Abstract:
A system of multifunctional food and beverage holders for use in motor vehicles and other locations. The components of this system facilitate safe, convenient and flexible handling of food and beverages in automobiles and other vehicles utilizing tray/plates for holding food that can attach to a handle, rest on a flat surface or be secured in the vehicle by attachment to a cup holder adaptor that can be temporarily locked in a vehicle cup holder.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to and incorporates by reference provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/881,660 filed Jan. 22, 2007. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    This invention related to cup holders and food trays, particularly including such devices used in motor vehicles. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Trays for holding food, beverages, condiments and the like in or on motor vehicles have long been used. Such prior devices do not provide all desirable functionality and are not well adapted for use in current motor vehicles. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    This invention is a system of multifunctional food and beverage holders for use in motor vehicles and other locations. The components of this system facilitate safe and convenient handling of food and beverages in automobiles and other vehicles. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0005]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of one embodiment of a cup holder adaptor of this invention. 
           [0006]      FIG. 2  is a first embodiment of a tray/plate of this invention. 
           [0007]      FIG. 3  is a bottom perspective view of the tray/plate shown in  FIG. 2 . 
           [0008]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the top of a second embodiment of a tray/plate of this invention. 
           [0009]      FIG. 5  is a bottom perspective view of the tray/plate shown in  FIG. 4 . 
           [0010]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a support handle for the tray/plates of this invention. 
           [0011]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a support wall for a cup holder adaptor of this invention. 
           [0012]      FIG. 8  is a turn buckle for use with the cup holder adaptors of this invention. 
           [0013]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of an inner rod or turn buckle barrel for the turn buckle of this invention. 
           [0014]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of a gap filler for cup holders having a gap in their side wall. 
           [0015]      FIG. 11  is a perspective view of the second embodiment of the tray/plate of this invention (shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 ) attached to the embodiment of cup holder adaptor of this invention shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0016]      FIG. 12  is a bottom perspective view of the embodiments of the present invention shown in  FIG. 11 . 
           [0017]      FIG. 13  is a perspective view of nested support handles and tray/plates of this invention. 
           [0018]      FIG. 14  is a perspective view of the first embodiment of the tray/plate of this invention attached to one embodiment of the cup holder adaptor of this invention and one embodiment of a support handle of this invention. 
           [0019]      FIG. 15  is a top perspective view of the cup holder adaptor of this invention shown in  FIG. 1  together with two of the first embodiment of the tray/plate components of this invention shown in  FIG. 2 . 
           [0020]      FIG. 16  is a perspective view of the side of an assembly of the second embodiment of the tray/plate of this invention mounted on a handle of this invention that is in turn mounted on the first embodiment of the cup holder adaptor of this invention shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0021]      FIG. 17  is a top perspective view of the second embodiment of the tray/plate of this invention shown attached to the cup holder adaptor embodiment of  FIG. 1  with support walls as of the type depicted in  FIG. 7 . 
           [0022]      FIG. 18  depicts multiple support handles and the first embodiment of the tray/plate of this invention nested together. 
           [0023]      FIG. 19  is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a cup holder adaptor of this invention. 
           [0024]      FIG. 20  is a perspective view showing attachment of the support wall of this invention showing in  FIG. 7  to the cup holder adaptor shown in  FIG. 20 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0025]    The first embodiment of the cup holder adaptor  30  of this invention, depicted in  FIG. 1 , comprises generally a cup holder sleeve  40  attached to a platform  42  in the form of generally rectangular plate penetrated by a central hole and supporting, at each of two ends, an upright  44  attached to a tray support  46  from which there protrudes an upstanding tab  48 . A horizontal upper bore  50  penetrates the base of tab  48  and a portion of tray support  46 , and a lower horizontal bore  52  is positioned in a boss on the lower side of tray support  46 . Opposite sides of cup holder sleeve  40  are penetrated by a generally round turn buckle-receiving opening  54 . There are two opposed protrusions  56  within each turn buckle receiving opening  54 . 
         [0026]    A first embodiment of a tray/plate  32  of this invention is depicted in  FIG. 2 . The generally planar tray/plate  32  has a large recess  72  for receiving food adjacent to a circular cup receiving opening  74 . Pins  70  protrude generally co-planar with the top of tray/plate  32  and may be used, as will be appreciated by reference to the figures, by insertion of one of the pins  70  into one of the above-described upper bore  50  or lower bore  52  in cup holder adaptor  30 . 
         [0027]      FIG. 3  depicts the underside of tray/plate  32  and makes it possible to see the handle engaging rail  78  and handle receiving groove  80  adapted to cooperate with the handle  38  described below. 
