Abstract:
A condiment packet holder of molded plastic has a generally centrally located aperture sized to receive and suspend a body of a condiment packet. The condiment packet holder has a generally cylindrical body surrounding the aperture, sized to be received by an automobile cup-holder and rest on the rim of an insert therein, just below the opening of the cup-holder at a height convenient for dipping food items into an open-top condiment packet supported by the condiment packet holder. An extension from one portion of the condiment packet holder body is received by a corresponding discontinuity commonly found in the upper portion of automobile cup-holders, and includes a slot receiving a slat from an air vent within the automobile, allowing the packet holder to be wedged into the air vent.

Description:
[0001]    This application incorporates by reference U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/553,705 entitled “CONDIMENT PACKET HOLDER FOR USE WITH AN AUTOMOBILE CUPHOLDER OR AIR VENT” and filed on Oct. 31, 2011 and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/610,898 entitled “CONDIMENT HOLDER FOR USE WITH AN AUTOMOBILE CUPHOLDER OR AIR VENT” and filed on Mar. 14, 2012. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    The present application relates generally to a holder for disposable condiment packets and, more specifically, to a condiment packet holder adapted for mounting within an automobile cup-holder or air vent. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Fast food consumers often prefer to consume certain foods with a condiment that cannot be applied to the food until the food is to be eaten, or else the quality of the food will deteriorate. For example, many people enjoy ketchup (catsup) on french fries (often just called “fries”). However, when ketchup is applied to fries, the ketchup typically soaks into the fires within a short period of time, rendering the fries soggy and unappealing. Likewise, chicken “nuggets” (also called chicken tenders or strips) are often sold by fast food establishments with a choice of condiment, such as barbeque, honey mustard or sweet and sour sauce, ranch dressing, etc. As with ketchup and fries, applying the sauce at the time of sale will result in the chicken nuggets quickly becoming soggy. With both fries and chicken nuggets, applying the condiment to the food at the time of sale also causes the food to become undesirably messy for eating with just the consumer&#39;s fingers. Most customers prefer to individually dip their fries or chicken nuggets into the condiment a few moments before eating. Accordingly, condiments for such foods are typically dispensed by fast food enterprises in disposable packets, separate from the food or even the food packaging. 
         [0004]    While dipping sauces for nuggets have been sold in rectangular or cylindrical plastic tubs having a peel-off covering (see  FIG. 7 ), until recently personal portions of ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, tartar sauce and relish have been predominantly dispensed by fast food enterprises in plastic or polymeric pouch-like envelopes that are torn open at one corner and squeezed to dispense the condiment. Of course, fries could not be dipped into ketchup held by such packets, requiring that the ketchup be dispensed onto a surface or into an open-top container to allow dipping. Recently, however, H.J. Heinz Company began national sales of ketchup in their “Dip &amp; Squeeze” packets.  FIGS. 6A and 6B  are top and bottom perspective views of that condiment packet design, reproduced from U.S. Pat. No. D634,643. The generally-plastic packet body shown in those figures is sealed by a peel-off cover of a flexible material, as described in further detail in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0270330, and holds approximately one ounce of ketchup.  FIG. 6C  is a perspective illustration of the commercial embodiment of the packets in  FIGS. 6A and 6B . 
         [0005]    While allowing dipping of food into a condiment held by the open-top packet (once the cover is peeled off), the condiment packet design disclosed in the patent documents identified above remains problematic for use in automobiles. The packet must be held in one hand while the other hand holds and dips the food item being eaten. Alternatively, the open-top packet must rest on a generally level surface while the food item is dipped into the condiment contained therein. Normal automotive operation requires the driver to have at least one hand substantially continuously gripping the steering wheel, and passengers often do not have two free hands either. Merely setting the condiment packet on the surface of a seat, console, armrest, dashboard or the like within the vehicle leaves the packet subject to sliding, tipping and/or falling due to inertia and momentum in response to changes in the vehicle&#39;s speed or direction. Placing the packet within a cup-holder in the vehicle will usually cause the packet to be at an inconvenient position for dipping the food item in the condiment, since the cup-holder will normally be too deep and narrow to allow easy dipping of a food item held in a person&#39;s hand. 
         [0006]    There is, therefore, a need in the art for an improved condiment packet holder. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0007]    A condiment packet holder of molded plastic has a generally centrally located aperture sized to receive a body of a condiment packet and to suspend that body by supporting, on surfaces surrounding the aperture, a flange protruding at the top of the condiment packet around a periphery of the body. The condiment packet holder has a generally cylindrical body surrounding the aperture, sized to be received by an automobile cup-holder and rest on the rim of an insert therein, just below the opening of the cup-holder at a height convenient for dipping food items into an open-top condiment packet supported by the condiment packet holder. An extension from one portion of the condiment packet holder body is received by a corresponding discontinuity commonly found in the upper portion of automobile cup-holders, and includes a slot receiving a slat from an air vent within the automobile, allowing the packet holder to be wedged into the air vent. The simple construction allows for inexpensive manufacture, such that fast-food enterprises may distribute the packet holder as a promotional item. 
