includes an apparatus for supporting a pizza in a pizza box. The pizza box has a bottom and a top. The apparatus includes a blank of material cut into ribs which have a top edge, a bottom edge and two side edges, and a connector connected to a portion of the side edge of each of the ribs. The blank is also cut into bases which are each respectively connected to a portion of a rib and configured to be adhered to the pizza box. The connector is configured to be able to simultaneously move the ribs from a substantially flat position relative to the bottom of the box to a substantially perpendicular position relative to the bottom of the box.  
           [0013]    In still another embodiment of the invention, there is provided an apparatus for supporting a pizza in a delivery box which has a top a bottom and walls. The apparatus includes coupling module for connecting the apparatus to the box. It also includes a support module connected to a portion of the coupling module, and configured to move between a first substantially flat position relative to the bottom of the box and a second substantially perpendicular position relative to the bottom. The support module is configured to support a pizza in the box. The apparatus also includes a connector module connected to a portion of the support module. The connector module is configured to be able to selectively move the support module between the first and second positions and maintain the support module in the second position.  
           [0014]    The invention will next be described in connection with certain illustrated embodiments; however, it should be clear to those skilled in the art that various modifications, additions and subtractions can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the claims. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING  
       [0015]    For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 1 depicts a top plan view of an embodiment of the invention in a relatively flat storage configuration showing a pizza box and a pizza support;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 2 depicts a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 showing the box assembled and the pizza support locked in a support configuration;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 3 depicts a top plan view of the pizza support used in the embodiment of FIG. 1 in a substantially flat storage configuration;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 4 depicts a sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 2 with the cover of the box closed and a pizza being supported on the pizza support;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 5 depicts a top plan view of an alternate embodiment of the invention in a relatively flat storage configuration showing a pizza box and a pizza support;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 6 depicts a top plan view of the pizza support used in the embodiment of FIG. 5 in a substantially flat storage configuration;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 7 depicts a top plan view of another alternate embodiment of the invention in a relatively flat storage configuration showing a pizza box and a pizza support;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 8 depicts a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 7 showing the box assembled and the pizza support locked in a support configuration;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 9 depicts a top plan view of the pizza support used in the embodiment of FIG. 7 in a substantially flat storage configuration;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 10 depicts a top plan view of still another alternate embodiment of a pizza support in a substantially flat storage configuration;  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 11 depicts a sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 2 with the cover of the box closed and a pizza being supported on the pizza support and substituting the embodiment of FIG. 10 for the embodiment of FIG. 3;  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 12 depicts a top plan view of another alternate embodiment of the invention in a relatively flat storage configuration showing a pizza box and multiple pizza supports;  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 13 depicts the top plan view of FIG. 12 showing a pizza box and multiple pizza supports with the pizza supports configured in a different direction;  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 14 depicts a top plan view of an alternate embodiment of the invention in a relatively flat storage configuration showing a pizza box and multiple pizza supports;  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 15 depicts a top plan view of yet another alternate embodiment of the invention in a relatively flat storage configuration showing a pizza box and multiple pizza supports;  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 16 depicts a sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 2 with the cover of the box closed and a pizza being supported on the pizza supports and substituting the embodiment of FIG. 15 for the embodiment of FIG. 3;  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 17 depicts the sectional view of FIG. 16 with an alternate embodiment of the pizza supports;  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 18 depicts a top plan view of an alternate embodiment of the pizza support used in the embodiment of FIG. 1 in a substantially flat storage configuration showing air holes in the pizza support;  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 19 depicts a top plan view of another alternate embodiment of the pizza support used in accordance with the invention in a substantially flat storage configuration;  
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 20 depicts a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 19 showing the box assembled and the pizza support locked in a support configuration;  
         [0036]    [0036]FIG. 21 depicts a top plan view of the embodiment of the invention depicted in FIG. 19 in a relatively flat storage configuration showing a pizza box and a pizza support;  
         [0037]    [0037]FIG. 22 depicts a bottom plan view of the embodiment of FIG. 19 showing the adhesive used to connect the pizza support to the bottom of the box;  
         [0038]    [0038]FIG. 23 depicts a top plan view of yet another embodiment of the pizza support used in accordance with the invention in a substantially flat storage configuration; and,  
         [0039]    [0039]FIG. 24 depicts a top plan view of yet another embodiment of the pizza support used in accordance with the invention in a substantially flat storage configuration. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0040]    Referring to the drawings in detail, wherein like reference numbers identify like elements throughout the various figures, there is illustrated in FIGS. 1-24 a box for supporting heated food in accordance with the invention. All conventional pizza boxes (whether one-piece or two) have at least a cover portion a bottom portion and walls. The invention provides apparatus and methods for supporting a pizza in a pizza take-out box (while the following description will only discuss pizza, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention could be used to transport other foods).  
