Abstract:
Spill resistant dishware which has a bottom annular edge with this bottom annular edge adapted to rest on a supporting surface. A low tack adhesive is applied to the bottom annular edge. This dishware is capable of being fixed in position on the supporting surface by the adhesive with said dishware to remain in this position even during breezy conditions. However, the adhesive permits easy disengagement of the dish and resecurement of the dish on the supporting surface. This dishware&#39;s novel design allows the dishware to be stacked one upon the other without any adhesive coming into contact with the food or liquid holding compartments of the underlying dishware, without the need for adhesive liners.

Description:
This application claims the benefit of Ser. No. 60/383,276, filed May 23, 2002. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The field of this invention relates to dishware and more particularly to dishware that resists spilling of food and also resists spilling of food by wind. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     The spilling of food in conjunction with dishware is an exceedingly common occurrence. People can contact a dish and cause the dish to be tipped or moved off of a table, counter or bench. Dishware that is designed particularly for outdoor usage has a further problem of being subjectable to wind. A breeze can cause a dish to be blown off a table, bench or counter. 
     Dishware that is designed particularly for outdoor usage is constructed of inexpensive sheet material, such as plastic or paper. Such dishware is exceedingly light in weight. Therefore, such dishware is readily susceptible to wind and can easily be blown off of a table. If the dish contains a substantial amount of food, usually the food is of sufficient weight to keep the dish stationary even in windy conditions. However, as the food is consumed, the dish will become lighter in weight and when the consumption of the food gets near to the point to where the dish is almost empty, the dish is quite susceptible to being tipped over by the wind. It would be desirable to design dishware that is designed primarily to be used in an outdoor environment to be temporarily fixable to a table, bench or counter that will resist the tipping over of the dishware by the wind. 
     There have been previous attempts at designing dishware to be wind resistant. Such dishware of the prior art have been constructed to include an adhesive along the entire bottom of the dish with the adhesive to then be applied to a table, bench or counter which will then function to hold in position the dish on the supporting surface. Typically, the adhesive is covered with a cover layer that is to be removed prior to usage. However, the removing of this cover layer does not permit easy and immediate usage of the dishware because of the additional step of removing the cover layer and then requiring disposal of the cover layer. Additionally, it is common for such dishware to be stacked and marketed in a stacked position prior to usage. It is a requirement that such dishware to be as sanitary as possible because such dishware will be directly used once the dishware is removed from its package. The fact that the food serving compartment will have been in direct contact with an adhesive layer of another dish is not conducive to a sanitary condition. There is always the worry that some of the adhesive, though non-toxic, could remain on a food receiving chamber of a food serving dish which is not conducive to clean usage. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is to provide spill resistant dishware that will remain upright when subjected to wind, vehicle motion and inadvertent contact with people or pets. 
     The first basic embodiment of the present invention comprises a food serving dish which has a food receiving chamber surrounded by a peripheral edge. An annular support flange is attached by a top edge to the peripheral edge. The annular support flange has an annular free edge with this annular free edge to rest on a supporting surface. An adhesive is applied to the annular free edge. The adhesive has a low tack which causes the dish to become fixed in position on a supporting surface but yet permits the dish to be easily manually moved having no residue on its supporting surface. The adhesive permits disengagement of the dish and resecurement of the dish on the supporting surface. 
     A further embodiment of the present invention is where the first basic embodiment is modified by the food receiving chamber having a planar bottom. 
     A further embodiment of the present invention is where the just previous embodiment is modified by the planar bottom being spaced from the supporting surface. 
     A further embodiment of the present invention is where the just previous embodiment is modified by the top edge being of a smaller diameter than the bottom edge. 
     A further embodiment of the present invention is where the first basic embodiment is modified by the adhesive completely covering the annular free edge. 
     A further embodiment of the present invention is where the first basic embodiment is modified by including of at least one opening in the annular support flange to facilitate insertion of a user&#39;s fingers and picking up of the food serving dish from the supporting surface. 
