Patent Publication Number: US-6988636-B1

Title: Food tray with drawer

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application is a continuation in part of application Ser. No. 10/337,553 filed Jan. 7, 2003 and application Ser. No. 10/067,007 filed Feb. 4, 2002 now abandoned, from which priority is claimed. 

   FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention relates to trays such as used for carrying and dispensing fast food and particularly to a tray with a drawer. 
   BACKGROUND AND INFORMATION DISCLOSURE 
   Fast food is the term applied to food that members of the public purchase generally as “take out” food from any one of a number of chain stores which is often eaten, e.g., in cars when the customer is on a road trip, or at parties, picnics or sporting events where formal “sit down” facilities are not available. Popular fast food items include potato chips, French fried unions and potatoes, beef jerke, hamburgers, hot dogs, etc. The menu almost always includes a beverage, for example a soft drink, coffee, tea or milkshake. 
   Dispensing fast food has become a major industry. Chains of fast food stores have spread around the world. These chains are often operated as franchises wherein the corporate office supplies the franchisee with all kinds of tools and procedures for operating the franchise such as a standard menu. 
   As competition among the chains increases, each chain strives to include more and more variety and added attractions to the fare—novel and convenient ways to provide the beverage, inclusion of condiments (ketchup, mustard, chopped onions, relishes) etc. 
   An important part of a successful operation includes provision of a carrier of food, beverage and utensils. Such a carrier has important requirements. It must be convenient to carry and, preferably, enable the user to eat his food in situations where “sitting down at a dinner table” is not feasible. It must be so inexpensive that it is disposable. 
   The food trays that are presently available are generally limited in terms of the function that they perform. As the variety of items increases, the demand for convenience increases. The demand for convenience translates to demand for features of a food carrier that provide the user with additional items such as a napkin, condiments, and utensils, etc. 
   An important concern for the purveyor of fast food is “getting his message out to the publc”—advertising. If his advertising is sufficiently clever, (e.g., a humorous cartoon,) the public can be enticed to buy the product smply to obtain the advertisement. This is especially true of themes attractive to children such as Mickey Mouse, Harry Potter, etc. 
   Another desireable feature of packages for industry, is that the packages be “stackable”. I.e., the empty packages (before use) should be storable as stacks of packages in order to reduce the requirement for storage space. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   It is an object of this invention to provide a carrier for dispensing fast food items together with associated items such as utensils, condiments, etc. It is another object that the carrier be inexpensive, and therefore readily disposable. 
   It is another object that the invention carry a message to the public in terms of effective advertisement. 
   It is a further object to provide a carrier for food that a user can hold in one hand and, with the other hand, drink through a straw or eat food from the carrier or whatever else he wants to do with the other hand such as using a phone, shaking hands, etc. 
   In one embodiment, this invention is directed toward a carrier for food including a tray section fitted onto the open top of a frame (box) section that includes a front wall, a rear wall, two sidewalls. The tray section has a plurality of depressions. Each depression is shaped for depositing a food item therein, such as a hamburger, French fries, etc. One of the depressions is intended for holding a beverage, accessible with a drinking straw. 
   In a preferred embodiment, the tray section comprises a material, such as a thermoplastic, that resists deterioration due to absorbtion of moisture from food stored in the depressions. The frame section comprises a cellulosic material (paper, cardboard) that is inexpensive. The cellulosic frame section is also convenient in terms of economy for substituting various advertising themes according to the requirements of the purveyor simply by exchangng the frame without having to pay the expense of another tray section. 
   In another version, the floor section has a floor panel. The depth of the depression is selected to leave a space between the bottom of the depressions and the floor panel. A slot is formed in the front wall. The slot has a long dimension oriented parallel to the floor panel to permit positioning a napkin between the floor panel and the bottom of the depressions. The napkin is withdrawn through the slot when required. 
   In another embodiment, a drawer is positioned on top of the napkin under the depressions. The drawer is withdrawable through the slot. The drawer is intended for storing condiments and utensils. 
   The drawer and its contents are isolated from food that is stored in the depressions in the tray so that juices from the food do not drip down onto the contents of the drawer nor the napkin under the drawer. 
   Another important advantage of the frame section that is made of paper is that the frame (with or without the floor panel) can be folded (flattened) and stored in a stack of folded frames. 
   The tray sections can also be stacked separate from the frames. 
   Another version of the invention is an important convenience to the “drive through” market, (restaurants) i.e., customers who prefer to sit in their cars while eating food. This presently constitutes about 60% of the fast food market. In this embodiment, a hook, integrally molded to a suction cup, is provided. The bottom of the carrier rests on the window sill of the car next to the passenger-eater. The suction cup is adhered to the window glass and the hook is engaged with the edge of the tray section. 