         [0041]    [0041]FIGS. 1-4 illustrate a first embodiment of the invention. FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional one-piece pizza box  10  with score lines  200  used to fold and configure the box  10  into its final form. The configuration of the box  10  is not imperative to the novelty of the invention since the invention could use any conventional pizza box  10 , although, certain configurations will be better suited than others. For example, pizza boxes with no vents maintain the heat better, although pizza boxes with vents are not considered to be outside the scope of the invention. Further, some embodiments will require an additional 1 or 2 slits to be cut into the conventional pizza box (discussed further below). As illustrated by FIG. 1, the box is in its shipping and storage configuration, which is essentially flat. FIG. 1 also illustrates the pizza support  20 . Pizza support  20  is a separate device, which can be attached to a conventional pizza box  10  using conventional adhesives such as glue, tape, etc.  
         [0042]    The pizza support  20  is preferably (although not required) formed from a single blank of material such as stiff paperboard, cardboard, fiberboard, covered fiberboard, oak tag, or any other material capable of supporting the pizza and capable of being adhered to the pizza box  10 . While the pizza support  20  could be made from plastic or metal without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention, these materials are relatively expensive for such purpose and would not be the optimum choice.  
         [0043]    The blank of material used to create the pizza support  20  is cut to create ribs  30 , bases  40 , connector(s)  50  and mating tabs  70 . The bases  40  are the portions of the pizza support  20 , which get adhered to the bottom of the pizza box  10 . The ribs  30  are the portions of the pizza support  20 , which actually support the pizza. The ribs  30  and bases  40  are separated by cuts  90 . In the embodiment of FIG. 1 the cuts  90  separate a rib  30  from its corresponding base  40  except for 4 small connections. While this embodiment maintains 4 connections between each of the bases  40  and ribs  30 , those skilled in the art will recognize that there could be as few as 1 connection or more than 4 connections. Those skilled in the art will also recognize that there is no requirement for the number of connections between different rib  30 /base  40  pairs to be the same. Cuts  90  are used instead of score marks because during the limited experimentation process the ribs would not entirely rise simultaneously with only score marks. While it may be possible to make score marks that are deep enough or use materials which would enable the ribs  30  to operate properly, and such configuration would not depart from the spirit or scope of the invention this is not the preferred embodiment. The limited experimentation also illustrated that a currently preferred embodiment includes connections between the ribs  30  and bases  40  proximal to the connectors  50 .  
         [0044]    The connectors  50  are formed by cuts on the side of the ribs  30  and bases  40 . As seen from FIGS. 1-3, these cuts do not entirely separate the connectors  50  from the ribs  30 , but they do entirely separate the connectors  50  from the bases  40 . When the bases  40  are adhered to the bottom of the box  10 , this configuration enables the ribs  30  to be simultaneously shifted from a first, relatively flat position relative to the bottom of the box  10  (FIGS. 1 and 3), to a second, substantially perpendicular (between approximately 45 degrees and 135 degrees but preferably closer to 90 degrees) support position relative to the bottom of the box  10  (FIGS. 2 and 4) by pulling the connectors  50 . The mating tabs  70  are simply cut to a desired shape such that when they are pushed through slits  60  cut into the back wall of the box  10  they tend to remain there. This configuration (FIGS. 2 and 4) maintains the ribs  30  in the second, substantially perpendicular support position relative to the bottom of the box  10  (FIGS. 2 and 4). While the configuration shown in FIGS. 1-4 employ 2 connectors  50  and 2 mating tabs  70  designed to mate with the pizza box  10 , those skilled in the art will recognize, and it will be shown in the alternate embodiments discussed below, that there could be fewer or more connectors  50  and mating tabs  70  and it is possible to eliminate the mating tabs and have the connectors mate with connectors from other pizza supports  20  instead of with the pizza box  10 . Further, the number of mating tabs does not have to be the same as the number of connectors  50 . Finally, the placement of the connections between the connectors  50  and the ribs  30  may be at the top of the ribs  30  as illustrated in FIGS. 1-4 or it may be at a point lower on the ribs  30 . While the top has been tested and it works and is thus the current preferred embodiment, it is probable that a point below the top will be a preferred embodiment, although it has not as yet been tested.  
