Abstract:
According to embodiments of the invention, the secondary usefulness of a pizza spacer is increased by providing a coupling mechanism that is configured to attach the pizza spacer to other pizza spacers in order to form larger objects that have a purpose beyond that of merely functioning as a pizza spacer. For example, a pizza spacer according to some embodiments of the invention may be connected to other pizza spacers to complete a jigsaw puzzle. Other embodiments of the invention are described and claimed.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     This disclosure relates to pizza-box lid support devices, and more particularly, to improved pizza-box lid support devices that have improved secondary uses.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0004]     Pizza-box lid support devices, also known as pizza spacers and package savers, do a good job of keeping pizza cheese and toppings off of the pizza-box lid. However, after the consumer opens the pizza-box to enjoy his pizza, the plastic pizza spacer-like the one described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,498,586 to Vitale (“Vitale”)—is typically thrown into the trash. Because the small pizza spacers are perceived as disposable items, consumers don&#39;t think twice about throwing them away. This is a problem because it creates a lot of waste. One tiny pizza spacer seems insignificant when compared to the size of a landfill. However, when you consider that more than six hundred million pizzas are delivered every year, the problem becomes more apparent.  
         [0005]     Solutions to the waste problem include reducing the size of the device, using more environmentally friendly materials (i.e., biodegradable materials) for the device, recycling the device, and creating a secondary use for the device.  
         [0006]     These solutions have their own drawbacks. For example, a smaller device will not work as well as the currently accepted size. Additionally, the materials used to manufacture conventional pizza spacers are typically the cheapest available that meet the requirements for the device—temperature resistance and fracture resistance. Recycling pizza spacers is also problematic because the curb-side recycling programs that are implemented in most cities will only pick up plastic containers—forcing consumers to choose between the trash and driving to a specialized recycling center. Given the above problems associated with other solutions, creating additional secondary uses for the device seems to be the best way to address the waste problem presented by disposable pizza spacers.  
         [0007]     One example of a secondary use for the pizza spacer can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,173,070 to Gould (“Gould”). After its life as a pizza spacer, the device converts into a child&#39;s toy. This pizza spacer features a small flying disc that can be torn away from the device—providing children with a tiny toy that they can play with after eating the pizza. While this is a step in the right direction, the device&#39;s legs are still wasted in the process, and the toy itself is also of transient play value—it is quickly discarded.  
         [0008]     Another example of a secondary use for the pizza spacer would be to use it as a marketing tool for pizzerias. There is little differentiation among the many configurations of pizza spacers that are currently manufactured. Some are shaped like tiny discs. Others are triangular. However, none of them are distinctive enough that they would be readily associated with a particular pizzeria. Marking a pizza spacer with a pizzeria&#39;s name and telephone number is an obvious marketing tool. However, it would be counterproductive to place a phone number on a disposable item. The flying disc pizza spacer is highly differentiated from the other pizza spacers currently manufactured, but its disposable nature also hinders its impact as a marketing tool.  
         [0009]     Embodiments of the invention address these and other disadvantages of the conventional art. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]      FIG. 1  is a perspective diagram illustrating a connectible pizza spacer according to some embodiments of the invention.  
         [0011]      FIG. 2  is a plan diagram illustrating a number of the connectible pizza spacers of  FIG. 1  linked together.  
         [0012]      FIG. 3  is a perspective diagram illustrating the connectible pizza spacer of  FIG. 1  in a pizza-box. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0013]     According to embodiments of the invention, a pizza spacer may be detachably linked to other similar pizza spacers in novel ways to increase the secondary usefulness of the pizza spacer. In the following detailed description, numerous exemplary embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the attached FIGURES. Although the specification below may refer to “an”, “one”, “another”, or “some” embodiment(s) in several locations, this does not necessarily mean that each such reference is to the same embodiment(s), or that the feature described only applies to a single embodiment.  
         [0014]     According to some embodiments of the invention, a connectible pizza spacer consists of a horizontal member that is supported by multiple legs. Preferably, the connectible pizza spacer is fabricated by an injection-molding process. The connectible pizza spacer may be economically molded from any color of heat-resistant plastic resin which will readily withstand temperatures as high as 450 degrees F. This heat-resistance feature is particularly important in packaging pizza.  
