SERVING TRAY WITH EXPOSURE FACES FOR ADVERTISING

Abstract: An exposure/display tray comprises two essentially identical upper (2) and lower (1) tray halves where at least a substantial part of the horizontal face (3) of at least a portion of the upper tray half (2) is transparent, and each tray half (2, 3) on its upper side and/or underside is equipped with at least one watertight device (6, 6', 7, 7') running along or near the tray edge and around the whole tray, preferably of the tongue-and-groove type, where the male part is located on one of the halves and the female part on the other, and intermediate means for exposure and/or display of a message of a physical and/or electronic type, wherein the tray in the last-mentioned case in equipped with means/contacts for connection to batteries and display means for the electronic message.

Description: Serving tray with exposure faces for advertising The present invention relates to a serving tray with exposure faces for advertising. More specifically, the invention relates to a tray of this kind formed of an upper and a lower tray half where at least the bottom of the upper tray half is clear or transparent and thus allows exposure of advertising or other material. Today manufacturers are constantly searching for new ways of advertising and exposing their products, especially in order to more or less target and reach specific customer groups. Examples of specific articles on which attention has been focussed in recent years in connection with advertising include pump nozzles on petrol pumps at filling stations and shopping trolleys of various types in shopping centres. The object of the present invention is in a novel way to make use of space that has always been available but which hitherto has not been used in any particularly productive manner. Thus, as mentioned above, the invention is directed towards serving trays of the type used extensively and on a daily basis in hotels, restaurants, cafeterias, cafes and the like. Different types of advertising on both the upper side and underside of such trays have been known for some time. However, the advertisements on such trays have been advertisements put in place during the manufacture of the tray, and then often directed towards the merits, facilities, services etc. of the establishment concerned or advertisements for the local sights. Another variant has been relatively stable adhesive sheets stuck on the trays which, however, often more quickly than intended, are either consciously picked off by itchy- fingered users or worn off. As examples of the prior art in this field, reference can be made to US 1,600,658 which describes a tray having a bottom decoration (which in principle could have been advertisements) under a transparent tray bottom, but where all the components are placed in the tray basin whereupon a cover plate is secured by means of a retaining collar (L), and US 1,613,756 where a picture is inserted from the back and where the whole thing is in addition fastened by means of screws (17). It is the object of the present invention to provide a new, improved means for exposure or display of an electronic or "paper" message. Accordingly, the present invention relates to an exposure/display tray and this tray is characterised in that it comprises two essentially identical upper and lower tray halves where at least a substantial part of the horizontal face of at least a portion of the upper tray half is transparent, and that each tray half on its upper side and/or underside is equipped with at least one watertight sealing device running along or near the tray edge and around the whole tray, preferably of the tongue-and-groove type, where the male part is located on one of the halves and the female part on the other, and intermediate means for exposure and/or display of a message of a physical and/or electronic type, wherein the tray in the last-mentioned case is equipped with means/contacts for connection to batteries and display means for the electronic message. The invention will be described in more detail with reference to the attached figures, wherein Figure 1 is a perspective view of the two tray halves which together will form a tray; and Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the same tray halves taken along the line (II-II) in Figure 1. Figure 1 shows the lower tray half 1 and the upper tray half 2. The trays are equipped with a completely flat bottom 3 and outwardly hollowed tray edge 4 which is preferably shaped in the form 5 of a gripping edge along its outer periphery. The shape is unimportant in this case; what is important, however, is that the tray edge 4, 5 is shaped in a form which in principle projects outwards to permit stacking. In the illustrated embodiment, the lower tray half 1 is equipped with two continuous beads 6 and 7, one 6 of which is arranged in the outwardly projecting part, the gripping part, of the tray edge 4, and the other 7, close to the periphery of the flat bottom 3 of the tray half 1. Groove-like receiving members 6', 7' are arranged along the corresponding parts of the upper tray half 2. When the trays are assembled into one unit, the tray half 2 is pushed down into the tray half 1, the male means 6, 7 engage with the female parts 6', 7', and the whole tray is pressed together to form a water-tight unit. In the illustrated embodiment, two "sealing courses" are provided: one on the bottom and one on the gripping part. Furthermore, in the illustrated embodiment both male parts are arranged on the upper side of the lower tray half 1 , whilst both female parts are arranged on the underside of the upper tray half 2. Obviously, this can be reversed or each tray can have a male and a female part. In one specific embodiment, it is conceivable that each tray is equipped with such sealing elements on both the upper side and the underside. This means that it will be sufficient to have one type of tray where the tray halves 1 and 2 in this case can be made identical to one another. In this case too, the question of whether to choose one, two or more "rings" of sealing elements will of course depend upon the desired reliability of the seal. Furthermore, the choice of where the male and female part should be located is also arbitrary per se. In one particular embodiment, it is conceivable that the exposure or display means for the display of the desired message are of an electronic type. In this case an LCD, liquid crystal display, will be arranged in the space 8 between the bottoms 3 of the upper and lower tray halves, of which at least one is transparent. In this case the tray will be equipped with suitable leads running towards the edge and contacts along the edge. These means are of a known type per se and allow the batteries necessary for the electronic display to be charged when the trays are stacked, for example, in a suitable rack which at the same times serves as a charger means. The reference numeral 9 indicates gripping means for use when the tray halves 1, 2 are to be separated for the insertion of a new "paper" message or for replacing or maintenance of electronic display means. The inventive tray permits a completely new use of the face formed by the tray bottom in a serving tray, whether for bought advertising, for advertising/information activities directed towards the tray-user institution or also even for information activities in organisations such as the armed forces, hospitals, universities and the like.

Claims: P a t e n t c l a i m s 1. An exposure/display tray, characterised in that it comprises two essentially identical upper (2) and lower (1) tray halves where at least a substantial part of the horizontal face (3) of at least a portion of the upper tray half (2) is transparent, and that each tray half (2, 3) on its upper side and/or underside is equipped with at least one watertight sealing device (6, 6', 7, 7') running along or near the tray edge and around the whole tray, preferably of the tongue-and-groove type, where the male part is located on one of the halves and the female part on the other, and intermediate means for exposure and or display of a message of a physical and/or electronic type, wherein the tray in the last-mentioned case is equipped with means/contacts for connection to batteries and display means for the electronic message. 2. A tray according to claim 1, characterised in that the two tray halves have two sealing elements of the tongue-and-groove type running along or close to the edge of the tray on the upper side and the underside respectively for cooperation with corresponding elements on the other tray half. 3. A tray according to claim 2, characterised in that each tray half has one sealing element of the male type and one of the female type on the upper side and the underside respectively for cooperation with the corresponding elements on the other tray half. 4. A tray according to claim 1, characterised in that the tray halves are identical and have at least one sealing element on the upper side and at least one on the underside for cooperation with corresponding elements on the other tray half. 5. A tray according to claim 4, characterised in that the tray halves have a sealing element of the male type and a sealing element of the female type on the upper side and the underside for cooperation with corresponding elements on the other tray half.

Inventors: GISKEOEDEGAARD AAGE, GISKEOEDEGAARD LARS, GISKEOEDEGAARD, AAGE, GISKEOEDEGAARD, LARS
Applicants: BRETTCOM AS, GISKEOEDEGAARD AAGE, GISKEOEDEGAARD LARS, BRETTCOM A/S, GISKEOEDEGAARD, AAGE, GISKEOEDEGAARD, LARS
Application year: 2001
Main classification: A47G23
IPC codes: A47G23