         [0045]    [0045]FIGS. 5 and 6 depict an alternate embodiment of the invention depicted in FIGS. 1-4. The difference between this embodiment and the previous embodiment is the number of cuts  90  and thus the number of connections between the ribs  30  and bases  40 .  
         [0046]    [0046]FIGS. 7-9 depict still another embodiment of the invention. This embodiment differs from the embodiment of FIGS. 1-4 in that there is only 1 mating tab  70 , located towards the center of the pizza support  20  and the connectors  50  are connected to form a single unit.  
         [0047]    [0047]FIGS. 10 and 11 depict an alternate embodiment of the invention. This embodiment differs from the embodiment of FIGS. 1-4 in the location of the connections between the connectors  50  and the ribs  30 . In this embodiment, the connectors  50  are connected to the ribs  30  at a point below the upper edge of the ribs  30 . Those skilled in the art will recognize that the changes that this embodiment display could also be combined with changes displayed in other embodiments of the invention.  
         [0048]    [0048]FIG. 12 depicts another alternate embodiment of the invention. This embodiment is considered the preferred embodiment. This embodiment has two identical pizza supports  20  (although they could differ in width, or cuts  90 ) oriented in opposite directions. Neither includes the mating tabs  70 , (although those skilled in the art will recognize that one or both could and both could be oriented in the same direction and mated to the box). Instead, each pizza support  20  includes a cut out portion  150  configured to mate with the cut out portion  150  from the other pizza support  20  to maintain both pizza supports  20  in the second, substantially perpendicular support position. As illustrated in FIG. 13, the orientations of the two pizza supports  20  can be rotated 90 degrees. Further, as with the other embodiments, the features of the other embodiments can be incorporated into this embodiment. For example, the connectors  50  could be connected to form a single unit as with FIGS. 7-9, the outer connectors  50  could possibly be eliminated, or the cuts  90  could provide for additional connections between the ribs  30  and bases  40 .  
         [0049]    While the embodiments of FIGS. 12 and 13 illustrate the pizza supports  20  side by side with substantially smaller widths than the box  10 , the embodiment of FIG. 14 provides two pizza supports  20  having widths substantially the same as the box  10 . Accordingly, they are oriented front to back instead of side by side. While the two pizza supports  20  are illustrated as identical, they could vary in width, in cuts  90  in the number of connectors  50  and the placement of the cut out portions  150 , in depth, in the number of ribs  30 , etc.  
         [0050]    [0050]FIGS. 15 and 16 illustrate still another embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, there are 4 pizza supports  20 . Each pizza support  20  is shifted 90 degrees in orientation from the adjacent pizza supports  20 . This embodiment can be likened to a combination of the embodiments of FIGS. 12-14. Each of the pizza supports  20  mates with corresponding pizza support  20  located caddie corner to itself to maintain the pizza supports in the second, substantially perpendicular support position. FIG. 16 is a cross section view taken along line A-A of FIG. 2 with the cover of the box closed and a pizza  80  being supported on the pizza supports  20  and substituting the embodiment of FIG. 15 for the embodiment of FIG. 3.  
         [0051]    [0051]FIG. 17 is very similar to the embodiment of FIGS. 15 and 16, but connectors  50  are connected at a point on the ribs  30  that is lower than in the embodiment of FIGS. 15 and 16.  
         [0052]    [0052]FIG. 18 is merely illustrative of the fact that in any of the embodiments disclosed herein, the ribs could included one or more holes/vents  110 . While the holes  110  are drawn as rows of 3 circles, those skilled in the art will recognize that the number and shape of the holes could vary.  
         [0053]    [0053]FIGS. 19-21 illustrate still another embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, the connector  50  is located in the middle of pizza support  20 . Also, the connector  50  includes a mating tab  70 . In this embodiment, the connector  50  is configured to be placed through slit  60  without changing the position of the ribs  30 . Once the pizza  80  is placed in the box  10  and cut, the box  10  can be closed and the connector  50  pulled to move the ribs  30  into the second, substantially perpendicular support position with the pizza  80  supported thereon. The connector  50  is pulled such that the mating tab  70  is pulled through the slit  60  and the connector  50  and mating tab  70  maintain the ribs  30  in the second support position.  