     A further embodiment of the present invention is where the shape of the opening includes flared ends which facilitates connection to a napkin to retain that napkin and keep that napkin from being blown by the wind. 
     A further embodiment of the present invention is where the first basic embodiment is modified by the food serving dish being defined as a bowl. 
     A further embodiment of the present invention is where the first basic embodiment is modified by the food serving dish being defined as a tray. 
     A further embodiment of the present invention is where the first basic embodiment is modified by the food serving dish being defined as a plate. 
     A further embodiment of the present invention is where the first basic embodiment is modified by the food serving dish being defined as a cup. 
     A second basic embodiment of the present invention comprises spill resistant dishware which includes an annular support sleeve which surrounds an internal chamber. The internal chamber is adapted to receive a beverage container with the beverage container being supported by the annular support sleeve. The annular support sleeve has an annular free edge with this annular free edge being adapted to rest on a supporting surface. An adhesive is applied to the annular free edge. The adhesive has a low tack which causes the annular support sleeve to be fixed in position on the supporting surface but yet permits the annular support sleeve to be easily manually moved leaving no residue on the supporting surface. The adhesive permits disengagement of the annular support sleeve and resecurement of the annular support sleeve on the supporting surface. 
     A further embodiment of the present invention is where the second basic embodiment is modified by there being included at least one longitudinal slit within the annular support sleeve to facilitate enlargement of the upper edge of the annular support sleeve in order to have the annular support sleeve to accommodate to larger sizes of beverage containers. 
     A further embodiment of the present invention is where the second basic embodiment is modified by the top edge of the annular support sleeve, which is a bead, being of a smaller diameter than the annular edge. 
     A further embodiment of the present invention is where the second basic embodiment is modified by the adhesive being applied entirely to the annular free edge of the annular support sleeve. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     For a better understanding of the present invention, reference is to be made to the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the precise arrangement shown in the drawings. 
     FIG. 1 is an top isometric view of a plate of food serving dish of the present invention constructed in accordance with the features of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view through the plate of FIG. 1 taken along line  2 — 2  of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 2 but showing a plurality of the food serving dishes located in a stacked arrangement; 
     FIG. 4 is an isometric view similar to FIG. 1 but showing an opening formed within the annular support flange of the plate with this opening also being used to confine a napkin; 
     FIG. 5 is a top isometric view of a bowl configuration of food service dish of the present invention where the bowl includes an opening formed within the annular support flange of the bowl; 
     FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view through the bowl food service dish of the present invention taken along line  6 — 6  of FIG. 5; 
     FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view through the sidewall of the bowl of FIG. 5 however showing the food service dish of the present invention being mounted in a stacked relationship to other bowl type of food service dishes; 
     FIG. 8 is a top isometric view of a tray type of food service dish of the present invention; 
     FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line  9 — 9  of FIG. 8; 
     FIG. 10 is a top isometric view a beverage form of food serving dish of the present invention showing a plurality of the beverage dishes located in a stacked arrangement; 
     FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along line  11 — 11  of FIG. 10; 
     FIG. 10 is an isometric view of a modified form of beverage container food serving dish of the present invention which shows the beverage container located in a position about to be inserted in conjunction with an annular support sleeve of the food service dish; and 
     FIG. 13 is cross-sectional view through the food serving dish of FIG. 12 with the beverage container being contained in conjunction with the annular support sleeve. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention, which is to be described in detail utilizing the accompanying drawings, refers to dishes, such as plates, bowls, trays and beverage containers with a repositional and possibly pressure sensitive adhesive applied thereto. This adhesive is to prevent the dishware from being blown off a supporting surface when used outdoors in windy conditions or tipping and spilling when suggested to moderate physical force from a person or pet. The dishes are normally intended to be used one time and recyclable with normally the dishes to be constructed of paper, plastic, polystyrene or foam. However, the dishware of this invention could also be constructed of non-recyclable material. 
