Patent Publication Number: US-2007102432-A1

Title: Condiment Holding Device

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION DATA  
      The present application also claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/734,898 entitled “Condiment Holding Device.” filed on Nov. 9, 2005 which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD  
      This invention relates generally to the field of condiment holding devices, and more particularly to a condiment holding device that may be removably affixed to a surface.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      Billions of people world wide eat at fast food restaurants and other restaurants demanding food on the go. People eat the food in many different locations including in automobiles, airplanes and numerous other locations. A common and extremely popular food purchased from fast food restaurants are french fries. A large number of people ordering french fries enjoy dipping them in ketchup, When ordering french fries to go, the user is given numerous packets of ketchup. To use the ketchup, the user must tear open the packet and squirt the ketchup onto a cleanable or disposable surface, typically a wrapper or container obtained from the restaurant. The use of ketchup in this manner, especially when used in an automobile while driving, is inconvenient, messy, and potentially dangerous while driving. Similar to french fries, restaurants offer many other food products that are popularly dipped into condiments by users including chicken and fish tenders.  
      Therefore, there is a need in the art for a device that can hold a condiment but be conveniently accessible, self-contained, and securable to reduce the risk of spillage and safer to use while driving.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES  
       FIG. 1  is a view of a condiment holding device according to an embodiment of the invention.  
       FIG. 2  is a view of a lid secured to a surface in a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 3  is a view of a bottom of a condiment holding device including a removeable adhesive according to an embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 4  is a view of a lid removably affixed to a top of a condiment holding device according to an embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 5  is a view of a condiment holding device including a plurality of compartments according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which an exemplary embodiment of the invention is shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, this embodiment is provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.  
       FIG. 1  illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a condiment holding device  100  of the invention. The condiment holding device  100  may include a container  110  for holding at least one condiment. The container  110  is operable to hold the condiment and be removably secured to a surface  210  to allow a user to conveniently access the condiment without spillage. Condiments may include ketchup, mustards, mayonnaise, salsa, cheese, barbeque sauce, dressing, or any other sauce or dressing. The container  110  may be any shape capable of holding the condiment. The container  110  may be made of any suitable material including but not limited to a light weight vacuum molded plastic.  
      In the exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 1 , the container  110  may be substantially conical in shape. The container  110  also may be substantially pyramidal, rectangular, square, or any other shape. The container  110  includes a top  120  and a bottom  130 . In the exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 1 , the top  120  and the bottom  130  may be substantially circular in shape. It should also be understand that the top  120  and the bottom  130  may be shaped correspondingly with the shape of the container  110 . The top  120  and the bottom  130  may have a substantially circular, rectangular, square, or any other shape. In an exemplary embodiment, the bottom  130  of the container  110  may have a diameter greater than the diameter of the top  120  of the container  110  to increase stability of the container  110 , It should be understood that the bottom  130  also may be the same size or smaller than the top  120 . The bottom  130  must be of sufficient size to allow the container  110  to rest stably upon the surface  210 . The bottom  130  may include an outer ring to provide more stability to the container  110 . The top  120  of the container  110  may be substantially hollow for holding the condiment.  
      As illustrated in the embodiment of  FIG. 2 , the bottom  130  of the container  110  interfaces a surface  210  upon which the container  110  rests. The surface  210  may be any location in which the container  110  may be removably affixed. In the exemplary embodiment, the surface  210  is a vehicle console. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the surface  210  may include any surface in a vehicle including an arm rest, seat, dash board, console, or any other substantially horizontal location. The surface may further include any other horizontal location such as a table or countertop.  
      As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , adhesive  150  may be affixed to the undercarriage of the bottom  130  of the container  110  to allow the container to be removably affixed to the surface  210 . The adhesive  150  may be any adhesive that is strong enough to secure the container  110  to the surface  210  but not too strong as to prevent the container  110  from being easily removed from the surface  210 . The adhesive  150  may be chosen so as to not leave a residue on the surface  210 . The adhesive  150  may include a removable cover  160 . The removable cover  160  preserves the adhesive  150  while the container  110  is not in use. When the condiment holding device  100  is to be used, the removable cover  160  may be removed leaving the adhesive  150  available to secure the container  110  to the surface  210 . The removable cover  160  may be removed through peeling or any other action.  
      The container  110  is filled with the condiment. As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , a lid  170  is removably affixed to the top  120  of the container  110 . The lid  170  may be any lid known in the art including a peelable aluminum lid or plastic lid. The lid  170  may remain affixed to the top  120  of the container  110  until the condiment holding device  100  is ready for use.  
      The condiment holding device  100  can provide substantial convenience and prevent unnecessary spillage during use. For example, a user will receive the condiment holding device  100  filled with the condiment and secured therein by the lid  170  removably affixed to the top  120 . The adhesive  150  with removable cover  160  is affixed to the undercarriage of the bottom  130 . The user would remove the removable cover  160  to expose the adhesive  150  on the bottom  130 . The user would then secure the condiment holding device  100  in any desired location by applying pressure to the bottom  130  of the container  110  to allow the adhesive  150  to secure to the surface  210 . If for example the user was riding in a car, the condiment holding device  100  may be secured to the arm rest, console, seat, dash board, or any other location. Once the condiment holding device  100  is secured, the user may remove the lid  170  to access the condiment held within the container  110 . The user may then use the condiment in any fashion including dipping food products into the container  110  to access the condiment. After completing use of the condiment, the container  110  may be removed from the surface  210 .  
      One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the condiment holding device  100  may be used and operated in any manner and order of operation. For instance, the user may choose to remove the lid  170  prior to affixing the condiment holding device  100  to the surface  210 . One of ordinary skill in the art will further appreciate that the container  110  is not limited to a conical shape but may be any shape including for instance rectangular, pyramidal, square, elliptical, spherical, or any other shape. It is also contemplated that the bottom  130  does not have to be larger than the top  120 . The container  110  and associated top  120  and bottom  130  may be any shape that provides a stable securement to the surface  210 .  
      It is also contemplated herein that the condiment may be accessed at any location on the container  110  and is not limited to access from the top. For example, the condiment may be accessed from a side location. The side location would include a lid removably affixed to the side similar to the lid  170  for the top  120  discussed previously herein. It also is contemplated that the condiment holding device  100  may affixed on any surface orientation include horizontal, vertical, or angled surfaces.  
      In the exemplary embodiment shown in  FIG. 5 , the container  110  of the condiment holding device  100  also may hold a plurality of condiments  520  for use. The top  120  of the condiment holding device  100  may include a plurality of compartments  520 . In an exemplary embodiment, the plurality of condiments  520  may be placed in the plurality of compartments  520  to prevent mixture of the plurality of condiments  520  in the top  120  of the container  110 . In another exemplary embodiment, the condiment holding device  100  includes a plurality of containers  110  affixed together to hold a plurality of condiments  520  in the condiment holding device  100 .  
      In an exemplary embodiment, the container  110  is conically shaped and approximately two inches in height. The bottom  130  of the container  110  may be approximately one and three-eights of an inch in diameter and the top  120  may be approximately seven-eights of an inch in diameter. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the invention is in no way limited to these dimensions but may be any appropriate dimension.  
      It should be apparent that the foregoing relates only to exemplary embodiments of the present invention and that numerous changes and modifications may be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined herein.