   The foregoing summary has highlighted features, aspects and advantages of the present invention. The invention is further explained by the following description of what I presently believe to be the best mode for carrying out the invention illustrated by drawings to which claims are appended which define the scope of the invention. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGS. 
       FIG. 1  shows one embodiment of the food carrier of this invention. 
       FIG. 2  shows the tray section poised for attachment to the frame section. 
       FIG. 3  is a sectional view showing the tray section joined to the container section. 
       FIGS. 4A-C  show views of the frame section in three stages of fold. 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the invention showing a slot for inserting a napkin. 
       FIG. 6  is an exploded vew of FIG.  1 . 
       FIG. 7  is a cutaway sectional view showing the tray section joined to the frame section. 
       FIG. 8  is a sectional view showing the slot for the napkin positioned in the space between the bottom of the depressions and the floor of the container. 
       FIG. 9  is a lst of steps in the method for practicing the invention. 
       FIG. 10A  is an assembly view of an embodiment of the carrier having a drawer. 
       FIG. 10R  shows the drawer. 
       FIG. 11  shows a tearoff section of the front panel providing an opening to withdraw the drawer. 
     FIGS.  12 A,B are perspective views of a lid hingeably attached to the tray section. 
     FIGS.  13 A,B show a hook molded to a suction cup for attaching a tray to the window of an automoble. 
       FIG. 14  is a flow chart of the method for using the suction cup-hook of FIGS.  13 A,B. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF A BEST MODE 
   Turning now to a discussion of the drawings,  FIG. 1  is a perspective assembly view of the invention  10  comprising a tray section  12  and a frame section  16 . In  FIG. 2 , the tray section  12  is poised for posititioning on the frame section  16  so that the rim of the tray section  12  engages the rim of the frame section  16 . 
   As shown in the sectional view of  FIG. 3 , the tray section  12  is a panel with a plurality of depressons  14 . Engagement of the rim of the tray secton  12  with the rim of the frame section  16  is shown. 
   Depressions  14  in the tray section are shaped and dimensioned for holding beverages and solid food such as French fries, kebobs, etc. 
     FIG. 2  shows the frame section  16  comprising a front panel  23 , a rear panel  25  and two adjoining side panels  27 . 
   The design of the carrier as comprising two separate entities (the tray section  12  and the frame section  16 ) has important advantages. 
   One advantage is that the material selected for the tray section  12  is guided by the requirement that the tray section be capable of resisting deterioration due to absorbtion of moisture from food deposited in the depressions. It is also desired that the tray section be capable of “standng alone” (unsupported). 
   Accordingly, the tray section  12  comprises preferably a thermoplastic. The tray section can be formed by vacuum forming. 
   The frame section comprises a cellulosic material such as heavy paper, cardboard or corrugated cardboard. An important advantage of paper or cardboard is the ability to print decorations or alpha-numeric indicia on the outside surfaces. This capability provides a very powerful advertising medium. The broad surfaces of the fire can be used to diplay features such as cartoons, endorsements, etc. that would be especially attractive to young users. A number of groups of frames can be made where, in each group, an attractive design is presented to attract a specific market. 
   Another advantage of fabrcating the frame section from paper is that the paper frame is “foldable”. As illustrated in  FIGS. 4A-C  the design of the frame permiits collapsing (folding) the frame so that large numbers of frames can be stored and shipped as a stack of frames. 
     FIG. 4A  shows a top view of the frame  16  completely open. 
     FIG. 4B  is a top view of the frame section  16  with the frame section  18  partially collapsed. 
     FIG. 4C  is a top view of frame section  16  with the frame section completely collapsed. 
     FIG. 5  is an assembly view and  FIG. 8  is a sectional view of the invention in which the frame section  16  has a floor panel  37  with edges connected to front panel  23 , rear panel  25  and side panels  27 . 
   Fold lines  13  are shown along which the frame section  16  is folded when required to store stacks of flattened frame sections  16 . 
     FIG. 6  is an exploded view of  FIG. 5  showing a tray section  12 . Tray section  12  is a panel  12  having depressions  14  for storing food. 
   Optionally, one depression  15  is configured for containing a soft drink. This depression is provided with a lid  17  having a drinking straw  11  for drinking a beverage stored in the depression  15 . 
     FIG. 7  is a sectional cutaway view showing the edge of the tray section  12  configured to engage the edge of the rim of the container section  16 . The tray section  12  has a skirt  31  with a bead  33  that engages a groove  35  near the edge of container section  16 . 
     FIGS. 5 ,  6  and  8  show a slot  18  in the front panel  23 . 
     FIG. 8  is a sectional view showing that a space  29  is provided between the floor panel  37  of the frame section  16  and the bottom of the depressions  14 . The slot  18  has its longest dimension oriented parallel to the floor panel  37  and is dimensioned to permit withdrawing a folded napkin  19  through the slot  18  from the space  29  between the bottom of the depressions  14  and the floor panel  37  of the container  16 . 
