Tray-like carrier for plates and glasses

A tray-like carrier for plates and glasses essentially consists of a plane, rigid platform. Several clearances or recesses allow receiving a plate and where called for a stemmed drinking glass. A grip clearance allows holding and transporting the carrier with one hand.

The invention concerns a tray-like carrier for [food] plates and glasses 
with an essentially plane, rigid platform. 
Trays are used to carry dishes, for instance from the kitchen to the dinner 
table. They also may be used at parties to offer food and beverages. 
Once the guest has helped himself to food and beverages and wishes to 
consume them while standing, another problem arises however. He needs both 
hands to hold the platform--which frequently consists of flexible 
cardboard--and can consume the food only carefully. More difficulties 
arise if, in the typical case, he is carrying a conversation with another 
guest. 
The object of the invention is to create a tray-like carrier for plates and 
glasses that also will allow problem-free food consumption while standing. 
This problem is solved for a carrier of the invention in that provision is 
made for a recess or clearance to secure in slip-proof manner a platform 
and further for a grip-clearance, which in topview is oblong-round through 
which to pass the user's thumb so he can grip the carrier and hold it with 
one hand. 
This tray-like carrier easily makes it possible to consume food while 
standing. Illustratively the party guest seizes the platform, moves the 
thumb through the grip clearance, puts the front thumb phalanx on the top 
side of the platform-shaped body and supports the underside with the back 
of the thumb or of the had. As a result the platform-shaped, rigid body is 
held in very stable manner and can be easily counterbalanced by the guest. 
Next plates, for instance with cold buffet food, can be deposited on the 
carrier. One plate is placed in the first clearance wherein it is secured 
in stable manner. The guest's second hand remains free and may be used to 
ingest the food by means of a fork or spoon. Food and beverages may be 
taken along to change locations, also another room may be entered. 
Conversation can take place unhampered, without having to put down the 
tray or, in the previous manner, without having to forcefully grip a 
cardboard platform at its rim. Simultaneously the tray-like carrier allows 
placing the cutlery on the platform when not needed. 
The recess also may be integrated into the platform in the form of a plate. 
In this case no separate plate is deposited, instead the food is deposited 
on said integrated plate. This is a possibility for plastic, disposable 
dishes. In this case the plate is molded jointly as a fixed component 
together with the platform. 
Where separate plates are concerned, it is possible furthermore to 
manufacture such plates illustratively made of ceramic or china and 
matching the carrier and to offer this carrier together with the said 
plates as a set. 
The posture of the carrier's user is unstressed because the center of 
gravity of the carrier is advantageously adjusted by this user himself and 
can be vertically supported by the entire forearm length. This stands in 
contrast to conventional trays which are supported on horizontally 
stretched arms. 
Accordingly the invention offers holding by the arm which is more reliable, 
more comfortable and also more variable. In spite of the weight, the arms 
shall not tire. 
The advantages of the invention are especially marked when there are a slot 
starting at the rim and an adjoining circular aperture to receive the cup 
of a stemmed drinking glass, the slot serving to introduce the stem when 
laterally inserting the drinking glass into the aperture. 
Hence a drinking glass with stem, in particular a wine or champaign glass 
and where called for a brandy glass or the like may now be inserted in 
addition to the plate. The filled glass with the contents (the cup) now is 
secured in slip-proof manner on the upper side of the platform, whereas 
the stem projects from the underside, thereby making possible selective 
food serving or drinking from the glass. Now as before only one hand is 
required to hold the tray-like carrier, and therefore the second hand 
remains totally free. Heretofore a standing guest could either hold a 
plate with one hand and manipulate a fork or spoon with the other. Then 
the drinking glass had to be put down; or else the guest would hold a 
drinking glass, in which case food ingestion was impossible. 
Moreover the invention prevents that by holding the glass in the hand for a 
fairly long time, the drink would be undesirably warmed as was the case 
heretofore. The glass need not be deposited separately, being often 
forgotten then in practice. 
Appropriately this part of the platform is designed in such a manner that 
the clearance diameter exceeds the slot width. As a result the drinking 
glass is secured in particular against undesired slippage to the outside: 
it requires being lifted somewhat when it must be removed. 
Moreover the cross-sectionally circular clearance may conically flare from 
the lower side to the top side. This flaring may match the shape of the 
glass. 
Seen in topview, the carrier assumes approximately the shape of a painter's 
palette such as are used by artists to mix and use the paints while they 
are working. 
In an esthetic design, the platform-like body assumes an approximately oval 
contour. Thereby various clearances can be spread over the oval uniformly 
and compactly. Whereas the clearance for the plate ordinarily shall be 
circular and shall claim most of the available space on the top side of 
the platform-shaped body and does define centrally the one side of the 
oval, the smaller clearances for the grip and the drinking glass are 
present on the other side. 
At the same time, this compactness assures high economy of material for the 
platform-like carrier of which the weight thereby is also lowered. 
If the contour of the grip clearance is oval, it will be especially easy to 
pass the human thumb through it on one hand and on the other to rest the 
front thumb link on the top side, while the thumb or the back of the hand 
supports the lower side. 
Firm gripping is enhanced by flutings being present on the top side of the 
platform-like body near the grip aperture. These flutings may be 
skin-compatible to avert forming sweat beads. 
In an especially preferred design, the flutings run parallel to the contour 
edge of the grip clearance. Thereby thumb slippage is prevented very 
effectively. If the contour of the grip clearance is oval, the flutings 
will extend in an approximate half circle along one side of the oval. 
The tray-like carrier means will be used in large numbers at a party. 
Appropriately therefore they shall be stackable, on one hand prior to 
being used and during storage, and on the other hand following use prior 
to possible cleaning. In order to easily separate the carriers, 
advantageously at least three mutually distant spacer means 28 shall be 
provided at the lower side of the platform-like body. As a result it will 
be easy to enter the spaces between the individual platforms of the 
particular tray-like carriers and to remove the uppermost one. 
Very advantageously the platform-like body shall be a washable plastic for 
purposes of cleaning. Alternatively however the body also may be made of 
an enameled metal. In both cases the carrier can be made esthetic, easy to 
clean and durable.