         [0008]    Before undertaking the DETAILED DESCRIPTION below, it may be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases used throughout this patent document: the terms “include” and “comprise,” as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation; the term “or,” is inclusive, meaning and/or; the phrases “associated with” and “associated therewith,” as well as derivatives thereof, may mean to include, be included within, interconnect with, contain, be contained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with, cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to or with, have, have a property of, or the like; and the term “controller” means any device, system or part thereof that controls at least one operation, such a device may be implemented in hardware, firmware or software, or some combination of at least two of the same. It should be noted that the functionality associated with any particular controller may be centralized or distributed, whether locally or remotely. Definitions for certain words and phrases are provided throughout this patent document, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that in many, if not most instances, such definitions apply to prior, as well as future uses of such defined words and phrases. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]    For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and its advantages, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals represent like parts: 
           [0010]      FIG. 1  is a top plan view of a condiment packet holder according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is a sectional view of the condiment packet holder of  FIG. 1 , taken at section line  2 - 2 ; 
           [0012]      FIGS. 2A and 2B  illustrate the alternative manners by which the condiment packet holder of  FIGS. 1 and 2  may support a condiment packet; 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a top plan view of a condiment packet holder according to another embodiment of the present disclosure; 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is a top plan view of a condiment packet holder according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure; 
           [0015]      FIG. 4A  is a section view taken at section lines A-A in  FIG. 4 , and  FIG. 4B  is a side view of a portion of the structure illustrated in  FIG. 4 ; 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  is a top plan view of a condiment packet holder according to still another embodiment of the present disclosure, illustrating additional design concepts; 
           [0017]      FIGS. 6A and 6B  are top and bottom perspective views of an existing condiment packet design; 
           [0018]      FIG. 6C  is a perspective illustration of a commercial embodiment of the packets in  FIGS. 6A and 6B ; and 
           [0019]      FIG. 7  contains several perspective views of an alternate existing condiment packet design. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0020]      FIGS. 1 through 5 , discussed below, and the various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present disclosure in this patent document are by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any way to limit the scope of the disclosure. 
         [0021]      FIG. 1  is a top plan view of a condiment packet holder according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, while  FIG. 2  is a sectional view of the condiment packet holder  100  of  FIG. 1  taken at section line  2 - 2 .  FIG. 3  is a top plan view of a condiment packet holder according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. Condiment packet holder  100 ,  300  includes a body having an aperture  101 ,  301  therethrough, for receiving the body of the condiment packet. The shape of the aperture  101 ,  301  must necessarily be shaped to substantially conform to the shape of the body of the condiment packets to be held. For instance, the aperture  101  in the exemplary embodiment of  FIGS. 1 and 2  is shaped to receive and hold packets having a body with the shape depicted in  FIGS. 6A-6B , and is thus generally rectangular but with counterpart end portions  103   a,    103   b  of each long side of the rectangle angled inward, similar to a trapezoid. The edges of the aperture  101  need not be straight, but may instead be slightly curved as illustrated at the bottom of the aperture  101  depicted in  FIG. 1 . The corners of the aperture  101  are preferably rounded. 
         [0022]    The aperture  101  shown in the exemplary embodiment of  FIGS. 1 and 2  is sized to receive the body of the condiment packet depicted in  FIGS. 6A-6B  and to hold that packet suspended, supported by the protruding lip or flange extending laterally from around the periphery at the top of the packet body. That is, the flange at the top of the condiment packet rests on the upper surface of the condiment packet holder  100 , while the body is received by the aperture  101  and hangs from the protruding packet lip through and below the aperture  101 . The aperture  101  depicted in  FIG. 1  thus has a width of about 1.25 inches and a length of about 2.25 to 2.5 inches, sufficient to receive the body of the packet in  FIGS. 6A-6B  but smaller than the length and width of the lip or flange protruding (by about 0.25 inches) laterally around the top of that packet. 
         [0023]      FIGS. 2A and 2B  illustrate the alternative manners by which the condiment packet holder of  FIGS. 1 and 2  may support a condiment packet. As shown in  FIG. 2A , the aperture in the condiment packet holder may be sized larger than the width and length of the condiment packet body but smaller than the outer dimensions of the protruding flange at the top of the condiment packet body, so that the condiment packet is suspended by the protruding flange. Alternatively, as shown in  FIG. 2B , for a condiment packet with battered or sloped sides, the aperture may be sized to catch the sides of the condiment packet, leaving a small portion of the condiment packet extending above the upper surface of the condiment packet holder for ease in grasping for removal. 