         [0015]      FIG. 1  is a perspective diagram illustrating a connectible pizza spacer according to some embodiments of the invention.  FIG. 2  is a plan diagram illustrating a number of the connectible pizza spacers of  FIG. 1  linked together.  FIG. 3  is a perspective diagram illustrating the connectible pizza spacer of  FIG. 1  in a pizza-box.  
         [0016]     Referring to  FIGS. 1-3 , a shelf  2  of the connectible pizza spacer  14  includes a shelf  2  with three legs of  1  of equal length. According to these embodiments, the shelf  2  is molded to appear as a sixty degree slice of pizza. The shelf  2  is generally horizontally disposed for contact with the underside of a pizza-box lid  13 . The relatively flat shelf  2  is sufficiently broad to distribute the effect of top loading of the pizza-box  13  lid.  
         [0017]     The shelf  2  includes molded features such as toppings  9  and crust  10  to enhance the resemblance of the connectible pizza spacer  14  to an actual slice of pizza. The raised profile of the toppings  9  and crust  10  is small enough so that it will not interfere with the top loading distribution effect between the pizza-box  13  lid and the shelf  2 .  
         [0018]     The connectible pizza spacer  14  has three circular legs  1  of equal length. Other embodiments of the invention may have more than three legs, or have legs having a different shape. Each leg  1  and foot  8  has a relatively small diameter to minimize disturbance or marking of the pizza  12  when the pizza is packaged in a pizza-box  13 . The legs  1  project perpendicularly downward from the plane of the shelf  2 . One of the legs is located near a tip  11  of the shelf and the other two of the legs  1  are located near the ends of an outside arc  5 .  
         [0019]     The connectible pizza spacer  14  also includes a male connector  3  that projects out of a male side  7  of the shelf  2 , the male connector being coplanar with the shelf. The connectible pizza spacer  14  also includes a female connector  4  that is a space cut out of a female side  6  of the shelf  2 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , the radii and position of the male connector  3  and the female connector  4  are designed so that they will fit together snugly—like puzzle pieces—when connected to other connectible pizza spacers  14 . In the embodiments described above, the male connector  3  has the same shape as the other toppings  9 . However, the shape of the male connector  3  and the female connector  4  may be shaped differently.  
         [0020]     The primary use for the connectible pizza spacer  14  is illustrated in  FIG. 3 . The connectible pizza spacer  14  is placed on the center of the pizza  12  so that the shelf  2  supports the underside of the pizza-box  13  lid when the pizza-box  13  is closed. The relatively flat shelf  2  is sufficiently broad to distribute the effect of top loading of the pizza-box  13  lid. The primary use for the connectible pizza spacer  14  is to prevent the pizza-box  13  lid from touching the pizza  12  toppings when other objects or forces are loaded on top of the pizza-box  13 . Thus, the primary use of the connectible pizza spacer  14  as shown in  FIG. 3  does not depart significantly from that of other conventional pizza spacers.  
         [0021]     However, the secondary usefulness of the connectible pizza spacer  14  is what differentiates it from the conventional pizza spacers. Two or more connectible pizza spacers  14  may be linked together by snapping the male connector  3  from one connectible pizza spacer  14  to the female connector  4  of another connectible pizza spacer  14 . When six connectible pizza spacers  14  are linked together, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the collection of connectible pizza spacers  14  looks like an entire tiny pizza. The resulting tiny pizzas may also be stacked vertically into a tower configuration.  
         [0022]     The secondary use that makes the connectible pizza spacer  14  connectible is also what makes the device collectable. Because of the puzzle-piece metaphor and the resemblance to a slice of pizza, it will become obvious to consumers that they can eventually build an entire tiny pizza by collecting six of the devices. For many people, this will create a desire to collect five more connectible pizza spacers  14 . This will result in customer loyalty, repeat business, and increased sales for pizzerias.  
         [0023]     Beyond the fun of simply collecting connectible pizza spacers  14  to create personal collections, the devices could also be used by pizzerias as a customer loyalty redemption promotion in place of punch cards or stamp cards. A simple redemption promotion might involve redeeming a completed tiny pizza collection to receive a coupon for a free small pizza. Another redemption promotion might involve distinctly colored connectible pizza spacers  14  that would be distributed through pizza delivery boxes at random. Redeeming a completed tiny pizza collection that features a particularly colored connectible pizza spacer  14  would entitle the consumer to a special reward.  