     Referring particularly to FIGS. 1-3 of the drawings, there is shown a food serving dish in the form of a plate  20 . The plate  20  has an enlarged centrally located food receiving chamber  22  which has a top annular shaped edge  24  located at the upper surface of the plate  20 . The food receiving chamber  22  has a bottom  26 . The top annular shaped edge  24  is integrally connected to an annular support flange  28 . The annular support flange  28  completely surrounds the food receiving chamber  22 . Actually, there is formed a ring shaped chamber  30  which surrounds the portion  32  of the plate  20  that contains the food receiving chamber  22 . Surrounding the ring shaped chamber  30  and integrally connected to the top annular shaped edge  24  is the annular support flange  28 . It is to be understood that the plate  20  of this invention will normally be constructed of plastic, paper or foam. 
     The annular support flange  28  has an annular free edge  34 . The annular free edge  34  is located within a plane  36 . The bottom  26  may be is spaced from the plane  36  so that when the annular free edge  34  is located on a supporting surface  38 , the bottom  26  may not be in contact with the supporting surface  38 . An adhesive  40  is to be applied to the annular free edge  34 . The adhesive  40  can completely cover the annular free edge  34  or can only cover part of the annular free edge  34  or can be applied within the annular free edge  34  and be pressure activated. However, it is believed to facilitate manufacture that normally the adhesive  40  will be applied to the entire annular free edge  34 . It is to be noted that the adhesive  40 , though non-toxic, will not come into contact with the food receiving chamber  22  of any other plate  20  even when they are in the stacked and nested arrangement shown in FIG.  3 . In FIG. 3 there are three in number of the plates  20  shown in the stacked arrangement. 
     The adhesive  40  facilitates repositioning, has a low level of tackiness, is preferably non-toxic, odorless or may have a mild pleasant odor, resistant to moisture, resistant to microwaving and resistant to refrigeration and leaves no residue. It is preferable that adhesive  40  be biodegradable or recyclable. Examples of such adhesive are “Gel-Tac®”; “404 Spray N Fix®”; “Leeho 2 In 1 Glue Marker®D”; “Paste-N-Peel®” or an adhesive used in the popular “Post-It Notes®”. The adhesive is preferred to have a peel strength of approximately 1.0-3.0 ounce per inch. The properties of the adhesive  40  will permit the user to easily lift the plate  20  from a surface on which it is temporarily secured with an amount of pressure which would be similar to one would use to pull a “Post-It Note®” from a surface on which the “Post-It Note®” is mounted. The adhesive  40  can be applied directly to the annular free edge  34  by creating an additional manufacturing process step whereby the adhesive  40  is sprayed, rolled, brushed, dipped or otherwise directly applied to the free edge  34  or the adhesive  40  can be applied indirectly to the free edge  34  such as at the same time that adhesive  40  is applied to other sections of a dish during a pre-existing manufacturing process step such as when adhesive is applied to the multiple layers of a multiple ply dish. If manufactured during such a pre-existing manufacturing process step, the adhesive  40  used can be a permanent and repositionable type of adhesive such as “Leeho 2 in 1 Glue”, that will permanently adhere the multiple layers of the dish together yet will remain slightly tacky on the free edge  34 . A pressure sensitive adhesive may also be used whereby the adhesive will not adhere to anything until a predetermined amount of pressure is applied, such as the pressure exerted within the die press or the pressure exerted when the consumer presses the new SPILL RESISTANT DISHWARE on a table or other surface. It is desirable to maintain the current speed of manufacture and to eliminate as many process steps as possible in the manufacture of the new SPILL RESISTANT DISHWARE in order to keep the manufacturing costs low and the manufacturer&#39;s profits up. The annular support flange  28  can be formed by modifying the shape of the rim forming section of existing molding machines or die presses used to make conventionally shaped dishes from plastic, foam or paper to form the shape of the annular support flange  28 . It is very important that the dishes rest upon the annular support flange  28  and the free edge  34  so that when the dishes are stacked no adhesive  40  will come into contact with the food/drink holding compartments of the underlying dishes. The new SPILL RESISTANT DISHWARE can be manufactured at approximately the same speed and cost as conventional dishes with he added benefits of being spill, wind and slide resistant. 