         [0024]    The aperture could alternatively be entirely rectangular (except, perhaps, for having rounded corners), without the angled end portions shown in  FIG. 1 . The aperture  301  depicted in  FIG. 3  illustrates this variation. The aperture  301  depicted in  FIG. 3  thus has a width of about 1.25 inches and a length of about 1.75 inches, sufficient to receive the body of the packets depicted in  FIGS. 6A-6   b  but smaller than the length and width of the flange or lip (typically between 0.125 and 0.25 inches) protruding laterally around the top of those packets. If appropriately sized, the modified aperture  301  would still receive the body of and support the packet depicted in  FIGS. 6A-6B . However such a modified aperture would also support other condiment packet designs of similar rectangular shape (and approximately the same body and flange dimensions), such as those illustrated in  FIG. 7 . Of course, for generally cylindrical or frusto-conical condiment packets, the aperture should be circular. The aperture may also be square, triangular or trapezoidal in shape, depending on the condiment packets to be supported. 
         [0025]    The length and width of the aperture  101 ,  301  is slightly larger than the corresponding length and width of the body of the packet depicted in  FIGS. 6A-6B  or  FIG. 7  just below the flange, allowing the aperture to receive the body of that packet with clearance of at least about 1/32 nd  to ⅛ th  of an inch while remaining smaller than the length and width of the flange. Of course, the length and width of the aperture  101 ,  301  need not necessarily be smaller than both the corresponding length and width of the flange around the top of the condiment packet. Instead, for at least generally rectangular shaped condiment packets having a length significantly greater than the width, only one of the length and width of the aperture need be smaller than either the corresponding length or the corresponding width of the flange around the packet body. 
         [0026]    For example, the aperture could be generally square with a dimension smaller than the length of the flange on the packets of  FIGS. 6A-6B , and would thus receive the body of and support those packets regardless of whether inserted with a first orientation or with a second orientation rotated approximately 90° relative to the first orientation. That is, at least a portion of the flange of the packet would rest on the surface of the condiment packet holder at opposite ends of the condiment packet, but not necessarily along other sides of the packet. Such an aperture might thus function with condiment packets of a variety of sizes, limited only in that the flange must significantly exceed (preferably by at least one-quarter to one-half of an inch) the dimension of the aperture, and that the length of the packet body just below the flange prevent the packet from sliding within the aperture until the lip is no longer supported at one end. By preference, however, during use the flange of a condiment packet is supported by the surface of the condiment packet holder  100  around at least a majority of the periphery thereof, and even more preferably around an entirety of the periphery for that flange. Thus, while the aperture may be sized and/or shaped to receive condiment packets within a range of sizes, such range is preferably kept small, and in any event well below the minimum dimension by which the flange projects outward from the packet body just below the flange. 
         [0027]    The periphery of the planform for the body of condiment packet holder  100 ,  300  surrounding the aperture  101 ,  301  is generally circular, although in some embodiments the body for condiment packet holder  100 ,  300  may be completely circular in planform. That is, the body of such embodiments has a cylindrical three-dimensional shape forming, with aperture  101  or  301 , a generally annular planform. The preferred embodiment, however, includes a protrusion from a portion of the circular planform, discussed in further detail below. 
         [0028]    The thickness of the body is preferably between about one-quarter of an inch and 30 millimeters (mm), and more preferably about one-sixteenth of an inch. The body is preferably rigid or semi-rigid and may be formed of molded, recyclable thermoplastic or thermosetting polymeric or plastic material such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The body is preferably formed with ridges or raised lips  103 ,  104  on both sides around the periphery of the aperture  101 ,  301  and around the outer periphery of the body. 
         [0029]    The outer diameter for the circular portion of the body should be between about 3.5 and 4.5 inches and preferably between about 3.75 and 4.0 inches. Automobile cup-holders within a fixed or fold-down central console generally contain a rubber insert having an inner diameter of about 2.5 to more than 3.0 inches, to receive and hold a standard 12 ounce aluminum beverage can or 20 ounce plastic bottle, as well as other beverage containers formed with at least a bottom portion thereof having a similar size. Near the top of those cup-holders is a lip or rim of as much as one-quarter to one-half inch in width, surrounded by wall formed by the console material. Cup-holders on the dashboard or doors of an automobile will often have a similar shape. The condiment packet holder  100  is intended to be received by the upper wall portion of the cup-holder, to rest on the rim or lip that is not far below uppermost portion of the cup-holder but which may be several inches above the bottom of the cup-holder on which beverage containers rest. The condiment packet supported by the condiment packet holder is thus suspended in the region normally occupied by a beverage container when placed in the cup-holder, at a convenient height above the bottom of the cup-holder. 