         [0054]    [0054]FIG. 22 shows a bottom view of the embodiment of FIG. 19. However, the main purpose of providing this figure is to show that each of the bases  40  in each of the embodiments of the invention can be adhered to the bottom of the pizza box  10  with conventional adhesive such as glue etc. While FIG. 22 illustrates the entire bottom of the bases  40  covered with an adhesive, those skilled in the art will recognize that less than the entire base  40  could be covered. Alternatively, the box  10  could be covered with an adhesive in positions corresponding to the placement of the bases  40  or to portions of the bases  40 .  
         [0055]    [0055]FIG. 23 shows yet another embodiment of the invention. The embodiment shown in FIG. 23 is the same as the embodiment of FIGS. 19-21 with the addition of two side connectors  50  connected to the middle connector  50  forming a single large connector  50 .  
         [0056]    It will be recognized by those skilled in the art that each embodiment of the invention could be revised in various ways without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, each embodiment could include one or more connectors  50 , none, one or more mating tabs  70 , one or more cuts  90  (or possibly deep score lines to replace one or more of the cuts), and none, one or more cut out portions  150 . The lengths of the ribs  30  could be varied to form pizza supports  20  of various shapes such as circles, triangles, rectangles, squares, hexagons, pentagons, octagons or some other useful shape. The ribs  30  could be the same size as the bases  40 , larger or smaller and the mating tabs  70  could be various shapes such as arrow shaped, semi-circular, semi-octagonal, etc. Further, the mating tabs  70  do not need to be at the end of a connector  50  as illustrated in FIGS. 19-23. Additionally, many of the embodiments could be configured to be diagonal relative to the box  10  as Illustrated in FIG. 24 instead of square to the box  10 . Almost all of the embodiments could be configured to operate as discussed with regard to FIGS. 19-21.  
         [0057]    Since pizza boxes  10  vary in size for small, medium and large pizzas  80 , the present invention can vary in size as well. Rather than describe the pizza support  20  in terms of numerical measurements, it will be easier and more comprehensive to describe it relative to a particular box. For example, the surface area of the pizza supports  20 , should preferably be close to the surface area of the bottom of the box as seen from FIGS. 1, 5,  7 ,  12 - 15 ,  21  and  24 , although it is conceivable that the surface area of the pizza supports  20  is substantially smaller than the surface area of the bottom of the box. Further, since the cover of the box generally includes flaps that fold into the front and sides of the box when it is closed, room should be left for the flaps to be placed inside the box. As for the height of the ribs  30 , they should be short enough to allow room for the pizza to be supported without touching the top, but tall enough to lift the pizza off of the bottom of the box. It is believed that ¼ of an inch will be the preferable height, but other heights will also work and do not fall outside the scope of the invention.  
         [0058]    From a manufacturing point of view, the preferred way to manufacture the invention is from a single blank of material. Those of ordinary skill will recognize that it could be made from multiple separate pieces, but that would probably add to the cost and manufacturing complexity. The blank, which varies in size depending upon the embodiment, is cut in different locations to form one of the embodiments. Once the pizza support  20  is formed it is adhered to the bottom of the box  10 . At this point it can be packaged, shipped and stored as pizza boxes are currently packaged, shipped and stored. With some embodiments, when the pizza box is assembled, the person assembling the box will also assemble the pizza support  20  by pulling on one or more connectors  50  and either mating the connector with the rear of the box or with another connector  50 . In other embodiments, the person assembling the box will pull the connector  50  through the back of the pizza box without changing the state of the pizza support  20 . After the pizza  80  is placed into the box  10 , the connector  50  is pulled from the outside of the box  10  until the mating tab  70  is pulled through the box, thus raising and locking the ribs  30  into the second support position. It is within the scope of the invention that the pizza support  20  could be adhered to the pizza box  10  by the person assembling the box.  
         [0059]    It will thus be seen that the invention provides a method and apparatus for providing a pizza box having a pizza support. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention is depicted in FIGS. 1-24.  
         [0060]    It will be understood that changes may be made in the above construction and in the foregoing sequences of operation without departing from the scope of the invention. It is accordingly intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings be interpreted as illustrative rather than in a limiting sense.  
         [0061]    It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention as described herein, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.