Essentially the tray-like carrier consists of a plane, platform-like rigid 
body, a platform 10 of oval contour, a rim 11, a top side 12 facing the 
observer in FIG. 1, and a lower side 13. 
The illustrative embodiment of FIG. 1 comprises three clearances. A first 
circular clearance or recess 21 takes up the largest part of the one side 
of the oval body. The center of the circular recess 21 is midway between 
the two longitudinal sides of the rim 11 and next to one of the short 
sides of the oval. 
A second clearance is the grip aperture 22. This aperture evinces an 
oblong-round contour, i.e. it is an oval. It extends from the top side 12 
to the lower side 13 of the platform-like body 10, as shown in FIG. 3. The 
contour is rounded because of the user's thumb being inserted into this 
grip aperture 22. The width of the grip clearance 22 therefore matches 
that of the human thumb. The length is such that the thumb may rest on the 
top side 12 of the body 10. Flutings 25 are present in this area and run 
parallel to the contour of the grip aperture 22, assuring improved 
slip-resistance of the thumb on the top side 12. The back of the hand of 
the user can rest on the lower side 13 of the body 10--namely to the left 
and to the right of the clearance 22 and also between the clearance 22 and 
the recess 21. 
As shown best of all by FIG. 4, the recess 21 of the illustrative 
embodiment may be sealed at the bottom whereas the clearance 22 passes 
through. However the recess 21 may be replaced by a through-clearance 
which in that event shall set a limit on the size of the plates which may 
be inserted. 
A third clearance 23 is circular in cross-section and like the clearance 22 
is present on that side of the oval platform 10 which is away from the 
recess 21. The circular cross-section of the clearance 23 flares conically 
from the lower side 13 toward the upper side 12 of the platform 10--see 
FIG. 2--in order to receive a inversely conical drinking glass and to 
support it well. This stemmed drinking glass can be inserted sideways 
through a slot 24 into the clearance 23. The slot 24 joins the clearance 
23 to the rim 11 of the platform 10. The width of the slot 24 exceeds the 
diameter of the drinking glass stem. 
The front shape of the platform 10 is formed by two semi-circles at the 
narrow sides. The circular recess 21 is concentric with one of the 
semi-circles. The center of the second semi-circle is located 
approximately at the rim of the circular recess 21 that is away from the 
first semi-circle. 
The rim of the recess 21 may be flanged upward to better secure and support 
a plate. To improve the stackability and stability when in the stored 
position, the lower side of the recess 21 may be provided with a 
circumferential downward projecting lip near the rim (FIG. 4). 
The material of the platform-like body may be a washable plastic or also 
enameled metal. In especially simple embodiments, cardboard or a 
disposable material also may be applicable. 
To be particularly esthetic, the platform 10 may be metallized, for 
instance being chromed, silvered or gilded. 
In order that the platform 10 can be freely handled for the purpose of the 
invention also with persons of comparatively short arms, a central or 
slightly off-center or two laterally offset rim clearances 30, 31, 32 for 
the elbow-inside are present on that side opposite the grip clearance 22, 
in the manner indicated by the dashed lines in FIG. 1. 
The carrier platform 10 may be provided with an at least partially 
peripheral stacking rim 34, 36 at the upper and lower sides, the lower 
stacking rim 36 being inwardly offset by about the thickness of the upper 
stacking rim. The stacking rims are shown by dashed lines in FIGS. 1, 3 
and 4. As a result, a number of platforms can be securely stacked onto 
each other.