   An important feature of the invention is the method of manufacturing the carrier that includes positioning the napkin on the floor panel of the frame section with a corner of napkin  19  extending through the slot before the tray section  12  is mounted on the container section. This is a much more convenient situation than trying to insert the napkin into the space after the tray panel is secured to the frame section  16 . 
     FIG. 9  is a list of steps for using the carrier according to the method of this invention. 
   In step  1 , a dispenser is provided which comprises:
     a container section having a front panel, rear panel and two side panels forming a frame having a rim joined to a floor panel;   a tray section being a panel with an edge that engages a top edge of the frame;   at least one depression in the tray section having a depth to provide a space between a bottom of said at least one depression and the floor of the container section;   a napkin deposited in the space, the napkin deposited in the space before the tray section is mounted on the container section;   a slot in the front panel having a long dimension parallel and proximal to the floor panel with a corner of the napkin extending through the slot thereby enabling a user to grasp the extended corner and withdraw the napkin from the container through the slot;   

   In step  2 , at least one item of finger food is deposited in at least one of the depressions; In step  3 , the user applies another one of his hands to withdrawing finger food from a respective depression and eating the withdrawn food; In step  4 , the user withdraws the napkin through the slot and applies the napkin to cleaning a face of the user; 
     FIG. 10A  shows another version of the invention that includes a drawer  20  positioned on top of the napkin  19 . 
   The drawer  20  is shown inside the carrier section  16  in FIG.  10 A and is withdrawable through the slot  18 ; Details of the drawer are shown in fig,  10 B. A tab  54  is shown attached to the front panel of the drawer which a user grasps to withdraw the drawer through the slot  18 . 
     FIG. 8  is a sectional view of the invention along line of sight  8 — 8  shown in  FIG. 6 ; 
     FIG. 11  is a view of the front panel showing another version in which the tray is concealed behind the front panel  23 . The front panel  23  has an opening  50  arranged to enable a user to slip his finger through the hole  50  and tear off a section  52  of the front panel. This leaves an opening dimensioned to permit grasping the tab  54  (see  FIG. 10B  on the drawer and pulling the drawer  20  through the slot  18 . 
     FIG. 11  also shows, in phantom, a paper envelope  53  holding a toothpick adhered to the backside of secton  52  of the front panel  23 . The toothpick is conveniently available to the user for use when he finishes his meal. 
     FIGS. 12A , B show embodiments in which the depressions  14  in the tray section  12  are covered by a cover  47 . In  FIG. 10A  the cover is hinged to the tray section  12 . In  FIG. 10B , the lid is completely detachable from the tray section. 
     FIGS. 13A , B are views of a version of the invention being an accommodation for a user eating from the fast food tray of this invention while sitting in his car.  FIG. 13A , shows a a tray holder  56  including a suction cup  58  integrally molded to a hook section  60 .  FIG. 13B  shows the holder  50  in use wherein the suction cup  58  is adhered to the glass  62  of an automobile window (cutaway). The hook  60  is engaged with a an edge  64  of the tray section  66 . The bottom of the carrer  10  is supported on the sill  68  of the automobile window. 
   In step  1 , the user positions the carrier with the hook engaging an edge of the tray secton  12  and the bottom of the carrier supported partially on the sill of the window. In step  2 , the user attaches the suction cup to a convenient location on the car window such that the hook extends away from the window. In step  3 , the user cats the food from the tray. 
   The frame section  16  is preferably made of light cardboard or thin plastic. In the context of this specificaton, the term, paper, will be construed to mean cellulose materal; such as paper or cardboard or a medum particlularly adaptable to priintng advertsements thereon and folding when required for storage purposes. 
   According to a preferred method for manufacturing the carrier for distribution to the franchisee, the napkin is placed on the floor panel with a small corner of the napkin protruding out of the slot. The flaps are folded into position and the drawer is positioned in the container section  16  on top of the napkin before the tray section  12  is secured on top of the container section  16 . This is an operation very conveniently performed in the manufacturing environment and provides a great convenience to the franchisee. 
   The carrier of this invention is very convenient to the user who is required to stand, holding the carrier in one hand, leaving the other hand free to eat his food (from the depressions) or shake hands with guests, etc. as required. The drawer provides useful space to the user for temporarily storing his utensils or condiments where they are isolated from drippage from food items stored in the depression. The drawer is fabricated of a plastic which permits pouring ketchsup directly into the drawer so that the user can dip his French fries into the open drawer. The napkin placed under the drawer is convenient to withdraw by grasping and pulling a small corner of the napkin extending out of the slot. 
   Variations and modifications of this invention may be contemplated by the reader after reading the specification and studying the drawings which are within the scope of the invention. 
   In view of these modifications and variations, I therefore wish to define the scope of my invention by the appended claims.