         [0030]    Many cup-holders include an open area along some portion of the periphery of the upper wall. For those cup-holders not including such a cup-holder, the planform of the condiment packet holder should be circular as described above. However, where such openings are included in the upper periphery of the cup-holder, the planform preferably includes a protrusion  106  at one end, end at least one and as many as three inches past the outer diameter of the circular portion of the planform. The protrusion  106  includes a narrow slot  105  (one-sixteenth to one-quarter of an inch in width) configured receive the vertical louver or slat of an air vent closure mechanism. The sides of the protrusion  106  are tapered or arcuate, to facilitate wedging the protrusion between adjacent slats to those received by the slot  105 . In this manner, the condiment packet holder  100 ,  300  may be mounted onto an air vent within the automobile, for cases in which either such mounting is preferable or placement within a cup-holder is not feasible. 
         [0031]    In one embodiment, the condiment packet holder  100 ,  300  may optionally include on one side an annular protrusion  107  intended to be received by an upper interior portion of the cup-holder (e.g., about three inches or less in outer diameter, about one-sixteenth of an inch thick and approximately one-half inch in height). 
         [0032]      FIG. 4  is a top plan view of a condiment packet holder according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure.  FIG. 4A  is a section view taken at section lines A-A in  FIG. 4 , and  FIG. 4B  is a side view of a portion of the structure illustrated in  FIG. 4 . 
         [0033]    Condiment packet holder  400  depicted in  FIG. 4  has a similar structure and is manufactured in substantially the same manner as described above in connection with condiment packet holders  100  and  300 . However, the planform of condiment packet holder  400  includes a protrusion  401  with substantially straight prongs, rather than being arcuate for wedging of the protrusion in an air vent as described above. 
         [0034]    In addition, a wedge-shape “shark tooth”  402  is mounted on at least one of the prongs for protrusion  401 , and optionally separate teeth are mounted on each prong. In the example shown, the tooth  402  slopes down toward the free end of the prong and is mounted on a top surface of the prong, although optionally the tooth may be oriented to slope down away from the free end of the prong and/or be mounted on a bottom surface, or multiple teeth may be mounted on each prong with either the same or opposite orientations and/or on the same or on opposite sides of the condiment packet holder  400 . The tooth  402  or teeth assist in wedging the condiment packet holder  400  into an automobile air vent, to retain the condiment packet holder  400  in position. 
         [0035]      FIG. 5  is a top plan view of a condiment packet holder according to still another embodiment of the present disclosure, illustrating additional design concepts. In particular, the condiment packet holder  500  of  FIG. 5  illustrates two design concepts: First, the aperture  501  for receiving and suspending a condiment packet need not have any particular orientation with respect to the protrusion. Thus, for example, the long dimension of the aperture  501  may be transverse in orientation to the direction in which the protrusion extends as illustrated in  FIG. 5 , rather than oriented in the same direction as illustrated in  FIGS. 1 ,  3  and  4 . Second, the size and shape of the aperture  501  may be “keyed” to the condiment packets of a specific vendor. Thus, for instance, the condiment packet of a particular vendor may have a specific perimeter shape (i.e., rectangular with one truncated or “clipped” corner as shown in  FIG. 5 ). The aperture may be shaped to receive and support condiment packet of that particular vendor, to the exclusion of being able to support competitors&#39; condiment packets (i.e., a rectangular condiment packet without the clipped corner would not be received by the aperture in  FIG. 5 ). Similarly, for a condiment packet sized with significantly larger transverse dimensions than normal, and with only a small protruding flange, the aperture may be sized to receive and support the packet in an aperture too large to support competitors&#39; packets. 
         [0036]    The condiment packet holder  100 ,  300 ,  400 ,  500  of the present disclosure is simple and very inexpensive to manufacture in volume. Thus, fast food enterprises may give away the condiment packet holder as part of the customer&#39;s purchase or as a promotional item, or may simply have such condiment packet holders available to be given or sold to the customer upon request at no charge or for a nominal price. Of course, the surfaces of condiment packet holder  100  may bear any graphic and/or printed matter desired in connection with the article&#39;s promotional nature, and such graphic and/or printed matter may periodically or intermittently be changed in different lots of the condiment packet holder produced near the time of different events (such as the release of new movies). 
         [0037]    Although the present disclosure has been described with exemplary embodiments, various changes and modifications may be suggested to one skilled in the art. It is intended that the present disclosure encompass such changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims.