Abstract:
A blank of cardboard or plastics, the blank comprising a transverse fold line dividing the blank into a bearing portion and a support portion, the bearing portion having an aperture to accommodate the neck of a bottle or wall of a drinking glass or cup, the support portion being foldable under the bearing portion and terminating in at least one leg which is foldable relative to the support portion and arranged to co-operate with an underside of the bearing portion and to bear against a side of the neck or wall of the bottle or glass whereby the bearing portion is supported to extend laterally from the bottle or glass.

Description:
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is the U.S. National Phase of International Application PCT/AU2008/001208, filed Aug. 18, 2008, and claims priority to Australian Patent Application No. 2007904454, filed Aug. 17, 2007. Each of the priority applications is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This invention relates to a blank which can be formed into a plate that can be suspended from a glass or bottle. 
     BACKGROUND 
     At social functions such as cocktail parties and business meetings, there is often a need for attendees to stand whilst eating and drinking. This need requires a degree of dexterity enabling the attendee whilst standing to hold and eat from a plate of food and to hold a glass or bottle whilst at the same time mingle in a crowded room. There have been many proposals in the past of devices that aid the challenges of eating and drinking whilst standing. There have been proposals to suspend plates from glasses and bottles and, in turn, proposals to suspend glasses from plates. These past proposals vary in complexity and cost. 
     This invention is concerned with a simple, cheap and disposable solution to these problems. 
     SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     According to one aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a blank of cardboard or plastics, the blank comprising a transverse fold line dividing the blank into a bearing portion and a support portion, the bearing portion having an aperture to accommodate the neck of a bottle or wall of a drinking glass or cup, the support portion being foldable under the bearing portion and terminating in at least one leg which is foldable relative to the support portion and arranged to co-operate with an underside of the bearing portion and to bear against a side of the neck or wall of the bottle or glass whereby the bearing portion is supported to extend laterally from the bottle or glass. 
     In one form, the blank comprises an aperture tab on an end of the at least one leg for insertion in the aperture. This may facilitate the co-operation of the at least one leg with the underside of the bearing portion. 
     In one form, the at least one leg is foldable on the support portion on a v-shaped fold line. 
     In one form, the support portion terminates in a slit which defines two said legs which are foldable relative to the support portion. 
     In one form, the support portion comprises two said tabs, each tab being associated with a respective said leg. 
     In one form, the at least one leg terminates in foldable slit tabs which are adapted to engage appropriately positioned slits in the bearing portion. This may facilitate said co-operation with the underside of the bearing portion. 
     The bearing portion may include a recess. In one form, the recess is formed by depressing a section of the bearing portion toward the support portion. In one form the bearing portion includes a flap section extending from a transverse fold line in the bearing portion, the flap having an internal transverse fold line separating a wall portion and a flap portion, the flap being adapted to be depressed toward the support portion. 
     In one form, the blank is formed of cardboard which forms part of a carton for beer or soft drink. In one form score lines are provided around the periphery of the blank to enable removal of the blank from the carton. 
     According to another aspect there is provided a blank of cardboard or plastics, the blank being elongate with a transverse fold line dividing the blank into a bearing portion and a support portion, the bearing portion having an aperture to accommodate the neck of a bottle or wall of a drinking glass or cup, the support portion being foldable under the bearing portion and terminating in a slit which defines legs which are foldable relative to the support portion to clip against the underside of the bearing portion on either side of the neck or wall of the bottle or glass whereby the bearing portion is supported to extend laterally from the bottle or glass. 
     In one form, the legs terminate in foldable tabs which are adapted to engage appropriately positions slits in the bearing portion. 
     In one form, the bearing portion further includes a tab extending from a lateral fold line, the tab being depressable toward the support portion to form the base and one wall of a recess in the bearing portion. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a plan view of a blank; 
         FIG. 2  is a plan view of the blank when folded; 
         FIG. 3  is an underside view of the folded blank; 
         FIG. 4  is a side elevational view of the blank when folded and secured to the neck of a bottle; and 
         FIGS. 5 and 6  are plan views of alternative forms of one portion of the blank; 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the blank in assembled state; 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the blank of  FIG. 7 , with tray; 
         FIG. 9  is a side view of the blank of  FIG. 7 ; 
         FIG. 10  is a side view of the blank of  FIG. 7  with tray; 
         FIG. 11  is a top plan view of the blank of  FIG. 7 ; 
         FIG. 12  is a top plan view of the blank of  FIG. 7 , with tray; 
         FIG. 13  is a front view of the blank of  FIG. 7 ; 
         FIG. 14  is a front view of the blank of  FIG. 7  with tray; 
         FIG. 15  is a rear view of the blank of  FIG. 7 ; 
         FIG. 16  is a plan view of the blank of  FIG. 7  in disassembled state. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 through 4 , disclosed is a blank  10  which is constructed of card, for example corrugated cardboard, or thin plastics. The blank  10  has a series of fold lines and slits or cuts to allow the blank  10  to be folded into a plate that can be suspended from the neck of a bottle. The material that is used to make the blank  10  may be sufficiently rigid to support a small load in use, such as food. 
     The blank  10  is of substantially rectangular form having longer sides  11  and  12  and shorter sides  13  and  14 . A transverse fold line  15  extends across the middle of the blank as shown in  FIG. 1  and divides the blank into a substantially planar bearing portion  16  and a support portion  17 . The end of the support portion  17  terminates in a profiled edge which is split into two portions  19   a  and  19   b  by a centrally positioned slit  20  which extends longitudinally of the blank. A pair of v-shaped, or tapered fold lines  21 ,  22  extends from the longer edges of the blank to the base of the slit  20  as shown in  FIG. 1  and the slit  20  and fold lines  21 ,  22  define two legs  23  and  24 . The profiled end of each leg includes a substantially rectangular cut-out  26  and a small lateral slit  27 ,  28  is positioned on the edge of each leg  23 ,  24  inwardly of the free edge. 
     The bearing portion  16  has a centrally positioned circular aperture  30  positioned adjacent one end  13  and a pair of slits  31 ,  32  extending from the edges of the blank at an incline to that edge towards the aperture  30 . It will be understood that in alternative embodiments, the aperture may be of a shape other than circular, and/or may be at an edge of the bearing portion  16 , such that it is open at the bearing portion edge. 
     The fold line  15  allows the blank  10  to be folded in half with the support portion  17  extending underneath the bearing portion  16 . The central slit  20  and fold lines  21 ,  22  also allow the legs  23 ,  24  to be folded to project upwardly as shown in  FIG. 4 . The slits  27 ,  28  define small rectangular slit tabs  35 ,  36  which are shown in  FIGS. 2 and 4  to allow the free ends of the legs  23 ,  24  to engage the underside of the bearing portion  16  via the inclined slits  31 ,  32 . Aperture tabs  37 ,  38  are also defined on the end of respective legs  23 ,  24  for insertion into the aperture  30  when in use. 
     Thus in use the blank  10  is folded about the central fold line  15  and the legs  23 ,  24  turn upwardly as shown in  FIG. 4 . The aperture tabs  37 ,  38  are located in the aperture  30  and the slit tabs  35 , 36  are located in the slits  27 ,  28 . The folded blank  10  can then be placed on the top of a bottle B by putting the head and neck N of the bottle through the aperture  30  until the aperture rests against the bottleneck N. At the same time, the upturned legs  23 ,  24  are positioned on the neck N of the bottle B to loosely engage the bottle in the manner shown in  FIG. 4 . 
     Several features of the embodiment contribute to maintaining the in use folded state of the blank, such as illustrated in  FIGS. 2 to 4 . For instance, when the blank  10  is in place on the bottle neck N, the aperture tabs  37 ,  38  are pushed against the aperture  30 . Also, in use, given the gravitational downward pressure of the folded blank  10  on the bottle neck N, the legs  23 ,  24  are forced apart on the neck N, which further wedges the tabs  37 ,  38  against the aperture  30 . The tapered configuration of the fold lines  21 ,  22  defining the legs  23 ,  24  further aid in forcing the legs  23 ,  24  apart on the bottle neck N. The slit tabs  35 ,  36 , when in position in the slits  27 ,  28 , also contribute to maintain the shape of the blank in its in use folded state. Also, given the distance from the fold line  15  to the apex where the fold lines  21 ,  22  meet, compared to the distance from the fold line  15  to the nearest edge of the aperture  30 , is the same or shorter, this means the angle of the legs  23 ,  24  in use with respect to the bearing portion  16  is such that the legs can approximate the relatively conical shape of a bottle neck N. 
     The location of the blank  10  on the bottle B provides cantilevered support whereby the bearing portion  16  can support a load and the inherent rigidity and strength of the cardboard together with the structure associated with the support defined by the support structure  17  allows the bearing surface  16  to extend substantially horizontally to the bottle B as shown in  FIG. 4 . The blank  10  can be simply attached to a bottle and then a person can hold the bottle whilst at the same time supporting a small load on the bearing surface  16 . In this manner, a participant of a cocktail party has the opportunity of holding a drink in one hand whilst at the same time supporting small portions of food on the blank  10 , the food being available for access by the participant&#39;s other hand. 