     Referring particularly to FIG. 4 of the drawings, there is shown a modified form of plate  42  which is basically similar to plate  20  and like numerals have been utilized to refer to like parts. However, included within the annular support flange  28  is an opening  44 . The opening  44  has flared ends  46  and  48 . The idea of the flared ends  46  and  48  is to produce a thin slit at each end of the opening  44  that will facilitate the insertion and locking in place of an exterior structure, such as a napkin  50 . Also, the flared ends  46  and  48  could be used to lock in place a utensil, such as a knife, fork or spoon where the utensil is constructed to be light in weight, usually of plastic. The optional opening  44  can be formed either by means of a mold in the case that the new SPILL RESISTANT DISHWARE will be molded from a paper slurry, plastic or foam or by cutting the opening  44  into a “blank” used to make the dishware by means of a die press. 
     Referring particularly to FIGS. 5-7, there is shown a bowl  52  of food serving dish of this invention. The bowl  52  is constructed in a manner similar to plate  20  with again like numerals being used to refer to like parts. The only difference between the bowl  52  and the plate  20  is the fact that the food receiving chamber  22  is much deeper compared to the shallow chamber of the plate  20 . The annular support flange  28  may also include an opening  44  with flared ends  46  and  48  which will operate in the same manner as previously described in relation to FIG.  4 . The bowls  52  can also be stacked, as shown in FIG.  7 . 
     Referring particularly to FIGS. 8 and 9 of the drawings, there is shown a tray  54  of food serving dish of the present invention. Again, like numerals have been utilized to refer to like parts. The only difference of the tray  54  relative to the plate  20  and bowl  52  is that the food receiving chamber  22  is shallower than the food receiving chamber in conjunction with the bowl  52  and may be slightly deeper than the food receiving chamber in conjunction with the plate  20 . Also, the food receiving chamber  22  is rectangular in configuration within the tray  54  where within the plate  20  and the bowl  52 , the food receiving chamber  22  is round. The dishes of this invention may also, of course, be oval, square or other polygonal shape. There will generally be two of the openings  44  located at opposite ends of the tray  54 . Normally, there will also be two in number of the openings  44  incorporated in conjunction with the bowl  52  and the plate  42 . 
     Referring particularly to FIGS. 10 and 11, there is shown a food serving dish in the form of a beverage dish  56  (cup). Again, the beverage dish  56  is constructed in a similar manner except the food receiving chamber  58  is much deeper than in any of the prior embodiments. It is within the food receiving chamber  58  there is to be normally located a liquid which is commonly known as a beverage such as water, soda or tea. The food receiving chamber  58  has a sidewall  60  which terminates at its lower end in a bottom wall  62 . The sidewall  60  connects by an annular top edge  64  to an annular support sleeve  66 . The annular support sleeve  66  terminates at a lower end in an annular free edge  68  which is slightly enlarged and which is covered by an adhesive  70 . The height of the annular support sleeve  66  is such that when the adhesive  70  is placed against a supporting surface that the bottom wall  62  may be spaced a short distance from the supporting surface. The reason that it is desirable to keep the bottom wall  62 , as well as bottom  26 , from the supporting surface is that it is desirable to only achieve a minimal amount of securement with the supporting surface. If the entire surface of the bottom wall  62 , or the bottom  26 , was covered with adhesive and placed in contact with the supporting surface that it might very well, be difficult to disengage the food serving dish and reposition such. Additionally, if the adhesive  70  is applied to the free edge  68  of the beverage dish by rolling or brushing or by dipping the free edge  68  into the adhesive  70 , it would facilitate ease of application to have the bottom  62  or  26  be slightly spaced from the plane of free edge  68  and the supporting surface thereby preventing the adhesive  70  from also being inadvertently rolled, brushed or dipped onto the bottom  62  or  26 . If, however, the adhesive  70  is applied to the free edge  68  by some other means such as by spraying or by having been indirectly applied to the free edge  68  during the manufacture of a multiple ply beverage dish, then the bottom  62  or  26  need not be spaced from the plane of the free edge  68 . The beverage form of food serving dish  66  can be readily stacked, as is clearly shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, with other similar dishes  56 . Again, there is no adhesive  70  that ever comes into contact with any portion of the food receiving chamber  58  even when the beverage dishes  56  are located in the stacked relationship. 