         [0024]     The embodiments of the invention described above, that is, a connectible pizza spacer  14  shaped like a 60 degree slice of pizza, is just one example of a shape that could be used. In other embodiments, the connectible pizza spacer may be shaped like a 360 degree, 180 degree, 120 degree, 90 degree, 72 degree, 45 degree, 36 degree slice of pizza, or any other convenient size. It should be apparent that given the plethora of shapes that may be easily manufactured, other connectible pizza spacers  14  according to other embodiments of the invention may have a multitude of different shapes that are combinable with other connectible pizza spacers to form a larger shape. Connectible spacers each having the same shape or each having a different shape may be connected.  
         [0025]     The invention may be practiced in many ways. What follows are exemplary, non-limiting descriptions of some embodiments of the invention.  
         [0026]     According to embodiments of the invention, a connectible pizza spacer may have a horizontal member of any shape. For instances, possible shapes includes a circle, a sector of the circle, a polygon (such as a triangle, a rectangle, a pentagon, a hexagon, a septagon, an octagon, a nonagon, a decagon, etc.,), a puzzle shape, an irregular shape, etc. According to embodiments of the invention, a connectible pizza spacer has at least one male connector and at least one female connector so that the connectible pizza spacer may be horizontally connected to another connectible pizza spacer. The other connectible pizza spacer need not be exactly the same as the first connectible spacer, for example, in the case where one connectible pizza spacer represents one piece of a puzzle and a second connectible pizza spacer represents a second piece of a puzzle.  
         [0027]     According to some embodiments of the invention, the male connector may be a protrusion that is coplanar with the horizontal member. The female connector may be an indentation in the horizontal member that matches the shape of the male connector. The connectible pizza spacer could be any shape that fits together using locking tabs or a puzzle shape or any mechanical means of locking two shapes together.  
         [0028]     According to other embodiments of the invention, the connectible pizza spacer may also be configured to be stacked in the vertical direction along with other connectible pizza spacers. This stacking could be facilitated by creating tight holes in the shelf  2  that would lock onto the feet  8  of another connectible pizza spacer when stacked vertically. These holes may be blind holes to allow tall stacking. This is opposite to the intent of the conventional art disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 6,439,529 to Wong (“Wong”), which has through holes to allow the shortest and most efficient possible stacking.  
         [0029]     According to some embodiments of the invention, a connectible pizza spacer may have more than three legs. Embodiments of the invention may also have legs of different heights, shapes, and sizes.  
         [0030]     According to different embodiments of the invention, a connectible pizza spacer may be customized with a pizzeria&#39;s name, phone number, graphics, and/or logo by laser-engraving, hot-stamping, pad-printing, or as part of the plastic part, etc.  
         [0031]     According to other embodiments of the invention, a connectible pizza spacer may also be designed as any shape meant to be collected in conjunction with other connectible pizza spacers to create another, larger shape or design. For example, puzzles that incorporate company logos, letters, numbers, animals, cartoon characters, etc., may be used.  
         [0032]     According to different embodiments of the invention, a connectible pizza spacer may be molded in different colors and color schemes. For example, they could be shipped all white, or all green, or all red; and they could also be shipped as a mixture of those three colors for an Italian flag theme. In alternative embodiments, a connectible pizza spacer may be made from temperature-sensitive color-shifting plastic. It would serve as an indicator to let consumers know that their pizza is still hot after delivery.  
         [0033]     According to embodiments of the invention, a connectible pizza spacer may have a secondary use as, for instance, part of a puzzle, part of a child&#39;s toy, part of an advertisement, part of a promotional incentive, and part of a beverage coaster. A connectible pizza spacer that is used as part of a promotional incentive may be especially effective in creating a secondary use for the connectible pizza spacer that prevents it from being thrown away.  
         [0034]     Having described several exemplary embodiments of the invention, it should be apparent that modifications and variations of the described embodiments will be obvious to those of skill in the art that do not depart from the inventive concepts disclosed above. Consequently, the scope of the invention should not be limited to only those embodiments described above, but to all embodiments as defined and encompassed by the attached claims.