Abstract:
A cup holder for holding a container or drink on seats in arenas, stadiums and other public venues. The holder has an engagement portion that holds the rear side of the seat, a basket for holding a container therein and a strip extending therebetween. The holder is provided with a hinge between the basket and the strip to allow the holder to be collapsed. The holder further is provided with a flange for preventing rearward movement of the holder when it is attached to a seat. The strip may be a set length or may comprise a pair of telescoping members to allow for the holder to fit over varying seat widths.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     This invention relates to a cup holder for holding a cup or other drinking container on a seat, such as a stadium bench seat, a folding seat and various other seats.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     A problem that exists in many public events is the lack of holders for placing drinks. A number of venues, such as professional sports arenas, outdoor theatres, and high school and local sports parks, provide bench type seating for the spectators, wherein the spectators sit on long benches, each spectator sitting in close quarters to the spectator directly on either side. Other venues provide for folding chairs where each spectator has his or her own chair. Naturally, spectators would like to have a beverage of some sort to enjoy during these performances. However, the crowded nature of the seating arrangements and/or the lack of any holder for drinks requires placing the beverages on the ground, wedging them in between spectators, placing them in precarious positions, or holding them for the duration of the event, all of which can lead to spilled drinks or the drinks simply being in the way.  
         [0003]     Other prior art devices have attempted to adequately provide a holder for such drinks. An example is U.S. Pat. No. 6,010,104, issued to Hanson et al., which is incorporated herein in its entirety. Hanson et al. discloses a combined seat and container holder that consists of an engagement portion that engages the back surface of the seat, a rigid member extending across the seating surface of the seat and a holder for holding a drinking container. The holder can fit between spectators out of the way on the seat. The fan may also sit directly on holder. A problem with this holder, however, is that it holds an upper portion of the container above the seating surface in the way of a spectator sitting near the holder with a container therein, requiring the holder to be placed between spectators or between the legs of a spectator sitting on the seat. A further problem with such a holder is that a minor bump against the holder pushing the holder in a direction towards the rear portion of the seat would unhook the engagement portion from the seat causing the holder to fall from the seat.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0004]     It is thus an object of this invention to overcome the problems associated with the prior art and provide a cup holder for bench or folding seats that can effectively hold a beverage without the holder interfering with the spectator sitting in the seat and to provide a holder that cannot easily be bumped off the seat.  
         [0005]     These and other objects are carried out and the problems overcome with a holder having a basket for holding the container near a front of the seat, a strip extending from the basket extending along the upper surface of the seat and a u-shaped portion engaging a rear portion. The basket holds the container lower than the seating surface to prevent the holder or the drink from interfering with the spectators sitting near the holder. The lower held basket also prevents the holder from being inadvertently moved towards the rear of the seat, preventing the u-shaped portion from disengaging from the seat. The u-shaped portion at the rear portion of the holder prevents the strip from coming off the seat and provides leverage to hold the container.  
         [0006]     In a preferred embodiment, basket is hinge coupled to the strip to allow for the holder to be folded for easier storage and carrying. A tab on the basket engages a slot in the strip so that the basket can be locked against the strip.  
         [0007]     In another preferred embodiment, the holder has a flange portion that extends a distance from the basket. The flange prevents the holder from being inadvertently moved towards the rear of the seat, preventing the u-shaped portion from disengaging from the seat. It also allows for the container to be held by the holder a distance from the seat.  
         [0008]     In another preferred embodiment, the basket and the flange are hinge coupled to the strip allowing for the holder to be folded for easier storage and carrying. A tab on the basket engages a slot in the strip so that the flange and basket can be locked against the strip. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]     A description of the invention will follow with references to several drawings, in which:  
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the holder according to a preferred embodiment of the invention mounted on a bench seat;  
         [0011]      FIG. 2  is a side view of the holder shown in  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0012]      FIG. 3  is a side view of the holder shown in  FIG. 1  in a folded position;  
         [0013]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a holder according to another embodiment of the invention mounted on a folding seat;  
         [0014]      FIG. 5  is a side view of the holder shown in  FIG. 4 ;  
         [0015]      FIG. 6  is a side view of the holder shown in  FIG. 4  in a folded position;  
         [0016]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a holder according to another embodiment of the invention; and  
         [0017]      FIG. 8  is a close up view of the slidable members of the holder shown in  FIG. 7 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0018]     A holder according to a first embodiment of the invention is shown in  FIG. 1 . The holder  100  comprises generally an engagement end  110 , a central strip  120  and a basket  130 . The holder  100  fits on the top, front and rear side of a seat. A bench seat having a rectangular cross section is shown in dotted lines in the figure for reference, however, it should be noted that the holder  100  can be adapted to fit over a plurality of seating surfaces, such as bench seats, foldable seats, padded seats, etc. or any other seat having a generally rectangular cross section, see for example, a folding seat shown in  FIG. 4 .  
         [0019]     The holder  100  can be made of metal, plastic or any other material sufficient to clip the holder onto a seat and hold a container. Preferably the holder  100  is made of plastic via plastic injection molding.  
         [0020]     The engagement end  100  has a generally u-shaped profile with a vertical wall  111  and a bottom wall  112  that fits around the rear and lower surface of the seat. These walls, in conjunction with a rear section  121  of strip  120  prevents the strip and the basket  130  from moving toward the front of the seat and prevents the strip at its rear section from vertically moving away from the seat. Such features keep the holder  100  in place and provide sufficient leverage for the basket  130  to hold a container without the holder coming off the seat.  