     In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 5 , where like reference numerals denote like parts, the bearing portion  16  of the blank  10  is shown having a shallow recess  40  of trapezoidal shape. The sides  41 ,  42  of the recess  40  are derived from lines directed from a bearing point  43  on the aperture  30  opposite the fold line  15 , at which the load from the bearing portion  16  bears against the bottle neck N. This arrangement further strengthens the bearing portion  16 . It is understood that the cardboard could be multi-layered and the shallow recess  40  would be formed by removing the top one or two layers from multilayered, corrugated structure. Also, accessories, such as additional food plates or bowls, could be configured to have bases of a complementary shape and similar size to the recess  40 , such that they are seated stably in the recess  40 . 
     In another embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 6 , where like reference numerals denote like parts, the bearing portion  16  may further include a slot  44  for receiving a wine or similar stemmed glass therein, where the weight of the glass is supported by the blank. In this embodiment, the blank  10  itself could be held directly by the user to support both the blank and food thereupon, and the stemmed glass. 
     In another embodiment shown in  FIGS. 7 to 16 , the blank  10  is of substantially rectangular form having longer sides  11  and  12  and shorter sides  13  and  14 . A transverse fold line  15  extends across the middle of the blank as shown in  FIG. 1  and divides the blank into a substantially planar bearing portion  16  and a support portion  17 . 
     The end of the support portion  17  terminates in a profiled edge which is split into two portions  19   a  and  19   b  by a centrally positioned slit  20  which extends longitudinally of the blank. A pair of v-shaped, or tapered fold lines  21 ,  22  extends from the longer edges of the blank to the base of the slit  20  as shown in  FIG. 1  and the slit  20  and fold lines  21 ,  22  define two legs  23  and  24 . The profiled end of each leg includes a polygonal tab  26   a . The support portion  17  further includes a slot  61 . 
     The bearing portion  16  of the blank  10  includes a tab  50  which extends from a transverse fold line  51 . Transverse fold line  51  is scored. The tab  50  is defined by two longitudinal slits  52  and one lateral slit  53 . The tab includes an internal fold line  55 . In use the tab  50  is folded at internal fold line  55  to form a wall portion  56  and a flap portion  57 . The flap portion  57  is depressed toward the support portion  17  to form the base of a recess  58  in the bearing portion  16 . The wall portion  56  includes a protrusion  59  which can be inserted into a slot  61  in the support portion  17 . The wall portion  56  extends between the support portion  17  and the bearing portion  16 . 
     The recess  58  is adapted to allow a tray  60  to be positioned thereon. The tray  60  is reusable and can be used to contain food or other items for carrying. The recess  58  allows for greater stability for items carried on the tray  60  or on the bearing portion  16 . 
     The bearing portion  16  further includes two angled slits  62  which are oriented to slope toward the fold line  15 . A longitudinal fold line  63  extends from each angled slit  62  to the end of the bearing portion  16 . In use, the slit  62  and fold line  63  co-operate to form a flap which folds downwardly from the bearing portion  16  to bear against the legs  19  of the support portion. This adds rigidity and strength to the end of the bearing portion  16  which allows the bearing portion to better support a wine glass in wine glass cavity  65 . 
     The location of the blank  10  on a bottle provides cantilevered support whereby the recess  58  in the bearing portion  16  or the bearing portion  16  can support a load. The inherent rigidity and strength of the cardboard together with the structure associated with the support defined by the support structure  17  allows the bearing surface  16  to extend at an angle to the bottle and allows the flap portion  57  of the bearing portion to align with the support portion  17  which is oriented by the bottle to be substantially horizontal. 
     In other embodiments, it is understood that the blank could carry suitably positioned advertising and it is further understood that the blank could form part of the side wall of a beer carton with the side wall being suitably perforated so that the blank can be popped out for use. Also in other embodiments, it will be understood that either or both of the aperture tabs  37 ,  38  or the slit tabs  35 ,  36  may be used to aid in maintaining the in use folded state of the blank  10 . 
     Although the embodiment is described for use on the top of a bottle, particularly a beer bottle, or with a wine glass, it is understood that the blank could be modified to sit on other drinks containers such as glasses, cups or mugs. It is further understood that, whilst in the embodiment the bearing surface extends in a cantilevered fashion to one side of a bottle, the blank could be designed so that there is a bearing surface surrounding the neck of a bottle to provide an annular, arcuate, square, or other surface around the neck of a bottle.