     Referring particularly to FIGS. 12 and 13, there is shown a further embodiment of food serving dish  72  of this invention. The dish  72  is again designed to be used with a beverage with the beverage to actually be contained within a conventional beverage cup  74 . The beverage cup  74  has a sidewall  76  which terminates at its upper end in a bead. At the lower end, the sidewall is integrally connected to a planar bottom  80 . It is to be understood that the bottom  80  is planar as is also bottom  26  and bottom  62 . However, it is considered to be within the scope of this invention that the bottoms could be a slight arcuate configuration and not be planar. Also, the sidewall  76  is shown to be of a tapered frustoconical configuration, which is also shown in the previously described embodiments of the present invention. However, it is not mandatory that the shape of the beverage cup  74  be frustoconical. 
     The dish  72  includes a frustoconically shaped sleeve  82 . The sleeve  82  has a tapered sidewall  84  which terminates in its lower end in an enlarged flange  86 . Enlarging of the lower edge of the sleeve  82  by flange  86  is desirable to slightly increase the surface area available to the adhesive  92  placed thereon. This slight increase in area provides a significant increase in holding power on the supporting surface. The sleeve  82  has an internal chamber  88 . The ring  82  has an annular bead  90  at its upper end thereof. The beverage cup  74  is to be merely slipped within the internal chamber  88  so that the bead  78  of the cup  74  rests on the bead  90 . The bottom  80  of the beverage cup  74  may be spaced from the supporting surface again because the length of the sleeve  82  may be sufficient to make that occur. Normally, adhesive  92  will cover the entire enlarged flange  86  but such is not mandatory. 
     As a modification, if a slightly larger in size beverage cup  74  is utilized, the sleeve  82  can still be used by the including of a series of longitudinal slits  94  formed within the sidewall  84 . These slits  94  will generally be of limited length, not extending any more than one-half the length of the sleeve  82 . The slits  94  will generally be evenly spaced apart. The number of the slits  93  can be varied with generally four in number being preferred. The slits  94  will permit the area that is encompassed by the bead  90  to be enlarged in order to accommodate a slightly larger sized beverage cup  74 . The benefits of the sleeve  82  is that it can be manufactured by means similar to those used to make conventional paper, plastic or foam cups. This is important since an economical product is mandatory in this field of this product if the product is to be financially beneficial to the manufacturer. Additionally, the sleeve  82  can be sold by the manufacturer in conjunction with their conventional cups as an accessory and will not compete directly with the sales of their conventional cups. A manufacturing example is that a sleeve may be created, as a conventional cup is, by forming it using conventional molding methods except that the step of forming the bottom of the cup is eliminated. Adhesive may then be applied to the flange  86  which may resemble the brim portion of a conventional cup, only inverted, thereby the sleeve  82  may be created. Alternatively, a multiple ply sleeve can be formed using the conventional means of creating a multiple ply cup and indirectly, when the adhesive is applied to adhere the plies together, adhesive can also be applied to the flange  86 , again, the process step of where the bottom of the cup is usually attached is eliminated. Thereby the sleeve  82  may also be created. A conventional cup can then be slipped into the sleeve  82  and sold as one “Spill and Wind Resistant Cup” unit or the sleeves may be sold as separate “Spill and Wind Resistant Cup Sleeves”. The assembled cup/sleeve units or separate sleeves can be stacked and no adhesive will come into contact with the liquid holding compartments of the underlying cups.