         [0021]     The basket  130  is generally cup shaped having four ribs  131 ,  132 ,  133  and  134  along a length thereof and a bottom portion  135  forming a cross shape. Other numbers of ribs and bottom shapes can be used as well. The shape allows the basket  130  to adequately hold various shapes of containers and beverages. While this specific basket shape is used, various other shapes may also be used, such as a ring shaped holder (shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,010,104, discussed above), a ring in conjunction with a flange, a tapered cylinder, a ring having an embedded ring, and other basket shapes known to those in art and are capable of holding a drink container.  
         [0022]     Connecting the cup shaped portion of the basket  130  to the strip  120  is a neck portion  136 . The neck portion  136  if preferably made of a sufficient length to hold the container at a level below the seating surface. The neck portion  136  abuts the front surface of the seat making it capable of preventing the holder  100  from moving towards the rear. This additionally prevents the holder  100  from inadvertently being knocked from the seat by bumping the holder.  
         [0023]     The strip  120  is an elongated piece of material that extends between the basket  130  and the engagement portion  110 . As shown the strip  120  has a generally flat rectangular shape, however, it should be noted that other shapes are possible as long as it provides proper leverage between the basket and engagement portion to allow for the holder to hold a container. For example, the strip can be an elastic piece of material or a flexible material. The strip  120  should be of such a material to transfer the weight on the holder  100  holding a container to the rear engagement end.  
         [0024]     The hinge mechanism, described in reference to  FIGS. 1, 2  and  3 , comprises a hinge  140  mounted between the neck portion  136  of basket  130  and the strip  120 . The hinge  140  can be a traditional hinge affixed to the neck portion  136  and the strip  120  to allow each of the basket  130  and the strip to rotate about an axis formed by the hinge. Preferably the hinge  140  is made via the molding process by providing a weak area of plastic between thicker areas, allowing the weak area to break down when a bending action is performed on the holder. The hinge  140  may also be made by injecting a soft, more flexible plastic during the injection molding process.  
         [0025]     The hinge  140  allows the basket  130  to rotate about the axis between a first position, shown in  FIG. 2  wherein the basket is relatively perpendicular to the strip  120 , to a second position, shown in  FIG. 3  wherein the basket is relatively parallel to the strip. When the holder is in the second position, it is more compact allowing for easier carrying and packing of the holder when it is not in use.  
         [0026]     To provide a locking mechanism to secure the holder in the second position, the basket has a tab  137  that operates in conjunction with a slot  122  in the strip. The tab  137  has a protrusion  138  that passes through the slot  122  and prevents the tab from being pulled back through the slot without a manipulation of the tab to align the protrusion with the slot. When a user of the holder folds the holder for storage or transport, the basket is rotated into the second position. The tab  137  with its protrusion passes through the slot until the second position is achieved. At this point the protrusion is abutting an outer surface  123  of strip, which locks the holder in the second position. To unlock the holder, the user must push the protrusion in the upper direction, shown in  FIG. 3  by arrow U which releases the tab  137  from the slot allowing the basket  130  to move away from the strip  120 .  
         [0027]     A second embodiment of the holder is shown in  FIGS. 4-6 . It has a similar design for the engagement portion  110 , the strip  120  and the basket  130 , so a discussion of these features will not be repeated herein. This embodiment has a flange  150  extending from an under surface of strip  130  and running parallel to basket  130 . The flange  150  is preferably made of similar material as the other components of the holder. It has a generally planar shape, but round or other shapes are also possible.  
         [0028]     In use the flange  150  provides an abutment surface to prevent the strip from moving in relation to a seating surface when the holder is attached to a seating surface. The holder is shown in use in  FIG. 4 , and is attached to a folding seat (shown in dotted lines). The engagement portion  110  is engaged to a rear side of the seat while the flange  150  abuts the front side of the seat. The components together prohibit movement in the direction of arrow P. Such allows for the holder to remain firmly in place and allows for the basket to have varying shapes and be extended a distance away from or below the seat surface.  
         [0029]     In a further embodiment the holder has a hinge  141  between the flange and the strip  120 . The hinge  141  operates in a similar manner and can be made of similar materials or made by similar processes as disclosed above. It allows rotation of the basket  130  and the flange  150  with respect to an axis formed by the hinge  141 , allowing the basket and the flange to be folded against the strip, as shown in  FIG. 6 .  
         [0030]     The hinge further has a locking mechanism comprising a tab  151  having a protrusion  152  on the flange  150  that fits into a slot  123  of the strip  120 . The properties and operation are similar to the tab and slot design of the previous embodiment, thus a detailed description will not be repeated.  
         [0031]     In an additional embodiment, shown in  FIGS. 7 and 8 , the holder is slidable to allow for the holder to fit on a variety of seat widths or types. The strip  130  is provided with two slidable members  125  and  126  which overlap or telescope into each other horizontally. A sufficient amount of friction between the telescoping members would allow them to remain connected when the holder is in use.  
         [0032]     Although the present invention has been described and illustrated in detail regarding specific examples of cup holders, such explanations are to be clearly understood that the same are by way of illustration and example only, and are not to be taken by way of limitation. Other modifications of the above examples, which may be made by those having ordinary skill in the art, remain within the scope of the invention. Thus, the spirit and scope of the present invention should be defined only by the terms of the claims.