         [0028]      FIG. 4  illustrates an alternative tray/plate  34  of this invention. Tray/plate  34  is generally planar with protruding components as described below. A large circular recess  82  receives food or a plate or other container containing food, and a relatively large circular cup opening  84  provide a location for a beverage cup. Two smaller condiment recesses  86  receive condiments, and a small round condiment cup opening  90  can receive a cup of ketchup or another food condiment or item such as mustard, barbecue sauce or cheese dip. A pin  70  in tray/plate  34  serves the same function as pins  70  in tray/plate  32 , and tab receiving slots  88  receive tab  110  of support walls  36  as depicted in  FIG. 17 . 
         [0029]    Slots  35  in the tray/plates  32  and  34  can receive and retain eating utensils. 
         [0030]      FIG. 5  shows the underside of tray/plate  34  and makes it possible to see supports  76  under the condiment recesses  86  and recess  82 . Handle engaging rail  78  are part of an attachment structure of support  76  and are positioned below handle  38  receiving grooves  80  that receive the handle  38  as described below. 
         [0031]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of such a support handle  38  that comprises generally a planar base  92  to which there is attached a riser  94  that supports a platform  96  generally parallel to the base  92 . Platform  96  has two arms  97  comprising a groove cover  102  above parallel grooves  100  for receiving tray/plate rails such as handle engaging rails  78  shown in  FIG. 5 . A pin  70  can be received, for instance, in a cup holder adaptor  30  upper bore  50  or lower bore  52 , and riser  94  defines parallel bores  98  also adapted to receive pins  70 . 
         [0032]    The tray/plates  32  and  34  can be used with the handle  38  (shown in  FIG. 6 ) for any occasion involving standing and eating or as a lap tray when sitting and eating without a table. 
         [0033]    A turn buckle  112  shown in  FIG. 8  having wing  114  may be used to lock cup holder adaptor  30  within a vehicle cup holder as is depicted in  FIG. 11 . Tray/plate holder  34  is shown attached to cup holder adaptor  30  by inserting pin  70  in bore  50  in adaptor  30 . The handle  38  only partially visible in  FIG. 11  can be more clearly seen in  FIG. 12  that depicts attachment of handle  38  to tray/plate  34 . 
         [0034]    Nesting of support handle  38  and tray/plate  34  is depicted in  FIG. 13 . An alternative configuration of exemplary embodiments of the components of the present system is depicted in  FIG. 14 , which shows a support handle  38  attached to a single cup/tray/plate  32  that is, in turn, attached to adaptor  30  by insertion of one of the attachment pin  70  in one of the bores  50  in adaptor  30 . 
         [0035]    Attachment of two single cup holder tray/plates  32  to an adaptor  30  utilizing side pins  70  of tray/plate  32  is depicted in  FIG. 15 . 
         [0036]    In another alternative configuration, depicted in  FIG. 16 , tray/plate  34  is attached to a handle  38 , which, in turn, attaches to adaptor  30  by positioning base  92  on top of platform  42  and between uprights  44  of holder adaptor  30 . Support wall  36  are attached to cup holder adaptor  32  but are folded down and not in use. 
         [0037]      FIG. 17  depicts attachment of the tray/plate embodiment  34  to two support walls  36  by inserting tabs  110  through tab receiving slots  88  and engaging a portion of the tray/plate  34  in slots  108  in support wall  36 . 
         [0038]    As will be appreciated by reference to all of the drawings in the above description, numerous alternative embodiments of the present invention are possible. One such embodiment of an alternative cup holder adaptor  60  is depicted in  FIGS. 20 and 21 . As may be seen by reference to those figures, platforms  46  and associated upper bores  50  and lower bores  52  are positioned on all four sides of the square cup holder adaptor  60 . 
         [0039]    The components of the multifunctional, reconfigurable vehicle food and beverage holders system for mounting in motor vehicle beverage holders of this invention can be molded or otherwise formed of plastic. Such plastic should have suitable stiffness, durability, strength, cost and other properties for these components, and such plastic may include fillers, reinforcement fibers or other components as appropriate. Pins  70  can be integrally formed or attached like or dissimilar materials, as appropriate in consideration of the cost, strength, manufacturing difficulty and other relevant factors. Sleeves can optionally be used in the bores to receive pins. Portions or all of the components can be machined, forged, stamped, cast, molded or otherwise formed of steel, aluminum or other metal alloys or other metallic materials and could be constructed of wood. System components can be coated, anodized, tempered, hardened or otherwise finished or treated as appropriate in light of the nature, properties and surface quality of the material from which the component is made. 
         [0040]    The figures depict merely exemplary embodiments of this invention, which can be fabricated of numerous alternative materials and manufacturing techniques in myriad configurations. The figures well communicate the cup-holder engaging, component inter-connecting, and food and beverage accommodating configurations of this invention, enabling persons skilled in the relevant arts to practice this invention in both the illustrated and numerous alternative embodiments, all within the spirit of this invention and the scope of the following claims.